Corporate Entrepreneurship and Human Resource Management

Corporate Entrepreneurship and Human Resource Management Introduction Todays economy is experiencing its ups and downs very quickly: rising competitiveness and fast changing technologies create pressure to the companies that want to stay at the top of their markets. This is not going to slow down, so the need for tools of success is arising. At the same time we are moving away from the Morris and Kuratko (2002) belief that entrepreneurs are born, not made. That is why the wanting, believing, hoping, planning must be followed by doing. As already Confucius said: When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, dont adjust the goals, adjust the action steps. It is time for action and one form of it that suits different businesses nowadays is corporate entrepreneurship (CE). Stated by Sharma and Chrisman (1999), corporate entrepreneurship is the process whereby an individual or group of individuals, in association with an existing organization, create a new organization or instigate renewal or innovation within that organization. There are lots of definitions for CE nowadays, but all of them do not change the fact that CE is a tool for differentiation and competitive advantage in todays economy. Corporate Entrepreneurship (CE) and Human Resource Management (HRM) A lot of researches, studies were conducted in order to discover the inevitable truth that CE positively affects the performance of a company: it creates competitive advantages, helps to differentiate, adapt to new or quickly changing markets, and deal with external and internal challenges. As CE is seen as a multifaceted tool, the intensity of CE in an organization can be described by five different dimensions identified in a meta-analysis by Saly (2001): innovativeness, risk propensity, proactiveness, corporate venturing and self-renewal. When creating an organizational structure, as well as inside culture, these dimensions should be a scale measuring the future success of a company. Dealing with the globalization and fast moving changes, a company must take risks, be proactive and strive for innovation. Nurturing these traits, adapting to the environment (self-renewal) and fostering creation of something valuable that generates returns are CE key success factors in the economy of today. Of course no CE can be fostered without Human Capital. In order to become an innovative, entrepreneurial organization need the knowledge, skills, experience the human capital can provide. This is why HC should be one of the most important and valuable asset for every organization. Investing in HC will be a first step towards building and encouraging the entrepreneurial direction of the overall company. As from the employee-organization relations (EOR) literature (Rhoades and Eisenberger, 2002), the strongest influencers of employee affect are the organizations leaders. Their HRM practices can valuably contribute to effective enhancement of CE. Different HRM techniques can create a suitable inside culture for an organization to become innovative, flexible and more entrepreneurial. Therefore EOR strengthened with HRM practice can become an efficient tool for creating a collective entrepreneurial atmosphere inside any organization. HRM practices fostering CE inside the company HRM practices should be an important driver of CE because it involves organizational learning driven by collaboration, creativity, and individual commitment (Kaya, 2006). To foster CE in a company the first task is the internal culture and environment. Following different studies conducted on the topic of CE and HRM practices, how to establish a suitable internal environment for intrapreneurship seems to be based on these organizational arrangements/managerial tools: Staff selection the objective of staff selection is to form an appropriate resource base of human capital to foster entrepreneurial activity. As the human capital of any company is one of the most important facilitators of CE, selective hiring can be a tool for influencing the CE level. The selection criteria should fit the organizations culture, be in line with the CE dimensions and reflect the needs of the company. During the process of selecting staff it is beneficial to think about the skills are needed in the industry the company operates, how the employees could work together and create a brain trust. Emphasizing the team spirit is very important, because the emphasis on collective entrepreneurship is growing. New members should have new ideas and complement the staff by being different and experts of their own sphere. New management staff should have relevant KSAOs, be creative, strive for action and be supportive. Finally, a possibility to grow in ones own career should also be seen during this process, because it will serve as a motivation tool and foster better environment in the company. Management support the positive attitude as well as encouragement of the higher hierarchy levels of the company for generating and developing new business ideas. Management support is important because it indicates the willingness of the managers to facilitate, promote and institutionalize the entrepreneurial spirit and activity within the organizations system and processes (Hornsby at al., 2002) which would encourage the intrapreneurs to engage in innovative projects. If the organization provides support and some autonomy it can then count on the commitment coming from employees. Still coordinating the use of resources, contributing to the fulfillment of the separate individual suggestions or efforts will end up with an increase of overall efficiency. Management support for problem solving and conflict resolution in the intrapreneurship process is required in the idea generation, development, and particularly implementation (execution) stages of the ideas (Damanpour, 1991). This will positively influence a corporations entrepreneurial behavior and enhance potential intrapreneurs perceived trustworthiness to their corporations in terms of detecting opportunities and willingness to develop novel or useful ideas and or projects and to take risks to actualize them (Stevenson and Jarillo, 1990). Internal supportive environment, tolerance for risk taking to their intrapreneurs, and a high quality HC will contribute to the innovative performance. As an example could be taken the companys 3M approach this company understood and experienced that capable and motivated employees can turn the company into a profitable innovative and successful organization. That is why the management was trying to create an environment that supports individual entrepreneurship: a climate that stimulates ordinary people to produce extraordinary performances. Allocation of free time provision of sufficient time to work on developing novelties without any burden of routine workload. Delivery of free time inevitably encourages employees to take risks for putting their novel ideas into practice. When given time for convincing the management level about your project success, employees are not so distracted from their main duties and usually show more commitment towards the company. Organizational structure should be convenient concerning decentralization level or decision-making autonomy. Employees should have the opportunity to express and suggest their ideas easily. The suitable decentralization level differs among every company, but it is a tool to become more flexible, innovative, and active suit the dimensions of CE. If organization provides autonomy for employees who actually carry out the work, this will stimulate their commitment to act in the best way for the company. Having a balanced relationship between autonomy and discipline creates an environment where employees can act, take weighted risks and innovate towards successful outcomes of the company. Companies that are becoming rigid really slow down all the innovative processes as well as cannot implement all of the possibleWindows User2010-12-28T20:09:00 Case example improvements. When thinking about new ventures, projects in order to boost the competitive advantage and profitability of the company it is important they fit the organization in terms of context and organizational structure. There is a possibility to foster integrated or separate CE. Taking the example of the company Polaroid, one can see that the impact of bureaucracy, biases and downsizing was a big obstacle for nurturing inside entrepreneurship. The company was big-sized and stagnant, becoming a market follower. In such cases, when an organization becomes rigid, does not answer market needs mostly because of the compilation, slow processes CE must be fostered and implemented. One of the first steps should be an entrepreneurial-oriented structure that allocates the power of decision making not to the higher level employers, but takes into account the employees who know the most about the projects being undertaken. In the case of Lucent (a telecommunication equipment manufacturer), their New Venture Group formed a separate organizational entity. In this way it does not suffer from the bureaucratic rules of the parent company, still can use the support needed, creates its own inside environment and culture that can foster CE more easily. That is why, when forming new entrepreneurial project each company has to evaluate its fit in the organization. Usually small projects are of better use inside the company: they can be accessible for all employees, motivate them to work on their projects too, but at the same time not to be too distracted from the mainstream of the company. An example of such an approach would be the case of the company Ohio Bell. Windows User2010-12-30T10:39:00 Patikrinti Incentives and rewards availability of a performance based reward system encouraging innovativeness is a way to foster entrepreneurship among employees. If the management tries to convince the employees to act like intrapreneurs, it must also be willing to pay them as entrepreneurs (Thornberry, 2003). Having trust in the rewarding system boosts the employee commitment, willingness to take risks and reveal the projects that could benefit both sides. A reward system that is based on achievements in innovation projects, may lead the brightest and most ambitious players to avoid innovation projects with uncertain outcomes. Building a reward system shows a positive attitude towards the employees and can significantly increase their motivation to benefit the organization. It is important to see the reward practices as a long-term thing, make resources available and not punish the employees straight after the first failure of an entrepreneurial project. Failure or errors tolerance in case of creative undertakings or risky project implementations. Such showed tolerance together with managerial support is a strong tool creating positive environment for CE. A conservative managerial attitude will block the willingness to innovate and cause lack of confidence of the employees. In order to overcome the possible frustration, organization should support the human capital even during failures and continue investing in the projects that have high potential. Taking failures as an inevitable step towards success will help to maintain the level of confidence for further innovations and profitable ideas. Of course, in order not to lose control and take healthy risks, companys should build an organizational mechanism to decide which innovation projects are likely to bear fruits and which should be cast aside without having trial-errors. Windows User2010-12-28T20:52:00 Case example For example, a well known company 3M implemented a more disciplined approach to defining, selecting and funding projects. Instead of running 100 of them as earlier, the process shifted to 12 projects from which 10 are expected to be successful. In this way companies are more oriented, quickly reacting and can create true competitive advantages through expedient CE. Training and development appropriate abilities can be acquired through training and development strongest results towards boosting CE. Training can overcome the factors that decrease employees job performance and satisfaction. Staff development seen as activities that increase employees qualifications and performance at all hierarchical levels through education, career management, and work structure. All these practices can promote entrepreneurial behavior and improve the environment in the company.Windows User2010-12-28T21:53:00 Case example Training programs should be oriented towards building useful CE skills, fostering the dimensions of it inside the company: change acceptance, willingness to take risks, assume responsibility, and the value of teamwork and shared achievements. Training activities that enforce interpersonal skills should be fostered. Also training that supports creativity will strengthen innovativeness and potentially strengthen self-renewal and new business development. Finally training on how to transfer new ideas into business will lead to higher intensity for risk propensity and proactiveness. For effective training, programs should fit the companys strategy and work process. To unfold their full effect on CE, expert knowledge, social competence, creativity, and methodical expertise are especially important to be considered. Specialist assignment specialists can anticipate and estimate specific problems earlier and thus identify needs for modifications more quickly. As CE is more often seen as a collective process, instead of putting the emphasis on one individual, firms must encourage cooperation among specialists to increase successful innovation processes. This is stressed because as environment impacts on organizational behaviors it is also seen in change of relationships between employees and employer or managers inside the organization. In order to become competitive and innovative, firms have to adopt new strategies, as well as different employee-organization relationship (EOR) patterns. The importance of this is significantly growing, because corporate entrepreneurship involves not only product innovation, risk taking or proactive responses to environmental forces, but also organizational learning, driven by collaboration and commitment. Here the collaboration of specialists could be seen as a link between employees, managers and their potential to foster corporate entrepreneurship together. As it can be observed in the Siemens Nixdorf Informationssysteme AG (SNI), a company that confronted financial and inside environment problems with a program called Change Agent Program, managerial support, concentrated staff selection and employee training and development are the tools that foster corporate entrepreneurship spirit and help to overcome the downturn a company can experience. The Change Agent program looked to replace Siemens Nixdorfs rigid corporate hierarchy with a more flexible and entrepreneurial attitude that would be more responsive to market demands. The company operated in a very competitive European market, was undermanaged and over consulted. As the employees at SNI experienced restructuring at the company during the early 1990s and four years of losses, the inside culture was far away from a company one could call innovative and lead thinking (as the ones operating in IT industry in US). The program though was focused on employees, emphasizing the importance of the people at the company and expanding the opportunities open to them. The goal of the 13 week program was to build an understanding of business fundamentals and business change along three dimensions: customer, competitiveness and culture. It combined presentations, discussions, workshops, case studies, best practice site visits, internships, and coach research. An important goal was to provide participants with new perspectives about their projects and give them the know-how to implement them upon return to the company. The programs aimed to have the sponsors (each member had two of them) provide leadership, guidance and support in order to help them achieve their project goals. This is also an example that specialists assistance is a tool fostering corporate entrepreneurship and improving the employees input. It was also aiming to help find innovative ways to approach and implement their projects. Each participant of the program had a project drawn from the area that concludes the most important challenges the company faces which were fostered by the program and implemented upon the employees return to SNI. Although the 21 Change Agents had varying degrees of success, it was clear that they played a role in driving SNI to profitability in the 1994 1995 fiscal year (for the first time in the companys history). That was reflected in the decision by the SNI Executive Board to perpetuate the Program on an annual basis. Such training and development programs foster collective and individual entrepreneurship inside the company. This example shows how important it is that such tools would fit the aim and strategy of the whole company. By addressing the right problems, training the right people (at SNI they were thoroughly selected) this training program helped the company to enhance the communication within the company, improve its international operations, flexibility and determine new possible directions. The employees felt the more entrepreneurial spirit of the companys culture and were able to channel their enthusiasm for changes and revitalization, feel more responsibility, and support what opened the ways for their projects. Conclusions Trends in the global economy require established companies to become more and more entrepreneurial in order to handle uncertainty and environmental dynamism. The studies provide positive relationships between HRM practices and CE. HR practices are a source of sustained competitive advantage for organizations. CE-related HR practices are unique to the extent that competitors cannot imitate them. There must be support from HR practices consistent with that particular culture and consistent with what is needed from employees. The key factor is determining what is needed from employees to be effective at CE. Once this is determined, the firm can describe the specific HR practices the organization needs to use. Conclusions: HRM practices play a significant role in fostering and maintaining high levels of CE. Companies should focus on the HRM practices of staff selection, staff development and training, and staff rewards that align employee motivation and entrepreneurial firm development. Support, tolerance, and reward are found to be related to innovativeness, while work discretion and time allocation are not. Considering the combined effects of all the OS factors, managerial support and tolerance for risk taking have still exerted significant effects on innovativeness. That is why firms should invest to build such an organizational milieu where first, support and tolerance exist to a large extent. On the other side, organizations firstly should spend less time and money on rewards and empowerment, and more on recruiting and training managers to be supportive and hold a philosophy that failure is a stepping-stone to success.

The Influence of Michael Jordan in the World of Sports

When someone says the name Michael Jordan, the first thing that might come to mind is basketball, Nike shoes, or Wheaties. Through the years Michael Jordan has proved time and time again that he is the greatest basketball player ever and by doing that he has gained tremendous popularity throughout the world. People of all ages and from all nationalities have gathered to watch him play. â€Å"Even your Aunt Matilda, who might not know anything about basketball, liked watching him play,† said Daniel. He has become more than just an entertainer, he is a hero and a role model. It has been said â€Å"He†s the most famous American in the World† (Daniel.) After winning his sixth National Basketball Association Championship, Michael Jordan has decided to walk away from the world of basketball for the second time in his life. Why would the greatest player to ever play the game leave at the highest point of his career? He claims the sport is no longer a challenge to him. After his many awards, trophies and titles this is not hard to comprehend. At this time in his life, Jordan wants to devote all of his time to his friends and family. Now that he has left the world of basketball a great void has been left. Many questions have rose as to what is going to happen now that he†s gone. What will happen with the NBA? What will happen to the Chicago Bulls dynasty? Who will be the next Michael Jordan? Could there ever be another Michael Jordan? The first thing any sane person would ask is how could Jordan leave basketball and walk away from all of that money? Last year he was the highest paid basketball player in NBA history. But in dollar terms, Jordan was even more successful as a corporate spokesman, which earned him $45 million in 1998, than he was on the basketball court in which he earned $35 million. (Peyser.) Jordan currently does endorsements for thirteen companies. Out of all the companies, Nike pays the most for his endorsements at $16 million per year. Jordan is by far the best endorser out there in the market. Many of the celebrities can†t compare to Jordan. â€Å"He†s handsome, articulate, classy. He had purity to his performance on court and off. It†s hard to find the perfect celebrity these days,† said Peyser. With such slogans as â€Å"Be Like Mike† and â€Å"It†s gotta be the shoes,† companies have attempted to make consumers believe that if they buy their products they too can be as great as Michael Jordan. Now that Jordan has left the NBA, many are speculating on how well his endorsements will do. Experts say that a retired athlete – even Jordan – can†t compete with a guy who†s still winning championships. With the sports-marketing business already in a slump, there may be no heirs to â€Å"Air Jordan† (Peyser.) Even though Jordan has left the basketball court, he†s not going to leave Hollywood anytime soon. There are plans being made to have Jordan star in at least two films but this time he will be acting with a real cast as apposed to the cartoon cast he starred with in Space Jam. â€Å"He should play a character like James Bond,† suggests movie critic Gene Siskel, a rabid Bulls fan. â€Å"I†d pay to see him before Pierce Brosnan any day, wouldn†t you?† Michael Jordan has made a huge impact on the NBA. â€Å"He has won six NBA championships in the last eight years, ten scoring titles, enough Most Valuable Player awards to stock his own wing at the Hall of Fame,† said Tresniowski. He is by far the greatest player to ever play the game. Many believe the NBA would not be where it is without him and now that he†s gone many can†t imagine basketball without him. Everyone is wondering, if there ever be another Michael Jordan. The chance of someone accomplishing the same great feats as Jordan is nearly impossible in today†s NBA. But that doesn†t mean it won†t happen. When Julius Erving left the league many people were asking the same questions. Will there ever be another Dr. J.? Jordan came along, and the rest is history. Ever since the baseball strike the NBA has tremendously gained in popularity, at one time many Americans where questioning, should basketball be the nation†s new past time? Lately, this attitude towards baseball has changed. Mark McGuire and Sammy Sosa have brought the life back to baseball with the breaking of the home run record. With the NBA labor lockout that has canceled most of this season and now that Jordan has left the future of the NBA is yet to be determined. The outlook doesn†t look good. With fear of a season cancellation due to bickering over money, many fans have turned away from NBA basketball in disgust. The NBA†s image has become tarnished. Today†s NBA is nothing like how it was when Jordan came into the league. There is a new breed of players out there. Instead of the rising stars attending college, they are making the jump from high school straight to the NBA. Kobe Bryant is a prime example of this. The major difference between the stars of today and the superstars of yesterday is that many of today†s stars don†t even earn the right to be called stars. Glenn Robinson, now of the Milwaukee Bucks, was asking for a $100 million contract when he came out of Purdue, yet today he is barely worth $1 million. â€Å"You don†t ever want to say ‘never†,† Starr says, â€Å"but I don†t think the NBA will ever again attain the glory it did with Michael.† Even though Jordan was great, we cannot forget about his supporting cast. Without the team to back him up, Jordan would not have been able to accomplish half of what he has done. The Chicago Bulls have been labeled the Team of the 90†³s. No other team since the Boston Celtics has been able to win more than three championships in a row, but the Bulls have done it twice in the past eight years. They probably could have been champions for at least two more years if the team would have stayed healthy and intact. By far, the Chicago Bulls have been hit the hardest with Jordan†s Retirement. The cause of the breakup of possibly the greatest team ever was rumored to be caused by clashes between the players and Bulls management. The breakup started when management wouldn†t pay Phil Jackson what he deserved after bringing six NBA championships to the Bulls. Rather than coach another team, Jackson decided to retire to practice Zen Buddhism fulltime. When Jackson left, Jordan said he wouldn†t play for a new coach. After Jordan left, basketball great, Scottie Pippen was traded to the Houston Rockets. Only four players of last year†s team still remain on the Chicago Bulls roster for this season. Many have made the prediction that the Bulls will lose more games in this shortened season than they did all last year (Stein.) Rebuilding the Chicago Bulls may turn out to be one of the biggest mistakes ever made by the Bulls organization. There will no longer be sell-out crowds every night, sales from Chicago Bulls merchandise will take a nose dive, and all the Fair Weather Fans† will move on to another team. It could take years and millions of dollars before the Bulls will even be able to compete for another title. Many wonder if Jordan will come back to the NBA, after all he did come back before. In 1993, after winning his first three championships, Jordan announced his retirement. He felt he had nothing left to prove and he wanted to try his luck in major league baseball. When his short-lived career in the minor leagues didn†t work out he decided to return to the NBA, (Greene.) While, competition is what Jordan thrives on. It has had both a positive and a negative effect on his life. Jordan being the very competitive person that he is, got in trouble when he was rumored to have a gambling addiction. Many feared that he might have been gambling on NBA games. However, all allegations of illegally betting on NBA games were false and with time Jordan†s image was rebuilt, (Greene.) The chances of Jordan coming back to the NBA are very good. However, if he comes back it won†t be as a player, his new role would be coach. This time he doesn†t have a team to come back to. He is certainly not going to come back to the Bulls and wait for them to rebuild. Jordan will probably always be remembered as the greatest. It will be a long time before anyone can accomplish half of what he has done. As far as the current NBA cast, the experts can†t see anyone replacing him for a long time. Not only does it take the skills but it also requires a certain set of values to become a role model. Many stars of the NBA lack both of these qualities. But somewhere out there is a young child with dreams of becoming the next Michael Jordan. He is on every playground all around the world. He has the endless desire to make something out of himself. Basketball could be his only chance out of the current situation that he is in, and it is only a matter of time before he will have his big break, (Starr.) Some might think it†s hard to imagine the effects that one man can have on the game of basketball, but when you look at our society and how much we tend to focus on athletes in the sports world it†s really not that hard at all. Michael Jordan played more than the role of a basketball player. He was a hero, a product endorser, and a corner stone in a major corporation, and to the teams that he beat night after night, an enemy. Now that he is gone from the game no one really knows what will happen all anyone can do is speculate. Even though he has left the basketball court, chances are he won†t be leaving your TV quite that soon. The people that will miss him the most are his former teammates and the die-hard fans that loved to watch him night after night. The Chicago Bulls may never reach the greatness that they once achieved but they will always have the memories. It†s hard to tell who will take Jordan†s place, it could be safe to say that no one will ever be able to, but that doesn†t mean there won†t be anyone better than Jordan. Only time will tell. The die-hard Chicago Bulls fans will always hold a special place in their heart for Michael Jordan. They will tell their sons and daughters about him, they will get out the old VHS tapes of games that they have recorded and they will pass along the Basketball cards that will be worth hundreds of dollars. Those of us who have seen him play will always remember him and what he has done for the game of basketball. For those who haven†t, you will have to settle for the endless highlight reels and Nike commercials to keep his memory alive.

Human development Essay

Life starts at conception. Immediately fertilization takes place changes and events occur that will determine the kind of person to be born. This research tries to find out the effect of early life on the later life of an individual. And if early life affects the later life of the individual, then do children who grow up in violent communities have a tendency to exhibit violent behaviors as adults? The research will apply the cross-sectional design. People who differ in age are studied at the same time. A comparison of age related changes and the social behavior is done. A hypothesis is put forward and a cross-sectional experiment is done to test it. One advantage of this design is that one can collect data from different ages of children over a short period of time. Stages of human development After fertilization takes place, the zygote is formed. The zygote undergoes cell division some hours after it is formed. It takes one week to reach the uterus. In the uterus there occurs implantation. The zygote makes connection to the blood vessels. This process takes about one week(Brian & Scott, 2005). After the zygote completely implant into the uterus, it becomes the embryo. This stage occurs between the 3rd week and the 9th week. During this stage the human body structure start to develop. The internal organs also start developing. The embryo consist of three layers: the ectoderm, the outer layer; the endoderm, the middle layer and the endoderm, inner layer. The ectoderm develops into the skin and hair; the mesoderm develops into bones , cartilages and the cardiovascular system ; the third layer develops into the internal organs . The heart start beating after four weeks. By 8 most body organs can be seen in although not well developed. Brian and Scott, 2005 ). The embryo rest in the amniotic sac which contains amniotic fluid. This fluid protects it. The embryo is connected to the mother via the placenta and the umbilical cord. The development of the embryo follows two principles: the cephalocaudal i. e it develops from head towards the legs and the proximodistal – the parts near the centre of the body develops first e. g the arm develops before the hands (Lichtenberg & Norton,1970). The third stage is the Fetus stage. This stars from the ninth week. At this stage, most body organs start to work. There is remarkable increase weight. During this period, the body systems like the respiratory system develop. The fetus can move and play in the uterus. It can hear the heart mother’s hear beat and the mother speak. It can detect flavor. The fetus’s senses are developed. The sensory influence can have a lifetime effect on the fetus. A research done by deCasper and Spence( cited in Lorraine ) shows that the last few months of prenatal developments can shape the life of the newborn infant. It can have either positive or negative effect on the infant. For instance extreme stress in the mother can have several effects: First, the stress tigress the production of hormones which reduces the level of oxygen consumption of the fetus. Second, stress may affect eating habits of the mother thus affecting the fetus in turn. Third, it may cause the mother not to take onto account resting, exercising and may influence her to drink. All these have negative effect on the fetus (Joseph , & Sandraw,1994). The mother’s age. The mother’s age seems to have an effect on the newborn baby. For instance teenage mothers mothers are likely to have problems during pregnancy and during birth. This is because they may not have the resources and skills to give them a good prenatal care. Again children born by teenage mothers may have problems. However a study ( Leavitt, 1993) revealed that it is the environmental and economic background that affect the child and not necessarily the age of the mother. Also the prenatal care given to the mother determines the behavior of the child. Nevertheless, older women, over 35 years experience more problems during pregnancy than younger women. They also record higher rates of miscarriage and Down ’s syndrome (Cited in Nelson). In general, for a healthy pregnancy and healthy baby, the age of the mother should be between 20 to 35 years. Teratogens. : Drugs, deseases and environmental harzards. Teratotegen is anything that affect a pregnancy. Some teratogens are: Drugs: Many drugs consumed by pregnant women pose great danger to the fetus and the mother. This was discovered after a drug called thalidomide caused women to bear children with malformed body organs. Thalidomide was being used by pregnant women to assist them sleep Other examples of teratogens are alcohol, cocaine, caffeine, nicotine and cigarettes. Joseph & Sandraw, 1994). Diseases: Some diseases do not have any serious effect on the pregnant women. However most viral and bacterial diseases have effect on the pregnancy. The most serious ones are AIDS, gonorrhea, syphilis and genital herpes. These may cause low immune system and various disorders in the unborn (Lichtenberg & Norton, 1970). Environmental hazards: The wastes from the industries contain chemicals. These chemicals may be absorbed into the mother’s body in small quantities through breathing and drinks. These cause great damage to the fetus since they are teratogens. Environmental teratogens are more serious because the mother may not be aware that she is taking it. Thus she may not have control over it. (Joseph &Sandraw, 1994). However some teratogens may be avoided especially those found in food as food additives. Freud(1954) suggested that life starts at birth. Most psychoanalysts of his time believed so. They believed that the brain developed at infancy. Winnicot(cited in Freud) did a research which found that the experience of the unborn is very important the infant. It could have emotional implications that could affect the person even as an adult. Winnicott observed children and saw that there very many differences. He noted that problems caused during labor could traumatize the baby who develops a lot of distress. He conclusively said that the experience gained in the womb remain in memory for a lifetime. In the womb, traumatized fetus even develops defensive mechanisms to face the expected trouble. Later research therapists conducted research and were able to conclude that early trauma created a lot of fear for the rest of the life of the infant. The feelings of anxiety, seeing being devoured by ogres, falling into a bottomless bit are as a result of early trauma. An example is given of an infant who was mistakenly exposed to cold in a very cold night (Lorraine). This child always dreamt lying in the refrigerator and this continued even after 30 years. This shows that early trauma caused the infant to expect disaster at any time. However the discovery of the effect of perinatal trauma on the life of an individual helped therapists to treat patients with problems related to early trauma (Freud, 1954). Recent research by perinatal psychologists, neurobiologists, experimental psychologists has shown great connection of fetal trauma to problems experienced later in life. Initially biologists used to think that the fetus had incomplete myelination of neurons and therefore it could not have memories. Research shows that the thinly myelinated nerves of fetus can transmit waves but at a lower rate. Joseph et al.. Thus the experience gained in the womb may make one to be aware of violence, disaster lack faith. With this in mind, parents have started to consider the unborn as part of the member of the family. A father who played a game with a baby and the mother found that the next baby easily learnt the game. These parents tried to avid any experiences that may cause fetal distress (Lichtenberg & Norton,1970). Fourteen independent studies have shown the relationship between antenatal maternal anxiety and emotional distress in the child. Prenatal stages are likely to be affected by antenatal stress. These reports have suggested that maternal distress affect the fetus as evidenced by increased fetal heart rate (FHR). This is done by use of ultrasound and monitoring FHR over long periods of time. Both the experimental and distress –induced study design have been employed to achieve this. For a normal case, at about the 15th week of the pregnancy fetal movements exhibit a certain pattern. As developments progress the fetal movements become dependent on specific heart rate pattern. These patterns finally develop into sleep-wake patterns which characterize stable temporal origination near term. There is a relationship between body movements and FHR accelerations. Fetal behavior is organized in rest – activity or sleep- wake cycle (Lichtenberg & Norton, 970). Effect war and social violence Family violence and trauma caused by war are passed through generations. Adults who were exposed to abuse and violence are more likely to show violence to their own offspring. They have difficulty forgetting their past and live normally. War and violence are everywhere in our societies. Many ethnic clashes continue for years and our children are being exposed to their effects. The children are being thought that disputes are being solved by use of violence. This violence is passed from generation to generation. Research and behavioral science has began to confront the problems of children exposed to violence. (Heidi, 2002). Over the last few decades, there has been an increase in the prevalence of domestic violence. Domestic violence has severe effect on families and society in general. Domestic violence can be in the form physical abuse, psychological abuse and sexual abuse. Exposure to violence creates traumatic stress. Traumatic stress can be either short term or long-term. Terr ( cited in Brian & Scott, 20005) describes short term trauma as â€Å"Type I† e. g a single event of rape or beating. He described repeated or prolonged trauma as â€Å"Type II†. Type II has more serious effects than type I. Individual exposed to this kind of trauma may develop Post Traumatic Stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD makes one to show routine withdrawal and oversensitivity. Many children from domestic violence homes show levels of (PTSD) (Leavitt, 1993). If untreated, the children exhibit violent behaviors, delinquency and other social and psychological problems. Since young child do have the ability to express themselves verbally, the emotional problems developed are behavioral such as lack of sleep, feeding problems, inability to concentrate, withdrawn and physical complaints. The pre-adolescents child may in addition to the above problems show loss of interest in peers, poor self concept violence,, defiant behavior and temper out bursts. Adolescents are likely to fail academically and start abusing drugs. Youth who exhibit violent behaviors can be traced to families experiencing domestic violence. An estimated 20% 30% of dating teenagers abuse or are being abused by their partners mentally, sexually, emotionally or physically. Between 30% and 50 % of adult relationships show the same cycle of violence (Leavitt, 1993) Nelson ( 2000), points out that community violence also has an impact on children who were victimized or who witnessed member of community or family members being victimized get affected. The effect of violence spread to even those children who are not directly affected by violence. Violence tampers with activities of the child which might make the child a better person. Impact of violence on the child depends on the level of development of the child. Early exposure to violence is more detrimental than later exposure( p. 266) In 1995 FBI report it reported that 27% of all violent crime involved domestic violence. All forms of violence affect the child’s mind. One study was done to show the connection between the brain and someone’s violence. Psychologists observed brain imaging data for a great number of people with violent behaviors. The research focused on specific brain regions. One was the orbital frontal cortex and the amyglada. The results showed that most of the cases, there was absence of normal activity in the orbital and anterior regions. While the shoed normal activity. The two regions will not counteract and this may explain some people are hyper aroused ( Lorraine).

The Influence Of The American Revolution And The...

Neither the United States Constitution, nor the Declaration of Independence, were written in an ideological vacuum. Rather, the ideas expressed by the various philosophers during the century and leading up to the American Revolution had tremendous influence over the Founders of the United States. These ideas came together in the creation of the U.S. constitution, working in tandem to lay the foundation for the way the government should be structured, as well as the core philosophy behind the country. The Enlightenment, also called the Age of Reason, influenced the rest of the world during the late eighteenth century. There were several revolutions taking place at this time, but the American Revolution was at the forefront of them all. The†¦show more content†¦The Declaration of Independence was far from the only product of Enlightenment philosophers. In addition, the very structure of the United States government was heavily influenced by Jean Jacques Rousseau’s idea of the social contract. In summary, the government has a contract with its people, also known as the general will of the people, in which all voters have a voice in regards to what they think should stay, improve, or be done away with entirely. In his book, The Social Contract, Rousseau also popularized the concept of state governments having control over their affairs from the federal government. Montesquieus concept of a government having three separate branches that each keep the other in check also made its way into the Constitution. The government was to be divided in a way that prevented any one person or group from holding significantly more power over the nation. The first and most prominent amendment of the Constitution is freedom of speech and religion, taken from the Enlightenment philosopher Voltaire, who was most noted for his support of free speech and tolerance. In addition to Americas Founding Fathers, Thomas Paine was another man greatly influenced by Enlightenment ideals, and eagerly published a pamphlet in hopes of spreading support for a revolution. With more than 120,000 copies published by May 1776, Paine’s Common Sense convinced a majority of colonists that independence from BritainShow MoreRelatedInfluence Of Enlightenment On The American Revolution898 Words   |  4 Pages The ideas of the Enlightenment influenced the American Revolution and the formation of the American Government in several different ways. The Enlightenment period initiated several new ideas about freedoms and rights. These ideas were discussed in meetings called salons in France, where they discussed new ideas. 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