THE PROS AND CONS OF COALITION GOVERNMENTS

The simple version

Representative democracy is the most common form of government in the world. In democratic countries there are regular elections. The purpose / aim of the elections is to choose members of parliament. Elections also determine the winning party and this party forms the government. Sometimes no party wins. In this case, team work is necessary. Parties have to work together and form the government. These governments are called coalition governments. There are various advantages and disadvantages of having coalition governments.

It can be said that coalition governments have various advantages.  First of all, coalition governments are more democratic because they represent more political views in parliament. Parties with different opinions have to negotiate: they have to listen to each other, they have to talk to each other and they have to find a solution. The left wing and right wing parties can agree on increasing the minimum wage for instance. The left wing parties want a big increase and the right wing parties want a small increase but they can come to an agreement. If each side is ready to negotiate with each other, coalitions can be successful.

On the other hand, there are also many roadblocks which prevent coalitions from working. First of all, the work of the state should carry on without delay. However, if political parties cannot compromise, they cannot take a decision and everything stops. For example, the nationalist party in Turkey supports the idea of military action against Kurdish minorities whereas left wing parties support negotiations. These views will never change; no agreement will be reached and no solution will be found. As a result, everybody will lose. Another example is long discussions. No negotiations mean everything stops. This means the country suffers economically. For example; employees of Arçelik are protesting because the government has not reached an agreement yet. In short, disagreements can cause serious problems for coalitions.

All in all, in coalitions, two different views have to meet in the middle to find a solution for the common good of the country. Sometimes they can sit at the table and compromise whereas sometimes they cannot because of various reasons. However, they should leave their individual interests to maintain the coalition. Thus, the parliament becomes more democratic and the country benefits.

This essay was written by: BORA BAYRAK and DÜCANE DEMİRTAŞ

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF COALITION GOVERNMENTS

             A Coalition government consists of two or more parties who must compromise on principles and share a mandate. It mostly occurs due to a single party not being able to gain a majority of seats in parliament. Coalitions are generally formed through elections. However, they can also occur in times of national difficulty such as WWII. Coalition governments have some advantages and disadvantages in terms of their decision-making process and management styles.

            First of all, one of the major advantages of coalitions involve the scope of representation. Sharing a mandate, coalitions lead to broader representation, as the two parties have to compromise on their opposing ideologies in order to create policies that result in legislation.  Moreover a coalition government is more democratic because it represents a broader spectrum of public opinion than the government with one party alone. In almost all coalitions, a majority of citizens voted for the parties which form the government, so their views and interests are represented in political decision-making. If most members of parliament agree  that it is crucial to develop the country, the country gets a stronger government with a majority coalition than a party trying to rule with a minority. In brief, the most effective benefit of coalitions is  wide representation and more democracy.

            Finally, coalition governments have some drawbacks. They don’t provide one party with power to implement their ideas, so the end result is that very few ideas, if any, are implemented because an agreement cannot be reached between parties. This disagreement increases the period of decision-making. Furthermore, there is a great deal of instability within the coalition government. It is important  for coalition governments to set up procedures that can work through conflict and mitigate disputes in order for the coalition government to survive. One of the disadvantages is that  it  cannot take long-term view. Coalition governments may not be  long-term because stability is more difficult with coalitions. Briefly, coalitions are not appropriate for the long-term.

            All in all, coalition governments include not only advantages but also disadvantages. Their main advantage is democracy. Coalitions are formed by elections and are participant-driven. They also have certain drawbacks such as problems with decision-making and instability. 

CRIME AND PUNISHMENT

Living together in well established communities has also meant the incidence of crime, or the fact that the breaking of the rules established for communal living, has increased, which has, in turn, meant that punitive measures of various sorts have become the norm. The nature of these punitive measures have changed over the years becoming more humanitarian and less vengeful. One consequence of this trend has been consideration of the individual circumstances of each crime rather than a ‘ one prescription fits all’ approach. Undeniably, greater justice is achieved by considereing each case individually rather than lumping things together.

The personal experiences and background of the perpetrator of any crime are also a factor and determine the type of person an individual becomes and should therefore be studied before sentence is passed. For example, a freshman student at Eskişehir university first stabbed and then slowly drowned her pet cat and was sentenced to 3 years of imprisonment for mistreating an animal. Yet killing and torturing animals is the sign of  sociopathy. The background of this person was completely disregarded. We do not know if this was her first crime against animals; probably not as she is a university student. Mistreating animals is only the first step; this person will most probably move on to murder. The question is not whether she will or not; it is when she will. Similarly, genuine regret is often not distinguished sufficiently from play acting. A third consideration would be past suffering, abuse or mistreatment. A lifetime of physical and psychological abuse can do untold damage to an individual psyche and a violent crime committed by such an individual should not be considered on a par with that of the average cold blooded killer. In short, real justice is only possible when the full picture is considerted; just skimming the surface may satisfy some but it is not fair.

To sum up, a comprehensive picture of the circumstances of the crime as well as the perpetrator including the factors that made him the person he is should be taken into account if justice in the real sense is to be metted out.

CONSUMERISM

             

                Consumerism is a recent phenomenon which emerged after  World War II as a result of the booming economy. It can be considered  as  mass consumption, however, it is more than that: Consumerism is a life style in which consuming outweighs many things and it does not include logic in general, namely people buy something for no reason. The underlying reason for  this kind of consumption is that money and what one can afford have become one's identity and people try to show their status by means of their possessions. Yet, this situation brings about a host of detrimental effects on people and the world such as unhappy who feel they don’t have enough money and the excessive use of the world's resources to meet the consumers' demands.  Therefore, to prevent these problems, some measures should be taken.

                Firstly, the governments should pursue effective policies to minimize excessive consumption. A primary cause of consumerism is the easy access to money through instalments, credit cards and loans, thus, the government should restrict these opportunities to deter people from buying non-essential goods and services. In Turkey, for example, most people change their mobile phones each year for a higher model, but, if they did not have credit cards or the opportunity to pay in instalments,  more than half of them could not do it.  Raising awareness of consumers is also required to prevent this problem. The government may do this by means of public service ads, lessons in schools about consumption and ideal  role models.

                In the second place, some steps should be taken on  an individual basis. One of the most appealing ways the big companies use to sell their products is advertisement. Although most people argue that they are not influenced by ads, their impact is very high on people especially on childrenand teenagers. So, people who do not want to be attracted to buying  should avoid ads as much as they can . Likewise, learning useful shopping techniques is essential to repress the aspiration of buying. Consumers should be able to evaluate what is absolutely necessary for them and then, compare alternatives according to price and performance. They can learn the ways to do this easily by reading successful books and via the Internet.

                In conclusion, it is easy to say that consumerism has become a very serious problem, since it has innumerable adverse effects not only on society and but also on nature. However, there are several possible solutions to overcome this problem. Therefore, both governments and individuals should apply these solutions to ensure a better life.

CONFLICT IN THE WORKPLACE

          Conflict exists when one person has a need that is not being met. In today’s modern world, there is a strong need among people to achieve their best results. However, conflict in the workplace makes it impossible for people to work properly. As a result, they do not work as a team; there is no communication among colleagues etc. Studies revealed that in the U S employees spend 2.8 hours every week managing conflict in the workplace and it costs $ 359 billion annually for the U S economy. In order to maintain a healthy work environment, it is essential to address the causes of conflict in the workplace.

           First of all, poor communication is one of the main causes of conflict among  employees in the workplace. This can result from different communication styles or failure in communication. For instance, when a manager reassigns  an employee’s task to his co-worker but fails to communicate the reassignment to the employee, there is trouble. Consequently, the employee feels slighted and it leads to animosity between employees and the manager. In order to deal with this problem, we must ensure that our team is made up of better communicators, we should improve their communication skills through  training and workshops.

          Secondly, unhealthy workplace competition is another major cause of conflict among employees. When salary is linked with employee production, the workplace may experience a strong competition among employees. This is because people are inflexible and believe that their goal must be achieved. Due to this  fact, they work against each other, they blame others for their failure, and they do not communicate with each other. In this unhealthy competition, relationships are not considered as important as the outcome. As a result, productivity goes down and indeed business will suffer from their unhealthy competition.

          Finally, there is also constructive conflict, which means disagreement or not complete agreement  on an issue. In constructive conflict, individual opinions and choices are respected. The purpose of constructive conflict is to have everyone  put all their cards on the table. In addition to this, they have a common sense of vision, they are good listeners and they are more creative. As a result, this kind of conflict leads to a healthy competition among employees and the outcome of their work will be beneficial.

  Taking  everything into account, conflict among  employees as result of poor communication and unhealthy competition is a massive problem in the workplace. Hence, it is essential to deal with this problem by training employees and teaching them the importance of communication and positive competition in the workplace.

Bismellah Hamidy

CONDITIONS OF WORKERS

As is commonly known, conditions of workers such as miners or laborers are far below acceptable standards. A quick glance at the statistics reveals how enormous and devastating the effect of inadequate working conditions is on the lives of workers. The increasing occupational accidents, in this respect, raise a question as to whether working under bad conditions stems from inspectors’ lack of control or governments’ inability to invest wisely in technology or workers’ inability to unionize.

By and large, not taking the necessary measures for job security is the most common reason among the other possible causes. Our authorities are, unfortunately, incapable of springing to action when it comes to ensuring safe and sanitary conditions for workers. Noticeable examples are not scarce in Turkey of course. In 2014, due to the low safety level, a fire claimed the lives of more than three hundred coal miners. This deplorable condition, on the other hand, points to another significant reason: lack of legal control over corporations. Restraining those careless organizations’ self-control may sound reasonable. In fact, if authorities not only show sufficient will and intelligence but also err on the side of caution, there will be fewer deadly work place accidents.

The burden of responsibility lies in the hands of governments, again, because they are failing to invest in technology sufficiently. Numerous workers have to face up to difficult conditions owing to the technological gap in our country. Providing them with basic amenities may not be a big deal to eliminate this deprivation. In addition, lack of severe punishments for wrongdoers takes a toll on workers. Giving the private sector freedom or displaying indifference to confederates, at this point, costs the government more than money. Last but not  least, ineffective labor unions and an inability to achieve a consensus engender undesirable results. Instead of just accepting the consequences of such negligence, workers must assert their sacrosanct rights.

Looking at the broader picture, it would be true to argue that the grave negligence of authorities and workers’ inability to be united are the most convincing reasons for such hideous conditions. Let alone the underprivileged workers, governments should undertake an enterprise and more importantly, regard all work place accidents as a prime concern.

HAVVANUR ZAFER Program 2

HOW TO IMPROVE CONCENTRATION

            In modern society, issues with concentration are becoming more and more common since there are so many distractions. There are many people who suffer from lack of concentration which can be related to sleep disorders, intrusive thoughts and concerns, cognitive or psychological problems. Although lack of concentration is considered as a severe problem and it has many negative impacts on success, it is possible to deal with it.      

The first way to overcome concentration issues is creating a positive environment to study. First of all, a comfortable environment is essential to keep your focus on your tasks. Therefore, you should ensure that you have a comfortable chair and a desk which is large enough to spread your material out  in your working area. You ought to have adequate and good lighting and study at a proper temperature to keep yourself awake and focused . In addition, distractions  should not exist  in study areas. For example, you should avoid putting pictures of activities in which you want to be involved in your work area.  Landscapes or natural images will be more convenient in order not to influence your concentration. Consequently, the more comfortable your environment is, the easier it will likely be for you to stay there and focus.

            Secondly, nutrition and sleep also play a significant role in improving your concentration. According to the study in The Journal of Nutrition, dehydration can lead to inattention and make us feel tired, irritable, slow, or even sick. Studies indicate the fact that our brains cannot operate at peak level  if they do not have enough fluid. In other words, while you are at work, you should drink plenty of water throughout the day to improve your concentration. Starting the day with a healthy breakfast also helps you stay focused on your tasks. It is much harder to concentrate when you are hungry, so it will be sensible to eat a healthy meal before you start studying to make a good fist of your job ( A healthy meal is conducive to good concentration). In addition, studies also show that lack of sleep can lead to concentration issues. As a result,sleeping enough also helps you study better and remember more material.

            Finally, an alternative way to solve the concentration problem is to schedule your task. Especially in situations in which you have too much to do, scheduling will be beneficial as it will help you to work without losing concentration. Your schedule should not only involve what you have to accomplish but also your short  break times. If you stick to your plan, this will help you to maintain focus and complete the task more quickly  and easily. Moreover, you can also log what you have done during the study. Thus, you can look back and see what you have accomplished. This helps you to motivate yourself and keep up your concentration.

            To sum up, there are many ways to avoid lack of concentration. By creating a proper environment, organizing your nutrition and sleep in the right  way, and scheduling your assignments, you can protect yourself from losing focus and concentration. Although concentration problems seem to be a vexing  issue, you can cope with it and become successful if you follow these methods.