Competence in the Work Environment Essay

2.1Compare the strengths and weaknesses of assessment methods. Assessment can take place in a variety of settings, such as classrooms, lecture rooms, workplaces (or in a simulation of workplace conditions), community and training establishments or examination halls. No matter where it takes place or what form it takes, assessment always involves observation, evaluation, or questioning or a combination of some or all of the three. There are many different methods of assessment, a few regularly used are:-observation, evaluation or questioning. Whether they are used formatively or summatively, the most important issue is whether the assessment is appropriate for the intended outcome. Each learner is initially given a learning styles questionnaire to complete. From this questionnaire the assessor can establish which from assessment may suit the learner best. Observation The assessor observes the learners as they carry out tasks defined in the standards for the qualification. This observation often takes place in the workplace, or the conditions of the workplace, but it can also be carried out in any other place where the learner is undertaking practical activities which is a positive. Assessors should ideally plan observations to take advantage of any skills or activities that occur naturally in the learning environment, and to make the best use of the available resources. There are times however when an assessor may spontaneously observe a learner carry out a task which can be written up as an observation. One of the weaknesses of observations is that some learners amy beome self –concious or shy/embarresed and feel they are ‘being watched and graded’. The residents or clients may also act differently if they are aware that an observation is taking place and can lead to a distorted picture of the true nature of the learners role . Evaluation In some areas, as learners work towards achieving their qualifications they will generate evidence in the form of products of their work. This is the case in qualifications in Health and Social care for instance which is primarily a work-based or practical qualification. Learners may produce CVs, diet plans, weight charts, reflective accounts which can all be used to assess their knowledge in a chosen subject area. These can be incredibly posistive and allow the learner to reflect and be proud of his/her practices and positives. The weakness with evalution is that it has to be done correctly, with enough time to explore areas that may need extra work and encourage the learner in a positive way. Questioning and discussions with the learner Questioning can be used whenever an assessor wants to assess knowledge and understanding and the various different applications of knowledge such as reasoning, planning, analysing and evaluating. Questioning can be used to: * confirm knowledge and understanding where it is not apparent from performance * Address gaps in knowledge and understanding in performance based units * Authenticate evidence by asking learners to explain part of the evidence and/or describe the process of producing it * Assess contingencies where it would not be practical or safe to wait until the skill or activity can be observed * You can use oral or written questions, depending on the requirements of the outcomes of units being assessed and the circumstances of the assessment. Your choice of method should reflect any special assessment requirements your learners may have. For example, some learners do not respond well to written questions — in any case, you should always ensure that the appropriate reading level is used Discussions give the assessor the opportunity to gauge the learner’s knowledge and highlight areas lacking which can be taught at a later date. A weakness in discussions and questioning is that the assessor has to be careful not to lead or prompt or give the answer to the learner as it may not be valid. Outcome 3Understand how to plan assessment 3.1Key factors when planning assessment When planning an assessment there are a number of factors to be considered. Who are you assessing? What do you want them to achieve? Where will the assessment take place? How long do you have? Once you have answered these you then need to look at applying a holistic approach. Using a holistic approach means that many areas of work and outcomes can be covered at the same time. The assessment process isn’t just about watching a learner complete a task it is about, discussion, planning, implementing and reflection. Areas of risk that may be involved when I assess a learner in the care setting are minimal but may still arise. An example of this would be assessing a learner carrying out a manual handling task. Has the learner had the appropriate training to carry out the task? Is there a piece of equipment involved and has it been tested for use. Is the learner competent and confident to carry out the task? Do I feel that I have assessed any risk involved and am I happy for my learner to proceed? If I am not happy at anytime then the assessment will be stopped and a further risk assessment carried out. During the initial meeting the learner will have completed a Learning Styles Questionnaire, this should have highlighted any areas such as advanced learning needs or dyslexia and the planning of an assessment should take this into consideration. 3.2 Benefits of using holistic assessment Using a holistic assessment enables the assessor to cover a large range of outcomes in a number of diploma units with one piece of evidence. Holistic assessment may for example cover infection control and manual handling. By referencing outcomes well the learner will see that good progress is being made and opportunities area taken. It saves time from both the learners and the assessor’s point of view. 3.3 How to apply holistic assessment when planning assessment As the assessor meets with the learner and plans each technical certificate or unit of work they should be thinking about how best a holistic assessment would fit into the plan and how it can be cross referenced. The learner must then be in agreement and sign the plan. 3.4Summarise the types of risk that may be involved in assessment When talking about ‘risk’ there are a number of different kinds. There is physical/environmental risk to learner, client and assessor and there is emotional/psychological risk. Environmental issues in care setting such as fire, health and safety, trip hazards, the clients themselves. Emotionally learners could feel they are being pushed if too much work is given at once or they may not feel they are being challenged enough. This creates unrealistic and unnecessary risk stress on the learner and is far from beneficial and conducive to good work being produced. 3.5.1 How to minimise risks through the planning process. Plan number one that is produced with the learner will have ensured that the learner is working in safe conditions and if needed any risk assessments have been done, i.e. if the learner is under 18 years old. The plan will also check that the employer’s insurance liability is up to date. The assessor will discuss with the learner how best to handle their work load to cause minimum stress. Some learners prefer large assignments whilst others prefer small chunks at a time. By knowing your learner you will know whether their work is authentic and justifiable, it is important that they are told about not copying and pasting articles as their own work and explain to them what plagiarism is. Outcome 4Understand how to involve learners and others in assessment 4.1 Explain the importance of involving the learner and others in the assessment process There are a large number of reasons why it’s so important to involve the learner in assessment. The diploma is for the candidate, it’s their work, and there goals and they need to feel as if they own it. By clear involvement the learner will know what is expected from them and clearly understand the standards and criteria. By involving others in the planning such as senior colleagues and managers then witness statements can be provided, time allocated for learning and support. 4.2 Types of information available to learners. In order for a learner to complete their diploma they should be given any necessary teaching and resources. This may include handouts, oral teaching sessions and websites to look at. Other types of information are items such as standards and the criteria they need to meet. The learner will be told how the evidence is gathered an in what format such as written accounts, reflective accounts, observations. 4.3 How can peer and self-assessment be used to promote learner involvement and responsibility? 4.4How can assessment arrangements be adapted to meet the needs of the individual learner? Each candidate’s assessment needs must be considered in relation to the assessment being undertaken. Most candidates will require more than one assessment arrangement. For example, candidates who have a visual impairment, hearing imparient or advanced learning needs . Outcome 5Understand how to make assessment decisions 5.1 When judging evidence we use the following terms:- Valid, authentic, current and sufficient. When assessing a learner’s evidence as an assessor I have to be satisfied that the work submitted is the learners own work and not plagiarised from a book or the internet. It is often easy to tell when this happens as the terms used and flow of the writing changes. Within the realms of health and social care the standards, policies and procedures are continually updated to ensure national standards are met, with this in mind it is important that the learners work is current and up to date with knowledge that his relevant and not historical. I also have to consider whether the work submitted is sufficient, has it covered the entire outcome required and does it show an understanding of the subject. 5.2 In order for assessment decisions to be reliable and fair between learners there are a set of learning outcomes and criteria that have to be achieved. Each learner is made aware of these outcomes and criteria and their work should demonstrate this. Each learner is assessed against the criteria and outcomes. Outcome 6Understand how your assessments contribute to the quality assurance of assessment 6.1 6.2 6.3 There is great importance of quality assurance in the assessment process as it shows whether the performance targets are being met against national standards that are in place. Within my workplace all work is quality assured by an Internal Verifier (IV). The IV is qualified and occupationally competent in the subject that they verify. The role of the IV is to provide support, advice and guidance to the assessing team. The IV holds regular standardisation meetings with the assessors and also gives one-to-one support and feedback on learner’s portfolios. When the portfolios of learners have been assessed and internally verified, and all the assessment criteria have been met, the IV should arrange for the centre to apply for certification for those learners. This will prompt a visit from the External Verifier to confirm the assessment and verification decisions made at the centre. The IV is responsible for ensuring that the details of the learners applying for certification, the assessor(s) involved, and the IV activity in relation to those assessors. The EV will visit the centre to verify the assessment and internal verification decisions made by centre staff. Where there are large numbers of learners this is normally done on a sampling basis. The sample is selected by the EV, to allow them to verify the work of all assessors across a range of evidence types and performance criteria and is based on the IV’s sampling plan. It may be necessary for the EV to sample more portfolios than was originally planned, or all the portfolio s in the group, so all portfolios should be available on the day of the EV’s visit. If a learner feels †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Outcome 7Understand how to manage information relating to assessment of occupational competence 7.1 7.2 It is important to follow procedures for the management of information relating to assessment for a number of reasons. The assessor should regularly update learning records to provide accurate information on the learner’s achievement. At my place of work we use a computer system called ‘Zylab’ which tracks each learner’s progress through a colour chart system. The up to date information contributes to evidence of quality assurance and standardisation, pointing out learners that need extra help or who are falling behind. I use the Zylab forms to show my learners how they are progressing, to see a visual representation of progress and can be extremely rewarding and increases willingness to learn and achieve. The use of feedback and questioning during the assessment process allows me as an assessor to clarify and judge the learners understanding and knowledge in certain areas. Giving critical feedback to someone is a delicate process. It is very important to assure that you approach the task with sensitivity to the person’s feelings to avoid the common problem of a very defensive reaction. An example of giving positive, negative and positive feedback is:- You really did an excellent job with that ‘Communication’ essay – everybody has been very impressed! In the future, it would be better to avoid naming people that haven’t accepted all the methods you outline. It’s great that you put so much thought into this and a lot of people are going to benefit from it!† This is often referred to as a feedback sandwich. Outcome 8Understand the legal and good practice requirements in relation to assessment 8.1 The organisation that I work for has legal requirements, polices and procedures in relation to assessment. Each visit to see a learner I ask whether there have been any incidents that have occurred, either emotionally or from a health and safety perspective. If there has been then I check an incident form has been completed (if appropriate), what measures have been put in place to ensure it doesn’t happen again and I take time to listen to the learner express themselves. All work undertaken is dealt with in a confidential manner. No names of places, clients, service users or staff are used in portfolio evidence and the learner knows that they can talk to me in a confidential manner. Clear records of learning are kept for all learners as mentioned before we use Zylab sheets which must be updated every Friday. The organisation has a responsibility to ensure that all learners are given equal opportunity to develop and learn and the organisation recognises the diversity in each on e. 8.2 The use of technology can make in the assessment process is invaluable. I have a learner with advanced learning needs who really struggles with writing and spelling. To overcome this we use a Dictaphone and use the recording as oral evidence. The organisation now offers on line training which for many learners is ideal as the use of computers within day to day lives and workplaces becomes far more common. It has to be remembered though that there are older learners that we assess that don’t have the computer skills and would rather use a paper portfolio. Each learner needs to be assessed as an individual. 8.3 There are legal and best practice requirements that have to be met in relation to assessment with regards to gender, disability, race/culture/religion and language. Each learner that enrols on a course is initially assessed as to any factors which could lead to advanced learning needs. These needs may be due to language barriers, religion or culture. For every learning need identified the organisation has a duty to ensure each one is recognised and the appropriate support is given.

Conventional Elements of Literature Essay

Literature has elements by which we can analyze the piece (book, poem, play, etc. ) written. These elements are; plot, character, setting, theme, structure, point of view, conflict, diction, foreshadowing and symbolism (Scholes, 1991) Three of them will be explained here further. The plot of the literature is the way the story goes, the line of the story, the way it starts, develops and ends. Basically, the plot tells us what happens in the story. The plot can consist of an exposition (setting and characters), conflict (complications that might arise), climax (moment of crisis or the most important part of a story) and a denouement (the resolution, the unraveling). Analyzing the plot and plot changes tell us the whole story and explain the story. Characters make the story; they are the personalities of the story. Characters can be conventional (e. g. human beings, living on earth), science fictional beings (e. g. aliens) or fantastic extra-ordinary beings (e. g. super hero’s or trolls). All these characters can either be fictional (made up) or real. The characters can also be human, supernatural, mythical, animal or divine. Then there is also the ‘depth’ of the character to be considered; characters can be round (developed and complex), flat (no complexity) or stereotypical. They can also be dynamic (changes) or static (they don’t change). Analysis of literature from the characters is an in depth analysis of the whole piece, the characters are one of the most important elements in all literature. Diction, the use of language, is another important element in literature. The dialogues reflect the characters, convey inner thoughts and give meaning to actions. Analysis of the language and the dialogues can give the reader a great insight in the characters and the meaning of the literary piece. A piece of literature can not be analyzed with the use of just one element. To understand literature, you have to analyze at least the plot and the characters to be able to give any meaning to a piece. But soon, there will be other questions as ‘theme’, ‘points of view’ and ‘symbolism’. All these combined will give you an analysis of literature. The main question any analyst has to ask the piece is ‘why’. This will help the analysis and give insight in all the elements. References Scholes, R. (Ed. ), Klaus, C. H. (Ed. ), Comley, N. R. (Ed. ) & Silverman, M. (Ed. ). (1991). Elements of Literature: Essay, Fiction, Poetry, Drama, Film. New York: Oxford University Press, Inc.

Chitral Vocational Training Case Study Essay

Case Study: Sabira Bibi Persistance and perserverence always yield results SABIRA BIBI IS FROM CHINAR VILLAGE IN MASTUJ, UPPER CHITRAL. SHE GOT MARRIED IN 1994 AT THE YOUNG AGE OF 16 TO GULISTAN KHAN WHO WAS THEN EMPLOYED IN THE CHITRAL SCOUTS. AS HER HUSBAND WAS MUCH OLDER, HE RETIRED IN 2003 BUT THEY WERE ABLE TO MEET THEIR MONTHLY EXPENSES SINCE THEY OWNED LAND. IN 2008, TRAGEDY STUCK THE FAMILY WHEN THE YARKHOON RIVER WASHED AWAY THEIR HOME AND ALL 8 KANALS OF THEIR CULTIVABLE LAND. SABIRA BIBI AND HER FAMILY MOVED IN WITH HER HUSBAND’S BROTHER BUT LIVING ON HER HUSBAND’S 5000 RUPEE PENSION WAS PROVING TO BE DIFFICULT. SABIRA BIBI FELT VERY HELPLESS AS SHE WAS NOT ABLE TO COMPLETE HER EDUCATION AND ALSO FELT THAT LIVELIHOOD OPPORTUNITIES ARE LIMITED FOR WOMEN AS THE COMMUNITY DOES NOT ACCEPT WOMEN WORKING OUTSIDE THEIR HOME. SABIRA BIBI HAS MADE SURE ALL HER DAUGHTERS ARE ENROLLED IN SCHOOL, HER ELDEST DAUGHTER IS CURRENTLY COMPLETING B. COM AND THE REST ARE IN MIDDLE AND SECONDARY SCHOOL. SHE TOLD US THEY ARE EXCELLENT IN THEIR STUDIES AND SHE WOULD LIKE ALL OF THEM TO GO TO COLLEGE. Cross stitch used to make book marks WHEN SABIRA BIBI LEARNT THAT VOCATIONAL TRAINING ON LOCAL EMBROIDERY AND HANDICRAFT PRODUCTION FOR 25 WOMEN WAS BEING OFFERED BY FIDA IN MASTUJ, SHE THOUGHT IT WOULD BE A GOOD WAY OF UTILIZING HER EXISTING SKILLS IN LOCAL EMBROIDERY. WHEN SHE INITIALLY APPLIED FOR A POSITION IN THE TRAINING HER APPLICATION WAS REJECTED AS SHE DID NOT MEET THE MINIMUM EDUCATION CRITERIA AS PARTICIPANTS WERE EXPECTED TO READ AND WRITE. SABIRA BIBI MET WITH HER LOCAL COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION MEMBERS AS SHE WAS VERY UPSET AND WANTED THEM TO  CONSIDER HER AS A SPECIAL CASE. FIDA’S TEAM THEN CALLED HER FOR A SECOND INTERVIEW AND REALIZED SHE WAS VERY SKILLED IN LOCAL EMBROIDERY. SABIRA BIBI TOOK PART IN THE ONE MONTH TRAINING AND LEARNT HOW TO USE HER EMBROIDERY SKILLS TO MAKE SMALL HANDICRAFT PRODUCTS LIKE BOOK MARKS AND PENCIL CASES. BEFORE THE TRAINING, SABIRA BIBI WAS ABLE TO MAKE TRADITIONAL BRIDAL CAPS FOR WOMEN BUT SAID IT WAS VERY TIME CONSUMING AND DIFFICULT TO SELL AS PEOPLE ONLY BOUGHT THEM FOR WEDDINGS. BY LEARNING HOW TO MAKE DIFFERENT PRODUCTS, SABIRA BIBI SAID IT WILL BE  EASIER TO ATTRACT CUSTOMERS. Bookmarks made during the training Sabira bibi receiving her certificate from the trainer Sabira bibi told us ‘I am hopeful to generate enough income to pay for my children’s education and save for building our own home. I will always pray for FIDA’s success. It is one of only organization’s that is selecting people based on merit and I was able to explore my talent through them and am thankful to my community organization for providing me with such an opportunity. † Mobile pouches made during the training.

Individual Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 3

Individual Project - Essay Example ransactions between the fifty states in the USA; the provisions in the Constitution under Article 1, section 8 may be seen to have achieved the same objective. For example, Section 8 specifically seeks to â€Å"regulate commerce with foreign nations and among several states and with the Indian tribes†. (www.topics.law.cornell). Moreover, it also sets out the distribution of powers among the centre and the states, by setting out the arming and disciplining of the militia as the province of the central government while the appointment of the officers and the training of the militia are to be reserved by the States. In this way, this part of the Constitute sought to provide some form of overall regulation of trade and commerce occurring between the different states. Since this section also sets out the principles of borrowing and coining money as well as fixing standards and providing for punishments of illegal commerce activities such as counterfeiting of money, it did provide a n overall system of governance in the area of commerce, which makes it the effective precursor of specific legal provisions such as the UCC and UCITA. 2. Article 2 of the UCC specifically deals with the rules regulating the formulation of contracts and the procedures association with the repudiation of contracts and any breach that occurs (Rumbaugh, 2004). As opposed to this, the UCITA is specifically formulated to regulate e-commerce and computer associated transactions. The UCC also has a more pervasive role because it deals with a much wider range of issues that have been found to be relevant in contract and have been applied over the years, such as consideration, breach of contract, the battle of forms and similar issues, which allows it to play a more pervasive role. As opposed to this, the UCITA poses an entirely different set of regulatory issues which arise in the context of the technological environment. These issues are still developing, such as software piracy, difficulties in

Google Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Google - Case Study Example In short, Google has raised stiff challenges to many of the prominent IT companies in the world. However, Google is facing several problems also because of the stiff competition from others. Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft, Yahoo and Apple are some of the major IT companies which are raising several problems to Google. Moreover, Google’s HR management is also criticized heavily by business pundits. Many people believe that Google is not fulfilling its corporate social responsibility and it is following unethical business practices. This paper analyses the ethical problems facing by Google and the possible solutions or recommendations to solve those problems. One of the major criticisms labelled against Google is with respect to its unethical management of human resources. Verma (2006) has pointed out that â€Å"Google’s high growth rate is creating new HR challenges for the company. Google has built a culture where a well-chosen elite accommodates flexibility, shifting roles and, above all else, urgency† (Verma). Google’s recruitment process is causing huge problems to the job aspirants. It includes; coding contests, mysterious billboards and aptitude tests apart from lengthy interviews which lasts for months. Google may reject majority of the candidates who undergone lengthy recruitment processes, citing simple reasons. Those who successfully cross the recruitment process may fail in background check ups. In short, job seekers are approaching Google’s recruitment process with lot of concerns and worries. The second unethical behaviour practiced by Google is its effort to interfere in politics. Catone (2007) has mentioned that â€Å"Being the most heavily used search engine, Google in a very real sense control the distribution of information to much of the world. Google has recently started a blog to tagline Googles views on government, policy and politics in America† (Catone). Millions

Accounting - Dissertation Proposal - Corporate Social Responsibility; Research - 1

Accounting - Dissertation - Corporate Social Responsibility; Growth of CSR Reporting in Compliance with IFRS, Case of Kuwait - Research Proposal Example Looking significantly at what has been noted about corporate non-financial reporting, it becomes evident that there is substantial variability on how scholars and organizations perceive this process. The number of experiential studies on the corporate social responsibility reporting is significantly increasing and more and more thorough content analysis of the corporate reports that are published has been implemented with the views that originate from the stakeholders, economic theories with an economic nature, information economics and also risk management. The universal position that has been documented in most books is that corporate social responsibility reporting enhances accountability.3 Many writers are of the opinion that legitimacy theory provides and a frame that is descriptive in terms of social and environmental disclosure. In terms of the number of corporate social reports, there is increasing agreement that a variety of features are linked with larger revelation of environmental information via corporate communications. These factors basically include: the size of the firm, the financial performance, media exposure and also being subject to regulatory proceedings. The main purpose of this study is to appreciate the growth corporate social responsibility reporting that is in compliance with IFRS across Kuwait and to expose the differences and similarities that may exist in the ways that corporate social responsibility information is revealed as well as the activities that are related to corporate social responsibility. Within this aim that had been identified, there are some objectives that will be addressed which will include identifying the variations in form and the main features of corporate social responsibility reports, distinguishing the issues that are divulged when the report comes out and disclosing and analyzing the differences in corporate social responsibility reporting and propose their possible underlying

ERP Failures Lessons Learned Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

ERP Failures Lessons Learned - Assignment Example One of the major lessons from ERP implementation is employee involvement that requires the company wishing to use ERP to put a lot of effort during implementation in assessing the ability of the employees to use the software (Ghosh, 2012). Evaluation of their current staff is important as they cannot do their daily work and implement the plan at the same time. A companys employees can lead to the success or failure of the implementation of the ERP project depending on their commitment and skills necessary to implement the project. For the ERP project to succeed, the company can employ temporary staff for daily maintenance. Another lesson learned from the ERP implementation is recognition and retention of the employees. Employers, who offer incentives to their employees engaged in the long-term implementation of the system, face few challenges as Ghosh (2012) reports. Employees get satisfaction and can remain with the employer for a long time for various reasons such as the feeling that their employer values them and allows them time to spend with their families and to appreciate the time spent in the implementation. Employees struggle to work on the project that takes too much time, and energy, yet the rewards are low. Giving employees some incentives facilitates the success of the project and a smooth implementation. Communication is very important in the management of a company as many issues that hinder the implementation of the project results from the lack of good communication between the management and the employees. Ghosh argues that Sharing the good aspects of the implementation process across all departments is very important for its success (12). Many ERP projects fail because important details on the working of the system are not revealed problems arise. Sometimes the problems are blamed on individuals but it is normally too late for action. Communication across all management levels is very important for ERP systems

Strategic hospitality management Literature review

Strategic hospitality management - Literature review Example In discussing about the hospitality brands, that are owned, managed or franchised by the group, it can be said that the brands has a presence in almost every category like luxury, full service, select service, extended stay suites as well as timeshare. The Hilton Worldwide in the year 2011 was credited as the fastest growing major hotel company. As of the year 2011, the hospitality chain accumulated around 30 million HHonors members out of which 3.5 million members joined in the year 2011 itself. The hotel brand has presence in various continents around the world like the Americas, Europe, Middle East, Africa as well as Asia. Vital information about the company is given below in a summarised format: In 2011, the hotel company had an inventory of over 630,000 rooms all over the globe. The company is the owner of multiple popular brands which are present in around 90 countries. In the year 2006, the annual revenue of the hospitality company was around 7.44 billion USD. Journalistic Art icle While performing a strategic performance analysis for the Hilton Worldwide from the investors’ point of view, it is important to focus on conducting an overview of the global hospitality industry along with estimating the growth of the company in the recent times. Focus also needs to be given on the prospects of growth for the company in markets around the world. Overview of the global hospitality industry In discussing about the global hospitality industry, it is important to highlight that the global macro factors are bound to have a strong influence in this particular industry. Talking on this note, it needs to be stated that in the current years, the global hospitality industry has been affected in a significant manner by the political and economic factors around the world. In the year 2012, the global hospitality industry suffered the impacts that generated from US presidential election, sovereign debt crisis of the Euro zone, political disturbances and tension in v arious regions of the Middle East along with slowing down of Asian economies. Talking on this note, it can be stated that in the year 2012, the hospitality sector of the US, especially in the locations of New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco as well as Chicago displayed indications of growth and expansion. A report by the globally popular consulting firm Ernst and Young revealed that the average revenue per available room as of the year 2012 touched the levels of 2007. A deeper analysis revealed that the growth in the average revenue per room happened mainly because of the increase in occupancy levels as well as average daily rate (ADR). It was also found that the influence of the factors like high barriers to entry, longer and extended periods of development of hotel property as well as reduced dependence on wholesalers has greatly helped the upscale, upper upscale as well as luxury segment players of the hospitality industry of the region to attain an increase the revenue per avai lable room (RevPAR) in the recent times. The RevPAR for the Asia Pacific region, barring countries like India and New Zealand also recorded an increase in the year 2012. The prolonged political disturbances in some of the major markets of Middle East regions resulted in generation of mixed performance for this particular

LAB8 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

LAB8 - Essay Example Take a walk of approximately one mile along a country road or walk at least 30 minutes in a city or town and record the trash that was improperly disposed of in the natural environment. (It’s a good way to get some extra exercise this week too). Use the same categories as in question #1 above, but be more specific (i.e., how many glass or metal cans, how many old tires, etc.) were found along your walk. Keep your eyes open for all sorts of waste, which could be defined as anything that is not natural in the environment. If you try to help the environment by picking up the refuse, please wear protective gloves. Recondition tires are retread tires; they are able to be repaired and can once again be used safely on a vehicle. Reprocessed tires are those tires that at are too damaged to be reconditioned or repaired are often reprocessed tires, can reappear and be repurposed for application as in asphalt and road ways. Firstly, coffee grounds can be added to compost when saved, they can purchase local fresh fruits and vegetables to serve at their cafà ©, they can use real cups, as opposed to paper or plastic, selling used and donated books is also a very helpful contribution that many coffee houses could make. Recycling the packaging and reusing shipping boxes can be both money saving and environmentally friendlier. Companies can also switch from traditional packing popcorn and switch to a new packing material that can be disintegrate with water when no longer needed, unlike Styrofoam. Motor Oil can be recycles and is very detrimental when simply dumped in the environment. CFCs, or Chlorofluorocarbons, found in cooling systems are environmentally damaging and should be collected. Finally, all of the cleaning solvents mechanics use to clean the working parts of vehicles, these should be collected. The Savemor’s reduce waste by maintaining household appliances and when they need replacing always invest in energy efficient

Answer 7 questions - each for at least half-page - 4 pages total, no Essay

Answer 7 questions - each for at least half-page - 4 pages total, no citations - Essay Example Islam is also depicted as fostering outright anti-Semitic behavior by exhibiting articulated anti-Christian and anti-Jewish bias. As such, Islam is depicted as fostering segregation of other world religions. The other stereotypes about Islam is that it promotes gender inequality and misogyny by rubber stamping female oppression in terms of spiritual status, social roles, and rights in Islamic marriage (Mazur 244). The other stereotype relates to the perception that Muslims believe in an angry God who sanctions suicide bombings and terrorism. Islam is also depicted as entrenching primitivism and societal limitations on its believers. Prophet Muhammad is regarded as the founder of Islam when he was ordered by God to divulge the holy Quran detailing directions and instructions that all Muslims should follow. Muhammad declined to be polytheist and opted to worship One God, the God of Abraham. When he was 40, Muhammad received the first of the numerous revelations when he was mediating in the cave of Hira. In the â€Å"Night of Power and Excellence,† Muhammad received a revelation from God through angel Gabriel in which he was commanded to â€Å"Recite.† In his response, Muhammad contended that he had nothing to recite, but the angel continued twice more leaving him bewildered and afraid. Later on, Muhammad acknowledged God as the â€Å"most Generous One.† In the revelations, Muhammad was commanded to express the Divine message as the last messenger of God. Muhammad confirmed the authentic teachings of prior prophets and rectifying innovations or mistakes of prior monotheistic faith traditions. The Vedas are regarded as constituting the earliest literary record of Indo-Aryan civilization and the most sacred. The Vedas detail the original scriptures of Hindu teachings and detail spiritual knowledge on all spheres of life. Vedas represents a large body of texts, which emanate from ancient India and that were created in Vedic

Why Is Criminalization Significant to Victims Research Paper

Why Is Criminalization Significant to Victims - Research Paper Example The supremacy of judges to formulate fresh law and criminalize behavior with hindsight is discouraged, as well. In a less explicit manner, where laws have not been firmly implemented, the acts barred by those laws might also endure de facto criminalization by a more efficient or committed legal implementation. There has been some doubt as to the extent and nature of the role to be played by the victims of crime. However, as critics argue, the relationship between criminology and victimology has become more challenging. The main issue is that, in the dialectic of Left Realism and Right Realism, a spotlight on the victim encourages rights selectively for specific victims, and promotes the theory that some victim rights and freedom are more significant compared to competing values or rights in society. Keeping in line with this topic, this paper will evaluate criminalisation with regards to the new criminology, Howard Becker's claim that 'there is no such thing as a deviant act, it is m erely behavior that people so label', the main arguments relating to crime and race and finally present the key arguments within critical criminology.According to critics, modern (new) criminology is under threat of being confined by its own liberation (Radical Criminology n.d, p. 1). These critics’ despairing prediction was occasioned by what they considered to be insufficient developments in the way where criminologists were choosing and approaching their job. The liberation they talked about is that which had restricted criminology to behavioral thoughts; the confinement is that which at the moment limits a new account of criminology only to political thoughts (Jewkes & Letherby 2002, p. 45). By picking out power devoid of analyzing its class basis, as well as the state nature, labeling theorists, together with the sociologists of deviance, changed the behaviors of the influential into a random flexing of ethical muscle (Jewkes & Letherby 2002, p. 45). In general, the labe ling process was to be identified as class-based, but the failure to do this granted the state free power to control people from countercultures and lower classes through labeling them as deviants. Therefore, what was needed was a study of all the processes concerned in the development of deviant action comprising of the structural and political dimensions that earlier theories had not considered. The arguments incorporated in the new criminology were derived from a Marxist study of social associations being rooted in class. Marx proposed that society was structurally split between the middle-class people who own the factories, land, and machines, as well as the wage owning classes, referred to as the proletariat. The middle class is able to use the lower classes thus securing power and material wealth for themselves. Marx's study of exploitation and power was applied by the new criminologists to reveal the truth about the institutional organizations of a capitalist society. Through applying Marxist scrutiny of class, new criminologists provide a majestic theory, a theory, which is globally used as a study of crime, law and the state. Certainly, they try to provide a fully social theory of deviance that concerns analyzing deviant actions, as well as its reaction together, putting them in a political economy of crime.

Utilitarianism Essay Essay Example for Free

Utilitarianism Essay Essay Utilitarianism is an ethical theory which acts as a guideline on how people should act in certain situations and was first introduced by a hedonist (pursuer of pleasure) named Jeremy Bentham who put forward the ‘Principle of Utility’ which said â€Å"The greatest happiness for the greatest number†. Utilitarianism is a theory which bases on the end purpose (teleological) of achieving pleasure, our decisions should be based on consequences in pursuit of the principle of utility (consequentialist) and is a theory which judges each situation independently (relativistic). Jeremy Bentham was the first contributor and developer for Utilitarianism and was most famous for his version of ‘Act’ Utilitarianism which focused applying the Principle of utility to each individual act to each unique situation. Bentham believed that happiness was the first thing to consider when making a decision, and our pleasure helped us achieve the most happiness. Bentham said that ‘Nature has placed mankind under two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure and it is them that will determine what we ought to do’ meaning the right moral decision will come about through the considerations of pleasure and pain. He devised the ‘Hedonic calculus’ (hedonic meaning pleasure) which was a piece of apparatus which helped him quantify happiness. The Hedonic calculus holds seven aspects which need to be considered: Duration (How long the pleasure will last), Remoteness (How close is the happiness), Purity (How free from pain is the pleasure), Richness (How likely will the pleasure lead to more happiness), Intensity (How strong the pleasure is), Certainty (How sure the act will produce happiness) and Extent (Will other people be affected by the pleasure). It’s these factors which a person must consider and weigh up in terms of pain and pleasure in order to find the most moral and ethical decision to make, if the calculus totals up in more pain over pleasure then this defines it as the wrong choice to make. Bentham says that you must choose the act which maximises the amount of pleasure for the most amounts of people to ensure happiness. Bentham believed that all people were entitled to happiness, and thus each to count as one and no-one as more than one. However, there were many obvious faults in this theory; for example, eating a chocolate bar is subjective to people who like and dislike chocolate therefore not every action has equal pleasure and pain for every person. John Stuart Mill, a fellow colleague of Jeremy Bentham criticised him for developing a ‘Swine theory’ as it encouraged people to be selfish and recognizes no higher purpose for life other than the mere pursuit of pleasure. Mill was concerned that one person’s unhappiness could be entirely overlooked if the majority were happy. Unlike Bentham, Mill focused on differentiating the quality of pleasure and thus introduced a new theory of utility called ‘Rule’ Utilitarianism which acted as a general guideline that achieved happiness without discriminating. Mill’s definition of happiness was tended to the spiritual and culture side rather than just physical. He distinguished between Higher and lower pleasures, higher pleasures were in pleasures in tune with the mind such as reading and poetry and lower pleasures tended to physical needs to do with the body like sex and eating. Mill stated that lower pleasures are more easily accomplishable and thus have to be completed before satisfying the intellectual needs of the mind. He famously wrote ‘It is better to be a human satisfied than a pig satisfied, it is better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied’ this meant that humans were able to feel much more rewarding emotions far above the magnitude of the feelings of the pig, regardless of dissatisfaction. Two types of rule utilitarianism have been identified in modern times, strong rule and weak rule utilitarian. Each still focuses on the application of a general rule to achieve happiness, but strong rule utilitarianism defines the rule as absolute and must not be broken, an example of this is ‘Do not kill’ which is created through the principle of utility. Weak rule utilitarianism offers a person the choice to break certain rules in order to achieve the greater good as an exception, for example the rule of ‘Do not kill’ could be broken if the opportunity to kill Hitler to prevent more pain from occurring. Mill was defined by some scholars as a weak Utilitarian.

The Effect of Gangs in the Community

The Effect of Gangs in the Community How to define a gang has always been a matter of controversy. The relationship of the gang to its local community and the salience of race have been at the heart of academic and popular differences on the nature of gangs., according to the Gang Research. In the current essay I would like to describe the effects of gangs in the community and the effects of community policing. These two issues are important and cause many problems in society. Nowadays, the effect of gangs in community is negative and annoys people. People are disturbed by the groups of people trying to harm the society. Modern society faces many different problems, including terrorism and gangsters. People unite and form groups of particular interests, forming the gang. Gang is a group of people engaged in banditry. Gangsters are the people in the criminal law that have committed one of the most dangerous crimes against the foundations of public administration and society, as described in Gangs and their effect on community.  Criminal laws of various states do not always provide special offense thuggery, but many countries are close to this type of crime compounds (burglary, various kinds of violent acts, etc.).   Banditry actions Often there are referred to banditry actions of the various armed rebel groups and wars. For example, the used phrases like Chechen bandits, gang Makhno, etc. Use of the term among the bandits against members of such groups was intended to provide them common criminals rather than political opponents. It is also necessary to  note that participants in such anti-government groups may, together with political objectives and goals pursue personal enrichment (through robberies, ransom for the hostages, etc.), as stated in Gang research. The gang often refers to organized street gangs controlling a territory or a hood (neighborhood).  Street gangs are probably the most famous Bloods, MS-13, and Crips from South Central Los Angeles.  Members of street gangs are black with large majorities, followed by Latinos and Slavs.  They come from poor neighborhoods in North America and Central America.  Bloods and Crips have been the subject of many Hollywood movies depicting the life of gangster in Los Angeles.  Colors, with Dennis Hopper and Sean Penn are one of the first of its kind.  Other fraternities such as motorcycle clubs like the Hells Angels and the criminal organizations (Sicilian Mafia, Chinese triads and Japanese yakuza) are often referred to as gangs.  The first gangs emerged in Los Angeles in the black ghettos and then in other major cities like New York and Chicago, but Toronto and Montreal in Canada, to name a few.  Community negatively perceives the existence of the gangs and tries to avoid the m. The majority think that this problem has to be more effectively controlled by the government, as stated in Gangs and their effect on community. Environment and gang activity Quite often in environments suffering socially and economically provide gang members (mostly youth) a sense of belonging and protection against other gangs. Through this ritual, the violent practices of dress codes, a code of honor   Often where the prospects of gainful employment are low, gangs provide illegal means of earning a living.  Such as trafficking in narcotics or stolen property, extortion, assault They are very diverse and different, and sometimes become targets of choice for some ideological and extreme beliefs, which influence and motivate them, as described in Gang research. Unfortunately, innocent people can get caught in the crosshairs, so all those who live in the community where a gang is present are in greater danger as a result of the affect of the gang on their society., according to the Gang Research. Gangs in New York In the U.S., the term gang used for a street gang, back in the 1860s formed such criminal organizations, such as the Irish Boodles in New York City.  Pushed by the waves of immigration increased the formation of ethnically based street gangs.  In these Big Five were called classic bands, the Irishmen organized in the Whyos, Hudson Dusters, or Gophers, Italians in the Five Points Gang and Eastern European Jews in the Eastman Gang.  After 1900, there were essentially only the Eastman and Five Points left, as described in Gangs in America.   Almost all of these Big Five were from politicians of the Tammany Hall secured; gangs such as the Eastman Gang and the Whyos offered illegal services for a price list.  However, the Mafia and the Camorra in New York City had come.  About the Black Hand Gang, the Unione Sicilian was undermined.  The over-controlled Italian voices were certainly of interest of Tammany Hall, as stated in Gang research.  Funded by the alcohol prohibition were formed out of the five clans today known as La Cosa Nostra American Mafia, also called the Five Families.  Accordingly, it came to the dissolution of traditional street gangs of New York City to 1920.  While this entry focuses gangs in the United States, gangs are a recognized feature of urban life in areas as diverse as Johannesburg, Rio de Janiero, Paris, and Hong Kong., according to the official data. Gangs in Los Angeles A hotbed of banditry in the U.S., the city of Los Angeles, California.  In particular, the district South Los Angeles is the most dangerous region of town.  Here you fight the Bloods and Crips, the 38th Street Gang, the 18th Street Gang, the Mara Salvatrucha, the mutually Florencia 13 and other gangs.  In addition, there are always conflicts between African Americans and Latinos, as stated in Gangs in America.  All these gangs lay claim to a particular territory and have their own distinctive mark, such as colors, clothing, tattoos, hand signs and graffiti.  Historically, returns the current path from Los Angeles to increasing conflicts between blacks and whites in the course of the 1940s.  At that time, many blacks moved to Los Angeles, but could find no ghettos in the then appropriate accommodation.  The attempt from the break ghetto and to purchase in other parts of the city housing, put the local white residents against strong segregation efforts, ranging in some ca ses up to the inclusion of racial restrictions in the land book and much of the city for non-whites out of reach made.  Only in the south and southwest, where the residential areas of the lower middle class were white, blacks still could not find housing, but also here met with the resistance, as stated in Effects of Gangs. Mid to late 1940s was against this background, black residents from the borders of the Central Avenue-ghettos terrorized by gangs of white youths as the Spookhunters. In return, were founded the first black gangs like the businessmen, Slauson or flips, which are often offered the only protection against racist attacks, but also constitute a cultural or social home, as described in Gang research. Mark Twain on Gangs In his 1884 classic Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain described the elaborate oath that the imaginative Tom Sawyer creates for members of his potential gang. Now well start this band of robbers and call it Tom Sawyers Gang. Everybody that wants to join has got to take an oath, and write his name in blood., as stated in the Chapter 2. In Huckleberry Finn. This shows the simple way of the creation of a gang, and the consequences can be much more complicated for both- the society and members of the gang. Todays members of the gang are criminals and they can not be distinguished in their actions from the other criminals. Community relation to Gangs Some people believe that the gangs have become a permanent feature of the urban landscape around the world, as described in Gang Research. Community strives to do anything possible to prevent gang crimes, to make the life safes and to create foundations that will be able to protect them. In the modern world cooperation and communication on the topic of gangs in extremely important, as today the number of crimes is very high and people feel less safe each day. Without the cooperation of the community and police it will be very difficult to protect the families and to live in safety. As a fact, an unsupervised lower-class peer group, with leadership, structure, and adherence to a local territory is formed in the society and make the living even more difficult and unforeseen, as described in Addressing Community Gang Problems. People are disturbed and nervous because of the gangs present in the cities, as these local groups are capable to do anything from the theft to murder. Scary stories about them and no clear changes of the government considering the gangs have not changes the situation for the better. The Effects of Community Policing The concept of community police officers (called Community Policing and Neighborhood Policing) is based on the assumption that an effective fight against crime and antisocial behavior requires close cooperation between the Police and members of the community.   Community Policing is both a philosophy and an organizational strategy that allows police and community residents to work closely together in new ways to solve the problems of crime, fear of crime, physical and social disorders, and neighborhood decay., as stated in The Effects of Community Policing and Technology on Index Crime Clearance Rates. Assumptions concept. The concept of community police patrols involves increasing the number of pedestrians  Police officers (and other similar services), they should be the members of the communities in which they work.  Building mutual trust and faith in the rule of law continues in through the establishment of direct contacts with the people-police should be open to citizens by showing patience, understanding and willingness to help, even if you entrusted to the problems have no direct connection with the violation of the law.  Conceptually, the police officer has to be more a sort of friend than a civil servant and representative government.  You can then count on the active participation of community members in efforts to combat crime.   The man goals of the community policing are: to bring community resources together to solve problems, decrease fear of crime, to listen to and address citizen concerns, to increase public confidence in the Police Department, to impact specific crime problems, and educate the public about its Police Department. Social scientists have differed on whether or not gangs necessarily exhibit criminal and delinquent activity. Some hold that gangs are fundamentally the product of delinquent subcultures; others believe gangs are a response to social disorganization. The United States National Youth Gang Center reports there are about 25,000 gangs in the United States, with nearly three quarters of a million members., according to the Gang Research. In the past, the view prevailed that the task of the Police is merely react-in a manner provided by law-the fact of the crime (the repressive function).  There was allowed only interference with pathology.  Today, there are beliefs that the role of police is not only to ensure safety, but also to concern for the quality of community life.  The first step should be here to determine the needs (problems) given community (for example, homelessness, importunate begging, alcohol abuse), and then preparing and implementing programs tailored to these specific needs.  It is desirable here also active as organizing talks drugs or encouraging young people to play sports. Community Policing (the police public service), and neighborhood policing (neighborhood) is a strategy and philosophy of policing based on the belief that the cooperation and support of the public can contribute to the control of crime.  The public can help identify what is suspicious and police have focused on existing problems.  The community ahs to become involved in the life of humanity, as there can be presented many crimes with the help of cooperation. Strategy When using the strategy of community policing officers and police departments, they are regarded as part of the public.  Cities and countries that have adopted this philosophy, directed more than traditional police departments to the concept of policing as a public service.  Community policing is usually more in the emphasis on walking patrol activity than that the police checked the place and also visited them in cars.  The basic idea is to build confidence and a sense of reciprocity between the police and the public.  This approach requires that the police were helpful, impartial and sensitive to the interests and concerns of others, and there is also known as a new form of police work. Although the police disagrees with the complainant (the developer), they should try to understand this problem.  The police would have to show empathy and participation, but not to be enrolled in the automatic way.  The police must also improve their planning, problem solving, organizati on, interpersonal communication, and most importantly in critical thinking, as described in Gangs, Gang membership, and comprehensive strategies.   A change in its police service to the public is how the police can identify what is truly high-quality service and how it subsequently provided to the public.  In the past, police always respond only to specific problems, and do so quite peculiar way and did not pay almost no attention to the proactive approach.  For this, the work of the police today is truly effective, and there is the need to:  take seriously the needs of the public, take into account the needs of police actions and programs, which are then focused on the public. It is in this sense that the police are becoming more receptive to public needs and can also better understand how their work has an impact on society.  It is said that this philosophy is created by Tom Potter, former police chief in Portland, Oregon, when a young policeman patrolling activities are performed.  Other legends were Sir Robert Peel, who came up with nine principles, on whom stands a modern police work. Community policing Community policing- are the social attitudes in a system of relationships between people, the rules of mutual behavior and dormitories, the applicable laws, customs and traditions, and moral norms.  Public order is a whole set of systems of social relations, which develops as a result of social norms: law, morality, norms of public organizations, non-legal norms of customs, traditions and rituals. Public order and public safety are the main objects of protection in the work of the interior.  The socio-legal categories, covering specific sphere of social relations, are characterized by a number of features that define the content of the activities of internal affairs for the protection (security) of these relations, as described in The Effects of Community Policing and Technology on Index Crime Clearance Rates.   First, public order and safety apply to all citizens without exception, and from birth until death.  Second, public order and public security tend to focus on elementary actions, deeds and rules of human behavior.  They occur openly and publicly, and usually they are understood by others.  Third, public order and safety are governed by the law as well as other social and technical norms (morality, customs, traditions, and even fashion).  Fourth, in the sphere of public order and safety annually there are made a huge number of offenses, the tens of millions.  And all offenders, and that much of the population, one way or another can be subjected to the forced exposure of the police.  Fifth, in the field of public order and safety there is circulation of objects and subjects of high risk: the acquisition, storage, use, transportation and civil service firearms, explosive and highly toxic substances, radioactive isotopes, etc. Therefore, licensing and permitting activities o f the Interior  exercising state supervision and control in this area, allows preventing and suppressing the violation of the rules and thereby minimizing the occurrence of serious implications, as a rule, in violation of relevant rules, standards and requirements.  Sixth, with the sphere in question that is closely connected with such dangerous anti-social phenomena as drug addiction, alcoholism, prostitution, vagrancy and begging. That is why, in some cities there are special units, the so-called morality police.  Seventh, in the sphere of public order and public safety are regularly held various mass public events with a large concentration of people in different rooms or in a limited area, which often poses a threat to life and health, the normal functioning of organizations.  These include political (rallies, marches, demonstrations), economic (picketing, hunger strikes), cultural and entertainment (festivals, concerts, days, cities), sports (Olympics, football and hock ey competitions), religious and other public events.  Their implementation requires a great deal of organizational work of the interior, bringing order to ensure order and security of considerable forces and means of the police and interior troops. Community policing is described as the state of social relations, which enforced the law and other legal rules, one of the components of the social order.  This is the state of the actual settlement of social relationships, qualitative expression of the rule of law.  In addition to compliance with the law enforcement in society, it is ensured by the customs, norms and morals, the internal rules of organization, etc. The rule of law is characterized by a level of legality in the state and the degree of realization of the rights and freedoms of citizens, as well as their performance of public authorities and duties conferred by law, as stated in The Effects of Community Policing and Technology on Index Crime Clearance Rates.   Solving the crimes in the local areas has always been challenging. When community policing is practiced in conjunction with some investigation variables, it has significant mixed (positive and negative) interaction effects on murder and robbery clearance rates., as described in The Effects of Community Policing and Technology on Index Crime Clearance Rates. Nowadays, technology has positive effects in investigation and in doing the corresponding research.   Positive interaction effect with community policing on different issues is beneficial for the society. Proper management of the situation and involvement of people who care about their safety is helping a lot, when the case is connected with the gangs. There is created a framework and the detection of crimes becomes more real and much quicker, and as well, this helsp to pertain to terrorism and national security Structure of Community policing Structure of the Community policing are the  legal organization of society (laws and legitimize their government agencies and non-state actors and citizens);  relationship and communication in society;  and certain (normative) order of these relationships and bonds (clear definition of the status of members of their subjective rights and legal duties, powers).   Community policing can be classified according to the territorial coverage (the rule of law in the state, city, etc.), as well as branches of law and legal coverage (constitutional, administrative, financial, etc.), according to U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented policing Services.   Classifications of the community policing: Symptoms: to allocate the following signs of enforcement:  Certainty.  Community policing is based on specific formal-legal regulations.  System: community policing is a system of relations based on a single essence of law, the prevailing form of ownership, the system of economic relations and provides a unified force of state power.  Organization: community policing occurs when there are organizing activities of the state, its bodies. State warranty: the existing rule of law is guaranteed by the state, protects them from violations.  Stability: arising under state law and ensures the rule of law is quite stable. Unity: based on common political and legal principles that will ensure the unity of the state and the rule of law, order for the whole country.  All these components are equally guaranteed by the state, any of the violations are considered violations and repressed by state coercion. It is obvious that the gangs affect the community in different ways, as it depends on where a person lives. According to the survey done by the  National Criminal Justice Reference Service, the specific results of a 2008 show that the gangs in the community cause: rise in violent crime and  drug  related arrests and rise in robbery and  homicide  cases, as described in Effects of Gangs. Considering these facts, there is a considering influence from the gangs on community, especially there is a negative effect, which leads to the increased crime and also to the higher risk for the people to get hurt. The gangs make people feel danger and insecurity in the community, as no one can protect people from the gangs if the measures are not taken. Conclusion All in all, it can be said that there are many issues that disturb the society and there is a considerable influence from the gangs. The effects of gangs in the community and the effects of community policing take place in the society, but there have to be taken more proper measures to ensure safety and living in comfort for the people. As a fact, the best way is to eliminate the groups of people who harm the society. Consequently, there has to be tighter cooperation between the community and police, there has to be developed the new of communication, etc. There have to be present the newest technologies that will allow police to take proper actions and to know everything in advance. Nowadays, the importance of the national security has become one of the main issues, as different circumstances lead people to committing different crimes, either in groups or individually. This problem has to be revised at the state level and its importance does not have to be underestimated under any c ircumstances.

Effects of Communication on Organisational Culture

Effects of Communication on Organisational Culture Topic 2: A range of authors (e.g. Gerard and Ellinor 2001; Isaacs 1993, 1999; Schein 1993; Senge 1995) suggest that dialogue can positively transform organisational cultures. Introduction Communication acts as conversational skill, which is from physical and innate ability. Dialogue can be used and appeared everywhere, in work place, school, bus, home, pub etc. It is one beginning when you meet someone and try to do something new. Dialogue always impact the whole society, human and culture from ancient times to this present, especially organizational cultures. In this essay, there are some effectives, which are some positively transform organizational cultures to be explained. Some relevant academic literatures and suggestion of authors are going to be supported in this essay. Several examples will be provided. Finally, there are some discussion and challenges to be supplied and forecasted future. The word of dialogue is derived from Greek, which means flowing through (Isaacs, W.N, 1993). In 1914, dialogue is provided one exchange between human beings by Martin Buber who is the philosopher (Senge, P, 1995). In simplest sense, dialogue is one kind of talking skill, which is known as special conversation (Dixon, N.M, 1998). This conversation is two-way communication with emotion and passion between persons in different society, organization and group (Swidler, L, 1966). Learning and teaching will be occurred both side of persons, who can understand the whole among parts, link them together and make a decision from dialogue (Gerard, G., Ellinor, L., 2001). Therefore, dialogue will have a strong and effective influence to transform organizational cultures. Accounting to figure 1, there are four type of organizational culture to provide, which are competitive culture, learning culture, bureaucratic culture and participative culture. These cultures depend on different level of environmental adaptation and internal integration (Hellrigle and Slocum, 1994). These four different of cultures will be positively transformed by dialogue from individual, group and organizational levels. At the beginning, there is one example to be given from book of Dialogue At Work. It describes engineering organization in Colorado. One project-based was supported and replaced. Some of employees never talk and share any ideas with others. However, some of them are very exciting and interesting this project. They discuss with employees, managers. They created one system for themselves about how to work and what changes would success their projects (Dixon, N.M., 1998). Accounting to this case, individual and group dialogue play a role for learning culture. Isaacs mention collective thinking and communication will impact learning culture (Isaacs, W. N., 1993). In the first, Employees should have enough knowledge and experiences to provide when they are working in company. If they do not, they have to be trained before they worked. Training is beginning of dialogue from organization. Training is not only learned from teacher how to do. They need to go outside, not only in some formula to work. Employees can discuss with other employees to share study skills, this is because some skills can not learn from knowledge of book or rules. Dialogue is the best way to think and make a decision which method is suit for you. On the other hand, some mixture of qualification and generic skills training become much more popular. This training force on social interaction skills, team working, adaptability and flexibility of response. This non-formal learning will p rovide more challenge and skill for employees to go outside and contact others. This abnormal training dialogue can much more positively impact organizational culture (Cressey P., Kelleher M., 1999). Secondly, there are several problems will be appeared when they are working. These problems could not be solved by training skills. Employees may require another dialogues with staff or managers. Group communication is as extensive as individual learning, especially innovation and new production development department in participative culture of company. There is one successful case, which is Telia Company. They create â€Å"interactive academy† which is provided on line. Every staff can access this intranet system to obtain document and share information (Docherty P., Ullstad C., 1998). This company organizes their whole company to one group. This open system is convenience dialogue, which may easily to achieve directly communication between employees and managers. This is because manager not only can spend less time to discuss with employees, and they may also control employees from different sections. For employees, they may find distinct requirements from managers and oth ers to provide successful production or project. Therefore, this dialogue would act as timesaving, faster and functional system to extend other organization. In sum of first two parts, there are three main elements to force on dialogue for learning and participation culture, which are listening, inquiry and reflection. Isaacs said, listening is the heart of dialogue (Isaacs, W. N., 1999). Listening is not only hear the words, people have to consider and understand what they are listening. This information would be noticed and observed to you. Basically, listening is one learning method, which collect information from others and suit for you (Gerard, G., Ellinor, L., 2001). Inquiry is pretty functional model for dialogue. As a matter of fact, asking question is one directly observation way from dialogue. Any questions will be achieved by inquiry. You may obtain extra information when they solve your question and more options why other disagrees (Gerard, G., Ellinor, L., 2001). The last one is reflection. During the conversation, you should be noticed what is your options and how to effect. At the end of dialogue, everyone should speed fe w minutes to think about this dialogue. Dialogue not only transform your mind, it will be also confuse others. These three elements will act as the key of dialogue to positively impact organizational culture. There are two opposite opinions for competitive culture by dialogue in internal and external company. Dialogue would negatively impact competitive culture in internal company. If the competition appears between employees, they would not share any ideas with each other, this is not satisfactory condition in organization. However, if this competition is appeared between companies. Dialogue is perfect method to provide more competition than other companies. Different department should work together and provide vary information from distinct sections. Company need to competitiveness up with dialogue between companies. Dialogue is resource and material, which promote development of company. The last organizational culture is bureaucratic culture. It has been identified two major approaches: the top down and the bottom up (Thornhill, A, P. Lewis, M. Millmore M. Saunders, 2000). Regarding the top down, it is known as culture engineering approach (Palmer, I C. Handy, 2000). There is the top manager who has enough knowledge of desired values and achieves success to all staff of organization by norms and expected behavior. Therefore, there is one success case, which is British Airways to improve and achieve the top down approach (Watson, T.J. (1996). However, there is not enough evidence to circumstantiate several questions in the top down approach. Even though manager has the right and ability to create, maintain and change the organization culture (Thompson, R. C. Mabey, 1994), they should also pass through lots of human resource to achieve, especially, organization development, communication strategies, training and reward (Mabey, C. G. Salaman (1995). This system is too centralization of state power from manager and underestimating employee resistance. Employee would reliance on manager without measure. They could not thinking and discuss with each other. They only force on what order from manager and how to do. Manager considers everything, which they do, is correct, nobody can not reply them. At the end, it would lead to vicious circles of manager behaviors (Beer, M., R.A. Eisenstat B. Spector, 1990). In contrast, the bottom up approach is much more participative and interactive than the top down approach. There are greater opportunities to be provided for employee involvement in culture change (Hargie. O D. Tourish, 2000). It would raise organizational effectiveness through this approach. Employee might discuss and talk with manager. In the case study of telecommunications of Sri Lankan organization, they have made an attempt through improved conversation between manager and other employees (Sri Lanka Telecom (2001). However, manager may recruitment correct staff in each stage. They have to spend effort, time and money in training the staff to suit for each stage. Hence, company will operate bottom up approach, which is stable by structure, policies and performance (Armstrong, M, 1990). As a matter of fact, the bottom up approach will help manager to relax and reduce pressure from company. Each department force on different staff to work. It not only increases work efficiency, a nd varies ideas will be provided by each employee. Sequentially, dialogue can positively impact organizational culture, competitive and innovation. Appendix: References: Dixon, N.M. 1998, Dialogue at Work. Making Talk Developmental for People and Organizations, Center for Creative Leadership, London. Swidler, L 1966, What Is Dialogue, Temple University. Gerard, G., Ellinor, L. (2001), Dialogue at Work: Skills for Leveraging Collective Understanding, Waltham, MA: Pegasus Communications. Hellrigle and Slocum, 1994. Management, 6e. New York: Addison Wesley Isaacs, W. N. (1993), Taking Flight: Dialogue, Collective thinking and Organizational Learning, Organizational Dynamics, 22, 24-39. Cressey P., Kelleher M., (1999) Partnership and Investment in Europe: the role of social dialogue and human resource development, Leonardo Project Consolidated Report, Jan. 1999 University of Bath / ECLO Docherty P., Ullstad C., (1998) Partnership and Investment in Europe: Volvo Car Corporation case study, IMIT, Gothenburg Isaacs, W. N. (1999), Dialogue and the Art of Thinking Together: A Pioneering Approach to Communicating in Business and in Life, New York: Currency. Senge, P. (1995), The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook : Strategies and Tools for Building a Learning Organization London: Nicholas Brealey. Schein, E. (1993), On Dialogue, Culture and Organizational Learning, Organizational Dynamics, 22, 40-51. Thornhill. A, P. Lewis, M. Millmore M. Saunders (2000) Managing Change: A Human Resource Strategy Approach, London: Prentice Hall. Palmer, I C. Handy (2000) Thinking About Management: Implications of Organizational Debates for Practice, London: Sage Publications. Watson, T.J. (1996) How do managers think? Identity, morality and pragmatism in managerial theory and practice, Management Learning, 27: 323-342. Thompson, R. C. Mabey (1994) Developing Human Resources, London: Butterworth Heinemann. Mabey, C. G. Salaman (1995) Strategic Human Resource Management, Oxford: Blackwell Publishers. Beer, M., R.A. Eisenstat B. Spector (1990) Why change programmes dont produce change, Harvard Business Review, November/December, 158-166. Armstrong, M (1990) How to be an Even Better Manager, London: Kogan Page Sri Lanka Telecom (2001) Annual Business Plan 2002, Colombo: Sri Lanka Telecom Ltd., Hargie. O D. Tourish (2000) Communication and organisational success, in O. Hargie D. Touris (eds) Handbok of Communication Audits for Organisations, London: Routledge.

Industrial Hemp Should be Legal Essay -- Argument for Industrial Hemp

Just the mention of the word Cannabis in today’s society brings about all types of negative connotations. This is understandable due to the major propaganda campaign that has been waged by the U.S. government on the plant. Most citizens have no idea what a mature Cannabis plant looks like, and close to none recognize the thousands of uses it has. This is paper will not discuss whether drug-type Cannabis should be legalized for recreational or medicinal purposes, what it will discuss is the many environmentally friendly products that can be made from non-psychoactive hemp. The Columbia History of the World states that the first archaeological record of human industry is a piece of hemp fabric. This is testament to the fact that the Cannabis plant has been used since the dawn of mankind for all types of purposes, and only lately has fallen out of use due to it’s prohibition by capitalists. Earlier cultures used it for fabric, rope, oil for lighting lamps, medicine, and paper, to name the most important ones. With the rise of technology we have alternative resources to use for those products, but are they superior? Cotton accounts for half of the agricultural chemicals used in America today. Now, forests are cut down to make paper that is inferior to hemp paper in every way. We have all types of petrochemical oils that are used today, but studies have shown that hemp oil can accomplish all of the major tasks that modern synthetic oils achieve. Medicine will not be discussed, but it will be said that Cannabis is listed in the oldest survivi ng medical text, and for thousands of years was used to treat almost every symptom that a human can acquire. Non-Psychoactive Cannabis has been popularly known as Industrial Hemp. There are three main varieties of the plant; ones with good fiber, ones with good oils, and one with good psychoactive properties. Industrial Hemp is very easy to grow and harvest. It does not require an abundance of fertilizers to grow. Nor does it require pesticides/herbicides/fungicides because insects never pose a serious threat due to its alarmingly fast growth rate and natural defense system. Hemp fiber is the strongest natural fiber in the world, the reason why it was used for all ship rigging up to the modern age. Hemp fabric has an excellent texture that gets softer with each use, yet keeps it durability. Despite it’s ... ...to be the staple of Kentucky's economy, too. Willard R. Jillson, in 1942, wrote a speech about the hemp industry in Kentucky and stated, â€Å"Born with the Commonwealth, the story of the hemp industry in Kentucky is, in effect, a history of the state itself.† (1) In a strange dichotomy of policy, even after the government’s war on the plant and its illegalization, during WWII the USDA requested that children’s 4-H clubs in Kentucky grow hemp for the war! The University of Kentucky still has this flier in their archives. The case has been made for why Industrial Hemp should be allowed to be grown by U.S. farmers. It has also been shown that the major reasons against its use are completely unconvincing, for they are based in selfishness, corruption, and misinformation. Industrial Hemp is an environmentally friendly alternative to many of the most used and most polluting resources in the U.S. today. With all the damage being done to the Earth’s environment by modern industry, the time to use Hemp again is more important than ever. So, as one can see, the issue is complex, yet the answer is clear. Unfortunately the antagonist is one of man’s oldest and strongest enemies, greed.

The U.s School System :: essays research papers

When one is a student, it is ever so simple to criticize the way that schools are conducted. The ideas of students towards their schools may be somewhat misguided by their varied emotions and attitudes for their school. However I believe that my thought out reforms for the American school system, are not only objective, but valid.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  For many students, going to school is more than just part of the daily routine. A lot of students see their role in school as a stepping stone not only to their future life, but to their future success. Some people in the school however do not even feel the slightest bit of pressure to do well in school. These people are satisfied with mediocrity. Possibly even worse, some are careless towards not only their on education, but neglectful towards the schooling of others. I think that such students who are not only disruptive, but destructive, should not be dealt with such a severity, that they will either realize the error of their ways or that they do not belong in a public school. Through my few years in high school, I have noticed some students who are always breaking rules. And for some of these students, they are so regularly in trouble that the standards for their behavior is lessened , being permitted to break small rules because the standard for their behavi or is lessened. This is a excellent example, why I believe in not only stern punishment, but set disciplinary action. A student should not be allowed the chance to break rules simply because that is just the way they are. Their bad habits will never be corrected, when they are not expected to act properly   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I haven't really had a great relationship with teachers, in the sense that I felt that they were able to give me good one on one assistance if needed. This however is not the fault of the teacher. Cities have a problem of expanding without planning. Oviedo for example, is possibly going to be a prominent city in the state of Florida. Even now, we are starting to see a major boom in not only population but development. I am not sure however, that I can say that the city is correctly planning for this development, if at all. Roads will need to be widened. Irrigation, and sanitation will need to be carefully managed.

Slavery’s Injurious to All

Slavery’s Injurious to All During the time of slavery, being black meant you were probably a slave and being a slave was brutal. They were treated more like animals than like humans. In Frederick Douglass’s Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, he said, â€Å"slavery proved as injurious to her as it did to me† (22). I disagree however as well as agree with him on this, because being a slave you went through ridiculous amounts of punishment and torture that nobody else went through at that time.But, slavery did change the owner's personality as well. Being a slave meant going through struggles, hardships and not having any family around to help. Their masters were not the nicest people. When they were twelve months old they were taken away from their birthmothers and given to another female slave who cared for them. Children should not be taken away from their mothers at such a young age. They are supposed to have the nurturing care of th eir mother. When taken away from their mother after being with them for quite some time children get a sense of loss.Not only did they get separated from their mothers, according to Frederick Douglass it was common for their masters to be the father of some of the slave children. The masters would sell their black kids â€Å"out of deference to the feelings of his white wife† (3). It was cruel to sell any human being let alone their own children just because of their class/race difference. If he did not sell the slave, the father would have to whip his own child and watch his white sons tie up his own brother. Slaveholders did not have to go through any of that cruel and unusual punishment as the slaves did.Slaves suffered greater hardships than any other person during this time period. They did not receive sufficient clothing to keep themselves warm during those winter days. And if they ever ruined their clothing they would have to wait till the next â€Å"allowance dayâ₠¬ . As well, they did not have any beds to sleep on, they slept on the floors with the little blankets they had. Their slaveholders did not have to go through that suffering of sleeping on a hard floor. They do not compare to what slaves go through. Slaveholders are the wealthy ones compared to slaves; they got to live in comfort while slaves did not.So when Douglass states â€Å"slavery proved as injurious to her as it did to me†, about his mistress, I believe he was wrong. Compared to the slaves, the slaveholders and overseers lived a luxurious lifestyle. They did not have to work hard in the fields just to earn the clothing on their backs and their daily meals. No matter what the slaves did it was never the right thing to do to please their masters. Not only did were slaveholders and overseers able to order around their slaves but they also made their lives a â€Å"living hell†. They were whipped for doing wrong or for no reason at all.According to Douglass he had a few masters who were really brutal. For instance, Mr. Severe, Douglass wrote, â€Å"he was a cruel man. I have seen him whip a woman, causing the blood to run half an hour at a time† (7). When an overseer could be as cruel as that, they would never be able to know what the other side of slavery was like. Gore was another cruel man. He was about to whip a slave, Demby. When Demby ran into a creek and stood there. Gore gave Demby three chances to come back to him so he could whip him, he did not listen to him, so Gore shot Demby.After shooting him, Colonel Lloyd, had asked why he resorted to shooting him, his response was, â€Å"he was setting a dangerous example to the other slaves, – one which, id suffered to pass without some such demonstration on his part, would finally lead to the total subversion of all the rule and order upon the plantation† (14). Demby was shot and killed for wanting to get away from being lashed and was punished for that. Slaves were no t allowed to have a say on what goes on in their lives, they were a piece of property.Being a slave took a toll on the slaves and their emotions. While slaveholders lived their lives, slaves were depressed. They had endured torture, pain and many more difficulties in their lives. Douglass wrote, â€Å"I often found myself regretting my own existence, and wishing myself dead† (24). Slaveholders cannot and should not be compared to how the slaves felt and were treated. They got to choose the way they lived their lives so they had no regrets doing what they did to the slaves. It was not the slaves fault that they were born into that social class.However on one occasion, slavery does prove to have been as injurious to the slaveholders as to the slaves. When Douglass talks about his mistress, Mrs. Auld, he described her as a very kindhearted woman. She was teaching him how to read and write, since slaves were not allowed to become educated. She had clothing and food ready for him as well. Mrs. Auld was the only slaveholder to treat her slaves so kindly. After her husband banned her from teaching Frederick Douglass, she became coldhearted like all the other slaveholders.Douglass said, â€Å"she now commenced to practice her husband’s precepts she finally became even more violent in her opposition than her husband himself† (22). Mrs. Auld had never had a slave before so she did not know what it was like. Douglass was her first slave to own. In this situation, slavery had then become injurious to slaveholders as it did to slaves. Slavery changed the mistress’s personality, she became cruel. Mr. Auld In conclusion, even though slavery maybe injurious to the white owners, it is proved to be more injurious to the slaves.They are the ones treated unfairly; the owners had a choice the slaves did not. Just because one instance can prove that slavery affected the slaveholders like it did to the slave, it does not justify it one hundred percent. Sl aves were the ones getting beaten every day; they had no control over their lives. They were treated like property because of their skin color and the social class they were born into. Some slaveholders enjoyed whipping their slaves, it just goes to show that slave owners did not care about their slaves.

Basic Concepts in the Law of Contracts

LGST 612 Prof. Kevin Werbach BASIC CONCEPTS IN THE LAW OF CONTRACTS Contracts are essential to business. They are a legal mechanism used in every industry and every part of the world to structure relationships among firms, and with customers, partners, and suppliers. Over several centuries, the law governing contracts has developed a large number of doctrines. Most are consistent with common sense, but unless you know what the rules are, you can easily make a mistake. This document introduces the fundamentals of contract law most relevant to businesspeople.Important legal terms are italicized. What is a Contract? And what is Contract Law? Legally, a contract is a set of promises that the law will enforce. We make promises all the time. Only some of them – the ones that meet the contract formation requirements listed below – are legally enforceable. That means the legal system, in the form of courts, can step in to order some action or payment for violation of the contra ct. Contracts are therefore private deals with the possibility of public (governmental) enforcement.Of course, there are many reasons to fulfill promises other than legal obligations. Reneging on promises may be unethical, or may result in a loss of goodwill or reputation as costly or more so than anything a court can impose. The general principles of contract law are fairly universal around the world. However, specific rules vary from country to country. In common law countries such as the United States and Great Britain, most of the legal doctrines governing contracts have been developed by courts over the centuries.In civil law countries such as those in Continental Europe, most of the terms of contract law are specified through comprehensive legislative codes. Even in the U. S. , some aspects of contract law are regulated by legislation. Certain classes of contracts involving employment, securities transactions, health care, and consumer financial transactions are subject to reg ulations that supersede the general principles of common law. Commercial contracts for the sale of goods (as opposed to services like consulting) are covered in virtually every state in the U. S. y the Uniform Commercial Code, which imposes specific statutory requirements. And certain contracts are made unenforceable by the Constitution: for example, a provision that a house may not be sold to a certain racial or ethnic group. Parties negotiating a contract each believe they will benefit from the agreement. For example, a corporation purchasing a license for enterprise software believes the benefit from the software will exceed the price it pays, and the software vendor believes the price will exceed sum of expected costs for providing access to its product.When parties enter into a contract, therefore, they generally do not expect it to be breached (violated), or to resort to the legal system. However, they recognize that sometimes a partner may make a promise with good intentions, and later fail to fulfill it, or that circumstances may chance in some way. When evaluating contracts, courts will generally not consider whether the deal was a good one for either side. The standard view is that no one forced the parties to enter into the contract; they should be held to the bargain they struck.Another way to think of a contract is as a legal hedge against uncertainty or risk. The contract gives each party confidence that if the other fails to perform, they can receive compensation through the courts. It also allows parties to specify how specific situations in the future may be addressed. For example, in the software license described above, what happens if the buyer decides to modify some of the software code and resell it? Rather than wait for the confusion if that happens, the parties can specify ahead of time how the situation will be handled, by adding provisions to the contract.LGST 612 (Prof. Werbach) Page 2 Contemporary legal systems focus on two things i n contracts cases: intent and reliance. If the evidence shows that all parties acted as though they intended to be legally bound to a contract, and the plaintiff (the one filing the lawsuit) reasonably relied on the defendant to follow through with the contract, the courts will generally enforce it. To do otherwise would be unfair to the party that was harmed by honoring their commitments. In modern contract law, intent and reasonable reliance often trump formalities.A contract may generally be enforced even if it not signed, written, or even expressly made. For example, if a fishmonger delivers fresh fish to a restaurant every Monday for a year and receives the same payment each time, there may be an implied contract even if the parties never explicitly spoke about it. The plaintiff still needs to convince the judge or jury in court, which is much harder to do based on oral testimony than documentary evidence. Unwritten contracts also leave significant gaps for courts to fill in.Th e implied contract between the restaurant and the fishmonger, for example, could be terminated at any time by the parties, because there is no explicit term guaranteeing how long it will last. Remedies What a court awards to a successful plaintiff for breach of contract is known as the remedy. In contract law, the sole purpose of the remedy is to adequately compensate for the breach. You cannot receive additional â€Å"punitive† damages to punish someone for breach of contract, as you might under a tort claim such as products liability. The same facts, however, might give rise to both kinds of claims, as when a party deliberately breaks a contract in order to harm the other party’s business. ) In most contracts cases, the remedy is a payment of money, known as damages. There are three main ways that courts may calculate the level of damages: †¢ Expectation is the preferred formula. Whenever possible, this is what courts will use. Expectation means that the plainti ff (who did not breach the contract) gets the â€Å"benefit of the bargain. † In other words, they receive compensation to put them in the position they would have been in, had the contract been performed.For example, if an airline enters into a futures contract to purchase jet fuel in one year at $4/gallon, and at the time of performance the fuel company breaches because the spot market price is now $7/gallon, the expectation remedy would be $3/gallon times the number of gallons. In other words, it is the difference between the market and contract price. That way, the airline can buy the fuel from someone else at the market price, and still get the benefit of the contract. Reliance is used when expectation damages cannot be calculated because the amounts are too uncertain, or there is some other reason not to give expectation damages.Under this formula, the plaintiff gets back any costs he or she has expected by relying on the contract, so they are no worse off than before t he agreement. Generally, this will be a smaller amount than the expectation remedy. Restitution is used in rare situations where even reliance damages are not feasible to determine. Under this formula, the defendant (who breached the contract) must give back whatever benefit he or she received from the plaintiff, even if this does not fully cover the plaintiff’s reliance.For example, if the plaintiff paid money to the defendant for some services, the defendant must give it back. †¢ †¢ Courts may also consider awarding incidental and consequential damages. These are other costs the plaintiff can demonstrate, which go beyond his or her expectation under the contract. For example, imagine a factory owner contracts for a $50,000 piece of machinery to power a production line, and LGST 612 (Prof. Werbach) Page 3 the supplier breaches the contract. It takes a month before the factory can obtain an equivalent machine from another supplier (also for $50,000).As a result, the factory loses one month of production, which produces financial losses of $500,000 and causes its customers to terminate future orders worth several million dollars. All those costs are considered consequential damages. Whether they can be recovered depends on how foreseeable they were, and on the terms of the contract itself. On the one hand, those are actual losses the plaintiff suffered; on the other hand, was it reasonable to think the defendant took on millions of dollars of potential liability when it sold a $50,000 machine?In limited situations, monetary damages are not sufficient to give the plaintiff an adequate remedy. In such cases, a court may order an injunction (forbidding the defendant from some course of action) or specific performance (affirmatively ordering the defendant to go through with the transaction). Specific performance is only available for unique objects, where the money to purchase a similar object is not considered sufficient. This includes things such as works of art and real estate. Breach Failing to follow through on the legal obligations of a contract is called a breach.A breach might mean one party totally ignored its contractual obligations, or that it failed to perform some of them (such as completing the contracted-for services within a specified time), or that it did so in an inadequate manner. Whether something constitutes a breach is a factual decision for the court. The decision may be easier if the contract itself specifies conditions for breach, or whether a failure to perform specific responsibilities constitutes a breach of the whole agreement.As mentioned above, breaching a contract is not the same thing as breaking a promise, because law and ethics are not identical. In particular, sometimes a breach is, economically at least, a good thing. Imagine that an architect contracts with a cabinetmaker for custom-designed built-in furniture in a renovated house. However, the owner of the house changes her mind before f inalizing her contract with the architect, and he loses the commission. The cabinetmaker has not yet started to manufacture the furniture.It would be wasteful to force the architect to go through with the contract, when he knows the cabinets will be useless. It is more efficient for the architect to breach the agreement. So long as the architect pays sufficient compensation to the cabinetmaker (voluntarily or in the form of monetary damages or a voluntary payment), there is nothing unethical in his breach. Contract Formation There are five required elements for a legally binding contract. In other words, a plaintiff suing for breach of contract must first show that all five were met. Then they must show the contract was breached, and they are entitled to a remedy. ) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Offer Acceptance Consideration Legality Capacity The first two requirements, offer and acceptance, are sometimes lumped together and called â€Å"mutual assent. † They are typically the most difficu lt and important elements to establish. LGST 612 (Prof. Werbach) Offer Page 4 An offer is a proposal that manifests intent to enter into a contract. It is distinguished from an invitation, which is merely a proposal to enter into negotiations and therefore not legally binding.The party that makes an offer is called the offeror and the party that receives it is called the offeree. For the offer to be valid, the offeror must: 1. Manifest the intent to enter into a contract 2. Be definite and certain regarding the essential terms of the proposed contract 3. Communicate the offer to the offeree Suppose you are at a used-car dealer's lot. You see a care you like with the price listed as $9,995. You ask the salesperson what he’d take for the car; he doesn't answer you, but responds by asking you what you would offer.If you then say, â€Å"I wouldn't pay the list price, but I might pay $8,000 if I could finance it,† have you made an offer? In considering questions of this typ e, courts will look to â€Å"objective† manifestations of intent. Would a reasonable (ordinary, average) person, listening to your conversation in context, think that you intended to bound into a contract if the salesperson accepted? Again, reasonable reliance is what the courts look to protect, so your subjective mental state, even if it could be reliably determined, is irrelevant. Courts do, however, consider the context.You might offer to purchase a candy bar simply by holding out a dollar bill to a cashier, but an offer to enter into a multi-million dollar merger agreement might require significantly greater formalities. Similarly, if it would be clear to a reasonable observer that a statement was made as a joke, or in a social setting that does not involve contractual obligations, such as a wedding invitation, there is no binding offer. All these, however, are factual questions that courts might assess by hearing witnesses, looking at evidence, and listening to experts.A cceptance An acceptance is the mirror of an offer. If the offeree (the one receiving the offer) objectively manifests intent to be bound, the other elements below are met, and the offer is still valid, a contract comes into being at that moment. Intent is evaluated the same way for acceptance as for the offer. For the acceptance, however, courts are more sensitive to situations where someone takes actions that indicate acceptance (such as signing a document), but does not in fact understand the obligations they are undertaking.In such cases, courts generally look to whether this is the sort of contract that is typically accepted in that manner, and whether the offeree had a reasonable opportunity to analyze the contract but chose not to. Many business-to-consumer agreements are so-called contracts of adhesion or form contracts, where the consumer has no real opportunity to negotiate the specific terms – think of a rental-car agreement – but acceptance is still generall y considered valid because there are other means to protect the consumers and the alternative would be extremely inefficient and cumbersome.There are four ways that an offer may no longer be valid: 1. The offeror may generally revoke the offer by communicating that to the other party at any moment before acceptance. 2. If the one receiving the offer rejects it, which includes making a counter-offer, the original offer is considered no longer binding. 3. After some reasonable period of time, determined by the court based on the context, offers lapse. You cannot walk into a used-car dealer and say you are accepting the list price of a car advertised two years before. 4. Death or incapacitation of an offeror generally cancels an offer.One exception to the rule about revocation of offers is the option contract. This is essentially a contract that binds only one party. For example, a property owner might grant a real estate investor LGST 612 (Prof. Werbach) Page 5 an option to purchase a building for $15 million within a period of 90 days. If the investor comes forward with the $15 million, the owner must sell the building. The investor, however, is under no obligation to do anything. (Options on stocks operate the same way; the price for the put or call is the payment for the option. ) Under U. S. aw, there must be a separate payment for holding open the option, even if it is specified in the same document as the purchase terms. In other words, in the real estate example, if the building owner promised to keep the offer open for 90 days, but received no compensation for that promise, it would technically be free to sell to someone else. In many other countries, a party that promises an option must keep it open for a reasonable period of time, even without payment. The acceptance must mirror the offer. That means the offeree must comply with any conditions the offeror placed on the offer.If, for example, the offer states that payment must be made in cash, or that t hose wishing to accept the offer must show up in person at a certain location, those conditions must be met for a valid acceptance. If the offeror does not specify, the offeree may use any reasonable means. This may even include actions rather than words. If I ask a friend to bring me a sandwich from the cafe downstairs, which I’ll pay for, and she immediately goes to purchase it without saying a word, her actions would likely be a sufficient manifestation of intent.As always, context matters. In a complex commercial negotiation, it may be reasonable to exchange numerous very specific drafts, which are not formally accepted until the final version is signed off on by senior executives. Consideration Consideration means that each party has committed to giving up something of value to induce the promise or action of the other party. It is the way the law distinguishes an enforceable contractual bargain from a gift. If someone promises to give you a gift, and then reneges on the promise, you cannot sue them for breach of contract.There was no contract to begin with, because you did not have to give anything up in return for the gift. In most contracts, consideration will be money in exchange for some goods or services. However, it can be anything of legal value, including property or voluntarily giving up a legal right to act in a certain way. In a famous case, a court held that an uncle’s promise to pay money to his nephew if the nephew gave up smoking and drinking was enforceable, because the nephew stopped doing something he was legally entitled to do. The consideration must, however, be needed to induce the promise.If your action or inaction wasn’t what motivated the other party, there is no consideration. The amount of consideration need not match the value of what the party receives in return. A contract to pay $100 for a computer worth $1,000 may be a bad deal, but it has sufficient consideration. The main question is whether there is something of value exchanged to demonstrate the agreement is not a gift. In business agreements, this sometimes means a recital (a contractual provision that simply states a fact) along the lines of, â€Å"in exchange for good and valuable onsideration of one dollar†¦Ã¢â‚¬  to ensure consideration is found. Legality Contracts that are made for an illegal purpose will not be enforceable in a court of law. An agreement with a hit man to kill a disfavored relative may meet all of the formalities of a contract, but it should be obvious that you could not sue him for failing to go through with it. More realistically, an agreement to engage in bribery or to restrain market competition in violation of antitrust laws would be unenforceable.Capacity All parties to a contract must have the legal capacity to enter into a binding agreement. In other words, they must have what the law considers sufficient mental fortitude to understand and commit to LGST 612 (Prof. Werbach) Page 6 the obl igations involved. Two main classes of people who do not have capacity are children and those under significant mental disability or impairment. Children are generally not allowed to become legally bound by contracts. (The specific age cutoff and other considerations vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. If an adult contracts with a child, the child can void the contract at will, but the adult is still bound if the child wishes to enforce the agreement. The other situations in which capacity becomes an issue are when a party either has a significant disability that prevents them from understanding contractual obligations, or they are too severely impaired by drugs, alcohol, or another factor. Capacity is judged objectively: would a reasonable observer think the party was in a state that made it impossible to express intent to contract?If so, the party at that moment lacks the legal capacity. It is important to note that capacity is not the same thing as capability or authority. A bank may not actually have the financial wherewithal to provide the financing that it contracts for, but this does not mean it is incapable of entering into any contract. If it fails to provide the financing that the other party reasonably relied on, it is in breach of contract, whether or not it actually has the resources needed to perform. Similarly, an agent may or may not have the legal authority to speak for a firm.If a sales representative (or someone claiming to be a sales representative) commits a company to an agreement with a customer that the company does not in fact wish to honor, that has no bearing on the legal capacity to contract. In that situation, the court must determine whether it is appropriate to bind the company. If the salesperson did not in fact have actual authority to sign off on such contracts, courts would look to whether it was reasonable for the customer to think that they did, especially without communicating with corporate headquarters.Whether a Cont ract Must be in Writing (â€Å"Statute of Frauds†) As mentioned above, there is no general requirement that contracts be in writing. It is generally a good idea to write contracts down, because that provides clear evidence of their existence and terms if they are ever breached. Fundamentally, though, an oral agreement, or an unsigned written agreement, is a valid contract, except in two broad cases. The first is when there is a statutory or regulatory requirement to put a certain agreement in writing. This is often the case, for example, with financial and healthcare agreements.The second is if the contract is under the statute of frauds. The Statute of Frauds was a 17th century English law that required some contracts to be in writing, because otherwise there would be too much risk of witnesses lying (the â€Å"fraud†) in their oral testimony in court. Today, the term refers mostly to common law principles that impose a writing requirement, plus provisions of certain modern statutes (such as the Uniform Commercial Code) that impose similar obligations. Saying that a contract is â€Å"under the statute of frauds† means that it has to be in writing.There are several categories of contracts that fall under the statute of frauds, including suretyship (promising to pay someone else’s debts) and contracts in consideration of marriage (such as prenuptial agreements). The three categories most likely to arise in a business context are: †¢ †¢ Sale of land. This also includes interests in land, such as a mortgage. Sales of goods worth $500 or more. Note that contracts for services, such as consulting or financial advice, are not covered under this provision. The $500 figure comes from the Uniform Commercial Code, and is an arbitrary figure, not pegged to inflation.LGST 612 (Prof. Werbach) Page 7 †¢ Promises not performable in one year. In other words, there is no way the contract could be successfully performed within a year. If the contract does not specify a term of longer than a year, and there is come conceivable scenario in which both parties would discharge their responsibilities before the end of the year, it need not be in writing. If a contract falls under the statute of frauds, a sufficient â€Å"writing† is a document that identifies the parties, describes the basic obligations of the contract, and is signed by the party to be charged.As with any written contract, if there are specific details not set out in the document, the court can interpret the language or fill in reasonable terms as necessary to enforce it. If, however, the writing is missing a material term – for example, the price in most sales contracts – it is not enforceable. Basically, the court needs enough information to determine a remedy. If the contract is not under the statute of frauds, the courts can look to other written evidence or oral testimony to find a material term. However, if the parties simply failed to agree on such an essential point, the contract is unenforceable.Note that when the statute of frauds applies, only one party is required to sign the agreement: the party who is being sued to enforce it (the defendant). The signature of the other party may still be useful to prove there was intent to enter into a binding agreement. Excuses to Performance In some circumstances, a party will not be held to an agreement, even when it met all the legal requirements for a valid contract. The most common excuses to performance are: Fraud. If one party induces a contract by lying to the other party, it is not enforceable even when the form of the contract is perfectly good.Duress. If a party felt it was forced to enter into a contract against its will, it can claim the contract is unenforceable due to duress. This means something more than a difficult situation or a tough negotiating partner on the other side. For example, if there is only one supplier for an important input with sufficient production capacity, buying from that supplier is not duress. There must generally be some misconduct, involving threats to engage in illegal conduct or breach other obligations, which convinces the other party it has no choice. Unconscionability.As noted above, a contract will not be considered unenforceable because it is unfair, or because there is unequal bargaining power (as is typically the case in business-to-consumer interactions). However, if one party has no reasonable opportunity to understand the obligations they are undertaking, or there are terms in the agreement so manifestly unfair that they â€Å"shock the conscience,† courts can declare specific provisions or whole contracts as unconscionable. This doctrine is successfully invoked infrequently, and then typically when there is unfairness in the process, rather than the substantive terms.Mutual mistake. If both parties were mistaken about the fundamental subject matter of the contract, such that th ey never truly had an agreement, the contract can be declared unenforceable. If the mistake is simply a bad business decision, such as an assumption that the price of a good will not increase substantially, it will not excuse performance. Impossibility/frustration of purpose. If circumstances change so dramatically that either a contract is effectively impossible to perform, or it would be pointless to complete it, courts can excuse performance.As with the other doctrines, courts will not release parties from their obligations if performance is merely more difficult or costly than they expected. – – – – LGST 612 (Prof. Werbach) Page 8 These excuses are considered by courts after the fact. In such situations, there is a contract, but there is no legal remedy for a breach. Sometimes, the result is merely to sever a problematic provision of the contract. For example, a contract may be enforceable minus the specific term the court considered unconscionable.Re covery Outside of Contract (â€Å"Promissory Estoppel†) Modern contract law makes it relatively easy for parties to enter into contracts, to specify the terms of those contracts, and to be excused from contractual obligations when fundamental fairness dictates. Consequently, the legal system generally focuses on whether the procedural obligations of contract law described above have been met, rather than on whether the outcome is just. After all, the parties were free to act differently, yet chose to structure their agreement in a certain way.Why should the courts interfere with their decisions? In a host of cases, this freedom-based view of contracts fails to account for reality. Inequalities in access to information or bargaining power may so warp the relationship between parties that the formal structure of an agreement may not actually reflect the intent of at least one of them. Or there may be significant public policy concerns, such as avoiding mistreatment of patients or retail investors, which counsel for heightened obligations beyond those of common-law contract doctrines.Another category cuts in the opposite direction. Sometimes the un-enforceability of an agreement is unfair. If one party reasonably relies on the other party, yet has no remedy because the agreement is unenforceable, it can create a situation in which the courts view themselves as parties to an injustice. The legal doctrine known as promissory estoppel arose to allow for recovery of damages in court, even when there is no enforceable contract between the parties.The Restatement (Second) of Contracts, a collection of â€Å"best practices† in contract law written by leading legal experts in the field, describes promissory estoppel as follows: â€Å"A promise which the promisor should reasonably expect to induce action or forbearance on the part of the promisee or a third person and which does induce such action or forbearance is binding if injustice can be avoided only b y enforcement of the promise. The remedy granted for breach may be limited as justice requires. † Most commonly this doctrine is invoked for charitable gifts.For example, imagine that a donor to Wharton promises the school $100 million for a new building bearing her name, the school builds the building in reliance on the gift, and the donor then reneges on the promise. There is no enforceable contract, because there is no consideration. (The school’s expenditure in building the building was a response to the promised gift; it is not what induced the promise, as required for consideration. ) In such a situation, if a court feels it would be an â€Å"injustice† that Wharton receives no compensation, it can award damages on a promissory estoppel theory.Courts have applied promissory estoppel in other situations where, because of some legal quirk, a party reasonably relies on a contract and yet has no adequate remedy. Note that promissory estoppel is a distinct legal claim, not a lawsuit based on a valid contract. One consequence is that damages are generally limited to reliance. In the donation example in the previous paragraph, this means that Wharton might recover the amount it spent on constructing the building, but not the full $100 million that was promised. And remember that the court can decline to award anything if it does not feel that an injustice has occurred.