Pros and Cons of a Federal System of Government Essay

Pros and Cons of a Federal System of Government - Essay Example Given the basic definition, a federal system of government consist of two or more levels of governments existing within an established territory governing through common structures/institutions with shared or overlapping powers prescribed by a supreme constitution (Shafritz, Edwin and Christopher, 2010). The central government is at the level of the sovereign state tasked with responsibilities of maintaining national security and conducting international diplomatic relations, covering the right of signing binding treaties. The central government is basically mandated to make binding laws for the whole federation; the power that local governments do not posses. Within its structure, the central government functions with ministries, departments alongside agencies in administering the federation. Federalism is thus a political as well as a philosophical concept that outlines how political power is divided or rather distributed to different levels of governments. The extent of division o f power between the levels of governance in a democratic nation may vary. However, the most vital powers relating to security and the stability of the entire union are granted to the center, with regional governments sharing subsidiary responsibility. ... In particular, the United States, Canada, Australia, Germany and Brazil are all examples of federal governments. With regard to the United States, federalism has been an ever evolving relationship between state governments and the federal government. From a system of dual federal system, the American governance structures have evolved to that of associative federalism. In the "Federalist No. 46," James Madison asserts that both levels of governments "are distinct agents and trustees of the citizenry, constituted with distinct powers." According to Alexander Hamilton, ("Federalist No. 28), both levels of government were constituted to exercise authority to the benefit of the citizens. That is to say, if in case the peoples' rights were trampled upon by either of the two, they could make use of the other level of government as the instrument of redress (Hamilton, Madison, and Jay, 1961). As with every system of governance, federalism as a model of governance characterized by sharing of power is not perfect, neither is it any close to achieving perfect harmonious relations among its components. As a system corrected through the ages to achieve its current status in the United States, it is an obvious fact that federalism has its merits and the disadvantages. One of the prime benefits of a federal system is the degree of autonomy granted to regional governments in deciding their local laws, in spite of being a part of a whole. In the US, every state has the authority to modify local laws to fit the local demands. The system is also advantageous with respect to degree with which governance is simplified to achieve the distribution of power. In effect, local problems are dealt with at the local level without letting them gravitate to the national level

Psychology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Psychology - Essay Example Lastly, a minor motivator is the want to understand more the cultural and societal factors in the area, which is more of an interest to the Peace Corps volunteer and expert. Role requirements are necessary in an organization because it gives structure and authority in the leadership capacity to make decisions. However, in the topic of leadership, conflict arises in these contexts and sometimes occurs as a result of the role requirements. The first main conflict topic is regarding that this is primarily a business venture being backed by bank money. The main leader, Bjorn, represents the Banks interest, which means his role is to oversee all the others to make sure that profit is made from this venture. Many of the subordinates see that he has taken more of an interest in the humanitarian aspect and is challenging this on the basis that they are unbiased by the matter and have better experience in business. In addition, John Anderson, who is the resident humanitarian expert, is there to serve as an observer as far as to help explain the cultural and social phenomenon should complications arise. ... The fact that the cultures of France, America, and Colombia are represented alone would pose a significant cultural convergence, which would influence their decisions regarding how the mission should be run. The differing motivational factors created a huge conflict in the work environment. The first being that this was a business venture and that the funding for the project was based on the success of the mission, for which everyone was responsible. This clashed with the social and cultural implications, which other team members put above that. The stress of the mission also was causing Bjorn to be a micromanager, which made others seem like they were wasting time with all the obsessive and meaningless meetings. All of this ends up leading to arguing where they cannot work together because of clashing viewpoints. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is based on a pyramid in which a person must overcome certain needs in order to reach a point of being which Maslow termed self-actualiza tion. Bjorn would be in the safety point due to the fact that the success of this mission is on him as the team leader and that if he fails, he will no longer have job security with the Bank. Eduardo and Aziz would be in the love/belonging phase in that even while on the mission, they seeks social engagement from people and seems to enjoy the social contact rather than the work aspect. Dupre and Mathuri are in the esteem phase in that they have already had success in the Bank being higher up representatives. They are clearly in the mission for the spoils in that by the mission succeeding, they will receive the overdue recognition and hopefully be given the leadership opportunities they want. Lastly, John is at the point of self-actualization. Since he is merely a consultant, he is not