Assess one sociological theory of religion

Assess one sociological theory of religion Using examples critically assess one sociological theory of religion In most traditional societies, religion is an important form of social togetherness. It augments a feeling of community and promotes a set of shared values and beliefs in some form of god. Religion also plays a central role in cultural life; people often synthesize religious symbols and rituals into the material and artistic culture of the society: literature, storytelling, painting, music, and dance. It is the focus of the society that is of interest to religious sociologists, in particular theories concerning the way religious behaviour differs between and within societies. Beckford notes that theories revolving around how social interaction benefits or holds back societies, has made sociology a renowned area of study. In order to establish a fundamental starting point in this thesis, the foundations of sociology and the sociology of religion will be described in context. Furthermore, it will discuss, in some detail, the sociological theoretical approach of functionalism by sociologists; a critical analysis will aim to show the differences in their approaches to functionalism and will include supporting and critical statements from preceding and subsequent sociological theorists. Sociologists generally define religion as a codified set of moral beliefs concerning sacred things and rules governing the behaviour of believers who form a spiritual community . Auguste Comte (1798 1857) describes sociology as the study of human societies. A classical view is that, it is a social science that, uses varied methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis, and is often used to develop theory about human social activity. The sociology of religion therefore takes into account the aforementioned and a lso includes the practices, historical backgrounds, developments, universal themes and roles of religion in society. Jones (2003) describes Comte as the first to proclaim the virtues of an empirically based social science, a type of sociology that would have enormous implications for someone like Comte, who had been born during the aftermath of the French Revolution. Bilton et al (1996) explain this further: Positive social knowledge could offer the means for peaceful reconstruction of social order by the elite of enlightened scientists and intellectualsSocial change need not depend upon revolutionary violence and the manipulation of the mob Comte was able to make use of the new science for the progression of society and the re-establishment of order as well as being able to apply the positive method to social theory . Comte and his fellow Frenchman Durkheim are said to be the forerunners in creating the discipline of sociology. Thompson (1982) describes Comte as giving the subject its name and an ambitious prospectus, whilst Durkheim gave it, academic credibility and influence. Functionalist sociologists focus their attention on the nature of institutional relationships in society. To understand this further, one can use Talcott Parsons functionalist ideas as an example. Parsons, [who supported functionalism in the United States] used the functionalist perspective to group institutions in society into four related functional sub-systems; economic, political, kinship, and cultural. This theory stressed the importance of interdependence among all behaviour patterns and institutions within a social system to its long-term survival. In a similar way Durkheim In trying to explain the value of social and cultural character, illuminated them in terms of their contribution to the operation of an overall system. Furthermore, Malinowski, who promoted functionalism in England, endorsed the idea that cultural practices had psychological and physiological functions, such as the reduction of fear and anxiety, and the satisfaction of desires. Another Englishman Radcliffe- Brown contended that, all instituted practices ultimately contribute to the maintenance, and hence the survival, of the entire social system, determining the character of inter-group relations. It is Parsons sub-system of culture that encompasses religion that we now turn to. A functional definition of religion is fundamentally based on the social structure and drawing together of people, it pays particular attention to how religion guides and influences the lives of people who are actively involved, and through this promotes unity and social cohesiveness. Durkheim believed and argued that, religion was a socially constructed institution, serving the needs of society by socialising members into the same norms, values and beliefs, therefore reinforcing the collective conscience upon which the stability of society rests. He looked in depth at the origins, meaning, and function of religion in society. His belief was that religion was not so much about God, but more about the consolidation of society and the sense of identity that this creates within a particular society. He fully believed that individuals who accepted their role within their own society develop a form of social conscience as part of that role, which Durkheim labels as the Conscience collecti ve, which in simpler terms could be labelled as, a common understanding. Published in 1921 and penned by Durkheim, The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life, is renowned as the best-known study on the sociology of religion. Using secondary data, Durkheim studied native totemism in primitive Australian tribes, in effect the totem is a symbol that is an integral part of the group, and during ceremonies will be the magnet that draws everyone together to form a collective whole. Therefore, totemism in this instance is explained not in terms of what it is, [what the content of its doctrines and beliefs are] but what it does, that is, the function it performs for the social system. Durkheim claims that, the totem, the sacred object is a representation, by which society symbolises itself, which according to Fulcher and Scott, he believed to be the real basis of social solidarity. From his observations Durkheim developed his theory of the sacred and profane, believing that all things in society can be separated into these distinct categories, as a fundamental d ichotomy the sacred and profane are seen as two separate domains or worlds. For Durkheim the sacred meant the unity of the group embodied in symbols, as in his example of totems, the profane was more about the mundane or the individual, and less concerned with the group. However the British anthropologist Evans-Pritchard (1937) observed that sacred things may be profane at certain times, an example he gives is the case of the Azande , who, when their shrines were not in ritual use, were used as props to rest their spears. This analysis of the sacred and the profane was extended to all religions by Durkheim and his followers, making a focus on what is similar about what they each do, and about the integrative functions all these religions perform on their social systems. He therefore viewed religion within the context of the entire society and acknowledged its place in influencing the thinking and behaviour of the members of society. Furthermore he believed that order flowed from con sensus, from the existence of shared norms and values, for him the key cause of social upheaval stems from anomie, the lack of regulating norms. Without norms constraining behaviour, explains Durkheim, humans develop insatiable appetites, limitless desires and general feelings of irritation and dissatisfaction. Radcliffe-Brown continued Durkheims sociological perspective of society; he particularly focused on the institutions of kinship and descent and suggested that, at least in tribal societies, they determined the character of family organization, politics, economy, and inter-group relations. Thus, in structural-functionalist thought, individuals are not significant in and of themselves but only in terms of their social status: their position in patterns of social relations. When regarding religious ceremonies Radcliffe-Brown contends that ceremonies, for example, in the form of communal dancing, promoted unity and harmony and functioned to enhance social solidarity and the survival of the society, in this he agreed with another renowned anthropologist Bronislaw Malinowski. Malinowskis functionalism was highly influential in the 1920s and 1930s, a British anthropologist, he conducted one of the first major studies of religion from an ethnocentric perspective, on the people of the Trobriand Islands. The first anthropologist to undertake a long-term piece of field research, Malinowski lived among the Trobriand islanders for four years. In studying the functions of religion in a small scale, he agreed with Durkheim that religion reinforced social norms, values and promoted social solidarity. Malinowski also believed that religion could relieve social anxiety and could provide a sense of security especially when people are faced with situations in which they have no control, an example Malinowski gives is based on his observation of the Trobriand islanders fishing in a calm lagoon, no religious practice was attached, however when faced with the perils of fishing in the open ocean, religious rituals were always performed. In this way Malinowski believed huma ns could exert a perceived control over a world in which they held no significant, individual power. This individual, perceived control can be seen to be used by people facing a personal crisis. Often in a situation where they have no control over the outcome, people will turn to religion looking for guidance and sanctuary; thereby giving them a sense of power. For Malinowski then, religion also helped to conciliate periods of life crises and events such as death, marriage and birth, these rituals, known as rites of passage are marked by ceremonies, that by their very nature, are a form of social togetherness that help to create social order and contentment. These rites however can be seen to be controlled in that to a certain extent one is prepared for new life, death and marriage, these events form part the circle of life and therefore come with some prior knowledge. Ceremonies that relate to these life events could be seen as a predictable common bond that will help to reinforce social solidarity. Malinowski argues that religion minimizes the disruption, in particular, of death. He believes that the assertion of immortality gives rise to feelings of comfort for the bereaved, whilst the act of a funeral ceremony binds the survivors together. Coser (1977) explains further: Religion can counter a sense of loss, which, as in the case of death, may be experienced on both the individual and the collective level therefore religion as a social institution serves to give meaning to mans existential predicaments by tying the individual to that supra-individual sphere of transcendent values which is ultimately rooted in his society. So far we have seen that collective or communal gatherings are generally aimed at promoting social solidarity and cohesion, this is backed by the empirical evidence offered by Malinowski in his study of the Trobriand Islands. Hamilton (1995) offers that these gatherings can also be interpreted as involving the recognition of divisions, conflict and disharmonies inherent in the society and rituals may be seen as a means of coping with and defusing them. Concerning Malinowskis empirical evidence, a contrasting point is noted by Casanova (1995) who questions functionalism on empirical grounds, he argues that religion does not provide consensus and unity, instead he says that most conflicts [an example he gives is the Iran/Iraq war] in society have religious foundations. Marxist sociologists also criticise functionalists on a theoretical level. Marx claims that religion does not create societal consensus, instead it creates conflict between those that have wealth in the ruling class and those that do not in the working class. Therefore according to Marx, the only norms and values that are conserved by religion are those of the ruling class. Functionalist theory could therefore be said to neglect the areas in which religion has been dysfunctional for society, whereby religious divisions have caused disruption and conflict rather than promoting social order. History provides numerous examples of this including the aforementioned Iran/Ira q dispute, Northern Ireland and Bosnia. An Extreme functionalist assessment of religion, declares William Stevens, is put forward by American sociologist Robert Bellah. Bellah fuses Parsons argument that America derives its values from Protestantism, with Durkheims belief that the worship of god is the disguised worship of society. From this Bellah develops a new kind of religious concept, that of a civil religion. Therefore despite the individual belief systems of American citizens, it is the overarching faith in America that unites Americans. Wallis (1983:44) cited in Jones, explains that Bellah finds evidence of civil religion in Presidential inaugurations and ceremonials such as Thanksgiving Day and Memorial Day are similarly held to integrate families into the civil religion, or to unify the community around its values. A further point to be made here is that generally civil religion does not hold to a belief in the supernatural. Bellah disagrees and says examples of confirmation in the supernatural can be seen or hea rd on a daily basis, phrases such as God Bless America and the words In God we trust on the national currency, he believes are prime examples of this. However Stevens asserts that this is not the god of any particular creed, but a god of America. For Bellah then civil religion creates a social cohesiveness by gathering people together to collectively partake in some form of ceremonial event. Therefore flag waving at a sporting event or lining the street to celebrate a royal marriage or death can bring about a united outpouring of joy or grief that in itself generates order. A contemporary example is the untimely death of Princess Diana. Her funeral witnessed a monumental combining of people, faiths and nations in a symbolic act of grief. Functionalist sociologists tend to emphasize what maintains society, not what changes it and are criticized for being unable to account for social change because it focuses so intently on social order and equilibrium in society. Functionalists have to take into account that change does happen in societies and that change is a good thing, and can represent progress. Jones says that the functionalist way around this is to use an organic analogy social progress occurs as it does with organisms as an evolutionary change. Bilton et al explain that this takes shape in the form of structural differentiationdifferentiation is a type of splitting or separation of a previously undivided unit, the new units differ in that they are more specialised in the functions they perform. Talcott Parsons, in his approach to social change, emphasises differentiation. According to Parsons, Institutions change, if the need of the system changes. An example of a system change stems from The Industrial Revol ution, which was facilitated by capitalism, was increasingly demanding technological advances to increase profit. In order to make this possible there was a need for more educated workforces. As a result the industrial economy needed a new form of family to perform these specialist functions. Thus, as one aspect of society changed the economy and production it required a comparable change in the educational system, bringing social life back into equilibrium. This new modernization of society, explains Marske, is associated with the increasing indifference of the individual from the traditional social bonds of an intimate network of diffuse social relationships. Due to a greater demand in the workforce people from all walks of life came together causing an increase in the cultural diversity within a particular society. As a result individuality became a more prominent feature; religion it seems was becoming less social and more personal. Durkheim would disagree with this statement as he believed it was possible to be an individual as well as social institution, he explains, In reality, the religion of the individual is a social institution like all known religions. It is society which assigns us this ideal as the sole common end which is today capable of providing a focus for mens wills. Dillon (2003) explains that social scientists and Western intellectuals have been promising the end of Religion for centuries, Comte announced that, as a result of modernization, human society was outgrowing the theological stage of social evolution and a new age was dawning which the science of sociology would replace religion as the basis or moral judgements. Durkheim predicted the gradual decrease in formal world religions; in post-enlightenment society he felt that there would be a greater emphasis on the individual. This he believed would lead to a weakening of ties in the modern world. In addition he envisaged that social solidarity and the collective conscience would be taken up by other institutions that would evolve into new forms of religious experience. Furthermore a maturing modernity would see scientific thinking replace religious thinking. As a consequence, Durkheim considered the concept of God to be on the verge of extinction. In its place he envisioned society as promoting civil religion, in which, for example, civic celebrations, parades, and patriotism take the place of church services. If traditional religion were to continue, he believed it would do so only as a means to preserve social cohesion and order. Parsons disagrees with this synopsis, with modern life will come structural frameworks that are more competitive and specialised, however they would still persist because religion is an adaptable structural framework for the explanation of inexplicable social phenomena. A criticism applied to the functionalists perspective stems from Durkheims analogy that societies and social institutions have personalities. To imagine that a society is a living, breathing organism is a difficult concept when in fact it is seen as an inorganic object. This creates what can said to be a philosophical problem and an ontological argument that society does not have needs as a human being does; and even if society does have needs they need not be met. The view here is that society is alive in the sense that it is made up of living individuals. What is not taken into account is that each individual is a different entity, with their own wants and needs. As part of the unit they can function and integrate within the group as a viable member. However individual life choices may not always create a positive function for the society as a whole. Functionalists in general tend to have a too positive view by believing that everything that exists in society does so because it has some kind of functional purpose. Robert Merton believed that it was entirely plausible for society to have dysfunctional elements. Durkheim also recognised that some forms of social life could be seen in the same way, however he did not use the term dysfunctional. In his work on crime, he noted that crime was functional to society, this seems to be a contradiction in that he also said, too high a level of crime might not be functional, because it could create a state of confusion regarding what constitutes the norms that applied to peoples lives. As a society dysfunctional actions, in particular criminal actions are frowned upon, and as a society we can become mob-handed in the way people come together to condemn an act of crime. Durkheim has a point to make here in that, people combine together, forming a collective cohesion in defining themselves against what they are not. Picturing society like a vast machine, Merton argues that a society should best be considered as a cross bet ween the cultural goals of a society-what it holds its members should strive for-and the means that are believed, legally or morally, to be legitimate ways that individuals should attain these goals. In an ideally organized society, the means will be available to deliver all of its members to their goals. One must take into account when analysing such theories that at the time of writing the world was a very different place to the one we live in today. Social anthropology has come under criticism for looking into primitive societies as a representation of unchanged societies criticism in particular stems from the lack of historical records that could confirm or deny any findings. Radcliffe-Brown considered this type of work a mistakehis belief was that the religious and ritual systems had to be understood in the context of the existing society and their role in that society. One could linger on Durkheims prediction that religion would decrease with modernity, religion here being in reference to the act of attending a social gathering in the worship of some form, whether it be totemic or divine. However an important point to note is that at the time when the Sociology of Religion was in its infancy, religious practice was more of a regular occurrence than one would perhaps find in todays society. However individuals are still irrevocably influenced by the role of religion in their own lives. Their beliefs and values allow them to feel supported in their everyday life; religion sets aside certain values and infuses them with special significance. Culture plays an important part here, as values, customs and beliefs combine to become a moral code by which societies adhere to and live by and pass on to future generations. Religion encourages collective worship be it in a church, mosque, temple, home or some other specified gathering place. Through the act of collective worship the individual is encouraged to feel part of a wider community. Today, societies are classed as more secular in their nature, yet if one consider the earlier statement about religion being an important form of social togetherness it would be easy to make analogies with the different groups that make up the society we inhabit. For example schools hold assemblies, awards evenings and performances all which can be seen as an example of community spirit and social cohesion. People as individuals, have interests outside of their immediate social groupings, this does not make them an outcast or outsider, and instead it promotes a sense of identity, individualism and the self. The writings of sociologists such as Durkheim, Comte, Radcliffe-Brown and Parsons are still important today, especially in comparing the way society sees religion. However, in contemporary society sociologists have a different set of problems to contend with as belief in modern society and materialism for many becomes a more vital moral value than partaking in a religious practice . BIBLIOGRAPHY Beckford, James A. (2003) Social Theory and Religion, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003). Bilton et al, Introductory sociology 3rd Edn (Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1998). Casanova, Jose, Public Religions in the Modern World (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1995) Christiano, Kevin J., William Swatos Jr Peter Kivisto, Sociology of Religion: Contemporary Developments Lanham, 2nd edition (MD: Rowman Littlefield publishers, 2008). Comte, Auguste, A Dictionary of Sociology (3rd Ed), John Scott Gordon Marshall (eds), (Oxford: OUP, 2005). Coser, Lewis A. Masters of Sociological Thought: Ideas in Historical and Social Context, 2nd Ed., (Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc., 1977), pp. 136-139, Coser, Lewis A. Masters of Sociological Thought: Ideas in Historical and Social Context, 2nd Ed., Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc., 1977: 136-139, Dewar, Greg, Religious studies, Philosophy and Ethics, (London: Oxford University Press, 2002). Dillon, Michele, Handbook of the sociology of religion (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003). Durkheim, Emile, The Division of Labor in Society. Translated by, George Simpson. (New York: Free Press, 1893/1964). Durkheim, Emile, and Coser, Lewis A., The Division of Labor in Society. (Free Press, 1997) Durkheim, Emile. The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life: A Study in Religious Sociology. Translated by, Joseph Ward Swain. (New York: Macmillan, 1915). E. E. Evans-Pritchard, Theories of primitive religion, (Oxford: Clarendon press, 1965). Emile Durkheim, Sociology and philosophy (New York: free press, 1974). Evans-Pritchard, E. E. Social Anthropology and Other Essays. ( London,1950).Contains a critique of Radcliffe-Browns functionalism from the perspective of historicism. Fulcher, J. Scott, J. Sociology, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003). Giddens, Anthony, Durkheim, (London: Harper Collins, 1996). Goldschmidt Walter, Functionalism In Encyclopaedia of Cultural Anthropology, Vol 2. David Levinson and Melvin Ember, (eds) (New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1996), p. 510. Hamilton, M, The sociology of religion, 2nd edition (Oxon: Routledge, 2001). Hunt, S. Religion in Western Society, (Hampshire: Palgrave, 2002). Jones, Pip, Introducing Social Theory, (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2003). Jones, Robert Alun., Rules of the sociological method 1895, in Emile Durkheim: An Introduction to Four Major Works. (Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications, 1986), pp. 60-81. Macionis, J. Plummer, K. Sociology: A Global Introduction (Essex: Pearson, 2005). Merton, Robert, Social Theory and Social Structure, (USA: Macmillan, 1968), chapter 3. Orenstein, Ashley D. DM, Sociological theory: Classical statements 6th edition (Boston: Pearson Education, 2005), pp. 3-5: 32-36. Sociology Quarter, Durkheim as a functionalist, vol 16 no 3 (Summer, 1975), pp 36 -379. Thompson, Kenneth, (1982) Emile Durkheim, (Sussex: Ellis Horwood Limited, 1982). Winthrop, Robert H. 1991. Functionalism In Dictionary of Concepts in Cultural Anthropology (New York: Greenwood Press, 1991), p. 130. WEBLIOGRAPHY Functionalism, in Anthropology and Sociology The Columbia Electronic Encyclopaedia. 2000-2007 Pearson Education, publishing as Infoplease. http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/society/A0819881.html (Accessed: 18.01.10). Functions OF religion learningat.ke7.org.uk/socialsciences/soc-sci/soc/a2/R. Accessed 14.1.10. CliffsNotes.com. Introduction to Religion. http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study_guide/topicArticleId-2695,articleId-26927.html. Accessed 10.1.10 Chris Livesey, Functionalist perspectives on Durkheim, www.sociology.org.uk Marjolin, Robert French sociology-Comte and Durkheim, University of Chicago press American journal of sociology, vol. 42, no 5 (Mar., 1937), pp693 -704. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2767763 (Accessed: 12.1.10.). Mark Glazer, Functionalism http://www.utpa.edu/faculty/mglazer/theory/functionalism.htm (Accessed: 13.12.09). Marske, Charles E, (1987) Durkheims Cult of the Individual and the Moral Reconstitution of Society, Sociological Theory, Vol. 5, No. 1, (American Sociological Association, 1987), pp. 1-14. http://www.jstor.org/stable/201987. Accessed: 17.01.10. The Azande, http://lucy.ukc.ac.uk/EthnoAtlas/Hmar/Cult_dir/Culture.7829 (Accessed: 15/1/10). William J. Stevens, Religion: A Functionalist Assessment, http://www.helium.com/items841304-religion-a-functionalist-assessment. (Accessed: 24.11.09).

Morrison Takeover Safeway Plc

Morrison Takeover Safeway Plc This part of the proposal provides the overview of the study relating to merges and acquisition in UK grocery retailers giants. One of the most maligned antitrust decisions in the history in UK involves acquisition of grocery retailer giant, the fourth largest supermarket Safeway takeover by Morrison in 2004. In 1990s, retail markets throughout the world began to be transformed by acquisition and merges. Many of the worlds largest retailers, particularly in the food and grocery sectors involves and this is to reduce the struggling competition between the leading competitor and positioned themselves to dominate or becomes holders of major market share (wrighley, 2000a, lowe, 2002). However such an event still remain a non-routine and challenging occurrence within the life time of the individual organisation and its members merges and acquisition is still one of the areas of finance which attracted interest from the general public as well as the finance analyst and the managers According to (Glen 2008) said that expanding the activities of the firms through acquisition involves significant uncertainties (Schweiger and Ivancevich, 1985) Rappaport (1998) stated that, the basic objectives of making acquisition is identical to any other investment associated with a companys overall strategy, i.e. to add value. In practise, the motivation for expansion through merges, and the diverse range of issue such as action rises by using discounted cash flow technique. First of I would like to define merges and acquisition:- MERGES- Is used to mean the combing of two business entities which result in common ownership. Merges could be either horizontal integration, vertical integration and conglomerate integration. Horizontal integration, where two companies in the same industry, whose operation are very closely related is combined, that of the case of Morrison and Safeway. One of the motives advanced for horizontal merges is that economic of scale can be achieved, but not all merges achieve such gains or enhancement of market power resulting from the reduction in competition Merges and acquisition can have a profound impact on an organisational member and their family (Hayes,1981) indeed, merges and acquisition can sufficiently transform the organisational structure ,system ,processes and culture of one or both of the firm that people often feel stressed, frustrated and even frightened {Schweiger and ivancevich 1985} Although, the recent retailing revolution in the early 1990s resulted in a number of very significant developments. The grow in size of retailers not only replaced the manufacturers dominance in the supply chain but also eliminated many wholesaler and started the trend towards backward integration of the retailer. in 1990s,there is continued concentration and consolidation in all areas of supermarket sector (Davies and Ward, 2000). The industry structure is characterised by a number of common attributes including greater store size increase in retailer concentration and adoption of a range of formats by retailers to reach as wider as their customer catchment areas. Back in January 2003 Morrison, the mostly north of England based supermarket chain, announced that it had been in discussion with Safeway over a proposed takeover. The takeover would give Morrison access to the market in the south which has been difficult to break into. Morrisons bid to buy 480 stores of Safeway that will put it major competitors for the other big supermarket chains, Tesco, Sainsbury and Asda. The current market share of Morrison as at January 2008 is at 11.4% and make it the smallest of the big four supermarket and behind Tesco (31.5), Asda (16.8) Sainsbury (15.9), but far head off the fifth place Co-operative Group (4.4%).The merges could put Morrison on a par with Sainsbury. After the takeover of Safeway, the Morrison family currently owns around 15.5% of the company. According to Hayes 1981, stated that indeed, merges and acquisition often feel stressed and frustration because of the fear of loosing their job, their family life and the culture that they must have to changes. In light of this economic approach to defining markets and approaches that turn entirely on how customers respond to prices changes. In the u k, following the Wal-marts market entry in 1999, popular perception has focused on Alhoids acquisition with Sainsbury. Indeed, Alhold has regularly been obliged to damp down market speculation on the issue .However, given such a merges, not only would it then faced competing head to head in the UK market with the other supermarkets. Although the competition commission found that little evidence of monopolistic behaviour, the findings indicated both the significance of buyer concentration and the need for voluntary regulation (Cooper, 2003 Dobson et al, 2003) The takeover has not yet gone through smoothly due to the involvement of other potential buyer, including the other main supermarket entering the race. As a result of this, the Competition Commission investigated the issue. The commission found that, of the major supermarkets, only Morrison should be allowed to proceed with a potential takeover of Safeway. However this does not rule out another potential buyer. Phillip Green, billionaire owner of Top Shop and British Home Stores (BHS) has also expressed an interest in Safeway. The commission has recommended that if Morrison is successful in their bid that they will have to sell off some of the stores to ensure that competition is not compromised. Here in UK regulation which is the issue both the land-use planning regulation which restricts the other supermarket Wal-Marts ability to develop ASDA stores at a sufficiently rapid pace to challenge for market leadership and the threats of regulatory action to safeguard competition . UK food retailers makes clear Competition Commission ,2000 Vol. 1 Morrison could safely add significant market share in the southern England, Northern Ireland ,Scotland and Wales without triggering regulatory action. As a result, although Safeway as an operational entity would be unattractive to Wal-Mart, and some of the assets of Safeway certainly would be (Poole et al.,2002) stated that for an attempt to address this issue, similar scenario can be considered in the case of Safeway and Morrison s which has stores with a price-positioning and format ideal for Wal-Mart. Unfortunately Morrisons regional market strength mirror those of ASDA and acquisition of Morrisons operations in west-midlands and Southern would inevitably trigger regulatory action. Morrison with the family-owned regional chain, is likely to want to see that independent maintained or, at least its essence continued, in any link up with larger retailer Morrison has slashed prices on over 800 Safeway products to bring them in line with its prices strategy. After the takeover of Safeway in march 2004, of the leading supermarket chain which owned 479 stores, mainly in Scotland and South of England. The acquisition ran into difficulties caused by the outgoing management of Safeway changing their accounting system just six weeks before the transaction was completed. This results of series of profit warning being issue by Morrison that leads to poor financial results and a need to revert to manual system. Morrison currently has 375 superstores in the UK, this including new store opening by the end of 2007. Until 2004, Morrison superstores were largely concentrated in the English midland and the north of England, but expanded southward, Most of its stores operates home wares with fewer electronic, clothing than the main supermarket rivals. Morrisons strategy is based on doing the basic efficiently, selling predominantly food at lower prices and doing so only from large stores. This is the different approach from the other three big chain, which have moved into service such as banking and insurances, place greater emphasis on non-food In March 2009, after completed takeover of the Somerfield, Morrison purchases 30 stores from the combined group with the commend of the competition commission. This marks the move away from the post-Safeway strategy of concentrating on superstores, to adopt the work in a smaller space of a new smaller store as its aims to have a store within 15 minutes every UK homes According to Thomas (2008) in some circumstances, acquiring management seriously underestimate the complexities involved in merges and post-acquisition integration (Robino and Demeuse 1985) The history of Wm Morrison First of all let me give the history back ground of Wm Morrison. Morrison was founded in 1899 by William Morrison, an egg and butter merchant. In 1958, the company opened its first counter service store in a small town of Bradford, UK. Morrison opened its first supermarket in Victoria, in 1961 and stated trading on London stock exchanges in 1967. The lack of opportunities for the leading UK grocery retailers to increase market share through large-scale organic store development and has made merges and acquisition strategies particular important (Poole et al., 2002) Wm Morrison carryout the expansion programmes and in 1978, the company acquired Whelan Stores and began operating in Lancashire in UK, and opened the distribution centre Wakefield and expanded its operation to include chilled stores and an ambient storages area for produce In 2004 march Morrison takeover Safeway supermarket at  £3bn, this enables them to become the fourth largest retailers and more than double its store presence. In 2007 January, the company gave access to two new in-store recycling services in over 345 store spread across England, Scotland and Wales The media have highlighted the fact that Morrison and Safeway are an ideal geographical fit in that there are no areas of overlap. It was clear from the findings of the Competition Commission that these two companies would not imposed local monopoly and the customers interest would served. The debated concerning each of these bids by different companies, have not simply been financial. The distinctly geographical issues have been very much to the force. First the commentators have talked about geographical fit, not a subject always prominent where, merges and acquisition are debated (Bikini et al 2002). The ASDA and Morrison bids look more promising in term of geographical fit although Sainsburys fit in northern England and Scotland is also good, but the objective was to creates more level-playing field and although of course this bid may not be acceptable to the shareholders of Safeway, especially taking account of the ASDA /Wal-Mart financial packages said to be on offer Safeway stores and therefore present fewer problem of high local market share, and their acquisition of Safeway would leap-frog them above Sainsbury and leave three major players well ahead of the chasing pack (Poole, Clerk and Clerk 2002) 4.1 Empirical reviews In the real world the takeover and merges have several motives behind (Glen Arnold 2008.Buono and Bowditch 2003), among which the following could be associated with the Wm Morrisons takeover 4.1.1 Synergy= which mean the combine entity will have a valve greater than the sum of its part. This increases in valve comes about because of boost to revenue and the cost base when two firms AB are to be combined or gain may result fro synergistic benefit to provide a valve above that of the present valve of the two independent cash flow :- PVAB= pva+ pvb+ gain PVA=discounted cash flow of company A PVB=discounted cash flow of company B PV AB=discounted cash flow of the merged firm Therefore synergy is often expressed in the form 2+2=5 4.1.2 Market share/power==One of the most important forces driving merges is the attempt to increase market power {Alderson 2002}This is the ability to exercise some control over the prices of the products, and this can be achieve through either monopoly, oligopoly or dominant producers position. However, Wm Morrison, this is one of the objectives to gain the market share in the South where it was very difficult to break into and the shareholders valve would be maximised .Its the fourth largest company by sales and the second by market capitalisation, The strong market presence enhances the brand images of the company and provides economic of scale 4.1.3 Economic of scaleAnother important contributor to synergy is the ability to exploit the economic of scale. The larger size often leads to lower cost per unit of out put. In the case of wm Morrison, this is not the main motive of takeover 4.1.5 Financial Performance for six years 1feburary 2009 turnover  £14528m compare to two year after the takeover January 2006  £12115m. The profit and loss before tax in 2009 February  £655m compare to January 2006 of ( £312.9) The profit after tax in 2009 January  £460m compare to January 2006 ( £250.3) In 2005 immediately after the takeover, Wm Morrison give the profit warning and the share price drop drastically and the turnover was down to  £12116m compare to February2004 and the profit before tax in 2005 was  £193m to ( 312.9) loss in 2006. These are due to the pos-acquisition syndromes and the managements reaction to the takeover of Safeway .The accounting system were changes few weeks before the completion of the acquisition 4.1.6 The market share As of August 2008, according to TNS World panel, Morrison is the smallest of the Big Four supermarkets with a market share of 11.1%. Whilst Tesco, Asda and Sainsburys saw increases in market share from July 2008 of 31.6%, 17.0% and 15.9% respectively. Morrisons saw a smallest sized decrease of 0.2% in the same period There has been a significant amount of empirical research into merges and acquisition and the impact 4.2 The strength and weakness of Wm Morrison 4.2.1 Strength Strong market presence In examining the strength and the weakness of wm Morrison in its operation as the fourth largest supermarket in the UK ,this is to discover that competition in grocery industry in the southern market is intensified ,but Morrison is able to gain the market shares of strong presence in those areas. It serves over nine millions shoppers every week. Strong market presence enhances the brand images of the company Strong geographical presence Poole et al 2002 stated that Wm Morrison has strong geographical presence across the UK, both in superstores and petrol filling station .The company spread across Scotland with 50 stores ,Northern UK55 stores , 20 stores in Wales ,62 and 42 stores in midlands East and midland West respectively . Therefore, because of it geographical presence enhances the companys sale penetration opportunities and gives it a competitive advantages Extensive ranges of food and services The companys fresh food counters offer valve added services including personal advice, cleaning and preparation of fresh meat and fish according to customer s requirement {Troy 2003}Morrisons extensive list of specialized food products and services helps the supermarket chain to differentiate itself with competitors and thereby provides it with an exclusive bran identity Vertical integrated operations A study has been performed by Balto (2001) to examine the uniqueness of the services provided by the supermarket chain. Morrison is the only major food retailers to own and operate fresh food manufacturing and processing facilities. The companys operations are vertically integrated in its food category, which allows it to manufacture, distributed and retail the vast majority of its fresh meat and dairy requirement 4.2.2 Weakness Lack of presence in the online channel Online shopping has steadily grown in popularity in the UK. The amount of money spent online by consumers in the UK increased to  £14.7billion in 2007 Over the next five years online sales are expected to more than triple to £44.5billion by 2012 (Datamonitor-Uk Retail issues 2008:Time to re-evaluate propositions, BFVT0041,May 2008) With internet shopping rising at a rapid pace, supermarkets are establishing their online sales channel to increase revenues. Asda, Tesco and Sainsbury in the UK have establishing the presence in the internet online shopping, in order to capitalize on this rapidly growing trend towards convenience. However Morrison is yet to capitalize on this trend which limited the companys potential growth opportunities 4.2.3Opportunities Increasing demand for organic products Looking in the real world of the grocery industry, wm Morrison have the opportunities to increase the demand for the organic produces, where the Big Four supermarket chain are real competition , The increasing consumer awareness of health and environmental issue along an increasing resistance towards genetically modified (gm) food products and GM farming. Has led to rapid increase in the demand for organic food (Andrew 2004) Growth in private label market The private label market in the UK is witnessing a strong growth in sales. The UK private label sector is one of the most developed in the world. The valve of the sector is at  £45billon and forecast suggests that this will increase to  £ 52billion by 2011. Morrison has increase its private brand product portfolio over the years (DTI, 2008) 5. Research Methodology The way in which research in conducted is not the easy process of transforming the information into reality, but it need cautious planning exercise which follow the procedures and stages Before commencing the study, appropriate selection of the vital research methodology is essential to ensure that the proposal is in the correct steps. Research methodology is divided into two methods of qualitative and quantitative methods. In some circumstances the two methods are combining together as well depending the nature of the study i.e. multiple method (Litter, et al 2003), Tashakkori and Teddlie (2003) Industrial economist argue that market structure is intrinsically linked to firm behaviour and financial performances (Scherer and Ross, 1999; Martin ,1994) ,which look at the financial performances of the company wm Morrison and the market share above In this research proposal, the quantitative method will be use heavily because of the information provided and as the data resources are secondary data which considered the extraction of data manually from the statistical reports available on the website . Secondary data are used for research projects that were originally collected for some other purposes. It includes both raw data and published summaries. Most organisations collect and store a variety of data to support their operation. Secondary data could be divided into three parts=1. Documentary secondary data, 2.Multiple source of secondary data and third the survey based secondary data. The reasons for the uses of Quantitative method is that, its objective, systemic and orderly way of gathering and interprets the information for the use of the study Quantitative approach is predominantly used as a synonym for any data collection technique such as questionnaire and analysis procedures like graphs or statistic, that generate a numerical data Tashakkori and Teddlie (2003) In contrast, Qualitative is used predominantly as a synonym for any data collection technique such as an interview and analysis procedure like categorising data that generates or use non- numerical data Qualitative therefore can be refer to the data other than words. The qualitative data is very expensive to carryout and costly to undertake. It involve primary data analysis which are gathered from the the interviews, questionnaire, field survey carryout during the research study. The technique of both quantitative and qualitative methods, as maintain earlier, refer to some authors as multiple method (Tashakkori and Teddlie (2003) Also mixed method is the general term for when both qualitative and quantitative data collection techniques and analysis procedures are used in research design. It was argue that multiple method are useful if they provide better opportunities for the users to answer the research question and where they allowed the user to better evaluate the extent to which your research finding can be trusted and make better references 5.1 Empirical question The centre issue is the effect of the big firm merges on competitive pricing, which we sum up in the following question: What are price effects for clients of Wm Morrison and Safeway following merges? Merges can improve consumer or customer welfare by creating efficiencies or decrease consumer welfare by creating conditions conducive to monopoly pricing (Sullivan, 2002:381-3284). Simunic (1980) argues that some segments of the market could be more competitive than others; this could have an impact on the effects of the merges. Also test whether the merges have enabled the brand name firms to pass on any cost saving associated with efficiencies to their clients in the form of reduction in competitive price. Therefore the research question is very important and cannot be overemphasised. It is one the key criteria of the research success will be whether you have a set clear conclusion drawn from the data you have collect the research question is one of key question that the research process will address. These are often the precursor of research objectives. 5, 2 Research Ethics When doing research proposal the ethic should be bear in mind. This is considering the integrity of work as well as to give utmost respect of people and the organisation. In any research undertaken the ethical behaviours should be put into consideration not to offended any one in any manner When using other peoples works and materials for any research, their permission should be obtained or information should be given to them. In some research where the individual permissions are require, ethics play a very important part ,However in this study the research ethics is not very much applicable because the information used are secondary data which is already available in the website and internet Your research design may need to consider the extent to which you should collect data from a research population that is unaware of the fact that they are the subject of research and so have not consented It may be quite a different matter if you are collecting data from individuals, rather than from an organisation. However, there may be a case if you are conducting your research while you are an employee in an organisation and you are collecting data on individual was not disclosed, then this would pose a similar ethical dilemma(Gibb,1995). Conclusion The competition in UK food retail sector has been intensified in the recent years, and the four big supermarkets are competing among themselves. In these aspects, this study has not concluded that there was little evidence of the retailers having adverse effects on the consumer; nor was there significant evidence of the price changes at the wholesale level not passing effectively to the consumer. Traditionally, as UK food retailers have become ever more concentrated and consolidated, increasing levels of power have enabled them to exercise substantial control over the supply chain. In this case study analysed the competition commissions report will do little to stop the trend of expansion, as a means of entry into different market. Recently, there is another merges and acquisition of Somerfield by Co-operative Group which was completed in March 2009. From the recent literature on retail competitiveness and observations made regarding current developments within the competitive environment, it is evident that buyer power will definitely concentrate in the hands of the major retail players .The fact that the retailer are expected to grow their market share by acquiring another companies for them to compete with the others Wm Morrison the fourth big supermarket has this opportunity to expand into the Southern England which was very difficult or not impossible without the takeover of Safeway. During the takeover process many speculators were predicting another foreign takeover and were subsequently surprised by Morrisons unexpected interest

Cure for Axillary Hyperhydrosis Essay -- Sweat Sweating Botox Treatmen

Cure for Axillary Hyperhydrosis Sweating is a natural process for all animals. Broadly speaking, we sweat so that our brains do not overheat. The brain can easily overheat if the temperature rises too high because it consumes a very large amount (twenty percent) of our metabolic energy. The brain and temperature relationship is extremely sensitive because it has been studied that brain damage is apparent if the brain temperature is raised to 106 degrees Fahrenheit. Therefore, in order for the brain to not reach this temperature, there must be a system that moderates the temperature—this cooling system is commonly referred to as sweating. When humans sweat, the surface of their skin is cooled, and the skin is then able to cool the blood headed to the brain. The sweat glands are in charge of carrying out this important system. There are two components to the sweat glands: the apocrine glands and the eccrine glands. The apocrine glands contribute the odor component to sweat and are associated with hair follicles, and the eccrine glands are the actual glands responsible for the secretion of sweat on the skin to lower the body temperature. (http://home.flash.net/~mortongr/sweat.htm) Dr. Richard G. Glogau explained that: â€Å"Eccrine sweat evaporates on the surface of the skin and effects a transfer of heat, primarily by direct conduction from the vascular supply to the skin. Sweating can reach volumes measured in liters per hour,† (1998, p.817). Between two and four million of these glands are found deep in the skin of the palms of hands, in the soles of feet and under the axillary skin. (Glogau, 1998) These glands secrete a very dilute solution of urea and lactic acid (Odderson, 1998). http://www.hyperhidrosi... ...perhidrosis with Botulinum Toxin. Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, 24, 280-2. Heckmann, M., Breit, S., Ceballos-Baumann, A., Schaller, M., & Plewig, G. (1999). Side-controlled Intradermal Injection of Botulinum Toxin A in Recalcitrant Axillary Hyperhidrosis. J Am Acad Dermatol, 41, 987-90. Naumann, M. et al. (1998). Focal Hyperhidrosis: Effective Treatment With Intracutaneous Botulinum Toxin. Archives of Dermatology, 134, 301-4. Odderson, Ib R. (1998). Axillary Hyperhidrosis: Treatment With Botulinum Toxin A. Arch Phys Med Rehabil, 79, 350-2. Odderson, I.R. (1998). Hyperhidrosis Treated by Botulinum A Exotoxin. Dermatol Surg, 24, 1237-41. Schnider, P. et al. (1999). A Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-Controlled trial of Botulinum A Toxin for Severe Axillary Hyperhidrosis. British Journal of Dermatology, 140, 677-80.

Homage to Albrecht Durer Essay -- Biography

Albrecht Durer is known as one of the most gifted painters and engravers of the German Renaissance period. His works are known throughout the world and have inspired artists to not only study and learn his techniques but also to broaden his techniques, expanding his already famous style. Albrecht Durer was born on May 21, 1471 in the city of Nuremberg, Germany. His parents were Albrecht Durer and Barbara Holper. â€Å"His father was a successful goldsmith, originally named Ajtà ³si, who in 1455 had moved to Nuremberg from Ajtà ³s, Hungary†(Strieder). His Father married Barbara Holper who was actually the daughter of his goldsmith master. Durer was one of fourteen to eighteen brothers and sisters, many of which died young. At the age of thirteen Durer was educated at the Lateinschule in St Lorenz and also worked as an apprentice under his father and was fortunate enough to be familiar and have relationships with some of the greatest metal smiths of his generation. When Durer turned fourteen he began approaching his father with his paintings, hoping that if his father realized his artistic ability and skill he would let him study painting. There was a compromise; Durer was able to study his art after he mastered the goldsmith trade. His father showed him as much as he could and all of painting that he knew, until Durer’s skills soon surpassed his fathers. In 1486 Durer became an apprentice painter and woodcut artist to Michael Wolgemut. â€Å"Wolgemut was a leader among the artists revitalizing the standards of German woodcut at the time, providing the many publishers in Nuremberg with book illustrations†(Hapgood). His woodcuts followed the developments in engraving to portray volume and shading to a much greater degree than before. A... ...ng Hare, drawn a year before The Great Turf. Durer enjoyed his studies of realistic nature and always pushed himself almost to the edge of realism but holding back by adding a touch of abstract to add contrast. Artists pay homage to other artists all the time, either out of respect for the artist or to give tribute to their often unique style. Many artists believe it add a depth to their artwork that they alone cannot add so by using someone elses work to inspire or to enhance their own piece. Also by using the same or similar techniques it can add a sense of history or story to an art piece. Many artists have paid homage to Albrecht Durer. Homage for his many styles and homage for his many technique, from his engravings, to his water colours. One homage given to Durer is by Karen Kitchel through her piece â€Å"American Grasslands† in reference to â€Å"The Great Turf†.

Underlying Normal Traits Within Abnormal Personality Disorders

Running Head: NORMAL TRAITS WITHIN ABNORMAL PERSONALITY DISORDERS Underlying Normal Traits within Abnormal Personality Disorders Student University April 11, 2010 Running Head: NORMAL TRAITS WITHIN ABNORMAL PERSONALITY DISORDERS Abstract Scholars have argued for decades concerning the fact that there are normal personality traits underlying abnormal personality traits in people who exhibit dysfunctional personalities. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition is the determinative guide on the descriptions of these personality characteristics, and it determined that there were everal models to be considered when looking for a universal clinical definition of abnormal personality. Researchers used either the Big Four, Big Five or other models to describe what an abnormal personality consisted of and how it related to a normal personality as studied. Researchers measured personality differences based on qualitative, quantitative and other key factor diffe rences to determine normal or abnormal functioning personalities. It was difficult to determine one substantive definition, as the traits overlapped from normal to abnormal characteristics noted. Later, the definition of personality dysfunctions included life skills, personal tasks and life goals, and whether the individual was able to function as a member of his society, while meeting the expectations of that society. A person’s maladaptiveness and evolutionary sense were added as part of the definition of whether the personality was normal or abnormal, and whether a person had the skill to be able to manage personal relationships were considered as well in the general definition of abnormal personality. Today, treatment options are expanded from the traditional therapy treatments to include drug therapies, psychodynamic herapy, day hospital intervention, and dialectical behavior therapy. To date, day hospital interventions have proved very successful on non-schizophrenic patients suffering from abnormal personality traits. Running Head: NORMAL TRAITS WITHIN ABNORMAL PERSONALITY DISORDERS Introduction Scholars have argued for decades concerning the fact that there are normal personality traits underlying abnormal personality traits in people who exhibit dysfunctional personalities. Recently, scholars have begun to make an argument that current category systems of personality isorders (PDs) should be substituted by trait dimensional scheme designations in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV; American Psychiatric Association, 2000). Experts are leaning towards using a Big Four model, which are â€Å"essentially maladaptive variants of the Big Five traits of normal personality, minus Openness† (Watson, 1545). In a discussion of this issue by Watson, Clark and Chmielewski, they state that the newly comprised Big Four model excludes odd or eccentric Cluster A PDs, (Watson, 1545) and that their results noted from three studies show a relationship examining the actors of normal and abnormal personalities. Their results established that the Oddity factor was considered more broad than the Cluster A tr aits and more distinct from Openness and other Big Five models, which suggested â€Å"an alternative five factor model of personality pathology (considering only abnormal traits) and an expanded, integrated Big Six taxonomy that subsumes both normal and abnormal personality characteristics† (Watson, 1545). Model Theories The Watson study explains that the Big Four structure was a result of developed hierarchical models that combined general models, like the Big Three and the Big Five models. These former models of personality reviews included multidimensional factors reminiscent of Running Head: NORMAL TRAITS WITHIN ABNORMAL PERSONALITY DISORDERS past personality inventories. When the Big Three and Big Five models were formally combined, it was apparent that â€Å"two higher order traits—Neuroticism/Negative Emotionality and Extraversion/Positive Emotionality—are included in both models† (Watson, 1547). Considering these changes, Watson proposes a â€Å"Big Four† theory which does not include Openness, but does include many of the traits of the other theories. Watson reports that their research on the Big Five heory also includes research on a Big Six taxonomy â€Å"that subsumes both normal and abnormal personality dimensions (Watson, 1551). Definitions of Abnormal Personalities Researchers have made recent discoveries that â€Å"abnormal personalities can be modeled as extremes of normal personality variation† (O’Connor & Doyc e, 2001) (Markon, p. 139). Even though researchers agree that it is possible to describe normal and abnormal personalities within the same frameworks, they disagree on the structure of what the framework will encompass. Even abnormal personality traits are seen now as a variant of the extremes that can happen when eviewing normal personalities. One way to make sense of the distinctions between normal and abnormal personalities is to describe personality disorders (PDs) and develop a working definition for them. By defining the traits for PDs, the researcher is able to develop a base for delineating personalities studied. Once normal traits are identified, abnormal traits need to be assessed. This can be done by reviewing the Big Five model of abnormal personalities. This is the juncture that normal and abnormal personalities overlap. Apparently, there are similar modeling structures that can be tilized to describe both normal and abnormal personalities. Some traits are very common R unning Head: NORMAL TRAITS WITHIN ABNORMAL PERSONALITY DISORDERS between the two models, and others mimic similar personality descriptions. Meta-analytic Investigation Model One cohesive factor that applies to both normal and abnormal personalities is the meta- analytic investigation model. This model was proposed by O’Connor in 2002, and it stated that there were structural relationships between normal and abnormal personalities (Markon, p. 142). The O’Connor study in 2002 reviewed 37 personality and psychopathology inventories to etermine if dimensional structure differences existed between clinical and nonclinical respondents (O’Connor B. P. , 2002). O’Connor found similarity between normal and abnormal populations reviewed and measured similarities â€Å"both in the number of factors that exist in the data matrices and in the factor pattern† (O’Connor B. P. , 2002). The ten abnormal behavior disorders listed by the DSM-IV are listed as: paranoid, schizoid, schizotypal, antisocial, borderline, histrionic, narcissistic, avoidant, dependent, and obsessive–compulsive† (Livesley & Jang, p. 258). Each of these disorders shows traits, and it is he way that professional clinicians are able to make accurate diagnoses of abnormal personality traits of their patients. This listing of traits by the DSM, showed that the distinction between what was considered normal and what was considered abnormal was often defined by distinguishing the â€Å"qualitative distinction between the two† (Livesley & Jang, p. 258). Unfortunately, in truth researchers have come to find out that there are no true separations between normal and abnormal disorders, and they are hard pressed to find the dividing lines between the two entities. O’Connor asked whether the distinction can be made using former Running Head: NORMAL TRAITS WITHIN ABNORMAL PERSONALITY DISORDERS models, and what exactly was normal or abnormal personality disorder. When the conceptual distinctions between the two were reviewed, there are several models to note. The most noteworthy working model being that there was â€Å"no evidence of discontinuity in the distributions of 100 traits selected to provide a systematic representation of personality disorder† (Livesley & Jang, p. 259). In other words, there was no concrete evidence that the researchers would consistently find traits that were exclusively common or descriptive of a specific personality disorder. In fact, personality disorders were measured across normal and control groups. The findings were that there were similarities within the disorder traits and that some equaled normal and others disordered personality traits. In this way, the researchers queried whether disorder traits could be seen in normal personalities. The answer was that there were few solid frameworks to make the decision which would provide a definitive answer to the question. In effect, extreme ends of the traits seemed to be deemed disorders, while extreme variations alone may not have been considered enough to state that a personality disorder actually existed. Quantitative Differences in Normal and Abnormal Personalities Quantitative differences exist between the normal and abnormal personality. The differences often mix up and muddle the personality traits and the disorders apparent within them. With personality disorders, often â€Å"it is difficult to see how an extreme score on dimensions such as conscientiousness, extraversion, or agreeableness is necessarily pathological. Researchers agreed that there were to be other additional factors that needed be present to justify the diagnosis (Livesley & Jang, p. 262). That additional trait is inflexibility and subjective Running Head: NORMAL TRAITS WITHIN ABNORMAL PERSONALITY DISORDERS distress (Livesley & Jang, p. 259). The character trait of inflexibility is defined as one where the person has extreme traits, but not necessarily only an extreme position noted on any given trait. For example, a person who is extremely open and gregarious, but then is not able to tone down his personality when necessary would be an example of this trait. Continuing with this example, what would make the person who is considered otherwise outgoing and spontaneous a person who is suffering from a personality disorder? Maladaptive Personalities The answer may come from prior work done by researchers who were determining personality and abnormal personality disorders. Extreme actions alone were not enough to say the person operated outside of â€Å"normal† personality parameters. The researchers at the time believed that personality disorders were the result of someone suffering from an abnormal variation of a personality being studied. It was measured in how much the person suffered from the disorder. This is where the theory of maladaptation or dyscontrolled impairment came into play (Widiger & Trull, 1991; Widiger & Sankis, 2000). The reason the researchers sought a generalized definition is that without one, they â€Å"would have to catalogue the various maladaptive manifestations of each trait† (Livesley & Jang, p. 263). This was a difficult proposition, since even â€Å"normal† people were prone to exhibit maladaptive traits at some time in their lives. Another problem came with the idea of traits as one certain set of behaviors that were noted on subjects clinically or otherwise. Extreme exhibitions of a trait may show some measureable amount of psychopathology, but were not exclusively indicative of being considered classically maladaptive. In this way, the researchers determined Running Head: NORMAL TRAITS WITHIN ABNORMAL PERSONALITY DISORDERS that the â€Å"definition of personality disorder needs to incorporate features of disorder that are separate from, although possibly correlated with, extreme trait variation† (Livesley & Jang, p. 263). Harmful Dysfunctional Traits in Personalities These descriptions of personality were necessary because there were more than these factors to consider when determining a personality disorder. In fact, personality was considered to be â€Å"a system of interrelated structures and processes† (Costa & McCrae, 1994; Mischel, 1999; Vernon, 1964) which included a person’ dispositional traits, motives, coping mechanisms, and ability to tame impulses are part of the process of determining normal or abnormal indications of personality. In other words, if these traits were considered â€Å"harmful dysfunctions,† (Wakefield, 1992; Livesley & Jang, p. 263) they consisted of harmful traits that were underlying natural functions. So, the definition of a personality disorder can be considered a harmful dysfunction in the normally adaptive functions of a person’s personality system (Livesley & Jang, p. 263) Another issue within the developing studies of personality disorders was that personality functions were considered to be seen as disturbed in individuals who exhibited personality disorders. Researcher Cantor described a person’s personality as the types of tasks a person sets as personal goals, and they way the person looks at his or her â€Å"self, and life situations, and the strategies used to achieve personal tasks† (Livesley & Jang, p. 263). This delineation of personality traits offered a true to form definition of what a personality disorder consisted of for the individual suffering from it. It was considered of a higher order than simply a dysfunction of a personality trait. Here it was described as needing to concentrate on life tasks as the Running Head: NORMAL TRAITS WITHIN ABNORMAL PERSONALITY DISORDERS determining factor to determining if an individual had a personality disorder, and was therefore considered abnormal in terms of functioning personality. The researchers assumed that as a person lives his life, he orders his tasks as to what he sets as priorities for completing goals and meeting the needs of his immediate surrounding community and culture. This comes under the order of living in society and meeting the expectations of people who live near the individual, or a way of fitting in within his community. It also had to do with the person’s mean biology, or biological features characteristic of the individual. In fact, these tasks did vary depending on where the person lived and what the person had do to be able to survive in his culture. These may come under the umbrella of life skills, and they are definitely different considering where a person lived or had grown up. For example, a person who grew up in a small native Alaskan out island would have different life skills that ould a person who grew up and lived in a borough of Manhattan, NY. The two personalities of these individuals might be similar, but their life skills would be developed in obviously different ways. The person living in the native island village would have an understanding of the elements and what is necessary for bare-bones survival in possibly e xtreme conditions. While, the person who grew up in the city would have to understand how to be â€Å"street smart† and may need to know how to survive in even a potentially violent atmosphere if the neighborhood suggested those skills were essential to survive on a daily basis. Each individual may otherwise be soft spoken, or be considered similarly warm-hearted or kind. But decidedly, their life skills would separate them and put them a world away from each other in what they knew and needed to depend on to survive in their environment on a daily basis. Running Head: NORMAL TRAITS WITHIN ABNORMAL PERSONALITY DISORDERS Universal Tasks Underlying Personality Traits The researchers then understood that there would need to be a set of universal tasks that needed to be identified. These universal tasks were considered of â€Å"evolutionary significance† nd featured four universal challenges as set by Plutchik (1980). These were the four ways a person’s identity was developed and they included: the solution to the problems of dominance and submissiveness created by hierarchy that is characteristic of primate social hierarchies; development of a sense of territoriality or belongingness; and solution to the problems of temporality, that is, problems of loss and separation. This allowed the researchers studying personality disorders to come to the conclusion that personality disorders prevented an individual from managing the adaptive answers or solutions hat were considered universally applicable to everyone, or a person’s life tasks. When an individual had a deficit in any of these areas, there was a noted â€Å"harmful dysfunction† and the person was unable to adapt to be able to function in his environment or society. The life tasks then seen as either being fulfilled or being abandoned by the individual, probably because of this identified deficit. Personality disorder was seen as different from other disorders by the fact that these failures â€Å"should be enduring and traceable to adolescence or at least early adulthood and hey should be due to extreme personality variation rather than another pervasive and chronic mental disorder such as a cognitive or schizophrenic disorder† (Livesley & Jang, p. 26 4). Running Head: NORMAL TRAITS WITHIN ABNORMAL PERSONALITY DISORDERS Evolutionary Sense Within Personality Traits There was talk of the individual not being able to adapt to his environment in an â€Å"evolutionary sense† which spoke to whether the person had garnered enough skills for ensuring adaptive social behavior to allow reproduction and survival (Livesley & Jang, p. 264). This was xplained as stating that the adaptive traits would contribute to the person adapting to his environment and society in general, and the person adapting to his family unit would move the person towards being able to rear children and eventually reproduce to pass down his traits to offspring later on. This is the general definition of people who have self confidence in their dealings with others, and are able to live in harmony in stable relationships, while becoming productive members within their society or community. These can be seen to be part of the ancestral or evolutionary needs of ev ery individual, whether the person had an abnormal ersonality or normal personality. The more common description of an abnormal personality comes from what the common person observes when someone has problems dealing within a relationship. Rutter (1987) stated that personality disorders were characterized by â€Å"persistent, pervasive abnormality in social relationships and social functioning generally† (Rutter, p. 454). Also, Tyrer (2001) stated that â€Å"we do not necessarily need to know everything about someone's personality to recognise the elements that make it disordered† (Tyrer, p. 83). Tyrer states quite honestly that psychiatrists iew these descriptive axioms as something to be deferred, and says â€Å"personality disorder and mental retardation are stigmatic terms that psychiatrists like to avoid† (Tyrer, p. 83). So the question is, how can one determine the underlying normality within the abnormal Running Head: NORMAL TRAITS WITHIN ABNORMAL PERSONA LITY DISORDERS personality? For this the clinician and the layperson need review the DSM-III, considered the premier source of personality disorder classification (American Psychiatric Association, 1980). The DSM classifies what is considered normal and abnormal in terms of personality. The professionals in the field disagree to the proposed stereotyping of this group of classifications, on the basis of the fact that such profiling is considered â€Å"quite inappropriate in such a complicated field† (Tyrer, p. 84). In fact, it appears that there are burgeoning alternative and substitute classifications being used for determining personality disorders in surveys, trials, studies and private practice. Most people would be surprised to find out that this topic has been heatedly debated over the past two decades. Many people most likely assume that there is one clinical efinition of what is normal, and what is not normal when it comes to personality disorders. The media plays into this, as well as the television and movie plots. The person seen as abnormal is cloaked in symbolic black, speaks in a raspy voice or has otherwise obvious mentally deviant behaviors that even the least sophisticated person in the audience could confidently label as the â€Å"bad guy. † Personality Disorders Studied Abroad Even the study of personality disorders abroad have led researchers to agree to disagree in the area of determining how to describe profiles for patients with underlying normal traits within heir abnormal personality profiles. In a study performed by McCrae (2001) in The People’s Republic of China, 1,909 psychiatric patients were examined to determine the accuracy of the hypotheses determined from the Interpretive Report of the Revised NEO Personality Inventory (McCrae, p. 155). The researchers determined that the PDs were not separate categories that Running Head: NORMAL TRAITS WITHIN ABNORMAL PERSONALITY DISORDERS could be determined in a vacuum. They realized that they needed to consider a more comprehensive and forgiving system of personality traits, to be considered an accurate measure f the patient’s personality issues and concerns. The researchers found that the personality traits of the patients did not fit into the DSM-IV defined traits. They did â€Å"draw on the same five underlying personality traits† (McCrae, p. 171), and were considered redundant, but there were several areas of overlap to be considered conclusive. In fact, over 60% of the patients that were being treated for maladaptive personalities were not meeting the criteria defined in the DSM-IV, as relating to any criteria for a PD (McCrae, p. 171). The maladaptive behaviors, the person’s habits and personal attitudes were all measured o find a comprehensive scale for measuring the personality traits of the patients. It was determined that the results were insignificant, and concluded that personality profiles were â€Å"modest predictors of categorical PDs, but they are immensely informative about people† (McCrae, p. 172). Treatment Options for Abnormal Personality Traits But clinicians and psychiatrists are still interested in treating and helping people who exhibit the traits of these personality disorders identified above. They are in disagreement whether there are normal traits that are underlying the abnormal personality traits that deserve to e treated in an effort to offer the patient an opportunity to live a full and productive life. This is a critical option for people who have normal personality traits, but also exhibit the identified borderline abnormal personality traits as well within their psyche. Over a half decade ago, the best treatments were heralded as therapeutic, and they seemed Running Head: NORMAL TRAITS WITHIN ABNORMAL PERSONALITY DISORDERS to promise the greatest success overall. But today, there are many alternate treatments available for individuals exhibiting abnormal personality disorders. They include drug therapies, sychodynamic therapy, day hospital intervention, and dialectical behavior therapy (Linehan, 1992, Tyrer, p. 84). Other methods of treatment that carry high success for the patients are the partial hospitalization of patients (Bateman & Fonagy, 1999). Bateman & Fonagy compared the effectiveness of treating patients exhibiting borderline personality disorders with partial hospitalization s a standard psychiatric care. They studied thirty-eight patients with borderline personality disorder and offered them individual and group psychoanalytic psychotherapy, for up to 18 months (Bateman & Fonagy, 1999). The results were that the patients who had been partially hospitalized did exhibit less problems, with â€Å"An improvement in depressive symptoms, a decrease in suicidal and self-mutilatory acts, reduced inpatient days, and better social and interpersonal function began at 6 months and continued until the end of treatment at 18 months† (Bateman & Fonagy, 1999). Their conclusion was that the partial hospitalization was determined as a far superior type of psychiatric care for those patients exhibiting borderline personality disorder. This treatment option was in opposition with the standard treatment options of the herapies listed above. These results were similar in the study by Piper, (1993) where a day treatment program at the University of Alberta Hospital in Edmonton, Alberta was studied. The patients were referred from the day treatment program and walk-in clinic, and utilized participants with â€Å"chronically disturbed non-schizophrenic patients, who usually have aff ective and personality disorders† (Piper, p. 757). The results of the study were that day treatment programs were considered effective for patients with long-term nonschizophrenic disorders. The Running Head: NORMAL TRAITS WITHIN ABNORMAL PERSONALITY DISORDERS atients noted significant improvement in â€Å"four of the five areas studied—interpersonal functioning, symptomatology, life satisfaction, and self-esteem—as well as in several of disturbance associated with individual objectives (Piper, p. 762). Reference American Psychiatric Association (1980) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (3rd edn) (DSM—III). Washington, DC: APA. Bateman, A. & Fonagy, P. (1999). Effectiveness of partial hospitalization in the treatment of borderline personality disorder: a randomized controlled trial. American Journal of Psychiatry, 156, 1563-1569. Retrieved on April 9, 2010 from http://ajp. sychiatryonline. org/cgi/content/full/156/10/1563? ijkey=bb19a5d 116af525fe927da3b0a0c0250f3d61de3 Costa, P. T. , & McCrae, R. R. (1994). Can personality change? In T. F. Heatherton, & J. L. Weinberger (Eds. ), Can personality change? (pp. 21–40). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Linehan, M. M. (1992) Cognitive Therapy for Borderline Personality Disorder. New York: Guilford Press. Livesley, W. John & Jang, Kerry L.. (2005). Differentiating normal, abnormal, and disordered personality, European Journal of Personality, 19(4), 257-268. Markon, K. E, Krueger, R. F. , & Watson, D. (2005). Delineating the structure of normal and bnormal personality: An integrative hierarchical approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 88, 139–157. EBSCO Database: Academic Search Premier. McCrae, Robert R. , Jian, Yang, et al. (2001). Personality Profiles and the Prediction of Categorical Personality Disorders. Journal of Personality, 69(2), 155-174. Mischel, W. (1999). Personality coherence and dispositions in a Cognitiveà ¢â‚¬â€œAffective Personality System (CAPS) approach. In D. Cervone, & Y. Shoda (Eds. ), The coherence of personality (pp. 37–60). New York: Guilford. O’Connor B. P. (2002). The search for dimensional structure differences between normality and bnormality: A statistical review of published data on personality and psychopathology. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 83(4), 962–982. Retrieved on April 9, 2010 from http://www. ncbi. nlm. nih. gov/pubmed/12374447 O’Connor B. P. & Dyce J. A. (2001) Rigid and extreme: A geometric representation of personality disorders in five-factor model space. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81, 1119–1130. PubMed Database. Piper, W. E. , Rosie, J. S. , Azim, H. F. A, Joyce A. S. (1993). A randomized trial of psychiatric day treatment for patients with affective and personality disorders. Hosp Community Psychiatry, 44, 757–763. Plutchik, R. (1980). A general psychoevolutionary theory of emotion. In R. Plutchik, & H. Kellerman (Eds. ), Emotion: Theory, research, and experience (pp. 3–33). San Diego, CA: Academic. Rutter, M. (1987). Temperament, personality and personality disorder. British Journal of Psychiatry, 150, 443–458. Tyrer, Peter. (2001). Personality disorder. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 179, 81-84. Retrieved on April 9, 2010 from http://bjp. rcpsych. org/cgi/content/full/179/1/81 Watson, David, Clark, Lee Anna, Chmielewski, Michael. (2008). Structures of Personality and Their Relevance to Psychopathology: II. Further Articulation of a Comprehensive Unified Trait Structure. Journal of Personality, 76(6), 1545-1586. EBSCO Database: Academic Search Premier. Vernon, P. E. (1964). Personality assessment: A critical survey. London: Methuen. Wakefield, J. C. (1992). Disorder as harmful dysfunction: A conceptual critique of DSM-III-R’s definition of mental disorder. Psychological Review, 99, 232–247. Widiger, T. A. , & Sankis, L. M. (2000). Adult psychopathology: Issues and controversies. Annual Review of Psychology, 51, 377–404. Widiger, T. A. , & Trull, T. J. (1991). Diagnosis and clinical assessment. Annual Review of

Downsizing: the Financial and Human Implications Essay

This essay examines the effects of downsizing with regard to the human and financial implications. Since the mid to late 1980s, downsizing has â€Å"transformed the corporate landscape and changed the lives of hundreds of millions of individuals around the world† (Gandolfi, 2008, p. 3). For the purposes of this essay, downsizing is defined as the planned elimination of jobs, involving redundancies, and is designed to improve financial performance (Macky, 2004). It will be argued that while downsizing can be an effective strategy, it frequently does not improve financial health, and the human implications can be severe and costly. This essay will discuss: first, downsizing definitions; second, motivation for downsizing; third, a brief history of downsizing; fourth, approaches the implementation of downsizing; fifth, the human implications; sixth, the financial consequences; and, seventh, the reasons for the continued use of downsizing. There are differing perspectives regarding the downsizing phenomenon. At the most simple level, the strategy involves a planned contraction of the number of employees in an organisation (Cascio, 1993). For example, Macky (2004) describes downsizing as â€Å"an intentional reduction by management of a firm’s internal labour force using redundancies† (p. 2). However, other definitions encompass a wider range of implementation methods. Cameron (1994) defines downsizing as â€Å"a set of activities, undertaken on the part of the management of an organisation and designed to improve organisational efficiency, productivity, and/or competitiveness† (p. 192). These activities include hiring freezes, salary reductions, voluntary sabbaticals, exit incentives and reducing hours worked by employees. This essay will focus solely on the downsizing activity of redundancies. Various synonyms exist for downsizing, including resizing, rightsizing, smartsizing, restructuring, redundancies and reduction-in-force (Gandolfi, 2010; Macky, 2004). The main motivation for downsizing, at least for private companies, is to improve an organisation’s financial performance, which is also known as profit maximisation (Kammeyer, Liao & Avery, 2001). The factors contributing to downsizing decisions are complex and depend on company-specific, industry-specific and macroeconomic factors (Macky, 2004). In hard times, downsizing is a strategy that may be employed as a quick-fix, reactive response to compensate for reduced profit by reducing human related operational costs (Kowske, Lundby & Rasch, 2009; Ryan & Macky, 1998). In healthy times, the workforce may be reduced as part of a proactive human resource strategy to create a ‘lean and mean’ organisation (Chadwick, Hunter & Watson, 2004; Kowske et al. , 2009). An overwhelming body of academic research suggests that downsizing has surprisingly little success in increasing profitability and shareholder value, even though financial performance is its main intention (Cascio, 2002; De Meuse, Bergmann, Vanderheiden & Roraff, 2004; Lewin & Johnston, 2000). Despite the limited financial success of downsizing, it has remained a popular strategic tool with its use spanning the last three decades. Prior to the 1980s, downsizing was engaged primarily as a last resort, reactive response to changing manufacturing demands. It affected mostly blue-collar, semi-skilled employees (Littler, 1997). In contrast, since the 1980s, workforce reduction has become a leading strategy of choice, affecting employees at all levels, all around the globe (Mirabal & DeYoung, 2005, as cited in Gandolfi, 2008), within a wide variety of organisations encompassing all industries (Littler, 1998; Macky, 2004). Karake-Shalhoub (1999) suggests that downsizing has been the most significant business change of the 1980s. Downsizing increased in popularity during the 1990s, which has subsequently been described as the ‘downsizing decade’ (Dolan, Belout & Balkin, 2000). It has evolved from a reactive strategy in the 1980s, to become used as a proactive strategy. During the 1990s, large scale redundancy programs were viewed as the solution to the issues facing organisations such as AT&T, IBM, General Motors and British Telecom (Kinnie, Hutchinson & Purcell, 1998). The statistics are sobering, Cameron (1994) reported that 85% of Fortune 500 companies were downsized between 1989 and 1994, and 100% were planning to do so within the next five years. Furthermore, figures from the most recent global financial crisis demonstrate that downsizing remains a tool of choice. Rampell (2009) reported in the New York Times that 4. 4 million jobs, in the U. S. alone, were retrenched between September 2007 and March 2009. Two main approaches to the implementation of downsizing are currently employed. The first approach is popularly termed stealth layoffs and the second is referred to as non-selective layoffs (Gandolfi, 2009). Organisations have commonly employed both stealth layoffs and non-selective layoffs during the recent global financial crisis. Stealth layoffs involve an attempt to keep redundancies out of media attention, by making a series of small cuts rather than one large cut. Companies endeavour to save their public reputation from being tainted by their downsizing activities. Managers are not allowed to openly discuss redundancies and a blanket of secrecy is placed over all proceedings, employees are not informed of timing or extent of redundancies (Crosman, 2006). Mc Gregor (2008) reported a wave of people slowly trickling out of organisations. Citigroup provides one example of stealth downsizing. Story & Dash (2008) reported that in April 2007 the company announced elimination of 17,000 jobs. Then in January 2008 Citigroup announced a further 4,200 job cuts, followed by an additional 8,700 in April 2008 (Story & Dash, 2008). Non-selective downsizing involves mass redundancies, across all levels of an organisation. This is problematic because firms are at risk of losing their top performers who are difficult to replace. These are the people that will be required to drive future growth of the firm following the downsizing event. There is plenty of evidence of non-selective downsizing over the current global recession, for instance the finance industry has been deeply affected with U. S. anks making cuts of 65,000 employees between June 2007 and June 2008 (Story & Dash, 2008). Regarding the human implications of downsizing, the literature identifies three groups of people directly affected: the victims, the survivors, and the executioners. Academic studies refer to the victims of downsizing as the individuals who have been involuntarily removed from their positions (Casio, 1993; Dolan et al. , 2000; Gandolfi, 2008; Macky, 2004). The negative effects on victims of downsizing events can be devastating (Havlovick, Bouthillette & van der Wal, 1998). Previously, being well trained was sufficient to ensure a life-long job. However, the increasing competitiveness of the business environment has meant that recent layoffs have included higher paid white-collar workers, many of whom are at the peak of their careers. Victims are affected initially during the planning phase of the downsizing, then immediately following the redundancy announcement, and then in their subsequent employment. During the planning phase of downsizing, the threat of redundancies can subject employees to a number of emotional stresses. The stresses do not only embrace the immediate threat of redundancies, but also the prospect of demotion, and redundancies in the ong term. Evidence suggests that, as expected, such stresses have negative psychological impacts. For example, Catalano, Rook and Dooley (1986) in their interviews of 3,850 principle-wage earners in Los Angeles, found that that a decrease in job security increased the number of medical consultations for psychological distress. Likewise, Roskies and Louis-Guerin (1990) found in their survey of 1,291 Canadian managers, that managers who were insecure about their jobs showed poorer health than those who were secure, and the manager’s level of distress rose proportionally with their degree of insecurity. Following the redundancy announcement, there is strong evidence that victims suffer from adverse effects as a result of their job losses. These adverse effects include psychological stress, ill health, family problems, marital problems, helplessness, reduced self esteem, anxiety, depression, psychiatric morbidity, and feelings of social isolation (Greenglass & Burke, 2001). In particular, the affected individuals suffer from the loss of established social relationships and threats to their social identity (Macky, 2004). Greenglass and Burke (2001) also explain that the effects can vary greatly from person to person. The extent of personal damage is attributed to the individual’s resources of coping strategies, self-efficacy and social support. Evidence shows that the retrenched employees are able to respond in a more constructive manner depending on the extent to which they view the downsizing process as procedurally fair. Brokner, Konovsky, Cooper-Schneider, Folger, Martin and Bies (1994) found that employees remaining in their positions for up to three months after the announcement of their redundancy continued to exhibit positive work behaviours if the downsizing process was viewed as fair and transparent. There is evidence that subsequent employment opportunities are also affected by the victim’s previous redundancy experiences, including a change in their attitude towards the workplace. Macky (2004) provided evidence that the effects of redundancies flow onto the individual’s next position, resulting in decreased levels of commitment and loyalty. Dolan et al. (2000) also showed that there is some evidence that job loss created through redundancies may create lasting damage to the victim’s career. Similarly, Konovsky and Brockner (1993) found that individuals report a loss of earning power in their subsequent employment. On the other hand, Devine, Reay, Stainton and Collins–Nakai (2003), argue that victims who gain new employment have a greater sense of control and appear to be in a better position than those who were not retrenched. Noer (2009) suggests that negative impacts on victims are lessened by the various support packages for displaced employees that are paid for by the organisation, such as redundancy payments, career counselling and out-placement service. The second group of employees affected by downsizing are the survivors. The survivors are the employees who have remained with the firm after the redundancies have taken place (Littler, 1998). The survivors are important to the firm because they play a pivotal role in the effectiveness of the downsizing operation and the ongoing success of the organisation. The expertise and motivation of survivors is required to keep the firm moving forward following redundancies. However, surviving employees are left with increased pressures. These pressures include: larger workloads (Dolan at al. 2000), because survivors must take on the work of retrenched employees; as well as new and increased job responsibilities (Lewin & Johnston, 2000), as a result of key skills leaving the organisation. In addition to the increased work pressures, survivors must deal with profound and negative psychological responses. Gandolfi (2008) identifies three sets of the emotions, behaviours and attitudes exhibited b y surviving employees, which are commonly termed ‘sicknesses’ in literature (Applebaum, Delage, Labibb & Gault, 1997; Kowske at al. , 2009). The emergence of these sicknesses following a downsizing event is referred to as the ‘aftermath’ (Clark & Koonce, 1995) or the ‘downside’ (Cascio, 1993) of downsizing. The sicknesses identified are: survivor syndrome, survivor guilt and survivor envy. Kinnie et al. (1998) characterises survivor syndrome as encompassing a variety of psychological states in survivors, including heightened levels of stress, absenteeism and distrust, and as well as decreased levels of productivity, morale and work quality. Cascio (2002) portrays survivor syndrome in a similar way to Kinnie et al. 1998), showing decreased: levels of employee involvement, morale, work productivity and trust towards management. These mental states have a strong influence on the survivor’s work behaviour and attitudes, such as motivation, commitment, satisfaction and job performance (Applebaum et al. , 1997; Littler, Dunford, Bramble & Hede, 1997). The second sickness, survivor guilt, is a fe eling of responsibility or remorse as employees contemplate why their colleagues were retrenched instead of themselves. It is frequently expressed as fear, anger and depression (Noer, 2009). Survivor guilt can be particularly prevalent when survivors perceive that their work performance was no better than that of the downsized victims (Littler et al. , 1997). In this case, employees can reason that there is no benefit in performing if performance is not a criterion for job survival (Appelbaum, et al. , 1997). Appelbaum and colleagues argue that survivor guilt is heavily influenced by the manner in which the downsizing is perceived to be performed and the fairness of the decision making processes. Survivors of downsizing can also be plagued by a third sickness, survivor envy. This reflects the survivors’ envy of the victims in terms of presumed retirement packages, financially lucrative incentives, and new jobs with more attractive compensation (Kinnie et al. , 1998). For example, employees may feel that their retrenched ex-colleagues received redundancy pay outs; and have found new jobs they like, while the surviving employee must work twice as hard, and moreover, for the same pay. Kammeyer-Meuller, Liao and Avery (2001) hypothesise that survivors envy is dependent on the closeness of the relationship with the survivor. Brokner (1987) found that when survivors have little proximity to the victims, increases in redundancy payouts result in decreased self-reported performance. On the other hand, the study shows when survivors identify with the victims, increases in redundancy payouts increased self reported performance. Despite the stresses facing survivors, research shows that the needs of the survivors are frequently neglected by downsized firms (Applebaum et al. , 1997; Devine et al. , 2003; Gandolfi, 2006). According to Applebaum et al. 1997), the negative effects on the survivors are under-estimated and organisations fail to take into account the difficulties of motivating a surviving workforce that is emotionally damaged because it has watched others lose their jobs. It is important for organisations to pay more attention to the survivors in order to support their financial health. Carswell (2002), in a New Zealand empirical study, established that the companies that based redundancy on fair pra ctices, and provided better out-placement for the victims, performed better financially than those that did not use such procedures. Kowske et al. (2009) reviewed survivor engagement during the 2007-2009 global financial crisis and provided further valuable insights. Using the Keneya’s Employment Engagement Index and a sample size of 9,998 U. S. employees, it was determined that employee engagement was significantly lower if redundancies had occurred within the previous 12 months. Kowske et al. (2009) found that although organisations were able to cut human resource costs, they are more likely to have a portion of their workforce disengaged – fertile ground for the symptoms that accompany survivor sickness. An example of a lack of insight regarding survivor sickness was demonstrated in the downsizing of the Deloitte (New Zealand) Enterprise Risk Management Team, in May 2008 (personal information). The first problem was that just two weeks prior to the redundancy announcement, a statement was made by one of the partners to the team, stating that no-one should be concerned about their jobs. Another problem was that the downsizing process was not transparent and no employee below partner level was involved in the consultation. Not only wew the staff made redundant effected, but also the surviving employees who exhibited traditional symptoms of survivor sicknesses: feelings of distrust, anger and low moral due to their perceived unfairness of the decision process. The result of this survivor sickness was that, by the end of the following year, the entire senior management team had voluntarily left the firm, taking with them valuable skills and experience. Such attrition is consistent with Trevor and Nyberg’s (2008) findings that voluntary turnover rates increased within 24 months following the downsizing event. It is clear that management must pay more attention to survivors in order to minimise survivor syndromes. The literature highlights four key improvements to current downsizing methods, in order to minimize survivor syndromes. Firstly, a detailed strategy must be devised, this is because planning has been identified as a pivotal issue in the success of downsizing (Applebaum et al. , 1997; Gandolfi, 2008). The strategic plan should establish how the survivors will be taken care of during the downsizing process (Gandolfi, 2009). This includes giving survivors access to honest, timely and unbiased information (Dolan et al. , 2000) as well as access to counselling, support and help (Allen, 1997). Second, training must be improved as it is identified as key tool to combat survivor sickness (Dolan et al. , 2000; Farrell & Mavondo, 2004; Makawatsakul & Kleiner, 2003). The retrenched individuals often leave with key skills that must be taught to the surviving employees. Third, managers are recommended to communicate the long term business strategy to the surviving employees, n order to create a shared vision for the future of the firm (Cobb, Wooten & Folger, 1995). Last, fairness in the way the redundancies are selected and implemented including open communication lines are valuable to support trust within the organisation (Hopkins & Weathington, 2006). For example, retirement programs are viewed as more fair downsizing methods by survivors and lead to increased commitment (De Witt, Trevio & Mollica, 1998). Execut ioners are the group of survivors that form the third category of people affected by downsizing. Executioners are the individuals entrusted to plan, carry out and evaluate the downsizing (Gandolfi, 2009). Other synonyms for executioners include ‘downsizing agents’ (Clair & Dufresne, 2004) and ‘downsizers’ (Burke, 1998). The effects on such personnel are important because downsizers are commonly employees and managers, who can have a large impact on the success of the change. This is because the executioners have power to influence employees and power to employ tools and techniques to minimise harm. Although they are a category of survivors, the executioners experience differs to that of the survivors because of their heavy responsibilities, in executing the downsizing, managing relationships with the retrenched individuals as well as supporting the survivors. Gandolfi (2007) is one of the few academics to offer some insight around the experiences of the executioners using empirical research. Gandolfi interviewed 20 executioners from a major Australian trading bank and identified four key themes from their responses. The first was the very negative emotional responses and reactions from the executioners, including the difficulty and complexity the executioners had in selecting the downsizing victims. Second, Gandolfi also identified coping strategies, including the executioners distancing themselves from the task physically, cognitively and emotionally in order to preserve their own emotional well-being. In further research, it would be interesting to explore the relationship between the implementation of coping strategies and the effectiveness of the downsizing operation. Third, Gandolfi found that executioners with more experience reported a lesser degree of emotional distress. This is in line with Clair and Dufresne (2004) who suggest coping behaviours are learned with experience. Fourth, Gandolfi identified that the closeness of the relationship with the victims is also important in that the layoffs were more taxing when the executioner had developed personal ties with the victims. Another aspect of the executioner’s experience is their handling of the currently employed downsizing methods of stealth layoffs and across the board cuts. Executioners have reported that they are uncomfortable with the degree of secrecy involved with stealth downsizing (Gandolfi, 2009). For example, executioners have reported instances causing internal conflict when they have had to lie to employees (Gandolfi, 2009). In the case of across the board cuts, executioners often find it difficult of rationalize the unfairness of the choices and question their rights to be playing god with the individuals involved. The significant negative impacts on the executioners highlight the need for firms to provide adequate training and emotional support for the executioners (Gandolfi, 2009). Although more research is required in this area, it is apparent training should at least raise awareness of the range of emotions that executioners may experience, and include tools and techniques to cope with the emotions involved with carrying out the task. Clair and Dufrense (2004) suggest that throughout the process of downsizing, firms should make available to managers social forums, employee assistance programs and social support groups. The profound human consequences on the survivors and the executioners are interlinked with the financial consequences. Literature has identified that the human consequences of downsizing play a large role in the financial success of the downsizing operation (Carswell, 2002; Devine et al. , 2003; Gadolfi, 2008). The financial success of the strategy is particularly important to shareholders and to external bodies such as suppliers, distributers and allied organisations (Kammeyer-Mueller, 2001). A large and growing body of literature has investigated and measured the financial success of carrying out downsizing, and found that most organisations do not improve their financial performance after downsizing (Applebaum, et al. 1997; Cascio, Young & Morris, 1997; De Meuse et al. , 2004). The research around financial performance following a downsizing event focuses on tangible measurements of financial performance, such as examining changes in profit, share price and return on investment, before and after the downsizing event. However, it is noted that some companies do improve their financial performance by using downsizing as a strategy. Griggs and Hyland (2003) surveyed 1,005 U. S. organisations and found that of the respondents, 46% of companies able to decrease costs, 33% were able to ncrease profitability and 21% were able to report satisfactory improvements on return on investment. Only 46% of firms reduced costs due to poor planning, and this was because, in four times out of five, managers ended up replacing the very positions they made redundant (Griggs & Hyland, 2003). Wayhan and Werner’s (2000) findings contradict most downsizing research, in their examination of the largest 250 U. S. companies which had reduced their workforce by at least three percent during the period 1991-1992. These researches measured changes in stock prices and they showed that, in the short term, downsized companies significantly financially outperformed companies that did not downsize. However, it should be noted that Wayhan and Werner’s (2000) study uses a different technique, in that they treat time as a moderator of the affects. The rationale behind this is that other influences on the firm’s stock price will become more important than the influence of the downsizing event, as the time from the downsizing event increases. When Wayhan and Werner’s study was repeated using typical techniques (not using time as a moderator), the results were more in line with other research, showing small decreases in relevant financial measures. Sahdev (2003), Zyglidopoulos (2003) and Macky (2004) are among numerous researches showing that while a small number of organisations have reported improved financial performance, the majority were unable to account improved levels of effectiveness, productivity, efficiency and profitability in the short term. A typical example is Cascio, Young and Morris’s (1997) study of 537 companies listed on the S&P 500 between 1980 and 1994. After comparing average companies in the same industry, and controlling for firm effects, they discovered no evidence that downsized firms could subsequently increase profits or share price over a period of two years subsequent to the downsizing event. This is in line with evidence from New Zealand (Carswell, 2002). Furthermore, Cascio et al. (1997) found that downsized firms were outperformed in the short term by those companies that increased their workforce and also companies with stable employment. This study was limited by focusing only on extreme reductions of 10% or more. The long-term implications of downsizing on financial performance were investigated by De Meuse et al. (2004) in a more recent U. S. study. Using U. S. Fortune 500 companies, De Meuse and colleagues look at a period of nine years following the redundancy announcement, from 1989 to 1998. De Meuse et al. found that in the first two years following the announcement the financial performance of the firm’s decreased, in line with Cascio et at. (1997). However, at the beginning of three years after the downsizing announcement, De Meuse et al. found no significant underperformance of the downsized firms. Unfortunately, most studies provide little empirical evidence regarding why in some cases downsizing produces positive financial results, and in other cases it does not. This is because downsizing tends to be treated as a binary variable in research, that is, firms either downsize or they do not (Kammeyer-Muller, Liao & Arvey, 2001). However, it is apparent that not all downsizing efforts are the same. The following factors are likely to have an effect on the financial performance of the firm subsequent post-downsizing announcement: the type of reduction strategy employed (for example, across the board cuts, stealth layoffs, or more gradual procedures); the persistence of survivor syndromes; the logistics of downsizing (for example the size and frequency); and, the reasons behind the decision to downsizing. The lack of research in this area provides opportunities for researchers to further explore the downsizing phenomenon. The prevalence of evidence surrounding impaired financial performance following downsizing events introduces a paradox: why is the practice continuing to be engaged despite its lack of success? Cynics suggest that downsizing can be carried out in order to boost the egos of top managers at the expense of the organisation (e. g. Anderson & Cavanagh, 1994; Budros, 1999). Other explanations include the tendency of management to inaccurately anticipate costs involved. Downsizing generates direct and indirect costs, and it is the hidden (indirect) costs that are frequently underestimated by management (Gandolfi, 2008). Direct costs are less complicated to estimate and include severance pay, accrued holiday pay and administrative processing costs. Hidden costs include recruitment and employment costs of new hires, costs of replacing staff with expensive consultants, lost sales due to insufficient staffing, training and retraining, and costs of reduced productivity as a result of survivor syndromes (Cascio, 1993). For example Gandolfi (2001) reported that a European company (unnamed for privacy reasons) incurred an increase of 40% in recruitment, and a 30% increase in training and development costs for new employees, following its controversial downsizing. In order for downsizing to be engaged as an effective strategic tool, it is clear that the benefits of reducing staff must outweigh all the costs. It has become clear that management must consider very carefully whether downsizing is appropriate for their firm, and they need to pay careful attention to the hidden costs. According to Allen (1997) the key to successful downsizing is to focus on the people who make up the organisation. Literature has provided management with guidelines to minimise costs and harm. For the survivors, this includes minimising survivor symptoms through planning of the downsizing operation, training of the surviving staff, and using open communication and fairness in carrying out the redundancies. For the executioners this includes providing them with training. This essay has identified and discussed the effects of downsizing with regard to both the human and financial implications. It has been demonstrated that the human implications of downsizing can be sever and downsizing frequently fails at meeting its objectives of improving financial performance. First, the profound negative consequences of downsizing on the victims, the survivors and the executioners have been outlined. Next, the empirical evidence concerning the financial consequences has been summarised. Gaps have been identified in downsizing literature. Two areas of downsizing that could well be further explored include the experience of the executioners and the characteristics of downsizing operations that result in successful financial outcomes. The recent prevalence of downsizing activities over the latest financial crisis suggests that downsizing is a phenomenon worth exploring into the future.