Response to Hurricane Katrina Essay Example for Free

Response to Hurricane Katrina Essay On 29 August, 2005 the category 5 huge Hurricane, Hurricane Katrina hit USA land. This natural disaster brought massive flood, damaging the property and resulted into high death toll. Although the projects related to the protection of areas by Hurricane were constructed 60 years ago but this exceptional unexpected disaster was the most terrible one in USA history (GAO-06-934, 2006). The disaster of Hurricane Katrina was beyond the expectation of the officials of the emergency management, which resulted into delay in supporting the effected people and the area by the guards and military. This uncontrolled situation showed the absence of management and lack of the ability to take a quick action by the people responsible to handle the problem because of their unawareness of handling the situation (Cooper Block, 2005). Bureaucratic/ Hierarchical model vs. Network model Professor Charles Wise asserts that effective and efficient running of organizations can be achieved through a combination of strategies and techniques. He further states that the organization must utilize all its resources in order to achieve business goals (Wise, 2006). Wise laid importance for the implication of network model rather than the hierarchical model. He explains that in hierarchical model, the decisions take place at the top level without communicating all the levels of organization and there is no evaluation of the progress. Due to this, flaws and unfavorable situations results at the end. In network model, there is continuous flow of information between the different levels of organization, which brings good results in managing any emergency. Waugh and Streib also laid emphasis on the change in the hierarchical model in which only top management contributes in making the decision (2006). The failure in handling the hurricane Katrina showed the inability and flaw in the decision making of the hierarchical management (Takeda Helms, 2006). Adaptive Management Approach The approach of government organizations of dealing with the natural disaster created a negative impact on the people of America. It showed that serious steps need to be taken in managing any kind of disaster (Schneider, 2005). Applying adaptive management hypothetically following steps should be followed: †¢ All the problems should be discussed with the stakeholders. †¢ There should be no communication gap and the flow of the data should be continuous between all the levels of the organization. †¢ The strategies should be followed and monitored to get positive outcome. †¢ There should be monitored resources. †¢ Policies and procedure should be there and should be consistent. †¢ Activities for the future should be planned and communicated at all level of the organization and different ideas by all should be encouraged. The management approach to deal with the hurricane Katrina should be a strategic approach. People of the effected area should be informed and educated to deal with the situation. They should be moved to the safe place. Instruction should be communicated by the organization through T. V and other mode of communication before the occurrence of the hurricane. There should be a complete planning. Measures and goal should be set to deal with such natural disaster. There should be training provided to the people, responsible to handle the situation. The programs for the affected people and victims to overcome the situation and so that they can get back get back in normal condition should be introduced to deal with any emergency created by natural disaster. Recommended Management Approach An effective management approach utilizes different strategies and tactics in order to reduce or mitigate the impact of a natural disaster. The first step is that adequate preparations must be made for any emergency by the presence of specific contingency plans. Governments must devise long term and short term solutions that can assist in reducing the impact of natural disaster (Wisner, 2004). This could be through the use of technology and administrative regulations that could help and assist people during times of natural disaster. Emergency and civil services must be adequate and competent enough to effectively and efficiently respond to any natural disaster. They must ensure the provision of vital services for people who trapped or injured because of the natural disaster. Stockpiles of essential items and goods must be performed by the local government in order to provide urgent relief to disaster zones. Successful disaster management plans utilize a competent and trained force of volunteers (Wisner, 2004). These volunteers can be instrumental in saving lives and delivering services. Response is the last stage of the disaster management plan as it consists of the provision of emergency and rescue services for people who have been hit by the natural disaster. Conclusion Hurricane Katrina was a natural disaster that severely impacted the people of New Orleans. The poor and slow response by the Bush administration was extensively criticized by the public. The disaster shows the necessity of effective and efficient disaster management programs. These plans must be adequate and competent enough to prevent death and destruction caused by the natural disaster. These programs should effectively utilize a number of rapid emergency and civil services in order to provide relief and aid in the disaster zone. Empirical studies have found evidence that the hierarchical model of organizational change leads to inefficiency and inflexibility. It retards the ability of organizations to effectively respond to emergencies and contingency plans. The network model of organizational change on the other has been found to give autonomy and freedom. This allows staff members to use their creativity and innovation in order to devise solutions for problems. Adaptive management takes a proactive and dynamic approach in resolving problems. It seeks to divide tasks into smaller goals which are distributed to team members. It can be used for disaster management because it efficiently and effectively utilizes and allocates resources. Disaster management must be systematically and methodically planned and arranged by the government. It is essential that reducing or mitigating the threat take place at the first level. Similarly rapid response should be developed by speedy and reliable delivery of services to people living in the disaster zone. References GAO-06934, (2006, September). Hurricane Katrina: Strategic Planning Needed to Guide Future Enhancements Beyond Interim Levee Repairs. Retrieved April, Saturday, 2009, from http://www. gao. gov/new. items/d06934. pdf. Cooper, Christopher, and Robert Jeffrey Block. Disaster: Hurricane Katrina and the failure of Homeland Security. New York: Times Books, 2006. Wise, C. (2006). Organizing for Homeland Security after Katrina: Is Adaptive management Whats Missing? Public Administration Review, 66(302-318). Waugh, W. , Streib, G. (2006). Collaboration and Leadership for Effective Emergency Management. Public Administration Review, 66(p 131- 140). Takeda, Margaret B. , Marilyn M. Helms (2006). Bureaucracy, meet catastrophe: Analysis of the tsunami disaster relief efforts and their implications for global emergency governance. International Journal of Public Sector Management, 19 (204- 217). Schneider, S. (2009). Administrative Breakdowns in the Governmental Response to Hurricane Katrina. Public Administration Review, 65(515-516). Wisner, Ben; P. Blaikie, T. Cannon, and I. Davis (2004). At Risk Natural hazards, people’s vulnerability and disasters Wiltshire: Routledge

Scottish Government public services reforms

Scottish Government public services reforms The Scottish Government together with local authorities, partners and stakeholders have initiated reforms in the way in which public services should be provided to achieve ‘a sustainable, person-centred system, achieving outcomes for every citizen and every community’. (Scottish Government 2011a) It is believed that everyone has to make a contribution. The Government set the aims to the services that should be person-centred, seamless and proactive. Services that would allow everybody to have best quality of life and give the full potential of contribution to the communities people live in. The key aspects involved in the public service provision focus on equality, respect and dignity, support in overcoming inclusion barriers and general positive outcomes and well being. The underlined values relate also to the individualised needs such as religion, culture or ethnic. Problems such as growth in public spending, social inequalities, poverty, lack of clarity in what lies behind organizations etc. have their origins in the way different services are funded, planned and managed. However, the aim of the Scottish Government remains unchanged and is to reduce the frustration resulting on long standing problems such as inefficiency of the public services, and the gaps that frequently exist within care systems. (Scottish Government Publications 2000). Researchers investigate what people value most to archive real-life improvements in the social and economic wellbeing of the people and communities. Half of the public finds that the Government’s foreground for service provision should be what is good for everyone in society as a whole (Ipsos MORI, 2010). This show that a progress in the development of an integrated public service has already occurred but requires continuation to success. Reaching an understanding It needs to be understood that public services and support systems exist for the society that use them. Evidence such as Christie Commission report (Christie, 2011), demonstrate that the needs have not always been central to the planning of services. The people that use the services often perceive themselves to be not sufficiently informed and not fully able to take part in the growth process of the services. Some changes in the service provision in relation to ‘shifting the philosophy ’ have already taken place. This makes the service provision more user centred and allows the user to participate actively in the changes and benefit the majority. (Rose, 2003) Client centredness became the watchword for the twenty-first century; however the progress in the implementation of person-centred planning in practice appears slow. Since devolution, there has been development, changes and new policies for health care, with reorganisations taking place, that are generally called reforms. These refer mainly to patients choice; system efficiency; quality of care and accountability acquired through transparency. In Scotland, for example, the separation of purchasing from provision of health care was abolished (National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990); it is not recommended for the providers to compete; The National Health Service (Free Prescriptions and Charges for Drugs and Appliances) (Scotland) Regulations (2011) implemented free drugs prescriptions as well as personal social care for the over-65s (Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act 2002). Recent changes relate to the abolition of primary care trusts (PCTs) and strategic health authorities (SHAs), new commissioning of clinical groups (CCGs) and  Healthwatch England. Other examples of success relate to improving the quality of services that include smoking ban legislation; lower mortality levels or decrease in heart disease and stroke through a number of governmental initiatives. These changes led Scotland to become a leader in public service reforms and made visible improvements for the Scottish society. The system’s integration with social services discourages provider competition and encourages patient choice and strong performance management. The Scottish Governments 2020 Vision (Scottish Government (a) 2013) aims to enable everyone to live a life that is longer, healthier; possibly at home or in a homely setting. To achieved that the healthcare system that focuses on prevention and anticipation and on the integration with social care. Positive changes improving people’s lives do take place at national and local levels. However, studies show that the public are overall more negative about services nationally and show positive stance about local services. This can be reasoned by the affirmative actions in which the public can have a bigger impact on how local services operate and the on the decision making. Public Service Trust states that more than a half (58% ) of the public would like to be actively involved in shaping public services. Although this is more than a half of the public it proves that there is the need for more community and local activity an engagement in relation to the public services in order to reduce and minimise the substantial barriers.(Ipsos MORI 2010) These are only a few examples of the improvement that has occurred due to the governmental actions focused at partnetships between service providers and investment in people. (Scottish Government (c ) (2013) New legislation was introduced ( The Scottish Government (c)2013) to improve the integration of health and social care provision to make care for the citizens better. This affects particularly older people free personal care for them and acknowledging the facts highlighted in the Christie report (Christie, C. 2011) that by 2033, the number of people aged over 75 will increase by 84%. The report ( Christie, 2011) estimates however that additional demands on social care and justice services will be costly ( Although there is evidence demonstrating progress especially in implementing diverse and innovative approaches that appeal to healthcare and social care professionals, practitioners and policymakers there are also many challenges of implementing the client-centerness. Achieving outcomes for every citizen and every community While many professionals espouse the principles of client-centred practice it seems much more difficult to implement these into everyday practice. Health care providers, staff and clients must work together to facilitate changes and ensure that each client receives respectful, supportive, coordinated, flexible and individualized service where standards affirm basic ethical principles, beneficence and social justice. This is however a real change, due to many factors including changes in funding, culture and power relations, as well as in approaches to service management and staff supervision. This is why attention is paid to more openly and transparent performance of the services .This however according to Dr Barry ( Barry, M. 2007) requires comprehensive strategies to ensure fair, good quality but foremost integrated services for people with the knowledge and well structured priorities in relation to their professional and social roles. Across researchers (Ipsos MORI, 2010), it is to see that not all the issues policymakers find important for reforming public services resonate with the general public at the same levels. The fairness, good quality standards of customer service, local control, accountability, personalisation and choice are seen as public’s key priorities, however the first two aspects seem to be more important to the public. 63% think that standards of public services should be the same for everyone and everywhere in UK and over 47% would prefer greater local decision-making. This could be a consequence of declining trust in politicians. The findings of Ipsos MORI (2008/9) suggest that the citizens would like to feel more welcomed to take a part in an honest debate about the options ahead for public services because information about the scale of the approaching challenges has not reached citizens in a form they understand. This demonstrates the need of more control and choice in the consumer, and facilitates individualised rather than universal services. Roles, relationships and responsibilities of partners within an integrated public service. Many of current public services continue to operate on the basis of the traditional model of service provision. To allow the changes in how resources are managed and allocated to happen there is a growing need for appropriately trained staff and management. However to support the reforming public services change for a well integrated multi-agency working not just at managerial level is needed but a change to the whole culture that governs services. Collaborative working, partnership and community involvement Co-operation that would replace competition is required as well as focus on professional responsibility on meeting the increasing complexity. (Royal College of Nursing, 2004). The collaborative work, in practice should involve joint planning between health authorities both local and national as well as the private and voluntary sectors and education. Working together includes the whole process of researching, assessing, planning, implementing and evaluation. Balancing power relations in partnership across cultures, ethical, political or religious differences play an important role in promoting appropriate services for the service users. Teamwork and partnership often do not operate in an integrated way where the patient or service user would be seen as the central figure. The users involvement is vital. Working together, joining trade unions, expanding knowledge and engaging with local authorities helps find ways to reach excluded and marginalised groups of a society.(Department of Health 2000 a). This is already notable in the programs of most of the political parties. The citizens empowerment is seen as a social manner that can influence and shape the public services to suit better the users need. Giving people a say in the design and delivery of public services. This is however a social challenge as the public opinion research show a decrease from 58% to 47% in disposition to the interests in decision-making related to the local areas. ( Ipsos MORI 2010). This is why people should be motivated to get involved in collaboration and partnerships within the public services, they should be offered the chance to share experiences and discuss actions and widen the pool of resources and skills. The impetus for integration and collaboration has been pointed out in legislations and government policies such as The Vital Connection (Department of Health, 2000a), NHS plan (Department of Health, 2000b) or in the Governments Equality Framework (Department of Health, 2012) This demonstrates clearly that seamless health and social services provision has been a concern of policy makers for many years and that the UK governments underline the need for collaboration. However when the public was asked about getting personally involved in local decision-making, the commitment to involvement in decisions affecting their local area has dropped to 47% from 56%. (Ipsos MORI (2010). This could be one of the explanations why problems continue to exist. Service planning, empowerment and engagement The notion of empowerment is central. This however requires peoples engagement. Research shows that people find that vast majority are more interested in having a say (24%) or in knowing more (47%) than actually getting engaged. The service planning should therefore include informative element how the services are delivered and by whom for the users in order to engage them to recreate services they need. According to the annual Audit of Political Engagement only 11% of adults can be classified as ‘political activists’ and over half the public (51%) have no interests. (Ipsos MORI 2010). It seems that co-making decisions is less important than having the influence to make them. Managers and frontline workers Poor image, desinformation and low pay contribute to general feelings of helplessness among many frontline workers that should be involved decision-making and planning processes (Eborall,2003). Managerial styles need to be empathetic in order for frontline staff to adopt person-centred approaches to their work ( Sherad, D. 2004) A good style helps demonstrate and articulate the values of the organisation, values personal commitment and relationships with the people it supports. Look for ways to use staff interests and strengths in directly supporting people. The style shall rather review itself in decision making and in having a clear vision and direction. This encourages new ideas as well as personal involvement and helps to achieve the purpose as a team. . The Government support management and frontline staff in public services by implementing programmes that lead to integration of health and social care. One of the examples is The Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Scotland) Bill. The act underlines the importance of the integrated work for health and social care provision across Scotland. They both have a key role to play reforming the public services, therefore the reform should involve more educational, council, employer and training bodies to help improve the workforce awareness and leadership development. Also thethird sector organisations should have access to appropriate skills development opportunities, including leadership development .(The Scottish Government ( 2011 b) Summarising it needs to be believed that people learn from the past experiences and improve partnership at local and national levels to build a well functioning system that could seamlessly provide care for the whole community, including people with complex care needs because at the end of the day we do it for us. ( words 2641) References: Barry, M. (2007) Effective Approaches to Risk Assessment in Social Work: An International Literature Review Social Work Research Centre University of Stirling Scottish Executive Social Research [online] available http://scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/194419/0052192.pdf [accessed 11.11.13] Christie, C. (2011) Commission on the future delivery of public services [online] available http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/352649/0118638.pdf [accessed 01.12.13] Department of Health (2000 a ) The Vital Connection an equalities framework for the NHS [online] available http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_4007652 [accessed 11.12.13] Department of Health (2000 b) The NHS Plan: Principles [online] available http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/www.dh.gov.uk/en/publicationsandstatistics/publications/publicationspolicyandguidance/browsable/DH_4901318 [ accessed 11.12.13] Department of Health (2012) NHS Outcomes Framework 2013 to 2014 [online] available https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nhs-outcomes-framework-2013-to-2014 [ accessed 02.12.13] Eborall, C. (2003) The State of the Social Care Workforce in England. First annual report of the TOPSS England Workforce Intelligence Unit [online] available www.topssengland.net [ accessed 10.11.13] Hall, S. (2009) Spending priorities in the benefits system: Deliberative research with the public DWP Research Report No 559. Ipsos MORI (2008/9) Real Trends Slide Pack [online] available http://www.ipsos-mori.com/researchpublications/publications/1191/Real-Trends-Flyer.aspx [accessed 11.12.13] Ipsos MORI (2009) Public Services and Public Spending, RSA Slide Pack Leaders, Parties and spending cuts [online] available http://www.ipsos-mori.com/Assets/Docs/News/news-ipsos-mori-conferences-2009-briefing-pack.pdf [ accessed 18.12.13] Ipsos MORI (2010) What do people want, need and expect from public services [online] available http://www.ipsos-mori.com/researchpublications/publications/1345/What-do-people-want-need-and-expect-from-public-services.aspx [ accessed 12.12.13] Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Scotland) Bill (2013) [online] available http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/S4_HealthandSportCommittee/Public%20Bodies%20Joint%20Working%20Scotland%20Bill/PBJW0073_-_Scottish_Social_Services_Council.pdf [ accessed 01.12.13] Rose, D. (2003) Partnership, co-ordination of care and the place of user involvement Journal of Mental Health, Vol. 12, No. 1, pp. 59–70 [online] available http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09638230021000058300 [ accessed 01.12.13] Royal College of Nursing (2004) Collaborative working, partnership and community involvement [online] available http://www.rcn.org.uk/development/learning/transcultural_health/multiagency/sectiontwo [ accessed 11.11.13] Sheard, D. (2004) Person-centred care: the emperor’s new clothes? Journal of Dementia Care, March/April, Vol. 12, Issue 2, pp. 22–4 The Scottish Government ( 2011 a) Commission on the Future Delivery of Public Services [online] available http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2011/06/27154527/10 [ last accessed 09.01.14] The Scottish Government ( 2011 b)  £7 million for third sector [online] available http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Releases/2011/07/18120453 [ accessed 10.11.13] The Scottish Government (2013 b) Route Map to the 2020 Vision for Health and Social Care (no author) Topics[online] available http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Health/Policy/Quality-Strategy/routemap2020vision (last accessed 04.10.13) The Scottish Government (2013 c) Scotland leads the way on public service reform (no author) News [online] available http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Releases/2013/06/PSR19062013 [ accessed 01.12.13] The Scottish Government (a) (2000) Our National Health A plan for action, a plan for change ( Deacon, S) Publications [online] available http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/158732/0043081.pdf (last accessed 05.12.13) The Scottish Government 2013 a) 2020 Vision (no author) Topics [online] available http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Health/Policy/2020-Vision (last accessed 04.10.13) Reading: Social Research (2004) Health and Community Care Research Programme Public Attitudes to the National Health Service in Scotland http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/26800/0025702.pdf – 2004 Survey Research st accessed 04.10.13)Commission on the Future Delivery of Public Services

Brexit: Causes and the Future of Britain

Brexit: Causes and the Future of Britain Abstract A referendum was held on June 23rd 2016, to decide whether the United Kingdom (UK) should leave or remain as a part of the European Union (EU). This vote is commonly referred to as Brexit merging words Britain and Exit. The 4 nations of the UK (England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland) voted to leave the EU. This paper explores the reasons for the Brexit, its global implications, the current situation and what lies ahead. Keywords:   Referendum, United Kingdom, Brexit, European Union. On June 23rd 2016, a referendum was held to decide whether the UK should leave or remain as a part of the EU, also known as Brexit. The 4 nations of the UK (England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland) participated in the referendum with leave winning by 51.9% to 48.1%, with almost 30 million people voting (Hunt A. & Wheeler B., 2017). To understand the reasons for the referendum and why the UK voted to leave the EU, a brief history of the relationship between the UK with the EU is studied. The reasons to vote for and against Brexit as also analyzed, along with its global consequences. Finally, the current situation and how much of the Brexit has been implemented is discussed. European Union and its History with the United Kingdom After the end of the Second World War, the European nations wanted to end the frequent and costly wars between neighbors. In 1957, Belgium, France, West Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands signed the Treaty of Rome, establishing the European Economic Community (EEC), or ‘Common Market’. (European Union, n. d., para 2). EEC was formed with the goal of economic cooperation between the European nations. The 1960s improved the economy of the EEC members as they started trading without charging custom duties when they traded with each other. On January 1 1973, Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom joined the EEC. Greece became the 10th nation in 1981, followed by Spain and Portugal five years later. In 1986, Single European Act was signed, with the intent of allowing free flow of trade across EU borders, creating the ‘Single Market’. (European Union, n. d., para 5). The Maastricht Treaty in 1993 established the European Union (EU), of which the EEC was a main component. The EU was formed with the goal of unifying Europe’s nations under one united foreign policy, common citizenship rights, trade rights and a single currency, called euro. (Pruitt S., 2016). Although the UK became a part of the EU in 1973, the relationship between the UK and the EU has been a turbulent one. The UK applied first applied for EEC membership in 1963. But France’s President Charles de Gaulle vetoed its application, on the worry that English would replace French as the main language of the community. But in 1973, UK was finally allowed into EEC under Conservative Prime Minister Edward Heath. (The Telegraph, 2016). But within two years, UK was on the verge on leaving the EEC. In 1975, UK voted on the referendum to whether stay or leave the EEC. 67 percent voted to remain in the EEC. Tension again began in 1984, when UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher wanted to reduce British payments to the EEC budget. At that time, the UK was the third poorest country of the EEC, but was paying a lot more to the budget due to its lack of farms. At that time, farm subsidies made up 70 percent of total expenditure. The UK, due to its relatively few farms, got a very small share of the farm subsidies. Margaret Thatcher with her tough talks managed to reduce Britain’s contribution to the EEC from more than 20 percent to about 12 percent. The UK also had issues with the EU regarding France’s ban of British beef during â€Å"mad cow† disease outbreak in the late 90’s, to the decision to allow British chocolates to be sold to rest of Europe in 2000, after a 27-year long dispute. Decision to vote for Brexit In 2011, David Cameron became the first UK prime minister to veto a EU treaty. This was done to protect London’s financial sector and stop a levy on banks. In 2013, he made a speech where he outlined the challenges faced by EU and committed to renegotiate UK’s membership with the EU. At the same time, a lot of support began among British people for the UK Independence Party (UKIP), which held a hard stance with the EU. An ongoing migrant crisis and an economic unrest in the Eurozone increased anti-Europe sentiments. With the increasing support for the UKIP, David Cameron made a pledge in 2013 that if the Conservatives were in power after the 2015 election, there will be an in/out referendum. (Wright O. & Cooper C., 2016) . After coming to power after the election, Cameron promised the vote by end of 2017. He continued his renegotiation with the EU and had managed to make new deals for Britain, which he said was a strong basis to back a Remain vote. To remove the EU vote from holding headlines in the political agenda, David Cameron set an early referendum date of 23rd June, 2016. Reasons for and against Brexit After the decision for the referendum date was taken, a lot of polarizing took place for both sides of the vote-leave or remain. Campaigns for both leave and remain had contrasting opinions of the issues at large. Views for both leave and remain campaign regarding the important issues are discussed below. Main issues of Brexit A lot of arguments for the leave campaign was based on the fact of economic freedom of the UK from the EU, control of UK border from the migrant crisis and trade deals. Arguments of remain was that the vision of the leave campaign lacked convincing detail. (Buttonwood, 2016). Economic Issues The leave campaign had the view that the UK’s links with the EU meant that it cannot make individual trade links with emerging markets like China or India. Leaving the EU would allow UK to diversify its trade deals. However, the remain campaign pointed the fact the 44 percent of UK’s export goes to the other EU countries. Leaving the free-trade agreement of the EU would hurt UK’s economy and leaving EU would be counterproductive. Remain also argued that leaving the EU will hurt the banking industry in UK as trading advantages of being inside the EU helps the banks make profit. The leave campaign rubbished those fears and believed that London would remain a financial capital outside of EU, and banks would still want to be based in UK due to low tax rates. Immigration and Jobs People for the leave campaign had the view that the UK cannot control their border as long they remained a part of EU. EU gives freedom of movement to other EU citizens and an automatic right to live in the UK. (Smith-Riley B., 2016). The immigration crisis also triggered very polarized views. EU had the belief that aiding the refugees was a moral obligation. (Mauldin J., 2016). But people who wanted UK to leave EU had the viewpoint that immigration was a national issue and each country should have their own say on whom they want to enter their country. Remain campaign were of the view that leaving would not solve the migration crisis, but simply shift border control from France to the UK. Regarding jobs, nearly 2.5 million people are employed in UK due to EU trade, which gives freedom of movement for EU citizens. The remain campaign held the view that closing the borders would result in loss of some of those jobs, raising unemployment in the country. Also, businesses may invest less in the UK as they may have to pay high taxes for import and export, outside of â€Å"free trade†. The leave campaign was of the view that the job loss claims were exaggerated. In fact, jobs may flourish in the UK if they can provide better incentives to new businesses like low corporation tax. Defense and Sovereignty Issues People for the leave campaign had the belief that the UK may have to contribute to a EU army to fight against terrorism and other threats. Such a contribution would take away funds and independence from UK’s own military. Remain campaign argued that countries working together would give the best chance to the EU to counter terrorism threats from ISIS and other countries which wants to undermine the EU. Many people who supported the notion of leaving the EU believed that multinational organizations take away control from the individual nations. There was growing mistrust between the countries, coupled with a simultaneous rise in nationalism. There were calls for further economic integration after the euro crisis, which was opposed by the euro sceptics. Remain campaign argued that in this age of globalization, countries must have common economic goals to sustain a healthy economy benefiting everyone. They argued that it is better to remain a part of EU and help change the rules from inside, rather than leave it altogether and have no say in any new decision makings. What happened on June 23rd 2016? How did UK vote? On June 23rd 2016, over 33 million people of the UK countries of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland cast their vote to either leave or remain in the EU. Leave won by 51.9% to 48.1%. But the voting pattern was different in the 4 countries. While England and Wales voted to leave the EU, Scotland and Northern Ireland voted remain. But the overall vote count had leave have more votes than remain. A breakdown of the vote for leave and remain for the individual countries is given below. Figure 1. Voting pattern for Brexit of the 4 UK countries- in percentages (Hunt A. & Wheeler B., 2017) There was a political fallout as the immediate result to vote for Brexit. Scotland, who had decided to vote to remain in the EU, were forced to leave as the UK voted as a whole. Scotland wanted to go for another referendum to vote and decide whether to remain as a part of the UK, or gain independence and apply to the EU as an independent nation. Prime Minister David Cameron, who led the remain campaign, announced to resign from his position. Theresa May was appointed as the new Prime Minister of UK on 13th July 2016. From the beginning, she was firm in her decision that no attempts should be made by UK to remain as a part of EU or to rejoin it after Brexit. On the other hand, Eurosceptic leaders celebrated as they strongly wanted to withdraw from European Union, or diminish the scope of EU’s legislative influence. There was a political uproar throughout the whole country because people plunged into the phase of uncertainty that could not only affect the global political situation, but also could impact the world economy. Economic & Global impact European single market is a trade bloc, that enables free trade between 28 countries (including UK) that come under the European union. This single market not only enables easy navigation of goods and services between the member countries, and easement of several trading barriers, but also boosts economic growth, helps in effective governance of trade practices, and improves the overall standard of living in the member countries. Brexit will not only hinder smooth trade practices but will also affect the financial markets. Currency Turbulence â€Å"Just a day after Brexit, it had been seen that pound fell sharply against euro. On June 24th, the pound fell to a 31 year low against the dollar.† (Allen K. and Monaghan A., 2016). Sterling also fell against euro. This weaker status of pound against euro brought tension among holidaymakers, tourists, and exporters because pound could then fetch lesser returns and made trading more competitive. Tourists from UK couldn’t travel Europe as comfortably like before as they got lesser money’s worth after Brexit. Reduced Trade The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, popularly known as OECD, which is an association for developed nations, has stated that Brexit would bring a â€Å"major negative shock† in UK. France, Germany and Italy are the stronger members of European Union. They are also key trading allies of UK. But now due to Brexit there will be reduction of trade with these countries due to stringent regulatory policies and lesser labor mobility. UK cannot easily access the European single market. By 2020, GDP would be over 3 percent smaller than otherwise in the U.K.† (Rafal Kierzenkowski et. al., 2016) Domino Effect UK has been the first state to withdraw membership from EU. Since no other state has withdrawn the membership from EU, this could frame a pattern or design that will enable the other member states to increase their momentum of membership withdrawal from EU. In fact, after Britain’s exit from EU, Alternative for Germany (AfD) chairman Bjorn Hocke said I know the German people want to be free of EU slavery.† On the other hand, there can be a different outlook towards exit. â€Å"For instance, Scotland might leave the U.K. to become a stand-alone nation within the EU (like the Republic of Ireland).†Ã‚  (Geewax M., 2016). In a nutshell, Brexit will keep bringing rippling effect that will not only bring disruption in political front or obstruction in the flow of labor, capital and commerce; but will also increase Euroscepticism among the present member states of EU. Brexit’s influence on various industries Housing and commercial property The unreliability and unpredictability of the market after the referendum’s result came out, freaked out the Investors, which also affected the commercial property sector. Estate agents were more affected than house builders. As per Anthony Codling, an analyst at Jefferies, housing sector would be comparatively less affected because government helped the first-time buyers with financial aids. In fact, demand for houses would be vigorous but the cost of construction would keep rising. Building shares kept declining and the most affected housebuilders were Taylor Wimpy, Barkley and Baratt. In FTSE 100, they lost more than 4% in addition to their land securities. (Inman P. and Farrell S., 2016) Retail Retail sector was badly hit, which was already going through a lot of pressure. In fact, before the voting results were even declared, an atmosphere of uncertainty was creeping up. The shopping habits of majority of consumers took a different path. They stopped spending on things that do not come under necessary products. For example, the fashion sales declined drastically and saw the biggest drop in their sales for seven years. As most of the fashion retailers purchase their raw materials from Asia and pay them in dollars, they have been affected more due to the drop in the value of pound.   But some companies have benefitted as well. We know that deflation is the situation in which the supply of money in an economy gets diminished. During this time the purchasing power of money is greater. So, Brexit would help to bring relief to Britain’s supermarkets, which couldn’t earn their desired revenues in last two years due to the deflationary environment. Also, FTSE 100 index is currently at 7343.08 compared to 6338.10 on the day of referendum. This index basically depicted many companies which earned in dollars and not in pounds in UK. Hence, when there was a decline in the value of the pound compared to dollar, their returns multiplied. Telecom â€Å"Vodafone’s announcement that it could  move its headquarters out of the UK  brought one of the most striking impacts of the referendum on corporate Britain.†Ã‚  (Rhiannon B. et. al., 2016).    Since EU has a pivotal role in regulating the telecom sector, Brexit has already put forward many questions against Britain’s own telecom industry. A Spanish telecom company called Telefonica also began their assessment and evaluation of their UK based subsidiary company named O2. An attempt was made to sell O2 to Hong Kong’s CK Hutchison, but that unfortunately got hindered due to concern over competition. Later in October 2016, Telefonica has also renounced their plan of listing O2 in the London Stock Exchange due to the tumult created by Brexit. Also, there could have been rise in the momentum of Vodafone’s merger with the company called Liberty Global, which had taken over British cable group Virgin Media in 2013 to branch out into Europe’s cable market. But due to the turmoil created by Brexit, the valuation of Virgin Media had significantly dropped. Insurance Insurance companies had to mandatorily comply with Solvency II directive of European Union Law. This rule aims in harmonizing EU insurance regulation. Solvency II consists of three pillars, viz., pillar 1, pillar 2 and pillar 3. Pillar 1 states the quantitative requirements and resources that insurance companies need to maintain for meeting the liabilities. Pillar 2 deals with risk management structure, which helps to foresee risk against which capital must be held. Pillar 3 deals with transparency and disclosure of risk and meeting the capital requirements. Lord Turnbull, the former civil service head who served as a board member of Prudential, believed that Brexit would help the global companies who wanted to disassociate themselves from the complex directive of Solvency II. Also, after Brexit investors were in dilemma because of its harm on balance sheets and regular business operations. That’s why insurers had to struggle to minimize the immediate problem of share price fluctuations. Legal & General’s stock declined substantially by 30pc in two days, before it reassured shareholders that its solvency and cash generation were retaining properly. (Williams C., 2016) Energy National Grid and SSE have both urged the Government to ensure Britain remains in the EU’s internal energy market (IEM) that will enable them to perform smooth trading of electricity and gas between UK and the European countries. (Williams C., 2016). Since EU laid an easy pathway for UK to make smooth dealing in regards to receive the utilities and benefits of energy sector, Brexit would bring disruption in the whole process that ran with a continuous synergy. Therefore, the UK consumers will now have to incur more costs for energy consumption because UK’s exit from EU could lead to 500 million pounds rise in the cost of procuring energy as a resource. Transport Airline industry has also been badly hit due to Brexit. Sterling’s sharp depreciation has brought perplexity in the aviation sector because this decline in the value of sterling would reduce the demand to travel. This drop in the value would make traveling more expensive. EasyJet has already speculated that they will have less passengers to travel during summer months, and this uncertainty has forced them to rethink whether they should carry on their business in UK or not. Positive Aspects Pounds weakness would increase tourism in UK. People from all around the world can visit and spend comparatively more than what it used to be before. UK’s hospitality industry can flourish more. Big touristy attractions like Madame Tussauds or Legoland can gain more foot traffic. Even the renowned restaurants and pubs can get more customers. Current Scenario of Brexit’s Implementation Theresa May, the current Prime Minister of the UK has stated that she will trigger Britain’s exit from the EU by end of March, 2017 and begin the two years of negotiations. To begin the negotiations, she must invoke Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, and decide on what deals the UK will make with the EU. According to the deals to be made, people are terming it as either a â€Å"hard† Brexit or a â€Å"soft† Brexit.   Article 50 None of the states have ever left European Union; Britain was the first to do so. This has created a lot of turmoil in global economy. The rules for withdrawal or exit is mentioned in Article 50 of the Treaty of Lisbon. Lisbon Treaty aimed to make EU more transparent and efficient in functioning. It was a treaty that was agreed by the head officials of EU member countries. But since UK has left the EU, Prime Minister Theresa May would trigger Article 50 by the end of March 2017. Though the decision of the referendum was taken in a day, the process of leaving EU will be time consuming. After Article 50 is triggered, no directives or rules of EU that exercise control over its member states, will be applied to Britain. Britain and EU will then become two individual parties to any contracts or agreements, and will have to take every decision through bargains and negotiations. Many economists believe that creating future trade relationships or agreements on crucial policies like immigration or trade tariffs between UK and EU countries can become more difficult and burdensome. Figure 2. Steps to be taken for UK to leave the European Union (Hunt A. & Wheeler B., 2017) Hard and Soft Brexit A hard Brexit will be an arrangement where the UK will surrender its full access to the single market and customs union along with the EU. (Sims A., 2016). The trade relationship will be based initially on the World Trade Organization (WTO) rules. Going for a hard Brexit will give the UK full control of its border, and decide on trade deals on its own. A soft Brexit on the other hand will mirror the current deals the UK has with the EU as much as possible. It will lose having a seat on the European Council, but may keep access to the open trade market of the EU. The leave campaign members are more inclined towards going for a hard Brexit approach, while the remain campaign wants to take the path of a soft Brexit. However, both approaches come with their own pros and cons. International Trade Secretary, Liam Fox, has said a hard Brexit approach would benefit the UK by making it a global trading nation. (Sims A., 2016). However, leaving the open market may subject the British goods and services to tariffs, as well as increase bureaucratic checks on goods. If the UK decides to go for a soft Brexit, London’s position as a financial hub may be kept intact if the UK decides to allow the EU rule of free movement of European nationals to work and settle in the UK. Supreme court ruling The latest update of Brexit’s implementation is the Supreme court ruling. Justices ruled that Prime Minister Theresa May cannot use the privilege to trigger  Article 50  of the Lisbon Treaty and begin the two-year process of negotiating the UKs separation from its EU partners. (Telegraph Reporters, 2017). Britain’s Supreme court has also ruled out that the UK government must hold vote in the Parliament before beginning the process of annulment. (Greene Allen R. & Dewan A., 2017). Though UK Government was dissatisfied with this new ruling but they would abide by it. Jeremy Wright, Attorney General of England and Wales, told reporters that they would agree to court’s ruling but would also take every measure to implement Brexit. Theresa May is playing the key role in enacting Brexit and she looks forward to execute all the plans by the end of March 2017, in association with all who voted for leaving EU. References   (1) Hunt, A. & Wheeler, B. (2017) Brexit: All you need to know about the UK leaving the EU. Retrieved from: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-32810887 (2) European Union. (n. d.) The history of European Union. Retrieved from:   https://europa.eu/european-union/about-eu/history_en#1945_-_1959 (3) Pruitt, S. (2016) The history behind Brexit. Retrieved from: http://www.history.com/news/the-history-behind-brexit (4) The Telegraph. (2016) Britain’s 40-year relationship with the EU. Retrieved from:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/06/16/britains-40-year-relationship-with-the-eu/ (5) Wright, O. & Cooper, C. (2016) Brexit: What is it and why are we having an EU referendum? Retrieved from: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/what-is-brexit-why-is-there-an-eu-referendum-a7042791.html (6) Buttonwood. (2016) Eu Referendum- The arguments for voting remain. Retrieved from: http://www.economist.com/blogs/buttonwood/2016/06/eu-referendum-2 (7) Smith-Riley, B. (2016) Leave or remain in the EU? The arguments for and against Brexit. Retrieved from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/06/16/leave-or-remain-in-the-eu-the-arguments-for-and-against-brexit/ (8) Mauldin, J. (2016) 3 Reasons Brits voted for Brexit. Retrieved from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnmauldin/2016/07/05/3-reasons-brits-voted-for-brexit/#1c8d5991f9d6 (9) Allen, K. & Monaghan, A. (2016) Brexit fallout- the economic impact in six key charts. Retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/jul/08/brexit-fallout-the-economic-impact-in-six-key-charts (10) Kierzenkowski, R., Pain, N., Rusticelli, E. & Zwart, S. (2016) The economic consequences of Brexit- A taxing decision. Retrieved from: http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/economics/the-economic-consequences-of-brexit_5jm0lsvdkf6k-en (11) Geewax, M. (2016) Circle June 23. A vote that day in the U.K. could affect your wallet. Retrieved from: http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/06/10/481424109/circle-june-23-a-vote-that-day-in-the-u-k-could-affect-your-wallet (12) Inman, P. and Farrell, S. (2016) Pound hits 31-year low after disappointing service sector data. Retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/jul/05/pound-hits-31-year-low-after-service-sector-data (13) Rhiannon, B., Dakers, M. & Martin, B. (2016) UK firms mull moves in wake of Brexit. Retrieved from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/06/29/uk-firms-mull-moves-in-wake-of-poll/ (14) Williams, C. (2016) What does Brexit mean for the key parts of the UK economy? Retrieved from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/07/02/what-does-brexit-mean-for-the-key-parts-of-the-uk-economy/ (15) Sims, A. (2016) What is the difference between hard and soft Brexit? Everything you need to know. Retrieved from: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-hard-soft-what-is-the-difference-uk-eu-single-market-freedom-movement-theresa-may-a7342591.html (16) Telegraph Reporters. (2017) Brexit ruling: The Supreme Court judgement in full. Retrieved from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/01/24/brexit-ruling-supreme-court-judgment-full/ (17) Greene Allen, R. & Dewan, A. (2017) Brexit ruling: UK Supreme Court gives parliament Article 50 vote. Retrieved from: http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/24/europe/brexit-article-50-supreme-court-ruling/

Call It Sleep by Henry Roth :: Call it Sleep Essays

Call It Sleep   by Henry Roth      The book Call It Sleep written by Henry Roth is a literary work that explores immigrant life as they adjust to the new and unfamiliar ways of American life.   The book is somewhat of a social commentary on the period of the Eastern European immigration to America at its peak.  Ã‚   The novel gives an inside view on how foreigners (primarily Jewish immigrants) fit into main stream society.  Ã‚   Throughout the course of the novel, you travel along with the main character David Schearl as he ages from six to eight and grows up in Brownsville on the lower East side of New York.   David is torn between the love of his over protective mother and the hatred of his angry and mentally disturbed father in a quest to make sense of his life in contrast with all of the other immigrant children that he comes in contact with.   All of the adventures that David encounters and all of the people that he comes in contact with are simply the author’s way of depicting an immigrants inne r struggle and dealing with the pressures of life as seen through the eyes of a remarkably perceptive and imaginative child.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The opening scenes are set in New York harbor in 1907 at a time when the inflow of   foreigners is at its peak. A woman and her small child come off of the boat to reunite with her husband that had gone before them to the new world to start a better life than they were used to in their old country.   The author has you experience what it is like to come into New York Harbor and see the city skyline and the lights; and also to experience the feeling of hope and promise for a brighter future for the immigrants.   However when Albert Schearl shows up late and uncaring to greet a wife and son who don’t recognize him right away, it is hinted to the reader that trouble is in store for the Schearl family.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The father Albert Schearl is introduced as a very haughty and proud individual that believes that he should abandon all signs of his former upbringing and conform to the American ways of life.   He is a printer by trade however he cannot hold down a job long enough due to his violent and uncontrollable temperament.   He thinks that people are constantly watching his every move therefore he cannot give

Stress :: essays research papers

This report is on stress, what causes it, how and why, and how it can be cured. It will tell you all about stress, why it's important for people to understand, and what it can do to you and other people. Stress affects everyone and everything, that's why it's important that we all be properly educated on it. First we need to understand what stress is. Stress is basically the body's nonspecific response to any demand. Another way of describing stress is any nervousness or anxiety. Almost all people relate the word stress to discomfort or pressure. What they are actually thinking of is distress, which is often referred to as stress. There are many things that cause stress. In my opinion, this is the most important part of this whole report because knowing the cause for stress can help you avoid stressful situations. Just about any problem using thought can cause stress. One of the most stressful of all things, especially for teenagers, are social events. Popularity, friends, relationships, and looks are more stressful things to teenagers than parents. However, adults tend to face such stressors as meeting deadlines, fear of failure, anger, and frustration at the workplace. Everybody is effected by stress when it comes to things like wars, pollution, poverty, overcrowding, and crime. It is important to learn how to live with these situations, because it is nearly impossible to get through life without encountering them. Most people know that stress could be bad, but how bad? Physicians have proven that stress-related disorders, diseases brought on or worsened by psychological stress, are more likely to happen to people with very busy lives. The sad results of too much stress can be: depression, drug use, crime, dropping out of school, accidents, and even suicide. These psychosomatic disorders commonly involve the autonomic nervous system, which controls the body's internal organs. Some kinds of headache and back and facial pain, asthma, stomach ulcers, high blood pressure, and premenstrual stress are examples of stress-related disorders. (Funk & Wagnall's.) Respiratory disorders also can be affected by stress. Most common of these is asthma which may be caused by emotional upsets. (Funk & Wagnall's.) In addition, emotional stress can cause or aggravate many skin disorders, from those that produce itching, tickling, and pain to those that cause rashes and pimples. Treatment of stress-related disorders is sometimes limited to relieving the particular physical symptom involved; for example, hypertension may be controlled with drugs. (Funk & Wagnall's.) Psychological treatments are attempts to help the person to relieve the source of stress or to learn to deal with it. Combinations of physical and psychological treatments are often recommended. There are many type of "toys," that help deal with stress also,

Market Research and Marketing Research Essay

Research is the process of gathering, processing and analyzing information on markets. The scope of such research is limited to the study of markets and does not include studies on the brand or product to be marketed. Market research is a subset of marketing research. Marketing Research is the process of gathering, processing and analyzing information for the purpose of marketing a product. It includes, but is not limited to market research. Marketing research extends to other areas of marketing activity like: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Studies on consumer behavior Brand and positioning research Research on product and packaging Research on communication strategies and advertising channels and their effectiveness Studies on sales promotion strategies and effects of discounts and sales promotion strategies on customer buying and consumption habits 6. Brand perception studies 1 Difference between Qualitative vs. Quantitative 2 Importance of Marketing Research The importance of marketing research in management extends to intelligent decision making, maximizing profits, increasing the sales, minimizing the risks and ascertaining whether a new product will be profitable in a given market at a given time. What is Marketing Research? This research can be defined as the process of gathering recording and analyzing the data related to certain products and services. This need for market research is derived from the concept that only by understanding the needs and wants of the target audience and by effectively meeting them, you will be able to achieve the organizational goals and surpass the competition n the specific market. Thus, arises the need to collect data about the customers, competitors, and other forces in the marketplace. This data in turn is collected and analyzed to make relevant marketing decisions, be it in relation to setting up a business, developing a product, creating a brand or coming up with an advertising campaign. What is t he Importance of Marketing Research? To Make Marketing Decisions: This research helps the marketers to make a decision about the product or service. Sometimes a marketer might believe that the new product or service is useful for the customers. However, research may show that customers do not need a product or are meeting their needs with a certain competitor product and so on. Similarly good research strives to provide options for the successful introduction of new products and services. This makes the market entry of a new product or service less risky. Survive the Competition: Marketing research helps in ascertaining and understanding competitor information such as their identity, marketing network, customer focus and scale of operations. This helps in surviving and in certain cases, even leaving behind the competition. Moreover, with market research you can also help understand the under-served consumer segments and consumer needs that have not 3 been met. Helps to Decide Target Markets: Research helps provide customer information in terms of their location, age, buying behavior and gender. This helps the marketers zero in on the target markets and customers for their products and services. Maximize Profits: Apart from profit maximizing steps such as item optimization, customer profitability analysis, and price elasticity, marketing research allows you to find out methods that can help you maximize profits. For example, a product’s price elasticity research can help you ascertain the impact of an increased price on the sales and the profits of a product. This emphasis on profitability also helps the company’s focus to shift from maximizing sales to increasing the profits of a company. This helps the company survive in the long run and maximize its profits. Increasing the Sales: Increasing the sales of your products or services helps a company in maximizing its profits. By understanding the customer’s needs, wants and attitude towards the products and determining whether your products fit the bill, marketers can increase their sales. This helps in not only increasing the sales to the target customers and people already using the product but also converting the non users into customers for the product. With an understanding of the customer, competitors, products and the overall industry needs, this research can equip the management with the power to make better decisions. However, the importance of marketing research is limited to just being a marketing tool that helps you make an informed decision. So rather than basing all your management decisions on a customer survey, use this tool as a guide and supplement it with intelligent decision making.

Resource Mobilization

Chapter I INTRODUCTION Background of the Study Resource mobilization strategy is anchored on the premise that the financing of education is not the exclusive responsibility of the state but the burden ought to be shared among the stakeholders (parents, alumni, private sector employers, philanthropic institutions and individuals, communities and external donors). Research studies have demonstrated that the private benefits of education sector exceed the social benefits and therefore this broad burden sharing is justifiable on grounds of equity and human capital formation (http://www. iba. edu. k/News/Resource_mobilization_strategy_R150510. pdf, Retrieved: September 19, 2012). In global perspective, resource constraints continue to hamper progress in a large number of developing countries, which do not have the financial or technical means to extend quality basic education to every child in the country. The increasing youth population in low-income countries, the global financial crisi s, the impact of climate change and commodity speculation also further exacerbate these challenges and put enormous pressure on governments to fulfill the basic needs and services to their people. Resource Mobilization: Global partnership for education,2012 ). In the Philippines, corruption leads to poor allocation of resources. Teachers are underpaid and treated poorly. In 2005, the Philippine government spent just $138 per student, compared to $852 in Thailand, another developing country in Southeast Asia. But graft and corruption are not the only issues. Poverty is a vicious cycle that traps generations of families (http://EzineArticles. com/3147673 Retrieved, October12, 2012). The Philippine Constitution has mandated the government to allocate the highest proportion of its budget to education.However, the Philippines still has one of the lowest budget allocations to education among the ASEAN countries (http://expo. edu. ph/education/issue. htm Retrieved, October 12, 2012). The D epEd budget was increased by 15 percent from P207 billion in 2011 to P238. 8 billion in 2012, which is being utilized to address the basic education input gaps, among others. The educational policy of the country gives principals the authority to: manage the school’s funds for maintenance and other operating expenses; raise additional funds for the school through Parent-Teachers and Community Associations.The Decentralization Programme is being implemented by transferring substantive decision-making powers to the school level(R. A. 9155) so that school heads will be empowered to find solutions to address basic education input gaps, hence the competence of school heads to mobilize resources is a key factor for the schools to achieve its goals. It is in this context that researchers (Ph. D. – Educational Management students at Davao del Norte State College, Panabo City) were interested to explore the resource mobilization practices of school heads in basic education scho ols in the divisions of Comval, Panabo, and Tagum City.This is an attempt to remedy financial problems in basic education by describing and evaluating the patterns of resource mobilization practices of school heads. The results of this investigation will definitely improve the resource mobilization practices of school heads likewise will improve school performance. The Purpose Statement The purpose of this case study is to explore the resource mobilization practices of heads in basic education in the three divisions of schools in Davao Region.The aim was to assemble details to explore the challenges, the ways to overcome it, and the opportunities of resource mobilization as perceived by members of the school system. Research Questions The study was principally directed to explore the central research question about the resource mobilization practices of heads of basic education schools. This generated several sub-questions to further clarify the direction of the study, as follows: 1 . What are the challenges in these resource mobilization practices of your school? 2. How do you overcome the challenges in these resource mobilization practices of your school? . What are the opportunities in these resource mobilization practices of your school? Significance of the Study The result of this study would benefit the Department of Education, school administrators, members of the academic community, the researchers and resource mobilization actors. Department of Education. This study is important for this will give the Department of Education (DepEd) significant facts and information about the extent of the resource mobilization practices by the school administrators in Basic Education that would precisely lead to making better steps to improve the system.This will be the basis in sponsoring programs, seminars, trainings and workshop for administrators or principals concerning financial management. School Administrator. This will provide data on the challenges or diffic ulties in the resource mobilization practices in their school, thus, making them as the basis in the formulation of their programs as administrators. Teachers and Stakeholders. This will shed light as to how effective are the resource mobilization practices as perceived by the school community.Further, this will picture out the effects of resource mobilization practices to the work climate of the teachers in learning institutions. Finally, this will be the springboard for further study related to this research problem. Scope and Delimitation This study centered on the qualitative aspect of the resource mobilization practices of heads of basic education schools in the three divisions (namely Comval, Tagum City, and Panabo City). There were twelve (19) respondents composed of principals and teachers.This encompassed the challenges, ways to overcome them and the opportunities of resource mobilization as perceived by the members of the school system. Definition of Terms In order to have a deeper understanding of the terms used in this study, the following terms were defined operationally: Resource Mobilization. This refers to the competence of school heads to carry out the financial management of the school, utilize available resources and generate resources from various sources to effectively and efficiently achieve its educational goals and objectives.Social Movements. This refers to a group of people with a common ideology who try together to achieve certain general goals. Basic Education. This refers to learning outcomes, i. e. knowledge and skills acquisition and application, positive attitudes formation, internalization and exhibition of values for a variety of life – and work-enhancing purposes and for the good that is inherent in knowledge itself. One of the purposes of basic education is to meet basic needs and to facilitate and enhance the exercise of basic rights. School Heads.These refer to the most prominent or important member of any organized body; the chief; the leader; as, the head of a school, and the like. – the educator who has executive authority for a school; Grants. These refer to an award of financial assistance in the form of money by the government to an eligible grantee with no expectation that the funds will be paid back. The term does not include technical assistance which provides services instead of money, or other assistance in the form of revenue sharing, loans, loan guarantees, interest subsidies, insurance, or direct appropriations Resources.These refer to the term used to refer to revenues, gross borrowings and free or unencumbered cash balances. Parent-Teacher Association. This refers to an organization of local groups of teachers and the parents of their pupils that works for the improvement of the schools and the benefit of the pupils. Fund Raising. This refer to the process of soliciting and gathering voluntary contributions as money or other resources, by requesting donations from indivi duals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies. Funds. These refer to the sum of money set aside and earmarked for a specified purpose.Personal Services (PS). These refer to the accounts which include basic pay, all authorized allowances, bonus, cash gifts, incentives and other personnel benefits of officials and employees of the government. Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE). This refer to the accounts which include expenses necessary for the regular operations of an agency like, among others, traveling expenses, training and seminar expenses, water, electricity, supplies expense, maintenance of property, plant and equipment, and other maintenance and operating expenses.Financial Expenses (FE). These refer to the accounts which include bank charges, interest expense, commitment charges, documentary stamp expense and other financial charges. These also include losses incurred relative to foreign exchange transactions and debt service subsidy to GOCC s. School Trust Fund. This refers to a fund comprised of a variety of assets intended to provide benefits to an individual or organization.