Custom «The Tennessee Valley Authority» Essay Paper Sample

The Tennessee Valley Authority was in charge of electricity and fertilizer distribution to the framers and the locals. Therefore, it had a social responsibility. The federal government adopted the grass root organization method through incorporation of the local organizations concerns into the organization. Cooptation was employed to deal with the local and national interests which was a serious problem facing the authority. Formal cooptation was used to assist in the administration of programs through local participation. Cooptation refers to the absorption of new elements, into an organization’s leadership and policy making structures, in order to prevent any threats to an organization’s stability. Cooptation can either be formal, or informal. Formal cooptation involves publicly absorbing new elements in an organization. This form of cooptation becomes necessary when there is a need to establish a formal relationship with new elements. Formal Cooptation helps defend legitimacy and develop reliable channels of communication. It occur under two scenarios. First, when the organizations legitimacy is in question. In this case, new elements with public respectability are absorbed to re-establish the organizations stability. Secondly, when there is a need to establish an orderly and reliable mechanism for reaching a client or the public. On the other hand, Informal Cooptation, is employed so as to engage organized forces, which threaten an organization, in the decision making structure. Informal cooption reflects the tension between formal authority and social power.

Organized forces in the community may still threaten an organization’s structure and power even with established legitimacy and confidence of the organization in the community. Therefore, to prevent occurrences of this nature, members of the organize forces are involved in the organization’s decision making process. Thus, cooptation is valuable as it brings about a broadening of leadership in the organization.

The Monsanto firm aims at dominating the market in the new and less exploited field of biotechnology. The firm started by acquiring a couple of patents for herbicide-resistant seeds. The ability to secure intellectual property protection encourages and rewards innovation. An organization can therefore, protect the plant varieties it has developed from unauthorized reproduction. For example, in 1996, Monsanto introduced its first biotechnology seeds into the market. These were the Roundup Ready soybeans with in-seed herbicide tolerance and insect-resistant cotton. The term roundup ready is used to refer to crops, such as soybeans and cottons, which have been genetically modified to tolerate glyphosate a chemical herbicide. Through these acquisitions, the firm was able to commercialize its products and started earning returns from them.

Through biotechnology, the firm intends to produce better tasting fruits and vegetables which retain their texture and flavor much longer. These products also have their own build in pest resistance properties and therefore, require less pesticide. Also, the products ability to withstand severe weather conditions for example, low or high temperatures and drought is another beneficial trait. Some of the Monsanto produce already in the market grown from the biotechnology seeds include onions, broccoli and tomatoes. The improved qualities in these products include significantly high antioxidant level found in the Beneforte broccoli compared to the typical broccoli. Another product, the EverMild onion, has lower sulfur levels than the common onion. Monsanto’s orange grape potato is bred to be sweeter with lower acidity and richer fragrance than the conventional tomatoes. The firm combines both the conventional methods of breeding and using technological advancement to revolutionize fruits and vegetables production. The firm’s impact in the market is already being felt with concerns from the environmental and farming groups that it might push out the small firms from the market. In addition, there are concerns that the company might introduce new genes in the market through its technological advancement. Through technology, Monsanto intends to introduce into the market better fruits and vegetables while at the same time avoiding consumer hurdles that would accompany genetically engineered products. With reduced crops yield throughout the world because of the diminishing land due to the ever increasing population and the effects of the shifting weather patterns. Monsanto entry into the seed business has come at the right time.

With countries eager to secure food supplies to feed their populations, Monsanto stands a chance of raking in large profits due to the deteriorating farming conditions. After acquiring Seminis Inc a seed company in 2005, the company further expanded through acquisition of other vegetable seeds companies. Monsanto went a step further by opening up 57 research centers all over the world. The firm boasts of a large staff size especially in the research centers. It has steered off the issue of genetically modified seeds citing the economic hurdles associated with them. This seeds, take a long time to get government clearance unlike, the non-biotech seeds. The other issue is the negative publicity associated with the genetically modified products which are still considered unfit for the human consumption in some areas. The genetically engineered products escape into the wild and interfere with the eco-system and thus cause considerable environmental problems. Also, viruses which may cause death of certain plants, animals or even humans may develop from these products. However, the firm has not entirely ruled out venturing into genetically modified vegetables. Monsanto is also considering the terminator technology whereby the genetically modified seed and the forthcoming products are sterile. This means that, the farmers must buy them again every year. Though this solves the problem of seed policy, the self destructing seeds traits can get passed on to the non-genetically-engineered crops, making their seeds sterile.