Executive Summary Of The Nestle Company Business Essay

Executive Summary Of The Nestle Company Business Essay Business is a never ending race and in the fast running world of business, there is variety of products and shops, showrooms, setups and etc. The main purpose of this report concerns the research managing conflicts in organization. The organization that is chosen for our research report is NESTLE. Data and observation analysis, recommendations for managing conflicts is also discussed. The methods used for collecting data for this report are surveys, questionnaires, personal observations, personal interviews, newspapers, internet etc. In the first section, we had given an introduction about the chosen organization NESTLE and then a brief description about nature of conflict in the organization and its various types and causes of conflict. The second section is consists of literature review, in which we had discussed the theories and research papers of different researchers where they explain about conflicts and its causes in an organization and moreover how an organization can prevent those conflicts with best possible solution. The third section comprises of research methodology, research nature, data collection techniques and sampling method. In section forth we have scrutinized the primary data by different graphical and statistical tools. In final section we have given possible conclusions along with recommendations. CHAPTER # 1 1.1: INTRODUCTION TO NESTLE Nestle was founded in 1866 by Henri Nestle with headquarters in Vevey, Switzerland. It has employed around 250,000 people and has factories or operations in almost every country in the world. It is one of the worlds biggest food and Beverage Companies. The Companys priority is to bring the best and most relevant products to people, wherever they are, whatever their needs, throughout their lives. 1.2: PURPOSE OF RESEARCH The purpose of the research is to find the variable which has leads towards conflicts in Nestle Organization. The main purpose of the research is, firstly, to identify the causes of conflicts in Nestle and, secondly, to manage conflicts in Nestle organization. 1.3: BACK GROUND OF THE STUDY All of us experience some type of conflicts in our daily lives. Tensions, antagonisms, and frustrations always occur when people work together. There are disagreements, perhaps even fights, between employees and the supervisor or between co-workers. Aside from personality clashes, people simply have different viewpoints about the way things should be done. The main purpose of conducting the research is to find out the conflicts, and finding the ways to manage and solve them in an organisation. In this context we have got the opportunity to conduct our research on one of the top organizations (Nestle). 1.4: DEFINITION OF CONFLICT Conflict is defined as the state of discord caused by perceived or actual opposition of needs, interests and values. A conflict can be internal or external. The concept of conflict can help to explain many social aspects of life such as social disagreement, fights between individuals, groups, or organizations and conflict of interests. In political term CONFLICT can refer to revolution or struggles, war, that may involve the use of force named as armed conflict. Without proper social resolution, conflicts in social settings can result in stress among stakeholders. When an interpersonal conflict does occur, the effect of it is often broader than two individuals involved, and can affect many associate individuals and relationships, in more or less adverse and sometimes even humorous way. Conflict as taught for graduate and professional work in conflict resolution which is defined as when two or more parties, with perceived incompatible goals, seek to undermine each others goal-seeking capability. One should not confuse the distinction between the presence and the absence of conflict with the difference between co-operation and competition. In competitive situations, the two or more individuals or parties have mutually inconsistent goals, either party try to reach their goals it will undermine the attempts of the other party to reach theirs. Therefore, competitive situations by their nature cause conflict. However, conflict can also occur in cooperative situations, in which two or more individuals or parties have consistent goals, because the manner in which individuals or party tries to reach their goal can still undermine the other individuals or party. A clash of values, interest, actions often sparks a conflict. Conflict also refers to the existence of that clash. Psychologically, conflicts exist when the reduction of one motivating stimulus involves an increase in another, So that a new adjustment is demanded. Even when we say, theres a potential conflict we are implying that there is already a conflict of action though a clash may not yet have occurred. 1.5: NATURE OF CONFLICT Conflict may constructively be viewed as resulting from differing belief systems, varied perspectives on the situation and values resulting from participants accumulated life experience and conditioning, differing interests and objectives. Effectively dealing with conflict requires the expression and management of participants varying interests, belief systems, perspectives and values. Through the integration of participants perspectives, belief systems, interests and values, conflict and conflict resolution play important roles in individual and social evolution and development. Conflict arises when one or more participants view the current system as not working. At least one party is adequately unhappy with the position, that they are willing to own the conflict and speak with the hope of being able to influence the situation to arrive at an improved condition. Conflict may be sight as a process we put ourselves through to attain a new condition and self definition. Through conflict we have opportunities to be artistically self-defining. If nothing else, conflict allows us in future to do things differently. Through the resolution of conflict, we can evolve and redefine ourselves, our community, our relationships our society and our world. 1.6: LEVELS OF CONFLICT 1.6.1: Inter divisional conflict Inter divisional conflicts exists between the perceiver and another individual within the organization. Although the other person does not need to be aware of the conflict, the perceiver of the conflict situation recognizes the present or future impact conflict can have on job performance. 1.6.2: Intra group conflict Intra group conflicts occur between perceiver and his or her immediate group within the organization. The immediate group can consist of work team, department or union. Whether fully or only superficially aware of the conflict issue, the perceiver realizes that the conflict can directly or indirectly affect job performance. 1.6.3: Inter group conflict It arises between the perceivers immediate group and another group within the organization. Again, the perceivers involvement may not be critical, but he or she must be aware of the situation and the potential impact the conflict can have on work performance. 1.6.4: Organizational conflict Organizational conflict is a state of disagreement caused by the actual or perceived opposition of needs, values and interests between people working together. 1.7: TYPES OF CONFLICT A conceptual conflict can rise into a verbal exchange or result in fighting.Conflict can exist at a variety of types. These are Community conflict Diplomatic conflict Emotional conflict Environmental resources conflict Group conflict Ideological conflict Interpersonal conflict Inter-societal conflict Intrapersonal conflict Organizational conflict Religious-based conflict and Workplace conflict . 1.8: CAUSES OF CONFLICTS 1.8.1: Authority relationship Authority Relationship conflicts occur because of the existence of strong pessimistic emotions, misperceptions or stereotypes, poor communication or miscommunication, or repetitive negative behaviors. Authority relationship problems often increase disputes and lead to an unnecessary rising spiral of destructive conflict. Supporting the secure and balanced expression of perspectives and emotions for acknowledgment (not agreement) is one effective approach to managing relational conflict. 1.8.2: Management style For any organization to be effectual and efficient in achieving its goals, the people in the organisation need to have a common vision of what they are determined to achieve, as well as clear objectives for each individual, group/ team and department. Management style also needs ways of recognizing and resolving conflict between people, so that conflict does not become so serious that collaboration becomes impossible. The management of any organisation needs to have ways of keeping conflict to a minimum and of solving problems caused by conflict, before conflict becomes a major obstruction to work. Management style helps to avoid conflict where probable and organizing to resolve conflict where it does happen, as rapidly and smoothly as possible. 1.8.3: Communication barriers: Conflict will be greater when barriers to communication exist. If parties are separated from each other physically or by time e.g.; the day shift versus the night shift-the opportunity for conflict is increased. To illustrate suppose a company employs only one plant supervisor, who works the day shift and leaves orders at the beginning of each week for the workers on the night shift. By the end of the week, how ever, these orders have been only partially carried out. The supervisor cannot figure out why. Obviously, the supervisor absence from the night shift has posed a communication barrier, which in turn causes decreased output. As Bryans, P, Cronin argued in 1984 that Space or time separations could promote isolated group interests rather than advance a common effort towards joint goals. 1.8.4: Personal factors 1.8.4.1: Behavioral The way emotional experience gets expressed which can be verbal or non-verbal and intentional or un-intentional. 1.8.4.2: Physiological Its defined as the bodily experience of emotion. The way emotions make us feel in comparison to our identity. 1.8.4.3: Cultural values Culture tells people who are a part of it, Which emotions ought to be expressed in particular situations and what emotions are to be felt. 1.8.4.4: Physical This escalation results from anger or frustration. 1.8.4.5: Verbal This escalation results from negative perceptions of the annoyers character. 1.9: WAYS OF ADRESSING CONFLICTS There are basically five ways of addressing conflicts which were identified by Thomas and Kilman in 1976. These are 1.9.1: Accommodation Ones party surrenders its own needs and wishes to accommodate the other party. 1.9.2: Avoidance Avoid conflict by ignoring it, changing the subject, etc. As an expedient means of dealing with very minor, non-recurring conflicts or Avoidance can be useful as a temporary measure to buy time. In many cases, conflict avoidance involves severing a relationship. 1.9.3: Collaboration Working together can find a mutually beneficial solution. Collaboration can also be inappropriate and time-intensive. When there is not enough respect, trust or communication among participants for collaboration to occur. 1.9.4: Compromise Finding a centre point where each party is partially satisfied. 1.9.5: Competition Take the ones point of view at the potential expense of another. It can be more useful when achieving the ones objectives outweighs ones concern for the relationship CHAPTER # 2 2.1: LITERATURE REVIEW Different researchers have published their reviews on conflicts in the organization. We are viewing two best reviews of the researchers articles. Mr. Philips in 1982 threw light on some of key conditions, which may lead to serious organizational conflicts; he gave his views in the book named as Community in Organization. According to M Phillips certain social relationships characterized various kinds of conflict behavior. Each one could occur in your work area. The more aware the managers are of these conflict settings, the better are the chances of correcting them and running a smooth operation. Mr. Philip identified communication as problem in his research. The causes of conflicts are structural factors, authority relationships, common resources, goal differences interdependence, jurisdictional ambiguities, specialization, status-inconsistencies, personal factors, communication, conflict management style, cultural differences, emotions, perception, personalities, skills and abilities, values and ethics. The researcher found a possible solution; it is obvious that a perfect communication system is unlikely. But also perfectio n like rationality will not be achieved; organizations do have mechanism by which they can attempt the communication system as clear as they can. Philips also suggested that there are such devices available which can reduce the distortion and complications in communication process and suggested that communication recipients should be aware of the biases of the message senders and protect their own counter biases as protection devices. James M Leif John M Penrose in 1997 in the book Business Strategies Skills 5th Edition explained the nature of organizational conflicts identify the causes of conflicts i.e. Structural Factors, Common Resources , Goal Differences , Interdependence ,    Jurisdictional Ambiguities, Inconsistencies ,Personal Factors Communication barriers, Conflict management style ,Cultural differences ,Emotions Perception, Personalities, Skills and abilities, Values and Ethics, Behavioral and Physiological Cognitive. The researchers say that it is possible to avoid conflict by having mechanism such as voting to make decision without the disagreement of consensus. They also find that behavioral regulation fail to match the individual need of employee, conflict is bound to occur. In 1995 B R Siwal in his research Resolution Strategies to Conflict describes that conflict is a necessary and integral part of effective problem solving and realistic discussions. It is core sound of decision making because disagreement is the best vehicle for enlargement the perspective, discovering alternatives, and motivating creative interaction among each member. The effects of disagreement, though, depend on how it is administer by team members. Conflict can be integrative and constructive or it can be distributive and disruptive. When mismanagement occur, conflict can demolish team effectiveness, when handled well it can deeply enhance the quality of team work and make members sense proud of their work in the team. Training in the nature of conflict and the ways of managing it is an imperative need of all the people who participates in problem solving groups, such as those that make up work teams. The negative association of conflicts wants to be dispelled and substitute with more practical conceptions that made the justifiable distinction between disruptive and constructive conflict. When team members see that conflict can be a positive strength in conversation, they are better prepared to take up effective proposal attitudes and behaviors in trouble solving situations. Further more the differences between integrative and distributive conflict can help them learn how their own behavior contributes to the atmosphere of the team which they belong. Davor Dujak in 2008 describes in his research that in every organization conflict encounters on a daily basis. The conflict cannot be avoided but it is probable to mange them in a way that we identify them on time. It is essential to constantly track the organizational signals which position to their existence. If Organization does not respond accordingly, this can lead to the condition that conflict itself manages the organization. One of the more important determinants of productivity, performance and efficiency and finally the job satisfaction is also the conflict as an independent variable of organizational behavior. By systematic research of organizational behavior we want to make a positive influence on the dependents variables, but first we have to realize and get a good approaching to the individual elements of organizational behavior. In 2004 Melanie Lewis describes in her research that if conflict managed poorly or avoided, it can be very costly to an organization. If managed well, conflict presents an opportunity to uncover significance and promote a healthy work place. Many organizations are finding that their conflicts management systems have been good by financial investments, generating a healthy return. In additional they are recognizing the value of many less substantial benefits (lower turnover, increased efficiencies, improved morale and improve public relations). A precise four phased process assessment, design, implementation, operation and evaluation helps organizations design effective conflict management systems to gather the maximum benefit of conflict system. Moreover this four phased approach strongly encourages the team actually to seek to understand and incorporate the needs and interests of all affected constituency, and creates an environment in which the benefits of the system can be effecti vely communicated, implemented and administered. In 2010 De Dreu C.K describes in his research that conflict is a multidimensional with both relationship and task forms. Hence it is expected that if they change the managing type of conflicts, it will plays an important role in organizational performance. While if organization did not manage good, the conflict will plays a negative role. However the researcher discussed only two types of conflicts in his research namely affective and task conflict in order to play better role in organizational performance. After studying the reviews of different researchers, we will take help from different researches but our group decided that we will follow the research of M Philip because they dictate information about factors which are important for identifying conflicts and understanding the meaning of conflict and how it influences the organizations internal environment in solving problems. CHAPTER # 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3.1: Research type: The type of research that we are conducting is applied research because it is conducted for a particular organization. Applied research is practical applicability of research tools on a particular organizational situation. 3.2: data collection We will be collecting our data by using two sources which are as follows. 3.2.1: Primary data Our primary data is collected through conducting interviews and designed questionnaires from managers and employees of Nestle. 3.2.2: Secondary data The secondary data is collected from past records of Nestle and books along with business articles to support our recommendations and suggestions. 3.3: Sample size During this survey we have taken responses from a Sample size of 30 which is further divided into two groups. We also conducted survey from 10 managers and 20 employees. The sampling type that we used is non random sampling technique because we want to get information from every third employee and manager of Nestle organization. Our survey is in questionnaire and interview form, so our questionnaires consist of open ended and close ended questions. We have conducted unstructured interviews, asked from the respondents to get more information. CHAPTER # 4 ANALYSIS 4.0: INTRODUCTION TO DATA ANALYSIS Data analysis is a practice in which the raw data is ordered and organized in order to extract useful information from it. The process of organizing and thinking about data is the key to understand what the data does and does not contain. There are varieties of ways in which people can approach data analysis, and it is infamously easy to manipulate data during the analysis phase to push certain conclusions. There are different methods for analyzing the data for example surveys, charts, frequency tables, graphs and personal observations etc. We have analyzed our data through frequency tables and bar charts. 4.1: FREQUENCY TABLE Frequency table is one of the important concepts in mathematical statistics and a good analyzing tool. A table divided into cells by category with counts for each category in each cell. It is a kind of display of a given data, in which the frequency of each data item is found. The frequency of a data item is the number of times it occurs in the data set. 4.2: BAR GRAPH A graph consisting of parallel, usually vertical bars or rectangles with lengths proportional to the frequency with which specified quantities occur in a set of data. A bar graph is a pictographic version of statistical data in which the independent variable can attain only certain discrete values. The dependent variable may be discrete or continuous. The most common form of bar graph is the vertical bar graph, also called a column graph. This type of display allows us to: Compare groups of data, and To make generalizations about the data quickly. 4.3: ANALYSIS OF QUESTIONNAIRES 4.3.1: FROM MANAGEMENT 1) More than the desired output of the employees make can be harmful to the organization?     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  a) YES b) NO Variables Codes Frequency Yes 01 9 No 02 1 Table: 4.3.1.0 Graph: 4.3.1.0 2) There is a free flow of communication among the employees:     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  a) YES b) NO Variables Codes Frequency Yes 01 10 No 02 0 Table: 4.3.1.1 Graph: 4.3.1.1 3) Employees are properly informed about decision taken?     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  a) YES b) NO Variables Codes Frequency Yes 01 7 No 02 3 Table: 4.3.1.2 Graph: 4.3.1.2 4) There is a consistency among the management policies:     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  a) YES b) NO Variables Codes Frequency Yes 01 8 No 02 2 Table: 4.3.1.3 Graph: 4.3.1.3 5) Key post should be through:     Ã‚  Ã‚  a)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Direct Appointment  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  b) Promotion Variables Codes Frequency Direct appointment 01 8 Promotion 02 2 Table: 4.3.1.4 Graph: 4.3.1.4 4.3.2: FROM EMPLOYEES 1) From how long have you been working in this organization?   6 months 1 year 3 years Or more than 3 years Variables Codes Frequency 6 months 01 4 1 year 02 2 3 years 03 10 Or more than 3 years 04 4 Table: 4.3.2.0 Graph: 4.3.2.0 2) What kind of boss do you like to work with?   Friendly Competent Leant Difficult Variables Codes Frequency Friendly 01 17 Competent 02 3 Leant 03 0 Difficult 04 0 Table: 4.3.2.1 Graph: 4.3.2.1 3) Which type of leaderships style do you like the most? Autocratic Democratic Variables Codes Frequency Autocratic 01 18 Democratic 02 2 Table: 4.3.2.2 Graph: 4.3.2.2 4) How does your management is doing the evaluation among the employees? Performance base Merit base Variables Codes Frequency Performance base 01 18 Merit base 02 2 Table: 4.3.2.3 Graph: 4.3.2.3 5) Which management level should be responsible for problems between employees? Choose any of the following Top level Middle level Lower level Variables Codes Frequency Top level 01 2 Middle level 02 17 Lower level 03 1 Table: 4.3.2.4 Graph: 4.3.2.4 Q6: How do you communicate the unforeseen problem with your manager or general manager?   Answer: Most of the respondents suggested that they like to meet the general managers directly for any unforeseen events. Q7: Do you think your organization should involve the employees in decision making? And why?   Answer: Most of employees consider that their managers are capable of taking right decisions and there is no need of involving employees. While few of them suggested that it can be a source of new and creative ideas. Q8: What can you suggest for a better management system?   Answer: Most of the employees have no idea about it. Few of them believe that friendly environment and better salaries can improve management system. 4.6: INTER ORGANISATIONAL CONFLICTS OF NESTLE The nature conflicts found out through the personal (unstructured) interviews and through questionnaire with the director the manager of NESTLE Peshawar are as follows: The first thing, which was found was the lack of training given to the employees, they said that in the organization, employees always have to work together in groups, and if some one feels that he/she cannot work within the group, then there is some problem with that employee, but at the same time they said that it is the organizations responsibility to teach the employees how to work together in groups through proper training. They mentioned that without training the organizations might face serious types of irresolvable conflicts, which are definitely not fruitful to the organization. The second main reason mentioned by the manager of the company was the Selection Biases, he said that selection biases may also lead to conflicts within the company, and these conflicts are normally personal as well. The manager said that if in cases the top management interferes in the process of hiring the employees, they might select the wrong person for the right job. On the other hand there may be serious conflicts going on between the manager the top management on the issues of authority and responsibility balance. Further if the manager takes big decisions like job confirmation, salary decisions, then, there may be conflicts, these must be taken by the top management. The manager of NESTLE also raised the point of communications problem. They believe that every informations must communicate from their tables.. If in any case any employee bypasses the manger, there may be a conflict between them. He also said that there is no need of any employee who bypasses the manager to access to the top management. Usually the organizations do have Coordinators who are directly answerable to the top management. He said that the manager will not be able to properly deal with him and conflicts between them will arise. The manager said that young unmarried employees usually indulge in office politics and make conflicts among the employees. According to him only married and experienced persons should be provided with the jobs. Racial problems also create conflicts among the employees. Bad attitude of the manager and arrogant nature of the boss is also one reason of conflicts. The manager said that effective person but highly cooperative person would be proffered in place of an efficient but uncooperative one. The manager presented the following ideas to prevent conflicts: Contractual Jobs Hire fire system. Authority to the manager Some of them had a bit different views. He held the middle managements capabilities responsible for the conflicts within the organization. He also said that there is no relationship between the authority and reasonability with the conflicts. He proffered the autocratic style of management in the beginning, but it should be shifted to the democratic style in the later portions. He said that although the centralized system slows down the process of working, but it will also decrease the conflicts between the employees. They said that, if you (Employee) have to be successful in the company, then you have to become a big YES SIR. He also mentioned that horizontal conflicts are more common. Super seeded persons normally indulge in making conflicts. He said that super seeded persons should be terminated in place of super seeding them. Dress code can experience the resentment from the employees due to Ethnic affiliations to some dresses. They was strongly in favor of Coordinator, he said that a coordinator channels the communication process between the manager and the top management. He also gave the following ideas to prevent the possible conflicts in the organizations: Promotions Clear line of Authority Not more than one employee from same Regional locations and same institutions/Universities. CHAPTER # 5 5.1: CONCLUSION The Organizational Conflicts is itself not a problem, but it is a serious symptom of some factors that are usually ignored while designing the organizational structures. From the literature review, theoretical framework, , taking samples (convenience) analysis of the data gathered, some factors are identified that usually are the root cause of the conflicts. Some of these are: Ethnicity Personal Jealousy Arrogant behaviors (low temperament) Communication problems Due to the nature of the issue the responses from the top, middle lower management were totally contrary with each other. For this purpose the structured interviews were conducted and intentionally the format of the questions in interview and questionnaires were kept same. That made the deductions possible by comparing the non verbal responses and the rephrasing the same questions two-three times to check the consistency of the replies. The ethnic issue is the most important and it justifies the hypothesis. Due to ethnicity no sampled branch has been successful in implementing the dress code yet. Even though, all the respondents favoured it. It is observed that employees belonging to NWFP are very low tempered. Their frequency of jobs switching is higher than o

Citigroup Inc. :: Business, Global Bank

This reflection paper analyzes Citigroup Inc’s initiatives to set funds aside for executives’ performance pay, how they are interacting with the media, and business tools that could improve the transparency of their compensation system. Citigroup is a global bank with its headquarters in New York, NY (Citigroup, Inc., 2011). Citigroup received a U.S. government bailout two years ago (Hester, 2009) and has been operating strongly since then. This June Citigroup announced that it will be putting 86 million for the quarter into paying bonuses to key executives. The announcement was made by Citigroup’s company spokesman Jon Diat (Scheer & Eichenbaum, 2011). The mandatory regulatory filing was filled out to where it addresses the possible recipients of the bonuses as merely ‘key’ employees—no names were given and the number of possible recipients was withheld as classified information (Scheer & Eichenbaum, 2011). A few possible recipient names were revealed to the media. Citigroup’s (Citi) compensation beliefs are good because they understand that executives need to be financially recognized for their achievements. The following quote is an example of how companies can fail to financially recognize employee’s achievements. â€Å"An employer may not fire a worker if this would violate an implied contract, such as a verbal promise, or basic rules of ‘fair dealing.’ For example, an employer could not legally fire a salesperson just because he or she had earned a bigger bonus under an incentive program than the employer wanted to pay† (Lawrence & Weber, p. 369, 2011). The quote above explains how a company can set up a compensation system and then fire employees that successfully reach the top pay within that compensation system. Executives may experience similar treatment from stockholders, with the exception that stockholders do not create the compensation system. Stockholders can exude massive public ridicule. If a corporation accepts the criticism of stockholders and organizations they may be viewed as wanting to fire the executive that has accomplished preset goals. Citi is keeping the some of the profit-sharing candidates’ names confidential. An important aspect of protecting the interest of stockholders is to keep the company as transparent as possible (Lawrence & Weber, 2011). Citi should reveal all names of the executives that may earn bonuses from the profit-sharing programs. Investors may want to know about who is and is not a part of the profit-sharing program; they may also want to know why the participants’ names are being kept confidential.

Steps To Become A Successful Christian

Now hundreds of years ago there lived a rich man by the name of Sheikh Albert, who had a very beautiful daughter who's name is Princess Mila. Now this man was as rich as can be. He had a very big house, a ranch, hectares of land and room full of the finest jewelries and gold. Since he is becoming old and there's no one to succeed him, he decided to throw a party for his daughter's 1 8th birthday. So he sent out his servant to annoy once to every young educated bachelor out there that they were invited to attend his daughter's birthday party.During the party, and hen everyone was there, Sheikh Albert invited all the bachelors to come outside to participate in a simple game. So when they were outside they saw this huge swimming pool swarming with crocodiles in it. And then Sheikh Albert announced to everyone, â€Å"anyone of you who can swim successfully across the swimming pool from one end to the other will get what they want from me. They can have the hand of my daughter in marriag e, have my house, have my ranch, have all my money and†¦ The rich man wasn't even finished talking when they heard a loud splash coming from the swimming pool. So when they looked they saw this young man swimming for his life, swimming as fast as he could to get to the other side of the pool. After a short struggle and in Olympic record fashion he was able to get off to the other side of the pool and escape the wrath of the crocodiles. Upon seeing this the rich man was very happy and immediately interviewed the man. He said, â€Å"congratulations young man for you are very brave, you have won this contest.And now for your prize I will let you choose your bounty. Do you want the hand of my daughter in marriage? The young man still soaking wet ND looking confused said † No sir, I do not want to marry your daughter. † The rich man was surprised so he asked again â€Å"do you want my mansion and my ranch? † The boy said â€Å"no sir don't want your mansion and your ranch†. Do you want all my jewelries and my gold? † The boy answered â€Å"no sir I don't want your ranch. † So the rich man feeling annoyed blurted: â€Å"Well for crying out loud what do you want! The boy still confused answered: â€Å"l just want know who pushed me into the swimming pool. † The end.! The reason why told you this story is because I'm very sure we all can relate ourselves to the poor boy. During the start of our Christian ministry we all have been pushed in some way or another by concerned people to renew our relationship with Jesus Christ and to actively participate in God's ministry. My push came at a very opportune time, because as recall it was one of the darkest periods of my life. I call it dark because I couldn't see any light, any hope that my life would be better.I have already stopped believing there is a higher being out there who guides us and takes care of Lamentations 3:2 ESP. ! He has driven and brought me into darknes s without any light,;! Fortunately there are people like Sheila who would stop at nothing just to bring the light of Jesus Christ to other people who are still living in the dark. So make sure you know the name of the person who pushed you and if they are here right now please thank them for doing whatever they had to do to bring you here to the path of God's light. Because when they pushed you, you already won the promise of God's salvation.Matthew 25134 ESP. ! Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.! Now let's move on to our topic for tonight. We are goanna talk tonight about the 7 steps to becoming a successful Christian. They say success is the accomplishment of an aim or purpose, in other words it is the achievement of one's goal. In order for us to be successful we Ernst first have a goal we should be aiming at. So what is our goal as Christians? Christia nity means â€Å"little Christ†.We are trying to be as much like Jesus as we can. He has set an example and we're doing our best to follow it.! 2 Corinthians 5. 17 E-SF / 15 helpful votes! Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.! We have to make plans to succeed. One thing I've learned is success is not accidental. You're not going to accidentally accomplish your goals. You have to have a plan. If you're goanna get to the right destination, you goat know where you're going and how you're going to get there.If you've ever been at the beach, just floating in the water, relaxing, you'll notice after a while the current has taken you far away. That's the way it is in life. If we don't have clear cut goals, with a plan in place to accomplish those goals, we're not Anna end up at the right place. Psalm 37:23-24 ESP. 1! The steps of a man are established by the Lord, when he delights in his way; though he fall, he s hall not be cast headlong, for the Lord upholds his hand.! The first step is to Read the Bible! If we're ever goanna be true Christians we have to not only read the bible but to study it.I heard somebody say that â€Å"continuous learning is a minimum requirement for success in any field. † And in order for us to be truly successful as Christians we have to consistently and contain ally learn about God's message for us. The bible says! Joshua E-SF This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you meditate it day and night, that may be careful to do according is written it. For then will make way prosperous, have good success. The bible has been written as a guide for us so that we may know how God wants us to live each day.We should read and study it because it is God's word to us. It will help you know God better. When we read the Bible, we are actually listening to God's message to us.! I remember early on when was just a small kid, when computers were not yet as ubiquitous as it is right now, my dad bought a second hand word receptors from a friend of his at a real bargain. You know what a word processor looks like right? Well, it's a cross between an electric typewriter and a computer. It has a keyboard, which is connected to a monitor. It looks like a desktop computer but the only thing it does is process word documents.It's more like a typewriter, the only difference is that you can see text on the screen of the monitor before you can actually decide to print it on paper. My dad was an architect by profession, who eventually became a sales manager for one of the pioneers in the colored roofing industry in the Philippines. But when the company closed down he decided to setup a company of his own distributing roofing materials to his clients. He was previously using a typewriter to prepare price quotations for the materials that he would send to his prospective customers.But when his friend called him up to sell him their word processor at a bargain price because their family was leaving for the states, he immediately grabbed it thinking that it would make his work a lot easier. So when the equipment finally arrived at our house, my dad got excited and decided to try to use it. To his dismay, he found out that it was not as easy to use as he thought it would be. What's even worse is because it's a second hand item, it did not come with an instruction manual because the owner had misplaced it during moving out.Don't get me wrong, my dad is really smart guy but when it comes to gadgets and technology, he's really slow at it. And without that instruction manual provided by the manufacturer of equipment, he would have not even the slightest chance to learn how to use it. So he decided to go back to using typewriters. And what happened the word processor? Lotus sat ender his desk for a long time until he decided to throw it away.! My friends, this is what happens to us when we don't read the Bible. We become useless as Christians.

Impact of Television on Presidential Elections

Impact of Television on Presidential Elections The Impact of Television on Presidential Elections: The aim of this paper is to look at the relationship between the mass media, specifically television, and presidential elections. This paper will focus on the function of television in presidential elections through three main areas: exit polls, presidential debates, and spots. The focus is on television for three reasons. First, television reaches more voters than any other medium. Second, television attracts the greatest part of presidential campaign budgets.Third, television provides the candidates a good opportunity to contact the people directly. A second main theme of this paper is the role of television in presidential elections in terms of representative democracy in the United States. Researchers tend to hold one of three views about television's influence on voters. Some believe that television affects voters in the short run, for example in an election campaign. Another group of researchers believes that television has a great influence on voters over time and that television's impact on voters is a continuous process from one campaign to the next.Others stand between the two views or combine both. In the last three decades, polls became an important instrument for the media, especially television networks, to determine who wins and who loses the election. Caprini conducted a study about the impact of the early prediction of a winner in the 1980 presidential race by the television networks. He observed that, shortly after 8 p. m. Eastern standard time, NBC announced that, according to its analysis of exit poll data, Ronald Reagan was to be the next president of the United States (Caprini, 1984, p. 866).That early call was controversial because the polls in many states were still open at the time and, in some of the western states, would remain open for several hours. Caprini ended his study with the following conclusion:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Voting for the Republican candidate was completely unaffected by the early call, with precall and postcall districts varying from their normal patterns in exactly the same amount and direction. The Democratic vote, however, declined 3. 1 percent more in the postcall districts than in the precall districts (p. 874). This result suggests that the NBC prediction did have an impact on the election.Additionally, this result supports the impact of the media on political behavior. Some experts argue that rates of voting in the western states are not affected by early projections. Strom and Epstein argue that the decline in western states' turnouts is not a result of the early projections by the networks but is the result of a complicated combination of factors, none of which is related to information received on election day (Epstein and Strom, 1981, pp. 479-489). This argument denies the influence of polls on the voting turnout in the first place, and it denies the impact of media on political behav ior.Other researchers look at the issue of exit polls from a legal perspective. Floyd Abrams, a First Amendment lawyer, supports the constitutional rights of the media and says their exercising of their rights should not be restricted, even if that influences the voters:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Once it becomes a legal issue, even people who believe that projections are harmful, or that exit polls are sometimes misused, should unite and say that the law should not be used to stop people from exercising their constitutional rights even if we happen to disagree with the way that they are using them (Abrams, 1985, p. 8). These different viewpoints represent two sides, the public and the media. Few researchers believe that exit polls have no effect on voting behavior. The majority of researchers believe that exit polls and early projections of the presidential elections do influence voters, but they disagree to what extent. The most persuasive reason to include televised debates in presiden tial campaigns is that voters want them.Voters find something in televised debates that confirms their previously held support for a candidate or helps them to decide whom to support. So television debates are now part of the political landscape. However, one expert has written that, even after the Bush-Dukakis debate, thus making four campaigns in a row to include debates, he would not predict continuation: â€Å"there are too many points at which disagreement might scuttle the whole plan† (Mickelson, 1989, p. 164).Stephen Hess in his book, The Presidential Campaign, observes that:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   While some contend that televised debates of 1960 and 1976 elected John Kennedy and Jimmy Carter, those elections were so close that any single factor – including debates – could have been said to have made the difference (Hess, 1988, p. 76). Debates give people an opportunity to learn about those who will be president. This is probably the most positive thing to come out of the televised debates. People build their images about the candidates through their stands on the issues. For the 1960 ebates, Katz and Feldman reviewed studies:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As far as issues are concerned, the debates seem to have (a) made some issues more salient rather than others (the issues made salient, of course, may or may not have been the most important ones); (b) caused some people to learn where the candidates stand (including the stand of the opposition candidate); (c) effected very few changes of opinions on issues; and (d) focused more on presentation and personality than on issues (Katz and Feldman, 1962, pp. 173-223). This conclusion shows the importance of â€Å"psychological factors† in voting.As technology develops, researchers try to determine its impact on voting behavior. Technicians use advanced techniques during the presidential debates to get the viewers' attention. The most impressive effect of the presidential debates is its im pact on voters compared to that of other televised political communication in presidential campaigns. In a 1983 study of 2,530 voting-age Americans, ABC News and the John F. Kennedy School of Government noted that voters and non-voters agree that debates are more helpful in deciding whom to vote for than either television news reports or the candidate's own television ads (Kraus, 1988, p. 28). So it is obvious that such debates will have some impact on the outcome of the elections. Presidential debates are controlled by the candidates in several ways: the decision about whether to participate, the approval of areas of discussion, and the refusal to debate without panelists (p. 142). The 1988 debates were actually just joint appearances by Bush and Dukakis answering reporters' questions in two-minute and one-minute segments (Mickelson, 1989, p. 164). The year 1952 witnessed the emergence of the televised spot commercial in politics.The spot is a very short ad designed to convey a spe cific point or image without going into depth on issues or providing much detail. Since that time, spot commercials have been a main part of presidential campaigns. Joe McGinniss, an expert on campaigns, noticed the importance of the political ads:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is not surprising then, that politicians and advertising men should have discovered one another. And, once they recognized that the citizen did not so much vote for a candidate as make a psychological purchase of him, not surprising that they began to work together (McGinniss, 1969, p. 27).The goals of spots are converting the voters and keeping the committed in line. Also, spots can encourage the voters to go out and vote on the basis of their commitments (Diamond and Bates, 1984, p. 352). These goals are related to the short-term influences of television on voting behavior because spots appear in the last weeks of the campaign. They could make a difference in the outcome of the presidential election. The goals ar e also related to the long-term influences of television on voting behavior because young voters today have been raised with television and they perceive the political process through the media.The evidence supports the idea that spots, more than anything else, could make a difference in the outcome of the presidential elections. Sidney Kraus makes this point in the book, Televised Presidential Debates:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It came as a surprise to almost everyone in the broadcasting industry to find a major study of the 1972 presidential race (conducted by two political scientists) concluding that voters learned more about Richard Nixon and George McGovern from political spots than they did from the combined nightly newscasts of the networks† (Kraus, 1988, p. 17).Kathleen Jamieson agrees: . . . political advertising is now the major means by which candidates for presidency communicate their messages to voters . . . Unsurprisingly, the spot add is the most used and the most vi ewed of the available forms of advertising (Jamieson, 1984, p. 446). On the other hand, others argue that spots are not providing the voters good information about the candidates. Theodore Lowi supports that position:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Since the brief commercials are built on impressions rather than logic, â€Å"instant replay† benefits the sender, not the receiver (Lowi, 1985, p. 4). Others describe these spots as selling candidates like any other product. These experts ask whether presidential campaigns should be run on marketing principles or political tactics, whether the best candidate or the most telegenic performer wins, whether money can buy enough media to buy elections (Lowi, 1985, p. 65). The emergence of spots has been particularly upsetting to those who believe that political campaigns should inform the voters, not manipulate the opinions of the voters.The growing role of television in the presidential elections and its effects on the public gives rise to an i mportant question: Is this phenomenon healthy for democracy in the United States? Television became an important factor in the election process for several reasons: the decline of political parties, which had been the most important factor; (Wattenberg, 1986, p. 108) developing technology, which provided new opportunities for political television, like spots and debates; and, as a consequence of the decline of political parties, decreasing voter turnout in presidential elections since 1960.For example, only 53. 3 percent of the eligible citizens voted in 1984, the lowest since 1948. This is the same period during which the amount of money spent on televised political advertising tripled (in constant dollars) (Diamond, 1984, p. 352). Experts disagree about how television should function in a democratic society. Proponents see television as part of political socialization, and they believe that voters have profited from the presidential debates and political ads. Proponents do, howeve r, suggest particular improvements in presidential debates.Kraus suggests the following:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Campaign Act of 1971 provides a tax check off to help finance campaigns in presidential general elections, and since the public want presidential debates those who receive funds should debate. Candidates may refuse to debate, but they would not receive public funds (Kraus, 1988, p. 154). Others defend television from a legal perspective. Floyd Abrams defends exit polls as follows:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Once it becomes legal issue, even people who believe that projections are harmful . . . should write and say that the law should not be used to stop people from exercising their constitutional rights (Abrams, 1985, p. 8). Opponents look at television as a harmful factor in the democratic process of electing a president. According to one expert, â€Å"The promise [of] television . . . has collapsed in an era dominated by packaged campaigns and avoidance of issues (Mickelson, 19 89, p. 167). Others see the media as the main cause of the decline of political parties, which were supposed to be intermediary between the government and the people in a representative democracy, and they believe the decline of the parties will increase the gap between the government and the people. Also, they see the media as a part of the political elite in the United States.Edward Greenberg noticed this point:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Most importantly, the mass media are themselves parts of gigantic corporate empires and, while a few among them may experience an occasional episode of â€Å"muckraking† these media are firmly, in the long run, entrenched in the camp of the powerful (Greenberg, 1986, p. 22). Regulations are necessary to control some of the bad effects of the media, particularly television. Exit polls could be regulated so that East Coast poll results are not announced until the last poll on the West Coast closes. Participation in presidential debates should be r equired of candidates who want to receive campaign funds.Spots should have more regulations than the previous two areas because the candidates use spots to attack each other. For example, in the 1988 elections, George Bush had one spot in which he rode a yacht through Boston Harbor to show that Michael Dukakis is not an environmentalist and which appeared many times during the last days of the campaign (Mickelson, 1989, p. 162). The public got the impression that Dukakis is not concerned about the environment. Spots should be based on facts. This paper demonstrates that the mass media, particularly television, have a great effect on presidential elections.Analyzing exit polls, presidential debates, and spots shows that television does affect the voters and the voting turnout in the United States. Scholars agree on the effects of television on presidential races; however, they disagree on the extent to which television has affected voting behavior and the voters. Television emphasize d the decline of political parties in the last four decades. Although some experts believe television in presidential elections is healthy, others believe it is harmful to democracy, increasing the gap between the government and the people.The negative effects of political television on democracy can be eliminated through regulations. Such regulations could permit political television without its dangers. References Abrams, Floyd. (1985, Spring). Press practices, polling restrictions, public opinion and first amendment guarantees. Public Opinion Quarterly 49 (1): pp. 15-18. Caprini, Michael X. Delli. (1984, August). Scooping the voters? The consequences of the networks' early call of the 1980 Presidential race. Journal of Politics 46: pp. 866-85. Diamond, Edwin, and Stephen Bates. (1984). The Spot. Massachusetts: MIT Press. Epstein, Laurily R. , and Gerald Strorn. October 1981). Election night projections and west coast turn out. American Politics Quarterly 9 (4): pp. 479-91. Greenb erg, S. Edward. (1986). The American political system: A radical approach. Boston: Little, Brown and Company. Hess, Stephen. (1988). The Presidential campaign. Washington D. C. : The Brookings Institute. Jamieson, Kathleen Hall. (1984). Packaging the Presidency: A history and criticism of Presidential campaign advertising. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Katz, Elihu, and Jacob J. Feldman. (1962). The debates in the light of research: A survey of surveys. In The Great Debates, ed. Sidney Kraus.Bloomington: Indiana University Press, pp. 173-223. Kraus, Sidney. (1988). Televised Presidential debates, and public policy. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Lowi, Theodore J. (1985). The personal President: Power invested promise unfulfilled. Ithaca, New York: Cornell   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  University Press. Mcginniss, Joe. (1969). The selling of the President 1968. New York: Trident Press. Mickelson, Sig. (1989). From whistle stop to sound bite: Four decades of politics and television. New York: Praeger. Wattenberg, Martin P. (1986). The decline of American political parties 1952-1984. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. Impact of Television on Presidential Elections Impact of Television on Presidential Elections The Impact of Television on Presidential Elections: The aim of this paper is to look at the relationship between the mass media, specifically television, and presidential elections. This paper will focus on the function of television in presidential elections through three main areas: exit polls, presidential debates, and spots. The focus is on television for three reasons. First, television reaches more voters than any other medium. Second, television attracts the greatest part of presidential campaign budgets.Third, television provides the candidates a good opportunity to contact the people directly. A second main theme of this paper is the role of television in presidential elections in terms of representative democracy in the United States. Researchers tend to hold one of three views about television's influence on voters. Some believe that television affects voters in the short run, for example in an election campaign. Another group of researchers believes that television has a great influence on voters over time and that television's impact on voters is a continuous process from one campaign to the next.Others stand between the two views or combine both. In the last three decades, polls became an important instrument for the media, especially television networks, to determine who wins and who loses the election. Caprini conducted a study about the impact of the early prediction of a winner in the 1980 presidential race by the television networks. He observed that, shortly after 8 p. m. Eastern standard time, NBC announced that, according to its analysis of exit poll data, Ronald Reagan was to be the next president of the United States (Caprini, 1984, p. 866).That early call was controversial because the polls in many states were still open at the time and, in some of the western states, would remain open for several hours. Caprini ended his study with the following conclusion:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Voting for the Republican candidate was completely unaffected by the early call, with precall and postcall districts varying from their normal patterns in exactly the same amount and direction. The Democratic vote, however, declined 3. 1 percent more in the postcall districts than in the precall districts (p. 874). This result suggests that the NBC prediction did have an impact on the election.Additionally, this result supports the impact of the media on political behavior. Some experts argue that rates of voting in the western states are not affected by early projections. Strom and Epstein argue that the decline in western states' turnouts is not a result of the early projections by the networks but is the result of a complicated combination of factors, none of which is related to information received on election day (Epstein and Strom, 1981, pp. 479-489). This argument denies the influence of polls on the voting turnout in the first place, and it denies the impact of media on political behav ior.Other researchers look at the issue of exit polls from a legal perspective. Floyd Abrams, a First Amendment lawyer, supports the constitutional rights of the media and says their exercising of their rights should not be restricted, even if that influences the voters:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Once it becomes a legal issue, even people who believe that projections are harmful, or that exit polls are sometimes misused, should unite and say that the law should not be used to stop people from exercising their constitutional rights even if we happen to disagree with the way that they are using them (Abrams, 1985, p. 8). These different viewpoints represent two sides, the public and the media. Few researchers believe that exit polls have no effect on voting behavior. The majority of researchers believe that exit polls and early projections of the presidential elections do influence voters, but they disagree to what extent. The most persuasive reason to include televised debates in presiden tial campaigns is that voters want them.Voters find something in televised debates that confirms their previously held support for a candidate or helps them to decide whom to support. So television debates are now part of the political landscape. However, one expert has written that, even after the Bush-Dukakis debate, thus making four campaigns in a row to include debates, he would not predict continuation: â€Å"there are too many points at which disagreement might scuttle the whole plan† (Mickelson, 1989, p. 164).Stephen Hess in his book, The Presidential Campaign, observes that:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   While some contend that televised debates of 1960 and 1976 elected John Kennedy and Jimmy Carter, those elections were so close that any single factor – including debates – could have been said to have made the difference (Hess, 1988, p. 76). Debates give people an opportunity to learn about those who will be president. This is probably the most positive thing to come out of the televised debates. People build their images about the candidates through their stands on the issues. For the 1960 ebates, Katz and Feldman reviewed studies:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As far as issues are concerned, the debates seem to have (a) made some issues more salient rather than others (the issues made salient, of course, may or may not have been the most important ones); (b) caused some people to learn where the candidates stand (including the stand of the opposition candidate); (c) effected very few changes of opinions on issues; and (d) focused more on presentation and personality than on issues (Katz and Feldman, 1962, pp. 173-223). This conclusion shows the importance of â€Å"psychological factors† in voting.As technology develops, researchers try to determine its impact on voting behavior. Technicians use advanced techniques during the presidential debates to get the viewers' attention. The most impressive effect of the presidential debates is its im pact on voters compared to that of other televised political communication in presidential campaigns. In a 1983 study of 2,530 voting-age Americans, ABC News and the John F. Kennedy School of Government noted that voters and non-voters agree that debates are more helpful in deciding whom to vote for than either television news reports or the candidate's own television ads (Kraus, 1988, p. 28). So it is obvious that such debates will have some impact on the outcome of the elections. Presidential debates are controlled by the candidates in several ways: the decision about whether to participate, the approval of areas of discussion, and the refusal to debate without panelists (p. 142). The 1988 debates were actually just joint appearances by Bush and Dukakis answering reporters' questions in two-minute and one-minute segments (Mickelson, 1989, p. 164). The year 1952 witnessed the emergence of the televised spot commercial in politics.The spot is a very short ad designed to convey a spe cific point or image without going into depth on issues or providing much detail. Since that time, spot commercials have been a main part of presidential campaigns. Joe McGinniss, an expert on campaigns, noticed the importance of the political ads:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is not surprising then, that politicians and advertising men should have discovered one another. And, once they recognized that the citizen did not so much vote for a candidate as make a psychological purchase of him, not surprising that they began to work together (McGinniss, 1969, p. 27).The goals of spots are converting the voters and keeping the committed in line. Also, spots can encourage the voters to go out and vote on the basis of their commitments (Diamond and Bates, 1984, p. 352). These goals are related to the short-term influences of television on voting behavior because spots appear in the last weeks of the campaign. They could make a difference in the outcome of the presidential election. The goals ar e also related to the long-term influences of television on voting behavior because young voters today have been raised with television and they perceive the political process through the media.The evidence supports the idea that spots, more than anything else, could make a difference in the outcome of the presidential elections. Sidney Kraus makes this point in the book, Televised Presidential Debates:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It came as a surprise to almost everyone in the broadcasting industry to find a major study of the 1972 presidential race (conducted by two political scientists) concluding that voters learned more about Richard Nixon and George McGovern from political spots than they did from the combined nightly newscasts of the networks† (Kraus, 1988, p. 17).Kathleen Jamieson agrees: . . . political advertising is now the major means by which candidates for presidency communicate their messages to voters . . . Unsurprisingly, the spot add is the most used and the most vi ewed of the available forms of advertising (Jamieson, 1984, p. 446). On the other hand, others argue that spots are not providing the voters good information about the candidates. Theodore Lowi supports that position:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Since the brief commercials are built on impressions rather than logic, â€Å"instant replay† benefits the sender, not the receiver (Lowi, 1985, p. 4). Others describe these spots as selling candidates like any other product. These experts ask whether presidential campaigns should be run on marketing principles or political tactics, whether the best candidate or the most telegenic performer wins, whether money can buy enough media to buy elections (Lowi, 1985, p. 65). The emergence of spots has been particularly upsetting to those who believe that political campaigns should inform the voters, not manipulate the opinions of the voters.The growing role of television in the presidential elections and its effects on the public gives rise to an i mportant question: Is this phenomenon healthy for democracy in the United States? Television became an important factor in the election process for several reasons: the decline of political parties, which had been the most important factor; (Wattenberg, 1986, p. 108) developing technology, which provided new opportunities for political television, like spots and debates; and, as a consequence of the decline of political parties, decreasing voter turnout in presidential elections since 1960.For example, only 53. 3 percent of the eligible citizens voted in 1984, the lowest since 1948. This is the same period during which the amount of money spent on televised political advertising tripled (in constant dollars) (Diamond, 1984, p. 352). Experts disagree about how television should function in a democratic society. Proponents see television as part of political socialization, and they believe that voters have profited from the presidential debates and political ads. Proponents do, howeve r, suggest particular improvements in presidential debates.Kraus suggests the following:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Campaign Act of 1971 provides a tax check off to help finance campaigns in presidential general elections, and since the public want presidential debates those who receive funds should debate. Candidates may refuse to debate, but they would not receive public funds (Kraus, 1988, p. 154). Others defend television from a legal perspective. Floyd Abrams defends exit polls as follows:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Once it becomes legal issue, even people who believe that projections are harmful . . . should write and say that the law should not be used to stop people from exercising their constitutional rights (Abrams, 1985, p. 8). Opponents look at television as a harmful factor in the democratic process of electing a president. According to one expert, â€Å"The promise [of] television . . . has collapsed in an era dominated by packaged campaigns and avoidance of issues (Mickelson, 19 89, p. 167). Others see the media as the main cause of the decline of political parties, which were supposed to be intermediary between the government and the people in a representative democracy, and they believe the decline of the parties will increase the gap between the government and the people. Also, they see the media as a part of the political elite in the United States.Edward Greenberg noticed this point:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Most importantly, the mass media are themselves parts of gigantic corporate empires and, while a few among them may experience an occasional episode of â€Å"muckraking† these media are firmly, in the long run, entrenched in the camp of the powerful (Greenberg, 1986, p. 22). Regulations are necessary to control some of the bad effects of the media, particularly television. Exit polls could be regulated so that East Coast poll results are not announced until the last poll on the West Coast closes. Participation in presidential debates should be r equired of candidates who want to receive campaign funds.Spots should have more regulations than the previous two areas because the candidates use spots to attack each other. For example, in the 1988 elections, George Bush had one spot in which he rode a yacht through Boston Harbor to show that Michael Dukakis is not an environmentalist and which appeared many times during the last days of the campaign (Mickelson, 1989, p. 162). The public got the impression that Dukakis is not concerned about the environment. Spots should be based on facts. This paper demonstrates that the mass media, particularly television, have a great effect on presidential elections.Analyzing exit polls, presidential debates, and spots shows that television does affect the voters and the voting turnout in the United States. Scholars agree on the effects of television on presidential races; however, they disagree on the extent to which television has affected voting behavior and the voters. Television emphasize d the decline of political parties in the last four decades. Although some experts believe television in presidential elections is healthy, others believe it is harmful to democracy, increasing the gap between the government and the people.The negative effects of political television on democracy can be eliminated through regulations. Such regulations could permit political television without its dangers. References Abrams, Floyd. (1985, Spring). Press practices, polling restrictions, public opinion and first amendment guarantees. Public Opinion Quarterly 49 (1): pp. 15-18. Caprini, Michael X. Delli. (1984, August). Scooping the voters? The consequences of the networks' early call of the 1980 Presidential race. Journal of Politics 46: pp. 866-85. Diamond, Edwin, and Stephen Bates. (1984). The Spot. Massachusetts: MIT Press. Epstein, Laurily R. , and Gerald Strorn. October 1981). Election night projections and west coast turn out. American Politics Quarterly 9 (4): pp. 479-91. Greenb erg, S. Edward. (1986). The American political system: A radical approach. Boston: Little, Brown and Company. Hess, Stephen. (1988). The Presidential campaign. Washington D. C. : The Brookings Institute. Jamieson, Kathleen Hall. (1984). Packaging the Presidency: A history and criticism of Presidential campaign advertising. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Katz, Elihu, and Jacob J. Feldman. (1962). The debates in the light of research: A survey of surveys. In The Great Debates, ed. Sidney Kraus.Bloomington: Indiana University Press, pp. 173-223. Kraus, Sidney. (1988). Televised Presidential debates, and public policy. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Lowi, Theodore J. (1985). The personal President: Power invested promise unfulfilled. Ithaca, New York: Cornell   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  University Press. Mcginniss, Joe. (1969). The selling of the President 1968. New York: Trident Press. Mickelson, Sig. (1989). From whistle stop to sound bite: Four decades of politics and television. New York: Praeger. Wattenberg, Martin P. (1986). The decline of American political parties 1952-1984. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.