Can Participatory Democracy Replace Representative Democracy Politics Essay

Can Participatory Democracy Replace Representative Democracy Politics Essay Over the past years, it has been observed that liberal democracy and it is choices of representations that is founded on appropriation of power through provoked consent has not been able to deliver freedoms and development and therefore, is considered a non functional choice. This essay is arguing that participatory democracy is not only a viable alternative to representative democracy. But it is the only viable option for the troubled societies of the modern era; it descends from democracy in its true form â€Å"direct democracy† and hence leads to progress and development. Which constitute it attraction as a renewed theory seeks response to representative democracy crisis. This essay used the model of Kerala in India to provide a case example of that participatory democracy with all its positive achievement is yet, to be empowered through proper participation and enriched experiences. Using critical analysis the essay will provide discussions on the notions of democracy in general, representative democracy and its critiques and overview of participatory democracy origins and features shortly try to draw the distinction between participatory democracy and deliberative democracy consecutively then overview of discussions around the Model of Kerala participatory democracy, finally discussions between PD/RD in the context of the developing world. Democracy: the contested notion According to William Connolly, democracy is a fundamentally contested notion on which it is impossible to reach an agreement (Barber, 1984). Although the differences in opinions might be frustrating it still does not destroy the worth of the contested concept. Before we indulge in the discussion whether participatory democracy is a viable alternative to representative democracy or not, we must understand what those terms stand for and how contested visions interpreted them, but first understanding the term democracy in its essence. Although a recent article by Nobel laureate Amarty a Sen (2005) highlights revealed evidences that democracy has been theorised in many civilisations including Asian, African as well as in European and American. But, as part of our â€Å"Eurocentric† knowledge (said 2003); the word democracy commonly makes its origins from ancient Greece. With the supremacy of the Roman Empire, the theory of democracy declined. However, it found its way back into the European thought with the fall of the Roman Empire, primarily because of the translation of Aristotle’s â€Å"politics† into Latin in the early 1260s. (Beetham 2005) Since then debates on democracy have become a vital part of the Western culture and have continued to grow and merge into mainstream thought process. It is interesting to note that when Aristotle spoke about democracy in his work, he meant direct democracy; a form in which people rule and are ruled in turn. The underlying issue is that self-government is deemed as a critical element of democracy or in f act the essence of democracy. In present times where most discourses on democracy are occupied by discussions on election; elections are held for relatively longer times, indulge in exhaustive policy-drafting roles, the conditions of democracy are not met and hence the government no longer remains a democracy but turns into an oligarchy, despite the participation of all citizens in the election process. However, with due course of time, with redefinition, the notion of democracy has gained a new history to a certain extent, one which has almost nothing to do with its roots in ancient Greece (Bruce 2004). The previous concept of democracy had evolved because of historical incidents where lower classes, mostly the peasants, acquired a more active and unique civic status. Hence this form democracy origin begins with European feudalism rather than Athenian democracy.

International Human Resource Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

International Human Resource Management - Essay Example It has about 337 stores in 41 territories including in the UK and overseas and employs over 78,000 people worldwide (M&S, 2012). The company which was established as a partnership firm by Michael Marks and Thomas Spencer, in the year 1894, went on to become a public company by 1926 and ventured into international markets during early 1970s. The company first set shop in France during 1975 with the opening of its stores in Paris. However, although the venture proved to be significantly profitable in France, the rest of the company's operations in the rest of Western Europe failed to garner profitable returns. This fuelled the closure of its stores in France in March 2001, amidst wide scale protests against the corporate decision (BBC, 2001a). 2. Introduction The unprecedented success garnered by retail chains across the world in terms of profitability, particularly posts the globalization phenomenon has been very well documented in academic literature and scholarly researches alike. A lthough there is a certain degree of validity and authenticity to the hypothesis, that internalization of retail stores is bound to result in immense popularity and profitability; the recent cases of closures of huge multinational giants, such as the withdrawal of the clothing chain C&A from the UK markets in the year 2000 (BBC, 2000b); the closure of UK based retail giants Tesco and Boots and the France based Carrefour from the Japanese markets, as recent as 2011 (The Guardian, 2011), indicates otherwise. This study on the closure of Marks & Spencer stores in France, aims to highlight the various core issues related to the operations, functioning and performance of international retail stores overseas, and assess the manner in which M&S approached the closure of its stores in the country. 2.1. Organizational context of IHRM The business of retailing entails operating of firms in a global context and at the same time adjusting and adapting to the local needs. Over the years, various global retailers have invested in international ventures with varying degrees of outcomes in terms of profitability and success. As more and more companies join the quest of aggressively pursuing international expansion as a part of their core strategies, it is all the more vital for them to take into consideration various factors which may play a key role in shaping their success in the process (Kraft and Mantrala, 2010). This in turn requires IHRM to be organized and efficient in its functioning. The organizational structure is dependent on the HR strategies developed by the management which is often embedded as the company's corporate strategy and can be based on its international division structure (i.e. production, marketing, finance, personnel etc., see Figure 1 Appendix 1); or the Functional structure (See figure 2 Appendix 2); or the geographic location structure (see Figure 3, Appendix 1) or the product structure (See Figure 4, Appendix 1) (Aswathappa and Dash, 2007). 2.2. Cross border alliances: The new wave of globalization has brought along with a trend of accelerated investment in cross border alliances in varied forms ranging from conventional approaches such as international exports and foreign direct investments (FDI) to relatively more contemporary methods such as cross border acquisitions, mergers, and franchisee agreements (OECD, 2001; Markusen, 2002; Neary, 2004). The choice of entry strategy into foreign markets depends

Privacy on the Web Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Privacy on the Web - Essay Example Although web providers guarantee the confidentiality of user data, security of customer information is often compromised due to several reasons and this situation negatively affects users’ privacy on the web. This paper will apply the decision making framework to analyze ‘privacy on the web’ and discuss the ethical approach that comes closest to the decision made. Decision Making Framework Reynolds (2011, P. 18) has outlined five phases in the decision-making process such as developing problem statement, identifying alternatives, evaluating and choosing alternatives, implementing decision, and evaluating results. Stakeholders affected by the decision are identified in the problem statement phase without making any assumption. Evidently, internet users are the primary stakeholders of any decision regarding the privacy on the web because they face increased threat to confidentiality and security of their personal data on the web. In addition, marketers represent ano ther major stakeholder group because the way the privacy on the web is protected can greatly affect the users’ confidence in organizations, which in turn would significantly influence organizations’ business growth. The government and other official authorities concerned are some other main stakeholders because they are responsible for securing the privacy of users on the web. There are many ways to protect users’ privacy on the web. First, strict website policies can greatly promote user privacy on the web because websites directly receive and store abundant customer data such as name, contact numbers, and credit card details. Secondly, well stated technical and privacy policy protections can enhance privacy on the web to a great extent. Thirdly, some recent proposals for government regulations can be a better alternative to promote the confidentiality of internet users. As Tracy, Jansen, Scarfone & Winograd (2007) report, tt seems that organizations often comp romise their website policies to entertain their personal interests and this situation in turn negatively affects security of user information on the web. Similarly, technical and privacy policy protections may not often ensure privacy on the web considering the growing prevalence of computer hacking and other malware attacks. Hence, it is better to choose new proposals for government regulations as a potential strategy to enhance privacy on the web. When the government directly regulates organizations’ privacy protection policies, privacy on the web is likely to be protected effectively. In order to ensure government intervention in user privacy protection on the web, it is vital to define the areas where the government can regulate and restrict websites’ activities. It is advisable for the government to strictly limit websites’ rights to use customer information/data beyond the purpose for which the data/information was actually collected. Finally, it would be better to establish a separate governmental agency to monitor websites’ efforts to secure privacy on the web. The governmental agency must comprise policymakers, law professionals, and technical experts. Undoubtedly, the direct government control over websites’ privacy protection practices can be effective to manage different challenges to privacy on the web. This approach will certainly promote the interests of organizations, online customers, and government authorities. However, this privacy protection