Control Systems and Quality Management in Relation to Motivation Essay

Control Systems and Quality Management in Relation to Motivation - Essay Example Control systems and quality management incorporates techniques which motivate the behavior of employees in evaluating their performance. Quality control and quality management systems in the healthcare company ensure quality of products and services. They involve a planned and organized approach to monitoring, analyzing and enhancing organizational performance which is a source of motivation. Most healthcare organizations have established continuous quality control and improvement systems for an excellent and constant quality management program as suggested by Shortell and Kaluzny (1997). Healthcare companies should consider that institutions with constant quality control systems desire to adopt positive changes in all aspects of the organization’s activities. Quality management in healthcare companies offers a framework for service delivery and helps hospitals organize their operation to provide quality services. Management control systems aim at bringing commonness of goals and coordination of processes in health care organizations for dysfunctional control systems. The control systems are expected to monitor and regulate the behavior of workers in the organization. For instance, the top management depends on information provided at different management levels to make decisions and to evaluate processes. Management control systems in healthcare organizations are concerned with resource allocation, coordination and motivation of the employees. The control system in management of healthcare organizations applies techniques such as total quality management. Total quality management is an aspect of management which constantly aims at enhancing quality services and management. Every healthcare organization’s management should develop a control system customized to its goals and resources. These control systems relate to motivation of employees in healthcare organizations through different principles as outlined below: Focus in critical points: for in stance, controls are used where failure is a threat and the costs do not exceed a specific amount. This critical point involves all healthcare operations that affect the motivation of workers. Established processes integration which implies that controls in healthcare organizations must work in coordination within various processes in order to motivate the employees for improved performance. Control systems are important in providing information on the organization’s resources including human, financial and physical resources. This is because they are manipulated to improve the use of these resources mostly during strategy implementation Information availability is another important principle that goes toward the motivation of employees through quality management. This can be achieved by ensuring that there are set targets in various processes including deadlines for project completion, priority aspects in services, and cost effectiveness. Comprehensibility is another princip le which implies that motivational controls must be easy and simple for employees to understand Accuracy demands that an effective and motivational control system should offer real information which is useful, consistent, valid and reliable to workers. Economic feasibility is an important control systems motivational aspect as it ensures that control benefits are above the costs. Functional and Dysfunctional Control Systems Functional and dysfunctional control systems are applied in management to combine data collection. The data collected is normally used to determine employee motivation and evaluate their performances. These types of control systems a

Financial Planner Essay Example for Free

Financial Planner Essay Among the many career fields to choose from, Id like to pursue one in the financial planning industry. A financial planners job is diverse and could be in areas like management of cash flow, investment and retirement planning, tax and estate planning, insurance and risk management planning, among others. There are also job opportunities outside personal planning that provides more financial rewards. I believe this job to be interesting, challenging and beneficial to people. This isnt like other jobs wherein youre only there to perform a task sometimes without knowing the end result or the product of your efforts. As a financial planner, a person is able to help other people in more significantly, even in a life-changing manner. Its a fact that many people have great ideas and good intentions regarding their finances, but few have the willpower and the right know-how to execute their plans. Thats where I see myself helping. Id like to see people to be more financially stable and create for themselves a nest egg for their future. People should be aware of financial planning at an early age. The earlier a person starts setting aside part of his income for a financial plan, the more secure is his future going to be. Another reason why Id like to have a career in this field is because I get stimulated when dealing with numbers. Crafting plans after studying pages of figures and mathematical formulas is something that does not daunt me. According to journals and news articles that have been published regarding the financial planning field, the demand for financial planners are rising globally as more and more people are becoming aware of the importance of having tailored financial plans for themselves. Over the years, financial planners have gradually, but consistently, created a niche for themselves in the market. There are several factors that have contributed to the upswing of demand for financial planners. In the earlier years, people were happy with social security benefits and old age Planner 2 pensions provided by the government. But years later, peoples outlook has shifted and the idea of being more comfortable and secure in old age have dominated the minds not just of those who are near retirement but even those who are still relatively young. Awareness among young professionals is seen to continue within the next decade, making it reasonably safe to assume that demand for financial programs and financial planners will continue. Another reason why the financial planning business has risen is caused by uncertainties in the stock markets. People are now opting to seek professional advice, before investing in a particular bond or stock. There is also a growing demand for financial planners outside the personal planning arena. Financial planners have found themselves becoming more and more necessary in banks and other financial institutions. Their expertise is needed in determining risks involved in investment vehicles. The pay scale and benefits that a certified financial planner receives differ from company to company, experience, and type of certification. A person who holds a position in higher management, like a vice president or portfolio manager, will earn a six-digit figure. Likewise, a person whos been a financial planner for more than twenty years will also receive a six-digit salary. Entry-level compensation is often in the range of $30,000 to $40,000. The banking industry and other financial institutions salaries are often higher compared to other industries. For instance, a job posting for a financial advisor in Connecticut offers an annual income of $50,000 to $80,000. Another example is an ad for looking for financial planning director, which offers at least $150,000 annual income. But whats more attractive about being a financial planner is the opportunity to earn more than your basic salary. Commissions and incentives are given for every transaction. A persons overall income is often measured by how well he networks and sells financial products.

The Pandas Thumb -- Stephen Jay Gould Essay -- essays research papers

The Panda’s Thumb: More Reflections in Natural History With a touch of humor, geology, evolutionary theory, biology, cartoon characters and even some references to baseball, The Panda’s Thumb definitely makes excellent reading for people with all types of interests. The old clichà ©, â€Å"Don’t judge a book by its cover,† or in this case, title, holds true for The Panda’s Thumb. Theories concerning adaptations of the panda are only a fraction of the many exciting facts held within the pages of this publication. Gould is able to put what he writes about in words that are easy to understand without compromising the quality of the information. Many questions are raised in this book. Some questions that science just can’t answer at the moment. Time is a major theme in some of the essays in The Panda’s Thumb. I found these essays of utmost interest. Stephen Jay Gould writes as if you were sitting in a chair across from him having an insightful conversation. His essays are written in ways that are down-to-earth, entertaining, and easy to understand. Bits of humor are scattered throughout the book. One passage read, â€Å"The history of any one part of the earth, like the life of a soldier, consists of long periods of boredom and short periods of terror.† These little scraps of humor are placed in the just the right locations. After reading one of his essays concerning bipedalism (walking on two feet) I chuckled at the following statement, â€Å"It is now two in the morning and I’m finished...

Buddhism: A Belief System

A belief system is a form of human spirituality which is accompanied symbols, beliefs and practices, often with a supernatural â€Å"god† or savior at the height if it. Belief systems are usually expressed through prayer, rituals, meditation, music and dance, among many other things. It also reflects cultural or ancestral traditions in modern day. My belief follows that of Buddhism or the path of the enlightened one. As a devout Buddhist I am force to refrain from many things. I am not allowed to take what is not given to me this is directed mostly towards thievery of all kinds.Acts of violence are against my beliefs as well lying. Intoxicants that induce loss of mind or foolish behavior such as drugs or alcohol are a sinful substance. These thing shapes the course of my everyday life in all situations in this way my beliefs make up a religious belief system. I personally was born into Buddhism, my parents were also devout Buddhists. My parents taught my daily from birth the B uddhist religion and I faithfully follow it. I believe in its practices wholeheartedly. A practice of Buddhism is karma or, the belief anything you do will be repaid in the same manner.For example if I find a wallet on the ground and turn it in to the police station, I may come upon a positive financial gain in the future. My parents taught of this and many other practices of the Buddhist religion. Being born into Buddhism early life was not easy with so many clear cut rules to abide by however, I have been devout since an early age and do not plan to change my ways in this lifetime. Buddhism: A Belief System 3 There are many more benefits than disadvantages in the Buddhist belief system. A disadvantage would be that fact alcohol cannot be consumed even in a social manner.This can sometimes ruin a small party of friends trying to have a good time. A benefit also comes along with the no alcohol rule which is prevention of alcoholism. This in turn helps me to be a better person and al ways have a clear mind. Another benefit of Buddhism is have a clearly stated no thievery law to abide my in my religion the people around me see me as a more trustworthy person. Finally, karma itself I see as a blessing as long as I do the right thing and treat people the right way then great things will become of me. Tradition plays a major role in the Buddhist belief system.There are various holidays that Buddhists celebrate to recognize special moments or events in history or the present. Such as Visakha Puja which occurs on the full moon of the sixth month around the time of may. It is one of the most important days for Buddhists because it is the day that the Lord Buddha was born, attained enlightenment, and died. All three of these special events fell on the exact same day. Visakha Puja is usually celebrated with a sermon during the day and a candle lit celebration to pay respect to the Lord Buddha at night. This only one of many traditions that help shape the Buddhist religio n.Tradition plays a very important if the the most important role in my belief system. Buddhism: A Belief System 4 The role of tradition in general is what makes a religion what it is. Tradition is the coincides with beliefs to make the basis of every religion. Without traditions a beliefs system would be nothing but a set of rules. It also reminds the followers the reason or spirit behind the religion they believe in. Christianity's Christmas or the Jewish Hanukkah is a reminder of the reason their ancestors began to follow their belief system.Holidays like the Cristian and Catholic easter remind of the hardships their ancestors had to go through to believe what they believed in. Traditions are what help us keep our faith in what we believe is true even in the darkest of times. It is very important to be knowledgeable about religions other than your own. For instance something you do or say may be alright within your beliefs but within others may seem crazy or offensive. Religion i s the very thing that drives some people so it's best you respect it. Knowing about other religions is also enlightening for yourself, knowing what other people believe to be true or their practices.It is different to discriminate against someone religion that other tings because religion has no face or color of beliefs. To try and deny someone their beliefs is near inhuman. In conclusion a belief system is that which binds a group of people together as well as a way of life. It is not just religion but our morales as well as our happiness and fear. A belief system is the basis of all mankind because everyone needs to believe in something. Buddhism: A Belief System 5 Buddha Dharma Education Association Incorporated. BuddhaNet. – Worldwide Buddhist Information and Education Network.25 Feb. 2009 . The World Book Encyclopedia. 2007th ed. Vol. 2. Ser. 3. Worldbook inc. , 2001. Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 25 Feb. 2009 . â€Å"Your Belief System. † Fringe Wisdom â €“ Spirituality, Love, Food, Nature, and The Art of Being Human. 25 Feb. 2009 . â€Å"The Need for a Belief System †¦ a system of organization for your experiences! † Self Improvement from SelfGrowth. com. 25 Feb. 2009 .

Child Sexual Abuse

Child sexual abuse has gained major public attention in the past few decades. Various factors in the recent years have generated a public reaction regarding child sexual abuse, which has become one of the most high-profile crimes. â€Å"At Sifers' jury trial, 14-year-old S. T. testified about Sifers having raped her five years earlier. S. T. described Sifers' disposition the night of the alleged rape as â€Å"upset . . . like he'd been drinking. † RP Vol. I at 24. She recalled Sifers following her into her bedroom, closing the door, and pushing her down on the bed. Sifers then pulled down her pajamas and pushed his penis inside her vagina. Afterwards, he said if she told anybody, he would hurt her, her younger siblings, and her mother. † (State of Washington v. Charles Wayne Sifers) Child sexual abuse — an unwanted, yet common, catch-22 issue that is worldwide and has been for centuries. Each year, well over 300,000 children become victims of this heinous crime against humanity. Child sexual abuse is described as any sexual activity between an adult, adolescent or older child, with a child including such things as fondling of genitals, masturbation, and oral, vaginal, or anal intercourse. It is not solely restricted to physical contact though; such abuse could include non-contact abuse, such as exposure, voyeurism, obscene phone calls, prostitution, and child pornography. The offender can range from a parent, stepparent, sibling, other relative, friend, neighbor, childcare person, teacher, to a stranger. This form of exploitation occurs with children of all ages, in rural, urban and suburban areas and among all ethnic, racial and socioeconomic groups. Since the 1970s, the sexual abuse of children and child molestation has increasingly been recognized as deeply damaging to children and thus unacceptable for society as a whole. While sexual interaction between children and adults has been present throughout history, it has only become the object of significant public attention in recent times. Child sexual abuse has been reported up to 80,000 times a year, but the number of unreported instances is far greater, because the children are afraid to tell anyone what has happened, and the legal procedure for validating an episode is difficult. The long-term emotional and psychological damage of sexual abuse can be devastating to the child. The problem should be identified, and the abuse stopped. That is where child sexual abuse prevention programs come into play. Most child sexual abuse prevention programs focus on teaching children how to lower their risk for becoming a victim of sexual abuse, and increasing their knowledge of potential sexual abuse approaches and encounters. These prevention programs also encourage efficient skills, which can be used in any uncomfortable situation that could lead to sexual abuse. Although child sexual abuse (CSA) prevention programs promote and teach effective skills to use when confronted by an abuser, they do not successfully reduce sexual violence because of the inconsistencies among programs, the lack of knowledge about abusers, and the vulnerability of the victims. CSA prevention programs do not effectively reduce the prevalence of child sexual abuse because there is not a stable foundation of knowledge about the paths that lead to abuse and the abusers themselves. According to Jeffrey J. Haugaard, Ph. D. , Department of Human Development New York State College of Human Ecology at Cornell University, â€Å"Federal and state agencies, and private foundations, have funded little basic research in this area – and thus we have no foundation of knowledge on which to support effective sexual abuse prevention,† (Haugaard). In order to design effective prevention efforts for any problem, an understanding of the development of that problem is crucial. We are better at preventing physical abuse of children rather than the sexual abuse of children, because we have a clearer understanding of how physical abuse develops; this is because of the mass research efforts taken to grasp the subject. If state governments expend more money to fund research regarding abusers and their developmental pathways, then there would be a greater chance of gaining the knowledge necessary to make the programs attest their purpose. Haugaard also stated â€Å"We tend to know more about what does not work in the area of preventing child sexual abuse than we know about what does work† (Haugaard). This ties in with the factor of not having a legitimate amount of research to base prevention programs off from, and, therefore, the programs not achieving deterrence and lessening sexual violence. Our current awareness and perception of the problems involving sexual violence is not enough to effectively interfere and bring it to a stop, or at least attempt to. Moreover, â€Å"Although sexual abuse prevention training programs are well-intentioned efforts to protect children against a loathsome crime, there is no evidence that they work, or even on the margin that these efforts produce more good than harm,† (Neil Gilbert, Chernin Professor of Social Welfare and co-chairman of the Berkeley Child Welfare Research Center). This meaning that without at secure basis of the basic knowledge of abusers, there is no way of telling if these prevention programs are even working. Our present incompetent education will lead us to false accusations and assumptions until we are able to further investigate and study the mind-set of abusers. Some may argue that child sexual abuse prevention programs are effective in preventing child sexual abuse. One of the more positive characteristics and purposes of CSA prevention programs is that they achieve the idea of educating and publicizing effective skills for children to use when dealing with the confrontation of a possible sexual abuser. These components include abuse-specific information, skill-practice activities, parent involvement, and multiple sessions in which children learn skills and have concepts reinforced. The most important skill learned is knowing how to say â€Å"NO! † David Finkelhor, a renowned Professor of Sociology at the University of New Hampshire, organized and performed many studies in relation to child sexual abuse. As stated by Joseph Dake, James Price, and Judy Murnan, in their evaluation of a child abuse prevention curriculum â€Å"Finkelhor conducted a national survey of 2,000 youth aged 10 to 16. They found that children receiving more extensive school-based prevention programs were more knowledgeable about abuse, more likely to report self-protective strategies when threatened, more likely to tell someone after an attempted victimization, and less likely to blame themselves for the abuse. † This means that the prevention programs that children partake in allow them to gain more confidence and feel more conversant when faced with sexual abuse. There is enough data to support the idea that these programs do provide many students with a more confidence and skills to use in a dangerous situation. However, abusers are still out in society, and while education is worthwhile and important, we need to make it physically safer for everyone by providing longer prison terms and more austere consequences for offenders. We want our children safe and hoping they will learn the skills to deal with dangerous criminals is not enough, we need to make it safer for them. An unfortunate example of this can be made with Larry Don McQuay, a habitual and lifelong sexual predator from Texas. In 1995, he confessed to getting away with molesting over 240 children before he was caught for molesting just one boy. The case of Larry Don McQuay seems to epitomize society's continuing inability to deal with those who have incorrigible and unspeakable appetites for children. One obvious permanent solution–capital punishment–is strictly reserved for murder and is likely to remain so. The public remains divided over the merits of the death penalty, child sexual abuse cases are difficult to prove beyond all question of doubt, and most sex offenders are members of or known to the victim's family, making the latter unlikely to call for a death sentence. As a result, there is a push to sentence child molesters to life in prison without parole or place them in secure mental institutions until they are judged not to be a danger to society. In the meantime, however, many offenders receive probation or short prison sentences, and thousands are released from jail and back into society each year. â€Å"(Wetzstein) Releasing predators back into society can increase a child's susceptibility of being abused and scarred for the rest of their life. If the penalties for child sexual violence become more severe, many offenders will be kept away from society for a longer period of time, or even eternity. This is important, because it would create a safer environment for the children and the general public to live in as a whole. Sexual violence encounters and happenings would reduce in number with fewer perpetrators out to cause harm. Education programs, however, are incapable of keeping predators out of society and children out of harms way. With the many forms of unwanted lascivious gestures and exploitation, and the unremitting chance of a child being assaulted, prevention programs are incapable of thwarting, or even minimizing the amount of sexual violence that is imposed on kids. Without a steady understanding of the offenders and their acts of maltreatment, we will not be able to help rid the world of these psychopaths and make the world more protected and secure for our children. â€Å"The sexual abuse and exploitation of children is one of the most vicious crimes conceivable, a violation of mankind's most basic duty to protect the innocent† (James T. Walsh). Society, therefore, must put forth an effort to delve into studying all aspects of the subject, and help protect children from the perpetrators of these vile crimes by strengthening notification requirements for sex offenders and increasing criminal penalties.

Great Critical Essay Topics for You

Great Critical Essay Topics for You Critical Essay Topics (part 2) (you can find Part 1 here) Movies and TV in Critical WritingWrite down all movies about a high school life (at least those that you remember). Select only one movie, which you consider to be the most outstanding example of its genre. Do you think that the movie influenced your development of personality? Critically analyze positive and negative sides of the movie. Do you agree that usually there are many differences between books and movies screened on the same texts? Choose one book and a movie screened on its plot. Did you manage to find many differences? Try to choose newly screened movies for your writing. Do you agree or disagree that filmmakers should pay more attention to the potential audience? Do you think that some scenes should be excluded to reach a wider audience? Can you name some examples, when you would not let your children watch a movie that was shown in a cinema without any restrictions? Do you agree that horror movies influence ones psychological development? Would you let your children watch horror movies without any limits? Provide some examples to prove your opinion. Critically examine the way TV reflects wedding shows. Do you think that emotions of people are mostly fake? Do you think that all reactions are exaggerated? Many people believe that wedding shows should be more down-to-earth since they do not reflect life as it is. Do you agree? Choose one popular TV series based on real-life events. Have you managed to find some far-fetched scenes that would never happen in real life? Would you still proceed watching this TV series? Do you agree that people are manipulated and in real setting, they would act in a completely different manner? Originality in filmmaking becomes extinct. Most of directors and produces are involved in re-making already screened shows to increase their popularity. Do you think that changing an old story instead of producing a new one is a good idea? Do you think that directors and filmmakers gain huge profits for nothing? Introduce some examples and prove your opinion. Can you describe and define a summer movie? What features should it possess? Can you name a couple of incredible summer movies? Write your expectations and preferences while choosing a summer movie. Choose either a comic or a tragic character and try to find it in several movies. Do you think directors show the same hero or heroine differently? Critically discuss decisions, actions, and motivations of the chosen character. Do you think that American society is influenced too much by popular TV series? Choose one series and try to discuss its viewers and followers. Critically analyze its positive and negative impact on the viewers.Can you recall any horror movie that scared you so much? What makes it special? Were all scenes realistic? Try to name a couple of examples that scared you to death and discuss if director reached success in reflecting events. Explore advertising on TV. Do you think that government should impose a strict limit on the amount of advertisements showed by each channel? Do you agree that advertising influences the way children act in a significant way? Use 2-3 ads that are currently streaming on channels. Can you name the worst movie you have ever watched? Why was it so bad? Did you manage to watch it till the end? List a couple of factors that would have resolved the issue. Do you think that this movie was just a waste of time and money? Research the television history. What tendencies were popular in the past and now? Did you manage to find some drastic changes? Do you think that television became more cruel and shows too much thoughtless scenes? Mention your favorite comedy and analyze its scenes to the full. Why do you consider this comedy to be special? What is the subject of laughter? While watching the comedy, did your friends laugh that much? Do you think that ones sense of humor determines much while watching the comedy? Do you think that real-life situations cannot cover events showed in the comedy? Do you think that reality TV shows make a strong impact on peoples lives? Can you name one of such shows? Do you think that people participating in reality shows miss their own life? Critically examine personalities in such shows and predict their possible intentions behind being famous. Do they want to escape their lives? Can you name a vintage movie? Doyou think modern youths will ever watch vintage movies? Being a high school graduate, would you ever consider watching a film with your parents? Name at least one movie that won Oscar. Do you agree that this movie deserves its prize? What unique scenes and characters can you find in the movie? If you were a filmmaker, what kind of movie would you produce? A comedy, drama, thriller, tragedy, detective story, etc.? What would you like to draw attention to in your movie? Critically examine modern tendencies on TV. What would you like to change? Provide a couple of examples with supporting ideas.

Structures and Agency Essays

Structures and Agency Essays Structures and Agency Essay Structures and Agency Essay and emplaced in terms of lifestyle, conditions, etc. Our actions therefore respond to the structures of one kind or another, in which we are situated. Another way of thinking about how structure changes us comes from the 19th century social scientist, Durkheim. An example comes from Durkheims work on suicide, which listed three categories in which suicide could occur: Egoistic: for reasons of self-dissatisfaction or in response to personal emotion. Altruistic: for the good of other people Anomic: because all structures have broken down and life no longer has meaning This shows that even in relation to this extreme decision, the individual does not act without reasons – reasons are taken in response to structures. Durkheims theory of social facts clarifies the relationship between structure and infrastructure. Structures have priority, externality and constrain, in relation to our behaviour. Structuralists reject pluralism: they argue that the atomized actor is the only actor we can know. We can therefore predict life chances according to structures such as class, race and gender. From a structuralist approach we can understand the relevance of the debate to politics. Structuralist Marxists would argue that human action and choice is determined by class. Society is composed of superstructure, what we can call civil society which includes things such as education, the arts and culture and substructure which is constituted of the material and economic base. Marx argued that the substructure defines the superstructure – clearly a structuralist and deterministic view of society and culture. Both levels, according to Marx, are controlled by a ruling class. Men make their own history, but not under circumstances of their own choosing. Marcuse, for example, argues that we do not live in a free society, but a one-dimensional one. There is no freedom, simply reproduction of the views of the ruling class. Similarly, structuralist feminism, of the 1960s, held patriarchy as the key structural influence. The work of Germaine Greer and Kate Millet reflects this. They saw the systematic exclusion and subordination of women from many aspects of the economy and society, and explained the position and behaviour of women through the structures set up by men. There are criticisms of this approach. Firstly, structuralist accounts underestimate the reflexivity and autonomy of human actions. They tend to concentrate on the individuals position in a hierarchy, and do not deal with the ambiguity and ambivalence of human experience. There is a skewed reality at work: they attribute too much power/influence to few structures. Marxists, for example, have been accused by feminists of ignoring gender as a structure. Furthermore, they postulate repetitive patterns of behaviour and therefore cannot explain how changes, for example Glasnost and the abandonment of Communism have occurred. Loyal and Barnes elucidate the key differences between structure and agency. They suggest â€Å"agency stands for ‘the freedom of the contingently acting subject over and against the constraints that are thought to derive from enduring social structures. To the extent that human beings have agency, they may act independently of and in opposition to structural constraints, and/or may (re)constitute social structures through their freely chosen actions. To the extent that they lack agency, human beings are conceived of as automata, following the dictates of social structures and exercising no choice in what they do. That, at any rate, is the commonest way of contrasting agency and structure in the context of what has become known as the structure/agency debate. †5 No current theorists would argue that either agency or structure are completely in control of our behaviour, although much is still influenced by this debate: most people today hold the view that agency and structure are enmeshed together. It is still a debate which informs how we think and research. A consequence of the abandonment of extreme positions is the new prevalence of postmodern thought, for which structure is no longer the complete answer. Stuart Hall, for example, admitted in the 1980s that we are living in new times, not defined by class, as in the Marxist approach of his work. Feminists have also accepted that patriarchy is not the sole reason for womens behaviour. Postmodernism has filled the vacuum. Postmodernism reflects the ambiguity and ambivalence of life, and suggests that structures such as class are discursive, representations of how life occurs, not real life. This is a thread in the work of Baudrillard, Barthes, Foucault and Derrida. Derridas work, for example, foregrounds the play of meaning in his differance which implies defer and differ. The point is that meaning is always deferred: there is never a final truth or fact, and reality is always being rewritten. This radically destabilises the idea of a shared reality, emphasising the elasticity of human experience and the need to look at life processually. Everything is moving, unfixed, unfastened, and there are no underlying fixed structures. Postmodernism also emphasises the need to be tolerant of other peoples viewpoints. It encourages multiculturalism. Another strand is Hybridity theory, which claims that everything is hybrid in some sense: that there is no purity. Consequently, no language or point of view is superior. â€Å"Giddens in the form of what he calls ‘Structuration’ theory has set out to try and transcend the dualism of structure and agency. His basic argument is that, rather than representing different phenomena, they are mutually dependent and internally related. 6 Structure only exists through agency and agents have ‘rules and resources’ between them which will facilitate or constrain their actions. These actions, can lead, in turn, to the reconstitution of the structure, defined as rules and resources, which will, in turn, affect future action. Thus, we have a close interrelationship between structure and agency. Giddens’ metaphor for this is that rather than being dist inct phenomena structure and agency are in fact two sides of the same coin. As such, we have a conception of the mutual constitution of structure and agency. As Taylor argues, â€Å"†¦this conception is the most distinctive feature of ‘Structuration’ theory, yet a feature which serves crucially to undermine the theory as a whole. †7 This approach combines the best of agency and structure approaches the actor is situated, but not clueless. This emphasises reflexivity, and assumes a high degree of self-awareness on the part of the actor, but also allows for the influence of structures and awareness of emplacement. Structuration theory is Giddens attempt to bridge the gap between theories which place emphasis on either structure or agency at the expense of the other. Structuralism represents one extreme on a continuum of theory in which social structures such as class, gender or race are seen as systems which are so pervasive through time and space that people have little or no choice but to operate within them. At the other end of the continuum, there is an emphasis is on the subjective individual, structures are seen as ephemeral; they are relative and secondary to agency. These extremes can be characterized as systems without actors in the case of the former, and actors without systems in the case of the latter. Giddens explains the relation between theses two extremes by offering a theory of structuration that: â€Å"†¦provide[s] an account of human agency which recognizes that human beings are purposive actors, who virtually all the time know what they are doing (under some description) and why. At the same time [as understanding that] the actions of each individual are embedded in social contexts stretching away from his or her activities and which causally influence their nature. 8 Grasping the recursive nature of social practices the duality of structure – is according to Giddens, the key to achieving this. The study of politics largely concerns conceptions of power; ‘who gets what, when and how. ’9 We can understand the role of the state to include controlling and distributing limited resources which determines who benefits, and is included, and who does not benefit and is excluded. Structure and agency can assign responsibility for political actions; it is t he head of state or the political-economic environment that causes events and change? An acknowledgement of the structure agency debate allows us to acknowledge the influence of structures and agents in the political world. The structure agency debate cannot be seen as an approach to political analysis in the same way that rational choice theory might be. However, it is an important way of considering and analysing issues. Let us examine for example, the cause of the Second Gulf War in Iraq. Structure and agency debates will examine this with the approach of; were the actors involved free to make decisions independently of structures and so, as individuals, change the course of history? Or was it a situation in which structure was the predominant factor and the actions of the individuals involved was pre-ordained? From an agency perspective, there are clearly two actors who made key decisions which led to the conflict; George Bush and Saddam Hussein. We can understand that George Bush may have been inclined to go to war as he was simply following in his father’s footsteps, attempting to finish off his father’s unfinished business and trying to consolidate American hegemony. Similarly, we can see that Saddam Hussein was responsible for the conflict by his continued refusal to allow weapons inspectors to sites and his recalcitrance to convince the world that they were not harbouring terrorism and producing weapons of mass destruction. On the structure side of the debate we can see that there were factors of structure; Bush and Hussein were individuals acting in accordance with the structures they themselves may have been unaware of, so that these actors were situated in an environment which meant the course of action was inevitable. Some structural factors that could be considered would be; rising oil prices which, had they continued would have undoubtedly fuelled the recession and increased US domestic stability. Furthermore, instability in the region and the history of Iraqi development of banned weapons and expelled weapons inspectors meant that in a structural sense, there was a sense of inevitability of the conflict. The issue of hegemony could also be regarded as a structuralist consideration as it pervades both economy and culture; it is the field on which the game is played. In providing an explanatory framework for political analysis, postmodernism is largely defunct. Postmodernist accounts of structure and agency reduce it to a discourse in which structure and agency are no more than arbitrary discursive constructs. In the case of war in Iraq we can see that this is a gross oversimplification. However, we can clearly see that these phenomena – Saddam, Bush, oil, terrorism and political stability are very much ‘out there’ with their own characteristics and properties. Structure and agency can produce social effect without being articulated in discourse. Furthermore, Giddens’ rejection of the dualism of structure and agency, regarding it as two sides of the same, replies to the criticism of dualistic constructs. The dialectical approach, and in particular, Giddens’ structuration theory provides a plausible explanation which, as Giddens elucidates, the two sides of the same coin. In the case aforementioned, this constructs a much more plausible explanation which takes into consideration all factors involved. Giddens suggests ‘systems’, in this case, the political climate, influence people’s actions, but in turn, social contexts, or ‘structures’ continue to exist only if they are sustained by people’s repeated actions, for example the actions of Bush and Saddam. â€Å"Giddens concept of the ‘duality of structure’ melds agency and structure into one instead of regarding them as a dualism that consists of two separable albeit connected phenomena; unless and until structure is instantiated it has only virtual existence in the form of memory traces in people’s minds. †10 To conclude, the structure-agency debate is useful insofar as it provides a framework within which to explain social change; and to attribute causation, and this is what Giddens recognises in his two sided coin analogy. Giddens is right that we can only see one side of the coin at a time; this results from our own perceptual limitations when we trying to interpret phenomena. Political theory needs abstraction and over-simplification of the world to enable us to explain phenomena and change; the structure agency debate is one tool to enable us to do this.