Plight of street children in India

Plight of street children in India Until 1993, the term street child was not present in the Official Vocabulary in India. Until 1993, the Indian government did not fulfill their duty by protecting the rights and freedom of children. Until 1993, India had failed to completely recognize and acknowledge their growing street children epidemic. Street children can be defined as both market and homeless children. All around the world, innocent children are stripped away from their sovereignties and placed on the cruel streets of their cities forcing them to create a living on their own. Both developed and developing countries, including Russia, Vietnam, Romania and Brazil, are negatively affected by the growing population of street children. Unfortunately, India is the home to the worlds largest population of street children eighteen million and counting. Throughout the last couple of years, India has achieved many accomplishments, including the rise of their economy and recognition around the world. However, neglecting th e street children epidemic is unjust and overshadows their economic boost. According to Article 27 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, it states that Parties recognize the right of every child to a standard of living adequate for the childs physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development. Street children are denied of each one of these rights, instigating the fact that innocent children are not being supported and cared for by their families, friends and the government. Street children in India are deprived from proper protection due to the negligence of their family, the unstable economic situation in the country and the lack of focus on their health care.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Street children are excluded from stable protection because children are neglected from the attention of their loved ones. When a child is born, he/she is entitled to be cherished, loved and sheltered. Children are extremely vulnerable and naÃÆ' ¯ve; they do not know how to differ from right and wrong. When a child is abandoned and left isolated on the streets, they are uneducated about why they are alone. Thousands of kids blame themselves for their desertion, even though they are not to blame. In India, many street children are sexually, physically and mentally abused by their parents, and living on the streets leads them to being further exploited to child labour and prostitution. One of the main reasons that street children are abused by their parents in India is due to gender discrimination. Over the past generations, boys are undoubtedly favoured than girls. Boys are considered an asset since they can carry on the family name, help with the fa rmland and can continue their education longer than females. Sixty percent of the labour force in India is based on agriculture, meaning that men are more suitable for this intricate occupation. On the other hand, girls are regarded as a liability because parents have to raise dowry in terms of getting their daughter married, girls cannot carry on the family name and a vast majority of females do not receive the same amount of education as males, since parents do not look at schooling as an obligation. In accordance to Article 26 in the Universal Declaration of Independence, it states: Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Pilfering education from a child handicaps them and is one of the worst forms of punishments in the world. Even though women have triumphed and broken down bigotry barriers over the last decades, favoritism is evident in several parts of the world. In India, the female/male ratio is 927/100 0, which is incredibly low in comparison to other countries. In some developing parts of India, girls may get aborted or killed at birth solely due to their gender.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When a child is neglected from their loved ones, it creates long-term psychological problems. Maslows hierarchy of needs outlines the basic needs of an individual: self-actualization, esteem, love/belonging, safety and physiological. Street children in India are extremely far away from reaching the top of Maslows hierarchy, since homeless children are not introduced to proper health care, are not protected from the precarious people on the streets of India, are not accepted by their families thus leading to a low self-esteem. Street children are forced to face unwanted and awful obstacles at an extremely young age. Both girls and boys do not have a role model to follow, and try to survive day by day. Furthermore, when Charles Darwin introduced natural selection, in which he explained that individual organisms that are better adapted to their environments have a better chance of surviving; humans began to receive education, create reputations and establ ish families for themselves. In order to survive on the streets, children can go to extreme levels in order to have clothes and food. When parents neglect their own children, kids are negatively affected and conform to the other street children around them; monkey see, monkey do. With no one to tell them whats right and whats wrong, whos to stop them?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Street children are robbed from social security because they are not given the proper financial support that they deserve. Indias economic situation changes on a weekly basis. Similar to other developing countries, the prices of production and labour inflates and/or deflates regularly. Following the world-wide recession, India has dealt with the economic problem better than some developed countries, such as the United States of America. The developing economy in India is great for the government, but what about the people? Even though Indias monetary condition is reasonably settled, some rural and urban parts of the country are being faced with poverty and street children. 56.4% of Indias population is in debt and the unemployment rate in India is 9.1%. People are having a difficult time paying off their debts, since the competition in the workforce is increasing and not enough jobs are available for everyone. With an increasing population, there is an increased demand for needs. We, as humans, meet those needs by consuming more resources. Consuming more resources declines the availability of supplies, which negatively harms the environment. The environment destruction and declining resources leads to scarcity and poverty. Resource scarcity explains the fact that if there is not enough food, hunger arises. If there is not enough water, people become thirst. If jobs are scarce, the unemployment rate rises. If money is scarce, poverty augments. Street children do not have enough food, water and a source of income in order to survive in India. Due to the need for basic necessities, children are forced to work for their money. Some of the activities that street children participate in are collect/sell paper, clean cars, sell newspaper, work in small hotels, beg, steal, and tend to animals and domestic labour.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Being a developing country, the government of India is unable to entirely support all 1, 166, 079, 217 citizens; however that is not a justification for everyone. If an individual decides to have a baby, that human being is entitled to take care of that child. In India, many children are introduced to poverty; the state or condition of having little or no money, goods, or means of support. In certain circumstances, children from both middle and lower income families are forced to go onto the streets of their town in order to bring in more cash for the family. Are the parents being selfless or selfish? Parents who are telling their children to have no respect for themselves and bang on car doors simply to earn a rupee or two are utterly and shamefully selfish. Furthermore, families of lower caste systems are more prone to allowing their children to remain on the streets for days and nights. Caste systems are described as specific rankings that distingui sh a lower class family from a higher class family. This system is originated from the city and/or town that a family lives in, the last name of that family and the amount of land a family owns. In foreign countries, such as Canada and the United States, it is difficult to comprehend the caste system, yet in India the system is completely straight forward. Families from lower castes are prone to force their children, both males and females, to plead on the streets of India.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Street children are stripped from their rights when children are not being taken care of when he/she is affected by a health issue. In both developed and developing countries, both men and women tend to avoid the topic of health care. India has the largest number of street children in the age group of eight to eighteen years; these children are exposed to a risky social environment daily. Being on the streets instigates diseases because street children live and work amidst trash, animals and open sewers. The risk of getting diseases increases dramatically since dozens of Indians are immigrating and emigrating, in order to visit their relatives and be introduced to new environments. A majority of street children are not vaccinated and protected from harmful diseases including H1N1, Diphtheria, Polio and Tetanus, significantly raising their possibilities of getting seriously ill and possibly facing death in the upcoming future.

Developing Customer Relations Essay

1.0 Introduction Customer service is the provision of service to customer before during and after a purchase also it’s the ability of an organisation to recognise and consistently meet its customers’ need Employees may find them self in a situation that they sold a product and the customer is been arrogant saying it is faulty they need to stay calm 2.0 Providing Customer Service A new employee can provide good customer service by been well presented on their first day and wearing their uniform appropriately greeting the customer politely. 3.0 Presentation Skills In this section I am going to say why presentation skills are important to customer service Skill Why it is important As this is merit grade work, I need to expand each box. You need at least three points for each on why this is important Examples from business You need a couple of examples from businesses in each box Personal presentation e.g. personal hygiene, uniform/ dress, hair, makeup jewellery The way an employee presents himself identifies who they are. It is important because your presentation of your self and the business is the customer first opinion if they business is dirty then the customer wouldn’t come there again Customers in Tesco & Sainsbury’s wear uniform to make them look smart and they have to wear the uniform properly for example an employee might wear his uniform but not wear it smartly like not tucking in his shirt in companies like B & Q the employees dress to stand out by wearing bright orange Also in the police force it is required to wear uniform Body language e.g. posture, facial expression, smiling, gestures, eye contact Body language has an impact on the customer’s perception of how friendly the staffs are. The body language of an employee is important because it shows how the employee feels about the customer and how approachable they are If a customer ask a staff in a company like Primark â€Å"where is the T shirts† and they are frowning it means the staff there is unfriendly In JD Sports if it is empty and there are no customers in there and the employees have a conversation then a customer comes in and has a query, the employee might frown when he comes in because he is interrupting his conversation Presentation of work area and equipment The presentation of the work area shows how prepared the staff are and how good the environment, it is important because it shows how prepared they are to start business and also the presentation shows how hygienic they are If in McDonalds the tables are dirty it will put off customers and they wouldn’t eat in there Greeting Customers, Courtesy, Confidence, Interest, Thoughtfulness It is important because it shows that the employee cares that a customer is there and it makes the customer feel welcome If you greet a customer every time they come in to your business they would attract more customers to your business by telling them how polite employees in the business are Responding to different customer behaviour, Tact, Efficiency It is important to adapt to different customers and situation because all customers aren’t the same and they will have different attitude towards the employee/ business If a customer complains about how bad service is and you respond to them quickly it would show that you’re sorry Of voice, pitch, language e.g. technical language, use of slang How you communicate to customer is important because all customers are usually different e.g. you talk to old people different from teenagers When you talk to an old lady you talk slowly so they can hear you properly but when you are talking to teenager you can use some slangs Also in a company like Pc World if someone was about to buy a computer you would speak to them in technical language e.g. the computer has 512mb ram e.t.c and if the customer doesn’t understand it you explain to them Listening, body language, appropriateness to customer situation Your listening skills to a customer is important because if you don’t listen to them while you are talking to feels rude and employee should be able to adapt to different situations because there are different kinds of customers If a customer asks a question like where is the toilet and you keep on telling them to repeat it. They wouldn’t come back again to the business. Also there might be 4.0 Interpersonal Skills In this section I am going to say why interpersonal skills are important to customer service. Interpersonal Skills relate to the way you behave when you are dealing with other people and they are important because it makes communication clear. Attitudes, Behaviour, First impression are aspects of interpersonal skills The attitude of a staff to customer the first time they come in matter because that is their first impression and that’s what they will tell other people about the business In a Supermarket if a customer asks where an item and the employee replies â€Å"go away† is to the customer it will put them off and they wouldn’t come back Behaviour this is closely linked to attitude because this influences what you do and why you do it. A friendly person will normally behave in a cheerful way also if u enjoys working with people you will normally behave in a courteous and thoughtful way 5.0 Communication Skills In this section I am going to talk about communication skills Communication Skills are important to customer service. It is crucial that information is clear and accurate. In customer service employees must be able to explain company’s policies to customers and answer question about product and service. Tone, Pace, Pitch of voice, Slang and Listening are aspects of communication skills Tone is difference between the way you talk to a supervisor and your friend. Tone is how informal or formal you are and the tone of your voice Slang includes word used informally such as waste of space, chill. None should be used in business when talking to an external customer. Pace relates to the speed at which you speak and should be varied depending on your audience. Listening skills are invaluable in business particularly in the following situations e.g. when a customer is telling you about his or her needs or preferences, when you are been given information to give to someone. Pitch of voice relates to how you sound. A low pitched voice is deep and gruff, a high pitched voice easily sound shrill. Varying your pitch makes you sound more interesting and enables you to hold people attention better if you speak in a monotone 6.0 Customer Service Situations I am going to explain which skills are important in the following situation face to face, on the telephone, email, urgent situations, and difficult situations; either it is Interpersonal Skills, Presentation Skills, Communication Skills. Face to Face: I assume communication skills are the most essential skills when an employee is facing a problem face to face because although your presentation and interpersonal skills is important the employee is facing them and the way he communicates matter. The most important communication skills is their listening skills because it will show how effective they are to deal with the problem Telephone: I assume communication skills are the most essential skills when an employee if dealing with a problem on the phone because

To what extent does business process reengineering improve sustainable competitive advantage

Rationale / Background Due to the increasingly competitive and evolving environment of modern business, a significant focus now lies on business restructuring in order for firms to meet the demands of the global economy. Buhalis and Owen (2010) see this necessity as the driver behind business process reengineering and as a result the practice is widespread, for instance Attaran (2004) highlighted a study in which 87% of businesses were found to engage in the process. Much research has been conducted in this area (see Kettinger and Grover 1995), which points towards competitive advantage as the primary focal area. Based on Porter’s original five forces model (Porter 1979) companies now look to business process reengineering to create a sustainable competitive advantage for their firm. Whilst research done by Ansoff and McDonnell (1990) focuses on more traditionally held beliefs about a firm’s unique resources, many has since changed their beliefs on what is considered a dynamic capability wo rthy of creating a sustained competitive advantage. Meed et al (1994) cited a company needs to transform in order to adapt to its environment, and Osborne (1997) suggested that the very nature of the issue requires ever evolving material. Thus there is becoming an increased focus on the more subjective capabilities of modern organizations, as Barney’s 1999 article noted how strategic resources tend to be evenly distributed across firms and so there is a new focal point of knowledge being central to the business reengineering process and to creating a sustained competitive advantage for modern businesses. According to Grint (1994) reengineering quickly became the buzzword for businesses in the 1990’s, set on organizational improvement and change. Business process reengineering is defined as â€Å"a requirement to study fundamental business processes, independent or organization units and information systems support, to determine if the underlying business processes can be significantly streamlined and improved† by Langer (2008) and is based on operational objectives in order to improve performance. For instance a firm may wish to simplify their processes, improve communication procedures or speed up their operational turnover (Sayegh 2005.) As mentioned previously the very nature of business process reengineering requires a circular flow of communication in order for business processes to continuously improve, as Guha et al (1993) suggested the process reengineering cycle to be implemented into organizations in order to quickly tweak any issues with a new process with a minimal delay on output. The subject of business process reengineering is still relatively new and so there are suggestions for future improvements, as a significant focus now lies on not only creating the information systems but using them effectively. This requires what Earl et al (1995) called alignment, that a process must not only be operationally efficient it must also be aligned not only with the company’s other materials and systems but also with the existing knowledge of the firm’s staff. This view is supported by Burgelman et al (2008) who focused on the links between not only different management levels but also between different strategic levels of the business. The suggestion by Burgelman et al being that organizational knowledge is unevenly spread and so needs to be aligned more thoroughly. According to Brynjolfsson and Renshaw (1997) business process reengineering does suffer from low success rates, due to a lack of tools for managing the change proces s. Brynjolfsson and Renshaw proposed utilising a matrix of change in order to help managers identify and deal with critical issues. In this sense the importance of organizational knowledge is evidently the weak link in making business process reengineering reach its potential. Therefore much work has been done to attempt to bridge this success gap between the operational processes of a business and people’s ability to use them (see Khosrowpour 2006.) Attaran (2004) believed information technology to be a key element of a successful reengineering approach, citing Bill Gates’ comment on the 2000’s focus being on velocity. Therefore it is feasible for a company to rely on information technology to understand processes if they operate in a particularly fast paced industry like the example Bill Gates was referring to. In fact Johnson and Vitale (1998) believed innovations in information technology to be the future source of competitive advantage for firms, using exam ples of where it has been essential for business success for instance linking systems between an organizations diversified functional areas. Organizational knowledge is therefore seen to be one of few sources of a sustainable competitive advantage for modern firms. Tacit knowledge means that no two companies are the same (Collis and Montgomery 1995) and so as a dynamic capability knowledge appears to fulfil the necessary criteria, seen by Ambrosini and Bowman (2002) as being difficult to imitate, difficult to substitute or transfer and being scarce. Especially vital in the modern business environment is the speed in which knowledge can be created or transferred, as Saint-Onge (1996) noted how a company’s intellectual capital needs to be in line with rapid technological developments.This focus on human capital led Saint-Onge to cite the â€Å"knowledge era† of modern times. A key application for business process reengineering of this focus is the need to constantly reinvest in organizational knowledge, due to the attrition effects of competition decaying the casual ambiguity that knowledge creates (Reed and D efillippi 1990.) Therefore the real challenge for modern companies is how to undertake this required reinvestment in business process reengineering. Cavusgil and Calantone (2003) pointed out in their study on tacit knowledge that the primary issue is sharing knowledge throughout the firm. Howells (1996) noted that in order to be fully utilised tacit knowledge can be transferred on a variety of levels as in many cases knowledge should not only be transferred horizontally but vertically in firms, i.e. that managers must pass on their knowledge to their staff and vice versa. This vertical transfer is vital for informational systems as in many cases practicalities experienced by lower level staff are not considered by upper management. Due to the difficulty in representing tacit knowledge acknowledged by Lubit (2001) the suggestions on how to transfer knowledge throughout the firm focus on more informal means. Lubit believed social mechanisms to be the best option, citing how formalis ed processes will always leave gaps. Similarly Ambrosini and Bowman (2002) found that techniques such as individual questionnaires and storytelling were most suitable for demonstrating tacit knowledge. Description Project Aims and Objectives: To uncover relevant links between organizational knowledge and the firm’s business process reengineering, and the role of knowledge management in facilitating the reengineering process. To examine theoretical approaches to business process reengineering and empirical evidence of their respective success rates. To investigate the impact of business process engineering on sustainable competitive advantage from a theoretical standpoint. Research Methodology Due to the theoretical approach being adopted in this study, secondary research would be utilised in accomplishing the aforementioned research objectives. Based on this approach, the study would adopt an interpretivist epistemology. According to Saunders et al (2007), â€Å"Interpretivism is an epistemology that advocates that it is necessary for the researcher to understand differences between humans in our role as social actors†. Interpretivism relates to how people make sense of the world around them, and how they interpret social phenomena. Compared to the positivist view, the interpretivist view relates essentially to the interpretation of findings by those collecting data, and a common risk is that there may be issues of reliability and validity due to its subjective nature (Collis and Hussey, 2003). Based on recommendations by Collis and Hussey (2003), an inductive approach would also be utilized in conducting the research, as this involves analyzing the theoretical da ta concerning business process reengineering and competitive advantage, and drawing up a conclusion (after indepth analysis), on how both factors may be related. Data collection and analysis within this study would involve the systematic review of literature, reviewing previous studies on business process reengineering, knowledge management and competitive advantage to establish the relationship between all 3 variables, and ascertain if and how they the reengineering of business processes could actually lead to an improved competitive advantage within an industry. Through the combination of a number of results from a number of studies, the researcher hopes to uncover reasonable, reliable and valid insights into the subject area. Relevant databases such as Business Source Premier, Ingenta Connect and Emerald Insights would be utilized in finding these researches. Further research would also be conducted on institutes of business, such as those who may have statistics on how business processes affect competitive advantage. An entire subchapter would also be devoted to critiques of business process reengineering, particularly in its relevance to competitive advantage, as this allows for a balanced critical research and helps support the study’s reliability. Secondary research has been adopted as opposed to primary research, as it essentially bases our findings on more extensive research that may have been done in the past. These literatures are usually wider ranging and cover a lot more aspects of BRR than this research could have, if it adopted a primary approach. Deliverables This project intends to deliver clear conclusions and recommendations on the following: The relationship between business process reengineering and knowledge management within organisational settings. Do they necessarily impact on one anotherDoes effective knowledge management particularly promote better results when processes are reengineered Empirical findings on the success and / or failure rates of business process reengineering activities that have been conducted over the past decades. These could be differentiated based on industries, and conditions, such as whether the organisations properly utilised information technology or knowledge management systems. Empirical or theoretical evidence suggesting that business process reengineering does promote sustainable competitive advantage. Particular emphasis would be placed on how it was accomplished and the secondary factors (such as information or knowledge management technology) that may have acted as catalysts. Schedule Secondary research (literature search) to be completed within two weeks of the project’s s tart. Cross-examination of literature is to be completed within a week of the final data being collected. This will encompass all of the data to spot any clear patterns. Checking of the discovered patterns to ensure their viability, reliability and generalisability will also be aimed to be completed within the same week that the original cross examination has been completed. The Introduction and Methodology chapters would be written within a week from when the data has been gathered. This would help in the structure of these chapters. The systematic literature review would be written up and conducted using the thematic approach. Meaning that each of the project deliverables would be separated into different themes and analysed as such. Overall project timeline – A maximum of 4-5 weeks from starting to accumulate the relevant data to having a clear, presentable set of results. Resources Required No hardware resources are required, except for computer hardware to use in researching, analysing and writing up the project. Access to literature sources such as the journals mentioned above, and empirical results on business process reengineering may require library access to such journals and in-depth Internet research. The researcher is confident that he has the skills to accomplish all of these. References Ambrosini, V. And Bowman, C. (2002) Tacit Knowledge: Some Suggestions for Operationalization. Journal of management studies, Vol 38, Issue 6, pp 811-829. Ansoff, H.I. and McDonnell, E.J. (1990) Implanting strategic management. Prentice Hall New York. Attaran, M. (2004) Exploring the relationship between information technology and business process reengineering. Information and management, Vol 41, pp 585-596. Barney, J. (1999) Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. Journal of Management, Vol 17, No 1, pp 99-120. Buhalis, D. And Owen, R. (2010) Business Process Reengineering. Business Process Management Journal, Vol 6, Issue 2, pp 113-121. Burgelman, R.A. Christensen, C.M. and Wheelwright, S.C. (2008) Strategic management of technology and innovation. McGraw- Hill / Irvin. Cavusgil, S.T. Calantone, R.J. Zhao, Y. (2003) Tacit knowledge transfer and firm innovation capability. Journal of business and industrial marketing, Vol 18, Issue 1, pp 6-21. Collis, D.J. and Montgomery, C.A. (1995) Competing on Resources: Strategy in the 1990s. Harvard Business Review, July-August. Earl, M.J. Sampler, J.L. and Short, J.E. (1995) Strategies for business process reengineering: evidence from field studies. Journal of Management Information Systems, Volume 12, Issue 1 (June 1995.) Grint, K. (1994) Reengineering History: Social Resonances and Business Process Reengineering. Organization, Vol 1, No 1, pp 179-201. Guha, S. Kettinger, W.J. and Teng, J.T.C. (1993) BUSINESS PROCESS REENGINEERING Building a Comprehensive Methodology. Information systems management, Vol 10, Issue 3. Howells, J. (1996) Tacit knowledge, innovation and technology transfer. Technology analysis and strategic management, Vol 8, No 2, pp 91-106. Kettinger, W.J. and Grover, K. (1995) Special section: toward a theory of business process change management. Journal of management information systems, Vol 12, Issue 1 (June 1995.) Khosrowpour, M. (2006) Advanced topics in information resources management. Vol 5. Idea group publishing. Langer, A.M. (2008) Business process reengineering. Analysis and design of information systems. Lubit, R. (2001) Knowledge Management : The Keys to Sustainable Competitive Advantage. Organizational dynamics, Vol 29, Issue 3, pp 164-178. Meed, J.W. Bots, P.W.G. and Sol, H.G. (1994) A hard core for soft problems: A business engineering case study within the Amsterdam municipal police force. TCBAUS IFIP Information systems international working conference, Gold Coast, Australia. Osborne, T. (1997) Business process reengineering. PACIS 1997 Proceedings. Porter, M.E. (1979) How competitive forces shape strategy. Harvard business review. Cited by Smit, P.J. (2000) Strategic planning: Readings. Juta and Company Ltd. Reed, R. and Defillippi, R.J. (1990) Causal Ambiguity, Barriers to Imitation, and Sustainable Competitive Advantage. The academy of management review, Vol 15, No 1 (January 1990) pp 88-102. Saint-Onge, H. (1996) Tacit knowledge the key to the strategic alignment of intellectual capital. Strategy and leadership, Vol 24, Issue 2, pp 10-16. Sayegh, F. (2005) Business process Reengineering. EFS Technical report No.21. (December 15th 2005.)

The, Democracy, And Leadership - 1486 Words

We have argued in this course that there is nothing more paradoxical than the focus and emphasis of Ancient Political Thought in Greek culture. Of course, this may be because of our modern preoccupation of our current political foundation have lead us to believe that people associate democracy and leadership as an antidote to conflict and corruption. This may also be the case since Greek culture illustrates that the polis was the final form of political association during the time when Aristotle was setting out his ideas. But even if this was the case, there is still much about politics we can learn. Despite the current understandings surrounding leadership and democracy as an antidote to stasis, it will be argued that both of these ideas†¦show more content†¦In addition, the metaphoric of the ship points to the way that the antidotes of stasis, democracy and leadership, would actually be considered as anarchy in modern times, and therefore the ship represents a conflict to democracy or an undemocratic polis. To summarize and give context behind the ship, we are going to be taking a look at this very famous metaphor for the state. This ship has a pilot, and the Greek word for pilot is kubernà ©tà ©s , which is also the root for our word for Governor. The pilot steers the ship as they are in charge of the ship. Socrates’ story is meant to illustrate the real world of actual politics in the city. The city, polis, is like a ship, and the ship is owned by an ignorant man who knows nothing about seamanship. As a direct result of this, these sailors on the ship are left to their own devices, and do fight among themselves to see who will gain control of the rudder and therefore would become the pilot of that ship. The sailor who wins this competition against other sailors would become the pilot. The real thrust of the parable is that the person who is good at winning the competition to gain the rudder of the ship and become the pilot knows nothing about seamanship. Though the true pilot who is a person genuinely knowledgeable about how to steer the ship is both unconcerned with the other sailor and the