Responsibility: are we really responsible for our actions? Essay

Have you ever wondered if the decision that you have just made was the best possible decision for you to make? An agent’s relationship between responsibility and his decisions in life are affected by the alternative choices that were not taken as well as the choices that were made. Thomas Nagel believes that an agent’s autonomy is always being threatened by the possibility of a viewpoint that is more objective than his own. His view on responsibility is such that in order to place responsibility on an agent, sufficient reflection about alternative choices must be considered. On the other hand, Carl Ginet claims that free will cannot be caused (free will is not determined), but rather that the will is free. He claims that responsibility is a result of the agent’s inherent free will to choose and is event specific. Ginet feels that since we are free beings, we are responsible for every decision that we make, but not for the causes of our choices. This is contrary to Nagel’s stance of responsibility. He asserts that in order for an agent to be held responsible for his decisions, the agent must have sufficient knowledge of both subjective and objective viewpoints. Nagel believes that this requires a highly developed view of the self and is very difficult to achieve. Responsibility  for our actions seems to only stem from the choices that we make, but the decisions that we do not make also affect our degree of responsibility. Ginet feels that the only two propositions regarding free will are either that the will is caused or that the will is free. He argues that if the will is caused no agent can be held responsible for his decisions. One of Ginet’s arguments is that if the will is to be caused and a choice is presented to an agent that â€Å"no one can be intelligibly described as knowing what his decision will be before he makes it because the claim to possess such knowledge is implicitly inconsistent,† (Ginet 50). He claims that since agents cannot know what decision they are going to make before they make them, that the agent’s decisions are not caused. There is no point in deciding to take a course of action that is already known to the agent. A decision, in this case, would be useless because an agent cannot ‘decide’ on  an action if the agent already knows what he will do. As Ginet points out, â€Å"if [the agent] does already know what he will decide to do, then he cannot by the process of making up his mind persuade himself to anything that he does not already know,† (Ginet 52). If this is the case than an agent cannot be held responsible for his decisions because he could not possibly persuade himself to take a new course of action. On the other hand, if the will is to be free, placing responsibility for the decisions of an agent is valid. Ginet believes that with free will, a decision should be self-determining, â€Å"?a decision is a specific event which, like a flash or bang, can be identified independently of inquiry into its causes,† (Ginet 54). A decision  is to be judged simply as an event and not by the events that caused it. If the will is free, responsibility can be placed on an agent, while if the will is caused, responsibility is discounted. Autonomy and the tradeoff between the subjective and objective points of view are at the heart of an agent’s decision making, according to Nagel. He contends that there are levels of autonomy but no one can reach the highest level (perfect autonomy). Higher levels of autonomy are reached through self-actualization and reflection on oneself. An agent’s autonomy stems from the objective reflection of his viewpoint. However, Nagel believes that an agent can loose his autonomy and ultimately his free will by being overly reflective as is shown in this quote, â€Å"?so the problem of free will lies in the erosion of interpersonal attitudes and of the sense of autonomy,† (Nagel 112). Nagel’s problem with free will, in making decisions, comes from the desire to possess both the objective (observer) perspective and the subjective (actor) perspective at the same instant. The problem here, is that an agent cannot be both causing the action and, at the same moment, be a passive observer. Why would we want to have both a subjective and an objective viewpoint at the same instant? To possess both would mean that the agent has the knowledge of the external perspectives affecting the decisions as well as the internal desires and the ability to act on them. Because an agent views his choice subjectively, there may be alternative choices that  are not made aware to the agent and that may eventually prove to be the best course of  action. An example of this particular case is as follows: a bank teller (who is relatively new to his position) is held up at gunpoint and ordered to give the robber the bank’s money. This bank teller mentally reviews his situation and finds that the best course of action is to hand over the money peacefully. While this is happening, the bank manager is also reviewing the situation and has decided that if he were in the teller’s situation that he would push the hidden button underneath the desk. This button would release a plate of bulletproof glass between the robber and the teller. Unfortunately, the teller is new to his position and does not have this objective knowledge. The question before us: is the teller responsible for the loss of the bank’s money? This question will be considered later. Subjective and objective viewpoints often coincide with autonomy and self-reflection. It is the choices from which we have to choose from, in any particular situation, that determine the degree of responsibility to which we attribute our actions. In order to answer the question stated in the preceding paragraph about the bank teller, one must choose to go along with Nagel’s or Ginet’s view on responsibility. If one holds to Ginet’s conviction that the will is free, then we are responsible for our decisions. However, judgment of the particular decision is limited to the decision being only a specific event and not of the preceding events. Judgment and responsibility in this case do not have anything to do with preceding causes in any way or the decisions that could have been made if the agent had a more objective viewpoint. In the case of the bank teller, his decision in giving the  robber the money and thereby choosing the safest and most peaceful solution was, indeed, the best decision he could have made. He is not held  accountable for the lost money. When Nagel’s outlook on responsibility is applied to assess this situation, we see that there was a better decision that could have been made. If the teller had the objective knowledge about the button under the desk that the manager had, he could have prevented the robber from stealing the bank’s money. However, if he only had this objectivity and not his subjectivity, he would not be in the position to produce the volition at all. The teller did not, in this case, choose the best decision, but at the same time is not fully responsible for the loss of the bank’s money. The teller is partly held accountable for the lost money because there was an alternative choice that would have made the overall outcome better off. Unfortunately for the teller, the knowledge of the hidden button was not made aware to him. This is why the teller is only partly responsible. Ginet asserts that responsibility is to be judged by the specific event while Nagel implies that there are different degrees of responsibility that vary with the amount of information that the agent has. Judgment on a decision can be assessed using Ginet’s ‘event specific’ outlook on responsibility or Nagel’s view that there are varying degrees of responsibility. Both of these methods rely on the agent’s knowledge of the particular situation to make the best decision, but only Nagel’s method of judging a decision incorporates objective knowledge that the agent may be partially (or not  at all) unaware of. Ginet’s stance on responsibility is that only the specific decision can be judged because the causes that led up to the decision are irrelevant when an agent finally comes to a conclusion when making a particular decision. Nagel states that in order to make the best decision possible, an agent must have both subjective and objective knowledge. In this case, responsibility is not only derived from the decision that is actually made, but is also derived from decisions that could have been made (even if the agent did not have enough knowledge to consider all his possibilities). Both methods of assessing responsibility are valid, but Nagel’s method may be considered ‘unfair’. The agent is being  held accountable for something that is out of his control (he does not have adequate knowledge). When we are faced with a decision, we must consider all that is before us in order to make the best possible choice. We will be held responsible for the decisions we make and for the decisions we did not make. Works Cited Ginet, Carl. â€Å"Can the Will be Caused?† Philosophical Review 71 (1962): 49-55. Reprinted in New Readings in Philosophical Analysis, ed. H. Feigl, W. Sellars and K. Lehrer (New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1972). Nagel, Thomas. â€Å"The View from Nowhere.† Cambridge University Press. (1979). pp.110-137

Human Resource Development and Workers Commitment in Nigeria

INTRODUCTION The focus of this paper is to examine the role of human resource development and workers commitment in organization in particular and in Nigeria as a whole. For the purpose of this study, the concept of human resource development and manpower development will be used interchangeably. In any organization, it is the workforce who is considered important assets for the achievement of organizational goals. Every industry desires to maximize its human resources to see that the best output is achieved.Therefore, human resource development policies are closely associated to that aspect of human resource management that is concerned with investing in people and developing the organization’s human capital. Keep (1989) in his view say: one of the primary objectives of human resource management is the creation of condition whereby the latent potential of employees will be realized and their commitment to the causes of the organization secured.This latent potential is taken t o include, not only the capacity to acquire and utilize new skills and knowledge but also a hitherto untapped wealth of ideas about how the organization’s operations might be better ordered. The issue for employers goes beyond the need to upgrade the skills of the current workforce. It is also necessary to equip future entrants to the workforce with the requisite education which make them ‘trainable’ for emerging and constantly changing skills requirement.It is generally believed that if overall human conditions are to improve, there must be increasing emphasis on human resources development. Appropriately, such development provides for increase in productivity, enhance competitiveness and support economic growth. The importance of human resources development is obvious when one considered that in any economic activity, it is the human element that commands, direct, organizes, controls and maximizes. CONCEPTUAL CLARIFICATION Training and development remains a maj or component of human resource development.By definition, human resource (HR) is the manpower, employee or worker required by an organization; be it public or private to enable it achieves its predetermined objectives. That is, the purpose for which it is set up. It could mean the entire human resource (skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled) available within the country. Human resource development or otherwise manpower development is a continuous process of impacting new information, skills, attitude and ideas to employees dictated by the requirement of job change. It is a means of overcoming employee obsolescence through education and training.In other words, HR-development is a means by which employees are kept current on their official duties, this means in effect that it is the process of preparing the total quantitative and qualitative human asset in a nation or organization so that they can move with the nation or organizations as they develop, change and grow. Human resources d evelopment is a combination of training and education that ensure the continual improvement and growth of both the individual and the organization. Adam Smith stated that, â€Å"the capacities of individuals depended on their access to education†.In economic term, it could be describe as the accumulation of human capital and its effective investment in the development of a nation’s economy. In political term, manpower or HR development prepares people for adult participation in political process particularly as a citizen in democratic country. On the whole, HRD is the process of planning and controlling the way in which a person’s performance and potentials are developed by training and educational development programmes. WORKERS COMMITMENT A wide variety of definitions and measure of workers commitment exist.Beckeri, Randal, and Riegel (1995) defined the term in a three dimensions: 1. a strong desire to remain a member of a particular organization; 2. a willing ness to exert high levels of efforts on behalf of the organization; 3. a define belief in and acceptability of the values and goals of the organization. To Northcraft and Neale (1996), commitment is an attitude reflecting an employee's loyalty to the organization, and an ongoing process through which organization members express their concern for the organization and its continued success and well being.Organizational commitment is determined by a number of factors, including personal factors (e. g. , age, tenure in the organization, disposition, internal or external control attributions); organizational factors (job design and the leadership style of one's supervisor); non-organizational factors (availability of alternatives). All these things affect subsequent commitment (Nortcraft and Neale, 1996). Mowday, Porter, and Steer (1982) see commitment as attachment and loyalty. These authors describe three components of commitment: ? an identification with the goals and values of the o rganization ?A desire to belong to the organization. ?A willingness to display effort on behalf of the organization. A similar definition of commitment emphasizes the importance of behaviour in creating it. Salancik (1977) conceives commitment as a state of being in which an individual becomes bound by his actions and it is these actions that sustain his activities and involvement. From this definition, it can be inferred that three features of behavior are important in binding individuals to act: visibility of acts, the extent to which the outcomes are irrevocable; and the degree to which the person undertakes the action voluntarily.To Salancik therefore, commitment can be increased and harnessed to obtain support for the organizational ends and interests through such things as participation in decision-making. THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT AND WORKERS COMMITMENT IN NIGERIA The most important strategy for productivity improvement is based on the fact that huma n productivity, both high and low is determined by the attitudes of all those who work in the enterprise. Thus, to improve labour commitment, it is necessary to change attitude towards positive drive.These changes develop positive attitudes and an organizational culture which will be favourable towards productivity improvement as well as technological changes. To improve productivity, it is therefore necessary to manage change; this means motivating, inducing and generating change. Ashton and Felstead (1995) regard the investment by an organisation in the skills of employees as a ‘litmus test’ for a change in the way they are manages. First, the replacement of the words ‘training cost’ with investment responses to the outcomes of HRD where the continuation of viewing training s a short-term cost has persistently acted as a powerful break of many training strategies. Having defined human resource development as the study and practice of increasing the learni ng capacity of individuals, groups, collectives, and organizations through the development and application of learning-based interventions for the purpose of optimizing human and organizational growth and effectiveness, it is indicated that formal training enhances employees’ organizational commitment. Sharma 1989 had also found a correlation between training and organizational commitment.Organizations that offer employees a relative high degree of development opportunities and internal career possibilities were also found to have opportunities has also been reported to have a positive effect on perceived rationalism of the employment relation, which is also said to have accounted for higher levels of commitment and job satisfaction. In organizations that offer training opportunities, employee commitment and citizenship behaviour are found to be higher than in organizations that do not offer the same.Studies has also shown that violation of perceived training obligations resu lt in reduced organizational commitment and increased intentions to leave the organization. Tannenbaum et al. (1991) found that naval recruits who participated in an 8-week training held higher levels of affective commitment than before the training. EQUITY THEORY The theory was propounded by Adam Staley John in 1963 and this theory calls for a fair balance to be struck between an employee’s input (hard work, skill level, tolerance, enthusiasm etc. ) and employee’s output (salary, benefits, recognition etc).According to the theory, finding this fair balance serves to ensure a strong and productive relationship achieved with the employee, with the overall result being contended, motivated employees. Adam’s Equity Theory acknowledges that subtle and variable factors affect an employee assessment and perception of their relationship with their work and their employer. The theory is built on the belief that employees become de-motivated, both in relation to their jo b and their employer if they feel as though their inputs are greater than the output.This theory also compares the input and output between different workers at different levels. Bringing this theory to the level of work commitment in Nigeria, it will be noted that workers are highly de-motivated because of the inequality between their various input and their output. For instance, comparing the input of a University Professor with that of a Senator and relating it to their output, this will highly de-motivate professor to work. And these are some of the problem affecting workers commitment in Nigeria.HUMAN CAPITAL THEORY Human Capital theory was proposed by Schultz (1961) and developed extensively by Becker (1964). According to the theory, it suggests that education or training raises the productivity of workers by imparting useful knowledge and skills, hence raising workers’ future income by increasing their lifetime earnings (Becker, 1994). It postulates that expenditure on training and education is costly, and should be considered an investment since it is undertaken with a view to increasing personal incomes.The human capital approach is often used to explain occupational wage differentials. Human capital can be viewed in general terms, such as the ability to read and write, or in specific terms, such as the acquisition of a particular skill with a limited industrial application. In his view, human capital is similar to â€Å"physical means of production†, e. g. , factories and machines: one can invest in human capital (via education, training, medical treatment) and one's outputs depend partly on the rate of return on the human capital one owns.Thus, human capital is a means of production, into which additional investment yields additional output. Human capital is substitutable, but not transferable like land, labor, or fixed capital. This suggest that for human resource development to be effective and for workers to be more committed to the organization, the organizations concerned need to be more involved in the training and re-training of its workforce. THE HUMAN CAPITAL MODELThe human capital model suggests that an individual's decision to invest in training is based upon an examination of the net present value of the costs and benefits of such an investment. Individuals are assumed to invest in training during an initial period and receive returns to the investment in subsequent periods. Workers pay for training by receiving a wage which is lower than what could be received elsewhere while being trained. Since training is thought to make workers more productive, workers collect the returns from their investment in later periods through higher marginal roducts and higher wages. Human capital models usually decompose training into specific training, which increases productivity in only one firm, and general training, which increases productivity in more than one firm. Purely general training is financed by workers, and the workers receive all of the returns to this training. In contrast, employees and employers will share in the costs and returns of specific training. Despite these differences between general and specific training, the model predicts that both forms of training lower the starting wage and increase wage growth.THE NIGERIAN CONTEXT Human resource development in Nigeria has come a long way, but the process of actual resource development has been very gradual. Nigerian attempt at human resources development in particular cannot be separated from the country’s post-colonial attempt at accelerated education and industrialization. In a broader sense, every post colonial government’s investment in education has been for the purpose of providing the manpower which the nation needs in it private and public sectors.This led to the establishment of three (3) Universities by the three regional governments of West, East, and the North (University of Ibadan which is the first) and the establishment of University of Lagos by the federal government all within the first decade of post independence Nigeria. As a result of the country’s quest for technological development, polytechnics and universities of technology as stream in the 1970s, 80s, and 90s. Provision of universities and polytechnics education were meant to provide the national economy with the manpower it needs to develop and expand.The emphasis on formal and higher education as a basis of national human resource development was quite apparent in all the national development plans of post independence Nigeria. Gradually, the nation’s economic planners shifted attention to intervention in the areas of training and manpower development. In fairness to our earlier economic planners, Onasanya (2005) believes that â€Å"without education, there can be no training and without the two, there can be no development†.Government’s attempt at strengthening training and development in the national economy led to the establishment of the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) in 1971; Administrative and Staff Training College of Nigeria (ASCON) in 1973; and Centre for Management Development (CMD) in 1976. The idea behind the three establishments is the provision of consultancy on training needs all enterprise, training higher level manpower staff, and conducting research into problems of manpower and administration in public and private sectors.Onasanya (2005) also believe government’s intervention as stated above must be appreciated in the Nigeria context because, â€Å"until recently, and probably until the intervention of the government (training was one of the ill-managed and haphazardly handled areas of modern enterprises. Training and development was seen as a waste of a workers labour hours (to his employer) and a way of denying the employer the service of the employee. The above analysis is not to take away the concerted effort in the public and private sectors towards training and human resource development.Public sector workers have many structured training programmes and many government have a ministry of establishment and training, as well as designated training centres. In the private sector, some notable sectors such as banking, telecommunications, and manufacturing industries are more proficient in training today than in the past. The efficiency of manpower training and new technology has helped these sectors in terms of better service delivery. But, are workers really committed in Nigeria?Workers’ commitment or otherwise in Nigeria is more than whether there human capacity is developed because there are many factors affecting workers motivation and commitment in Nigeria. The global economic meltdown has meant less security for workers in Nigeria and throughout the world. Even good workers do lose their jobs at these times, hence morale is generally low. Other factors such as culture, god-fatherism, ICT and other mod ern technologies have impacted negatively on workers morale and productivity in Nigeria. The gradual decimation of the power of labour unions have also not helped matter.TOOLS/METHOD FOR MANPOWER DEVELOPMENT IN ORGANIZATIONS The tools and methods for manpower development in organizations differs, and it is largely determined by the objectives of organizations, the idiosyncrasy of management staff or the chief executive, the organizational policy, as well as the organizational environment to mention a few. Thus, it is a common feature to see methods for manpower development varying from one organization to the other, just as a given organization can be tailored at adopting different methods at different times or a combination of techniques t the same time. However, some methods for manpower development are stated below: 1. Orientation: This method of manpower development could be said to be an integral part of the recruitment exercise in that once an employee has been found appointab le, it is expected that such an employee need to be positively oriented in line with the vision and aspiration of the organization for effective discharge of function. And since employee function in an organization is basically affected by his perception of the organization vis-a-vis the rules and principles that exist in the organization.It therefore follow that an employee undergoes formal and informal orientation in a place of work. While the formal orientation focuses on job specification and occupational demands placed on the employee, the informal orientation involve the social interaction that take place in the place of work which could either boost productivity or be detrimental to it (Koontz et al. 1980). Orientation therefore, as a method of manpower development is quite indispensable because it helps in boosting the productivity of workers which is needed for competing in the global market of the 21st century. . On the Job Method of Manpower Development: This method is ba sically different from the orientation method in that while orientation is at the point of entry into the organization or a new assignment; on the job method is a process through which knowledge and experience are acquired over a period of time either formally or informally. This process involve the following: (a)Coaching: This is a method of on the job training and development in which a young employee is attached to a senior employee with the purpose of acquiring knowledge and experience needed for the performance of tasks. Yalokwu, 2000). (b) Job Rotation: This method either involve the movement of an employee from one official assignment or department to the other, in order for the employee to be acquainted with the different aspects of the work process or through job enlargement – that is, given additional responsibility to an employee who has been uplifted as a result of the acquisition of additional skill or knowledge (Yalokwu, 2000; Lawal, 2006). (c) in House Training : This involve a formal method of on the job training n which skills and knowledge are acquired by employees through internally organized seminars and workshops geared toward updating the workers with new techniques or skills associated with the performance of their jobs. (Lawal, 2006). (d) In Service Training: These methods involve training outside the organization or workplace in higher institution of learning or vocational centres under the sponsorship of the organization or on terms that may be agreed upon between the organization and the worker (Lawal, 2006). 3.Committee/Work Group Method: This method entails manpower development through the involvement of employees in meetings, committees and work group discussion geared towards injecting inputs in form of decision making as regard solving organizational problem. This method is quite indispensable, especially in the aspect of training employees for managerial functions or heading organizational units. 4. Vestibule Training Met hod: This is a method of manpower development through the acquisition of skills in a related working environment (Nongo, 2005).Under this method the trainee practices his skill with identical equipment that he uses or he is expected to use in his actual place of work. This method is most suitable for sensitive operations where maximal perfection is expected. The purpose is therefore to enable perfection at work place. 5. Apprenticeship Method: This method of manpower development involve the acquisition of skill through extensive practice for over a period of time by the trainee. This type of manpower development device could either be formal or informal.In the informal environments the trainee is attached to the trainer, and he/she is expected to pay for an agreed period of apprenticeship (Nongo, 2005). In the formal environment on the other hand, an employee of an organization could be placed under apprenticeship in the organization with pay. THE RELEVANCE OF MANPOWER DEVELOPMENT I N NIGERIA 1. Economic Development: The relevance of manpower development in Nigeria could be situated vis-a-vis economic development. This is because manpower development captures the actual meaning of development in that it is people centered (World Bank 1991; Grawboski and Shields 1996).In addition, it involves the building of capacity and harnessing the State’s human resource which constitute a sine-qua-non for development. The above advantage was vividly conceptualized by Harbison (1973) when he stated that: Human resources constitute the ultimate basis for wealth of nations, capital and natural resources are passive factors of production; human beings are the active agents who accumulate capital, exploit natural resources, build social, economic and political organizations, and carry forward national development.Clearly a country which is unable to develop the skills and knowledge of its people and to utilize them effectively in the national economy will be unable to dev elop anything else. 2. Political Stability: There is no doubt that a country which fails to adequately develop her manpower would be doing so at the expense of her socio-economic and political stability.In the aspect of political stability, Omodia (2004) stressed the dysfunctional use of the nation’s human resource among the youths in propelling political instability when he stated that: †¦there has been situations in which the Nigerian youth especially, those of poor family background were used as tools for disrupting the political democratic system through rigging, thuggery and ethnic conflicts. These factors of rigging, thuggery in addition to economic mismanagement, personal ambition or selfishness among others, were the factors that terminated the First and Second Republic.Thus, manpower development could help the youths in the development of self and in improving the quality of their political participation. 3. Poverty Alleviation: It has been argued that effective poverty alleviation scheme must involve the development and utilization of local resource including human for solving local problems (Robb, 2000; Omodia, 2005). Thus, manpower development is central to solving the present problem of poverty in Nigeria. CHALLENGES FACING MANPOWER DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA 1.Colonial Experience: There have been several arguments regarding the distortions in manpower development of national growth in Nigeria as a result of colonialism which was fashioned towards economic exploitation (Ekpo, 1989; Ake, 2001; Dauda, 2003). It could be recalled that the advent of colonialism led to the integration of the Nigerian economy into the World Capitalist System thereby placing minimum premium on labour when compared to other factors of production. This poor performance of indigenous labour by the colonial government no doubt has persisted in the post-colonial Nigerian State.As a result, this problem account for the lack of adequate attention given to labour as a cr itical part of the production process in Nigeria. 2. Poor Political Leadership: Closely related to the problem of colonial experience as a problem of manpower development in Nigeria is poor political leadership which is further deepening the problem of manpower development in Nigeria. This factor has manifested itself in poor funding of education over the years (Baikie, 2002), disparity or class in manpower development between children of the rich and the poor (Omodia, 2006). 3.Poor Manpower Planning: This problem is associated with the poor data base that is needed for manpower planning in Nigeria both in the rural and urban centers. This problem no doubt constitutes a major hindrance on effective manpower development in Nigeria (Baikie, 2002; Oku 2003). 4. Poor Funding: Nigeria’s democracy has enhanced the practice of human resource development, determining the quota of expatriates it permits. Nigeria’s economy allows the importation of new technology to enhance huma n resource development, but training is still a bit slow, thus employment of expatriates to handle such is still encouraged.In Nigeria there is application of new management techniques and skills used in the running of organizations. All aimed at running cost effective system. 5. The socio-cultural diversity of Nigeria has influenced the human resource management practices in Nigeria. Nigeria is characterized by over reliance on culture, language, religion, gender and educational qualifications as a basis for determining who get employed and who need to be trained and re-trained. What this means is that, the opportunity for an average Nigeria to get employed is a factor of the aforementioned cases. CONCLUSIONThis paper have been able to situate or relate what could be referred to as manpower underdevelopment to socio-economic and political problems in Nigeria by looking at such factors as poverty, political instability and economic underdevelopment. From this background, it is there fore important to conclude that human resource development as a concept and method should be able to take its rightful place as a tool for development in Nigeria through the recognition of the fact that it is the most active and indispensable in the process of production even in the global age of the 21st century.RECOMMENDATION FOR EFFECTIVE MANPOWER DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA The options recommended for effective manpower development in Nigeria could be viewed from two basic perspectives: 1. The option of an enhanced regulatory capability on the part of government for effective reinforcement of manpower policies. This is quite indispensable based on the need to ensure quality manpower development irrespective of sex, class, ethnic affiliation to mention a few.This point could best be appreciated considering the liberal nature of most government policies which tend to snowball into elitist benefit in terms of policy outcome. 2. The need for government to be persuasive in making organiza tions embraces well designed policies at improving the development of manpower in Nigeria. This could be done both internally and externally. Internally, organizations should be made to see reasons why a careful manpower development plan should form part of their plans and objectives for the financial year.As a matter of fact, the success of organizations should not only be measured in terms of the magnitude of profit through the adoption of outdated personnel administration technique, but, basically on the contribution of the organization in enlarging the confidence of its workers through manpower development. The external factor involves the contribution of organization to the development of manpower through financial support meant to boost adult education, vocational education, and specialized research institutes to mention a few. REFERENCES Ake, C. (2001): Democracy and Development in Africa. Ibadan: Spectrum BooksLimited. Baikie, A. (2002): Recurrent Issues in Nigeria Education . Zaria: Tamaza Publishing Company. Becker, G. S. (1964): Human capital. New York: Columbia University Press. Dauda, S. (2003): The Crisis of Development in Africa: The Democratic Imperatives. J Dev Soc, Ekpo, A. H. (1989): Manpower Development in Nigeria. In: SC Ogbuagu (Ed. ): Strategy For National Development In Nigeria. Calabar: University of Calabar Press. FGN (1998): National Policy on Education. Lagos: Federal Government Press. Grabowski, R. , Shields, M. (1996): Development Economics. USA: Blackwell Publishers Incorporation.Harbison, F. (1973): Human Resources as the Wealth of Nations. New York: Oxford University Press. Koontz, H; O’Donnel. C; Weihrich, H. (1980): Management. Japan: McGraw Hill Publishing Company. Lawal, M. M. (2006): Manpower Management: A Hand Book for Personnel Managers and Students of Administration. Abuja: Roots Books and Journals Nigeria Limited. Nongo, S. (2005): Fundamental of Management, Makurdi: Aboki Publishing Company. Oku, O. (2003): The Universal Basic Education (UBE) Programme: Issues and Problems of Policy Implementation. J Nig Langs Cul, Omeje,J. O. (2006): Developmental Psychology.Nnike Publishing Press, Enugu. Omodia, S. (2004): The Family as a Vehicle for Sustainable Democracy in Nigeria. J Fam Dev. Omodia, S. (2005): Poverty Alleviation in a Deregulated Economy. Challenges and Prospects For Sustainable Democracy in Nigeria. J Adm. Omodia, S. (2006): The Liberal and Elitist Perception of Public Policies in Nigeria: A Focus on the National Policy on Women and Education in the Nigerian Fourth Republic. Acad For Onasanya, S. A. B. (2005):Effective Personnel Management and Industrial Relation. Centre for Management Development, Lagos. Robb, C. M. (2002): Can the Poor Influence Policy?USA: World Bank. Sharma, B. R. (1989): A Study of the Relationship of Organizational Climate with Organisational; Commitment and Psychological Well being, PhD Thesis, Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla. Tannenbaum, S. L; Mathieu, J. E; Salas, E. & Cannon-Bowers, J. A. (1991): Meeting Trainees' Expectations: The Influence of Training Fulfillment on the Development of Commitment, Self-eficacy, and Motivation. The Journal of Applied Psychology. World Bank (1991): World Development Report. New York: Oxford University Press. Yalokwu, P. O. (2000): Management: Concept and Techniques . Lagos: Peak Publishers.

Job Design, Job Characteristics, and Job Crafting Essay

Job Design, Job Characteristics, and Job Crafting - Essay Example This is because, as the specializations increases in job positions, people working in that job position become invaluable natural resources for the company. It is a known fact that the productivity declines if the people who are working are dissatisfied with their life. There are many methods which can be used for designing a job so that it can be done in an efficient manner. The first step is to assess the job fully in terms of its usefulness to the organization. Then, you need to divide the job into various parts and get suggestion about the best way of doing them quickly and efficiently. The third step is to implement the streamlined method to complete the job. The best method to design a job so that it can be motivating is the job crafting which can done by the person who is working on that position. The first step is this method is the assessment of the job profile and altering one or more than one core aspect of the work. He or she can consult with their supervisor and change the job boundaries by changing the numbers of tasks, changing the method or increasing the scope as per that person’s choices. The organizations hire the experts to study physical and other aspects to optimize the system performance as well as minimize the physical demands on the workers. It assesses the human capabilities and designs the tools, systems and work environment in order to make them efficient, comfortable and safe jobs for the employees of any company. There are many ways in which an organization can plan for the mental demands of any job. They can change the thinking of the person or his perception about the job. The person concerned can divide his job in two separate parts, one which he can think as a challenge and the other which can think as the vacation from the tedious parts. He can assess the job profile and responsibilities very deeply. Then, he can reconfigure them as per his choices. Job crafting can be broadly defined as the simple visual framework

Comparing And Contrasting The Different Types Of Love Found In Plato's Essay

Comparing And Contrasting The Different Types Of Love Found In Plato's Symposium And St. Augustine's Confessions - Essay Example Regarding our main topic of focus, love is neither an abstract nor a concrete emotion or feeling. In our daily lives, we usually and constantly refer to the word love innumerable times simply because of our unfamiliarity with its meaning. In all those instances whereby we apply the term love, we mean different things though unawares. In most cases, however, we mean that the referee is something or someone that we desire and would profoundly prefer looking after or caring for. Everything can be a subject to loving by another both abstract and concrete. However, concrete things objects that have no emotions cannot love. The love of an individual towards someone or something therefore encompasses an extremely broad nature and has to be succinctly espoused. The study outlined below encompasses both the similarities and also the dissimilarities between the two philosophers in terms of what their views are regarding the critical issue of love (St Augustine 373). Plato derives his views and definitions for love from the evaluation of other peoples’ personal conveniences regarding love. This kind of love is referred to as common love, merely for sexual satisfaction. He defines heavenly love as a profound feeling or elated emotion that emanates from the soul and characterized by a no-conditional liking and passion between mostly a man and a man. This kind of love is made possible by a connection to the heavenly God. This love is deeply rooted beyond the soul and is indispensable. Common love is referred to as immoral and vulgar since it is aimed at satisfying the participants sexually over a short period of time. This love comes from the profound and strongly rooted physical attraction. This kind of love is not right and is not supported by the two philosophers. St. Augustine gives the same kind of types of love and expounds on the instances in almost a similar way as Plato (Sheffield et al 1). In both their assessments, they perceive the female gender as inferio r to the men excluding the goddesses. This elicits a similarity between the two scholars’ views on the nature and types of love (St Augustine 373). Both Plato and Augustine come to terms that there is a greater version of love than the concrete and physically expressed love. This kind of love is enlightened and formless. Both men and women aim at receiving that enlightenment but in entirely diverse ways. Augustine slightly differs with Plato regarding the actions and activities inculcated in the love relationship. This is sexual contact between people who love each other. Plato argues that sexual intercourse is a path to achievement of the higher love that everyone aims to obtain and which brings about enlightenment. Augustine, on the other side argues that the action of sexual intercourse only brings about tradeoffs towards the achievement of such enlightenment to the higher reality. He perceives and strongly believes that expression of physical love is not a stepping stone but rather a barrier to attainment of spirituality. This is due to the fact that he had previously experienced situations regarding the same issue at hand. He considered romantic or common love as purely sacrilegious and non credible since he had actually gone through in his early ages. Plato argues that in the initial stage of love, the amans’

Personal Statement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Personal Statement - Essay Example This is considering that if I establish myself as a financial expert, business organizations will rely on me to create financial records of their transactions, financial flows, their process for wealth creation and indicate their financial position at a particular time, makes me appreciate the importance of a career in this field. This appreciation influenced me to select a career in this field as I will get to interact with other likeminded individuals and learn more on how to run the world through my practice in the financial sector. In addition to the importance of finance and accounting, the clear logic and advanced mathematics have been areas that fascinate me throughout my academic life. I enjoy not only the advanced mathematics and clear logic practiced in the economic analyses, but also the links that the field shares with social practices and interactions engaged in financial industry in the modern world. The course that cemented my interest in this field of study is Interna tional Economics and Trade, which raised in me a particular interest in macroeconomics. My desire to continue with my studies at a MBA level was further stimulated by the lectures on Financial Hot Issues. I hope to keep on building my knowledge in these areas through the courses you offer in your esteemed university. Presently, I am on my final year of studies, where I am taking International Economics and Trade at the University. This course has provided me with great understanding of the applications and principles of international economics and I believe that I am prepared to face the future complexities of the world economy. Additionally, during my undergraduate studies, I further developed an interest in accounting and finance. As I have done accounting and finance as part of my International Economics and Trade course, I find a Masters degree in these field a necessary addition to my knowledge of how business organizations handle their financial responsibilities. My desire is to learn finance not only as part of International Economics and Trade, but also as a field, that covers both international transactions and business practices within the country. MBA in financial related field will establish me as a financial and accounting expert both in international and domestic business. Therefore, I would like to increase my professional potential in Finance related field by pursuing Master studies at your University. Through the university website, I was excited to learn about the excellent Master programme that your university offers. I believe that the course structure will offer me a robust footing on the pertinent theoretical and quantitative skills to cultivate my personal capability, inventiveness, and other key skills that are sought after by future employers. These courses will give me an edge over others in the financial field since the courses and exposure that your institution offers its students have the ability to develop an expert who is compete nt in the field of practice. Besides, graduates from your institution can use the acquired knowledge and skills to handle not only the areas that one has studied, but also emergent issues in the financial sector to solve financial problems that business organization experience. Furthermore, MBA in finance from your university will afford me a valuable understanding of the western approach to economics, which is treasured by Chinese proprietors who are

Of Paradise and Power by Robert Kagan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Of Paradise and Power by Robert Kagan - Essay Example They self-identify as tough. In the end, Kagan claims America is much more technologically advanced and that it can attack safely other countries because it has the means to do so with technological warfare. However, as has been seen over the last few years in Iraq, American military power can get very tied up and may not always be very effective; it can sometimes limited in its ability to reshape a society or political system or deal with an intractable ethnic conflict. That said, I really do believe that Kagan’s argument more or less makes sense and that the Europeans need to take a more proactive, robust role in the world today in order to help solve all the problems and conflicts. This theory has inspired me to potentially work as a diplomat in the future. I started out thinking about conflict in an idealistic way, but now am much more realistic about these sorts of things. It’s important to ask the question when thinking about conflict and politics, What is power? Kagan suggests it is purely military force. The US is the lone power in the world with the ability to conduct expeditionary warfare on multiple fronts across the globe whenever it wants to. As was demonstrated in the Balkans in the 1990s, Europeans aren’t able to project a credible military force even within Europe. Therefore the Europeans resort to the only thing they have for managing international conflicts, international institutions such as the UN. The success of European integration and solving the "German problem" has a lot of Europeans.

Constitutional Law of the EU Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Constitutional Law of the EU - Essay Example As such, Lord Denning stated that EC law was directly applicable at national level under domestic law. However, the term â€Å"directly applicable† has created ambiguity and the principles of direct effect and indirect effect will determine whether the Council Directive relating to pension funds (the Directive) is directly applicable under UK law4. If a provision of EC law is directly applicable, section 2(1) of the ECA asserts that â€Å"all such rights, powers, liabilities, obligations and restrictions†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ shall be recognised and available in law, and be enforced, allowed and followed accordingly.† The current scenario is concerned with the failure to implement the Directive and this analysis will review whether Adil can enforce the rights he would have had if the Directive had been implemented under the doctrine of direct effect, or alternatively, what his rights are against the state for damage suffered as a result of failure to implement the Directive. The specific nature of directives lies in the type of obligations they impose5. Ultimately Member States have discretion as to how to implement a directive, however they must comply with the positive obligation to implement the directive in the first place6. Problems have arisen as to whether Directives themselves can be invoked by individuals in national courts as giving rise to individual rights7, further compounded by the question as to whether a Member State can be liable for damage resulting from its failure to implement a directive, which is pertinent to Adil’s position. In order to be directly effective, a provision of EC law must constitute a complete legal obligation capable of enforcement as such by a court8. Moreover, in the case of Francovich v Italian Republic9, it was asserted that the pre-requisite for direct effect was that the relevant provision of EC law had to be sufficiently precise

Workplace industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Workplace industry - Essay Example It is evident that every organization has unique policies and strategies all synchronized towards achieving the goals of that particular organization. With diverse culture and management styles in today’s workplace, the employees, especially the women become more vulnerable to unfavourable policies, management, office culture, and labour (Blackard, 2000). This has especially affected women in occupations considered to be the domain of their male counterparts like the mining industry. This essay discusses the role of management in the work place, resistance and coping, and how these knowledge enables one to understand the challenges of ‘women in mining’ with reference to individual employees, frontline manages, and the unions. The role of management in the work place In most industrial relations, the role management plays is very important especially where the organization structure is broad and complex to the extent of containing numerous management lines. Blackar d (2000) relates the complexity to how the management of the organization may categorize the management structure. The manner in which a given organization reacts to any incidence of flexibilities is more often than not dependent on the effectiveness of the management structure and the efficiency with which all the staff at the managerial level deliver their services. Flexibility in the workplace is vital as the modern market environment is stormier than never before and this leads mangers to rethink their strategies like establishing the role played by women in the managerial positions (Blackard, 2000).   Most organizations use three approaches in managing the affairs of their company, be it a physical company or a company operating on a virtual platform like the internet. When the management uses the trust approach, it either allows or restricts the employees’ within their workplace to operate with or without supervision. This approach depicts that the level of supervisio n a manager accords an employee is dependent on their trustworthiness. Other approaches used by some management include collective versus individualising approach, and structured versus unstructured approach (Blackard, 2000).   Women in the mining industry encounter this challenge in their respective workplaces in that some of their fellow employees show some element of distrust towards them. This approach is really discouraging as the some front managers and the mining firms in general take advantage of this level of distrust to infuse strict supervision on the women employees. The collective versus individualising approach deals with the extent to which women miners can participate in the formation and implementation of their union’s agenda. Most mining firms deny women the right to have representations in the unions. The structured approach entails the explicit nature of company policies as appertains to matters affecting women miners. It is obvious that some mining firm s do not have policies that classify women specially and differently. This loophole enables other employees to discriminate against and assault women (Blackard, 2000).   Resistance and coping According to Gregory (2003), several mining firms are a hostile environment. This is especially so to the women in terms of the working conditions, the complicated company policies, and the strict disciplinary measures. The faint hearted do not have a place in the firms that require strong resistance and the ability to cope with these difficult conditions. Despite the many challenges that women miners face in these workplaces, most of them have developed a strong resistance and the ability to cope with harsh conditions in such harsh conditions. A classic example of this resistance shows up when

The Triad Essay Example for Free

The Triad Essay This paper seeks to analyze and discuss whether there is basis to agree to the proposition that the Triad is the fast track to company globalisation and standardisation. We will try to evaluate whether theory and evidence supports such proposition.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  First we should know what is the Triad is.   Moore and Rugman (2005) in discussing, ‘Globalization is about Regionalization’ said that the word â€Å"triad† was coined by Japanese consultant and author Kenichi Ohmae which refers to the economies of Western Europe, North America and a small number of East Asian nations, particularly Japan. Moore and Rugman (2005) quoted Ohmae to have argued that these economies are the critical ones from a viewpoint of innovation, trade and investment.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The classification of the countries into triad is based on the viewpoint of innovation, trade and investment.   This means that these countries would take the lead in introducing new products ahead of other countries in the world and it also happened that these few countries in the triad are ones   with high GDP according to the last available data from World Bank (Wikipedia- GDP, 2006) (Paraphrasing made).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Thus Moore and Rugman (2005) agreed with Wikipedia when they categorized a triad whereby MNEs around the world belongs.   They said: â€Å"The vast majority of Fortune 500 companies on which we could compile data (320 MNEs) are home-triad based, having only modest sales in the other two regions.   A set of 36 are â€Å"bi-regional,† with at least 20 percent of their sales in two parts of the triad.   Only 10 of the 500 are truly global, with at least 20 percent of their sales in all three parts of the triad.   Overall, this is a picture of regionalization, not globalization.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In proving the result of the study, Moore and Rugman (2005) they had examined the Fortune Global 500 which deals the largest firms by revenues in the world and found out that the intra-regional sales of 380 of the 500 firms were included in the list.   The author noted that these 380 firms account for 79.2% of the total revenues of all 500 firms.   Thus, researchers concluded that the average revenue for a firm in the top 500 was $28 billion, ranging from Wal-Mart at $220 billion to Takenaka at $10 billion and that the average sales revenue of a firm in the set of 380 firms was $29.2 billion.   Most notable too, is the authors’ finding that across these 380 firms, the average intra-regional sales represent 71.9% (Moore and Rugman, 2005) (Paraphrasing made).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Knowing what the triad is, we should know what globalization is. Jessup, (n.d.) said:   â€Å"Strategically, globalization refers to actors attempts to promote the global coordination of activities on a continuing basis within (but not necessarily across) different institutional orders or functional systems. Such attempts can be pursued through different material and social technologies on the interpersonal, inter-organizational, inter-institutional, or inter-systemic levels.†   The author gave the following examples to illustrate globalization: interpersonal networking; strategic alliances orchestrated by transnational enterprises (alliances which may include more local or regionally-based firms as well as not-for-profit organizations); the institutional design of international regimes to govern particular fields of action; and projects for world government or global governance. Further, Jessup, (n.d.) noted that the forms of coordination proposed for globalization vary widely and none are guaranteed to succeed witness the market-led globalization favoured by the World Bank, the horizontal global governance favoured by proponents (especially NGOs) of international regimes, and plans for more top-down inter-state (or even world) government.   Hence, he inferred that what is generally labelled nowadays as economic globalization rarely, if ever, involves full structural integration and strategic coordination across the globe (Paraphrasing made).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  The term globalization, however, has a very broad meaning for it could also mean cultural integration.   IEL (1999) thus stated that the degree of adaptation or resistance to foreign cultural schemata varies among societies, citing the Schumpeterian concept of creative destruction where there is there is a constant struggle between groups that wish to speed up the process of integrating new ideas, processes, and products and those who want to slow down the speed of losing existing norms (IEL, 1999) (Paraphrasing made).   Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  We are then directed to know what standardization is.   Wikipedia (2006) defined standardization, â€Å"in the context related to technologies and industries, is the process of establishing a technical standard among competing entities in a market, where this will bring benefits without hurting competition. It can also be viewed as a mechanism for optimizing economic use of scarce resources such as forests, which are threatened by paper manufacture. As an example, all of Europe now uses 230 volt 50 Hz AC mains grids and GSM cell phones, and (at least officially) measures lengths in metres.†Ã‚   It added that in the context of social criticism and social sciences, standardization often means the process of establishing standards of various kinds, and improving efficiency to handle people, their interactions, cases, and so forth (Paraphrasing made).      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After knowing the concepts, is there now basis to agree that the Triad is the fast track to company globalisation and standardisation?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   On the basis of the evidence presented that the countries belonging to the triad are the MNEs who have proven track records in their revenues as those belonging to top as per Fortune magazine, and relating now the same to concept of globalization which may be summarized as going to the global market through various means, we could say the triad is fast track to globalization.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     As far as path to standardization is concerned, which could mean mechanism for optimizing economic use of scarce resources or improving efficiency to handle people and their interactions, we could also say that the triad is the obvious path because it is there where competing companies for globalization are found. It is argued that globalization produces competition leading to standardization.   Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hence, we could say that triad could really be a fast track for an aspiring company wanting to have globalization and standardization since the triad provides the venue and the opportunities.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To conclude, it could be said that will eventually trigger globalization while the latter will result in economic integration of the whole world. .   Globalization is seen to promote further interdependence among countries in East Asian economies as they pass through different stages of development.   MNE being classified as triad-based MNEs indicate that triad first conquers first their own region or triad to sell their products before actually becoming global, hence a company must first become a major player in a country within the triad, then it becomes regional until it becomes global.   However, being part of the triad based does not mean that they will eventually become global, because strategy is still a choice.   Bibliography: Jessop, B. (n.d.) Reflections on Globalization and Its (Il)logic(s), Lancaster University, Department of Sociology{www document} URL   http://www.lancs.ac.uk/fss/sociology/papers/jessop-reflections-on-globalization.pdf, Accessed October 28,2006 International Economic Letter, Number 52 (1999), Globalism {www document} URL http://www.sba.oakland.edu/econpage/newsletters/NewsLetter52.htm ,   Accessed October 28,2006 Moore and Rugman (2005), Globalization is about Regionalization, Mcgill International Review, {www document}   URL   http://www.irsam.ca/mir/Moore%5B27-30%5D.pdf, Accessed October 28,2006   Wikipedia, 2006, Standardization {www document} URL   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standardization, Accessed December 8, 2006. Wikipedia, 2006, List of Countries by GDP, {www document} URL   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_%28PPP%29, Accessed October 28,2006

HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act) Essay Example for Free

HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability Accountability Act) Essay The HIPAA is divided into two sections. Section one seeks to protect the right to continued health insurance cover for employees and their family members in the event of losing their job or shifting to another job (U. S. Department of Labor, 2010). This section also dictates limitations to group health plan benefits, which can be provided to preexisting condition to between 12 and 18 months after enrollment into the plan. However, the act does not impose such restrictions to long term plans provided separately from general health plan. This enables employees and their families to have insurance cover even after losing employment. The other crucial provision of the HIPAA is on patient information privacy (National Institute of Health, 2007). In a move to simplify and improve the efficiency of the use and transfer of health information, the act dictates for the development of rules setting standards for such operations within the health care system. The section also defines various programs for mitigating fraud activities or abuse of power in the system. On privacy, the act gives provisions for the use of disclosure of protected health care information of a patient (National Institute of Health, 2007). This is quite crucial in protecting the right to privacy and confidentiality by a patient. HIPAA also sets new transaction and code sets rule, which defines the standards for health care institutions to file their electronic claims for compensation. In addition, the act has established a security rule, which dictates new safeguard in dealing with electronic protected health information (U. S. Department of Health Human services, 2003). To ensure effectiveness as well as flexibility of the security rule, it defines both required and addressable specifications for implementing the rule; with the latter being more flexible. Therefore, the HIPAA protects employee health insurance cover after loss of change of job and safeguards protected health information use and disclosure.

A Critical Analysis Of Deterrence Theory Philosophy Essay

A Critical Analysis Of Deterrence Theory Philosophy Essay This paper will analyze literature related to theories of nuclear deterrence and will seek to examine (1) historical application, (2) scientific and logical validity, and (3) the relevance of deterrence theories for international relations. I hypothesize that while deterrence theory has been widely used and relied upon, particularly in the context of relationships between modern nuclear powers, there are serious scientific and logical concerns as to the true validity of deterrence theories. These include problems with (1) circular logic; (2) bias; (3) difficulty in isolating the independent variables; (4) validation and falsification; and (5) misapplication or misinterpretation in scenarios where disparity exists between levels of risk aversion among actors. HISTORICAL APPLICATION OF DETERRANCE THEORY In his chapter entitled The Anatomy of Deterrence, Bernard Brodie reflects on the romantic notion that peace can be achieved through a negotiated peace as a result of military action on the part of strong and decisive leaders. (Brodie, 266). However, he makes the argument that in an environment where nuclear weapons of mass destruction exist, such military actions could (and most likely would) lead to a level of military conflict that would prove cataclysmic to human civilization as we know it. Therefore, a different understanding and explanation of international relations is called for. In his writings, Brodie advocates the strategies of deterrence and limited war which would, in theory, lead to levels of power parity between nuclear parties on the international stage. Therefore, an emphasis is placed on creating a scenario whereby any actor with the technology, ability, and will to launch a first-strike offensive attack on another nuclear nation would be met with the sure and certain fact that the other nation would, without restraint, launch a full-scale second-strike attack, leading to the destruction of both nations and, most likely, a large portion of human civilization as we know it. The premise of deterrence theory, then, is similar to that of a grand-scale game of chicken whereby each party desires to convince the other that they will not back down from a straight-on attack and are willing to destroy the other party and themselves in the process. Building upon the realist and neo-realist assumptions of unitary state actors, rationality and/or bounded rationality, and the idea that balances in power lead to a lower probability of conflict, this theory calls for the one for one buildup of nuclear arms with any nation capable of launching a first-strike attack, in order to openly demonstrate a nations willingness and capability to launch a second-strike retaliatory action against any first-strike attack. While this theory would appear, on its face, to be a natural extension of neo-realism and its theories, it would also appear to differ in some of its logic. For instance, in this case, a nation is hedging its future on the belief that it can convince the other nuclear power(s) that it is willing to guarantee not only vast losses but also utter defeat (Brodie, 276) at its own expense, if necessary. So, unlike traditional neo-realism, the idea of deterrence doesnt simply rely on the underlying assumption that nations seek to maximize power, but also assumes that nations seek to defend themselves through a tit for tat approach to the buildup of power and capability that they actually hope never to use. ASSESSING THE VALIDITY OF THE DETERRENCE THEORY A major criticism of traditional deterrence theory must be that it seeks to openly convince another nation that it will do something it clearly would not rationally choose to do, that is destroy itself in order to counter an offensive attack from the other side. The logic in this theory becomes almost circular in its approach. A nation is assumed to build-up power in order to defend itself from another nation that is building up power in order to defend itself from the first nations buildup of power à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ and on it will go. So, it would appear through the logic of deterrence that there is actually an incentive to buildup power on both sides in a way that actually leads to their possible demise. This is best explained by way of the security dilemma which would say that as each side seeks to build-up its nuclear capabilities in response to the other, both sides actually increase the probability that a conflict will occur. When viewing the buildup of nuclear capabilities, this should be seen from the outside observer as an irrational act, yet each side, seeking to maximize its power and military capability, sees the buildup as a rational act. However, one must question not only the logic of this theory but also the entire premise that a theory such as this can attempt to explain a non-event. In other words, this theory really depends upon events not occurring in order to demonstrate its reliability. If something must not occur in order for a theory to be reliable, how can that theory be tested or falsified? As Jervis (P. 293) observes, explaining basic changes in the relationship between states is beyond the boundaries of the theory à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ thus diminishing its validity. In other words, we only can see something that didnt happen empirically, but we really dont know what might have happened if the scenario had been different; and, as we discussed in last weeks lecture, there most likely would be no one around to report the results of an actual event or falsified observation which would lead us to empirically say that the theory is invalid. Therefore, we must rely on assumption and generalization to say that deterr ence is the true reason that a nuclear confrontation between superpowers never occurred. In addition to examining the circular logic of deterrence theory, one must also consider the presence of intervening variables, which might spuriously impact the outcome of a diplomatic or international event. For instance, in the obvious example of the Cuban Missile Crisis, was it deterrence that led the Soviets to back down from their decision to implement strategic missiles in Cuba or was it a combination of diplomatic channels, internal domestic differences between decision makers, military strategic decisions, or just pure luck? One could argue that any one of these variables may have been the deciding factor in the end result of the conflict. In other words, we dont know exactly what effect deterrence had on the outcome because it would be difficult, if not impossible, to control for it and/or falsify the outcome. Another observation, made by Jervis (P. 297) is that deterrence theory is biased in favor of status-quo powers. In other words, the status-quo powers may have the desire and/or ability to coerce others to behave in a manner that favors the status quo power. Jervis and others argue that the game of chicken is not an appropriate explanation of nuclear deterrence in that it assumes that both cars are in motion at the start. However, if we assume that one car got a head start on the other, the other car is more apt to make a strategic mistake that can lead to devastating results. If the two powers are not equally risk averse, and if the power that is not satisfied with the status-quo is the party that is less risk averse, a higher probability of nuclear exchange would be the result. This scenario would critically harm the validity of deterrence theory. And, as was stated earlier, if the probability exists that deterrence theory is, in any way, possibly invalid, it would be illogical and possibly disastrous to depend upon it when making decisions in the international arena. The discussions contained within this paper lead to an even more important criticism. What exactly is rational behavior? It would appear, as in the criticism of circular logic, that the rational decision made by a unitary actor desiring to maximize power would most likely be seen from the outside as an irrational decision, as it has a high probability of harming the very nation that is attempting to preserve itself. Therefore, a serious criticism of traditional deterrence theory, as outlined by Jerves (P. 299), is that a well stated and objectively measured operational definition of rational behavior does not exist within the literature. Is it rational to make a decision that would lead to the demise of ones own civilization? Or is it more rational to assume that if a first strike is launched against a nation, and the nations destruction is inevitable, then actions that will lead to the destruction of the other civilization are the logical choice? In this case, rationality is relative to perceived risk and to the risk-aversive behavior of both parties. However, if either partys level of risk aversion is below some unpredictable point, the assumption of rationality becomes invalid, as would the entire theory. In defense of Jervis work in addressing long-term stability under the deterrence model, Kugler and Zagare (1990) attempt to extend the traditional model by combining it with the model of power transitions, and make the observation that parity between nuclear parties is not stable, but rather is a critical point where conflict and/or nuclear exchange can occur. Again, since no specific exchange of nuclear weapons has taken place under these circumstances to date, this theory is far from verified and is definitely not in a position that can be defended through experimentation or falsification. Therefore, one must criticize their work as broad-based assumptions made by applying the work of other authors within the field. However, it would seem logical, and somewhat practical to believe that there is some glimmer of truth in the arguments made within Kuglar and Zagares paper. Therefore, while their work is not at a position that could be called scientifically progressive under the standa rds established by Lakatos, it can also be said that their theories are not degenerative to the previous models as they do not alter the hard-core assumptions of unitary actors and rational decision making. Therefore, my criticism of this work is far less negative than my criticism of the traditional model of deterrence outlined by Brodie. An additional observation is that Kuglar and Zagares work adds to the second wave models described by Jerves in that it examines the phenomenon of risk aversive actors and uses game theory to further determine the possible probabilistic outcomes of confrontational scenarios. But, as with the other explanations, we must depend upon the probability of predicting a non-event (long-term stability measured by the absence of a nuclear exchange) versus a catastrophic event (nuclear exchange). Either way the model is un-testable and unverifiable. It is more of an explanation than a true scientific model or theory. Thus, we are relying on assumptions and generalizations. In the works of Signorino and Tarar (2006) and Zagre (1990), we again see the application of game theory as a way of empirically explaining and/or predicting the possible outcomes of nuclear buildups by examining risk and uncertainty on the part of defenders and attackers. Again, we can see that if the attacker is the party that is less risk-averse, the probability of war should, theoretically, increase, thus explaining that there is really no such thing as long-term stability when evaluating nuclear deterrence. While the application of probit analysis to the model does add an elegant mathematical presentation, it is still not a progressive model that can be verified experimentally or falsified scientifically, as the results of such experimentation would more than likely prove disastrous to the entire world. Therefore, the criticism of these models remains that they cannot be empirically analyzed in a way that would satisfy the requirements of even the loosest constraints placed by t he Lakatosian system of evaluation. While Signorino and Tarar (p. 592) claim that their model explains 96% of the attackers actions and over 93% of outcomes using an analysis of the POLITY III data set from 1800-1994, the problem still remains that they are trying to empirically predict a nuclear exchange using non-nuclear conflicts and therefore are not addressing some very important elements. For instance, they are not really analyzing the willingness of either party to truly use nuclear weapons in a first or second-strike position. And, given that the United States is the only nation to ever definitively make the decision to use a nuclear weapon in a conflict, we must also critically examine their application of democratic peace theory to the analysis of deterrence theory. Thus, even the most contemporary of the papers reviewed for this analysis do not truly bring us to a model of deterrence that can effectively be used to explain or predict the actions of nuclear parties. One additional criticism which must be cons idered is that none of the literature assigned for this class addresses non-state actors. Given our post 9-11 war on terror, it is vital that we examine our current geopolitical environment in future research. CONCLUSIONS A review of literature assigned for our study of deterrence theory and a critical analysis of their findings leads me to believe that, while deterrence theory has a logical basis for explanation, it lacks a level of scientific validity which would allow us to depend entirely on its hypotheses and hard core assumptions. Therefore, reliance upon this theory as the sole explanation for the behavior of nuclear states and for the buildup of nuclear weapons in response to the actions of other states is not scientifically supported. Other methods such as negotiation, arms limitations, treaties, and efforts to promote sustainable economic growth among nations are also required for any nation that wishes to contribute to long-term stability in the modern nuclear age.

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