Corruption and Anti-Corruption in Reform China Essay

After 1989 Tiananmen Square event, the new Chinese leaders have giventhe priority to the anti-corruption work on their agenda and strengthened the anti-corruptionefforts. But up to now, the corruption phenomenon is still very rife , and presentlyis seen as the second greatest public concerns(behind unemployment )? The abilityor inability of â€Å"third generation† political leaders to successfully curb corruptionwill play a major role in their political survival. This article will focus on theanalysis of the extent, forms and characters of corruption in current China, itscauses and effects, and the anti-corruption efforts of the Chinese Communist Partyand its government. 2 The extent, forms and characteristics of corruption in current China What is corruption? The notion of corruption varies with time and places. Accordingto Chinese official terminology , the core element of the definition of corruptionin current China is the notion of use of public power and public resources for privateinterests (‘Yi Quan Mu Si’ )? This is a very broad definition, which can includea series of phenomenon and behaviours and vary with time. Consequently, it canbe adapted to include new forms of corrupt practice. Corruption in current Chinais often links with negative phenomenon and unhealthy tendency within party andgovernment departments. As a result , anti-corruption effort also includes fightagainst all of these phenomenon and behaviours. This definition has three features. First , the core element of corruptionis not ‘abuse’ or ‘misuse’ of public power via-a-via legal norms or social standardsfor private benefits but the very ‘use’ of public power for private benefits. Onthe one hand, this is a very strict standard for determining what behaviours canbe defined as corrupt since it can includes any behaviour utilising public powerfor private benefits. On the other hand , given that legal norms and moral standardsmay change with time, the definition may take some risks to exaggerate the extentof corruption or arbitrarily label some practice as corrupt. Another feature of this definition is the ambiguous of the term ‘private interests’in contrast to â€Å"public interests† , i. e. the interests of whole nation and partyPrivate benefits include not only personal gains, but also the interests of workunits , departments and regions when they are given priority over public interests. Third , the definition leaves open the question of which the subject of corruptionis. It not only refers to individual public officials , but also can includes therelatives of public officials and retired public officials, and can also refersto some public bodies and their leaders (as legal rather than natural persons)? As mentioned above, in official terminology, corruption , â€Å"negative phenomenon†and â€Å"unhealthy tendency† are linked together. Although government officials andthe public generally agree on some practices as â€Å"corrupt† , there are fewer consensuseson other practices. Heidenheimer’s three-category classifications system providesa useful framework for understanding both the Chinese categories and the areas ofconsensus and lack of consensus. Heidenheimer’s framework includes three categories:(1 )? Class A or â€Å"black corruption†:The corrupt practices in this category,including graft , bribe, fraud, embezzlement , extortion, smuggling, tax evasion,etc. , Constitute an important part of â€Å"economic crimes†. Because they are obviouslyillegal and the main purpose of those involved in these practice is to increasetheir personal wealth , government officials and the public generally agree thatsuch practices are corrupt. (2 )? Class B or â€Å"grey corruption† : The key characteristicsof this category, into which more and more practices are being categorised , isleaders of public institutions using their institutional power to increase the oftheir institutions and improve the welfare of their staffs through various legal,semi-legal and illegal ways. Such practices includes public institutions makingprofits by engaging in business activities(such as public bank enter into the stockmarket, the bureau of environment protection selling environment protection facilitiesto their clients), setting up satellite companies , and imposing fines or collectingadministrative fees or charging the so-called ‘service fee’ and then putting theincome into their own coffers. Class B also includes such â€Å"unhealthy practices†as the extravagance and waste , e. g., spending public money to support luxuriouswork conditions and/or life style by senior officials. Such extravagance and wasteis manifested in many aspects : expensive entertainment, costly foreign cars forsenior officials, magnificent and tastefully furnished office buildings, domesticor foreign travel in the name of official business, etc. Such â€Å"unhealthy tendencies†and the associated corruption , both significantly increasing the public’s burden,ha ve led to a significant public outcry. This has led Chinese authorities to attemptto stop these practices. However they have met strong resistance from these publicinstitutions which, in turn, justify their practices in terms of the purpose oftheir practice, the legitimacy of their institutional power and the work requirement. (3 )? Class C: or â€Å"white corruption†: Class C practices constitute a kind of’common practice’ of social life. They include the nepotism and favouritism in thepersonnel recruitment and promotion , bending the law in favour of relatives andfriends in law enforcement, preferential treatment in resource-allocations forrelatives and friends , etc. They are characterised by preferential treatment byofficials of relatives, friends, fellow-villager etc. much of which is, in fact,a way of reciprocating previously given favours. Such practices have penetratedwidely into public life , influencing the behaviour of government officials andordinary citizens as well , contributing to the operation and existence of networksof personal ties throughout China. Creating and maintaining the networks of personalties to seek and give favourable treatment is accepted by most people , includinggovernment officials, as a ‘normal’ practice when they involved in these practice. However , such networks are condemned by those excluded from them although theywill not be hesitate to engage in such practice should they have an opportunityto do so. The late British China scholar Gordon White had also made a similar classification. 3 Inasmuch as the Chinese authorities combine all the above categories togetherin their anti-corruption work , in this paper I will treat them all as corruption. However by so doing , the Chinese authorities have set a difficult goal for themselvessince the limited consensus on white corruption may increase the difficulty of attackingthese practices. On the other hand, the labelling of some common practice falleninto the grey area from the white area and some common(â€Å"white† ) as â€Å"corruption†may help to delegitimize them and/or push them into the â€Å"grey† category , thuscontributing to anti-corruption and social and political progress. The extent of corruption has increased dramatically and sharply since 1978 withthe situation becoming even worse after in the 1990s. This tendency is apparentfrom the data on perception of corruption in developing countries provided by TransparencyInternational and summarised in table. The above table demonstrates a clear drop in the scores of corruption in Chinafrom until 1980 until 1995 reflecting the increase of corruption in China in thisperiod. The slight improvement is likely due to the strengthen of anti-corruptionefforts by the third generation political leadership and the deepening of market-orientedreform. But despite these slight improvements , the public and its deputies arestill very dissatisfied with the widespread corruption and the inadequate effortsat fighting corruption. The vote of nearly forty per cent of the deputies in the1997 session of National People’s Congress against General procuratorators ZhangSiqing’s Annual work report is an indication of this dissatisfaction. In the 1990’s , corruption has worsened and taken new characteristics withinthe above three categories:(1 )? Class A: corruption as a form of economiccrimes has increased with the following manifestations. First , the number of large-scalecorruption cases increased sharply.

Hw assignment revised Essay

Culture includes everything about a particular group’s way of life; from high art to the most ordinary behavior (what we eat for breakfast, for example). It is defined as the manner of life for a whole society and the sum of socially transmitted behavioral patterns and can be classified into values, norms, institutions and artifacts. The set of distinctive features of a society or a social group, which includes emotional, spiritual and intellectual, can be called as culture. It encompasses the community’s ways of existing together, its value systems, customs and ideals. Everything we do, from our food to our behavior can be considered as culture. From the essay, â€Å"From Culture to Hegemony, culture is defined as the norm of life. Barthes who used the model of linguist de Saussure, sought to uncover the latent meanings of the norms. He tried it from boxing to little things. Transmission of culture is done through language, material objects, customs, institutions, and art, passed from one generation to another generation. Usually, this transmission remains intact and â€Å"pure†; however, when foreign influences set in either through cultural diffusion and/or assimilation, naturally, the native culture will have become irreparably modified. In â€Å"From a Native Daughter†, Haunaini-Kay Trask, bemoans the rape of her native lands culture. How the haole invaded their land and proceeded to change their history. For her historians like the missionaries from whom she had her education, were a part of then colonizing horde, one part colonized the spirit and the other the mind. She believed that any outsider were to understand them, one should first know their language, their songs, their chants, their customs, and their bond with the ‘aina (the land). She said, â€Å"This bond is cultural, it can only be understood culturally†¦Ã¢â‚¬  IDEOLOGY: Ideology includes the underlying ideas that shape culture. These ideas are often what we take for granted, i. e. they are unconscious. For example, the idea that success is gained through going to college and getting a high paying job seems so obvious as to be truth. However, it is part of an ideology. A trick in identifying ideologies is to look for undefined terms in a statement. What does â€Å"success† mean and where did that meaning come from? Ideology is the organized collection of underlying ideas that shape the culture. Being unconscious, they are often taken for granted. They are abstract thoughts applied to reality and every society has an ideology on which they base their actions on. From Marx’s Ideology as quoted in Subculture: the meaning of Style by Dick Hebdidge, ideology is defined as a set of common beliefs that lie beneath the awareness commonly known as â€Å"common sense†. This common sense, although transparently, validates ideas. These taken for granted phenomena can function as signs, which in turn, will reflect the reality of the culture and can be analyzed through mapping them on a range of potential meanings. Power and class are parameters which extends and vary ideology thus making it achievable to have different levels of divided labor. Our education system is the one who is responsible in instilling the ideology into the individuals of the society. In other words, the ideologies are maps of probable meanings which serve to have persons think their way into positions of power or subordination. HEGEMONY: A form of power usually built on ideologies. Instead of bullying (i. e. using coercion) to get your way, it’s easier and more sustainable to make your victim believe that your way is the right way. For example, car makers don’t have to force us to buy new cars at gunpoint; it’s easier to make us think that getting a new car every couple of years is simply what one does. The underlying ideology might be that newness equals human progress. Hegemony is the subtle almost undetected authority of one individual over another and/or one group of people over another group. This dominance however doesn’t use threats or force. Naturally, the dominant party in our society has their advantages. For example, a dominant party can dictate the terms of trade to its advantage. Moreover, our cultural perspectives became in favor of the dominant group. It controls the way ideas are discarded or neutralized. It happens in a process where hegemony alters our notions of common sense of a given society. According to the Gramsci, hegemony is the association of social groups exerting total social authority through coercion, imposition of thought or shaping consent. Familiar examples of this include the selling of cars where you coerce your buyers to buy because it is only right that you get yourself a car and thinking that it is simply what one does after a few years of using an old car. It may also because of the ideology that’s behind it is that a new car means an improvement in your lifestyle. Hall is also quoted in Subculture: the meaning of style, in the chapter, From Culture to Hegemony, Hall (1977) was cited saying, â€Å"hegemony refers to the situation in which a provisional alliance of a certain social group exerts total social authority over other subordinate groups not only through coercion or by the direct imposition of ruling ideas but by winning and shaping consent so that the power of the dominating class appears to be legitimate and natural†¦ â€Å" DEFAMILIARIZATION: Lastly, defamiliarization, also called â€Å"ostanenie† is a method of forcing the audience to see common things in an unfamiliar way. It is done in order to improve the insight of the familiar. Religion is a tried and tested way of bringing order to a world of chaotic events. In the article, World View and the Analysis of Sacred Symbols, from the Antioch Review by Clifford Geertz wherein he describes how religion is composed of sets of symbols that are in turn composed of meanings that can only be stored in the symbols. He says that a people’s ethos is the way they dress or their movements and the way they talk. In general it is the quality of their lives while the world view is the cognitive aspect reflects how the people view the natural order of things as they are found in their world. All of these things are in some way or another affected by the religion of the people. Geertz considers the wajang as the clearest illustration of the relationship between the metaphysical (i. e. religion, belief etc†¦) and the people of Java’s actual values. The wajang is the ritual shadow play using puppets that usually lasts all night and well into the early morning. The gamelan is the director musician and storyteller all in one. The most famous characters in the wajang are the Pendawas and the Korawas, and their endless wars. The Pendawas represent the five senses that must always work together to come up with just and good decisions. They represent calm detachment from the everyday events of life which is the way these myths are interpreted and translated into the actual culture that is in the peoples of Java. The Korawas on the other hand represent passion and indiscretion. They are the representative icons that depict the capacity of religion not only to set the standards of ideal living but also delineate the workings of evil and destruction. Just like the Navajo looks at everything that is good and productive as in the form of a circle and thus evokes the circle in everything they do, so does the Javanese in their quest to detach themselves from the passions of everyday life to transcend into inner serenity and peace. Their world views affect their ethos and in turn dictate how they view their reality and consequently how they react to it. The concept of defamiliarization as defined above is also effectively illustrated in the article by George Orwell, Shooting an Elephant. In this article he tells the readers how he had to kill the elephant not because he had to do it to save the people, or because it is truly a danger, in spite of it having killed a â€Å"coolie†, he says that he killed the animal to save himself from looking like a fool it is expected of him to not be afraid, to be consistent (and thus consistent in his initial impulse to kill the elephant). His nationality and the empire he represents have created such a concept that as a member of the empire he is expected to conform to. Thus his actions no matter how mundane and ordinary they are will not have correspondingly simple interpretations at least as far as the natives are concerned.

Laughing man

â€Å"Growing up happens in a heartbeat. One day you're in diapers, the next you're gone. But the memories of childhood stay with you for the long haul † . – from The Wonder Years In other words this quote means that in a blink of an eye you grow up but you will never forget the moments in time that define your life. In the short story The Laughing Man, by J. D. Salinger, the narrator is reminiscing about his childhood and the story his chief told him. Also in the poem Mandarine Oranges, by Katha Pollitt, he character remembers a time in her childhood.In both stories the narrator goes back to a time in there past that they won't forget. in the laughing man, the narrator goes back toa place in his past where he grew up listening to a story from his chief about a child who was kidnapped and turned into a hideous creature. this creature is called the laughing man and if you look at his face you would faint and then die. the mans face had flesh-sealed nostrils and an enormo us oral cavity for a mouth. as the story went on it ended with the laughing an dying and the story was never revisited again. hen the story was over billy walsh the youngest Comanche bursted into tears and the narrator's knees were shaking. when he got off the bus he saw a red piece of tissue paper which reminded him of the man and this broke him down. he then went home and as told to go straight to bed. this story was one of the biggest parts of his childhood. in the poem Mandarine Oranges by Katha Pollitt, the narrator sees a symbol of her childhood while grocery shopping. while shopping the woman sees a can of andarine oranges and it takes her back to her years in high school.He states that she remembers how bored she was and how miserable she was. she says that the mandarine oranges were the schools form of bribery to make her play volleyball and eat lima beans. also she states that she wanted the oranges more then anything ever before because they held the essence of her youth. in both stories the narrators see a symbol that remind them of their past and how fast it has gone. the symbol in the Mandarine Oranges was the can of oranges and in The Laughing Man it was the strip of red tissue paper. he laughing man narrator remembers how great his youth was growing up while the mandarine oranges narrator remembers how horrible hers was and how one thing made it O. K.. in conclusion the two story connect in one way; they both talk about how childhood goes by fast. so cherish the moments you have even if they are bad ones because as you grow up you will realize that your youth has gone by way too fast and the memories you have will be with you forever. laughing man By cschaef

PARAPHRASE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

PARAPHRASE - Essay Example They do not use command-and-control model and they ensure the transmission of the company’s culture. Nucor also has an unusual pay system that shares corporate wealth with workers (profits and bonuses). Workers’ and managers’ take-home greatly depends on results and pay disparities are modest with executive pay geared toward team-building. There also exists a healthy competition in Nucor based on efficiency, safety and output among shifts and facilities, balanced with a long history of idea-sharing and cooperation. Just as Nucor rewards good work, it also penalizes bad work and this way, the company’s model has brought it numerous benefits including improved annual production of acquisitions and improved total shipments. With the company’s growth, its existing facilities whose products overlap with those of acquired plants may be forced to seek new businesses to branch into thereby making its workers innovate themselves into more lucrative spots out of tough ones. Apparently, Nucor is the leading and the most outstanding steel company in the U.S. Its model energizes workers and provides an example of exceptional strategic execution. It also ensures that both workers and managers demonstrate a level of fervor for the company that can border on the bizarre. For other companies, the model is therefore worth

Amazon Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Amazon - Essay Example This means that the company has successfully attracted the future clientele for itself. The young generation will continue using the online retailer throughout its life because they have had a good experience with the company. This is one of the greatest assets of Amazon.The company is also following cost leadership strategy with great success. The shift in the policy came after 2001 as it was the time when company decided that it has gained enough clientele to follow a cost leadership strategy. This strategy is working and it is expected to work in future as well. This is because in future more online retailers will come and competition for Amazon is increasing. The future competitors will come up with new innovations but the only way through which the new competitors can be fought is through cost cuttings. Any new competitor will not be able to compete with Amazon in future if the company offers excellent services at lowest price. Amazon is also currently trying to pursue a long te rm strategy and this is a good approach. The company should not focus on short term profits rather it should capitalize its brand name in a better way. The company is still in the growth phase therefore it should follow a growth oriented strategy. The lower profits in the short run can be accepted in favour of long term growth. The company is focusing on customer satisfaction and retention, according to the case. This strategy is also commendable as customers are the main source of revenue. Amazon is known to be customer friendly and this should remain the case in future as well. Customer base of the company is strong and this shows that customers are responding to the policies of the company. There are also certain problems in the long term strategy of the company. The company has not accumulated enough cash that is should have and it is not prepared to face any unseen economic disaster. Any unexpected economic problem can drive the company out of business and this is serious conce rn in the short run. The lower profits of the company through services are also a concern. The company should try to earn more and more revenue through advertisement. This is an area where the company is lacking. Google and Yahoo are making use of their brand name and presence to earn massive advertisement revenue. Amazon should do the same thing and should attract companies by selling places on its websites. This is an area where the company is lagging behind and more can be done in this regard. Long term growth strategy is good enough but short term cash accumulation should also under focus. Question 2 Turnaround strategy refers to a set of steps a company takes in order to rejuvenate its business that was previously not working in a desired manner. Businesses when facing serious problems are forced to think differently and come up with strategies that can bring new life to their company. Turnaround strategies help the company change its normal path and do something in order to pe rform better. Turnaround strategies involve reallocation of resources and the most common resource that is reallocated is the management. Companies are sometimes faced with problems that can only be solved by complete overhauling the way the business is run. Amazon is facing problems from its competitors and although the company is enjoying a first mover’s advantage, still competitors are quickly catching up. This is a problem for the company so turnaround strategy will aim at solving the problem of increasing competition. The company should start to think in a different way in order to save itself from the increased competition. The company should immediately turn its focus on its core activity and that is online

Explain and illustrate this with reference to examples drawn from at Essay

Explain and illustrate this with reference to examples drawn from at least two chapters from Book 1 - Essay Example The chapter also debates how the inequality is contested and what the demands of social justice are. There are many movements that are given as examples to support the topic. Welfare state is the concern of every society and inventing a welfare state is the responsibility of politics, policies and resources. The demands of a welfare state are equality, justice and security. But at most of the times an ideal welfare society or social justice cannot be maintained as they are bound of place and time. So there are compromises and settlements made in regards to let the system of the society work. There are different kinds of populations in a society like rich and poor. Not every society has the same needs and demands thus the concept works and lies within the society. It depends on the society but it may not fit a welfare state as a welfare state demands much more than just justice. When inequality exceeds its limits then the term used is exclusion. It is when the society becomes so unjust that groups do not even get considered as a part. The chapter answers questions that arise about social justice. The notions of social justice are based on two concepts, well-being and harm. Both of them affect the meaning of social justice and they are applied to a welfare state too. They frame the welfare state and crime control. The writer discusses the relationship between the well-being harm and social justice and talks about capabilities and capacities that are engaged to shape individuals, communities and social groups. Care is another factor involved as it fulfills functions of well-being of a society. Thus care and harm are opposition and are discussed in the chapter on contrasts. Care is associated to both welfare state and social justice. The chapter also discusses the harm and crime that is made at the work areas and explains it well with examples. The injustice made at work needs justice, making work places safe, regulating labor problems, labor mobilization,

Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) - Assignment Example However, these activities also come with much security challenges to the interested organizations. It interferes with the IT community in the group both physically and in ownership of these assets. The real challenge is for these organizations to establish a procedure to accommodate these devices, develop a support mechanism for their works and one that would amicably comply with the security measures put in place. An organization is encountered with similar risks that are posed by BYOD spanning their usage, geographical domain, and the risk profile. BYOD merely magnifies the already existing risks. The landscape risks are categorized into risks relating to the app, management of the environment the mobile is used, and securing the mobile devices. Before the inception of BYOD, it was easier to manage and protect an organizations devices from the now very many risks. It was so because most of these components were acquired from a similar manufacturer who provided a unified management interface platform (Rene Millman, 2012). It was part of an institutionalized security policy control that was consistently and persistently applied. Currently, this is a rather bigger challenge since most of the devices brought by workers in the various organizations are of different types and makes. They are also sourced from different manufacturers and come in various makes and models. They further have been architected to exist on their own and not in an enterprise surrounding with lots of management utilities around. Whereas the case of security risk began long ago even when there were less diverse devices, it has been aggravated by the varied and multiple devices users currently have. They all want to connect a multitude of them to the organizations infrastructure. The latter point does not only scale the number of devices to be secured at any point, it also complicates how this security is deployed since most have varied levels of effectiveness and run on different