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Differences In Power Status Of Men And Women In Athens And Sparta
Differences In Power Status Of Men And Women In Athens And Sparta
The two Greek city-states, Sparta and Athens, were set apart by a number of cultural and political differences. These differences were mainly portrayed in their systems of governments, militaristic set ups, and in the way each society perceived and accorded power to its citizens on gender basis. These gender based differences were quite prominent in social gatherings of each community. In terms of power levels and rights of women, Sparta had a more accommodating status than Athens. The treatment of women in the Athenian society can only be described as appalling in comparison to Sparta. Men in Athens enjoyed unlimited freedom in contrast to their counterparts in militaristic Sparta who had strict regulations imposed on their daily activities. The differences in the power and freedom accorded to men and women in both Sparta and Athens can largely be attributed to the political and cultural set-ups of the two city states.
The major difference between these two great powers of ancient Greece was their systems of government. Sparta is referred to as an oligarchy. The name oligarchy is derived from the Greek words oligos which means few and archia which translates to rule therefore oligarchy is a system of government where the state is ruled by a few. Sparta was ruled a council of five Ephors and two kings. The Ephors were elected every year while kingship was hereditary and was passed on to chosen sons.
The Spartan Ephors and kings regularly met in general assemblies to vote on decisions and to pass legislations. The decision making process was by acclamation where legislation and civil decisions were passed by the loudest yes or no proclamation. The Ephors had more power than the kings but were more involved with religious and military responsibilities. The government in Sparta was not only male dominated but was also an exclusive system whose operations were only known to people with the highest social standing.
In stark contrast to Sparta, Athens was ruled by a democratic system. A democracy meant it was ruled by the people. In the Athenian democracy, over five thousand men were divided into groups of five hundred who would also form other groups of fifty individuals. Each of the groups of fifty would take charge of state matters for a month with ten generals elected on the basis of their military experience. The rest of the leaders were chosen by a technique known as “lot” voting. Athens, being the birthplace of democracy, had a system that allowed a large number of citizens to participate in the decision making process in state affairs. The major objectives of both the Athenian and Spartan systems of governance were to ensure that their citizens acted within the confines of the law and performed their duties and obligations to the state. Neither of the Greek city-states had an autocratic ruler. No one had an absolute power in both states.
Sparta was known for its militaristic way of life that imposed more responsibilities and expectations on its male population unlike Athens which was a democracy where philosophers and thinkers largely influenced the lives of men and women. The two societies treated women quite differently. Sparta’s lawgiver, known as Lycurgus, was famous for his warden-like method of treating men in preparation for war. The Lycurgus was also known for according almost equal rights to women. There have been assertions that women equality in Sparta arose from the fables of the Amazons in the Trojan wars. The Amazons were a class of women warriors in the Bronze Age.
In contrast, Athens was a democracy that relied on the voice of the people in all decision making processes through the senate and the Council. It was therefore quite expected for Athenian women to be highly protected and monitored. The Athenian man believed that “women were…highly sexual beings who could not control their sexual urges and therefore had to be restricted for their own benefit” (Graham). Euripides, a great literary figure in Athens, wrote in his book titled Meda, “If only children could be gotten some other way with the female sex! If women didn’t exist, human life would be free of all its miseries” (Graham). Euripides mindset was commonly shared among the Athenian male population. Athenian women were prohibited in participating in politics primarily because their function in the society was limited to childbearing and housekeeping roles.
In order to properly understand the differences between the Spartan and Athenian treatment of men and women, it is imperative to consider how each of these groups were taught, their responsibilities, and rights in each of the two Greek societies. In both cases, it is the Athenian woman who fared in the worst way as much as Athens had a democratic rule. By as late as the 5th century BC in ancient Greece, the status of Athenian women was barely any better than that of slaves. They were neither taught how to read and write and nor were they expected to be educated. Prior to the 7th century, Athenian women were even expected to undergo similar rights of passage as the ones boys underwent (Graham).
The society’s expectation of women did not go beyond overseeing slaves in the running of domestic affairs and bearing many children. Athenian women were classified into slaves who did housework, women citizens, and Hetaerae who were prostitutes. The Hetaerae and concubines had more rights than women citizens by virtue of being sexually exploited. However their children were denied citizenship rights as it Casey Graham states: “citizen wives and daughters were protected, but the prostitutes or pornoi were open to all forms of sexual exploitation… and were maintained by men, or worked in brothels and on the streets” (Graham).
The most important role an Athenian woman performed was to act as a bargaining chip in arranged marriages for the benefit of the bride’s father. In pursuit of large dowries, fathers were known to marry off their teenage daughters to older men. An Athenian woman was forever under the strict rule of a man. She began her life under the supervision of her father and later became the property of her husband. The Athenian society had implemented measures that forbade women from divorcing their husbands. However, the husbands could divorce their wives any time they felt like. A divorced woman relinquished all rights to her children. Athenian women could not be seen in public and neither could they watch or participate in Olympic Games which were performed in the nude. Her major role was to ensure the prominence of the city-state was guaranteed by continuously procreating. Religion played a minor role here in elevating the status of women. For all of Athens one hundred and twenty annual religious festivals, the most important occupation a woman could have was as a religious priestess. The men however defined how the gods were to be worshipped.
The people of Sparta on the other hand had a more open minded approach to gender roles. They appreciated the fact that “regardless of gender all Spartans had an obligation to serve the militaristic end of Sparta” (Gaughan). Their obligation to the state facilitated greater freedom and independence in Spartan women unlike their counterparts in Athens. Religion played a major role in elevating the position of women in Sparta through their representation in the goddess Artemis, “the goddess of the hunters and protector of animals, women, girls, youth, and had a connection with adolescence and childbirth” (Pomeroy 35). The women of Sparta were “taught to read, write and protect themselves” (The Women of Sparta). They were allowed to participate in athletic events such as “javelin, discus, foot races and arranged battles” (Women of Sparta). This was primarily due to the societal belief that exercise would make the women strong for healthy childbirth.
There were no marriage ceremonies in Sparta. At the age of eighteen a woman was automatically assigned a husband who would later abduct her from her home. However, men did not live with their wives and could have multiple wives too. The women were allowed to be married to another husband “if the first husband was away too long at war” (The Women of Sparta). In the Spartan society, child rearing was not done by their mothers but by nurses in special nurseries. This gave women more freedom to train as warriors in order to guide their family property when the husband was away at war. In comparison to their counterparts in Athens, Spartan women enjoyed more freedom, mobility, and respect.
The status of men and women in Sparta and Athens were differentiated mainly by the political systems that existed in each of the two city-states. Spartan militaristic governance exerted more responsibility and obligations on men thus denying them their freedom and gave it to the women. In Athens, a male dominated democracy followed the rule of the majority who were all men and thus denied women a voice in the decision making process. As a result women were relegated to lower positions barely above that of slaves.
Works Cited
Gaughan, Judy. “Women in Classical Athens and Sparta.” Women in World History. ColoradoState University. 25 Feb. 2012 <http://chnm.gmu/wwh/d/94/wwh.html>
Graham, Casey. “What was the role of women in Athens?.” Ancient Greek Women in Athens. 25Feb. 2012 < http://www.angelfire.com/ca3/ancientchix>.
Pomeroy, Sarah B. Spartan Women, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002. Print.
“The Women of Sparta.” Ancient Greek Civilizations. 25 Feb. 2012 < http://www.mnsu.edu>
Unionist Party- A political party based in Punjab during the British rule over India
Puerto Rico
Author’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Date
Vocabulary
Unionist Party- A political party based in Punjab during the British rule over India. It represents the interests of the gentry and landlords.
Jones-Shafroth Act – The act gave Puerto Ricans US citizenship and separated the powers of the government into executive, judicial and legislative branches.
Pedro Albizu Campos- Puerto Rican attorney and politician who led the independence movement.
Carlos E Chardon- First Puerto Rican mycologist and government official on agriculture and appointed chancellor in the University of Puerto Rico.
Plan Chardon – The plan was formed as a new deal during the Chardon administration to put people to work during the great depression. The aim was to encourage, train and develop agriculture technicians.
PRRA – In full it is Pre-Removal Risk Assessment. It is a written application that explains the reason for one failing to return to their country and provides support documents for the person’s fear.
New Deal-Included government programs, financial reforms, and projects under the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt to improve the state of the economy during and after the great depression.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt- The 32nd president of the United States known for the New Deal an initiative for government to intervene in economic activities to achieve intended balance.
Downes v. Bidwell – It was among the Insular cases that were decided in the US Supreme Court on whether the US territories were subject to protection and provisions of the US constitution.
Resident Commissioner – It’s an official title for nonvoting representatives of a dependency in the US house of representatives. Also, a resident administrator to a British rule.
Federico Degetau- He was the first resident commissioner in the US House of Representatives of Puerto Rico. He was also a lawyer, writer, and politician.
Rio Piedras Massacre- The massacre occurred on October 24, 1935, at the University of Puerto Rico in Rio Piedras after local police got into an open fight and confronted the supporters of the Nationalist party where four were killed and a police officer wounded.
Massacre of Ponce – The massacre took place on a Palm Sunday in Ponce on March 21st, 1937 after a civilian march turned into a police shooting leaving 19 civilians dead, 200 injured and two policemen killed.
“Bread, Land, and Liberty”- It was a slogan used by the Public Democratic Party, and many decrees seemed to conform to it. The slogan took up masses during the July days as an uprising of military forces and workers.
Short Essay
Describe Puerto Rico’s government under Jones-Shafroth.
Under the Jones-Shafroth government, it was a republican form of government under his administration there was a separation of powers. The government was separated into executive, judicial ad legislative branches. Also, the government provided civil rights to citizens and created a bicameral legislature that was elected locally. The governance of Jones-Shafroth is important in the history of Puerto Rico because it marks the start of the separation of powers and providing civil rights to people.
What did the Insular cases achieve? Know the cases and the decisions.
The Insular cases allowed the United States to control and exploit the territories acquired by Spain. The first case in the series of cases was De Lima et al. vs. Bidwell which raised the question of whether territories acquired by the United States in foreign countries or domestic countries (Burgess, 1901). The decision showed that Puerto Rico was a domestic country. In another case, United States vs. Rice where police conducted a pat-down search. The totality of the circumstances allowed the officer to believe the defendant was carrying a weapon and failed to suppress the evidence of the gun (Burgess, 1901). The last case was Downes vs. Bidwell and the decision suggested the territories were not properly part of the US for revenues and administration matters (Burgess, 1901).
How did the Great Depression affect the island?
The great depression started around 1930 after the Island experienced cute infrastructural and public health crises (Devereux, 2019). As a result, there was a high unemployment rate and low wages at the start which led to labor unrest. The situation alarmed the business interest and the American administration.
What was the New deal? Understand its general ideas and programs.
After the great depression, Roosevelt promised America a new deal because of the ravaging great depression. The new deal required the government to intervene in the economy and regulate the activities to achieve balance in economic interest (Fishback, 2016). The major programs were through economic and industrial reforms. Work Progress Administration and Civilian Conservation Corps were programs that employed the people.
Puerto Rico experienced a lot of violence in the 1930s. Describe these episodes and their background.
After the United States gained possession of the island, they gave the inhabitants American citizenship ad wanted to make English the official language (Valdez, 2016). That was faced by resistance by most people on the Island. In 1930, a nationalist movement resisted further US assimilation. That led to the invasion of the US army for colonial violence which was legitimate under counter-insurgency and political harassment of the members of the movement (Valdez, 2016). The major violent incidences included the Rio Piedras massacre where local police invaded the University of Puerto Rico and killed people ad one policeman was wounded. Another incident happed in Ponce where a civilian peaceful march turned into a police shooting leaving 19 civilians killed, 200 injured ad two policemen dead.
By the Second World War, Puerto Ricans were doing better economically, although this had a cost culturally. How so?
Before the Second World War, the country was dominated by Agriculture. Upon the US acquiring it, there was small-scale sugarcane and coffee production (Rodríguez, 2006). The island was neglected because of its low economic and natural resources. After the US acquired it, the inhabitants were poor. To assimilate the Island, the US opened extensive markets for Sugar and expanded the sugarcane operations. With extensive support from the US to the island, there was a better performance of the economy.
References
Burgess, J. W. (1901). The Decisions of the Supreme Court in the Insular Cases. Political
Science Quarterly, 16(3), 486-504. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2140261Devereux, J. (2019). Arrested development? Puerto Rico in an American century. The Journal of
Economic History, 79(3), 708-735. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022050719000329Fishback, P. V. (2016). New Deal. In Banking Crises (pp. 241-250). Palgrave Macmillan,
London.
Rodríguez, C. A. (2006). The economic trajectory of Puerto Rico since WWII.
Valdez, J. R. (2016). The battleground of metaphors: language debates and symbolic violence in
Puerto Rico (1930–1960). Journal of Historical Sociolinguistics, 2(1), 1-25.
Differences in motivational patterns of UK and Russian employees
Differences in motivational patterns of UK and Russian employees
1. Introduction
One of the most critical examination of the meaning and usages or applications of management in the modern employment world would appear to be synonymous with observational postulates formulated by Geert Hofstede. In most of analytical works by Hofstede, there is a clear and deliberate element of comparing various cultural environments with regard to employee motivation and commitment factors. In one of these similar works, there is a general comparison of cultural environments across the major world economic backgrounds to assess the impact of cultural orientation on employment (Hofstede, 1993). In a quick assessment, the author’s work can be said to feature comparative management in the various employment environments due to diversity issues that the cultural surroundings within which the employment exists. Interestingly, the basic observation is that management practices can be traced back from the United States and their dispersal from the US cultural environment can be transcribed on the various cultures across the world for comparison.
Employee motivation is largely a factor of the actual working environment and effective vulture that the labour industry in a country is established on. Motivation at the workplace is a close manifestation of the growth prospects that the employees aspire to achieve, particularly within the constraints of the cultural practices facilitated by the general procedures and routines that the society has evolved to accommodate. However, within the larger picture of historical developments inspired by the social and economic times of the society, these practices are deemed to change (Hofstede, 1994). Political factors play a vital role in the evolution of the effective environment that the society can boast of in terms of economic system interpretation of employment and labour regulations. For instance, the liberal market in the UK and the US have a balance of every market including the labour market which introduces very potent forces of negotiation for the best employment experience hence motivation thereon. This is the cultural perspective that can also be expected in the Russian system which is perhaps influenced by the cultural and political forces that its economic orientation with communism features.
2. a) Literature Review
Comparing the congruency in the United Kingdom as well as the Russian employment environment can best be approached by assessing the cultural standards depicted by the two societies. Using the postulates described by Hofstede (1993), diversity issues in the two environments is expected from the onset due to the economic cultures that these two economies have been established from a historical context. Similar sentiments are delivered in a paper prepared by the same author (Hofstede, 1994), to the effect that the diverse human resource management issues expected can be traced from major cultural experiences that different countries have.
b) Research Questions
From the realization of the impact made by a particular cultural background to the employment experience in a country, several research questions were formulated to assist in performing the appropriate research. Most importantly, the economic environment within which the employment experience is established in must be brought out to clearly address the most pressing missing research links. Alternatively, the basic orientation to international labour regulations as a standard of measure for the relevant employment experience issues must also be depicted in the research development. Using these insights to formulate the necessary research links, the following research questions were used in the research to determine the differences in motivational patterns regarding employment in the UK and Russia.
Motivation falls under human resource management, to what extent is HRM established in the UK’s and the Russian labour market?
Motivation as a principle of HRM has its roots in the US as a cultural invention at the workplace; how congruent are the cultural environments in the UK and Russia with the US setting?
Motivation is a factor of several influences inherent in a particular economic establishment; how does capitalism and communism in the UK and Russia affect the employment experience in terms of motivation in the two countries?
Human resource is affected by the three tenets of the human society that include political setting as well; how is the political system in the UK and Russia affect employment experience and motivation?
3. Research design
Research was conducted from the cultural perspective of employment within different settings offered by various countries. Perhaps the most important approach was from the realization that human resource management plays an important role in the definition of the employment setting that a country offers. Application of the basic management practices in the UK is closely similar to the American model due to the apparent liberal business culture that has evolved over the years in the two countries. Employment evolution in the UK as inspired by major occurrences in trade union movements in the history of the country can be said to be very strong factors shaping up the modern day employment experience in the UK just as it does in the USA (Hofstede, 1998). Cultural orientation of the two countries can be extrapolated to manifest the resemblance of employment relations in the two countries. However, some economic differences play a major role in the management at the helm of employees’ relations between different countries as well. Placing the Russian context in the equation introduces a different perspective that is quite different from the American experience.
Using such an introductory perspective, the appropriate research to unravel the missing links was conducted using an analysis of the various socioeconomic and political features that each country has regarding employment. After the identification of the actual interactions that each of the above areas have with regard to employment and possible impact on motivation, the settings offered by both the UK and Russia were assessed to create a more specific approach. The research design emphasised on the importance of management insights for the employment experience issues for the appropriate theoretical explanation. From the design, data collection was then employed for the two countries’ settings.
4. Data Collection
The main data collection involved two approaches that targeted the country system as well as the industry specific approach. On one hand, the analysis on the entire country system was performed from the general data of the socioeconomic and political setting that could have a bearing on employment experience in the two countries. Data collection used general information existing on cultural environment depicted in the two countries. On the other hand, industry specific assessment was performed by involving a closed ended questionnaire interrogating employees in the two countries. The questionnaire is contained as Appendix 1 at the end of this paper.
References
Hofstede, G., (1993) “Cultural Constraints in Management Theories,” Academy of Management Executive, 7(1):81-94
Hofstede, G., (1994) “Cultural Constraints in Management Theories,” International Review of Strategic Management, 5:27-48
Hofstede, G., (1998) “Think Locally, Act Globally: Cultural Constraints in Personnel Management,” Management International Review, 7-26.
Appendix 1
This questionnaire has been developed to compare and contrast differences in motivational patterns of UK and Russian employees. There is no need to state your name anywhere on this questionnaire due to it being confidential and anonymous.
Your gender:
MaleFemale
Your age:
18-2526-4041-6060+
Your nationality:
How many people work in your organisation:
1-1011-100101-10001000+
Industry:
Manufacturing; Tourism; Retail; Healthcare; Education; Financial Services; FashionYour wage per months:
For Russia (Roubles):1000-1000010000-5000050000-15000015000+
For UK (Pounds):100-10001000-30003000-50005000-15000
15000+
Work experience:
1-2 years3-5 years6-10 years11-15 years16 years+
How important for you is financial reward? (1-5; 1-not important; 5- very important)
How important for you is interesting work? (1-5; 1-not important; 5- very important)
How important for you are fringe benefits? (1-5; 1-not important; 5- very important)
How important for you is company’s ethical stand? (1-5; 1-not important; 5- very important)
How important for you is financial teamwork? (1-5; 1-not important; 5- very important)
How important for you is prospects of being promoted? (1-5; 1-not important; 5- very important)
How important for you are bonuses available? (1-5; 1-not important; 5- very important)
How important for you is stability of your company? (1-5; 1-not important; 5- very important)
How important for you is recognition? (1-5; 1-not important; 5- very important)