Ethical Theories Essay

Moral dilemmas are a part of daily life and the solutions presented to them are usually dependent on the ethics that govern the individual facing them. Every person at one point in time has been faced with a moral dilemma. This can be described as the values which are used to determine the right way to handle a situation and the wrong way to go about it. Each society and community has its own moral index and in some societies, an action may be viewed tolerable or right, while the same action in another community would be viewed as intolerable and frowned upon. The moral index of a society usually goes hand in hand with religious beliefs and communities which are religiously inclined to have strict rules on what is suitable behaviour and what is not. Societies which have more secular values usually tolerate extreme or eccentric behavior. The difference in opinions of different people in what is normally right and wrong has led to the development of various ethical theories. Two of these theories are utilitarianism and duty ethics. An example of a situation which brought about different ethical stand points is the Firestone Company tire recall in 1999 and 2000. The company had discovered that its newly designed firestorm Radial ATX, ATX II and Wilderness AT tires were defective back in 1996, after 8 of the 18 times were singled out after they failed a test that tested the endurance of tires under high speed. Of the 14. 4 million tires sold approximately 6. 5 million tires had to be recalled due to defects in the details which involved the tread and one steel belt separating from the other steel belt and carcass The details has led to serious and even fatal accidents as the cars overturned when the accidents occurred while they were in motion. In an attempt to show difference between utilitarianism and duty ethics we shall consider an engineer working for the company at the time and the stand he or she would take if they subscribed to utilitarianism or duty ethics Utilitarianism can be described as an ethical theory that proposes that the action that brings good or favorable consequences to the majority is not subject to whether it is right or wrong meaning it is not subject to questioning. (Fredrick,2003) This theory was greatly championed by utilitarians such as John Stuart Mill. This theory advocates for actions that produce happiness to the greatest or largest number of people. In an ideal situation this may be possible but usually any action can produce happiness to many or a few people depending on the action. The theory does not usually advocate for the use of ethically correct actions at all times and thus actions which may be viewed as wrong sometimes bring happiness to a large group of people but the actions still remain morally wrong. An engineer subscribing to the utilitarianism way to life would have supported the company stand and the action it took. The company discovered that some tires were defective and did not recall the rest of the tires that had already been sold. This lead to accidents which caused suffering and death and it was not until an investigation into the cause of the accidents that finally forced the Firestone Company to admit liability and recall the tires. The company did not recall the tires because it feared the losses that it would face incase the tires were all defective. The company chose to protect their profits margins at the expense of their clients. (Little, 2003) As an engineer with a utilitarianism view point this action would be the best because recalling would mean great losses and downsizing in terms of job which would mean unemployment for many people working at the company affecting both them and their dependants. The duty ethics proposes that the action taken in any situation should be just and honest and respectful to all persons involved. This ethical principle advances for the upholding of principles regardless to the wrong consequences whether they will be good or bad. (Graham,2004) An engineer working for the Firestone Company would have chosen to recall all the defective tires and conducted a through investigation to the causes of the defaults without external pressure or the threat of law suits as inducement. The engineer moral compass would have guided them to make such a stand regardless to the fallout which is this case would have resulted in major losses to the company. As per the requirements of the engineering profession, this mechanical engineer was ascribed to some basic fundamental ethics and the relevant professional codes of conduct while in the jurisdiction of their duty. These are guidelines aimed at providing safety standards for the engineers while at work and the common good of the society. However, the same was objectively inadequate in the Firestone’s case. As a basic requirement, they should exercise their professional skills and also knowledge in providing contentment in the general human life. Impartiality and honesty should prevail in their service where fidelity to the public should never be compromised above that of clients and also employers. Elsewhere, engineers should pursue a continued development in their profession and bring service to their different clients without any conflict. These are the basic fundamentals of mechanical engineers whose proficiency is provided by the support of the canons of mechanical engineering. In conclusion the moral stand point taken by any individual should always be after requiring all the necessary information. This is because in every decision made, there are always individuals who love and those who benefit. As in the Firestone, the recalling decision would have resulted in loss. After careful evaluation one should decide on the decision that brings minimal losses in the involved activity.

Partnership Care Nursing: A review of two Peer-reviewed Journals on Care Nursing

Introduction The concept of teamwork in health and social care has a vast literature. For instance, a policy developed by the Department of Health in 2007 mainly focused on eradicating inequalities in health service provision through partnership working between primary care providers and other social care agencies. Today’s healthcare service status demands teamwork, which is particularly true for nurses who have to deal with multiple of factors during their professional service provision. On the same breadth is the increased call for more patients’ involvement in their health, including on the right to make decision and seek legal support on the basis of their health. In other words, every patient receiving healthcare services, including nursing service is entitled to be actively involved in their own care. The philosophy behind partnership working in nursing is based on several concepts and principles: empowerment, autonomy & rights, power-sharing, information sharing, respect, mak ing informed choices, and paternalism. The aim of this paper is to analyse ideas from two different articles by different authors on the topic of nursing, particularly on the partnership working in nursing. Discussions Article I: Patient participation in nursing care: towards a concept clarification from a nurse perspective In their study, â€Å"Patient participation in nursing care: towards a concept clarification from a nurse perspective† Sahlsten et al. (2007) explored the evolution of patient participation, a concept that has not only gained significant transformation overtime, but also brought with it more challenges on definitions and dimensions of patient participation. The authors used focus group interviews to collect data, conducting open interviews on the selected seven groups. While the data gathering took five months to accomplish, the researchers were able to uncover the respondent’s perspectives in depth. While the focus group interviews may have mainly focused on the meaning and implementation of patient participation in line with the study’s aim, the results can clearly reveal what nurses value most in terms of patient participation. Respondents rated equal partners’ participation, co-operation, and shared responsibility as the most significant factors in rel ational nursing (Sahlsten et al., 2007, pp. 635-636). While the aim of the study was to explore â€Å"the meaning of patient participation in the nursing care from a nurse perspective† (Sahlsten et al., 2007, p.632), the review of other authors’ works reveals a plethora of issues in the nursing care and partnership working. The nurse-patient relationship is considered successful when both parties view each other as partners, with the nurse required to use professionalism, knowledge and positive ideas in the implementation of nursing care plan. Patient, on the other hand, is expected to have the intellectual ability to understand and make the right choices with regard to their own nursing care. The authors, however, faults the incongruence relationship between studies conducted in relation to patient participation on one side and definitions, elements and processes in literature and practice on the other side. Although there are a lot of empirical literature on nursing theories and patient participation, the authors claim t hat no empirically grounded theory has ever been established, calling for significant insight into more studies related to the concept of patient participation in their own nursing care. The authors claim that the traditional approach where patients were mere recipient of nursing care has changed, and subsequently replaced by the more active patients who are directly involved in their own care. More importantly, patients’ participation simply means the opportunity for them to participate in their own care, with regular adjustment as the situation may demand. Article II: The relational core of nursing practice as partnership Jonsdottir, Litchfield and Pharris (2004), while exploring â€Å"the relational core of nursing practice as partnership†, focused their analysis on the evolving relational core of nursing care in the backdrop of increased technology use and outcome-oriented approaches. The three authors, unlike their previously outlined counterparts, only focused on critical review of the available literature, espousing the role of evolving dialogue between nurse and patient in terms of partnership nursing and care. While technology is considered in the positive side in terms of medical breakthroughs, experts and general observers alike have associated it with distraction in health care services that need personalised attention including nursing (Jonsdottir, Litchfield and Pharris, 2004, p.241). In retrospect, the authors claim that the distracted modern nurse sees patient as a problem rather than partner to be attended to, consequently obscuring the humanness of nursing experience. To emphasise on the need to correct the deteriorating relational nursing concept in the perspective of partnership, Jonsdottir, Litchfield and Pharris (2004) outline and analyse various research studies that backs the need for nurses to be real partners through presence, care, and attentiveness in every stage of care nursing. The authors categorically state that the patients need medical treatment as priority, but emphasis should also be given to proven holistic approaches to care nursing, which studies have revealed to be equally significant in the overall healthcare. The focus on holistic care nursing should thus be based on dialogue between nurses and patients, for example, where the former should be in a position to explain to the latter why a certain procedure or activity is necessary in the process of care nursing. Conclusion While the two set of authors had different approaches to their respective work, both articles exemplifies harmony in terms of the need for partnership care nursing. One may, however, notice that the former article largely referred to partnership in the perspective of increased patient participation in own care nursing. The latter article mainly focused on partnership as a dialogue between nurse and patient. It is prudent to state that the former authors’ focus on patient elevation is largely due to historical background of healthcare service provision that pushed patients to the periphery of their own health. Nonetheless, the difference in semantics and approach notwithstanding, the two sets of authors agree that both patients and nurses need to collaborate, and view each other as partners rather than either one party feeling superior to one another. After all, it is common knowledge in the health care cycle that post-modern health and social care services requires more than t he post-war’s â€Å"one-size-fits-all† approach that dominated the universal health care service provision more than fifty decades ago. References Jonsdottir, H., Litchfield, M. and Pharris, M.D. 2004. The relational core of nursing practice as partnership. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 47(3), 241-250. Sahlsten M.J., Larson I.E., Sjostrom B., Lindencrona, C.S. and Ploskae. 2007. Patients participation in nursing care: towards a concept clarification from a nurse perspective. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 16, 630-637.

Belgium Economy

? Belgium's economy is 71. 5 per cent free, according to our 2008 assessment, which makes it the world's 20th freest economy. This is a 0. 9 percentage point decrease from last year, primarily reflecting increased government spending. Belgium is ranked 10th freest among the 41 countries in the European region, and its overall score is above the regional average. Belgium scores very high in investment freedom, property rights, monetary freedom, and business freedom and is above the world average in eight areas. A member of the European Union, it has a standardized monetary policy and relatively low inflation despite some government distortion in the agricultural sector. Its transparent rule of law protects property and encourages confidence among foreign investors. Belgium's extensive welfare state is supported by exceptionally high government spending and income tax rates. Overall tax revenue is an uncommonly high per cent of GDP, and Belgium's government size score is 50 percentage points worse than the world average. Background Belgium is a federal state consisting of three economically different regions: Flanders, Wallonia, and the capital city of Brussels, which houses the headquarters of NATO and the EU and has been at the forefront in driving the supranationalisation of power within the EU. After eight years, Guy Verhofstadt and his Liberal Party were ousted from power in 2007. His previous Socialist Liberal coalition sought to ease the income tax burden and succeeded in balancing the budget, but growth remained sluggish. Christian Democratic leader Yves Leterme has since been invited to form a coalition government. Services account for around three-quarters of GDP. The leading exports are electrical equipment, vehicles, diamonds, and chemicals. BELGIUM Rank: 20 Regional Rank: 10 of 41 Population:10. 5 million GDP (PPP):$336. 6 billion 1. 5% growth in 2004 1. 7% 5-yr. comp. ann. growth $32,119 per capita Unemployment: 8. 4% Inflation (CPI): 2. 5% FDI (net inflow):$766 million Off. Dev. Assist. None External Debt: $1. 1 trillion Exports: $318. 8 billion Primarily machinery and equipment, chemicals, diamonds, metals and metal products, foodstuffs. Imports: $308. 4 billion Primarily machinery and equipment, chemicals, diamonds, pharmaceuticals, foodstuffs, transportation equipment, oil products. BELGIUM’S TEN ECONOMIC FREEDOM Business freedom – 93. 7% The overall freedom to start, operate, and close a business is strongly protected by Belgium's national regulatory environment. Starting a business takes an average of four days, compared to the world average of 43 days. Obtaining a business license requires less than the world average of 19 procedures and 234 days. Regulation is transparent, and the laws are enforced effectively. Closing a business is easy and straightforward. Trade freedom – 86% Belgium's trade policy is the same as those of other members of the European Union. The common EU weighted average tariff rate was 2 per cent in 2005. Non-tariff barriers reflected in EU policy include agricultural and manufacturing subsidies, import restrictions for some goods and services, market access restrictions in some service sectors, non-transparent and restrictive regulations and standards, and inconsistent customs administration across EU members. Enforcement of intellectual property rights remains problematic. Consequently, an additional 10 percentage points is deducted from Belgium's trade freedom score. Fiscal freedom – 43. 9% Belgium's income tax rate is one of the world's highest, and its corporate tax rate is also high. The top income tax rate is 50 per cent, and the top corporate tax rate is 34 per cent (a 33 per cent tax rate and 3 per cent surcharge). Other taxes include a value-added tax (VAT), a transport tax, and a property tax. In the most recent year, overall tax revenue as a percentage of GDP was 44. 9 per cent. Freedom from Government – 17. 9% Total government expenditures, including consumption and transfer payments, are very high. In the most recent year, government spending equaled 52. 3 per cent of GDP. Monetary freedom – 80. 4% Belgium is a member of the euro zone. Between 2004 and 2006, its weighted average annual rate of inflation was 2. 3 per cent. Relatively stable prices explain most of the monetary freedom score. As a participant in the EU's Common Agricultural Policy, the government subsidies agricultural production, distorting the prices of agricultural products. Price-control policies affect water supply, waste handling, homes for the elderly, medicines and implantable medical devices, certain cars, compulsory insurance, fire insurance, petroleum products, cable television, and certain types of bread. An additional 10 percentage points is deducted from Belgium's monetary freedom score to account for these policies. Investment freedom – 90% Most restrictions on foreign investment also apply to domestic investment. Permits and licenses required for certain industries are not hard to obtain. Regional and national incentives are generally open to foreigners and Belgians, but taxes and certain employment criteria are federally controlled. Performance requirements, when present, are linked to job creation. EU regulations require some restrictions on non-EU investment in public works. There are no restrictions on the purchase of real estate, residents' and non-residents' accounts, repatriation of profit, or transfer of capital. Financial freedom – 80% Belgium has one of the world's most developed financial systems, with 104 banks, including over 70 foreign banks, and numerous financial service providers, but the five largest banks still hold 85 per cent of deposits. An independent commission supervises the financial sector. Banks must provide a minimum set of services. Credit is allocated at market terms to both foreign nd domestic investors. Belgian law differentiates between EU and non-EU banks, financial institutions, and insurance companies, although firms from European Economic Area or World Trade Organization countries may be treated equally. Regional authorities may subsidies medium- and long-term borrowing. The insurance sector is smaller and less robust than banking. The world's first stock market was organized in Antwerp, and Belgium's sound capit al markets were recently integrated into Euro next, a broader European exchange. Property rights – 80% Property is well protected, and contracts are secure. The laws are codified, and the judiciary and civil service, while often slow, are of high quality. Intellectual property rights are well protected, but implementation of relevant EU directives has been slow. Freedom from corruption – 73% Corruption is perceived as minimal. Belgium ranks 20th out of 163 countries in Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index for 2006. Belgium outlaws both active bribery and â€Å"passive bribery,† whereby an official requests or accepts a benefit for himself or somebody else in exchange for certain behavior. Labor freedom – 69. 9% Employment regulations are relatively flexible, but further reform is needed to foster employment creation and productivity growth. The non-salary cost of employing a worker can be very high, and dismissing a redundant employee is relatively costly. Belgium's high labor costs are sustainable for high-value-added processes, but market rigidities remain a considerable barrier to employing a worker.

Business law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 5

Business law - Essay Example Patients with red tags are immediately referred by Unit Managers to the Customer Relations Department who monitors their status and closely coordinates with the Accounting and Cashier Department for settlement and collection purposes. Once a patient has been classified as red tag, any procedure (therapeutic, diagnostic, laboratory, etc.) need to be immediately settled prior to the administration of the procedure, regardless of the necessity and the kind of the procedure to be undertaken. The rationale for this is to prevent further increases in the amount due to the hospital which might not be collected nor paid. The patient regularly needs any of the abovementioned procedures to monitor her health progress and to identify and assess whether present medications need to be adjusted (increase or decrease in dosage and frequency of administration). However, since this patient was already classified as red tag, and since the daughter still needs to look for alternative sources of funds to settle the staggering amount, the required regular procedures could not be undertaken. In this regard, in the capacity of the Unit Manager, an ethical dilemma needs to be resolved through ethical theories and analytical thinking for recommendation to higher management in the hospital. The hospital with medical and ethical responsibilities to their patients has to assess their red tag policy in terms of contradicting conformity to ethical standards. Given the scenario, the alternative courses of action, as recommended by the Unit Manager are available for both the hospital and the patient: (1) immediately transfer the patient to a room with the least cost (a ward or semi-private room) without compromising health benefits. By transferring the patient to a room with lower cost, all other hospital costs associated with the room transfer would be decreased; (2) seek the necessary financial assistance from health insurance (Medicaid,

Rights Of Workers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Rights Of Workers - Essay Example Gonos, in his article entitled â€Å"Never a Fee!† explained the historical experience of the effects and consequences of the staffing industry to the real welfare of workers, stating that the few laws existing and the deregulation of the staffing business has further undermined the â€Å"workers’ ability to gain self-sufficiency† (Gonos, 2000-01). A further analysis of secret fees charged should therefore be made in order that appropriate policy changes for the protection of workers. The union organizing policy presented in the article entitled â€Å"Never a Fee!† written by George Gonos, which I think should be changed is their reliance on establishing a â€Å"national code of conduct† which appeals on all the staffing agencies concerned to make available to workers the information regarding the rate which client employers pay workers (Ziegler, 1999). This policy merely encourages and urges the staffing agencies and do not really oblige or mandate that the â€Å"hidden fees† or rates in employment contracts be revealed. Instead of lobbying for a legislation that would truly examine and delve into the fees that are charged especially on temporary and contract workers by either the client firms or staffing industries or both, they have merely settled on having such a national code of conduct (Gonos, 2000-01). The group pushing for this code of conduct consists of groups representing contingent workers and represent other diverse interests suc h as workers in the construction business, workers belonging to labor unions, professionals belonging to the high-tech industries, graduate assistants from various universities, and some undocumented immigrants (Community Partners, 2009).   There is a seeming lack of follow through or inconsistency on the part of workers’ group to lobby and support such a legislation that would reveal the so-called â€Å"hidden fees† in employment contracts which has been a

Describe and discuss the extent of racism and racial discrimination in Essay

Describe and discuss the extent of racism and racial discrimination in Britain - Essay Example In this context, the development of racial discrimination in Britain is continued; however, the fact that efforts for the control of the phenomenon are also in progress is quite encouraging, proving that the signs for the limitation of racism in Britain are positive, no matter if their results are made visible in the short or the long term. 2. Racism and racial discrimination in Britain background and extent 2.1 Overview of racism and racial discrimination in Britain Immigrants represent an important part of the British population. More specifically, it has been estimated that immigrants across Britain are 4.6 million – in a total population of 60 million (Morris et al. 2007). The research on the living conditions and the daily challenges of these people, revealed that many of them are likely to become ‘victim of a racially motivated crime’ (Easton 2006); in fact, it has been revealed that in 2004, 87,000 immigrants in Britain have faced such problem (Easton 2006) . The above number shows increasing trends; in 2005 the prosecutions for racially motivated offences showed an increase of 28% - compared to 2005 (Easton, 2006). It should be noted at this point that immigrants in Britain have a key influence on the country’s politics, being an important electoral body (McAllister 1984); however, it seems that they are not able of using their power – as described above – in order to secure their rights – reference is made primarily to health, employment and education. In order to identify and understand the extent of racial discrimination in Britain it would be necessary to refer primarily to the framework of discrimination, as developed in the particular country. The elements of discrimination in Britain are made clear through the definition provided by Blackstone et al. (1998). In accordance with the above definition ‘direct discrimination is defined as treating a person less favourably than others on racial groun ds’ (Blackstone et al. 1998, p.37). There is also the case of indirect discrimination which is described as an activity of setting a requirement to which the persons belonging in a particular race are most likely to be able to respond – compared to people belonging to a different race (Blackstone et al. 1998, p.37). The above descriptions, which have been presented by Blackstone as they are included in the Race Relations Act 1976, are particularly important in order to understand the level at which racial discrimination has been developed across Britain. In any case, it should be noted that the issue of racial discrimination in Britain is active for many years – having been started approximately at 1940s – with the pressure then for ‘the settlement of black people in the particular country’ (Rich 1990, p.142). 2.2 Racial discrimination in education, employment and housing Racial discrimination in Britain has many different aspects; it can be identified in the education, the housing and the employment of immigrants, as members of the population. Regarding the relationship between education and immigration, the following issues need to be highlighted: the existence of racism in certain social settings, as for example,

Personal information shared on internet- risk or no risk Essay

Personal information shared on internet- risk or no risk - Essay Example For example, information shared involves personal photos taken from smartphones and computers that are GPS embedded allowing other people to determine the individual’s location. Essentially, fraudsters and kidnappers can easily use this kind of information to locate where the owner resides, kidnaping them, and asking for ransom. On the other hand, computer hacking involves infringement on the other peoples privacy and cause destruction of computer-based software, files and, website pages. The hackers have the belief that sharing information is paramount. Hence, it is their ethical duty to facilitate the process of sharing information. The hackers also have a conviction that system cracking is fun. Therefore, exploitation is ethically acceptable. They hold that so long as they have not committed theft or vandalism, the practice is reasonable. Many dangers prevail in the privacy issues. Such dangers include data misuse, unauthorized access to information, child safety risks and bullying, and harmful psychological impacts of OSNs. Despite the dangers associated with internet platforms, people still disclose massive quantities of personal information, which is a risky behaviour. Boyd (2007, p.20), argues that OSNs are public networks with four main properties that do not embrace face-to-face communication, public life, replicability, diligence, searchability, and unseen audiences. These social dynamics in this context are fundamentally different and sophisticate the manner in which people interact. Although the OSNs all have online interfaces that aim for interactions and common communications, patterns of usage and specific goals, differ across varied services (Acquisti and Gross, 2006, p.36). Acquisti and Gross (2006, p.37), note that the commonly used models depend on the presentation of the contributors profiles. They also rely on visualization of the network to others and location of

Cyber Security Vulnerabilities Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Cyber Security Vulnerabilities - Essay Example As per Gartner, 70% of security incident occur internally i.e. from the organization premises (Dickerson, 2004). Likewise, in September 2004, HFC bank that is one of the largest banks in the UK sent an email to their 2600 customers mentioning that an internal operational error has made recipients email address visible to everyone within the email. Consequently, ‘out of office’ feature was triggered from some of the customers and their personal phone numbers and other details were shared with each other (Dickerson, 2004). This shows that even simplest of mistakes can lead to an even bigger problem. As information systems are now considered as the fundamental function, every organization acquires information systems for business automation, better customer service and ROI (return on investment). Moreover, electronic commerce has also introduced many businesses that are only virtually present. For instance, Amazon that is an online store for selling books generates revenue from the Internet. Customers pay via credit cards for the purchased books that are delivered to them. In this scenario, any sort of security breach may inject an SQL injection or cross site scripting attack on the website can affect the business as well as customer confidence. ... It is the responsibility of the organization to protect and secure data privacy. However, there is not a single law that states how to handle customer information. For this reason, organizations sell or trade customer information with business partners and even to third parties. Likewise, sometimes the sole purpose of this personal data exchange is funds. Although, every online organization has a privacy policy which states how they will handle and secure customer data but at the same time there is no verification criteria. In the following sections, we will critically evaluate a single most cyber security weakness for IT managers within an organization. Likewise, our main argument will cover different domains i.e. the local area network, applications, hardware, transmission media, enterprise networking, intranet, extranet etc. As per (Libicki, 2009): â€Å"In theory, all computer mischief is ultimately the fault of the system’s owner if not because of misuse or misconfigurat ion, then because of using a system with security bugs in the first place. In practice, all computer systems are susceptible to errors. The divergence between design and code is a consequence of the complexity of software systems and the potential for human error. The more complex the system and they do get continually more complex the more places there are in which errors can hide† Association and Weakness The above mentioned argument is indicating to a vulnerability resides within the system that can be utilized for hackers to gain access and is known as exploit. Apart from this inherent risk resulting from inadequate coding practices, human element is also considered as a serious threat that is not limited to hardware,

Adrienne Richs Elements Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Adrienne Richs Elements - Essay Example She was also known to receive a variety of awards on her poems. Through the years, Adrienne Rich focused seemingly on â€Å"fairytale† theme poetry writings (Academy of American Poets). However, through the years and within the course of her marriage, Adrienne Rich transitioned into a different focus on her life and poetry. The year 1973 and onwards were Adrienne’s significant years for which she transformed her poetry. These years were known for fighting on Women and Civil rights. She focused on writing poems that implied hatred on how women are treated, and she eventually became a feminist (Academy of American Poets). This paper aims to examine the unique elements of Adrienne Rich’s poem â€Å"Rape† and provide the meaning and effect of each. Adrienne Rich’s â€Å"Rape† Adrienne’s transition to writings and poems focused on feminism, and she had made them pieces of art works in the literary world. â€Å"Rape† was one of the kn own poems of Adrienne Rich pertaining to fight for women’s rights. Collins stated that â€Å"Rape† was made known in 1972, and this was an â€Å"example of the silencing nature of pain.† This was related to violence with regard to men’s predominance. The poem â€Å"Rape† was said to be one of Adrienne’s drive to women’s rights with regard to their abuse, and other crimes that made women victims. Sielke also stated that the poem was the armour to provide anger on â€Å"patriarchal oppression† and â€Å"compulsory heterosexuality† (152). Adrienne Rich used her capabilities to come up with her own ways and means to promote the rights of women. Examining Elements The significant elements of Adrienne Rich’s poem are the unusual use of a second person and the multiple connotations portrayed through her use of diction. The poem is all about a woman who seeks justice after being raped and relays the story to a police offi cer. The poem is said to portray the complications of reporting such case in a â€Å"criminal justice system† that is operated by men (â€Å"Violence against Women,† n. pag.). Second person usage in the poem meant that there is a â€Å"presence of a stereotyping consciousness† (Templeton 48). On the other hand, the use of a second person implies her emphasis on a woman who underwent a dreadful experience of violence such as rape, and the need to seek justice with uncertainty. The use of a second person also serves a motivation and awakening of women to come out in the open and demand justice. These were all clearly identified in almost all of the lines in the poem. One of the lines that clearly describe the main idea of the poem stated â€Å"You have to confess to him, you are guilty of the crime of having been forced† (Rich lines 11-15). The effect of this second person usage would be more personal for the reader. The readers can easily imagine the real complications and the need to fight for their right if this was to happen to them in real life. The multiple connotations that were portrayed through her diction implied her interpretation as to how she sees and describes the justice system when a woman is the victim of such crime. It is said that Adrienne Rich used straightforward messages for complicated meanings (Atwood 1-2, qtd. in â€Å"Adrienne Rich†). This poem did not use poetic verses or style that would be hard to understand, but rather direct, internal, and simple words that can typically relate to any ordinary life. Adrienne Rich was able to state thoughts about a specific scenario that a reader usually has an idea already of what is expected to happen. However, as the reader progresses into the next lines of the poem, it provides more definite meaning other than the one stated. It gives more emphasis on the agony of a

Business Ethics - The Enron Scandal universal ethics point of view- Case Study

Business Ethics - The Enron Scandal universal ethics point of view- - Case Study Example The accounting fraud that would eventually come to be known as the Enron scandal was a creative, institutional, and systematic plan (Malcolm, 2008). Parties that took part in concealing Enron’s real financial condition were well known to the company. In this respect, the bid to address the underlying situation becomes an institutional process. To start with, the company’s corporate governance had failed. Instead of hiding this failure, stakeholders could have been consulted on ways to foster and enhance corporate governance. By virtue of business operations, shareholders and all other stakeholders for that matter deserved to know the actual direction that the company was taking. Board effectiveness, qualification, integrity, responsibility, and accountability were highly questionable. These aspects only came to light at a time when it was impossible to salvage the company. Given that business operations are profit-driven and that profits can undoubtedly attract unethical practices, there was need to vet and audit board operations from time to time. In so doing, the underlying issues were set to be identified before it was too late. The situation can, therefore, be addressed by taking measures to ensure that the company does not run independent of shareholders and other interested stakeholders. Conflicting interests were highly evident in the Enron case. Arthur Andersen played two roles in Enron; that of an auditor and that of a consultant (Malcolm, 2008). The direct implication is that one role relatively jeopardized the other, given that the same party undertook both roles. This situation stands to be addressed by ensuring that the two roles are handled by two independent parties. Ultimately, the management is to blame. This is because it downplayed the underlying risks of having an auditing firm that still offered consultation services to the same company. Financial entities that maintained an off-book relationship

Israeli and Arab conflict Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Israeli and Arab conflict - Essay Example It starts with the Biblical story of Abraham who moved from the land of Ur in present-day Iraq/Iran to the land of Canaan as it was then called. According to Biblical traditions, Abraham was promised the whole land adjacent to the Red Sea and within the west of the Jordan river. However, there were some native Canaanites on the land. Abraham's grandson, Jacob (Israel) moved to Egypt with his children and grandchildren. They lived in Egypt for a few hundreds of years and became a great and populous nation. They then returned to the land of Canaan a few generations after Abraham. The descendants of Abraham became known as the Israelite community. They lived side-by-side with the natives of the land of Canaan. This include the Philistines, the Jebusites, the Hittites and many other native tribes. After a few centuries, the Israelite community became more numerous in the land and with the rise of David as king and leader of the community, it was transformed to a state and its capital was established in Jerusalem. The State of Israel was however divided into two: Judah in the South and the Northern Kingdom. The northern Kingdom was destroyed and the people were sold into nations around the world. The people from Judah however remained a united state around the capital Jerusalem. Eventually, the Roman defeated Judah in AD63 and the remnants of Judah were sold as slave in the Diaspora (Safrai 1). In the Diaspora, the people of Judah continued to maintain their traditional practices and maintained their identity. They became known as the Jews. Meanwhile, the Romans renamed the State of Israel Palaestina which became known as Palestine (Safrai 1). As the Roman power faded, the land of Palestine was inhabited by people from other Middle Eastern origins and this include the Canaanites, Philistines and others who lived in the land before Abraham moved onto it. After the Romans, the land came under the control of the founder of Islam and his successors. As a result of that, they converted to Islam and assimilated to the main sphere of Arab communities. However, the land of Canaan/Israel became known as the Holy Lands and it changed hands for generations before the Crusaders contested over the land for generations. Eventually, it became part of the Ottoman Empire in the 1500s and it remained under Ottoman rule until 1918. British Rule & Palestine The Ottomans were Muslims, however, they never considered themselves Arabs (Willner et al 487). There was therefore a clear distinction between Ottomans or Turkish Muslims and Arabs of the Middle East and North America. During the era of the Ottoman domination of the Middle East and North America, the Arabs were ruled by Ottoman governors. Hence, the British defeat of the Ottoman Empire came with a promise of liberating the Arabs after the war (Willner et al 489). Britain used a complicated system of forming alliances and diplomatic ties with different peoples around the world during the First World War period which was fought between 1913 and 1917. The defeat of the Ottoman Empire was part of the â€Å"Asian Theater† of a larger war that was fought in Europe and other parts of the world. Britain had used the help of the Americans, Monarchical Russia and many others to defeat the Germans in the European War. They had also promised the Jewish Group seeking a homeland for the Jewish people known as the Zionists in Europe and around the world that they will help

Psychoanalysis of Crime Essay Example for Free

Psychoanalysis of Crime Essay An individual’s sense of self has always been an issue that fascinated people. Under the notion that most people enjoy talking about themselves, the realm of psychology opened its doors to investigate the underlying conditions that make people who they are and how they perceive others and the world. Many theories have been developed in order to understand the complexities that make up the human psyche and it is in this aspect that this paper will center upon. The theory which I have chosen for this particular case study is the Psychoanalytic theory by Sigmund Freud and I believe this theory will address most of the behavioral patterns that the subject is situated in. Freud’s psychoanalytic style in examining an individual’s motives for behavior has established the grounds for in-depth analysis into a person’s psyche and though it has its limitation, it offers a refreshing viewpoint as to why such behaviors have endured and its significance to an individual’s interpretation of the world (Shoham, 1993). Psychoanalysis has helped in putting into perspective the many ways in which behaviors of an individual or groups of individuals could be determined by the examining their upbringing and isolating internal and external desires. One of the major conjectures of psychoanalysis is that individuals are inherently sinful and they are controlled by certain instincts which are buried in one’s subconscious. The psychoanalytic theory attempts to realize these internal desires in order to determine the right kind of action in which the individual might be able to control a problematic behavior from recurring (Elliott, 2002). In order to see the application of the psychoanalytical theory, a brief background of the case study should be presented to comprehend the situation. The case study involves a twenty-eight year old man named Bert who was convicted of committing larceny. In the article, Bert was condemned to serve a four year sentence in prison with eighteen months non-parole. Admitting to the crime he had committed, he was said to have been accompanied by two accomplices whom he knew from his previous prison sentence. It was relayed that Bert had entered a pub one night and was approached by the two accomplices who urged him to join them rob a factory. Nine weeks before the incident, Bert was out of prison after serving a year in prison for getting caught with stolen goods. In Freud’s Division of the mind, he enlists the concept of the Id, Superego and Ego. The Id is supposed to uphold the baser instincts that are present in each individual. It dispenses on the precepts of pleasure to satisfy the innate wants of the individual. The Superego comprises the ethical or moral aspect of the individual that appeals to an ideal sense of being. The Ego is said to be the balancing aspect of the individual’s personality as it maintains the needs and wants of both the Id and the Superego. The Ego represents the awareness of an individual regarding his/her state of being (Shoham, 1993). If the processes that harmonize these three should ever be disrupted, it would render uneasiness to the individual’s psyche and cause him/her to employ some defense mechanisms that would be able to shield the ego. The psychoanalysis in Bert’s case encompasses a great deal of struggle between his superego and id, as can be denoted when he points out that he is frustrated with himself for not being able to avoid criminal activities. This is described as an over-developed superego, which imposes an excessive need for punishment with regard to the things the individual has wrongly committed or the unpleasant experiences that has brought misery into the individual’s life (Shoham, 1993). In the text, Bert was said to have grown-up in a dysfunctional family and that his absentee father was also a criminal who often displayed a violent attitude towards the family whenever he was home. In this aspect, Bert’s rationale on punishing himself was an act of regression in an early state of his life that involved his father (Shoham, 1993). The illegal acts Bert has committed during his early teens and the subsequent trips to juvenile and adult institutions has led him to think that he should be penalized for the things that he has done and for belonging to a family that breeds criminals.. In a sense, Bert might be trying to compensate for his father’s mistake of abandoning his children with regard to his wife and kids and most especially, his brothers and sister. This kind of rationalization instills tension into his being, which makes him unconsciously commit illegal activities despite his efforts to reform his life (Shoham, 1993). As a result of this conflict, Bert reasons out in a defying way that even though he acknowledges his wrongdoing, he believes that it is under the influence of alcohol and the two conspirators with him the night of the criminal activity. Bert also pointed out that the long sentence designated to the criminal act that he had committed was a bit unreasonable since he only stole goods from a factory and not a private residence. Based on these statements, Bert had shown feelings of contradiction between his guilt for what he had done and his comprehension of the situation as he puts the blame on other sources in lieu of himself. In the case study, Bert was thought of to be a pushover by the law officers as the former would get caught up in situations that force him to do things that should best be avoided (Elliot, 2002). Parallel to his over-developed superego, Bert’s behavior also displays a weak Ego in conjunction with his Id. His inability to stand his ground in moral situations and his inadequacy in delivering good judgments makes him a pawn for manipulative individuals like the two conspirators whom Bert met at the pub (Shoham, 1993). In this situation, it is quite clear that he is still in denial of what he has done since he has not fully accepted the responsibility for the criminal act. However, in another statement, he also did not want to cooperate with the law enforcers in identifying who were his accomplices in committing larceny. This posits a rather confusing behavior as Bert did not want to admit fully to the crime committed yet he does his conspirators a favor and refuses to give out their names to the law officers as he believes that he is not one to break the code of brotherhood. This act alone concurs with the insight made earlier about his desire to be punished for being a criminal (Rosen, 1996). On another note, Bert has tried to justify the crime he had committed by rationalizing the triviality of robbing the factory and that a long sentence was not necessary. He seems to suppress the mere fact that he has a long track record of criminal activities that warrants for the current court verdict. With this in mind, one can deduce that Bert still thinks of himself as a misguided youth. Such display of reasoning implicates how the environment he grew up in greatly influenced his decisions in life (Shoham, 1993). His lack of a formal education and emotional nurture at home resulted to his rebellious conduct and misplaced aggression that could only be attributed to his family’s situation. Bert’s leanings toward alcoholism may be credited to his undeveloped oral stage, which his mother could not properly provide as the strains of his father being in prison and the abuses that his mother and siblings received from him deprived Bert of a normal transition into the next stages of development (Shoham, 1993). In addition, his father’s drunken presence at the puberty stage predisposed him and his older brothers to acclimate a life of criminal activities since that might have been the only way that he could be with his father who was gone most of the time. While he was third among the two boys in his family, he could not look up to his older brothers as they too were undependable for the nurturing in which he sought from his parents (Shoham, 1993). It is in this aspect that one can observe the oedipal complex that Freud has included in his Stages of Development theory as it demonstrates the lack of attention and love that Bert wanted from his father (Shoham, 1993). Bert’s unresolved intimacy issues from both his parents compelled him to project this in an unhealthy lifestyle through alcohol and a string of criminal records. In defense of the two conspirators, Bert might have felt a sense of belongingness in their company since they understood his situation more than anyone, which is why he was adamant to not cooperate with the law enforcers (Shoham, 1993). Bert’s yearning to successfully reform may be hampered by his own moral perceptions as he is not able to grasp the consequences his actions have merited him. While he is affected by what happens with his wife and two children, he cannot instinctively change his ways without going through therapy or some form of rehabilitation to straighten his ways. Bert’s situation could have been easily avoided if he has learned to act on his own. Since his lack of education poses a hindrance to the development of his being, one could suggest that individuals like Bert who are frequently law breakers should be also be subjected to an education in their correction facilities aside from the terms that they serve (Kline, 1987). According to Lester and Van Voorhis’ book â€Å"Psychoanalytic therapy†, criminal convicts like Bert should not be subjected to environments that derail their development. Since most these convicts are not well-equipped with the right attitude to stay off the streets, correctional facilities should be able to provide such services that will be able to aid them to commit to reformation. Support from family and close friends should also be encouraged though for most of these convicts, it would seem quite difficult as most of them don’t have a strong support base (p. 122). From Kline’s book â€Å"Psychoanalysis and crime†, it has been suggested that creating a viable environment for these convicts when they got out is necessary as that will sustain their progress for development and would make them not want to seek the confines of the prison walls as they will be able to feel part of the society again. This entails releasing them in an environment where temptations would not abound and provide them with jobs that does not degrade their sense of being (p. 60). Analyzing Bert’s case in the psychoanalytic perspective has provided grounds on in which correctional facilities should be able to help convicts to maintain a reformed life.

Personal Development: Strategic Manager

Personal Development: Strategic Manager Introduction The concept of personal development covers a wider field than self-development or self-help. Personal development also includes developing others. This may be a function within the role of teacher or mentor, a personal competency (such as a managers ability to develop the potential of employees), or as a professional service (such as providing training, assessment or coaching). Strategic development in many organizations is viewed as a process for determining where an organization is going over the next year or more -typically 3 to 5 years, although some extend their vision to 20 years. In order to determine where it is going, the organization needs to know exactly where it stands, then determine where it wants to go and how it will get there. The resulting document is called the strategic plan. It is also true that strategic planning may be a tool for effectively plotting the direction of a company; however, strategic planning itself cannot foretell exactly how the market will evolve and what issues will surface in the coming days in order to plan your organizational strategy. Therefore, strategic innovation and tinkering with the strategic plan have to be a cornerstone strategy for an organization to survive the turbulent business climate. This assignment covers the personal development plan as a manager in TESCO organization. The study focuses on the personal development as a strategic manager. Here several issues such as identification of personal skills, ability to manage personal leadership development, evaluation of effectiveness of leadership development program and the ability to develop healthy and safe environment are studied. 1. Identification of Personal Skills Personal development plays an important role in propelling the company towards its strategic direction. This development is not only required during the implementation stage but also in the formulation stage. Strategic direction of the organisation Strategic direction is an organizations process of defining its strategy, or planning, and making decisions on allocating its resources to pursue this strategy, including its capital and people. Various business analysis techniques can be used in strategic planning, including SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats ) and PEST analysis(Political, Economic, Social, and Technological analysis) or STEER analysis (Socio-cultural, Technological, Economic, Ecological, and Regulatory factors) and EPISTEL (Environment, Political, Informatics, Social, Technological, Economic and Legal) Strategic planning is the formal consideration of an organizations future course. All strategic planning deals with at least one of three key questions; What do we do? For whom do we do it? How do we excel? In many organizations, this is viewed as a process for determining where an organization is going over the next year or more -typically 3 to 5 years, although some extend their vision to 20 years. In order to determine where it is going, the organization needs to know exactly where it stands, then determine where it wants to go and how it will get there. The resulting document is called the strategic plan. It is also true that strategic planning may be a tool for effectively plotting the direction of a company; however, strategic planning itself cannot foretell exactly how the market will evolve and what issues will surface in the coming days in order to plan your organizational strategy. Therefore, strategic innovation and tinkering with the strategic plan have to be a cornerstone strategy for an organization to survive the turbulent business climate. Organizations sometimes set the direction by summarizing goals and objectives into a mission statement and/or a vision statement: A Mission statement tells you the fundamental purpose of the organization. It concentrates on the present. It defines the customer and the critical processes. It informs you of the desired level of performance. A Vision statement outlines what the organization wants to be. It concentrates on the future. It is a source of inspiration. It provides clear decision-making criteria. Strategic skills required of the leader to achieve the strategic ambitions The leaders possessed certain degree of management skills inculcated during their years of experience in business. But leadership is beyond just management skills. The leaders prepare organizations for change and help them cope as they struggle through it. While management is about coping with complexity, leadership is coping with change While Managing comprises planning, budgeting, organizing, staffing, controlling and problem solving, Leadership comprises setting a direction, developing a vision of the future and aligning motivating and inspiring people (Kotter. 2001) Strategic skill is the ability to make excellent strategic decisions, and implement them effectively is one of the most significant leadership skills. Here are five strategic skills we can use to stretch and strengthen our organisation. The following diagram defines the strategic skills required of the leader to achieve the strategic ambitions; 1. Use scenario planning First, identify the variables that create the highest risks and opportunities for your company. Then imagine the extremes positive and negative that could happen for each of these critical variables. Next, push your imagination further. Envision much more positive and much more negative circumstances than originally came to mind for each critical variable. Now, having stretched your sense of what might happen by envisioning extreme alternatives, choose a few scenarios that you think are most likely to happen. Then, choose the most likely scenario. You may find it valuable to gather data to help you hone and verify your instincts about your choice. Finally, consider what actions you would take for the scenario you think is most likely. Also consider actions youd need to take if some of the other also-likely scenarios happened, rather than the one on which youre placing your bets. 2. Design for the solution after this one The strategy you choose now, and the actions you take, as a result, will affect the future. That could prevent or solve future problems, and it could also create other problems. To minimize the negative impacts of the strategy you choose, imagine when your company may need to choose its next strategic direction, whether in 5, 10 or more years. Envision your strategic choices now fitting into the choices that must be made then. See if that perspective changes the strategic choices you planned to make now. 3. Learn and practice games of strategy This idea doesnt need a lot of elaboration. Learn and practice leads to experience of the managers. This alternatively helps in improving the personal skills of manager. 4. Learn from the masters Choose a few people who are or were legendary for their strategic abilities, whether in your field or another one. Read about them, watch documentaries and learn from other resources about their work, thought process and achievements. What did they do that enabled them to be so successful and strategic in the way they worked? Find ways to apply what you learned to your own work and strategic challenges. 5. Create the time and space so you can think strategically A big part of strategic success is carving out the time and space so your strategic skills can be tapped. You must get away from the day-to-day to be able to fully see the big picture, to anticipate issues well before they become problems, and to recognize great opportunities and how you can make the most of them. Create the time and space regularly so that strategy and strategic skills can emerge, be implemented, and improve, as needed, as you move ahead. Relationship between existing, required and future skills to achieve the strategic ambitions The owners had the operational skills to certain extent. But the required skills were more of leadership. If the vision is set, the skills required for meeting the vision are the future skills to achieve strategic ambitions. While management is about coping with complexity, leadership is coping with change. The important skill in leadership is setting the direction through the inductive process of gathering broad range of data and looking for patterns, relationships and linkages. This direction setting will result in vision and strategies. The leaders should ensure alignment of the team with vision through communication. Alignment will lead to empowerment and goal congruence. Good leaders should coach, provide feedback and role models. They should recognize and reward success. Leadership hinges on strong networks of informal relationships. They should create a culture of leadership by recruitment of people with potential and managing their career patterns (Kotter, 2001). According to Daniel Goleman emotional intelligence would be the most important ingredient for a leader. When the he calculated the ratio of technical skills, IQ and emotional intelligence as ingredients of excellent performance, emotional intelligence proved to be twice as important as the others for jobs at all levels. This had direct link to performance. His research further showed that emotional intelligence played an increasingly important role at the highest levels of the company. There was also a close link between companys success and the emotional intelligence of its leaders. Therefore, the company in order to prosper in future should focus on developing emotional intelligence amongst top echelons in the company. Personal leadership development to support achievement of strategic ambitions The organizations are supplied with opportunities to support leadership development. The opportunities can be categorized into hardships, challenging assignments, learning from others and other events. Leadership lessons are obtained most during hardships and challenging assignments. Leadership development refers to any activity that enhances the quality of leadership within an individual or organization. Anybody can become a member of management if they know the right people and say the right things at the right time. But not everybody can be a leader. A manager or boss is somebody with a certain organizational title that heads or oversees a select group of employees. A leader, on the other hand, is somebody with that same title who commands and receives respect from the employees he or she oversees. What is that difference and how can you make that transition from manager to leader? The opportunities to support leadership development There are many different sources of information and advice to help the managers to improve the leadership and management skills in the organization of TESCO. The most appropriate will depend on the managers individual needs. Following opportunities and supports are available to managers for the personal development plan. These are; Train to Gain: Leadership and Management Advisory Service This innovative Leadership and Management programme will help to equip the managers with the skills to become a more effective leader. A leadership and management broker will help managers to diagnose their skills needs and those of their management team and put together individual development plans. They will offer bespoke guidance on how to consolidate existing skills and improve in areas that will fast track personal development and ultimately boost the performance and competitiveness of their business. LEAD LEAD is a 10 month leadership programme designed specifically for owner-managers of businesses with less than 20 employees. It has a proven track record in delivering business growth for its delegates 90% of businesses that have attended LEAD over the last 4 years have reported a significant increase in sales turnover as a result of attending the programme. The programme works by taking a very practical approach to both the development of the business and to the personal development of the owner-manager. LEAD tackles practical issues that owner-managers are facing in running their business rather than focusing on theoretical concepts and as a result has a direct impact on the growth of delegates businesses. High Growth Coaching Programme The High Growth programme is a three year business coaching initiative aimed at high growth businesses and entrepreneurs. It will support budding entrepreneurs with ideas that can achieve a turnover of  £500,000 within three years, and established small and medium sized enterprises with ambition and capacity to expand by at least 20 per cent a year. The Mentoring Programme Mentoring for Northwest Businesses offers business owners, leaders and managers the chance to develop and fully realise their potential through a long term mentoring relationship. Networking This is another important type of skill development for business owners and directors. A wide variety of business networks exists including those for new businesses, young owners and women owners. These allow employees to learn from people running similar businesses and facing similar obstacles. Professional bodies All the following professional bodies offer leadership and management development courses and opportunities: Chartered Management Institute (CMI) is the only chartered professional body that is dedicated to management and leadership. It is committed to raising the performance of businesses of all sizes by championing management. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) is the professional body for those involved in the management and development of people. Construction of personal development plan to direct leadership development The Personal Development Plan would focus on two facets of leadership development. The first is the managerial aspect and the other is the leadership aspect. Though the traditional management model includes leadership under management, many management gurus have propounded theories which focus on leadership. The area of managing comprises Planning, Organizing, Leading and Controlling. These activities will enable the person to manage complexities. The most important aspect is that of leadership, which would demand tremendous amount of emotional intelligence. The managing encompasses the appreciation of process, seeks stability and control and instinctively tries to resolve problems far too quickly. Leadership, in contrast emphasizes on tolerance to chaos and lack of structure and willingness to delay closure in order to understand the issues more fully. Leadership inevitably requires using power to influence the thoughts and actions of other people. In terms of personality, manager i s a problem solver with emphasis on rationality and control. Leadership is a practical effort to direct affairs and to fulfill his or her task. In terms of attitude towards goals, Managers tend to adopt impersonal, if not passive, attitudes. In sharp contrast, the leaders are proactive in shaping the ideas instead of responding to them. They adopt a personal and active attitude towards goals. Implementation process for the development plan The implementation process would have a mechanism. This mechanism will not only lay down the program but also will ensure the employee to go through it. In the first phase, the candidate will go through the concepts of planning, organizing, leading and controlling. The development plan in the area of planning would cover the process of identifying and selecting appropriate organizational goals and courses of action. The development in the area of organizing would cover creation of a structure of working relationships that allow organizational members to interact and cooperate to achieve organizational goals. Leading would involve articulating a clear organizational vision for its members to accomplish, and energize and enable employees so that everyone understands the part they play in achieving organizational goals. Controlling is the task of managers is to evaluate how well an organization has achieved its goals and to take any corrective actions needed to maintain or improve performance. The outcome of the control process is the ability to measure performance accurately and regulate organizational efficiency and effectiveness. The development plan would then focus on enhancing the emotional intelligence of the candidate. The components of emotional intelligence are; Self Awareness, Self Regulation, Motivation, Empathy and Social Skill. While all other skills are not normally appreciated, social skills gets recognition as a key skill for a leader. Emotional skills can be learnt through well structured training. The effectiveness of the leadership development plan Assessment of the achievement of outcomes of the plan against original objectives The original objectives were to develop the skill to plan, organize, lead and control. Further it was to enhance each component of the emotional intelligence. The outcomes were quantified in terms of the number of people exposed to the training period. These development programs would result in tangible improvement in performance parameters with a lag. Therefore outcomes were categorized into two categories; the outcomes and performance drivers. The performance drivers would result in outcomes. Assessment of only the outcomes will not help in ensuring the implementation. Since outcomes have already happened, there is no way to alter them. On the other hand monitoring of performance drivers would give valuable insights that would help in formulating mid-course corrections. Every year the number of man-hours of development in terms of each of the areas of development, which are Planning, Organizing, Leading and controlling is targeted. Similarly the number of people trained in emotional intelligence in areas of Self Awareness, Self Regulation, Motivation, Empathy and Social Skill is recorded. Tests were conducted periodically to assess the progress. A 360 degree assessment by people from different functional areas is done continually and plotted to see the growth. Statistical methods are used to assess the spread and standard deviation among the candidates. The development program would be thought to be extended, if the candidate does not show improvement. The impact of the achievement of objectives on strategic ambitions The strategic ambitions are framed in the form of a vision statement. The statement of vision was The Company will be a global conglomerate with dominance in the chosen field of endeavor. In this context, the objectives of the company were: To be a market leader in each business pursued To be an ideal employer with attrition below 10% To be profitable company with margin on sales exceeding 15% To conform to ethical practices of business To ensure maximum return to shareholders with return on equity exceeding 15% To ensure the growth of business of over 20% per annum To ensure succession plan for every leadership position in the company To be proactive on environmental issues. The development of managerial skills and leadership skills are crucial for the fulfillment of objectives. Unless leaders were developed in each functional area, it would be impossible to achieve the objectives. By focusing on the implementation of objectives through proper strategies and also monitoring through a suitable mechanism, we can move fast towards the vision of the stakeholders. Review and update leadership development plan Research on the most admired companies reports that top organizations take aggressive, innovative approaches to improve leadership at all levels by focusing on the following: Disciplined leadership assessments and selection Intensive leadership development programs that address individual needs and the organizations strategic goals Values that emphasize the importance of people as well as financial results Leadership models that include such attributes as self confidence and self control, achievement orientation, empathy, and teamwork components of emotional intelligence The career paths and leadership is shown in the following diagram. The leadership development plan would be reviewed at every stage in the career path culminating in leadership. Periodic reviews take place every quarter. While technical competencies are inculcated till the middle management levels, the training in styles of leadership is provided as inputs after the middle managerial levels. The reviews would focus on the extent of technical competencies absorbed by the employee up to a certain stage. Later the emotional quotient of the individual is assessed to make sure whether the person is ready to don the leadership role. The emotional quotient is measured to see the improvement over a quarter. If no improvement is found, the curriculum of training is modified to make it more effective. Here the assessment of the candidate by people from different functional areas at various levels is considered to arrive at a measure of leadership capability. Promoting Healthy and Safe environment that supports a culture of quality Impact of Corporate and Individual health and safety responsibilities on the organization Corporate and Individual health and Safety is one of the most important ingredients of an organization. This is not an event but a process. It is being inculcated that safety is not just the corporate responsibility, but the responsibility of everyone in the organization. The promotion of this aspect demands substantial cooperation between employers and employees in initiating, developing and carrying out measures to enhance the health and safety of employees at work. All these form a part of the Corporate and Individual health and safety policy in the company. In order to ensure an accident free environment in the company, a mechanism needs to be instituted. This mechanism should monitor the safety practices within the company. The parameters that would be monitored are; number of accidents, absences due to injury and insurance premium. The routines would be developed to control hazards which would be in consonance with regulations and standards. An objective should be the promotion of co-operation between employers and employees in initiating, developing and carrying out measures to ensure the health and safety at work of employees. The accidents could be due to unsafe acts, omissions or unsafe conditions. The company should monitor with data on accidents, diseases, near misses and the trends. Analysis of this data would enable risk assessment and also redesign or reengineering of processes to make them safer Ways to promote healthy and safe environment in the work place At the outset, it is necessary to draw the attention of the employees to the importance of health and safety to the individual and the organization. Suitable posters and regular mails are necessary to keep alive the spirit of health and safety in the organization. There is a need to have a manual on safe and healthy practices integrated into System of operations. It is necessary to convene regular meetings to impress upon the employees and also to monitor the success of action plans to promote safety and health. A proper organizational setup for safety and health depending upon the size of the organization is a must. It must be headed by a safety officer. He may or may not have an elaborate setup. The top managements commitment should be communicated strongly with the CEO occasionally attending the safety meetings. The existing employees should be constantly reminded about the importance of health and safety. The new entrants to the company should be imparted training in safety and h ealth as a part of the induction program. Estimation of organization culture of quality on the achievement of strategic ambitions: There are four types of cultural orientations which represent different values about motivation, leadership and strategic orientation in organizations. But normally an organization reflects a combination of the four cultural orientations. These four cultural orientations do not exclude each other and the relative emphasis placed by the organization on the orientations varies. The group culture focuses on flexibility and internal integration. Organizations Emphasizing a group culture tend to value belongingness, trust and participation. The strategies used in these organizations concentrate on the development of human relations and member commitment. The leaders encourage teamwork, empowerment and concerns for employee ideas. The developmental culture emphasizes flexibility and external orientation. Organizations with emphasis on this cultural orientation tend to focus on growth, resource acquisition, creativity, and adaptation to the external environment. The strategies used to manage business include innovation, resource acquisition, and the development of new market. Leadership styles in such organizations are entrepreneur and innovator-type. The rational culture is focused on the external environment and control. Organizations with emphasis on a rational culture encourage competition and the successful achievement of well-defined goals. The strategies are oriented toward efficient planning and control of production to achieve competitive advantages and high productivity. The leaders tend to be directive, goal-oriented, and functional. The hierarchical culture emphasizes stability and internal integration. It stresses centralization and regulations. The strategies emphasize clear rules, close control, and routinization. The leaders are conservative and cautious. (Xingxing Zu et al, 2006) But in the company under study, the prevalent culture was hierarchical. In various studies by different researchers, it was found that group culture and development culture, two cultural orientations which emphasize flexibility and people in their underlying values, are commonly believed to be the ideal cultural orientations for implementing quality management programs. Conclusion Every organization has a vision or picture of what it desires for its future, whether foggy or crystal clear. The current mission of the organization or the purpose for its existence is also understood in general terms. The organization under study began as an apparel exporter and later diversified into various unrelated areas. These areas did not provide synergy to the existing businesses. Due to recession, all the businesses ran into losses. The leaders in the organization were found to be lacking strategic skills to meet the strategic ambitions. A leadership development program was launched with emphasis on twin areas of management and leadership. While Managing comprises planning, budgeting, organizing, staffing, controlling and problem solving, Leadership comprises setting a direction, developing a vision of the future and aligning motivating and inspiring people. The development plan would also focus on enhancing the emotional intelligence of the candidate. The components of emotional intelligence are; Self Awareness, Self Regulation, Motivation, Empathy and Social Skill. While all other skills are not normally appreciated, social skills gets recognition as a key skill for a leader. Emotional skills can be learnt through well structured training. The organizations are replete with opportunities to support leadership development. The opportunities can be categorized into hardships, challenging assignments, learning from others and other events. In the midst of opportunities a personal development plan was formulated so also an implementation plans. This was also reviewed and updated. The evaluation was also done about the impact of corporate and individual health and safety and also on the support received by quality.

Globalisation Has Benefited Everyone Brought Advantages Economics Essay

Globalisation Has Benefited Everyone Brought Advantages Economics Essay Proponents of globalisation are of the view that it has benefited everyone and helped to pull millions upon millions out of poverty. However a close analysis of the affects of globalisation tell a very different story. While it is true that globalisation has benefited many, it has had an equally devastating effect on the lives of many others and made true development more of a mirage rather than a reality (Dunning, 2003). This essay will critically analyse and discuss the benefits and disadvantages of globalisation and will conclude by either agreeing or disagreeing with the above statement. Even though globalisation is the buzzword today, it has been in existence in some form or another for over a century. After World War II many regions of the world that were reeling from the devastating effects of the war, came together to create trade agreements that would help each of those regions to grow in the post war era. The European Union is one such trade agreement as is the NAFTA agreement, GATT, APEC, ASEAN and many others. Due to the advances made in technology, especially in the telecommunication industry, globalisation saw a rapid increase in the latter part of the 20th century (Guillen, 2001). The ultimate goal of globalisation was to liberalise formerly closed economies, integrate national economies and create one huge global economy that would not only decrease trade barriers and increase trade and corporation but would also help poorer and developing nations to become industrialised thus uplifting the living standards of billions (Grewal, 2006). While the goals and objectives of globalisation are noble, such goals and objectives are not very easy to achieve. Even though the above may look good in theory, in reality it is easier said than done and usually causes more damage to economies, the social fabric of nations and the environment as a whole (Suà ¡rez-Orozco Qin-Hilliard, 2004). With the onset of globalisation in its current form, which began in the late 1980s and has been gathering steam, many manufacturing organisations in the west have seen their profitability increase. The reason for this positive effect on the bottom line has been chiefly due to the fact that globalisation allowed these companies to relocate their manufacturing plants to developing countries, where labour is cheap. In doing so they were able to reduce the cost of the products and become more profitable. While such a relocation, may have benefited the developing economy where the plant was relocated to, it left huge numbers of individuals unemployed in its home country (Helbling, Batini Cardarelli, 2005). Thus it can be stated that while one economy gained jobs and was able to uplift the living standard of many, another economy lost jobs, which had an equally devastating effect, while the company in question continued to earn profits and prosper. During the 1990s and to date, India is one such country that has benefited immensely from globalisation. Throughout the past decade or more many European and North American, technology companies have outsourced their software development to India, which rose up to the challenge and has become a global IT giant. While such a growth in employment has benefited the country and helped to create a new middle class, globalisation has not been as favourable to its closest neighbour Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka with a literacy rate of 90% has seen much foreign direct investment in the garment sector. While this has helped the country to keep unemployment levels down, the semi-skilled or low skilled nature of the jobs that are available to its citizens does not help the country to grow and prosper to the level that globalisation has aided India (Schmidt Hersh, 2000). On the contrary, Sri Lanka has seen a severe increase in underemployment of its university educate youth, who due to the lack of white collar jobs, have had to resort to working in the garment industry (Kiggundu, 2002). As is apparent from the above, while globalisation benefits one segment of the population, its affects are not equal, on the contrary they are mixed, thereby it can be stated that the above statement is not accurate in its view of globalisation. Proponents of globalisation often cite the fact that increased demand for export from developing countries, create an inflow of foreign exchange revenue and increases employment opportunities, which in turn helps the country to develop (Bhagwati, 2004). While this is true to some extent, there is an equally disadvantageous side to this phenomenon. In order for employment opportunities to increase in an economy, it requires output growth to exceed productivity growth. At the same time for profitability to increase, it needs productivity growth to outpace output growth. This conflict in the two, results in companies opting to increase productivity at the expense of output growth. Thus even though the developing economies have bent backwards to attract foreign direct investment by providing tax cuts, capital and natural resources etc, in the hopes of boosting domestic employment and earning foreign exchange revenues. The companies that enter the country usually plunder the capital and n atural resources made available to them (Samli, 2002). And instead of making use of the labour that is available to them, they automate their production processes to a great extent. Further they return much of the profits earned to the parent company and its shareholders who are often resident in developed economies (Smith Debrah, 2002). Here again it is apparent that while globalisation has helped businesses to develop and become more profitable, the benefits of globalisation are often enjoyed by the developed economies, rather than the developing economy that were supposed to benefit, in the first place. As a part of the initiative to liberalise an economy, most developing economies were forced to reduce welfare spending in terms of healthcare, education and social assistance. Further in order to attract foreign direct investment into the country, most of these economies were required to relax their stringent labour laws, which have resulted in the exploitation of workers (Murshed, 2002). While it is true that many multi-national companies are now operating in developing economies and have helped to increase employment levels within the country. The lack of strong labour laws, allow these companies to pay meagre wages to their employees and not a living wage as is the ethical thing to do. This combined with the lack of universal health care and education has a devastating affect on the workers (Brysk, 2002). While they may have a job and are able to earn a living, their wages are usually insufficient for paying for more than food and rent. Thus making it impossible for this segment t o educate their children adequately (Mittelman, 2002). Thereby causing a vicious cycle, where the children end up in low skilled or semi skilled jobs much like their parents and unable to breakout of poverty (Midgley, 2007). The lack of education and healthcare also has a catastrophic affect in the long term for the economy, as it will never be able to make the leap from being a developing economy to a developed economy as long as its citizens lack a strong education (Micklethwait Wooldridge, 2001). Further this lack of education not only will increase the wealth disparities within the economy, but it will also continue to increase the disparity between developed and developing nations in the long run. Based on the discussion above it is apparent that globalisation has been very advantageous to businesses. While it is a fact that some countries like India and China have benefited immensely from globalisation and seen the prosperity of their citizens increase to unprecedented levels, other countries have not been so lucky. On the contrary, globalisation has succeeded in further increasing the social challenges faced by these countries and pushed the dream of becoming a developed economy further out of their reach (Micklethwait Wooldridge, 2001). Therefore it can be stated that the statement Globalisation has benefited everyone. It helped all the people to increase their living standards, brought advantages to organisations and businesses and enabled economies to develop is only partially true.

A child Called It by Dave Pelzer Essay -- essays research papers

One Child’s Courage to Survive: â€Å" A Child Called It † Abstract This is one of the best, yet saddest books that I have ever read. There are so many bad things out there that are happening to good people. We just have no idea. You never know what is going on behind closed doors. I am so lucky not to have experienced anything like this growing up. There is so much reality in this book, but I never knew that reality was ever this awful. It brought me to a realization that I have never known before. It is extremely sad that something like this really did happen to such a sweet little boy. Summary A Child Called â€Å"It† is a story based on a real life little boy’s tribulations with his mothers shocking abuse. The first part of Dave's life was idyllic in his memory--he says his family was "the Brady Bunch"--a loving mother and father with whom he enjoyed wonderful holidays and a happy trip to the Russian River. Everyone on the outside thought that David’s family was perfect. No one in their neighborhood would have suspected anything was wrong. All that changed when Dave was in first grade. For no known reason, his mother singled him out from his siblings and began abusing him. The abuse began relatively mildly. When he and his brothers did something wrong, Dave was the one to receive punishment--at first simply banishment to the corner of a bedroom. Then, his mother began spending her days watching TV and drinking beer. Easily irritated, she yelled at Dave for the slightest reason, or sometimes for no reason at all. Soon, instead of making him go down to the basement, Mrs. Pelzer smashed Dave's face against the mirror, then made him repeat, over and over, "I'm a bad boy! I'm a bad boy!" He was forced to stand for hours staring into that mirror. Dave's father soon joined The Mother, as David called her, in her drinking. He, too, knew David was a "good boy." He did not join in the abuse, but he did not to stop it, either. David was treated like a slave in his own home. His mother treated him as if he wasn’t even a member of the family like a nobody or an â€Å"It†. She first referred to him as, â€Å"The Boy, then it quickly changed to It†. Nobody at his school liked him, they called him "Pelzer Smelzer" because his mom never washed his clothes and made him wear the same thing every day. After school, o... ...er of the Year. In 1993 Dave was honored as one of the Ten Outstanding Young Americans (TOYA), joining a distinguished group of alumni that includes Chuck Yeager, Christopher Reeve, Anne Bancroft, John F. Kennedy, Orson Wells and Walt Disney. (Dave Pelzer Biography 2002, Para. 2) In 1994 Dave was the only American to be selected as one of The Outstanding Young Persons of the World (TOYP), for his efforts including child abuse awareness and prevention, as well as for instilling resilience in others. During the Centennial Olympic games, Dave was a torchbearer, carrying the coveted flame (Dave Pelzer Biography 2002, Para. 2) References American Psychological Association. (2001) Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed). Washington, DC: McLaughlin & Reinking A Child Called It. (1995). Health Communications, INC. Deerfield Beach, FL: Dave Pelzer The World of Psychology. (2002). A Pearson Education Company. Boston, MA: Samuel Wood & Ellen Green Wood p. 593 Dave Pelzer Biography. (1997-2002) Book Browse LLC, Davina Morgan-Witts, CEO. San Jose, CA. (para.2). Retrieved 04/29/02 from http://www.bookbrowse.com/index.cfm/author/authorID/145.htm

Media and Modern Society Essay -- Technology, TV, MP3 Players, Electro

The children of modern society differ on polar opposite scales as compared to children of previous generations. Anything that does not have an on and off switch is considered old fashioned and obsolete. Our society has trained children to surround themselves with electronic devices such as cellphones, MP3 players, gaming consoles and most importantly, television. Television plays a significant role in everyday life since it is more widely available than it was a couple of decades ago. The media is easily accessible through the television, allowing for positive and negative influences to take place. The main problems that parents of today's children face are that the children are becoming less childlike with video games and television taking up majority of their time; they are beginning to gain weight with the influence of junk food commercials and their social skills are beginning to fall by the wayside since they spend excessive amounts of time watching television or playing video g ames. Regulations on the content of food advertisements should be implemented by broadcasting authorities such as the FCC (Federal Communications Commission), and time restrictions together with critical monitoring of content should be implemented by parents in order to reduce the negative effects of television and video games on the children of modern society. With the constant reminder of the ubiquitous nature of media in modern society, children are becoming less and less childlike in their behavior and attitude. In Marie Winn's article titled â€Å"The End of Play†, she discusses the topic of how children today are losing traits of how we traditionally perceive children to behave and are becoming more like â€Å"tired business men†. (Winn, â€Å"End of Play† 81... ...and the inability for a child to function socially all have one common factor that ties them together. They are all negatively influenced by the presence of television and video games. In reality, the wide spectrum of the negative influences that burden television and video games can never be completely eliminated at once, but there are definitely solutions to combat the particular influences that pose as threats to the growing process of the nation's children, especially if they are easily preventable. Restricting and regulating the amount of time allowed to watch television or encouraging a healthy, active lifestyle as opposed to a sedentary lifestyle are such examples of solutions to preventable problems. The children are a very important fundamental to society because they are, after all, the ones who will run our future and generations after the next. Media and Modern Society Essay -- Technology, TV, MP3 Players, Electro The children of modern society differ on polar opposite scales as compared to children of previous generations. Anything that does not have an on and off switch is considered old fashioned and obsolete. Our society has trained children to surround themselves with electronic devices such as cellphones, MP3 players, gaming consoles and most importantly, television. Television plays a significant role in everyday life since it is more widely available than it was a couple of decades ago. The media is easily accessible through the television, allowing for positive and negative influences to take place. The main problems that parents of today's children face are that the children are becoming less childlike with video games and television taking up majority of their time; they are beginning to gain weight with the influence of junk food commercials and their social skills are beginning to fall by the wayside since they spend excessive amounts of time watching television or playing video g ames. Regulations on the content of food advertisements should be implemented by broadcasting authorities such as the FCC (Federal Communications Commission), and time restrictions together with critical monitoring of content should be implemented by parents in order to reduce the negative effects of television and video games on the children of modern society. With the constant reminder of the ubiquitous nature of media in modern society, children are becoming less and less childlike in their behavior and attitude. In Marie Winn's article titled â€Å"The End of Play†, she discusses the topic of how children today are losing traits of how we traditionally perceive children to behave and are becoming more like â€Å"tired business men†. (Winn, â€Å"End of Play† 81... ...and the inability for a child to function socially all have one common factor that ties them together. They are all negatively influenced by the presence of television and video games. In reality, the wide spectrum of the negative influences that burden television and video games can never be completely eliminated at once, but there are definitely solutions to combat the particular influences that pose as threats to the growing process of the nation's children, especially if they are easily preventable. Restricting and regulating the amount of time allowed to watch television or encouraging a healthy, active lifestyle as opposed to a sedentary lifestyle are such examples of solutions to preventable problems. The children are a very important fundamental to society because they are, after all, the ones who will run our future and generations after the next.

My special place

From a dictionary’s point of view, the beach is defined as â€Å"an expanse of sand or pebbles along a shore (Random House 57).† Understandably, the dictionary is a reference that primarily aims to define the meaning of words as objectively as possible. This short essay is written to prove that a beach is more than just nature’s gift that comes with sand, shells and pebbles.Millions of people across the world frequent the beach especially in summertime. People of all ages, shapes and sizes, hit the beach for many reasons. Perhaps it’s to get a tan, spend time with friends, or engage in surface water sports like surfing, wakeboarding or sailing. To countries, its white sand beaches are income-generating tourist destinations. To some animals, a beach is their natural habitat. And surely to some people, like me, a beach can be significant for a lot of reasons. For me, the beach is my special place.The beach has been many things to me, a few of which were alre ady mentioned above. But the very reason why I have called the beach a special place is because it has been my companion when I need time to be alone. Ironic, it may seem, to seek companionship when one wants to be alone. But the beach can be the reliable companion you can always run to that you’re sure won’t turn you away. It is where I engage in silent conversation with the familiar sound of the waves.While breathing in its salty fragrance, nothing brings me closest to its nature than when my feet are submerged beneath the sand, knee-deep in white foamy bubbles that are naturally born as waves die on the shoreline. The wind blowing from unknown ends of the earth that shuffles my hair envelopes me with a coolness that seeks no immediate warmth. As I stand there alone in my thoughts, there grows in me a gratifying sense of freedom and peace that no other place can give to me. Not a coffee shop, a mall, nor any other refuge I could easily run to.The most visible photogr aph of the beach I have on my mind is the glowing face of the setting sun staring back at me as I squint into the horizon. It is a sight reminiscent of couples riding away into the sunset, of lovers’ silhouettes warm in each other’s embrace. As the day fades away into dusk, the beach turns into a hue of midnight blue that can only be magnified in glory under a shining full moon. Staring up to a blanket of stars, I visibly recall silly wishes made when I was small, of cows jumping over the moon, and of shooting stars that disappear into the night sky.With the wondrous things the beach has to offer, it doesn’t come as a surprise that many couples choose to get married on the beach with the promise of the never ending waves of love. More than the sanctuary it provides to sea animals, more than the treasures it hides for the children to explore, and more than the leisure it offers to people who come to unwind, the beach inspires me. For the very reason that it is wh ere nature meets with man, leaving him with a personal experience that takes him far away from the hustle and bustle of everyday living.   In its simplicity, the beach is that very special place that has constantly reminded me of the complex beauty of nature.Retiring someday in a house by the beach is something not far from what I consider doing. Possibly with a dog to play fetch every morning and stocked up with bottles of sun block as I intend to laze around the rest of the day. Whether with hundreds of other people around or just by myself on the beach, that’s where you can surely find me.I’m sure I couldn’t have portrayed it better than the Baywatch producers, but there is definitely one thing we agree on†¦life really is a beach.REFERENCES:â€Å"Beach.† Def.1. Random House Webster’s Dictionary. 2nd ed. 1996.