African Music (East Africa) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

African Music (East Africa) - Essay Example African music is an art that can be traced way back before the colonial period and has developed to the modern music production, which has been influenced by technology, as well as African and western cultures. These numerous languages come with their cultures in way of life and behavior. However, the dominant languages among them and their environment seem to influence the countries’ cultures and art. The highest percentage of the East African community comprises of Bantu speakers, majorly speaking in Swahili (in Kenya and Tanzania), Ganda in Uganda, and Kinyarwanda and Rundi in Rwanda and Burundi respectively. Swahili is spreading fast across the region, but English and French have increased in popularity among the societies. It has become easy for artists to compose music and poetry in these diverse languages to communicate with people in a much more familiar way; considering there are still native speakers who do not understand official languages of these countries. Vernac ular influence in music: Existence of music in historic times in East Africa can be proven through the evidence of line figure rock art, which showed people playing musical instruments, at least as demonstrated by the rock paintings estimated to have existed over 30,000 years ago, in sites of lake Victoria, Sigindia, and Kondoa districts of Tanzania (Nannyonga-musuza and Solomon 34). In most rural areas, people speaking one language are densely populated in one area, while in cities and towns, the population comprises of people speaking different languages and from different cultural backgrounds. The same thing applies to East Africa, taking an example of Kenya; kikuyu is spoken highly in central Kenya, Kalenjin in the rift valley, Luo in the western parts around L. Victoria, and Cushitic languages on the north eastern part of the country. Kenya has moved ahead investing on media stations that relate to the people in their vernacular languages. The broadcasting stations communicate the messages from the news table and music in the same language. There are broadcasting stations which use official languages (English, Swahili, French, Ganda, Rundi, and Kinyarwanda) for general public communication, but would eventually promote the different cultures and languages in their music, to harmonize these cultures within the society. This promotes distinct peoples’ cultures and artistic works of poetry and music relating to similar issues that the language speakers deal with. Often, the native speakers and their cultures identify themselves by use of certain musical instruments. For example, Ramogi FM and Nam Lolwe FM broadcast in Luo language and the people would want to dance and sing to their musical genre, which uses instruments like nyatiti, traditionally called ‘thum,’ (an 8 stringed traditional instrument played with fingers or plectrum) (â€Å"Prof. Charles Nyakiti,†13). Most of the ethnic groups around Lake Victoria in Uganda and north ern Tanzania use the instrument in traditional music and competition events. The common feature of nyatiti music dancers in East African region is dancing with pride, like an eagle, shaking limbs, shoulders, and fingers. Religion: Individual movements and community settlements in the past enhanced cultural adoption, growth of different faith, and conflicts in East Africa. Music and religion go hand in hand in any part of Africa. Christianity and Islamic religions have been dominant among others, and rely on music to lay out the history and teachings of the religions. During the pre-colonial period, Christianity spread fast in the main lands of East Africa,

Research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Research - Essay Example He could face additional discipline by the NFL, even if he is not convicted. The involvement of Michael Vick in the dog fighting scandal has caused irreparable damage not only to his career but also to the Atlanta Falcons; moreover, it has affected PETA as well. Animal rights groups are enraged, and so is the public. The Atlanta Falcons have issued a statement in which they have categorically apologized to their fans and the public for the actions of Michael Vick causing them to be seen in a negative way. The NFL has also issued a statement in which they have assured the public that the NFL considers dog fighting â€Å"cruel, degrading, and illegal†, and that any employee of theirs who is found to be involved in such activities would be punished appropriately. This scandal has caused Michael Vick considerable disrepute. He was one of the most entertaining players of the NFL, and had a bright future ahead of him. However, with this scandal, he has lost respect of the public, which has resulted in embarrassment to the Falcons as well; not only has it caused them embarrassment and consternation, but their fans are also disappointed in them. The Falcons have suspended Vick till the verdict comes in, and have also sued to reclaim the bonu s that was given to him on 10th October 2007. Given the circumstances, the Court also agreed to the Falcons claim and they were held to be entitled to recover almost 20 million dollars of the said money. Air Tran Airways, for which Vick was a spokesman, has decided not to renew his contract after this incident. Moreover, other companies have also either suspended or cancelled their contracts with Vick; for instance, Nike has decided not to go ahead with its product line named after Vick, though the company has not declared categorically whether it is merely a suspension or cancellation. The banks are also suing Vick for loans that he had taken out, as the future of the quarterback hangs in the balance and none of the companies, banks

Principles of nonprofit leadership Research Paper

Principles of nonprofit leadership - Research Paper Example sults the first and foremost thing which is required by organizations is effective leadership of a nature that aspires to achieve these results in the best possible way (Principles and Practices for Nonprofit Management Excellence). Most of the nonprofit organizations believe that money is the only resource that can help an organization to achieve its desired objectives. Keeping this in view, many of the experts have argued that not only money but the leadership plays an important role. They argued that effective leadership is the only tool that helps an organization to achieve its intended objectives (A Guide for Board Members, Managers and Staff). The organization work towards achieving those goals and money only enables them to deliver results that are expected of them. In today’s era the two important resources for any organization are financial resources and human capital (Tierney). The set back or down turn in financial resources is impossible to avoid and difficult to overcome, but shortcomings in human capital can be very awkward for an organization and cannot be calibrated easily. Keeping in view above mentioned issues, the need for the nonprofit organizations is to have an effective leadership that goes all the way towards achieving intended and desired results. This paper will probe into the challenges that any nonprofit organization is expected to face while developing effective leadership (Hill, 135). It will further shed light on benefits derived by developing effective leadership along with advantages and disadvantages. It will provide an insight of the principles of nonprofit leadership. Thus, this paper is expected to make a valuable contribution in the existing stock of knowledge. It has become quite difficult for nonprofit organizations to manage in today’s tough economy. According to (Hill, 12) Following are few challenges that nonprofit organizations are facing while in the phase of developing effective leadership. With increased

Public Service Electric and Gas Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Public Service Electric and Gas - Essay Example Organisational change is the implementation of new thoughts and activities by a company. Organisational change is important in the sense that it can increase the efficiency of employees by achieving the goals. There are numerous challenges for change in organisation culture. To make the change successful, there is need to focus on developing association with stakeholders and unions. Organisations need to commence appropriate change program for successful change (Sengupta & Bhattacharya, 2006). The essay will describe the change in safety culture of PSE&G. PSE&G had faced several challenges in order to administer changes in safety culture. It was a long changing process which resulted in success. Reason for Change The change in safety measures of PSE&G had started in the year 1999 by virtue of cultural change. The reason for the change is to ensure safety of employees of PSE&G. It has almost 6500 employees and 32 factories. PSE&G had encountered recordable accident rates and loss of w orking days because of safety. In the year 2005, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the loss of working days had become 0.33 by the year 2007 (Simon & Cistaro, 2009). The following table shows the employees injury rate of PSE&G from 2001–2007: Source: (Simon & Cistaro, 2009). Organisational Design Issue The major design problem an organisation often confronts is the selection of horizontal differentiation and vertical differentiation which let organisation to manage the actions of employees for accomplishing the objectives. The following are major design issues that can be faced by an organisation: Source: (Jones & Mathew, 2008). Vertical Differentiation: Vertical differentiation is the method of forming the hierarchy of power and develops reporting connection to connect organisational job with organizational units. It helps to manage the actions and enhance the capability to develop a value of any organization through establishing the allo cation of power (Jones & Mathew, 2008) Horizontal Differentiation: Horizontal differentiation helps an individual to be specialised and be more dynamic. However, this type of delineation hinders the communication between divisions or units and averts people to learn from one another. As a consequence of horizontal differentiation, people of different units create a propensity to see one’s job strictly from the perception of the time structure, objective and interpersonal course of other’s unit. When different jobs are viewed differently, communication becomes unsuccessful and coordination fails between units (Jones & Mathew, 2008) In cultural change, PSE&G had faced problem of matching the ‘Standardization and Mutual Adjustment’ issue. In every organisation there are certain regulations, SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures), traditional values and standards which specify how an employee can carry out the organisational task. In PSE&G, the employees were en gaged in performing job according to their own rule and they tended to take risks. Besides, there were also communication issues which had occurred from vertical differentiation. Thus, there was need for better interaction between management and the union to resolve the differentiation problem in cultural change process (Jones & Mathew, 2008) Cultural Factors The apt organisational culture can result in better employee performance. Organisational cult

Expatriate Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Expatriate Management - Essay Example Strong human resources management practices come in handy especially in the international context whereby managers are engaged in foreign assignments. They need to be trained to ensure that they are effective in accomplishing the duties assigned to them. Nevertheless, training of expatriate managers is faced with various challenges. This paper presents a critique of challenges such as identifying the time to train, type and level of training, parties to be involved in training as well as the expatriates’ capabilities to relate with the foreign culture. There are also challenges related to the learning capabilities, interest and willingness of the expatriates to undertake the training. Determining the appropriate time to train presents a major challenge as trainers try to evaluate the training needs of expatriates. They can either be trained before leaving their home organization or immediately after travelling to the foreign country (Bird and Osland, 2005). Both strategies are significant in equipping the manager with the desired knowledge to cope with the new environment, but choosing one of them rather than undertaking the two may be effective in saving time and resources. Planners are faced with a dilemma of determining which strategy would be more appropriate. For example, training before the managers leave the organization instills them with a sense of purpose for their mission. They are capable of imagining the organization’s situation after they successfully complete their mission. Yan et al. (2002) observe that training expatriates before they leave their home country motivates them to work towards accomplishment of the organizational goals to impr ove the situation at hand. When they are trained in the foreign country, they are fascinated by the new environment; either due to its magnificence or otherwise lower standards. The new environment may influence learning and therefore the training might not accomplish the organizational objectives (Chew,

Generic Strategies Model by Charles O. Godornes Essay

Generic Strategies Model by Charles O. Godornes - Essay Example In order for these businesses to be successful they have to follow and practice a certain Generic Strategic model which would be Cost – Leadership, Differentiation or Focus. Cost – Leadership is where a business has a low level of differentiation or low level of costs in order to have a competitive market price edge to the market. Businesses that wish to venture and be successful in this type of strategy must focus on lowering their costs and offer value to their customers by producing effective products. Companies should be alert in controlling and monitoring their production costs, overhead costs, and their costs on research and development and in their service costs, so that they could offer a competitive price to the market. Companies should also invest in state-of the-art manufacturing technology in order to lower their costs which would lead to its primary goal which is having competitive market price. In differentiation strategy, businesses create value to their market by offering products which are unique in features and in characteristics; these are products that meets the customers’ preference and satisfaction by charging customers with a premium price. Companies that practice differentiation strategy must charge its customers with a premium price in order to attain its unique products which satisfies and meets the customer’s preference by producing high – end quality products which would also charge companies higher costs. In order for companies to have differentiated products they have to have superior quality, advanced technological features and etc. And in focus strategy, companies focus and pay very close attention to its core competencies or in its smaller segments to offer its products to a particular group of customers in the market, this strategy is commonly used by smaller companies.

In what ways has transatlantic slavery impacted on British society Essay

In what ways has transatlantic slavery impacted on British society (SOCIOLOGY) - Essay Example The early 17th century witnessed the dawn for the British to be considerably one of the most successful slavers in the Atlantic region. During these years, the kingdom emerged a key player in a commercial undertaking which â€Å"linked the economies of three continents, often called as the Triangular Trade† (UNESCO, 2010). Until the time arrived when the British could no longer stand the horrendous practice of slavery and decided then for its abolition. Economic Motives The main players in the triangular trade, England, Spain, Portugal, France, the Netherlands and the United States, among others, were not able to resist the commercial attractiveness of slavery and were drawn to do their best to benefit from it. Mainly driven by economic and political reasons, these fierce maritime and colonial powers ventured in the abduction and selling of African peoples, to enslave in their homes and plantations (Walvin, 2007). Sir John Hawkins, under the blessing of Queen Elizabeth 1, foll owed in the footprints of the Portuguese in navigating the western coastlines of Africa and enslaving people in the 1560s (Rodriguez, 1997). The Britons thought it was risky business, but they could not refuse the immense economic gains that awaited them. By fair and foul means, Britain outplayed its European rivals and became the premier slave trader until 1807. Major trading ports that dealt with this business were established in Bristol, Liverpool, Glasgow and London. Some other smaller British ports also followed suit. The number of vessels for slave trading were built in the nation’s several shipyards and sailed through the ‘Slave Coast’ carrying goods such as guns and other ammunition, textile and metals in exchange for human beings. For certain, the trade was an extremely lucrative business. The immense degree of consumption and productivity of the people is said to be its point of departure (Inikori & Engerman, 1992). Rise of Industrial Revolution As the ports in Bristol and Liverpool became prosperous and generated more jobs, so are the residents of both cities who invested their financial resources into developing several industries. This gargantuan industrial progress began in 1750 and continued for many decades. Some who obtained adequate sums of money sourced from the production of tobacco, sugar and cotton poured in their capital into warehouses, quaysides, factories, trading houses and banking institutions. Factories sprouted in the metropolis, particularly in textile and mills. Coal mines burgeoned in the rural areas, as well (Packer, 2007). Thus, the positive economic reverberations of the time were felt everywhere. This is in harmony with John Maynard Keynes economic theory which upholds the view that the â€Å"balance between supply and demand would ensure full employment† (Keynes, 2006: xvii). â€Å"The systemic operations instituted in slave trading, accordingly, were adapted and applied during this period† (Rice & Poulter, 2007). Thus, it is safe to infer that the workings in plantation slavery were the engines which drove the creation of the Industrial Revolution in Britain that influenced other countries of the Western hemisphere and the whole world to move along. The Modernisation Theory and the Theory of Social Development which uphold that progress and evolution of societies are irrepressible bear truth on this fact. Sugar and the British Cuisine The African