Empowerment

Likewise, Pfizer is a Pharmaceutical firm that has recently been questioning on their ethical behavior and standards. The organization was unsuccessful on their takeover bid on British company Estranged, due to their recent scandals on animal testing, testing drugs on children and bribery Issues to resolve their Illegal castles (paying 60 million to settle their charges). Each business should take Into consideration their ethical standards and corporate social responsibility (CARS) .

Therefore, It Is Inevitable to malting sustainability In order to achieve good public Image and reputation within their stakeholders. This report will examine the ethical behavior including the Corporate Social Responsibility of Pfizer, MASS and Shell stakeholders needs and wants. The company uses science as a mechanism to create ways of establishing standards on their safety, quality and values which results in ways of expanding and producing medicines.

The vision of the company is to prevent the wellbeing of its stakeholders and prevent illness through consistent research of bringing up treatment and cures. Historically, the firm existed more than 150 years cooperating with government, healthcare worker and coal communities to support and develop and acquire inexpensive and dependable healthcare throughout the globe . According to the company website, Pfizer main objective is to “strive to set the standard for quality, safety and value in the discovery, development and manufacture of medicines” .

The company Mission Statement is therefore to become a market leader in terms of their patients, customers, colleagues, investors, business partners, and the communities where they operate. In other words, it is the firms objective to strive, achieve and sustain its leading place as the world’s premier research-based pharmaceutical company. According to Business Organization and Environment study, ethics is known as the moral Judgments about right and wrong that can affect a firms decision making policy (Business organization and environment, 2014).

Behaving in an ethical manner brings significant benefits towards any com[any which includes Pfizer. For example, they may: Increases the attraction of the firm’s products due to added value, thereby boosting sales and profits. Good reputation towards its main stakeholders, I. E. Good public image with their customers. Employees are likely to stay with the business, reduce labor turnover and therefore increasing productivity. Attracting new employees to work for the business, thereby reducing recruitment cost and facilitating to recruit most talented employees.

Avoiding legal institutions charges and huge fines such as Greenback, politicians and environmental groups. Improves external Audit Reporting; hence, attracting investors which keeps the firms share price high, thereby protecting the business from takeover. In a mission objective Pfizer indicated that the company is dedicate to humanity’s quest for anger, healthier, happier lives through innovation in pharmaceutical, consumer, and animal health products. Yet, reports showed that the firm were not in absolute achieving their mission objective.

To achieve these mission objective set by the company, Pfizer should maintain its ethical standards which includes values of Integrity, Leadership, Innovation, Performance, Teamwork, Customer Focus, Respect for People and Community and meeting the needs and wants of its stakeholders. Stakeholders are those who can affect or is affected by an organizations, business strategy or project. Some theorist suggest that stakeholders have the power to impact an organization or a project in some way. ‘People or small groups with the power to respond to, negotiate with, and change the strategic future of the organization’ (Eden and Ackermann 1998: 117).

They can be internal stakeholders such as employees, managers and shareholders (interested individuals working within the company) or external stakeholders such as government, suppliers, customers, local community, media, pressure groups, banks and association or third party (interested individuals/ group that do not own or work within the company). Likewise Pharmaceutical researchers, Pfizer have internal and external stakeholders. One of the key internal Director/owners of Pfizer. In contrast the key external stakeholder are Environmental Health Intelligence Analyst, Pressure groups and customers. Pfizer Internal and External stakeholders and their interest Internal Stakeholders External Stakeholders Director/owners: interested in the profitability and success of the company Research Scientist: interested in promotion and higher salary, rewarded by Innovating medicine to cure developing diseases Pfizer Managers:- Interested in regressing the long term strategic direction of company success. Trustees (Internal Auditors): Interested on the meeting the legal obligation and regulation including the ethical rights of the company.

Board committee members: Interested on the profitability and future progress of the company. Shareholders: interested in the profitability and the performance of share price. Local Authority/council (government): Interested on the profitability of the company to measure the taxable profit. Governments also review whether companies follow the legal framework or else Pfizer will have the consequence of Penalty fees. Environmental Health Intelligence Analyst: Interested on the companies level of greenhouse gas and environment impact. Customer (Buyers/Supplying Pharmacy, e. G. Boots Pharmacy): interested on the quality of the product with the right price. Suppliers: interested on the credit level of the company and liquidity ratio (gearing ratio). Quality assessors: Interested in indemnify the impact of the products including the negative side effects Pressure group/Special interest groups:- Interested on the ethical aspect of the nature products e. G. Trade unions Wider public health workforce such as WHO World Health Organizations):- Interested on the public beneficial aspects in designing the best cure and legal framework that Pfizer should follow and abide.

Media:- interested in the scandals and corporate social responsibility of the company. behavior encourages firms to abide the social and environmental responsibility from the corporate sector legislation. Consumers sense of feeling is to naturally assist businesses that behave in an ethical manner. Thus, this can boost the firms public image particularly at a time when the crisis has damaged consumer confidence and the levels of trust in business. Furthermore, Pfizer can promote their product/service as an environmental friendly product in which it has the potential to attract consumers.

Hence, in terms of public image CARS promotes an added value towards the product unique selling point CARS requires engagement with internal and external stakeholders so it enables enterprises to anticipate better and take advantage of fast-changing expectations in society as well as operating conditions. This means it can also act as a driver for the development of new markets and create real opportunities for growth. Furthermore, through CARS; enterprises can significantly contribute to the European Union’s treaty objectives of sustainable development and a highly competitive social market economy.

CARS underpins the objectives of the Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, including the 75% employment target. Responsible business conduct is especially important when private sector operators provide public services. Consequently, the implication of business ethics is an essential part towards Pfizer success. In other words, the firms key performance could significantly be affected without adapting planned ethical business. However, behaving in an ethical manner requires a sufficient Corporate Social Responsibility in which the company would object to the associated costs.

In other words, Pfizer would have to consider the costs for environmental programs, employees training scheme an environmental internal auditors fees including efficient waste management programs. In addition, businesses encounter time consuming particularly firms that carry research and development such as Pfizer. Furthermore, Pfizer may consider CARS as a possible negative perception in terms of shareholders interest. Traditionally, firms had a primary focus of maximizing hardheaded value. Thus Pfizer may require to balance the financial expectations of company owners (I. E. Warehouses) with the social and environmental requirements of other stakeholder groups. Several shareholders may be satisfied to invest in companies that operate with high integrity while other shareholders may not approve of high risks and expenses operating under CARS guidelines. A strategic approach to business ethical consideration and CARS is becoming increasingly important to a company’s competitiveness. By implementing an adequate ethical practice, the pharmaceutical firm can benefit in terms of risk management, cost paving, access to capital, customer relationships, human resource management, and innovation capacity.

Due to Ethical Pressure groups such as Greenback and Animal Rights it is imperatively necessary to practice and behave in an ethical manner. Moreover, the digital age facilitated the use of media for stakeholders. Hence, stakeholders are aware of the firms movements. Therefore, ethical pressure groups which includes the media have a significant power towards the business success in terms of fulfilling the mission objectives. Likewise many pharmaceutical companies, animal testing, testing drugs on children and Pfizer takeover as a consequence delay drug development occur according to Star chief executive (Schuman, D. 2014). M, Marks and Spencer Retailer Moral agent is a theory that identifies firms such as Marks and Spence’s as “capable of acting with reference to right and wrong” (Defenestration, 2014). All firms act as moral agent; hence, that can be held responsible for behavior or decisions. When M&S is deemed as moral agent, it does not necessarily mean that they are successfully making moral decisions, it means that they are in a category that enables them to be blamed for their decision making strategies. In other words, if someone is unable to be blamed, then they do not have rights.

Therefore, being a moral agent means that they can be held responsible for their decisions and behaviors, whether they are good or bad. Marks & Spencer (M&S) is one of the Auk’s leading retailers of clothing, foods, homeward and financial services, serving 10 million customers a week in over 300 1-J stores. The Company also trades in 30 countries worldwide, and has a Group turnover in excess poof billion. M vision is to be the standard against which all others are measured’. Although this does not mention CARS directly, it implies that M&S want to provide a CARS standard that others find it difficult to match.

This is reflected in their strong commitment to CARS, there is no need for a definition of terms as they refer to CARS principles by the name of ‘Corporate Social Responsibility. The front page of the CARS Websites has a prominent graphic that states: ‘Everything we do is influenced by the notion of good corporate behavior – we work hard to meet our social, environmental and ethical responsibilities. ‘ (M. , 2012). M have obligation on Moral Agent towards their takeovers and individuals interested or affected by their decision making.

M provided a CARS (Corporate Social responsibility) report that recognizes itself as being more ethically responsible. These characteristics identifies M as a unique moral agent towards their stakeholders. However, M CARS report and website is above average in terms of the amount of categories it covers, the quality of information available and the objectives associated with each category is limited. Hence, It has been subjective issue towards M as an ethical stance. In other words, there is no lid prove since there is limited audit report on M in terms of behaving ‘Ethically.

Ethical companies fully embrace the Carroll pyramid, and their corporate governance and ethical stance permeate the whole organization, this is clearly shown in the vision statement, the website and the CARS report groups states the:- Governance Framework, Code of Ethics, Memorandum and Articles, Share Price Reports, Results & Presentations Press Releases Shareholder Information Financial Calendar Debt Investors ADDERS Reference:- (M&S. , 2014) Empowerment involves giving the power for employees to make strategic decisions.

Usually empowerment is suited with large organization (multinational companies) such as M&S in which it supplies an environment that fosters future growth. Likewise the cooperate Ltd. Sharing power is one of the key strategies M&S adapt by focusing on the long-term benefits of improving the function of all the various aspects of the firm. Employee involvement is a philosophy practiced by M&S that gives their employees stake in decisions that directly affect their Jobs, while employee empowerment is a corporate structure that allows non-managerial employees to make autonomous decisions.

Each one is a distinct practice and is usually mutually exclusive to one another, though the benefits can be similar. The main benefits of employee involvement and empowerment are enhanced morale, more productivity, healthier coworker relationships and creative thinking. M&S adapts Job enlargement, training, access to information, improved morale, increased productivity, team cohesion, innovation, contractual responsibilities, equal opportunities etc.

The empowerment improves Morale which involves employees in decisions and policy changes that directly affect their Job, while empowering employees to be more autonomous, greatly improves morale at large. When employees are treated as an asset and their input is given consideration, confidence increases among every team member, where M&S could identify significant gains in different facets such as productivity and loyalty. Employee involvement and empowerment translates directly into increased productivity fostering a stronger work ethic.

Many discussions of business empowerment revolve around identifying ways to encourage employees to become more autonomous. M&S might, for example, empower employees to make more decisions themselves, as opposed to obtaining permission first from previous, with a goal of developing independent thinkers and self-starters who can rise through the ranks to become qualified managers. Although employee empowerment is largely designed to give each employee autonomy, it likewise fosters better relationships between employees and with their managers, because employees that are given more independence tend to form better working relationships.

Each sees the other as mutually benefiting from their working relationship. In addition, more self-governance in the workplace lessens dependence on managers and supervisors and redirects that reliance laterally to co-workers. Employee empowerment helps to cultivate innovation. Employees that have a stake in the company growth and sustainability will offer more ideas and problem-solving solutions when obstacles arise. Moreover, as the employee meets particular challenges or finds improvements in policies, procedures or products, it will foster growth and more critical and imaginative thinking.

Employees may see a particular issue differently than a manager and be able to think of a creative solution, which may not be considered in a closed circle of managerial staff. Shell Global Pl. The Royal Dutch Shell is one of the biggest multinational petroleum companies, with its basis of origin in Dutch and Britain. It was considered as one of the world’s largest corporation by the Fortune in 2009. From its inception in 1907 till date, it has been able to emerge as a successful petroleum country reigning in the British markets. Engage their business across borders, maintaining their core principles and values across all subsidiaries, in all countries. The company has been proactive in outlining a competitive strategy, increasing the product profile and entering newer markets at the right time. Shell PL had been successful in maintaining its corporate image and its profitability for many decades. The proactive measures that were taken by the management gave Shell a strategic position in the global market.

However, a recent scandal of over-statement of oil reserves was a shock for all. When the company’s first admitted its conspiracy which was confirmed by a subsequent report that was presented to the world, it startled everybody. The company’s stock Jolted and completely hampered the corporate image of the company. It was alleged that the top directors of the company had been lying to the stakeholders. Such a negative act would release negative sentiment towards the public. The governors were lying to the public, developing a lack of trust in the stakeholders.

The goodwill that was generated over the years, maintained by the business and ethical performance of the company, was brought down the drain with the development of this news. The head of exploration had also admitted that the as much as 2. 3 billion barrels of oil had been over-stated and may not be with the company anymore. This was a serious threat to the company’s sustainability as it also brought down the reserves of he company, increasing the overall risk of the company. Such a mall-practice also revealed a lack of accountability in the management of the company.

A massive cut in oil reserves after reviewing the actual amount of oil reserves present in the company led to dropped ratings of the company. Standard and Poor’s dropped the rating of the company from triple A to AAA plus. The chairman of the supervisory board at that time, Dad Jacobs, said they believed that the structure of the company had provided them with great opportunities in the past. However, with the recent events unfolding t would be appropriate to look into the matter and review the management structure in such a way that accountability increases. Shell employees share a set of core values – honesty, integrity and respect for people. We also firmly believe in the fundamental importance of trust, openness, teamwork and professionalism, and pride in what we do” (Royal Dutch Shell Pl. , 2005). When it comes to performance, the company has been striving to achieve brilliance in their products and functions, so that they remain the winner. Their excellent business performance is rooted in history and till today they have been able to maintain a standard.

Although some hiccup in their way to excellence have hampered the growth, they have emerged as winners in the long run. As their consumer became user-friendly, they moved towards strategies to implement more environmental friendly operations throughout their company. All this while, they have been proactively foreseeing the trends in consumer wants and the needs of the economy and acting accordingly (SHELL GLOBAL, 2014). The company has been able to maintain its corporate image after the downfall of 2003. The multinational corporation has employed sound marketing techniques to increase profitability efficiency.

They have not forgotten the environment in their further improvements in their systems as and when necessary, they would be able to sustain their position in the market. Their proactive approach towards business and marketing will lead them into the future as victorious. Therefore, shell would require to employee an internal audit to proactively avoid scandals, thus improving their ethical standards. Invariably, it is necessary to prepare ‘true and fair’ view of the financial statements in order to avoid miss-relationship between shareholders and owners.

As a consequence, the firm should invest huge asset towards improving the ethical standards while maintain a good relationship with their employees. Shell respects the human rights of their employees and provides them with good and safe working conditions, and competitive terms and conditions of employment. To promote the development and best use of the talents of their employees; shell should improve their ethical code of conduct while create an inclusive work environment where every employee has an equal opportunity to develop his or her skills and talents.

In addition the firm should encourage the involvement of employees in the planning and direction of their work by empowering and delegating decision making. This would also require investment on training costs, internal auditor, ERP (Enterprise Resources Planning) and monitoring costs. Shell Code of Ethics states that they avoid conflicts of interest between their private financial activities and their part in the conduct of company business.

Where such assurances are not possible, a discussion of the reasons why and a description of specific incidents must be noted. Follow-up reports that document actions taken are also required. Shell offers a good model, but ultimately third party review and certification of company procedures for rigor and effectiveness are essential for code credibility. Such efforts are already underway in the monitoring of fair labor standards. Commercial success depends on the full commitment on improving these ethical code of Shell. Therefore, the company should refurbish its Business principles and ethical code, including a dedication to sustainable development.

This requires energy without damaging the environment and threatening natural systems. In addition the company should maintain its integrity towards its shareholders by avoiding over-stating or under-stating profits. Nonetheless, their commitment to the cause of green marketing has won them laurels in the form of investor and consumer inference. Such a strategy should be adopted as all over the world, there is increased awareness relating to the cause of environment. Already, the oil companies are questioned for hampering the natural resources of the world. Dedication to green marketing would help the company negate these allegations to a certain extent.

Another example is the processes that are utilized in the company Toshiba. In 2001, the company introduced an innovation program that was supposed to improve the quality of their products and processes. The new innovation program helped Toshiba to save up to three million pounds globally and over ten million pounds in United Kingdom. In 2003, about 159 ideas were implemented, if truth to be told there is a welter of suggestions for Toshiba that the company has to place a limit to them.

Another element implemented by Toshiba is sharing the ideas. A number of innovative projects have been resulted from conveying the employees from various departments. After every 6 months, the company offers an innovative awards and trophy presented to the each employee. Moreover, the company pays a bonus of up to ten thousand pounds to the employees who are involved in the project that have the biggest impact. (K. Harigopal, 2006).

Three of the examples mentioned in this paper indicates 6 elements that are compulsory to entail employees in the innovation procedure therefore making sure that the possession of the ideas remains with its originator, top level buy-in, persuading the employees to work mutually in implementing and developing new ideas, offering optimistic encouragement process, constructing a clear and well defined process, lastly to make sure whether the program is running within the organization consistently or not. (Gary D. Holt, Peter E. D. Love & L. Jawahar Nesan, 2000)

One simple way to start employ empowerment at workplace is to build up a suggestion box in which employees can give suggestions to the company devoid of any fear. As far as for the managers, they should consider those suggestions and implement them on a serious note. A forum can also be build where the suggestions given by the employees get a response in return. Additionally, managers of the organization can hold a meeting once in a month with the employees to give open ideas.

(Alex Blyth, 2004). In order for the betterment of the company, at least one suggestion should be considered plus for the employees to feel that they have also helped the company in some way. If the ideas are not approved then it emphasizes that all power is for the managers of the organization. In any organization, employee empowerment can work properly if the managers take open ideas from the employees and implement them. If not than employee empowerment does not exist in the organization.

Bibliography

Employee Retention (2007), Employee Empowerment, Accessed on November 13, 2008 from http://retention. naukrihub. com/employee-empowerment. html K. Harigopal (2006), Management of Organization Change: Leveraging Transformation, India: SAGE Publications Jay H. Heizer & Barry Render (2000), Operations Management: Principles of Operations Management, Prentice Hall Tricia Ellis-Christensen (2008), What is Employee Empowerment, Accessed on November 13, 2008 from http://www. wisegeek. com/what-is-employee-empowerment. htm Gary D. Holt, Peter E. D. Love & L.

Jawahar Nesan (2000), Employee Empowerment in Construction: An Implementation Model for Process Improvement, 6, 47 – 51 Alex Blyth (2004), Can Employee Empowerment produce Business Benefits? Ethical Corporation, Accessed on November 13, 2008 from http://www. ethicalcorp. com/content. asp? ContentID=2433 Robert Heller (2005), Employee Empowerment: Management giving Power to the People, Thinking Managers, Accessed on November 13, 2008 from http://www. thinkingmanagers. com/management/employee-empowerment. php Sanjay Menon (2001), Employee Empowerment: An Integrated Psychological Approach, 50, 153 -180

Women empowerment in India is a challenging task as we need to acknowledge the fact that gender based discrimination is a deep rooted social malice practiced in India in many forms since thousands of years. The malice is not going to go away in a few years or for that matter by attempting to work at it through half-hearted attempts. Formulating laws and policies are not enough as it is seen that most of the times these laws and policies just remain on paper. The ground situation on the other hand just remains the same and in many instances worsens further.

Addressing the malice of gender discrimination and women empowerment in India is long drawn battle against powerful structural forces of the society which are against women’s growth and development. Women empowerment in India: The need for ground level actions We have to accept the fact that things are not going to change overnight but because of this we cannot stop taking action either. At this juncture the most important step is to initiate ground level actions however small it might seem.

The ground level actions should be focussed towards changing the social attitude and practices prevalent in the society which are highly biased against women. This can be initiated by working with the women at the root level and focusing on increasing women’s access and control over resources and increasing their control over decision making. Further working on the aspect of enhanced mobility and social interaction of women in the society would positively influence all round development and empowerment of women in India.

Women Empowerment in India: Reality Check at the Ground Level

Today there are lot of things that is happening in the name of women empowerment in India and lot of resources are spent in this direction. Keeping this in mind it is crucial to have a reality check on what is happening on paper and what is the actual ground situation. It is worthwhile to ponder on the fact that we are one of the worst in terms of worldwide gender equality rankings.

In India women are discriminated and marginalized at every level of the society whether it is social participation, economic opportunity and economic participation, political participation, access to education or access to nutrition and reproductive health care. A significant few in the society still consider women as sex objects. Gender disparity is high, crimes against women are increasing and violence against women is all time high and in most cases go unreported. Dowry related problems and death is increasing and is profoundly manifesting in the urban population.

Workplace harassment of women is another phenomenon which is rapidly increasing as more women join the workforce. Early age marriages are still taking place in large numbers and the number of girls going to school is abysmally low. Moreover majority of the girls who join the school drop out by the age of puberty to get married and live a life of drudgery. Female feticide and infanticide is starring the nation as one of the biggest social crisis. All this is happening despite the fact that there are number of programmes and policy initiatives that is being run by the government and other bodies.

The year 2001 was declared as the National policy for empowerment of women. So it is time to ask the question whether we are moving in the right direction and where are we in terms of the paper actions and the actual ground realities. Women empowerment in India: Discrimination against women in all walks of life One of the major aspects of women empowerment in India is to change the attitude of society towards women. The problem in India is that the society never worked on the premise of gender equality from a long-long time.

Atrocities and discrimination against women is a way of daily life in Indian society. There is an attitude which still prevails in India where women are considered to be only worthwhile of household activities and managing the children. The veil system, child marriage and dowry are testimonies to this truth. Women have never been part of the mainstream society in India and they are still considered as a great liability. If we just look at the sex ratio it will show the plight of women in India. It is the lowest at around 933. Female literacy is just 54. 6 % as per 2001 Census. In Indian parliament and assemblies women have never represented more than 10%. Most of the women workers in India are outside the organized sector. Administrators, managers, professionals combined together and technical workers on the other hand are the lowest at 2. 3% and 20 % respectively. Now these figures gives the real truth of the actual mentality of the society which has restricted women, marginalized women and discriminated against women quite openly. Can we achieve women empowerment in India with these alarming and dismal figures? djustments and sharing of gender based specific performance or tasks which are Women empowerment in India: Ending gender inequality and gender bias It has to be understood that unless we change the basic social attitude which cultivates gender inequality and gender bias we would not be able to achieve much in terms of women empowerment in India. There are many laws and there have been many amendments that have been carried out to end the discrimination against women and empower women in all aspects of life.

Gender equality is enshrined in Indian constitution and constitution empowers the state to end the gender based discrimination against women. There is reservation of seats in local bodies and municipalities and another law is being envisioned for reservation in parliament. But the sad part is that all these laws and amendments have become toothless as the fundamental problems lies in the attitude of the society which is highly biased against women. Now what is the solution? The only solution is for women to come together as a unifying force and initiate self empowering actions at the ground level.

Let it happen even if it is at a slow pace initially but it must happen despite however small the initial steps might look like. So the connection is very clear. Once we work towards self empowerment through small number of infinite actions, we become aware of the ground realities and then we can think about taking further recourse towards changing the mindset of the society which fosters gender inequality and bias. When we talk about women empowerment in India the most important aspect that comes into the mind is the attitude of the society towards women. Women are still considered as burden and liabilities.

They are also considered as properties. These kinds of attitudes give birth to the evil of violence against women. Women empowerment in India is not possible unless violence against women is eradicated from the society. National Commission of women was created in 1992 and Convention of elimination of all forms of discrimination against women was ratified in 1993. Apart from the laws and policy formulations the violence against women can be only tackled through attitudinal change that need to take place in the family, in the society and the female members of the society as well.

Only this attitudinal change and proactive action against violence by every single individual will help in galvanising the slumbering structures of the government and society towards further concrete steps and action. Unless society accepts gender equality as a fundamental principle of human existence all efforts will only partially bear results. Gender sensitisation and gender training is primary need of the hour. The struggle of gender equality should be carried at every level and it should overcome the barriers of caste, class, race and religion.

Empowerment has been criticized since it leaves no one in particular accountable.

The goal of empowerment is to provide power to the individual. Each individual is trusted to make his or her own decisions regarding his or her life and work. In this way the individual is also provided with the opportunity to take responsibility for his or her own situation in life and work.

Empowerment of course has many levels. Politically, it means that each group of individuals within a society is given the same power and rights as all others. All sectors of society are for example allowed to vote, voice their opinions and follow political channels for change without the need to fear unreasonable persecution or other repercussions. In work, empowerment means that all individuals are allowed to apply for jobs where the likelihood of being accepted for employment depends on nothing except their qualification level. In life, empowerment means that each individual has the same rights to do the same things in society, i.e. enter public places, make use of public transportation, and the like.

In terms of accountability, I do not believe that the criticism leveled against empowerment is valid. Instead of only a single entity being accountable for the actions within the whole of society, every individual is now required to take his or her own responsibility for his or her own life and actions. Individual accountability means that responsibility for individual actions lies with the individual. Collective actions are accounted for by groups of people.

In this way accountability cannot be required only of leaders or other empowered individuals. Empowerment has the advantage of placing accountability at the location of every person taking certain actions. Indeed, this results in a more responsible society where fewer crimes are committed. Individuals know that certain actions will lead to certain consequences, and this knowledge leads to the accountability necessary to ensure a stable society (Dewettinck, Singh, & Buyens, 2003).

“We practice empowerment because we don’t expect our employees to leave their brains at the door.”

In the current workplace situation, a business is held to function much better when individuals are given the opportunity to develop to their full potential. Workplace empowerment then means not only empowering individuals to enter any workplace for which they adequately qualify, but also that they function as intelligent beings within this situation. Employees are given the power to think critically about the tasks they are assigned, in order to do these tasks to the best of their ability (Dewettinck, Singh, & Buyens, 2003).

Employees are therefore expected to think for themselves. This allows for much more creativity within the company. Leaders who empower their employees have the advantage of a large amount of creative energy to provide solutions to difficult problems. Sharing the power in this way therefore means that the collective company ultimately possesses greater collective power in the business world.

Furthermore empowerment within a company means that individuals are recognized for their ability to think individually and creatively. A possible drawback of this approach is that all employees may not be ready to use their individual thinking skills in order to provide the company with creative energy. Indeed, empowering individuals who are not ready could mean disaster for such a company, as incorrect, unmonitored decisions and actions could be very detrimental. It is therefore probably a good idea to first monitor all decisions for which an individual is newly empowered (St. John’s University, 1993).

Basically, empowerment within a company can greatly enhance its decision-making and creative power. Such empowerment has to be handled with great care, however. Individuals need to be monitored for their readiness to take responsibility within the company.

Leadership Style(s)that are related to the statement “Empowerment has been criticized since it leaves no one in particular accountable”.

There are mainly two leadership styles that may criticize empowerment for its apparent lack of particular accountability. These include the directing and coaching style of leadership. With all three of these, the ultimate responsibility lies directly with the leader, although the level of employee responsibility varies (Dewettinck, Singh, & Buyens, 2003).

Directing leadership entails a high level of directing and low supportive behavior. All employee actions are directly supervised by the leader, and the leader also takes responsibility for all the decisions. Low supportive behavior then means that the leader determines the tasks necessary, and seldom listens to input from employees. Employees are expected to do what they are told without critically examining decisions. Accountability is then directly with the leader, as employees are in a state of receiving orders and carrying them out without question.

In coaching leadership, there is a high level of both directive and supportive behavior. As in the directing style, the leader makes all decisions. However, this process contrasts with the first style, as employees are more actively included: decisions are explained, while the work is continually monitored. Feedback is also given on a continual basis, and employees are expected to learn from their work. All final decisions and responsibilities are with the leader, although employees are allowed to provide input (Chimaera Consulting Ltd, 1999).

The argument against empowerment here is then that too many decision makers within a company could defeat the purpose of a company to act as a single entity. There would be no overall leadership paradigm, where a single entity could take the responsibility for any problems. Empowerment in this way would then undermine the collective purpose of the company to conduct their business in a single-minded and focused manner.

Leadership Style(s) that are related to the statement “WE practice empowerment since we don’t expect our employees to leave their brains at the door”.

Leadership styles that support the above statements include the delegating and supporting leadership styles. The paradigm behind these styles of leadership is, as mentioned above, to make full use of the inherent and creative brainpower of each employee for the benefit of the company. While the overall directive and responsibility for unity still lies with top management, leadership is seen to a great degree as a partnership rather than an unequal power relationship.

The delegating style of leadership entails low directive as well as low supportive behavior. The leader provides each employee with tasks. The employee is then expected to carry these out individually, with responsibility, and with the minimum supervision. In this style, the ability of individuals to make critical decisions and carry out tasks unsupervised is recognized. Individuals are therefore empowered to make most decisions, because this leadership style recognizes their ability to do so. Low support means that monitoring is absent to a great degree, while employees are expected to implement their own thinking skills without necessarily first consulting the leader. Problems could arise when incorrect decisions are implemented. Nevertheless, the responsibility for such results then lie with the individual who made the decision, and not with the leader (Chimaera Consulting Ltd., 1999).

The supporting leadership style entails low directive, but high supporting behavior. This means that employees are still empowered to make their own, self-reliant decisions, but that they are encouraged and given feedback while doing so. The risk of faulty decision making is lower, as supporting leaders take a more active role than delegating ones. Other behaviors included in this paradigm are collaborating and appreciating actions. Individuals are therefore empowered and recognized for their brain power, but also monitored and led more actively.

Situational Leadership and Empowerment

Situational leadership is seen as the new leadership style in order to optimize business practice and revenue. Not only employees, but also leaders, are empowered under this paradigm. Situational leadership means to incorporated whichever leadership style is most appropriate for particular situations. This is done by monitoring the development level of employees. Situational leaders recognized that not all employees may be ready at all times to receive full empowerment, and leadership styles are adjusted accordingly. It is furthermore recognized that development may cease or even regress, and once again leadership flexibility is of the highest importance (Chimaera Consulting Ltd., 1999).

In terms of empowerment, situational leadership does not see this as the most important element of business. Although empowerment does play a powerful role, leaders recognize the changing nature of humanity, and adjust their leadership style accordingly. Employee development therefore plays a more important role than empowerment itself. Empowerment is only bestowed when employees are ready for it. Furthermore, the level of empowerment is carefully monitored in order to fit the development of the employee involved. If an employee is for example very developed in his or her assigned job situation, the delegation leadership style would be used. For employees just entering their profession on the other hand, a leadership style with a low empowerment level such as directive leadership would be used.

Situational leadership therefore incorporates all of the leadership styles as it suits each particular situation. Flexibility rather than empowerment is the most important element in situational leadership. This requires continual monitoring of each employee situation within the company. Through situational leadership then, each employee is monitored for the maximum benefit of both employees and management.

Women’s empowerment is defined as “women’s ability to make strategic life choices where that ability had beenpreviously denied them” (Kabeer 1999). Women empowerment now is often accredited as an important aim of international development policies, and many donor agencies include women’s empowerment in their development strategies.

Although empowerment is often conceptualized as a process (Cueva Beteta 2006; Kabeer 2001; Malhotra and Schuler 2005), most quantitative studies have been cross-sectional, comparing individual women with others in their communities or societies(Malhotra and Schuler 2005). In the development of indicators it is usually implicitly assumed that higher levels of empowerment represent a change from a pre-existing situation in which women have more limited power, influence, freedom, or autonomy; but such changes have rarely been measured using a common set of indicators.

Such studies can be valuable for cross-national comparisons (UNDP 1995; Ibrahim and Alkire 2007) and for documenting change over time, particularly at the macro- or meso- levels, but I would argue that the meanings and salience of empowerment indicators are likely to evolve over time both in developing interventions to foster women’s empowerment and in documenting empowerment processes.

A woman’s level of empowerment is defined here as a function of her relative physical mobility, economic security, ability to make various purchases on her own, freedom from domination and violence within her family, political and legal awareness, and participation in public protests and political campaigning(Sidney Ruth Schuler and Syed M. Hashemi,1994). Women empowerment in Bangladesh means giving women of the country the power to rule and govern their own lives, away from traditional and social constraints. The women empowerment movement in Bangladesh focuses on giving women the power and authority they need to be men’s equals.

The structures of sub ordinance that have keep women in the dark for so long must be eliminated. Women must have intellectual resources that can be acquired through good education and material resources that can be accumulated with the help of a solid job. Women in Bangladesh work in rural areas and do most of the manufacturing labor as well as most of the harvesting. This traditional practice needs to stop. The violence against women must also stop. Women need to gain a lot more power over their decision making process. They should not be seen as fertility machines that have only the goal of reproducing.

Most of the violence against women that takes place in Bangladesh is located in urban and rural households. Violence against women is an old, patriarch practice that focuses on establishing the balance of power in the family. The system of early marriage for girls is also a cause for violence against women because little girls are forced into new families from an early age. There, they have to work like adults. Bangladesh is a society that perpetrates the myth of the mother as a divine creature. Women who do not get pregnant are considered inferior because they can’t bear children.

This is a male tradition that limits the mobility of women all over the country. Global NGO’s that are working towards helping women get empowered in Bangladesh are still facing difficulties because Bangladesh is a closed society which allows very few changes. In Bangladesh, gender inequalities are a social construction that can be eliminated with time. History of Women Empowerment: Bangladesh accomplished independence from Pakistan’s economic exploitation, political and cultural suppression in 1971after a long period straggle.

Though the country has homogeneous culture, language, and social norm, but social hierarchy is divided by the gender, especially women, and classes of the society. Post-independence (i. e. after 1971), women’s organisations focused on a broad range of issues such as political empowerment, economic equality, legal reforms of customary and gender biased laws, violence against women, reproductive rights, etc. (Jahan 1995; Kabeer 1989). Then women are involved themselves in variety economic, household and nonproductive activities that always remains them under reported.

The real unexpected truth is that this types of work women always overlooked by women themselves. The main important thing is that women are the major forces behind the development of today’s civilization for extending their contribution without earning in the economic, political, social and cultural process of the modern civilization. However, women’s work always remains under reported; especially women’s non? market homestead based economic activities. Theoretical perspective of the study: Credible documentation of women’s participation in economic activities is problematic particularly for women belonging to farm households.

Several theoretical frameworks have been on board to explain issues surrounding women’s work and the sexual division of labor. Marxists have distinguished between productive and reproductive labor, economists have conceptualized the difference between market production and subsistence production and between wage and non-wage labor, and sociologists have drawn a line between work at home and outside home (Ferber 1982; Sachs 1988). Neoclassical economic tradition emphasized the activities undertaken to meet the demand of the markets. On that count, women’s work outside labor market has often been overlooked and excluded from economic analyses.

In recent years, empirical research have tried to document the extent of women’s participation in specific responsibilities, and their contribution to GDP, economic growth, household management, education, health & politics, but the argument regarding the complication of women’s task and the interconnectedness between different types of functions remains. This paper presents some empirical evidences of recent changes in women roles in socio-economic activities, and impact of women’s participation on their empowerment and the socio-economic conditions of the household.

A recent study on Bangladeshi women’s empowerment presents that the theoretical issues related to the measurement of women’s empowerment, and describes findings from a recent study in the villages exploring the current salience of indicators developed fora 1992 survey. The paper mainly focus on the types of social, economic, and political change that affect the measurement of women’s empowerment; propose and explain a new set of indicators for the rural Bangladesh setting; and discuss implications for measuring women’s empowerment in other settings. (Sidney Ruth Schuler, Farzana Islam, and Elisabeth Rottach,2011)

Another study of UNDP on women empowerment also addresses the conceptual and methodological issues related to women’s empowerment, the trends in women’s empowerment over the last 20 years in key areas such as education, health, economic and political participation, and finally the best practices of state and non-state actors in empowering women.

The trends in women’s empowerment over the past 20 years show that hile there have been gains in primary and secondary education, in political representation at the national level, and in waged labor, and a decline in fertility and maternal mortality, violence against women and HIV/AIDS continue to be endemic and these trends vary across regions and within countries urban and rural poor, ethnic minorities, and older and disabled women fare worse on all indicators with the current economic crisis reversing many gains ( Manisha,2010).

Statement of the problem

Are new articulations or pathways to women’s empowerment emerging as a result of these changes? What are the emerging pathways? This article is concerned with the question of women’s empowerment where empowerment is conceptualized in terms of multidimensional processes of change rather than some final destination.

These processes touch on many aspects of women’s lives, both personal and public: their sense of self-worth and social identity; their willingness and ability to question their subordinate status in society; their capacity to exercise strategic control over their own lives and to negotiate better terms in their relationships with others; and finally, their ability to participate on equal terms with men in reshaping society to better accord with their vision of social justice.

Each of these changes is important in itself, but it is through their mutual interactions that the empowerment of individual women is most likely to translate into broader struggles for gender justice and social transformation. The pathways through which processes of empowerment occur are neither predetermined nor random. They occur within specific contexts and are shaped by them. In particular, they are shaped by the gender-related structures of constraint which prevail in a given context.

Since these structures influence the pace, substance and direction of social change, as well as defining areas of ‘inertness’, pathways of empowerment are generally characterized by a certain degree of path dependence. They carry the imprint of the societies in which they occur.

Significance of the study

The socio-cultural situation and family structure of our country remains unchanged for centuries. Peoples belief and understanding have not changed despite of modernization and ongoing changes all around. Their life style still follows the pattern that has been followed by their ancestors for thousands of years.

As women become economically productive, their spheres of influence increase. Evidence from Demographic and Health Surveys suggests that in some developing countries much of the impact of women’s overall decision making power is concentrated at the community level. Across the developing world, studies show that women’s participation in community initiatives can have long lasting benefits for women. Considering this view, this study was aimed to assess the women decision making power or empowerment in the household issues. The findings of the study would help in.

Empowerment as delegation of power to someone has been a mechanism to increase personal and work life quality of woman in recent decades. Higher education and occupation is effective instrument to empowerment of women but culture role can’t be denied in this relation. Social norms can directly or indirectly limited women empowerment. In this article the role of higher education and occupation in psychological empowerment of women in Tehran has been quested. Current research is a descriptive-practical research. Education and occupation were independent variable and empowerment was dependent variable.

Random sampling was used and 600 questioners were completed by women in Tehran city. To determine validity of scale we took advantages of construct validity and factor analysis. The reliability index of Cronbach’s alpha was 0. 8945 and spearman correlation and structural equations model was used for statistical analysis. Results of research indicate th Objective of the study The aim of this article is to explore how processes of women’s empowerment and broader struggles for gender justice have played out in the specific context of Bangladesh.

By drawing on women’s own accounts of these changes, it seeks to provide insights into what empowerment might mean in this particular context. There is no exact equivalent for the concept of empowerment in the local language. However, when women talk about forms of change in their lives that they value, and when these changes undermine the prevailing structures of patriarchy in some way, they are providing us with their own highly articulate narratives of empowerment, ones that are grounded in their local realities and everyday lives. Scope of the study The structure of the article is as follows.

The first section explores the gendered structures of constraint in the Bangladesh context, both to understand what gives these structures their resilience as well as to theorize about how they might shape the possible pathways of change. The second section documents the changing nature of state and society in Bangladesh. This includes a number of positive changes in women’s lives, including processes of individual empowerment, but as the paper notes, there is little evidence to suggest that these changes have enabled women from poor rural households to articulate and act on their vision of social justice.

One exception to this generalization suggested by the author’s field research are women’s groups organized by development NGOs committed to social change. It is the experiences of this subset of women that inform the analysis in this article. The third section then examines the impact of the strategies adopted by these organizations on women’s capabilities as defined by their material position, their cognitive capacity and their relationships with others, while the fourth section explores how they have used their enhanced capabilities to take collective action against gender injustice.

The concluding section draws out the theoretical implications of these findings. It suggests that the analysis of women’s strategies for dealing with various manifestations of injustice in their lives provides important insights into the values and motivations which shape their efforts to navigate change in different domains of their lives. It notes that there are injustices which they are prepared to deal with through open confrontation but others where they seek compromise and conciliation.

This caution on their part testifies to the uneven pace of change in the wider structures of constraint and the risks associated with the pursuit of autonomy. Finally, it highlights some government best practices such as quotas, cash transfer programs, gender budgeting, and community based micro enterprises, some movement practices, i. e. , local women run community based programs to combat violence and HIV/AIDS and transnational exchanges, unions campaigns such as Decent Work for Women and corporate practices such as gender equality seals and corporate social responsibility.

References

1. Manisha Desai, Hope in Hard Times1: Women’sEmpowerment and Human Development.
2. Women’s empowerment revisited: a case study from BangladeshSidney Ruth Schuler, Farzana Islam, and Elisabeth RottachSidney
3. IMPACT Model of Women’s Empowerment, 2010.
4. Nature and Impact of Women’s Participation in Economic Activities in Rural Bangladesh: Insights from Household Surveys, 2004.
5. Mobilizing for Women’s Rights and The Role of Resources: Synthesis Report – Bangladesh (February 2011).

Introduction

Leaders are responsible for motivating people to do their work effectively and achieve common objectives. Some believe leaders are born but some of the qualities can also be embedded in leaders through training and learning. (Northouse , 2006) Communication is the process when one person conveys thoughts or feelings to another individual or collection of people. The effectiveness of the communication process can be measured by message intended is equal to the message extracted. Feedback is essential for the communication process as this provides a response to on how successful we have been in transferring our message as originally intended.  (Robbin, 2004)

Teams focus on a collective style of working where the team members work together to achieve common goals. In teams the synergy level is positive, that is the performance of the team is greater than the individual efforts. The self managed teams discussed in this case are linked with empowerment, empowering employees enables them to participate better in team decision making processes. Leaders should facilitate and gain the trust of these teams rather than try to control and dictate to them. This allows instant action to be taken against a problem leading to valuable solutions. (Woods, 2005)

Organizational Behavior Analysis

FMC is a thriving corporation for the last 56 years. FMC Aberdeen is situated in South Dakota and is a victorious subsidy of FMC. It has one hundred employees who manufacture one product that is the missile container for the U.S. Navy. FMC Green River is administered by Mr. Dailey it produces a range of chemicals. It has over 100 local and global customers and 1,150 recruits. Moreover it produces a several products.

Roger Campbell who was the third plant manage at FMC Aberdeen  was firstly an autocratic person, he  changed to a people’s person because he understood that to effectively lead people at Aberdeen he had to have trust in them and give them responsibility. He now believes that it is important to pass on responsibility to the lowest level. At Green River the organizational structure is not flat like Aberdeen but has a huge chain of command that restricts participative style of management. Although Mr. Dailey thought that his management style was interactive but as at FMC Green River the participative style of management is not present that shows that Mr. Dailey’s management style was not truly interactive.

Campbell understood that the communication process could only be made simple if fear was removed from the minds of the employees. As fear restricted the employees to speak their minds out which was a negative factor for the organizations as feedback from the employees is essential for the prosperity and betterment of an organization. While at Green River the communication process amongst employees was limited as people worked in an individual style rather than a collective one. Mr. Dailey of FMC Green River says that high level of trust is present for his employees but it’s not to the extent as that of FMC Aberdeen that they feel free to do anything for the betterment of the organization, unless it is not against ethical standards.

Instead of focusing on individual manner of working as in FMC Green, Campbell focused on collective ways of working. This meant that he arranged his employees in teams so they would collectively work to attain common goals. These teams at Aberdeen are self managed and are empowered to make the decision then and there. At Aberdeen the small teams created select their own boss; they pool in their ideas and figure out a solution to a particular problem. After reaching to the solution the team disperses. As Aberdeen is a small company the employees are treated as part of a family unit and an emotional bond is created between the employees. While at Green River as the company is large it is difficult for the emotional bond to be created, further more the infrastructure does not allow a great deal of interaction to be present amongst the employees.

Alternatives and Recommendations

FMC Green and FMC Aberdeen have some differences but the practices of Aberdeen can be implemented at Green River with some modifications. At Green River, Mr. Dailey can implement a leadership style of trust and security by assuring his employees that you will not be fired if you make mistakes. Additionally he should tell the employees to make decisions as if Green River was their own factory, exactly what Campbell does. (Northouse , 2006). The vision he builds on to should be so influential that the employees are motivated to fulfill Mr. Dailey’s expectations towards the organization. The leader should be flexible and understand that each individual is unique and should be treated differently. (Robbin, 2004)

To promote participative management people should work in teams at Green River, the team structure can be promoted by providing employees with task that are wide-ranging and need people of different skills for them to be completed. Then, the employees will understand the importance of people working together, as not every task can be successful when done individually. The change in the structure of team working should be bought slowly the team leaders should answer all the queries of the team members so there wont be any doubts in the minds of the team members. Teams have higher enthusiasm and dedication towards the organization and are better at dealing with productivity and quality issues hence I would recommend a fully team based structure. (Woods, 2005)

People should communicate their entire feelings to their coworkers and leaders, since the infrastructure doesn’t promote employees communicating openly, the plant should be redesigned to provide space where staff members can meet regularly and discuss problems. Moreover informal communication should be promoted by the organization so the employees develop better mutual understanding amongst each other that will assist people in working in teams as well.

Also the plant should have computers that are interconnected so that computer aided communication can be made possible. As the organization is very huge and the plant size is also extensive as compared to Aberdeen hence it is difficult that everyone can communicate but with the help proper developed computer network the communication process will be eased.

Green River should promote more open communication, as when the employees engage in open discussions they become truly concerned with the organizations troubles which improves the decision making process by the teams and strengthens team consensus. Hence even if disagreements arise they can be tackled through communication, where the team members exchange their entire feelings instead of creating opportunities for misunderstandings to emerge. (Robbin, 2004)

Implementation with a Contingency Plan

I believe that the Mr. Dailey should prioritize on the trust building factor, if the employees feel that they are being trusted upon and the organization relies on their outputs, this will not only motivate the employees to but on their best efforts but will also retain the employees in the organization for a longer period of time. Once trust is developed it is easier to implement other changes. The contingency plan that the organization should have in mind is that if the corporation is unable to develop a computerized system or appropriate infrastructure for communication to flourish. It should at least give employees time and allocate some space where they can have formal and informal discussions. Additionally if the team structure does not work out the company should send there employees for training and prepare them in such a manner that they take pleasure in participating and taking authority.

References

Northouse , Peter G. (2006). Leadership: Theory and Practice . Sage Publications, Inc; Fourth Edition edition.

Robbins, Stephen P (2004). Organizational Behavior, 11th Edition .Prentice Hall.

Woods, Edward (2005). Employee Development at the Workplace: Achieving Empowerment in a Continuous Learning Environment . Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company.

How do NGOs represent humanitarian issues trough images in advertising? Negative images of developing countries are a common means adopted by Non Governmental Organisations to raise financial support for those countries. However there has been much discussion as to weather such advertising for fundraising campaigns is really authentic and if the images used represent the issue as it is. More and more NGOs turn their backs on the use of negative images, for example of starving children, and adopting new advertising strategies.

When the organisations are trying to raise cash from potential donors there is often a dilemma between using shocking images to raise cash in the short term or whether to focus on the longer term gains with more positive images. This essay focuses on how NGOs are trying to achieve the latter without losing donations. Through a different approach applying the shock effect to a corporate style of advertisements. Will the audience know with these modern fundraising campaigns that for example Africa is not a continent full of sorrow and but will learn more about the wider social historical and geographical context?

Do these campaigns give the desired outcome in the end, which is raising money in a democratic way that empowers the subjects from injustice? (Ed Kashi and the Third Frame: NGOs and Photography Conference Report 2010) “Pictures are powerful” notes Lester and Ross authors of the book “ Images that Injure” (2010). They argue that the publishing of strong images makes economic sense. However economic priorities should not conflict ethics. The fact that images of the starving African child can be used in advertising does not make it ethical, although they are often aesthetically appealing.

These images are very welcome for their shock effect and raise money in a relatively fast way. “But aesthetics is not ethics” (Lester & Ross 2010, p. 30 ). The authors point out the way media organisations are dealing with their role-related responsibilities. That should recognize their power in creating viewer perception and use that power judiciously by presenting images within a wider context, even in advertising (Lester & Ross 2010, p. 31 ). The negative response to the shock image in fundraising campaigns has been increasing.

According to blogwriter and campaign coordinator of Amnesty International Rob Goddon, we have gone from one disaster in to another and have used images from the stick thin African women and children in atrocity situations to smiling and happy women and children. “The positive images may be easier to stomach and go some way to counter what is perceived as ‘compassion fatigue’(or maybe more accurately ‘Lack of solution fatigue’) but they still fail” (Goddon et al. 2009).

The lack of solution manifests itself in positive images that aim to communicate with integrity land teach the public about historical and geographical context. Showing people in this “new”-dignified way is to avoid reinforcing racial or cultural stereotypes. A contemporary rule in the NGO worlds is avoid using images that look down on people as this can sometimes make the subject appear like a victim. Instead choose images that reflect empowerment. You can see the use of photography clearly in ‘Oxfam’ and ‘Save the children campaigns’ (Oxfam. 2006).

The problem with these positive images is that they are often misrecognized in the situation of distant suffering and the public might think that these people are fine because of the positive images and this wont trigger the need to give money anymore (Chouliaraki n. d. ). To refer back to Goddon’s point, these kinds of images still fail what NGOs are all hoping to achieve; “illustrate the complexity of the lived experience of those they intended to help” (Goddon et al. 2009). In a media landscape where the average consumer gets asked for his attention every minute of the day by the surrounding visual culture it is hard to get seen.

According to Windley (2005) the economics have shifted over the last decade and have changed how businesses operate as well as the expectations of customers. Businesses are adjusting to new ways of relating to their customers and brands are fundamentally important for the success and survival. (Windley 2005, p. 40) NGOs have to play this game just being as tough as the rest of them out there. Although the changing nature of technology has opened up many ways for NGOs to use photography, it hasn’t made it easier to answer the on going question of how to represent a certain issue.

NGOs have to represent themselves and think how they want to brand their message to raise awareness but also to fundraise. Advertising agencies therefore apply the shock-effect in different ways to get the attention of the viewer and instead of for example the hungry African child they use corporate style advertising to provoke emotions of guilt and indignation. One example of shock techniques to represent an issue within the corporate advertisement style, is an awareness campaign for the Campaign Against Landmines. Part of the campaign the agency designed a ketchup packet with a picture of a kids’ legs or head.

When you open the packet, you tear off the w body part and ketchup bleeds out. Some people see this advert as a brilliant piece of advertising and others may feel this is too shocking. In New Zeeland this campaign got overwhelmed with some criticism. “Well it is graphic, it is shocking, but so too is the reality – 15-20,000 having that sort of thing happening to them as a result of landmines,” says Minister of Disarmament Phil Goff (One news et al. 2006). Some find it hard to swallow to rip of a young boys leg and being confronted with what is going on in other countries.

According to Chouliaraki (2010) this new approach could be identified as “ post humanitarian communication”. “This shift, I argue, should be seen as a contemporary attempt to renew the legitimacy of humanitarian communication – one that abandons universal morality and draws on the resources of the media market in which humanitarian organizations operate today. ” (Chouliaraki 2010). She notes that NGOs are still relying on this style of advertisement to provoke emotions but not in a way to inspire immediate action.

The corporate advertisement style is used in a “ Take it or leave it way” (Goddon et al. 2009). A good example on the use of photography in corporate advertising is the campaign “Its not happening here but now” from Amnesty International in Switzerland. The campaign uses the tagline “It’s not happening here but it’s happening now” the campaign puts up posters in bus stops and train stations etc, with exact matches of the existing background. It aims to show people what is going on in the world, even if it’s not happening in front of them at the bus stop.

The advertising uses shock images to enter in the publics’ everyday lives, entering in the public environment and showing them what is happening in other parts of the world. What Amnesty International does is using photography in a photo realistic way and forces a direct act on humanitarian issues.