Autocratic-Democratic Continuum Model

Autocratic-Democratic Continuum Model Leadership This review begins with various definitions of leadership. It then introduces different styles of leadership from a variety of authors. The issue of leadership is an important issue that has intrigued many theoreticians and practitioners over the years, leading to much research and study. There is no one accepted definition of leadership, although there are many opinions put forward. Sergiovanni, (2001) suggests a moral substance to leadership, leadership is, after all, a struggle a quest to do the right thing. Yukl describes the bigger picture regarding the leadership of one person over many Most definitions of leadership reflect the assumption that it involves a social influence process whereby intentional influence is exerted by one person [or group] over other people [or groups] to structure the activities and relationships in a group or organization. (1994, p3) The group plays an important part in leadership theory, which i will discuss in more detail later in the chapter. Bass gives leadership a positive connotation and defines it as an instrument of goal achievement where leadership is viewed as constructive behaviours pursuing group goals. (1990, p15-16) This is developed further with an autocratic perspective by (Gardner, 1990; Riches, 1994, 1997) suggesting that Leadership is the process in which a person exerts influence over individuals and groups through goal setting or activities. Smircich and Morgan develop the group thinking by highlighting the active involvement of followers in allowing leaders to take on an influencing role. They state Leadership is an obligation or perceived right on the part of certain individuals to define the reality of others. (1982, p258) In modern society organisations have become more accountable, organisational leadership has came to the forefront and is one of the most researched and analysed topics in the area of organisational development (Chapman, 1993). Research found that good leadership plays a vital role in creating the culture that enhances learning in schools (Brundrett Terrell, 2004). Successful leadership is invariably linked to school effectiveness. In the many lists produced by researchers, firm leadership (Reynolds 1991), professional leadership (Sammons et al. 1995) and outstanding leadership (Levine Lezotte 1990) are identified as major factors contributing to school effectiveness. Leadership has also been shown to have an impact upon school improvement processes (Leithwood Steinbach, 1993; Stoll Fink, 1996) and an effect upon school outcomes (Hallinger Heck, 1998; Southworth, 2001). For schools, the qualities of leadership and management are a crucial element in striving for effectiveness (Sammones, Thomas, Mortimore, Owen, Pennell and Hilman, 1994). Teddlie and Reynolds indicate that leadership is usually provided by the headteacher or principal, they found that leadership is now centrally synonymous with school effectiveness for many, including many operating within school improvement paradigm (Teddlie Reynolyds, 2000:141). As such, the ability to set clear organisational goals has been found to be a relevant variable linking leadership and school effectiveness. Leadership Theories Development through history They are many theories on leadership which have been developed over the years and surely many more to follow. Here is a brief summary of the theory behind the subject. The individual leader, they are people who have always been scrutinised throughout history, this scrutiny has brought about The great man theory, the view that leaders are born and not made, this implies that the process of selection of leaders is crucial, and that training and development in leadership has no outcome. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, however, a series of qualitative reviews of these studies (e.g., Bird, 1940[8]; Stogdill, 1948[9]; Mann, 1959[10]) prompted researchers to take a drastically different view of the driving forces behind leadership. In reviewing the extant literature, Stogdill and Mann found that while some traits were common across a number of studies, the overall evidence suggested that persons who are leaders in one situation may not necessarily be leaders in other situations. Subsequently, leadership was no longer characterized as an enduring individual trait, as situational approaches (see alternative leadership theories below) posited that individuals can be effective in certain situations, but not others. This approach dominated much of the leadership theory and research for the next few decades. Trait Theory, this claims that certain personality traits determine success in leadership. Stogdill (1969) found that some personality traits were common to successful leaders, there has been difficulty in identifying them consistently and agreeing definitions of personality traits. Situation theory is based on the view that leadership cannot be examined away from the group over which leadership is being exercised. The view is that leadership is a group phenomenon which will vary according to situations and over time. Also, leadership is not a one way process of influence. Leaders are influenced by followers as well as vice versa. The studies that were carried out tended to be in small ad hoc groups in controlled settings (eg Lippett and White). Leadership styles, there are two ways of analysing styles of leadership: one is on the range from autocratic to democratic, which i jave chosen as my focus for my action research project, and is associated with the work of Tannenbaum and Schmidt (1973). The other is based on the relative dominance in a leader of concern for people and relationships or concern for production or results; this theory is associated with Blake and Mouton (1964). They also explained that The point to be emphasised here is that managerial styles are not fixed. They are not unchanging. They are determined by a range of factors. Many are subject to modification through formal instruction or self training. (Blake and Mouton, 1964 p.13) Behaviour theory is based on ten work of Halpin who suggests that leaders do two main things: Initiate structures: establish goals, set up channels of communication, establish procedures and review processes. Consider others: create a climate of trust, respect and warmth Halpin suggests that effective leadership is associated with high performance on both points. Contingency theories are complex, they recognise the interaction of leaders and their environments. They are two models: The model developed by Hersey and Blanchard (1977) identifies both directive and supportive behaviour in a leader, which can be modified according to the level of development, experience and commitment of the subordinate. The model developed by Fiedler (1967) combines an analysis of the leaders style (people or production?) with an analysis of three variables of the situation which can be seen as favourable or unfavourable to the leader, e.g. the level of formal authority. Fiedlers research indicates that a task orientated leader is best suited to a situation that is particularly favourable or unfavourable and that a people orientated leader is more effective where the situation is not particularly favourable or unfavourable. Action Leadership was developed from Contingency Theory by Adair (1984) who suggested that there were three main dimensions to leadership. These were; a concern for task, a concern for the team or group and a concern for individuals. Effective leaders will pay attention to all three dimensions. Adair then identifies a set of key actions which all leaders must perform in respect of each of these three dimensions. Leadership and Management Leadership tends to be equated with vision and values and management with processes and structures: Leadership and management are not synonymous terms. One can be a leader without being a manager. One can, for example, fulfil many of the symbolic, inspirational educational and normative functions of a leader and thus represent what an organization stands for without carrying any of the formal burdens of management. Conversely, one can manage without leading. An individual can monitor and control organizational activities, make decisions, and allocate resources without fulfilling the symbolic, normative, inspirational, or educational functions of leadership. (Schon, 1984, p. 36) Here the differentiation is not intended to distinguish between roles. Schon goes on to say that since we generally expect managers to lead, it may be permissible to treat management and leadership as one, although he does identify the concepts of: management as science and the art of managing. This latter concept may have more in common with leadership. In the classic research of Lewin et al. (1939) at the University of Iowa, three leadership behaviours, or styles, were examined: the autocratic, the democratic, and the laissez-faire. It was found that the autocratic style tends to centralise authority and dictate work methods, while the democratic style tends to involve employees in decision making, delegate authority, encourage participation, and use feedback to coach employees. Of the three, the laissez-faire style was found to be ineffective in every performance criterion. This original research of Lewins greatly influenced other studies conducted after World War II. The most significant of these studies were performed by the Ohio State Group (Shartle, 1949, 1950; Fleishman, 1953; Halpin and Winer, 1957; Hemphill and Coons, 1957), as well as took  place at the University of Michigan (Katz, Maccoby and Morse, 1950; Katz, Maccoby, Gurin and Floor, 1951; Katz and Kahn, 1952). All these studies found that leadership displaying concern for people produced better results than that displaying concern for production. The Ohio State Group formulated dimensions of consideration and initiating structure. The first of these signifies the extent that the working relationships a leader has with subordinates is characterised by mutual trust and respect for group members ideas and feelings. The latter signifies the extent that a leader is likely to define and structure her/his role and the roles of group members for the sake of seeking goal attainment. The Michigan studies spoke of employee orientation and production orientation. The former emphasises the extant that a leader values interpersonal relationships and accepts individual differences among subordinates; this is associated with high group productivity. The second emphasises the extent to which a leader values the technical or task aspects of the job and is concerned with accomplishing the groups tasks; this is associated with low group productivity and low job satisfaction. Autocratic leadership The Autocratic Leadership Style was first described by Lewin, Lippitt, and White in 1938, along with the democratic leadership and the laissez-faire leadership styles. The autocratic leadership style is sometimes referred to as the directive leadership style. Autocratic leadership can be said to be synonymous to dictatorship where only one person has the authority over the followers or workers. Their decision has to be taken as the golden rule and should never be questioned. They plan out everything and order their subordinates to work according to their rules. For instance, if a company has an autocratic leader as the Managing Director, the employees in the company would have to work as per the rules set down by him. They would not be expected to make any contribution from their side, which may actually help in enhancing the productivity of the company. In short, the autocratic leader has full control of those around him and believes to have the complete authority to treat them as he wants. The premise of the autocratic management style is the belief that in most cases the worker cannot make a contribution to their own work, and that even if they could, they would not. According to Douglas McGregor this belief system leads to the mindset of Theory X (Dessler 37). McGregor believes Theory X workers have no interest in work in general, including the quality of their work. Professor Henry Daryanto interprets McGregors theory as mangers dealing with this theory by using carrots and sticks. The carrot is usually a monetary incentive, such as piece-rate pay schemes while the stick is docking pay for poor quality or missed production targets (Daryanto). It appears only money and threats can motivate the lazy, disinterested worker. The natural management style for a manager with this Theory X belief system would be to favour is the autocratic management style. Autocratic managers attempt to control work to the maximum extent possible. A major threat to control is complexity. Complex jobs are more difficult to learn and workers who master such jobs are scarce and possess a certain amount of control over how the job is done. An autocratic managers attempt to simplify work to gain maximum control. Autocratic managers prefer a strict top-down; chain-of-command approach to management be practiced. Management style is a term that refers to the nature of the relationship between managers and non-managerial employees. It includes not only the personal relationship between people but also the style of communication and the attitudes that managers have of employees and the attitudes they generate in employees. The term leadership is sometimes used. This refers to the ways in which managers achieve the attitudes and actions of their employees. Usually the actions desired are those which lead to the achievement of organizational objectives. A form of leadership therefore implies a style of management. One particular style of management is autocratic, which our learning team sometimes refers to it as antiquated. The autocratic style of management is based on the use of coercion as a means of control in an attempt to force employees to behave in a particular way. The response of employees to such coercion is seen to be extremely authoritative, that is they will do as they are told because the alternative may be unemployment. Another reaction by an employee to this autocratic style is they might only do the absolute minimum required of them to retain their jobs. Clearly productivity in such an organization will not be very high. Military and law enforce1ment organizations historically operate within an autocratic style of management, but this is seen as necessary in the situation in which they operate. Because of this acceptance resentment should not arise since there is an accepted of style of management in these organizational forms. Our learning team believes not only should a style of management be chosen according to the type of organization, it should be chosen to suit the particular situation in a given organization. For example the means of dealing with a disciplinary matter will differ from that used in a problem-solving situation. The style of management of routine day to day activities will differ from the management of project and design activities. Managers must therefore choose a management style to suit the situation. Our team also criticizes the autocratic style and suggests that such a style will lead to conflict, low motivation and low productivity. We all advocate a more democratic style of management. This does not mean management by committee or making decisions by democratic voting, it means involving people in organizations in some aspects of the running of the organization. The communication style of an autocratic leader is usually described as one way. They tell you exactly what they want done. The feedback you would get from this type of leader would generally be unplanned. They would simply tell you when youve made a mistake. The decision making process is usually unilateral and they accomplish goals by directing people. Now that might not sound like the type of leader youd follow, but there are actually situations when this style is effective. In the workplace, some conditions may simply call for urgent action, and in these cases an autocratic style of leadership may be best style to adopt. Surprisingly, most workers have already worked for an autocratic leader and therefore have little trouble adapting to that style. In fact, in times of stress or emergency some subordinates may actually prefer an autocratic style they prefer to be told exactly what to do. So to summarize the autocratic leadership style is very effective when times are stressful, but very stressful during those times when the pressure is off the followers or coworkers. Though autocratic leadership style is tyrannical, it has proved to be very efficient during certain situations and conditions. Autocratic leadership works positively during emergency and stressful situations. When such situations arise in a company or organization, most people are confused and are not able to reach a common solution. During such times, having an autocratic leader would be great as he would take the reins in his hand and would direct the workers or employees to move forward. For instance, there is a terrorist attack at some place and the soldiers have to rescue innocent people from there. If many people try to give solutions, it may take time and the mission may end in failure. In such situations, having one autocratic person to command the rest of the group on how to go about with the mission can lead to success. Another situation where the autocratic leadership style proves appropriate is while doing group projects. Many group projects tend to fail because group members depend on each other to make decisions. Such situations demand the need of an authoritative leader who can make decisions for the group. The leader should determine the ways in which the project would be done, divide the job among the members, and also set a deadline for completion of the project. Autocratic leadership may have its benefits, however, in most cases it is seen as something that is undesirable. Autocratic leadership style promotes a one sided conversation and due to this the creative and leadership skills of the employees become restrictive. As the leader would have all the authority, there is a chance that he would exploit his employees. There have been cases where an authoritative employer has fired employees because they showed the courage of disagreeing with him. It is also said that having an autocratic leader hinders workplace communication and socialization. It is very important to have a cordial work environment, where everyone is friendly. It can also give rise to disagreements and conflicts, if a group or company is led by an autocratic leader. In the military and other urgent circumstances, people may prefer the ability to be told what do next. According to Money Zine, In fact, in times of stress or emergency, some subordinates may actually prefer an autocratic stylethey prefer to be told exactly what to do. The autocratic leadership style is very effective when times are stressful. Lengthy debate has no place in many work environments, and this form of leadership limits arguments. It allows employees to have one task, and that is to work, which could mean that the employees master their tasks and become proficient enough to help grow the company. This method of leadership may lead to more pressure from the boss on the rest of the employees, who then push back against the management method. Theft and other issues may arise because of a lack of workplace satisfaction. According to Smart Entrepreneur, This is one of the least desirable when it comes to building trusting relationships and making friends. In this system, one person has control over all of the workers or followers. Making friends is an important part of life, and if this is destroyed, it can create an unhappy environment. This translates to the quality of work, and not being seen as human can cause more resistance to new aspects of the job. A little autonomy and social appeal can make a difference in retaining good workers. 1.3 Participatory Leadership The premise of the participatory management style is the belief that the worker can make a contribution to the design of their own work. The belief system that lead managers to this conclusion was originally put forth as a management theory by McGregor, who called it Theory Y. Theory Y advocates believe that workers are internally motivated. They take satisfaction in their work, and would like to perform at their best. Symptoms of indifference are a result of the modern workplace, which restricts what a worker can do and separates him from the final results of his efforts. It is managements job to change the workplace so that the worker can, once again, recapture his pride of workmanship. Elements of Theory Y are evident in Demings discussion of the role of a manager of people, presented earlier. Managers who practice the participatory style of management tend to engage in certain types of behaviour. To engage the workers they establish and communicate the purpose and direction of the organization. This is used to help develop a shared vision of what the organization should be, which is used to develop a set of shared plans for achieving the vision. The managers role is that of a leader. By her actions and words she shows the way to her employees. She is also a coach, evaluating the results of her peoples efforts and helping them use the results to improve their processes. She works with the leaders above her in the organization to improve the organizations systems and the organization as a whole. 1.4 Democratic Leadership The Democratic Leadership Style was first described by Lewin, Lippitt, and White in 1938 along with the autocratic leadership and the laissez-faire leadership styles. They distinguished democratic leadership from autocratic and laissez-faire styles, arguing that democratic leaders relied upon group decision making, active member involvement honest praise and criticism, and a degree of comradeship. By contrast, leaders using the other styles were either domineering or uninvolved. Kariel (1956) argues that Lewins notion of democracy is manipulative and elitist and not democratic. The dynamics of democratic leadership, however, are not well understood. In fact, there is no clear and well-developed definition of the term within academia. In a classic review, Gibb (1969, p258) lamented the fact that the basic psychological meaning of democratic leadership had nowhere been spelled out. Twenty years later, Miriam Lewin (1987) agreed. repeating Kurt Lewins earlier call for a better understanding of the detailed nature of democratic leadership and followership through social science research (p. 138). The democratic style was also included by Daniel Goleman in 2002 as one of his six leadership styles. In Bass (1990, 19-20) handbook on leadership a definition is provided: Leadership is an interaction between two or more members of a group that often involves a structuring or restructuring of the situation and the perceptions and expectations of the membersLeadership occurs when one group member modifies the motivation or competencies of others in the group. Any member of teh group can exhibit some amount of leadership Bass further argues that Leadership is behaviour, not position and this can be said of the democratic method of leadership. The democratic leader gives followers a vote in nearly every decision the team makes. The process involved with being a democratic leader is very time consuming because decisions are nearly always made together. The democratic leadership style is able to quickly build flexibility and responsibility and can help identify new ways to do things. This leadership style is best used when the followers are knowledgeable about the organizations process and change is needed. For example, this style is used when the leader needs to introduce fresh ideas into the organization to help with an old process. Lewin, Lippitt and White were one of the first to categorize leadership styles in terms of behavioral characteristics. Prior to their work, leadership traits were the focus of leadership studies. Under democratic leadership, the people have a more participatory role in the decision making process. One person retains final say over all decisions but allows others to share insight and ideas. Most of all, democratic leaders must seek to make members into leaders (Theilen Poole, 1986). This is often a highly effective form of leadership. People are more likely to excel in their positions and develop more skills when they feel empowered, and people are empowered when they are involved in the decision-making process. Although it may take some time to achieve full participation from a group, the end result will be rewarding if you can manage to establish a power-sharing environment in your group project. You will find that democratic practices often lead to a more productive and higher quality work group. Examples of democratic leadership: Asking all group members for ideas and input. Voting on the best course of action in a project. Asking group members to work with their strengths and provide input on how to divide the work. ]li]Enabling members to work at their own pace and set their own deadlines. Pitfalls of Democratic Leadership It doesnt take too much imagination to think of ways that democratic leadership could backfire during a group project. As you probably know, some members of a group will work well on their own and complete all work in a timely fashion. But there are other workers who will procrastinate-and that can lead to disaster. If you are a natural democratic leader, it might be necessary to learn some traits of the autocratic or bureaucratic leaders and tap into them as necessary. Always have a backup plan on hand! Undemocratic leadership styles can result in a variety of undesirable outcomes: dependent and apathetic followers (Barber. 1984 Heifetz Sinder. 1987; Manz Sims. 1989; White Lippitt, 1960). In addition, undemocratic leadership can undermine the pursuit of ethical ideals, such as self-determination, personal development and democratic decision making (Barber, 1984: Sashkin, 1984). 1.5 Laissez-faire leadership Laissez faire style simply means a delegate approach to leadership. Many researchers have found out that those children who grow under laissez-faire leadership establishments, happen to be the less productive in any group. This was also reinforced by these children making more demands upon their leader, as researchers have come to ascertain, amidst showing little in terms of cooperation as well as the inability to work more independently. Most laissez faire styles offer no or very little guidance to the members of the same group, amidst leaving the making of decisions to other group members. As much a it could be overtly effective in those situations where most employees or members happen to be highly qualified and skilful in their area experience and know-how, it has often led to poor roles definition plus a sheer lack in motivation. In this leadership style, the head or leader onlysets that overall priority or instruction, where then he gets out of the way so that things can be left to run on their own. With the usage of this leadership style, the leader just accepts wholesome responsibility for many of the decisions that come into fruition, though the decision-making has been left to his team. Also, the team members are also left to evaluate, analyse and transform issue and all problems just as they come. Laissez faire is very appropriate for mature and acute senior teams, which have a track record of proof and have confidence in handling lots of issues. The most pitfall and shortcoming of this type of leadership is strictly failure. In case of anything going wrong, the leader has no clout to blame his team, but a chance to see his shortcomings. But in each management style, or leadership style, the motivation towards good leadership and overall output of members or employees are held up within the management theories, that offer a dimension for all leaders to use for the realisation of their utmost goals. Leadership without goals is failure in management. Some of these theories include the Hawthorne model or experiments, which lay emphasis on human relations. In this model, the work-place lightning did improve the productivity during the experiment and after, that is, within the groups. It has thus reinforced the fact that individuals are not those rational and covert economic beings as assumed by the classical theorists, as well as the emphasis of social interaction and the improvement of peoples work once they have been valued. Other theories of management include the rule set or bureaucracy, stipulated by Max Weber and gave the world the red tape, since it lays emphasis on rules and overall regulations. Also, the scientific theory of management by Frederick Taylor brought out the notion that each task must be scientifically and also rationally optimised for overall productivity, which was perfected by the Ford Company and the monetary incentives involved brought perfect results. Lastly, the process approach theory by Henry Fayol has been clear in leadership styles and in all management levels, even in laissez faire, as it lays much emphasis on planning, organising, coordinating, commanding, controlling and even the staff and line principles. The theories are not leadership styles but they harness the existing leadership and management styles. Disadvantages of leadership styles As much as the leadership style known as paternalistic management contains some autocratic dynamism, it comes as being a bit warm and a bit fuzzy within the precincts of its approach. In its paternal aspect, it harkens in the line of a father being firm though has good intentions in the life of ones children and in the business limelight, the employees. Just like most paternal beings are, except for those dads who keep saying: I told you, the typical paternalistic manager most of the times explains the specific reason as to why he has taken certain actions in management and for his employees. He is very far from being autocratic and looks after the harmony within his or her team. A manager of this calibre tends to provide that environment that is perfectly well rounded for all within his management wing, even including a prior consideration of their personal and social aspects in their lives. In this respect, there seems to occur some kind of upward communication all the way from the tip to the high ranks, in terms of provision of feedback which could be well used for the transformation of some aspects within the organisation for the achievement of employee satisfaction and avid motivation. Those in support of paternalistic management style have related to it as providing a huge movement towards the motivation of employees more than an autocratic style, since the employees tends to fill the leadership as considering their welfare and thus do care for them more as people and not just like robots. Since the objective that comes with keeping the motivation of the employees is highly included in this leadership style, there tends to be an overt probability that is laid towards an increased loyalty of employee and also a minimal turnover. The overall disadvantage with this leadership style depicts the overall disadvantage of leadership styles, sharing such similarities with those elements of autocratic techniques of management styles, such that they have led to the dependency upon the leader thro

Did Hurricane Katrina Expose Racism in America

Adolph Reed is a professor of political science at the University of Pennsylvania and Stephen Steinberg is a professor of sociology at Queens College in New York City. Both Reed and Steinberg challenge the tendency of policy makers and other commentators to focus on African-Americans as the source of the problems faced by New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and emphasize the need to address race and poverty concerns effectively. In Reed and Steinbergs argument they expose the â€Å"moving to opportunity† policy. The supposed goal of the program is to â€Å"break up the concentrations of poverty, to break up the federal enclaves of poverty which existed in the city and to really give those low income residents more choice and opportunity. † Reed and Steinberg look at the â€Å"moving to opportunity†policy as a false theory and an empty slogan. When the â€Å"moving to opportunity† policy is stripped of all its varnish it is just a program that will result in a â€Å"smaller† New Orleans that is depleted of its poverty population. Despite the 200 plus signatories of well known individuals in American social science, the secret agenda of the program was evidently overshadowed. Reed and Steinberg state how the federal Government is solely focusing on the drug dealers and gang members of the ghettos and poverty struck neighborhoods overlooking the industrious single mothers and infamous heroic grandmothers that also stay in those same communities; leaving a majority of them to fend for themselves. Reed and Steinberg provide information that show the true colors of the â€Å"moving to opportunity† policy. Providing quotes from citizens in powerful positions. A politically connected white lawyer in the city remarked that Katrina provided the perfect opportunity to rebuild New Orleans into a city much like Charleston. Keep in mind that Charleston has only ample black servant class for its tourist economy but a white electoral majority. Which leads to another point made by Reed and Steinberg, if the â€Å"moving to opportunity† policy is passed and everything pans out as planned than Louisiana will than be a Republican state. And somehow out of all the evident flaws in the â€Å"moving to opportunity† policy the 200 plus signatories failed to realize them or at least recognize them. Reed and Steinberg did a wonderful job in supporting their clause, it would have been a tad bit better if they had included another example other than the â€Å"moving to opportunity† policy. Shelby Steele is a research fellow at the Hoover Institution and political commentator argues that the African-Americans of New Orleans and other African-Americans should focus on meaningful methods for overcoming their underdevelopment as revealed by Hurricane Katrina rather than emphasizing the shame of White racism as the cause of their phlight. Steele states the single greatest problem in America is African-Americans and Whites are forever blaming one another for each others great shames. Steele expresses her opinion of how this despair is not something that was just formulated among the poverty stricken but a feeling that has always been there, harvesting below the surface of our culture. A state of being in which is just now in the new millennium being discovered. Black inferiority can not be overcame by white responsibility. Blacks most also take responsibility for the change they want to see. Steele is saying each race is equally at guilt and how much of a shame it is that it takes a natural disaster such as Hurricane Katrina for the nation to take notice of this social issue. Steele had a good thesis, the idea just needed more detail and elaboration. Vincetta Ashley Dunnell November 18, 2010 5:30 P. M On that note my personal opinion lies with Reed and Steinberg in that I do believe Hurricane Katrina exposed racism in America. How could a force of nature have racial preferences and prejudice? It can't. It just so happened that Hurricane Katrina was the perfect excuse to play the racial blame game. It was a great reason to release years of built of racial tension. And the perfect opportunity to push low class,poverty stricken blacks out of a infamous city because of racial stigmas. The federal government is using the â€Å"moving to opportunity† policy as a coverup to deceive the public into accepting the policy as a beneficial program but failing to truthful tell who the policy is benefiting. Somehow this terrible scheme slipped by the eyes of 200 plus prominent individuals of the American social science community. They failed to recognize that if this policy is passed yes there will be no gang patrolled, drug infested New Orleans but there will also be no essence in New Orleans, all the history and pride will be wiped away. All the kind-hearted, working Blacks just attempting to make a better day for their families will be left in a worse position than they began in. All for the sake of America trying to perceive the ideal of a perfect nation; thinking that they can sweep all the dirt under the rug, forgetting that when you do so the lump of dirt is still there. Ignoring the problem that our nation has forever had is not going to help any. Trying to push the low class blacks out of New Orleans just to build suburbs and tourist attractions will help the economy but the social status will not change. While poverty still exists so does the main problem in America. Did Hurricane Katrina Expose Racism in America? Did Hurricane Katrina Expose Racism in America? (A Case Study) Before beginning this case study, Hurricane Katrina was a force of nature that ravaged the city of New Orleans, Louisiana in 2005 leaving thousands of African Americans homeless and impoverished. Assuming the affirmative position of the debate in question is Adolph Reed and Stephen Steinberg. They argue that Hurricane Katrina did, in fact expose racism in America. They want to emphasize the need to address race and poverty concerns and focus more on blacks.Opposing them is Shelby Steele. He believes that blacks should begin focusing more on ways to overcome their underdevelopment instead of blaming whites for their predicament. Reed and Steinberg begin their argument with a quoted statement from Barbara Bush. â€Å"So many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this, this is working very well for them. † This quote already shows the attitude of white America towards the situation of those suffering at the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.They also mention the â€Å"Move to Opportunity† program that basically only addresses a miniscule percentage of the poverty stricken homeless GIVEN if they were qualified. Needless to say the majority of them did not participate in this program; as a result, they were to fend for themselves. The extent of white racism was best illustrated by the signing of a government-sponsored resettlement program by 200-plus of the nation’s most renowned social science names.This program is a classified by Reed and Steinberg as a â€Å"relocation scheme† disguised as a voluntary program designed to remove impoverished and unemployed blacks out of the area in attempts to blot out some of the nation’s more darker areas. â€Å"Move to Opportunity became a perverse euphemism for policy abdication of the poor people left behind who are in desperate need of programs, services, and jobs. † Steele dispels the ac cusation placed on Hurricane Katrina in regards to exposing racism in America by sourcing the cause in blacks themselves.Steele explains that whites have in a sense, owned up to their responsibilities and made themselves witness to racism. That we as blacks blame our inferiority on white racism therefore increasing white shame. Subsequently, for whites to admit that black inferiority is a product of white shame, they are admitting racism. Steele advocates that both races, especially blacks accept responsibility for their shames as each race constantly tries to usurp power from the other. We are attributing our underdevelopment to whites in order to shame them instead of claiming responsibility for our own progress or lack thereof.The progression of blacks in America is undermined by the constant irresponsibility of the race as a whole. From things to not taking care of our children to crimes, we essentially placed ourselves into this predicament. We are not living up to our end of t he bargain. Black responsibility needs to be acknowledged by us in order for us to progress. Were we to do this, our open acknowledgment of our own underdevelopment will allow whites to hold witness over us; however they will have to acknowledge our overcoming of our underdevelopment.In a nutshell Steele is saying we must hold ourselves accountable for our own underdevelopment and by doing so we can finally achieve the long awaited progression that we have been looking for. After evaluating both sides of the debate, I chose to identify with Shelby Steele’s argument. Not only does his argument directly answer the question, it allows for more personal questioning among blacks. Are we really using whites as a clutch as to why we have not progressed? Is it more of clutch or more of an innate bitterness between blacks and whites that has developed and evolved over centuries of conflict?Blacks have been at the bottom of the totem pole of society for centuries by the hands of whites . Although I believe that whites in fact do impede black progression in society due to concealed racism among other things, I do not agree however that it is entirely their fault. Both races are in a power struggle; straining to take control and to make the other look inferior. It is this childish nature of these two races that halt the progression of our country as a whole. When both races accept responsibility for their shames then proper progress can be possible.Until then, racism will always be a factor of white shame and inferiority will always be a factor of black shame. I believe that Hurricane Katrina played a part in exposing racism. I feel as if Hurricane Katrina forced racism out into the open. No white person would have expressed any racist concerns prior to Katrina. Katrina basically served as a mental agent for white America, effectively expressing their attitudes towards black America. Also, I believe that if the majority of the population ravaged by Katrina were whit e they would have been rescued almost immediately if not sooner.The painstakingly long response time to the crisis was evidently showed the amount of concern and sympathy the government had for the blacks of New Orleans. Racism is still alive they are just concealing it. Thousands of blacks in New Orleans depended on the government to rescue them from a travesty that they could not control. And additionally the government attempted to relocate the survivors of the incident to remove the poor blacks and replace the area with whites. This illustrated the true intentions of the government.The strife that exists between whites and blacks are so low-key that it takes an act of God to bring it out of the shadows. There is no doubt that racism is still alive in America; however the extent of racism has definitely lessened over time. I chose to side with Steele’s argument because I identify with the argument that blacks and whites have a complex that won’t allow them to accept responsibility for their shames. If it were not for Hurricane Katrina, racism may have never been brought into the light.

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Cuánto demoran los papeles para esposos de residentes

La peticià ³n de papeles para su cà ³nyuge realizada por un residente permanente se demora, en el momento de escribir este artà ­culo, entre aproximadamente 21 meses de mà ­nimo y 30 de mà ¡ximo. En este artà ­culo se explican las causas de la demora, cà ³mo es posible hacer un cà ¡lculo mà ¡s detallado, segà ºn el caso de cada solicitante, cosas que deben saberse mientras se està ¡n en el medio del proceso de la tramitacià ³n y, por à ºltimo, quà © causas pueden dar lugar a la negacià ³n de peticià ³n de la tarjeta de residencia, tambià ©n conocida como green card. 4 factores que determinan la  demora la green card para cà ³nyuges de residentes La demora de la peticià ³n, la cual se puede presentar para un cà ³nyuge del mismo sexo o del sexo opuesto,  depende, bà ¡sicamente, de cuatro: En primer lugar, de quà © oficina del Servicio de Inmigracià ³n y Ciudadanà ­a (USCIS) debe aprobar la peticià ³n En segundo lugar, de la oficina consular en la que se realiza la entrevista para los casos de cà ³nyuge fuera de Estados Unidos o de la oficina del USCIS que debe aprobar el ajuste de estatus, para el caso de cà ³nyuges en situacià ³n migratoria legal en los Estados Unidos En tercer lugar, del nà ºmero total de peticiones de esta categorà ­a, ya que existe un nà ºmero mà ¡ximo que se puede aprobar por aà ±o fiscal y asà ­, cuando se alcanza dicho nà ºmero las oficinas del gobierno paralizar el nà ºmero de peticiones aprobadas hasta que el inicio del siguiente aà ±o fiscal. Y en cuarto lugar, del paà ­s de nacimiento de la persona pedida ya que para Mà ©xico aplican unas fechas y para el resto de Latinoamà ©rica y Espaà ±a, otras.   Pero es posible calcular las demoras y tambià ©n verificar cada poco si hay cambios en los tiempos de tramitacià ³n. Ademà ¡s, si todavà ­a no se ha iniciado el trà ¡mite, esto es lo que se debe  hacer para que un residente solicite la green card para su cà ³nyuge. Paso 1: demora el USCIS en aprobar la peticià ³n El primer paso en la obtencià ³n de la green card para el cà ³nyuge es que el USCIS apruebe la solicitud. El paquete con ella se envà ­a a una oficina (depende del lugar en el que se reside) y, una vez, allà ­, se distribuye entre los llamados Centros de Servicio. A las pocas semanas de haber enviado el paquete con la solicitud se recibe una carta que tambià ©n se conoce con el nombre de NOA1. Contiene informacià ³n importante, como el nà ºmero de caso y tambià ©n el lugar en el que va a tramitar la solicitud.   Una vez que se sabe cuà ¡l ha tocado, ir a esta pà ¡gina oficial, bajar el cursor, elegir el Centro de Servicio adecuado y presionar en centro de servicio fechas de trà ¡mite.   A partir de ahà ­ se abre una pà ¡gina y hacia la mitad de la misma buscar formulario I-130 peticià ³n para pariente extranjero y verificar la opcià ³n de peticià ³n de un residente permanente para un cà ³nyuge o un nià ±o menor de 21 aà ±os.   Y el tiempo de procesamiento son los meses en los que el USCIS se demora para contestar si aprueba la peticià ³n o la deniega. Lo notifica con una carta conocida como NOA2 que es muy importante porque ahà ­ aparece la fecha de prioridad. Paso 2. La gran espera por los papeles Una vez que el USCIS aprueba la solicitud hay que esperar por una visa disponible. Esto quiere decir que por ley hay un nà ºmero limitado de peticiones de tarjetas de residencia que se pueden hacer en esta categorà ­a de solicitudes de residente para esposo, lo que se conoce como F2A.   Y como el nà ºmero de solicitudes es mà ¡s grande que el nà ºmero de visas disponibles entonces se producen unos retrasos.   Cada mes el Departamento de estado publica el boletà ­n de visas. Ahà ­ es el lugar donde informarse  si ya hay visa disponible y se acabà ³ la espera. La manera de mirarlo es teniendo la fecha de prioridad en la mano. Si la fecha es anterior al dà ­a que el boletà ­n de visas seà ±ala para la categorà ­a F2A, eso quiere decir que comienza de nuevo la tramitacià ³n que falta.Si es mà ¡s reciente, hay que seguir esperando. En la actualidad, el boletà ­n de visas està ¡ dividido en dos grandes categorà ­as.   En el caso en que se puede ajustar el estatus, verificar la fecha en dates for filing. Por el contrario, los casos con procedimiento consular deben consular el final action. Paso 3. Ajuste de estatus o procedimiento consular Entonces pueden pasar dos cosas segà ºn dà ³nde se encuentra el cà ³nyuge pedido: Si està ¡ en Estados Unidos legalmente se puede proceder a su ajuste de estatus. Y aquà ­ se explica cà ³mo verificar los tiempos de demora para eso. Recordar que los esposos de residentes en situacià ³n migratoria de ilegalidad no pueden ajustar su estatus y, por lo tanto, antes de iniciar cualquier trà ¡mite migratorio deberà ­an consultar y asesorarse con un abogado. Si la persona pedida està ¡ fuera de Estados Unidos habrà ¡ unas gestiones (como envà ­o del affidavit of support) con el Centro Nacional de Visas y los pasos finales se harà ¡n en el paà ­s de cada uno, incluyendo una entrevista en el consulado o Embajada. Aunque las demoras varà ­an por paà ­s en là ­neas generales puede decirse que desde que hay visa disponible a la finalizacià ³n del proceso no pasan mà ¡s de seis meses.   Problemas en la peticià ³n de la green card para esposos Estas son 42 causas por las que se deniega la green card. No todos los problemas son iguales, ya que en algunos casos es posible pedir un perdà ³n, tambià ©n conocido como waiver. En otros casos, el castigo es solamente temporal. Finalmente, en algunas circunstancias no serà ¡ posible encontrar arreglo y no se obtendrà ¡ la green card. Ademà ¡s, tratà ¡ndose de un matrimonio, el USCIS y, en su caso, el consulado va a poner atencià ³n para averiguar si el matrimonio es real o es sà ³lo de conveniencia.   Recordar que los  esposos de residentes que està ¡n en Estados Unidos como indocumentados  no pueden ajustar su estatus por matrimonio. Con lo que si los piden en esa situacià ³n tendrà ¡n que salir de Estados Unidos y allà ­ puede saltar el problema del  castigo de los 3 y de los 10 aà ±os. Por todas estas razones dichas, es recomendable antes de iniciar trà ¡mite asesorarse con un buen abogado de inmigracià ³n cuando alguno de esos problemas puedan aparecer. Mientras se està ¡ esperando por los papeles Mientras se espera por la green card, puede suceder que el solicitante cambie de estatus legal al naturalizarse y convertirse en ciudadano estadounidense. Esto es lo que debe  hacer si el residente se convierte en ciudadano.   Por otra parte, tambià ©n mientras se espera por la green card si el cà ³nyuge està ¡ fuera de Estados Unidos puede que desee viajar para reunirse con su esposa o marido. Pero esto no siempre es posible y conviene enterarse de las posibilidades de ser exitoso al  pedir una visa de turista mientras se espera por green card. Asimismo, como las cosas de amor pueden ser cambiantes, es importante conocer cà ³mo  afecta el divorcio a la green card. Consejos para que todo el trà ¡mite resulte bien Estados Unidos es un paà ­s diferente en muchos aspectos como por ejemplo, el migratorio, el legal, o en materia de impuestos, etc. Para evitar problemas y conocer los derechos todas las personas que desean emigrar deberà ­an familiarizarse cuanto antes con los aspectos bà ¡sicos del paà ­s y asà ­ evitar mà ¡s tarde problemas indeseados.   Ademà ¡s, este es un listado de telà ©fonos y pà ¡ginas webs en los que se puede verificar informacià ³n sobre el caso y obtener buenos recursos migratorios.   Finalmente, se aconseja tomar este quiz - trivial o test- para verificar que tienes los conocimientos bà ¡sicos para obtener y conservar la tarjeta de residencia. Es difà ­cil conseguirla. No corras el riesgo de que te la cancelen por ignorancia. Este artà ­culo es sà ³lo informativo, no es consejo legal.