Benefits of Procedural Justice Essay

Folger and Konovsky (1989) explain that procedural justice refers to the perceived fairness of the means used to determine the amounts of compensation employees receive. Coetzee (2004) further describes it as the extent to which fair procedures and processes are in place and adhered to in an organization, and to which individuals see their leaders being fair and sincere in all they do. This essay will explore the benefits of procedural justice and in particular present an argument that supports the statement that the perception of procedural justice by employees results into positive work outcomes. Skarlicki and Folger (1997) identify the following positive consequences of procedural justice: organization commitment, intent to stay with the organization, organizational citizenship behavior, trust in supervisors and workmates, satisfaction with decisions made as well as increased work effort, job satisfaction and performance. It is these positive outcomes that are expounded on in support of the statement that positive work outcomes arise from the perception of procedural justice by employees. McFarlin and Sweeney (1992) point out that procedures define the organizations capacity to treat employees fairly and therefore if they see the procedures as fair, employees may view the organization positively. This positivity results into high commitment and supervisor evaluations. Findings in the study by Folger and Konovsky (1989) also reveal that procedural justice has been shown to be positively related to organizational commitment. Furthermore, Moorman, Niehoff and Organ (1993) show that procedural justice influences affective commitment in particular. Affective commitment refers to one’s psychological attachment to the organization as well as their identification with it (Muchinsky, 2006). Procedural justice influences affective commitment in a way that the fair procedures of allocating resources and resolving disputes in organizations represent the view that employees are valued and it is this value that results in the employee being more attached to and identifying more with the organization. In addition, Organ (1988) suggests that perceptions of fairness may also promote effectiveness in organizations through influencing an employee’s decision to perform organizational citizenship behaviors because in exchange for being treated fairly, employees would engage in discretionary gestures of such behavior. Organizational citizenship behaviors are â€Å"those contributions that employees make to the overall welfare of the organization that go beyond the required duties of their job† (Muchinsky, 2006, p. 326). This behavior may include avoiding complaints, attendance better than the group norm and courtesy. Moorman et al. (1993) further explains that employees go above and beyond their prescribed roles by demonstrating conscientiousness toward their work, trying to prevent problems with other employees, informing others before taking important actions, and refraining from excessively complaining about work, because they feel the necessity to reciprocate the fair treatment they have received from the organization. This is therefore yet another positive work outcome of procedural fairness. Furthermore, trust, which according to McShane and Von Glinow (2009) refers to positive expectations one person has toward another in situations involving risk, is yet another outcome that arises from procedural justice. Pearce, Bigley and Branyczki (1998) show that perceptions of procedural justice were associated not only with a greater trust in supervisors but also with a greater trust in peers as employees perceive their rights to have been honoured and can therefore reciprocate in any situation, since this trust is based on expectations that are held in common and can be reciprocated. In terms of job satisfaction and morale, those who perceive justice in their organizations are more likely to feel satisfied with their job and less likely to leave their job (Bakhshi, 2009). Moorman et al. , (2009) further explains that procedural justice may be a basis for an employee’s level of work satisfaction when that employee has developed a positive view of the organization due to its existing fair procedures. This then boosts the level of performance on the job. On the contrary however, perception of procedural injustice therefore in an organization will lead to a range of negative outcomes including low levels of organizational commitment and job satisfaction, reduced task performance and employee withholding of organizational citizenship behaviour (Pearce et al. , 1998). These are negative work outcomes that may therefore hinder the progress of n organization in the long run. In conclusion, this essay has defined procedural justice, and supported the statement that that the perception of procedural justice by employees results in positive work outcomes. This has been done by presenting in detail using a range of social science literature and empirical research the various outcomes namely trust, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and organizational citizenship and identifying the negative outcomes of procedural injustice.

Access to Bank Credit to Small and Medium Enterprises Essay

Finance function is the most important of all business functions. It remains a focus of all business activities. Financing SMEs has acquired enormous importance in contemporary world of finances. This is primarily due to the national focus and priority of various countries – developed and developing ones as well. In the Sri Lankan context , the government has provided impetus to the authorities to increasingly cater to the emerging financial needs of the SMEs. Bank and Institutional finance are expected to be made available on easy and flexible terms and conditions and on priority basis. Small and Medium Enterprises(SMEs) are hit by poor access to funds. This can be overcome if financial institutions are able to assess firm- specific and general risks and offer innovative products. This as per my personal opinion can be achieved by the formal financial institutions even when the so called sound credit principles are applied in a firm-specific manner to suit individual borrowers. In order to obtain bank credit, SME loan applicant shall prepre an effective credit proposal ,in a way, that the financial institution could consider favourably. See more: Beowulf essay essay SMEs such as restaurants, lathe-work shops, brick-kilns, grocery stores, rice mills, factories and farming etc. need finance to purchase capital goods and raw materials, procure stocks, pay wages ,meet other working capital requirements and support expansion plans. Despite the efforts of the Government and support from the Ministry of Finance and Planning and the Central Bank of Sri Lanka by including SME as a priority sector and by providing refinance facilities , there continue to be a huge demand supply mismatch in SME financing. One of the major reasons for banks being unable to bridge this gap is the perceived credit risk involved in financing SMEs. This is primarily due to non-availability of proper accounting records, valid bills and working capital management etc. As at present,to mitigate such credit risks , banks typically look for enhanced collateral or equity , both of which cannot be brought in by most entrepreneurs . Further, due to small size and local presence of SMEs , the transaction costs involved in financing them are relatively very high. However, the good news is that wider credit distribution could be made to SME sector using modern secured transaction law ,introduced recently by the Secured transactions Act 2009, which recognizes utilization of movable assets of a business as collateral to obtain credit. Further the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka(CA Sri Lanka)in its capacity as the sole accounting standard setting authority in the country has introduced a simplified financial reporting standard for the benefit of the SMEs in the country. The reporting framework so far has been a general setoff accounting standards to be used by all organisations . In 2011 CA Sri Lanka published the Sri Lanka accounting standards for SMEs (SLFRS for SMEs) with effect from 1st January, 2012. By removing some accounting treatments permitted under full SLFRSs, eliminating topics and disclosure requirements that are not generally relevant to SMEs , and simplifying requirements for recognition and measurement, the SLFRS for SMEs reduces the volume of accounting treatments applicable to SMEs by more than 90% when compared with the full set of SLFRSs. SLFRS for SMEs would be applicable for the entities that do not have public accountability (listed companies) and publish general purpose financial statements for external users such as Banks and supplier creditors. This will greatly help SME entrepreneurs to access other organizations in a formal manner and enhance their businesses, once they commence practicing this accounting reporting procedure. In the face of the bank’s reluctance to lend for want of proper accounting records , these enterprises are compelled to resort to high cost, non-continuous financing from money lenders and other informal sources , or continue to operate at sub-scale. However when SMEs start practicing and using above two facilities ( provisions in the Secured Transactions Act 2009 and the simplified SME Accounting recording procedure) the problem of enjoying credit from formal institutions such as Banks will be greatly reduced. Risks faced by any business can be broadly classified as idiosyncratic or systemic. Idiosyncratic risks are specific to an enterprise , like skill of entrepreneur or location of business. Systemic risks on the other hand , are beyond the control of any enterprise Such risks make up the environment in which a business operates ,that is, the economic environment, social environment, fiscal environment etc.. Thus the systemic risk involves risks due to change in preference of customers, changes in economy and changes in tax structure etc. Therefore the key to financing any enterprise lies in the ability of the borrower submitting his credit proposal with relevant information necessary o financier to evaluate the loan applicant to manage the risks involved in the proposed business. High quality origination can help evaluate idiosyncratic risks specific to the enterprise, well. Traditional form of risk mitigation is to cushion the risks with as much as equity from the entrepreneur. A high quality local financier with geography and business specific information about such enterprises in the operational area will be able to evaluate and manage this risk well and will demand less equity to be brought in by the entrepreneurs. Systemic risks, however, are quite different from the firm-specific risks and are arising out of the changes taking place in the market characteristics. It affect the business in every aspect and as such is huge and no amount of equity is sufficient when the financier is uncertain about an enterprise selling anything at all in the environment where demand patterns and economic situations can change very quickly. Therefore particularly in financing procurement of capital goods for long periods ,the banks search for cues to establish that the business has a current and future ability to service loans, even in an uncertain business environment. Hence in financing acquisition of capital goods it takes the form of project evaluation , however small is the business. Such situations can be managed by local bank branch which is quite familiar with the market environment of the locality. Thus the turnover and the other financials can be projected by the local bank branch staff in a more realistic manner using their knowledge in customer preferences and scale of demand in the area. This helps banks to reduce the risk involved in project loan type term finance. Further more flexible and innovative evaluation techniques have to be used in considering term loans for SMEs. However, SME enterprises that have large number of cash transactions , poor record of sales, produce undifferentiated goods and lack known usual clients , assessment of systemic risk becomes very difficult. Such challenges, however, can be addressed through structures , that allow financiers to trap cash flows by imposing conditions in the loan offer letter that permit resorting to a stronger and well established sales pattern in a supply chain. Some ways of financing working capital needs of SME businesses are supply chain financing where a supplier and a buyer have maintained books of accounts properly can be financed. For example , small enterprises that manufacture and supply sauces, jam and the like to large enterprises such as supermarkets can be financed if their cash flows are reconciled with bills , or by obtaining a collateral /guarantee from the company to which it supplies. Banks also can finance similar transactions of SMEs by discounting Bills of Exchange drawn by the supplier( SME entrepreneur ) and accepted by the large enterprise to which supplies have been made. This provides part of necessary working capital needs of the enterprise enabling it to continue production at an enhanced scale.

The Highland Towers Collapse and Ramp Construction

Introduction The intent of this essay is to happen out from a field, a edifice that experienced building calamity, analyze its short approachs and come up with solutions and recommendations of what could be done to guarantee the same job doesn’t happen in the hereafter. The edifice upon which the R esearch is based in this assignment is called the Highland tower, a edifice in Selangor Malaysia which collapsed and 48 people died and 12 others were evacuated from the other edifice. The Highland Towers prostration was an flat edifice prostration that occurred on 11 December 1993 in Taman Hillview, Ulu Klang, Selangor, Malaysia. The prostration of Block One of the flats caused the deceases of 48 people and led to the complete emptying of the staying two blocks due to safety concern. It was one of the most tragic edifice accidents in Malayan history where residential towers collapsed and killed people. Since so, the authorities and its subordinates sat down in a commission to see a manner forward for the building industry particularly building in hilly countries to minimise casualties. The event has been widely publicized, when an American tourer in peculiar because it is captured in the following 10 yearss and taken to the Tower of exposure a dramatic sequence, and brainsick deliverance operations. Building professionals with the instance of several of import influence in Malaysia, which will be the focal point of this paper, but besides lead to tort jurisprudence in Malaysia interesting development and elucidation. Case survey Highland Towers consists of three 12-storey edifices in a steep hill, was later extensively on the patios in the early 1980s in western base built in phases between 1974 to 1982. Each block is named: Block1 ( built in 1977, the most southern ) Block2 ( built in 1979, north-west block 1, somewhat elevated than the other two, the closer to the top of the hill ) Block3 ( built in 1981, the Northwest block 1, block West 2 ) . Parking behind the mountain rain collapsed edifice in the swimming pool located on both sides and the rear between Northwest Northeast parking batch after the landslide caused by the failure of the retaining wall behind the edifice failed, for 10 yearss. The tower is home to the flush middle-class households ; considerable proportion of occupants are exiles. Highland Tower was one time ill-famed early 1980s and 1990s for affluent people to conceal their kept woman popular topographic point. The H2O tower is behind a little watercourse known as the â€Å" East Creek. † Eastern Creek flows into the tower site tower â€Å" before building. Later, construct a grapevine system to deviate flow to short-circuit the tower in 1991, a new lodging development undertaking, called † Wu Antarabangsa Development Project â€Å" , located in the tower Peak behind the start. As a consequence, the mountain has been cleared of trees and other flora and land screen, soil eroding exposed la nd, which will take to set down slides from the building site of the H2O diverted into the river to deviate the flow of the same East piping systems. finally, the grapevine system to go over- pressurized H2O, sand and silt from the Eastern Creek and the building site. pipe explosion at different locations in the mountains, the dirt had to absorb extra wet. December 1993 monsoon rains further declining the state of affairs. ( Block One of the Highland Towers collapsed ) Role and duties The Architect ( I ) there is no defence of this contact is a limited one, at least you must guarantee that other facets of the work of others is competent to finish. Defensive designer, he merely retained the design and supervising of three flat edifices, and denied that his scope extends to the drainage, earthworks and retaining walls. It was dismissed by that tribunal. The tribunal held that the designer must take into history the edifice on which is built in the locality of the land, and the land itself, the safety appraisal of the edifice, it must be evaluated. [ In add-on, the tribunal held that as a affair of fact, the designer concerned about the vicinity and the edifice itself, when he submitted the layout program, the governments because it includes high tower behind the incline patios and drainage. Therefore, he must guarantee that the work carried out although others in a competent and workmanlike mode ] ( Ii ) there is no difference between the standard attention of unqualified physicians Although the designer in world merely a edifice draughtsman, measure their behaviour on the tribunal has the ability to architect a criterion that if a individual is unqualified, but showed himself to hold a accomplishment, he will be judged by the criterion a competent and qualified staff. ( C ) there is no alibi to state that mandatory employer does non follow with ordinances Finally, the Court seems to hold categorically rejected the designer ‘s alibi that he can non make anything to halt his foreman ( employers and applied scientists in obtaining certifications of fittingness in three flat edifices do non carry through the conditions stipulated by the local governments in collusion background, alternatively of patios and retaining walls to guarantee proper design, provide and sufficient to defy, even though he knew it would impact the edifice, he was in charge ) incline instability – the Court has made clear that, when the jurisprudence is broken, the designer must describe to the governments – after the designer must guarantee that the jurisprudence, even in the hazard of being discharged. Engineer Defense applied scientist, he merely retained the design and supervising of three flat edifices, Highland Towers compound constructions within two retaining walls, and submit programs, drainage, and two and denied his scope extends to the drainage, earthworks. It was dismissed by that tribunal. The tribunal found that applied scientists must take into history the edifice on which is built in the locality of the land, and the land itself, the clip to measure the safety of edifices, must be evaluated. He should guarantee the stableness of the incline behind Highland Towers. His responsibilities non by a mere belief that they are built on terraced inclines and retaining walls were discharged by an applied scientist or other adviser. He should inquire the professional is qualified, whether he was making what impact the safety of cascading tower. [ Neglect other facets of applied scientists – a serious misdemeanor of the governments to take attention of his duties to a presentment issued by the purchaser, and merely 10 per centum is based on the sanctioned drainage building ] In drumhead locations near edifice professionals need to be considered, every bit good as the safety appraisal of the site itself, particularly taking into history the next hillside. Building professionals to take part in a limited scope can non conceal behind, these are the things that they themselves and their employers, but they may be capable to the responsibilities owed to the range of their service is non limited to this. Building professionals required to guarantee that others do the work to prosecute them in the design may impact / supervisory construction is competent, workmanlike mode to transport out the work. If you think the general edifice professionals have expertise in a specific country of aˆâ€ ¹aˆâ€ ¹eligibility when they are unqualified, their behaviour will be a step of this expertness qualified physician. After constructing professionals must guarantee that jurisprudence and, if necessary to describe to the governments if their clients interrupt the jurisprudence, even in danger by their client to be discharged. Case application on jurisprudence of civil wrong Negligence The Highland Towers determination becomes another Malayan High Court determination which diverges from the attack of the English Courts and adopts the attack taken by other Commonwealth legal powers in leting the recovery of â€Å"pure economic loss† , particularly where sufficient propinquity can be demonstrated between the negligent act and the loss. Pure economic loss is the loss related to the merchandise itself which is faulty by ground of carelessness, as opposed to the loss or harm caused to the belongings of the Plaintiff by this faulty merchandise. Nuisance In this cause of action, a Defendant is apt if the Plaintiff can demo the Defendant is responsible for a status or activity which interferes with usage or enjoyment of his land, and that status or activity is non a sensible user by the Defendant. The Highland Towers determination, necessitating the complainant must set up an extra demand that is the type of harm whether the suspect could moderately foreseeable, the rules adopted from English instance jurisprudence on the extension of the perturbation is limited in Malaysia, Cambridge Water Company leather Co. Ltd. v. Eastern European states. Cause of structural failure The H2O tower is behind a little watercourse known as the â€Å" East Creek. † Eastern Creek flows into the tower site tower â€Å" before building, so the constitution of the grapevine system is to deviate the flow to short-circuit the tower. In 1991, a new lodging development undertaking, called ‘Bukit Antarabangsa Development Project ‘ , located in the tower under building behind the top of the hill. The mountain is cleared of trees and other flora and land screen, land exposed dirt eroding is a major factor doing landslides. Construction site of the new H2O diverted into the bing grapevine systems used to reassign the East river flows. This heavy-duty piping and H2O, sand and silt from the river and E into the grapevine building site. Pipes burst, several topographic points in the mountains, and the environing dirt to absorb extra wet. December 1993 monsoon rains farther impairment of the state of affairs. The H2O content in the dirt becomes ace saturated, so that the dirt has become syrupy, really go the grade of clay. October 1992 by the hillside is saturated with H2O, the H2O is fluxing down the inclines and considered retaining walls. Shortly thenceforth, landslides, destructing the building of a retaining wall. Landslide mud that contains an estimated one hundred 1000 square metres – a mass equivalent to 200 Boeing 747 aircraft. Rammed earth base to first, bit by bit forcing it frontward. After a month of this changeless force per unit area, foundations snapped and November 1993, the occupants began to see clefts organizing and spread outing the Highlandss environing the tower, on the route warning of prostration. Unfortunately, no farther probe before a prostration December 11, 1993. Safety governments and Investigation processs. These were the findings of the probe that came from the accident. Besides bespeaking who was to fault for the happening of the accident. Within the first 24 hours, merely two adult females and an baby were pulled out of the debris. Indonesian amah Umi Rashidah Khoruman, 22, and her 18-month old girl Nur Hamidah Najib, survived the ordeal, but the 2nd adult female, Nipponese national Shizue Nakajima, 50, succumbed to her hurts. Concluding study from the probes showed that It was the mistake of the belongings proprietors non to run out the land that caused the silt to construct and therefore the monolithic land slide that led to the prostration of the construction that claimed 48 lives. Liabilitiess. The followers are the tribunal ‘s findings of liability: The first suspect was negligent in presuming duty non to prosecute a qualified designer, edifice patios insufficient, inadequate, could moderately be expected to hold caused the prostration of the retaining walls and drains eastbound recreation from its natural class and failed to guarantee that the incline is equal H2O pipe culverts, and detest non maintained drains and retaining walls. The 2nd suspect ( the designer ) is assumed liability for carelessness does non guarantee equal drainage and retaining walls built in the next Highlandss tower site, which he foresaw or should hold foreseen that the edifice would jeopardize the hillside, he is responsible for, non specified with the governments on drainage, and the first suspect and the 3rd suspect ( applied scientists ) collude to acquire fitness certification does non carry through the conditions by the 4th suspect ( local governments ) are required, in making so does non follow with his responsibilities, the designer and no probe retaining walls, even though he knew they would impact the terraced hillsides and building of edifices, he was responsible for, and hatred, because he is an unreasonable land users. The 3rd suspect ( applied scientist ) is behind the carelessness of duty without sing the hillside or incline of the tower, there is no footing for the design and building to suit sidelong burden or instead landslide has ensured that the next incline stableness, without execution of the sanctioned drainage program, and the first and 2nd suspects colluded to acquire fitness certification does non carry through the conditions stipulated by the 4th suspect and a nuisance, because he is irrational usage of land. The 4th suspect ( local governments ) Although the carelessness of its construction-related occupations. That is about the edifice program blessing procedure to guarantee the execution of the sanctioned building of drainage systems, and in the Certificate of Fitness job remains because S95 Street, Drainage and Building Act ( 2 ) unsusceptibility. The 4th suspect, but a care map Eastern watercourse tardily in carry throughing its building can non be spared for its carelessness. It besides attracted a nuisance liability. The 5th suspect ( Arab – Malayan fiscal BHD ) is apt for the carelessness of failure to keep drains their land, and in the land after the prostration of the steps taken to reconstruct stableness. Seventh suspect ( Metrolux belongings ) and its undertaking director, the 8th suspect, who is the duty of carelessness and nuisance, to forestall H2O from fluxing into the downhill ( into their web site ) , but to steer the watercourse of H2O into the East, when they knew or ought to hold known, this will increase the sum of H2O injected into the clay and, in peculiar, have their ain extended land glade, travel east into the watercourse, it will be deposited, which will in bend ( to turn out ) cause or contribute to drainage mistake system and a prostration. The 9th and 10th suspect ( fundamentally the province authorities ) , found no liability due to a proficient job on the prosecution of a peculiar political party. The 6th suspect ( who carried out the work site clean- Arab – abortion purchaser of land in Malaysia ) found no grounds of duty. Redresss About redresss the first this is happen a qualified contractors and qualified Designer and building applied scientist. In this instance causes of edifice prostration the chief ground is to happen designer contractor caused by the irrational. So we summary have five points: ( I ) Nearby locations edifice professionals need to be considered, every bit good as the safety appraisal of the site itself, particularly taking into history the next hillside. ( Ii ) edifice professionals to take part in a limited scope can non conceal behind, these are things that they themselves and their employers, but they may be capable to the responsibilities owed to the range of their service is non limited to this. ( Iii ) edifice professionals required to guarantee that others do the work may be engaged to oversee their influence in the design / building is competent, will transport out their work, a workmanlike mode. ( Iv ) if the edifice professionals think they have expertise in specific countries when they are unqualified, their behaviour will be a step of this general makings expertise qualified physician. ( V ) building professionals must guarantee that the jurisprudence after a study to the governments if necessary, if their clients interrupt the jurisprudence, even in danger by their client to be discharged. The 2nd thing to make is to guarantee that the experience and expertness to this undertaking. Following to it is to guarantee that all stuffs and constituents to be installed and used in order to prove its functionality and satisfactory conformity with the needed criterions. For illustration ; specific research lab trials should be taken before utilizing compressive strength, stableness and lastingness. Finally, before any portion of the undertaking is complete, responsible for the blessing before its following regulative organic structures should be. The undertaking is a theoretical account for all the points necessary trials, carried out before the existent execution. Engineers can besides utilize the cause of the conditions and other facets of the theoretical account. The 3rd thing is because this state of affairs has occurred for many old ages, although the tribunal has non yet made the determination, but still want to remind contractors, who together oversee project quality, and how to decide some of the hazard about. Do non allow the calamity go on once more. Percentage Frequency of Causes of Building Collapse ( Malaysia 1960-2010 )NOInvestigated causes of edifice prostrationMalayaPercentage ( % )1Structural failure1102Faulty design2203Poor craft1104Substandard stuffs1105Due to environing edifice development2206illegal transition007Inexperience contractor3308Building use00entire10100So in this tabular array we can see Causes of Building Collapse most ground is Inexperience contractor. Now we need clean know find an experient contractor is really of import, faulty design and due to environing edifice development besides account for a big proportion. Recommendations From the above analysis and treatment presented, you can deduce that the chief ground for the edifice ‘s structural failures, design mistakes and hapless craft, which may besides be applicable to other states in the universe. Besides from the consequences of this survey, it is believed that there are three types of claims, can bring forth any edifices collapsed, that contract claims, civil wrong claims and incidents of both contract and civil wrong claims ; This means that a party can be made in this both his / her petition. Therefore, the undermentioned recommendations for who had suffered losingss in the square edifice prostration Events so that their demands: ( I ) The Government shall endeavour to help in the probe of any incidence of edifice prostration, to let victims to cognize the responsible party, and from whom to do a claim. ( two ) The Government should help proprietors or who have suffered the loss of a edifice prostration in the event a 3rd party to prosecute their instances in tribunal as they do their other demands, if they can non, because The expensive nature of the proceedings. ( three ) The Government should ordain Torahs that will better the effectivity and criterions for the building of edifices. ( four ) In add-on, the authorities should supervise, manage and implement the jurisprudence, its effectivity. ( V ) Every edifice proprietor should guarantee that qualified professionals and experient contractors are engaged in transporting out their building procedure. ( six ) Every professional organic structure should supervise their members and besides be ready to punish any error-prone member who ISS found apt in constructing prostration incident. Decision Ramp building led to landslides – like we decidedly hear a batch of intelligence, and landslides claimed more and more of life events, why is everyplace and droping of trees for the building of the activities. Otherwise, this calamity 21 old ages ago can be avoided! I hope the Government will earnestly look at this issue! Mentionshypertext transfer protocol: //malaysiafactbook.com/Highland_Towers_collapsehypertext transfer protocol: //www.nst.com.my/nation/general/i-saw-highland-towers-block-crash-to-

Personal Case Study Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

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Training in ethics for management personnel - Essay Example The Columbia Encyclopedia (2003) defines business ethics as the study and evaluation of decision making by businesses according to moral concepts and judgments. Issues involved in ethical business decisions include a company's obligation to be honest with its customers, a company's responsibility to preserve the environment and the protection of employee rights. Ethical conflicts arise due to the differences in the interests of company owners, workers, customers, and the community wherein which the business operates. The dilemma for managers is how to balance the need to produce profits for shareholders with honest business practices, safety in the workplace, and environmental and social concerns. The globalization of businesses and diversity in the workplace have also contributed to the complication of ethical issues because of different government laws that define the limits of criminal behavior. Practices which are deemed as bribery, sexual harassment, racial discrimination, and l ack of concern for the environment, may be held as criminal in one country but are neither illegal nor unethical or unusual in another. The company must then decide whether to adhere to its traditional ethical principles or not, especially if this provides opportunities for maximizing profits. According to Today's Market... use of these type of occurrences in the business milieu, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 has become part of mandatory United States federal law that companies must adhere to. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act is intended to protect against corporate fraud and unethical accounting and reporting incidents. Thus, ethics training is now widely conducted to instill corporate values, rules and regulations in the minds of managers and employees. Ethics Training Ethics training aims to ensure that people are aware of ethical issues and the consequences of unethical behavior. Companies which conduct ethics training are benefited by the continual application of the company code of ethics in the everyday business environment. Ethics training provides a venue for communication and problem solving that guides participants in the resolution of complex issues brought about by conflicts of interest. It helps create a guide that may be followed when exercising discretion, while defining boundaries, limitations and expectations within the organization. An ethical workplace environment is characterized by properly exercised discretion, and ethics training is a step toward corporate compliance (Today's Marketer, 2008). An ethics training program encourages employee involvement in the process of reporting violations of the code of conduct, or any unethical practice. Compliant companies establish a procedure and a point of contact where whistleblowers my anonymously report violations. The process allows employees to be at ease when an unethical situation must be reported, and contributes to the company's corporate compliance program because it proves the company's willingness to eliminate unethical practices. Encouraging the reporting reduces catastrophic outcomes for the company, such as those which

Contemporary Management Asignment Three Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Contemporary Management Asignment Three - Essay Example Jeff Bezoz’s strategy drove the company towards becoming the leading online marketing company with his main strategy being customer oriented, coupled with innovation that sought to improve their online shopping capabilities. The company initially sold books online and with the integration of its innovative approaches and strategy; the company has now expanded its boundaries to introduce new products like furniture, computer software, DVDs, CDs, apparel, toys, and other goods. The company offers a wide range of books and products that make it distinct from its main competitors. However, Amazon.com has had many twists and turns as with other online businesses. The company has gone through downfalls in debts, as well as loss of income, in its formative years, made its first profit in 2001. Since then, the company has gone from strength to strength and its digital channel management and web analytics have pushed it to the top of the industry. This paper seeks to do a review of Ama zon.com that has been one of the successful enterprises in the harnessing of retailing power over the internet platform, for a successful experience in retailing. Use of Digital Channels for Success Bookselling/Online Sales Retailing through the brick and mortar format is heavily reliant on physical space through which stores could display their products, as well as maintain a go down to store their inventory. This approach to traditional retailing portended greater costs because of maintenance of inventory, space for physical storage and rent, and maintenance of staff to man the requirements of the store (Chaudhury et al, 2011: p 101). Two decades ago, this would be the archetypal bookstore and anyone wishing to buy a book would have had to make a visit to the store physically to preview the book and then decide on whether to make a purchase. They could also decide to place a mail order, which could take time since the posting company would treat it the same way as a two-way mail d elivery (Chaudhury et al, 2011: p 101). This scenario has been transformed tremendously since e-commerce was developed, which has shifted the majority of retail activities to the online platform. E-commerce has birthed a revolution in the retail sector through its allowance of various retailing activities like actual transactions and marketing to be taken to digital platforms (Chaudhury et al, 2011: p 102). In the beginning, majority of companies developed single websites that they used to retail their various products. However, because of recent the recent advancements, these companies have begun to integrate different retail channels on offline and online channels. Consumers who are tech savvy who are hungry for information have discovered that online platforms are the best places to do their shopping activities since they allow for one stop shops, which have increased convenience and greater variety. Because of this, majority of retailers have begun to develop platforms for onlin e retail to create various multi-channels of distribution that can reach a more diverse base of clients (Chaudhury et al, 2011: p 104). This is, through combining channels of distribution in order for them, to reach more clients. Digital Channels The current evolution of data analytics, marketing, as well as extensive studies of research, have acted as forces behind the development of the various platforms for online retail and shopping. Data analytics enables collection over the online platfor

Economics Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 2

Economics Assignment - Essay Example The reasons for the balance of payments deficit are many and varied. However, in simple terms, it can also be said that the people in the country consumes more than what they produce. Some of the areas that the UK has always been traditionally strong in the past no more hold good now. For example, at least until 1980, the UK had a vibrant and competitive manufacturing sector with ever-burgeoning exports across the world. As time passed by, the manufacturing sector began losing its grip on the international markets on cost, innovation and quality aspects. It is a fact that in growing economy, energy needs of the country also keeps on rising and when domestic resources are not sufficient enough to meet those rising energy needs of the country then the country is forced to import the same. It is pertaining to note that before 2004, the UK was exporting oil and gas being an energy surplus country; however, the production of gas and oil went on falling since 2004 onwards. Due to reduced production, not only it lost the status of energy exporting country but also it became a net importer to meet its energy needs. The above mentioned graph shows how production went on falling since its peak in year 2000 with almost steady consumption in all these years. It is obvious that all energy shortfalls should be met with imports. The year-wise energy imports have been presented in the table as per the following. Chakrabortty (2011) argues that the manufacturing sector in the UK has reduced in size significantly. Currently, the manufacturing sector constitutes only 11 percent of the national income employing only 2.5 million people. The de-industrialisaiton has happened because industries have not remained competitive enough and in the era of liberalization much of the industrial activities have moved to the third-world countries such

Economics of Organisations TAKE HOME EXAM Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Economics of Organisations TAKE HOME EXAM - Essay Example It is vital in today's world that every researcher possesses models with imperfect information. The aforementioned theory can be applied everywhere from underdeveloped countries to developed economies. Founding this theory were George Akerlof, Michael Spence, and Joseph Stiglitz. They won quite a prestigious award for their work in asymmetrical markets in 2001. These questions exemplify familiar - but seemingly different - phenomena, each of which has posed a challenge to economic theory. This year's Laureates proposed a common explanation and extended the theory when they augmented the theory with the realistic assumption of asymmetric information: agents on one side of the market have much better information than those on the other side. Borrowers know more than the lender about their repayment prospects; the seller knows more than buyers about the quality of his car; the CEO and the board know more than the shareholders about the profitability of the firm; policyholders know more than the insurance company about their accident risk; and tenants know more than the landowner about their work effort and harvesting conditions.More specifically, Akerlof showed that informational asymmetries can give rise to adverse selection on markets. Due to imperfect information on the part of lenders or prospective car buyers, borrowers with weak repayme nt prospects or sellers of low-quality cars crowd out everyone else from the market. Some claim that Aker... Due to imperfect information on the part of lenders or prospective car buyers, borrowers with weak repayment prospects or sellers of low-quality cars crowd out everyone else from the market. (Nobel Prize.org 2009, p. 1) Some claim that Akerlof's essay, "The Market for Lemons" is the ultimate representation of study in economics of information literature. It has both seminal features in that it describes something simple but profound, has a significant number of implications and applications that are widespread in nature. Akerlof starts out by describing a formal analysis-the first of its kind-of markets that suffer from adverse seslection. "He analyses a market for a good where the seller has more information than the buyer regarding the quality of the product. This is exemplified by the market for used cars; "a lemon" - a colloquialism for a defective old car - is now a well-known metaphor in economists' theoretical vocabulary. Akerlof shows that hypothetically, the information problem can either cause an entire market to collapse or contract it into an adverse selection of low-quality products." (Nobel Prize.org 2009, p. 1). Akerlof also points out other information asymmetries. Most of these appear to him in developing countries. For example, in India, in the 1960s, urban lenders chose to charge twice as much interest as those who operated in the larger cities. Another example occurs when Akerlof describes health insurance for the elderly. Yet another is discrimination of certain groups of people in the labour market. "A key insight in his "lemons paper" is that economic agents may have strong incentives to offset the adverse effects of

International Business In Focus Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

International Business In Focus - Essay Example With globalization, the business strategy of the executives has widened to cross over geographical boundaries and expand their reach internationally. While international business has opened up many new avenues for the organizations, it also brought several challenges and one of them is the culture. The national culture has shown to have a high impact on major business activities and strategies (Chui et al, 2002). In international business parlance, culture can be defined as a set of values, believes, norms as well as behaviors that is characteristic of a particular geographical location. Diversity in culture based on the geographic location can be an advantage, but in many cases, it proves to be a big challenge too, because differences and complexities. The goal of a successful international business should be to ensure that the work culture of various locales converge over a period of time (Heuer et al, 1999). This will ensure that the international business related practices would become similar or same eventually. Hence, there would be a standard business practice, devoid of cultural influences, which would not have the characteristic inefficiencies or complexities that come into picture because of the divergent beliefs and practices. 1.2 Purpose and Justification of the Study This study tries to explore the way in which Google, an organization that has presence in more than 45 countries across the globe handles its international business (google.com/locations, n.d) operations in Asia, specifically India. Through an exploration of theoretical work, it analyzes the key social and cultural trends and how it has an impact on the organization. The study also highlights the strategy of the company with regards to an international market. As more and more organizations are entering a global industry phase, this research is key because it tries to find out how an organization could create cultural convergence by maintaining its presence across the globe. Google was chosen because of its vast presence across the globe and the cultural convergence that it was successful in bringing regardless of the geographical boundaries. Within a span of around 13 years, the company was able to establish presence across the world in a very consistent manner. Therefore, Google was selected as the company for this study. 1.3 Company Overview Google, which is now the search engine with the highest market share (Search Engine Market Share (2011) began in 1998, started a garage in Stanford University as a result of a collaborative effort between its founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin. Over the next two years, it formalized its operations and began expanding rapidly. From an organization that offered search services in one single language, it has not expanded to a company that offers many different services including various forms of advertising, applications, mobile operating systems, email service and so on. Innovation has been the key behind the success of thi s company that thrives on the philosophy of making information universally accessible. Over the past 13 years, the company has expanded its operations to more than 45 countries and provides its services to users across the globe and in many different languages. Apart from revolutionizing the internet industry across the globe, Google stands

Investigating the Strength of a Supermarkets Plastic Bag Essay Example for Free

Investigating the Strength of a Supermarkets Plastic Bag Essay Aim I have been asked to investigate the strength of a supermarkets plastic bag. I am going to test and analyse the plastic bag by investigating how applying a gradual increasing force effects the extension of the material. Apparatus * 30cm by 1cm strip of plastic bag, * Stand, * Clamp, * Boss, * Weights (N)- 100g * 2 wood blocks, * Ruler Method Before we can begin the experiment my group and I will have to set up the apparatus as shown on the diagram but with excluding the weights. We will set up the apparatus by cutting a 1 by 30cm strip of plastic from a plastic bag. We will proceed by placing the strip in between the two wooden blocks and then into the clamp. We will then begin the experiment by applying the first weight of 1 Newton. After applying the first weight we will then measure the length of the plastic strip record the length and calculate the extension. We will continue the experiment by adding another 1 Newton and recording the result and extension again. We will continue to keep adding 1 Newton and recording the results until the strip of plastic snaps or we have recorded a total of 10 results. We will redo the experiment twice again so that the results are more accurate and we can determine an average. To make sure that we keep it a fair test we will make sure that we use the same length of plastic strip each time we carry out the experiment. When we increase the force we will always increase by 1 Newton to keep it a fair test. We will be measuring the length and extension of the plastic strip in centimetres (cm). We are doing to this to measure it. Preliminary Work Before completing the plan we tested the experiment as explained in the method. We found that as we increased the force in 1 Newton that the plastic strip actually snapped under an average of 3 Newtons which didnt give us enough results for the experiment. We tested this 3 times and found that this was happening for each time we carried out the experiment. To compensate for this we have decided to increase the force by only half a Newton so that more results can be recorded. Whilst carrying out the experiment we did record a set of results as follows- Experiment 1 Force(N) Length(cm) Extension(cm) 0 28 0 1 28.4 0.4 2 28.8 0.8 3 29.3 1.3 Experiment 2 Force(N) Length(cm) Extension(cm) 0 28 0 1 28.2 0.2 2 28.6 0.6 3 29 1 Experiment 3 Force(N) Length(cm) Extension(cm) 0 28 0 1 28.5 0.5 2 28.7 0.7 3 28.9 0.9 4 29.2 1.2 From these preliminary results I can see that the plastic extends to no more than 1.3cm of its original length before snapping. These results will help me with my prediction. Prediction I already know that the plastic bag is made up of polymers. These are chemical bonds which make up the properties that form the plastic bag. The polymers in which plastic bags are made are more commonly known as polyethylene. Polyethylene is a straight chain polymer. It consists of chains made up of only carbon and hydrogen. The bond that form the chain are covalent bonds and are held together by relatively weak electrostatic forces, because the bond carbon and hydrogen that form the polyethylene are covalent it means that they share electrons. The displayed formula for polyethylene is The chains can go on and on, The longer the chains the stronger the plastic. Polyethylene is very cheap to produce. It is strong and easily moulded. There are forces acting between the particles or molecules of the polyethylene which prevent the change in shape of the material, which when forces are applied can effect. Under the action of external forces the polymer bonds stretch and begin to straighten. At this point the plastic is actin as an elastic. As more force is applied will continue straightening until they reach a point of equal force, at this point the plastic is in a state of strain and can no longer straighten out. This is where the plastic begins to act as a plastic. If more force is applied the bonds will snap and the plastic strip will also snap. After taking into account of the information I already know and the results from my preliminary work, I predict that as the force is applied to the plastic strip it will stretch as an elastic until the force becomes so great it reaches a point at which it can no longer stretch as the bonds have been straightened and weakened, at this point I believe that the plastic strip will snap. Results Whilst carrying out my experiment I recorded the following results, Experiment 1 Force(N) Length(cm) Extension(cm) 0 28 0 1/2 28 0 1 28.2 0.2 1-1/2 28.2 0.2 2 28.4 0.4 2-1/2 28.4 0.4 3 28.6 0.6 3-1/2 28.7 0.7 4 29.0 1 Experiment 2 Weight(N) Length(cm) Extension(cm) 0 28 0 1/2 28 0 1 28.2 0.2 1-1/2 28.3 0.3 2 28.3 0.3 2-1/2 28.5 0.5 3 28.6 0.7 3-1/2 28.8 0.9 4 29.0 1.1 Experiment 3 Weight(N) Length(cm) Extension(cm) 0 28 0 1/2 28.1 0.1 1 28.1 0.1 1-1/2 28.2 0.2 2 28.3 0.3 2-1/2 28.5 0.5 3 28.7 0.7 3-1/2 28.9 0.9 4 29.1 1.1 I am now going to calculate the average for the extensions of each experiment, Average results Weight(N) Average extension(cm) 0 0 1/2 0.03 1 0.1 1-1/2 0.2 2 0.3 2-1/2 0.4 3 0.6 3-1/2 0.8 4 1.0 I am now going to plot a line graph for each set of results and my average results so that they can be easily viewed and analysed. I will use the line graphs to look for patterns and trends. I can also use the line graphs to determine whether I experienced any anomalous or irregular results.

Homosexuals in the United States Military Essay Example for Free

Homosexuals in the United States Military Essay Homosexuals and U. S military service new laws and regulations which came into effect in 1993 reflected a compromise in policy. This settlement, referred to as â€Å"don’t ask, don’t tell,† states that the existence in the armed forces of persons who reveals a tendency or plan to take on homosexual acts would produce an intolerable hazard to the high standards of morale, high-quality order and discipline, and unit solidity which are the core of military capacity. Service members are not to be asked about nor allowed to talk about their homosexuality. This negotiation in spite of the matter has remained politically controversial. Previous to the 1993 compromise, the figure of individual’s releases for homosexuality was by and large declining. From the time, the number of discharges for homosexual conduct has generally amplified until recent times. In the wake of the new 1993 laws and regulations, constitutional challenges to the former and current military policies regarding homosexuals followed. In the case of Bowers vs. Hardwick, the U. S Supreme Court Ruling said that there is no right to engage in consensual homosexual sodomy. In this case, the courts generally said that military men may be lawfully discharge for explicit homosexual conduct. Nevertheless, the legal picture was convoluted by the Court’s 2003 decision in Lawrence v. Texas which ruled against Bowers by declaring unconstitutional a Texas law that prohibited sexual acts between same sex couples. Moreover, disturbed legal questions lingered as to whether a release based exclusively on a statement that a service member is homosexual disobeys constitutional limits. For the time being, efforts to allow individuals of the same sex to marry legally materialize implausible to affect the Department of Defense (DOD) policy close to term, because such individuals are barred from serving in the military, even though court challenges are possible. For the duration of the 1992 presidential campaign, Bill Clinton promised to remove the ban on homosexuals in the U.  S armed services. Once in office, he met with massive resistance from the U. S military and its congressional allies, and by summer of 1993, the original policy proposal was dead. Instead, Congress enacted the â€Å"Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Don’t Pursue† policy: gays and lesbians can now serve in the military, but they are obliged to keep their sexual preference private. Challengers of the open integration of gays and lesbians have discarded many of standard justifications for excluding homosexuals from military service. For example, the Pentagon and its cronies no longer disagree that gays and lesbians are security risks because of the threat of blackmail. As a case in point, even though both the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Colin Powell and the famous military sociologist Charles Moskos contest the open integration of homosexuals in the military, they recognize that gays and lesbians are valuable soldiers. Discharge measures against homosexuals are packed with statements of many of these individuals’ excellent records, reliability, and commitment to their jobs. The matter is not whether gays and lesbians are good quality soldiers as individuals, but instead, the consequence of these individuals on the group. Opponents of removing all restrictions on homosexuals’ service argue that open incorporation of gays and lesbians would obstruct the development of primary group cohesion, which they say is significant to military efficiency. During the 1993 congressional trials on homosexuality in the military, both Senate and House testimony paid attention on the issue of unit cohesion. For instance, then Senator Sam Nuun, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee in July 1993 asked each of the 6 Joint Chiefs of Staff to discuss unit cohesion and its importance in developing combat capability. Army Chief of Staff General Gordon Sullivan answered him by saying that cohesion is developed by uniformity, by devotion to a common sense of values and behavior. The introduction into many small units of person whose open orientation and self-definition is completely opposed to the rest of the group will cause tension and disruption (Herek 1987). Senior US military officers concerned that the open integration of homosexuals would get in the way of the development of cohesion within small groups are not trusted or respected as expressed by Powell and Admiral David Jeremiah, and they added that in atmosphere of doubts, orders may not be carried out and everyday friendly gestures that encourage companionship- everyday childlike horseplay and rough-housing, a pat on the back or arm around the shoulder- become suspect, provoke fear or loathing, and annihilate group cohesion (Nowak, 1993)). Powell added that in order to win wars and battles the army needs to make cohesive groups of warriors who will bond so strongly that they are ready to go into battle and give their lives if indispensable and it is intolerable to allow anything to upset that feeling of cohesion inside the force. The disagreement about unit cohesion is based on two propositions: the first one is that primary group cohesion increases military effectiveness and second, open gay and lesbian personnel would disturb cohesion and thus military performance. According to Kier (1998) these propositions are wrong and she said that such statements do not reflect what social science research and experience have demonstrated about the relationship between cohesion and performance and the consequence of putting together previously excluded groups on primary group cohesion. Investigations of Homosexual Conduct Even if broad investigations of homosexual behavior are the exemption rather than the rule, there are noteworthy numbers of cases in which such investigations have been conducted. Based on the cases reviewed by Gosling (1993), he concluded that the immense majority of investigations that have happened have been correctly instigated, that is, an investigation has been made only after the commander had determined that there was convincing information that the member had engaged in homosexual conduct. Also, based on his findings, he was able to find out that a lot of the criticisms made about inappropriate initiation of investigations mirror a misinterpretation of the Department’s policy. In practice, plausible information has sometimes been provided to commanders in ways that service members might not have been anticipated to occur, or has been based on communications or performance that the partners, roommates, or unconnected third parties have sometimes come forward on their own to account information or proof of homosexual conduct to commanders next to the wishes of the service member in question (Nowak 1993). Photographs or in black and white communications that verifies homosexual conduct has sometimes been showed to civilians who then brought this proof to the attention of a commander, with no question having been conducted by the commander. Plausible information has also been incidentally discovered in the course of proper, entirely unrelated criminal or disciplinary investigations for a commander to initiate an investigation when information has been reported in any of these circumstances, granted that the information received is credible (Suraci, 1992). Indeed, because federal law requires that those who take on in homosexual conduct must be discharged from the military; commanders are compelled to investigate whenever they receive credible evidence of homosexual conduct. In addition, many academic institutions have ratified rules that defended homosexuals from prejudice on campus. Accordingly, colleges, universities, and even high schools have required barring military recruiters from their campuses or otherwise eliminating Reserve Officer Training Corps Programs on campus because of the DOD rule on homosexuals in the military. Simultaneously, legislation has been ratified that bars giving federal funds to campuses that obstruct entrance for military recruiters (Suraci 1992). On March 6, 2006, the Supreme Court upturned a federal appeals court verdict in Rumsfeld v. Forum for Academic and Institutional Rights (FAIR), and endorsed the constitutionality of the Solomon Amendment, which forbids certain federal funding to higher educational institutions that refute admittance by military recruiters to their students equal to that provided to other employers. Deviance Present among sociological conceptions of deviance is an approach that concerns itself not as much of with the characteristics of the person or persons said to have despoiled a social rule than with the character of the responses of other persons to these characteristics and events. This approach, occasionally called the labeling approach to deviance, observes the deviant as a social creation, the result of contact sequences between labelers and labeled (Becker, 1964). The questions that are lifted by this approach thus concern the behaviors that are tagged as deviant, what the methods are by which the labels are effectively applied or avoided, and what the results of such procedures are for both labelers and labeled. Nevertheless, regardless of the highlight laid on deviance as a creation of interaction, in practice most consideration has been paid to the labeler’s role in this process (Simon 1987). The method of developing deviance appears all collective response and no deviant stimulus. This is possibly an overreaction to an overreaction. For example, one theory is spelled out as to why some people break rules and some do not in terms of what is called as commitment and for other labeling theorists, characteristics of the deviant himself are not completely unrelated (Simon 1987). The point is well taken, but for example, in some of Goffmans writings (1961) on mental patients his employment of the concept career contingencies materializes to treat the mental patient as a pawn, subject to the vagaries of all sorts of contextual demands. As a result of the above, labeling theory also has been seen as taking the side of the underdog- that the deviant is seen as a victim of the fairly subjective measures of control agencies. He is more sinned against than sinning, as it is a matter of chance, or racial or socioeconomic factors, rather than any behavior on his part, that chooses whether he is cast as deviant. Homosexuals in the Army in Other Countries Homosexuals in the military is not just an issue faced by the United States, there are many more countries out there that have the same situation as the US. The number of countries that permit gay and lesbian soldiers to serve in the armed forces is growing and it is increasingly becoming more important to know whether official decisions with regards to the inclusion of homosexual service members in the military lead t changes in organizational performance (West 1965). Even though most members of NATO plus some nations has already permitted gay and lesbian soldiers to serve, there has still a very few empirical analysis of whether the decision to remove gay ban influences the ability of armed forces to pursue their missions. This topic has been addressed by some theoretical studies but there has been no in-depth empirical analysis on the consequences of removing gay bans (Sudnow 1965). In Canada for example, there were a handful of careful studies immediately after Canada’s 1992 decision of abolishing restrictions on gay and lesbian soldiers (Belkin, 2001). Although that was the case, long term impact of the new policy could not be known in those early studies and even the best qualitative research is only based on a few sources (West 1965). American officer, Lt Gen Calvin Waller, affirmed in 1993 that since Canada had not been caught up in armed conflict since the ban was lifted, he explained that Canada’s justification for considering the proof that has mounted up for up to eight years since the ban was removed is that senior Canadian officials foresee that altering the policy might compromise military effectiveness (Millet 1999). For this reason, the Canadian incident gives an opportunity to assess the effect of the policy change in opposition to early forecasts by senior military leaders. After discussing the historical development of homosexual personnel policy in Canada, the authors examined whether Canadas decision to eliminate restrictions on gay and lesbian soldiers influences military efficiency (Brumett, 1981). The paper’s findings, based on a review of primary and secondary sources, as well as interviews with 29 military personnel and experts from the academic, non-governmental, and policy communities, is that Canadas decision to lift its gay ban had no effect on military performance, eagerness, unity, or morale (Millet 1999).

Autism And The Family Dynamic Social Work Essay

Autism And The Family Dynamic Social Work Essay In the public perception, the word autism conjures up an image of a person rocking back and forth, hands flapping in front of eyes that seem to focus in an unknown space a person remote from and disinterested in the social milieu. For many years, professional descriptions, definitions, and common assumptions about people with autism have reinforced that image and named the unusual ways of moving and acting as behaviors. Within the professional world that arranges and provides support for people with autism, the word behavior often became shorthand for bizarre, bad, repetitive, self-stimulatory, or useless ways of spending time. This paper is going to address the fundamental definition of Autism, Aspergers in particular, how the family functions, social support, and making meaning of adversity. It is important to begin with the fundamental definition of Autism since there are many slang terms in circulation such as retard, idiot, dumb, etc. that are used to describe an Autistic individual. It is important to clarify this. In the 1940s, researchers in the United States began to use the term autism to describe children with emotional or social problems. Leo Kanner, a doctor from Johns Hopkins University, used it to describe the withdrawn behavior of several children he studied. At about the same time, Hans Asperger, a scientist in Germany, identified a similar condition thats now called Aspergers syndrome.  [1]  One symptom common to all types of autism is an inability to easily communicate and interact with others. In fact, some people with autism are unable to communicate at all. Others may have difficulty interpreting body language or holding a conversation. Most children with severe autism are diagnosed by age three. Some children with milder forms of autism, such as Aspergers syndrome, may not be diagnosed until later, when their problems with social interaction cause difficulties at school as well as at home. In the article Accommodation, resistance and transcendence: three narrative of autism by David E. Gray he states that the effects of one childs autism on her family, however, went beyond the damage she caused to their home. Her problems also prevented the childs mother from obtaining employment outsider her home, and, consequently, the family was forced to live modestly on a government pension.  [2]  This excerpt from this article shows that autism does have an effect on the family dynamic, in this example a negative one. In fact, the description of autism is too often a teleological exercise with the same symptoms used to both describe and explain it. When one asks why the person displays autistic symptoms, one is told that he does it because he has autism, or because he does not have a theory of mind module, which is why he is autis tic, and his autism is why he does what he does.  [3]   Autism is a pervasive developmental disorder that has received much attention in the popular press. Until recently how a family deals with autism was never a topic that doctors were concerned with. The autism diagnosis is a very dramatic diagnosis on a family and has a major effect on how they cope and function. Of course there are many stressors which impact families of children with autism which need to be addressed. It is important for families to understand the sources of stress and how to deal with those stressors so they are more readily available mentally and emotionally to help their children. In this research for this paper I have found five categories of stressors which have impacted families and therefore affects the family dynamic. These five stressors can be found in the article Stress and Coping in Autism. Transitional stress is considered the beginning stress. Transitional stressors are defined as those which come during times of change in family dynamics and roles.  [4]  Transitional issues related to diagnosis, entering school and leaving school may create confusion and conflict in families. Upon diagnosis typical reactions include shock, disbelief, denial and anger. While this diagnosis may confirm something the parents already suspected, in my personal situation it was a relief to finally put a name to something, it doesnt provide parents with any information about what the diagnosis means for their childs progress and development. This therefore puts a stress on the family dynamic. The second stressor that I came across in my research is the family functioning stress. This suggests that having a child or family member with autism can positively, negatively or neutrally impact family function.  [5]  According to this article there are eight main family functions: affection, self-esteem, spirituality, economics, daily care, socialization, recreation and education.  [6]  Stress can be caused by a family not being able to meet their need in one or more of these areas. The third stressor is emotional stress. Experiencing this first hand, following an autism diagnosis many parents and family members will experience grief feeling states. After the initial feelings of shock, it is said per the Stress and Coping in Autism article that families are expected to go through the natural stages of grief including denial, guilt, depression, anger and anxiety. The authors of the article then state that it is anticipated that these negative feeling will eventually give way to acceptance of the situation and family reorganization.  [7]  It is thought that parents experience the stages of grief upon diagnosis because their dreams and hopes for their child have been altered. In my personal experience this is true and therefore has an effect on the family dynamic. The next stressor or fourth one in this sequence is known as the caregiving stress. The added responsibilities for parents of children with a disability include ph ysical care, medical care, constant monitoring, managing problem behaviors, and other assistance.  [8]  These additional parenting responsibilities can drain a parents time and energy which can cause them to be susceptible to stress and anxiety. The childs constant dependency on the parent, along with the thought that the dependency may not lesson over time as would be expected with a typically developing child, can add to parental stress. The final and fifth category of stressors is the stress from negative professional and societal attitudes and assumptions. The impact of negative interactions with professionals and other members of society are many times seen as the most potent stressors on families.  [9]  Society has judgmental and stereotypical attitudes about family actions or lifestyles to the point that some jobs will not hire one of those types of people. Society also has displayed negative attitudes or animosity towards parents who strongly advocate for their child . Parents are the voice for their children not only so that they are treated fairly but that they have equal access to a normal life and education. These negative attitudes and assumptions from professionals can cause feelings of being criticized, devalued and alienated. Parents can also fall victim to negative attitudes and assumptions from family members, friends, and other members of their social support network. These people may not feel comfortable around individuals with disabilities or they might not know what to day to the parents to console them during difficult times. Usually if someone knows a child with autism they are more understanding than someone who does not. For example I advise a student with autism at my place of employment and I feel I connect with this student due to dealing with the needs of my own child. I feel that I am also an advocate for this student as well. His mother has told me that I am a breath of fresh air to her son because I treat him like a pers on first and a not his disability first. A child with autism does effect the family dynamic and it is important to surround the family with support and understanding as well as a plan of action to follow. The family system is an important part of the environment of the child and plays a central role in the developmental outcome of the child as well. Studies of families with a child with autism have traditionally examined this interaction by focusing on the effect parents have on the child, not the childs effect on the parents.  [10]  Social support and support strategies are very important to maintain and support the family dynamic. Families that seek out and access personal and professional support services are able to cope with stress better. There are many kinds of support services available to families including parent social support, professional formal support, and respite care. In the article, Family Functioning and Coping Behaviors in Parents of Children with Autism by Matthew J. Altiere, he talks about mothers of children with autism who perceives social support to be accessible report fewer stress related problems and depressed symptoms than do mothers who perceive less social support.  [11]  Parent social support includes the supports parents receive from friends, relatives, neighbors, coworkers, or others. Many parents access these supports through parent support groups at which they can learn about a variety of topics and talk to other parents about their experiences raising a child with a disability. Parents can feel alone and hopeless. I belong to a social support group called ASGO (Autism Society of Greater Orlando). I too felt alone and this social group welcomed my family with open arms. Even though my husband and I were in various stages of the acceptance process we found others who accepted us. This connection helped give us hope in a time when we felt we were all alone. When a family is able to draw upon adequate resources and if they perceive the situation as manageable then the stress of raising a child with autism may never lead to a crisis. For example, the family gains support through interaction with family members and friends. On the other hand, they may withdraw from, or lack the time for, important social support activities. Thus, families with a child with autism may gradually lose their friends because of their limited availability. Realistically, social support is clearly important for families with a child with autism, although it can be difficult to find the time. There is also professional formal support which includes those services provided by community agencies and professionals. These supports can also include those services provided by a counselor, psychologist or psychiatrist to guide parents and families in coping with the stressors in their lives. One major support professionals can provide is to teach parents the skills necessary to engage in effective problem solving. Effective and efficient problem solving skills can help alleviate a lot of stress for parents because they can become part of the solution when addressing issues surrounding their children.  [12]  Respite care is a service typically provided through state funded programs. Many individuals with disabilities qualify for services through these state funded programs and families are allotted a certain number of respite hours a month to be sued when the need them. Respite care is provided to relive parents of the parenting duties for a few hours, a weekend or several da ys. Best Buddies is one of these organizations. This service can be extremely valuable to families because it allows them the freedom to get away when needed with the peace of mind that their children are in qualified and competent hands. Social support is an important tool to a family with a child who has a disability. This can also assist with the family dynamic alleviating any stressors. Making meaning of adversity is very important to the family dynamic as well. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act recognized that parents are their childs best advocates and the law includes specific rights which serve to empower parents in this advocacy role. These rights include the guarantee of a free appropriate public education, mandatory notification by school personnel for proposed changes to the childs program, ability to initiate an evaluation at any time, requirement of informed parental consent for evaluations, power to obtain an independent educational evaluation, right to review all educational records, requirement that the school must fully inform parents of their rights, participation in the development of the IEP, requirement that children be educated in the least restrictive environment, and ability to request a due process hearing to resolve differences with the school. Parents are the most natural advocates for their children because they know the child best and because increased parental participation is correlated with increased child success. Additionally, parents are more effective at advocating for their child because they are emotionally invested in their childs welfare and they are the most constant people in the childs life. When parents are involved and advocate for the rights and meaningful education of their child amazing things can happen. There are a few key principles for effective advocacy: ask for what you want, be specific and detailed in your requests, stay flexible in finding solutions to concerns, keep requests clear and concise, look at issues from the perspective of others, build and preserve your creditability, never burn any bridges and follow up. If parents are able to do these things when addressing issues with school personnel or other community members/organizations a lot of positive change can and will happen. Adaptability also is an important part of making meaning out of adversity. Adaptability measures the familys ability to change in response to a stressful situation. Typically, the modern family believes that the father/husband is the head of the household and does not assist with household responsibilities or childcare. This places a larger burden than normal on the mother, and may result in her having little time for herself or for other members of the family. On the other end of the continuum are chaotic families, which are characterized by unstable and unpredictable change. In chaotic families, the rules may be constantly changing. There may not be a consistent leader and frequent role changes. One cannot dismiss the value of the ability to change with the appearance of sudden stressors, but this family style lacks the constancy needed when caring for a child with autism. Parents with children with disabilities differ significantly in their rating of the familys adaptability and cohesion. The mothers rated the families as more adaptable and cohesive. For mothers and fathers, greater parenting stress was associated with poorer family functioning. However, autism affects the family system differently than other childhood disorders. For example, studies that compare the stress in families with a child with autism to families of children with other disorders indicate that the families of children with autism experience more stress, depression, and anxiety.  [13]  The study in this article allows for the analysis of how autism affects the family system using the constructs of cohesion and adaptability. A goal of this study was to compare the perceptions of mothers and fathers on their coping mechanisms and the functioning of their family.  [14]  The high level of social support reported by mothers in this sample is encouraging because mothers of ch ildren with autism who perceive more social support experience less somatic problems and depressive symptoms. In contrast, many mothers indicated that their social support came from other mothers they met though support groups and related functions. During the past decade, a number of family researchers have been interested in finding why some families facing adversity manage to function well and come out stronger, while others when faced with a similar situation do not. Resilience has been described as the ability to withstand hardship and rebound from adversity, becoming more strengthened and resourceful. The concept of family resilience and its focus on factors leading to a familys well-functioning in view of a crisis is part of a movement in positive psychology towards identifying factors of health as opposed to factors of pathology.  [15]  Family resilience has been looked at either as an interaction of two groups of risk and protective factors. Although family resilience has not been directly studied in the disability field, there is increasing evidence that families of children with disabilities demonstrate a great degree of strength, articulating the positive contributions of disability to their familys life and well -being. Parents in the study reported stronger marriages, healthy family outcomes and acquisition of gained friendship networks with other families who had children with disabilities. My sons autism has made our family life tougher, emotionally and financially. Each member has to devote additional time and effort to help him, and learn how to live peacefully in such environment. Through working together, we all learned how to help my son tougher. In some sense, this also makes our family closer, because an individual cannot handle the toughness alone.  [16]  In other situations, working together led to more understanding and, possibly, stronger relationships between the members: My marriage is much stronger. We tend to fight less about little things because our focus is on our son. We realize the importance of staying together because our son benefits from both our strengths. We take care of ourselves through diet and exercise and plan evenings and dinners out every Saturday to get through the rough times. We cannot imagine life without our son. We are grateful to have him in our lives.  [17]   Some families found that autism in one of the children brought the siblings closer together, to the degree that some siblings sacrificed their personal freedom to care for their sibling with autism. For families to be able to work together and utilize their resources well, they must have had two other qualities: being flexible and communicating well with one another. These two qualities are necessary, because family members need to be flexible enough to accept necessary role and responsibility changes as a result of diagnosis of their child with a disability, and need to communicate with each other in order to successfully meet new demands on the family. A great number of families not only perceived them as close and untied, but also managed to adjust and function well over time. Within the last two decades, numerous individuals with autism have shared their unique experiences of living with autism resulting in a plethora of published first-hand accounts. Many professionals are seeking out and listening to these individuals to better understand this complex disorder. Individuals have been able to share their experiences through interviews, personal communication, and published accounts. These accounts come from individuals who can speak or type independently. In almost every first-hand account, individuals with autism report the experience of the stress of living in bodies that often do not work and move the way they want them to, resulting in extreme anxiety in their day-to-day lives. It is important to understand the family dynamic is impacted with a child who has a disability, in particular autism. Each family must take their own approach in regards to their individual needs in regards to what works for them. They also need to play into the roles of the household, for example if the father is the stay at home parent, he needs to use his role as a father to assist the child with a father attachment. Since the father is the primary care giver until the mother returns home from work, or whatever the situation might be. Each role needs to be embraced and when frustrations arise they need to be dealt with in a productive manner and not lead to unrest or divorce within the house hold. Honor Code: On my honor, I have not given or received, nor witnessed any unauthorized assistance on this work. Heidi Soflkiancs-Shugg Electronically Signed 12/7/2012

A Farewell To Arms Essay -- Essays Papers

A Farewell To Arms Ernest Hemmingway’s â€Å" A Farewell To Arms† is classic display of literature. The way he develops his characters is ingenious. In the beginning of the story I did not like the way it was going. As I read deeper into the book, â€Å"A Farewell To Arms† I discovered the complexity of the characters themselves. I discovered that Frederic Henry was a rather complex character as well. When you are finally given the full picture of Frederic Henry, you realize that he can be described in several different ways. First, Frederic Henry is a round and very dynamic character. You also realize that because Mr. Henry’s mannerisms are so easily recognizable, he is a stock character as well. The point of view in the story is written in first person. The first person point of view is that of Frederic Henry. The stories underlying theme is identity. Throughout the whole story Frederic Henry is revealing himself to the audience and discovering himself at the same time. A secondary theme in the story is that Catherine, Frederic’s love interest, is slightly crazy. Throughout the story, I was intrigued by the things that Frederic Henry revealed to the audience. While reading the story it was as if you were right there with Frederic, going through the same things he did, and knowing every intimate detail. The aspects that Frederic Henry display are the aspects of a well developed character and a true war hero. The first aspect I would like to touch on is that Frederic Henry is a well-rounded character. As the story progresses we learn more and more about the character Frederic Henry. Though it may seem like a small point, a good example of how we learn more about Frederic as the story progresses is the fact that he is nameless in the first four chapters. Throughout the first four chapters, Frederic Henry is referred to as â€Å"lieutenant† by his peers and â€Å"baby† by his girlfriend. Its not until chapter five that he is referred to as â€Å"Mr. Henry†. Then we learn his full name, Frederic Henry, in chapter thirteen. Another example of Frederic Henry being a round character is that he is closely involved in just about every part of the story. Of course he would have to be involved in the majority of the story because it’s basically the confession of his life. The entire story we learn about Mr. Henry, and we watch him grow to become a good man. Even when F rederic is not... ...ounded and dynamic character. The fact that Frederic Henry was a stock character made him easy to recognize and therefore made the story easier to follow. Though the story was told through a first person point of view Ernest Hemmingway kept the story interesting by telling it through a plural first person. The underlying theme of the story was identity. Frederic spent the whole story explaining who he was to the audience. The way Frederic told the story, he made it easy for the audience member to identify with him, therefore making it easier for the audience member to put themselves in his place. An interesting secondary theme is the theme that implies Catherine is crazy. Because of things Catherine says and does the crazy theme seems to fit her personality. Throughout the story there is plenty of evidence of all these things and these aspects made the story even better and much more fun to read. Bibliography: Gellens, Jay. Twentieth Century Interpretations of A Farewell To Arms.Englewood Cliffs, N.J. 1970. Lewis, Robert. A Farewell To Arms (A War With Words). New York, 1992. Monteiro, George. Critical Essays On: Ernest Hemmingway’s A Farewell To Arms.New York, 1994.

Stereotypical Views Held About Women by Elizabethan Men in William Shak

Stereotypical Views Held About Women by Elizabethan Men in William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing Introduction ============ Much Ado About Nothing exemplifies a kind of deliberately puzzling title that seems to have been popular in the late 1590s. Indeed, the play is about nothing; it merely follows the relationships of Claudio and Hero, and in the end, the play culminates in the two other main characters falling in love, which, because it was an event that was quite predictable, proves to be much ado about nothing The pronunciation of the word "nothing" would, in the late 16th Century, have been "noting," and so the title also apparently suggests a pun on the word, "noting," and on the use of the word "note" as an expression of music. In II.3, Balthasar is encouraged to sing, but declines, saying, "note this before my notes; there's not a note of mine that's worth the noting." However, Don Pedro retorts, "à ¢? ¦Note notes, forsooth, and nothing," playing on Balthasar's words, and also demanding that he pay attention to his music and nothing else. In addition, much of the play is dedicated to people "noting" (or observing) the actions of others (such as the trick played on Beatrice and Benedick by Leonato, Hero and Claudio). They often observe and overhear one another, and consequently make a great deal out of very little. Furthermore, women were very oppressed and maltreated during the time, and their status in society was very low. Their names were tarnished with classes, such as "Goddess," "Adulterer," "whore/wife" and "Shrew", and each woman was classed under those headings. They were classed as "nothing" and ... ... in Britain has been exploding over the last 50 years. Majority of the top jobs are performed by men, even though the percentage is slowly sliding downwards, as more women demand equal rights. ===================================================================== Another Hierarchy is that of social class - people were split up into the top class, people like the king and people who were rich, the middle-class, people who were not rich, but not poor. Then, there was the poor class, who could not afford too much, and were very poor. In this play, not many people tell the truth. One of the only one's in the play who speaks the truth is Dogsberry - one of the poorest people in the play. He is adamant that the truth should prevail. This shows that even though he is a "commoner", he is still better than the upper-class.

Helping Beyond Our Borders Essay -- International Crime

There are currently 14 names on the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) â€Å"Most Wanted† list (USA for the International Criminal Court). This is the list of the individuals that are responsible for the most heinous crimes happening around the world. It is the goal of the ICC to find these criminals and bring them to justice. American Involvement in the International Criminal Court, designed to provide enforcement and prosecution for crimes against humanity, is critical to its success in fighting those who are responsible for the world’s worst crimes. The International Criminal Court was first established in 1998 when 120 countries voted to adopt the treaty outlining its structure. This treaty went into effect on July 1, 2002, and 108 countries have ratified it as of 2008. The goal of the ICC is to bring the most serious international war criminals to justice and stop crimes such as genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes (USA for the International Criminal Court). The involvement of the United States in the ICC has changed with each president in office. During the Clinton Administration, President Clinton participated in negotiations with the ICC and signed its statute in 2000. However, he did not ratify the treaty because he believed it to be flawed. Then, in 2002, the Bush Administration announced that it would no longer participate in any ICC activity and would not support the court when it was established (AMICC). Since then, the Obama Administration has changed the United States’ relationship with the ICC f rom that of hostility to positive support. Under Obama, the U.S. has supported international criminal justice and principled engagement with international institutions. The U.S., however, does not wish to become... ...fference. Aggressive prosecution aided by the strength the U.S. would add to the process, would help deter future events. There are many people behind all of these horrific crimes, and American involvement in the ICC is crucial to its success in bringing those individuals to justice. Works Cited American Non-Governmental Organization Coalition for the ICC. AMICC, 2012. Web. 12 Mar 2012. MacPhee, Briony. "The United States Should Be a Part of the International Criminal Court." American Non-Governmental Organizations Coalition for the International Criminal Court (AMICC), 2008. Gale Opposing Viewpoints. Web. 9 Mar 2012. "U.S. Influence Being Felt at International Criminal Court." America.gov Press Release. 16 Jun 2010. SIRS Government Reporter. Web. 09 Mar 2012. USA for the International Criminal Court. Citizens for Global Solutions. Web. 12 Mar 2012.