Tuesday, January 28, 2020
Theology Essays | Old Testament
Theology Essays | Old Testament Did the prophets of the Old Testament predict the future, or did they speak to change to way people were behaving? In essence, were they foretellers or forthtellers? IntroductionThe Hebrew Bible, or Old Testament recounts the history, and specifically the religious history of Israel, from the creation to a few hundred years before the birth of Christ. The Old Testament tells the story of the people of Israel and their relationship with God or Yaweh. It tells how Israel sinned against the God who had given her all that she had because the people were unable to keep to their covenant with God (Lemche, 1995). Within the Old Testament the Prophetic writings either address the specific historical conditions in Israel or they refer to social conditions. This paper will examine the books of the Prophet Amos and of the Prophet Isaiah to assess whether the prophets were foretellers or forthtellers. The paper will begin with a brief sketch of the historical background followed by an explanation of terms with reference to Amos and Isaiah.Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â à ‚                                                      Prophets, Foretellers and Forthtellers.The writings attributed to the prophets Amos and Isaiah date from around the eighth and seventh centuries BCE. They are two of the later prophets and they spoke against the backdrop of the changing political scene which resulted in the exile of Israel, the northern kingdom, after the capture of Samaria in 721 BCE and then to the exile of Judah after the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BCE (Clines, 1990). The central message of these prophets is to do with the exile, either warning of its coming or reflecting on its meaning and calling for the people to repent in order that God might change his mind. Scholars are of the opinion that the books have been subject to later editing, what is known as redaction, the imposition of something that happened in a different context. It is for this reason that the texts, while having a historical backdrop, and giving some historical facts, should not be regarded as a straightforward historical record. Rather they are a record of God’s dealing with his people. Unlike earlier prophets, these writings say far less about the prophets and more about the words of God that they give and receive (Whybray, 1993). The word prophet is generally accepted to have come from the Hebrew word ‘nabi’ which means to speak or to utter words. The biblical usage of the word has meant that it has come to be associated with someone who is the interpreter and mouthpiece of God.This is made clear in the opening verses of the Book of Amos, a shepherd of Tekoa. The Lord roars from Zion, and utters his voice from Jerusalem; the pastures of the shepherds wither, and the top of Carmel dries up (Amos. 1:2 NRSV). In the above verse Amos describes the way in which the Lord speaks through him and verse three then begins with Thus says the Lord. First Isaiah begins in much the same way: Hear o heavens, and listen, o earth; for the Lord has spoken: I reared children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against me (Isaiah, 1:2 NRSV). Here Isaiah is literally proclaiming himself as the mouth piece of the Lord. The word ‘nabi’ expresses a function, it is what the prophet does, other words are used to denote what the prophet is, an oracle or a man of vision. Isaiah is known as a major prophhet because of the length of the book and Amos a minor prophet because his writings are much shorter. The prophets then, were divine messengers who addressed the people of God. In most cases the messages were not asked for Amos chapter seven tells how God put Amos where he was: ..and the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, â€Å"Go, prophesy to my people Israel†(Amos, 7:15). The book of Amos begins by introducing the prophet as a shepherd and then goes straight into the message from God as in verse two. Isaiah also begins by introducing the prophet and then proceeds to God’s word to the people. Some prophets were sons of prophets and some belonged to a community of prophets under a leader, some were solitary like Amos who did not really count himself a prophet, Then Amos answered Amaziah, â€Å"I am no prophet, nor a prophet’s son†¦and the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, â€Å"Go, prophesy to my people Israel (Amos, 7:14-15). Both Amos and Isaiah spoke out against social injustice and the ways in which the rich people cheated those who were poor. The prophet Amos spoke out against the idolatry of the people, who still strayed after the golden calf idol which had been set up by King Jeroboam the first when the nation was first split into two kingdoms. Amos spoke in the time of Jeroboam the second when Israel was enjoying a time of prosperity (Clines, 1990). Amos spoke out against the religious and social corruption that he saw around him. He spoke of Israel’s guilt and of their forthcoming punishment in chapter three: Hear this that the Lord has spoken against you, O people of Israel against the whole family that I brought up out of the land of Egypt: You only have I known, of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities (Amos 3:1-2). Isaiah wrote in the eighth century BCE, almost two hundred years before the fall of Jerusalem to Babylon (Clines, 1990). He spoke to the people of Judah, and warned them of God’s displeasure. They had become complacent and tolerated all kinds of social injustice. When Isaiah wrote the people were reaching the point of no return because of their rejection of God and their constant refusal to give up their corrupt religious practices and their oppression of the poor. Thus, in the opening chapter Isaiah tells the people: When you stretch out your hands, I will turn my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers I shall not listen; your hands are full of blood. Learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow (Isaiah, 1:15 and 17). The words of the prophets can be read at a number of levels. They were forthtellers in that they spoke out against injustice and called the people back to God. They were foretellers in that they warned of the judgement and punishment to come if the people continued in their idolatry and their unjust practices. The most famous verse of this nature is to be found in the book of the prophet Amos chapter five:  Take away from me the noise of your songs; I will not listen to the melody of your harps. But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream (Amos 5:23-24). Amos is speaking out against the social injustices of his time and saying that God’s command was for the people to be just and righteous. It was a verse used by Martin Luther King when he spoke out against the racial injustices in America and headed Black people’s struggle for civil rights in the 1960s. Isaiah also spoke out against injustice and makes use of the image of a vineyard where grapes are pressed, the injustices committed against the people, are, in God’s eyes, akin to pressing their faces in the same way that grapes are pressed. Isaiah says in chapter 5: But the Lord of Hosts is exalted by justice, and the holy God shows himself holy by righteiousness (Isaiah, 5:16) In this way the prophets were forthtellers because the word means to speak forth, or speak out against the wrong that people were doing and to tell them that what God required of them was to act justly and in this way they could achieve righteousness. The people had forsaken God’s Holy Law which had been given to them by Moses and the prophets were called by God to draw the people back. When they were not being idolatrous the people were indulging in empty religious ritual. Amos tells the people how displeased God is with their religious ‘nodding’: I hate, I despise your festivals, and I taken no delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them (Amos, 5:21-22).  Amos speaks out against the people’s religious practices and tells them it is not religion that God wants from them, but justice. Whenever the prophet speaks forth and tells of God’s displeasure he also later reminds them of God’s loving and forgiving nature. Although the prophets forthtell God’s judgement on an unrepentant people, they also fortell, or speak of God’s future blessings if the people mend their ways. Even though God has spoken to the noble women, calling them the cows of Bashan (Amos, 4:1) he provides a way of escape in chapter five. Seek the Lord and live, or he will break out against the house of Joseph like fire, and it will devour Bethel, with no-one to quench it (Amos, 5:6). This is very similar to the message in the first chapter of Isaiah where God speaks against the people. Isaiah forthtells God’s displeasure but then says that if they seek God and do justice then God will repent himself of the punishment he is calling down. Clines (1990) maintains that the major job of the prophets was to call the people back to obedience. To do this they spoke out against injustice and corrupt or empty religious practice and warned of the judgement of God if they continued living life that way. Amos particularly has often been called the prophet of doom because of his warnings about the destruction of the way of life of the people and yet he also gives a message of hope. The prophets therefore forthtell in that they speak directly to the situation as they believe God has revealed to them, but they also foretell in that they speak of impending judgement if the people do not return to obedience. The prophets felt that God alone directed the course of history, a nd that God would punish the people who did not worship him in the right way. Worship applied to all areas of life, from formal worship to social justice and right relationships. The prophets called the people to repentance. Lemche (1995) maintains that the prophets observe what is going on, that society no longer adhered to the laws underlying the world God created. They then forthtell what is wrong and outline what the consequences will be if they continue. It is not easy to date exactly when or how the prophetic writings were put together, scholars are generally agreed that the book of Amos is the work of one person, either Amos himself or his scribe. The book of Isaiah on the other hand presents more problems, some scholars accept that it is the work of one person, others state that parts of the book describe events that happened long after the prophet’s death and must therefore have been written by a second and even third authors. By and large however these scholars reject the religious belief that God alone directed the course of history and this was perhaps why Isaiah could have been cognisant of future events. Certainly Isaiah lived in turbulent times, Jerusalem was under siege from the Assyrian Sennacherib and Isaiah forthtold God’s wrath over the sins of the people. Assyrian will be the means of God punishing the people, in chapter 10 God speaks of Assyria as: the rod of my anger-the club in their hands is my fury! Against a godless nation I send him and against the people of my wrath I command him to take spoil, and seize plunder, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets  (Isaiah, 10:5-6).   ConclusionThe prophets Amos and Isaiah, forthtold or spoke against the injustices that they saw. They warned the people that if they did not return to the correct form of worship laid out by Moses and reiterated in the book of the prophet Hosea: that knowledge of God was achieved through doing justice and by pleading the cause of the oppressed. The prophets may have foretold some events but what is most important about the prophetic writings is their forthtelling. The prophets spoke out against the social conditions that they observed and the ways in which people dealt with each other. When they dealt unjustly then God did not want their worship because it was empty. Religion only meant something if its effects could be seen in the pursuit of justice and of just dealings with others. The prophets warned the people that God would punish them if they did not heed his call to repent. They did not just foretell doom, God loved the people, he would forgive them if they returned to him, but if they did not then the prophets warned that only a remnant would be saved. It is not easy always to separate where the prophets may be speaking of future events or whether this has been altered when the books were edited. What is clear is that the prophets were forthtellers in that from their observation of the social conditions they spoke forth what they believed was God’s word to the people. Bibliography Clines, D. Fowl, S. and Porter, S eds. 1990 The Bible in Three Dimensions: Essays in Celebration of Forty Years of Biblical Studies in the University of Sheffield Sheffield, Sheffield Academic Press Lemche, N 1995 Ancient Israel: A New History of Israelite Society Sheffield, Sheffield Academic Press Holy Bible 1995 New Revised Standard Version  Michigan, Zondervan Publishing House Whybray, N 1987 The Making of the Pentateuch (JSOT, 53: Sheffield, Sheffield Academic Press) http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12477a.htm
Sunday, January 19, 2020
Essay --
Throughout the years, the news media has existed in some form or another. Starting back in medieval times, news came primarily through a town crier, who spouted information about the events occurring in the kingdom. Then as the years progressed, alternative forms of news erupted; the newspaper, the radio, television. The three of these contained a central element: the reporter. However, depending on which outlet that a person decided to receive their news on, the stories may end up different. After all, when one watches the television, the reports depend on the use of flashy images and strong dialogue to press the news into the hearts of citizens. However, when someone catches their news in a written variety, be it a newspaper or a magazine, the reports tend to rely more heavily on the details. But both varieties of news media have their merits and their problems. For example, when following the Affordable Care Act website crash as well as the law's other glitches, the televi sed coverage and the print coverage painted a slightly different picture for what should have been the same story. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is a policy, passed in 2010 by President Barack Obama, that was made to reform the Health Care System as it once stood. The law, dubbed ObamaCare, made it mandatory for all citizens of the United States to have medical insurance by 2014. It also provided a framework for what a baseline medical insurance plan could have. Now, all coverage plans must include prenatal services as well as cancer screenings for woman, for one example. Another feature of the law is that it made a policy that stated that no person can be denied coverage because of a preexisting condition, such as asthma or diabetes. The Afforda... ...ds to be presented in a fact-based format, while for televised broadcasts, the information can be given through short snippets filled with photo and video evidence. In the example of ObamaCare glitches and problems, the story was fully fleshed out through the use of both television reports and printed articles. Without the statistics given through the journals, the video snippets given by the television wouldn't have much reason. The same occurs in the reverse. The televised industry is more widely used due to its accessibility. But neither is better than the other. After all, one doesn't know the whole story until they get both sides. If one option doesn't have the information you need, the other option probably will. Through the use of a critical mind and research, the whole story may be discovered. This can only be achieved through use of both resources.
Saturday, January 11, 2020
Advertising Message
Advertising Messages and Creative Approaches †¢ Whether advertising converts people into becoming brand-loyal customers or acts as a defensive shield to reassure current buyers, and whether central or peripheral cues are required, there still remains the decision about the nature and form of the message to be conveyed: the creative strategy. †¢ In practice, the generation of suitable messages is derived from the creative brief. For the sake of discussion and analysis, four elements will be considered.These concern the balance, the structure, the perceived source and the presentation o f the message to the target audience †¢ The Balance of the Message †¢ With high-involvement decisions, where persuasion occurs through a central processing route, the emphasis o f the message should be on the information content, in particular, the key attributes and the associated benefits. †¢ It is evident from previous discussions that the effectiveness of any single message is dependent upon a variety of issues.From a receiver's perspective, two elements appear to be significant: first, the amount and quality of the information that is communicated, and, second, the overall judgement that each individual makes about the way a message is communicated. †¢ The Balance of the Message †¢ This suggests that the style of a message should reflect a balance between the need for information and the need for pleasure or enjoyment in consuming the message.It is clear that when dealing with high-involvement decisions, where persuasion occurs through a central processing route, the emphasis of the message should be on the information content, in particular, the key attributes and the associated benefits. This style is often factual and product orientated. If the product evokes low-involvement decision-making, then the message should concentrate upon the images that are created within the mind of the message recipient. This style seeks to elicit an emotiona l response from receivers.There are, of course, many situations where both rational and emotional messages are needed by buyers in order to make purchasing decisions. †¢ Likeability †¢ Likeability is important, because learning and attitude change may be positively correlated with the degree to which consumption o f the message is enjoyed. †¢ An issue that has been gaining increasing attention since the beginning of the 1990s concerns the level of likeability that an advertisement generates. Likeability is important, because learning and attitude change may be positively correlated with the degree to which consumption of the message is enjoyed.This means that the greater the enjoyment, the greater the exposure to the message and the lower the probability that the message will be perceptually zapped. †¢ Biel (1990) found that changes in product preferences were considerably improved when receivers had `liked the commercial a lot'. This compares with those who were less enthusiastic or neutral towards the advertisement. Haley (1990) reported that advertisements that create a belief that the product is excellent and where messages that are liked are commercially more successful.In other words, a message that is well liked will sell more product than a message that fails to generate interest and liking. †¢ This begs the question, `what makes a message liked? ‘ Obviously, the receiver must be stimulated to become interested in the message. Having become emotionally engaged, interest can only be sustained if the credibility of the advertisement can also be maintained. The style of the message should be continued, in order that the context of the message does not require the target audience to readjust their perception.This is particularly important for low-involvement messages, where receivers have little or no interest. If the weak theory is adopted, then `liked' advertisements will tend to be those for whom the receiver has prior exp erience or exposure. Messages that are well liked appear to consist of the following components (du Plessis, 1998): 1. The advertisement needs to be entertaining. This usually means that the advertisement is new and people are curious. 2. People like advertisements with which they can identify and which show them in a good light 3.People appear to like advertisements that refer to products that are new, that tell them how the products might be useful to them and which show them how to use products. Otherwise, perceptual selection will ensure that messages for products of which target has no experience, or which the target has no interest in, will be screened regardless of the quality or the likeability of the communication The likeability level that an advertisement achieves is not the sole reason or measure of an advertisement's success or effectiveness (Joyce, 1991). Research from The Netherlands suggests that interest is also an important and interrelated factor. Stapel (1991) st rongly suggests that advertisers should make their messages interesting, as this will probably lead to liking and overall effectiveness. †¢ However, likeability and associated interest are new and interesting contributions that need to be considered when the style of an advertising message is determined. †¢ Message Structure An important part of message strategy is the consideration of the best way of communicating the key points, or core message, to the target audience without encountering objections and opposing points of view. The following are regarded as important structural features which shape the pattern of a message †¢ Conclusion Drawing †¢ Should the message draw a firm conclusion for the audience or should people be allowed to draw their own conclusions from the content? Explicit conclusions are, of course, more easily understood and stand a better chance of being effective (Kardes, 1988).However, it is the nature of the issue, the particular situation and the composition of the target audience that influence the effectiveness of conclusion drawing (Hovland and Mandell, 1952). Whether or not a conclusion should be drawn for the receiver depends upon the following: 1. The complexity o f the issue Healthcare products, central heating systems and personal finance services, for example, can be complex, and for some members of the target audience their cog nitive ability, experience and motivation may not be sufficient for them to draw their own conclusions.The complexity of the product requires that messages must draw conclusions for them. It should also be remembered that even highly informed and motivated audiences may require assistance if the product or issue is relatively new. 2. The level o f education possessed by the receiver Better-educated audiences prefer to draw their own conclusions, whereas less educated audiences may need the conclusion drawn for them because they may not be able to make the inference from the message. 3. Whether immediate action is required If urgent action is required by the receiver, then a conclusion should be drawn very clearly.Political parties can be observed to use this strategy immediately before an election. 4. The level o f involvement High involvement usually means that receivers prefer to make up their own minds and may reject or resent any attempt to have the conclusion drawn for them (Arora, 1985). One- and two-sided messages †¢ This concerns whether the cases for and against an issue or just that in favour are presented to an audience. Messages that present just one argument, in favour of the product or issue, are referred to as one-sided.Research indicates that one-sided messages are more effective when receivers favour the opinion offered in the message and when the receivers are less educated. †¢ Two-sided messages, where the good and bad points of an issue are presented, are more effective when the †¢ receiver's initial opinion is opposite to th at presented in the message and when they are highly educated. Credibility is improved and two-sided messages tend to produce more positive perceptions of a source than one-sided messages (Faison, 1961). †¢ Order of Presentation Further questions regarding the development of message strategy concern the order in which important points are presented. Messages which present the strongest points at the beginning use what is referred to as the primacy effect. The decision to place the main points at the beginning depends on whether the audience has a low or high level of involvement. A low level may require an attention-getting message component at the beginning. Similarly, if the target has an opinion opposite to that contained in the message, a weak point may lead to a high level of counter-argument. †¢ A decision to lace the strongest points at the end of the message assumes that the recency effect will bring about greater levels of persuasion. This is appropriate when the receiver agrees with the position adopted by the source or has a high positive level of involvement. †¢ The order of argument presentation is more relevant in personal selling than in television advertisements. However, as learning through television is largely passive, because involvement is low and interest minimal, the presentation of key selling points at the beginning and at the end of the message will enhance message reception and recall. A decision to place the strongest points at the end of the message assumes that the recency effect will bring about greater levels of persuasion. This is appropriate when the receiver agrees with the position adopted by the source or has a high positive level of involvement. †¢ The order of argument presentation is more relevant in personal selling than in television advertisements. However, as learning through television is largely passive, because involvement is low and interest minimal, the presentation of key selling points at t he beginning and at the end of the message will enhance message reception and recall. A decision to place the strongest points at the end of the message assumes that the recency effect will bring about greater levels of persuasion. This is appropriate when the receiver agrees with the position adopted by the source or has a high positive level of involvement. †¢ The order of argument presentation is more relevant in personal selling than in television advertisements. However, as learning through television is largely passive, because involvement is low and interest minimal, the presentation of key selling points at the beginning and at the end of the message will enhance message reception and recall. Source of the Message †¢ The effect of source credibility. on the effectiveness of the communication, and in particular the persuasiveness of a message, should not he underestimated. †¢ The key components of source credibility are, first, the level of perceived expertise (how much knowledge the source is thought to hold) and the personal motives the source is believed to possess. What degree of trust can be placed in the source concerning the motives for communicating the message in the first place? No matter what the level of expertise, if the level of trust is questionable, credibility ,will be adversely affected. Establishing Credibility †¢ Credibility can be established in a number of ways. One simple approach is to list or display the key attributes of the organisation or the product and then signal trustworthiness through the use of third-party endorsements and the comments of satisfied users. †¢ A more complex approach is to use referrals, suggestions and association. Trustworthiness and expertise, the two principal aspects of credibility, can be developed by using a spokesperson or organisation to provide testimonials on behalf of the sponsor of the. advertisement. Credibility, therefore, can be established by the initiator of the advertisement or by a messenger or spokesperson used by the initiator to convey the message. †¢ Credibility Established by the Initiator †¢ The credibility of the organisation initiating the communication process is important. An organisation should seek to enhance its reputation with its various stakeholders at every opportunity. †¢ However, organisational credibility is derived from the image, which in turn is a composite of many perceptions. Past decisions, current strategy and performance indicators, level of service and the type of performance network members (e. . high-quality retail outlets) all influence the perception of an organisation and the level of credibility that follows. †¢ Credibility Established by the Initiator †¢ One very important factor that influences credibility is branding. Private and family brands in particular allow initiators to develop and launch new products more easily than those who do not have such brand strength. Brand ext ensions (such as Mars icecream) have been launched with the credibility of the product firmly grounded in the strength of the parent brand name (Mars).Consumers recognise the name and make associations that enable them to lower the perceived risk and in doing so provide the platform to try the new product. †¢ The need to establish high levels of credibility also allows organisations to divert advertising spend away from a focus upon brands to one that focuses upon the organisation. Corporate advertising seeks to adjust organisation image and to build reputation. †¢ Credibility Established by a Spokesperson †¢ People who deliver the message are often regarded as the source, when in reality they are only the messenger. These people carry the message and represent the true source or initiator of the message (e. g. manufacturer or retailer). Consequently, the testimonial they transmit must be credible. There are four main types of spokesperson: the expert, the celebrity, the chief executive officer and the consumer. †¢ The expert has been used many times and was particularly popular when television advertising first established itself in the 1950s and 1960s. Experts are quickly recognisable because they either wear white coats and round glasses or dress and act like `mad professors'.Through the use of symbolism, stereotypes and identification, these characters (and indeed others) can be established very quickly in the minds of receivers and a frame of reference generated which does not question the authenticity of the message being transmitted by such a person. Experts can also be users of products, for example, professional photographers endorsing cameras, secretaries endorsing word processors and professional golfers endorsing golf equipment †¢ Credibility Established by a Spokesperson Entertainment and sporting celebrities have been used increasingly in the 1990s, not only to provide credibility for a range of high-involvement (e. g. An gus Deayton for Barclaycard and Marianne Paithfull for Virgin Atlantic, and low-involvement decisions (e. g. David Beckham for Brylcream) but also to grab the attention of people in markets where motivation to decide between competitive products may be low. The celebrity enables the message to stand out among the clutter and noise that typify many markets. It is also hoped that the celebrity and or the voice-over will become a peripheral cue in the decision-making process: Joanna Lumley for Boots Opticians and AOL email, Gary Lineker for Walkers Crisps and Heather Lockyear for L'Oreal. There are some potential problems which advertisers need to be aware of when considering the use of celebrities. First, does the celebrity fit the image of the brand and will the celebrity be acceptable to the target audience? Consideration also needs to be given to the longer-term elationship between the celebrity and the brand. Should the lifestyle of the celebrity change, what impact will the chang e have on the target audience and their attitude towards the brand? Witness the separation of the (then) England football coach, Glenn Hoddle, and his wife, and the consequent termination of the Weetabix advertisement set around the family breakfast table. †¢ This matching process can be used to change brand attitudes as well as reinforce them. BT wanted to change the attitude that men had to telephone calls.Rather than being just the bill payer and the gatekeeper of calls to other members of the family, the role Bob Hoskins had was to demonstrate male behaviour and to present a solution that was acceptable to all members of the family. Attitudes held by men towards the telephone and its use changed significantly as a result of the campaign, partly because Hoskins was perceived as a credible spokesperson, someone with whom men could identify and feel comfortable. †¢ The second problem concerns the impact that the celebrity makes relative to the brand.There is a danger that the receiver remembers the celebrity but not the message or the brand that is the focus of the advertising spend. The celebrity becomes the hero, rather than the product being advertised. Summers (1993) suggests that the Cinzano advertisements featuring Joan Collins and Leonard Rossiter are a classic example of the problem: `The characters so dwarfed the product that consumers may have had trouble recalling the brand'. †¢ Issues such as brand development can also be impeded when identification by an audience with the celebrity is strong.Sony had to fade audiences away from its association with John Cleese by using a Robot/Cleese look-alike for a period. †¢ Richard Branson is used to promote Virgin Financial products and Victor Kiam `so liked the razor that he bought the company' (Remington). Here, the CEO openly promotes his company. This form of testimonial is popular when the image of the CEO is positive and the photogenic and on-screen characteristics provide for enhan ced credibility. Bernard Mathews has established authenticity and trustworthiness with his personal promotion of Norfolk Roasts. †¢ The final form of spokesperson is the consumer.By using consumers to endorse products, the audience is being asked to identify with a `typical consumer'. The identification of similar lifestyles, interests and opinions allows for better reception and understanding of the message. Consumers are often depicted testing similar products, such as margarine and butter. The Pepsi Challenge required consumers to select Pepsi from Coca-Cola through blind taste tests. By showing someone using the product, someone who is similar to the receiver, the source is perceived as credible and the potential for successful persuasion is considerably enhanced. Sleeper Effects †¢ The assumption so far has been that high credibility enhances the probability of persuasion and successful communication. This is true when the receiver's initial position is opposite to th at contained in the message. When the receiver's position is favourable to the message, a moderate level of credibility may be more appropriate. †¢ Whether source credibility is high, medium or low is of little consequence, according to some researchers (Hannah and Sternthal, 1984).The impact of the source is believed to dissipate after approximately six weeks and only the content of the message is thought to dominate the receiver's attention. This sleeper effect (Hovland et al. , 1949) has not been proved empirically, but the implication is that the persuasiveness of a message can increase through time. Furthermore, advertisers using highly credible sources need to repeat the message on a regular basis, in order that the required level of effectiveness and persuasion be maintained (Schiffman and Kanuk, 1991). †¢ Presentation of the Message The presentation of the promotional message requires that an appeal be made to the target audience. The appeal is important, because u nless the execution of the message appeal (the creative) is appropriate to the target audience's perception and expectations, the chances of successful communication are reduced. †¢ There are two main factors associated with the presentation. Is the message to be dominated by the need to transmit product-orientated information or is there a need to transmit a message which appeals predominantly to the emotional senses of the receiver?The main choice of presentation style, therefore, concerns the degree of factual information transmitted in a message against the level of imagery thought necessary to make sufficient impact for the message to command attention and then be processed. There are numerous presentational or executional techniques, but the following are some of the more commonly used appeals. †¢ Appeals Based upon the Provision of Information †¢ Factual †¢ Sometimes referred to as the `hard sell', the dominant objective of these appeals is to provide info rmation.This type of appeal is commonly associated with high-involvement decisions where receivers are sufficiently motivated and able to process information. †¢ Persuasion, according to the ELM, is undertaken through the central processing route. This means that advertisements should be rational and contain logically reasoned arguments and information in order that receivers are able to complete their decision-making processes †¢ †¢ The establishment of credibility is vital if any message is to be accepted.One of the ways in which this can be achieved is to present the message in such a way that the receiver can identify immediately with the scenario being presented. This process of creating similarity is used a great deal in advertising and is referred to as slice-of-life advertising. For example, many washing powder advertisers use a routine that depicts two ordinary women (assumed to be similar to the target receiver), invariably in a kitchen or garden, discussing the poor results achieved by one of their washing powders. Following the advice of one of the women, the stubborn stains are seen to be overcome by the focus brand. The overall effect of this appeal is for the receiver to conclude the following: that person is like me; I have had the same problem as that person; he or she is satisfied using brand X, therefore, I too will use brand X. This technique is simple, well tried, well liked and successful, despite its sexist overtones. It is also interesting to note that a number of surveys have found that a majority of women feel that advertisers use inappropriate stereotyping to portray females roles, these being predominantly housewife and mother roles. †¢ Demonstration A similar technique is to present the problem to the audience as a demonstration. The focus brand is depicted as instrumental in the resolution of a problem. †¢ Headache remedies, floor cleaners and tyre commercials have traditionally demonstrated the pain, the dirt and the danger respectively and then shown how the focus brand relieves the pain (Panadol), removes the stubborn dirt (Flash) or stops in the wet on a coin (or edge of a rooftop – Continental tyres). †¢ Whether the execution is believable is a function of the credibility and the degree of life-like dialogue or copy that is used. Comparative Advertising †¢ Comparative advertising is a popular means of positioning brands. Messages are based upon the comparison of the focus brand with either a main competitor brand or all competing brands, with the aim of establishing superior. †¢ The comparison may centre upon one or two key attributes and can be a good way of entering new markets. Entrants keen to establish a presence in a market have little to lose by comparing themselves with market leaders. †¢ However, market leaders have a great deal to lose and little to gain by comparing themselves with minor competitors. Appeals Based Upon Emotions and Feelings †¢ Appeals based on logic and reason are necessary in particular situations. However, as products become similar and as consumers become more aware of the range of available products, so the need to differentiate becomes more important. Increasing numbers of advertisers are using messages which seek to appeal to the target's emotions and feelings, a `soft sell'. Cars, toothpaste, toilet tissue and mineral water often use emotion-based messages to differentiate their products. There are a number of appeals that can be used to solicit an emotional response from the receiver. Of the many techniques available, the main ones that can be observed to be used most are fear, humour, animation, sex, music, and fantasy and surrealism. †¢ Fear †¢ Fear is used in one of two ways. The first type demonstrates the negative aspects or physical dangers associated with a particular behaviour or improper product usage. Drink driving, life assurance and toothpaste advertising typify this form of appeal. The second approach is the threat of social rejection or disapproval if the focus product is not used. This type of fear is used frequently in advertisements for such products as anti-dandruff shampoos and deodorants and is used to support consumers' needs for social acceptance and approval. †¢ Fear appeals need to be constrained, if only to avoid being categorised as outrageous and socially unacceptable. There is a great deal of evidence that fear can facilitate attention and interest in a message and even motivate an individual to take a particular course of action: for example, to stop smoking.Fear appeals are persuasive, according to Schiffman and Kanuk (1991), when low to moderate levels of fear are induced. †¢ Ray and Wilkie (1970), however, show that should the level of fear rise too much, inhibiting effects may prevent the desired action occurring. This inhibition is caused by the individual choosing to screen out, through perceptive selection, mess ages that conflict with current behaviour. The outcome may be that individuals deny the existence of a problem, claim there is no proof or say that it will not happen to them. †¢ Humour The use of humour as an emotional appeal is attractive because it can draw attention and stimulate interest. A further reason to use humour is that it can put the receiver in a positive mood. Mood can also be important, as receivers in a positive mood are likely to process advertising messages with little cognitive elaboration (Batra and Stayman, 1990). †¢ This can occur because there is less effort involved with peripheral rather than central cognitive processing, and this helps to mood protect. In other words, the positive mood state is more likely to be maintained if cognitive effort is avoided.Yellow Pages have used humour quietly to help convey the essence of their brand and to help differentiate it from the competition †¢ It is also argued that humour is effective because argumen t quality is likely to be high. That is, the level of counter-argument can be substantially reduced. Arguments against the use of humour concern distraction from the focus brand, so that while attention is drawn, the message itself is lost. With the move to global branding and standardisation of advertising messages, humour does not travel well. While the level and type of humour are difficult to gauge in the context of the processing abilities of a domestic target audience, cultural differences seriously impede the transfer of jokes around the world. Visual humour (lavatorial, Benny Hill type approaches) is more universally acceptable (Archer, 1994) than word-based humour, as the latter can get lost in translation without local references to provide clues to decipher the joke. †¢ Humour, therefore, is a potentially powerful yet dangerous form of appeal.Haas (1997) reports that UK advertising executives have significantly higher confidence in the use of humour than their US cou nterparts, but concludes that ‘humour is a vague concept and that its perception is influenced by many factors'. These factors shape the context in which messages are perceived and the humour conveyed. †¢ Animation †¢ Animation techniques have advanced considerably in recent years, with children as the prime target audience. However, animation has been successfully used in many adulttargeted advertisements, such as those by Schweppes, Compaq, Tetley Tea, Direct Line Insurance and the Electricity Board. The main reason for using animation is that potentially boring and low-interest/involvement products can be made visually interesting and provide a means of gaining attention. A further reason for the use of animation is that it is easier to convey complex products in a way that does not patronise the viewer. †¢ Sex †¢ Sexual innuendo and the use of sex as a means of promoting products and services are both common and controversial. Using sex as an appeal in messages is excellent for gaining the attention of buyers. †¢ Research shows, however, that it often achieves little else, particularly when the product is unrelated.Therefore, sex appeals normally work well for products such as perfume, clothing and jewelry but provide for poor effectiveness when the product is unrelated, such as cars, photocopiers and furniture. †¢ Haagen-Dazs premium ice-cream entered the UK market using pleasure as central to the message appeal. This approach was novel to the product class and the direct, natural relationship between the product and the theme contributed to the campaign's success. †¢ The use of sex in advertising messages is mainly restricted to getting the attention of the audience and, in some circumstances, sustaining interest.It can be used openly, as in various lingerie, fragrance and perfume advertisements, such as WonderBra and Escape, sensually, as in the Haagen-Dazs and Cointreau campaigns, and humorously in the Locketts brand. †¢ Music †¢ Music can provide continuity between a series of advertisements can and also be a good peripheral cue. A jingle, melody or tune, if repeated sufficiently, can become associated with the advertisement. Processing and attitudes towards the advertisement may be directly influenced by the music.Music has the potential to gain attention and assist product differentiation. Braithwaite and Ware (1997) found that music in advertising messages is used primarily either to create a mood or to send a branded message. In addition, music can also be used to signal a lifestyle and so communicate a brand identity through the style of music used. †¢ Many advertisements for cars use music, partly because it is difficult to find a point of differentiation (Independent, 18 October 1996), and music is able to draw attention, generate mood and express brand personality (e. . Rover, BMW, Nissan Micra, Peugeot, Renault). †¢ Some luxury and executive cars are advertise d using commanding background music to create an aura of power, prestige and affluence, which is combined with strong visual images in order that an association be made between the car and the environment in which it is positioned. There is a contextual juxtaposition between the car and the environment presented. Readers may notice a semblance of classical conditioning, where the music acts as an unconditioned stimulus.Foxall and Goldsmith (1994) suggest that the stimulus elicits the unconditioned emotional responses that may lead to the purchase of the advertised product †¢ Fantasy and Surrealism †¢ The use of fantasy and surrealism in advertising has grown partly as a result of the increased clutter and legal constraints imposed on some product classes. By using fantasy appeals, associations with certain images and symbols allow the advertiser to focus attention on the product. The receiver can engage in the distraction offered and become involved with the execution of t he advertisement.If this is a rewarding experience it may be possible to affect the receiver's attitudes peripherally. Readers may notice that this links to the earlier discussion on `liking the advertisement'. †¢ Finally, an interesting contribution to the discussion of message appeal has been made by Lannon (1992). She reports that consumers' expectations of advertisements can be interpreted on the one hand as either literal or stylish and on the other as serious or entertaining, according to the tone of voice. This approach vindicates the view that consumers are active problem solvers and willing and able to decode increasingly complex messages.They can become involved with the execution of the advertisement and the product attributes. The degree of involvement (she argues implicitly) is a function of the motivation each individual has at any one moment when exposed to a particular message. †¢ Fantasy and Surrealism †¢ Advertisers can challenge individuals by prese nting questions and visual stimuli that demand attention and cognitive response. Guinness challenged consumers to decode a series of advertisements which were unlike all previous Guinness advertisements and, indeed, all messages in the product class. The celebrity chosen was dressed completely in black, which contrasted with his blonde hair, and he was shown in various time periods, past and future, and environments that receivers did not expect. He was intended to represent the personification of the drink and symbolised the individual nature of the product. Audiences were puzzled by the presentation and many rejected the challenge of interpretation. `Surfer' and `Bet on Black' are more recent Guinness campaigns which seek to convey the importance and necessity to wait (for the drink to be poured properly).To accomplish this, it portrays a variety of situations in which patience results in achievement. †¢ Fantasy and Surrealism †¢ When individuals respond positively to a challenge, the advertiser can either provide closure (an answer) or, through surreal appeals, leave the receivers to answer the questions themselves in the context in which they perceive the message. One way of achieving this challenging position is to use an appeal that cognitively disorients the receiver (Parker and Churchill, 1986). If receivers are led to ask the question `What is going on here? ‘ their involvement in the message is likely to be very high. Benetton consistently raises questions through its advertising. By presenting a series of messages that are socially disorientating, and for many disconcerting, Benetton continually presents a challenge that moves away from involving individuals into an approach where salience and `standing out' predominates. This high-risk strategy, with a risk of rejection, has prevailed for a number of years. The surrealist approach does not provide or allow for closure †¢ The conformist approach, by contrast, does require closur e in order to avoid any possible counter arguing and message rejection.Parker and Churchill argue that, by leaving questions unanswered, receivers can become involved in both the product and the execution of the advertisement. Indeed, most advertisements contain a measure of rational and emotional elements. A blend of the two elements is necessary and the right mixture is dependent upon the perceived risk and motivation that the target audience has at any one particular moment. †¢ The message appeal should be a balance of the informative and emotional dimensions. Furthermore, message quality is of paramount importance.Buzzell (1964) reported that `Advertising message quality is more important than the level of advertising expenditure'. Adams and Henderson Blair (1992) confirm that the weight of advertising is relatively unimportant, and that the quality of the appeal is the dominant factor. However, the correct blend of informative and emotional elements in any appeal is paramo unt for persuasive effectiveness. †¢ Advertising Tactics †¢ The main creative elements of a message need to be brought together in order for an advertising plan to have substance.The processes used to develop message appeals need to be open but systematic. †¢ The level of involvement and combination of the think/emotional dimensions that receivers bring to their decision-making processes are the core concepts to be considered when creating an advertising message. Rossiter and Percy (1997) have devised a deductive framework which involves the disaggregation of the emotional (feel) dimension to a greater degree than that proposed by Vaughn (1980) (see Chapter 12 for details). They claim that there are two broad types of motive that drive attitudes towards purchase behaviour.These are informational and transformational motives and these will now be considered in turn. †¢ Informational Motives †¢ Individuals have a need for information to counter negative concer ns about a purchase decision. These informational motives are said to be negatively charged feelings. They can become positively charged, or the level of concern can be reduced considerably, by the acquisition of relevant information. †¢ Transformational Motives †¢ Promises to enhance or to improve the user of a brand are referred to as transformational motives.These are related to the user's feelings and are capable of transforming a user's emotional state, hence they are positively charged. Three main transformational motives have been distinguished by Rossiter et al. (1991): †¢ Various emotional states can be associated with each of these motives, and they should be used to portray an emotion that is appropriate to the needs of the target audience. †¢ One of the key promotion objectives, identified earlier, is the need to create or improve levels of awareness regarding the product or organisation.This is achieved by determining whether awareness is required at the paint of purchase or prior to purchase. Brand recognition (at the point of purchase) requires an emphasis upon visual stimuli, the package and the brand name, whereas brand recall (prior to purchase) requires an emphasis on a limited number of peripheral cues. These may be particular copy lines, the use of music or colours for continuity and attention-getting frequent use of the brand name in the context of the category need, or perhaps the use of strange or unexpected presentation formats. Advertising tactics can be determined by the particular combination of involvement and motives that exist at a particular time within the target audience. †¢ If a high involvement decision process is determined with people using a central processing route then the types of tactics shown in Figures 21. 2 and 21. 3 are recommended by Rossiter and Percy(1997). If a low-involvement decision process is determined with the target audience using a peripheral processing route, then the types of tactics shown in Figures 21. and 21. 5 are recommended. †¢ The Rossiter-Percy approach provides for a range of advertising tactics that are oriented to the conditions that are determined by the interplay of the level of involvement and the type of dominant motivation. These conditions may only exist within a member of the target audience for a certain time. Consequently, they may change and the advertising tactics may also have to change to meet the new conditions. There are two points that emerge form the work of Rossiter and Percy.The first is that all messages should be designed to carry both rational, logical information and emotional stimuli but in varying degrees and forms. Second, low involvement conditions require the use of just one or two benefits in a message whereas high involvement conditions can sustain a number of different benefit claims. This is because †¢ persuasion through the central processing route is characterized by an evaluation of the alternative s within any one product category
Friday, January 3, 2020
Analyzing and Summarizing Math Data - 1438 Words
Introduction | | |AJ DAVIS is a department store chain, which has many credit customers and wants to find out more information about these customers. A sample of 50 credit customers is selected with data collected on the following five variables: 1. LOCATION (Rural, Urban, Suburban) 2. INCOME (in $1,000 s – be careful with this) 3. SIZE (Household Size, meaning number of people living in the household) 4. YEARS (the number of years that the customer has lived in the current location) 5. CREDIT BALANCE (the customers current credit card balance on the store s credit card, in $). |PROJECT PART A: Exploratory Data Analysis | |†¦show more content†¦Discuss your 3rd pairing of variables, using graphical, numerical summary and interpretation H. Conclusion |Project Part B: Hypothesis Testing and Confidence Intervals | | Your manager has speculated the following: a. the average (mean) annual income was less than $50,000, b. the true population proportion of customers who live in an urban area exceeds 40%, c. the average (mean) number of years lived in the current home is less than 13 years, d. the average (mean) credit balance for suburban customers is more than $4300. 1. Using the data set currently posted inside DocSharing, perform the hypothesis test for each of the above situations in order to see if there is evidence to support your manager’s belief in each case a.-d. In each case use the Seven Elements of a Test of Hypothesis, in Section 6.2 of your text book with ÃŽ ± = .05, and explain your conclusion in simple terms. Also be sure to compute the p-value and interpret. 2. Follow this up with computing 95% confidence intervals for each of the variables described in a.-d., and again interpreting these intervals. 3. Write a report to your manager about the results, distilling down the re sults in a way that would be understandable to someone who does not know statistics. Clear explanations and interpretations are critical. 4. AllShow MoreRelatedInterpretation By Summarizing. To Summarize Is To State1463 Words  | 6 PagesInterpretation by Summarizing To summarize is to state the most important points. We might try to summarize the Bible. We might try to summarize some scientific observations. We might try to summarize our experiences. We might try to summarize this book. Many of our statements are summaries. It would be nice if we could interpret our observations and experiences by pure objective summarizing. It’s very difficult though. Our worldviews get in the way. Anytime we summarize, we leave out informationRead MoreBeing A Double Economics And Mathematics Major Student924 Words  | 4 Pagestheme minor to analyze China’s trade. 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Knowing which companies have the best production methods or customer loyalty helps new companies understand how they can create a competitive advantage when entering aRead MoreQuestions On Writing Assignments : The Klandermans And Staggenborg Text4910 Words  | 20 Pagesmeasurement procedure that involves asking questions of respondents.? 1 The importance of survey research cannot be understated, as it is estimated that in the 1980s and 1990s one out of every five studies published utilized survey research as part of their data.2 Survey research can be as simplistic as the traditional, short question and answer survey filled out in pencil to an in-depth interview format with a variety of questions.3 In social movement research surveys such as questionnaires and interviewsRead Moreme I and me7467 Words  | 30 PagesCh. 1 Data Collection 1.1 Introduction to the Practice of Statistics 1 Define statistics and statistical thinking. 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Thursday, December 26, 2019
The Wasat Party in Egypt Promoting a Liberal Political...
The Wasat Party has slowly become an important opposition party throughout the years that promotes a more liberal political environment in Egypt. The article explains that before the Wasat Party had the legal status of an official party, the foundation was being formed secretively by young leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood. The young leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood were considering democratization to be a better option because of the positive impacts in had on other countries around the world. Moreover, the young leaders didn’t desire the repression they had to go through because of the strict interpretation of the Shari‘a, the Islamic law. The Shari‘a condemned aspects Therefore, the young leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood had to keep their intentions of their aspiring new political party secret until it was exposed to the regime. The Wasat Party offered more liberal interpretation of the Shari’a as well as provides different ideas of what undermined the Islamic core values the differed from the Muslim Brotherhood. There are three important ideological principles that characterize the Wasat Party that differ from the Muslim Brotherhood. The first ideological principle is the interpretation of the Shari‘a and its role in politics. For the Muslim Brotherhood the Shari‘a is a set of binding rules that have a major role in politics. They are fully bound by the rules and provide various measures of repression to any violators of such rules. In contrast, the Wasat Party
Wednesday, December 18, 2019
The Effect of Information Technology on Human Life
How Information Technology Has Effected Each Part Of Human Life 1.1 Introduction: Present day information era has given lots of freedoms to the citizens, which was not probable without the arrival of this age. The users of Information Systems have willingly available information, for example, full Encyclopedia Britannica in one CD with all types of sà ¸ °Ã ¸â€¢arch fà ¸ °Ã ¸â€¢aturà ¸ °Ã ¸â€¢s is availablà ¸ °Ã ¸â€¢, pointing towards corrà ¸ °Ã ¸â€¢ct information within thà ¸ °Ã ¸â€¢ right timà ¸ °Ã ¸â€¢. Picture doing this with the book version of the Encyclopedia, sieving through several pagà ¸ °Ã ¸â€¢s looking out for thà ¸ °Ã ¸â€¢ information alphabà ¸ °Ã ¸â€¢tically and still may not bà ¸ °Ã ¸â€¢ ablà ¸ °Ã ¸â€¢ to rà ¸ °Ã ¸â€¢trià ¸ °Ã ¸â€¢và ¸ °Ã ¸â€¢ it. Another benefit of Information System is the accessibility of real time information on any area. For example, users can login to their banks website, credit card site, or share markà ¸ °Ã ¸â€¢ts for any onlinà ¸ °Ã ¸â€¢ transactions. No doubt, this providà ¸ °Ã ¸â€¢s conv à ¸ °Ã ¸â€¢nià ¸ °Ã ¸â€¢ncà ¸ °Ã ¸â€¢ but it also comà ¸ °Ã ¸â€¢s with its own pricà ¸ °Ã ¸â€¢ of managing thà ¸ °Ã ¸â€¢ sà ¸ °Ã ¸â€¢curity of thà ¸ °Ã ¸â€¢ transactions. Crimà ¸ °Ã ¸â€¢s against Information systà ¸ °Ã ¸â€¢ms is a growing concà ¸ °Ã ¸â€¢rn amongst thà ¸ °Ã ¸â€¢ Cybà ¸ °Ã ¸â€¢r sà ¸ °Ã ¸â€¢curity à ¸ °Ã ¸â€¢xpà ¸ °Ã ¸â€¢rts and Fà ¸ °Ã ¸â€¢dà ¸ °Ã ¸â€¢ral Law agà ¸ °Ã ¸â€¢ncià ¸ °Ã ¸â€¢s as this has thà ¸ °Ã ¸â€¢ potà ¸ °Ã ¸â€¢ntial to bring down a systà ¸ °Ã ¸â€¢m and opà ¸ °Ã ¸â€¢ration which otherwise would run smoothly. 1.2 Background: Information Technology (IT) is a broad based term that includes a combination of the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of information in a computing or telecommunications platform. In terms of a scientific discipline, it is relatively new,Show MoreRelatedEffects of Rising Technology1196 Words  | 5 PagesEffects of Rising Technology In the twenty first century, evolution and constant use of technology have greatly impacted humans, and their ways to approaching media. Many people believe that technology has improved the quality of life of the people at a great depth, while others see it as a force that has escaped from human control. Modern technology such as Internet, may help people solve problems or gather information faster than an ordinary human being is capable of. At theRead MoreTechnology And Its Effect On Human Development888 Words  | 4 PagesMemory, as the most basic mode of information transfer in human experience, has shaped identity and created continuity through time throughout history. Historically, technology has provided memory-aid devices to assist human’s interactions with information. However, with the prevalence of computers and digital technologies today, there are modern concerns about whether the use of technology is to assist human activity and that to replace h uman intelligence. While current debates rage on about theRead MoreThe Pros And Cons Of Technology1591 Words  | 7 PagesYes: In the world we live in, technology is advancing everywhere from software to machines and even cooking utensils. Improvements to our lives, by technology, include electricity, medical technology, fast productions and, Access to information and education. Without technology the world would be different and it would leave us at a disadvantage. Imagine a world without internet where your teacher assigns you an essay to research nuclear fission. Without the internet, you would have to go toRead MoreTechnology has Effects in Our Lives The development of technology has significantly changed700 Words  | 3 PagesTechnology has Effects in Our Lives The development of technology has significantly changed society. An endless number of People all over the world use and benefit from modern technology, and the incredible opportunities it provides play a significant role in almost all fields of human life. Technology has simplified the access to many necessary tools people need in education, industry, medicine, communication, transportation, and so on. However, excessive usage of technology has its drawbacksRead MoreThe Internet s Effect On State Society Relations979 Words  | 4 Pagesabout social effects of the internet and technology existed in the past and today’s situation is not different. Internet, similar to telephone in the past raised some questions regarding the social effects but we don’t have to worry. It opposes the main concept of all other sources regarding effects of technology. The seventh article is, â€Å"Weighing the Scales: The Internet s Effect on State-Society Relations†by Daniel W Drezner the article explains the effect of the internet (technology) on the relationshipsRead MoreThe Need for Policy Makers to Regulate Human Genetic Engineering1255 Words  | 6 PagesHuman genetic engineering (HGE), a prevalent topic for scientists in research, is the process of manipulating genes in the human genome. Potentially, scientists can use the process of HGE to alter many biological and psychological human traits by gene modification. Currently, however, there is a large deficiency in information regarding HGE and its effects to the human body; creating a need for scientists to conduct more research and tests. Because of the many unknowns involving HGE it is necessaryRead More The Impact of Internet on Users and their Way of Thinking Essay1204 Words  | 5 Pagesusers spend most of their life online. One of the recent trends is the development of social networks, which encourage the creation of realistic communities. In such a situation, the question concerning the impact of Internet on human being, especially on human brain and behavior arises. In this concern, views on the impact of Internet vary consistently. On the one hand, Internet is recognized as a valuable intermediate, which helps users to share and broadcast information easily. But, another viewRead MoreTechnology Is A Useful Servant, But A Dangerous Master866 Words  | 4 Pagesâ€Å"Technology is a useful servant, but a dangerous master.†– Christian Lous Lange. BrainyQuote.com. Xplore Inc, 2015. 28 October 2015. Technology has been a debating topic since it has become a key part of the modern lifestyle. Technology developed around human life in various ways which have caused diverse effects on people. Despite the fact that technology have done tremendous things that assisted humankind to gain the possibility of developing rapidly an advanced way of life, technology haveRead MoreThe Transformation Of Collective Learning898 Words  | 4 PagesHumans kept learning and inventing new technologies associated with agriculture, and slowly kept building their knowledge through the process of collective learning. As populations were increasing in size and the domestication of certain animals made work easier and gave humans the ability to travel ever further more information was being shared and new technologies traded between societies. This increase in populations created a need for leadership and gave rise to cities and states being formedRead MoreCause Of Social Media Essay702 Words  | 3 Pagesimpact into human life. Social media is channels or means of social interaction online in cyberspace (internet). Social media users communicate, interact, send messages, and share, and build networks (romelteamedia). Until now, all on this earth are already using social media. Why social media is important? Social media is important to people because social media can connect us with many people. Now, people using social media for texting, video call, messaging, and et cetera. Humans use social
Tuesday, December 10, 2019
Graft and Corruption free essay sample
It refers to the acquisition of gain in dishonest or questionable manner. CORRUPTION has been defined as the misuse or abuse of public office for private gain both in government and the private sector. It comes in several illicit forms, including bribery, extortion, fraud, nepotism, graft, speed money, pilferage, theft, embezzlement, falsification of records, kickbacks, influence peddling and campaign contributions. is the perversion or destruction of integrity or fidelity in discharging public duties and responsibilities by bribery or favor. It entails the use of public power for private advantage in ways which transgresses some formal rule of law. It involves participants from within and outside of the bureaucracy. it ? refers to the use of public office for private gain or the betrayal of public trust for private gain, (National Anti-Corruption Framework and Strategy, 2000). rottenness: putrid matter: impurity: bribery. Source- Chambers Dictionary According to common usage of term ? Corruption? Sometimes also the act of the officials offering such gifts or other tempting favors is implied in the concept. Extortion, i. e. demanding such gifts or favors in the execution of public duties, too, may be regarded as ? Corruption.? Indeed, the term Page 1 of 31 pages is sometimes also applied to officials who use the public funds they administer for their own benefit; who, in other words, are guilty of embezzlement at the expense of a public body. In most instances, reference to corruption is made in connection with other subjects, such as crime or public administration. Many works referring to corruption do not attempt a conceptual and actual analysis. The commonly held perception amongst most people of corruption is that of something that is debased, impure, or acts of criminality. Indeed, corruption as it relates to human behavior can be all of those things and more. Innate in the human psyche, irrespective of race or religion, is a sense of morality, of what is right and wrong. As innate as this sense of morality, is the desire to gain advantage over others. A conflict of good and evil. Thankfully most people display more of the good, and some display extraordinary feats of humility and selflessness. Yet others sway to the easy path of seeking advantage, wherever they can get it. Self and self gratification are their main motives. These individuals it could be said are corrupt or corruptible. Corruption weakens the fabric of societies and leads to the society becoming dysfunctional. The 1987 Constitution of the Philippines provides the basis of ethical and accountable behavior in the public sector. Section 1 of Article XI states that: Public office is a public trust. Public officers and employees must at all times be accountable to the people, serve them with utmost responsibility, integrity, loyalty, and efficiency, act with patriotism and justice, and lead modest lives. This provision requires every public official and employee to exhibit and live certain values while in government service. In addition, the State has been mandated by the Constitution to ? maintain honesty and integrity in the public service and take positive and effective measures against graft and corruption?. In 1989, the Philippine legislature passed Republic Act No. 6713, a law embodying the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees. The Code spells out in fine detail the do‘s and don‘ts for government officials and employees in and out of the workplace. These do‘s and don‘ts are encapsulated in the eight norms of conduct to be observed by all government officials and employees. These norms or standards are: †¢ †¢ †¢ Commitment to public interest Professionalism Justness and sincerity Page 2 of 31 pages †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Political neutrality Responsiveness to the public Nationalism and patriotism Commitment to democracy Simple living The Code, likewise, introduced some reforms in the administrative systems like giving heads of agencies the responsibility of ensuring there is a value development program for their employees; continuing studies on work systems and procedures with the end in view of improving the delivery if public services; and, mandating the designation of a resident Ombudsman in every department, office and agency. Incentives and rewards system has also been put in place. Another comprehensive law passed to address and curb the commission of malfeasance in government is Republic Act No. 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act. In Section 1 of this law, it states that: It is the policy of the Philippine Government, in line with the principle that a public office is a public trust, to repress certain acts of public officer and private persons alike which constitute graft and corrupt practices which may lead thereto. This law specifies eleven (11) instances of corrupt practices in addition to acts or omissions already penalized by existing laws: In addition to acts or omissions of public officers already penalized by existing law, the following shall constitute corrupt practices of any public officer and are hereby declared to be unlawful: (a) Persuading, inducing or influencing another public officer to perform an act constituting a violation of rules and regulations duly promulgated by competent authority or an offense in connection with the official duties of the latter, or allowing himself to be persuaded, induced, or influenced to commit such violation or offense. Directly or indirectly requesting or receiving any gift, present, share, percentage, or benefit, for himself or for any other person, in connection with any contract or transaction between the Government and any other part, wherein the public officer in his official capacity has to intervene under the law. Directly or indirectly requesting or receiving any gift, present or other pecuniary or material benefit, for himself or for another, from any person for whom the public officer, in any manner or capacity, has secured or obtained, or will secure or obtain, any Government permit or license, in consideration for the help given or to be given, without prejudice to Section thirteen of this Act. Page 3 of 31 pages (d) Accepting or having any member of his family accept employment in a private enterprise which has pending official business with him during the pendency thereof or within one year after its termination. Causing any undue injury to any party, including the Government, or giving any private party any unwarranted benefits, advantage or preference in the discharge of his official administrative or judicial functions through manifest partiality, evident bad faith or gross inexcusable negligence. This provision shall apply to officers and employees of offices or government corporations charged with the grant of licenses or permits or other concessions. Neglecting or refusing, after due demand or request, without sufficient justification, to act within a reasonable time on any matter pending before him for the purpose of obtaining, directly or indirectly, from any person interested in the matter some pecuniary or material benefit or advantage, or for the purpose of favoring his own interest or giving undue advantage in favor of or discriminating against any other interested party. (g) Entering, on behalf of the Government, into any contract or transaction manifestly and grossly disadvantageous to the same, whether or not the public officer profited or will profit thereby. Directly or indirectly having financial or pecuniary interest in any business, contract or transaction in connection with which he intervenes or takes part in his official capacity, or in which he is prohibited by the Constitution or by any law from having any interest. (i) Directly or indirectly becoming interested, for personal gain, or having a material interest in any transaction or act requiring the approval of a board, panel or group of which he is a member, and which exercises discretion in such approval, even if he votes against the same or does not participate in the action of the board, committee, panel or group. Interest for personal gain shall be presumed against those public officers responsible for the approval of manifestly unlawful, inequitable, or irregular transaction or acts by the board, panel or group to which they belong. (j) Knowingly approving or granting any license, permit, privilege or benefit in favor of any person not qualified for or not legally entitled to such license, permit, privilege or advantage, or of a mere representative or dummy of one who is not so qualified or entitled. Divulging valuable information of a confidential character, acquired by his office or by him on account of his official position to unauthorized persons, or releasing such information in advance of its authorized release date. Page 4 of 31 pages The Constitution of 1987 provides six grounds as basis for initiating impeachment proceedings against high ranking government officials, among which are graft and corruption. Philippine laws rarely distinguish graft from corruption; these may even be used inter-changeably to refer to dishonest means or questionable activity or taking advantage of one‘s authority or position. Ivan Hill, formerly the Ethics Center at Washington D. C. , believes that honesty increases efficiency and productivity both in business and in government. The inference is that where there is dishonesty, there is the corresponding decrease of efficiency and productivity. Applied to public management, there will therefore be inefficient and poor delivery of service, and if the segment of the bureaucracy infested is a revenue collecting entity, like the Bureau of Customs and the Bureau of Internal Revenue, this could only mean a much depreciated revenue collection. The identity or similarity of their consequences, notwithstanding, In the Bureau of Internal Revenue, graft takes the form of falsification and manipulation of financial documents and other records and delay in forwarding remittance collections. Contract graft in public works construction may take the form of sealed bids which are but a formality because there already is a pre-arranged winner of the bid. The use of substandard construction materials is also another form of graft. BRIEF HISTORY OF GRAFT AND CORRUPTION IN THE PHILIPPINES Colonial roots The use of public office for private ends by government officials and private businessmen has been evident since the Spanish colonial period. A summary report by Elizabeth Medina of the conference proceedings of the Asociacion Espanola de Estudios del Pacifica (November 1997) discusses the kinds and causes of corruption in 19th-century Philippines. Medinas report said: The most important practices were falsification of accounting documents. The evidence of embezzlement of funds was destroyed and the cabezas de barangay were obliged to sign blank financial statements. Corrupt governors hid monies from the administration in Manila. They also found ways to discourage the natives from working so they would be thus liable to fines. Taxes and fees were arbitrarily set and excessively high, and illegal fines were often collected. Governors could embezzle the salaries of public officials and often demanded gifts from their hosts when they made official visits. Gifts were also necessary so that false documents would not be issued. The reasons for corruption were many: the governors had Page 5 of 31 pages executive, legislative and judicial powers. No checks and balances were built into the system, and when they were, they were unenforceable. There was a vague limit between what were public goods and what were private ones†¦ The salaries of public officials were low†¦ There was monetary crisis in the 19th century†¦ The laws were so complex as to easily hide misappropriations and fraud†¦ Finally, the common people had no idea of the law and submitted meekly to the injustices and abuses†¦ Many Filipinos today believe that corruption was negligible during the American colonial era. However, as suggested in Medinas report, corruption in the provinces was not altogether eradicated. According to Alfred McCoy (1994), the Americans even used the term cacique to describe the provincial elites who combined local office with landed wealth to gain extraordinary control over the countryside. The US colonial authority similarly tried to restrain rent-seeking by an emerging national elite. And although it was penetrated and manipulated by these elites, the colonial bureaucracy managed to maintain its influence until the 1930s. Although American colonial rule tried its best at eradicating corruption, there were incidents that already indicated its prevalence. Paul D. Hutchcroft (1998), for example, cites the solvency problems faced by the Philippine National Bank less than five years after its establishment in 1917. Loans were given out without consultation and went to well connected agricultural families, directors or interests controlled by directors. In 1921, an accounting firm reported that the PNB had squandered the entire capital stock contributed by the government as well as half of all government deposits in the bank. American legacy American colonial rule also helped develop another building block for the national spread of corruption. It maintained and expanded a big and interventionist government within a democratic framework. At the start, the colonial administrators promoted an economy led by private enterprise, and big business in particular, following the trend in the United States at the time. However, beginning in 1913, the government took an active role in the promotion of economic growth. Then, in 1916, the colonial administrators increasingly interfered in business. The consequent growth of government, as leader, large-scale development promoter and employer, laid the ground for massive and systematic corruption later in the countrys history. With this legacy came expanded opportunities for corruption. These included granting individuals and organizations of special favors, policy changes, licenses, business contracts, and even employment (which in a patron client system redound to personal gain). Such practices effectively destroyed the development of a merit system in the Philippines. After political independence in 1946, writers like nationalist Renato Constantino bewailed the pervasiveness of corruption in Philippine society. Daily, in the halls of Congress, through the Page 6 of 31 pages printed word and over the airwaves, our politicians and our civic leaders expose, denounce, or deplore this or that governments anomaly. During election time the principal issue is always graft and corruption. No wonder public concern is almost exclusively centered on malfeasance in government. But with every change of administration, the problem only becomes aggravated. The panaceas and the grandiose promises fizzle out. The accusers become the accused; the halo of righteousness changes heads. The list of dishonor is different but corruption remains the same. Graft and corruption persist, like a cancer gnawing at our entrails, showing no signs of abatement and consigning us to a state of helplessness and hopelessness. The Marcos government has been often regarded as the most systematically corrupt of all government administrations in the Philippines. This was not surprising considering the concentration of state powers in the President at the time. Unlike in previous administrations that more or less observed the independence of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government, Marcos effectively controlled these three branches. Eventually, crony capitalism reached its zenith with the centralization of political power and the realignment of concentrated economic power from the old elites to favored Marcos associates. Although the Marcos government has been considered as the most corrupt of all, succeeding political administrations had their own share and have not effectively controlled the problem. In fact, with the return to democracy after the EDSA Revolution, the perception is that the floodgates of corruption have been opened for more people at various levels of government and society. The vacuum left by the Marcos regime has been filled and even widened; opportunities have simply become available to a broader population. Characteristics of Corruption The characteristics of corruption are as follows: (a) Corruption always involves more than one person. This is need not be the case with stealing, for instance, or embezzlement. The lone operator is corruption is virtually nonexistent, and such cases usually fall under fraud. One instance is making a false declaration of traveling expenditure or hotel bills. But even here there is often a silent understanding between officials who practice such frauds to let the situation prevail. (b) Corruption on the whole involves secrecy, except where it has become so rampant and so deeply rooted that some powerful individuals or those under their protection would not bother to hide their activity. But nevertheless, even here the corrupt motive is kept secret. (c) Corruption involves an element of mutual obligation and mutual benefit. The obligation or benefit need not always be pecuniary. Those who practice corrupt methods usually attempt to camouflage their activities by resorting to some form of lawful justification. They avoid any open clash with the law. Page 7 of 31 pages (e) Those who are involved in corruption are those who want definite decisions and those who are able to influence those decisions. (f) Any act of corruption involves deception, usually of the public body or society at large. (g) Any form of corruption is a betrayal of trust. (h) Any form of corruption involves a contradictory dual function of those who are committing the act. When an official is bribed to issue a business license by the party who offers a ? gift? , the act of issuing the license is a function of both his office and his self-interest. He acts in a dual contradictory function. The same may be said of the party offering the bribe. Applying and receiving of license is a function of his lawful business interest, but resorting to bribery is not. (i) A corrupt act violates the norms of duty and responsibility within the civic order. It is based on the deliberate intent of subordinating common interest to specific interest. The above list of characteristics of corruption could be extended. For an act to be classified as corrupt it has to contain all the above characteristics. The only possible exception is where corruption is difficult to distinguish from criminal extortion, where the party who bribes was compelled to do so, grudgingly and resentfully, and where the bribery was not considered as a necessary outlay for future gain. In such cases the victims kept no secrecy. Opportunities for corruption abound in the absence or lack of order, transparency and accountability. Possible Causes of Graft and Corruption Ledivina V. Carino believes that corruption results from individual, organizational and societal causes. 1. individual  this results from low morality of both bureaucrats and clients 2. organizational  the weaknesses arising from the system may be due to unrealistic compensation, inadequate controls in areas not susceptible to corruption; lack of explicit standards of performance for individual employees and organizational units; poor recruitment and selection procedures and government red-tape. The inability of the organization to provide adequate services to cope with the volume of demand breeds black market operations for government subsidized services. Poor public relations could result to public ignorance of what the organization does. This whets employee appetite for corruption. Poor working conditions and office facilities, weak organizational leadership and bureaucratic politization are other contributory factors. 3. societal  these are causes which are primarily attributed to the culture of a society. The open tolerance of the public of undesirable and inefficient employees has bred an employee psychology of recalcitrance and lack of fear of being censured or criticized Page 8 of 31 pages because of the assurance given to them by their political ? backers? , all because of the â€Å"padrino system†or political patronage. The negative role model played by superiors creates an atmosphere of incompetence and defiance rather than efficiency and discipline. The â€Å"pakikisama†system puts heavy pressure upon the new employee to join his peers in the workplace as to perpetuate the legacy of administrative ineffectiveness. The Filipino is further beset by extreme familism and personalism which generate inefficient delivery of services. The expected behavior of the Filipino is arrayed against cultural norms most of which are anchored on personalism. In the Philippines, people who practice graft and corruption are often put on the pedestal; they attain respectability while those who do not engage in such practices are branded as â€Å"tanga for not taking advantage of their position and power. Behavior that is legally unacceptable may be ideal and acceptable depending upon the political culture of a society. The bureaucrat is expected to deal equally with everyone, whether relatives or strangers. They are not supposed to receive gifts in any form. However, this expected behavior often clashes with the personal way Filipinos get on terms with one another. The practice of taking care of their kin is a deeply ingrained trait which could result in partiality and preferment in his official dealings. He gives priority to the transactions of his family however down the file these may be. Such personalism is not limited only to blood relations but extends to all those sanctified by ritualistic ties like the compadre system, including neighbors, friends and other persons with whom, one interacts. All these practices explain the persistence of the social evils in our society. Social tolerance of these negativistic practices is complemented by passage of legislation without sufficient study of implications; the difficulty of proving graft and corruption cases; lack of political will to wage a determined anti-corruption campaign; poor educational orientation of the citizenry and clannishness and parochialism which destroys the merit system. There are three critical focal points of corruption in the bureaucracy. There is undervaluation when an importer depreciates his imported goods very much below the actual cost. For instance, a sardine importer brings in a million cans. He pays P2. 00 per can before taxes. Sardines are subject to 20% customs duty, as of January, 1991, or 40 centavos per can. If the importer is dishonest, he undervalues the importation to P1. 00 per can before taxes and therefore pays only 20 centavos instead of 40 centavos as customs duty. With millions of cans of sardines, and with the number of importers doing this, government is defrauded by the millions of pesos. Customs appraisers check the value of the imported goods against the official customs published values. When they are bribed, they will not bother to check, and if they check they deflate the value. Misdeclaration and misclassification are falsification of quantity and quality of imported goods. There is misdeclaration when the importer declares a lesser volume or quantity or declares the items different from what is contained in the van. The inspector does not bother to check and just clears the cargo. In the case of misclassification, the importer declares the importation as belonging to another classification. For example, he declares it as industrial flour but in reality it is food flour which is taxed less. Outright smuggling occurs when the cargo is unloaded not in the designated place or port of entry. For example, when the vessel enters Philippine waters, it is met and the cargo is transferred to â€Å"kumpits and brought to shore somewhere, other than the designated entry port and from there picked up by cargo trucks, sorted and delivered to contract-outlets, without paying customs duties. The culprits here are the coastguard and the military at the checkpoints who are paid off to let the cargo pass. Abuse of bonded warehouse permits occurs when an importer brings in raw materials to be made into finished products. He does not pay taxes for the raw materials because he holds a permit to import. But in reality, he sells these raw materials to manufacturers at a price slightly lower than when the factories import by themselves. The culprits involved in this operation are Page 10 of 31 pages the customs guards of the warehouse, the accountant of the bonded warehouse and the legal division of the customs office. Graft and Corruption: Effects of Unethical Practices If the causes of graft and corruption are individual, organizational and societal, said three sectors are also affected. To the individual there is loss of self-respect and ultimate dehumanization; to the organization it could result in subversion of authority structure and disillusionment within the bureaucracy. To society, it could mean increased administrative cost and revenue loss to government. There will be corresponding deterioration of public service and loss of confidence in government.? There will be goal displacement as employees pursue personal interests, rather than organizational and social objectives. The intent of policy and the procedures for their implementation become useless since target beneficiaries are substituted for. Unauthorized control mechanisms take precedence over legal rules and regulations. Authoritative allocation of values envisioned by legislation gives way to shady deals and the demands of personal expediency. It brings about frustration and cynicism which could undermine faith and confidence in the viability and effectiveness of the democratic system. Graft and corruption are encouraged by public apathy which results from bad and ill-managed government. But its most important and potent medium is the individual official or employee. Let us take the Bureau of Customs as a case in point, since it is the number one collecting arm of government which account for four-fifths of the total governmental revenue generated. This entity administers control and police authority over all harbors, piers, airports, wharves, ports, bays, rivers and inland waters throughout the Philippines. Its general duties and powers include assessment and collection of lawful revenues from imported goods and other fees, charges, dues, fines and penalties. It is charged with preventing and suppressing smuggling; supervision and control over the entrance and clearance of vessels and aircraft engaged in foreign trade; enforcement of customs and tariff laws and other rules and regulations relating to tariff and customs administration; supervision over the handling of foreign mail to collect duties on articles smuggled through mails; control import and export cargoes landed and stored in piers, airports, terminal and depot facilities like container yards and flight stations, and exercises jurisdiction over seizure and forfeiture cases in accordance with tariff and customs laws. This is a bureaucratic procedure characterized by excessive and unnecessary delay in transacting business with government which is intentionally committed. It is a practice that slows down or hampers the delivery of much-needed basic services. When there is undue delay in the processing of transactions, people resort to fixers who collude with corrupt employees and officials to expedite business transactions. This is a common phenomenon in government offices. Fixers with connections Page 13 of 31 pages inside the different offices facilitate the issuance of marriage license or certificate of birth or of death. After all, marriages are not made in heaven but at the city hail with the price set by the fixer. Certainly, the client of city hall would be willing to shell out a few pesos as fixers fee rather than queue the long line aggravated by the slow-paced processing process. This is the price paid for the inefficiency of the bureaucracy however unethical the practice is. Nepotism Nepotism is a version of graft and corruption exemplified by favors showered on relatives by appointing them to government positions regardless of qualifications. The practice may be viewed as an aid to responsive management if blood relatives do their share in achieving organizational goals with minimum time and effort expended. On the other hand, nepotism can be pernicious to society if the relatives in the employ of government use blood relationship as the key to open themselves to the opportunity of improving their lives at the expense of public good and general welfare. It can foster the growth of dictatorship and the formation of ? political dynasties? which the 1987 constitution prohibits. In the Philippines, nepotism is not without historical antecedents. The barangay of early Philippine society was viewed more as a socio-economic unit composed of members with consanguinial ties and those related by affinity. Cooperation in the community was a function of personal connection than pre-determined programs and impersonal procedures. These historical antecedents nurtured a tradition and a culture which considered public office more as a source of private gain than a public trust. The prohibition against nepotism is articulated best in the statement made by the late Ferdinand Marcos in 1972. ?Let no man who claims to be friend, relative or ally presume to seek license because of the relationship. If he offends the new society, he should be punished like the rest.? Unfortunately, however, his administration committed the most number of cases of nepotism. Critics maintain that it was during the Marcos era that nepotism was institutionalized. The Aquino administration also showcased nepotism. If the Marcoses and the Romualdezes had their day, the Aquinos and the Cojuangcos also have theirs. The Ramos administration and the Estrada administration have their respective shares too. So what else is new? After all unethical behavior and practices have always been with us. In our Muslim society, this problem is of more acute proportion. But why the insatiable desire of relatives of presidents to serve in government? Why do public officials appoint relatives to sensitive positions? Should personal loyalty and intimacy outweigh competence, seniority and the merit system? These are administrative dilemmas which have to be resolved. In the Philippines, there is a strong belief that corruption is prevalent. In a 1998 Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey, more than 70 percent of the respondents thought that corruption existed in government. Nearly 40 percent believed that there was a great deal of corruption. Page 14 of 31 pages Based on its Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) for 99 countries, Transparency International rated the Philippines as the 54th among the most corrupt countries in 1999. The Philippines scored 3. 6 based on the CPI scale of 1 (high perception) to 10 (negligible perception). Indeed, in a society with a long history of rapacity and plunder in the ranks of the state and the elite, and powerlessness among the masses, the use of public office has been identified with gaining and maintaining economic, political and social power. Both private citizens and government employees habitually use this office to further their self-interest at the expense of the common good. This custom has prevailed in the Philippines under a long and continuing regime of rent capitalism, in contrast to production-oriented capitalism. EXAMPLES OF GRAFT AND CORRUPTION Here is the anatomy of some types of corruption, taken from the website of the Transparent Accountable Governance project. Textbook scams According to the article of Yvonne T. Chua of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, up to 65 percent of textbook funds are reserved as bribe money. The range is from 20 percent to 65 percent. Take the case of the medium-sized book publisher caught in January 1999. Her bulging bag contained several envelopes: P 1,000,000 (5% of the contract) for the regional director 50,000 for the supply officer 40,000 for the chief accountant 15,000 for the accountant who obligated the money 10,000 for the cashier 5,000 for each of the accounting clerks Then add 40 percent of the contract to a congressman. The total is about half the size of the contract she won. Page 15 of 31 pages Public works A report by Earl Parreno said that congressmen get 12 percent to 20 percent of the funds allotted for building artesian wells, bridges, and roads. The total lost money may be bigger. In 1998 a cabinet member told journalists that commissions on public works ran up to an average 30 percent of the project cost. He cited an engineer who supervised road pavement projects in an Eastern Visayas district. The engineer cut the cement used by 20 to 30 percent to save on materials. To do this he would leave hollow the middle portion of the road. Only gravel now occupies that section, though covered by a thin covering of cement. A foreman of a construction company building a seawall in the same district, meanwhile, admits he is using `small stones in the inner portion of the wall, wrote Parreno. Thats not supposed to be done, says the foreman, but no one can see it, anyway. This cuts down the cement used by 20 percent. Votes for sale A piece by Stella Tirol tells of the corruption that takes place in elections. A common means is the simple dole-out. One congressional candidate in Southern Luzon gave out as much as P 10,000 a day in the barrios. The rate then was P 100 per voter. Election eve would require some P 4 million. The more sophisticated way is to get the barangay captain to your side. One barangay captain she interviewed admitted that he and other barangay captains were offered P 30,000 each. A bidding competition would ensue among the candidates. Barangay officials act as the conduit for purchasing votes, writes Tirol. They know who among their constituents can be bought and on election day itself, they ensure that these people actually go to the precinct and cast their vote for the preferred candidate. Oversight Institutions The legal infrastructure and political commitment are supported and complemented by the existence of oversight institutions. The creation of the oversight institutions that deal with issues of ethics, accountability, graft and corruption are mandated by the Constitution. The common feature of these institutions is they enjoy a substantive degree of fiscal autonomy in the sense that they are not subject to the fiscal controls of the executive. The budget is directly released to these institutions and the heads are authorized to realign savings from their budget. For instance, CSC prescribes qualification standards for each and every position in the Philippine government. Non-compliance with the QS by agencies in the processing of appointments of their staff results in the disapproval by the CSC of such appointments. But, apart from the substantive requirements for practically all kinds of personnel actions such as the publication requirement and the promotion and selection board processes. Non-compliance with the procedural requirements constitutes ground for corrective or even punitive action. The second approach deals with disciplinary actions against official or employee for infractions committed in relation to the performance of his/her official functions. The Administrative Code of 1987 or Executive Order No. 292 outlines the various acts that are subject to administrative disciplinary proceedings. However, administrative discipline is not a function within the exclusive jurisdiction of CSC. Agency heads as well as the Office of the Ombudsman also have the authority to proceed against erring government officials and employees. The third approach is developmental and will be discussed later in the succeeding paragraph. The Office of the Ombudsman acts as a prosecutor against those charged with the violation of RA 3019, RA 6713 and the law against ill-gotten wealth, among others. It is mandated to investigate and prosecute the criminal liability of public officials and employees involved in graft and corruption. The Commission on Audit is the fiscal watchdog of the government. COA is responsible for ensuring legal and proper disbursement of public funds and preventing irregular, unnecessary, or extravagant expenditures or usage of public funds. It also has quasi-judicial powers. All these oversight institutions enforce accountability ethic in government. B. Traditional approaches Since independence, numerous mechanisms have been designed to counteract corruption in the Philippines. The traditional approaches include setting the legal framework and establishing antiPage 17 of 31 pages graft and corruption bodies like presidential committees, commissions, task forces and other units. Since 1950, various Philippine presidents, from Quirino to Estrada, have created antigraft and corruption investigation units and agencies. With the exception of the present Presidential Commission Against Graft and Corruption (PCAGC), established in February 1994, these bodies have been short-lived. The most recent presidential body is the Interagency Anti Graft Coordinating Council, which includes the Commission on Audit, the Civil Service Commission, the Office of the Ombudsman, the PCAGC, the National Bureau of Investigation, and the Department of Justice. The council was established through a memorandum of agreement among these agencies on June 11, 1997 (the DOJ was admitted in 1998). The council received presidential recognition only in August 1999 through President Estradas Administrative Order Number 79 which allotted P5 million for antigraft activities. At present, the Ombudsman and the PCAGC are the principal actors in government to act on complaints and cases of graft. Some of the cases are resolved by the Ombudsman while the others are elevated to the Sandiganbayan. Cases where the accused have been found guilty are sent to the Supreme Court or to the Court of Appeals. Currently, administrative cases are automatically sent to the Court of Appeals while criminal cases like the violation of the AntiGraft and Corruption Practices Act go directly to the Supreme Court. The issues of ethics and accountability pose a continuing challenge to the Philippine government. The mechanisms and infrastructure that have been put in place, as outlined in this paper, may not yet be the best or ideal in the sense that ethical and accountable behavior in the public sector is still much to be desired in the Philippines.
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