Global Digital Store – Ebooks and Softwares

Tag: fund

  • Origin And Development Of Guidance And Counseling Practice In Tanzanian Schools

    [ad_1]

    1.0. Overview

    1.1. Background and History of Guidance and Counseling in General in School Practice and other setting

    The history of school counseling formally started at the turn of the twentieth century, although a case can be made for tracing the foundations of counseling and guidance principles to ancient Greece and Rome with the philosophical teachings of Plato and Aristotle. There is also evidence to argue that some of the techniques and skills of modern-day guidance counselors were practiced by Catholic priests in the middle ages, as can be seen by the dedication to the concept of confidentiality within the confessional. Near the end of the sixteenth century, one of the first texts about career options appeared: The Universal Plaza of All the Professions of the World, (1626) written by Tomaso Garzoni quoted in Guez, W. & Allen, J. (2000). Nevertheless, formal guidance programs using specialized textbooks did not start until the turn of the twentieth century.

    Counseling is a concept that has existed for a long time in Tanzania. We have sought through the ages to understand ourselves, offer counsel and develop our potential, become aware of opportunities and, in general, help ourselves in ways associated with formal guidance practice. In most communities, there has been, and there still is, a deeply embedded conviction that, under proper conditions, people can help others with their problems. Some people help others find ways of dealing with, solving, or transcending problems as Nwoye, (2009) prescribed in his writings. In schools, presently if the collaboration between teachers and students is good, students learn in a practical way. Young people develop degrees of freedom in their lives as they become aware of options and take advantage of them. At its best, helping should enable people to throw off chains and manage life situations effectively. Unprecedented economic and social changes have, over the years, changed the ways in which we manage our lives. Consequently, not all the lessons of the past can effectively deal with the challenges of modern times. Effective counseling, especially in institutions of learning has now become important. Boys and girls, and young men and women, need to be guided in the relationships between health and the environment, earning skills, knowledge, and attitudes that lead to success and failure in life. The need for counseling has become paramount in order to promote the well-being of the child. Effective guidance and counseling should help to improve the self-image of young people and facilitate achievement in life tasks. Counseling should empower girls and boys to participate fully in, and benefit from, the economic and social development of the nation.

    2.0. Definitions of Concepts

    2.1. Guidance

    Guidance is an act of showing the way for some people, like adolescents, who cannot find the right path. It is directing, pointing, leading and accompanying. Guidance is saying “Yes” to someone who is asking for help. It is saying “Yes” to an invitation of someone who wants a temporary companion along life’s way.

    Guidance is giving directions to the lonely, confused, unloved, the suffering, the sick and the lost. It is pointing to some possibilities of thinking, feeling and acting. It is leading the person psychologically, emotionally and even spiritually to some newer ways of meaningful living. It is accompanying those who are fearful and uncertain, those who need someone along the rugged path of life’s journey.

    From an objective point of view, guidance is part and parcel of the counseling profession. It is called directive counseling. High school and even college students need guidance when they are unsure of what choices to make or what directions to take. The guidance counselor “opens up” a world of choices for these persons for them to choose from. It is like presenting the universe when all that a person sees is the lonely planet earth. The guidance counselor enlarges and widens the horizon of people who sees only a narrow path or a concealed view of that path. Thus, the focus is on possibilities and choices.

    Usually, guidance occurs in schools. High school and college students avail of guidance and counseling services in their school. More often, young people are unsure of what to do, how to react or respond, and how to act in certain choices. When this occurs, they need someone older, wiser and more experienced to show them the way, to guide them. This is the role of the guidance counselor to extend assistance when necessary to those who are confused, uncertain, and needing advice. However, some adults may need guidance too.

    2.2. Counseling:

    Counseling is guiding and more. It is a way of healing hurts. It is both a science and an art. It is a science because to offer counsel, advice or assistance, the counselor must have the knowledge of the basic principles and techniques of counseling. The counselor must be able to use any of these basic principles and techniques as paradigms in order for him to counsel well. However, it is not enough to use know these basic principles and techniques. The other important aspect is for the counselor to know how to counsel-the art of counseling. This aspect considers counseling as a relationship, as a sharing of life, in the hope that the person who is hurting will be healed. As a relationship, counseling involves the physical, emotional, and psychical or spiritual dimensions. The counselor must have the ability to relate to the counselee in an appropriate physical manner without being too intimate or too close for comfort or being too distant or aloof. The emotional dimension in counseling includes empathy, sensitivity and the ability to interpret non-verbal clues of the counselee in order to understand unresolved complexes or pent-up feelings. The psychical or spiritual dimension embraces the counselee’s “soul-content”—what lies inside. This is what is called the interiority of the person. The counselor must have the gift or grace of catching a glimpse of the interior world of the person, particularly his spiritual condition, for this is very important in healing the person’s hurts.

    2.3. Other Definitions of the Concepts

    Biswalo (1996) defines guidance as a term used to denote the process of helping an individual to gain self understanding and self direction (self decision-making) so that he can adjust maximally to his home, school or community environment. This process, however, depends on counseling. He also defines counseling as a process of helping an individual to accept and use information and advice so that he can either solve his present problem or cope with it successfully. He goes further remarking that sometimes the process helps the individual to accept unchangeable situation for example, loss of dearly loved ones and to some extent change it in its favour rather than letting himself be overcome by the situation. Guez and Allen (2000) remarked that it is difficult to think of a single definition of counseling. This is because definitions of counseling depend on theoretical orientation. Counseling is a learning-oriented process, which occurs usually in an interactive relationship, with the aim of helping a person learn more about the self, and to use such understanding to enable the person to become an effective member of society. Counseling is a process by means of which the helper expresses care and concern towards the person with a problem, and facilitates that person’s personal growth and brings about change through self-knowledge. Counseling is a relationship between a concerned person and a person with a need. This relationship is usually person-to-person, although sometimes it may involve more than two people. It is designed to help people to understand and clarify their views, and learn how to reach their self-determined goals through meaningful, well-informed choices, and through the resolution of emotional or interpersonal problems. It can be seen from these definitions that counseling can have different meanings.

    3.0. Origin of Guidance and Counseling Practice in Pre-Colonial Era

    Counseling in Tanzania in different forms and with different interpretations, has existed in societies for a long time before colonial era. The differences and contradictions in present-day, have their origin in the social and historical forces that have shaped modern culture. In Tanzania people in all societies, and at all times, have experienced emotional or psychological distress and behavioural problems. In each culture, there have been well established ways and methods of helping individuals with their problems. However, there are no sufficient written sources about the origin of guidance and counseling practice in Tanzanian schools. But like other places before colonial era there were outstanding unique elements which held the societies together in their livelihood. The elements include the extended family system, including the clan and the tribe, chieftaincy, taboos, various forms of initiation and close links with ancestors and elders.

    The village is the focal point of society. While each one of these elements is important, only a few are used to illustrate the role of guidance and counseling in present-day Tanzanian societies. Basically, traditional chiefs had multiple roles which included serving as a symbol of authority and as a regulator. Since these roles were accepted and respected by all, there was a clear direction in the day-to-day affairs of society. The elders, the chief included, were a valuable source of guidance and counseling for boys and girls. In most cases, the chiefs were regarded as a vital link between ancestors and the present generation. This link was strengthened by the rituals, ceremonies and taboos attached to them. It was easy to guide and counsel the young, since the rituals or ceremonies were also aimed at preparation for adult roles in society. The extended family, the clan, and the village, made society supportive. No individual regarded him/herself as alien. Counseling was readily sought and provided. The forms of guidance and counseling involved were given advice and sharing wisdom.

    4.0. The Developments of Guidance and Counseling Practices in Tanzanian Schools

    4.1. Guidance and Counseling Practices in Tanzanian Schools Trends

    In realizing this perhaps, since we are thinking of the concepts in school setting, we should think the meaning of counseling in education discipline. One could think that the definitions given above on the term guidance and counseling, their meaning can be directed to education grounds and now give the meaning correctly. Guez and Allen (2000) pointed out that a term educational counseling was first coined by Truman Kelley in 1914 in Makinde, (1988), educational counseling is a process of rendering services to pupils who need assistance in making decisions about important aspects of their education, such as the choice of courses and studies, decisions regarding interests and ability, and choices of college and high school. Educational counseling increases a pupil’s knowledge of educational opportunities.

    The ever growing complexity of society in Tanzania, coupled with social problems like HIV/AIDS and the rapid development of science and technology, place heavy demands on education. The school, as an important social institution, was required to adapt quickly to changing patterns, and help prepare citizens for tomorrow’s challenges. That is where guidance and counseling in the educational system should help boys and girls alike, to develop their capacities to the full. These include intellectual, social, physical and moral capacities. This help is of the most important in Tanzania as long as the history and age of education provision and in its systems found today.

    Guidance and counseling practices development in Tanzanian schools can be traced back from the time when vocational education was emerging right at the colonial period. In the process of establishing counseling services in Tanzania, there was a need to first understand the underlying factors that influence people’s beliefs and perceptions about such practices. However, this is thought that was not taken in to consideration at the time and it may be up to recent time. It is especially important to understand the economic, socio-political, religious beliefs, customs and traditions, and cultural changes that are present in different regions of the country. Young people should be understood within this context, but also within the paradoxical situation of having to face the traditional and the modern world, but this is a big challenge to Tanzania and many developing African countries. During colonial period there were some form of vocational guidance under the career guidance and it was administered by career masters. But the career masters who were selected by the head of schools had no professional training in vocational guidance. In fact the duty was limited to helping students fill out employment forms and writing letters of application. In the missionary schools vocational guidance was confined to religious services. The teachers who were usually ‘fathers’, pastors, or reverends guided and trained spiritually inclined youths to become sisters, brothers, fathers and pastors upon their completion of formal education.

    Apart of what could be done in schools in Tanzania, guidance and counseling was more or less a private family affair. Parents and relatives counseled their children on all matters of life management and problem solving. It is true that in many families the duty of general guidance was the traditional duty of senior members of the family, father, mother, uncle, aunt, and grandparents. In case of serious personal or family problems, counseling was done by a specially organized by the community as a competent in handling that specific problem. This is done without any knowledge obtained from formal or informal school system but rather through experience and age wise through collected wisdom. This kind of early form of counseling from school setting and community helped the young to be brought into the bright image of living in the future to the society.

    4.2. Guidance and Counseling Practices in Tanzanian Schools in Post-colonial era

    In several literatures and sources, guidance and counseling in education sector in Tanzania and some other African countries is regarded as the youngest discipline. This is evidenced by First International Conference on Guidance, Counseling and Youth Development in Africa held in Nairobi, Kenya from 22nd to 26th April, 2002 which pointed out that the Guidance, Counseling and Youth Development Programme was initiated in Africa in April 1994, following the First Pan African Conference on the Education of Girls that was held in Ouagadougou in 1993. It is designed to introduce or strengthen guidance and counseling in African countries. It focuses on capacity building in the countries involved and provides training at both regional and national levels on issues of guidance and counseling of schools and colleges.

    What we can call professional guidance and counseling in Tanzania schools begin in the year 1984 following the National October 1984 Arusha Conference, where guidance and counseling services were endorsed by the government as and integral part of the country’s education system (Biswalo, 1996). The aim of the conference is to establish systematic criteria for secondary schools students’ guidance and counseling. Students were then advised, guided and counseled on matters concerning their job selection and student placement for further education. This job was assigned to career masters and mistresses as explained below, however, there were no sufficient guidance and counseling personnel not only in the responsible ministry but also in the schools.

    Guidance and Counseling is now becoming slowly institutionalized and spread in educational institutions. Schools, for example, have to a large extent taken over the task of providing psychological support to boys and girls. However Biswalo (1996) comments that in Tanzania policies pertinent to guidance and counseling is still lacking. The Ministry of Education, however, has somehow tried to institutionalize the services within the education system by appointing career masters and mistresses. He continued saying that the personnel are charged with the responsibility of advising heads of secondary schools concerning students job selection and student placement for further education; to try and help students understands and develop interest in appropriate jobs or further education or training; to asses the students talents and capabilities and to encourage them to pursue careers or further education best suited to them and to help students solve their personal problems which may affect their general progress in school.

    This is an impossible and realistic burden on these untrained personnel. It reflects the apathy of policy and decision makers regarding the new field of guidance and counseling in schools; the strength of the myth of planned manpower in which career guidance is erroneously regarded as redundant and the gross lack of trained personnel who would provide effective guidance and counseling services in schools. It is unfortunate that even after the National October 1984 Arusha Conference on the strengthening of education in Tanzania, where guidance and counseling services were endorsed by the government as and integral part of the country’s education system, the services are to-date still patchy and ineffective in Tanzania’s educational institutions. Guidance and counseling in this manner is discussed by different scholars in primary, secondary and tertiary education levels together.

    5.0. Guidance and Counseling Practices in Primary and Secondary Schools

    In primary school levels in Tanzania in actual fact there were and are no specified pupils’ teacher-counselors. However, the activity is left to teachers themselves to decide what is to be done since there is no programmed or time-tabled activity concerning guidance and counseling. Teachers are left to use part of the teaching to practice guidance and counseling in and outside the classroom although not all teachers have gone teacher-counselor training. As children enter school they need orientation on school itself, its environment, school community and the curriculum to motivate and develop positive attitude toward learning and school community as well (Biswalo, 1996). As the pupils grow older and pass through different grades they need to be directed in studying skills, overcome learning difficulties and other school related problems. But this activity is not performed systematically in primary schools in Tanzania.

    In the case of secondary schools till to-date there is also insufficient programmed or time-tabled system of guiding and counseling students. In some cases this duty is left to discipline masters and sometimes to class masters and head of schools. At secondary school level, students would seek educational opportunities, information of all kinds and any other help pertinent to educational pursuits. These needs are catered to by educational guidance and counseling (ibid). At this level students are helped with subject choice, study techniques and tests and examination. Biswalo (1996) pointed out that sometimes during subject choice, pride of placing as many students as possible in prestigious streams, such as science, takes precedence over actual abilities, interests and aptitudes of students. He said this unfortunate situation has been born out of the lack of genuine educational guidance and counseling services in secondary schools.

    The school has an important role to play in preparing pupils for continued secondary education, paid employment, self-employment and life in the community, as clearly set out by the Ministry of Education in the objectives for its secondary curriculum. Perhaps uniquely, there would be total agreement among pupils, teachers and parents over the relative emphasis a certain schools placed on the preparation for further education, with its focus on academic knowledge and the pursuit of success in the national examinations. That is, the secondary schools where counseling is not well performed placed little emphasis on citizenship and the development of a responsible attitude to life in the community at the local, regional or national level and employment opportunities. However, what is de-emphasized is the informal sector including self-employment but the emphasized is employment in the formal sector with its implied emphasis on white collar jobs.

    5.1. Vocational, Career Guidance and Counseling

    In Tanzania teachers have the capacity to directly influence their pupils’ choice of careers. The achievements and attitudes of pupils have been shown to be related to the characteristics and achievements of their teachers (World Bank, 1995; quoted in Nyutu, P.N. & Norman C.G. 2008). However, the influence of the school depends on the formal interactions and communication which take place between teachers and pupils in the classroom whereas television and radio, act through the informal interactions pupils have with these media. The influence of parents and siblings is through both formal and informal means.

    That is in most cases in Tanzania and may be other states where guidance and counseling is rarely done in schools; parents play the big role to influence on their children’s choice of careers. Others who have lower level careers i.e. teachers, clerks, drivers, personal secretaries, soldiers etc. do not anticipate their children ‘following in their footsteps’ because for the children who are able to study to higher level sometimes saw these jobs as narrow and lacking in interest. However it is suggested that parents’ occupation might have influenced their children’s choice of careers, but this happened to children who have generic skills useful in such jobs, and a few may have job skills relevant to those jobs. Access to information through the media and other forms of technology is giving young people aspirations that, for the most part, cannot be satisfied in their own environment. Choices have to be made and young people must acquire the skills to assess situations and make informed decisions. There is no longer a natural, understandable order from birth to adulthood for the Tanzanian young.

    Vocational guidance at secondary school levels is provided but in very few among others because of shortages of school or vocational trained counselors. For those lucky schools with these kinds of counselors, students are helped but vocational counseling is not emphasized because most pupils, teachers and of course parents push students to make long range plans of study so that to prepare well for the envisaged careers. These counselors plan with school administrators and teachers to provide appropriate class placement for students with special abilities or disabilities for course selection by students.

    5.2. Tertiary Level

    The tertiary level students are provided with orientation and other educational guidance and counseling. In Tanzania tertiary level have at least fulfilled the need of having qualified students’ counselors for both psychological and academics, though they are few in number. Here counselors play a big role in compiling comprehensive information on all aspects of the careers related to the training offered in the institution. Counselors sometimes integrate with administration or practicum department to organize field practices for students and even more rarely might contacts with relevant employing agencies (Biswalo, 1996).

    6.0. Notion on Guidance and Counseling in Tanzania

    According to the research by Sima (2004), professional counseling is yet to be recognized as a stand-alone profession in Tanzania and in many African countries. Nevertheless, the coming and setting of HIV/Aids in the country has strengthened the base for counseling. This is particularly because of the multifaceted nature of the HIV/Aids pandemic whose attention, unlike other human diseases, goes beyond the prerogatives of the medical profession. Thus, counseling is perceived as a crucial avenue for prevention of HIV infection through provision of adequate and relevant information, and for social and psychological support of people infected and affected by the pandemic. Ibid continued saying that since the emergence of the pandemic in the country, a number of non-governmental organizations have been offering counseling services however, there is lack of clarity on the type and nature of counseling services offered by these organization. The nature and characteristics of counseling clients also remain fuzzy.

    In Tanzania the professional counseling as aforesaid is relatively a new phenomenon. Outwater (1995) quoted in Sima (2004) comments that before HIV/Aids epidemic, there was no formal counseling service in Tanzanian hospitals, no professional counselors and no formal system for training counselors. There was a need to fill this gap by training as many counselors as possible to provide optimal care for AIDS patients and their relatives (NACP, 1989; quoted in ibid). Since then many para-professional counselors have been trained in basic knowledge and skills of counseling. Currently there are many counseling centers working not only on HIV/Aids related problems but also different problems affecting Tanzanians. However, as counseling became popular with the advent of HIV/Aids, many people assume that it is only meant for people infected and affected by HIV/Aids and shy away from it for fear of being labeled (Sima, 2002; quoted in Sima 2004).

    7.0. Problems and Challenges

    The Tanzanian government have not yet formulated in the education policy issues pertaining guidance and counseling in spite of the crucially and necessity in schools. Biswalo (1996) pointed out that in Tanzania policies pertinent to guidance and counseling is still lacking. He continued saying that efforts directed towards fulfilling guidance and counseling needs are apparently thwarted by several difficulties including financial resources to support the even established tiny counseling activities in several schools.

    In Tanzania till today counseling is relatively new phenomenon. There are no enough qualified counselors in schools and other education institutions. However, there are limited number of qualified counselors, they are either not utilized well in schools or they are engaged in other activities rather than what they are trained for. Some of school counselors are also teachers and they are fully occupied with teaching responsibilities. More surprisingly counseling is perceived as a crucial avenue for only prevention of HIV infection through provision of adequate and relevant information, and for social and psychological support of people infected and affected by the HIV/Aids (Sima, 2004).

    There is slow growth of guidance and counseling in educational systems attributed to lack of funds, training facilities, and high turnover of guidance counselors to green pastures and in adequately trained counselors. For instance in many schools they lack counseling offices, trained teacher-counselors and counseling equipments. In terms of funds there are various options that can be explored to alleviate financial constraints. Special schools on behalf of parents in need can approach non-governmental organizations.

    The absence of solid professional counseling association in Tanzania to set standards for the appropriate practice is another challenge (Nwoye, 2008). Also insufficient availability of professional counselor training programs in Tanzanian colleges and universities is another contributing challenge.

    There are no efforts to establish counseling curriculum in secondary schools and colleges and guidance and counseling courses in the universities. Guidance curriculum and responsive services can then be structured to address the five content areas, namely human relationships, career development, social values, self development, and learning skills. A guidance curriculum could be taught to students at different levels or in small groups to address issues that are similar to them. For guidance and counseling programs to be effective in Tanzania, trained professionals should be employed to manage and offer services in schools. Such professionals should also be provided with relevant facilities and structural support. At the same time, universities and teacher training institutions will have to establish and develop programs that train professional school counselors and other guidance personnel.

    There is still insufficient assistance in higher education institutions to enable students achieves their career aspirations. However, students today indicate a higher need for career guidance than students in the past decade. Students may therefore be encountering an increased need to acquire relevant career information that will enable them seek better paid jobs. Many schools have in the past appointed some teachers as career masters without providing them with the necessary training and facilities for career guidance. Such career masters usually assume that all students will end up in universities and only focus on helping students complete university application forms and no more. It is the high time for the government to set and implement the policy that will enhance guidance and counseling from primary schools to the tertiary level and in turn will develop programs that train professional school counselors and other guidance personnel.

    8.0. Conclusion

    Guidance and counseling sought to prepare pupils in their schooling program to enter into the world of appropriate work by linking the school curriculum to employment. For the school to be successful in this endeavor, subjects should be taught at a pleasant and convenient environment and should be made relevant and interesting to the pupils. Another factor that needs to be considered is the recruitment of competent teachers capable of guiding and counseling learners in relating what they teach to the job market. What is taught and how it is taught can have great influence on the interest and perception of learners. In Tanzania the spirit to plan and use guidance and counseling services in the effective development and utilization of their respective young human resources is evidently strong. However, as Biswalo (1996) said the efforts directed towards fulfilling this need are apparently thwarted by several difficulties. It appears total and enlightened commitment on the part of policy and decision makers is necessary and should be definitely surmount the problems.

    The emergence of career development in western countries as a construct suggests that it may be an essential area in developing country like Tanzania where students need assistance; students particularly need assistance in selecting colleges and courses. To this end, the schools should offer a career guidance and counseling programme under the able leadership of qualified school counselors.

    [ad_2]

    Source by Eugene Shayo

    Views: 0

  • What Does the Future of Human Resources Look Like?

    [ad_1]

    What was seen by numerous as one of the minimum energizing regions of an association is presently a standout amongst the most unique work environment, here are all the ways Human Resources is advancing.

    From enlisting and terminating to empowering, engaging, and making experiences

    It used to be that HR was only the place you went to get enlisted or terminated, yet those days are a distant memory. Today, HR is in charge of an extensive variety of worker exercises, a large portion of which base on empowering, connecting with, and enabling representatives. HR specialists are the real players in making worker encounter, which works with an association’s way of life and development and guarantees that representatives feel esteemed and bolstered along each progression of their work environment travel.

    From the “police” of the association to the mentors, guides, and thought leaders

    Rather than being the general population inside the association who implement the standards, HR delegates are presently thought of as guides and thought pioneers. Representatives used to be frightened of associating with HR workers for expect that they would get stuck in an unfortunate situation for accomplishing something incorrectly, yet today that attitude has moved towards review HR representatives as the general population to go to with proposals or input of how to enhance worker encounter and to pick up experiences into how to better your profession.

    From keeping up business as usual to devastating status

    HR was for some time thought of the office that kept the association murmuring along and that was impervious to change. On the off chance that you needed to take a stab at something new, make another program, or change your work routine, it would likely get held up in HR. Presently, be that as it may, HR is regularly in charge of destroying existing conditions to keep the association advancing. Rather than keeping things down, HR is the main thrust in building a firm workplace where representatives are glad and development can happen.

    From not mechanically progressed to depending intensely on technology

    The new HR grasps innovation to extend its part. Utilizing new instruments like enormous information and investigation, HR can better comprehend workers and settle on more key choices, instead of the old part of utilizing feeling and custom to decide. Interior information is accessible on pretty much everything, from how workers are performing to how regularly they visit certain territories of the workplace. HR agents utilize this information to discover drifts and make the most ideal technique and worker condition.

    From not characterizing methodology to molding and driving strategy

    It used to be that HR simply did as it was told and didn’t have much effect in the general methodology of the association. Today, HR workers help shape and lead technique, particularly as associations understand the effect representative experience can have on development and income. Satisfied and upbeat workers assume an immense part in the general achievement of an association, which implies HR now helps shape and lead the general technique.

    From no seat at the table to a key seat at the table

    Today, HR is advancing into a more focal part in the association where it has a key seat at the basic leadership table. Numerous C-level administrators originate from HR foundations and work straightforwardly with the office to ensure its needs are met. HR is more required than any time in recent memory with different divisions and frequently has its hands in numerous bushels through the organization.

    From finance, remuneration, and advantages to worker experience

    HR now does considerably more than simply work through finance and remuneration. Rather than concentrating on the fundamental needs of representatives, it centers around building an incredible ordeal where representatives need to go to the workplace and do their best work. With an incredible corporate culture, representatives appear to work for something beyond the paycheck, which implies HR likewise needs to deal with something other than finance.

    From cost focus to benefit empowering center

    By and large, the adjustment in HR’s part inside an association is because of administrators understand its benefit making potential. The old HR was regularly thought to be a cost focus, however by driving methodology and representative experience, the new HR gives the chance to make benefits and development. This has helped the HR division get a bigger spending plan since officials can see that putting resources into HR prompts more grounded representatives, a superior work environment experience, and frequently to higher benefits.

    From an unmistakably characterized workforce to a dynamic and changing workforce

    The workforce is changing ideal nearby HR, and the office must be prepared to meet those progressions. As the workforce changes, so too does HR’s way to deal with representative experience. More representatives are additionally working in HR to pick up encounter they can use in different zones, which implies the division is continually getting new perspectives, which it can use to make a more firm workplace.

    From concentrating on worker contributions to concentrating on representative outputs

    As HR advances, it is having more association with representatives and assuming a bigger part in the everyday exercises and obligations of laborers. Rather than concentrating on representative information sources and what it takes to take care of business, HR today is more centered around worker yields and how it can urge workers to do their most ideal work.

    From treating workers like “assets” to treating representatives like water and air

    Workers are currently seen as HR less as assets and more as essential parts of the association that they can’t survive without. It used to be that without representatives, HR wouldn’t have anybody to contract or terminate – workers were essentially things HR expected to carry out its activity. Presently, representatives are viewed as more essential – they are what drives everything HR does, and they assume a colossal part in the office’s prosperity. What HR does now relies upon what workers need and is custom fitted to their necessities.

    From execution evaluations to ongoing acknowledgment and criticism with worker registration

    HR is presently more engaged with the ordinary worker encounter than any time in recent memory. Quite a bit of this originates from continuous worker input with consistent registration rather than the old method for yearly execution audits. With more material criticism, HR plans to make a discourse with workers where they feel great hearing approaches to enhance and are available to influencing recommendations of their to possess.

    From filling holes in employments to opening human potential

    As a rule, HR is presently centered around ensuring workers get the expert advancement aptitudes they have to better their vocations. Rather than basically connecting representatives into positions to the association, HR works with individuals to locate their best abilities, open and create gifts that may be beneath the surface, and shape a situation in the association that meets their aptitudes and interests.

    From a “one size fits all” model over the association to “one size breaks all” approach

    The advancing HR division never again applies a one-measure fits-all answer for the association and rather utilizes a one-estimate breaks-all approach. HR now understands that every division and worker is unique and that an alternate approach should be taken to address singular issues. This is frequently executed by investing energy with singular representatives and divisions to discover how HR can best help them and drive their procedures.

    From siloed from lines of business to working nearly to comprehend business needs

    HR used to work in its own side of the workplace without much collaboration with different offices. The outcome was regularly a siloed association loaded with formality if different offices at any point needed to work together with HR. As things advance, HR has started working intimately with different divisions to best address their issues. There is regularly a considerable measure of cover amongst HR and different offices, and open correspondence and great working connections make it less demanding to combine for extraordinary outcomes.

    From multi-year venture plan and move outs to quick outline, usage, and iteration

    The new approach helps HR rapidly plan and actualize new projects and thoughts and remain in front of working environment patterns. Innovation is changing things rapidly, and HR never again has the privilege to kick back and make impeccably defined plans. Rather, the office must act rapidly to place designs enthusiastically while they are as yet pertinent. The outcome is a lithe office that needs to remain nearby to representative notion and patterns to assemble a domain that mirrors the present needs of the association.

    From human asset work titles to individuals, ability, and experience titles

    Numerous organizations have moved from customary HR titles like Chief Human Resources Officer to Chief Experience Officer or Talent Manager. New titles demonstrate the extended extent of HR and how it is associated with numerous more regions of representative experience.

    [ad_2]

    Source by Kranti Gaurav

    Views: 0

  • Cherry Blossom Tattoos – What Do They Mean

    [ad_1]

    Cherry blossom tattoos are some of the most popular tattoo designs for women currently. The beauty and delicate nature of a cherry blossom can’t be denied. In both Japanese and Chinese cultures the cherry blossom is full of symbolic meaning and significance. Before deciding to get a cherry blossom tattoo design it makes sense to understand the symbolism and deep cultural connections and meaning that this tattoo might hold. After all the best tattoo designs are ones that hold a great deal of symbolic significance. Typically the tattoo that is universally regretted is the one that was gotten while out with a bunch of friends just because they were getting one. So don’t fall into the trap and regret your tattoo later in life. Instead if you are planning on getting a tattoo at least take the time to research the symbolism and meaning behind it and see if it speaks to you and if the ideas are significant in your life.

    While many people tend to blend and confuse the Japanese and Chinese culture together from lack of knowledge the two are very different in many ways. Therefore the meaning and symbolism that the cherry blossom holds is different in each culture.

    Chinese Cherry Blossom

    For the Chinese the cherry blossom is a very significant symbol of power. Typically it represent a feminine beauty and sexuality and often holds an idea of power or feminine dominance. Within the language of herbs and herbal lore of the Chinese the cherry blossom is often the symbol of love.

    Japanese Cherry Blossom

    For the Japanese the cherry blossom holds very different meaning. The cherry blossom is a very delicate flower that blooms for a very short time. For the Japanese this represents the transience of life. This concept ties in very deeply with the fundamental teachings of Buddhism that state all life is suffering and transitory. The Japanese have long held strong to the Buddhist belief of the transitory nature of life and it is very noble to not get too attached to a particular outcome or not become emotional because it will all pass in time.

    The fallen cherry blossom is not taken lightly in Japanese symbolism either. It often represents the beauty of snow and there are many connections made in Japanese literature or poetry to a fallen cherry blossom and snow. This also has been extended to the life of a warrior whose life was ended early in battle.

    As you can see in both cultures the symbolism and meaning behind the cherry blossom is very significant and powerful at the same time. It is important to think about these symbols and connect this with what your personally believe the cherry blossom represents. If you still want to get a cherry blossom tattoo and the above meaning from the Japanese culture or the Chinese culture do not speak to you or you’re somehow view the cherry blossom in a very different way then it is okay to still get a cherry blossom tattoo. However, it is always important to know the symbolism before getting a tattoo permanently done.

    [ad_2]

    Source by Chris Ryerson

    Views: 0

  • How Does Buying African Art Improve the Lives of Local Africans?

    [ad_1]

    The struggles of third world countries are a well known problem to most people, but what to do to help these countries is much more difficult to understand. I definitely do not have all the answers on how to eliminate poverty around the world, but I do know one way to make a small difference in the lives of the African people.

    Many African villages do not even have some of the most basic necessities such as running water, electricity, proper sanitation, education, healthcare and the list goes on. Many times women and children in these situations tend to suffer the most. One way that these terrible conditions are improving is through trade and especially fair trade. By purchasing beautiful handcrafted art from Africa, we not only get incredibly beautiful items for our home décor, but we also help to improve the lives of others.

    Fair trade can make a devastating impact on African communities. Such an impact is created because fair trade approaches development as a holistic process. Many African lives have been positively changed through this process. Children are able to get an education, nutritional needs are being met, fundamental health costs are being covered, hospitals and schools are being built, the poor (especially women) are being empowered and are becoming valued members of their societies, cultural techniques are being revived and so much more.

    So how does fair trade work? Buyers and producers work directly with each other to develop commercial relationships, trust and mutual support. Both the buyers and the producers adhere to a set of Fair Trade criteria established by the International Fair Trade federation. Both the buyer and the producer group agree to promote human rights, especially those of women, children and people with disabilities. As buyers and producers meet milestones, they are expected to continue improve upon these standards. When trade encompasses these practices, the lives of all people and their communities improve.

    Fair trade is the right way to shop. It puts a smile on the faces of children in Africa, and it makes their lives much more bearable. If you are interested in purchasing African art, you may want to make sure that the business you are dealing with adheres to the fair trade policies or sources their products from companies that are members of the Fair Trade Federation.

    [ad_2]

    Source by Mike Griffis

    Views: 0

  • *PRESIDENT BUHARI’S COMMENTS, A CROOKED MEDIA AND INTELLECTUAL LAZINESS.*

    *PRESIDENT BUHARI’S COMMENTS, A CROOKED MEDIA AND INTELLECTUAL LAZINESS.*

    The tradition before now was that Media Houses used to be settled to whitewash the image of an Administration. When President Buhari came in, he shut the door to those back hand, unethical and corrupt practices and by so doing incurred the wrath of the Media (some of whom even had to refund monies received from the Colonel Dasuki largesse).

    The consequence is the present clearly visible gang up, hostility and deliberate ploy to always twist comments and issues concerning the Buhari administration to suit their unpatriotic and selfish agenda.

    Let us remind Journalists and the Media at large of who President Buhari is, in case they have forgotten; President Buhari is a steel gate, he is ready to absorb all vibrational shocks and frequencies from anyone; he is a leader and a father who is not like the typical ‘shine shine’ politician who tells the people what he thinks they want to hear.

    He promised Nigerians in 2014, “… to tell you everything the way they are, I will never hide anything from you.”

    When a man of such impeccable character and integrity as President Buhari promised such, what were you expecting?

    To you Nigerian Youth, read the transcript or watch the video of President Buhari’s comments for yourself;
    1. You will not see the word ‘lazy’ mentioned anywhere.
    2. You will also not find the word ‘youth’ anywhere in the comment.

    So what’s the motive of those who deliberately twisted that comment to include those two words and ended up with “Buhari said Nigerian youths are lazy”? Your guess is as good as ours.

    As for you who found it easier to use your data to promote and believe a lie than using it to search for the facts yourself, remember that intellectual laziness is equally laziness.

    Moving forward, are you under 30 years of age and uneducated and don’t have a job and still believe that Nigeria is an oil-producing country, and for that reason, you expect free healthcare, free education and free housing? If your answer is YES, then, President Buhari talked about YOU! No apologies.

    President Muhammadu Buhari’s comment was surrounded by so many conditions, which narrowed it down to a particular cadre of people, and not ALL NIGERIAN YOUTHS.

    No doubt there are youths with an over bloated sense of entitlement and a defective victim mentality but there are many of our youths who are definitely not lazy. Many who are disciplined, well educated, intelligent, dilligent and examplary; contributing daily to the growth of their families, communities, the Nation and the World – from the likes of world famous Chimamanda, Phyno, Davido etc to the everyday Ada, Okon, Musa, Ireti working hard daily on the streets or in the schools.

    Those are clearly not the people President Buhari referred to and the world knows it.

    However, the corrupt Media would always have their way of manipulating any and everything. But they will keep failing.

    After all the argy-bargy about President Buhari’s comments in the UK, the same youths still continue to demonstrate their unshakable love for our dear President, because they know he actually did not speak in derogation of them. He rather opened up to the world to see where they could come in to help, and eventually, Royal Dutch Company in conjunction with Shell BP appealed to President Buhari for a chance of a whopping $15Billion investment in Nigeria, so that the jobless under 30 youths would have jobs and further provide for themselves and their dependants.

    So, who won in the end? The same youths won, and that is the spirit of a good father and leader displayed by President Muhammadu Buhari.

    Please, do not allow the crooked, selfish and unprofessional Media to mislead your emotions against Buhari. He means well for all Nigerians, and wants the best for all of us especially the youth who are the leaders of tomorrow.

    He needs our sincere support to make Nigeria work better for all.

    Views: 0

  • The Science of Getting Rich, by Wallace Delois Wattles – Chapter 4

    The First Principle in The Science of Getting Rich.

    THOUGHT is the only power which can produce tangible riches from the Formless Substance. The stuff from which all things are made is a substance which thinks, and a thought of form in this substance produces the form.

    Original Substance moves according to its thoughts; every form and process you see in nature is the visible expression of a thought in Original Substance. As the Formless Stuff thinks of a form, it takes that form; as it thinks of a motion, it makes that motion. That is the way all things were created. We live in a thought world, which is part of a thought universe. The thought of a moving universe extended throughout Formless Substance, and the Thinking Stuff moving according to that thought, took the form of systems of planets, and maintains that form. Thinking Substance takes the form of its thought, and moves according to the thought. Holding the idea of a circling system of suns and worlds, it takes the form of these bodies, and moves them as it thinks. Thinking the form of a slow-growing oak tree, it moves accordingly, and produces the tree, though centuries may be required to do the work. In creating, the Formless seems to move according to the lines of motion it has established; the thought of an oak tree does not cause the instant formation of a full-grown tree, but it does start in motion the forces which will produce the tree, along established lines of growth.

    Every thought of form, held in thinking Substance, causes the creation of the form, but always, or at least generally, along lines of growth and action already established.

    The thought of a house of a certain construction, if it were impressed upon Formless Substance, might not cause the instant formation, of the house; but it would cause the turning of creative energies already working in trade and commerce into such channels as to result in the speedy building of the house. And if there were no existing channels through which the creative energy could work, then the house would be formed directly from primal substance, without waiting for the slow processes of the organic and inorganic world.

    No thought of form can be impressed upon Original Substance without causing the creation of the form.

    Man is a thinking center, and can originate thought. All the forms that man fashions with his hands must first exist in his thought; he cannot shape a thing until he has thought that thing.

    And so far man has confined his efforts wholly to the work of his hands; he has applied manual labor to the world of forms, seeking to change or modify those already existing. He has never thought of trying to cause the creation of new forms by impressing his thoughts upon Formless Substance.

    When man has a thought-form, he takes material from the forms of nature, and makes an image of the form which is in his mind. He has, so far, made little or no effort to co-operate with Formless Intelligence; to work “with the Father.” He has not dreamed that he can “do what he seeth the Father doing.” Man reshapes and modifies existing forms by manual labor; he has given no attention to the question whether he may not produce things from Formless Substance by communicating his thoughts to it. We propose to prove that he may do so; to prove that any man or woman may do so, and to show how. As our first step, we must lay down three fundamental propositions.

    First, we assert that there is one original formless stuff, or substance, from which all things are made. All the seemingly many elements are but different presentations of one element; all the many forms found in organic and inorganic nature are but different shapes, made from the same stuff. And this stuff is thinking stuff; a thought held in it produces the form of the thought. Thought, in thinking substance, produces shapes. Man is a thinking center, capable of original thought; if man can communicate his thought to original thinking substance, he can cause the creation, or formation, of the thing he thinks about. To summarize this:-

    There is a thinking stuff from which all things are made, and which, in its original state, permeates, penetrates, and fills the interspaces of the universe.

    A thought, in this substance, Produces the thing that is imaged by the thought.

    Man can form things in his thought, and, by impressing his thought upon formless substance, can cause the thing he thinks about to be created.

    It may be asked if I can prove these statements; and without going into details, I answer that I can do so, both by logic and experience.

    Reasoning back from the phenomena of form and thought, I come to one original thinking substance; and reasoning forward from this thinking substance, I come to man’s power to cause the formation of the thing he thinks about.

    And by experiment, I find the reasoning true; and this is my strongest proof.

    If one man who reads this book gets rich by doing what it tells him to do, that is evidence in support of my claim; but if every man who does what it tells him to do gets rich, that is positive proof until some one goes through the process and fails. The theory is true until the process fails; and this process will not fail, for every man who does exactly what this book tells him to do will get rich.

    I have said that men get rich by doing things in a Certain Way; and in order to do so, men must become able to think in a certain way.

    A man’s way of doing things is the direct result of the way he thinks about things.

    To do things in a way you want to do them, you will have to acquire the ability to think the way you want to think; this is the first step toward getting rich.

    To think what you want to think is to think TRUTH, regardless of appearances.

    Every man has the natural and inherent power to think what he wants to think, but it requires far more effort to do so than it does to think the thoughts which are suggested by appearances. To think according to appearance is easy; to think truth regardless of appearances is laborious, and requires the expenditure of more power than any other work man is called upon to perform.

    There is no labor from which most people shrink as they do from that of sustained and consecutive thought; it is the hardest work in the world. This is especially true when truth is contrary to appearances. Every appearance in the visible world tends to produce a corresponding form in the mind which observes it; and this can only be prevented by holding the thought of the TRUTH.

    To look upon the appearance of disease will produce the form of disease in your own mind, and ultimately in your body, unless you hold the thought of the truth, which is that there is no disease; it is only an appearance, and the reality is health.

    To look upon the appearances of poverty will produce corresponding forms in your own mind, unless you hold to the truth that there is no poverty; there is only abundance.

    To think health when surrounded by the appearances of disease, or to think riches when in the midst of appearances of poverty, requires power; but he who acquires this power becomes a MASTER MIND. He can conquer fate; he can have what he wants.

    This power can only be acquired by getting hold of the basic fact which is behind all appearances; and that fact is that there is one Thinking Substance, from which and by which all things are made.

    Then we must grasp the truth that every thought held in this substance becomes a form, and that man can so impress his thoughts upon it as to cause them to take form and become visible things.

    When we realize this, we lose all doubt and fear, for we know that we can create what we want to create; we can get what we want to have, and can become what we want to be. As a first step toward getting rich, you must believe the three fundamental statements given previously in this chapter; and in order to emphasize them. I repeat them here:-

    There is a thinking stuff from which all things are made, and which, in its original state, permeates, penetrates, and fills the interspaces of the universe.

    A thought, in this substance, Produces the thing that is imaged by the thought.

    Man can form things in his thought, and, by impressing his thought upon formless substance, can cause the thing he thinks about to be created.

    You must lay aside all other concepts of the universe than this monistic one; and you must dwell upon this until it is fixed in your mind, and has become your habitual thought. Read these creed statements over and over again; fix every word upon your memory, and meditate upon them until you firmly believe what they say. If a doubt comes to you, cast it aside as a sin. Do not listen to arguments against this idea; do not go to churches or lectures where a contrary concept of things is taught or preached. Do not read magazines or books which teach a different idea; if you get mixed up in your faith, all your efforts will be in vain.

    Do not ask why these things are true, nor speculate as to how they can be true; simply take them on trust.

    The science of getting rich begins with the absolute acceptance of this faith.

    Views: 0

  • The Science of Getting Rich, by Wallace Delois Wattles – Preface

    THIS book is pragmatical, not philosophical; a practical manual, not a treatise upon theories. It is intended for the men and women whose most pressing need is for money; who wish to get rich first, and philosophize afterward. It is for those who have, so far, found neither the time, the means, nor the opportunity to go deeply into the study of metaphysics, but who want results and who are willing to take the conclusions of science as a basis for action, without going into all the processes by which those conclusions were reached.

    It is expected that the reader will take the fundamental statements upon faith, just as he would take statements concerning a law of electrical action if they were promulgated by a Marconi or an Edison; and, taking the statements upon faith, that he will prove their truth by acting upon them without fear or hesitation. Every man or woman who does this will certainly get rich; for the science herein applied is an exact science, and failure is impossible. For the benefit, however, of those who wish to investigate philosophical theories and so secure a logical basis for faith, I will here cite certain authorities.

    The monistic theory of the universe the theory that One is All, and that All is One; That one Substance manifests itself as the seeming many elements of the material world -is of Hindu origin, and has been gradually winning its way into the thought of the western world for two hundred years. It is the foundation of all the Oriental philosophies, and of those of Descartes, Spinoza, Leibnitz, Schopenhauer, Hegel, and Emerson.

    The reader who would dig to the philosophical foundations of this is advised to read Hegel and Emerson for himself.

    In writing this book I have sacrificed all other considerations to plainness and simplicity of style, so that all might understand. The plan of action laid down herein was deduced from the conclusions of philosophy; it has been thoroughly tested, and bears the supreme test of practical experiment; it works. If you wish to know how the conclusions were arrived at, read the writings of the authors mentioned above; and if you wish to reap the fruits of their philosophies in actual practice, read this book and do exactly as it tells you to do.

    –The Author

    Views: 0

  • President Buhari Approves Fund For Arms Procurement |Politics Today|

    https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3ZQ5CpNulQk7-xjal0utY_5dIAs0bwmk

    President Buhari Approves Fund For Arms Procurement |Politics Today|

    Views: 0

  • The Vulnerable Research and Innovation Base of South Africa

    Introduction

    South Africa is facing structural problems in strengthening its research and innovation capacity in order to become and remain competitive in the global business environment. Although greater emphasis is given to strengthen Research and Development efforts in the country and to translate it into commercialization of products, South Africa are lagging behind its competitors on four critical domains of:

    · The level of technological exports;

    · Funds invested in Research and Innovation activities;

    · Capability to transform relevant scientific knowledge and technological inventions into commercial applications; and

    · Sourcing for competitive technologies.

    Although it is realised that South Africa as a developing country cannot match the R&D spending of developed countries, the assumption is made that if South Africa can carry out R&I activity levels comparable to that of principle trading partners and competitors, it will be able to sustain its relative competitiveness in the world.

    Complicating the situation further is the fact that South Africa is considered an innovation environment in which medium to low technology innovations dominate. Therefore, it is not a strong competitor for attracting research exports from foreign companies. This is due to the fact that this privilege belongs to environments classified as at the forefront of research efforts, high technology oriented, huge market opportunities and dynamic in nature. Typical countries adhering to these requirements include amongst others China, India, the United States of America, Hungary and Romania (RTDinfo, 2006).

    Purpose

    The purpose of this article is to describe the vulnerable research and innovation base of South Africa in terms of the three domains mentioned in the introduction.

    Technology exports of South Africa as percentage of world exports

    According to statistics provided by Kaplan (2005) high technology export of South Africa, 0.3% in 2002, as a percentage of global exports represents indeed a very small proportion of world exports in technology. How poor is only conceived when compared to 2002 figures of other European countries such as Turkey (1.6%), United Kingdom (1.25%), Sweden (13.7%), Switzerland (21.6%), Spain (5.7%), Slovenia (4.9%), Portugal (6.8%), Norway (4.6%) and the Netherlands (18.7%).

    Sufficiency of funding for R&I in South Africa

    Whilst the aim of the South African Government is to spend at least 1% of its GDP on R&D this objective has never been reaches since 1983 (No survey was done in 1995 and 1999). With a median of 0.76 and currently at 0.806 GERD:GDP too little emphasis is given to R&D activities. Currently only R10.1 billion (+/- US$1.6 billion) is spend on R&D in comparison to a 2005 GDP of R1 250 billion (+/- US$208.33) comparing favourably with levels experienced in a country lie Portugal. However in comparison with other countries in Europe like Switzerland, Sweden, United Kingdom and the Netherlands which spend two percent and more of their GDP on R&D, South Africa are lagging far behind. Further, of the R10.1 billion available for R&D, only 13% is spend on the advancement of knowledge, whilst the most (60%) is spend on economic development. This indicates that too little is invested on human factors, which is considered a critical element for a successful knowledge based economy. The conclusion is thus that not sufficient funds are allotted for R&I activities in South Africa.

    Capability of South Africa to transform scientific and technological inventions into commercial application

    The first consideration in determining the capability of South Africa to transform R&D activities into commercial application demands an analysis of human resources availability in the scientific community. The Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology (2002) has made a comparison between four countries, South Korea, Malaysia, South Africa and Australia regarding the development of human capital as expressed by number of researchers per 1000 of the population as indicated by Table 1. Although performing better than Malaysia on this component, South Africa are performing weak on the broadening of research literacy in the general population. It is a further disturbing fact that South Africa has an aging research workforce. The Department also indicated that the number of science, engineering and technology (SET) practitioners, will vary between 7 and 11 per 1000 of the population in the years 2002 to 2012 and a university throughput in SET of only 2.7% to 3% during the same time frame. The latter figures compare extremely unfavourable with SET graduate throughput in some of the European countries like the United Kingdom (19.5% – 21.0%), Turkey (5.2%), Switzerland (7.0% – 7.7%), Sweden (13.3% – 13.9%), Spain (12% – 12.6%), Slovenia (8.7% – 9.0%), Portugal (7.4% – 8.2%), Poland (8.3% – 9.0%), Norway (7.7% – 9.3%) and the Netherlands (6.6% – 7.3%) for the same period.

    Table 1: Researchers per 1000 of population

    Researchers per 1000 of Population

    Australia 4.843

    South Africa 0.71

    Malaysia 0.3

    South Korea 2.771

    Secondly, of the top 700 firms, by R&D expenditure in the world, only one namely Sasol is located in South Africa with a US$91 million spending during 2003, whilst more than 80% of these firms come from only five countries, spending more than 82.5% of R&D: the United States (42.3%), Japan (22.0%), Germany (7.6%), the United Kingdom (5.6%) and France (5.0%). The remaining 20% comes from Finland (0.9%), Sweden (2.1%), Switzerland (2.9%), Republic of Korea (1.4%), Taiwan (1.1%), China (0.1%), Bermuda (0.4%), Brazil (0.3%), Croatia (0.1%) and South Africa (0.1%). Of these firms more than 50% operates in the high and medium technology environments of information technology, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and automotive. In essence Transnational Corporations dominate the global business R&D and in all of this South Africa plays a relative insignificant role in participation. However, as internationalisation of R&D by Transnational Corporations increased, South Africa benefited from this approach and the amount of US$67 billion spent in 2002 of which US$24 million was allotted to South Africa. This benefit however, does not reveal the fact that other developing countries like China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia and the Republic of Korea are the main gainers in the internationalisation of R&D worldwide (World Investment Report, 2005).

    Sourcing of competitive technologies in South Africa

    The history of South Africa and its political dispensation of Apartheid till 1994 led to international isolation causing the country to adopt an internal innovation approach. Since 1994 however, the country began to participate actively in the global economy and a need exist to source new technologies locally as well as from elsewhere (NSTF, 2001). Lorentzen (2004) provided the following statistics regarding to the sourcing of competitive technologies in South Africa over the period 1999-2001 as indicated by Table 2. According to Lorentzen, the 22% foreign sourcing is primarily for radical innovations, whilst local technological sourcing happens within the domain of incremental innovations. It can therefore be concluded that knowledge resources do not meet the competitive needs of South Africa especially in high technology innovations.

    Table 2: Sources of Competitive Technologies

    Source Percentage

    In-house 57

    Local 24

    Foreign 22

    Further, whilst South African inventors secure around 100 United States patents per year, this represents only 2.5 patents per million of the population per annum. In comparison Japan secured 776 patents per million of the population per annum (Department of Arts, culture, Science and Technology, 2002).

    Conclusion and Recommendations

    The results reveal that South Africa performed poorly and insignificantly low in the export of high, medium and low levels technologies. The country is therefore poorly positioned globally to compete successfully due to a lack in ability to commercialise the results of R&I in the international markets. This can be partially be attributed to the fact that not sufficient funds are allocated for R&D as indicated by the gross expenditure on R&D. In order to sustain its competitive position South Africa needs to follow a three-tier approach. Import the technology it requires to fulfil in its trading needs by securing access to external sources of technology, establish strong links with the global production system and seek co-operation agreements with international expertise to ensure technology transfer to South Africa.

    In order to strengthen the research and SET capacity in South Africa, the throughput at university level should at least be doubled to come in line with developed and developing countries in the European union and to contribute significantly to the formation of SET human capital and technological innovations. South Africa has also embarked on a process of embarking on an incentive approach that provides funding sources to different stages for commercialisation of research innovations.

    Due to the fact that South Africa is not performing well in the area of patenting, a better approach could be to focus on trademarks, rather than patents based on the argument that final consumers are less concerned on whether a product has been manufactured solely on the basis of imported or self-develop technology that buying the right product that would satisfy their needs. Trademarks better address the latter component and are focussing more on the licensing of technology as opposed to protecting industrially applicable inventions as in the case of patenting. Whilst patenting is focussing on the supply side of the market to prevent competitors from copying the innovation, trademarks is focussing on the demand side of the market by influencing consumers, which trademark to buy. South Africa therefore could benefit to focus on establishing preferred trademarks in the marketplace in order to grow its competitive base in the global world especially in the field of indigenous technology applications.

    From a global perspective South Africa is also performing poorly to attract R&D funds from Transnational Corporations. Funding obtained is primarily intended for the auto industry. The funds invested, represents a very narrow base on which to build the competitive edge through R&I.

    It can therefore be concluded that South Africa founds itself on the periphery of global knowledge creation and innovation as well as in sourcing for technological innovations. If South Africa intends to maintain and grow its global competitiveness greater emphasis should be given to:

    · Increase the budget for Research and innovation dramatically;

    · Provide stronger support to universities to engage in knowledge transfer and commercialisation of inventions;

    · Direct the preferred choice of students in the direction of science, engineering and technology education; and

    · Form strong partnerships with international organisations known for R&I and with reputable scientists in R&I.

    All this should be done in the realisation that that the precise returns in R&I investments cannot be determined and that the real benefits may only be reaped years later.

    BIBLIOGRAPHY

    ADAIR, J. 1990. The challenge of innovation. Great Britain: Biddles Ltd, Guilford and King’s Lynn.

    Baumol, W.J. 2002. The Free-Market Innovation Machine. Princeton University Press: Princeton.

    Bessant, J., Lamming,R., Noke, H. & Philips, W. 2005. Managing innovation beyond the steady state. Technovation. 25: 1366-1376.

    CALOGHIROU,Y., Kastelli, I. & Tsakanikas, A. 2004. Internal capabilities and external knowledge sources: complements or substitutes for innovative performance?, Technovation, 24:29-39.

    Chesbrough H. 2003. Open innovation – The new imperative for creating and profiting from technology. Boston, Massachusets: Harvard business school press. (pg110;pg157;read chapter 8)

    Cooke, P. 2005. Regionally asymmetric knowledge capabilities and open innovation: Exploring “Globalisation 2” – A new model of industry organisation. Research Policy. 34: 1128-1149.

    Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology. 2002. South Africas National R&D Strategy: The changing face of R&D within South African public sector research. June. Government Printers: Pretoria.

    DTI. 2004. Science &Innovation investment framework 2004-2014. HM Treasury: Norwich.

    Kahn, M. & Blankley, W. 2005. The state of research and experimental development:
    http://www.hsrcpress.ac.za
    Accessed: 24/02/2006.

    Kaplan, D. 2005. Technology and the growth of manufactured exports: Assessing South Africa’s performance and policy. Paper presented at DRUID Summer Conference on Industrial Dynamics, Innovation and Development, Elsinore, Denmark, 14-16.06.04

    Kar. 2004. Constructing a logical framework. 7 July.
    http://www.kar-dht.org/logframe.html
    Accessed: 25/02/06

    Lechter, M.A. 2001. Protecting your #1 Asset: Creating fortunes from your ideas. New York: Warner Books.

    Lorentzen, J. 2004. The noledge of numbers: S&T, R&D, and Innovation indicators in South Africa. School of Development Studies: University of Kwazulu-Natal.

    McCalman, P. 2005. International diffusion and intellectual property rights: An empirical analysis. Journal of International Economics. 67:353-372.

    MRC Innovation Centre. 2006. Section H: Funding for commercialisation of research.
    [http://innovation.mrc.ac.za/section.htm]
    Accessed: 24/02/06

    NSTF. 2001. SET Awareness – Growth and Innovation Study.
    [http://www.nstf.org.za/activities/projects/set_study/set_awareness_study.asp]
    Accessed: 25/02/06

    RTDinfo. 2006. When R&D relocates. RTDinfo. January. 47:29.

    Sajeva, M., Gatelli, D., Tarantola, S. and Hollanders, H. 2005. Methodology report on European Innovation Scoreboard 2005. European Trend Chart on Innovation. 1-146.

    Schneider, P.H. 2005. International trade, economic growth and intellectual property rights: A panel data study of developed and developing countries. Journal of Development Economics. 78:529-547.

    U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO). 2000. Types of Patents. Technology Assessment and Forecast data base. 1 June.
    http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/ac/ido/oeip/taf/patdesc.htm
    Accessed: 21/02/06

    UTTERBACK J.M. 1996. Mastering the Dynamics of Innovation. Boston, Massachusetts: Harvard business school press.

    World Investment Report. 2005. Transnational Corporations and the Internationalization of R&D. United Nations: New York.

    Jan Grundling is the Head of the Centre for Entrepreneurship, Tshwane University of Technology, South Africa

    Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Jan_Grundling/11964

    Views: 0

  • Fun Facts About South Africa

    DID YOU KNOW THAT…

    Perhaps the most famous South African movie is “Tsotsi” by Gavin Hood.”Tsotsi” is a story about a gang leader.On March 5, 2006, “Tsotsi” won the Academy Award for Foreign Language Film in Los Angeles.
    In his speech, Gavin Hood said, “God bless Africa. Wow. I have a speech, it´s in my pocket, but that thing says 38 seconds. But mine´s way too long. Go to tsotsi.com and there is a huge long list of people. Because I´m accepting this not for myself. This is for best foreign language film. It is sitting right there to start with.Please stand up Presley Chweneyagae and Terry Pheto. My two fantastic young leads. Put the cameras on them, please. Viva Africa. Viva. I´ve got ten seconds.Ten seconds I just want to thank my fellow nominees who I´ve become deep friends with. We may have foreign language films, but our stories are the same as your stories. They´re about the human heart and emotion. It says please wrap.Thank you so much. Thank you to the Academy. Thank you”.
    Winner: “Tsotsi” (South Africa)
    Finalists:
    -“Sophie Scholl” (Germany)
    -“Joyeux Noel” (France)
    -“The Beast of the Heart” (Italy)
    -“Paradise Now” (Palestine)

    DID YOU KNOW THAT…

    For the first time since 1960, South Africa sent a delegation to compete in the Olympic Games. Certainly, South Africa sent 94 athletes to the 1992 Olympic Games, which were held in Barcelona, Spain.The African delegation had athletes competing in seventeen areas: archery, badminton, boxing, kayak, cycling, equestrian, fencing, modern pentathlon, rowing, sailing, shooting, swimming, table tennis, tennis, track and field, weighlifting and wrestling. They returned to South Africa with two silver medals.

    DID YOU KNOW THAT…

    Nelson Mandela was one of the most important leaders in the 20th century.He played a fundamental role in the recuperation of the nation´s democracy. Under his leadership, South Africa adopted one of the best constitutions in the world.Mandela once said, “And so it has come to pass that South Africa today undergoes her rebirth, cleansed of a horrible past, matured from a tentative beginning, and reaching out to the future with confidence. Our pledge is : never and never again shall the laws of our land rend our people apart or legalize their oppression and repression”.
    Since 1993, in South Africa you can feel the freedom. Different from Cuba, Iran, and Zimbabwe, South Africa is a democracy where the civil society has immense influence and power.

    DID YOU KNOW THAT…

    South Africa has loads of national parks and reserves that are the home of some amazing wildlife. The Kruger National Park is one of the most popular tourist spots in the African continent. It is one of the world´s most beautiful national parks. The Kruger National Park provides an ideal habitat for animals such as elephants, giraffes, rhinoceroses, monkeys, zebras, cheetahs, hyenas, hippopotamus, gazelles, elands, lions, and African wild dogs.

    DID YOU KNOW THAT…

    South Africa has three capitals: Cape Town (legislative), Pretoria (administrative), and Bloemfontein (judicial).However, Johannesburg is the most important economic, industrial and cultural center in South Africa.It is one of the most industrialized cities in the Third World along with Taipei (Taiwan), Mexico City (Mexico), and Seoul (South Korea).In 2006 Johannesburg had a population of 2.6 million

    DID YOU KNOW THAT…

    For the first time, Africa will host 2010 FIFA World Cup.The Football World Championship to be held in South Africa.In 2000,Joseph Blatter, FIFA president, wanted the FIFA to vote for South Africa.However, New Zealand´s Charlie Dempsey ducked out of the final vote and Germany nicked it.For this reason, Germany hosted the World Cup in 2006.
    In 2007,Thabo Mbeki, South African president, said: “I have no doubt that our local organising committee, government at all levels, and everybody concerned will do the necessary work to guarantee that we host a better tournament in 2010 than the excellent 2006 German World Cup”.
    It also noted that millions of dollars have been spent in the past years on reforming South Africa´s sporting system.

    DID YOU KNOW THAT…

    About half of the world´s gold is produced in South Africa.

    DID YOU KNOW THAT…

    South Africa has many famous people: Christian Barnard (surgeon), Miriam Makeba (singer and anti-AIDS activist), Caron Bernstein (model,actress and singer), Nelson Mandela (former president and anti-AIDS activist), Nadine Gordimer (writer), Athol Fugard (writer),Mathosa (singer), Zola Budd (sportswoman), Charlize Theron (actress), Ilene Hamann (actress and model), Harry Oppenheimer (anti-apartheid industrialist), Richard Goldstone (international judge), Musetta Vander (actress and model), Danny Koppel (singer), Zakes Mokae (actor), Juliet prowse (dancer and actress), and Joe Mafela (actor).

    DID YOU KNOW THAT…

    The South African Penny Heyns, won the 100-and 200-meter breaststroke events at the 1996 Summer Olympics.She is considered among South Africa´s national heroines. Like Anthony Nesty (Suriname), Felipe Muñoz (Mexico), Claudia Poll (Costa Rica), and Kirsty Coventry (Zimbabwe), Penny Heyns is a Third World swimming icon.

    DID YOU KNOW THAT…

    South Africa has many World Heritage Sites by UNESCO: Greater Saint Lucia Wetland Park (1999), Robben Island (1999), Drakensberg Park (2000), Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape (2003), Vredefort Dome (2005), and Cape Floral Region Protected Areas (2004).

    DID YOU KNOW THAT…

    On March 26, 1998, American U.S. president Bill Clinton visited South Africa.

    DID YOU KNOW THAT…

    South Africa has more Nobel Prizes than Mexico(3) India (2) Brazil (0)Argentina (3) Cuba (0), and the People´s Republic of China (1).

    South Africa has six Nobel Prize winners:

    1960: Albert J. Luthuli (Nobel Prize for Peace)

    1982: Aaron Klug (Nobel Prize for Chemistry)

    1984:Bishop Desmond Tutu (Nobel Prize for Peace)

    1991: Nadine Gordimer (Nobel Prize for Literature)

    1993: Nelson Mandela and Frederik W. de Klerk (Nobel Prize for Peace)

    2003: John Maxwell Coetzee (Nobel Prize for Literature)

    DID YOU KNOW THAT…

    The people of South Africa are proud that their country is a society of people with many different backgrounds. Many people are mixture of several nationalities and races. About 2 million Asians live in South Africa. The ancestors of the most of them came from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Maldives, and Sri Lanka.

    DID YOU KNOW THAT…

    South Africa superstar Charlize Theron is an icon in Africa. She is a woman one can not fail to admire.

    Academy Award winning actress, Halle Berry worked as a fashion model in the 1980s.Berry is not the only Hollywood star who made a living from special jobs before becoming famous. For many actresses, this early experience came in useful in their acting career. The South African actress Charlize Theron -who has appeared in over twenty films in a movie career lasting over ten years- was a supermodel in the 1990s.

    Hollywood actress Charlize Theron was born on August7, 1975, in Benoni, Gauteng, South Africa.She has German and French ancestry. Charlize grew up to be a beautiful young woman and attracted the attentions of many people.She speaks English, Afrikaans and Xhosa.

    Charlize had been an international model since the age of 16. She began her career in Milan, Italy. In late 1996 she became an actress.On February 29, 2004, Charlize won an Academy Award for Best actress for her role as Aileen Wuournos in the film “Monster”. She became the first African actress to win an Oscar for Best Actress in the history.

    Charlize Theron is one of the most beautiful women in the world.The elegant clothes she wears complement her perfect body.
    Filmography:”Celebrity” (1998), “Reindeer Games” (2000), “The Yards” ( 2000), “Men of Honor” (2000), “The Italian Job” (2003),
    “Monster” (2003), “The Life and Death of Peters Sellers” (2004),”North Country” (2005), and “The Brazilian Job (2006).

    DID YOU KNOW THAT…

    The Nobel Prize Nadine Gordimer is a human rights activist. Her proudest moment was when she testified at a 1986 treason trial on behalf of 22 South African anti-apartheid activists.

    DID YOU KNOW THAT…

    South Africa has had famous athletes in the past century: Reggie Walker (olympic 100m gold medallist in 1908), Esther Brand (olympic high jump gold medallist in 1952), Joan Harrison (swimmer,won 1 olympic gold medal in 1952), and Sam Atkinson (olympic 110m hurdles gold medallist in 1928).

    DID YOU KNOW THAT…

    Mathosa was one of the best singers in South Africa. She was called “South Africa´s Madonna of the townships”. In the 1990s, Mathosa was considered among the most talented artists in Africa.

    DID YOU KNOW THAT…

    The 2003 Nobel Prize for Literature was awarded to South African author John Maxwell Coetzee. He was the fourth African Nobel laurate for literature after Wolle Soyinka of Nigeria (1986), Naguib Mahfouz of Egypt (1988), and Coetzee´s countrywoman Nadine Gordimer (1991). J.M Coetzee was born on February 9, 1940, in Cape Town, South Africa. He was cited by the Swedish Academy as an author “who in innumerables guises portrays the surprising involvement of the outsider”.Certainly, Coetzee is one of the most famous South African authors in the 21st century.

    DID YOU KNOW THAT…

    South Africa hosted the 1999 Pan African Games.

    DID YOU KNOW THAT…

    The golf is a popular sport in South Africa. South Africa has had famous golfers throughout its sports history.In the 1960s and 1970s, Gary Player was one of the best golfers in the world. He won many tournaments such as the Masters Golf Tournament ( 1961,1974, and 1978), the United States Open (1965), the PGA Championship (1962 and 1972), and the British Open ( 1959, 1968, and 1974).His countryman Bobby Locke won the British Open (1949, 1950, 1952, and 1957). Furthermore, South Africa won two times the World Cup Golf: 1965 (Gary Player and Harold Henning) and 1974 (Bobby Cole and Dale Hayes).

    Alejandro Guevara Onofre: He is a freelance writer.Alejandro is of Italian, African and Peruvian ancestry.He´ve studied political science and journalism.He has published more than seventy-five research paper in English, and more than twenty in Spanish, concerning the world issues, olympic sports, countries, and tourism. His next essay is called “The Dictator and Alicia Alonso”.He is an expert on foreign affairs. Futhermore, Alejandro is the first author who has published a world-book encyclopedia in Latina America.

    He admires Frida Kahlo (Mexican painter), Hillary Clinton (ex-First Lady of the USA), and Jimmy Carter (former President of the USA). His favorite film is “Gorillas in the Mist”.Some of his favorite books are “The Return of Eva Peron and the Killings in Trinidad” (by V.S.Naipaul), “Las Mujeres de los Dictadores” (by Juan Gasparini) and “Murder of a Gentle Land” (by John Barron and Anthony Paul).His personal motto is “The future is for those people who believe in the beauty o f their dreams” by Eleanor Roosevelt.

    Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Alejandro_Guevara_Onofre/79627

    Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/619695

    Views: 0