A summery of Jared Diamond's article Malthus in Africa Essay

A summery of Jared Diamond's article Malthus in Africa - Essay Example Diamond acknowledges that the obligatory conduct is more likely in standardized cultures and the government regulation was necessary. In the case of Rwandan genocide, it was found necessary for the enforcement of moral principles. Moreover, Diamond points out three approaches to solve these problems: top down imposition of environmental controls, privatization of resources, and recognition of a common interest. These approaches have different strengths and if implemented well, could be very rewarding. Factors to the collapse of commons Political Instability played a role in the collapse of the commons. According to the book by the Human Rights Watch titled Leave None to Tell the Story: Genocide in Rwanda, the genocide rustled from the deliberate choice of modern elite, who had to foster hatred and fear to keep themselves in power. In the case of the Rwandan genocide, civilian Hutus formed militias, who set the road blocks and kill Tutsi. In organizing the attacks, there were radio tr ansmissions appealing to every Hutu to kill every â€Å"cockroach†( Tutsi). It is therefore, believed that the civilians were operating under the influence of some political elites who wanted to attain their political interests. Therefore, ethnic hatred brought the conflict in Rwanda; whereby, politicians facilitated the split of the society. Diamond asserted that it is only through ethnic hatred that a community would kill itself as there were cases where the Hutu could kill Hutus. The land disputes in Rwanda undermined the cohesion of Rwandan society; the richer land owners were expected to help the poor ones but they failed because they were not rich to the extent of offering sound assistance to the poor society members. This led to the increase in cases of divorced or separated women, widows, orphans etc. According to Diamond, the conflict began even before the 1994 Rwanda genocide. The country experienced rising levels of violence and thefts, perpetrated by hungry and la ndless young people who lacked sufficient income and assignments to keep the occupied ( Malthus in Africa Rwanda Genocide Page 14). When the food yield does not further become insufficient due to the exponential growth of population, conflict may arise as the population cannot match the food production; competition on available resource (food) is experienced. The environment around us determines the productivity in the agricultural field, as well as other related fields. In this case, environmental damage can occur in many ways, which includes deforestation and habitat destruction, soil problems (erosion, Stalinization, and soil fertility losses), water management problems, overhunting, overfishing etc, and significantly affect agricultural production. In this regard, it brought the collapse of the commons, since it has a direct impact on the agricultural food production. Depletion of fossil fuels, of which Peak Oil is a major looming instance causes collapse of the commons; for ins tance, oil producing countries like Nigeria, Southern Sudan and Middle East countries have never had peace. The diamond analysis outlined the major issues that led to the collapse of the commons; for instance, the issue on the political elites using the commons to create conflict is a major factor of the political instability witnessed in some African countries. Diamond

Productivity in the Roanoke Branch Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Productivity in the Roanoke Branch - Coursework Example As I follow up, I am writing to provide details of how the executive team can help in reversing the downward spiral of employee morale and productivity. Background. As you will recall, we lost two of our most experienced technical employees at Roanoke and other have disclosed their intention to leave Phoenix. A vacuum will be created, which will be very difficult to fill. This is capable of reducing the number of a client by half in the next six months. Our overall annual revenue will consequently decrease by 37%. This will further aggravate the effect of the economic crunch which has reduced advertisement expenses by 41% nationwide, and 53% in North Carolina. Proposal. Given the above, I am proposing a new approach to managing employee relations. This approach comprises three major components: securing employee commitment, dispute resolution, and welfare. The commitment of employee especially the top management employees can be secured by establishing a two-way communication process which will help managers understand Phoenix vision, mission, objectives, and values and allow the executive team at the headquarters. This can be achieved during meetings, frequent briefings, newsletters, and circulars. Recreational and sports activities can also be used for informal communications. The commitment of employees can also be enhanced by appropriate recognition of individual employees and teams’ achievements and efforts. This will help in promoting the right attitude to work and bringing out the best in employees. Adequate recognition can be given to employees through commendation letters, honors and merit awards, and management suggestion scheme. Given the inevitability of conflicts among employees at different categories, the executive team should establish clear channels for lodging complaints, expeditiously deal with complaints and the actions taken communicated to employees in order to resolve disputes.