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Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Economy of Russia Essay

Russia as a country has transformed significantly since the collapse of the Soviet Union. The economy has changed from a globally-isolated, centrally-planned economy to a more globally-integrated market based economy. The economy of Russia has gone through fluctuations since then to emerge as the eight largest by its purchasing power parity (PPP) in 2009 estimates (CIA, 2010). The Russian economy is largely dependent on the export of raw materials and natural resources, specifically oil and gas. Other resources include precious minerals, fishing, and agriculture. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia has undergone two major economic crises. They are the 1998 Russian Financial Crisis and the 2008 Russian Financial Crisis which was a part of the 2008 Global Economic Crisis. This article will examine the performance of the Russian economy after the two crises. In addition, the article will evaluate the current performance of the economy of Russia. The 1998 Russian Economic Crisis After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia undertook major economic reforms to transform its economy closed centrally planned socialist economy into a capitalistic market economy. According to the CIA Factbook, the most notable economic reforms in the 1990s were the privatization of enterprises that belonged to the state and the removal of Soviet price controls. The CIA notes further that the rapid privatization of the state enterprises (except in defense and energy related sectors) essentially handed over the enterprises to a few politically connected individuals popularly referred to as ‘the Russian oligarchs’ making equity ownership concentrated to a few. It was during this time that Pinto, Gurvich, and Ulatov noted that the country was plagued with corruption, financial manipulations, and capital looting (capital flight). In 1997, the Asian Financial Crisis began and this led to the fall in commodity prices. As the crisis spread economies heavily dependent on exports were highly affected. Russia’s economy being heavily dependent on world prices was hit hard. Pinto et al point out that the exchange rate of the ruble against the foreign currency was artificially fixed and the subsequent fiscal deficit accelerated the crisis. During the Asian Financial Crisis, the demand for oil and minerals declined and this affected the foreign currency reserves for the country. Poor management of the situation such as Russia’s Central Bank maintenance of the Ruble within a narrow range in the middle of the crisis by using the available foreign reserves made the situation worse. The poor measures resulted in the investors pulling off and inflation rising to over 80 per cent. The bail out offered by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank did not help the situation. Several banks closed and the government debt increased considerably. The 2008 Russian Economic Crisis The Russian economic crisis of 2008 was an extension of the global economic crisis 2008-2009. A report prepared by the World Bank pointed out that although the Russian economy was better prepared to withstand the financial crisis, its dependence on export of limited commodities made it succumb to the crisis. According to the report, the crisis caused a decrease in capital flows as investors withdrew across the world markets, the credit crunch affected the banking system in Russia, the decrease in demand for oil eroded the fiscal and foreign reserves of the country, and the stock market suffered from the uncertainty of demand for oil (4). The International Monetary Fund noted that anti-crisis measures such as the states guarantee on loans to support the banking sector, the cutting of the interest rate by the Russian Central Bank, and the states support for the housing and car manufacturing helped in managing the crisis. Recession of the Russian economy slowed down and the economy has shown positive signs for recovery although slower than before the crisis. After going through the 1998 economic crisis, Russia undertook some policy and structural reforms with aim of cushioning the Russian economy against such a crisis as well as promoting economic growth and development. The structural reforms were necessary to create regulatory and institutional conditions for business and reduce the administrative risks. Some of the measures that were taken to counter the crisis, according to the World Bank (18- ) include devaluation of the ruble, cash infusion in to the market, tax reforms, privatization, and review of international trade policy. When the ruble was devalued, there was a sudden increase in the price of imported commodities but the move benefited the local industries and they were able to pay off their debts. The local enterprises also benefited from the cash infusion by the state, which in turn led to an increase in the demand for Russian commodities and services. The tax reforms were aimed at creating an enabling environment to stimulate the resumption of economic growth by reducing the tax burden. The reforms were aimed at corporate profit tax, VAT, and the removal of tax privileges that were not justified. The privatization process identified corporations that were to be privatized in 1999 and others in 2000. The international trade policy required reviewing to take into account the devalued ruble and the fluctuating price and demand for oil and raw materials. The Russian government also introduced the stabilization fund to hedge against the fluctuating international oil prices. The recovery from the crisis was however accelerated by the rise in international demand and price of oil. The Russian economy had fallen due to decrease in demand for oil and when the demand rose, the economy started to recover. 2008 Economic Crisis The government of Russia undertook intervention measures to manage the recent economic crisis and ensure that the country was on the way back to economic growth that had been achieved prior to the crisis. Some of the measures taken by the government were injecting funds and supporting the market. The government also offered bail outs for local corporations that relied heavily on foreign investment and hence highly susceptible to the changes in the global market. In addition, the government undertook further tax measures that saw the profit tax reduced to enable the corporations to remain operational. The government lifted import tariffs on industrial equipments to enable the rejuvenation of the affected companies. In a similar scenario to the 1998 crisis, the comeback of the Russian economy occurred after the increase in the international demand for oil. Current Russian Economic Status and Future Prospects According to the IMF, the economy of Russia has recovered from decline but is yet to recover to the levels that it had achieved prior to the crisis. The IMF projects that the Russian economy will 3. 6 per cent in 2010 up from a low of negative 7. 5 per cent. Russian economy is highly susceptible to economic crises due to its overdependence on the commodity markets. This has been evident from the two economic crises that have hit the country since the fall of the Soviet Union. Therefore, for the Russian economy to grow and cushion itself against the fluctuating international prices for commodities there is an urgent need to diversify the composition of the economy. The government of Russia has already taken measures such as investing in the information sector and has risen to become the world third largest software exporter as well as outsourcing. In addition, the government has encouraged the development of agriculture and manufacturing industry through technological and organizational modernization. The agriculture has improved with Russia becoming a net grain exporter rather than a net grain importer as was the case a few years ago. The economic reforms that have been undertaken by the Russian government have the ability to promote the development of a stable economy in the future. Russia is set to gain from the structural reforms that have been instituted and with the vast richness in natural resources and economic diversification, the Russian economy is set to grow and stabilize. References Pinto, B, Gurvich, E and Ulatov, S. â€Å"Lessons from the Russian Crisis of 1998 and Recovery† The World Bank. 2004 â€Å"Russia† CIA World Factbook. 28 April, 2010. 11 May, 2010. â€Å"Russian Federation† The International Monetary Fund. N. d 11 May 2010. < http://www. imf. org/external/country/rus/rr/> â€Å"Russian Federation† The World Bank. 2010. 11 May 2010. < http://web. worldbank. org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/ECAEXT/RUSSIANFEDERATIONEXTN/0, menuPK: 305605~pagePK: 141159~piPK: 141110~theSitePK: 305600, 00. html>

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Organizational Culture and Strategic Human Resource Management Essay

Organizational Culture and Strategic Human Resource Management Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Different scholars have given the term culture different meanings according to the context in which it is applied. People have different cultures from their area of origin, but organizations tend to have almost similar cultures governing the relationship between the employer and employees or among the employees themselves. Carla defined culture as interactions, behavior patterns affective understanding and cognitive constructs which are acquired through the socialization process. These patterns are used in distinguishing members of different cultures through the way they behave. Lederach (1985) stated that culture refers to shared schemes and knowledge obtained from a set of people through interpreting, perceiving, responding and expressing social realities.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Consequently, Organizational culture refers to how people from a given organization are required to behave concerning their employment and their code of behavior concerning the operations and activities carried out in any given organization. These codes give employees a sense of belonging or identity, appointing and aligning a common view which enables them to act according to such cultures (Bates, Amundson, Schroeder, & Morris, 2010: p. 1565). Different organizations have different ways of maintaining organizational cultures. Most of the companies adopt an impressive rate of retaining employees with a high level of satisfaction as a way of maintaining strong cultures in the workplace. These are important towards the success of the business as well behaved and motivated employees are more productive compared to those who are non-motivated in a given organization. These strong organizational cultures can be maintained through the following ways:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Responsive to the needs of an employee; despite the company catering for the pension schemes and the salary of the employees, it is also required to respond to other interests of the employees such as; lifestyle benefits, healthy, working conditions, leisure and the study days. This motivates the employee to maintain good standards of behavior and in turn increases their output.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Ongoing development; this comprises of the developments that are carried out in the business organization such having talents day mentoring schemes, which offers training to employees on how they can improve their services. This makes the employees feel that their future is being invested in and that the company is supporting their professional and personal growth.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Social calendar; this involves a well balanced social interaction regarding business activities, which creates a good morale. It involves social healthy and social events, which are carried outside the office setting, which creates an inter-team bonding and a buoyant atmosphere which is a form of motivation to the employees.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Honest feedback and openness; employers are required to create an environment that brings an open culture which makes employees in every stage share their suggestions, ideas and concerns. When strategies of a well structured feedback are put in place, business owners can as well monitor the levels of employees’ satisfaction and be able to alleviate any arising issue.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Innovative approach; this comprises of the ways a business conducts its activities and the ways it relates with the members of staff. The company should strive to portray good examples and allow its employees to attend industrial events. This makes sure that they become updated with the c trends and advance in their area of work.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Committed leadership; leadership is a very essential component in any given organization; this should involve all team members especially those in the management sector. Company culture can only be maintained through having committed, clear and inclusive leadership where all members are represented. Importance of Maintaining Organizational Culture   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The recent past, there has developed a high concern on how businesses have chosen to carry out their daily operations. The culture of an organization in the leadership concept has become a major component used by leaders to come up with a dynamic organization. Leaders do ignite the process of culture formation through imposing expectations and assumptions on their subjects or followers. Schein (2011: p. 370) stated that as companies stabilize due to their success of completing its primary tasks, assumptions of leaders becomes shared which facilitates the socialization process of new members. This result to the success of the organizational leaders’ consistency, giving clear signals regarding their priorities, believes and values.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   When ethical cultures are promoted through leadership, leaders become successful which facilitates organizational growth, maintains good services that the society demands, ability to solve issues before they end up becoming serious disasters and become competitive against their rivals. Schein (2011: p.374) also discovered that corporate cultures are very important on matters concerning decision making in the organization. He stated that if decisions are made without considering the forces of the operative culture, it may result to undesirable and unanticipated consequences. This is due to complex issues confronting leaders when deciding on the best method of generating the achievements of the organization when faced with complex environments. Their success will depend on the understanding, and the knowledge leaders have concerned the organizational culture. This makes them predict the results of their decisions by preventing anticipated re percussions. Arguably, an organization that maintains such strong culture can also realize the following benefits. Enhanced corporation and mutual trust Development of an informal control system within the organization   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Assisting workers in modifying their behaviors through providing behaviors, which are justified Schein (2011: p.373) also characterized the culture of an organization in three levels. The first level consisted of artifacts and behavior levels which are most visible as they are always around us. Such an observable cultural level consist of an outward manifestations behavior patterns of culture which can be seen in the physical layout of dress codes, work environments, levels of technology, behaviors and attitudes of people. The second level comprised of the organizational values that determine behavior and are unobservable which are different from the artifacts and physical behaviors. They give the difference between operating values and the stated values such valuing customers and qualities. Operating value refers to actual manifestation of true values in force. Schein (2011: p.373) emphasized that for better understanding of culture one h as to get the deeper level of beliefs and assumptions. The relevance of culture is the learned beliefs, values and assumptions which are taken for granted and shared as the company becomes successful.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The most challenging issue concerning the organizational culture is whether they can be changed. Some of these cultures are maintained, created and transformed by leaders or the people. Hartman (2006) stated that culture comprises of laws, history, language as well as systems and rules, informal and formal practices, rituals and beliefs. However, ethics of an organization operates on the whole moral culture of the business organization. Schein (2009: p.109) recommended the following five embedding primary mechanism which can be used by leaders as major tools to teach the organizations they lead on how to think, perceive, behave and feel from their own unconscious and conscious convictions.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Leaders’ attention on a regular basis control and measures: organizational leaders and founders communicate their beliefs, values and priorities based on where they are paying their attention. Their overtime measure and emphasizes can lead to a greater effect on the culture of the organization. Schein (2009: p.110) stated that such a process ends up becoming a powerful way of delivering a message especially when the leaders portray a total consistent to their behavior. These leaders consistency is the one that sends a message showing their priorities, beliefs and values which is high importance rather than the actions’ intensity. Northouse (2008: p.370) argued that every leader should have an agenda, proposals, a series of beliefs; values issues and ideas which they desire to discuss which has significant effects on the values the organization exhibits. Schein (2009: p.112) stated that leaders can apply both negative and posi tive signals as tools of capturing the subordinates’ attention on important issues concerning the organization.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Leaders’ reactions towards organizational crises and critical incidents: all organizations are bound to experience crises which are known to draw every ones attention in such an incidence. The way leaders react to such crises; it gives more information concerning the values, culture and norms of the organization (Pacanowsky & Trujillo, 2013: p.130)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Schein ((2009: p.113) quoted that if an organization is confronted with crises, the way leaders and other shareholders deals with such a situation, it creates values, new norms, working procedures and reveals underlying assumptions, which are important. Crises generate emotional involvement and attention to those related to the organization mostly if such crises threaten the existence of the organization. When the organizations assumptions are exposed in such an incidence, the potential is increased to either reinforce the current culture or make a change on such current culture. In such situations, leaders may influence the culture of the organization so as to support ethical behaviors and strong morals which reinforces creation of new values in the organization. Such situations give the leaders an opportunity to coach, teach and mentor their followers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   How resources are allocated by leaders, status and rewards: organizations are required to prepare a budget which is a basic tool used in resource allocation of the company, this allocation reveals the leaders beliefs and assumptions. If the allocation of resources is balanced, it improves the efficiency of the operations, creates consumer satisfaction and increases the values of the company.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Deliberate teaching, role modeling and coaching: when a leader becomes a good role model by showing personal examples, it sends a very beneficial and a powerful message to the organizational members mostly for consistent and ethical actions. Schein (2011: p.272) stated that a subordinate derives their personal ethics from what they perceive or observe as ethical standards practiced by the leaders.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   How leaders select, recruit, excommunicate and promote: this gives a significant way through which leaders can transform the culture of the organization and their assumptions through selecting, promoting and retaining people business organization. Schein (2009: p.115) stated that leaders and organizational founders establish unconscious culture in the organization through advancing and hiring anyone, whom they thought has such values they desire and eliminate the undesirable ones. If the corporate culture of the business organization is corrupt, people in the organization tend to ignore the right things and engage in activities which are unethical along their ways of operations.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   SHRM on the other hand refers to the intentions and plans of the organization on how it should achieve its goals through people. It is a process which comprises of three propositions: the first one indicates that competitive advantage has a major source which is human capital; secondly, it indicates that the organization strategic plan is implemented by people. Finally, is that the organization should adopt a systematic approach that defines where the company wants to go, and the ways it should do to get there. These strategies of HRM define the plans and intentions associated to organizational overall considerations such as its effectiveness and more precise aspects related to people management, which involves resourcing, employee relations and rewards, learning and development. It addresses organizational issues in a broader perspective which are associated to changes in culture and structure, organizational performance and its effective ness, matching resources concerning future requirement, and management of change. Its main aim is to develop capability processes, which ensures things, are done effectively. Aims of adopting SHRM   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The rationale of SHRM is to bring an agreement and understanding based on developing an approach of people management in the long-term. Boswell (2010: p. 1489) suggested that SHRM is meant to achieve competitive advantage using HRM.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It provides a perspective on how to address success factors or critical issues related to people, strategic decisions made which have a long term and a major impact on the organizational success and behavior. Its fundamental aim is to come up with strategic capability by making sure that the business has a skilled, well motivated and committed employee which brings competitive advantage.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The objective of SHRM is providing a sense of direction always in a tabulated environment in order to ensure the company needs and the employees collective needs are met through implementation and development of coherent and practical programs and policies of human resource. Holder and Dyer (2008: p.66) stated that the aims of SHRM should be to provide a unifying framework which is integrative, broad and based on contingency. Storey, Wright, & Ulrich, 2009: p. 108) termed the aims of SHRM that they should emphasize on aspects of human relations of people management, communication, emphasizing continuous development, involvement, working life quality, security of employment and balance of work-life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It should attempt to have an achievement of balancing both the soft and hard elements. Almost every organization strives to achieve its objectives and must ensure that the required resources needed to achieve such objectives they are used efficiently. Quinn (2013: p. 96) stated that when the management is taking an extensive planning, they should consider the people in mind, take an account of the aspirations and the needs of all the organizational members in the soft concept of SHRM. Importance of having SHRM in an organization   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In most cases, the importance of SHRM in a business organization becomes hard to overemphasize them because human beings act as the driving forces in any business organization. This calls for the organization to have strategies of implementing a well-thought out and well planned SHR ideas (Kang & Kim, 2011: p. 390). This will facilitate coordination and having a proper channel of human capital to ensure increased productivity (Kane, 2006: p. 190). Better strategies on human resources, which are solid, allow the business organization to develop a good relationship with the organizational workers, and have peaceful coexistence and mutual benefits from the host community.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A well and properly implemented a plan on SHRM helps the organization to attain its goals through the employees performing their necessary duties which are geared towards achieving such goals. In such a situation, the benefits of SHRM are seen since departments of human resources identify key areas in the organization which requires manpower (Sarros, Cooper & Santora, 2008: p.150)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   These departments are also required to carry out key steps on matters of recruiting ideal candidates who can fill vacancies and helps the organization to achieve its short-term, long-term goals and its vision. Strategic approaches to HRM   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Approach based on resources: Barney (2011: p.46) indicated that aims of based resource approach are developing the capability of achieving the fit between opportunities, resources and obtaining value addition from well deployment of resources.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Strategic fit: strategies of human resource should have an integral part that contains strategies of the business which contributes in the planning processes of the business as they are carried out. Integration is a necessary concept in a business as it gives the congruence between strategies of human resource and the business itself when done vertically (Barney, 2011: p.48). The aim of carrying out both horizontal and vertical integration in a business is to ensure a coherent approach is achieved as far as management of people is concerned.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Management at high-performance: this management aims at making an effect on the firm’s performance through its people in areas such as quality, productivity, levels of consumer services, profits, growth and delivery of improved shareholders value. This management carries out practices such as selection procedures and vigorous recruitment, relevant training and extensive management, development activities and process of management performance.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Few years ago, researchers and professionals have been focusing on whether corporate culture has any effect on the company performance and its effectiveness. Kanter (2013: p.22) in his book Managing Knowledge Workers Unleashing Innovation and Productivity demonstrated that companies with better SHRM outperformed those with less progressive practices. In illustrating the link between organizational culture and its effectiveness, the proposition focuses on four major traits of culture which needs to be examined in order to get the clear link between the two. Such traits are; involvement, adaptability, consistency and mission.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Consistency and involvement are mainly focused on the internal composition of the organization and its mission. Mission and adaptability on the other hand focuses on how external factors of the environment and the organization are collated. Research has proposed that the culture of an organization has to be strong, and give strategic competitive benefits and its values and believes have to be firmly held and widely shared (Koch & McGrath, 2010: p.340). This proposal is only meant if the purpose of the corporate culture is to improve its effectiveness and the overall performance.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Although previous reviews and studies show that SHRM has become general probably with respect to performance and HRM, it has been mainly limited to the relationship between organizational performance and HR practices (Vijayasiri, 2010: p.48). Strategic HRM accepts functions of HR as a strategic important partner when formulating the strategies of the company and their implementation through practices of HR. Deley (2009: p.38) adopted a perspective view based on resources which emphasized on acquiring competitive benefits through the means of utilizing organizational resources through employees. Through the research for SHRM of organizational effectiveness, the following areas were used to determine whether such strategies are successful:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Outcomes on human resource, which made an evaluation concerning the behaviors of the workforce/ employees;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Outcomes of the organization which are based on quality, productivity and services;Outcomes on financial accounting related to profitability and investment returns;Outcomes on capital market for public organizations that are, shareholders returns and stock value.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Finally, strategic HRM is a very important factor to be mentioned despite whether there is a significant research done or not. There is supportive evidence which shows that there is a strong link between effectiveness and culture. SHRM fully depends on the organizational culture for its successful implementation (Denison, & Mishra, 2013: p. 214). Valuation of styles and viewpoints and development of ways which are concrete facilitates learning in the organization from differences which shows high benefits obtained when organizational structure, processes and procedures are maximized.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Conclusively, research has been done which shows how national cultures are diversified and how they influence the behaviors of the employees, this inspires optimism on the emerging perspectives related to SHRM practices and culture (Siddique, 2013: p.230). Globally, there is a lot of research that is carried out on how organizations allocate resources, make decisions, manage, negotiate and motivate employees, develop and train their employees (Linn, 2008: p. 90). These researches reveal that culture is one of the most important determinants of the organizational behavior. Consequently, a culture plays a great role in the field of HRM which takes heed of methodological and the existing theoretical pitfalls. This shows that, for the SHRM to be implemented successfully, organizational culture has to be maintained at high standards by both the employer and the employees. References Barney, N. J. (2011). Competence, governance, and entrepreneurship: advances in economic strategy research. Oxford: Oxford University Press. (Original work published 2000) Bates, K. A., Amundson, S. D., Schroeder, R. G., & Morris, W. T. (2010). The Crucial Interrelationship Between Manufacturing Strategy And Organizational Culture. Management Science, 41(10), 1565-1580. Boswell, W. (2010). Aligning Employees With The Organization’s Strategic Objectives: Out Of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"line Of Sightà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢, Out Of Mind. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 17(9), 1489-1511. Deley, A. (2009). Best human resource management practices in Latin America. London: Routledge. Denison, D. R., & Mishra, A. K. (2013). Toward A Theory Of Organizational Culture And Effectiveness. Organization Science, 6(2), 204-223. Holder, J., & Dyer, G. (2008). Strategic human resource development. London: Sage Publications. (Original work published 2003) Kane-Urrabazo, C. (2006). Management’s Role In Shaping Organizational Culture. Journal of Nursing Management, 14(3), 188-194. Kang, M., & Kim, H. (2011). Influence Of Strategic Human Resource Management Of On Organizational Culture And Organizational Citizenship Behavior Of Private Facility Security Guards. The Journal of the Korea Contents Association, 11(4), 389-403. Kanter, A. D. (2013). Managing knowledge workers unleashing innovation and productivity. Westport, Conn.: Quorum Books. Koch, M. J., & McGRATH, R. G. (2010). Improving Labor Productivity: Human Resource Management Policies Do Matter. Strategic Management Journal, 17(5), 335-354. Linn, M. (2008). 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Monday, July 29, 2019

Business Cultures Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Business Cultures - Essay Example These beliefs and expectations produce norms that powerfully shape the behaviour of individuals and groups within the organization† (Schwartz and Davis 33).2 From an employee’s standpoint it would simply be â€Å"the way we see and do things around here.†3 In 1985, noted writer Charles Handy, in his book Understanding Organizations, drew inspiration from Roger Harrison’s (1972) work to link organizational structure to business culture and elucidated Harrison’s four types of business cultures. This culture is centered around a strong leader, who wields all the power and influences the company culture with his personality. For example, Jack Welch (former CEO of General Electric) and Rupert Murdoch (News Corporation). At times businesses are dominated by the owner/founder, for example, Michael O’Leary (Ryanair) and Richard Branson (Virgin). Its structure is usually represented by a web. Dramatic changes can be made to make the business successful as the leader has no opposition. Fair and firm leaders distribute resources equally and are generous to loyalists. As there is no need for consultation and few rules, quick decision making is possible helping businesses react fast to fluid market situations. Fear rules, and there is abuse of power and political intrigue. As only one individual is making decisions, he could make an error in judgment affecting the organization’s success. There is low motivation, high turnover, and poor loyalty among staff, who feel undervalued because of the prevalent inequality. Subordinates work to patronizing their managers to get rewarded. The second level of management is underdeveloped since powers are not delegated. The web can break if the organization becomes too complex and big. In role culture (previously termed â€Å"bureaucracy†), businesses are split into various functions, and every individual has predetermined roles, with a clear reward system. Usually found in large hierarchical organizations with

Sunday, July 28, 2019

Types of Human Cloning Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 2

Types of Human Cloning - Research Paper Example During the period of 2006, FDA approved the use of cloned products such as plants and animals for the dietary purpose of individuals living in the US. Human cloning is a term used to define the creation of a genetically similar copy of a human being (MacKinnon 9). In this research the focus will not be cloning of animals and plants, rather the focus will be on human cloning, types of human cloning and the advantages and disadvantages associated with it. Reproductive cloning is one form of human cloning which is used to produce one or more than one individuals who are genetically identical to each other. During the period of the 1990s, the process of reproductive cloning was utilized in order to create identical clones of mammals such as sheep and pigs and one of the most famous examples of this activity was the production of Dolly (MacKinnon 56). Later several countries started banning the process in order to put a stop to the process of reproductive cloning for human beings. Another form of human cloning is DNA cloning which is even regarded as molecular cloning or cloning of the gene or recombinant DNA technology which is used to refer to the procedure through which multiple replicas of an individual fragment of DNA is created (MacKinnon 139). This kind of cloning can be conducted in several forms, for example, cloning of entire fragment of the gene can be conducted or a portion of the fragment of the DNA can be cloned or certain sequences of the DNA can be cloned. There are four steps involved in the process of DNA cloning, these include, fragmentation in which string of DNA is divided, the next step is the ligation part in which different parts of DNA are glued together in a sequence that is desirable, the third step is recognized as transfection, in this step the newly created DNA is inserted into cells and the last step is recognized as selection in which those cells that were transfected successfully with the DNA are selected (MacKinnon 116).

Saturday, July 27, 2019

What is feminismwhat is feminist Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

What is feminismwhat is feminist - Essay Example My best friend, Cheng Zhang also has the same view that women should be free from any patriarchal control in the society. Cheng also associated herself with women celebrities like Wendi Deng and Hilary Clinton who are feminists. Cheng was proud to be a woman while responding during interviews and her body language was enthusiastic. My mother, Lei Wang was quite content to take care of her home and family where she is the home-maker. She declined to be a feminist as it would put her into mental stress and explained feminism as the role of a woman in taking responsibility and decisions in family life. My mother was quite conservative in her body language. My dad, Weijie Cai considers himself to be a feminist and believes that feminism is all about the aspect of equality of rights among men and women. He was quite assertive with his body language. The fifth and the last respondent was Abby Chen who is my dad’s friend and she is an acute feminist. She believes in women rights and has held events on feminism in China. She was quite aggressive in her body language. Trends were observed from the respondents that the young generation is more passionate of the feminist sentiment. The feminist sentiment is also strongly present in the previous generation as in the case of my dad’s friend but a higher percentage likes to go either by the concept of equal rights among men and women or some women may detach themselves to be called as feminist due to the aspects of man hating and unattractiveness associated with feminism. Looking at the aspect of Zombie feminism which explains the growth of feminism sentiment among the young generation from the stage of its apparent death over a period of time in modern era, I assumed that there would be varied responses from the interviewees on their consideration towards feminism. Although there were both positive and negative responses on feminist view, this could be

Project report Statistics Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Report - Statistics Project Example The value of the correlation coefficient between sales per square metre and number of part-timers is about 0.0501. This suggests a very weak (or negligible) positive linear relationship between sales per square metre and number of part-timers. As shown in figure 3, there appears a positive linear relationship between sales per square metre and total number of hours worked. The value of the correlation coefficient between sales per square metre and total number of hours worked is about 0.2630. This suggests a weak positive linear relationship between sales per square metre and total number of hours worked. Figure 4 shows the scatterplot between sales per square metre and sales floor space of the store. As shown in figure 4, there appears a negative linear relationship between sales per square metre and sales floor space of the store. The value of the correlation coefficient between sales per square metre and sales floor space of the store is about -0.2938. This suggests a weak negative linear relationship between sales per square metre and sales floor space of the store. Since, the value of the test statistic, t = 4.871 is greater than 1.966, we reject the null hypothesis, H0 and conclude that there is a significant relationship between sales and number of full-timers. Since, the value of the test statistic, t = 1.000 is in-between 1.966 and -1.966 (non-rejection region), we do not reject the null hypothesis, H0 and conclude that there is no significant relationship between sales and number of part-timers. Since, the value of the test statistic, t = 5.438 is greater than 1.966, we reject the null hypothesis, H0 and conclude that there is a significant relationship between sales and total number of hours worked. Since, the value of the test statistic, t = -6.132 is less than -1.966, we reject the null hypothesis, H0 and conclude that there is a significant

Friday, July 26, 2019

Biostatistics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Biostatistics - Essay Example 2012, p. 772). Here, the P value is greater than 0.05, and yet the authors say that the differences were not significant. However, the statement means that the evidence presented in the case was not strong enough to consider that the means were different. i. Number of pregnancies is discrete or discontinuous variable. This is because for the subjects to be included in the study they had to be pregnant. Pregnancy takes a distinct value because one is either pregnant or not. ii. Clinical attachment loss (CAL) measured in [whole] millimetres (mm) is a continuous variable because it is a mean of the distances from the cento enamel junction and the center of the pocket. The distances can take on any numerical values hence are continuous variable. a) Mean of maternal age of women with preeclampsia in the sample is a true reflection of the population. This is because the sample mean age and standard deviation are equal to the population mean age and standard deviation. This shows that the population is normally distributed and is in line with some of the assumptions that are prerequisites for accurate statistics (Lomax 2007). b) The most likely maternal age of a woman with preeclampsia drawn at random is 28.5 years. This is because in a normal distribution, the mean, mode, and the median are the same value (Lomax 2007). If the mean of the population is 28.5 years, it implies that the mode and median are also 28.5 years. Therefore, there are high chances that a woman drawn at random from the population is 28.5 years, which is the mode of the population. c) It is expected that 95% of the population lie between the age of 19.5 and 37.5 years. The empirical rule states that in a normal distribution, almost all values lie within 3 standard deviations of the mean (Grafarend 2006). About 68% lie within one standard deviation, 95% within two standard deviations, and 99% within three standard deviations. It follows that 95% of the population lie

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Salary Disparity in USA Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Salary Disparity in USA - Essay Example It is widely known that in the labor force of the United States, women are compensated less than men. According to the report of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in 1997, full-time working white women had weekly salaries equal to roughly 75% of white men’s weekly salaries (Keaveny & Inderrieden, 2000). The gender disparity in salary has shrunk slightly during the recent decades. In spite of this trend of lower salaries among women, investigations of salary satisfaction have discovered that women are not less discontented with their salary than men. In line with this report, when salary grade has been regulated, women have disclosed greater salary satisfaction than men (Figart, 2000). Because it is believed that salary satisfaction rests on whether salary received is equivalent to salary expected, it means that if women have lesser salary expectations, women are contented with lesser salary. Major and Konar (1984 as cited in Keaveny & Inderrieden, 2000) studied probable roots of gender disparities in salary expectations undergraduate and graduate students. Similar to previous empirical findings, women had lower salary expectations. The suggested explanations for these disparities in salary expectations were that females might be different from men in job value, comparison criteria, job inputs, and career directions. In relation to career direction, women and men may choose dissimilar areas of interest in school and may pursue dissimilar industrial areas and jobs (Gasser, Oliver, & Tan, 1998). Milkovich and Newman (1996 as cited in Keaveny & Inderrieden, 2000) claim that men are more probable to pursue high-paying jobs and industries. Job inputs as a predictor of pay equity have been taken into account mostly from the point of view of equity theory. Although equity theory premises put emphasis on comparing a proportion of a person’s inputs and outputs to a related other, Jacques (1961 as cited in Keaveny & Inderrieden, 2000) claims that workers may develop salary expectations founded on job features only, and discount what other workers are performing. The empirical reports are varied. Hills (1980 as cited in Keaveny & Inderrieden, 2000) located no substantiation for the notion that people draw upon an internal, self-assessment to identify salary equity. Nevertheless, Berkowitz and colleagues (1987 as cited in Keaveny & Inderrieden, 2000) discovered that the satisfaction of respondents with their salaries was linked to what they believed they are ought to receive, irrespective of what other workers were paid. Major and Konar (1984 as cited in Keaveny & Inderrieden, 2000), in line with this argument, propos e that gender disparities in job inputs may clarify portion of the gender disparities in salary expectations. Females may have lesser job inputs and hence feel they really ought to be paid less. Adam Smith, more than two centuries ago, proposed that employees take into consideration the entirety of the disadvantages and advantages of various occupations in making choices about employment, and that a person is pulled towards those prospects that offer the highest total benefit (Gibelman, 2003). Smith stated that employers regulate salaries to correct the weaknesses and drawbacks of particular forms of employment. If an occupation is dangerous, for instance, higher salary is needed to attain a specific salary satisfaction level than when an occupation is

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Eutrophication Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Eutrophication - Term Paper Example The Eutrophic waters favor quickly developing plants and algae's. These long living species cannot resist competition and develop into oligo or mesotrophic waters which make these waters of less interest in terms of biodiversity and ecological quality. Thus they die of indigestion. The process of eutrophication is clearly described by the following figure; The main cause of eutrophication is large input of nutrients to the water body and its effect is on imbalance of the food web which results in high levels of phytoplankton biomass in stratified water bodies. This can lead to algal blooms. The direct consequence is an excess of oxygen consumption near the bottom of the water body. Additional factors supporting this process are Along with carbon, oxygen and hydrogen which plants get from water they also need nitrogen and phosphorous which are necessary for the development of aquatic life thus during eutrophication the concentration of nutrients in the water changes, phosphorous is usually a limiting factor for phytoplankton in fresh water, large marine areas have nitrogen as limiting nutrient especially in summer. Intermediate areas such as river plumes are often phosphorous limited during spring. Once eutrophication is detected in the water body it is considered sensitive under the European Union Urban waste water treatment directives and is declared nitrate pollutant according to the Nitrate directive and is an indicator of disturbed ecosystem. A healthy ecosystem is the ecosystem that functions well and is able to resist or recover from disturbance. The organization of the ecosystem refers to the food web and the biodiversity; ecosystem resistance is the non-response, up to a certain extent, of impacts such as nutrient enrichments. The ecosystem elasticity refers to the ecosystem ability to survive through the applied pressures. Although all these ecosystem characteristics contribute to the ecosystem health and integrity, they induce a non-linear response to the ecosystem which complicates the quantification of the assessment. The initial effects from eutrophication are negligible as they are below the carrying capacity: any measurable effects are less pronounced than seas onal fluctuations and therefore, any assessment seems to be uncertain. As the phenomenon of eutrophication is getting established, changes in mean nutrient and chlorophyll concentrations as well as changes in the community structure become obvious. This stage can be the early warning for the ecosystem quality. Causes Human activities are main cause of eutrophication all around the

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Enviroment issues Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Enviroment issues - Essay Example Exhaust gasses that are emitted from factories and transportations can affect human health and life negatively. When these pollutant gasses are dispatched in the air sphere and inhaled by humans, the conditions sprout. When human beings inhale these pollutant gases, dire consequences arise, more so in the lungs. Gas pollution has also been known to result from smoking of cigarettes. Another environmental issue is water pollution. Waste plants that are produced by factories and the oil spills from industrial ships can cause water pollution. Indeed, the water becomes dirty and dangerous for human consumption. Water pollution can also arise from people littering the beach environments through such indecent behaviors as throwing trash in the water. Lastly, in this paper, there is noise pollution. Noise pollution can be caused by transportation systems. It is easily noticed in big and crowded cities such as New York, Los Angles and California. Human health is mainly affected by noise as it can cause stress, lack of sleep, headaches amongst other health related issues. Â   This paper has classified the pollution into three types; air, water, and noise. The issue of pollution is pertinent in the world, as it tends to pull people away from an ideal environment. In order to reduce the noise, air and water pollution the government needs to create laws for factories and different type of transportation systems. A good example is forcing them to put refinery on the exhaust products in factories and vehicle transmission systems. In addition, the government should create laws for factories, industrial ships and people that forbid them from throwing trash or polluting the water. Contravening of these laws by any of these groups should result in serious consequences. Â   I believe that the people can play an effective role in improving and protecting the environment. In fact, people can grow trees and plants in their backyards, especially

Monday, July 22, 2019

The Medium Is the Massage Mcluhan Essay Example for Free

The Medium Is the Massage Mcluhan Essay This change in our perceptions of reality is the metaphor. â€Å"Our metaphors create the content of our culture. † (Postman, 1986) Postman compares the prophecies of George Orwell’s 1984 with the Aldus Huxley’s Brave New World. Orwell’s warning is of an â€Å"externally imposed oppression† while Huxley’s warning is of â€Å"people who will come to love their oppression, to adore their technologies that undo their capacities to think,† amusing their selves to death (Postman, 1986). Our culture is in danger of trivialization due to the distractions, amusements and limitations of our media today. It is our esponsibility to study the effects of our technologies to prevent any detrimental unanticipated consequences they may have on our society. Samuel Morse when he invented telegraphy, predicted that it would make â€Å"one neighborhood of the whole country. † According to Postman telegraphy â€Å"destroyed the prevailing definition of information, and in doing so gave a new meaning to public discourse. † It is with telegraphy and its union with the press that the value of information changed. Information became context- ­? free and a commodity. Information was bought and sold irrespective of its use or eaning, 1 and this is how the value of news has come to rely on its novelty, interest and curiosity and not on its functionality (Postman, 1986). â€Å"Television speaks in only one persistent voice – the voice of entertainment,† (Postman, 1986). Like the primitive technology of smoke signals, television is a medium restricted by its form. A Cherokee philosopher cannot communicate his ideas with smoke signals. Likewise, television with its inherent bias cannot be used for complex discussions. â€Å"The average length of a shot on network television is only 3. 5 seconds so that the eye never rests, lways has something new to see. † (Postman, 1986) Television favors fascinating dynamic visuals over ‘boring’ complexity and coherence- ­? which do not play well on television. All content is presented as entertainment, â€Å"requiring minimal skills to comprehend it, and is largely aimed at emotional gratification. † (Postman, 1986) However, this does not mean that there is anything wrong with entertainment or that all TV programs are useless. What is wrong is to turn to television for anything serious, expecting the meaningful. It is our obligation to be aware of the metaphor. The metaphor is new culture centered on the need to be entertained and incapable of filtering information, distinguishing what is relevant, or questioning what needs to be questioned. As we are now experiencing the boom in social media with 955 million active users on Facebook in June 2012 (Wikipedia, 2012), it is apparent that we should follow the advice of McLuhan and Postman, and study the elusive effects of social media on our culture today. Facebook tends to encourage people to only show how wonderful their life is. They engage in a form of personal propaganda, indulging in narcissistic behaviors n an environment where it is the norm to do so. It is true that social media brought the world closer together but it has also distanced us. We stay in touch without actually having a conversation through broadcasts and status messages. People compete to have as many friends as possible, making relationships shallow and communications superficial. With more than half of Facebook users accessing Facebook on their mobile devices, it is also important to note the distractions and disconnect these devices cause in our relationships in the real world. â€Å"People know what they do; they frequently now why they do what they do; but what they don’t know is what what they do does† Foucault (Mahon, 1992). In a world where technology is the way of life, it is crucial for us to investigate the effects these tools have on our societies. These tools are extensions of our human experience and therefore must be examined as phenomena that shape the very form of our existence, altering our day- ­? to- ­? day lives and dynamically influencing our culture. These influences maybe indirect and subtle and it is our responsibility to be simply conscious of their effects regardless of whether they are eneficial or not. It is through this awareness that we would be able to 2 prevent the changes that we decide do not suit our visions and goals for the human race. References: †¢ McLuhan, M. (1994). Understanding media: The extensions of man. (pp. 721). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Postman, N. (1986). Amusing ourselves to death. New York, NY: Penguin Group. Mahon, M. (1992). Foucaults nietzschean genealogy: Truth, power, and the subject. (p. 130). Albany, NY: State University of New York Press. Wikipedia. (2012, August 20). http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Facebook    Facebook. Retrieved from †¢ †¢ †¢ 3

American Book Company Essay Example for Free

American Book Company Essay A public school system must tap its teachers in revealing the test results with the parents of their students and the community where they belong. The teachers of the public schools must be held responsible for sharing the test results of the children and explaining their implications. The more likely case is that the teachers are the ones who made and conducted the examinations so they are at a more advantageous position to give assessments of the results and give recommendations to the children’s parents. They will be more able to explain what might have been the factors that led to those test results. They can elaborate to the parents the learning development of their children and what they can personally contribute to aid the learning of the children. The test results will likewise indicate the rate of success of the curriculum being implemented. High test results likely mean that the objectives of the curriculum are being met and their execution is being made exceptionally. On the contrary, low test results will make the school administrators think about the over-all design of the curriculum and its implementation. The result of the tests will also provide hints on the kind of tinkering or adjustments that need to be done to the curriculum to make it a better one and more compatible to the needs of the learners. Question no. 2: One of the evaluative measures that is often used to assess the effectiveness of a program or curriculum is one that is centered on the achievement of the subject matters and the visible reactions of the learners towards the lessons incorporated in the program. The first factor is the extent by which the subject matters are made comprehensible and presented to the learners. This is because most of the tests given by the teachers put much stress to the knowledge gained about the subject matter. This idea promotes the students’ memorization and habit-formation. They must fully imbibe every lesson and incorporate them in their everyday routines – their habits. The learners must be able to reflect their learning by always being able to readily state the contents of every lesson and apply each principle in everything they do. The second factor is centered on the emotional reaction of the learners – the persons who are the most direct recipients of the program’s applications. This factor can be measured by looking at the way learners behave while being taught and while undergoing the evaluative measures. If the learners display favorable responses – if they participate actively during lessons, do not get bored while listening to the teacher’s features and radiate confidence after every session – the program may be said to have fulfilled its aims. If the learners display the opposite of the aforementioned behaviors, the program may need some modifications. References: Caswell, Hollis Leland. (1935). Curriculum development. New York, Cincinnati: American Book Company. Stevens, Marion Paine. (1931). The activities curriculum in the primary grades. Boston and New York : D. C. Heath and Company.

Sunday, July 21, 2019

The Ethical Decision Making

The Ethical Decision Making Ethics and morality are entwined together, concerning how we ought to act and behave within the boundaries of standards that govern certain actions being right or wrong. Karhausen (1987) simply described ethics being characterised as a philosophical discipline, surrounding the evaluation and justifications of norms of personal and interpersonal behaviour. Within ethics people make rational processes through moral dilemmas by applying a criteria or moral principles in order to obtain an ethically just outcome, this process is known as ethical decision making (Kohlberg 1973). Within the public service reaching ethical decision can form the underpinning factor of life and death situations, therefore it is crucial that there is constructive and ethical framework in order to base and develop theoretical outcomes from. Police officers in the United Kingdom are given the discretion that if the suspect poses a threat to themselves or to the public, the officers can protect or prevent injury to both themselves and others by whatever is deemed necessary. This could include the use of deadly force. Police officers must have a justification for the use of deadly force and this is based upon the regulation of the agency but most importantly their own analytical and ethical decision making. The National Decision making Model is a framework which helps support and encourage police officers to make the morally correct outcome in everyday situations not just those which requires firearms to be implemented. The National Decision Model (NDM) derives from elements of three decision making models that were formerly used; the Conflict Management Model (CMM), the Scanning, Analysing and Responding to and Assessing model (SARA) and the Value Based Decision making model (Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) n. d). These models all have the similar common values, so were brought together to form the National Decision Model, whilst keeping the benefits of simplicity and utilizing the intrinsic aspects from documents such as: The Peelian Principles, Human Rights Act and Force Values etc (ACPO n.d). The most significant difference for the new National Decision making Model is the central core that has been developed and altered into the statement of mission and values. This is to be considered at each stage of the model, because the role and expectation of the police service is required to be both ethically and technically correct (ACPO n.d). Surrounding this central concept is five action points that collaboratively contribute to an effective decision making process. These are; gather available information and intelligence, assess threat and risk level, consider powers and policies, identify options and contingences and take action and review (ACPO n.d). The ethical issue I have chosen to discuss within this essay is whether police should be routinely armed and the ethical example I am going to use to best demonstrate my facts is the case of Jean Charles de Menezes, who was tragically killed in July 2005. This was due to his suspected involvement in the 7/7 bombings in London, and the high level of alert the police were under at that time (Glass 2007). In order to form a balanced argument I am going to research and explain two ethical theories, the utilitarian approach and the justice approach. I will then apply both of these theories towards my ethical issue of arming the police and discuss how each theory stands in relation to this ethical issue. In todays democratic society the police are expected to uphold the Human Rights of every individual and this is achieved by balancing regulations and policies along with ethical and moral dilemmas. Furthermore this emphasis is increased in situations such as arming the police and ensuring that there is evidence of moral justifications for their implementation. Multiple philosophical theorists have argued alternative justifications through the use of philosophical theories towards ethical issues such as arming the police; however this essay will focus on primarily examining the utilitarian approach and the justice approach. I have chosen these two differing theories as their opinions towards arming the police are very different and almost contradict one another, so therefore will form the basis of this essay. On the 22nd July 2005, at approximately 9.20am a gentleman left his flat and walked down Tulse hill in London as he commuted to work (Telegraph 2008). At 9.39am, Officer James drove past this gentleman and said that he is possibly identical to the suspect Hussain Osman the suicide bomber they were after who was on the run (Telegraph 2008). At 9.46am the control room of Scotland Yard recorded that the subject had been discounted and informed all units to return to their original positions. Minutes later there was confusion within the command room generated by uncertainty to whether he had been identified or not and commander Cressida Dicks loggist recorded. It is him, the man is off the bus, they think it is him and he is very, very jumpy (Telegraph 2008). The commander remained deeply concerned and stated that the suspect should be prevented from entering the underground system. Despite this the suspect walked into the underground, went down the escalator and apparently heard his tub e leaving so jogged down the stairs and into the carriage where he sat down and started to read his newspaper (BBC News 2005). It was then that the officers were told over the radio that the situation was a code red, thus being shot to stop. At 10.06am officer Ivor, after following the alleged suspect onto the Tube at Stockwell station, signalled to the firearms officers hes here (Telegraph 2008). The suspect stood up as the firearms officers entered the carriage shouting the word police and apparently walked towards them (BBC News 2005). Ivor reported that the suspect appeared very agitated and therefore pinned him back into his seat as he proceeded forward. Seeing this, the firearm officers named Charlie 12 and Charlie 2 for identifiable reasons shot the suspect believed to be Mr Osman seven times in the head, to ensure what they believed as the threat was over (Telegraph 2008) However, it turned out the man they believed to be Hussain Osman, was in fact Jean Charles de Menezes, a normal family man, who was an electrician by trade on the way to a job in North West London that day, who had no connection to terrorism. I will now discuss the utilitarian approach which evolved in Great Britain over the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries by Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill and Henry Sidgwick, who together succeeded in developing this into a practical and rational theory, which we can find today within our modern society (Genniet 2010). There are four theses combined to make utilitarianism, these are; Consequentialism, which is the relevance of actions that are determined solely by their consequences. Hedonism, which is the so called good that each human seeks to achieve, and utility to which is the degree an act produces pleasure. Maximalism, which is the right action producing the most good and thus causing the least bad, and finally Universalism, which is how the consequences affect everyone (Waight 2012). Overall utilitarians are mainly concerned with the two following components; happiness and consequences of actions. Within utilitarianism happiness is about reaching the biggest state of contentment and pleasure that every human being strives for. Utilitarianism is based on the principle of Utility, which is found in everything that contributes to happiness of every rational human being (Genniet 2010). The utilitarianism approach is classified as a consequentialist ethical theory, so this simply means that a judgment is made on morality of an action in relation to the consequences or results of that action (Mackie 1977). Consequentialism within utilitarianism is the fact that an action must be judged for its consequences on the happiness of the largest number (Mill 1863). So in simple terms this means within utilitarianism the belief is; there is a choice between courses of action and the most ethical one will produce the greatest happiness and cause the least harm, not only to the i ndividual, but for all who are in any way affected (Mackie 1977). Utilitarianism does not care if that action is formed by lies, manipulation, or coercion as long as it produces the greatest benefits (Velasquez et al 1996). The strengths of the utilitarian approach is that it is a simple clear systematic method to ethics and cannot be faulted on its morals, as it tries to establish the greatest happiness and fairness of the greatest number or party involved (Mackie 1977). Bentham states that utilitarianism considers all the consequences from differing actions, which is vital in building a civilized society (Troyer 2003). This can be seen each time we make a cost-benefit decision, we are being utilitarians. An example of this could be, when we build a new road, instinctively knowing that traffic fatalities will occur, we are analysing that the sacrifice is worth making for the greater good that will follow (Gillette n.d). In terms of the theory, these decisions are crucial in order to live and further develop the world we live in, otherwise society will stand still. Researchers have argued that there are many weaknesses and implications within the utilitarian approach and one strong weakness is that according to this ethical theory there would be no moral absolutes. For example, things that are always right or wrong whatever the circumstances or actions may be, would not exist (Mackie 1977). Many have argued with the concepts of utilitarianism, as some state that it does not relate well to human beings, instead treating individuals as objects used in connection with increasing happiness (Gillette n.d). This is furthered by that fact that utilitarian theories make it morally permissible to imprison, torture and murder individuals, whether innocent or guilty, in order to achieve the greater good (Gillette n.d). Other weaknesses from this theory include that it is difficult and sometimes impossible to predict the consequences of each action, and that it is difficult to define exactly what is meant by someones happiness (Smart and Williams 1973). Al though these are all strong weaknesses within utilitarianism, strong believers of this theory like Bentham and Mill, have confidence in that the strengths outweigh these perceived flaws. I will now discuss the utilitarian approach in relation to my ethical issue of arming the police and my working scenario of the Menezes case. In its simplest the utilitarian belief is that the most ethical action will produce the greatest happiness and cause the least harm to all who are in any way affected (Mackie 1977). So from the information I have researched it would be plausible to assume that arming the police would be both permissible and acceptable in the eyes of utilitarians and their approach. This is because having a society which police officers are routinely armed with guns that are capable of delivering lethal and life threating force; it can be seen as a method of protection and prevention for both the police and greater community. This links to the utilitarian approach in terms of sparing the lives of the many which outweigh the potential lives of a few. However, the risk of injuring to the many can be exacerbated as there is a potential for the police officers weapo ns to be used for wrong doing or the criminal believing that they should be armed as well, like within an Americanised society. This would then flaw the utilitarian approach as by criminals having guns, its main principle theme of achieving greatest happiness by causing least harm, would be not be entirely applicable. In the terms of utilitarianism and specific to the Menezes case, shooting an individual or suspected individual who poses a risk to innocent civilians is justified because the death on that individual would mean sparing the lives of many others. Furthermore, the officers involved in this situation can be seen to have followed the ethical framework, the National Decision Model to aid there decision making. They did this by gathering the apparent intelligence from the control room, assessing the threat to themselves and the public which informed them that they were under red alert and to use lethal force in order to stop the risk of the bomb being detonated and prevent fatalities. When the situation arose the officer decided that it was necessary to take action and did what was needed to be done. However, as the final stage of the National Decision making Model is to review what happened, in this case it turned out that the information they had received was not hundred percent accurate and thus resulted in killing an innocent member of society, Mr Jean Charles de Menezes. I will now discuss the justice approach or otherwise known as the fairness approach, which was developed by the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle who stated equals should be treated equally and unequals should be treated unequally (Velasquez et al 1996). Justice has multiple meanings within different context for example the importance of having rights, equality and fairness. Surrounding this concept are theories which cannot solely be related to moral theories because justice and morality can be separate notions within themselves (Gray 2011). The underpinning moral question this approach asks are; how fair is the action, how does it treat everyone in the same way, or does it show discrimination and favouritism. Discrimination and favouritism within the justice approach focuses on how unfairly benefits or burdens are dispensed among members in a group without justifiable reason, even though those members are the same as other members within that group (Velasquez et al 1996). In simple terms the justice approach finds that moral decisions must be based on standards of equality, impartiality and fairness (Daft and Marcic 2008). A leading individual within the justice approach is Rawls, who rejects the utilitarian approach with its basis on maximising happiness and formulating a social contract through establishing principle of justice (Rawls 1999). Rawlss theory is purely hypothetical, which helps identify a rational choice of what the justice approach might require. Within this theory, Rawls believes that individuals should operate behind a veil of ignorance in which they are not aware of their gender, religion, social position, intelligence or place in society (Rawls 1999). Following this Rawls predicts that two essential features would become apparent in society, firstly people have the same equal rights to certain basic liberties for example freedom of life, freedom of speech and thought and freedom to participate in government. Secondly, least well off members of society would benefit from social and economic inequalities and differences of treatment, however only if these principles are available to e veryone (Rawls 1999). This shows that Rawls take on the justice approach is purely hypothetical and only parts of it relate to todays society. There are three main types of justice concerned within this approach and they are; Distributive justice, Procedural justice and Compensatory Justice. Distributive justice is concerned with individuals who are similar in ways that is relevant to an action or decision, for example men and women carrying out the same job should be paid the same (Daft and Marcic 2008). Procedural justice requires that rules and regulations should be administered honestly and these rules should be clearly stated and impartially and consistently enforced (Daft and Marcic 2008). Compensatory justice is focussed on individuals receiving fair compensation for any injuries they sustain from another party if it was not their fault or wrong doing. This approach does reflect however the utilitarian ethics as it uses merit to distinguish how members of society will either be punished or rewarded, based solely on whether that individuals actions is beneficial or harmful to the society in which it occurred (Rawls 1999). The strengths of the justice theory are that it does not require complex calculations such as those demanded by the utilitarian approach, nor does it justify self-interest as the individualism approach does (Daft and Marcic 2008). However its weaknesses are far more arguable, including that there is no knowledge of its own status, no social background, and it is influenced by not having social circumstances, psychological make-up, culture and civilization. I will now apply the justice approach and its theoretical concepts to my ethical issue of arming the police and the working scenario of the Menezes case. As previously established the Menezes case is a prominent event in the deliberation of whether it is ethically justifiable to arm all police officers within todays society, and is plausible from the utilitarian viewpoint. However the justice approach stands aside in this issue, with the notion that by disarming all involved parties will equal the playing field for all. This is true as it may limit such violent crimes and any lethal mistakes made by the police, thus concurring with Velasquez et al (1996), that equals should be treated equally and unequals should be treated unequally. However, practically within society this would not exist as some individuals already have firearms and would not want to see themselves as equal to others. This poses both a risk and a challenge for police officers within the justice approach as the majo rity of society would be equal in not having firearms, although they would be inadequately prepared if faced unexpectedly with an individual with a firearm, therefore not on an equal level. Additionally the justice approach is concerned with individuals having certain liberties such as the right to life and speech, which could be compromised and infringed upon if society decided that police officers should routinely have firearms. In terms on the Menezes case, taking the life of someone who is innocent and unarmed is against the principles of the justice approach as these two parties were unequal. This is irrelevant to the officers ethical decision making process or the National Decision Model to which it can be seen as lawfully correct but not ethically right in this situation. To conclude, this essay has used the ethical issue of whether police should be routinely armed in society and has looked at the ethical example of Jean Charles de Menezes. As a method of ensuring a balanced argument I have examined two ethical theories, the utilitarian approach and the justice approach and explored their viewpoint related to my ethical issue. This essay has found that the utilitarian approach is mainly concerned with the two following components; happiness and consequences of actions and although its morals cannot be doubted, achieving the greatest happiness is important, the approach is very limited and not practical in a modern society. This is evident in an example by Gillette (n.d) who conceptualised that utilitarians view of murdering, raping or torturing is acceptable if it is for the greater good and happiness, yet this is not ethical. In relation to arming the police, the utilitarian approach is immoral, as it would make it ethically permissible to shoot someone if it benefits the greater good of everyone else. Alternatively the justice approach finds that moral decisions must be based on standards of equality, impartiality and fairness (Daft and Marcic 2008), although similarly to the utilitarian approach, this is not always practical and is restricted by the nature of society we all live in. The justice approach finds that in relation to arming the police, some individuals may not want to perceive themselves as equal to others, for example already owning a firearm therefore invalidating the possibility of all individuals being equal and having the same liberties under a veil of ignorance. Overall the ethical issue of whether police should be routinely armed remains controversial from various ethical viewpoints, and will remain a prominent subject in our ever developing society for the forcible future. Word Count: 3261References Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO). (No date) ACPO Professional Ethics [Online]. Available at: http://www.acpoprofessionalethics.org/default.aspx?page=ndm (Accessed: 09.11.12). BBC News. (2005) Timeline: Tube shooting [Online]. Available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4159902.stm (Accessed 09.12.12). Daft, R.L. and Marcic, D. (2008) Understand Management. Mason: South-Western Cengage Learning. Genniet, H. (2010) Utilitarian Philosophy [Online]. Available at: http://utilitarianphilosophy.com/definition.eng.html (Accessed: 07.12.12). Gillette, M.A. (No date) Ethics Decision Strategies [Online]. Available at: http://www.bsvinc.com/ethics_decision.htm (Accessed: 07.12.12). Glass, D. (2007) Getting the Balance Right: The Use of Firearms in British Policing. Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice, 1(3), pp. 293-299. Gray, J.W. (2011) Ethical Realism [Online]. Available at: http://ethicalrealism.wordpress.com/2011/04/26/three-theories-of-justice/ (Accessed: 12.12.12). Karhausen, L. (1987) From ethics to medical ethics, pp. 25-33, in Doxiadis, S. (ed) Ethical dilemmas in health promotion. London: John Wiley and Sons. Kohlberg, L., (1973) The claim of moral adequacy of a highest stage of moral judgement. Journal of Philosophy. 70 (18), pp. 630-646. Mackie, J.L. (1977) Ethics: Inventing Right and Wrong. London: Penguin Books. Mill, J.S. (1863) Utilitarianism. London: Parker, Son and Bourne. Rawls, J (1999) A Theory of Justice. London: Harvard University Press. Smart, J.J.C and Williams, B. (1973) Utilitarianism: for and against. London: Cambridge University Press. Telegraph. (2008) Jean Charles de Menezes inquest timeline [Online]. Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/3061485/Jean-Charles-de-Menezes-inquest-timeline.html (Accessed: 07.12.12). Troyer, J. (2003) The Classical Utilitarians: Bentham and Mill. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company. Velasquez, M., Andre, C., Shanks, T. and Meyer, M.J. (1996) Thinking Ethically: A framework for Moral Decision Making, Issues in ethics [Online]. Available at: http://www.sme.ie/articles/business_ethics/frameworks_ethical_decision.pdf (Accessed: 09.11.12). Waight, T. (2012) Research Ethics. [Lecture to Bsc Public Services Year 3], November.

Saturday, July 20, 2019

Essay --

Daoism and Confucian views were important for the development and shaping of human beings. The existence of Confucian and Daoist among the eastern Asian countries has helped to explain their theories. Both authors has differences and similarities in their views of self-cultivation and self-knowledge. Self-knowledge is when a person is aware of their own abilities, limitations, and feelings. Basically just knowing ones self, how one might react to or handle different situations, and how one feel about things. Self-cultivation is what a person whats to improve or educate themselves. And, there was art and nature which played a major role in their theories. They were said to have helped shaping of mankind as we know it. Even though Confucian and Daoist views differ in the concept of self-knowledge and concur on their focus on self-culture, they still acknowledge that nature and art are important for their theories. Self-cultivation is necessary their teachings both agree that people are responsible for their personal life, individual development, and self improvement. Daoism and Confucianism are similar is that they both focus on self-cultivation. As long as a person is self-cultivated, they're able to improve or educate themselves. In Confucius, "Leaving virtue without proper cultivation; not thoroughly discussing what is learned; not being able to move towards righteousness of which a knowledge is gained; and not being able to change what is not good:-these are the things which occasion me solicitude† (Confucius). In Confucius, a person better himself or herself and is satisfied throughout one's existence on earth. In Daoism, a person achieves self-cultivation through nature. Self-cultivation leads to improvement of t... ...es the will† (Mencius). In Mencius, it is said that self-knowledge is the praise of one's nature, and that nature is what is known known and is what results in self-cultivation and self-knowledge . Through the means of art, the ideas of a person knowing one's self is expressed. Confucianism and Daoism seem to be complete polar opposites but there are some similarities between the two. Both Daoist and Confucius shared the idea self-cultivation which leads a person to self-improvement. They differ in their ideas of self-knowledge; how one knows one's self. Having self-knowledge helps you to channel that energy and focus your attention on those self-improvements. Knowing one's short-comings, strengths, and weaknesses, can help to make changes in one's life that will lead to happiness. It is safe to say that Daoist and Confucius has similarities and differences.

Friday, July 19, 2019

Religion in Colonial America Essay -- Religion

Religion was the foundation of the early Colonial American Puritan writings. Many of the early settlements were comprised of men and women who fled Europe in the face of persecution to come to a new land and worship according to their own will. Their beliefs were stalwartly rooted in the fact that God should be involved with all facets of their lives and constantly worshiped. These Puritans writings focused on their religious foundations related to their exodus from Europe and religions role in their life on the new continent. Their literature helped to proselytize the message of God and focused on hard work and strict adherence to religious principles, thus avoiding eternal damnation. These main themes are evident in the writings of Jonathan Edwards, Cotton Mathers, and John Winthrop. This paper will explore the writings of these three men and how their religious views shaped their literary works, styles, and their historical and political views. John Winthrop 1588-1649 John Winthrop was a pioneer for religious freedom in America. As one of the early settlers sailing west on the Arbella, he composed a sermon called A Model for Christian Charity. Winthrop’s sermon is the framework for creating the spiritual colony that he envisioned and a way to unite the people coming to a new land. The people traveling west were not from one group but rather came from many groups and backgrounds. Winthrop knew that in order to succeed in the wilderness these individuals would have to give up some of their individuality for the greater good of the colony. Winthrop felt that religion was the ultimate way to accomplish this and that Christ was the perfect model to follow. In one passage he says: For patterns we have that first o... ...p. cccxi). London: William Ball Paternoster-Row. Walker, R. (2001). Cotton Mather. Retrieved fromhttp://www2.iath.virginia.edu/salem/people/c_mather.html Baym, N. (2008). Cotton mather. In N. Baym (Ed.), The Norton Anthology of American Literature Volume 1 (p. 143). New York: W.W. Norton & Company. Wise, P. M. (2005). Cotton mathers's wonders of the invisible world: An authoritative edition. (dissertation, Georgia State University)Retrieved fromhttp://digitalarchive.gsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1004&context=english_diss Mather, C. (2008). From the Wonders of the Invisible World. In N. Baym (Ed.), The Norton Anthology of American Literature Volume 1 (pp. 147). New York: W.W. Norton & Company. Winthrop, J. (2008). A Model for Christian Charity. In N. Baym (Ed.), The Norton Anthology of American Literature Volume 1 (pp. 82). New York: W.W. Norton & Company.

Grunge Culture Essay -- Cultural Skater Grungy Essays

Grunge Culture Skaters. They are the typical representation of the grunge culture of the ‘90s. Extremely wide pants, pockets that go to the back of their knees, extravagant piercings, intricate tattoos, and twenty-fourth century hair dos are just part of the looks that these so called â€Å"grungy people† are made of. Or at least they were when the grunge phenomenon started. With the death of Kurt Cobain, lead singer of Nirvana, the grunge movement seems to have slowed down and even—as some say—disappeared from the main stream pop culture. As we all know, those commercial creations often come and go without us even noticing them. But grunge, I think, has moved to a different direction, one that can trick us into thinking it is gone. Grunge is still among our youngsters, and that is for sure; it is just not as noticeable as is used to be. But, what is exactly grunge and what direction is it taking? First, let us define what grunge is and where it comes from. Grunge as defined by web encyclopedia alt.culture is the cumulative influences of punk and ‘70s heavy metal (plus rain, coffee, cheap, potent beer, and occasionally heroin), a cohort of Seattle bands developed a soulful hard rock variant that was instrumental to alternative music’s early-‘90s move underground (altculture. com). Among the bands included in the definition Nirvana would be mainly the one that made this phenomenon popular. Released in 1991, Nevermind—a record by an obscure band working in a genre considered as hopelessly uncommercial—launched the grunge phenomenon and marked an era of unprecedented exposure for alternative acts. Then other bands like Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots, Soundgarden, Candlebox followed the trail that Nirvana started in the grunge w... ...congregations of grunge believers. This is where the most amateur alternative bands debut and discover their little local fame. Obviously, most of them don’t make it to the top. Our society is still very commercially oriented and the grunge phenomenon is not as large as to promote all but very few bands to be the representatives of the movement. So, go ahead; open your eyes and discover that grunge is not gone as it seems, it is still among us. Even though it may be wearing new costumes or listening to a different style of music, it is still the same. It is that counter-current movement that kids of new generations want to embrace as their liberty flag. It is that non-conformist dilemma, the spark that lights the fire of those who believe that mainstream society is not the only one. Grunge is still around, maybe not as popular as before, but stronger than ever.

Thursday, July 18, 2019

The Basis for Today’s Weapons of War

During World War Two, many types of technology were being invented and advanced. Most types of technology are often discovered by or at least first utilized by the government and military, and there is no time in which this is more evident then in wartime. All countries want to be the most advanced and have the newest technology that would be even unimaginable to their counterparts. World War Two was in some ways, the beginning of a time filled with much technological advancement. All of the more prominent countries of the free world were involved in advancing these new types of technology. Some countries were the engineers and others were the followers. The United Sates, who remained neural during the first half of the war, were the most prominent engineers of this time of technological advancement. Many new weapons were being used by all of the countries built with technology first developed by the United States. Decoding machines were becoming more prevalent in this War then in any other before. Aviation technology, along with submarines were being advanced. And of the most useful aspects of technology in World War Two, was Nuclear Energy. The advancement of nuclear technology as used in the invention of the Atomic Bomb was the most valuable of all the types of technological advancement in World War Two. The discovery of x-rays in 1895 was the first step toward nuclear energy research. Wilhelm Roentgen discovered x-rays in 1895 when he noticed that some fluorescent material was glowing that he had laying near a covered cathode ray tube (Rhodes, 42). When he put his hand between the tube and the material he could see the glow was a little more dull but still visible. He could also see bones of his hand as a refection on the material. Roentgen realized that whatever the substance was that was making the material glow, was penetrating the black paper cover of the tube and thus creating this reflection. After Roentgen†s discovery of the x-rays, in 1896, Henri Becquerel wondered what the substance was that could make the fluorescent material glow. He conducted some research of his own only to discover radioactivity. However, it was not named radioactivity until later by Marie Curie. Becquerel discovered the first radioactive element of Uranium. Himself, Curie and others went on to discover many other radioactive elements. Radium was discovered by Curie in 1898 and found to emit more heat at one time then any other substance (Walker). Another chemical/physical process was not found that could change the release rate of energy until 1939 when uranium fission was discovered. These discoveries came right in time for WWII. This was the beginning of atomic research by the United States as well as other countries. President Franklin D Roosevelt received a letter from Albert Einstein in August of 1939 informing of German Atomic research and the potential for a bomb. Roosevelt immediately â€Å"†¦ ormed committees to investigate military implications of atomic research (EM)†. In the mean time, the United States, whom was neutral prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor in December of 1941 by Japan, entered the war. The United States were now in more of a hurry to research atomic energy. After much more research, the United States decides to start the building of an atomic bomb, before the Germans (Rhodes, 431). This secret project was known as the Manhattan Project with General Leslie Groves in charge. Locations that contained research facilities were Washington, Tennessee, and New Mexico. Much research was also done at many university laboratories that included Columbia, New York and Berkeley, California. Many people, including civilians were hired for this top-secret mission. The employees did not even know what they were working on until the bombing of Hiroshima in 1945. The site chosen for the center laboratory in November 1942 was in Los Alamos, New Mexico. Robert Oppenheimer was selected as the director of this site (Hoddeson, 6). The goal to be achieved at this site was to create a bomb small enough that could be carried by an airplane but also contain enough nuclear power. The scientists at the Los Alamos site were simply told that they were working on a project that may help end the war. Altogether, 5,000 people worked and lived with their families at Los Alamos. 300,000 people across the states were involved in the project. Many experiments and tests of nuclear energy were performed but never a full-scale test of an actual explosive weapon until July 1945, 18 months after a site was established to do so (Rhodes, 667). This site was to be known as Trinity and it opened in March 1944 in Alamagordo, New Mexico. In July 1945, the first successful test of a nuclear weapon was complete. President Franklin D. Roosevelt died on April 12, 1945 of a cerebral hemorrhage. Vice President Harry Truman knew nothing about the Manhattan Project and was briefly informed of it the same day that he took over the Presidency. President Truman, who had taken over office only 4 months sooner, made the decision to drop the Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima, Japan on August 6, 1945. Nagasaki, Japan was also bombed on August 9, 1945. The United States had succeeded in being the first in detonating an Atomic Bomb. The time and money that the United States had put into atomic research had paid off. Japan Surrendered and World War Two would soon come to an end. The end of World War Two brought along with it another beginning – The beginning of the Cold War. The years of the Cold War included a great threat in which many countries were at a race for nuclear warheads. The Soviet Union and the United States were the most prominent of these countries. Between the two, they had more than 40,000 nuclear bombs (Drell, 132). This made up 99 percent of all the nuclear explosives in the world. This threat lasted until the Cold War ended in November of 1990. This was done by a pact signed at the United Nations Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (EM). In July 1991, the United States and the Soviet Union also signed their own pact to cut back on nuclear arms by more than 30 percent within a time period of seven years. After the United States dropped the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, not only did it bring with it the Cold War, but also the after effects of the nuclear explosions. Although World War two ended in August of 1945, the underlying effects of the atomic bomb have stayed with us, not to mention the immediate effects. The immediate effect of course included the destroyed cities and many casualties. In Hiroshima, the deaths that occurred the same day and were caused by the blast totaled to 45,000. The deaths that occurred 2 days – 4 months afterward came up to 19,000 (Kondo, 4). The numbers of deaths in Nagasaki were slightly less. 22,000 immediate casualties from the initial blast and 2 days – 4 months later there were 17,000 deaths due to the bombing. This is not mentioning the other surviving casualties who suffer from other effects. There was more surviving casualties then deaths caused by the bombings. The most recent data showed there to be 73,884 people dead and 74,909 people injured (Kondo, 4). Of the people that died 2 days to 4 months after the bombing, the causes of death consisted of burns, lesions, and radioactivity and bone marrow injury. Many of the people that did survive lost their homes and their means of survival. All of the survivors in the areas in and around Hiroshima and Nagasaki suffered from immense amounts of radiation and radioactive fall-out caused by the bombings. Some died of the initial radiation, but more died of residual radiation. Of the people that died of a bone marrow injury, it was mostly because the leukocyte count was so low. The people did not have enough white blood cells, the cells that fight sickness and infection, to heal themselves (Kondo, 7). People with open wounds, lesions, died of infectious disease. And others suffered from heat caused by the blast and serious burns that could not heal. It is believed that the radiation resulting from the bomb is responsible for many defects that occurred in newborn babies. Atomic energy is a very serious type of technology. It is in no way meant to be taken lightly. This is the one type of technology created by humans that could bring about the destruction of all humankind. While it was very useful in bringing about the end of World War Two, it could just as easily start other wars. Many lives were probably saved by the use of the Atomic Bomb in WWII. Had the war continued, many more people from many countries would have died. It is evident that the bombings created a tremendous amount of grief caused by the pollution and medical effects. Many efforts still exist to this day to treat people suffering from the underlying effects of the bomb and to clean up much of the land and air pollution that was caused by the radiation. Today, there are many other uses of nuclear energy rather than just bombs. There are many nuclear power plants. Efforts are also being made to keep these plants under control and to regulate the amount of waste and pollution produced by them. I hope that we are all aware of the many advantages of nuclear energy and appreciate it but also to know of the many dangers created by nuclear energy as well.