Iroquois Kinship System Free Essays

Iroquois Kinship System Anthony Sifuentes ANT 101 Introduction to Cultural Anthropology Instructor Mario Tovar March 5, 2012 The Iroquois is the group I have decided to do my research of kinship systems on. This will come from what I have found in the text of chapters three and four of the text. The Iroquois is a unilineal descent group. We will write a custom essay sample on Iroquois Kinship System or any similar topic only for you Order Now This means that descent is traced back through one sex or side of the family. They traced their bloodline through the female side of the family, meaning they were a matrilineal descent group. These groups are not as common as patrilineal descent groups, which trace their bloodlines through the male side of the family. Horticultural societies used the matrilineal descent group because of women having a key part of the food producing role. They also owned land. The likelihood of a society being or remaining a matrilineal society depends upon how much food is obtained from hunting and herding. The more meat and food gathered by men as a result of this will drive down the role of women as major food producers. The fact that descent groups extend beyond any one individual because it goes beyond any one person’s lifetime allows things to remain in a group for a long time. This includes property, land, hunting and fishing territories, animals, and even knowledge. Iroquois matrilineage gave women the right to fields and tools, since they were a horticultural society, this made sense. Women did most of the cultivating of the crops and they should have the rights to both the land and tools to reap what is sown. They also lived in longhouses. These were long structures in which nuclear families lived in different compartments inside the house. After marriage, the Iroquois were matrilocal, meaning the husband lived in the wife’s community or longhouse. The eldest woman of a matrilineage was the most influential in decision making, including the allocation of resources and property. (Nowak Laird, 2010, Chapter 4) This greatly differs from today’s society in that most of the bloodlines are traced back through the male’s side of the family. Also, most of the ecisions that I have heard of or seen are made and decided by the oldest or most respected man of a family. This is not to say one is more right than the other. In my own personal experience, on my father’s side, which is Mexican, my grandfather was the patrilineal leader of the family. The best way I can explain it is that my family roots for nuclear purposes goes to my grandparents on that side. Once my grandfather passed away, my grandmothe r took over as matrilineal leader. She passed away not long after him and that role was overtaken by my oldest aunt and her husband, with my aunt carrying the authority on that side. Marriage among the Iroquois had to be exogamous. This means that they had to marry outside their lineage or clan. The Iroquois kinship system recognizes two groups: parents and siblings who are too closely related to marry, and potential spouses and in–laws. A person may marry a cross-cousin, where parallel cousins are considered as close as siblings. Parallel cousins are treated to and referred to as siblings and their parents and treated to and referred to as parents. They are traced through matrilineage and are in the first group. In the Iroquois system, they cannot marry parallel cousins, but can and should marry cross-cousins. Sometimes referred to as the sibling-exchange system, it keeps wealth in the family and reasserts alliances between lineages. There are laws in American preventing cousins and family members from marrying. Aside from the legal ramifications, marrying within a nuclear family is dangerous, biologically. It is not as bad when it goes out as far as cousins, but there is a social stereotype against marrying someone close to you within the bloodline. I personally do not a problem with second or third cousins marrying, but I have never had to go through knowing or wondering if someone in my family or if I was going through the marriage process with a cousin. Marriages in the Iroquois society were easily dissolved. Since everything went through the female side of the marriage, the man was an outsider living in the village. If the woman did not want to be married to him anymore, she packed his belongings and left them on the steps of the longhouse. When the man returned, he saw his things, realized the marriage had been terminated and returned to his own village. Marriages in today’s society are much more differently dissolved. Today, we have to go through the process of dividing property, belongings, child support and visitation and well as money. A man or a woman cannot simply come home and realize a marriage is ended. We must go through courts and make sure that things are done according to laws. In what I have experienced, being married and divorced twice, people should think more before marrying. I do not regret marrying either time, but more thought should be put into it and more work should be put into marriages to make them last. Kinship affects my life in a very big way. My family lines are important to me and I enjoy finding out where I come from and who my ancestors were. I also live it every day, because I currently live with my girlfriend, who has two children that are not mine. I find it difficult to discipline them because I am not their father and struggle with ways to make the house work sometimes. I believe that kinship is important and should be talked about and worked on by all of us to make our lives easier. Reference Page Nowak, B. , Laird, P. (2010). Cultural anthropology. San Diego, Bridgepoint Education, Inc. https://content. ashford. edu How to cite Iroquois Kinship System, Essay examples

Capoiera Essay Example For Students

Capoiera Essay Capoeira is the common name for the group of African martial arts that came out of west Africa and were modified and mixed in Brazil. These original styles included weapons, grappling and striking as well as animal forms that became incorporated into different components and sub styles of the art. In 1500s the Portuguese, led by explorer Pedro Alvares Cabral, arrived in Brazil. One of the first measures taken by the new arrivals was the conquering of the local population, the Brazilian Indians, in order to allow the Portuguese slave labor for sugarcane and cotton. The experience with the Indians was a failure. The Indians quickly died in captivity or fled to their nearby homes. The Portuguese then began to import slave labor from Africa. On the other side of the Atlantic, free men and women were captured, loaded onto slave ships and sent on nightmare voyages that would end in bondage. The Africans first arrived by the hundreds and later by the thousands approximately four million in total. Three major African groups contributed in large numbers to the slave population in Brazil, the Sudanese group, composed largely of Yoruba and Dahomean peoples, the Mohammedanized Guinea-Sudanese groups of Malesian and Hausa peoples, and the Bantu groups among them Kongos, Kimbundas, and Kasanjes from Angola, Congo and Mozambique. The Bantu groups are believed to have been the foundation for the birth of capoeira. They brought with them their culture; a culture that was not stored in books and museums but in the body, mind, heart and soul. A culture that was transmitted from father to son, throughout generations. There was candomble, a religion; the berimbau, a musical instrument; vatapa, a food; and many other things. The Dutch controlled parts of the northeast between 1624 and 1654. Slaves took steps towards reconquest of their freedom when the Dutch fought against the Portuguese colony, invading towns and plantations along the northeastern coast, concentrating on Recife and Salvador. With each Dutch invasion, the security of the plantations and towns were weakened. The slaves, taking advantage of the opportunities, fled into the forests in search of places in which to hide and survive. Many, after escaping, founded independent villages called quilombos. The quilombos were very important to evolution of capoeira. There were at least ten major quilombos with economic and commercial relationships with neighboring cities. The quilombo dos Palmraes lasted sixty-seven years in the interior of the state of Alagoas, fighting off almost all expeditions sent to extinguish it. Because of the consistency and type of threat present, capoeira developed as a fight in the quilombos. The birth of capoeira as a fighting style was created in the slaves quarters and might not have developed further if left only to that environment. Starting around 1814, capoeira and other forms of African cultural expression suffered were prohibited in some places by the slave masters and overseers. Up until that date, forms of African cultural expression were permitted and sometimes even encouraged, not only as safety against internal pressures created by slavery but also to bring out the differences between various African groups, in a spirit of divide and conquer. But with the arrival in Brazil in 1808 of the Portuguese king Dom Joao VI and his court, who were fleeing Napoleon Bonapartes invasion of Portugal, things changed. The newcomers understood the necessity of destroying a peoples culture in order to dominate them, and capoeira began to be persecuted in a process, which would end with its being outlawed in 1892. Why was capoeira suppressed? There were many motives. First of all it gave Africans a sense of nationality. It also developed self-confidence in individual capoeira practitioners. Capoeira created small, cohesive groups. It also created dangerous and agile fighters. Sometimes the slaves would injure themselves during the capoeira, which was not desirable from an economical point of view. The masters and overseers were probably not as conscious as the king and his intellectuals of his court of all of these motives, but even still, they knew something didnt seem right. There are many other theories to explain the origins of capoeira. According to one well known theory, capoeira was a fight that was disguised as a dance so that it could be practiced without knowledge of the white slave owners. This seems unlikely because when African culture began to be repressed, other forms of African dancing suffered prohibition along with capoeira, so there would be no sense in disguising capoeira as a dance. Another theory says that the Mucupes in the South of Angola had an initiation ritual efundula for when girls became woman, on which occasion the young warriors engaged in the Ngolo, or dance of the zebras, a warriors fight-dance. According to this theory, the Ngolo was capoeira itself. This theory was presented by Camara Cascudo , but one year later Waldeloir Rego warned that this strange theory should be looked upon with reserve until it was properly proven something that never happened. If the NGolo did exist, it would seem that it was one of several dances that contributed to the creation of early capoeira. Other theories mix Zumbi, the legendary leader of the Quilombo dos Palmares with the origins of capoeira, without any reliable information on it. Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare and Antigone by Sophocles EssayThe capoeirista must play many instruments and sing. The capoeirista may attimes be your enemy but is usually a friend. The capoeirista is a historian. Thecapoeirista is all of these. Description: Capoeira consists of a form of dance,practiced in a circle called the roda, with sound backgroundprovided by percussion instruments, like the agogo and the atabaqui. The Berimbau is a non-percussion instrument that is always used onrodas. Capoeira relies heavily on kicks and leg sweeps for attacks and dodgesfor defenses. Is not uncommon to not be taught any kind of hand strike, thougharm positioning for blocks is taught.The ginga (the footwork ofCapoeira), consists in changing the basic stance (body facing the adversary,front leg flexed with body weight over it, the other leg stretched back) fromthe right leg to the left leg again and again. Capoeira also puts a heavyemphasis on ground fighting, but not grappling and locks. Instead, it uses aground stance (from the basic stance, you just fall over your leg stretchedback, flexing it, and leaving the front leg stretched ahead), from which youmake dodges, kicks, leg sweeps, acrobatics, etc. Hand positioning is importantbut it is used only to block attacks and ensure balance, though street fightingcapoeiristas use the hands for punches. When fighting, it is rare tostop in one stance, and in this case , you just follow your opponentwith your legs, preventing him from getting close, or preparing a fast acrobaticmove to take advantage when he attacks. The rest of the time, you just keepchanging stances and do the equivalent of boxing jabs. Players enterthe game from the peda roda (foot of the circle), usually with a cartwheel(au). Once in the circle, two players interact with a series of jumps, kicks,flips, head and handstands and other ritualistic moves. Games can be friendly ordangerous. The music plays an important role in the feel of the game. The typeof game being played, whether fast or slow, friendly or tough, depends on therhythm being played and the lyrics being said. Training: After a thoroughwarm-up, standing exercises are done, with emphasis on the ginga,and on the basic kicks: bencao, a front-stomping kick, martelo,a roundhouse kick, chapa, a side-kick, meia-lua, a lowturning kick, armada, a high turning kick, queixada, anoutside-inside crescent kick. Then walking sequ ences are done, with theintroduction of somersaults, back flips and headstands, in couples andindividual. Some more technical training follows, with couples beginning basicand slow, and then the whole class forms and goes for roda game forat least 30 minutes. Capoeira conditions and develops the muscles, especiallythe abdominal muscles. Sub-Styles: Regional style is capoeira in a moreartistic, open form, giving more way to athletic prowess and training. Angolastyle is a more closed, harder style that is closest to the original Africansystems that came to Brazil. Iuna is a totally athletic and artistic form of theart, where the couple inside the roda play together, as opposed toone against the other. Arts and Painting

What type of music is most appealing Essay Example For Students

What type of music is most appealing Essay What type of music do you find most appealing? In 1995, the British band Oasis came out with their second and by far most popular album, (Whats the Story) Morning Glory?. This was one of the major building blocks in the musical wonderland of alternative rock. Alternative rock is a midge podgy category of music that has the rhythm and accentuated backseat of classic rock and roll but is more defined by its unconformity. This genre of music appeals to me because of its unconventional style and variety and significantly reduced desire to conform. One of the major facets of alternative rock that makes it so appealing is the unique style and variety. It is not unusual for one artist to produce many hit albums each with a slightly different sound. Beginning in 1983 and still touring today, the Red Hot Chili Peppers are a prime example of this diversity within alternative rock. Their first album, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, had a complex melodies with a strong baseline and simpler song structure. These songs, including Get Up and Jump, had a strong funk influences while still falling under the category of alternative rock. We will write a custom essay on What type of music is most appealing specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now Compare this to their 9th studio album Stadium Arcadian, released in 2006. Keeping in character of the bands originality and out of the box style, this album was the most mellow of them all and had prominent psychedelic influences from the late ass. Due to so much unconformity many alternative rock bands dont have the large fan base that the Red Hot Chili Peppers have and are not as widely know. Its very common for many of these bands to have one hit wonders. Alternative rock is so appealing because the intent of the music isnt to be popular; it is a true expression f the artist or band as a collective group. Panic! At the Disco is a more recent band of the sass. Formed in 2004, they are mainly remembered for their two singles I Write Sins Not Tragedies and Nine in the Afternoon; both of which subsequently preceded their first two albums. Alternative rock really separates the boys from the men in the sense of commitment to their love of music; Panic! At the Disco still continues to write music and have recently released their fourth album, Too Weird to Live, Too Rare to Dill. What type of music is most appealing By presumptuousnesss

Fungi essays

Fungi essays What are the fungi? Mushrooms, molds, yeasts, athlete's foot diseases, rusts, and smuts All are filamentous or unicellular. Individual filaments are termed hyphae. A mass of hyphae is the mycelium (the feeding stage) Walls of the filaments are of cellulose with chitin Cells are eucaryotic; that is, they contain nuclei, mitochondria, other organelles Nutritionally, all fungi are heterotrophic, mostly aerobic Saprophyticlive off dead organic matter Parasiticobtain nutrients by penetrating tiny branches (haustoria) into a host Sexualgametangia produce sperms and eggs Decomposers of organic materialsimportant recyclers of matter The representative genus I shall use is Saprolegnia (can be collected from freshwater habitats by using apple baits in wire cage) A true mycelium, of tubular threads The hyphae have 2N nuclei (numerous) Mycelium grows and sooner or later reproduces Zoospores are released, attach to a food particle, germinate to become hyphae, then mycelium The same mycelium that produced the sporangia now forms the sex organs Antheridia> sperms (gametes) Gamete fusion occurs in the oogonium Zygotes are released, germinate, attach to a food mass. Mycelium feeds, grows, eventually reproduces See page 532 in your text for the life cycle. ...

FACTORS INFLUENCING CHILDREN'S DEVELOPMENT include, ILNESSES, Research Paper

FACTORS INFLUENCING CHILDREN'S DEVELOPMENT include, ILNESSES, ACCIDENTS,INJURIES - Research Paper Example The health professionals have mainly figured out four main factors which are environmental factors, biological factors, early environment as well as experience. Child development process starts from prenatal stage, and so health and nutrition of pregnant women affect the development of the fetus. Proper nutrition, healthy life style like abstinence from smoking or alcohol during pregnancy can reduce the risk of premature birth and infant mortality. The most important phase of a human being is his or her early childhood that should be properly monitored and nurtured for efficient child development. The physical, social and cognitive development during early childhood has strong impact on physical diseases like obesity, heart disease, and also competence in literacy and numeracy. The experiences during early childhood period have lifelong impact on an individual. The focus of this paper is that a nurturing environment where children spend their growing and learning years has a major impact of child development. It is not possible for parents to provide a perfect environment for their children without the assistance of local, national and international agencies. Therefore, government and child care agencies should work in collaboration with families to provide a healthy and nurturing environment for children worldwide. Family is the most important source of experience for children as family members are the ones with whom children spend most of their childhood years, and family members act as mediators between children and the broader environment. An efficient family environment is dependant on social and economic factors. Social factors include education of parents, cultural practices, relations between different family members, and health conditions of family members. Economic factors include employments conditions, wealth and standard of li ving (Siddiqi, et al, 2007, pp.3-5). Child development is also a natural process

The Analysis of Film production as a popular cultural production in Essay

The Analysis of Film production as a popular cultural production in Korea - Essay Example The poor quality of the films in Korea was due to limited budget of production and lack of well-developed system and structures compared to the Hollywood films which had taken over Koreans’ market. Between 1993 and 1998, the Korean market share in the film industry had steadily decreased by 15% threatening its existence in the industry. The film Shiri which was a hit in 1999 was about a North Korean spy who was preparing a coup in Seoul and it sold more than two million tickets. It also recorded more than 5 million viewers catapulting to the top of the South Korean box office and took the place previously held by the film ‘Titanic’. This film made the Samsung Entertainment group to create a production system and also initiated large-scale fundraising of money to improve the film industry. Koreans market share in the film industry also increased by 39.6 percent. This was a great achievement in the Korean popular cultural production as it brought fame to the country . The increase in the market share also inspired many Korean film-makers convincing them that good financial support system and a selected quality can make Korean film productions successful. The film Shiri also opened doors for other films in Korea such as the Matrix to gain fame in the world. Additionally, the five-day working week law applied in this country promoted its film production in a big way since most people visited theatres during their long weekends. As a result, the Korean film market expanded by 18% annually and by 2002, the film industry had over 100 million audiences. As of 2004, many Korean films had become more popular in the world than the Hollywood films. In addition, major distributors of the Hollywood movies such as Warner Brothers and DreamWorks saw great potential in Korean films and began to acquire the copyright of remakes of the several movies  that had been big hits the Korean market.  

Analysing Reviews and Development of SMEs in Ghana

Analysing Reviews and Development of SMEs in Ghana The dynamic role of Small and Medium scale Enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries towards employment generation and income creation has OVER TIME been highly emphasised by several authors (Kayanula and Quartey 2000, OECD 2004). While it is generally accepted that SMEs are important contributors to the domestic economy, not many governments have framed policies to enhance their contribution or increase their competitiveness (UNCTAD 2005). Previously insulated from international competition, many SMEs are now faced with greater external competition and the need to expand market share. As indicated by OECD 2002, SMEs fast-changing technologies and globalising economies are putting increased pressures on firms to reorganise their structures to enhance adaptability and flexibility. Upgrading the skills of all types of employees is hence central to firm performance in SMEs which must be able to adapt quickly to evolving markets and changing circumstances, but which often have limited resources. Indeed there is preliminary evidence that competence development activities can reduce the failure rates of small firms, which are far more likely to fail than larger firms, particularly in the early years (OECD 2002). 1.2 SMEs in Ghana: Definition and Role towards Economic Development As per statistics from the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa 2010, Ghana ¿Ã‚ ½s GDP grew at an annual rate of 5.4 per cent between 2001 and 2007. Such impressive performance was partly contributed to the robust growth of the SME sector in Ghana. Available data from the Registrar General in Ghana indicates that 90% of companies registered are micro, small and medium enterprises (Mensah 2004). This target group has been identified as the catalyst for the economic growth of the country as they are a major source of income and employment. Analogous to the situation in other countries though, Kayanula and Quartey 2000 state that there is no single, uniformly acceptable, definition of a small firm in Ghana as these firms differ in their levels of capitalisation, sales and employment. Hence, definitions which employ measures of size (number of employees, turnover, profitability, net worth, etc.) when applied to one sector could lead to all firms being classified as small, while the same size definition when applied to a different sector could lead to a different result. Kayanula and Quartey in their research however identified a number of common definitions used when referring to SMEs in Ghana that could be used for purposes of this essay. These definitions are summarised below: The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) considers firms with less than 10 employees as Small Scale Enterprises and their counterparts with more than 10 employees as Medium and Large-Sized Enterprises. An alternative criteria used in defining small and medium enterprises is the value of fixed assets in the organisation. However, the National Board of Small Scale Industries (NBSSI) in Ghana applies both the fixed asset and number of employees ¿Ã‚ ½ criteria. It defines a Small Scale Enterprise as one with not more than 9 workers, has plant and machinery (excluding land, buildings and vehicles) not exceeding 10 million Cedis. From these definitions however, it would be prudent for purposes of this essay to note that the process of valuing fixed assets in itself poses a problem as continuous depreciation in the exchange rate often makes such definitions out-dated. It is further noted that SMEs in Ghana can be categorised into urban and rural enterprises. The former can be sub-divided into `organised ¿Ã‚ ½ and `unorganised ¿Ã‚ ½ enterprises. The organised ones tend to have paid employees with a registered office whereas the unorganised category is mainly made up of artisans who work in open spaces, temporary wooden structures, or at home and employ little or in some cases no salaried workers. They rely mostly on family members or apprentices. Rural enterprises are largely made up of family groups, individual artisans, women engaged in food production from local crops. The major activities within this sector include:- soap and detergents, fabrics, clothing and tailoring, textile and leather, village blacksmiths, tin-smithing, ceramics, timber and mining, bricks and cement, beverages, food processing, bakeries, wood furniture, electronic assembly, agro processing, chemical based products and mechanics (UNECA 2010, Kayanula and Quartey 2000). Among their many roles, SMEs in Ghana have been crucial in mobilising funds which otherwise would have been idle (Kayanula and Quartey 2000). The authors further point out that SMEs have been recognised as a seed-bed for indigenous entrepreneurship, are labour intensive, employing more labour per unit of capital than large enterprises and promote indigenous technological know-how. Furthermore, due to their regional dispersion and their labour intensity, argument goes that small scale production units can promote a more equitable distribution of income than large firms in Ghana. They also improve the efficiency of domestic markets and make productive use of scarce resources and thus facilitating long term economic growth. 1.3 Challenges facing SME Growth and Competitiveness in Ghana Despite the wide-ranging economic reforms instituted in the country to promote SME development, SMEs in Ghana still face a variety of constraints (UNECA 2010, Kayanula and Quartey 2000). Mensah 2004 drew up a basic profile on such SME challenges: SMEs are dominated by the owner/manager who takes all major company decisions. The entrepreneur possesses limited formal education, access to and use of new technologies, market information, and access to credit from the banking sector is severely limited. Furthermore, management skills are weak, thus inhibiting the development of a strategic plan for sustainable growth. Kayanula and Quartey in addition note that SME competitiveness in Ghana is mainly constrained by the following factors: 1. Limited access to finance remains a dominant constraint to small scale enterprises in Ghana. Credit constraints pertaining to working capital and raw materials are often cited by small firm and these partly stem from the fact that SMEs have limited access to capital markets, both locally and internationally. 2. SMEs have difficulties in gaining access to appropriate technologies and information on available techniques. This limits innovation and SME competitiveness. This fact is ascertained by UNCTAD 2005 which notes that most SMEs also lack the technical know-how and financial resources needed to acquire state of the art technologies and equipment required to improve productivity and to become internationally competitive. 3. Regulatory Constraints: Although wide ranging structural reforms have improved, prospects for enterprise development remain to be addressed at the firm-level. High start-up costs for firms, including licensing and registration requirements, can impose excessive and unnecessary burdens on SMEs. The high cost of settling legal claims and excessive delays in court proceedings adversely affect SME operations. In the case of Ghana, the cumbersome procedure for registering and commencing business were key issues often cited. 4. Of actual importance to this essay however, is the insufficient supply of skilled workers among SMEs in Ghana that limits specialisation opportunities, raises costs, and reduce flexibility in managing company operations. This is coupled with the lack of entrepreneurial and business management Skills: Lack of managerial know-how places significant constraints on SME development. Mensah 2004 in conclusion notes that SMEs in Ghana have not been able to take full advantage of Government-sponsored business support services. This paper therefore seeks to identify the possible implications for strengthening SME competitiveness through competence development that could be attained through the acquisition of knowledge, skills and new abilities. Chapter Two: Literature Review 2.1 Competence: Definition of the Concept Studying a concept such as competence is very complex as the concept is used differently by many people (Awuah 2007). According to the author, the term competence can be defined as the ability of a firm to develop and manage relations with key suppliers, customers and other organizations. The term is further defined by the UN as the possession of a set of skills, related knowledge and attributes that allow an individual to perform a task or an activity within a specific function or job (UN 2007, UNIDO 2002). A graphical display of how the UN explains competence is displayed in figure 1 that follows: A more practical definition for the term competence is provided by the European Commission which defines competence as the combination of human knowledge, skills and aptitudes serving productive purposes in firms and contributing to their competitiveness (EC 2003). From the EC definition, we notice that the possession of necessary skills and abilities should be able to provide a firm with a certain competitive advantage over its competitors. In this paper therefore, the term competence will be used to mean the ability to demonstrate knowledge, skills, experience, and attributes necessary for a firm to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. In general, competence in a job means being competent at all aspects of each function or competency required to be performed within the role. The term competency is graphically explained in figure 1. Several authors such as EC 2003 and Moe 1995 distinguish between competencies at individual and organisational level. Individual competencies imply a person ¿Ã‚ ½s internal cognitive abilities and skills. Such competencies may be gained through education and experience in the work place (Nordhaug 1992). On the other hand institutional competence is more than the sum of competences of the individuals. It consists of institutional qualities such as the ability to mobilize teamwork and synergistic effects of interactions between individuals (Moe 1995). EC 2003 however cautions that a high level of individual competence does not automatically result in a high level of organisational competence and therefore an optimal degree of organisational competence requires a transfer mechanism that facilitates interplay between an individual and the organisations frameworks and routines. Figure 1: Definition of Competency Source: UNIDO 2002, Page 9 In this regard, Nordhaug 1992 adds that much expertise based on practical experience is accumulated by individuals working within any company. To transform the experiences of the individuals into institutional knowledge is a great challenge to which there hardly exists any universal solution. The goal therefore must be to embed this experience in the organization in such a way that it is at any time available to those who need it, even after the individual who made it has left the company. In contrast to many contemporary authors, UNIDO 2002 distinguishes competencies as being managerial, generic and technical. Managerial competencies are considered for staff with managerial or supervisory responsibility in any firm, including directors and senior posts. It is further noted that some managerial competencies could be more relevant for specific occupations however they are applied horizontally across a firm for example analysis and decision making and team leadership. Generic competencies are considered essential for all staff regardless of their function or level for example communication, programme execution and linguistics. Technical or functional competencies on the other hand are specific competencies that are considered essential to perform a job within a defined area of work for example environmental management, finance management and human resource management among others. In conclusion, UNIDO 2002 notes that any function within a firm requires a set of essential managerial/generic and technical/functional competencies to be performed effectively. 2.1 Competence Development in SMEs 2.2.1 Definition of Competence Development Competence development is defined by Koch, Gill and Ellstr ¿Ã‚ ½m 2006 as an overall designation for the various activities that can be used to affect the supply of employee competence and skills on the internal labour market. In this definition, it should be pointed out that the term competence development is sometimes also used to denote the individual learning processes through which competence is developed. A simpler definition is provided by the EC, which defines competence development as the measures taken by any enterprise to develop its competence base Competence development in this case refers to activities that are planned and organized in order to foster learning as a primary aim, but also to activities that have learning as a secondary and perhaps unintended outcome. According to the EC, any enterprise can develop its competence base by a number of different possible measures, that is to say, by recruiting the right competence from outside or by developing the human resources the organisation already possesses. This goal can be obtained from a double perspective: first of all, through the development of the competence base of its human resources, basically through different forms of formal and non-formal learning such as training courses, internal seminars, work groups, assistance to expos. This kind of perspective was termed by Nordhaug 1992 as the Development of in-house competence, which represents the measure a firm takes to develop their competence status available within their in-house human resources. Further more competence development activities may be formal through internal or external courses that are deliberately planned and organized as means for work place learning. These activities may or may not result in a certificate, a diploma or a mark that is recognized by the educational system or on the external labour market. In many cases, courses are carried out to meet more specific needs at the workplace, and do not result in some kind of formally recognized certificate or mark. Workplace learning through formal activities are usually financed by the employer and carried out during working hours. In contrast, informal competence development may occur through the participation of the individual in development projects at the workplace, staff-meetings, job rotation and team-based work among others. Such activities are generally characterized by a low degree of planning and organization from the perspective of learning. The second approach is through obtaining the desired competence externally. Examples include the recruitment of new employees, the purchase of consultant services or co-operation with other external stakeholders. Nordhaug 1992 complements this approach by noting that external competence acquisition, where firms acquire (buy or by other means get access to) different external competencies that are outside the enterprises boundaries that they internally lack but may be regarded as essential for the optimal performance of the firm. Relating to the work of Griffiths et al 2007, the definition of competence development in this paper will emphasize the focus on the continuous updating and building of both individual and organisational knowledge, skills and abilities. 2.2.2 A Four Stage Model of Competence Development To simplify analysis, a model of competence development which consists of four stages is presented in this section: Figure 2: Competence Development Model Adapted from Griffiths et al 2007: Page 134 According to the figure above, the cycle of competence development starts with a process of orientation, in which the learner determines which competences that need to be developed. Once this decision has been made, the learner has a choice. One very quick route, typical for informal learning and competencies related to leisure activities, is to go directly to the competence development activities, based on the learner ¿Ã‚ ½s interests and only very little knowledge of their current proficiency level. The other route, more related to formal learning and to professional development is to proceed by collecting evidence, which shows the learner ¿Ã‚ ½s current proficiency level. After the learner has collected this evidence, they can again choose: either they can have their proficiency level officially recognized by others, or they can go directly to the competence development activities. Again, the latter route is the more informal learning route. Griffiths et al 2007 emphasizes assessment by others is the point where the formal learning route starts, where previous learning, which might have been either informal or formal, is turned into a formal recognition. When the cycle is passed through for the first time, the moment of assessment carried out by others is often referred to as intake assessment. The model is supplemented by Ogrean 2009 who notes that through orientation and assessment, the model serves as the basis for ensuring that the organisation is well positioned to achieve its vision and strategic goals. 2.3 Challenges towards SME Competence Development An introductory picture into the challenges facing SME competence development is provided by EC 2003 that notes that specific SME research and studies taking a more holistic view of competence development in SMEs are very difficult to find. As a result, the share of SMEs participating in competence development is lower than the respective one for larger enterprises (Mandl and Dorr 2004). SMEs are however not only constrained by limited information on competence development. According to Mandl and Dorr 2004 and EC 2003, smaller companies are indeed confronted with a wider range of barriers hindering the engagement in competence development than larger ones. The most important one they note constitutes the lack of time to both, strategically plan and participate in respective measures due to the dominance of the daily business. Mandl and Dorr 2004 specifically note that limited financial and human resources constitute the main barriers for SMEs to engage in competence development activities. Generally, employees are too much involved in the daily business life to have time to engage in qualification measures and due to the restricted number of employees no proxy is available in many cases. It is further noted that SMEs are often sceptical towards external advice and training as they are not informed about what is offered and/or are unsure about the quality or the price-performance ratio. Furthermore, the programmes offered do in most of the cases not correspond exactly to their needs. Stone 2010 observes that small firms often report difficulty accessing training tailored to their needs in terms of type and quality, scheduling and location. Additionally, SMEs fear that higher qualified employees will leave the company because of a lack of incentives such as higher salaries and career chances in larger enterprises. Larger firms often pay higher wage rates, so formal qualifications are perceived by many small employers as more valuable to employees than the business itself (Stone 2010). This is worsened by the fact that these firms lack competence development specialists in the company: very few SMEs indeed dispose of experts in the field of competence development leading to a lack of a systematic competence development scheme in these firms. This barrier is also mentioned in terms of lacking plans and personnel for conducting the training or identifying the company competence needs Another obstacle identified from empirical research (Stone 2010) is that that small employers commonly lack information on what training is available to them, as well as evidence of the benefits of training to set against perceived and real barriers to training activity. Even where they perceive training to be of value, releasing employees for especially formal training is more difficult for smaller employers. Lost working time is an especially important constraint with respect to owner-manager training. According to OECD 2002, for a variety of reasons, smaller firms are less likely than larger enterprises to provide external training to all grades of workers, including managers. In addition to financial constraints, information gaps make smaller firms less aware of the benefits they would obtain from management training and few see training as a strategic tool. Due to higher turnover in managerial staff, small firms may not realise the same benefits from training investments as larger firms. Chapter Three: Competence Development for SME Growth and Competiveness in Ghana 3.1 Competitiveness: Definition and Concept Competitiveness can be assessed at either the national or the enterprise level (UNCTAD 2005). At the national level, competitiveness has been defined as a nation ¿Ã‚ ½s ability to produce goods and services that meet the test of international markets while simultaneously maintaining and expanding real incomes of its people over the long term. The ability to compete in international markets is usually thought to be dependent on macroeconomic policies and conditions (trade policies and exchange rates among others) as well as on a nation ¿Ã‚ ½s comparative advantage that is its factor endowment (land, labour and capital). At the enterprise level, competitiveness is the ability to sustain a market position by, supplying quality products on time and at competitive prices through acquiring the flexibility to respond quickly to changes in demand and through successfully managing product differentiation by building up innovative capacity and an effective marketing system (UNCTAD 2005). The difference between the competitiveness of an enterprise and that of a nation is that the enterprise will cease to exist if it remains uncompetitive for long whereas a nation never goes out of business no matter how badly it is managed or how uncompetitive it is. When a nation loses its competitiveness, this is reflected in its deteriorating welfare conditions rather than elimination from the market. To achieve continuous competitiveness, enterprises must transform their ways of competing: they must shift from comparative advantages such as low-cost and labour, to competitive advantages, namely the ability to compete on cost and quality, delivery and flexibility. Such competitiveness may depend on the business environment, sophistication of company operations and inter-firm cooperation. According to UNCTAD 2005 however, since an enterprise does not produce in a vacuum, its competitiveness can only be measured within various types of market territories at the sub national, national and supra-national levels. The optimization of its capital resources (finance, technology, labour) commands its ability to penetrate each of these three market territories. In general, OECD 2004 identifies that it is up to the SMEs to implement competitive business operating practices and business strategies. However, the options available to SMEs are also closely related to the quality of institutions, markets and organizations that constitute the business environment. These will however depend on the efficiency and effectiveness of institutions, markets and organizations that encourage or discourage SMEs to take their cues for learning new ways of doing business, compare their own competitive characteristics with those of their rivals, and makes their decisions to invest, including the i ntroduction of innovations into their business strategies. In conclusion, UNCTAD 2005 notes that competitiveness is embodied in the characteristics of the firm, namely through: the current efficiency and effectiveness of the use of resources; the willingness and the ability to relate profitability to growth of capacity through continued investment. Although the authors concur with the view that competitiveness is created at the firm level, it is also emphasized that this is partly derived from a systemic context, emerging from complex patterns of interactions between government, enterprises and other actors, and will therefore exhibit different forms in each society. In addition, external competitiveness can be achieved by firms through exports, sustaining diversification and/or better quality of production, upgrading technology and skills, and expanding the base of domestic firms to compete regionally and globally. A firm is competitive in external markets depending on its ability to supply quality products on time and at competitive prices and to respond quickly to changes in demand by building up innovative capacities and market strategies. 3.2 Linking Competence Development Activities to SME Growth and Competiveness In the current competitive and complex economic environment, human capital is increasingly recognised by both countries and by business organisations as a key engine for growth and competitiveness (L ¿Ã‚ ½fstedt 2001, EC 2003, Moe 1995). Moe further identifies that companies will rarely be allowed to benefit significantly from competitive advantages in terms of monopolies or privileged access to certain raw materials, special means of production or protected markets. The success of any company will depend on its ability to compete in the management of resources and in exploiting markets which are in principle available to all. Competitiveness in the market-place, as well as for the best people, will also increasingly depend on the environmental qualities of the company. Thus, the key to success is in a superior ability to recruit, develop and mobilize human resources. The best way to adapt to the changing environment and new requirements is to increase the organizations competence and to use it in the best possible way (L ¿Ã‚ ½fstedt 2001). Against such a background of globalisation and competition, the availability of up to- date knowledge, also within the smallest enterprises, is of increased significance not only for the individual company but also for the economy as such (Mandl and Dorr 2004). The authors further note that the current economic environment is characterised by global competition, fast technology developments, shorter product life cycles, more demanding consumers and changing enterprise structures through merges, alliances and take-overs. Thus, the new growth theories make economic growth dependent on the rate of accumulation of both physical and human capital, defined by the levels of knowledge, skills and competencies of the workforce (EC 2003) Another important concept of how SME competitiveness could be advanced through competence development is provided by Koch, Gill and Ellstr ¿Ã‚ ½m 2006, who argue that competence development can result into increased individual and organizational performance. This view is supported by Stone 2010; in his famous quotation that  ¿Ã‚ ½Firms that train their workers are significantly less likely to close than those that do not ¿Ã‚ ½ (Kock, Gill and Ellstr ¿Ã‚ ½m 2006). In addition to this, Fretwell 2002 notes that employee morale is created by and directly proportional to the degree of employee competence supported by leaders throughout the organization. Employee morale within an organization in turn has a direct impact on the satisfaction level of its customers and the companys ultimate success. When relationship-based leaders promote core competency development of its workforce throughout the organization, an opportunity exists for ensuring high employee morale and customer satis faction, an increase in employee and customer retention rates, and a positive long-term outlook for the companys successful performance. Common knowledge suggests that employee morale has a direct impact on the satisfaction level of an organizations primary external customers. In general, firms that are able to invest in the development of their human capital and the improvement of organisational capabilities will be able to gain a competitive advantage need to survive in today ¿Ã‚ ½s competitive world. 3.3 Implications for SMEs in Ghana A clear analysis of the prevailing environment for SMEs in Ghana indicates that the combined forces of globalisation, technological progress and growing market demand pose a challenge to SME competitiveness. However, there are a number of ways in which small firms can get around this situation. To support analysis, several implications for SMEs in Ghana have been identified through the framework for SME competitiveness as displayed in the figure that follows: According to ECA 2001, the framework distinguishes between factors that are internal and external to the enterprises. The large circle in the centre of the diagram captures the key internal requisites and processes that might lead to increased competitiveness in enterprises. These inputs are often called technological capabilities and they are defined as the knowledge, skills and efforts required for firms to bring about an indigenous process of technological development. ECA further emphasizes that such capability acquisition cannot be taken for granted and often requires purposeful and cumulative efforts aimed at assimilating and modifying existing technologies, adapting them to local conditions. This is especially the case in Ghana since major innovations are still concentrated in technologically advanced countries. Figure 3: Framework to support SME Competitiveness Source: ECA 2001 Page 12 On the other hand, marketing capabilities are required to make the product available and attractive to the buyer. They include activities concerned with establishing a marketing channel from the factory to the buyer (direct sales or intermediaries), organising the logistics (related to mode and speed of transport), promotion (advertising, branding) and after sales service. Further more, research has shown that capability building and competitiveness also depend on factors external to the firm. As shown in Figure above, this external context is given first by the type of network or cluster to which the firms belong. It is now well recognised that the lonely enterprise is doomed and the quality of relationships with other producers, suppliers and customers is critical for learning and competing (ECA 2001). The framework further identifies clustering to facilitate the mobilisation of financial and human resources. In summary, clusters and networks constitute the immediate external context in which SMEs operate. The benefits of clustering are widely acknowledged: the spatial and sectoral concentration of firms generates externalities, favours inter-firm cooperation and constitutes a niche for effective policy support. This fact is reaffirmed by UNCTAD 2005, that observes that the competitive pressure of globalization brings about the need for SMEs to come together in order to survive and grow. The formation of trade associations and industrial groups/clusters are accordingly being promoted. A commendable example of such clustering for competitiveness is observed in the Ghana metalwork cluster in Suame that has generated positive externalities for SMEs, namely access to markets, labour market pooling and significant technological spill-overs. OECD 2010 for example further suggests that SMEs acquire new knowledge and skills that will enable them to obtain the ideas they require for innovation and the markets to exploit them. A major message is that small firms do not innovate by themselves but in collaboration with suppliers, customers, competitors, universities, research organisations and others. These networks will then help them overcome some of the obstacles to innovation linked to their small size. Needless to say however, the quality of their local entrepreneurship environments, strength of local technology partners, and the quality of local science-industry linkages is critical to SME com