Is USA a True Democracy? Essay

United States of America is undoubtedly being praised for standing firmly for democracy in the field of political system. Likewise, in political history, America is regarded as the only country having a strong democratic form of government. Throughout history, America has always played an important role in spreading democracy around the world. Several communist countries have also been converted to democracy through the efforts of America. The obvious reason for adopting democracy within a system of governance is to uphold majority rights rather than of the few. In addition, the power is concentrated in the hands of the people and not on the few groups of people. Aside from these, the features of democracy guarantee freedom and human rights which are not guaranteed in other forms of government. In the real scenery of a democratic country, the freedom exercised by every citizen is overflowing. In the American setting, several rights were established as new social developments are being experienced. Through case laws, the civil liberties afforded to citizens have been broadened and several classes of people finally enjoyed their rights. Through time, democracy has been strengthened over the land. However, recently, through issues on national security, terrorism, and other predicaments faced by the country, the spirit of democracy started to diminish. Furthermore, with the strengthening power of the government against its citizens, the essence of democracy has begun to vanish. Hence, despite adherence to the democratic form of government, in real essence, the country is not acting like it is a democratic country. Democracy Democracy, in its political definition refers to â€Å"a political system based on the participation of the people. It foresees, among others, the separation of powers among the judiciary, the legislative and the executive authorities, as well as free and regular elections† (Spring 91). In its cultural definition: Democracy is a way of living together and an expression of respect for other people; it must be rooted in a genuine democratic culture, a culture of debate and dialogue. A critical attitude should therefore be developed in children and young people towards the institutions that govern a State or regulate life in a given society. (Spring 91) In its political sense, the main feature of democracy is the direct participation of the people in governing the citizens and the country through election. Aside from this, it reiterates the principle of checks and balances or the existence of independent three fundamental branches of the government namely, the executive, legislative, and judiciary. From its political definition, the political system is only established; however, it is lacking of the rights or benefits guaranteed to the citizens. Hence, political architects have inculcated human rights protection by adding a cultural definition of democracy. Meanwhile, democracy has primarily rooted from the ancient Greeks. The word democracy was coined from the Greek word â€Å"demokratia† (Cartledge n. p. ). The â€Å"demos† means â€Å"people† while â€Å"kratos† means â€Å"strength† or â€Å"rule† (Cartledge n. p. ).. Hence, the word demokratia literally means â€Å"people power† (Cartledge n. p. ). The literal definition of the democracy is in consonant with the definition of government propounded by Abraham Lincoln in his popular statement, â€Å"government of the people, by the people, and for the people† (â€Å"The Gettysburg Address†). Development in the Concept of Democracy Through time, the concept of democracy has developed. Aside from being a political concept, democracy has also become a moral concept. As a political concept, democracy provides standard of societal management; while as a moral concept, democracy provides moral principles that should govern the conduct of the citizens as well as the government and its agencies (Kelly, 103). The moral concept of democracy does not stem out from any religious belief or governmental pronouncement; instead, it rooted from the concept of democracy alone (Kelly, 104). Among the guarantees of democracy in its moral concept includes â€Å"respect for freedom† of every individual in the society (Kelly, 104). It also demands equal treatment of every citizen and encourages them to openly participate in the government either by engaging in governmental affairs, evaluating government actions or taking part in forming public policies. This clearly correlates in the modern understanding that freedom is strictly linked in the democracy. Hence, a democratic country that has no respect on freedom is not democratic at all. Factors that Diminishes Democracy in the Country After the tragic 9/11 terrorist attack, the threat on democracy began to emerge. The threat to national security has become the license of the government in enacting and adopting laws and policies that have adverse effects on the democracy being enjoyed by the citizens. Through the 9/11 attack, the government has acquired power in order to implement rules and regulations beyond its legal duties. On the part of the government, its acts are justified by the need of the county and the citizens to be safe from further attacks and to fully eliminate any shadows of terrorism. However, as an effect, civil liberties are compromised. The exercise of freedom has gradually been regulated and limited. Furthermore, several fundamental freedoms exercised in a democratic country have been curtailed. These drastic changes in the lives of the American citizens have been perceived to be incompatible with the democratic principle adhered to by the country. It was reiterated that the laws and governmental systems being implemented today are a clear proof that United States is no longer a democratic country. It is noteworthy that the government quickly responded to the 9/11 terrorist attack through the enactment of the â€Å"Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001† or the USA Patriot Act (Scheppler 5). Through the Patriot Act, many remarkable non-democratic government actions and regulations have been imposed. This in turn, is an obvious disrespect to the cultural and moral concept of democracy that has been prevalent in the country throughout the years. Primarily, the USA Patriot Act aims to provide the law enforcement and intelligence community with tools and legal grounds to eliminate terrorism (O’Neal). Through the USA Patriot Act, the federal government has been empowered to intrude into the privacy of a citizen suspected to be a terrorist or corroborating with terrorists. The intrusion to privacy that the Act allows takes in many forms. Title II of the USA Patriot Act laid down the enhancement of the surveillance capabilities of the federal law enforcers. By virtue of the Act, communications, wire, oral and electronic, can be intercepted by the authorities (â€Å"USA Patriot Act of 2001†). In intercepting communication, the authorities are empowered to trespass into the communication tools of the target or suspect beyond legal boundaries. For example, the authorities can wiretap the phones of a target individual. Through the advancement in technology, roving wiretapping has been allowed by the Act. Traditionally, authorities are required to obtain first a court order to tap the phone (O’Neal). However, in roving wiretapping, the authorities can now tap a person or organization by monitoring the calls made and received by the target (O’Neal). In here, it can be observed that the extent of wiretapping that has originally been approved by law has expanded because all calls can be allowed to be monitored. In addition, the â€Å"pen register† and â€Å"trap-and-trace device† have allowed the authorities to collect telephone numbers dialed to and from the communication device used by the suspected terrorist (O’Neal). Remarkably, e-mail communications are also covered by the pen/trap provision of the Act because e-mail has been considered today as the most effective and fastest tool being used by the terrorists. Through these devices, the authorities can look into the Website and IP addresses visited and used by the target. Furthermore, the libraries and other public and private establishments visited by the target can also be intruded by the authorities in order to gather information about the activities done by the former. Through these extended power of the federal government in surveillances in communication, the privacy of the target is put at stake. The Act also enhanced the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act which was focused on foreign investigations (Bidgoli 225). Through the expanded meaning of terrorism, an alien has been denounced of his constitutional rights as he is considered as an agent of foreign power (Bidgoli 225). Hence, an alien is subjected to the provisions of the USA Patriot Acts. This system also means that information obtained through surveillance can be shared between agencies for further investigation of the target. The surveillance capability of the authorities under the USA Patriot Act also extends to information gathering. Notably, through the Act, the authorities can make searches and seizure against the dwelling place and objects of the target. The authorities can secretly make searches through the house or office of the target through a search warrant which is secretly obtained from the court. The Fourth Amendment has laid down the requirements of a valid search warrant. Through the precedents, it can be observed that the requirement for probable cause is strict. But the USA Patriot Act has limited such requirement by considering only a significant reason in obtaining a warrant. It is also noteworthy that the proper serving of a warrant is disregarded by the Act. According to the valid warrant procedure, the person against whom the warrant has been issued should be notified and be present during the search. This is to ensure that the things and areas specified in the warrant are correctly searched and seized. However, in the procedure adopted by the Act, such essential procedure has been denied and clearly violated. Another focus of the Act is the enhancement of the money laundering law. The Act has laid down effective measures in preventing, deterring and prosecuting money laundering. It is believed that the financial needs of terrorists have been backed by money laundering activities. Few of the measures include monitoring of suspicious bank transactions, seizing illicit funds in foreign banks, and issuing regulations to be adopted by banks in recording account owners and receivers. In addition, the Act also required financial institutions to use networks to facilitate communication between them and the authorities with regard to illicit and suspicious transactions or accounts (â€Å"USA Patriot Act†). These activities have been made possible through the Act requiring the national and international financial institution to cooperate and comply with the policies. However, such activity has been criticized because of violation of the confidentiality of the bank records of account owners. In addition, immigrants are also covered by the Act because stricter policies have been implemented in airports and in immigration offices. Immigrants are also treated differently as they are scrutinized stringently. Aside from that, the Asians and Arabs are usually subjected to discrimination because they are primarily linked to terrorism because of their racial affiliations. In accordance with the expanded power of the federal authorities, many fear that such power may be used in focusing in monitoring, harassment, and intimidation of political dissidents and thousands of harmless immigrants rather than concentrating on curtailing terrorism (Etzioni 9). Many civil societies are also alarmed by the government’s curtailment on the citizen’s civil liberties. Meanwhile, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) described the government as having an â€Å"insatiable appetite† due to its secrecy, lack of transparency, disregard of equality under the law, and â€Å"disdain and outright removal of checks and balances† (Etzioni 9). All of these changes in the government system after the 9/11 terrorist attack have only led in the diminishing spirit of democracy in the country. The political concept of democracy has also been endangered in the country through the USA Patriot Act. As has been said, one fundamental feature of democracy is the checks and balances. Meanwhile, the principle of checks and balances is understood as the separation of the three branches of the government namely; the executive, legislative, and judiciary. Each of the three branches is bestowed with unique duties and responsibilities. Having unique duties and separate jurisdiction, the three department works independently from each other. However, each serves as a watchdog for any act of encroachment or violation of the principle committed by any of the branches. In the present setting, the principle of checks and balances is clearly violated by the executive branch, particularly during the administration of George W. Bush. Remarkably, right after the 9/11, America initiated the global war against terrorism which has led to war against Iraq and Afghanistan. It can be remembered that several human rights violations have been recorded due to the wars. Civilians have suffered the pain more than the real enemies. Although America has been a firm supporter of human rights, the Bush administration refused to be bound by human rights standards (Weiss, Crahan, and Goering 113). During the height of war against terrorism, President Bush had been acting beyond legal constraints as he used the countries foreign policies and executive power to adopt policies that are perceived to require the approval of Congress. Apart from that, the government wanted to create an international order that places no limits to its actions despite the Constitutional checks and balances premise (Weiss, Crahan, and Goering 113). It has been clear that human rights have been compromised in place of fighting terrorism. The government was seemed so paranoid about the security that it almost forgot that is operated within a democratic country. Clearly, the activities and changes in the country have considerably limited the meaning of freedom. In addition, security has been used as a license in imposing policies that clearly violate the principle of checks and balances. Having violated both the cultural, moral and political concepts of democracy, it is clear that democracy has been diminishing in the country. Conclusion Generally, democracy is understood as a system of government where citizens have freedom and human rights. In its strictest concept, it is a political system where people have direct participation in the government and checks and balances is observed. The meaning of democracy was further strengthened by inculcating the freedom and rights of the citizens. As mentioned, democracy means power of the people. Hence, it would be useless of people have power but lack the freedom to enjoy and use such power in a way that the majority will benefit from it. It is also undeniable that since the early days, America has played an important role in spreading democracy and in fighting for human rights. America also initiated the adoption of various laws protecting human rights. However, because of the threat against its national security, its views about democracy have drastically changed. The imposition of the USA Patriot Act has remarkably limited the freedom enjoyed by the citizens. At the same time, the Act has significantly intervened with the fundamental rights of the citizens. The intrusion into the private dwellings of the citizens has eliminated the legal boundaries that separate the rights of the citizens and of the state. With the remarkable changes in the society and the massive violation of civil liberties, it is clear that democracy has also been gradually diminished in the country. Works cited Bidgoli, Hossein. The Internet Encyclopedia. New York: John Wiley and Sons, 2004. Cartledge, Paul. â€Å"The Democratic Experiment.† 01 January 2001. BBC. 16 April 2009 . Etzioni, Amitai. How Patriotic Is the Patriot Act? Freedom versus Security in the Age of Terrorism. New York: Routledge, 2004.

Contributions of Carbon Dioxide Removal as Geoengineering Solution to Climate Change

Contributions of Carbon Dioxide Removal as Geoengineering Solution to Climate Change Abstraction Climate Change I will hold an overview and a speedy treatment on clime alteration as an debut for the paper. Geoengineering Technologies When it comes to environmental direction you can non acquire any longer banal today than a focal point on clime alteration, nevertheless, I wish to undertake this subject in a alone manner. While I plan on discoursing green engineering and C caps, the chief focal point of my paper will be on clime technology besides known as geoengineering. Geoengineering, in my sentiment, is frequently a forbidden subject as many see human accommodation of the natural order to be avoided at all cost. I feel this to be a subset of the realistic false belief. The fact of the affair is that if worlds expect to stabilise the clime, they need to take a more active function on it. Geongineering engineerings chief end is Geoengineering engineerings fall under two classs: ( 1 ) Carbon Dioxide Removal ( CDR ) which â€Å" reference warming effects of nursery gases by taking C dioxide from the ambiance † ; and ( 2 ) Solar Radiation Management ( SRM ) which, on the other manus, â€Å" address clime alteration by increasing the coefficient of reflection of the Earth ‘s ambiance or surface† ( Bracmort, K. , & A ; Lattanzio, R.K. , 2013 ) . Such illustrations of CDR are carbon gaining control and segregation ( CCS ) , ocean fertilisation, enhanced weathering, and afforestation while illustrations of SRM are aerosol injection and space-based reflectors. While SRM methods purpose to cut down sunshine being absorbed by our ambiance, CDR methods work to take nursery gases from the ambiance or pin down it before even making the ambiance. Solar Radiation Management if to be cardinal manner of extenuating milliliter, utmost temperature displacements as a effect best deployed with other policies merely needed for utmost high clime sensitiveness cheap, fast, imperfect, but non proven. Warm really rapidly alterations may change precipitation forms saving of nursery gases other than co2 -less sum of uv radiation striking which might widen atmospheric life-time of ghg other than carbon dioxides recreation from more lasting solns unknown effects of large-scale geoengg Enhanced Albedo Features.Increase coefficient of reflection or reflective power of certain surfaces to direct more solar radiation back to the infinite. Limit temp addition. Targets are urban countries painting roofs and paved countries white with estimated monetary value of several billion dollars, but save money on energy costs Drawbacks may include uncomfortable blaze, concern for aesthetic entreaty of roof or paved country, loss of coefficient of reflection if unmaintained, addition in energy costs in colder climes due to cut down good winter clip heat additions, diminution in the usage of asphalt, a crude oil residue. Other techniques include modify workss thru familial engg to augment reflective power. Will take a decennary to be avaiable. Covering oceans with brooding surfaces to heighten reflective power. Impact in aquatic life? Cloud lightening. Dispersion of cloud-condensation karyon in clouds on continual footing. Satellites will mensurate cloud reflective power and determine sum of chilling needed. Could be halted rapidly and clouds could return to normal in a few yearss – long term deductions non yet known. Marine could be disturbed. Current position of the engineering.Surface types, application countries and costs under probe. USDOE NNSA reported lessening in edifice heat and chilling costs by around 70 % yearly on reroofed parts. Long term deductions non yet known. May disturb Marine wildlife.. ocean currents, precipitation forms sum of chilling needed and where.. research needed west seashore of North America could be†¦ Aerosol Injection Features.Under certain fortunes, usage of SRM techniques may take to ozone depletion. Dispersal of aerosols, such as H sulphide or sulfir dioxide in stratosphere to reflect solar radiation. Annual cost several billion of dollars depending on sum location typr of atoms injected seeks to copy big volcanic eruptions, cut down planetary temperatures S release are random with chilling impacts. It have to happen several times over decennaries or centuries to countervail radiative forcing by ghg short effectivity possible benefit: reduced or reversed sea and land ice runing, every bit long as aersols dont settle on or darken snow and ice hazards could be drought in Africa and Asia – loss in agricultural productiveness, ghg impact from transporting aersol to site of injection, stratopheric ozone depletion, weakening of sunshine for solar power, less bluish sky, obstructor of Earth-based optical uranology. Current position of the engineering.No testing yet. Space-based Reflectors Features.Shields in infinite to cut down sum of incoming solar radiation Effectiveness of shield vary on design, stuff, location, measure and care types suggested are lunar glass, aluminium yarn gauze, metallic reflecting gumshoes, refracting discs Proposed locations: low Earth orbit and Lagrange point 1 ( L1 ) four times further from Earth than the Moon Current position of the engineering.Theoretical Proposal. Requires extra survey to measure shield costs, execution ( transit, care demands, shield disposal ) ecological impacts Global or regional degree? A Shield to to the full change by reversal planetary heating May costs a few trillion dollars, implemented over 25 old ages Carbon Dioxide Removal Carbon Capture and Sequestration Features. Current position of the engineering. Afforestation Features.Afforestation is fundamentally seting of trees or tree seedlings. It is considered one of the safest manner to battle clime alteration. Restoration of wildlife and reduces the rate of eroding Current position of the engineering. Ocean Fertilization Features.Besides called Fe fertilisation, it is one of the oldest geoenginering engineering to battle clime alteration. The chief end is to straight or indirectly put Fe in to the deeps of the ocean to temporarily hive away C where it can non be exchanged with the ambiance. Stimulate phytoplankton growing by 30 % – 3 oceans Procedure involved in biological production, decomposition, and alimentary cycling in the unfastened ocean ( cite, day of the month ) . 1. Air and sea exchange C dioxide. 2. Phytoplanktons take up C dioxide to turn. 3. Zookplanktons and phytoplanktons respire C dioxide. 4. Fragments of disintegrating phytoplanktons and faecal pellets from zooplanktons both contain C. 5. Individually or in aggressions, called Marine snow, these carbon-containing atoms sink. 6. Merely 5 to 50 % of the entire C from bloom reaches 100 metres. About 2 to 25 % sinks between 100 to 500 metres. 7. Microbes decompose atoms further. Zooplanktons eat some of this stuff. 8. Possibly merely 1 to 15 % of the original C in surface Waterss sinks below 500 metres. 9. Carbon dioxide from organic affair respiration recirculates back to surface Waterss. 10. Zooplankton migrate up at dark to feed and endorse to the deepnesss during the twenty-four hours. Current position of the engineering. Merely two experiments conducted til 2007 to describe in 2nd stage. Efficiency of phytoplankton to sequester C is low. — makikita natin yun SA procedures explained above. Enhanced Weathering Features.Weathering/disintegration of silicate and carbonate stones to take carbon dioxide. Current position of the engineering. Discussion The Future of Carbon Dioxide Removal Recent Developments Costss and Economic Potential Some can be done with merely a comparatively little sum of money and you can see fiscal payback†¦ The two cheapest geoengineering engineerings are afforestation and aerosols. The former is safe but it merely has limited effectiveness and will wait for at least 20 old ages to cognize its effects on clime alteration. The latter is what they call the ideal method because it is really effectual and inexpensive at the same clip. However, it can besides present unwanted side effects, therefore, has high degree of uncertainness. Environmental Risks and Restrictions Every thing has a hazard of its ain. If miscalculated, these geoengineering engineerings may present some great impact to the environment, may hold negative effects, and/or may be deemed uneffective. It may non be avoided since there are besides external factors like natural alterations, catastrophes, and even alterations in carnal behaviour. The lone inquiry is, is this the hazard we are willing to take? Decision Mentions Bracmort, K. & A ; Lattanzio, R.K. ( 2013 ) . Geoengineering: Administration and Technology Policy ( CRS Report ) . Retrieved from Federation of American Scientists web site: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R41371.pdf Caldeira, K. , Bala, G. , & A ; Cao, L. ( 2013 ) . The scientific discipline of geoengineering. The Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Science 41, 231-56. Department of the Interior: 10.1146/annurev-earth 042711-105548 Hartman, J. , West, A.J. , Renforth, P. , Kohler, P. , De La Rocha, C.L. , Wolf-Gladrow, D.A. , Durr, H.H. , Scheffran, J. ( 2013 ) . Enhanced chemical weathering as a geoengineering scheme to cut down atmospheric C dioxide, supply foods, and extenuate ocean acidification. Reviews of Geophysics 51, 113-149. Department of the Interior: 10.1002/rog.20004 Kriegler, E. , Edenhofer, O. , Reuster, L. , Gunnar, L. , & A ; Klein, D. ( 2013 ) . Is atmospheric C dioxide removal a game modifier for clime alteration extenuation. Climatic Change 118, 45-57. Department of the Interior: 10.1007/s10584-012-0681-4 Lackner, K.S. , Grimes, P. , & A ; Ziock, H.J. ( n.d. ) . Capturing C dioxide from air. Retrieved from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.netl.doe.gov/publications/proceedings/01/carbon_seq/7b1.pdf Tables and Figures

Current Cultural Trends And Their Impact On Organizational Communications Essay

Communication in organizations depends on the type of organization and the setting of the workplace. The question is which management style should be used although it is safe to say that the best style of management is participatory. Current cultural trends have come into the picture and effectiveness is seen as the result when these trends are considered important in an organization. This is so because ensures that the output generated by the work of an employee is of high quality. When these cultural trends are noted well, employees are given tasks and the manager makes sure that the employees understand their duties and responsibilities. The employees are also given the chance to make their own decisions and impart their ideas and opinions in the process (All Business, Undated). Cultural trends affects management since it is the circle in which the management goes around. It is critical as the type of management, especially in a teamwork setting, would largely depend on the existing social culture between the employees. The manager will have a hard time adjusting if the social culture among his employees is not good, meaning the relationships are damaged or broken (Veser, 2004). Being efficient in the light of these cultural factors means producing outputs with little wasted effort because the communication is free-flowing. It is important, therefore, that employees are given good communication venues in order to come up with quality on the output they produce. Sometimes, an employee may be efficient but not effective. In being effective, one should could focus and concentrate on the particular work they have to do and dispose the clutter. It is better to be effective and produce good results than be efficient with poor outputs (Lifetools, Undated). Yes, quantitative techniques can be used to motivate employees in such a way that these tools will help them imagine or picture in their minds what the goal or strategy is all about. An organization is highly affected by cultural trends. It is particularly significant when there is an attempt to propose a change in the whole organizational system. Culture directly affects innovation and development in an organization. Culture serves as the foundation where the organization is laid upon, it is a conglomerate of ideas and beliefs of employees which nurtures the existence of the organization (Forte, 1998). Stakeholders can both help or pull down an organization. It could do either way, enhance the company or organization’s reputation or damage it. It should be ensured that there is a good existing relationship between the stakeholders or shareholders, otherwise the company will be in trouble. The advantage of managing this kind of relationships is that there will be various ideas when it comes to setting the direction of the company. A multi-stakeholder organization has a democratic and participatory environment. The setback is when these shareholders do not agree with each other and may result to split up. A borderless organization widens the scope of the management system, therefore there is the possibility that the management might be spread too thin in the organization. It will be harder to direct and lead a group that has wider, or worse no defined boundaries. It is necessary that management can focus and not flow to too many directions. It will be hard to gather the members as the organization grows, along with the different viewpoints and opinions (Jarillo, 1995). Going global has both positive and negative effects in an organization. It will be an advantage since the organization or company will be known in a wider arena and could even establish a network of stakeholders. Kentucky Fried Chicken, the fast food that sells chicken and is known all over the world, is a classic example of a success story of going global. But this may not always be the case as going global has its setbacks and weaknesses. For one, there is the possibility that the organization or business may not be accepted in another place other than its place of origin. Another would be that if the new branch or franchise does not perform well, it would carry the original name of the organization and would destroy the reputation of the original organization as well (Starks 2001). When members of a dominant culture become suspicious of subcultures and seek to isolate or assimilate them, it is often because the members of the dominant culture are making value judgments about the beliefs and practices of the subordinate groups. For instance, most Anglo-Americans see the extensive family obligations of Hispanics as a burdensome arrangement that inhibits the individual freedom. Hispanics, in contrast, view the isolated nuclear family of Anglo-Americans as a lonely institution that cuts people off from the love and assistance of their kin. This tendency to view one’s own cultural patterns as good and right and those of others as strange or even immoral is ethnocentrism. An individual becomes aware of his worldview as an individual comes as one applies his values in different situations. An example to illustrate this is when we see that most Americans today accept and approve racial equality in the workplace. Yet relatively few extend the value of racial equality to their family lives. They would not approve of a member of their own family marrying a person of another race or adopting a child of another race. Authors Sue & Sue (2002) have unique answers to communications across different cultures. Its focus on counseling racial populations as well as other diverse organizations makes us understand norms and cultures and its interrelationships. Their views have made clinicians take a second look at individual roles in understanding varied populations. People become aware of their worldview as an individual when they examine their values in relation to their environment. Values provide the framework within which people in a society develop norms of behavior. A norm is a specific guideline for action; it is a rule that says how people should behave in particular situations. Like values, norms can vary greatly from society to society. Polite and appropriate behavior in one society may be disgraceful in another. Norms also vary from group to group within a single society. From a societal perspective, choices and actions of an individual in U. S. society are highly influenced by norms. According to Turner and Killian’s emergent-norm theory, people develop new social norms as they interact in situations that lack firm guidelines for coping. These norms then exert a powerful influence on their behavior. The new norms evolve through a gradual practice of social exploration and testing. The crowd begins to define the situation, develop a justification for acts that would in other circumstances seem questionable. In this way, new norms may emerge that condone violence and destruction, but still impose some limits on crowd behavior (Turner and Killian, 1972, p. 21). Norms and values are resources for communication. They help us evaluate our past, interpret the present, and plan for the future. Can you think of two examples each of evaluating the past, interpreting the worth of the present, or planning for the future that do not involve implicit values and norms you use in everyday life? How so and why to each? New norms evolve through a gradual process of social exploration and testing. One or more people may suggest a course of action (shooting obscenities or hurling bottles, for example). Other suggestions follow. The crowd begins to define the situation, to develop a justification for acts that would in other circumstances seem questionable. In this way, new norms may emerge that condone violence and destruction, but still impose some limits on crowd behavior. The emergence of new norms, Turner and Killian argue does not mean that members of a crowd come to think and feel as one. Although it may appear to outsiders that a crowd is a unanimous whole, some participants may just be going along to avoid disapproval and ridicule. All these kinds of crowd action depended not just on the other people around but on the patterns of social organization by which people were both motivated to join the crowd and organized within it. One of the common sources of loss of motivation in the workplace is the presence of difficult employees (Darby 15). Employees are usually very sensitive with poor performers that are not given attention or sanctioned in the workplace (Blades, 1967). The presence of poor performers and the presence of problem employees usually affect the working environment and thus bosses should be able to improve the situation of the work environment in order to make working a positive experience for all. At the core, one of the important steps that should be employed is the ability of the manager or leader to identify the problem immediately. One of the key methods of problem identification is constant communication with the subordinates. It is very important to recognize that the differences in personalities in the workplace are really a major cause of conflict (Stanley 6). This means that the manager should always assume that there is always a tendency for conflict to arise. Even employees themselves are aware that conflicts are already occurring. In this particular scenario, the structure is that each technical team that handles technical support concerns of customers is headed by a team leader or manager. The role of the manager is to handle escalated concerns and the performance of the agents or staff. There is a problem of communication between the agents and the supervisor. The supervisor is having some problems with the performance of the agent and he handled this through massive sanctions against absenteeism and heavy corrective actions against minor offenses. The manager used a rather punitive system of motivating the employees, which the employees disliked because this adds to the already stressful job of handling technical problems of customers. The agents are also not very open to the manager regarding their problems because of his tyrannical method of leadership. The agents also viewed their manager as lacking technical skills and therefore do not really understand their line of work and the stress that is attached to it. Thirdly, there is an internal conflict between employees because they believed that some non-performers appeared to be more favored by the manager. The employees accomplishments are not recognized while their little mistakes are always emphasized. The manager should inculcate the recognition of higher level of needs of the employees. Glen (41) believes that motivating employees is really a difficult task because people have different sources of motivation. It is however very important for managers to never behave in a ‘demotivating’ way. According to Glen (41), the manager may not be able to motivate their people always, but the manager will always have a way of killing the source of motivation. To illustrate his point, he pointed out that in a technical company, it is very important that managers always consult their team. In computer companies, managers are always viewed to be less knowledgeable regarding technical areas. Inability to incorporate ideas from the team would generally make them feel that their talents are neglected. The technical expertise of the team should always be consulted because of the need to recognize their technical talents. The manager therefore should be responsive to the specific needs of the technical staff and understand the difficulties of their job and open the communication lines for solution. It is essential that in technical teams, where basis of membership is through technical skills, that the talents be recognized. The employees’ ability to make full use of their talents and skills would help them to maintain high level of performance. In this case, it is a recognition that motivation, does not merely come from rewards, but may also come from higher level of needs such as the need to have capabilities recognized and be utilized towards their full potential. On the issue of conflict, tt the core, one of the important steps that should be employed is the ability of the manager or leader to identify the problem immediately. One of the key methods of problem identification is constant communication with the subordinates. It is very important to recognize that the differences in personalities in the workplace are really a major cause of conflict (Stanley 6). This means that the manager should always assume that there is always a tendency for conflict to arise. Even employees themselves are aware that conflicts are already occurring. Secondly, there is a need for the manager to have an effective conflict resolution method. In most cases, it would be important that the manager provides individual conflict resolution (Stanley 6). This mean providing employees themselves is given the opportunity to resolve their own issues in order to empower them. The ability to resolve issues and conflicts help the employees in improving their level of confidence. Ability to resolve problems through their initiatives is one point of motivation for employees in the workplace. One way of illustrating an effective consolidation of cultural trends is illustrating the IBM example. IBM Institute for Business Value asserts that increased competition, changing workforce demographics and a shift toward knowledge-based work are requiring companies to place an increasingly higher priority on improving workforce productivity (Lesser and De Marco, Abstract). Companies rely on their Human Resources (HR) function to go beyond the delivery of cost-effective administrative services. They require the HR to provide expertise on â€Å"how to leverage human capital to create true marketplace differentiation. † Facing these challenges, many HR organizations have been actively revamping to more effectively deliver the strategic insights their businesses require. IBM’s study entitled â€Å"A New Approach, A New Capability: The Strategic Side of Human Resources† shows that competing in today’s environment requires companies to focus on building a more responsive, flexible and resilient workforce (p. 2). To do so, organizations must do a more effective job of sourcing talent, allocating resources across competing initiatives, measuring performance and building key capabilities and skills. HR organizations that provide strategic guidance on these issues can become proactive drivers of organizational effectiveness, rather than simply a supporter of these efforts. The HR organizations’ attempt to resolve the growing needs of quality recruitment by a new process of human resource hiring. This process is described as â€Å"positive discrimination in order to select the best† (Beardwell, 84). Others call it â€Å"affirmative action. † This refers to the concrete steps that are taken not only to eliminate employment discrimination but also to attempt to redress the effects of past discrimination (87). The underlying motive for affirmative action is the principle of equal opportunity, which holds that all persons with equal abilities should have equal opportunities. Those who obtain employment can be sure that the company values them. Unfortunately, this also means rejecting people who smoke, are clinically obese, have high debts, participate in high-risk sports, and the like. In addition, the company also seeks permission from employee to access various databases, which include: criminal records; credit bankruptcy and mortgage defaults; vehicle license checks; educational records; curriculum vitae and applications search. The company believes this is a modern, sophisticated human resource approach because it is able to compare employee’s profiles against the national average for physiological, psychological, social and demographic factors. Affirmative action affects small businesses in two main ways. First, it prevents businesses with 15 or more employees from discriminating on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, and physical capability in practices relating to hiring, compensating, promoting, training, and firing employees. Second, it allows the state and federal governments to favor women-owned and minority-owned businesses when awarding contracts, and to reject bids from businesses that do not make good faith efforts to include minority-owned businesses among their subcontractors (Encyclopedia para 2). The interpretation and implementation of affirmative action has been contested since its origins in the 1960s. A central issue of contention was the definition of discriminatory employment practices. The discriminatory employment practices as listed by the Department of Administration and Equal Opportunity (p. 1) include: gender identity, sexual orientation, race discrimination, sex discrimination, sexual harassment, religious discrimination, national origin discrimination, disability discrimination, and retaliation. Contrary, the prevailing employment practices include three things. First is the counseling and litigation with respect to employment discrimination (race/sex/disability/sexual harassment), wrongful termination, wage and hour issues, trade secrets/unfair competition, privacy in the workplace, workplace violence, executive contracts, affirmative action, use of independent contractors, OSHA, union organizing and other issues pertaining to hiring, promotion, compensation and discipline (Fenwick and West LLP, p. 1). Second is the representation of large and small employers in class actions and individual cases in state and federal courts and in arbitrations and mediations throughout the country. Last is the regularly advise employers concerning personnel systems, policies and practices that includes, among others: handbooks, policy manuals and drug testing programs, employment and independent contractor agreements, terminations, severance plans and releases, management training (sex harassment avoidance, EEO, rightful discipline: managing for high performance), protecting trade secrets and confidential business information, wage/hour and leave of absence compliance, disciplinary investigations, legal compliance audits, and whistleblower and retaliation claims (para 2 and 3). As the interpretation of positive discrimination evolved, employment practices that were not intentionally discriminatory but that nevertheless had a â€Å"disparate impact† on affected groups were considered a violation of affirmative action regulations (Encyclopedia of Small Business, section 2). Another central issue was whether members of affected groups could receive preferential treatment and, if so, the means by which they could be preferred. This issue is sometimes referred to as the debate over quotas. In the next level of new HR approaches is the care it provides for the employees’ well being. Companies are now committed to the health and wellness of its employees and this extends to the employees’ families. Companies do recognize that all employees from time to time have personal problems. If unresolved, these issues may affect emotional and physical health which ultimately could affect job performance. It is now within the HR’s goal to provide a confidential resource to all employees and their families to help address these issues before they interfere with well being. According to a review of the Gallup Studies by Harter, Schmidt, and Keyes (2002, p. 4), the well-being of the employees is to the best interest of the communities and organizations. They believe that the workplace is the significant part of an individual’s life that affects his/her life and that of the community. The average adult spends much of his/her life working. He/she spends much of his waking hours in work or about one third. Thus, the well-being of the employees is the best interest of the employers who spend substantial resources hiring employees and trying to generate products, profits and maintain loyal customers. Studies show that happy and productive employees clearly link emotional well-being with work performance (p. 2). In sum, work is a pervasive and influential part of the individual and the community’s well-being. It affects the quality of the individual’s life and his/her mental health and thereby can affect the productivity of the entire community. The ability to promote well-being rather than endanger strains and mental illness is of considerable benefit not only to the employees in the community but also to the employers’ bottom line. This aspect should be greatly taken care of by the companies’ HR organizations (Cornelius, p. 142). Concern for the well-being of employees extends to the environment. The company provides background music to help eliminate stress, it plays messages to staff throughout the day for the same reason: to relax people. Messages such as â€Å"stay calm†, â€Å"help colleagues†, â€Å"remember, the company is our community† are all designed for positive reasons. Employees also receive electronic messages by email. The company argues that this â€Å"thoughtfulness† ensures high morale. Video and audio surveillance ensures that staff feels secure. Other companies believe that the physical environment is also important to wellness and productivity. Fragrant aromas such as evergreen may reduce stress; the smell of lemon and jasmine can have a rejuvenating effect. These scents are introduced to all work spaces through the air- conditioning and heating systems. Scents are changed seasonally (Marx, Section 6). Some companies also believe that music is not only enjoyable to listen to but can also affect productivity. Thus, some companies continually experiment with the impact of different styles of music on an office’s or plant’s aggregate output. Personal computers deliver visual subliminals such as â€Å"my world is calm† or â€Å"we’re all on the same team. † Other companies have dietitians who guide the companies’ cafeteria and dining room. They make sure that the companies serve only fresh, wholesome food prepared without salt, sugar, or cholesterol-producing substances. Sugar- and caffeine-based, high-energy snacks and beverages are available during breaks, at no cost to employees. In a practical example of work productivity and employee performance, let us cite Dominion-Swann’s new workplace. Dominion-Swann (DS) is a technology-based company that respects its employees and whose knowledge is the core of its technological enterprise. It cares about its work community and value honesty informed consent, and unfettered scientific inquiry. Its employees understand company strategy. They are free to suggest ways to improve the company’s performance. It also offers handsome rewards for high productivity and vigorous participation in the life of its company. Committed to science, this company believes in careful experimentation and in learning from experience. Since 1990, DS has instituted changes in our work environment because it faced an uncertain future. Our productivity and quality were not keeping pace with overseas competition. Employee turnover was up, especially in the most critical part of our business- automotive chips, switches, and modules. Health costs and work accidents were on the rise. Its employees were demoralized. There were unprecedented numbers of thefts from plants and offices and leaks to competitors about current research. There was also a sharp rise in drug use. Security personnel reported unseemly behavior by company employees not only in our parking lots and athletic fields but also in restaurants and bars near our major plants. In the fall of 1990, it turned to SciexPlan Inc. , a specialist in employee-relations management in worldwide companies, to help develop a program for the radical restructuring of the work environment. There was instability while the program was being developed and implemented. Some valued employees quit and others took early retirement. But widespread publicity about the company’s efforts drew to the program people who sincerely sought a well-ordered, positive environment. DS now boasts a clerical, professional, and factory staff which understands how the interests of a successful company correspond with the interests of individual employees. To paraphrase psychologist William lames, â€Å"When the community dies, the individual withers. † Such sentiments, we believe, are as embedded in Western traditions as in Eastern; they are the foundation of world community. They are also a fact of the new global marketplace. DS’ four principles that underlie work-support restructuring are worth studying for every HR organizations who want to implement structural changes and get valued results. It consists of the following: 1. Make the company a home to employees. Break down artificial and alienating barriers between work and home. Dissolve, through company initiative, feelings of isolation. Great companies are made by great people; all employee behavior and self-development counts. 2. Hire people who will make a continuing contribution. Bring in people who are likely to stay healthy and successful, people who will be on the job without frequent absences. Candor about prospective employees’ pasts may be the key to the company’s future. 3. Technical, hardware-based solutions are preferable to supervision and persuasion. Machines are cheaper, more reliable, and fairer than managers. Employees want to do the right thing; the company wants nothing but this and will give employees all the needed technical assistance. Employees accept performance evaluation from an impartial system more readily than from a superior and appreciate technical solutions that channel behavior in a constructive direction. 4. Create accountability through visibility. Loyal employees enjoy the loyalty of others. They welcome audits, reasonable monitoring, and documentary proof of their activities, whether of location, business conversations, or weekly output. Once identified, good behavior can be rewarded, inappropriate behavior can be improved. These principles have yielded an evolving program that continues to benefit from the participation and suggestions of the company’s employees. This is a good support system to the promotion of the employees’ well-being. Providing support for employees with caring responsibilities in the workplace makes good business sense. Creating a positive work atmosphere that encourages employees to speak out is also another important factor. Benefits can be gained for both the employer and their employees. Companies nowadays attract qualified employees by providing a progressive and motivating work atmosphere. This is because such environment is an excellent opportunity for employees to grow professionally in a professional yet fun and casual environment. According to Susan Heathfield, HR Consultant, about 16 percent of the people responding in a recent Human Resources Forum poll have no performance appraisal system at all (p. 1). Supervisory opinions, provided once a year, are the only appraisal process for 56 percent of respondents. Another 16 percent described their appraisals as based solely on supervisor opinions, but administered more than once a year. The main reason is that performance appraisal is universally disliked and avoided. She concludes that, after all, how many people in an organization want to hear that they were less than perfect last year? How many managers want to face the arguments and diminished morale that can result from the performance appraisal process? This might be certainly true. Performance Management, however is geared towards employee development and organizational improvement (para 3). HR organizations should really implement the most effective and succinct measure of employee performance. Performance management begins when a job is defined. Performance management ends when an employee leaves the company. Between these points, the following must occur for a working performance management system. Heathfield suggests the following Performance Management and Development as the best initiatives to have a systematic appraisal in the general work system. It includes defining the purpose of the job, job duties, and responsibilities; defining performance goals with measurable outcomes; defining the priority of each job responsibility and goal; defining performance standards for key components of the job; holding interim discussions and provide feedback about employee performance, preferably daily, summarized and discussed, at least, quarterly; maintaining a record of performance through critical incident reports; providing the opportunity for broader feedback; using a 360 degree performance feedback system that incorporates feedback from the employee’s peers, customers, and people who may report to him; developing and administering a coaching and improvement plan if the employee is not meeting expectations (para 5). Based on the new tasks of the HR organizations as the company’s business partner, there are five key capabilities that are needed to make a strategic contribution to the organization (Lesser and De Macro, p. 6 ). These include: analytical skills; business acumen; consulting skills; change leadership skills; and the ability to share knowledge across the HR organization. HR organizations need analytical skills to develop evidence-based recommendations and effective business cases. They must understand how data flows through various HR and financial systems, and how to obtain and analyze human capital data that supports their recommendations. HR organizations also need to be proficient in developing models and scenarios that determine the cost and impact of changes in HR policies and procedures. Participants in our study found that they were unlikely to have sufficient depth in these ills within their own HR organizations and considered them among the most difficult to develop. HR organizations also need business acumen in the form of understanding their business unit’s strategies and operations. To serve as true advisors to the business, they must understand the dynamics of their industry, as well as the day-to-day activities performed by different functional units and how individuals within the units are evaluated. They also have to understand the needs of customers and partners to better see how their human capital decisions impact stakeholders beyond the organizational boundaries. Many organizations reported that this in-depth knowledge of the business was often in short supply within their HR groups. HR organizations will have to serve as lead advisors to their business units on human capital issues. To do so, a number of consulting skills are essential, including the abilities to build trusting relationships with senior executives, diagnose organizational problems and determine root causes, develop recommendations and business cases, and create action plans. Further, they must have the strength and conviction to deliver difficult messages to senior leaders, even if those messages may prove to be unpopular. HR organizations also need to be effective at driving change through the organization. This includes soliciting and initiating participation from individuals within the business unit to support change efforts, aligning recognition and performance measurement systems to support desired activities, and effectively communicating with multiple stakeholders. HR organization not only needs to provide expertise to the business units they support, they also should share knowledge across the HR organization (Mello, p. 138).

Country of origin effects in developed and emerging markets Research Paper

Country of origin effects in developed and emerging markets - Research Paper Example ttempted to relate the consumer’s ethnocentrism and materialism as well as their value consciousness with respect to the existing or developed market as well as the emerging markets (Sharma 2011). In order to confirm his hypothesis, the author conducted surveys on both developed and undeveloped markets. This included a number of consumers who were selected from a certain company. The results indicated the significance of looking beyond the consumer ethnocentrism and looking deeply on other psychological effects on consumer’s views on the imported goods. Despite the fact that this article significantly contributes in understanding the consumer behavior patterns, it suffers some limitations. The shortcomings are based on the methodology applied in the study as well as the study findings. One of the main weaknesses of this article is that it uses only one type of the product which is passenger cars. However, consumers may display varying characteristics depending on different factors. Therefore, consumers from a certain market for instance the emerging market may display a different perception on different products based on differences in tastes and preferences. Therefore, this study fails to cover such factors. It would have been advisable for the study to consider different products in order to compare whether there is any significant influence of the type of the product on the consumers’ perception on the imported products. This lowers the reliability of the findings. The study also examined employees from a single company. This information was then used in generalization. This is another weakness of this article. It would be better if the study could have considered a more diverse sample. This would have been more reliable in generalizing the findings on the entire population. By considering a monotonous population, this lowers the power of the general study to generalize on the population. For instance, the sample contain of people from similar social

Small business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Small business - Essay Example Purpose - ABS & Associates is a new brand within the United Kingdom consultancy industry that intends to provide fast, reliable accounting, technical and managerial assistance to local, national and international businesses. With ABS & Associates, we sell solutions & results. Our Objective: ABS & Associates short term objectives are to generate a margin of profit, grow at a challenging and manageable rate, and make a margin of 12% within the first few years of operation. Our long term objectives include ascending to the top five positions in the industry, become a leading auditing and consulting brand within Europe, capturing about 30% of the European and the UK consulting industry market share. The timing for setting up this business venture is the best. In the present phase of rampant accounting and auditing scandals coupled with stringent and ‘difficult to interpret and understand’ regulations set forth by regulatory bodies, the global financial crisis, ABS and Associates business consultancy intends to give prospective clients just the services they much desire to sail out of these huddles. The present niche market, existing demand from prospective clients, as well as personal desire nested at college to one day start our auditing and consulting business, the procurement and existence of highly professional and qualified Accountants at our reach and scope to support the business, give this venture a bright future. The proprietor of this business ABS, has masters degrees in Business Administration, is a Certified Public Accountants with thirteen years of professional experience in the Accounting/Auditing business. My desire of quality services and access to a pool of talented team of Accountants and Consultants will provide ABS & Associates with what it takes to make this venture an extremely successful one. (Bourdieu et al, 1984). In the light of our vision and mission statements, the growing reputation of the

International Marketing Mix Tutbury Crystal Case Study

International Marketing Mix Tutbury Crystal - Case Study Example A family owned business that churns out the highest quality of cut glass and allied products that come under the lifestyle category, Tutbury is a name to reckon with. Given its history and the prestige attached with owning pieces produced by this company, it would be a tough job to market this effectively in a region where little would be known about this exclusive brand. In this regard, the paper will present factual based strategies throughout in order to maintain a strong context in terms of the branding and marketing mix that would suit this company the most. This will be done with a strong focus on the operational realities within which the company has been functioning in Europe so as to find a suitable model for application in the country of our choice. The basic people this plan caters to are the stakeholders. Following are the points pertaining to Anukul Designs and its operations: The demand for Dipti's products grew and there was a market for interior decoration. By 1993, Dipti was busy undertaking several turnkey projects for complete furnishing of guest houses, hotels, as well as the Governor's residences in the state of Orissa. In this regard, it is imperative to loosely define international marketing before moving on. International marketing is that sphere of activities that is aimed at introducing a product in a country or group of countries with the aim of creating sales and some amount of awareness regarding the brand. (Bennett et al, 2002) Therefore, for a lifestyle product like crystal, what better than a country where lifestyle solutions are becoming a rage and the norm of the day - India. New Product Development: Range of Furnishing Items by Anukul Designs Table 1. Where Are the New-Product Opportunities' Product type Advantages Disadvantages Examples True break- through High profit High failure rate High R&D expense Epilady hair remover Betamax VCR Selectavision by RCA Lactaid (enzyme for break- Ing down milk sugar) Adaptations of existing product Greater chance of success More predictable sales patters Low R&D cost Small piece of large pie Less prestige Can become very Competitive IBM personal computer Colgate baking soda toothpaste Healthy Choice frozen Dinners Line extensions Presold audience Keeps brand fresh and new Inferior product can dilute core brand Healthy Choice soups Compaq laptop computer Haagen Daz frozen yogurt Sony walkman variations New use No new manu- facturing costs Incremental sales opportunity Arm & Hammer bakingsoda as refrigerator

Multiple alleles and sex chromosomes Assignment

Multiple alleles and sex chromosomes - Assignment Example A person’s blood type is determined genetically. It is imperative that a thorough understanding of the DNA is ascertained for better grasping of the multiple alleles’ direct contribution to the inheritance of ABO blood systems. Histones allow the packaging of DNA and condense it into chromatin. Histones are highly alkaline proteins with a positive charge while DNA is negatively charged (Pollard and Earnshow, 2007). Accordingly, Histones and DNA will interact with the Histones acting as spool materials in which the DNA can attach itself. Histones and the DNA will form the nucleosomes, which on further packaging and separation by linker DNA’s, result in chromatins. Further condensation of the chromatins and other proteins will result in the chromosomes. Chromosomes can, therefore, be defined as a carrier of genetic information as it contains highly packed DNA and Histones (Pollard and Earnshow, 2007). DNA consists of nucleotide substances that are further comprised of deoxyribose, phosphate groups and the four bases. DNA is generally a linear sequence of ACTG bases that define the physical traits in an organism. DNA can be viewed as a double helix, which when separated produces two parallel linear strands of the nucleotide letters where each strand is complimentary to each other (Pollard and Earnshow, 2007). A interlocks with T while G interlocks with C. The exact order of the four bases along the molecule represents the coded genetic information. ... Genomes are the genetic information defining each organism, which is determined by the genome sequences depending on how the four bases are aligned (Pollard and Earnshow, 2007). It is also important to note that apart from genes, a genome also contains other DNA sequences that do not encode genes. The human body has three billion pair of DNA, 28000-34000 pairs of genes and 23 pairs of chromosomes (Pollard and Earnshow, 2007). This translates into a myriad sequences which could explain the wide scope of genes. Genes are the basic and structural and functional units of genetics; therefore the basic unit of inheritance that is composed of DNA and RNA. They control the cells by directing the formation of proteins. An allele is an alternative form of a gene and it represents the different version of a similar gene (Pollard and Earnshow, 2007). A gene is comprised of two alleles and each individual carries only two alleles of each gene, which exhibit a dominant recessive relationship. The dominant allele will prevail over the recessive gene and is responsible for the resulting phenotype. Recessive alleles will, therefore, not affect the phenotype of the individual. A pair of allele resulting from the various combinations of alleles can be referred to as the genotype while the resulting physical trait as a result of the genotype is called the phenotype (Pollard and Earnshow, 2007). Multiple alleles arise where there are three or more different alleles of a particular gene in a gene pool. This results into polymorphism where two or more phenotypes exist in a given population (Pollard and Earnshow, 2007). The occurrence of multiple alleles can be attributed to difference in the non-coding DNA found between genes rather than