The Role of Inter

Introduction As the world globalizes and trade liberalizes, the exchange of goods, services has been growing at a rapid rate. This has been made possible by the emergence of new markets in Latin America, Africa and the Asian continent. This has led to increased business both at the national level as well as at the international levels.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on The Role of Inter-cultural Ð ¡ommunications specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The absence of barriers of trade not only has it eased the exchange of goods and services, it has led to countries and big companies (within them) they remain in business and are able to compete with their rivals (Deresky 2000). The globalization has led to increased rate of interdependence among world countries making world economies over reliant on others. To add to the importance, there has also been migration of people and tourism around the world as well as internatio nalizing education systems (Raymond Duncan, Jancar- Webster Switky 2008). As a result of this, there has been increased cultural diversity in most organizations. Cultural diversity in most countries (developed and less developed) and even the companies found within them coupled with trade liberalization and globalization has now become a reality and business managers and leaders are now being forced by situations to become intercultural competent in order to be able to capitalize their benefits from the limited resources that are available and also from the advantages which are a product of cultural diversity (Livermore Ang 2009). The question that runs across many people minds is how often we find people who study business or other careers in abroad countries and then come to utilize them in their own country? What happens to our own business cultural competencies outside our country if within our country we have to rely on other cultures for our business to be competent? Is cult ural diversity the driver or the norm in business success or have we become just over reliant on the different cultures in order to succeed? Or do we just want to create an international recognized business culture covering all the different cultures that exist in the world for us to succeed in business? Aim The purpose of this study will be to examine and try and understand to what extent diversity in cultures influence in international business and whether there is anything that can be related to the success seen in most of these international businesses.Advertising Looking for report on international relations? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The theoretical insights on the effects of cross cultures on business will be provided and with communication being the driver in the exchange of the different cultures, it will be a factor of major concern to the study. By having a better understanding on communication, the study hope s to identify whether cross cultural and the intercultural communication are major attributes leading to success of businesses in the international arena. The relationship between culture and communication is very wide and thus the study will not completely cover but it will just try to give an overview of the theories of intercultural communication as well as cross cultural competency. Finally, it is important to note that the study will work on the already established findings trying but it will not be part of this study to investigate or bring about new research findings. Background Culture and its Implications In doing business whether locally or international, culture is a very important factor. It is very usual for businesses to make the right decisions as long as economic or management issues are concerned but to make sure that these decisions lead to the increased profitability of the company, it becomes very important for the key decision makers to understand and be able to solve and bring together the differences that may arise due to the cultural differences that may arise especially in the international business where laws, regulations and even individual behaviors are different depending on the location(Barrett George 2005). It is thus important for the managers to understand the cultural differences and also later to learn them so as to become cultural competent. Culture is the defined or the patterned way in which people think, behave, act and react depending on the circumstances. Culture is displayed through actions and symbols.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on The Role of Inter-cultural Ð ¡ommunications specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More According to Hofstede (1991) culture can be defined as the way the mind of people ( individually or collectively) has been made in such a way one can be able to distinguish a group of people from other due to the way their lives have been p rogrammed to operate ( the way they do their things is different from others). While the definitions of culture may vary from one expert to the other, the common traits found in culture revolve around norms, mores and values one group holds dear compared to the other. When it comes to international business, culture may be defined broadly across the regional, religion and linguistic dimensions while in the narrow dimension, distinct cultures may be defined by the established boundaries which are used to distinguish a country from the other and thus a different legal and political structure from the other. Cultural research theories No matter how two different cultures appear similar, they are very different. The reason behind this is the fact that there are different forces behind them which influence how a person of a certain culture behaves. It can be due to geographical factors or climate factors. Experts while trying to study the different cultures that exist in the world, have used to dimensions: The first dimension has been based on the cultural theories while the other dimension has been through institutional theories (Belisle 2007). The cultural theories dimension tries to investigate the cultural differences based on one’s culture while the institutional dimension approaches the differences between cultures through the established institutions such as law and order and other regulations which dictate or govern how people behave. However, it is worth to understand that two people of the same culture can display different cultural behaviors depending on the level of the embededness (attachment or close ties) one has towards own culture. Nolan (1999) explained this through perceptions. Through which she explained that two people from the same culture can perceive the same thing differently.Advertising Looking for report on international relations? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More She also explained that different people interpret things differently and thus they may have different ways of remembering the same thing. She finally stated that goals, values and methods of achieving different things are defined by our own cultures. On the cultural theory, different experts have identified different cultures through their distinct behaviors, mores and values. Though the three aspects appear easy to understand, the relationship between the three aspects is not easily understood as the causality of the action does not necessary imply the combination of the three aspects. To have an overview of what culture entails, we shall cover the Hofstede’s five dimensions of culture as well as the Trompennaar and Hampden-Turner seven dimensions of culture and through this we shall be able to understand how a business manager can be able to negotiate successfully by learning and understanding the different cultural dimensions. Hofstede While studying cross cultural commun ication, Hofstede indicated that each of the different existing cultures deals with the issues it is faced by according to several dimensions. The dimensions themselves vary on the intensity depending on the matter at hand. He summarized these dimensions into five. In his first dimension individualism or collectivism, he explained that how people view themselves whether as an integral part of a group or as an individual was defined by their culture. He explained further that these groups were natural ones, for example where one can relate to a family or a certain community. This dimension however, did not analyze whether people liked staying in groups or individually rather it was more of how the individual identifies him or herself in relation to a certain group. The second dimension in which Hofstede used to describe culture was uncertainty or avoidance: He stated that in some cultures, everything has to be clearly understood before proceeding further so as to avoid surprises in f uture while in some, which ever manner it is done is no ones business. In the latter cultures where the uncertainty avoidance levels are high, people are never at ease and more often becomes very anxious when some of the factors are not known to the opposite of the cultures which maintain low levels of uncertainty avoidance. Hofstede also explained culture through power distance. He noted that human beings live in stratified levels. In some cultures, the disparity between the ranked high and the low in the society is such wide that the two groups respect each other. Movement and interaction across the different levels is not expected while in the cultures where the gap between the high and the low is not that much wide (power distance is low) people expect that those ruling or in power did not just get it due to their stature in the society but it is because they worked, and put efforts for them to gain the stature. Aggressiveness was Hofstede’s fourth dimension and it define s masculinity and femininity that exists within a certain group. Femininity is said to value gentleness and consensus and in such a culture, men also tend to be gentle and less aggressive. On the other hand, masculinity is competition and assertiveness mainly looking for the best among the players in such cultures. In such a culture even women are more aggressive. The last dimension through which Hofstede defined culture was through orientation. He stated that cultures are either short term or long term orientated. He indicated that cultures that value long term planning are long term orientated while cultures that live for the day or do actions in order to appear better or ‘safe faces’ are short term orientated (Longatan 2008). Trompennaar and Hampden-Turner While studying culture, Trompennaar concentrated mainly on the observed cultural dimensions of leading business executives. In their book â€Å"Riding the Waves of culture† (1997) they identified several dim ensions while some dimensions were similar to Hofstede’s some had different views about the culture. How different people get involved in a culture gives the difference between the specific and diffuse cultures. The specific cultures usually have a clear cut distinction between for example the working life of an individual from his personal life. While in a diffuse culture, there is usually a mix up between the individuals personal and working life. Each activity both in working or personal life seems to be connected. For example your boss may want to know what you do during your free time, what you did after college; aspects which are not official. Individualism or Communitarianism explains how an individual reacts especially on personal interests or in group interests. Depending on the different cultures, some may place individual interests’ way above the community interests while the opposite can apply to other cultures. According to Trompennaar and Hampden Turner ( 1997) the management of international businesses is greatly affected by the nature of the country policies whether they are more individualistic or communitarian. This key dimension influences how the negotiations or even the decision making is going to take place. For example in more capitalistic states such as the United States of America one is paid according to the efforts and thus it is more individualistic, this may be in contrast when compared to a communistic setting such as the Chinese where the collective end results defines the final pay thus demanding more cooperation among all the stakeholders. The achieved status and the ascribed status is more like the power distance dimension experience in the Hofstede’s dimensions. The way people attain or are accorded status is very important in understanding culture even before you can enter into business negotiations with them. The basis for achieving status may vary depending on the age, gender, class and even the educati on level. If the status is accorded depending on what you have done then it is described as an achieved status while if you are given status depending on who you are or where you come from, then the culture just ascribed the status on you (Thomas- Hunt 2005). The neutrality/affectivity dimension describes how individuals control their emotions. How one is affected by certain occurrences is observed or manifested by being indifferent or showing the affection and these aspects are deeply affected by the culture one comes from. Universalism the other dimension describes how individuals follow laws and regulations through the established institutions thus describing the uniformity or the non uniformity of the place you want to conduct your business in. The other dimension through which Trompennaar and Hampden-Turner described culture was the sequential/synchronic manner of doing things this simply described how things are done whether they are done in an orderly system one by one or the y are done all together at the same time. Finally, the human relationship describes how people of different cultures relate or their attitudes towards the environment (Shaules 2007). The above dimensions as explained by the two parties are closely related and it is important for any person who wants to conduct and succeed in business both locally and internationally to have these culture dimensions at hand whether Hofstede’s or the Trompennaar and Hampden-Turner’s as they may be needed one time or the other as the business progresses where it will be important to understand what to expect when dealing in a certain country as opposed to the other. Communication and its implications Definition of Communication To most people, communication is about exchanging information from one party to another. However, looking from a deeper perspective there is more to communication than to what we usually perceive. Communication is thus defined as a learned skill since a majority gr oup is born with a talking skill but there is always need to learn how to speak and communicate with others effectively. These situations depend on observing, teaching in the class, and practicing what is learnt to be evaluated by others (Hamilton 2010). Effective communication is always advisable in order to convey the desired information to the receiving party. Especially when conducting international business, different cultures might have different ways of communicating. People communicate in different levels and they include: interpersonal, intrapersonal, group and finally public. The levels of communication depend on the content of the information and the desired recipients (Theaker 2004). Forms of communication Verbal communication The process of conveying messages or information through the word of mouth is defined as oral communication. This method of communication is mostly used when discussions are needed and when immediate reaction is needed from the other side. In the a spect of business, it is a very important method of communication when negotiations are needed to be discussed and some parties need to be convinced (Krauss 2002). Non Verbal Communication This is the process of receiving wordless messages from one entity to the other. Non-verbal forms of communication are usually determined by the posture, gesture, body language, eye contact, and facial expression among others. Non-verbal communication plays a key role in every person’s day-to-day life from ordinary life to other special engagements in life. In the aspect of business, one can know when the deal is going nicely and when it is not depending on the way the other party reacts. Speech as a non-verbal communication may contain elements of non-verbal communication such as Para-language, which may include voice quality, emotion, and speaking style. The features of non-verbal communication can be divided into static and dynamic. Static features of non verbal communication include pos ture (e.g. lying down, cross legged, seated or standing among others) while dynamic features include facial expressions frowning and yawning among others (Jones LeBaron 2002) Visual communication The process of conveying message in a form that can be read; primarily, it is involved with two-dimensional images e.g. signs, drawings and graphics. Visual communication relies on vision (what can be seen). Visual communication is mostly reliable when a case of future reference is needed or when similar message need to be sent to many receivers and when conveying of the message requires a step-by-step procedure. Among the above communication methods the best communication method depends on the purpose of conveying the message, resources required when stressing the importance of the information needed among other requirements. In countries where everything has to be in written form when conducting business, it is the best method to use. To make communication easier, there exist several prin cipals which need to be adhered to (Jamieson 2007). Principles of communication Listening This is an art in communication and has rules to be followed. Listening opens us to the world around us and also to the people who matter. Researchers say that when we listen, we learn, and we grow. Listening involves mutual acknowledgement of the other party and it creates an emotional atmosphere. Acknowledgement of the other person presence enhances better communication. It is always advisable to listen first to whatever you are being told and then you acknowledge before you can express what your point of view is. Acknowledging at least confirms to the other party that at least you were listening. Listening and repeating the information in your own words makes it easier to understand the situation by putting yourself in the other person’s shoes. If the other party in the business deal feels that your are taking time to listen to his side of the story: the negotiations or what ever you are doing together moves on easily (Henley 2008). Perception Among the many problems that are faced in the communication process, perception is one of the worst. It usually happens when we judge people by the way they look but not by their deeds or by the information they present. Some people are written off during presentations just because of the way they appear or the way they are dressed. Prejudice hinders the effectiveness of communicating with other parties since the cloud is formed at the first instance of what is expected. As a business leader, this is a major aspect to avoid as it can lead to failure of the business no matter how lucrative it appears (Wood 2008). Audience To connect with the audience is also a very important principle during communication. The negotiator should always have prior information of who his or her audience will be so as to enable him prepare psychologically in advance of what to present and what the audience expects from him. This leads to avoida nce of unnecessary questions arising during the negotiations process (Guffey Almonte 2009). Topics Before the presentation of any information, the businessman should be well versed with all the details about the business deal to avoid embarrassments from the other party of the deal who may be curious about more information and as the conveyor, you find yourself being cowed of not knowing much about the topic.(Hall Mc Crorie,2006) Credibility This is perhaps one of the most important in terms of technical knowledge. How friendly, warm, accessible up to date and knowledgeable is the source of your information or how applicable is the business idea that you are bringing along. When presenting any information, you must be aware that some of the listeners may not agree with your sentiments thus you should listen to what they may have to say and then you share your opinions. Finally, you should find a way of convincing your listeners of the credibility or the benefits to what your claim s are as a better change agent it is always advisable not to oversell or overstate your case. Clarity and simplicity should also be embraced and you should cover the relevant aspects so as not to have a hard time when trying to convince the other party (Ferguson 1999). Barriers of Effective Cross Cultural Communication As a business negotiator, it is important to note that the presence of the following hinders effective communication between parties. Stereotypes are wrong over generalized mind pictures that are applied universally to all things in a particular class. E.g., the stereo types about urban dwellers, blacks, or whites. When an individual applies a mind picture to a given class without any consideration to the personal differences he or she creates complete absence of truth and tends to create a self-fulfilling prophecy in whatever they present (Moonie Walsh 2003). Most of the times the foremost problem in relating with people is distrust with its counterpart being the def ensive interpersonal behavior. Suspicion is created by behavior or acts which suggest that you are making judgment about the other person rather than listening to what the person is saying or you are simply trying to control the other person it makes you feel superior and needless to say such behavior should be avoided completely (Koekemoer Bird 2004). It is also worthy to note that most people are better talkers than listeners. There can be no true interaction or mutual influencing of one another without each person taking turns listening and talking by taking into account what the other party is trying to communicate (Ferreira, Erasmus Groenewald 2010). Finally, culture determines people’s behavioral patterns, varying cultures can be a barrier to effective communication e.g. a lifestyle way of thinking life concerns and modes of communication may be so different from one another that accurate communication and mutual understanding becomes difficult. The above factors presen t among many other barriers which most of the time depend with the situation and the place you are in (Hernandez ND) Intercultural Communication Competence For many scholars, defining what exactly intercultural competency is has been a major challenge and thus, it has been defined following several dimensions as we saw in the case culture. Intercultural communication competence has been defined under the major aspects which include: the flexibility capability (how an individual can adjust), non judgmental or partisan (no creation of stereotypes), how an individual tolerates ambiguity and the ability to pass information using respect as well as the ability to personalize ones knowledge and perceptions about certain views. Any businessperson who is capable of placing himself in the other person’s shoes (empathy) among others characters possesses some degree of intercultural communication competence (Alagic, Nagata Rimmington 2009). Intercultural communication competence can be divided into its two major components: intercultural competence and communication competence. Intercultural competence therefore entails having a business manager or leader who possesses the knowledge and the necessary skills which can enable him to interact effectively with any person irrespective of the culture. A person who is intercultural competent possesses the skills of negotiation and respects any cultural symbol or norms that may arise during the time of negotiation. He or she knows when to stop and when to push further whatever he is advocating for. An intercultural communication competent business person knows when to fulfill their own communication goals by respecting and reaffirming the different cultural identities of the people they interact with (Byram Neuner 2003). Possession of the above capabilities enables us to describe intercultural competency easily through three dimensions which are: the cognitive ability (ability to have the hidden meaning), the affective (s how all the emotions which are involved) and finally the operational dimension (the flexibility of ones behavior depending on the situation). A manager who possesses cultural competencies is able to know or develop within himself a capability of knowing and understanding the cultural dynamics as they arise and thus can be able to adapt the different multiple cultural identities in order to be able to co-exist with the others. Communication competence on the other hand is achieved through two concepts. One is the effectiveness while the other is the appropriateness. If an individual is able to produce the desired end results in relation to how he interacts with the people and everything around him, then he is said to be effective. Appropriateness on the other hand implies the ability to recognize early what hinders communication and be able to escape the inappropriate responses that may arise as well as possessing the capability of controlling the existing communication functions suc h as imagining and controlling the direction of the conversation. The appropriateness can also be measured or assessed in terms of the quality, volume, the importance and the manner in which the manager sends the information (Samovar, Porter McDaniel 2009) A business leader or manager communication competence is described by his or her personal verbal behaviors such as sharing with your colleagues’ information which might have mutual benefits to all the parties involved. Verbal behaviors are the other way through which communication competence can be assessed. The way a person listens or the eye contact when communicating can tell you of his competency level. Lastly, communication competence can also be assessed through conversation management behaviors. In the aspect of international business, this can be achieved by asking questions about the other person and what goes on in their countries of origin (Greene Burleson 2003). For any business person to succeed in his endeavor s and make his company a world leader he should possess the both intercultural and communication competence as this eases the way business will perform in a certain country. Cultural Dimensions and Communication Patterns Culture has and will always be part of a conflict resolution. Culture shapes our perceptions, attributions and ideas both of own and the other party. Though cultures are strong as often experienced across every place in the world, they are often unconscious and sometimes influence conflicts though they also have their impeccable ways of resolving the conflicts. Culture is shared in forms of ethnicity, nationality, skin color, sexual orientation among other socio economic factors. The most important factor to note about cultures is that they are not static, they are always changing and relate to certain places but not to all places. Culture includes what one group knows and the other does not that is why culture is not uniform. The role of culture in an international relations is quite interesting in that cultures prohibits and culture allows e.g. in some cultures the profitability of the business may be preferred to corporate social responsibility while to others the opposite can also be true. Though the occasion is the same the way people act depicts to what their culture demands from them (Fisher 1997). In order to solve any conflict brought about by culture, we need to practice the following: build trust and respect amongst ourselves, read more about other people cultures and appreciate them the way they are and no matter what never try to make your culture appear superior to the others since that can initiate conflict. When in possession of these, then we will be able to communicate freely with the other people whom we would like to conduct business with since we already know what to expect and how we can communicate ourselves out without raising conflicts with the other parties. Conclusion From the study, we can conclude that intercultura l communication competency is a basic requirement to the success of international businesses since it influences the way business decisions are made. The knowledge of what a different culture entails enables a business person to negotiate the business successfully without any hurdles arising. For a business manager to negotiate successfully, he must know the culture of the group he is dealing with since negotiations are most of the time influenced by the cultures. We have also noted that for a business person to be a good negotiator, he or she must possess the intercultural communication competency which helps him in changing her identity depending on the arising situation. This competency as we have seen is usually brought about by the cognitive ability of the business negotiator which helps him in noting what is culturally sensitive to the other party. The communication competency is assessed through the appropriateness and the effectiveness of the communicator and how well effect ive and appropriate the information is translates into either the business becoming a failure or a success. It was also noted that intercultural competency is both an individual as well as an interaction based concept where an individual can possess one and not the two however, an individual who possesses the concepts two concepts always has an upper hand when it comes to negotiation. Recommendations Since intercultural communication competency is conceptualized differently across the existing cultures, it is important for one to learn and understand the different cultures that exist so as to be able to understand the different cultural competencies that exist. Reference List Alagic, M., Nagata, L.A. and Rimmington, G. 2009, Improving intercultural communication competence: Fostering bodymindful cage panting. The journal of Intercultural Communication. No. 12. Pp 39-55. Barrett, K. and George, W. 2005, Race, culture, psychology, and law. Sage Publishers, London. Belisle, C. 2007, â €Å"eLearning and Intercultural dimensions of learning theories and teaching models†. [Online] Available at: http://www.elearningeuropa.info/files/media/media13022.pdf. Byram, M. and Neuner, G. 2003, Intercultural Competence. Council of Europe. Deresky, H. 2000, International Management: Managing Across Boarders and Cultures. Third Edition, Prentice Hall Inc, New Jersey. 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Hamilton, C. 2010, Communicating for Results: A Guide for Business and the Professions. 9th Edition. Cengage Learning, New York. Henley, G. 2008, â€Å"Listening: The four principles plus one†. [Online] Available at: http://www.rctaylor.com/images/Listening.pdf. Hernandez, C. Not Dated, Ten Ways to Improve Your Interpersonal Skills. [Online] Available at: http://www.allbusiness.com/human-resources/careers-career-development/11134-1.html?sms_ss=face. Hofstede, G, H. 1991, Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind. McGraw-Hill, London. Jamieson, H.G. 2007, Visual communication: More than meets the eye. Intellect Books Publishers, Bristol: United Kingdom. Jones, S.E. and LeBaron, D.C. 2002, â€Å"Research on the Relationship Between verbal and Nonverbal communication. Emerging Integrations†. [Online] Available at: http://talkbank.org/media/PDF/JOC-PDF/1-Jones%20%26%20LeBaron.pdf. Koekemoer, L. and Bird, S. 2004, Marketing communications. Juta and Company Ltd. 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Cengage Learning, New York. Shaules, J. 2007, Deep culture: the hidden challenges of global living. Multilingual Matters Publishers. Clevedon, United Kingdom. Theaker, A. 2004, The public relations handbook. 2nd Edition, Routledge Publishers, New York. Thomas- Hunt, M. 2005. Status and Groups. Emerald Group Publishing, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom. Trompennaars, F. and Hampden-Turner, C, 1997. Riding the Waves of Culture: Understanding Diversity in Global Business. 2nd Edition, McGraw-Hill, London. Wood, T.J. 2008, Communication in our lives. 5th Edition. Cengage Learning, New York. This report on The Role of Inter-cultural Ð ¡ommunications was written and submitted by user GitHoskins to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Account for the Development of Public Health Reforms in the 19th Century and Assess Their Role in Improving the Populations Health by the Early 20th Century Essays

Account for the Development of Public Health Reforms in the 19th Century and Assess Their Role in Improving the Populations Health by the Early 20th Century Essays Account for the Development of Public Health Reforms in the 19th Century and Assess Their Role in Improving the Populations Health by the Early 20th Century Essay Account for the Development of Public Health Reforms in the 19th Century and Assess Their Role in Improving the Populations Health by the Early 20th Century Essay OOO o 233,000, of Glasgow from 77,000 to 345,000, of Liverpool from 82,000 to 376,000 and of Manchester from 75,000 to 303,000 (Alcock,Daly,Griggs,2008) Small areas of habitation grew quickly until they grew into the major cities. Birmingham and Sheffield became famous for their manufacturing trades. London, Liverpool and Bristol grew because of the docks, railways and canals that enabled goods to be exported. The unprecedented numbers of people moving to, and indeed creating these towns and cities meant that housing solutions needed to be found very quickly; to this end some factory owners built accommodation for their workers, hese would be built close to the factories so that the workers could easily be called to work by the factory bell, as most workers did not have their own clocks. As the factory owners were motivated primarily by profit, and tended to view workers as Just another resource accommodation was often constructed to the lowest possible standard. Salford, once more important than Manchester, was then the leading town of the surrounding district to which it still gives its name, Salford Hundred. Hence it is that an old and therefore very unwholesome, dirty, and ruinous locality is ouses could be extremely basic with communal toilets and without running water, and with no arrangements made for the disposal of human waste. Over-crowded, ill-drained, badly-ventilated, and miserable abodes which line the narrow lanes and filthy alleys abounding in most large town (Roberts, 1855) With the numbers of people moving to the towns and cities there could not be enough houses built to cope with demand; in these cases people would be forced to live in cellars and other unsuitable dwellings, often alongside other families and even animals. It often appens that a wh ole Irish family is crowded into one bed; often a heap of filthy straw or quilts of old sacking cover all in an indiscriminate heap, where all alike are degraded by want, stolidity, and wretchedness. Often the inspectors found, in a single house, two families in two rooms. All slept in one, and used the other as a kitchen and dining-room in common. Often more than one family lived in a single damp cellar, in whose pestilent atmosphere twelve to sixteen persons were crowded together. To these and other sources of disease must be added that pigs were kept, nd other disgusting things of the most revolting kind were found. (Engels, 1844) Although the boom in housing created problems with the removal of human waste, however this had been a feature of urbanised areas for some time before the industrial revolution; as Samuel Pepys recorded in a diary entry for 20th October 1660, Going down to my cellar I put my feet into a great heap of turds, by which I find that Mr Turners house of office is full and comes into my cellar (Halliday, 2007) With the problem of waste disposal and over-crowding in squalid conditions came he inevitable increase in diseases. In one place we found a whole str eet following the course of a ditch, because in this way deeper cellars could be secured without the cost of digging, cellars not for storing wares or rubbish, but for dwellings for human beings. Not one house of this street escaped the cholera. (Engels, 1844) There had always been disease in the towns and cities, however, with the increased population it spread faster than at any other time, and there seemed no way to halt its progress. There were many diseases that flourished in these environments, ncluding Influenza, Tuberculosis, Typhoid, Typhus, and the most feared at the time, Cholera. Again, the repeated visitations of cholera, typhus, smallpox, and other epidemics have shown the British bourgeois the urgent necessity of sanitation in his towns and cities, if he wishes to save himself and family from falling victims to such diseases. (Engels, 1844) During this century, medical science advanced at hitherto unprecedented speed, and more people than at any other time entered t he medical profession, In the first half of the century the medical world was raising the xpectation that treatment of the body could become as exact a science as knowledge of the body. Throughout the land, much money and energy was being devoted to medical care and its study. Between 1801 and 1850 more university- educated men entered the profession in Great Britain (over eight thousand) than in all of previous history. (Haley 1978) However, there was still a lot to be learned about the nature of disease, and the causes of epidemics were poorly understood. The theory of miasma (the belief that disease was spread by smell and foul air) was still popular as an explanation of how diseases were spread. Cholera was greatly feared being a water-borne disease, attacked all, notably the middle classes with their better water supplies and struck fear into the hearts of the governors, local and national. The response to the outbreak of infectious disease varied from town to town, however police in Manchester responded to one outbreak of Cholera, by evacuating and disinfecting the area. The first court below Ducie Bridge, known as Allens Court, was in such a state at the time of the cholera that the sanitary police ordered it evacuated, swept, and disinfected with chloride of lime. (Engels, 1844) Towards the end of the century, Britain was involved in conflicts around the world in order to defend her empire from the emerging powerhouses of Japan and Germany who were keen to forge their own empires and trading routes. In 1899 conflict erupted between the British and the Boers, being the South African descendents of Dutch settlers. The Boer army turned out to be well prepared, well trained and provided with enough food and provisions to defend themselves for three years, whilst the British, having believed that the war would be quickly over, were nowhere near as well-prepared. The Boer war highlighted a serious problem for the forces, specifically that the recruits being called upon to defend the nation, being largely drawn from poverty-stricken areas where the conditions discussed above were rife, were often weak and of poor health. At that time, it became apparent that there were serious problems with public health in Britain: up to 40% of recruits in Britain were unfit for military service, suffering from medical problems such as rickets and other poverty-related illnesses. 80% of men presenting for service in the Boer War were found by the Army Medical Corps to be physically unfit to fght. wrww. forces- war-records. co. uk) The realisation that the population had become too weak to defend the nation, alongside the increasingly common outbreaks of disease arising from cramped, unsanitary living conditions of workers led to the Report of the Interdepartmental Committee into Physical Deterioration in 1904, which called for changes to be made to ensure the nations health did not deteriorate further than it already had. In the 1906 general election the Liberal Party gained power after an extensive period of Conservative government and immediately embarked on a series f Acts to improve the health of the nation. These included the provision of free school meals in 1906, health checks for school children in 1907, the Notification of Births Act in 1907 to allow midwives to ensure that newborn babies were being fed and cared for correctly and the Childrens Act of 1908, which was designed to keep orphans out of prisons and set up childrens homes for them. By focusing primarily on the health of children, they were working to improve the health of the next generation, thus ensuring a steady supply of fit and healthy individuals who could be called upon to defend the nation, if necessary. The Labour Exchange Act of 1909 and the National Insurance Act of 1911. were the first that the nation had seen that tried to tackle the problem of unemployment and ill health. The Labour Exchange Act sought to bring together those people who were looking for work with those who needed workers. The National Insurance Act was split into two stages, firstly giving people a right to medical treatment and sick pay in return for a payment each week out of their wages, and secondly giving people the right to unemployment pay for up worker before claiming it. There are differing theories about the effectiveness of hese reforms in improving the health of the population at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. What cannot be denied, however, is that the death rate fell in this period, from 22. 6 deaths per 1000 in England and Wales in 1860 to only 14. 4 per 1000 by 1905 (Gascoigne, S, 2012) Thomas McKeown, in his book the Modern Rise in Population (1976) looked at the detailed death records that were kept for Britain at the time of the reforms to assess their effect on the recorded deaths. He concluded, after extensive research, that the improvements to he nations health during the period 1850-1914 was as a result of a steady rise in living standards and the associated rise in average nutritional intake (McKeown, 1976) which was a secondary result of the reforms as people were able to support themselves whilst out of work and were able to move quickly from Job to Job, no longer subject to the fluctuations of business which may have previously led to a dependency on a poor law that could no longer support them. The dark shadow of the Malthusian philosophy has passed away, and no view of the ultimate scheme of things would now be accepted under which multitudes of men and women are oomed by inevitable law to struggle for existence so severe as necessarily to cripple or destroy the higher parts of their nature. (Dorling, D, 2002) McKeowns conclusions were questioned by Simon Szreter who wished to discover if the link between the death rate falling and the public health r eform was solely due to the better diet and living standards that were available, or it there was another cause. Szreter started out by analysing the relationship between diseases, with particular attention to the fact that once infected with a disease a person is more susceptible to catching other iseases. Szreter also suggests that it may be a case of the statistics being misreported that led to the reduction, as opposed to the medical and sociological advances that were occurring. In conclusion, there were many factors that that led to the development of public health reforms during the 19th Century; of these the most prominent were the rapid influx of people into the cities and towns leading to the rapid development of often unsuitable living arrangements, a polluted water supply, inadequate drainage and waste disposal; all of which contributed to the high levels f squalor experienced by those who lived there. This in turn led to outbreaks of diseases, which worried the government as diseases such as cholera seemed to infect regardless of class. The threat from disease combined with the lack of suitable soldiers to protect Britains empire from emerging states such as Germany spurred the Government into action and brought about the public health reforms in the 19th Century. The effectiveness of these reforms is still under debate, with academics trying to establish what was the primary reason for the death rate falling between 860 and 1905; the debate appears to be between those who believe it was the advances in medical knowledge of nutrition, cleanliness and the causes and treatment of disease and those who believe it was the public health reforms that were introduced because of the pressing need for intervention to prevent the poorest people becoming to enfeebled to work, thus becoming a load on the poor law. The reason that the health of the population increased into the early 20th Century seems to be a combination of public health reform and rapid increase in have a welfare state and NHS which are the em. y of the world.