ECONOMIC institution and policy(British economy) Essay

ECONOMIC institution and policy(British economy) - Essay Example But the sector experienced a tragic downfall during the post-war period which continued till mid-1980s. However, the trends improved post 1983 and continued to develop till 1990 when it once again underwent a bust period (Buxton & Mananyi, 1998). Many researchers blame this erratic behavior of the supporting sector of UK to the economic policies adopted by the decision makers of the nation and thus, the present paper will attempt to outline the trends of the nation over the decades between 1970 and 2010. Contribution of UK’s Manufacturing Sector, 1970-2010 The contribution of UK’s manufacturing sector could be assessed from a few statistics aligned to the sector. The adjoining graph depicts the change in the gross value added by the manufacturing sector over the years between 1970 and 2009. The trends so depicted denote an overall heavy impact created by the manufacturing sector over the years. However, the difference is found to be rather stark from 1970 to 1980 and th en 1990. In other words, these three years depict huge differences in the gross value added figures. On the other hand, the figures corresponding to the years between 1990 and 2009 are found to be quite near to each other. The year 2000 is characterized by a peak but is followed by a slight dent at the end of 2009. Nonetheless, the figures are found to have improved by almost a multiple of 10 between 1970 and 2009. The following diagram shows the growth in industrial production of UK over the years, which is suggestive of a gradual improvisation in its position. Although the above diagram for gross value added shows a downfall from 2000 to 2009, the present one shows a positive growth occurring between 2000 and 2010. This clearly indicates that there had been a hike in industrial production between 2009 and 2010. The above graph depicts the contribution of manufacturing sector of UK in absolute terms. However, to draw a more robust comparison, the ideal method would be to form a rel ation with the GDP of the economy. Such an interpretation could help in making an assessment of the contribution of the sector to the economy. The bar-graph alongside shows the contribution of the manufacturing sector as receding over time. The decline is a consistent one over the years thus implying the gradually falling importance of the manufacturing and industrial segments of the nation. The declining importance of the manufacturing sector of UK is also prominent from its receding contribution to the employment share of the nation. The adjoining bar graph shows the trends in the share of employment rate accounted by the manufacturing sector of UK. The decline is found to be the greatest from 14980 to 1985 followed by that from 2000 to 2005. As per the latest records, the employment share of the sector to the gross economic value stands at 9.83% which is almost 20% below that in the year 1975. Given the historic importance of the manufacturing sector behind the economic developme nt and growth of UK, a decline in its popularity over the years took a toll upon the net disposable income of the economy. Net disposable income of the economy is found to be traversing through a negative phase after having reached a peak during 1980. This is an obvious indication of the increased costs of structural unemployment in the economy. Another prominent indication is that of a declining percentage change

South Africa Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

South Africa - Research Paper Example According to the research paper "South Africa" findings, South Africa has been inhabited by modern humans for approximately 170 000years, with the two historically dominant groups being the Zulu and Xhosa people. The Dutch colonized South Africa in 1652. Slave transport from Madagascar, Indonesia and India by the Dutch colonists led to increased migration into South Africa. The discovery of gold and diamonds led to conflicts between the Boers and the British, with British and Boer settlers claiming land in the East and North of the country (Fox, 2008). This, in turn, caused conflicts with the Zulu, Xhosa and the Afrikaner groups, mainly for territory. The Zulu grew in strength in the early 19th century, under Shaka the Zulu, and expanded their territory, which ultimately led to the crushing of the1820s, and the rise of the Matebele, under Mzilikazi. In 1830, the Boers, also Voortrekkers, migrated to Orange Free State, Natal and Transvaal region, to get away from British rule and foun ded states in these regions. The mineral revolution of 1867 and 1884 increased immigration and intensified the subjugation by the European settlers of the indigenous people (Fox, 2008). The South African Union was formed by the 1909 South Africa act, following three and a half years of negotiating, becoming a British Empire dominion. The 1913 natives’ land act restricted quite severely indigenous ownership of land. Following a referendum, solely by whites, South Africa gained republic status and the British monarchy was no longer head of state. With legislation for apartheid, most western countries boycotted doing business with South Africa. Nelson Mandela was jailed, and released after 27 years, when he negotiated the end of apartheid. This led, in 1994 to universal elections, won by the ANC (Fox, 2008). South Africa, however, still continues to suffer from chronic unemployment, especially among its indigenous population, and a rising number of poor white citizens. With info rmation and knowledge, it is hoped that Kelly Services will better understand the people of South Africa and the dynamics of their relationships; economically, politically and socially. Dress Code and Business Etiquette In South African banks, companies and other business enterprises, businessmen dress in suits, or if the weather is hot, as it often is, the dress code can sometimes be casual. During summer, men dress in suits, with short-sleeved shirts under their coats, and when they leave the office, they normally discard their stifling coats (Fox, 2008). During meetings business and casual encounters, South Africans shake hands, with firm handshakes being preferable and appreciated. It is also part of the South African culture to acknowledge and address persons of advanced age first. Meetings are also held on appointment, with the South African people valuing punctuality (Fox, 2008). Negotiations are also accepted as a method of doing business in South Africa, although the people prefer to close the deal straight away. It is also necessary to note that they value the generation of realistic figures in these negotiations, with prices

Module 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Module 1 - Essay Example As opposed to the anticipatory model that relies heavily on forecasts and plans, the responsive model is dependent on the prevailing circumstances and conditions in the market. The reactive model gains popularity due to the changing taste and preferences of consumers. Consumers prefer customized goods and services that they keep ordering at undefined times. Therefore, it is difficult for a firm to make profits while relying on projections of the change patterns of the consumers. Based on market research, companies can identify existing gaps in the market and move swiftly to fill them. Therefore, a responsive model currently finds popularity in the contemporary world due to the dynamics of demand. The rising variability in demand causes uncertainty in logistics and complication in the supply chains networks. Today, companies face longer lead times and substantial variability leading to increased costs of inventory as firms buffer their stocks. There is a challenge of communicating changes in demand to the transporters and suppliers, and this makes the management of costs even harder. Therefore, a consolidated view of transportation and logistics within the supply chain is imperative to adopting the right model in operation. Manuj, I., Omar, A., & Pohlen, T. (2014). Inter-Organizational Learning in Supply Chains: A Focus on Logistics Service Providers and Their Customers.  Journal of Business Logistics, n/a-n/a.

Business to business system in supply Chain extension Essay Example for Free

Business to business system in supply Chain extension Essay In the aerospace sector, manufacturers are making strategic efforts to consolidate their supply base and forge stronger relationships with remaining suppliers (Stundza, 1999). For example, Boeing consolidated and standardized its supply contracts and plans to reduce its number of suppliers from 3,100 to 2,700 (Stundza, 2000b). Bowman (1998) notes that within the last year in the logistics industry shippers are increasingly bidding at the corporate level. More of them are making decisions by committee, whittling down their international provider base to a bare minimum. For example, he notes that about 40 percent of the global accounts of APL Ltd. , a worldwide logistics provider, had some type of logistics council or centralized body for purchasing, strategizing, and decision making. 8 To set the stage for PSM change, innovative customers are conducting comprehensive, corporate-wide spend analyses 9 to better understand their primary sources of expenditures and to then target their PSM improvement initiatives (e.g. , quality, speed, or cost effectiveness) on those goods and services that represent their largest and most strategic expenditures (see Owens et al. , 1998, and Laseter, 1998). 10 Customers are also stratifying their supply base by effect on results and level of strategic risk and then matching the specific management approach and type of relationship formed with particular suppliers to (Moore, Baldwin, Camm, and Cook 2002, 6 7). The truth of the matter is that the chains grew because they introduced a method of retail distribution for which there was a definite need and which the old wholesaler-retailer system failed to supply. To what extent the old system was inherently deficient and to what extent its shortcomings could be and have been corrected must be discussed now, not for the sake of stressing the imperfections of a competitive system but in order to contrast certain features of the chain-store system. The ideal distribution system would bridge the gap between production and consumption with maximum efficiency at minimum cost. Without any question, the outstanding inherent defect of the old wholesaler-retailer system lay in the fact that, under it, the wholesale function and the retail function are performed by separate, independent factors, whereas, under the chain-store system, the two functions are, to a major extent, combined. In no sense does the chain-store system eliminate the wholesale function: it still has to be performed, but, whereas under the old system the wholesaler exercised no control over his retail outlets nor did the retailer have any control over his sources of supply, under the chain-store system both functions are performed by the same organization and the control is unified. That this basic difference between the two systems has been partly nullified by the development of voluntary chains of various kinds is true. But the fact remains that such organizations did not come prominently into the picture until the chains had established themselves on a firm basis. When the chains were making their greatest strides, the old wholesaler-retailer set-up provided their principal competition. Reduced to its simplest terms, the main result of the essential difference between the two systems lies in the fact that under the old plan it is necessary for the wholesaler to sell to the retailer before the merchandise can find its way into consumption. Under the chain-store system, this intervening selling process, with all its disadvantages, is obviated. (Lebhar 1963, 87- 88) In 1981, standards for shipping containers were adopted; these facilitated the extension of the UPC into the emerging supply chain processes then appearing in both manufacturing and retailing industries. One of the reasons that the UPC had to spread grew out of the fact that not all goods sold in grocery stores were food; they included health and beauty aids, household cleaners, and so forth, which came from other industries. To take full advantage of the technology, the Grocery Industry wanted others to adopt the symbol as well. During the 1980s and 1990s, that was what happened. (Cortada 2004, 299) a. Keywords ? GDP = the growth development project is one of the most important factors in determining the standing of the country in terms of their economic inflation. ? e-buisness = is one of the most popular business internet market the products here are quite fast in the presentation to the client or so called the customer. ? Probability of UK GDP = this is something to do with the computation of the GDP of UK. This will reveal the trends of the UK if the economic inflation will fall or ascent. ? Linear regression= is the model that will suit in some computation for economic studies. This will also lead the person to identify the trends of the business to the market place. b. Basic Definitions and Terms The following terms were formulated for more understanding: ? Business to business (B2B) = It refers to the business situation and ? Inflation = This means that †¦.. ? Information technology = This refers to †¦.. c. Primary Sources d. Map out Important Areas e. Originality f. Review Conclusion.

Conflict Management in the Workplace: Causes and Effects

Conflict Management in the Workplace: Causes and Effects INTRODUCTION What is conflict? Conflict is a process that involves people disagreeing. It is usually a process in which one party perceives that its interests are being opposed or negatively affected by another party. Conflict could be created due to different opinions of the interested parties, or due to the show of authority that some of the involved parties might have. It can be separated in substantive conflict and emotional conflict. Substantive conflict is a disagreement over ends or goals and the means for their accomplishment. Emotional conflict is usual coming out over feeling of anger, mistrust, fear, etc. In addition, conflict may be classified in three types: Intrapersonal conflict, interpersonal conflict and intergroup conflict. TYPES OF CONFLICT Intrapersonal Conflict Intrapersonal conflict arises within a person. It is a fight you have to give with your ego, in front of several solutions for a decision you have to take. For example, if you are a sales manager and you are in front of a deal that you have to make on time with a customer, you might have to decide, either to close it according to your companys usual policy, or based mostly on your customer needs. In this occasion you are facing an intrapersonal conflict. To be more specific, in case you proceed with the first choice you will be ok with your company, but you may disappoint your customer and this can cause problems either in your personal relationship with him, or in your sales volumes. If you follow the second option, then you might have problems with your company, but you will probably improve your relationship with your customer and as a result the sales volumes as well. But, of course, youre taking a big risk, in case the sales results will not come as you have planned. This exampl e could be a typical, usual, daily intrapersonal conflict of many employees in several organizational environments. Interpersonal Conflict Many companies suffer because of interpersonal conflicts, due to high competition (internal or external), different personalities of those who are decision makers in a company, authority showing, etc. Interpersonal conflict is arriving between colleagues, CEOs, boards of director, etc. and actually can be created in any level of a company. It is a usual reason which tends employees to resign. We have all faced during our working experience colleagues and managers fighting each other. Most of the times these fights or strong disagreements guide to problematic relationships between staff and finally in resign of those that dont want to go a step back. It is important to refer that according to one research, 31.9% of CEOs quitted from their jobs, because they had conflicts with the board of directors. (Whitehouse, K. 2008, January 14). CEOs of competing companies might also have public conflicts. For example, in 1997, Michael Dell was asked what he would do about Apple Computer. What would I do? Id shut it down and give the money back to shareholders. Ten years later, Steve Jobs, the CEO of Apple Inc., indicated he had clearly held a grudge as he shot back at Dell in an e-mail to his employees, stating, Team, it turned out Michael Dell wasnt perfect in predicting the future. Based on todays stock market close, Apple is worth more than Dell. (Haddad, C. 2001, April 18). Intergroup Conflict Intergroup conflict takes place among different groups. Types of groups may include different departments in a company, employees and management, or competing companies in a market. Departments may conflict over budget planning. For example marketing budget or equipment budget usually creates a big conflict between marketing or production management or the general management. Employees and management may disagree on work rules and procedures. Suppliers may conflict with each other on the quality of goods, or in the pricing policy theyre promoting in the market. For example, we will refer below a typical labor issue when a joint venture between two airline companies has taken place: Canadian Air and Air Canada pilots were facing long term personal and legal conflicts when the two airlines seniority lists were combined following the merger Seniority. This fact is a valuable and scarce resource for pilots, because it helps to determine who flies the newest and biggest planes, who receives the best flight routes, and who is paid the most. In response to the loss of seniority, former Canadian Air pilots picketed at shareholder meetings, threatened to call in sick, and had ongoing conflicts with pilots from Air Canada (Stoykewych, R. E. 2003, March 7). POTENTIAL CAUSES OF CONFLICT Organizational Structure Conflict can be created depending on the organizational Structure that a corporation follows. For example, if a company uses a matrix structure as its organizational form, it will have decisional conflict built in, because the structure specifies that each manager report to two bosses (Jaffe, D. 2000). For example, global company ABB Inc. is organized around a matrix structure based on the dimensions of country and industry. This structure can lead to confusion as the company is divided geographically into 1,200 different units and by industry into 50 different units. (Taylor, W. 1991, March-April). Employees Benefits differentiation Resources offered from corporations as extra benefits to their employees such as money, time, and equipment are often a problem. Competition among people or departments for different benefits is a frequent cause for conflict. For example, cars, mobile phones, credit cards, laptops are benefits that are offered not in all the employees, or not with the same value. For example salesmen might have different car according to their position in the company. This small issue can cause big conflicts. Differentiation in salaries of people in the same position level, but with different performance can as well create conflicts. Human beings are always jealous and feel unfair. Task Interdependence Task interdependence could be another cause of conflict. This issue is coming when your success or your achievement in your objectives is also depending on other people performance. For example, when you are a project engineer and you have to complete a building construction in timelines with the correct way and the planned resources, it might be a big success for you, but you have to be supported for example, from the electrician, the plumper, the builder, the supplier of the materials, etc. If you lose control, you will probably have big conflicts with all your above coordinators. Incompatible Goals Sometimes conflict arises when two parties think that their goals are exclusively in their responsibilities. Within an organization, incompatible goals often arise because of the different ways department managers are approaching them. For example, a sales manager who s bonus system depends on sales figures, believes that he has to offer higher credit periods in a big client, in order to earn bigger sales volumes. But the financial manager whose bonus terms, might depend on how fast the clients pay their amounts is disagreeing with this option. Then these two managers may conflict each other, because they focus on their personal interests and not on the companys common goal. Unless this issue is not resolved with the intervention of someone who has the authority to overlap those two, they might continue conflict without coming up to a solution. Personality Differences Personality differences among personnel are something common and usual. Many times youre arguing with your colleagues, because you see things and issues in different way based on your ethics and your growing environment. Matching of the personalities and team spirit is a difficult thing, through a corporation and needs a special care from the Human Resource management department. Communication Problems In many occasions conflict arises out of problematic communication system, such as unread-forgotten emails or dealing with people who dont give feedbacks in your inquiries, or they often forget to reply. Then conflicts are a typical result, usually from the involved parties who try to drop the fault each one in the other. Consequently, many working hours are lost in finding where the mistake in the communication history was. OUTCOMES OF CONFLICT Conflict can be dysfunctional if it affects negatively an organization, leads to low performance, or in the worst case, to workplace violence. To understand how to get to a positive effect of conflict, we first need to understand its causes, consequences, and tools to help manage it. If conflict is too low, then performance is low. If conflict is too high, then performance also tends to be low. (www.flatworlfknowledge). The positive thing is to keep conflicts in the middle of this thin line. Most of us might have the opinion that it is quite strange to try in leave conflicts existing in middle levels, but as we will see in the following paragraphs, we can definitely have positive outcomes. Positive outcomes include the following: Creation of bigger range in quality ideas Identifying and bring in the surface the dark inaccurate cases Clarification of individual views that build learning Improvement of participation and creativeness Motivate your employees in participate in useful discussions and improve their negotiations skills within healthy procedures Examples of negative outcomes Increased stress and anxiety among personnel, which guide in low performance and personal satisfaction Feelings as being defeated and humiliated, which affect negatively individuals morale A mistrust climate, which reduce working relationships, collaboration and teamwork. CONFLICT STAGES Latent Conflict. Latent conflict is visible conflict waiting to happen. Felt Conflict. Felt conflict is experienced as discomfort and tension. Perceived Conflict. Perceived conflict is the awareness that we are in a conflict situation. Manifest Conflict. After conflict is perceived and felt, it may or may not become open, or manifest. Conflict Aftermath. Conflict is likely to breed more conflict and, when it does, that conflict is likely to take on a life of its own. (Gholipour A. 2006). CONFLICT MANAGEMENT STYLES Everyone in his personal life has his own style in facing conflicts. In the following paragraphs you can see the most well known frequent and usual approaches in conflict management. Avoidance Avoidance is a conflict style, where the involved parties or groups are pretending that everything is fine, while inside of them they feel that there is a serious problem. Avoidance can also be an occasion where some of the parties are quitted from the conflict issue, not so much interested in find the solution, since it might considered from their side as a non personal obligation, or because they unlike the other parties opinion. In low levels and not so important issues, this style can be sometimes a good solution, but usually it finally guides in bad working environment and relationships. Accommodation The accommodating style of conflict management is more cooperative than the previous one. In this style, the one party offers or accepts, what the others believe that it is correct. This type of person is usually afraid to argue with their opponents because either they believe that they will destroy their relationships with them, or they feel that they will not come up to a solution. We can say that from one side theyre giving up their proposals. This style is a good way to manage conflicts, but you might lose proposals or ideas, which could be interesting from the person that always go a step back in front of the most dominant persons. Compromise The compromising style is always referred as the middle-level solution. In this style all the involved persons are giving a little of them in order to come up in the best solution. We can say that it is a kind of bargaining. It is a quite effective in overpass conflicts usually without negative outcomes. Competition People often show a competitive style to in order to achieve their goals or to perceive the other parties following their ideas. Competition may create bad relationships with others, if one is always trying to maximize his own outcomes at the expense of others well-being. This approach may be effective if one has strong moral objections to the alternatives or if the alternatives one is opposing, are unethical or harmful. (www.flatworldknowledge.com) Collaboration Collaboration is a conflict management style that is almost similar to effective negotiation or to win-win solutions. In this occasion both of the involved parties may conflict each other, but they always try to find the best solution, which can satisfy all of them and also serves the common goal. For example if an employee is performing well in his job obligation and he is asking to attend an MBA program in order to improve more his management skills, then he may ask from his company to pay the program for him. Then the manager can propose to him: Yes I will pay your MBA program, but you have to stay 2 years more in the company, after you will have finished it. Otherwise you will return back our paid amounts. It sounds like a fair solution for both of the sides. APPROACHES TO CONFLICT RESOLUTION Change the Composition of the Team If the conflict is between colleagues then a good solution could be, separating the personalities that are creating the biggest problems. In circumstances where conflict is attributed to the widely different styles, values, and preferences of a small number of members, replacing some of these members may resolve the problem. If thats not possible because everyones skills are needed on the team and substitutes arent available, consider a physical layout solution. Research has shown that when known antagonists are seated directly across from each other, the amount of conflict increases. However, when they are seated side by side, the conflict tends to decrease. (Howat, G., London, M. 1980) Create a Common Opposing Force Group conflict within a corporation can be reduced by turn their attention on a common enemy such as the competition. For example, two product managers might argue in which of their two products are going to spend more marketing expenses, each trying to get more resources in order to promote more his product to the market. Then instead of fighting each other, it would be better someone to turn them in focusing on a competitive product and get them responsible how to develop their products together, much more than the competition to the market. Consider Majority Rule Group conflict can be dramatically reduced by using the traditional majority rule process. In this case every one of the involved parties is proposing an idea and then all together vote in order to choose the one with the higher votes. Majority rule could be a creative process, but it has to be followed always with creative discussions and not operating as an easy solution for decreasing conflicts, through groups or persons. Sometimes it has negative outcomes, when most of the times the same persons ideas frequently pass. Then the other members of the procedure might feel that something unfair is going on, as for example the cliques creation between persons that voting all the time their personal ideas. Problem Solve Problem solving is a common approach to resolving conflict. In problem-solving mode, the individuals or groups in conflict are asked to focus on the problem, not on each other, and to uncover the root cause of the problem. This approach recognizes the rarity of one side being completely right and the other being completely wrong. (www.flatworldknowledge.com). CONCLUSION Summarizing all the above described in this assignment, we can easily realize that conflict management is a very important issue in workplace. We cannot evaluate how it could be solved, or which is the best way to manage or approach to its resolution. It would be definitely positive for companies to set up conflict policies, so they can control better such problems. But the assured thing is that, even policies would be set up, every manager, every employee has to be careful and try to take advantage of the positive effects that conflict can give. Thus, in order to achieve this, everyone has to do it with his own style, since he has to adapt his behavior depending on the working environment he is occupied. If we think again that conflict guides in violence in workplace, but can guide also to creative solutions, integrative negotiations, passion for participating in problems solving, we have to individually think and drive ourselves at the positive part of conflict results. REFERENCES Wall, J. A., Callister, R. R. (1995). Conflict and its management. Journal of Management, 21, 515-558. Michaels, D., Power, S., Gauthier-Villars, D. (2006, October 10). Airbus CEOs resignation reflects companys deep structural woes. Wall Street Journal, pp. A1-A10. Whitehouse, K. (2008, January 14). Why CEOs need to be honest with their boards. Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition, pp. R1-R3. Haddad, C. (2001, April 18). Why Jobs and Dell are always sparring. Business Week Online. Retrieved May 1, 2008, from http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/apr2001/nf20010418_461.htm; Markoff, J. (2006, January 16). Michael Dell should eat his words, Apple chief suggests. New York Times. Retrieved January 19, 2007, from http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/16/technology/16apple.html. Stoykewych, R. E. (2003, March 7). A note on the seniority resolutions arising out of the merger of Air Canada and Canadian Airlines. Paper presented at the American Bar Association Midwinter Meeting, Laguna Beach, CA. Baron, R. A. (1989). Personality and organizational conflict: Type A behavior pattern and self-monitoring. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 44, 281-297. Bergman, T. J., Volkema, R. J. (1989). Understanding and managing interpersonal conflict at work: Its issues, interactive processes and consequences. In D. M. Kolb J. M. Kolb (Eds.), Hidden conflict in organizations (pp. 7-19). Newbury Park, CA: Sage. Howat, G., London, M. (1980). Attributions of conflict management strategies in supervisor-subordinate dyads. Journal of Applied Psychology, 65, 172-175. www.flatworldknowledge.com

OVER PAID ATHLETES Essay -- essays research papers

Argument I believe professional athletes are overpaid. These athletes are making millions of dollars to have fun and play. They are getting paid to do what elementary kids do every day. Professional athletes are should be paid about sixty to ninety thousand a year. The reason I say this much is because they are at a professional level and have worked hard to get to that status. In theory, professional athletes are overpaid because the U.S. is more focused on entertainment value in today’s society, rather than important issues like employment or cancer. First, the commissioner for all the sports should lower all of the salary caps for the players. Next, all of the athletes should be placed on a merit system. Meaning if the athlete is making 12 million dollars and there performance or statistics (such as shooting percentage, rebounding, or rushing yards), decrease by 20% or more, that athlete should have a pay cut. Also, when the athlete performs and does what he or she was employed to d o, the athlete should be considered for a raise. Then, once this has been accomplished, the athlete will have worked for his paycheck and appreciate the hard work and dedication that he or she has committed. One summer in July in the city of Copperas Cove, Texas, I was just getting off of my $5.65 an hour job at Blockbuster Video. I sat down to watch television with my niece. I got the remote and turned the TV to ESPN. I watched 18-year old Lebron James accepts a 90 million dollar contract fr...

The Disciplined Order of Christ: Dealing with the Storms of Everyday Life

In 1945, led by Dr. Albert Edward Day, some laity and clergymen have met and resolved to live a life of discipline in accordance to the teachings and life of Jesus Christ (www. dochr. org). Thus, on that meeting, an organization was founded and named The Disciplined Order of Christ whose members aim to live a life of discipline in the midst of the harsh realities of the world. Basically, the Order aims to incorporate self-discipline into the life of a Christian laity or clergy man.Although living up to the teachings of Christ is not a novel idea, the Order focuses on Christian Discipline. The once a hundred-member organization became a nationwide movement and still aiming to reach more other people as well (www. dochr. org). All members of the order strive to acquire the eight virtues of the organization; namely, obedience, simplicity, humility, frugality, generosity, truthfulness, purity and charity (www. dochr. org). In addition to these virtues, there are the seven fundamental dis ciplines that members live by.These are discipline of private prayer, discipline of personal commitment, discipline of small group fellowship, discipline of active church participation, discipline of witness and service, discipline of stewardship, and discipline of ecumenical fellowship (www. dochr. org). The Order’s ideals and vision are founded on the book written by the founder, Dr. Day, entitled â€Å"Discipline and Discovery† (www. dochr. org). Most of the preaching in the organization and the tips on how to live a disciplined life are based on this book.Although the ideals are based on the book, the organization still uses the bible, particularly the New Testament, as their primary reference for spiritual maturity. Nevertheless, there is less citations from the bible than from the founder’s book which makes it somewhat a practical guide rather than a biblical guide to a rich Christian life. The organization holds annual regional retreats as well as nationa l retreats every five years (www. dochr. org).This is the only activity that is explicitly presented in the website besides different articles regarding bible study guides and the organization’s basic doctrines. Although the Order also conducts small group fellowships, there were no presentations or exhibits regarding the retreats and fellowships. Such a defect is thus quite questionable. The organization wishes to impart disciplines of small group fellowship and active church participation and yet, there are no evidences of such events on the website. It would have been better if the organization presented places and schedules of fellowships.Furthermore, the Order only seems to offer suggestions and guidelines on how to live a self-disciplined life in the local church where the member is affiliated. One interesting feature, however, is that of the organization’s â€Å"Prayer Garden†. In the Prayer Garden, individuals can post their prayer requests and praise no tes while they can also view other’s prayer requests and join in praying for the many needs of the members of the organization (www. dochr. org). Such a connection of the different members through praying for one another is theologically noteworthy and yet original in its modern approach.The basic virtues that the order tries to emulate are actually all theologically based on the New Testament. And the disciplines are essentially practical means to attain such virtues. The practical approach of the organization’s ideals although not much proven by their own testimonial experiences is a helpful way for one’s spiritual growth. Its day-by-day advices and simplicity gives it an appealing way of living the life of Christ in the modern yet draining society people are currently dwelling in.Theologically, the ideals of the Order are theoretically and biblically acceptable. The practical guide it provides that fits the modern way of living in the world is very much helpf ul and charismatic. Upon reading on the basics of the organization, one can also find that the spiritual formation that the order offers to every individual is suitable for everyone. The very fact that self-discipline and discipline in general is the center of their ministry makes the order a viable and useful new way of living a life like that of the life Christ lived. References The Disciplined Order of Christ. (2008). Discipline and Discovery. Retrieved October 15, 2008, from http://www.dochr.org/discipline.php. The Disciplined Order of Christ. (2008). Historical Moments. Retrieved October 15, 2008, from http://www.dochr.org/history.php. The Disciplined Order of Christ. (2008). Albert Edward Day. Retrieved October 15, 2008, from http://www.dochr.org/day.php.