Leadership Management with Organizational Diversity Essay

In today’s global market and corporate economy, the importance of understanding the power of cultural diversification within the workplace is very important. The ability to interchange and collaborate on set goals and objectives facilitates the process of attaining such goals at high performance level. With the influx of several cultures into the corporate world, it is important for managers to analyze, learn, adapt, and exemplify how a diverse work system must function. In post modern time, the organizational behavior behind getting a task done was generally focused on the individual critical thinking working method, but with increasing competency in the market, the need to accept the team process of completing a task has become evident. Transitioning from the standard individual workplace and into a diverse one is difficult especially on societies with a hardship in adaptability and those with a strong traditional belief. The acceptance of diversity is something that must me learned and understood taking into consideration ones surroundings and behavior influences. As a child, a person’s understanding on what culture similarities and differences are solely depends on his/hers family, friends, peers, literature, media, and etc. Learning to embrace diversity is hard but not impossible; in every society there are always difficulties in accepting other groups of people that don’t comply with the existent group’s way of life, and this is when the ability to accept and embrace play a role. Having the knowledge on how to perceive situations and surroundings is ones defensive mechanism that allows a person to know what to do in a certain situation. When faced with the unexpected, this knowledge based perception becomes what is known as bias. According to a research article, â€Å"Our biases serve as filtering lenses that allow us to make sense of new information and experiences based on what we already know (Nadler, 1997). This bias can sometimes be of positive nature giving an individual the ability to adapt and tell right from wrong, but sometimes bias can also form a negative perception of people based on sole belief crating ignorance, prejudice, and/or stereotype. Development of accepting diversity in a workplace is sometimes difficult and takes time to adapt since everyone comes from different backgrounds. This is something that cannot be acquired or pressured on people in short notices or time constraints, such as development classes or short group sessions. Management in a work environment must use techniques of group encouragement and cooperative training to allow everyone to understand and exemplify each other’s strengths and abilities. Examples of such techniques can be: * Developing an atmosphere that is safe for all employees to ask for help. People should not be viewed as weak if they ask for help. This is what helps to build great teams — joining weakness with strengths to get the goal accomplished. * Actively seeking information from people from a variety of backgrounds and cultures. Also, including everyone on the problem solving and decision making process. * Including people who different than you in informal gatherings such as lunch, coffee breaks, and spur of the moment meetings. * Creating a team spirit where every member feels a part of (Nadler, 1997). Human Resource Development (HRD) is the process in which the department of human resource is recognizing certain qualities and attributes individuals possess when handling new entrants in hiring or promoting. Having the ability to recognize what abilities individuals have, better allocates certain individuals with others to form a high performance team. By working jointly to train and collaborate with supervisors and management will assist in better teaching individuals the correct way of completing a task or job process. The development of what is known as â€Å"soft skills† such as diversity, communications, and social networking skills will promote a better work system and decrease employee turnover. The key is to promote job likeness and positive attitude with employees for a positive organizational result. Along with a focused human resource development initiative, organizations must understand the importance of the internal and external factors that make up the entire success. Internally, organizations must take into consideration the behavioral influence its people incorporate into every day operations in regards to its long term gains. What influences the behavior of these individuals is the type of culture the organization has. Culture is defined as, â€Å"the aggregate of beliefs, norms, attitude, values, assumptions, and ways of doing things that is shared by members of an organization and taught to new members† (2010, p. 370). This definition of culture best describes how an organization is built and how it functions on everyday operations led by individuals with a strategy of positive leading. According to authors Lussier and Achua, â€Å"all organizations have a culture, whether they acknowledge it or not. Every organization has a culture, distinguished by its own beliefs and approaches to problem solving and decision making. An organization’s culture is manifested in the values, norms, and expectations that leaders preach and practice, in its employee’s attitudes and behavior, in ethical standards and policies†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (2010, p. 370). The importance of leaders to understand the type of culture that his/her organization has is important to continue a process of strong work ethics, team effort, and skill development. In leadership studies, there is a power of culture that defines how well an organization can create and internal unity of its people, and also how well it adapts to its external environment in areas of sustainability and consumer/competitive preferences. The cultural power of internal unity generally describes how management supports the organization’s vision, mission, goals, and strategy. Having a strong internal normative order can change the workforce into a creative one where individuals come together to share and develop new innovative ideas that will benefit the entire organization. It is important that management encourages its employees in a positive way by using motivational and identification tools, to increase individual desire and interest in his/her job to increase performance while also taking into consideration each and every single employee. While it is important to motivate employees to like their job, having rules and certain guidelines also promotes social control by setting certain requirement to maintain a safe and secure working environment. The external adaptation of cultural power describes the impact of outside influences such as consumer preferences towards the organizations product, or environmental awareness that must be taken into thought to reduce its negative impact on sustainability. Example of an organization who takes into consideration an external analysis is Southwest Airlines who ranks the highest in competitiveness within its market, taking into account the importance of customer preferences in keeping affordable price levels, consumer loyalty through programs of frequent flyer, and employee needs in both financial and health needs. Table 1.1 displays the total rating amount Southwest Airlines received against its competitors American and United Airlines. Along with a strong power of culture within an organization or group, the ability to acquire certain characteristics of performance to increase production or service is important. There are two types of performance ratings in organizational culture; one is a high performance mark that identifies an optimum group of individuals working together towards a similar goal or objective and one with a low performance mark indicating a lack of agreement with individuals with a strong concern for self-interest different from the general census. Low-performing organizations have four major characteristics of poor quality; these include insular thinking, resistance to change, politicized internal environment, and unhealthy promotions. Examples of organizations with an insular method of thinking are those with upper level management who believe and dictate what decisions to make based on their own knowledge and concern. This type of business strategy is ineffective since cooperative group decision making is not used, causing a decline in operational performance. Managers who always think their right, demotes interest and desire for individuals to work. This thinking method is evident in businesses where upper level management does not receive or disregards information channeled through operational levels of production. The organizations that are resistant to any changes in strategies or techniques are generally those that have continuously followed set guidelines and norms for long periods of time. This type of continuous and repetitive process categorizes this performance culture as low. Having the same type of methods of completing a work process makes the job more concerned with keeping one’s position rather than expanding and seeking innovations. Businesses that follow this type of performance rank low since adaptability with external changes becomes difficult causing a negative impact to organizational success. Similarly, a highly internal politicized organization suffers from the lack of culture and team sharing when it comes to decision and critical thinking. Powerful leaders or executives tend to make the decisions and instruct followers on what to do next; followers simply agree to avoid reprimand or disapproval. Last, the use of negligent promotions from management places unskilled personnel in top level positions where strategic thinking is required. Having someone in the decision making spot without having the sufficient amount of knowledge or training, jeopardizes the entire operation and success of the overall organizational purpose. The opposite of a low-performing culture in an organization is one who is highly recognized for team development and value sharing within all levels of operations and management. An organization with a highly valued purpose and mission is usually accepted by its followers who share its similar views and thoughts. High performance organizations tend to also encourage communication between management and employees to sustain a strong culture to assure everyone is on the same path following the same values. A direct description of a standard high performing cultural organization is described as, â€Å"a culture of discipline-where everyone is responsible to the values of the company, to its standards, and to the purposes it serves† (2010, p. 375). The characteristics that identify a strong performing culture is one with reinforcement tools, intensely oriented people, oriented results, and a major emphasis on achievement and excellence. Examples of such reinforcement tools include the use of slogans and ceremonies, in which the organization shares its values with its employees. Having such a tool makes much feasible the entry of new employees by directly displaying the core values and meaning. By being people oriented the organization exemplifies the importance of being a democratic business rather than an autocratic one where a single management official makes all the decisions. Individuals, who work in organizations where they are treated with respect and acknowledged for their contribution, tend to become more committed and hold their positions for longer periods of time. Setting goal markers and rewarding individuals based on total outcome versus the set marker improves individual desire to continue working at their best attainable performance or better. It is determined that what influences an organization’s culture is the impact that the external environment has on the overall behavior of employees or followers. There are four distinct types of cultures that have been developed taking into account the organizational strategic focus along with the external turbulence. A competitive culture is one that represents a leader that encourages and values a highly competitive work network (2010, p. 385), in this kind of organizational environment the need to always be on top of the market is intense. Being competitive is a must to avoid falling back in face of competitors that may produce similar products and drive one’s profitability down. Leaders in upper level management tend to create certain goal marks to promote his or her employees to work harder in return for profit gains and revenue increases; this type of working environment allows everyone to challenge themselves against the skills of others. Companies that exemplify competitiveness in the market include Pepsi Co. and Coca-Cola, Wing-House and Hooter’s, Dominoes’ and Papa John’s, etc. These companies are constantly monitoring each other in order to sustain greater performance than the other. Cooperative culture is when an organization represents a leadership belief in strong, mutually reinforcing exchanges and linkages between employees and departments (2010, p. 384). This type of organization tends to allows for employees to take on the task of decision making and developing ideas that can be advantageous to the overall performance. Management encourages relationship building between co-workers in order to increase skill and knowledge sharing in hopes of creating innovations. In today’s market with the constant change of diverse work groups, this type of cultural development is highly regarded and implemented. The adaptive culture is one that represents a belief in active monitoring of the external environment for emerging opportunities and threats (2010, p. 384). Organizations that lean on becoming adaptive are the ones that bare risks in changing and implementing their procedures based on what the external environment is doing. Acknowledging the changes in consumer preferences and taking the time to research and engage in changing the overall method of operation is an example of an adaptive culture. Last, the bureaucratic culture is formed when a leader values order, stability, status and efficiency (2010, p. 385). In contrast to the adaptive culture, the bureaucratic culture is structured to follow a set form of guidelines and policies. This kind of culture will strive to maintain stability within its operations without any consideration to changes or innovations. What keeps these organizations operational is stability and repetitiveness; however, with constant changing external factors such as economic welfare and global sustainability, many organizations have to divert from this path and become one who encourages flexibility and change. Having a diverse culture in an organization is difficult especially when differences in making decisions and completing task vary from person to person. According to a global research program intended to describe the dimensions and framework of cultural differences, it describes sets of values different individuals appreciate varying from one region of the world to another. One behavioral factor is individualism within oneself, this is defined as a psychological state in which people see themselves first as individuals and believe their own interest and values are primary. This kind of individual does not promote collaborative thinking or relationship building at the workplace, while it still may be present, the percentage is low. Nations that hold high individualistic organizations are those that promote individual achievement; everyone has the ability to strive towards something for themselves. Countries such as The Unites States, Great Britain, and Canada represent a majority of individualism in organizations. The opposite is collectivism; this kind of organizational behavior describes a collective and team effort workplace, where everyone is responsible for a groups success. Organizations that are considered collective form group work sessions and team goals that encourage everyone to help each other out. In the case of failure, the loss is distributed among everyone; nobody is left to themselves. Nations that revolve around a collective environment include Greece, Japan, and Mexico. Another dimension in global culture is the level of masculinity and femininity within the organization. This type of influence does not necessarily have to do with gender or percentage of upper level management of different gender. Having a high level of masculinity generally describes the behavioral tendencies of being assertive and competitive. The exact definition of masculinity is a culture that emphasizes on assertiveness and a competitive drive form money and material objects (2010, p. 392). What this states is that organizations that have a masculine tendency are those that strive to be the best; the organization must compete against others and win. Having a drive for money and material objects describes the need to accomplish a goal or purpose to receive valuable results. Studies indicate that nations that display such masculinity in business and organizations are Japan and Italy. On the other side of the spectrum, femininity is described as a culture that emphasizes developing and nurturing personal relationships and a high quality of life (2010, p. 392). This kind of influence in organizations tends to focus majorly on the best interest of others, rather than being competitive. These organizations have more concern on providing quality to the market, offering emotional along with physical well being. Nations that are considered to preserve feministic views are Sweden and Denmark. Organizational diversity is mainly considered as a type of culture that must be embraced in order to utilize the most of human resource which provide new insights to developing and promoting a consumer product that may be demanded. Embracing diversity is advantageous to organizations by opening new doors to marketing strategies that retain longer relationships with consumers. Having different view on product development allows for flexibility and the sharing of ideas. It also has a tendency to retain talent within the organization; this is true since many individuals view diversity in a workplace as a plus and comfort zone where they can express themselves. Members who feel comfortable in their workplace working alongside others who may have similar thoughts or cultural preferences will most likely stay longer. Absenteeism on site would decrease tremendously and the amount of resignation would also decrease with long-term members due to diversity encouragement. This is cost beneficial since high turnover of employees imposes costs to the organization, and having long term members increase job satisfaction which results in better quality and overall gains. The support of diversity also allows for members to interact with one another to form innovative methods of working forming cost saving and even better output products. However, with the positive outcomes of embracing diversity there are several negative downsides if not assessed or managed correctly. Having a very diverse culture may pose a chance or competitiveness or unwillingness to work from employees. Some may view the presence of another person from a completely different background as offensive or threat. It is important to acknowledge what members do and how to assess everybody’s differences and values. Communication can sometimes be blocked due to lack of communication skills, and differences of perception. The sender of a message may want to say something, but due to differences in culture, the receiver may decode the entire message incorrectly. It is important for leader to train employees on how to communicate messages and understand the appropriate language and expressions that can be used in the professional organizational environment. While achieving organizational diversity, leaders are constantly challenged with obstacles that make it difficult for them to organize a group of people with different backgrounds. It may not be impossible but may sometimes pose risks of having conflict within the workplace. One of these obstacles are individuals who are prejudice against others; prejudice is the tendency to form an adverse opinion without just cause about people who are different from the mainstream in terms of their gender, race, ethnicity, or any other definable characteristics (2010, p. 398). Examples of prejudice occurrences in an organization can be the standard image or perception that management or production work is strictly a male’s job. Traditionally many women are pushed away from receiving equal rights as men in the workplace, but are now evolving into the new images of corporate management. There has been a drastic change in the amount of women in the workplace due to the external environment cha nging the way society lives. Another example of prejudice is discriminating against another person based on their ethnicity or cultural background. Many organizations are fighting against having levels of privileges and opportunities solely for a single group of people. The development of social-cultural group awareness and support associations from organizations has made available several opportunities for all types of peoples. A great example of an organization striving towards equality is Southwest Airlines personal websites created to promote and support several group of people of different race, sex, religion, and culture. This demonstrates that their corporate image stands behind their mission of providing everyone the same privileges and rights as everyone else. Having an understanding of organizational behavior and cultural makeup will enable managers to become better leaders. By analyzing the several characteristic each person within the organization holds will allow for managers to know how to confront that person’s needs and work with them to increase job satisfaction and performance. References Lussier, R. N., & Achua, C. F. (2010). Leadership Behavior and Motivation. In R. N. Lussier, & C. F. Achua, Leadership (pp. 70-101). Mason: South-Western Cengage Learning. Nadler, L. (1997, August 13). Leadership and Developing Diversity. Retrieved February 13, 2012, from Big Dog & Little Dog ‘s Performance Juxtaposition: http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/leader/diverse.html

Cinderella and Fairy God Mother Essay

Cinderella’s story portrays a perfect example of that GOD is with those with whom no one is. Poor Cinderella grew up without her mother, and then later was raised fatherless in an abusive environment by her wicked stepmother and two stepsisters. Deprived of her possessions, rights, and dignity, she is forced to toil daily in the house her family once owned but although she lost a lot but she never loses hope. Cinderella is shown as a good hearted young lady. She is hard working and does her best to make her dreams true. She is loyal to her friends and her work, she never lets her friends down. She is also good in studies and fulfills all of her duties without negligence which shows that she is responsible. She is smart and sensible. Her character displays her kind nature, she is very obedient she has been emotionally and physically tortured by her step mother and step sisters but still she respects and obeys them and does her best to keep them happy. She is just like a normal high school girl, with large hopes and ambitions. She quietly searches for her prince charming to find peace of heart. She gets her heart broken again and again but yet she never lets herself get broke. She is not evil and avoids being in conflicts at school, even while being bullied she does not react back which shows that she is very decent. She tries to make others happy by putting others ahead of her own self. THE ROLE OF FAIRY GOD MOTHER: Without fairy God Mother cinderella’s story would not have been complete, fairy god mother in the form of her friend helps her through out her journey. She is very good towards cinderella she Supports Cinderella both verbally and practically, shows her the right path through the darkest of times and guides her to meet her unknown friend. Fairy Godmother always appears in the right place at the right time. Fairy God mother is a god’s gift to Cinderella. Cinderellas good character and the role of fairy god mother in her life are the only reasons that in the end she gets what she truly deserves.

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Executive summary - Essay Example However, he did not provide concrete assurance of the accounting tactic. This puts the financial position of pension companies at stake. In addition, this is controversial since the move could undermine governments efforts to support, by placing against something solid or rigid, the pension system. As a result, workers worry on the strain the tactic will put on other government agencies designed to protect the retirement of workers. The policy make companies pile up pension bills. In the end, companies struggle to keep up with the mounting bills. It therefore, becomes hard for them to compensate their clients ending up losing customer trust. They become insolvent and unable to meet their obligations to retirees down the road (Monga, 2). Decline in interest rates increases the present value of the deferred pensions. This increases corporate pension deficit since the monetary value of money decreases with time. This is clearly confirmed by Millan who asserts that the largest pensions in U.S have accrued up to $252 billion funding deficiency, which has shot up by $66 billion within a period of one year. Furthermore, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation encounters significant financial challenges. It is funded by premiums paid by pension plans that depend on how many beneficiaries are in a plan. However, those premiums are not enough to cover the costs. When the trust funds are finished, the most likely solution will be a transfer from general revenues, meaning that taxpayers will incur the bill (Monga, 2). Financial management and accountancy for a company is fundamental. With the implementation of the policy, corporations are compelled to channel their cash to activities they had not planned for. For instance, International Paper Company had set aside $ 1 billion to fund its $12.5 billion plan. With this policy, the money had to be put to other investments and projects not

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Pros and Cons of US Capitalism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Pros and Cons of US Capitalism - Essay Example A capitalist economy or society with some degree of regulation of inequality, environment and the monopoly of power creates different outcomes as opposed to a purely capitalist one. The American capitalist system has significant government intervention in various fields such as healthcare, education and transport.1 There are various pros to the American type of capitalism. They include the following: The U.S capitalism system stimulates and encourages economic development. In a capitalist based system, the firms and individuals have incentives to be innovative and work hard in creating a climate promoting innovation and economic expansion.2 Thus, this is helpful in increasing the real gross domestic product (GDP) growth. It also leads to improvement in the living standards because there is a creation of wealth. Thus, enabling higher living standards. In theory, everyone is a beneficiary of the increasing wealth. It creates a trickle-down outcome from the rich to the poor. The American capitalism market has created increased competition. Competition is a natural outcome of capitalism. It is advantageous and beneficial because increased competition produces high quality products and a decreasing price of the product. Capitalism rewards firms and organizations that produce high quality products at the lowest market prices. It results in an increasing market share for the product producer. It forces firms to be more efficient in their means of product production. The efficiency pressurizes the firms to reduce product costs and avoid wastages. State-owned firms often tend to be wasteful and inefficient. For example, they are unwilling to get rid of surplus workers or methods of production that are wasteful. Furthermore, the state-owned corporations have fewer incentives to initiate innovative working practices. Another advantage of the American capitalist society is that the private sector has the means to ownership of

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International Business Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

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ANZ Bank Based on Porters Five Force Model Case Study

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A better representation of the network Essay Example for Free

A better representation of the network Essay Centralization sums up my primary reason for implementing Active Directory. The Active Directory structure makes it possible for you to achieve truly centralized management of users, regardless of how big your client’s network has become. If youve worked with Windows NT before, you know that in Windows NT a domain is a completely independent entity. While its possible to create a trust relationship between domains that exist on a common network, the domains are never truly integrated with each other because there is no higher authority that manages the domains. The situation is different with Active Directory. Whereas the domain level was the highest level of abstraction in Windows NT, the highest level of abstraction in Windows 2000 and 2003 Server is the forest, which is basically a collection of domains. Microsoft chose to call this unit a forest because you can place domains into the forest, and you can place entire trees of domains into it. A domain tree consists of a parent, child, grandchildren, and great grandchildren domains. You can have as many layers of subdomains within a domain tree as is necessary to achieve the desired organizational structure. The Active Directory domain structure is handy to have whether your client’s network is big or small. See more: Old Age Problem essay As you may recall, in Windows NT, each domain had its own Administrator account and its own Domain Admin group that was responsible for managing that domain. In Windows 2000 and 2003 Server, the domain Administrator account and the Domain Admin group still exist and can be used the same way that you were used to using them in Windows NT. There is also an Enterprise Admin group. Members of this group can manage any object within the entire Active Directory, regardless of what domain it exists within. Managing trust relationships The first time that someone tried explaining the concept of parent and child domains, forests, and trees to me, my head was spinning. All I could think about was that managing trust relationships for an organization that made use of all of these structures must be a real chore. However, managing trust relationships in Windows 2000 and 2003 Server is much easier than in Windows  NT because there are essentially no trusts to manage. Within a forest, every domain trusts every other domain automatically. The only time youd really have to worry about managing trust relationships would be if you had a relationship between domains residing within different forests. The only time that you would likely have to set up an interforest relationship would be if you needed to set up a trust relationship with a domain in another company’s network. These enhanced management capabilities make Windows 2000 and 2003 Server more scalable than Windows NT. This is especially true for larger organizations. Windows NT has a limit of about 40,000 objects within a domain. Windows 2000 Server expands this limit to over 10 million objects. I have not yet seen the object limit figures for Windows 2003 Server, but I’m sure that it’s possible to have over 10 million objects. Organizational units improve scalability Another way that Active Directory improves scalability in large organizations is through the use of organizational units (OUs). An OU is basically a collection of users and computers. The idea is that if you have a large domain, you can organize the domain into OUs. For example, suppose that your clients company used one large domain that spanned the entire corporation. Normally, this would mean that the administrative team would be responsible for managing the entire domain and all of the objects within it. Now imagine that your clients company has a really large finance department and that the finance department’s secretary is good with computers. You could create an OU named FINANCE and move all of the user accounts and computer objects for the finance department into this OU. After doing so, you could delegate the authority to reset passwords for this OU to the finance secretary. When someone in finance needed a password reset, they wouldn’t have to contact the help desk; they could just ask the secretary. This would give the department faster turnaround on password resets and free the help desk from some of the administrative burden. When you delegate authority to an OU, the person that youre delegating control to only has the permissions that you allow and only for that OU. Therefore, the secretary in finance wouldn’t be able to reset passwords for the rest of the company. The secretary also would not be able to perform any other administrative tasks within the OU, unless, of course, you delegated additional permissions. If you like the  idea of delegating authority, you’ll be happy to know that you can also delegate authority to create, delete, or manage user accounts or groups within the OU. Multimaster replication and sites Another cool benefit of an Active Directory environment is the concept of sites and multimaster replication. In Windows NT, when you make a change to the SAM, the change is applied directly to the PDC and is later replicated to each BDC. In an Active Directory multimaster replication environment, each domain controller contains a copy of Active Directory, not just the information for a single domain. Therefore, when a change is made to Active Directory, the change is applied to whatever domain controller is the closest, and is then replicated to the remaining domain controllers. This prevents a designated PDC from being overburdened. You can really see the benefits of multimaster replication when you consider how sites work. Sites are a logical Active Directory structure completely independent from domains. The idea is that if part of a domain is connected by a slow link, you may designate each side of the link as a separate site. Each site has its own domain controller. Therefore, when someone within a site needs to make an Active Directory update, the updates are applied to the domain controller within the site. The changes are collected and then replicated to the domain controller on the other side of the site link at preset intervals. This domain controller is known as a bridgehead server. It’s the bridgehead server’s job to intercept the updates and replicate them to the remaining domain controllers. Sites can be a little complicated to understand, but the basic idea is that they greatly decrease the amount of traffic that must flow across your slow or high-cost network links.

Red Fox: Characteristics, Environment and Habits

Red Fox: Characteristics, Environment and Habits The red fox is portrayed as a sly, cunning creature and has been symbolised in folklore across the world for centuries. They remain an important factor in English culture primarily due to humans hunting foxes with gun dogs. In other countries such as North America they majorly contributed to the fur trade (Sillero-Zubiri, Hoffmann and Macdonald, 2004). The reason foxes are represented as devious and crafty animals down to their appearance and their ability to continue to exist in most environments. Urban and rural environments differ in a number of ways. Urban environments present a number of challenges to animals such as household predators (ref), human interaction (ref) and complicated landscapes (ref). There are also some advantages to living in an urban area, for example the abundance of easily accessible food (ref) and man-made shelters (ref). In recent years notably in England the rate of urban environments encroaching into rural is increasing leading to a significant impact on wildlife. In order to survive in an urban environment animals must make adaptations to their behaviour and in some cases their morphology (ref). Some animals are better at adapting than others; rodents are perhaps one of the better known examples. If animals cannot make these adaptations in areas where their environment is depleting, their species will become under threat from extinction. The red fox is clearly successful in coping with these ever-changing environments and this is attributable to t heir ability to make adaptations. One such adaptation and arguably the most important is behaviour (Natural England, 2007). In order for any predator to be successful and exploit a range of diverse environments it must be able to locate prey on a regular basis. The red foxs diet is enormously varied due to its coverage across so many different habitats. Unsurprisingly while they are classified as carnivores, they appear to be taking on a more omnivores style diet. (Natural England 2007). The red fox has also presented food preferences but is generally inclined to take the most readily available foods. (Scott 1955). Environment is a key aspect in the variation of the red foxs diet. Today the red fox exists in Rural, urban and suburban environments in this country and there is a large variety of food available to them. Red foxes will prey on a range of birds, small mammals, insects and other invertebrates. They will also eat fruit and vegetables which account for about one fourth of the foxes diet, although it cannot sustain the red fox as well as meat would. (Natural England 2007 and Zimen 1980). One of the most suitable habitats for a fox is one that has a high density of small mammals such as rabbits, hares and voles. These animals are easy for the fox to catch and provide enough energy and substance to sustain a red fox (Zimen 1980). An environment that lacks this kind of prey would in theory be an unsuitable place for a fox to survive. However there are countless examples in this country and across the world of foxes that are living in habitats where small mammals are a fairly minute part of their diet and yet they are still thriving. (Zimen 1980). Foxes living in urban environments have a comparatively different diet to those living in rural habitats. These foxes have a few different food sources which are arguably easier to obtain than hunting small mammals. The prime example of this is anthropogenic food which is in abundance in many urban environments due to the population of humans. (Harris and Baker 2001). The red fox can scavenge an array of discarded meat and other food whilst using minimal energy in the process. Other food sources such as carrion, fruits and even pets mean that the red fox can successfully live in this tough concrete jungle without its natural diet. (MacDonald and Sillero-Zubiri 2004). The food that the foxes scavenge also attracts some of their natural prey in rural areas giving them ampl e opportunity to hunt live prey. However it cannot be assumed that urban foxes will eat the same food in all urban environments, their diet is highly variable (Luniak 2004). A scientific study comparing the diet of the red fox in Bristol City Centre and Central London has revealed how a location change can cause dietary variation. Professor Steven Harris of Bristol University discovered that although these two places are alike and provide very similar food, the foxes consume different quantities of these foods. This proves that red foxes are opportunistic and will literally eat whatever they can find in order to stay alive. According to wildlife biologist Marsha Sovada with the U.S. Geological Surveys Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center in North Dakota, â€Å"Red foxes will eat anything-insects, birds, mammals, sunflower seeds. With such a catholic diet, the animals are virtually guaranteed ample food, opportunistically feeding on whatevers out there.† (Taylor 2001). In conclusion foxes will eat almost any food type and are true opportunistic eaters. This vastly varied diet will have a great impact on their success as a species and enables the red fox to live in almost any environment as a result (Matheson 1997 and Taylor 2001). Other canids such as the Asian Dhole (Asiatic Wild Dog) that failed to make this adaptation in diet amongst other factors are now an endangered species (MacDonald and Sillero-Zubiri 2004).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Dhole The red fox has a behavioural characteristic called caching that assists in the success of the species. The caching of food that the red fox cannot eat straight away is also observed in other predators such as the mountain lion that frequently stores carcases. Mountain Lion The red fox has a much smaller stomach size for its body weight therefore they cannot stock up on enough to wait a long time for the next meal. This is why the red fox caches food in small holes which are usually spaced apart in different places. This particular behavioural adaptation serves a useful purpose in order to survive and it insures for times of prey shortage (Natural England 2007). The red fox also has a greatly developed memory for hoard locations which is useful when these caches can span across many territories (Sillero-Zubiri, Hoffmann and Macdonald 2004). There is however a downside to this instinct they carry. When faced with a large quantity of favoured prey the red fox will often kill more than it could possibly eat before spoiling. A common example of this is the killing of captive birds such as hens. This is commonly referred to as surplus killing and will only happen if there is a great amount of vulnerable prey available (Natural England 2007). This does not increase the relationship with humans resulting in efforts to trap and kill many foxes. â€Å"The fox probably pounces on any available source of a smell or a sound and examines what he has captured later.† (Murie 1936) An example that illustrates the red foxs ability to swap food type is an outbreak of myxomatosis a disease which wiped out a large proportion of the rabbit population in this country in 1953. The rabbit was certainly the red foxes preferred food type at this time as they provided a fair amount of meat for an easier catch. Hunting Developing techniques in order to catch prey is imperative to any predators survival since their prey is commonly mobile. Each predator will have various techniques in capturing and killing its prey (Scott 1955). Red foxes have developed a range of hunting techniques in order to catch a diverse variety of prey (Grambo 1997). The red fox is primarily a crepuscular hunter but on occasion it will also hunt throughout the night (Especially in urban areas due to artificial lighting causing them to extend their hunting time (Fabricius 2010). They hunt around this time due to their prey being mostly active around dawn and dust. However the red fox can hunt during the day especially when food supply is in short supply in winter. They normally hunt in solidarity but it is not unknown for them to pair up in order to take down larger prey, such as calves (Sillero-Zubiri, Hoffmann and Macdonald 2004). The red fox has made many clever hunting adaptations in order to catch its diverse range of prey. For insects, the fox will put little effort into the method of capturing. They will commonly just walk up to insects without any stealthily moves and eat it. This method works well for foxes and as an insect requires little substance, this easy way of killing is suitable (Grambo 1997). For small mammals such as rodents the red fox will take on a far stealthier role. They will usually carefully walk around areas where the desired prey would be present, listening for any signs of movement. The moment the fox hears any scurrying, the red fox will launch itself straight up into the air and then pins down the victim with astonishing precision. The fox will then deliver a series of lethal bites (Harris and Baker 2001).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Red Fox Hunting Rodent Other canids have this technique such as the coyote but generally most canids will shake their prey violently in order to kill (Sillero-Zubiri, Hoffmann and Macdonald 2004). The most challenging prey type the red fox encounters is Rabbits, hares and other swift small mammals. Hares can achieve speeds of up to 45mph when escaping predators and rabbits will run in a zigzag motion whilst reaching speeds of 30 mph (Elert 2001). These small mammals sustain the fox much longer than insects or any other small scavenged items so they are important to the foxs diet (Zimen 1980). The red foxs hunting technique for this prey is similar to most other predators. They will stalk their prey slinking along the ground for as long as they can stay undetected readying themselves for a pursuit. As soon as the fox has been noticed a rapid chase will ensue which either will result in the prey escaping, or the fox delivering a lethal bite to the animals legs. In addition, the red fox can reach speeds of up to 30mph giving it a realistic chance of catching this hasty prey. Furthermore they are able to jump 6ft high which is particularly useful when chasing rabbits and hares. (M atheson 1997 and Zimen 1980). Fox Stalking meal There is one last notable method in capturing prey that is fairly unconventional commonly referred to as ‘Charming. After spotting the desired prey, the red fox will begin playing and display odd behaviour in full view of its prey. This can result in the prey moving closer in order to see what the fox is doing. The fox will then ambush the prey when its in close enough range. They have also been known to play dead which will attract carrion birds. This technique truly illustrates the foxs intelligence and is contrast to their otherwise sly and silent moves (Zimen 1980 and Matheson 1997). Red Fox leaping whilst charming Through having this varied range of hunting techniques, the red fox is able to have a wide-ranging diet. They have a tailored technique in capturing animals for each specific prey and situation. This ultimately helps the red fox become widespread as it can transfer this collection of hunting skills to different prey living in most environments. Conclusion for diet and hunting The process of finding food and hunting prey is imperative to any living creatures survival. The red fox has proved to be a very successful forager as they can seek out food in an array of different environments. The way in which it exploits a wide range of foods enables the fox to do well even in areas which at a glance do not seem to provide it with the means to thrive. Reproduction Reproduction is fundamental for any species to be successful. Red foxes are monoestrous, they ovulate only once a year. Species that are commonly thought of as particularly abundant, such as the rabbit, have many litters per year. From this a person might assume that the red fox would have lower population numbers in comparison to the rabbit as they will only have one litter a year (Natural England 2007). A vixen on average will only have 5-6 kits a year and the infant mortality rate is reality high with only 2-3 kits surviving. However despite this they are still flourishing and this is down to several reasons. â€Å"Because theyre small predators with a fast reproductive rate, red foxes can dominate other species once they become abundant,† says Ron Jurek, a wildlife biologist with the California Department of Fish and Game. The dedication of the mother to the wellbeing of her offspring is the one of the reasons for the red foxs success (Matheson 1997). Prior to the birth of her kits, the mother will prepare a natal den that is situated close to food and water supplies. This ensures the mother has access to food resources to sustain her, without straying too far from the den site. Female foxes will spend a large amount of time searching for a den that is concealed from humans and potential predators of the offspring, such as the badger. When the vixen has given birth to her kits, she will remain with them for the first two weeks in order to keep them warm relying on her mate to bring her any food she needs. This caring behaviour will help all of her kits to reach adulthood increasing the success of the species. An additional benefit is that the mothers milk is very rich providing a good amount of sustenance (Matheson 1997). Nursing kits Another key explanation for their high population is the capability of breeding at a young age. The red fox will on average reach sexual maturity at around 10 months old. In comparison to other canids such as the gray wolf that reaches sexual maturity around 2 or 3 years, this is relatively young. Perhaps if the fox population was more stable like the gray wolf then they would not need to reproduce at such a young age (VanGinkel 2002 and Sillero-Zubiri, Hoffmann and Macdonald 2004). The red fox has another useful behavioural characteristic which is predominantly present in urban environments which can help lower the red foxs infant mortality rate. Normally when vixens kits have maturated they will separate and search for their own territories. However young females can stay with their parents for another year. They purposely stay behind to help raise their younger siblings and provide their mother with food. Although this altruism may not have an enormous impact on the success of the litter, the experience the vixen will gain by helping raise kits can be transferred to her own (Matheson 1997). A prime example where this behaviour is more successful is in wolves. The alpha female is the only allowed having pups and all the other females in the pack will help raise them. Ecological adaptations- 1500 Distribution and abundance The distribution of any predator is vital its success as a species. The vaster the distribution of a species, the more likely it is to succeed. If one environment was completely destroyed resulting in a species dying, as long as that species has colonised elsewhere it will not die out (MacDonald and Sillero-Zubiri 2004). The red fox is the most prevalent of all the predators on earth spanning across nearly the entire Holarctic region. They live in 83 countries in five continents covering 70 million sq-km and are the only canid to do so (Luniak 2004). In fact the only place the red fox does not exist is tropical Islands, Australasian Islands, Madagascar and Malta. They are only present in Australia because man introduced them there. The reason they are absent from these places is although they are fairly strong swimmers, there is a vast amount of water to cross in order to settle there and they have not made it. This is a tremendous achievement for any predator and the only other predator that comes close to this is the grey wolf. They of course no longer exist in this country due to hunting to extinction and major loss of habitat. This furthers the point of the fox is successful as they were faced with remarkably similar circumstances, and continue to exist. The red fox has encountered many extermina tion efforts and ever increasing natural habitat loss and yet still covers most of its original range. The map below illustrates the areas in which the red fox inhabits (Zimen 1980 and Luniak 2004). The current population of the red fox in England today is very difficult to determine. Dr Johnathan Reynolds of the Game and Conservancy Trust states: â€Å"Foxes have been on the increase in urban areas since the 1940s when they first started colonising towns and cities but we have also had a number of setbacks in the population because of the mange and other diseases. At the moment it is difficult to say what the overall picture is.† (Gray 2009) The last official estimate of the red fox in 1995 found there to be 240.000 living across the U.K. This figure is likely to have increased as their behavior is changing allowing them to live closer and closer to humans (Gray 2009 and Luniak 2004). Habitat One of the reasons why the red fox is so successful is ability to live all almost any habitat. They thrive in habitats from extreme examples such as tundra and desert to the more commonly associated woodland, scrub, farmland and urban environments (Luniak 2004). Below illustrates just how different these habitats can be: This capability of living in different habitats is a security against any landscape destruction. If for example the whole of England became a purely urban environment, the likely hood of the red fox surviving is high given their current urbanisation ability (Harris and Baker 2001). Other predators that struggle to cope with loss of habitat and fail to make adaptations are under threat of extinction. An example of this is the case of the critically endangered Darwin fox. The Darwin fox lives just off the west coast of Chile on Chiloà © Island and mainland Chile. It covers the least geographical range of all the canids and is one of the most endangered. The main reason why they are on the brink of extinction is their lack of adaptations made to survive. They live in a unique island temperate forest which does not exist anywhere else. Loss of habitat means loss of prey resulting in them simply dying out as opposed to adapting and finding new sources of food and habitat (Sillero-Zubiri, Hoffmann and Macdonald 2004). Territory and range They have adapated their territoriy range to suit the need of the area. Like most predators, red foxes are territorial and in order for an individual fox to survive it needs to establish its own territory. Each territory provides shelter and adequate food for a species to live on. A predators territory size can differ in every habitat. It tends to be directly correlated to the amount of food available and good quality denning sites (Natural England, 2007). The red fox population extents across various different environments. For this reason there is enormous variation in territory size. In a typical rural environment in England, the foxs territory size is around two to six square kilometres. In contrast an urban foxs territory size is approximately half a square kilometres. The red fox has reduced its territory size significantly in urban environments. There are several reasons for this change such as their territory becoming bound by the road and other large urban obstacles. There are also space limitations due to a lack of green areas compared to their rural cousin. A bonus for a red fox living in an urban environment means they do not have to travel too far to find their next meal. This leads to many urban foxes living a sedentary life thus having a smaller territory (Luniak, 2004). Red foxes have also developed a reasonably relaxed approach to living in close range to another territory in urban environments. The red fox will have two small territories, one that provides shelter which is defended against any intruders. The other is where hunting and foraging will take place and tends to overlap with other foxes territories. This tolerance has a positive impact on the fox population as it allows foxes to live successfully in built up urban landscapes (Natural England, 2007 and Luniak, 2004). A researcher at Bristol University, Ellie Whittaker said ‘The animals move around a lot geographically and in a lot of cities the population of foxes is absolutely exploding (Gray 2009). The red fox has clearly managed to establish a life alongside humans in these difficult urban environments. The red fox will like most predators, mark their territory to preserve borders. Although this seems very defensive behaviour it serves a useful purpose. Red fox scent marking ‘Red foxes communicate with facial expressions, vocalisations and scent marking (Luniak, 2004). This is one of the main ways the red fox communicates and in actual fact helps reduce aggressive clashes between foxes. It is uncommon for foxes to fight resulting in injury when another fox strays into its territory. This means there is a very low mortality rate from foxes killing each other increasing the success of the species (Matheson 1997). Avoidance behaviour and risk taking A red fox mistakenly sneaking into a lion enclosure Every animal has a flight distance and it is a fundamental behavioural trait, especially for animals that are preyed on. Flight distances vary greatly depending on the species and the environment they are living in. However the purpose it serves never changes. The key function of a flight distance is to keep an individual animal alive by running from a potential threat. (Luniak, 2004) A prime example of an animal that lacked any form of flight distance was the Dodo. The Dodo lived contented on the island of Mauritius until humans discovered the island in 1505. Whilst the explorers were there, they discovered this effortless source of food that would literally walk up to them without hesitation. The main reason the Dodo became extinct was their trusting towards every living creature. Up to the point humans invaded their island, they had no predators, therefore had not developed the flight mechanism that would have arguably saved their species (Maas, 2008). 3d model of a Dodo Consequently an animal with a short or nonexistent flight distance has an increased risk of being caught by a predator, resulting in a decline in the species or in the Dodos case, extinction. On the other hand an animal with too long a flight distant is in danger of a failing population due to the disturbance that fleeing frequently can cause. This constant running effects breeding, foraging and other behaviour vital to a species survival (Moller, 2008). The red fox has no real natural predator in this country other than badgers that occasionally kill young kits. The only predatorial threat they face on a daily basis is humans. In order for any species to co- exist amongst humans, they must develop a degree of tameness toward people or they will not survive in an urban environment (Luniak, 2004). The red fox is under threat from humans in both rural and urban environments and has adapted its flight distance to suit environment. From organised hunts to the odd disgruntled farmer the red fox has faced danger from man for centuries in rural landscapes. The red fox has adapted well to the threat if humans in rural environments. Wildlife journalist Keith Broomfield has studied the red fox for years and comments on the rural fox: â€Å"Here is a shy and careful animal, skirting around farmhouses and villages, making only the occasional foray to raid a hen house or sniff around for rats and mice in a farmyard during the dead of night. Disturb a country fox during the course of a walk, and in a blur of russet he will be gone (Broomfield, 2010).† They have still maintained the correct flight distances for living in rural areas as the threat they face are still prevalent. In urban environments By reducing their flight distance in urban environments they have managed to settle and live amongst humans successfully. They may even be becoming too complacent in some areas (Luniak, 2004). Red fox photographed on the London underground. They are not quick enough when it comes to traffic. Wildlife journalist Keith Broomfield wrote â€Å"When I first started to watch Edinburgh foxes in the mid-1970s. They were still quite shy then but now it is not uncommon to watch them nonchalantly trotting along the pavements of Glasgow or Edinburgh, unfazed by meeting a human (Broomfield, 2010).† Morphology The red fox is indisputably the easiest of all fox species to identify due to its unique markings and colour (Luniak, 2004). Its iconic rusty red coat, black legs and ears and white belly and tail tip are suitable for camouflage in a forest at night. They can keep well hidden as they sneak through the trees and vegetation. There are many colour variants which can vary from red to copper enabling them to live in other biomes such as sandy desert and open country. (Matheson, 1997). The red foxes kits will come out of the burrow a sandy brown colour. This camouflage helps protect the young from any predators especially in countries where they are hunted by lynx, wolves and other predators. Red fox cubs blending into their surroundings. The ability to blend in to their surroundings is especially beneficial when capturing prey and enables them to get closer to their victim undetected (Zimen, 1980). Red Fox example in camouflage However a significant proportion of the fox population live in urban environments (Grambo, 1997). This camouflage is not suited for urban landscapes and unlike other species they have not adapted in anyway physically in order to live in urban environments. Fortunately the red fox does not rely on camouflage alone in order to survive (Luniak, 2004).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Red Fox in Urban environment The red fox has a surprisingly misleading appearance. Its red fur consists of long hairs which bulk out the form of the red fox. The red fox is approximately half the weight of other canids this size. This is owing to very light bones in comparison to dogs and a stomach only half the size of most canids.

Housing Development And Policies In Malaysia Economics Essay

Housing Development And Policies In Malaysia Economics Essay There are many of studies that have been done to study the problems faced by middle income group to own a house in Shah Alam, Selangor. For this study the researcher is focusing more on the middle income group that have encounter difficulties in owning their own house based on several reasons that we have gathered throughout this study. This literature review is focused on understanding of Housing Development and Policies in Malaysia, Affordability issues, Housing Provision by Public and Private sectors, Housing Price, Insufficient Housing Allocations, the act of cheating to buy a house , House Location, and Insufficient Income. All these issues are particularly related with our research study, which is to identify the factor of why middle income group are having difficulties in owning their own house. 2.1 Housing Development and Policies in Malaysia. The housing policy involves a number of complex issues nowadays. Malaysia is a country that has multi-cultural society with 3 basic racial-religious groups. Therefore, the housing industry has to take into consideration all these aspect in the development of national housing and planning. The housing and residential pattern has been noticeable due to their economic activities of these 3 different ethnic groups (Tan, 2011). For example, in the past Chinese has been dominated business industry and they lives in town area. Meanwhile, Malay people were complacent with agriculture activities and living in rural areas while Indian people are doing estate work located in rubber and palm oil estate. In order to get rid of these unbalance in term of economic of these 3 ethnic group, the government has come out with one solution by introducing New Economic Policy (NEP) in year 1970 to change the stereotype. The reason why NEP was introduced to foster national unity and nation-building through the eradication of poverty, irrespective of race, and the restructuring of society to eliminate the identification of race with economic function and geographic location (EPU, 2011). Malaysian government has encouraged Malay people to migrate to urban centres as part of NEP strategy to create a new Malay commercial community in urban area (Tan, 2011). However, due to the increase rate of Malay people migrates to urban areas in 1980s, the demand for affordable housing also shows a significant demand growth. But a severe shortage in affordable housing has arisen. Generally, there are 2 alternative for the state to assist their citizen in housing provision and one of them is allocating housing specifically to households those are unable to provide themselves in the general market and another one is to intervene in the functioning of the general market in order to make it more likely to fulfil the housing needs of all households (Aziz, et,al, 2010). Thus, in the efforts to reduce housin g problem for Malaysian citizen especially those low income groups, the government has formulated housing policies and programs to ensure that all have the access to adequate housing. The main objective of housing policy in most countries was once simply to build more houses. This was response to a lack of market-driven supply on a situation of socially perceived large scale housing need (Tan,2011). A part from that, the introduction and the forming of housing policies for a country have another aims, from another scope, pointed by Ismail Omar (2000) and Harvey (1987), such as: a. To achieve the optimum used of present resources. b. To make sure the public can owned a house. c. Gives guild line on new location. d. To make sure special group of public can owned home such as elderly citizen. e. Steering the state and local authorities to provide fair housing distribution. A National Housing Policy (NHP) is needed to provide the direction and basis for the planning and development of the housing sector by all relevant ministries, departments and agencies at the federal, state and local levels as well as the private sector. Thus, according to Tan, 2011, among the early housing policy made by Malaysian government is to introduce:- First Malaysian Plan (1966-1970) and Second Malaysian Plan (1971-1975): Variety of programs designs to promote welfare of all Malaysian regardless of ethnic background by providing improved housing, community facilities, welfare and other services. Third Malaysian Plan (1976-1980): To eradicate poverty and restructure the society Fourth Malaysian Plan (1981-1985): The continuation of previous policy Fifth Malaysian Plan (1986-1990): Housing programs are being implemented in the context of human settlement concept. Here, the social facilities is emphasised rather than the provision of basic infrastructural facilities. Sixth Malaysian Plan (1991-1995): Home owning within various income group is emphasize. Seventh Malaysian Plan (1996-2000): introduction of low-medium cost housing. According to Residential Property Stock Report, the house price can be categorize into low-cost housing (below RM42,000), low-medium cost housing (RM 42,000-RM 60,000), medium cost housing (RM 60,001-Rm 100,000) and high-cost housing (RM 100,001). Eight Malaysian Plan: Priority is continue to be given to the development of low-and low-medium cost houses. Private and public sector were cooperating with each other to meet housing demand. Ninth Malaysian Plan (2006-2010): ensure low and low-medium income group will have the access to adequate, quality and affordable housing. Tenth Malaysia Plan (2011-2015): the government targeted to build 78,000 units of affordable homes throughout the country to meet the needs of the various groups, and   another 38,942 units of PPR will be built particularly the low-income groups and the resettlement of squatters. If we go back into the previous year, the governments priority is towards the low-income level group of people. Many programs and project has been launched to help them to sustain living and bring them up to from the poor state. However, no specific policies are stipulated to uphold the need and demand of middle income group. Trapped between the low cost and high cost housing, the middle income group need are not yet being uphold by the government in which they are in a situation that they can afford to buy a house but it is only provided for the low-income group but they are also in a hard situation to compete in high-cost housing According to Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Chor Chee Heung, he said that the housing needs of the middle-income group made up about 40% of the population of the people and are in need to be addressed urgently. 2.2 Housing Provision by Public and Private sectors. In Malaysia, housing development and activities are subject to approval from higher authority from the relevant state and federal authorities except for individual or group housing (Tan,2011). Land conversion, preparation for layout plan, building and infrastructure plans, planning of infrastructure and assessment on environmental impact with involvement of many government agencies, both at federal and local level are those processes that housing companies must go through before starts doing housing project for the benefit of people at large. Among those government department or agencies that requiring approval before housing project can be successfully implemented and build are Land and Mines department, the land offices, Local Authorities, the Survey department, Telekom Malaysia, Tenaga Nasional, the Water Work department and Town and Country Planning department. In addition to the research made by Tan (2011), all housing development project must follow all instruction stated in th e national housing policy that has been regulated to uphold the right and helps people to own a house such as Bumiputera quota, housing control prices, and standard build-up location for low-cost housing, and provision of public amenities for residential housing projects. The public sector plays roles in providing adequate and fulfilling the housing needs by allocating and providing public housing for lower income group and household and has been put as one of the countrys priority since the Five Years National plans and the example can be seen in the establishment of Federal Land Development Authority (FELDA), Federal land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Authority (FELCRA), and Johore Tenggaraa Developemtent Boar (KEJORA). A part from that, they also are responsible in providing public houses in urban areas through the establishment of various government and urban development agencies. However, by depending only on public sector, make it hard for the government to fulfil the highe r demand on housing provision for Malaysian citizen. Thus, the government need private sector to help them to provide more housing developments for the public. In order for the private company to engage in the build of housing, they must first obtain the license, sales and advertising permits from the land and Mines Department, District Land Office, Town and Country Planning Department and from local authorities and utility agencies who own the responsibility towards national water, electricity, road and telecommunication supplies. 2.3 Affordability issues. Affordability is always the main issues being highlight by most people who did not have the opportunity to buy their own house. Since housing industry is an important factor in Malaysian industry, the health of housing market is very important and directly gives impact to the affordability of household to own a house. It was argued that the word affordability is basically based on the economic factor of the household itself and the second one is based on the financing of the social rented sector (Aziz, et, al, 2010). Between these 2, the former is proven to have a strong impact by the housing policy. This rising issues regarding affordability problems in owning a house can be considered as one of the most controversial issues within developed or developing countries (Nguyen, 2005). Affordability cannot be described as simple as it seems because different people might perceived different meaning of the word itself. Several attempts also have been tried in order to understand how and w hy affordability problem are existed. These problems have been continuing year by year, it is now becoming the major concern among political leaders, town planners and the government (Hashim, 2010). Due to that rising issues, a precise measures has to be made to ensure all type of household especially those middle income group are able to enjoy and fulfilling their life-long investment and also the need for shelter. The affordability in a narrow concept can also be perceived as related to household incomes, housing cost, housing availability, employment, maintenance of the existing affordable housing stock and the pattern of new construction (Aziz, et, al, 2010). Some measures has been taken in order to give housing assistance to the needy especially to those lower income group and income below median whom were the recipient of social security payments to improve their housing affordability such as Projek Perumahan Rakyat Termiskin or PPRT. However, there were an increasing issues r ising among middle income group whom were not included under the housing assistance provided by the government. They were left alone without assistance and they have to make hard choice either to live in or stay in a house affordable with their income but way too far from their office and they have to bear higher transportation cost or living in a house near town and pay higher rent or high housing price. Therefore, as the result they have to bear with 2 kind of difficulties here that involve high housing cost or high transportation cost. These spiralling housing issues especially happens in major cities has caused the unaffordability to own a house for middle income class group. Affordability problems can be viewed as operating at different levels, ranging from narrower direct experience of severe problem of poverty and homelessness, through an intermediate level of risk, to a broader problem of access to market (Aziz, et, al, 2010). The best meaning of affordable housing would be well defined as housing that was intended to meet the need of those group of people who earned income that are not sufficient to allow them to access appropriate housing market without any assistance. A complete definition of affordability of housing for middle income group were made by DR Wan Nor Azriyati Wan Abd Aziz, et, al through their research saying that the housing with payment no greater than 33% of their gross household income. Finding an affordable house has been the current major concern especially those who live in most major cities or town in Malaysia where many of them are having difficulties are having trouble to buy a house. With new exploding centres such as new townships, commercial hubs, industrial parks and office complexes result in increased number in working population. And with that increase in population in major cities and town areas, the shortage of affordable housing is now becoming more acute. Continuous efforts also has been done to ensure that Malaysi an of all income levels will have the opportunity to have access to adequate, quality, and affordable homes, particularly for the lower income group (Ninth Plan 2020, 2006-2010). However, those who are not included in low income group are having difficulties in having one just like we discover in the Kuala lumpur Structure Plan 2020 (CHKL, 2004) that does not include low medium/ medium cost housing category in the projection of houses unit to be built by year 2020. Although we realize that government has undertaken many housing plan to help middle income household group, but, specific policies has not yet been clearly stated. Only a little assistance and focus is done to attend the needs of middle income group. That is why those group were still facing their hard times searching for a house that suit with their household income here in Malaysia. 2.4 Housing Prices The housing price at several states in Malaysia has experienced a major expansion for the past seventeen year. According to Hashim (2010), the house pricing that keep on continuing to increase year by year are influenced by location, nations income, cost of capital, stock prices and also the population change. As we grow in the era of globalization, the world has been changing so fast. As the population are increasing, the demand for an affordable price also increased. Since housing is the most basic necessity for people, its increase in price however, would directly give impacts towards the affordability of the nation at large especially in Malaysia nowadays which are in need of more suitable and affordable housing. Increasing housing price for the past few years are making it hard for them to own a house suitable with their household income. Generally, housing price is influenced by region given the geographic size and location of the state in Malaysia. Due to the differences in be tween each states economic disparity, the house price and household income will extremely influenced the level of housing affordability. Aside from that, the need for affordable homes has increased significantly due to Selangors rising population density, which is the highest in Malaysia. The states population growth rate of 3.17% surpasses the national average of 2.17%. It has 5,411,324 of residents. If immigrants were added into account, their population might be almost seven million. This has become a challenge for the state to provide for the peoples needs due to the vast expansion of population, including housing, as they estimated about 1.8 million houses are needed to meet the needs of the people as they approach 2020. According to Hashim (2010), Selangor which indicates among the most developed state in Malaysia have a high housing price as compared to other less developed states like Kelantan. According to him, at the national level, Selangor house price on average is 35% t o 53% higher in between 1995 to 2006. Based on the study made in Selangor, the 480-sqaure feet studio apartment located in the outskirt of town which was located in Seri Kembangan, cost more than RM 230,000 excluding other maintenance charges. This huge hike in price, even though only just a small house has affected local people, especially the middle income household which made up the majority of the population. With the huge cost of housing, many of the low and middle income are forced to purchase their house out-of-town since they are not afford to pay high price in the urban area. As a result, they have to bear other problems which they have to spend more on transportation such as fuel or public transportation cost because it was quite far from their workplace. The reason why the price are keep on increasing is because there is no limitation made by the government to control the housing price since they are only have the power to decide which location for them to build houses. T he housing price is on the responsibility of the developer itself but depending on land price at that time. However, according to State Executive Councillor, Mr Iskandar Samad, they have trying to control the location where the developer wants to build affordable houses for the middle income group. This is how the state government trying to fight back for the particular income group because without the assistance, middle income group will never afford to compete and purchase in buying their own affordable house. 2.5 Insufficient Housing Allocations Housing is one of the basic necessities as shelter for human and the government is enthusiastic in ensuring the public would have a better access towards a better and affordable housing provision. Generally, houses supplied by the private sector have been sufficient for the high-income group. However, the house allocations for the needy group of middle income are still insufficient to meet the high demand of the ever growing population. The insufficient in allocation for this particular group would be caused by 2 factors, which are the issue of land provision by government and the refusal for the developer to build affordable house in the centre of the city (Free Malaysia Today, 2011). The government has all time, put the highest priority to give benefits to the public in which to build in mixed development, rather than building affordable house for them in the outskirts of town. However, with the inadequate land allocated for the housing to build by the developer, the need to build more houses for the middle income cannot be made into reality. There is not enough land left to build affordable house in the cities. This is because, according to the building laws, the  state only has the powers to compel a developer  to build low-cost and medium-cost housing if the  plot of land earmarked for development measures  10 acres or more (Free Malaysia Today, 2011). According to the law, developers will have to  allocate 20 % for low cost housing, another  20 % for low to medium, 10 % for  medium housing and the other 50 % for  others. However, affordable housing is still being built outside town due to the inadequate and unavailability of land bigger than 10 acres there. According to Jabatan Perumahan Negara (2011), with five acres of land in the city, building low  or medium-cost housing would mean a loss for  developers and in turn purchasers will suffer because  contractors will be told to use substandard  materials to cut costs. If they were to follow what the government suggest, which is by selling house at a lower and affordable rate but with high cost in constructing it, developers will end up making losses and stop building house in the cities. With this major issue, the state also worried that developer might end up using cheaper materials and probably hiring unskilful worker to prevent them from making losses. Thus, the housing construction does not meeting the accurate requirement made by the government and public would be suffered from buying a house with no quality and they would have to buy or lease house far from their workplace. Thus, these insufficient allocations of affordable housing for middle income household in the cities can be considered as a major issues nowadays and have to be solved by government to uphold and to assist this group to have better access to a spacious, comfortable, yet affordable housing according to their income level. CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHOD 3.0 Introduction In this part of research method, it consist of a report that explains all the procedures followed in the process of gathering data necessary for the analysis to meet our research objectives. Besides that, research method also tells the researcher how the study was carried out and also determines the outcomes of the study. 3.1 Research Design. Our study was gather information that done to examine the problem faced by the middle income group to own a house in Shah Alam. The best approach to gather data directly for this study is by selecting randomly people especially the household lives in the busy city of Shah Alam. In this research, the questionnaires have been used in gathering the data related. We have decided to distribute the questionnaires to our respondents personally in our research since it helps and enable us to get more reliable and accurate information. The purpose of this study is hypothesis testing. We want determine what is the reason or problem of difficulty faced by middle income group to own a house in Shah Alam. Other than that, we also use and add-on secondary data in our research to make it more complete in order to gather information such as journal, internet source and newspaper article. 3.2 Unit of Analysis As this study wanted to identify the reason or problem of difficulty faced by middle income group to own a house in Shah Alam, thus, Unit of analysis refers to the respondent of this study. In the research, the unit of analysis consists of those people lives in Shah Alam and among working people. In our research area, we will aim for target respondents at Shah Alam especially in Seksyen 2 and 7. 3.3 Sample Size Sample size is defined as the number of elements to be included in the study (Malhotra, 1999). In determining the sample size for our study, we have calculated the number of observation by referring to table formulated by Sudman (1970). Given the whole population, the suggested sample size was approximately 150. However the actual sample that was collected ended up with amounted to only 100 usable responses. Thus, the sample size of our research study is 100 amounted to persons. The reason why we did this by choosing only 100 respondents is because the end result will be more accurate, easy to monitor and to make it easier for researcher to do their job. In this research, we distributed 100 questionnaires to the household in Shah Alam area randomly especially in Seksyen 2 and Seksyen 7. These 100 respondents had represented the household to answer the question from the researcher. We, as the researcher are going to distribute the questionnaires at the area of our target group which i s in Shah Alam. 3.4 Sampling Techniques. Sampling refers to the process of selecting a sufficient number of elements from the population. Therefore, a study of the sample and understanding of its properties of characteristics is done and would make it possible for researchers to generalize such characteristics to the population elements (Sekaran, 2004). Then, after we successfully get to identify the target population, the appropriate sampling will be selected. The sampling technique that we, as the researchers will use in this research is called convenience sampling technique. Convenience sampling is a non-probability sampling technique where subjects are selected because of their convenient accessibility and proximity to the researcher. Convenience sampling was used when true random sampling is essential. This is where the researcher approach and ask questions to anyone who is available. This method is quick and cheap. The convenience sampling is also known as unrestricted probability sampling which refers to anyone and equal chance of being selected as a subject. We have already decided to distribute 100 questionnaires to the household lives in Shah Alam especially those who lives in Seksyen 2 and Seksyen 7. In the forms of research, it would be ideal to test the entire population, but in this case, the population is too large to include every individual. This is the reason why we rely on sampling technique like convenience sampling, the most common of all technique. 3.5 Measurement / Instrumentation The research instrument that was used in this study for the primary data is done by using questionnaire. The questionnaire was written in both languages which are English and Bahasa Malaysia and was used in order to get the related data regarding the problem faced by middle income group to own a house in Shah Alam. The questionnaire has been given to the selected respondent and they answered the questionnaire personally. The questions were divided into five sections which are Section A: Respondent Profile, Section B: categorization of middle income group, Section C: household preferences, Section D: existing house, Section E: problem of difficulty to own a house, and the last section is Section F: affordability issues. The rationale in designing these questions was to explore views and perceptions of middle income group households towards current affordability and to determine the accessibility of the group to affordable housing. Table 3.1: Measurement / Instrumentation No Objectives Concepts/construct Measurement 1 To determine the significance relationship between house price and household affordability. Employee performance is the job related activities expected of a worker and how well those activities were executed (businessdictionary, 2012). Likert Scale 1-Strongly Disagree 2-Disagree 3-Neutral 4- Agree 5-Strongly Agree 2 To determine the significance relationship between housing allocation and household affordability. Counter layout is an arrangement or a plan, especially the schematic arrangement of parts or areas. (fredictionary, 2012). Likert Scale 1-Strongly Disagree 2-Disagree 3-Neutral 4- Agree 5-Strongly Agree 3 To determine the significance relationship between attitude of household buyer and household affordability. Services quality can be defined as the consumers judgment about an entitys overall excellent or superiority (Zeithaml, 1987, Garvin, 1983 Hjorth Anderson, 1994) define services quality as a form of attitude, related but not equivalent to satisfaction, and results from a comparison of expectations with perceptions of performance. Likert Scale 1-Strongly Disagree 2-Disagree 3-Neutral 4- Agree 5-Strongly Agree 4. To determine the significance relationship between house location buyer and household affordability. Services quality can be defined as the consumers judgment about an entitys overall excellent or superiority (Zeithaml, 1987, Garvin, 1983 Hjorth Anderson, 1994) define services quality as a form of attitude, related but not equivalent to satisfaction, and results from a comparison of expectations with perceptions of performance. Likert Scale 1-Strongly Disagree 2-Disagree 3-Neutral 4- Agree 5-Strongly Agree 5. To determine the significance relationship between household income and household affordability. Services quality can be defined as the consumers judgment about an entitys overall excellent or superiority (Zeithaml, 1987, Garvin, 1983 Hjorth Anderson, 1994) define services quality as a form of attitude, related but not equivalent to satisfaction, and results from a comparison of expectations with perceptions of performance. Likert Scale 1-Strongly Disagree 2-Disagree 3-Neutral 4- Agree 5-Strongly Agree 6. To determine the most significant problems that contributes to the level of household affordability towards household lives in Shah Alam. Customer satisfaction can be defined as a state of mind in which the customers needs, wants, and expectations throughout the product of service life haven been met or exceeded, resulting in future repurchase and loyalty (Anton, 1996). Likert Scale 1-Strongly Disagree 2-Disagree 3-Neutral 4- Agree 5-Strongly Agree 3.6 Data Collection In this study, there are numerous and varieties source of data that can help in gathering suitable information. Some of these methods depend on the methodology and the theoretical assumptions used inthe research. There a trend for researcher to collect hard objective numbers for example primary data and secondary data. 3.6.1 Primary Data Primary data are data gathered and assembled specially for the research project hand. Usually primary data was collected by the researcher. The method that will be used under primary data is questionnare. This data is collected when secondary data is not sufficient and depends largely on the research objectives and varies from one problem to another. For this study, the primary data will be obtained through qustionnaires given to the target respondents. A questionnaire will distribute to the respondents such as the household lives in Shah Alam, Selangor. After they have answered the entire question, it will be collected and the data will go through several process. The data that have been collected will be sorted, coded, entry, testing, presenting and lastly the data will be analyzed. The data for this survey can be use as information in making research. A part from that, we also will be doing direct interview with the person related and have a major knowledge in the housing arena to get more reliable knowledge regarding affordability of housing in Shah Alam. 3.6.2 Secondary Data Secondary data or historical data are data previously collected and assembled for some project other than one at hand. Its gathered and recorded by someone else prior to the current needs of the researcher. Its quickly and cheaply. The method that we used under secondary data was article and journal. The information that gathered from these resources which can be online searching such as Official website of Kementerian Perumahan Kerajaan Tempatan, New Straits Times, The Malay Mail, Berita Harian, Utusan Malaysia and so on. It helps the reserachers to get information and data while doing this study. Another type is from online searching through internet that will provide a lots of information from journals, annual reports, thesis, previous reseacrh and etc. It is more economical and simple for the researcher to conduct her research. 3.7 Data analysis For this study, we used Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) 16.0 version software to analyze data. SPSS is a computer program used for statistical analysis. Most of the researcher use SPSS software as a tool to analyze the data. In this research report, the researcher transform the raw data that we obtained from the questionaire into SPSS. Then, the researcher proceed to discuss the result of the analysis and interpretation. For this study, methods used are reliability analysis, descriptive analysis, Pearson correlation analysis and multiple linear regression analysis. Reli