Intercultural Communication in the Workforce - 1292 Words

Intercultural Communication in the Workforce Today’s organizations are doing business more and more in a global context. The people that count in any business from the suppliers to clients to employees are increasingly based in remote locations in foreign countries. The need for effective and clear intercultural communication is becoming vital in securing success in today’s global workplace. Managers of global corporations need to understand the role of intercultural communication competence in achieving cohesiveness in diverse environments of global business teams. Whether delivering a presentation, negotiating with a supplier, or providing assistance to a client, intercultural communication must be done right. The US labor force is†¦show more content†¦Knowing whether a culture is either high or low context can also create more effective communication among cultures. Because of the advancements in technology, people are having more and more contact with individuals from around the world. Understanding the meaning of high and low-context is of course important, not only in traveling, vacationing, and touring the world, but is even more important with the increase in diplomatic and business relationships that countries are developing with each other around the world. For example, in a business setting this is extremely important if an individual is giving a presentation to another country. If the presentation is given by a low-context group to a high-context group, the high context members may feel as though there is way too much information being given, and the presenter should just get to the point. The opposite can be said when high-context individuals present to a low-context gr oup, there may be a feeling of ambiguity or vagueness because everything was not spelled out precisely during the presentation. These ideas can help support our ability to appreciate others and be understood. Most companies attempt toShow MoreRelatedThe World s Largest Rate Of Migrant Workforce1075 Words   |  5 Pagespopulation so diverse and unique has become not only a challenge but a priority. The future stability and prosperity of Dubai rests on how and what the authorities will react in the years to come. The UAE with the world’s largest rate of migrant workforce continues to show upward trend with workers from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Indonesia, Australia, USA, Europe and others. Along with the migration there is the mingling of different cultures. The different languages, ethnic backgroundsRead MoreDiversity Within The Workplace And How Communication Is The Driving Force Behind It Essay1463 Words   |  6 PagesDiversity in the workplace and how communication is the driving force behind it. 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(Johnson 2012) Intercultural communicationRead MoreCase Study : Hotel, A Boutique Hotel Owned And Managed By The Fasano Family Essay1402 Words   |  6 Pagesdepartment be able to create a strategic plan to open a new hotel in Vancouver, a SWOT analysis was made and the findings are displayed bellow. Figure 1. External Analysis Opportunities Threats †¢ Industry growth †¢ Immigrants workforce - In Canada, 27% of tourism and hospitality workforce are immigrants (Statistics Canada, 2016). †¢ Oil price - Because the oil price is decreasing, air companies can reduce their flight tickets price leading to more travelers. †¢ Location - Vancouver is closer to the East AsiaRead MoreEssay about Report on Cross-Cultural Management1127 Words   |  5 Pagescross-cultural management reveal that the culture is a very expansive subject for organizations to study, especially for organizations, which hire the most diverse workforce. 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Racism Is The Belief That Characteristics And Abilities...

Danieh Shehadeh Professor Falloon ENGWR 101 July 2, 2015 Racism in America Today Racism is the belief that characteristics and abilities can be attributed to people simply on the basis of their race and that some racial groups are superior to others. Racism leads to discrimination and prejudice towards minorities which leads to a lot of hate crime. Many people that have not had any racist remarks told to them would argue racism doesn t exist anymore. Sadly, this is not true. Racism today might not be as bad as it was decades ago, but it has recently been a big problem today. People that say racism doesn t exist anymore are the ones who don t have to deal with racism. With what I have seen and experienced myself, racism is still a prime issue all over the world but especially in America now. Recently many problems have occurred were people would say racism is still a problem in America today. There has been many incidents of racial profiling and police brutality, where police have shot and killed many young african american males. A lot will argue that the police are just doing their job and a lot will argue that the killing of unarmed African American men is because of the color of their skin and is considered racism. 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The Golden Compass Chapter Thirteen Free Essays

string(55) " to find the bear’s face a few inches from hers\." Chapter Thirteen Fencing Her first impulse was to turn and run, or to be sick. A human being with no daemon was like someone without a face, or with their ribs laid open and their heart torn out: something unnatural and uncanny that belonged to the world of night-ghasts, not the waking world of sense. So Lyra clung to Pantalaimon and her head swam and her gorge rose, and cold as the night was, a sickly sweat moistened her flesh with something colder still. We will write a custom essay sample on The Golden Compass Chapter Thirteen or any similar topic only for you Order Now â€Å"Ratter,† said the boy. â€Å"You got my Ratter?† Lyra was in no doubt what he meant. â€Å"No,† she said in a voice as frail and frightened as she felt. Then, â€Å"What’s your name?† â€Å"Tony Makarios,† he said. â€Å"Where’s Ratter?† â€Å"I don’t know†¦Ã¢â‚¬  she began, and swallowed hard to govern her nausea. â€Å"The Gobblers†¦Ã¢â‚¬  But she couldn’t finish. She had to go out of the shed and sit down by herself in the snow, except that of course she wasn’t by herself, she was never by herself, because Pantalaimon was always there. Oh, to be cut from him as this little boy had been parted from his Ratter! The worst thing in the world! She found herself sobbing, and Pantalaimon was whimpering too, and in both of them there was a passionate pity and sorrow for the half-boy. Then she got to her feet again. â€Å"Come on,† she called in a trembling voice. â€Å"Tony, come out. We’re going to take you somewhere safe.† There was a stir of movement in the fish house, and he appeared at the door, still clutching his dried fish. He was dressed in warm enough garments, a thickly padded and quilted coal-silk anorak and fur boots, but they had a secondhand look and didn’t fit well. In the wider light outside that came from the faint trails of the Aurora and the snow-covered ground he looked more lost and piteous even than he had at first, crouching in the lantern light by the fish racks. The villager who’d brought the lantern had retreated a few yards, and called down to them. lorek Byrnison interpreted: â€Å"He says you must pay for that fish.† Lyra felt like telling the bear to kill him, but she said, â€Å"We’re taking the child away for them. They can afford to give one fish to pay for that.† The bear spoke. The man muttered, but didn’t argue. Lyra set his lantern down in the snow and took the half-boy’s hand to guide him to the bear. He came helplessly, showing no surprise and no fear at the great white beast standing so close, and when Lyra helped him to sit on lorek’s back, all he said was: â€Å"I dunno where my Ratter is.† â€Å"No, nor do we, Tony,† she said. â€Å"But we’ll†¦we’ll punish the Gobblers. We’ll do that, I promise. lorek, is it all right if I sit up there too?† â€Å"My armor weighs far more than children,† he said. So she scrambled up behind Tony and made him cling to the long stiff fur, and Pantalaimon sat inside her hood, warm and close and full of pity. Lyra knew that Pantalaimon’s impulse was to reach out and cuddle the little half-child, to lick him and gentle him and warm him as his own daemon would have done; but the great taboo prevented that, of course. They rose through the village and up toward the ridge, and the villagers’ faces were open with horror and a kind of fearful relief at seeing that hideously mutilated creature taken away by a girl and a great white bear. In Lyra’s heart, revulsion struggled with compassion, and compassion won. She put her arms around the skinny little form to hold him safe. The journey back to the main party was colder, and harder, and darker, but it seemed to pass more quickly for all that. lorek Byrnison was tireless, and Lyra’s riding became automatic, so that she was never in danger of falling off. The cold body in her arms was so light that in one way he was easy to manage, but he was inert; he sat stiffly without moving as the bear moved, so in another way he was difficult too. From time to time the half-boy spoke. â€Å"What’s that you said?† asked Lyra. â€Å"I says is she gonna know where I am?† â€Å"Yeah, she’ll know, she’ll find you and we’ll find her. Hold on tight now, Tony. It en’t far from here†¦.† The bear loped onward. Lyra had no idea how tired she was until they caught up with the gyptians. The sledges had stopped to rest the dogs, and suddenly there they all were, Farder Coram, Lord Faa, Lee Scoresby, all lunging forward to help and then falling back silent as they saw the other figure with Lyra. She was so stiff that she couldn’t even loosen her arms around his body, and John Faa himself had to pull them gently open and lift her off. â€Å"Gracious God, what is this?† he said. â€Å"Lyra, child, what have you found?† â€Å"He’s called Tony,† she mumbled through frozen lips. â€Å"And they cut his daemon away. That’s what the Gobblers do.† The men held back, fearful; but the bear spoke, to Lyra’s weary amazement, chiding them. â€Å"Shame on you! Think what this child has done! You might not have more courage, but you should be ashamed to show less.† â€Å"You’re right, lorek Byrnison,† said John Faa, and turned to give orders. â€Å"Build that fire up and heat some soup for the child. For both children. Farder Coram, is your shelter rigged?† â€Å"It is, John. Bring her over and we’ll get her warm†¦.† â€Å"And the little boy,† said someone else. â€Å"He can eat and get warm, even if†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Lyra was trying to tell John Faa about the witches, but they were all so busy, and she was so tired. After a confusing few minutes full of lantern light, woodsmoke, figures hurrying to and fro, she felt a gentle nip on her ear from Pantalaimon’s ermine teeth, and woke to find the bear’s face a few inches from hers. You read "The Golden Compass Chapter Thirteen" in category "Essay examples" â€Å"The witches,† Pantalaimon whispered. â€Å"I called lorek.† â€Å"Oh yeah,† she mumbled. â€Å"lorek, thank you for taking me there and back. I might not remember to tell Lord Faa about the witches, so you better do that instead of me.† She heard the bear agree, and then she fell asleep properly. When she woke up, it was as close to daylight as it was ever going to get. The sky was pale in the southeast, and the air was suffused with a gray mist, through which the gyptians moved like bulky ghosts, loading sledges and harnessing dogs to the traces. She saw it all from the shelter on Farder Coram’s sledge, inside which she lay under a heap of furs. Pantalaimon was fully awake before she was, trying the shape of an arctic fox before reverting to his favorite ermine. lorek Byrnison was asleep in the snow nearby, his head on his great paws; but Farder Coram was up and busy, and as soon as he saw Pantalaimon emerge, he limped across to wake Lyra properly. She saw him coming, and sat up to speak. â€Å"Farder Coram, I know what it was that I couldn’t understand! The alethiometer kept saying bird and not, and that didn’t make sense, because it meant no daemon and I didn’t see how it could be†¦.What is it?† â€Å"Lyra, I’m afraid to tell you this after what you done, but that little boy died an hour ago. He couldn’t settle, he couldn’t stay in one place; he kept asking after his daemon, where she was, was she a coming soon, and all; and he kept such a tight hold on that bare old piece of fish as if†¦Oh, I can’t speak of it, child; but he closed his eyes finally and fell still, and that was the first time he looked peaceful, for he was like any other dead person then, with their daemon gone in the course of nature. They’ve been a trying to dig a grave for him, but the earth’s bound like iron. So John Faa ordered a fire built, and they’re a going to cremate him, so as not to have him despoiled by carrion eaters. â€Å"Child, you did a brave thing and a good thing, and I’m proud of you. Now we know what terrible wickedness those people are capable of, we can see our duty plainer than ever. What you must do is rest and eat, because you fell asleep too soon to restore yourself last night, and you have to eat in these temperatures to stop yourself getting weak†¦.† He was fussing around, tucking the furs into place, tightening the tension rope across the body of the sledge, running the traces through his hands to untangle them. â€Å"Farder Coram, where is the little boy now? Have they burned him yet?† â€Å"No, Lyra, he’s a lying back there.† â€Å"I want to go and see him.† He couldn’t refuse her that, for she’d seen worse than a dead body, and it might calm her. So with Pantalaimon as a white hare bounding delicately at her side, she trudged along the line of sledges to where some men were piling brushwood. The boy’s body lay under a checkered blanket beside the path. She knelt and lifted the blanket in her mittened hands. One man was about to stop her, but the others shook their heads. Pantalaimon crept close as Lyra looked down on the poor wasted face. She slipped her hand out of the mitten and touched his eyes. They were marble-cold, and Farder Coram had been right; poor little Tony Makarios was no different from any other human whose daemon had departed in death. Oh, if they took Pantalaimon from her! She swept him up and hugged him as if she meant to press him right into her heart. And all little Tony had was his pitiful piece offish†¦. Where was it? She pulled the blanket down. It was gone. She was on her feet in a moment, and her eyes flashed fury at the men nearby. â€Å"Where’s his fish?† They stopped, puzzled, unsure what she meant; though some of their daemons knew, and looked at one another. One of the men began to grin uncertainly. â€Å"Don’t you dare laugh! I’ll tear your lungs out if you laugh at him! That’s all he had to cling onto, just an old dried fish, that’s all he had for a daemon to love and be kind to! Who’s took it from him? Where’s it gone?† Pantalaimon was a snarling snow leopard, just like Lord Asriel’s daemon, but she didn’t see that; all she saw was right and wrong. â€Å"Easy, Lyra,† said one man. â€Å"Easy, child.† â€Å"Who’s took it?† she flared again, and the gyptian took a step back from her passionate fury. â€Å"I didn’t know,† said another man apologetically. â€Å"I thought it was just what he’d been eating. I took it out his hand because I thought it was more respectful. That’s all, Lyra.† â€Å"Then where is it?† The man said uneasily, â€Å"Not thinking he had a need for it, I gave it to my dogs. I do beg your pardon.† â€Å"It en’t my pardon you need, it’s his,† she said, and turned at once to kneel again, and laid her hand on the dead child’s icy cheek. Then an idea came to her, and she fumbled inside her furs. The cold air struck through as she opened her anorak, but in a few seconds she had what she wanted, and took a gold coin from her purse before wrapping herself close again. â€Å"I want to borrow your knife,† she said to the man who’d taken the fish, and when he’d let her have it, she said to Pantalaimon: â€Å"What was her name?† He understood, of course, and said, â€Å"Ratter.† She held the coin tight in her left mittened hand and, holding the knife like a pencil, scratched the lost daemon’s name deeply into the gold. â€Å"I hope that’ll do, if I provide for you like a Jordan Scholar,† she whispered to the dead boy, and forced his teeth apart to slip the coin into his mouth. It was hard, but she managed it, and managed to close his jaw again. Then she gave the man back his knife and turned in the morning twilight to go back to Farder Coram. He gave her a mug of soup straight off the fire, and she sipped it greedily. â€Å"What we going to do about them witches, Farder Coram?† she said. â€Å"I wonder if your witch was one of them.† â€Å"My witch? I wouldn’t presume that far, Lyra. They might be going anywhere. There’s all kinds of concerns that play on the life of witches, things invisible to us: mysterious sicknesses they fall prey to, which we’d shrug off; causes of war quite beyond our understanding; joys and sorrows bound up with the flowering of tiny plants up on the tundra†¦.But I wish I’d seen them a flying, Lyra. I wish I’d been able to see a sight like that. Now drink up all that soup. D’you want some more? There’s some pan-bread a cooking too. Eat up, child, because we’re on our way soon.† The food revived Lyra, and presently the chill at her soul began to melt. With the others, she went to watch the little half-child laid on his funeral pyre, and bowed her head and closed her eyes for John Faa’s prayers; and then the men sprinkled coal spirit and set matches to it, and it was blazing in a moment. Once they were sure he was safely burned, they set off to travel again. It was a ghostly journey. Snow began to fall early on, and soon the world was reduced to the gray shadows of the dogs ahead, the lurching and creaking of the sledge, the biting cold, and a swirling sea of big flakes only just darker than the sky and only just lighter than the ground. Through it all the dogs continued to run, tails high, breath puffing steam. North and further north they ran, while the pallid noontide came and went and the twilight wrapped itself again around the world. They stopped to eat and drink and rest in a fold of the hills, and to get their bearings, and while John Faa talked to Lee Scoresby about the way they might best use the balloon, Lyra thought of the spy-fly; and she asked Farder Coram what had happened to the smokeleaf tin he’d trapped it in. â€Å"I’ve got it tucked away tight,† he said. â€Å"It’s down in the bottom of that kit bag, but there’s nothing to see; I soldered it shut on board ship, like I said I would. I don’t know what we’re a going to do with it, to tell you the truth; maybe we could drop it down a fire mine, maybe that would settle it. But you needn’t worry, Lyra. While I’ve got it, you’re safe.† The first chance she had, she plunged her arm down into the stiffly frosted canvas of the kit bag and brought up the little tin. She could feel the buzz it was making before she touched it. While Farder Coram was talking to the other leaders, she took the tin to lorek Byrnison and explained her idea. It had come to her when she remembered his slicing so easily through the metal of the engine cover. He listened, and then took the lid of a biscuit tin and deftly folded it into a small flat cylinder. She marveled at the skill of his hands: unlike most bears, he and his kin had opposable thumb claws with which they could hold things still to work on them; and he had some innate sense of the strength and flexibility of metals which meant that he only had to lift it once or twice, flex it this way and that, and he could run a claw over it in a circle to score it for folding. He did this now, folding the sides in and in until they stood in a raised rim and then making a lid to fit it. At Lyra’s bidding he made two: one the same size as the original smokeleaf tin, and another just big enough to contain the tin itself and a quantity of hairs and bits of moss and lichen all packed down tight to smother the noise. When it was closed, it was the same size and shape as the alethiometer. When that was done, she sat next to lorek Byrnison as he gnawed a haunch of reindeer that was frozen as hard as wood. â€Å"lorek,† she said, â€Å"is it hard not having a daemon? Don’t you get lonely?† â€Å"Lonely?† he said. â€Å"I don’t know. They tell me this is cold. I don’t know what cold is, because I don’t freeze. So I don’t know what lonely means either. Bears are made to be solitary.† â€Å"What about the Svalbard bears?† she said. â€Å"There’s thousands of them, en’t there? That’s what I heard.† He said nothing, but ripped the joint in half with a sound like a splitting log. â€Å"Beg pardon, lorek,† she said. â€Å"I hope I en’t offended you. It’s just that I’m curious. See, I’m extra curious about the Svalbard bears because of my father.† â€Å"Who is your father?† â€Å"Lord Asriel. And they got him captive on Svalbard, you see. I think the Gobblers betrayed him and paid the bears to keep him in prison.† â€Å"I don’t know. I am not a Svalbard bear.† â€Å"I thought you was†¦.† â€Å"No. I was a Svalbard bear, but I am not now. I was sent away as a punishment because I killed another bear. So I was deprived of my rank and my wealth and my armor and sent out to live at the edge of the human world and fight when I could find employment at it, or work at brutal tasks and drown my memory in raw spirits.† â€Å"Why did you kill the other bear?† â€Å"Anger. There are ways among bears of turning away our anger with each other, but I was out of my own control. So I killed him and I was justly punished.† â€Å"And you were wealthy and high-ranking,† said Lyra, marveling. â€Å"Just like my father, lorek! That’s just the same with him after I was born. He killed someone too and they took all his wealth away. That was long before he got made a prisoner on Svalbard, though. I don’t know anything about Svalbard, except it’s in the farthest North†¦.Is it all covered in ice? Can you get there over the frozen sea?† â€Å"Not from this coast. The sea is sometimes frozen south of it, sometimes not. You would need a boat.† â€Å"Or a balloon, maybe.† â€Å"Or a balloon, yes, but then you would need the right wind.† He gnawed the reindeer haunch, and a wild notion flew into Lyra’s mind as she remembered all those witches in the night sky; but she said nothing about that. Instead she asked lorek Byrnison about Svalbard, and listened eagerly as he told her of the slow-crawling glaciers, of the rocks and ice floes where the bright-tusked walruses lay in groups of a hundred or more, of the seas teeming with seals, of narwhals clashing their long white tusks above the icy water, of the great grim iron-bound coast, the cliffs a thousand feet and more high where the foul cliff-ghasts perched and swooped, the coal pits and the fire mines where the bearsmiths hammered out mighty sheets of iron and riveted them into armor†¦ â€Å"If they took your armor away, lorek, where did you get this set from?† â€Å"I made it myself in Nova Zembla from sky metal. Until I did that, I was incomplete.† â€Å"So bears can make their own souls†¦Ã¢â‚¬  she said. There was a great deal in the world to know. â€Å"Who is the king of Svalbard?† she went on. â€Å"Do bears have a king?† â€Å"He is called lofur Raknison.† That name shook a little bell in Lyra’s mind. She’d heard it before, but where? And not in a bear’s voice, either, nor in a gyptian’s. The voice that had spoken it was a Scholar’s, precise and pedantic and lazily arrogant, very much a Jordan College voice. She tried it again in her mind. Oh, she knew it so well! And then she had it: the Retiring Room. The Scholars listening to Lord Asriel. It was the Palmerian Professor who had said something about lofur Raknison. He’d used the word panserbj0rne, which Lyra didn’t know, and she hadn’t known that lofur Raknison was a bear; but what was it he’d said? The king of Svalbard was vain, and he could be flattered. There was something else, if only she could remember it, but so much had happened since then†¦. â€Å"If your father is a prisoner of the Svalbard bears,† said lorek Byrnison, â€Å"he will not escape. There is no wood there to make a boat. On the other hand, if he is a nobleman, he will be treated fairly. They will give him a house to live in and a servant to wait on him, and food and fuel.† â€Å"Could the bears ever be defeated, lorek?† â€Å"No.† â€Å"Or tricked, maybe?† He stopped gnawing and looked at her directly. Then he said, â€Å"You will never defeat the armored bears. You have seen my armor; now look at my weapons.† He dropped the meat and held out his paws, palm upward, for her to look at. Each black pad was covered in horny skin an inch or more thick, and each of the claws was as long as Lyra’s hand at least, and as sharp as a knife. He let her run her hands over them wonderingly. â€Å"One blow will crush a seal’s skull,† he said. â€Å"Or break a man’s back, or tear off a limb. And I can bite. If you had not stopped me in Trollesund, I would have crushed that man’s head like an egg. So much for strength; now for trickery. You cannot trick a bear. You want to see proof? Take a stick and fence with me.† Eager to try, she snapped a stick off a snow-laden bush, trimmed all the side shoots off, and swished it from side to side like a rapier. lorek Byrnison sat back on his haunches and waited, forepaws in his lap. When she was ready, she faced him, but she didn’t like to stab at him because he looked so peaceable. So she flourished it, feinting to right and left, not intending to hit him at all, and he didn’t move. She did that several times, and not once did he move so much as an inch. Finally she decided to thrust at him directly, not hard, but just to touch the stick to his stomach. Instantly his paw reached forward and flicked the stick aside. Surprised, she tried again, with the same result. He moved far more quickly and surely than she did. She tried to hit him in earnest, wielding the stick like a fencer’s foil, and not once did it land on his body. He seemed to know what she intended before she did, and when she lunged at his head, the great paw swept the stick aside harmlessly, and when she feinted, he didn’t move at all. She became exasperated, and threw herself into a furious attack, jabbing and lashing and thrusting and stabbing, and never once did she get past those paws. They moved everywhere, precisely in time to parry, precisely at the right spot to block. Finally she was frightened, and stopped. She was sweating inside her furs, out of breath, exhausted, and the bear still sat impassive. If she had had a real sword with a murderous point, he would have been quite unharmed. â€Å"I bet you could catch bullets,† she said, and threw the stick away. â€Å"How do you do that?† â€Å"By not being human,† he said. â€Å"That’s why you could never trick a bear. We see tricks and deceit as plain as arms and legs. We can see in a way humans have forgotten. But you know about this; you can understand the symbol reader.† â€Å"That en’t the same, is it?† she said. She was more nervous of the bear now than when she had seen his anger. â€Å"It is the same,† he said. â€Å"Adults can’t read it, as I understand. As I am to human fighters, so you are to adults with the symbol reader.† â€Å"Yes, I suppose,† she said, puzzled and unwilling. â€Å"Does that mean I’ll forget how to do it when I grow up?† â€Å"Who knows? I have never seen a symbol reader, nor anyone who could read them. Perhaps you are different from others.† He dropped to all fours again and went on gnawing his meat. Lyra had unfastened her furs, but now the cold was striking in again and she had to do them up. All in all, it was a disquieting episode. She wanted to consult the alethiome-ter there and then, but it was too cold, and besides, they were calling for her because it was time to move on. She took the tin boxes that lorek Byrnison had made, put the empty one back into Farder Coram’s kit bag, and put the one with the spy-fly in it together with the alethiometer in the pouch at her waist. She was glad when they were moving again. The leaders had agreed with Lee Scoresby that when they reached the next stopping place, they would inflate his balloon and he would spy from the air. Naturally Lyra was eager to fly with him, and naturally it was forbidden; but she rode with him on the way there and pestered him with questions. â€Å"Mr. Scoresby, how would you fly to Svalbard?† â€Å"You’d need a dirigible with a gas engine, something like a zeppelin, or else a good south wind. But hell, I wouldn’t dare. Have you ever seen it? The bleakest barest most inhospitable godforsaken dead end of nowhere.† â€Å"I was just wondering, if lorek Bymison wanted to go back†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"He’d be killed. lorek’s in exile. As soon as he set foot there, they’d tear him to pieces.† â€Å"How do you inflate your balloon, Mr. Scoresby?† â€Å"Two ways. I can make hydrogen by pouring sulfuric acid onto iron filings. You catch the gas it gives off and gradually fill the balloon like that. The other way is to find a ground-gas vent near a fire mine. There’s a lot of gas under the ground here, and rock oil besides. I can make gas from rock oil, if I need to, and from coal as well; it’s not hard to make gas. But the quickest way is to use ground gas. A good vent will fill the balloon in an hour.† â€Å"How many people can you carry?† â€Å"Six, if I need to.† â€Å"Could you carry lorek Byrnison in his armor?† â€Å"I have done. I rescued him one time from the Tartars, when he was cut off and they were starving him out – that was in the Tunguska campaign; I flew in and took him off. Sounds easy, but hell, I had to calculate the weight of that old boy by guess-work. And then I had to bank on finding ground gas under the ice fort he’d made. But I could see what kind of ground it was from the air, and I reckoned we’d be safe in digging. See, to go down I have to let gas out of the balloon, and I can’t get airborne again without more. Anyway, we made it, armor and all.† â€Å"Mr. Scoresby, you know the Tartars make holes in people’s heads?† â€Å"Oh, sure. They’ve been doing that for thousands of years. In the Tunguska campaign we captured five Tartars alive, and three of them had holes in their skulls. One of them had two.† â€Å"They do it to each other?† â€Å"That’s right. First they cut partway around a circle of skin on the scalp, so they can lift up a flap and expose the bone. Then they cut a little circle of bone out of the skull, very carefully so they don’t penetrate the brain, and then they sew the scalp back over.† â€Å"I thought they did it to their enemies!† â€Å"Hell, no. It’s a great privilege. They do it so the gods can talk to them.† â€Å"Did you ever hear of an explorer called Stanislaus Grumman?† â€Å"Grumman? Sure. I met one of his team when I flew over the Yenisei River two years back. He was going to live among the Tartar tribes up that way. Matter of fact, I think he had that hole in the skull done. It was part of an initiation ceremony, but the man who told me didn’t know much about it.† â€Å"So†¦If he was like an honorary Tartar, they wouldn’t have killed him?† â€Å"Killed him? Is he dead then?† â€Å"Yeah. I saw his head,† Lyra said proudly. â€Å"My father found it. I saw it when he showed it to the Scholars at Jordan College in Oxford. They’d scalped it, and all.† â€Å"Who’d scalped it?† â€Å"Well, the Tartars, that’s what the Scholars thought†¦.But maybe it wasn’t.† â€Å"It might not have been Grumman’s head,† said Lee Scoresby. â€Å"Your father might have been misleading the Scholars.† â€Å"I suppose he might,† said Lyra thoughtfully. â€Å"He was asking them for money.† â€Å"And when they saw the head, they gave him the money?† â€Å"Yeah.† â€Å"Good trick to play. People are shocked when they see a thing like that; they don’t like to look too close.† â€Å"Especially Scholars,† said Lyra. â€Å"Well, you’d know better than I would. But if that was Grumman’s head, I’ll bet it wasn’t the Tartars who scalped him. They scalp their enemies, not their own, and he was a Tartar by adoption.† Lyra turned that over in her mind as they drove on. There were wide currents full of meaning flowing fast around her; the Gobblers and their cruelty, their fear of Dust, the city in the Aurora, her father in Svalbard, her mother†¦.And where was she? The alethiometer, the witches flying northward. And poor little Tony Makarios; and the clockwork spy-fly; and lorek Byrnison’s uncanny fencing†¦ She fell asleep. And every hour they drew closer to Bolvangar. How to cite The Golden Compass Chapter Thirteen, Essay examples

Doe Season Andy free essay sample

Doe Season: Andy # 8217 ; s Epiphany Essay, Research Paper The procedure of happening out who one is can be really disruptive and confusing. Through turning up one goes through so many different alterations in footings of one # 8217 ; s personality and make up ones minding who they are and what they want to be. The small miss in David Kaplan # 8217 ; s # 8220 ; Doe Season # 8221 ; goes through one of these alterations, as do many other striplings confused about who they are, and finds out that there are some facets of a individual # 8217 ; s individuality that can non be changed no affair how difficult he/she attempts. Andy is a nine-year-old miss who doesn # 8217 ; t want to turn up to be a adult female. When she negotiations of the sea and how she remembers her female parent loving it and how much she hated it is a hint that she prefers to be a # 8220 ; boy # 8221 ; . The sea is symbolic of muliebrity and the wood is symbolic of manhood. Andy expresses utmost antipathy for the sea and a wonder of the forests. She neer truly admits to wishing the forests but the manner she refers to it is ever as if she # 8217 ; s fascinated by it, but she doesn # 8217 ; t cognize much about it. Therefore, she must travel hunting as a trial to see if she belongs. To contrast how she feels about the sea and the wood, she refers to the wood as deep and huge, while she refers to the sea as immense and empty. Andy sees the adult male # 8217 ; s universe as a wonderful, intriguing universe while she sees the adult female # 8217 ; s universe as meaningless and empty. Andy sees the alterations into a adult female on the skyline and she is scared by these alterations because they are really confounding to her. This is why she seek # 8217 ; s to make man-type things such as runing. To farther confuse her, her male parent supports her nisus to be portion of the adult male # 8217 ; s universe. He refers to her as Andy even though her existent name is Andrea and takes her with him to make manfully things. The reader first gets a intimation of the fact that Andy is unable to be a member of the male fraternity when she expresses her disliking of Mac. Mac is representational of the typical male child in this narrative. Andy thinks that Mac is stupid and is annoyed by all of the buffooneries and badgering he submits her to. This is an extension of her muliebrity, even though she doesn # 8217 ; t rather grasp that fact. The following case where she feels out of topographic point in this # 8220 ; man-world # 8221 ; is, when at tiffin, they are discoursing about cervid. She makes the remark that she sees a cervid one time behind their house and Charlie Spoon tells her that was because it is non runing season. They so converse about how cervid know when and when it isn # 8217 ; t runing season and get down express joying about it. This whole conversation confuses Andy and makes her experience out of topographic point. Subsequently on, when they set up collapsible shelters, she has to kip in a collapsible shelter with Mac. The things that Mac negotiations to her about before they go to kip do her feel uncomfortable. First he asks her if she # 8217 ; s of all time seen someone’s â€Å"pecker† and that makes her experience uncomfortable. Mac so talks to her about gutting a cervid and it makes her believe about how it would experience if person did that to her. Two times during the narrative Andy sees cervid. One clip when she is garnering firewood and another when she takes a walk on her ain. The ground she is able to see these cervid is because the cervid don’t think she poses any menace. Due to her feminine nature, the cervid can state that she is a miss and don’t think she means to make them harm. This is what leads to Andy to finally recognizing that she doesn’t want to be portion of the male society. The last clip she sees a cervid she leads everyone to it. Her dad so talks her into hiting the cervid. When Andy’s father begins to gut the cervid Andy has her epiphany. At that point she realizes that she can’t become portion of the male society. This causes her to travel running fr om everyone as she is forced into her nature and forced to go portion of the inevitable, female society. Andy # 8217 ; s male parent takes her hunting as a trial. The hunting trip is an induction trial to see if she has what it takes to be accepted into the adult male # 8217 ; s universe. She fails the trial when she feels bad about hiting the cervid and runs in the other way when her male parent and Charlie Spoon go to gut the cervid. The fact that she doesn # 8217 ; t like hiting the cervid, which is the chief end of hunting, is grounds that she doesn # 8217 ; t like the male universe. In add-on to her physical epiphany, Andy has an epiphany on a higher lever. The hunting trip leads Andy to the realisation that even if she likes the male universe, there are some facets of who she is that she can # 8217 ; t alter irrespective of how she feels about them and how difficult she tries to alter them. Andy embraces the male universe as an effort to get away from going a portion of the female universe merely to be rejected by the male universe through a humiliating experience that teaches her that she does non suit in. This rejection is what makes her realize that there are changeless alterations about people. She can # 8217 ; t be male stuff because of her nature and familial make-up. Andy is a miss who is scared of what a female # 8217 ; s universe is and the confusion that goes along with going a female. This reaction to the female universe drives her to seek and be a portion of the male universe. Andy realizes at the terminal of the narrative that she doesn # 8217 ; t want to be a portion of the male universe. She besides realizes that no affair what she does, she can # 8217 ; t deny her gender and that in some facets a individual must be satisfied with his/her individuality. Mentions Kaplan, David. # 8220 ; Doe Season # 8221 ; in # 8220 ; Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing # 8221 ; . Pgs. 342-354. Kirszner, Laurie. Mandell, Stephen. Harcourt Brace College Publishers. 1991. 3rd Edition.

Architects Using Math - What You Need to Know

Architects Using Math - What You Need to Know Architects arent the only professionals using math. As a student you may wonder how important mathematics is to the field of architecture. How much math do architecture students study in college? French architect Odile Decq has said that its not obligatory to be good at math or science. But if you take a look at the college curricula at several universities, youll find that a basic knowledge of mathematics is required for most degrees - and for most college majors. When you earn a four-year Bachelors Degree, the world knows that youve studied a variety of subjects, including mathematics. A college education is a little different than a more simplified training program. And todays registered architect is indeed educated. Architecture Schools at the Program Level When considering a school of architecture, first remember that in the United States, architecture programs are accredited by NAAB, the National Architectural Accrediting Board. NAAB does NOT accredit the university, so examine the program level of the college catalog. Choose the school that is best for you by looking at the courses in the program youll be buying into. One way to start your research is to use a web browser and search for architecture curriculum. A curriculum is a course of study, or the classes youll need to take in order to get an architecture degree. Comparing the course descriptions of several colleges will give you an idea of how a school integrates mathematics into practicing architecture - universities that are strong in engineering may have an approach that is different from a school within a university known for its liberal arts. Here are a few examples, direct from the college catelog. For The Cooper Union school in New York City, the Program Description sounds more inspiring than the Degree Requirements, but read both. The curriculum stresses the importance of architecture as a humanistic discipline, they say in describing their architecture program. But then in the first two years youll take courses such as Computer Applications and Descriptive Geometry and Calculus and Analytic Geometry and Concepts of Physics, along with Structures I, Structures II, Structures III, and Structures IV. At The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, they want you to know the science and the art. A West Coast school like the University of Southern California (USC) School of Architecture may take another approach. A 160-Unit Sample Curriculum includes Contemporary Precalculus your first semester and Physics for Architects the second semester, but it also includes Fundamentals of Design Communication and Writing and Critical Reasoning in those same semesters. Communicating a vision  -   putting a visual idea into words  - might be the most difficult task faced by a professional architect, and USC wants to help you learn that, too. Also remember that a California school more than a school in another state may focus more on building to withstand earthquakes. In fact, USC offers Building Structures and Seismic Design right in the second year of study, and the course description is this: Structure defines form and space and supports gravity, lateral, and thermal loads. The course introduces the four S’s required for architectural structures: Synergy, Strength, Stiffness, and Stability. Synergy, a system greater the sum of its parts, reinforces architectural objectives; strength resists breaking; stiffness resists deformation; and stability resists collapse. Structures must also resist bending, shear, tension, compression, thermal stress and strain. Learn the historic evolution, material, and system of structures, as well as the basic design and analysis tools for conceptual design. This course is practical architecture, right? If it interests you, watch out for the Prerequisites, which are courses you have to take before you can even sign up to take this one. What is the basic knowledge the professor wants you to know? Contemporary Precalculus and Physics for Architects are the prerequisites. Passing the ARE ® All of the projects and tests in college are not the end to becoming a registered architect. You also have to pass the Architect Registration Examination. ® ARE 5.0 has six topic areas to pass before you can call yourself an architect. In the Practice Management part of the test youll be asked to do some business math, to Evaluate the financial well-being of the practice. In the Project Management area, youll have to answer questions about a projects budget. This is math, too, but maybe not the kind that scares you out of architecture.   Becoming a licensed architect can be intimidating. Its important to remember that tests are not given to punish students and professionals, but to maintain educational and professional standards. The National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB), administrators of ARE, state: The ARE is designed to assess aspects of architectural practice that affect the integrity, soundness, and health impact of a building. The exam also assesses an architect’s responsibilities within firms, such as managing projects and coordinating the work of other professionals. - NCARB The Bottom Line Do professional architects really use all those formulas from Algebra 101? Well, maybe not. But they certainly do use math. But, you know what? So do toddlers playing with blocks, teenagers learning to drive, and anyone betting on a horse race or a football game. Math is a tool for making decisions. Math is a language used to communicate ideas and validate assumptions. Critical thinking, analysis, and problem solving are all skills that may be related to mathematics. I have found that people who like to solve puzzles can do well in architecture, architect Nathan Kipnis told author Lee Waldrep. Other architects continually suggest that people skills are most important for the successful professional architect. Communication, listening, and collaboration are often cited as essential. A big part of communication is writing clearly - Maya Lins winning entry for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was mostly words - no math and no detailed sketch. The most important thing to remember is that everyone wants you to succeed. Professors will help you. Why would they want you to fail? If youre interested in architecture as a career, youre already interested in mathematics. The built environment is created with geometric forms, and geometry is mathematics. Dont be afraid of mathematics. Embrace it. Use it. Design with it. Sources Odile Decq Interview, January 22, 2011, designboom, July 5, 2011, designboom.com/interviews/odile-decq-interview/ [accessed July 14, 2013]Becoming an Architect by Lee W. Waldrep, Wiley, 2006, pp. 33-41Pass the ARE, National Council of Architectural Registration Boards, https://www.ncarb.org/pass-the-are [accessed May 8, 2018]Practice Management, National Council of Architectural Registration Boards, https://www.ncarb.org/pass-are/are5/prepare/practice-management [accessed May 28, 2018]Project Management, National Council of Architectural Registration Boards, https://www.ncarb.org/pass-are/are5/prepare/project-management [accessed Nat 28m 2018]Program Description, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, http://cooper.edu/architecture/the-school/bachelor-architecture [accessed May 28, 2018]Degree Requirements: Bachelor of Architecture, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, http://cooper.edu/architecture/curriculum/bachelor [accessed May 28, 2018] Bachelor of Architecture (5 year) Curriculum, USC School of Architecture, https://arch.usc.edu/programs/bachelor-architecture [accessed May 28, 2018]Building Structures and Seismic Design, Overview, USC School of Architecture, https://arch.usc.edu/courses/213ag [accessed May 28, 2018]

Main Steps in the Writing Process

Main Steps in the Writing Process Those pesky essays and papers they never stop coming! And, as busy as you are, it is so tempting just to fire them off just to get something in on time. This is not a good idea, because those poor grades accumulate and all of a sudden you are at the end of the semester and looking at course grade that you will not want to share with your parents, for sure. If you do not really remember the writing process steps, heres a quick run-down with an easy and simple explanation of how to get through them. The 5 Steps of the Writing Process There are actually 6 steps if you count the decision on a topic and a thesis. But we will assume that you have at least that much taken care of. If not, there are some tips for that at the end of this post. Brainstorm or conduct research: If you are writing a basic essay that will not involve outside research, you need to list all of the possible things that might be included in the essay. Then you combine those that are related until you have 3-4 main ideas that will make up your body paragraphs. If you are writing an essay or paper that involves research, you know the drill. Find some good resources, read them and take notes. Organize your ideas or notes. Depending on the purpose for your essay or paper, there are a variety of organizers you can use. You may prefer just a basic outline or list of the order in which you are going to cover your sub-topics. If you are writing a comparison/contrast, on the other hand, you may want to use a Venn diagram; if you are writing a narrative, you will want to make a timeline. Write your rough draft: Write the body paragraphs first, then add your introduction and conclusion. Follow your organizer as you do this so that you leave nothing out that is important to your thesis statement. Revise, revise, and revise: This cannot be stressed enough it is one of the most important writing process steps, if you want a decent grade. There are several methods for this. If you are checking sentence structure and grammar, read the thing out loud to yourself you will catch most of those types of errors. If you are not a skilled writer, then get someone who is to review and edit it. Type up your final draft and be certain that your format is in accord with the instructors requirements, including both in-text and end-of text citations. Things Have Not Changed Over the Years Even in elementary school, the writing process for kids is very much like what it is for high school and college students. It is tried and tested and really does work, if you will follow each step carefully. Again, if you leave out a step, you end up with a piece of writing that can lack logical flow and/or have many structural and grammatical errors. A Word on Topic Selection Whether you have complete freedom to choose any topic you wish or whether you can select from among options, if you have any choice at all, pick a topic that interest you. If you do not, the whole process will just be drudgery. Once you have your topic, you do have to come up with a thesis statement. In a persuasive or argumentative piece, your thesis is your opinion. For other types, you will need to ask yourself some questions. Why is this topic important? What do I want others to take away from this? Answering these will help you get to your thesis.

Comparative Perspectives in Social Work Practice and Law Essay

Comparative Perspectives in Social Work Practice and Law - Essay Example According to Morgan (2011), globalization forces social workers to think globally as the service users become more diverse and as social work continue to be guided by international laws. Individualization of problems is also a global trend impacting on social work as communities shift the burden on individuals. Social care and social work is also influenced by political and structural forces that range freely across national borders as well as international social trends. UK and Germany are two different countries with different welfare provision regimes but as time passesby and due to globalization effect, there seems to be a convergence in social work practice between the two countries with Germany emulating most of the features of the UK welfare state (Clasen, 2011). The two states have different political economies and have different historical experiences which shape the welfare state. The UK welfare system is based on beveridgean ideologies while that of Germany was influenced by Bismarckian ideologies. The paper will critically discuss the impact of globalization on social work practice bases on comparative perspectives between UK and Germany which are two European countries. The UK has an institutional model of welfare characterised by social protection, service provision on basis of rights as well as guaranteed minimum standards and minimum income (Alcock, 2008). The welfare state began with provision of services to the poor in the society based on the Elizabethan poor law of 1601. This law set a compulsory poor rate, created overseers of relief and was aimed at punishing beggars. Those provided with relief resided in workhouses and individuals could only get relief from their parish of birth. This led to stigmatization of those who relied on relief for as Spicker (2012) puts it, they were marked with town’s mark. The poor law was criticized for encouraging laziness and undermining wages of independent workers. Elementary education was

Airport Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Airport - Article Example The website shows the importance of a realistic airport design for purposes of safety, emergency and coordination of operations. The website insists on the importance of development as a measure of stability and growth (Federal Aviation Administration, 2009). The development of any small airport lies greatly on how it aligns its operations. This is with due respect to the overall management of finances through efficient public relations. The relations result in the trickling in of clients who have become regular’s as a result of the reliable service. It is clear that there is need to carefully foresee current and future problems in all airports. This is one sure way of ensuring that the operations run as smoothly as they are expected. The reality of how finances are applied in the airport is also defined as a crucial point. This is because if current finances are put to maximum use, then airport operations are enhanced. The website highlights the need to form a budget, and how to channel all the existing revenues to internal and external projects (Federal Aviation Administration, 2009). As a result of the nature of airport operations, the website also goes ahead to educate on aspects that should come into play when dealing with liabilities and insurance. In conclusion, the website greatly advocates for the need to ensure that airport designs, operations, developments and finances are in order for any airport which has a clearly set objective. Federal Aviation Administration (2009). Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP 16): Guidebook for managing small airports. Washington: Trb.org. Retrieved from

What impact have successful women made in the U.S. hospitality Thesis

What impact have successful women made in the U.S. hospitality industry as leaders - Thesis Example This paper discusses the impact successful women leaders have made in the U.S Hospitality industry especially in the last five years. The paper starts with a brief history of women’s position two decades ago and the changes that took place over the time. The various reasons leading to the advancement of women in the hospitality industry and the consequences have been discussed in details. This paper also provides examples of different successful women leaders and organizations who have contributed in the up gradation of the women in this industry. Although women have progressed immensely in the hospitality industry holding key managerial positions but still there are a few challenges which they are facing today and this has been discussed later on. The paper has been concluded by providing solutions for the existing challenges so as to make the future a better place for women to work in. In 1984, Nora Frenkiel had quoted â€Å"there is a ‘glass ceiling’ in the mi ddle of the ladder leading to the top, and it cannot be seen. ‘But when women run into it they bump their heads and cannot move beyond it without the women’s movement.† ‘Glass ceiling’ is a term given by the US government in 1970 to define the artificial barriers that restricts a women from taking top managerial jobs (as cited in Dass, A.Singh & R.Singh, 2011). Women have always been forced to stay behind men in all the industries whether it is business, medicine, politics or hospitality. Although they have been marching ahead in all the fields but still men continue to hold the key managerial positions. The women’s continued struggle to occupy major leadership roles has seen many hurdles and barriers basically due to the traditional culture and history of hospitality industry. However, the last decade has seen a lot of changes and growth prospects for women in this industry. Due to sheer hard work and the inherent qualities a women possesses t hey have started occupying key management roles and positions in many places like restaurants, hotels, catering firms, and resorts among others. Industry experts have predicted that women’s role in key positions will continue to rise as hospitality industry is struggling to match its steps with the growth and demand in this field (â€Å"Women in hospitality†, n.d). In this paper we shall discuss the various factors that have brought a significant impact on the role of women as leaders in the hospitality industry. The main factors that have broken the ‘glass ceiling’ has been the change in the perception of people about women, the education and advancement of women, globalization and advancement of technology, formation of various women coaching institutes, the government and so on. There are many examples of successful women and companies who have helped in bringing about the change in the status of women in the hospitality industry and set an example for others to follow. Before we discuss about them, a brief history about women’s position in the last few decades will help explain what has brought about the changes. If we trace back to history we will find that women have been working only in the role of defacto leadership such as supervising or managing, a family owned business or performing additional responsibilities in the absence of their bosses (â€Å"Women in hospitality†, n.d). However, there was an upheaval in the US in the 1970’s by the feminists. Women fought for their rights to gain importance in work places and the allowance to climb the ladder of key roles in management. The hospitality industry also faced similar drawbacks- there were no female chefs, only few female restaurateurs and women were not even given the opportunity to serve as waiting staffs in fine dining places. There was an era when women were not considered for managerial positions and if they attained any such status their pay was much less than men (Les Damed d’ Escoffier International [LDEI], 2011). Although, the beginning

E Business Analysis In Retail Industry

E Business Analysis In Retail Industry E-Business has brought revolution in the traditional value chain structure of the firms. Intermediaries are changing, not disappearing. Companies are found reluctant to bypass their traditional intermediaries. Instead, companies are searching for new ways of working with the middleman. For example, some companies are attempting to turn their retailers into customer-service agents. For online distribution, companies are developing a portfolio of options rather than drive customers to a single sales channel. The main obstacles to e-business are internal. The greatest barriers to e-business lie within the corporation: a need to re-engineer business processes, a lack of e-business skills and a lack of integration between front- and back-end systems (KPMG, 2005). Companies are using e-business to expand products and services to meet escalating customer demands and to keep products and services from becoming commodities. Companies are using the Internet to provide value-added products and services. The Internet is turning out to be an effective way of reaching new customers beyond geographic boundaries. E-BUSINESS IN RETAIL SECTOR Retail industry, on a global scenario, has become highly competitive due to increasing consumer preferences and the growing need of differentiation in terms of product with respect to the diverse markets across the globe. Introduction of E-business in retail sector has helped in creating new activities and features for retailing. It includes shopping 247, seven days a week, from the comfort of your home; gathering information to be a more informed consumer; creating the appearance of a relationship with the customer; and stream lining business to business ordering to reduce prices for the consumer. This focus on cost reduction throughout the value chain has become the prime element for gaining competitive advantage in this business landscape. This is due to accelerating pace with which new products have been introduced in the market day after day, which put tremendous pressure on firms to optimise their value chains. In the retail sector, companies use Information and Communications Technology to facilitate e-business processes for a broad range of applications along the value chain including procurement, warehouse management and logistics, and for marketing, sales and customer services activities. The basic goals of e-business identified are highly relevant in this sector: reducing costs by increasing the efficiency of processes, optimally serving customer by innovative means of information provision and communication and enabling growth by increasing market reach. As competition in the retail industry is strong and barriers to entry are low, ebusiness can take important roles in this industry. Retail firms trade goods and service and retail customers are end-consumers of the goods and services. Hence, while the retail industry is not a goods-producing industry, opportunities for improving business processes through e-business are numerous (Empirica GmbH, 04/2008). In retail sector, Focus on companies supply chain management is of imminent importance to realize above mentioned e-business goals. Following are some of the vital elements of supply chain: E-procurement: It improves performance of routine tasks like transaction processing, monitoring and enforcement of regulatory compliance. It increases transparency, eliminates middlemen overhead cost, improves competition amongst suppliers and eases management reporting (Vivekanand B Khanapuri et al., March 2011). With the implementation of e-procurement solutions, automation of buying and selling over the internet has been accomplished There are many types of e-procurement: Web-based ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning): In this type they can generate recommended purchasing schedules in order to achieve an ideal just in time production cycle. E-MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Operating Supplies) E-sourcing: This is used to identify new suppliers for a specific category of purchasing requirements using Internet technology E-informing: this is used to gather and exchange purchasing information between buyer and seller (BPC, Article and glossary; 2012) E-procurement also has some disadvantages. There are financial costs, from computers to extra phone lines to learning the technology. Privacy of the information is one critical issue. Another disadvantage is that e-procurement is often conducted using credit card facilities for payments, so as a result very small and very large transactions tend not to be conducted online. If e-procurement system is implemented appropriately, it will benefit both buyer and seller. The in-house supply chain: As retailers do not transform goods, operation is not concerned with organising a production process but with arranging the in-house processes of receiving, distributing, and selling goods. Computerised systems that mainly serve processes inside a company are considered as internal electronic operations. These are valuable for making internal business processes more effective. (Abend, J. Penny, G, 2000) An e-business allows manufacturers and other members of the supply chain that do not have direct contact with customers in traditional channels to enhance revenues by bypassing intermediaries and selling directly to customers. SCM systems: These are the software systems specifically developed for supply chain management. SCM systems provide an overview of the flows of products/materials, information and finances (Claudia-Maria Wagner et al, 2010). In the most advanced form, they cover the whole process and value chain from suppliers/manufacturers to wholesalers, retailers and to consumer. In an effective e-business, the following SCM independent processes must be highly integrated. Demand management: These are shared functions including demand planning, supply planning, manufacturing planning, and sales and operations planning. Supply management: These include products and services for customer order fulfilment. Inbound/outbound logistics: These include transportation management, distribution management and warehouse management Success of the firm highly depends upon to what extent it has successfully integrated above processes using SCM systems. ERP (Enterprise resource planning: It helps to integrate and cover all major business activities within a company, including product planning, parts purchasing, inventory management, order tracking, human resources and finance.(Simchi-Levi,et al. 2003). The ability to access information from various parts of the organization has helped  ¬Ã‚ rms to streamline their business processes and reduce in ef ¬Ã‚ ciencies. Although ERP systems were implemented before the boom in e-business, their potential could not be explored and expanded due to lack of common standards and cost of access. The growth of e-business allows and requires that the information made available from the ERP systems be shared with other  ¬Ã‚ rms in the extended supply chain through the Internet. Advantages of such real time information sharing system are as follows: Inventory requirements for buffer stocks are likely to be lower, because the uncertainty in forecasts and demand can be reduced across the supply chain. As more supply chain execution information becomes available, firms can plan for future operations using advanced planning and optimization tools. The ability to share information creates an opportunity for firms to have collaborative planning and design, which removes the inefficiencies in these processes. CRM (Customer relationship management): It is a concept that enables an organization to tailor specific products or services to each individual customer. In the most advanced scenario, CRM may be used to create a personalized, one-to-one experience that will give the individual customer a sense of being cared for, thus opening up new marketing opportunities based on the preferences and history of the customer (Wilson et al., 2002). It seeks to maximise competitiveness, revenues, and customer satisfaction. These are the very same areas on which most e-business firms concentrate heavily (Tim Coltman et al., 2010). Reasons for CRM e-Business growing to such enormous heights are many. Some of the important points are: Traditional business methods have proved tiresome, costly and very time consuming due to lack of integration across supply chain elements. CRM e-Business increases the chances of building sales and increasing the sales revenue by increasing the area of operation, reducing operating costs, increasing productivity and thereby improving the efficiency of the supply chain. CRM solutions give companies a well-planned and easily integrated e-Business strategy that caters to both the customer needs as well as the corporate needs. Both these need to be appropriately catered to in order that company objectives be fulfilled. E-selling and e-marketing: Sales side business activities consist of three aspects. The first focus is on actual sales, i.e. transactions, and on related customer support activities, a second one on marketing activities. The diffusion of internet technologies among consumers enables retailers to sell their products via the internet to consumers. Online sales are normally done through an own company or through a portal hosted by a different company (Empirica GmbH, 04/2008). Also, e-selling enables retailers to go beyond geographic boundaries as far as customer base is concerned. it appears that online sales helps to extend the geographic focus slightly from regional to national sales while the international focus remains on the same low level. Because of the low barriers to entry of competitors, the perceived first mover advantage and the feeling that any competitor was only a click away from your customers, the internet generated an intense need for marketing and brand awareness. Internet changes the way of mixing 4Ps of Marketing- Product, Price, Place and Promotion. Requisite actions for e-business firm include creating awareness of their website, engaging customers through the same and effectively closing the sale by consistent follow up with the customer. Viral Marketing is one of the powerful forces extensively used by e-business. The product is spread by word of mouth or by passing on a copy or a URL to friends and colleagues. Success in e-business depends upon first mover advantage, obtaining customer lock-in, and network externalities. Barriers to entry by competitors are low. Brand recognition is important. These have combined to create a sense of desperation for new dot-com companies as they enter markets crowde d with competitors. This has also generated a surge in print, billboard, and media advertising to establish brand awareness (Empirica GmbH, 04/2008). E-support for Logistics and Distribution: logistics are a core issue for mail order retailers and for retailers selling goods online that need to be shipped to customers. Efficient customer-facing logistics are crucially important to lower the costs of goods sold in the internet and to satisfy customers who want to receive their orders swiftly, safely and at low shipping costs (Virpi Kristiina et al., 2005).Logistics management in e-business is mostly driven by e-logistics. E-logistics is the mechanism of automating logistics processes and providing an integrated, end-to-end fulfilment and supply chain management services to the players of logistics processes. Those logistics processes that are automated by e-logistics provide supply chain visibility. A particular challenge in logistics is to manage fluctuations in demand which may be considerable. Further challenges are reverse logistics. Current Scenario: Some Transport service providers give retailers the opportunity to check the current status of shipping on the internet. Online shops themselves may offer their customers the opportunity to check the delivery status online. Another trend is an increase in outsourcing of services to specialised logistics providers to benefit from their specialised services. CASE: AMAZON.COM; THE PIONEER OF E-BUSINESS IN RETAIL (Pankaj Ghemawat, 1998) Amazon.com is an American multinational electronic commerce company. It is worlds largest online retailer. Jeff Bezos incorporated the company (as Cadabra) in July 1994, and the site went online as amazon.com in 1995.Amazon began by selling books online through a bulletin board service in 1992 and now offers a huge variety of books and other merchandise through their own website, mostly to members. Following is the analysis of its value chain on the basis of three aspects: Procurement and Logistics: While Amazon offers more than million titles to its customers, it carries only fraction of it t its own warehouse. Amazon depended more on wholesalers than publishers, to stock its books. This helps Amazon to ship the book within 4 to 7 business days resulting in faster deliveries and cost reductions. Advantages: multiplied inventory turns and reduced working capital requirements and risk of obsolescence. Store Operations: Amazon.coms business model revolved around virtual storefront. But Amazon had its office located in Seattle, Washington. Choosing this location had four advantages: Close to the largest book distribution warehouse in the world, owned by Ingram Large pool of high tech talent Relatively relaxed tax system, allowing Amazon to provide customers from other states, tax free purchase of books. West Coast location permitted more (in-stock) books to be shipped the same day to the East Coast than would have been possible the other way around (Bacheldor, Beth; 2004). Amazon had a cost reduction approach while setting up its offices. Half of the manpower was involved in packing, shipping, customer service and other half in computer programming, marketing, accounting, and management. Top managers background was mostly computer related. Amazons investment in computer technology was focused on software rather than hardware. Marketing: By 1995, for Amazon, repeat customers accounted for more than 50% of orders. Amazon was the largest discounter in the world market. Some of the features of Amazon: Customers were able to shop at Amazon any time of the day, any day of the week Catalogue, with wide range of variety of items Easy process for membership and secure payment transfers Customers were instantly informed of the prices and inventory status of the items they had ordered. Customers were informed in timely manner, when their order was shipped from Amazons warehouse. Range of value added customer services like- Interviews with book authors Book reviews and recommendations by other customers and media Links to other sites, new release data Two personalized services, Eyes and Editors, which helped build traffic by emailing customers when books by selected authors, on selected subjects in selected categories became available. INDIAN E-RETAIL SCENARIO Indian online retail market, also known as e-tail market, is one of the fastest growing in the world. according to the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAIMA), the Indian online retail market has grown from US$250 million in 2008 to US$300 million in 2009, US$400 million in 2010 and US$600 million in 2011. In 2012 it is expected to more than double to US$1.3 billion and by 2015 to US$6.7 billion (Have Global E-tailers Missed the Bus in India?, 2012). Some of the prominent players in Indian market right now are Flipkart.com and Infibeam.com. Several new players with ambitious growth targets Firstandsecond, Librarywala and Tradusbooks, to name a few are also hoping to gain a foothold in the market. Growing evidence suggests that book e-tailing will eventually surpass retailing. The many advantages are seen: Potentially infinite shelf space: can post number of listings online for sale No real estate costs: firm need not invest in physical shop. As for the stocking inventory, maximum inventory can be managed at vendors location itself minimising the cost incurred in warehousing locations. An absence of the personnel and infrastructure expenses involved with running a physical store Lower prices and no inter-state taxes Global players entering Indian market: Many e-tail global players are gearing up to enter this growing market with future profit prospects. Some have already started making their moves despite the restrictions. Amazon, the worlds largest online retailer, entered the India market through Junglee.com which is a comparison site it bought more than a decade ago. eBay also entered India in a small way in 2004 with the acquisition of Baazee.com. eBay does not stock the products, but provides a platform for third-party merchants to sell to registered users. The firm recently also launched its own shipping service, PowerShip, which enables sellers to deliver their products to the buyers. Another foreign firm that has entered India is LuxeYard from the U.S. known for flash sale i.e. heavy discounts on items that are available for limited periods (Have Global E-tailers Missed the Bus in India?, 2012). LuxeYard has partnered with serial entrepreneur Sashi Chimala, who will launch a local venture that LuxeYard plans to buy after two years. ISSUES FACED AND CHALLENGES AHEAD FOR INDIAN E-RETAIL LANDSCAPE: Low levels of Internet penetration: According to an I-Cube (Internet in India) study conducted annually by IMRB International and the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), India had 52 million active internet users as of September 2009. But only 10% of those users indulge in e-commerce (Indias Online Booksellers Try to Write a New Chapter, 2010). But recently the government has shown keen interest in developing an IT mandate for India, the reflections of which we find in the actions of regulators and policy making bodies. Examples: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ TRAI Recommendations on a National Broadband Plan-December, 2010 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Budget 2011-12, Ministry of Finance Delivery Delays: Locally available books take three to five days to arrive, and those that have to be ordered from international suppliers can take anywhere from two to six weeks (Indias Online Booksellers Try to Write a New Chapter, 2010). Factors causing this are mostly beyond companies control, since they deal with poor technological infrastructure at airports, inefficient transport connectivity.Global players typically use third-party logistics. But in India, this sector is not adequately developed. Another reason for concern is many of the companies are offering their own branded delivery. These companies have been investing heavily in creating their own delivery networks for a country like India, which has poor infrastructure and high diversity. Thus it also failed to achieve economies of scale. Supplier Relations: This is directly related to the inventory management. The amount of inventory the companies carry is dependent on supplier lead times. If the lead time is 24 hours, the business will carry only one days worth of inventory in its warehouse. That makes optimization of the existing supplier-inventory-shipping network a priority. These Retailers are always dependent on third-party information about the availability of products, which at very best is modest. Global players tend to deal with a few large suppliers (Indias Online Booksellers Try to Write a New Chapter, 2010). In India, e-retail firms have relationships with thousands of suppliers of all sizes. Psychological barriers: Indians are reluctant to use their credit cards online, and Indias banking regulator, the Reserve Bank of India, only recently introduced fraud checks on credit card misuse. More than 80% of payments are made as cash-on-delivery, in line with the traditional Indian consumer behavior of paying for goods only after receiving them (Indias Online Booksellers Try to Write a New Chapter, 2010). Cash-on-delivery model has its own issues: cash gets blocked, inventories are high and returns have to be managed. This model is contrary to the typical e-commerce model, and global players will find it challenging. Difficulties in e-procurement: Companys faces lot of issues in e-procurement process due to following reasons: High initial investment: E-procurement requires new IT systems that are often a significant financial investment. Also problems like technical issues hinder implementation for both buyer and supplier Suppliers Resistance to Changes: Buyers have to deal with the technological immaturity and unpreparedness from the suppliers side during the course of implementing e-purchasing initiatives (Rebecca Angeles and Ravi Nath, 2007). Limited Knowledge Pool: The consultant expertise on e-procurement initiatives is still not at par with global standards because of typical differences among industries in its procurement strategies. Weakness of IT Act: The present IT Act in India is weak and a sound legal framework is vital for the success of e-retailing in India. Hence, there is a strong need to introduce separate law for e-retailing in India as the existing laws are incapable to deal with the various issues that are emerging with the increasing implementation of e-retailing in India. CONCLUSION E-Business has indeed brought revolution in the traditional value chain structure of the firms. An e-retailer can gain a competitive advantage if they implement IT that enables them to have more effective and efficient supply chains. But to sustain that in ever increasing competition e-retailer has to implement innovative solution for continuous improvement of its value chain. Indian retail sector is growing fast. The retail scene is changing really fast. But still Indian consumers feel more secure transacting with a retailer who is present in online as well as physical format, so a clicks-and-bricks hybrid model can be a way forward for Indian e-retailers. India needs to invest in infrastructure to improve transportation and distribution capabilities of e-retailers. As more and more firms begin to integrate their online and traditional operations and share more information over the Internet, real-time supply chain management and ability to create value for customers using e-value ch ain on consistent basis are going to become all the more important.

George Orwells Nineteen Eighty-Four :: 1984 Essays

George Orwell is the pen name of Eric Arthur Blair, a British writer with political conscience. He was born in India but educated in England at Eton College. He served the Indian Imperial Police in Burma from 1922 to 1927. In sick health, he returned to Europe to live in poverty as a struggling writer. Orwell joined the Republican forces in the Spanish civil war, and wrote a chilling account of this experience. He went on to write many books, mostly autobiographical, and achieved successes as a brilliant writer. 2. SynopsisThe novel takes place in a theoretical and fictional dystopian totalitarian society. The story begins in London on April 4, 1984 after an atomic world war divides the world into three states. London is the capital of Oceania which is run by INGSOC(English Socialism). The controllers are called "The Party." The Party is divided into two sections, The Inner Party, and The Outer Party which are the "Rich" and the "middle-class." There is a third group of people called "The Proles," or "The Proletariat" which are the poor, and considered to be animals by the party. The main leader of this government is Big Brother. The novel is told in third person and partly first person, and is also divided into three parts. In the first part the main character and his conflicts with the world he lives in are revealed. Winston Smith is a bureaucrat who works for the government by altering history at the Ministry of Truth. He begins to ponder the reason things are so bad and commits a terrible crime. In the second part, he falls in love with Julia, and is taken in by a man named O'Brien, a member of the anti-party society called the Brotherhood. O'Brien turns out to be a true member of The Inner Party. Winston and Julia are captured and hauled off to the Ministry of Love (Minilove in Newspeak). Here, during the final part of the story, Winston is incarcerated and rehabilitated by The Party. O'Brien constantly tel ls Winston that Winston is crazy, and that he is trying to help him. During these sessions he reveals the true purposes of INGSOC. The party's goals can be summed up in their mottoes. "WAR IS PEACE, FREEDOM IS SLAVERY, and IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH(Orwell, 7)."3. ThemeUnder the rule of INGSOC, members of The Party are engrossed in their work. It is essential that the government keeps its people happy in order to avoid rebellions and "thought crimes.

Political Parties in Nigeria Essay

Democracy no doubt is the world’s current new bride. To the extent that everyone – Politicians, Journalists, statesmen and even laymen – call themselves democrats while those who wish to defend a regime no matter its nature call it democracy (Williams 1995:65), one could aptly say the world is in the age of democracy. But as democracy is gaining currency the world over, it need be stated that the Institution of political party constitutes the lubricant of the current democratic wave. This is because, political parties serves as vehicle for expressing myriad of world views held by citizens as well as an instrument to garnering the informed and active participation of the citizens in the political process which constitutes the hallmark of any democratic practice. As noted by Hague and Harrop (1987:141-142), party competition is the hallmark of liberal democracy because it is the device which makes governments responsive to the electorates by providing voters with s ome choice while simultaneously restricting that choice to a few broad alternatives. In other words, the greater the number of parties and / or the latitude of freedom, the more democratic the political system is or becomes while the the more they are conscripted, the lesser the likelihood of a democratic political system. This view was also shared by Anifowoshe (2004: 59) when he noted that the condition of the political parties in a political system is the best possible evidence of the nature of any democratic regime. It must however be stated that while parties constitute the piston in the engine of democracy, the nature and activities of political parties themselves may constitute a stumbling block in the way of democratic growth and sustenance. This has been the paradox of party politics in Africa where the institution has remained largely underdeveloped. Instances abound where activities of parties have been a major factor in the decline of democratic politics or outright termination of democratic administrations and their subsequent replacement by military authoritarian regimes. In this context, the Nigerian state is a reference point. Nigeria became independent in 1960 after years of colonial rule. Independence ushered in a multi party democracy under a Westminster parliamentary model. However, due to a number of circumstances including intra and inter party bickering and, political excesses of parties and their leaders among others, the first democratic republic was truncated in January 1966 following a bloody coup detat championed by the five Majors. The abrupt termination of the first republic also ushered in a thirteen-year long military rule that lasted till October 1, 1979. Nigeria had another taste of multiparty democracy between October 1979 and 31st December 1983. However, like most of the parties of this period themselves, the problems of the first republic reincarnated to mare the democratic processes, culminating in the military coup of December 31st 1983 and the beginning of a second phase of military rule in the country. Indeed, the second phase of military rule in Nigeria which lasted between December 1983 and May 29, 1999 was the most dramatic and traumatic in the history of the country. It was a period mostly characterized by series of coups and counter coups, political maneuverings and above all, endless transition to civil rule programmes or what Diamond et al (1997) has aptly dubbed ‘Transition without End’. But while the political imbroglio of that period cannot be blamed out-rightly on the excesses of political parties and their leaders, the need to avoid such was always advanced as a defensive mechanism for continuous tinkering with the then transition process. For instance, reasons for dissolution of the 13 political associations that first prelude the third republic and their consequent replacement by government created SDP and NRC and, annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election that eventually calumniated in the abortion of the third republic were carefully crafted under the need to avoid repeat of mistakes of the past republics. Detailed work on this has been done by scholars and need not be recounted here (See, Diamond et al 1997). However, what must be stressed here is that, Nigeria’s current democratic experience was the end product of a long and tortuous journey through the woods of military autocracy. Although the decade of the 90’s generally was characterized by external pressures for democratization around the world, the resilience and perceptions (rightly or wrongly) by Nigerians that democracy holds prospect for a better life was also a major factor that sustained the struggle. Also, perhaps, in acknowledgment of the sanctity of the party institution to democratic sustenance, the country has continued to operate a â€Å"growing† multiparty democracy since 1999. Thus, from three parties in 1999, it currently has over thirty political parties with prospects of more to be registered. Against this long background, this paper seeks to examine the role of parties in sustaining Nigeria’s democracy. Further to this are: To what extent do Nigerian political parties conform to their expected role in the political system or in sustaining democracy? What are the encumbrances (if any) on their performance in Nigeria? What is / are to be done to place Nigerian political parties on the part of vibrancy vis-à  -vis democratic sustenance? Unraveling these problematic calls for rigorous inquiry. But to start with, situating the role of parties in a universal context is essential. Political Parties and Democracy: Theoretical Framework Political party is one of the genuses of intermediary groups in a political system. Others include interest groups and pressure groups. Thus, the relationship between viable political party and democratic governance is no doubt axiomatic. Political parties are the lubricant of democracy and without which, democracy based on the western model cannot function (Adele 2001:35). This is essentially because it provides a credible means of harnessing the variety of public opinions essential in sustaining a democratic society. While democracy rests on the informed and active participation of the people, political party is a viable tool in this regard. This perspective is shared by political scientists. As Anifowoshe (2004:59) remarked: Democracy exists where the principal leaders of a political system are selected by competitive elections in which the bulk of the population have the opportunity to participate. As a matter of fact, the condition of the parties, in a political system, is the b est possible evidence of the nature of any democratic regime. Implicit in the above statement is that a party’s level of institutionalization, cohesion and social base, determines the extent of its viability and the extent to which it could be said to be performing its functions in a democracy. In other words, viable political parties contribute to democratic growth much as unviable ones may result in democratic regression. Although there are myriad of definitions on what constitutes a political party, yet they all revolve around electioneering and the control of government. For instance, political parties has been conceived as an instrument for contesting elections for the purpose of selecting candidates and party(ies) to exercise political power (Yaqub 2002:122). This definition is in consonance with that which sees political party as an organization, which is principally, absolutely and actively involved, in the electoral process, in a democracy, with the major intent of winning political power and controlling the government (Onuoha 2 003:137). The import of these definitions is that the major goal of political party is to capture and control governmental powers. This it does through participation in electoral process in which it fields candidates to contest for various posts. Yet, it must be stated that while the major goal of a political party is to capture and maintain control over personnel and policies of government, such at times may have to be done in coalition with other party(ies). This is especially the case where electoral victory is not based on ‘first past the post’ system or where a single party could not win the minimum electoral seats necessary for it to constitute a government. However, beyond fielding candidates for elections and controlling governmental apparatuses, political parties also perform other functions which on the one hand set them aside from other organizations such as interest groups and more importantly on the other hand, makes them sine qua non for democratic development. These include; the task of political recruitment and training, education, socialization, breeding consensus, providing alternative world views and political communication among others (see Okoosi-simbine 2004:85-86; Yaqub 2002:112; Aina 2002:10-12, Onuoha 2003:137). It is the extent to which parties are able to discharge these functions that determine the extent of democratic growth in the country. Important in carrying out the above functions is that part ies especially in culturally variegated societies such as Nigeria must eschew those intervening variables that are likely to mar programmes and policies of the party such as salience of ethnic, religious or other sectional interests. Where this is not avoided, the tendency is that a party will find it considerably difficult in harnessing or mobilizing mass support for democratic growth. The emphasis here is that parties are formed not only to promote policies but also to secure social interests. It therefore follows that parties must have broad social bases in order to be able to aggregate interests rather than articulation of specific sectional ones. Also central to democratic growth through the party system is party institutionalization. That is, the process by which parties become established and acquires value and enduring stability (Huttington, 1965:394). Although the extent of party institutionalization varies with party systems the world over, it is usually measured based on some factors such as party age, count of splits and mergers, electoral stability, legislative stability and leadership change (Janda, 1993:167). Of equal importance is party coherence, which has been defined as the degree of congruence in the attitudes and behaviour of party members’ (Janda 1980:118; 1993:173). There is no gainsaying the fact that the degree of coherence among party members bears direct relevance to party strength and stability. This is because a strong and coherent party in terms of membership and structure is usually stronger and coordinated both in articulating view and garnering electoral support than are fragmented one. It is also the factor of coherence that enable parties to effectively discharge the function of National integration which they are expected to perform especially in plural societies. It must be stressed that, while parties in the advanced countries of Europe and America, are observed to have attained the status described above, those in the developing countries tend to be a little far from it. In other words, political parties in the developing countries cannot be ranked on equal scale with those of the advanced countries in terms of viability of the institution. Hence, it could be reasoned that the difference between the two worlds accounts for the different levels of democratic growth between them (e.g. Nigeria and USA). Although Nigeria has returned to democratic practice since 1999, yet there is a growing concern over the sustenance of its democracy. These concerns obviously owe their origin to the nature of political parties and party politics or activities in the country. Issues surrounding this dilemma are examined next but before this, description of the character and general tendencies of current political parties is essential. Roles and Functions of Political Parties From various literature on political party, it is evident that democracy, especially the liberal majoritarian version would be practically impossible without the institution of political party. This no doubt is anchored on the expected roles of political parties in deepening the democratic process. One major role expected of any political party is the task of political recruitment and education. The centrality of this function lie is the fact that it is directly connected with fulfillment of the common aim of all parties. That is, the aim of fielding candidates for election and capturing or exercising political power either singly or in cooperation with other parties (see, Yaqub 2002:164; Ball 1988:73). In other words, in the process of trying to capture political power, political parties serves as a major instrument/platform through which candidates for public offices are recruited at all levels. This is the case in both socialist as well as competitive liberal democracies. According to Ball (198:77), in such political systems where parties are absent (such as in zero party situation) or weak, political elites are usually recruited from traditional elites or through religious and military organizations. However, such sources of recruitment usually have implications for stability of the regime because they lack the more popular base of political parties. In other words, the institution of political party provides an avenue for recruiting politically ambitious persons into the political elite class. In this, we can also accommodate parties’ role as a credible means of political succession. This is because parties would have narrowed down the number of competitors for a particular office to what it considered the best choice at the material time. This process help reduce pressures on the political system as well as streamline citizens choice. In addition, in the process of campaigns for elections, parties inform and educate the public on important s tate policies and actions much as they do while in power. Even for parties out of power, they provide a constant source of critique of government policies which attimes help to change, modify or improve the quality of policies and programmes. Related to the task of recruitment and education is the role of parties as socializing agents. Generally speaking, most conceptions of socialization agreed that it is a process by which individuals incorporate into their own attitudinal and behavioural patterns, the way of their respective social groups and society (Babawale, 1999:218). If this is true, it follows that in the course of preparing candidates for elections, campaigns and other political activities, the individual within the society is acquiring some attitudinal or behavioural patterns necessary to make a politically vibrant individual. In addition, knowledge about political institutions and processes are acquired and internalized by the individual. Perhaps, this informed why political socialization have been conceived as all formal and informal explicitly or nominal political learning at every stage of the life circle that affects political behaviour, such as learning of politically relevant social attitudes and the acq uisition of politically relevant personality characteristics (Greenstein, quoted in Babawale 1999:219). Another major role of political parties in any political system is in the area of serving as link between rulers and the ruled through what is known as political communication. That is, parties provide a means of expression and information flow, both upward and downward, in any political system. Although, the flow of information is crucial to the survival of any political system, the direction of information flow however varies. For instance, in a liberalized multiparty system, there is tendency for information flow to be tilted more in favour of upward flow. This would allow the ruling party to feel the pulse of the populace as well as respond positively to policy demands. But even for parties out of power, it has a tendency to reinforce collective consciousness of party members and strengthen the level of attachment to the party. On the other hand, where there is a single party, the tendency is that information flow will be more from the top to the bottom. For instance, Hague and Harrop (1987: 140) had noted that in Stalin’s Russia, ‘the democratic’ expression of opinion from the grassroots of the Communist Party was negligible compared with the â€Å"centralist† flow of directive from the top. This notwithstanding, what is important is that, irrespective of the strength or direction of information flow, political parties have the onerous role of serving as a two-way communication process between the government and the people. The formulation and implementation of collective goals is yet another major function of parties. This is because in the process of seeking to capture power, they formulate programmes and policies either through conventions, meetings and even manifestoes which they hope to implement while in office. Some of these issues eventually constitute the collective goals of the society. Related to this is the mobilization role of parties. Indeed, parties are known to have been in the vanguard of mobilizing the citizens. This they do through mass rallies and other forms of display of unity that emphasizes identification between the individual and the party. Hague and Harrop (1987:140) noted that, parties have been the prime movers in the revolutionary upheaval of the modern age. They alluded that the enormous transformations of Russia and Chinese societies in the last century were led by vanguard communist parties committed to radical social changes. So also were the nationalist parties of the third world who played critical role in the attainment of independence and the subsequent attempt to weld new nations out of traditional societies (Hague and Harrop 1987:140-141). In the process of developing collective goals, parties also serve as important agents of articulating and aggregating the myriad of groups and individual interests in the society. Although this is not an exclusive function of political parties as it is also performed by interest groups, but parties are able to do this on a wider and / or national scale. Indeed, all parties have social base that cuts across ethnic, religious, occupational and class divides. It thus serves as a platform through which the diverse interest base are articulated and aggregated to form coherent whole. The underlying assumption here is that parties are able to synthesize and reconcile the multitude of competing interests into a broad national value. It must however be stated that this function of political parties, though important, need not be stressed too far. This is because, most often, parties mainly respond to interests and demands that are consistent with their ideology or in line with controlling int erests in the party. In this context, parties are important agencies in determining which interests are represented in politics and which ones are left out. From discussions so far, it is apparent that the relationship between political parties and democratic sustenance is axiomatic. Indeed, the various roles performed by political parties in the political system are expected to strengthen the democratic processes. This demand also implies that political parties and political leaders must in themselves be democratic. What this translates to is that the extent to which individuals within the party and the party organization itself assimilate democratic tenets to a large extent affects the extent to which they are able to discharge the above roles as well as the quality of democratic growth in the political system. In other words, having democrats is precondition for democracy to take root. How these intricacies of party politics and democratic sustenance have played themselves out in Nigeria will be our next focus after a preview of political parties in the country’s current fourth republic. Parties in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic Political parties in Nigeria’s fourth republic emerged against the background of a military managed transition prograamme which began in 1998 and reached its climax on May 29, 1999 when a new civilian administration was ushered in (see Momoh and Thoeveni 2001). Before this experience, Nigeria has had previous democratic republics between 1st October 1960 when it gained political independence from Britain and January 1966 when it was rudely terminated in a military coup; another one was between October 1, 1979 and December 31, 1983 while a third one was not allowed to take root in the early 1990s because it was eventually truncated by its own architect. What is remarkable about all the republics is that, with the exception of the aborted third republic which had only two parties dejure, all others were characterized by multiparty system. Extensive work on previous republics have been done by Coleman (1971); Joseph 1991; Diamond et al 1997; Ujo 2000 and Yaqub 2002). To begin with, parties in Nigeria’s current fourth republic have been characterized by what could be described as a seesaw numerical transition. This was because, at inception of political activities in 1998, several political associations were registered (though provisionally) as political parties but was later prone down to three before the 1999 elections and by 2003, several others came back on the stage. This numerical transition deserves extensive comment. Upon commencement of political activities in 1998, close to fifty political associations sprang up but at the close of nominations, only twenty-four of them had applied for registration with INEC. After thorough scrutiny, only nine of these parties were formally registered (provisional) by INEC according to its guidelines. These are Alliance for Democracy (AD), All Peoples Party (ANPP), Democratic Alliance Movement (DAM), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), United Democratic Party (UDP), United Peoples Party (UPP) and Movement for Democracy and Justice (MDJ). However, the future and continuous existence of these parties was tied to passing the acid test. To continue to exist and function as a political party, a parting was expected to score at least, a minimum of five (initially ten) percent of the total votes in at least 24 states of the federation during the December 1998 local governments elections. Thus, of the nine parties, only the APP and PDP clearly met the criteria having scored at least five percent in over 24 states of the federation each. The AD was third with 5 percent of votes in 14 states of the federation. However, in addition to the APP and PDP, the AD was also registered partly to assuage the south westerners who were still aggrieved by the June 12, 1993 election imbroglio and most importantly, because of provisions of the electoral laws that the third best party would also be registered in the event of only two parties meeting the recruitments. Consequently, based on the modified criterion, the AD, APP and PDP were registered to contest the 1999 general elections. Following increasing pressures for registration of more parties, three other associations, All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), National Democratic Party (NDP) and United Nigeria Peoples’ Party (UNPP), were registered in June 2002 out of over twenty that applied for registration. The registration of these three parties however heightened agitations by those yet to be registered until they were finally registered later in the year. Those factors that made their registration inevitable included subtle blackmail by other associations seeking registration, fragility and growing intra party deputes among existing parties and above all, the resort to litigation by those not registered among others (see, Anifowoshe 2004: 63) Added to this was increasing factionalisation of existing parties. Indeed, the ruling by the Federal Appeal Court in Abuja, FCT, which favoured the registration of more parties, was a major and perhaps most significant factor that prompted registration of more parties by INEC to the extent that about thirty political parties freely contested the 2003 general elections. It must be stated that, although thirty political parties contested the 2003 general elections, the trio of PDP, ANPP and AD have remained dominant since 1999. While the PPD is currently controlling 27 states (previously 28 before the court order that awarded victory of Anambra state governorship election to the APGA candidate earlier this year), the ANPP has seven states and AD, one state. They all however, have their men in the national parliament, though with varying strength. Also, there has been a growing rate of factionalization, crises of succession and internal bickering within the parties. This is with the consequence that more parties and political association have continued to emerge from them to the extent that Nigeria is currently having about 37 political parties with prospects of more to come. The new bride of parties include the ACD, MRDD, Action Alliance †¦ For instance, the rate of factionalization within the ruling PDP have gone to an extent that several factions have emerged as new parties on their own. This was the case with the MRDD spearheaded by a former national chairman and other prominent members of the party. The same account could be read for the recently formed ACD which from all indications is spearheade by imcubent Vice President Atiku Abubakar. Indeed, the PDP is not alone in the troubled waters of dissent. Even notable members of the AD and ANPP are now either full members of one of the newly registered parties or fraternizing with the intention of becoming one. This was the case with the incumbent protem National Publicity Secretary of ACD, Lai Mohammed, who was hitherto a strong member of the AD. Indeed, in the build up to 2007 general elections, there seem to be general disarray among political parties in the country. While new parties have emerged after 2003 general elections, there is nothing to suggest that more will not spring up before the next 2007 elections. But if the deepening or defense of democracy is a prime factor which politicians have always adduced for the alignment and realignment of forces leading to formation of new parties, to what extent have Nigerian political parties with its increasing numbers satisfied this aspiration? Or better still to what extent have they fulfilled the expected roles of parties in a democracy necessary for deepening the process? This is our prime concern in the next section. Nigerian Parties and Democratic Consolidation Perhaps a good way to access the impact of parties on democratic sustenance is to align our thought in this direction with the expected roles of parties in a democracy. Indeed, Nigerian parties by whatever angle they are looked at are political parties properly so called. At least, to the extent that the common aim, as parties elsewhere, is to capture political power and control machineries of government. By implication therefore, they are practically veritable instruments in the recruitment of political leaders and political elites. In fact, viewed against previous experiences, one would observe an increasing sensitization and political education of Nigerians. However, one must be cautious in stressing this argument too far giving the contradictions inherent in the ways and practices of the parties. This is because, at the facial level, parties may have been recruiting candidates for various elective posts, but beneath we may ask: what is the quality of candidates being recreated? Are the parties democratic in their recruitment process? Obviously, answers to these questions are negative. To anchor this further, we may begin on the premise that to have (or sustain) democracy, first, there must be democrats either as individuals or party organizations. It is obvious that at inception of the current democratic administration in 1999,and with exception of the PDP then which had a consensus candidate in Chief Olusegun Obasonjo, all other two parties were not particularly democratic in selecting their presidential aspirants. For instance, the decision of the A D under the influence of Afenifere, a pan Yoruba socio-cultural organization to select chief Olu Falae as the party’s presidential flagbearer at a meeting held in Ibadan by party elders without allowing proper democratic contest between him and Chief Bola Ige cannot be described as democratic. In fact, the undemocratic nature of what is now the ‘De Rovans Hotel’ episode has been adjudged as a major factor in the crises that has been rocking the party since 1999 (see National Interest June 18 2006:18). So also was the case with the APP between Dr. Olushol Saraki and †¦. The later was eventually selected in a rather spurious manner. Expectedly this action stired controversy within the parties leading to factionalization in the case of the AD and protest votes against the party by Dr Saraki and his supporters in the APP in the 1999 presidential elections. In addition, many of the three parties’ aspirants for other posts were either hand picked or selected in a surreptitious arrangement. Indeed preparations for the 2003 elections witnessed an almost complete disregard of democratic tenets in the process of recruiting candidates for elective offices. Although many of the parties attempted to pick their aspirants, especially presidential nominees, through national conventions, but unfolding events and protests by other aspirants after the conventions smacks of fluidity of the process. The implications of all the above is the increasing factionalization of the parties and rising level of intra party crises. Worrisome as these situations appear, there is nothing yet to suggest advances in democratic direction by the parties even for the 2007 elections. The recent convention of the PDP in which it was resolved (or maneuvered) against the wishes of some other members that its candidates for elections will be by affirmation is a pointer in this direction. Also is the case of the NDP which has already adopted a candidate, Rtd. General Babangida, as its presidential flag bearer for the 2007 election without holding a convention. What we can derive from the above analysis are two fold. First is that a faulty premise cannot produce a sound conclusion. A party whose internal machinery is undemocratic cannot nurture democracy in a larger societal context. Second is that the candidates so recruited have not gone through any democratic training within the party nor tested democratically to ascertain their level of subscription to democratic tenets. In this case, such candidates while in office will likely be intolerant to opposition and above all, perpetuated through undemocratic tendencies. Current unfolding occurrences in the country manifesting in succession crises, third term agenda etc. tend to confirm all the above assertions. In other words, the bottom line remains that, neither Nigerian political parties nor politicians could be regarded as democrats thus cannot effectively and sufficiently contribute to maintaining the system. In terms of political communication and serving as link between the government and the people, Nigerian parties grossly parade a deficit balance in this regard. This is because none of the parties has a functional formal communication channel. The reality is that most of the parties’ structures especially at the grassroots are only vibrant at the approach of elections. After this, they fade away while the party continue to exist only at National and state headquarters. Indeed, the critical ingredients and means of political communication necessary for a vibrant democracy are conspicuously absent in the parties. These include avenues for expression of opinions by citizens, free information flow (upward or downward) among others. These elements help strengthen attachment and loyalty to the party thereby holding prospect for increased political participation. However, Nigerian parties are not forthcoming in this regard. What is apparent is that relations within the parties are mo re of client-patronage relation. Party leaders and elected officers most often become alienated from other party members and even the electorates immediately after election. For the parties in power, the only relation that there from exist between party elites and other members usually is occasional distribution of patronage in order to preserve members support and loyalty while those out of power fizzled away only to re emerge at the approach of another election. For this reasons, harnessing citizens’ initiative or sustaining a vibrant political participation of members becomes difficult with the result of docility in party activities. Indeed, communication is the life wire of any organization the lack of which may result in the organizations eventual death. The party organization and indeed the political system is no exemption in this regard. Perhaps, we can make bold to say that the near zero communication level of Nigerian political parties is a major factor in their inability to institutionalize or funct ion effectively as lubricant of the democratic project. As already noted in this text, parties also play mobilization roles as well as articulate and aggregate the myriad of opinions held by individual and groups within the society. This no doubt facilitates development of collective goals. A careful observation of the Nigerian experience however reveal parties as playing contradictory roles to the above. First, mobilization of citizens has often been limited to periods of electoral campaigns. For Nigerian parties and politicians, election periods are periods to galvanize the people and exhume powerful oratory remarks. The average politician is always willing to visit the nooks and crannies to mobilize and solicit support for the party and candidates. But while this is part of the mobilization function of parties, it need not be confirmed solely to an election period routine. Rather, it is a process that must continue in order to bring out the best from the citizens in terms of input into policies and programmes of the government. But given the psyche of the Nigerian politician and their end-means orientation of politics which is to acquire political power in order to secure economic resources, citizen contribution / input into policies and programmes is of inconsequential effect. This crave for economic security at whatever cost by the political elites could therefore be adduced as a contributing factor to continued non alignment of policies with realities confronting the Nigerian electorates. Another dimension of the faulty mobilization function of parties in Nigeria is that even where they, as elsewhere, have wider social base of support, political maneuverings often create a situation whereby parties resort to politics of ethnic and/or religious mobilization. Indeed, mobilization politics along the lines of ethnic, religious or some other forms of cleavages have been a major character of party politics since independence. For instance most parties of the first republic used divisive mobilization politics to garner electoral support. So also were parties of the second republic. With the exception of AD which is rooted in the south west and maintains affinity with Afenifere, a socio cultural organization in the region, all other parties of the current era could not be said to have their support base restricted to a particular region. However, in the process of electioneering campaigns, many members wittingly or unwittingly often whip ethno-religious sentiments as strategies to mobilize support. Consequently in the prelude to the 2003 general elections, the mood of many Nigerians was that, Religion will play a prominent role in their choice of leaders†¦. Muslim- Christian rivalry was so intense that none of the 30 political parties in the country has managed to develop a firmly national support base. Muslims consider Obasanjo’s ruling peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as a Christian party. The all Nigerian peoples party (ANPP) of his nearest rival, Muhammad Buhari is considered by Christians to be a Muslim party (Marahatha Christian Journal, 2003). The emphasis therefore is that, where mobilization is carried on, on a faulty premise, it becomes extremely difficult to articulate and aggregate programmes and policies that serves the national interest. In this context, programmes and policies often articulated are those that are in consistent with that of the dominant interests within the party, be it socio, cultural or economic. In terms of political socialization, it may be argued that there is a tendency for negative socialization among Nigerian political parties. Socialization, conceived in terms of the process by which the individuals incorporate the ways of their respective social groups and society into their individual patterns and behaviour, is expected to be facilitated by political parties through campaigns, rallies and other political activities. In Nigeria, however, this has a negative content arising from series of violence and atmosphere of insecurity that often mare electoral processes in Nigeria. Nigerian parties and politician alike have a penchant for recruiting and making use of political thugs mostly recruited among motor garage boys, unemployed Youths and even Students at moments of campaigns and elections. Such behaviours and orientations which are antithetical to civic culture obviously are imbibed by younger generations. The consequence is that this erodes democratic senses of bargaining and compromise and instead creates the impression that force and crude militancy are the best ways to live and achieve political goals. The negative impacts of the socialization process is already being exhibited at other levels of politics below the state such unionism, especially student unionism. Indeed, student unionism at the tertiary level is expected to evince civic and enlightened qualities by virtue of the place of tertiary institutions in the country. However, a common observable trend in most tertiary institutions in Nigeria is that campus politics has often time been characterized by intolerance, maneuverings, money politics and a host of other negative traits exhibited by Nigerian political parties to the extent that institutions authorities may at times impose sanctions or outright ban on campus political activities. Situations like this no doubt have implications for their future political engagements and by extension, democratic growth in Nigeria. Our endeavour so for has been to trace whether there is an alignment between the expected roles and functions of political parties in sustaining democratic process and the activities of political parties in Nigeria. For one, while the role of parties in democratic sustenance is in controvertible, the Nigerian political parties have not been seen playing these roles. Why is this so is our focus next. Observed Weaknesses of parties in Nigeria From discussions so far, it can be gleaned that the indispensability of political parties to democratic sustenance is not in doubt. What is perhaps worrisome is the ability of Nigerian political parties to function effectively as catalyst for democratic growth. Gleaned from a number of observable trends, some factors serve to explain this unfortunate mess. First we may note ideological emptiness of the parties. Conceived as a set of coherent ideas which guide and tailor behaviour, ideology is expected to fire and sustain inspirations of party members. According to Scruton (quoted in Okoosi-Simbine, 2005:24), parties ideology are moral systems that enshrine the sanctity of contract and promise between them and the electorate because they constitute the political doctrine from which a programme of political action emanates and upon which basis citizens choose how they will like to be ruled. Essentially therefore, parties as organizations with diverse social base must be bounded by such set of common beliefs and ideas in order to help propel a vibrant democratic society. Unfortunately, Nigerian parties and politicians are merely playing survival game. Prime to them from observable trend is the desire to capture and maintain political power irrespective of what this takes. Consequently, this drive to capture power by all means possible tends to erode the performance of other functions necessary for democratic growth. The lack of ideology also serves as conduit for series of political vagrancies that characterized the political terrain. As observed by Aina (2002:19), Nigerian poiticians behave like political bats, changing affiliation in response to perceived fortunes or electoral advantage. Akin to the issue of ideology is what we may refer to as poorly digested manifesto of the parties. The manifesto is basis upon which contract between the rulers and citizens are sealed because it is the representation and/or expression of the political party’s direction, purpose and how it hopes to achieve them while in government (Onuoha 2003:141). It is the party’s statement of intention about how it hopes to achieve good governance. It is therefore the basis upon which performance of an incumbent government can be assessed and balanced against the need for change. Unfortunately, manifestoes of Nigerian political parties have proved to be manifestations of emptiness, similar in content and providing no choice for the citizens. The only difference between them as observed by Okoosi-Simbine (2005:22) is the emphasis they give to the programmes articulated or in a few cases, the strategies for carrying out the objectives. In other words, their manifestoes are more a replica of the other. Again, this close similarity in manifestoes can be hinged on their inability to develop a coherent ideology. As onu0oha (2003:145) rightly observed, any meaningful and functional manifesto must spring from a profound party ideology. Thus, a manifesto without a party ideology is like a body without a soul. In this context, rather than lubri cate democracy, parties constitute more of a burden on democratic practice. Prevalence of primordial sentiment may equaled be adduced as responsible for the inability of Nigerian parties to respond positively to the challenges of democratic sustenance. Indeed, the ability of a party to effectively perform its role especially in multi cultural settings is usually circumscribed by the socio-economic structure of the society. Therefore, since parties are institutions competing for spheres of influence in the socio-economic and political configuration of the society, there is every tendency that there activities will be likely be intertwined with prevalent socio-political sentiments of the society (Suleiman and Muhammad 2006). This is suggestive of current Nigerian parties. Indeed, post independent Nigeria has witnessed party’s base being deeply rooted in ethno-regional and religious sentiments to the extent that the major parties of the first republic (AG, NPC and NCNC) and their second republic successors (especially NPN, NPP and UPN) are often regarded as ethnic pressure groups. While parties of the current fourth republic may not be so deeply rooted in a particular region, nonetheless, the continuous use, overtly or covertly , of ethnic and religious sentiments in party politics reinforces social divisions among the populace which in turn weakens party structure and organization. Needless to stress that, a weak party in terms of internal structure cannot function optimally in deepening the democratic process. We can also speak of poor financial standing of the parties which made them susceptible to hijack by money barons who eventually use them to achieve personal benefits. Politics generally is an expensive activity and the role of money in contemporary Nigerian politics is indeed overwhelming. Although the government, through INEC, is currently financing the parties, but considering the spending pattern of the parties, government finance is generally considered insufficient. Consequently, additional funds are sourced through party financiers that include influential business men, party members in government and so on. For instance, the Plateau state governor, Joshua Dariye, sometime ago claimed he gave the PDP part of the 1.6 billion naira ecological fund he was accused of mismanaging. Similarly, only recently the ANPP caretaker committee chairman and gover nor of Bornu state directed all the seven governors on the platform of the party to contribute 20 million Naira each to the party’s purse within two weeks while all presidential aspirants and senators were to contribute 10 million Naira each towards the administration of the party (The Punch Editorial, †¦June, 2006:16). The implication of this is that Nigerian parties will likely for long be hijacked by money barons who will eventually constitute godfathers within the parties. Second is that credible aspirants who cannot afford to pay the huge sums would have to forget or submerge it while thirdly, internal party democracy becomes jeopardized. The resulting effect of all these is that parties becomes constrained as popular organizations capable of being the vanguard of democratic growth. Rather, they become characterized by frequent conflict and internal party squabbles. Also as a fall out of the above circumstances, programmes and policies that are often articulated and implemented reflect more of the interests of the so-called godfathers rather than that of the formal party organization. Thus, as the International IDEA (2006:8) have noted, given this context, Nigerian party life is characterized by a very low level of debate on policy options. Another observed weakness of Nigerian political partie s is the absence of political education. It is a common fact that Nigerian political parties have not been carrying out programmes aimed at enlightening the populace and even party members. This is because the party organization has been confined to mere instrument of contesting elections. Thus after elections, most of the parties become docile both in terms of recruiting new members and organizing activities to enlighten citizens about the political process. According to the country report on Nigeria by the international IDEA (2006:8), all the parties surveyed do agree that their members are active only during elections. The import of this is that once elections are over, only very few things link the party with its members thus, the expected role of political communication and education wanes out. We may also note the long years of military rule as another factor for the nonperformance of Nigerian political parties. Indeed, Nigeria’s long reign of military rule from 1966 to 1999, except for the brief period of 1979 to 1983, have affected the psyche of the average Nigerian politician. Military rule as it were is undemocratic. But its long reign in Nigeria with all its undemocratic tendencies have walked its way into the subliminal consciousness of most Nigerian. Thus, even though the military is out of power and democracy in place, the legacy of authoritarian tendencies still permeates the orientations and behaviours of the political class. The implications of this are that Nigeria currently has a short supply of tested democrats while democratic institutions remain large underdeveloped. In other words, while the success of any democratic experiment is predicated on the availability of individuals who are democrats in themselves, Nigeria’s long years of military tutelage has done no less than wipe out the last vestiges of democratic qualities among Nigerian politicians. Conclusion So far in this work we have tried to examine the link between political parties and democratic sustenance in Nigeria. It is observed that the institution of political party is indispensable if democracy is to be strengthened. This is by virtue of the various functions they perform which transcend the mere activity of fielding candidates for elections. However, the Nigerian situation is observed to be a deviation from the norm. if anything, Nigerian parties have not only failed in discharging these roles, but are equally working in the direction of democratic regression. In the main, the poor financial base of these parties, lacks of institutionalization, empty ideological content among others are part of their major constraints. Against this background, it is suggested that the government should improve on its funding of these parties in order to avoid their hijack by selfish money barons. Equally, the INEC should put in place mechanisms that would ensure these parties are internally democratic. Internal democracy of the parties no doubt will magnify into useful premise for democracy to thrive in the larger Nigerian society. Above all, there must be the political will by politicians themselves to allow democratic tenets to take root in the country. The above, it is believe are good recipe for democratic sustenance in Nigeria. 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