Organisations and behaviour Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Organisations and behaviour - Case Study Example , democracy, and laissez-faire as proposed by behavioral theorists1, however, the different leadership styles are currently considered to be transformational, transactional, or charismatic. Autocratic or authoritarian leadership style bestows all the decision-making powers solely on the leader, and motivation is achieved through rewards or punishments. However, for both at Egg and Taylor Woodrows workforce, this type of leadership may impact negatively on motivation of employees. Considering that the two companies both put a lot of emphasis on employee involvement, autocratic style leadership may not foster effectual communication, a tool highly and considerably associated with effective implementation of change. Democratic or participative leadership allows employees to get actively involved in decision-making processes by developing plans aimed at helping employees evaluate their performance. This form of leadership will particularly impact positively in regard to workforce motivation at Taylor Woodrow given that they already have a working Performance and Development Review in place. Moreover, participative leadership permits establishment of goals by the workforce, promotes growth on the job and promotions, and recognizes achievement. Therefore, during change implementation, participative or democratic leadership facilitates employee motivation, which in effect leads to improved organization performance and profitability. At Egg, democratic or participative leadership proves to be the most effective leadership style since the company puts a lot of emphasis on employee-management relationship, allowing employees to get involved in planning, performing, and achieving for themselves and the company in overall. Addition, the company’s strategic approach toward employee is anchored on a ‘know yourself, know your people’ concept that puts not only the targets of the company itself but also those of the workforce at the core of its operations. With the

Use an example of your choice to discuss how corporate restructuring Essay

Use an example of your choice to discuss how corporate restructuring transformed market, productive and financial performance - Essay Example At such a point, the effectiveness of a company’s old structure (original structure) has reduced to an extent of not being able to cater for the output and the larger interests (which includes the future interests) of the company. Corporate restructuring is where a company restructures or changes one or several of its aspects. It has been defined as changes in ownership, changes in assets or even alliances in a bid to improve and increase the shareholders wealth, meet consumer demands among others (Aden, 2014). The restructuring may be in form of divisions and departments combinations, production focus laying back, asset restructuring, employee scale back among others (Arocena, Blasquez and Grifell, 2011). This work shall analyse on how corporate restructuring transformed the market, the productive and the financial performance of a named company. The named company (case study) shall be Caterpillar, a public limited company which survived a harsh economic climate, thanks to corporate restructuring. In the first part of the work, the company shall be introduced and its main competitors analysed. The market it operates on currently and on which it operated on in the early 80’s shall also be discussed. Thereafter, there shall be a discussion on how Caterpillar embraced and applied corporate restructuring and analysis on how successful this was. The main aims of restructuring include creating a decentralised approach, increasing the level of responsiveness and expanding the customer focus for matured markets. There are many businesses that have adopted corporate restructuring in order to maximize their profits and their chances of survival. Caterpillar, a public limited company is one such company that has a successful experience with the adoption of corporate restructuring (Vartan, 1987). It specialises in three operational segments which are power systems, construction

Architectural Branding Essay Example for Free

Architectural Branding Essay The 4P’s have been extended to 7P’s namely: Price, Place, Promotion, People, Physical Evidence and Process. Architectural Branding is an important element of Physical Evidence very strongly prevailing in International Brands e. g. Calvin Klein, Nike town, DG, Prada etc. With the changing Indian Market scenario and customer awareness Indian Brands have now realised to incorporate the culture of Architectural Branding as an important brand element. Possibly Brands like Colour Plus, Wills Lifestyle, Sepia also are trying to incorporate the concept of Architectural Banding. Therefore through an exploratory research on the related topics of branding it was felt that architectural branding will help us in the long run in the industry and would widen our horizon of knowledge. Down the line I felt that this concept would be taught to us in our course curriculum of Fashion Management. Through this topic of Architectural Branding we would get to learn about basics of Architecture, Interior Design and Design Space and relating these subjects to the Market Research and Consumer Behaviour. Information Needed ? Introduction to Architectural Branding Concepts of Architecture †¢ Material †¢ Types of Structure ? Architecture in Retail †¢ Exteriors †¢ Interior Design †¢ Store Layout, Design

Interprofessional Collaboration In Practice Social Work Essay

Interprofessional Collaboration In Practice Social Work Essay Interprofessional education (IPE) is an occasion where two or more professionals learn with, from and about each other to facilitate collaboration in practice (CAIPE, in Freeth et al 2002:11). Barr (2005) noted that the level of care given to service users was adversely affected by the prejudice and ignorance some professionals brought with them when working together. IPE seeks to address this. Carpenter (1995) writes how IPE was therefore devised to improve the breakdown in trust and communication between professions. Service users have needs that cannot be covered by one profession alone (Means, 2010) hence the need for effective collaboration. The two day conference provided an opportunity for collaboration between a range of health care professionals There were a large number of nurses on my group table and I decided to make this experience a positive one and develop my learning to benefit my future practice. It appeared as though all members of the group were confident speakers and I briefly wondered if we would allow each other the opportunity to be heard or give each other time to talk. However, we all had space to talk, were listened to and valued for our contributions. I felt this was a positive start to the group work. We discussed the stereotypes attached to our professions, there were more for social work than there were for other professions, although I heard nurses described as rough and loud. Unfortunately one of the nurses in our group acted as judged when she had an argument on the second day with another nurse, in view of all attending the conference. Sellman, cited in Pollard, et al (2000:156:171) writes People have fixed ways of behaving and act consistent with their characters. He also voices how influences from a personal, professional and structural perspective can affect whether practitioners seek to be willing, trusting or leaders in interprofessional working. The behaviour of this student allowed others to see an unprofessional side of her and may have re-inforced prejudice. Mandy et al (2004) write about how the delivery of healthcare is affected by interprofessional stereotypes, rivalry and tribalism. It was refreshing to hear of the positive experiences some of the nurses had with social workers. Some nurses thought that social workers had a rough deal; a comment from one of them was Its so unfair; you are dammed if you do and dammed if you dont, but I think you people are to be admired for all you do. It made me realise that not all professions have a negative impression of social work. Whilst working on our group sentences (See Appendix), language differences were discussed. I felt confident to challenge the word of the use patient since social workers are employed in a number of settings, therefore the use of the word patient would not always be appropriate. Dalrymple and Burke (2006) and Martin and Henderson (2001) illustrate the terms used to describe those in receipt of services will always be a source of discussion and change, but it could be argued that the terms that professionals use can have negative connotations for the person. Bruce and Borg (2002) discuss the term patient reinforcing the sick role and creating the idea that the individual needs to be taken care of. The group agreed collectively to use the term service user, however Heffernan (2005) draws us to recognise that this term can be damaging to the ethical practices of social work. Heffernan proposes that labelling individuals with this term could disseminate their sense of dependence on servic es. Upon reflection I realised that as professionals we need to be sensitive to the preferences of the individual. Communication and service user involvement were issues discussed at great length within the group. The use of jargon between professions and illegible handwriting meant it was difficult to access information relating to care and made it problematic for service users to contribute. Reeves et al (2010:65) provides a devastating example of poor communication- a patient having wrong site surgery. We discussed situations that had poor outcomes for service users and its links to ineffective communication. On reflection, the absence of effective communication and constructive relationships within the interprofessional team impacted on the ability to work collaboratively. Hirokawa cited in Royeen et al (2009:49) highlights communication is the key component to interprofessional working and Tomlinson et al (2008:108) puts communication central in order to provide a non-discriminatory service that is promoting linguistic competence. Knowledge and clarity of roles is an element key to successful interprofessional teams. Reeves et al (2010:62) considers how Clear roles help define the nature of each team members tasks, responsibilities and scope of practice. She clarifies that where each members role is seen as essential and there are clear team goals teamwork is effective. Sargent et al (2008) adds to Reeves discussion, by making professionals aware that in learning about the roles of other disciplines, you need to be aware of how they complement your own practice, in order for effective teamwork to happen. The play by the Dramatic Voices drama group Up to here, allowed an insight into the perspectives of service users, carers and professionals and the tensions and conflicts within those roles (e.g. needing a break from caring, pressures of targets) whilst highlighting the frustrations when one feels unsupported. The DVD Alison Ryans Story by Patient Voices (2010) emphasised the importance of carers and their expertise of a condition, so should be listened to and more fully involved. Cooper and Spencer (2006) explain in their article the important contribution service users can make to IPE for students at the beginning of their training. Service users provided the students with real life examples of how they had learnt through experience, enabling them to become experts, and as such stakeholders within the interprofessional team. Interprofessional working has many benefits for all involved. It can eradicate barriers between professionals, whilst highlighting the value each profession has to offer. Combining the needs, skill and expertise from all professionals means that needs are identified sooner, leading to earlier and more effective intervention. A package of care that is focussed around the individual and is more co-ordinated with a faster deliver time should result in better outcomes. Tirrito et al (1996:31) examines the benefits; The client benefits from the collective wisdom, professionals benefit from the support of colleagues and society benefits from the elimination of duplicate services. Conclusions from inquiries and current policies have summarised that interprofessional education and working are essential to good practice. The National Service Framework for Mental Health (DH, 1999), The National Service Framework for Older People (DH, 2001) and The National Service Framework for Children (DH, 2004), Partnership in Action: New Opportunities for Joint Working Between Health and Social Services (DH, 1998) and the Laming Report (2003) have insisted practitioners to encompass an interprofessional attitude to their work. Despite the guidance regarding interprofessional working, there are regrettably cases where this has not occurred resulting in preventable deaths of children. Victoria Climbies death led to Lord Lamings report (2003), identifying the failures of professionals to protect her. Irrespective of this, Baby Peter in 2007 and Khyra Ishaq in 2008, die whilst under the care of several professionals. Serious case reviews from Haringey and Birmingham (2009 and 2010 respectively) regarding their deaths emphasise inadequate communication (amongst other failures) between professionals as well as missed opportunities for intervention. The Government green paper Every Child Matters'(2004) recommended changes to policy regarding information sharing to ensure all agencies obtain a full picture of a childs life. Following from this the government has released a new guideline Working Together to Safeguard Children (2010) which provides a national framework for individuals and professions. It sets out wa ys of working together to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. This includes working together with an agreed plan of action, information sharing and recording and ensuring that their work is child-centred, that the focus is always on the child. This should ensure that further tragedies are avoided at all costs. 1332 words SECTION 2 DISCUSS HOW YOU WOULD TAKE AWAY WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNT ABOUT IP WORKING INTO PRACTICE The interprofessional conference was an immense learning opportunity for me. The importance of service user involvement, person-centred planning and communication within interprofessional teams highlighted in the conference gave me a lot to consider for future practice. Upon reflection of the conference, I was aware that I could be working with people who have not had IPE, so considered how I could collaborate with those that are not willing to encompass interprofessional working. This led me to contemplate previous experience, my previous placement experience, my next practice placement and where IPW fit into this. Every Child Matters (2004) require that all practitioners will be involved in information sharing that welcomes all views as equally valid; however I witnessed a situation that had the opposite effect. In my previous experience as a nursery nurse, I had raised concerns following a disclosure from a child. To summarise, the social worker dismissed my opinion, saying that I was unqualified to make any comment as I was just a nursery nurse. The reality that I had a lot of contact with this child was disregarded. Nurse (2007) discusses the difficulties in interprofessional working where one professional believes that only they have the expertise and knowledge to make a judgement regarding concerns. In the future as a SW in an interprofessional team I may be outnumbered by other professions, but I will present confidence in my profession and my role in order to be heard and will respect the view of other professionals regardless of job title or qualification. My previous practice placement allowed me to see an interprofessional team in action. I was able to observe a team meeting for a mental health team. There were professionals represented from health and social care backgrounds. All professionals were given time to address any concerns they had regarding a service user and were able to seek/offer advice from others. Medical and social perspectives were taken into account, allowing all professionals to work from their own theoretical base but working in partnership to provide continuity of care. Martin et al (2001) recognise how the sharing of background and experience while identifying peoples roles within the multidisciplinary team allows the members perspectives to be explored. This becomes a source of strength, with this integrated practice having benefits for service users and patients. I was grateful of the opportunity to witness the outcomes of effective interprofessional working. I am hoping for my next placement to be in a hospital setting. In order for my experience of IPE to be extended I will attempt to devise an action plan to maximise my learning opportunities and experience of interprofessional working. I would ask about the opportunities where professions interact and ask to be an observer to this (e.g. discharge planning meeting). I would ask for the opportunity to meet other students from other professions at the placement in order to share our learning experiences, professional policies and procedures in order to recognise similarities. I would arrange time shadowing other professions, in order to get a fuller picture of their role. I would also request time with my placement supervisor in order to reflect on IPW and its challenges, difficulties and benefits. This practice could promote relationship building for the future, as well as accentuating how other professionals can support my role as a social worker. It would allow me to identify and develop appropriate skills in my practice. Hostility between professions could be reduced and collaboration and team dynamics could be increased and improved as those who are not familiar to IPE can see it demonstrated in their students. The importance of service user involvement was highlighted in the conference. The Children Act 1989, National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990, and the Community Care (Direct Payments) Act 1996 were among the first pieces of legislation related to service user involvement. Policy guidance, practice guidance and service standards have developed from this. For example, the GSCC (2002) and Skills for Care (2002) provide guidance for social workers related to service user involvement. I had witnessed examples of poor practice in the past where the service user had no decision regarding their care (e.g. a woman who speaks Bengali having her treatment discussed about her with no translator sought to explain it to her). Service users now have more power to challenge decisions and refuse care should they wish, as they are now experts by virtue of their experience (Tanner et al (2008:6). Lishman (2007:270) reminds practitioners that holding meetings with individual service users, case conferences, advisory committees (to name a few examples) are power sharing structures in relation to decisions but the level of active listening by social workers and other professionals ensure the service users voice is heard and valuable to the decision making process. Wallace and Cooper (2009) highlight the importance of putting the service user at the centre and the organisations of services with and around them in order to break down the barriers of the organisation we work in. I recall on my previous placement a situation that provides an example of person-centred care. I was at a day centre of adults with dementia and was a observing a group of gentleman playing dominoes. Upon recognising a gentleman observing not playing, I discovered he couldnt remember how to play. Through joint reminiscing of our elders playing dominoes and allowing the gentleman to recall himself playing when he was in Jamaica, triggered his memory so he was able to play again. Brooker cited in Innes et al (2006:6) signpost four elements essential to providing person centred care, one of which is a positive social environment to enable the person with dementia to experience relative well-being. Providing culturally appropriate conversation, as well as time for this gentleman to reminisce allowed him to remember a part of his cultural identity that was of importance to him and through remembering how to play dominoes, was able to socially interact with other members of the centre. The role of a SW is very much dependant on the setting- assessment, crisis intervention, patient wellbeing and advocacy are just a few of the myriad of roles I could undertake. Holoskom et al (1992) demonstrate the multiple roles a SW could be part of in health care settings. It highlighted the lack of clearly defined role competences specific to social work. Wilson et al (2008) suggest à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦social workers are less able to define what their specific contribution to an inter-professional team might be à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ .It could be argued however that SW are essential to how care is delivered. As a SW I could be helping patients problem solve and cope with situation or illness, link individuals with resources and services and promote effective and humanitarian service systems. Carlton, cited in Holoskom et al (1992: 8) stress the significance of the social workers as being the only professional who has the central foundation that a holistic perspective of the service user is o f utmost importance I have realised that it is important for me to enhance knowledge of medical issues so that I can be knowledgeable when talking to patients and can participate fully in interprofessional teams. The team will also gain knowledge about my role as a social worker with views, values and perspectives being shared in order for my presence to be visual and effective to the delivery and structure of health care. I left the conference with a positive attitude to interprofessional working. As one of the next generation of health and social care workers I will ensure that what I have learnt will be used in practice to ensure interprofessional working is at the heart of patient centred care. I would like to end with a quote that I feel expresses the process of interprofessional working: Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success (Henry Ford 1863-1947) 1310 words Appendix -Agreed Group Sentences Communication Issues between Health and Social Care Professionals Effective communication between the multi-disciplinary team including the service user and their family is paramount to client centred care. All communication should be clear and concise without the use of jargon or abbreviation to facilitate collaborative working. Contrasting professional perspectives / values within teams By considering the perspectives of the service users and other professionals, practitioners are able to broaden their understanding in order to improve delivery of care. There are contrasting perspectives and values between professionals but it is our responsibility and duty of care to compromise for the service users best interest. Stereotyping, power imbalances and team processes Although there may be perceived hierarchys within health and social care professionals, everybodys different skills, knowledge and input is variable to the needs of the service user at that particular time and therefore should not be translated into power imbalances and conflicts with the Interprofessional team.   It is human nature to form stereotypes of others but we must not  allow this to impact the care we provide to service users.

Role of Blacks in the American Revolutionary War Essay example -- Afri

â€Å"And I hereby further declare all indented servants, Negroes, or others (appertaining to Rebels) free, that are able and willing to bear arms, the joining of His Majesty's Troops, as soon as may be, for the more speedily reducing the Colony to a proper sense of their duty, to this Majesty's crown and dignity.† -- Lord Dunmore's Proclamation The quote above is from the British governor of Virginia, Lord Dunmore who proclaimed freedom for African American slaves who fought for the British, after George Washington announced there would be no additional recruitment of Blacks in the Continental army in 1776. For numerous free blacks and enslaved blacks, the Revolutionary War was considered to be an essential period in black manifestation. Many public officials (like Dunmore), who initially had not expressed their views on slavery, saw the importance of African Americans and considered them an imperative tool in winning the war. Looking back, it almost seems like an inherent paradox in white America’s desire of emancipation from England while there still enslaving blacks. This concept has different grounds in white’s idea of liberation in comparison to that of the African-Americans. To white Americans, this war was for liberation in a political/economical tone rather than in the sense of the privatized oppressio n that blacks suffered from. But what started this war and what would this mean for blacks? How did these African Americans contribute to the war effort? What were there some of their duties? How did the white communities perceive them? How did it all end for these blacks? The main topic of this paper is to show how the use African Americans helped the control the outcome of the war while monitoring their contributions. .. ...Revolution." Black Soldiers in the Revolutionary War. U.S. Army, 27 Feb. 2013. Web 6 May 2015.. Egerton, Douglas R. Death or Liberty: African Americans and Revolutionary America. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009. Goldman, Hal. 1997. "Black Citizenship and Military Self-Presentation in Antebellum Massachusetts." Historical Journal Of Massachusetts 26, no. 2: 157-183. Kaplan, Sidney. The Black Presence in the Era of the American Revolution, 1770-1800. Greenwich, Conn: New York Graphic Society, 1973. Lanning, Michael Lee. African Americans in the Revol. Citadel Press, 2005. Quarles, Benjamin. The Negro in the American Revolution. Chapel Hill: Published for the Institute of Early American History and Culture, Williamsburg, Va., by University of North Carolina Press, 1961.

Religion and advertising :: essays research papers

Advertising and Religion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Anyone who seems to be in the business of promoting themselves or their product is turning to religion to gain a larger audience. Take the religion of Kaballah for instance, five years ago many of us would openly admit that we had never heard of the religion before. But now, thanks to the media many of us know Kaballah is the religion practiced by such celebrities as Madonna and Britney Spears. In all actuality Kaballah is a more spiritual branch of the Jewish religion.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Many religions are now branching out and using the media to market their religion and sparking serious debates in the process. Many feel that it is slightly immoral for churches to use the media to market themselves in the mainstream. Some believe the religions should simply sell themselves, but not literally. As Americans we now see television commercials for churches and services on regular broadcast channels. Another fairly recent trend that we see are churches in strip malls or plazas. Next to our favorite outlet cigarette shop, local retail store, Bingo hall, or fast food chain there are churches.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Much of the advertising we see for religions is on a smaller scale and not so mainstream. The religion of Jehovah’s Witness often sends its members door-to-door to spread their word, give out information, in hope to maintain new members. Those of us who have been privileged with a visit know that they are early risers and like to travel in pairs, so as to take turns overwhelming us with spoken word and pamphlets. One of the largest trends of advertising that we have seen is the wearing of a cross. What used to be a symbol of ones’ beliefs and values has become a mere fashion accessory. In the world of celebrities and â€Å"bling-bling,† a word associated with the amount of visible jewelry shown, a platinum cross medallion adorned with diamonds and/or jewels is a sign of wealth and defines your degree of celebrity.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  However not everyone is into advertising religion in the mainstream. In January 2005 an article was published in USA Today about a conflict between Rolling Stone Magazine and Zondervan Bible, one of the largest Bible publishers over an ad targeted at â€Å"spiritually intrigued,† 18-to-34-year-olds.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Rolling Stone, which rejected the ad just weeks before its scheduled run date, cited an unwritten policy against accepting ads that contain religious messages. Executives for Zondervan say Rolling Stone was a key part of its $1 million campaign targeted at young adults.

Graffiti: Class or Collapse of Art? Essay

Graffiti means writing on wall. Anything marking or writing, on anything is a common practice for humans right from the time when they learned to do so. It is not easy to get rid of the habit, but a section of refined society now gets angry at that and calls it a social problem, besides naming it as graffiti vandalism. Therefore this essay looks at this problem and tries to explain why graffiti serves more than it harms. Broad Meaning of Graffiti Though the latest Wordpower Dictionary defines graffiti as â€Å"unauthorized writing or drawing on a surface in a public place† (Graffiti, 2008), in reality, the word contains more meanings, where it includes any expression on any surface. This is an age-old practice, and once it was the only way for people to release emotions or to share ideas. Even the word ‘graffiti’ is taken from the old Greek word ‘grafficar’, â€Å"which generally means drawings, markings, patterns, scribbles, or messages†, in â€Å"written, painted or carved form on any surface† (Stowers, 1997). Thus, graffiti can be defined as a visible example of human expression, ranging from cave drawing to the scribbles on road. But there is more. It also has high utility and artistic value. Actually the practice of graffiti and the desire to improve it has helped the development of art in many ways. Therefore it would be unfair to see graffiti in the light of vandalism. One should consider the role of graffiti in the society as a whole – where it informs, educates and entertains people, besides passing all food for thought. It is true that everyone wants to be noticed, and that wish sometimes gives birth to odd wall writings or bad messages. But that is just a little part of graffiti, which has developed as a serious art over the years. However, there is a link between random graffiti and the development of fine art. In fact this random graffiti practice by the teenagers in 1960s gave birth to graffiti art – which gradually has risen to rank after it took the cue from the teens of New York who would ‘tag’ or write their names and addresses on the body of subway cars. Soon the normal improvising tendency of humans followed, which added spray painting into it, gradually various styles of writing came up, followed by local and regional styles. With time, this flow of events pushed graffiti from casual art to a serious art. And this wave of artful declaration even created a genre of artists who would devote their skills on numerous surfaces except the conventional canvases or other objects recognized as the carrier of art, like piece of wood or metal, etc. Thus subway scribbles grew into subway art, and then moved on towards many directions – converting trains, cars, boundary walls or public places into static or moving exhibition of various expressions – some of them would be praised, while some would draw public anger for carrying wrong message at wrong place or for being an artless wonder or painting the town red with spray painting. Value of Graffiti Graffiti is valuable on many grounds and the majority of the society accepts that. Otherwise it could not have reached such a great height. Today graffiti artists are in great demand where they are commissioned to do the beautification of large areas or open spaces, trains, bridges etc. It is now an established fact that graffiti provides much needed relief to the mind with its ‘homely’ or ‘comely’ effect. It can provide a food for thought too – especially if it contains serious social messages like anti-drugs, anti-smoking or anti aids. Why it is Criticized Today? Much like other areas of life, graffiti art too is blamed when it does anything that hurts public mind. Bathroom scribbles are not, by any means graffiti art, yet they belong to the rank of graffiti, so are the self-expressions that make their way to the neighbors’ boundary walls or even terraces. These are pure vandalisms, not graffiti art, these acts cannot be supported, even if some of such works look beautiful or hints about the promise of future Picassos or Rembrands in their creators. Art at the cost of others suffering cannot be supported, and from this angle graffiti is sometimes criticized mainly because of the wrong selection of ‘canvases’, which belong to someone else or belong to public. However, this practice of mischievous art is age old too – there are plenty of proofs across the globe where ancient graffitists stamped their mark on the places of interest – even â€Å"archaeologists have found ancient graffiti on the great pyramid at Giza in Egypt, on walls of Pompeii† (Graffiti, 2008). How Graffiti Fulfills the Preconditions of Art Leaving aside the little faction of scribblers, the real graffitists work even harder than the conventional artists at times. Graffiti art too takes no less imagination, skill, planning and hard work to produce an expression over unconventional canvas. However, like a twist in the tale, quite a few of graffitists made their mark after such roadside stints in their teens. As for example, James Top, a graffiti artist now known as â€Å"Train muralist† (Carlson, 2008), who in his own words, had started his apprenticeship in graffiti at the age of 12 years when he joined the gang of graffitists, who would spare no house in the neighborhood from their ‘projects’. James has come a long way from writing his names on the building walls to create murals for the trains. This gives another twist to the debate – even childhood tagging can spark the artist in a person – and it is still really unknown that how many of today’s famous artists taught themselves through this mischievous dose of adventurism. The working methods or the principles of drawing or painting, all are equally applicable to graffiti art like any painting job, especially if it involves spray painting (Chalfant et al. , 1987), besides the application of the tricks of varying perspective or other fine touches of art. Graffiti art has also come a long way establish numerous branches of application. It also has its own language, like â€Å"Crew†, â€Å"Writers†, or â€Å"King†, â€Å"Queen†, etc. , which indicates a thorough cultivation of this form of art (Farrell, 1994). It’s Not Terrorism Anyway No matter how much a dull, black scribble on a white wall creates visual pollution, it’s not a third degree offense as to arrest the person for antisocial act. In fact this inherent habit of humans to commit nuisance command a fresh look at the subject itself, because this habit is not limited into graffiti vandalism only, it equally works at eve-teasing or street vandalism. Thus it would be unfair to push graffiti from the rank of art on account of a common human habit that shows up in all other areas of life. On the other hand, if someone wants to look at this subject from a considerate point of view, one would surely discover that not everyone could rise to a stature of finished painter, though inwardly wishing to be one – and thus it’s that deep, unfulfilled desire eventually makes way to such nuisance. Nuisance is, however is not as menace as terrorism and it does not make sense to blame a form of art only because any visible human expression technically can be included in its category. Possible Reasons Behind Such Acts Under the blame-game, one important question often takes a backseat – Is it good to block the age-old learning habit by practicing art in an open space? Even in the ancient times the artists and painters practiced their skills over the rocks or any other places that would prove suitable to their chosen form of expression. Those days are gone. Now cities are crying for space, where the skyscrapers block the skyline. From this angle, graffiti vandalism could be seen as a side effect of too much urbanization. Mirror Reflection Off late, a term like reverse graffiti is often being heard, referring to a â€Å"number of street artists around the world have started expressing themselves on the soot covered surfaces through images, tags or positive slogans on environment† (Chapman, 2007). This proves a point in favor of the graffiti artists – not all of them supports graffiti vandalism. Since these artists are over their teens, it indicates that most of the graffiti vandalisms are mostly the immature enthusiasm of the teenagers. Conclusion There cannot be any doubt that graffiti is an art. It is only a misconception arising out of the wide meaning of the word ‘graffiti’ influences the protesters of graffiti art. Hence it would be wrong to generalize graffiti art as vandalism. However, it is also a fact that even graffiti vandalism has proved to be the breeding ground for future artists – perhaps it is the lack of space or peer influence that encourages the teens (mostly) to ‘tag’ or ‘write’ on walls or public places. In any case, it is not a crime of a great degree – unless it shows it purposefully shows hatred or uses filthy language. Leaving aside these, graffiti art too commands creativity, imagination and skill, besides a desire to meet the challenge to express ideas on an unconventional canvas. Therefore, the writing on the wall is – graffiti will stay, irrespective of recognition or debate, so long the humans would think and want to express their thought. References Carlson, J. 2008. â€Å"James Top, Graffiti Artist†. 1 April 2008. http://gothamist. com/2008/02/18/james_top_graff. php Chapman, M. 2007. â€Å"Reverse Graffiti: Clean Green Street Art†. 1 April 2008. http://www. inhabitat. com/2007/01/11/reverse-graffiti/ Chalfant, H. & Prigorr, J. 1997. â€Å"Spraycan Art†. London: Thames and Hudson. Farrell, S. 1994. â€Å"Graffiti Q &A†. 1 April 2008. http://www. graffiti. org/faq/graffiti_questions. html â€Å"Graffiti: Vandalism posing as art? † 2008. 1 April 2008. http://www. users. bigpond. com/rdoolan/graffiti. html Stowers, G. C. (1997). † Graffiti Art: An Essay Concerning The Recognition of Some Forms of Graffiti As Art†. 1 April 2008. http://www. graffiti. org/faq/stowers. html