Mr Pake

5. Assessment DRAFT VERSION – AWAITING EXTERNAL EXAMINER APPROVAL Assessment will be confirmed by the end of teaching week 3 5. 1 Assessment task This module is assessed by means of an assignment of no more than 3,000 words. There are three parts to the assignment. You must complete all three parts. Your assignment must be submitted in a sans serif font no smaller than 12 points. Line spacing should be 1. 5 or double. Your completed assignment must be completed and submitted by Friday 26th April, 2013. See Section 5. 2 for details of submission. Section 5. gives some further guidance on the assignment tasks. Written assignments must not exceed the specified maximum number of words. All assignments that do so will be penalised. The penalty is at the discretion of the marker, but will certainly result in a reduction of the mark awarded. Part 1 (20% of overall mark) In 500 words or fewer, answer a question of your choice which requires you to use a microeconomic principle, or pri nciples, discussed in the module. This question should involve a pattern of events or behaviour that you personally have observed.The issue you address need not be one traditionally analysed using economics, but your work should be an original application of economic logic and reasoning to something which interests you. Examples of issues students elsewhere have addressed are: 1. Why do brides spend so much money on wedding dresses, whereas grooms often rent cheap tuxedos, even though grooms could potentially wear their tuxedos on many other occasions and brides will never wear their dresses again? 2. Why are child safety seats required in cars but not in airplanes? 3.Why are round-trip fares from Hawaii to the US mainland higher than the corresponding fares from the US mainland to Hawaii? 4. Why do airlines charge much more for tickets purchased at the last minute, yet theatres follow exactly the opposite practice? 5. Why do many people buy larger houses when they retire and their own children leave home? Your question and the issue you address does not need to be important or worthy, but try to begin with an interesting question. You should check with your seminar tutor that the question you wish to address is suitable.The most successful answers begin with a really interesting question (one that makes the reader instantly curious to learn the answer) and then use an economic principle or principles to construct a plausible answer. You do not have to provide a complete solution to the question – the key is to apply economic principles to achieve an insight into the issue. It should be written as if to a friend or relative who has never taken a course in economics. It must be clearly understood by such a person. It does not need diagrams or mathematics. It should not be heavily laden with economic jargon or terminology.You do not need to include references (since it is an original application of principles). Nor are you expected to do extensive researc h in support of your argument, although a relevant fact or two might help convince yourself and others that you are on the right track. Part 2 (40% of overall mark) Answer all five questions below in 1250 words or fewer. The questions carry equal marks. a) Explain why perfectly competitive markets lead to an allocatively efficient allocation of resources in the long run. (8%) b) Explain why free markets will under-produce goods with positive externalities (e. g. accinations against infectious diseases). Briefly suggest how government might intervene to correct this under-provision? (8%) c) The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is the official measure of inflation in the United Kingdom. Why might CPI not be an accurate measure of the costs of living for any given individual consumer? (8%) d) Explain why a ? 1m increase in net exports might increase the equilibrium output of an economy by more than ? 1m. e) If an economy is initially operating at its potential output, explain the short- and longrun consequences of a permanent increase in government spending. 8%) Part 3 (40% of overall mark) Figure 1 below shows the world price of copper for each month over the period 2004-2011. From a price of $2424 in January 2004 it rose to a high of $8046 in May 2008. It then fell rapidly to reach $3072 in December 2008 before rising again. In an essay of 1250 words or fewer, use economic analysis to explain the changes seen in the price of copper over this period and why there were such large fluctuations in price. Figure 1: The monthly world price of copper 01 January 2004 to 31 December 2011

Marketing Cost Analysis Essay

Business firms use several tools and techniques for marketing control. The important ones among them are listed above. 1. Marketing audit 2. Market share analysis 3. Marketing cost analysis 4. Credit control 5. Budgetary control 6. Ratio analysis 7. Contribution margin analysis 8. Marketing Information inputs and warning signals 9. MBO management by objectives Marketing cost analysis is another important tool of marketing control. In recent years, business firms all over the world have experienced steep escalations in their marketing and distribution costs. They have found, to their dismay, that increased sales do not necessarily bring them increased profits. Containing marketing and distribution costs has become an imperative for optimizing profits. It has also become an imperative for survival against the growing competition. Definition – Assigning or allocating costs to a specified marketing activity or entity in a manner that accurately captures the financial contribution of activities or entities to the organization.Marketing cost analysis, or distribution cost analysis, is the analysis of costs that affect sales volume, with the purpose of determining the profitability of different segment operations. Profitability is determined by sales volume and its associated costs and expenses. The questions Marketing Cost Analysis answers – * Which customers/accounts are unprofitable because of order size or geographic location? * What is the minimum order size that can be filled profitably? * Which distribution channel will be the most profitable for the firm to use? * Which territories are potentially most profitable? * What profit contribution does each salesperson make? * Can cost improvements be made in physical distribution facilities? * Which product lines are unprofitable or could be improved in their profitability? Importance of Marketing Cost Analysis: The first requirement in controlling the marketing costs is to comprehend the components of the marketing costs and the methods available for their control. Benefits & Uses of Marketing Cost Analysis: Careful and systematic marketing cost analysis confers a variety of benefits on the firm. * It becomes an integral part of the decision-making process. * Serves as the basis for management decisions. * Generates a sense of Accountability. * Determining which marketing strategies are the best. * Isolating problem areas. Objectives of Marketing Cost Analysis – The major objectives of marketing cost analysis are to determine the isolated contributions made to profitability and to evaluate the efficiency of all phases of the company’s marketing structure in terms of corporate goals and objectives. Types of marketing Costs: Marketing costs in modern, large-sized firms belong to a kaleidoscopic variety. There are ever so many components of the marketing cost and they vary in their significance, size, measurability and controllability. Generally, marketing costs are more difficult to measure and control, compared with other costs, such as material costs and manufacturing costs. Within the various components of marketing costs, some are relatively more amenable for measurement and control than others Analyzing the costs by function: The first step in marketing cost analysis is to gather the cost details of the various marketing function and analyze the function wise cost. For doing this, in the first instance various marketing activities have to be grouped into a few major and clearly identified functions. The marketing expenditure must be broken up over these functions.

Marketing Trends Starbucks Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Marketing Trends Starbucks - Essay Example The market structure is not very complicated in the coffee segment as there are not that many reputed players in the coffee market. Unlike what we see in segments like in the mobile phone market, some of the well known competitors of Starbucks include McDonalds Corporation, Dunkin Brands, Inc. and Nestlà ©. Having a strong brand image and a loyal customer base certainly helps the company, but in order to ward off the threat from competing companies the company has always tried to be innovative in its approach and offerings. With presence1 in 43 countries outside US and 7,087 Company-operated stores, besides 4,081 licensed stores, the company is on a strong footing and looking after its business interests quite well. In addition the company takes good care of its workforce and appreciates the role of its diverse workforce in taking the company to such heights. The company has been recognized as amongst the ‘100 Best Companies to Work For’ by Fortune magazine. In fact the company has received such recognition consistently2 for many years now. Coffee or soft drinks are the items which almost every individual loves to have every now and then. But as far as eating and drinking habits are concerned, an individual loves to go for the taste which suits him or her. Therefore, for new entrants the main challenging task is not only to attract the customers towards their products and services, but to retain them as well. Therefore it will be preposterous to think that new companies entering into the fray will overnight start posing a serious threat to Starbucks. But in these times of globalization and liberalization one should not underestimate the emerging competition. For example if Apple Inc, known for computer hardware products, can create a serious threat to reputed mobile companies with the successful launch of iPhone, there could be companies offering coffee and

The Notebook Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Notebook - Movie Review Example t just relationships between Allie and Noah, but also between Allie and Lon—Lon is the more suitable husband for her, according to the dictates of conventional wisdom and society. â€Å"Interactionists focus on the subjective aspects of social life, rather than on objective, macro-structural aspects of social systems. One reason for this focus is that interactionists base their theoretical perspective on their image of humans, rather than on their image of society (as the functionalists do)† (Symbolic, 2010). Allie struggles against society, represented by her parents, who are constantly giving the symbolic message that Noah is not good enough for her. It can be also argued that Noah’s romantic preoccupation with Allie over the years (the hundreds of letters, the obsession with fixing up the house for her even when she’s gone, etc.) is also representative of symbolic interactionism, in terms of the symbols and roles given to men in order to express their l ove. The house which Noah restores and builds also acts as a literal symbol in the movie: it stands for his struggle in role fulfillment, going from working class to the propertied class. Differences exist between Noah and Allie in class, as well in their background and upbringing. They do fall in love. Despite this, differences do still also exist in the general roles and communication styles expected of them. Of course, every family is unique, so to form the impression of sameness and difference in a general overall national or cultural pattern, this review can easily use a symbolic interaction point of view to examine Noah and Allie’s relationship. â€Å"Symbolic interactionism refers to giving meaning to the apparent language-based (or symbolic) interactions that occur between individuals. According to symbolic interactionism, social roles, such as being a father, are linked to societal expectations that influence the behaviors† (Symbolic, 2005). From this view, family structures are not stable

Superman and Batman Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Superman and Batman - Essay Example The superhero’s socioeconomic status brings up another disparity. When Batman is living his civilian role as Bruce Wayne, he is a successful businessman (a billionaire) while Clark Kent, Superman’s alter ego, is just an ordinary writer for a newspaper making a modest salary. These differences make the ordinary citizen side of each character like night and day. But the differences do not end there, especially when it comes to their families and relationships. It should also be noted that Superman is raised by two parents (even though not his own), while Batman is raised by his butler, Alfred Pennyworth, who he continues to live with throughout adulthood. Furthermore, Batman has a partner, the Boy Wonder, also known as Robin, to assist him in his fight against crime, whereas Superman is always a one-man show with no sidekick. The people the superheroes surround themselves with are worlds apart. Another major difference between the two characters can be seen when looking at the settings in which they were raised. Superman grew up in the modest rural setting of a Kansas farm, while Batman grew up in a very luxurious lifestyle in a mansion, in the crowded metropolitan area known as Gotham City. These places of their upbringing are almost polar opposites. And finally, there are the physical and material differences between the two. Batman wears a mask, whereas the other caped crusader does not, as Superman’s disguise (or mask) is essentially the glasses he wears and his nerdy personality as Clark Kent. Furthermore, Superman’s sole means of transportation is his flying ability, whereas Batman primarily uses his popular Batmobile to speedily get from place to place, not to mention his other high-tech rides, including a plane, helicopter, motorcycle, and speedboat. Even though all of these differences may seem great in number, they pale in comparison to the striking similarities one can find between the two by digging a little deeper. There are many likenesses shared between the caped crusaders. The first key similarity to note between the superheroes is that both Superman and Batman were conceived (in the imagination) in the 1930s as comic book heroes. In Cleveland, Ohio, in June 1932, Jerry Siegel, an American writer created Superman and Canadian American artist Joe Shuster drew him before they sold the concept to Action Comics,

Operational Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Operational Management - Essay Example The range of the bolts according to the length differs from 2 inches to 12 inches. According to the length and function of the bolts, thickness of the bolts varies. In the particular section of the organisation bolts come in several sizes. Here sizes differ either by half inch or by an inch. Mostly the different sizes of bolts are received in the organisation in an ascending order and the bolts are loaded in the container accordingly. The containers do not arrive in a specific order. Each container consists of 5000 bolts irrespective of the size. Special colour codes are used for recognising the varieties of bolts contained in each container. Nuts also arrive in the assembly line in the similar manner as the bolts. The major work process of the employees starts after arrival of both bolts and nuts as they need to couple up the nuts and bolts. After coupling up the nuts and the bolts, it should be loaded in a designated container. The responsibility of carrying out the loaded containe r for weighing is the responsibility of other employees employed for the specific purpose. Regarding the productivity of the section, it can be stated that 1000 nuts and bolts are coupled up in an hour. This productivity is not according to the expectation especially while measured in comparison to the cost of production. Moreover, to deal with the bulk sales, the productivity needs to be stimulated. 2.0 Assembly Methods Assembly methods can be of several types. From the above discussion, the method followed by the organisation can be identified. Assembly line can be considered as a line of the factory equipments and workers associated with the production work and manufacturing products that move on the line from station to station until the products come as the final products. Assembly line methods are introduced in a manufacturing unit to stimulate its efficiency and productivity as it can reduce the required time to manufacture finished goods. The method that has been used in thi s manufacturing unit is a break down method where the entire production processes are divided into certain units. The nature of the work of each section is different. The reason behind breaking down the production process is to enhance the accuracy of the production. Moreover, the assembly method used in this section can be considered as the manual assembly because there is involvement of 200 employees. The comparison between the different assembly methods including manual method can be exhibited in terms of cost of production and volume of the products as follows: Figure 1: Comparison of Assembly Methods Source: (Chan & Salustri, â€Å"Comparison of Assembly Methods†). In this note, it can be recommended to the management to adopt ‘just-in-time’ process. Through this process delivery of the goods can be ensured in proper time. Thus, wastage of idle time and space and processing waste can be eliminated to a certain extent (Inventory Solution, 2007). 3.0 Current A ssembly Station and Employees’ Feedback The number of current assembly stations is four. At the first assembly station different sizes of nuts and bolts are

Assignment 480 ch.6 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

480 ch.6 - Assignment Example This is therefore, a crucial process that will help match the goals and values of the hospital with the needs and expectations of the new employee. The essay will outline the process that will be used in hiring a nurse and develop a job description for this position. As earlier stated, the hospital does not have both the job description, and the hiring procedure. As a human resource specialist, my first objective will to develop the description and specifications of the job, and in our case is nursing. Job analysis is the first step when developing a job description. This will include gathering data on the nature, and position of the job vacancy at the hospital (Arthur, 2012). This will help determine the personal characteristic, knowledge, skills, and other characteristics, (KSAOs), that the job demands. The data gathered will be recorded in a document entailing the specifications and descriptions of the job. The two documents will aid the recruiters and applicants on learning the objectives and requirements of the job vacancy. The second step will involve developing a hiring procedure/process for the hospital. The role of the hiring procedure is to ensure that the hiring is in accordance the values, capacities, and need of the hospital. Additionally, it helps in identification of the system and tools that will aid the hiring process (Arthur, 2012). For the hospital to hire the best candidate there is need for the presence of a large number of applicants. The applicants are informed through employee referral, advertisements, walk-ins, and school recruiters, depending on the cost, time, and resources available. Selection techniques are then employed to ensure the candidate who is best qualified is selected for the job. Scientific selection methods are also employed when selecting the employee. In our case, the hiring procedure will be simple but effective since it is only meant to address one

Foreign direct investment and Employment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Foreign direct investment and Employment - Essay Example Mirza (1998) states that movement of labor and links with domestic subcontractors enable transmission of business culture, which involves corporate values, organizational structures and management practices (qtd. in Mickiewicz et al. 2000, p. 5). Michalet (1997, p.1) tells that over the last two decades, more and more developing countries have changed their attitude towards foreign direct investments that instead of fearing, limiting or even banning the entities, they have not only welcomed it but are competing to attract them. Foreign direct investment is an important source of external finance in transitional economies particularly those in Central Europe (Lansbury et al. 1996, p.104) as it helps to cover the current account deficit, fiscal deficit [in case of privatization-related FDI], and supplements inadequate domestic resources to finance both ownership change and capital formation (Krkoska 2001, p.1). Since 1988, around 70 per cent of FDI in transitional economies has been channeled into these countries. Deutsche Bank Research (EU Monitor 2005, p.14) reports that foreign direct investment in Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs) rose almost tenfold between 1994 and 2003 - from USD 20 bn to USD 197 bn. It also reported that in terms of FDI in relation to GDP, there was an impressive increase from 6.9 per cent to 33.2 per cent.1 Lansbury et al. also contend that FDIs may have played an important role in transforming the formerly centrally planned economies of Central and Eastern Europe as FD Is provide an important source of investment for modernizing the industrial structure of these countries and improving the quality and reliability of infrastructure. Sader (2000, p.2) states that because public industrial structure have relatively low priority for cost-effectiveness and profit generation [which is the opposite for private firms], excess staffing and low-quality service provision results. FDIs, through private lenders and equity investors, provided infrastructure services around the world through full-scale privatization of public sector entities, the construction of new facilities with private capital on the basis of build-operate-transfer (BOT)-type investments, lease arrangements, and operation and management (O&M) contracts (Sader 2000, p.2). A study done by Dimelis and Lauri (2004) using Greek firms as samples confirms that an effect of foreign direct investment on host economies is increases in productive efficiency. Lansbury et al. add that new investments may also bring badly needed skills and technologies into the host economy. Evidences compiled by Lane (1994) in Hungary show that multinational firms had a higher propens ity to trade and invest than purely indigenous ones (qtd. in Lansbury et al. 1996, p.104). Foreign direct investment is important not only as generator of new employment but also as agent that can change the structure of employment in the direction that would be more favorable for a long-term growth of CEECs, that is, more likely to happen if FDI is diversified, according to Mickiewicz et al. (2000, p.7). In their study on the employment effects of FDI on four sample CEECs2, Mickiewicz et al. found out that foreign direct in

CritiqueCitations writings Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

CritiqueCitations writings - Essay Example These characteristics are complementary rather than divisive. Narrow definitions can be misleading, too particularly focused missions can be self-defeating, and neglect for the bigger picture can result in disastrous consequences. In the modern era, despite occasional protests to the contrary, leadership is best demonstrated in terms of flexibility, ethical behavior, perseverance, and a consideration for the effects of every decision and course of action. This essay will set forth a definition which encapsulates the innate qualities of leadership as envisioned by Badaracco, incorporate notions of ethics into the larger conceptual framework of leadership, examine the idea that leaders ought to be concerned with the welfare of others, and agree with the proposition that organizations are fluid rather than static creatures. Whether leaders are made or born is perhaps a tangential and irrelevant consideration; innate characteristics, whether hormonal or environmentally-instilled, must give way to a more individualistic analysis. Leadership, to be sure, is measured both objectively and subjectively. However one measures leadership, the fact is that some leaders excel and achieve goals; others, just as surely, fail to accomplish the goals set by themselves and the targets set by other concerned individuals and organizations. There is a persuasive school of thought, a very real theoretical underpinning in the field of leadership, which attempts to link successful leadership and motivation causally. This school thought is represented by commentators like Badaracco, whom has stated that Only people driven by strong motives are likely to make real progress in a world that is often an unpredictable and confusing place, in which trust is fragile and lots of people play for keeps. Merely thinking that something should be done is not enough. Quiet leaders want to act responsibly and ethically, but to do so they usually have to persevere and improvise, often over long periods. To have any hope of achieving their aims, their motives have to be good enough and strong enough" (2002: 42). There is, in Badaracco's view, a need to identify choices, to consider options pursuant to certain guiding motives or values, and to commit to courses of action in a prolonged and committed fashion. This suggestion, the need to commit to a course of action, is increasingly difficult in a world characterized by imperfect information, conflicting philosophies, and frequent dishonesty. Indeed, as stated by Aditya and House, this often places the role of leadership into the risk-taking arena (1997: 412). Leaders must, in short, be confident enough, have strong enough goals and motives, and be willing to steer their organization through challenging obstacles. This risk-taking relates well to Badaracco's advice; more specifically, goals must be both legitimate and pursued with vigor if they are to be attained in the modern era. 1.2 The Significance of Ethics and Fundamental Values More than ever before, there are leaders, scholars, and commentators whom advocate an incorporation of a fundamental set of values and an ethical framework for guiding leadership decisions. The incorporation of these value-based components is not universally accepted, but the trend is clearly

Mexican Immigration Essay Example for Free

Mexican Immigration Essay People from Mexico during the years 1900-today influenced life in the USA in a positive manner. These people emigrated because of economic opportunity and brought their culture with them. The community into which they moved responded with both positive and negative opinions. Short term influences include Mexican food, Mexican events like Cinco de Mayo, Mexican music, and many other things from their culture. 2nd generation immigrants influence the amount of cheap labor filled up in the country, and Mexican culture being accepted into the mainstream such as entertainment. Long term impact of these immigrants may result in general acceptance of Mexican immigration, a backlash against the Mexican immigration, or possibly easier ways to move to This essay will show an analogy of the human body to be compared with Mexican immigration. The head being the thoughts and feelings of people in America based on Mexican immigration, the arms being the Mexicans contributions to arts and entertainment, the hands being the immigrants work ethic and their effect on the American economy, the heart being Mexican immigrations effect on religion, holidays, and traditions, the gut being Mexican immigrations contribution to culinary influences, the legs being how the borders have been crossed in terms of transportation and such, and the feet being the foundation of Mexican immigrants in the country. With relation to the head, in the United States, the arrival of Mexican immigrants has mostly harbored negative feelings. Of course, the cry of U. S citizens has been Theyre taking our jobs! which is somewhat true, but that will be discussed later on in this paper. Americans havent exactly reacted well to the movement of Mexicans into the country legally or illegally, but it seems that there is a new wave of acceptance of Mexicans in the country, with Mexican culture, entertainment, food, and humor in much of the mainstream. Of course, many of the second generation Mexican American citizens in the US provide an acceptance of the Mexican immigration, with many people trying to spread awareness of the good that Mexican immigration does and how their ancestors came in the past and gave them a better life than what they would have had in Mexico. In the future, I predict that the US population will accept Mexican immigration as acceptable and will not be so biased against Mexican immigrants. In relation to the arms, one of Mexican immigrations most positive aspects is the bringing of Mexican culture and entertainment into the US. Ever since Mexicans started moving into our country, their art, entertainment, and other aspects of their culture have seeped their way into the American lexicon. Mexican art is of course a big influencer in the South in states like Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and California. Many houses in these regions are adorned with Mexican art or carry on a Mexican style. Of course this most likely wouldnt be possible without people coming from Mexico into America. There is also a huge rush of Mexican culture all over media. Lately, there have been many television shows starring Mexican actors where the theme of being Mexican in America and doing well has prospered. Shows like George Lopez where he constantly mentions the fact that hes Mexican and makes many jokes based on his heritage. Many shows like this, along with Mexican musics influence on different types of music have shown that Mexican immigration has been very positive based on its cultural impact. With relation to the hands, Mexican immigrants have had a long record of outstanding work ethic when it comes to arriving in the country and finding work. Mexican immigrants have been able fill up an incredible amount of so-called cheap labor and have had a positive effect on the US economy. It has been shown that Mexicans arriving from Mexico usually acquire jobs upon their arrival, and the amount of Mexicans receiving welfare is very low. Of course, theres always the American cry of Theyre taking our jobs! but actually, Mexican immigrants have created more jobs than theyve taken. The immigrants mostly take lower level jobs that have trouble being filled, which create many more managerial positions and supervisor positions, and those are mostly the jobs that Americans have been known to want. So Mexican immigrants may take jobs, but they also create more for the country, and thats very positive. In relating to the heart, Mexicans have been a large influencing factor in traditions and holidays. Of course, the immigrants from Mexico practice the traditions and holidays they did in their native country. In doing this, many people around them caught on to some of the things they were practicing such as Cinco de Mayo and fiestas. These practices caught on in the rest of the country and became very popular. Just like how in every bar and grill in the country, Cinco do Mayo is celebrated by half priced margaritas and Mexican dishes are discounted. In religion, Mexicans are mostly Roman-Catholic and are able to practice their religion easily. With relation to the gut, Mexican influence in food is outstanding. In every town and city across the country, theres usually at least one Mexican restaurant. In fact, the US is the country that has the most Mexican food, which is actually very ironic. Mexican food has been a true staple of cuisine in America for a long time now, and is incredibly popular. This has been the leading cause of acceptance for Mexican immigration mostly, because Americans seem to love Mexican food. The successes of Mexican restaurants like Taco Bell, Taco Johns, and On the Border have shown how positive Mexican immigration and influence can be. In relation to the legs, Mexican people have arrived in many ways. Along the border there are about 29 ports to access to be able to get into the country from Mexico, which the Mexican immigrants use to legally enter the country. They first enter there and then apply for green cards, visas, and American citizenship. Then theres always the illegal way of getting into the country. Many people go over the border by being smuggled inside a truck into the country, entering the country where they are no border police or personnel, bribing a guard to let them in the country, or somehow climbing one of the very tall barb wire fences along the border and running as fast as you can. Of course none of those ways are easy, being that on an average day, 3,000 people try to illegally cross the border and only an estimated 800 are able to make it through. It is hard to illegally enter the country, but of course many people do. Most people tend to think that most Mexican immigrants enter in illegally, but only 1 in 5 Mexican immigrants have illegally entered the country and not received documentation of their arrival. With relation to the feet, Mexican immigrants have a strong foundation in this country. There is a large Mexican population now in the US and it has a very large basis of culture and influence. Mexicans are beginning to be accepted more into the mainstream of America and have become an integral part of our country. There are many second generation Mexicans in government and politics as well as entertainment and the arts. Now in America, the Mexican people are widely accepted by US citizens and racism against them is beginning to cease. They have become a very important race of people to our country and our people. Overall, Mexican immigration is very positive. It brings many things to the country that wouldnt be here if Mexican people didnt move here. With their contribution to the arts, entertainment, cuisine, traditions, and the economy, Mexican people have become a great asset. I believe that more people will finally accept Mexican immigration as a positive occurrence and will greet new Mexican people with open arms. As the Mexican immigration continues, the country will only get better.

Barriers to Dutch Infrastructural Project Planning

Barriers to Dutch Infrastructural Project Planning Interactive planning of Dutch infrastructural project A case-description of Mainport Schiphol and the A12 national expressway Interactive Planning of Sustainability 1. Introduction Since the beginning of the ‘90s, the implementation of new infrastructural projects in The Netherlands became increasingly problematic. Related environmental issues had a lot of societal attention. The Dutch Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management, responsible for maintaining a high quality of mobility in the Netherlands, identified three major problems with earlier attempts to solve the infrastructural problems; little social acceptance for new projects, procedures for realizing new projects took too long, and the proposed solutions were not really original and often ‘more of the same’. For solving these problems, this Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management proposed a change from top-down decision making to a more open and interactive form of policy making for planning, developing, and implementing new infrastructure (Enthoven and de Rooij, 1996). With interactive policy making, the main goal is to make more creative and effectiv e plans, by involving all stakeholders like citizens, (local and/or national) governments and experts. For this paper, 2 cases are selected, related to a Dutch infrastructure issue and dealt with on an interactive way; Mainport Schiphol near Amsterdam and the A12 national expressway near The Hague. The first one is selected because of its elaborated description in Susskind et al. (1999), its high degree of complexness and the fact the outcomes were fairly positive, the second one is selected also because of its suitable description in Glasbergen en Driessen (2005), but with a more straight-forward problem definition and its positive outcomes. Discussing these two Dutch cases, we will focus on four critical issues, related to interactive planning and often discussed in literature: Participant selection, Power and Access, Roles of facilitators, and Use of knowledge. Although more critical issues can be defined, like Roles op participants, Modes of evaluation and Use of outcomes by policy makers, only these four are chosen because of the fact that these are clearly discussed in the selec ted case-descriptions and these seemed to be crucial for the success of these cases. Chapter 2 will discuss each critical issue shortly. Chapter 3 will discuss the two cases in the light of the four different critical issues, and chapter 4 will give a conclusion. To structure this research the following research question is formulated: How do the four critical issues (Participant selection, Power and Access, Roles of facilitators, and Use of knowledge) contribute to the rate of success of 2 infrastructural cases in The Netherlands (the Schiphol case and the A12 national expressway)? 2. Critical Issues This chapter will elaborate a bit more about what is actually meant with the four different critical issues: Participant selection, Power and Access, Roles of facilitators, and Use of knowledge. 2.1 Participant selection The question of which parties to involve is answered by a set of four considerations that should be taken into account when selecting the participants (De Bruijn et al., 2002). Firstly, parties with blocking power in the decision-making are important. Involving these parties in the process may keep them from using their blocking power in ways that are unforeseen. Secondly, parties with productive power should be part of the process. These parties will actually have to implement the decisions that are taken, and can influence the decision making with their control over the productive resources. Thirdly, parties that have an interest in the decision-making should be considered. These are parties that do not have substantial power in the decision making process (like blocking power or resources), but nevertheless are confronted with the outcomes of the group process and therefore can provide important information and moral considerations. Finally, this moral aspect of decision-making ca n by a reason to invite certain parties to join the process. Moral and ethical considerations can be important to embody the voice of those who are affected by the potential decision, but are not invited to the process for different reasons (De Bruin, 2002). 2.2 Power and access One of the key goals of interactive policy making is that it should reduce the influence of dominant elites and enable the less powerful groups to give input. Those parties or actors, who do not have access to formal decision-making processes or who cannot exert enough influence by the way of discussion and negotiation are more likely to initiate legal proceedings. Public’s ability to participate in decisions can be assessed according to three elements (as defined at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro in 1992): access to information, access to the decision-making process, and access to redress or change decision. These three elements will shortly be explained below. ‘Access to information’ can be seen as the first foundation of access and also one of the most passive forms of access seen from the perspective of the public. With access to information is meant the ability the public has to easily get access to forms of relevant information in which they are directly or indirectly involved, such as environmental impact assessments, reports from industries about their emissions etc. But one also can think about getting informed about potential relevant activities, which possibly can affect the public’s environment. ‘Access to the decision-making processes’ wants to give the public a more active role. Once this form of access is attained, one can even speak of a certain form of power. One must not focus on only the opportunity to provide input on specific subjects, but also the ability to influence more general decisions, such as the making of new laws or national policies. ‘Access to redress or change a certain decision’ is also related to a form of power, since the ability to change a certain decision gives a citizen the power to influence the decision-making process. This form of access can be translated into making judicial or administrative remedies accessible to the public, when officials fail to do their work in a proper manner (Mock et al., 2003). 2.3 Roles of facilitators The roles that a facilitator can play in group decision processes constitute of consistent packages of specific tasks within the group process combined with a more general ‘attitude’ towards the group members and the process. In literature, three major roles of a facilitator are commonly distinguished: a role as process architect or process manager, a mediating role and a convening role. As a process architect, the facilitator lays down the backbone of the group process. The process should be structured in such a way that all relevant insights from the participants will play a role in the process. Four core principles for designing a group process can be discriminated: openness, protection of core values, speed and substance (De Bruijn et al., 2002). These four ‘core elements of process design’ should be included and safeguarded in any process design in order to satisfy all the participants. The facilitator focuses on the process so that group members can focus on the substance and can suggest different ways of discussing problems, ensuring that all group members can freely express there comments and are free of any abuses of power or personal attack (Susskind et al., 1999). Especially in environmental issues, the interests, values and problem perceptions of different parties may often be far apart form each other. With such large contrasts of interest within the group, a facilitator often is faced with disputes and conflicts within the group process, that are hard to solve with mere changes in the structure of the process. In such case, the role of the facilitator can be very closely related with a mediating role in which the facilitator is mediating between parties, even to establish a general structure of the process. In addition, an external mediator can be asked to solve the conflicts. An external mediator is a neutral person that specializes in solving disputes between different participants in the group process, often using a variety of negotiation techniques and (psychological) methods of reframing problems and solutions (Acland, 1995). In a convening role, the facilitator has a say in which parties should be involved in the group process, and at what roles they will have. The convening role of a facilitator is sometimes not far apart from the role that a facilitator has as a process designer. Proper management of a group decisions process clearly has a very import influence on the effectiveness of that process. The facilitator can influence that process to quit a large extent. The consensus of all group members on the final decision depends for a large part on the level of agreement within the group with the approach that facilitators takes in structuring and managing the process. 2.4 Role of knowledge Knowledge is a crucial ingredient of interactive planning. However, the significance of the use of knowledge depends on one’s view. Over the years, the view on the role of knowledge has changed. The rational actor model has gradually been replaced by adaptive decision and learning strategies interacting with the environment. Before, planning would be perceived as proceeding in an orderly and linear fashion (Friend Hickling, 2005). Today some authors state that knowledge is a result of collective social processes. This implies that knowledge is a social construct, rather than an objective entity. In the new approach, linear progression of the process is seen as unrealistic. Instead, the uniqueness, ambiguity and unpredictability of real world processes are emphasized. With the recognition that planning is an interactive and communicative process, the notion of the interrelationship between expert and experiential knowledge has become more and more crucial. Interactive planning is now seen as ‘organized rituals’ where ‘deliberating participants’ listen to one another, search for new options and learn to find new ways of going on together (Khakee et al., 2000). 3. Case description For a complete description of each of the two cases, see appendix 1 and 2. This section will only discuss the previously mentioned four critical issues related to interactive policy making (Participant selection, Power and Access, Roles of facilitators, and Use of knowledge), related to the experiences of these two cases. 3.1 Mainport Schiphol Schiphol Airport is situated in a highly urbanized area, and deals with national, continental and intercontinental air traffic. Although its presence is causing many ‘stress’ on its environmental surroundings, the Dutch government wants it to expand, so it can act as a hub for continental and intercontinental air traffic. With this expansion there are two interests at stake: on national level an economic one (because an enlarged Schiphol would increase economic activities), and on regional level an environmental one (because a bigger Schiphol will cause an increase of nuisances of noise, pollution, and safety). These two opposite interests caused a stalemate to occur since the 1950s. In the 1980s, one of the government authorities took the initiative to change the ‘common way of working’ and activated the policy network, to address the issues (Driessen, 1999). 3.1.1 Participant selection The most important actor in this case was the Dutch Government, who made the prefigured decision to expand the airport into an international hub. All other participants had to find their ‘win-win’ outcomes within this context of developmental growth. From the beginning, various government organisations have been involved in the development of Schiphol Airport. The main players are three ministries. The ministry of Transport and Public Works is by far the most important actor, responsible for the economic development of the airport as well as the abatement of noise nuisance. Second, the Ministry of Housing, Physical Planning and Environment is also involved, responsible for physical planning in The Netherlands and implementing policies regarding the rest of the environmental effects of the activities of the airline industries, namely air pollution, stench and hazard. Finally, the Ministry of Economic Affairs plays and important role, pursuing further economic development in the region of Schiphol (Driessen, 1999). Lower tiers of governments involved were the province of North Holland, responsible for environmental policy and planning for the region, and the municipalities surrounding the airport, both benefiting (by increased employment and tax-incomes) and enduring the aggravation (caused by noise, stench, air pollution, and other activities that degrade the environment) of having the airport close by. The municipality of Haarlemmermeer is a special case, because this municipality is authorized to create a land use plan for the airfield. Additionally, two enterprises play a crucial role: NV Luchthaven Schiphol (operating the airport and completely state owned) and KLM (the major Dutch carrier and partly owned by the state) (Driessen, 1999). Because the Ministry of Transport and Public Works occupied a pivotal position, being both responsible for the economic development of Schiphol and the abatement of noise nuisance, it was agreed that noise regulation would be regulated by the Aviation Act, which was under the responsibility of the Ministry of Transport and Public Works. Nevertheless, little actions were made to reduce noise nuisance, because all participants believed that technical solutions would solve all noise-problems in the near future. Because no agreement could be made between these participants on how much the airport should be allowed to grow, or how to tackle the environmental problems, the Dutch government asked the Ministry of Housing, Physical Planning and Environment to make an integral plan for the Schiphol region, ensuring both economic development as well as environmental improvements. In the following process, a project group and a steering committee were established. The steering committee was comp osed out of all above-mentioned parties, while the project group contained all interest groups. Any party with interest in the case could join the project group (Driessen, 1999). Based on the case-description and related to the four considerations described in section 2.1, it must be concluded that parties with blocking and productive power were strongly involved in the interactive planning process, by joining the steering committee. Other parties with interest were also involved, by joining the project group, but their influence was relatively small. If parties were involved, based on moral considerations, does not become clear from this case-description. 3.1.2 Power and access The three different Governmental agencies (the ministry of Transport and Public Works, the Ministry of Housing, Physical Planning and Environment, and the Ministry of Economic Affairs) with jurisdictional authority over airport expansion, had accepted the mandate for airport expansion, but each with more at stake than achieving this outcome. Interagency rivalry and power played a critical part in the positions the ministries adopted and the coalitions they build during negotiations. The creation of a project group composed of all interest groups and of a steering committee of essential power brokers gave much power to the steering committee alone. From the case description, it does not become clear that the members of the steering committee, who were eventually excluded from the decision-making, were those who could not benefit in a ‘win-win’ situation, or were simply not powerful enough to block or advance progress. Nevertheless, the exclusion of interests cannot lead t o a ‘win-win’ solution and has encountered difficulties building consensus and achieving compliance (Driessen, 1999). Based on the case-description and related to the three elements described in section 2.2, it must be concluded that ‘Access to information’ does not form an obstacle. Perhaps the overload on information and the opposed and contradicting information gave bigger problems. The public was given some access to the decision-making process when they joint the project group, by commenting the ideas of the steering committee. However, the steering committee made all final decisions, so there was certainly no access to redress or change a decision. 3.1.3 Roles of facilitator After the developed deadlock between the initially participants, the Ministry of Housing, Physical Planning and Environment was made primary responsible for the task of making an integral plan for the Schiphol region, ensuring both economic development as well as environmental improvements. The fact that this ministry had a strong affiliation with environmental issues raised initial suspicion among the other governmental bodies. They wondered whether this ministry would be able to take a neutral position in the ensuing discussions. However, their initial wariness soon gave way to a realistic attitude, and actively joined the process (Driessen, 1999). The Ministry of Housing, Physical Planning and Environment designed an organizational framework for the discussion whereby the coordinated approach would be given a concrete form by activating the policy network. With this, the ministry acquired a dual function in the project, because it was the convenor, chair and facilitator of the planning process, and had to secure the input of environmental interest in the decision-making (Driessen, 1999). In the initial stage, the strategy of the project leaders of the Ministry of Housing, Physical Planning and Environment was to bring the various parties closer together by conducting investigations and exchanging information, assuming that this might contribute to a better understanding and more appreciation for each different standpoint. The was no need for a professional facilitator, because all information was being collected, analyzed, and disseminated in an orderly way, although a professional facilitator could have helped structuring the problem. At the end of this stage, the project leaders formulated a plan, which could not be released because of the rain of criticism it caused (Driessen, 1999). Because of this setback, the project leaders decided to recruit a professional facilitator, with the task not to increase the supply of information, but to let parties sought to digest what they had and to arrive at a decision. From the case-description, it does not become clear if this facilitator had staff support and whether he/she had analytical, problem solving skills. The approach taken by the facilitator was aimed at bringing the main bottlenecks to the fore, in order to reach agreements at least on key points. The approach was characterized by the creation of a strong interaction between the project group and the steering committee. The later reviewed the issues that the project group had pared down in size, and either approved the solutions offered by the project group or send them back to the project group for reconsideration (Driessen, 1999). After this process, the facilitator presented the choices made by the project group and the steering committee to the public. The central aim of this was, to gain social and political legitimacy; the plan was opened up to the public discussion and the reactions were taken into account in the final version. Unfortunately, the public was hardly informed about the process preceding the plan and therefore it was generally received with great suspicion. Adding to this, the public discussion did not proceeded in a coordinated fashion, but each government resorted to its own method of public discussion. At the same time of these public hearings, the facilitator had to focus on the steering committee, because each party could take criticism of the plan as a lever to reopen discussion on subjects already discussed. At the end, the facilitator wrote the final text of the plan, shaping the final agreements also including the difficult topics of a reduction of noise nuisance and hazard (Driessen , 1999). From this description of the facilitator, it becomes clear that the facilitator had both the role of process architect, and mediator. The facilitator designed the entire framework of decision-making and mediated when problems occurred. If the facilitator also had a convening role is unclear. Which stakeholders could join the steering committee was already decided before the facilitator got involved. How actually the project group was formed, stays unclear from this case-description. 3.1.4 Role of knowledge Especially in issues related to airfield, experts disagree on numerous crucial uncertainties. This makes the role of knowledge both important but not of the same tenor. Research plays a key role in these controversies. This relates to research on, for instance, the need to build a new airport or expand the existing one, it may concern the most desirable infrastructure in and around the airport, it may deal with the profitability of operation, it may investigate the economic impact of the airport, or it may consider possible negative effects on the environment. However, this research must never be judged as ‘objective’ and will always play a role in the conflict of interest, expressed in this case, in the frequency of requested ‘second opinions’ (Driessen, 1999). In the case of noise nuisance, it took long time to be acknowledged as a problem and to find a way of calculating the level of distress. In the mid-1960s, a system was developed to measure noise nuisance, but no agreement could be made on how it should be applied. For instance, there was discussion about how to determine the threshold value for maximum admissible noise nuisance. Furthermore, options differ on setting a specific norm for night flights. The disagreement revolves around the degree to which departing and arriving airplanes disturb the sleep of nearby residents, and whether such disruption is detrimental to public health. There was also uncertainty about, the rate air traffic would increase, and the degree to which technical developments in aeronautics could help reduce noise levels by changing the aircrafts design (Driessen, 1999). Therefore, as also stated in section 2.4, knowledge is very important in decision-making processes, but as these processes get more interaction with a broad scale of actors, knowledge becomes more a result of collective social processes and loses its objective entity. From this case-description, it does not become explicitly clear if the decisions were based on knowledge provided by ‘experts’ or that it was formed in an interactive learning process. Implicitly, one could state that the agreement on noise nuisances could only have been established, when such interactive knowledge development occurred. 3.2 A12 national expressway The ease of accessibility of The Hague depends to a large extent on the A12 national expressway. Its final 30 km stretch is marked by many access and exit ramps, and the intensity of traffic in this area has increased dramatically in recent decades. This is partly thanks to the enormous increase in the volume of vehicular traffic, and partly to the proliferation of new urban development locations around The Hague. Much of the traffic is ‘destination traffic’ which enters the city in the morning and leaves at night. As a result of the higher volumes, congestion became a big problem (Glasbergen and Driessen, 2005). 3.2.1 Participant selection The planning agency initially saw itself as the owner of the problem at stake and formulated a classical solution of road widening. This approach failed because of public resistance and of a budget problem at the Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management. Because of this, the ministry stepped back, which un-deliberately created opportunities for other parties to take initiative. The government authorities of The Hague took the initiative to develop a new architecture for interaction among the different stakeholders. They organized a public dialog and a series of workshops involving local politicians and private businesses from the region, resulting in a new definition of the problem, focussing on the underutilization of existing capacity. The role of the planning agency changed from orchestrator of the infrastructure project to a partner in the wider regional consultation on issues of mobility and livability. They also made subsidies available to the business community , enabling them to work out individual, sometimes innovative, mobility plans (Glasbergen and Driessen, 2005). Before concluding the analysis of participant selection in this case, the fact that there were no objections to the planes made by this interactive planning-process is probably the best evidence that all relevant stakeholders were included in the process. Nevertheless, from the case-description and related to the four considerations described in section 2.1, it does not become clear how all relevant stakeholders were defined, if all parties with blocking and productive power were added to the process, or if parties with moral and ethical considerations were included. 3.2.2 Power and access This case can bee described as a restricted interactive process, because it was intended to promote the cooperation of public authorities with the private sector. Civic organizations and individual citizens were kept informed through a public relations center. The governmental authorities of The Hague decided which stakeholders were included in the process. Despite this fact, no opposition to this project did arise (Glasbergen and Driessen, 2005). The access to information was well looked after, in the form of the public relations center. They kept civic organizations and individual citizens informed about the plans and progress. More power was not given to the public in this case. 3.2.3 Roles of facilitator In order to link the government agencies (where the plans were developed), and the business community, a ‘godfather’ was appointed. This honour was given to the director of the public transport company in the region, and he served as a contact between the project and the private sector. He kept all relevant firms informed about the development of the project and called these firms to task with respect to their responsibilities for the region’s accessibility, by reminding them that they might be lagging behind other firms in the development of their mobility plans (Glasbergen and Driessen, 2005). From the case-description, it must be concluded that the government authorities of The Hague acted as a convener, initially selecting the different stakeholders. Facilitating the process and mediating in conflicts were partly done by the ‘godfather’ and partly by the government authorities of The Hague. The precise division of responsibilities does not become clear from the case-description. 3.2.4 Role of knowledge According to this case-description, it was the government agencies of The Hague who decided what knowledge was used in the decision process. The only organization consulted for information was the planning agency, also participating in the planning process (Glasbergen and Driessen, 2005). Although knowledge is crucial in interactive planning (see section 2.4), the role of knowledge in this case is not very big. This probably has two reasons. One is the relative simple problem at stake (congestion) and secondly the fact that all parties agreed on the content of the relevant knowledge. Nevertheless, the fact that only one party provided the relevant knowledge could potentially have caused major problems afterwards. 4. Conclusion This research started with the question: How do the four critical issues (Participant selection, Power and Access, Roles of facilitators, and Use of knowledge) contribute to the rate of success of 2 infrastructural cases in The Netherlands (the Schiphol case and the A12 national expressway)? How each criterion added to the success of the case is described at the end of each subsection in chapter 3. Overall, it can be concluded that the success of interactive planning depends on the care each criterion is taken care of. If one of these criteria is neglected, it will be reflected in the outcomes. If, for example, participants are forgotten, power is not distributed evenly, facilitators are not adequate, or knowledge is not as objective as possible, the process will take much longer time and the change of good end-results and thus consensus will diminish. Both cases make clear that solutions were impossible to reach in the traditional way of policy making and that interactive policy mak ing contributed to good end results. Nevertheless, in future comparable processes, more attention should be given to the four discussed critical issues, and probably to the seven mentioned in the introduction. Only than, the rate of success of these kind of processes will increase. References Acland, A.F. 1995. Resolving Disputes without going to Court. London, Century Business Books. Bruijn, H. de, E. ten Heuvelhof and R.J. in ’t Veld. 2002. Process management: Why Project Management Fails in Complex decision making Processes. Dordrecht, Kluwer Academic Publishers. Driessen, P. 1999. Activating a Policy Network; The Case of Mainport Schiphol. in Susskind et al., 1999, The Consensus Building Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide to Reaching Agreement. Enthoven, G.M.W. and A. de Rooij. 1996. InfraLab; Impuls voor open planvorming en creativiteit.Bestuurskunde, Vol. 5, Issue 8, p. 1-8. Friend, J. and A. Hickling. 2004. Planning Under Pressure, The Strategic Choice Approach. Oxford, Buttorworth/Heinemann. Glasbergen, P. and P.J. Driessen. 2005. Interactive planning of infrastructure: the changing role of Dutch project management. Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy, Vol. 23, p. 263-277. Khakee A., A. Barbanente and D. Borri. 2000. Expert and experimental knowledge in planning. The Journal of the Operational Research Society, Vol. 51, No. 7, p. 776-788. Mock, G.A., W. Vanasselt, and E. Petkova. 2003. Rights and reality: Monitoring the public’s right to participate. International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health, Vol. 9, p. 4-13. Suzzkind, L.S., S. McKearan and J. Thomas-Larmer. 1999. The Consensus Building Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide to Reaching Agreement. London, SAGE Publications. Appendix 1 – Case sheet Mainport Schiphol (Driessen, 1999) 1. Position Initiative: several governmental ministries Time period: 1980-present Level of used policy process: regional/national Phase in policy process: in process 2. Background This case is about plans to expand Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport and the disputes related to it. Schiphol Airport is situated in a highly urbanized area, and deals with national, continental and intercontinental air traffic. Although its presence is causing many ‘stress’ on its environmental surroundings, the Dutch government wants it to expand, so it can act as a hub for continental and intercontinental air traffic. With this expansion there are two interests at stake: on national level an economic one (because an enlarged Schiphol Airport would increase economic activities), and on regional level an environmental one (because a bigger Schiphol Airport will caus Barriers to Dutch Infrastructural Project Planning Barriers to Dutch Infrastructural Project Planning Interactive planning of Dutch infrastructural project A case-description of Mainport Schiphol and the A12 national expressway Interactive Planning of Sustainability 1. Introduction Since the beginning of the ‘90s, the implementation of new infrastructural projects in The Netherlands became increasingly problematic. Related environmental issues had a lot of societal attention. The Dutch Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management, responsible for maintaining a high quality of mobility in the Netherlands, identified three major problems with earlier attempts to solve the infrastructural problems; little social acceptance for new projects, procedures for realizing new projects took too long, and the proposed solutions were not really original and often ‘more of the same’. For solving these problems, this Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management proposed a change from top-down decision making to a more open and interactive form of policy making for planning, developing, and implementing new infrastructure (Enthoven and de Rooij, 1996). With interactive policy making, the main goal is to make more creative and effectiv e plans, by involving all stakeholders like citizens, (local and/or national) governments and experts. For this paper, 2 cases are selected, related to a Dutch infrastructure issue and dealt with on an interactive way; Mainport Schiphol near Amsterdam and the A12 national expressway near The Hague. The first one is selected because of its elaborated description in Susskind et al. (1999), its high degree of complexness and the fact the outcomes were fairly positive, the second one is selected also because of its suitable description in Glasbergen en Driessen (2005), but with a more straight-forward problem definition and its positive outcomes. Discussing these two Dutch cases, we will focus on four critical issues, related to interactive planning and often discussed in literature: Participant selection, Power and Access, Roles of facilitators, and Use of knowledge. Although more critical issues can be defined, like Roles op participants, Modes of evaluation and Use of outcomes by policy makers, only these four are chosen because of the fact that these are clearly discussed in the selec ted case-descriptions and these seemed to be crucial for the success of these cases. Chapter 2 will discuss each critical issue shortly. Chapter 3 will discuss the two cases in the light of the four different critical issues, and chapter 4 will give a conclusion. To structure this research the following research question is formulated: How do the four critical issues (Participant selection, Power and Access, Roles of facilitators, and Use of knowledge) contribute to the rate of success of 2 infrastructural cases in The Netherlands (the Schiphol case and the A12 national expressway)? 2. Critical Issues This chapter will elaborate a bit more about what is actually meant with the four different critical issues: Participant selection, Power and Access, Roles of facilitators, and Use of knowledge. 2.1 Participant selection The question of which parties to involve is answered by a set of four considerations that should be taken into account when selecting the participants (De Bruijn et al., 2002). Firstly, parties with blocking power in the decision-making are important. Involving these parties in the process may keep them from using their blocking power in ways that are unforeseen. Secondly, parties with productive power should be part of the process. These parties will actually have to implement the decisions that are taken, and can influence the decision making with their control over the productive resources. Thirdly, parties that have an interest in the decision-making should be considered. These are parties that do not have substantial power in the decision making process (like blocking power or resources), but nevertheless are confronted with the outcomes of the group process and therefore can provide important information and moral considerations. Finally, this moral aspect of decision-making ca n by a reason to invite certain parties to join the process. Moral and ethical considerations can be important to embody the voice of those who are affected by the potential decision, but are not invited to the process for different reasons (De Bruin, 2002). 2.2 Power and access One of the key goals of interactive policy making is that it should reduce the influence of dominant elites and enable the less powerful groups to give input. Those parties or actors, who do not have access to formal decision-making processes or who cannot exert enough influence by the way of discussion and negotiation are more likely to initiate legal proceedings. Public’s ability to participate in decisions can be assessed according to three elements (as defined at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro in 1992): access to information, access to the decision-making process, and access to redress or change decision. These three elements will shortly be explained below. ‘Access to information’ can be seen as the first foundation of access and also one of the most passive forms of access seen from the perspective of the public. With access to information is meant the ability the public has to easily get access to forms of relevant information in which they are directly or indirectly involved, such as environmental impact assessments, reports from industries about their emissions etc. But one also can think about getting informed about potential relevant activities, which possibly can affect the public’s environment. ‘Access to the decision-making processes’ wants to give the public a more active role. Once this form of access is attained, one can even speak of a certain form of power. One must not focus on only the opportunity to provide input on specific subjects, but also the ability to influence more general decisions, such as the making of new laws or national policies. ‘Access to redress or change a certain decision’ is also related to a form of power, since the ability to change a certain decision gives a citizen the power to influence the decision-making process. This form of access can be translated into making judicial or administrative remedies accessible to the public, when officials fail to do their work in a proper manner (Mock et al., 2003). 2.3 Roles of facilitators The roles that a facilitator can play in group decision processes constitute of consistent packages of specific tasks within the group process combined with a more general ‘attitude’ towards the group members and the process. In literature, three major roles of a facilitator are commonly distinguished: a role as process architect or process manager, a mediating role and a convening role. As a process architect, the facilitator lays down the backbone of the group process. The process should be structured in such a way that all relevant insights from the participants will play a role in the process. Four core principles for designing a group process can be discriminated: openness, protection of core values, speed and substance (De Bruijn et al., 2002). These four ‘core elements of process design’ should be included and safeguarded in any process design in order to satisfy all the participants. The facilitator focuses on the process so that group members can focus on the substance and can suggest different ways of discussing problems, ensuring that all group members can freely express there comments and are free of any abuses of power or personal attack (Susskind et al., 1999). Especially in environmental issues, the interests, values and problem perceptions of different parties may often be far apart form each other. With such large contrasts of interest within the group, a facilitator often is faced with disputes and conflicts within the group process, that are hard to solve with mere changes in the structure of the process. In such case, the role of the facilitator can be very closely related with a mediating role in which the facilitator is mediating between parties, even to establish a general structure of the process. In addition, an external mediator can be asked to solve the conflicts. An external mediator is a neutral person that specializes in solving disputes between different participants in the group process, often using a variety of negotiation techniques and (psychological) methods of reframing problems and solutions (Acland, 1995). In a convening role, the facilitator has a say in which parties should be involved in the group process, and at what roles they will have. The convening role of a facilitator is sometimes not far apart from the role that a facilitator has as a process designer. Proper management of a group decisions process clearly has a very import influence on the effectiveness of that process. The facilitator can influence that process to quit a large extent. The consensus of all group members on the final decision depends for a large part on the level of agreement within the group with the approach that facilitators takes in structuring and managing the process. 2.4 Role of knowledge Knowledge is a crucial ingredient of interactive planning. However, the significance of the use of knowledge depends on one’s view. Over the years, the view on the role of knowledge has changed. The rational actor model has gradually been replaced by adaptive decision and learning strategies interacting with the environment. Before, planning would be perceived as proceeding in an orderly and linear fashion (Friend Hickling, 2005). Today some authors state that knowledge is a result of collective social processes. This implies that knowledge is a social construct, rather than an objective entity. In the new approach, linear progression of the process is seen as unrealistic. Instead, the uniqueness, ambiguity and unpredictability of real world processes are emphasized. With the recognition that planning is an interactive and communicative process, the notion of the interrelationship between expert and experiential knowledge has become more and more crucial. Interactive planning is now seen as ‘organized rituals’ where ‘deliberating participants’ listen to one another, search for new options and learn to find new ways of going on together (Khakee et al., 2000). 3. Case description For a complete description of each of the two cases, see appendix 1 and 2. This section will only discuss the previously mentioned four critical issues related to interactive policy making (Participant selection, Power and Access, Roles of facilitators, and Use of knowledge), related to the experiences of these two cases. 3.1 Mainport Schiphol Schiphol Airport is situated in a highly urbanized area, and deals with national, continental and intercontinental air traffic. Although its presence is causing many ‘stress’ on its environmental surroundings, the Dutch government wants it to expand, so it can act as a hub for continental and intercontinental air traffic. With this expansion there are two interests at stake: on national level an economic one (because an enlarged Schiphol would increase economic activities), and on regional level an environmental one (because a bigger Schiphol will cause an increase of nuisances of noise, pollution, and safety). These two opposite interests caused a stalemate to occur since the 1950s. In the 1980s, one of the government authorities took the initiative to change the ‘common way of working’ and activated the policy network, to address the issues (Driessen, 1999). 3.1.1 Participant selection The most important actor in this case was the Dutch Government, who made the prefigured decision to expand the airport into an international hub. All other participants had to find their ‘win-win’ outcomes within this context of developmental growth. From the beginning, various government organisations have been involved in the development of Schiphol Airport. The main players are three ministries. The ministry of Transport and Public Works is by far the most important actor, responsible for the economic development of the airport as well as the abatement of noise nuisance. Second, the Ministry of Housing, Physical Planning and Environment is also involved, responsible for physical planning in The Netherlands and implementing policies regarding the rest of the environmental effects of the activities of the airline industries, namely air pollution, stench and hazard. Finally, the Ministry of Economic Affairs plays and important role, pursuing further economic development in the region of Schiphol (Driessen, 1999). Lower tiers of governments involved were the province of North Holland, responsible for environmental policy and planning for the region, and the municipalities surrounding the airport, both benefiting (by increased employment and tax-incomes) and enduring the aggravation (caused by noise, stench, air pollution, and other activities that degrade the environment) of having the airport close by. The municipality of Haarlemmermeer is a special case, because this municipality is authorized to create a land use plan for the airfield. Additionally, two enterprises play a crucial role: NV Luchthaven Schiphol (operating the airport and completely state owned) and KLM (the major Dutch carrier and partly owned by the state) (Driessen, 1999). Because the Ministry of Transport and Public Works occupied a pivotal position, being both responsible for the economic development of Schiphol and the abatement of noise nuisance, it was agreed that noise regulation would be regulated by the Aviation Act, which was under the responsibility of the Ministry of Transport and Public Works. Nevertheless, little actions were made to reduce noise nuisance, because all participants believed that technical solutions would solve all noise-problems in the near future. Because no agreement could be made between these participants on how much the airport should be allowed to grow, or how to tackle the environmental problems, the Dutch government asked the Ministry of Housing, Physical Planning and Environment to make an integral plan for the Schiphol region, ensuring both economic development as well as environmental improvements. In the following process, a project group and a steering committee were established. The steering committee was comp osed out of all above-mentioned parties, while the project group contained all interest groups. Any party with interest in the case could join the project group (Driessen, 1999). Based on the case-description and related to the four considerations described in section 2.1, it must be concluded that parties with blocking and productive power were strongly involved in the interactive planning process, by joining the steering committee. Other parties with interest were also involved, by joining the project group, but their influence was relatively small. If parties were involved, based on moral considerations, does not become clear from this case-description. 3.1.2 Power and access The three different Governmental agencies (the ministry of Transport and Public Works, the Ministry of Housing, Physical Planning and Environment, and the Ministry of Economic Affairs) with jurisdictional authority over airport expansion, had accepted the mandate for airport expansion, but each with more at stake than achieving this outcome. Interagency rivalry and power played a critical part in the positions the ministries adopted and the coalitions they build during negotiations. The creation of a project group composed of all interest groups and of a steering committee of essential power brokers gave much power to the steering committee alone. From the case description, it does not become clear that the members of the steering committee, who were eventually excluded from the decision-making, were those who could not benefit in a ‘win-win’ situation, or were simply not powerful enough to block or advance progress. Nevertheless, the exclusion of interests cannot lead t o a ‘win-win’ solution and has encountered difficulties building consensus and achieving compliance (Driessen, 1999). Based on the case-description and related to the three elements described in section 2.2, it must be concluded that ‘Access to information’ does not form an obstacle. Perhaps the overload on information and the opposed and contradicting information gave bigger problems. The public was given some access to the decision-making process when they joint the project group, by commenting the ideas of the steering committee. However, the steering committee made all final decisions, so there was certainly no access to redress or change a decision. 3.1.3 Roles of facilitator After the developed deadlock between the initially participants, the Ministry of Housing, Physical Planning and Environment was made primary responsible for the task of making an integral plan for the Schiphol region, ensuring both economic development as well as environmental improvements. The fact that this ministry had a strong affiliation with environmental issues raised initial suspicion among the other governmental bodies. They wondered whether this ministry would be able to take a neutral position in the ensuing discussions. However, their initial wariness soon gave way to a realistic attitude, and actively joined the process (Driessen, 1999). The Ministry of Housing, Physical Planning and Environment designed an organizational framework for the discussion whereby the coordinated approach would be given a concrete form by activating the policy network. With this, the ministry acquired a dual function in the project, because it was the convenor, chair and facilitator of the planning process, and had to secure the input of environmental interest in the decision-making (Driessen, 1999). In the initial stage, the strategy of the project leaders of the Ministry of Housing, Physical Planning and Environment was to bring the various parties closer together by conducting investigations and exchanging information, assuming that this might contribute to a better understanding and more appreciation for each different standpoint. The was no need for a professional facilitator, because all information was being collected, analyzed, and disseminated in an orderly way, although a professional facilitator could have helped structuring the problem. At the end of this stage, the project leaders formulated a plan, which could not be released because of the rain of criticism it caused (Driessen, 1999). Because of this setback, the project leaders decided to recruit a professional facilitator, with the task not to increase the supply of information, but to let parties sought to digest what they had and to arrive at a decision. From the case-description, it does not become clear if this facilitator had staff support and whether he/she had analytical, problem solving skills. The approach taken by the facilitator was aimed at bringing the main bottlenecks to the fore, in order to reach agreements at least on key points. The approach was characterized by the creation of a strong interaction between the project group and the steering committee. The later reviewed the issues that the project group had pared down in size, and either approved the solutions offered by the project group or send them back to the project group for reconsideration (Driessen, 1999). After this process, the facilitator presented the choices made by the project group and the steering committee to the public. The central aim of this was, to gain social and political legitimacy; the plan was opened up to the public discussion and the reactions were taken into account in the final version. Unfortunately, the public was hardly informed about the process preceding the plan and therefore it was generally received with great suspicion. Adding to this, the public discussion did not proceeded in a coordinated fashion, but each government resorted to its own method of public discussion. At the same time of these public hearings, the facilitator had to focus on the steering committee, because each party could take criticism of the plan as a lever to reopen discussion on subjects already discussed. At the end, the facilitator wrote the final text of the plan, shaping the final agreements also including the difficult topics of a reduction of noise nuisance and hazard (Driessen , 1999). From this description of the facilitator, it becomes clear that the facilitator had both the role of process architect, and mediator. The facilitator designed the entire framework of decision-making and mediated when problems occurred. If the facilitator also had a convening role is unclear. Which stakeholders could join the steering committee was already decided before the facilitator got involved. How actually the project group was formed, stays unclear from this case-description. 3.1.4 Role of knowledge Especially in issues related to airfield, experts disagree on numerous crucial uncertainties. This makes the role of knowledge both important but not of the same tenor. Research plays a key role in these controversies. This relates to research on, for instance, the need to build a new airport or expand the existing one, it may concern the most desirable infrastructure in and around the airport, it may deal with the profitability of operation, it may investigate the economic impact of the airport, or it may consider possible negative effects on the environment. However, this research must never be judged as ‘objective’ and will always play a role in the conflict of interest, expressed in this case, in the frequency of requested ‘second opinions’ (Driessen, 1999). In the case of noise nuisance, it took long time to be acknowledged as a problem and to find a way of calculating the level of distress. In the mid-1960s, a system was developed to measure noise nuisance, but no agreement could be made on how it should be applied. For instance, there was discussion about how to determine the threshold value for maximum admissible noise nuisance. Furthermore, options differ on setting a specific norm for night flights. The disagreement revolves around the degree to which departing and arriving airplanes disturb the sleep of nearby residents, and whether such disruption is detrimental to public health. There was also uncertainty about, the rate air traffic would increase, and the degree to which technical developments in aeronautics could help reduce noise levels by changing the aircrafts design (Driessen, 1999). Therefore, as also stated in section 2.4, knowledge is very important in decision-making processes, but as these processes get more interaction with a broad scale of actors, knowledge becomes more a result of collective social processes and loses its objective entity. From this case-description, it does not become explicitly clear if the decisions were based on knowledge provided by ‘experts’ or that it was formed in an interactive learning process. Implicitly, one could state that the agreement on noise nuisances could only have been established, when such interactive knowledge development occurred. 3.2 A12 national expressway The ease of accessibility of The Hague depends to a large extent on the A12 national expressway. Its final 30 km stretch is marked by many access and exit ramps, and the intensity of traffic in this area has increased dramatically in recent decades. This is partly thanks to the enormous increase in the volume of vehicular traffic, and partly to the proliferation of new urban development locations around The Hague. Much of the traffic is ‘destination traffic’ which enters the city in the morning and leaves at night. As a result of the higher volumes, congestion became a big problem (Glasbergen and Driessen, 2005). 3.2.1 Participant selection The planning agency initially saw itself as the owner of the problem at stake and formulated a classical solution of road widening. This approach failed because of public resistance and of a budget problem at the Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management. Because of this, the ministry stepped back, which un-deliberately created opportunities for other parties to take initiative. The government authorities of The Hague took the initiative to develop a new architecture for interaction among the different stakeholders. They organized a public dialog and a series of workshops involving local politicians and private businesses from the region, resulting in a new definition of the problem, focussing on the underutilization of existing capacity. The role of the planning agency changed from orchestrator of the infrastructure project to a partner in the wider regional consultation on issues of mobility and livability. They also made subsidies available to the business community , enabling them to work out individual, sometimes innovative, mobility plans (Glasbergen and Driessen, 2005). Before concluding the analysis of participant selection in this case, the fact that there were no objections to the planes made by this interactive planning-process is probably the best evidence that all relevant stakeholders were included in the process. Nevertheless, from the case-description and related to the four considerations described in section 2.1, it does not become clear how all relevant stakeholders were defined, if all parties with blocking and productive power were added to the process, or if parties with moral and ethical considerations were included. 3.2.2 Power and access This case can bee described as a restricted interactive process, because it was intended to promote the cooperation of public authorities with the private sector. Civic organizations and individual citizens were kept informed through a public relations center. The governmental authorities of The Hague decided which stakeholders were included in the process. Despite this fact, no opposition to this project did arise (Glasbergen and Driessen, 2005). The access to information was well looked after, in the form of the public relations center. They kept civic organizations and individual citizens informed about the plans and progress. More power was not given to the public in this case. 3.2.3 Roles of facilitator In order to link the government agencies (where the plans were developed), and the business community, a ‘godfather’ was appointed. This honour was given to the director of the public transport company in the region, and he served as a contact between the project and the private sector. He kept all relevant firms informed about the development of the project and called these firms to task with respect to their responsibilities for the region’s accessibility, by reminding them that they might be lagging behind other firms in the development of their mobility plans (Glasbergen and Driessen, 2005). From the case-description, it must be concluded that the government authorities of The Hague acted as a convener, initially selecting the different stakeholders. Facilitating the process and mediating in conflicts were partly done by the ‘godfather’ and partly by the government authorities of The Hague. The precise division of responsibilities does not become clear from the case-description. 3.2.4 Role of knowledge According to this case-description, it was the government agencies of The Hague who decided what knowledge was used in the decision process. The only organization consulted for information was the planning agency, also participating in the planning process (Glasbergen and Driessen, 2005). Although knowledge is crucial in interactive planning (see section 2.4), the role of knowledge in this case is not very big. This probably has two reasons. One is the relative simple problem at stake (congestion) and secondly the fact that all parties agreed on the content of the relevant knowledge. Nevertheless, the fact that only one party provided the relevant knowledge could potentially have caused major problems afterwards. 4. Conclusion This research started with the question: How do the four critical issues (Participant selection, Power and Access, Roles of facilitators, and Use of knowledge) contribute to the rate of success of 2 infrastructural cases in The Netherlands (the Schiphol case and the A12 national expressway)? How each criterion added to the success of the case is described at the end of each subsection in chapter 3. Overall, it can be concluded that the success of interactive planning depends on the care each criterion is taken care of. If one of these criteria is neglected, it will be reflected in the outcomes. If, for example, participants are forgotten, power is not distributed evenly, facilitators are not adequate, or knowledge is not as objective as possible, the process will take much longer time and the change of good end-results and thus consensus will diminish. Both cases make clear that solutions were impossible to reach in the traditional way of policy making and that interactive policy mak ing contributed to good end results. Nevertheless, in future comparable processes, more attention should be given to the four discussed critical issues, and probably to the seven mentioned in the introduction. Only than, the rate of success of these kind of processes will increase. References Acland, A.F. 1995. Resolving Disputes without going to Court. London, Century Business Books. Bruijn, H. de, E. ten Heuvelhof and R.J. in ’t Veld. 2002. Process management: Why Project Management Fails in Complex decision making Processes. Dordrecht, Kluwer Academic Publishers. Driessen, P. 1999. Activating a Policy Network; The Case of Mainport Schiphol. in Susskind et al., 1999, The Consensus Building Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide to Reaching Agreement. Enthoven, G.M.W. and A. de Rooij. 1996. InfraLab; Impuls voor open planvorming en creativiteit.Bestuurskunde, Vol. 5, Issue 8, p. 1-8. Friend, J. and A. Hickling. 2004. Planning Under Pressure, The Strategic Choice Approach. Oxford, Buttorworth/Heinemann. Glasbergen, P. and P.J. Driessen. 2005. Interactive planning of infrastructure: the changing role of Dutch project management. Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy, Vol. 23, p. 263-277. Khakee A., A. Barbanente and D. Borri. 2000. Expert and experimental knowledge in planning. The Journal of the Operational Research Society, Vol. 51, No. 7, p. 776-788. Mock, G.A., W. Vanasselt, and E. Petkova. 2003. Rights and reality: Monitoring the public’s right to participate. International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health, Vol. 9, p. 4-13. Suzzkind, L.S., S. McKearan and J. Thomas-Larmer. 1999. The Consensus Building Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide to Reaching Agreement. London, SAGE Publications. Appendix 1 – Case sheet Mainport Schiphol (Driessen, 1999) 1. Position Initiative: several governmental ministries Time period: 1980-present Level of used policy process: regional/national Phase in policy process: in process 2. Background This case is about plans to expand Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport and the disputes related to it. Schiphol Airport is situated in a highly urbanized area, and deals with national, continental and intercontinental air traffic. Although its presence is causing many ‘stress’ on its environmental surroundings, the Dutch government wants it to expand, so it can act as a hub for continental and intercontinental air traffic. With this expansion there are two interests at stake: on national level an economic one (because an enlarged Schiphol Airport would increase economic activities), and on regional level an environmental one (because a bigger Schiphol Airport will caus

Life Struggle on Minimum Wage Essay -- essays research papers

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