Discussion Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 22

Discussion - Assignment Example Therefore in conducting nursing research socioeconomic factors affecting individuals in a particular environment The health of an individual is the utmost priority undertaken by professions in the nursing sector. Cleanliness is the significant risk that can lead to diseases. Poor families often live in areas where the levels of pollution are usually high. Contamination of drinking water is likely to cause waterborne diseases. Therefore, provision of clean drinking would increase chances of good health. Vaccination of the children ensures that the immunity of their health is strengthened. The nurse family partnership an approach established in the nursing sector would assist poor through provision of counseling facilities and free medical camps for the poor families. Nurses can help the poor families by providing in which individuals can sustain themselves. Based on the safe at home checklist various observations were made concerning the environmental safety of the home. The home has fire extinguisher strategically placed to counter sudden fires. In addition, the sprinkler system within was well maintained and functioning. The smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors were present within the home and were working based on the numerous detections within the home.  In the case of the care of frail, dependent member rumps, need to be established  in homes  to ensure mobility. Supportive poles can also assist such individual support themselves during mobility. Toilets for the disabled should be part of the nursing homes to cater for those unable to walk. Success in recruiting and maintaining the right staff is vital in improving the quality of healthcare. Therefore, proper care should be taken that qualified staff are hired. Nurses are critical in disbursement of health care services. There are significant factors to note in

Aristotle Ethics Of Happiness Philosophy Essay

Aristotle Ethics Of Happiness Philosophy Essay In Ethics, Aristotle argues the highest end is the human good, and claims that the highest end pursued in action is happiness. Aristotle also claims that happiness is achieved only by living a virtuous life our definition is in harmony with those who say that happiness is virtue, or a particular virtue; because an activity in accordance with virtue implies virtue. Indeed, we may go further and assert that anyone who does not delight in fine actions is not even a good man.(Aristotle) The virtuous life is full of reasoning for the good. Good is complete and most choice worthy. It is the human good in life that expresses virtue. Happiness is an essential aspect of Aristotles philosophy because for him it was an activity of the soul which attained at a high level of excellence refined over the span of a complete life that accords with virtue. The concept of virtue for Aristotle was anything that makes something good. The good is the result of what someone rationally aims for. If someone performs a job or a task that it is meant to be done and does it well, then it has good virtue. It is specifically the ability to use reason that sets humans apart from the other mammals and creatures. According to Aristotle, human virtue means virtue of the soul and not the body, just like human happiness means happiness of the soul. Virtue of humans also will be the state of character which makes them good and which makes them do their own work well. It is a state of character concerned with choice, lying in a mean relative to us. Such a mean is determined by a rational principles and reasoning, and it is by reasoning that a wise human will determine it. Happiness in general terms is a belief, an idea and a theory. Just like other theories, beliefs, and ideas may have fallacies, the theory of happiness might too. According to Aristotle happiness is an end, an end result of all the things a person does. Most of our acts are committed for a reason to achieve something else, but happiness is different. Aristotle believes that searching for happiness is for being happy only and not for something else. A happy man is the man that thinks he has everything he really needs. He has those virtues in which he needs to realize his potentials. Once realizing his potentials heà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s able to achieve happiness. Thatà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€¹Ã…“s why Aristotle said that the happy man wants nothing more. Happiness is sought-after in itself and never for the sake of something else. Happiness meets Aristotles criteria for completeness viz. An end pursued in itself, we say, is more complete than an end pursued because of some thing else. (Aristotle) Happiness, according to him is just as self-sufficient as good, because both make life choice worthy. Apart from being chosen for themselves honor, pleasure and wealth, are also chosen for the sake of happiness, judging that by means of them we shall be happy. Desires compiled of wealth, honor, and power are good but, they do not lead to happiness because they are superficial. Happiness, on the other hand, is not chosen or searched for, for the sake of these, or, for anything other than itself. Happiness is something final and self-sufficient. This leads Aristotle to his definition of the happy life as a life made perfect by the possession of all good things such as health, wealth, friendship, knowledge, virtue all these are constituent parts of happiness. Happiness is the whole good of which they are component parts. That is how happiness is related to all other goods. For the question as to why do we want to be healthy, one could answer by saying à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ because by being healthy would enable us to do the different kind of work we want to do. If then asked, why do you want to do that kind of work, the crucial answer would be because you wanted to be happy. Now that if you were asked, why did you want to become or be happy, the only answer would be because you wanted to become and be happy. There is an argument as to what constitutes happiness. Is it pleasure, honor, health, wealth, knowledge or something else? Aristotle clarifies that happiness is not found in living for pleasure because such a life is slavish. Nor is it found in seeking honor because honor depends not on the person but on what others think of him. In addition, Aristotle holds that the happiness of a human can be defined by determining the function proper to the human soul. This function cannot be one that plants and animals also perform, because it must be particular to human beings. Therefore, the function must be a part of the practical life of the rational part of a human, the term practical implying determined conduct, which is possible only for rational beings. It follows, then, that happiness consists in the action of the rational part of a human. The ultimate good of a human should naturally flow from performing his function well. To constitute true happiness this action must persist with conti nuity throughout a lifetime. Aristotles argument can be considered flawed when he suggests only human beings with full use of reason can be considered happy because happiness comes by reasoning. Aristotle argues that what sets humans apart from animals are reason and the ability to perform actions that only humans can perform. Children are human, but until a certain age they cannot reason or perform actions. Though they are not animals but their reasoning capability is similar to animals. A child may be happy at any age and hence Aristotle cannot say that happiness is only for humans as they can reason. Animals can be happy, even if they lack reasoning. This level of happiness might not be familiar to humans, but it doesnt mean that they cannot be happy. There is another point in Aristotles argument that can be faulty. Aristotles search for the good is a search for the highest good. He assumes that the highest good, whatever it turns out to be, has three characteristics it is desirable for itself, it is not desirable for the sake of some other good, and all other goods are desirable for its sake. But someone can attain happiness by having other goods. In other words, cant a particular individual reach happiness through wealth, power, and honor? If that same individual has those things taken away, he is not happy. Those other goods are what help that individual reach Aristotles highest end. As without them happiness becomes reliant on those other goods in order for that individual to reach happiness, so happiness in some sense does depend on other goods. Can virtues and pleasures change mans definition of Happiness? It can be decided on that virtues, and pleasures bring happiness because happiness is an end result of these things. But situations can change your definitions of what virtues and pleasures bring you happiness. Thus stating that happiness can not only be attained by having some virtues and pleasures, you must have possessions of all virtues and pleasure to be truly happy and stay that way. However does that imply that you lack some virtues and pleasures, and that you can never be truly happy. For example a poor or sick man can never be truly happy. Can anyone ever be happy? According to Aristotle they can be happy and lead a happy life. If a man adheres to virtues and pleasures then there should be no reason for him not to be able to attain happiness. Aristotle also makes a point about having moral virtues not lying, not taking a personà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s life, and other morally right things. Being moral ly virtuous is a way to living a happy life. By not stealing, or killing, or lying one can be content in knowing he or she is good therefore bringing happiness. But can moral, truth build the absolute definition of good; can some lead a good life without lying in the world? If you are to be put in a situation where you must lie to help or save someone, would you be able to find that happiness even though you are not morally virtuous? If this is possible then is disproves Aristotles belief that you always must be morally virtuous to be happy. These situations can always arise and if one moral virtue is chosen over another does that mean that you will not be able to be happy with the outcome. If you do not need moral virtues, then what is it that is needed to be happy? There are certain traits and virtues which are necessary in todays world in order to ensure a happy life. Traits such as conformity, patience, self content, self assurance, as well as virtues such as justice and temperance are key elements in attaining happiness. If one does not learn to accept himself, reality, then how can he ever truly be happy with his life? We must be moral ly virtuous, but it cannot constitute our lives. Having a good character consists in nothing more than being willing to suffer some immediate pains or willing to give up some immediate pleasures for the sake of obtaining a greater good later on. It consists in nothing more than making the right choices. The right choices are always those that determine on, what is good in the long run. They are hard to make. But if we do not make them, we are likely to have some fun from day to day for a while, and in the long run ruin our lives. In the process of building our lives, Aristotle says we keep our eye on the future, and on the result we want to achieve for our life as a whole, counting all the days to come. What he teaches us is that we cannot become happy by living for the pleasures of the moment. We often have to choose between having a good time and leading a good life. And this is something, Aristotle says, most men often do not do. In this sense Aristotles theory can be credible. H appiness can be attained if a person leads a good life. The term a good life may be interpreted in many different ways, but ultimately a good life must be lead. Then and only then is happiness attained. Happiness cannot be seen as an immediate result, for all that would amount to be is a momentary pleasure. Happiness must be seen as an end result, and in thus being an end result it can only be achieved as a long term goal. To be happy is to attain a balance (the mean) between virtues, morals, pleasures, and goals. If a person can learn to find a balance and become content with his situation as a result of that balance, he will be happy. Throughout time people have claimed to have been happy, and it is universally known of what things we must do in our lives to be happy; be just, virtuous, and morally right. Consider the situation of this final paper It has taken me multiple hours to complete, and I have had troubles in writing it, but I write it to achieve a greater goal, a good grade. By achieving a good grade I will pass this class, and thus be happy, but there is always the chance that I may not get a good grade thus not achieving happiness. This possibility now presents a problem in all theories. No matter what we do, if we complete our duties and if we are morally virtuous, there are always cases that have the possibility of hindering us from achieving happiness even if that was our goal. Thus one must never lead his life by the assumptions of others, on what paths must be taken in order to achieve happiness or a good life. We must lead our own lives to the best of our ability, and in being at ease knowing we have made our own paths, then and only then can we really be happy. Overall Aristotles teachings have pointed out that happiness as an end in itself is the ultimate end and f unction of human beings. The only method of reaching this happiness is through reason. A life that does not exercise the role to reason will end up in some way being incomplete and never reach perfection. Therefore, reason is not only good for us but needed to reach an absolute existence.

Frances Ecconomy :: essays research papers

France is one of the world's richest nations. Industrialization began at the end of the 18th century. Unlike England and the rest of Europe, France failed to maintain the momentum of its early industrial start and was still an agricultural nation at the end of the 19th century. Most growth has occurred since the end of World War II. France now ranks among the world's most economically advanced nations. A distinctive feature of the postwar French economy has been national economic development plans. The first, the Monnet plans named after Jean Monnet who thought of it. Railways were nationalized in 1937, and many other sectors of the economy, including the coal, natural gas, electricity, banking, and transportation came under state control shortly after World War II. Other major industries were nationalized in the early 1980s. In the early 1990s, manufacturing employed between 20% and 25% of the labor force. Many French business enterprises are small to moderate in size, although the competitive business climate created by membership in the EC has forced many companies to be restructured and combined to form powerful corporations. The leading manufacturing industries are metallurgy, mechanical and electrical engineering, chemicals, and textiles. In 1986, France ranked third in Europe in steel production, with an output of 14.8 million metric tons and second in aluminum output. These and imported metals are fabricated into a wide range of mechanical and electrical equipment marketed throughout the world. French locomotives, turbines, electronics equipment, nuclear power plants and submarines, and television systems are famous for their innovative design, as are French automobiles, such as Citroen, Peugeot, Simca, and Renault, and French aircraft, such as Mirage, Concorde, and Airbus. In 1985, France ranked fourth in the world in production of passenger cars and third in output of commercial vehicles. A wide range of chemicals, including perfumes, pharmaceuticals, nitric acid, sulfuric acid, and fertilizers, are also produced. The French textile and garment industry has long been known for its high fashion, alth ough in recent years the industry has lost many former markets to lower-priced imports from countries with lower labor costs. Less than 1% of the labor force is engaged in mining. In 1988 coal production was 14.5 million metric tons. Most of it from two principal coalfields the Lorraine coalfield near METZ, which is an extension into France of the Saar coalfield and the Nord-Pas de Calais coalfield around Lille, which is an extension into France of Belgium's Sambre-Meuse coalfields and is similarly thin-seamed, faulted, and difficult to work.

“An American Indian Wilderness” by Louis Owens Essay

In Louis Owens’ essay â€Å"An American Indian Wilderness† the author projects a self-reflective and, in the end, pessimistic persona. As a young man Owens works as a park ranger in the American Wilderness of Washington State. He has the task of burning down an old log shelter in the wilderness, to return the surrounding area back to its natural state. After completing his task, he meets two elderly Indian women, who tell him that their father had built the shelter in the previous century. He suddenly feels ashamed about what he had just done; however, the two women forgive him and he starts to understand the Indian philosophy in regards to â€Å"Mother Nature† and his own detachment with it. In the first half of the story, Owen recalls that he â€Å"felt good and smug† about the job he had just completed, because he was â€Å"returning the wilderness to its original state.† He writes that it was a task he â€Å"heartily approved of.† His feelings change after he meets the two elderly Indian women, as he learns that their father had also been a park ranger, as well as a descendant from the original Indian inhabitants of the â€Å"Indian country† he is working in. The two women seem â€Å"ancient† to him, probably wise as well and one with nature. They still know about the relationship that humans used to have with nature, before the Europeans â€Å"introduced the wilderness† to America. As Owens’ tone turns darker, he realizes that he too â€Å"had succumbed to a 500 year old pattern of deadly thinking that separates us [humans] from the natural world.† He realizes that the term â€Å"wilderness† is an â€Å"absurdity† and that there really had been no â€Å"wilderness† before the Europeans came to the land. The upbeat tone from the beginning of the text turns into a self-reflective analysis, which ultimately turns into pessimism about the future of the human civilization. As the mood of the story turns, the white  snow turns into a â€Å"drumming rain†; he mentions that he understands â€Å"painfully† what the Indian inhabitants always knew – that we as humans are part of nature, but that we are not living that way anymore. Owens’ persona becomes most pessimistic at the end of the text, when he writes, â€Å"Unless all human beings can learn to imagine themselves intimately and inextricably related to ever aspect of the world they inhabit, the earth will simply not survive.† He seems disillusioned about the chance we humans have, if we keep fencing in â€Å"Mother Nature† and turn her into a recreational aspect of our lives, rather than being part of the whole, as the original Indians used to be. We as humans should take this very seriously and stop ourselves from expanding our â€Å"American Wilderness† farther and farther, pushing nature more and more away from us. Owens’ as the ‘Lone Ranger’ understands the intricate balance between us and nature and that at some point â€Å"The Great Mother† will either fight back or die forever.

It Is Often Easier to Figth for Principles Than to Liv Up to Them

Adlai Stevenson once commented, â€Å"It is often easier to fight for principles than to live up to them. † Based o your reading, observation, or experience, to what extent to you agree or disagree with Stevenson’s words? Please give examples that support your point of view. One man said, â€Å"I don’t agree with what you say, but I defend with my life your right to say it†, thus, expressing the importance of the right of free speech. Many principles, for example justice, democracy and equality, which nowadays are taken for granted in the developed world, are the outcome of a long struggle through the ages. However, it is often said that people are more eager to fight for what they believe is right and just, than to live by the rules they have fought for. In my opinion, this is a solid argument which can be proven by several examples. Throughout human history there have been many examples of rebellions, which begun urged by idealism but afterwards lost their way. The most recent are the ones who took place for the sake of communism. To be more precise, communist rebels declared equal rights and a society without social classes, principles that were left aside as soon as the revolution was over and the government was a communist one. Communist leaders then, justified extreme measures as the only way to establish and maintain their ideals against capitalistic foes, depriving human rights, which were the main incentive of the rebellion. Another clue is how most people differentiate their principles and priorities as they grow older. It is mostly youngsters, especially the literate ones, who demonstrate a rebellious spirit against any violation of their principles. However, as years go by and student life is replaced by career and family obligations, these principles begin to fade away. Life is full of dilemmas and only the strong ones put aside personal interest for the sake of principles and beliefs. When someone is fighting for an ideal, he is comforted by the thought that, despite the danger, he is doing the right thing. He is doing something for the common good and that makes him feel a part of a larger group of common believers. One the other hand, when the goal is achieved and his ethical defenses are down, it is difficult and inconvenient to live by lofty principles. Priorities change and principles are considered a luxury for those with no responsibilities.

Wildlife Refuge essays

Wildlife Refuge essays Gray Lodge Wildlife Area, located in Butte County of Northern California, serves many purposes to surrounding communities, including wildlife. Divided in two segments, this refuge serves the wildlife and recreational desires of visitors; one segment is for the waterfowl to rest, and the other designated for hunting. Approximately 50,000 visitors come to this Wildlife refuge every year. Various activities and events bring spectators of nature and sport hunting year round, regardless of weather. Hunting is only allowed three days a week in the season designated. Visitors travel here to observe waterfowl in courtship activities, migration, or to bird watch in general. Of the 50k visitors every year, 15,000 are hunters. Through fees paid for the privilege to hunt this protected area, the hunters pay for the luxury of viewers or spectators. Grey Lodge Wildlife Area when first bought in 1931, being only 2,500 acres and 9,200 acres presently. An abundant water supply is needed to manage this area, with most water coming from Lake Oroville. Although a wildlife refuge areas are initially viewed as natural, they factually are not different from any ranch. The land is totally managed, with the same tactics and equipment, with one thing different; this being the harvesting of crops. All crops are actually harvested by the waterfowl and wildlife. In parts of the year, marshes are burned, and some land is disked to regenerate new growth. The management of this area is a 365-day job, with flooding, seasonal hazards, and poachers. Forty percent of management time is spent on water management, being the whole livelihood to the refuge area. Along with bird watching sites and special segments for hunting, there are special access sites for the disabled hunters. These are special blinds accessible with a placard from the Department of Motor Vehicles, and are an outcome from the Americans with Disabilities A ...

Upside-Down Question and Exclamation Marks in Spanish

Upside-Down Question and Exclamation Marks in Spanish The upside-down or inverted question marks and exclamation points of Spanish are unique to the languages of Spain. But they make a lot of sense: When youre reading in Spanish, you can tell long before the end of a sentence whether youre dealing with a question, something that isnt always obvious when a sentence doesnt start with a question word such as quà © (what) or quià ©n (who).   Upside-Down Question Marks Not Always at Start of Sentence The important thing to remember  is that the inverted question mark (or exclamation) goes at the beginning part of the question (or exclamation), not at the beginning of the sentence if the two are different. See these examples: Pablo,  ¿adà ³nde vas? (Pablo, where are you going?)Quiero saber,  ¿cundo es tu cumpleaà ±os?  (I want to know, when is your birthday?)Estoy cansado,  ¿y tà º? (Im tired, are you?)Eso,  ¿es verdad? (That, is it true?)Sin embargo,  ¡tengo frà ­o! (Nevertheless, Im cold!)Pues,  ¡llegà ³ la hora! (Well, its about time!) Note that the question or exclamation part does not begin with a capitalized letter unless its a word that would normally be capitalized, such as a persons name. Note also that if words not part of the question come after the question, then the closing question mark still comes at the end:  ¿Adà ³nde vas, Pablo?  (Where are you going, Pablo?)Pablo,  ¿adà ³nde vas, mi amigo?  (Pablo, where are you going, my friend?) ¡Eres la mejor, Angelina! (Youre the best, Angelina!) If a sentence is a question and an exclamation at the same time, something for which the English language has no good written equivalent, it is possible to combine the question and exclamation marks in ways shown below. The Royal Spanish Academy prefers the usage in the third and fourth items:  ¿Cà ³mo lo hace! How does she do it? (To translate the Spanish well, this might be said in an incredulous tone. An alternate translation might be I dont see how she does it!) ¡Me quieres? You love me? (The punctuation may indicate a lack of belief in what is being responded to.) ¡Ã‚ ¿Quà © veste?! What are you seeing? (The tone of voice may suggest What in the world do you see?) ¿Ã‚ ¡Quà © ests diciendo!? What are you saying? (The tone of voice may indicate disbelief.) To indicate an extremely strong exclamation, it is acceptable to use two or three exclamation points but not more:  ¡Ã‚ ¡Ã‚ ¡Idiota!!! (Idiot!)Es imposible.  ¡Ã‚ ¡Ã‚ ¡No lo creo.!!! (Its impossible. I cant believe it! Word Order in Questions Most questions begin with an  interrogative pronoun  such as  quà ©Ã‚  or on interrogative adverb such as  cà ³mo. In nearly all such cases, the opening question word is followed by the verb and then the subject, which will be a noun or pronoun. Of course, it is common to omit the subject if it isnt needed for clarity.  ¿Dà ³nde jugarà ­an los nià ±os? (Where would the children play? Dà ³nde is the interrogative adverb, jugarà ­an is the verb, and the subject is nià ±os.) ¿Quà © significa tu nombre? (What does your name mean?) ¿Cà ³mo comen los insectos? (How do insects eat?) If the verb has an direct object and the subject is not stated, the object typically comes before the verb if it would in the equivalent English sentence:  ¿Cuntos insectos comià ³ la araà ±a? (How many insects did the spider eat? Insectos is the direct object of comià ³.) ¿Quà © tipo de celular prefieres? (Which type of cellphone do you prefer? Tipo de celular is the direct object of prefieres.) ¿Dà ³nde venden ropa guatemalteca? (Where do they sell Guatemalan clothing. Ropa guatemalteca is the direct object of venden.) If the question has a stated subject and an object, it is common to use a verb-object-subject word order if the object is shorter than the subject and a verb-subject-object order if the subject is shorter. If theyre of similar length, either order is acceptable.  ¿Dà ³nde venden ropa los mejores diseà ±adores de moda? (Do the best fashion designers sell clothing? The subject, los mejores disenà ±adores de moda, is much longer than the object, ropa.) ¿Dà ³nde compran los estudiantes los libros de quà ­mica farmacà ©utica? (Where do the students buy the pharmaceutical chemistry books? The subject, los estudiantes, is shorter than the object, los libros de quà ­mica farmacà ©utica.)

Author Interview #1 †Jane Davis

Author Interview #1 - Jane Davis Author Interview #1 - Jane Davis We’ve had the pleasure of interviewing some great freelancers from inside the industry. And while we’ve learned a great deal about the practicalities of writing, we were left wanting to hear from the other side of the creative process - the writer themselves.Well, good news everyone! We’re now going to be featuring interviews with some of the indie author scene’s established darlings and rising stars. We’ll be talking about how it feels to be at the vanguard of the movement, what they’ve learned getting here, and how they make it work.Our first interview is with Jane Davis, author of, among other things, ‘Half-truths and White Lies’ and  'An Unchoreographed Life.’REEDSY: I was just enjoying the extract you have on your site from An Unchoreographed LifeJANE DAVIS: Thank you. While I shy away from the label ‘Women’s Fiction’ I think of that novel as the most ‘Women’s Fiction’ thing I ’ve written. Although, having said that, one of the last reviews I had was from a single father saying much how he related to it, and that was very interesting.REEDSY: I’ve never really ‘got’ the whole idea of there being a label ‘Women’s Fiction’ - it seems to not say much about the work it describes.JD: Sometimes fiction gets pigeonholed with inappropriate labels. That was my problem with ‘Half-truths and White Lies’. I was pigeonholed as an author of Women’s Fiction, and I’ve massively shyed away from that since. But maybe I’ve come full-circle. Prostitution was an issue I wanted to address at the time when changes in the law were proposed, but since it’s such a sensitive issue, I chose to address it from the point of view of a mother/daughter relationship.REEDSY: So how do you describe your writing?JD: Well, it’s been called literary, but I’m slightly embarrassed by that. I thi nk it has this connotation of being highbrow and inaccessible. For me, my fiction is all about the characters. I put them in these terrible scenarios and feed them to the lions. I try to write sympathetic characters but then I make terrible things happen to them!So I suppose I write contemporary-stroke-literary. I put the label, ‘historical’ on ‘I Stopped Time,’ my homage to the pioneers of photography and it’s consistently been my best-seller. I think that’s because historical fiction is a label people relate to more than ‘literary’ or ‘contemporary’. They know where ‘historical’ sits. ‘I Stopped Time’ is actually a time-lapse novel, which goes between the present day and the lifetime of a woman who lived to the age of 108. But with the ‘historical’ label, people have an expectation of what they’re going to get - whereas ‘literary’ can be quite off-putting. S ome people I interview describe their work as ‘general fiction’ - I don’t have a feel for what that means either.REEDSY: It’s a sort of negative definition - telling you basically nothing†¦JD: I think the fact that my fiction is cross-genre - that I think of myself as a brand - is a large part of why being an indie author suits me. Random House didn’t take my follow-up to ‘Half-Truths and White Lies,’ because it wasn’t ‘Women’s Fiction’ and they had published me under their Black Swan imprint, which is exclusively for Women’s Fiction. I simply wasn’t aware of the implications. But at that point I wasn’t thinking long term. I had won a competition and was happy to be published, however that came about.I saw Adele Parks speak at the London Author Fair. She told us that when she was first published, she was given the choice of marketing her fiction as commercial or literary, and when she asked what the difference was, she was told, â€Å"Well, literary sells 7,000 copies and commercial sells 70,000 copies.† I’d not heard it in terms as blunt as that before, but I don’t think those figures were unusual in those days. Of course, post-2008, book sales have taken a nose-dive.REEDSY: Can literary fiction work without the support of a publisher? One argument against self-publishing goes that it can only sustain work that meets certain standards of viability in terms of sales. How do you find it?JD: I’ve only been doing this for two years, but my sales figures have only really pushed upwards with cross-selling. When people buy one of my books they do seem to come back and buy all of them. I’m not selling in big numbers by any means. I’m willing to give books away in order to hook readers†¦As for traditionally published authors, I’ve spoken to a few who are thinking of going indie when their deals come up for renewal. M ost are under two book contracts and they hear rumours that those contracts won’t be renewed under the same terms, and there’s also a great deal of dissatisfaction from the authors themselves about the lack of marketing support offered by publishers. Advances are also considerably lower. When I was at the London Book Fair this year, I was hearing about figures of  £5000 for one book or  £8000 for two books. Take from that the cost of marketing and there’s not a lot left in the pot.However, the authors I have met on the speaking circuit still firmly believe that bookshops are their realm. Are you familiar with the ALLi’s ‘Open up to Indies’ campaign?’ I’ve been going out and talking in bookshops and libraries, sometimes pairing up with traditionally published authors, because bringing a crowd puller obviously helps to opens doors. The estimates are that 70% of books will be self-published by 2020. It’s very difficult t o think that bookshops will only want to offer 30% of what’s available. And it’s quite clear that the 70% is going to include books by some of the authors bookshops and libraries currently stock. A stance against stocking self-published fiction is plainly unrealistic, but authors need to put themselves in the places of booksellers and librarians. Quality control is an issue that concerns them.REEDSY: I feel like the myth of the uniformly low quality of indie books is starting to die out†¦ slowly, but it’s fading.JD: I hope so. I use accreditation services that give a clear indication that my books have passed rigorous assessment. And the rise of small presses of course is continuing . Their publications are performing very well in competitions, very well. I went to a book launch this week for an author who has just been snapped up by a small publisher, Burning Eye Books. They publish mainly poetry. In fact, this is their first fiction title. Alice Furse sel f-published in January and they approached her. I think she’ll do very well out of it because they only have one fiction author to promote right now, and having that concentration of force behind you is fantastic. It’s the kind of support you might expect from an agent but wouldn’t normally get from a publisher.Author collectives are also enjoying a great deal of success. Having a name and collective power helps. I didn’t have enough forethought to do any of those things! I went ahead and published under my own name - I think I’d do things slightly differently now.REEDSY: What would you do differently?JD: More preparation. It’s too easy to publish. Don’t push the button unless you’re absolutely certain that the work is as good as it can possibly be. The problem is you’re too close to the book to judge that yourself - even though I used a copy editor and several proofreaders, my first self-published book went out with 13 typos in it. It’s easy to update it if you’ve got the control of the manuscript, but actually I was quite embarrassed that there was a first edition out there†¦ The money I spent on printing books that I then ditched would have been better spent on a further proofread. Because of course you can’t just hire one copy editor and one proofreader. The process needs multiple pairs of eyes.I think that rather than use the free ISBNs offered by self-publishing services, having ISBNs registered under your own name - so that you are shown as the publisher of your own work - helps. When you go to a bookshop there isn’t the ‘Amazon prejudice.’ I don’t put an awful lot of energy into getting my books onto shelves, because it’s very hard for me to break even on the percentages I’m offered, and the sale or return model doesn’t work for most indie authors. Then there’s the question of staying stocked. Even when I was t raditionally published, bookstores didn’t stock my title automatically. I had to go into branches week after week saying â€Å"Right, you’ve sold the copies you had on the shelves, can you order more?† It’s very time-consuming. A couple of indie shops stock my book, and they are amazingly supportive. When I’ve done talks at Waterstones they’ve been happy to stock my books on the night, but they wouldn’t ordinarily because I publish via Createspace. As a result of being in the Smashwords Premium Catalogue, my paperbacks are now available online with WH Smiths and Blackwells now, which was a surprise, so maybe the tide is turning. In the future I’ll think about buying my own ISBN and register it under my own name.Since joining ALLi I’ve become a lot more aware of these issues - all the little things which might hold you back.REEDSY: How much of your time now do you spend on writing vs managing the self-publishing element?J D: I’m quite active on social media. I had a lot of talks over the summer, which took time to set up. It’s not a case of going into a library and they’ll ask you to come along in the next month. Sometimes the impact of the ground work you’re doing comes one or two years down the line. I think, in all honesty, I spend more than 50% of my time on things like social media, sharing content, interviewing authors for my website†¦ Of all of those activities, interviewing authors has been the most helpful. Initially I approached everyone who appeared on the Guardian’s list of the top 30 indie books of 2013. There’s a very supportive community of indie authors out there. Interviews take up quite a lot of time, but I think they’re incredibly worthwhile. You don’t get immediate rewards, but an author you have interviewed might perhaps read and review your books, or offer a return interview†¦My third indie release was in November 2013. I had no publicity, so it was a very soft launch. April 2014 I released ‘An Unchoreographed Life’, and I was inundated with offers from people offering me guest blog posts, interviews, etc. The difference was that I had offered that facility to other authors. It’s very much a reciprocal thing. So marketing is not always direct marketing. It’s the soft-sell and building brand awareness. I’d say more than 50% of my time is spent on it - I wouldn’t want to say how much more than 50%!REEDSY: Would you think about outsourcing the marketing at some point?JD: Well, I have no budget. I recently relaunched my website and paid The Curved House to design it. I think it was money well-spent, even though it will knock out any profit I might have made next year. My original website had been built for one book, and I had tweaked it over time, but the look wasn’t cohesive. Now, it will be easier to add to, and I’m glad I’ve invest ed the money. But my budget is generally minimal. I often barter with people, offering to help out in exchange for return services.REEDSY: How about production?JD: I try to stick to a budget of  £1000 -  £1500. I think that’s a sensible level because only 5% of books sell more than 1000 copies. Interestingly, most authors I know aren’t making money from their sales, they make it from other services they offer.In terms of where I spend the money, my cover designs are really important to me. They are my brand. None of them have cost very much. I use a graphic designer. I come up with the design myself, and he executes it.  I also use a team of beta readers who have more or less replaced the need for a structural edit (something I used to pay for), and a copy editor and a proofreader. The typesetting and e-book conversion I do myself. In addition to writing my own stuff, I also do work for other authors as part of bartering process.REEDSY: Are there services you see authors being tempted to neglect?JD: It’s not always a question of ‘neglecting’ services. You have to look at the reasons behind choices. I know some authors who are very against using a copyeditor, not because they’re ‘unprofessional,’ but because they’re very anti-censorship and see using a copyeditor as a form of that. However, if your reason for not using a copy editor or a proofreader is lack of funds - I would say think again. Save the money and invest or decide what skills you have that you can offer someone else.When you’re starting out it’s tremendously hard but I’ve had massive support, even before I was a member of ALLi. Not necessarily from my writer’s group. You’re not a novelty there, everyone’s got a book they want readers for - but the Keep Fit group I’ve been going to for 25 years. I’ve found some fantastic beta readers and proofreaders there. The thing is not to be afraid to ask for help. There’s a great TED lecture by Amanda Palmer about the power of asking, and people want to be involved in a project, especially one where they can use skills that they don’t get the chance to use at work. My beta readers work for no more than a mention in the back of the book, maybe a coffee and a cake to talk about how the book made them feel. It’s not all about spending money. It’s about investing your budget in the right places and collaborating with a team you respect. It’s a mistake to think ‘expensive’ means ‘quality.’ Some of the services I have been happiest with have cost me nothing at all.REEDSY: Thank you for your time Jane

Thomas Hobbes's and Machiavelli's political theories Essay

Thomas Hobbes's and Machiavelli's political theories - Essay Example This is contrary to the teaching of Machiavellian that denounced ruthlessness and manipulation as a way of gaining power to control the masses. Machiavelli insisted that one should earn power and not to inherit. However, in most parts of the world power has been inherited and revolved within a lineage. In his book the prince, Machiavelli unequivocally states how political power should be used for the benefit of the people and how that power can be maintained. He cites the examples from his personal experiences and those from the ancient texts. Whereas he did not talk about what qualities a leader should posses, Machiavelli was keen to indicate that any method engaged by the ruler should factor in the fact that the state of the mind is not altered. In this regard, he did set the limits within which he believed gaining controlled should be checked. It will thus be construed that the cliche-the end justifies the means has been used in the most simplified manner considering the context o f his philosophical statement. Pragmatism and realism were the pillars of his philosophy, he also understood that ideals were impossible partake on as ruler. The philosophical work of Machiavelli has immensely contributed and accounted for the political manipulation seen. ... The head of the body in this case being the government that is charged with the responsibility to govern the people. In this case, the head and the body are expected to have coordination in which whatever the head does, the body must be aware of it through the transmitted effect or what may be referred to the trickledown effect. The head and the body are expected to have communication and when the head is ailing, the body too has to ail. This analogy was taken to the political scenario in which, what the government is doing has direct consequences to the people whom it is charged with the responsibility of governing. The implication the term body politics is to express the opinion that the people the government and the people are considered as one just like the body and the head do forms one thing. In some cases, sections of people have tried to redefine the term by saying that the term means exclusively the government alone. The intention of the statement is that a healthy governmen t should have the capacity to make conscious focus just like a healthy body (Hobbes, and Martinich 108). The people are regarded as a stake in the context of the head and the body as proposed by Hobbes to the extent that they are construed to constitute what is critical in the society. Though this may not be seen as a naive way of looking at the matter, it should also be considered that at times the government do exist and operate whimsically on the wishes of the people. It is thus important to note that the people’s opinion about the government may have significant impact and that in the event that the peoples turn violent, the government will have to be disrupted in its daily operation. The cordial

Negotiation plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Negotiation plan - Essay Example However, the Union still needs to agree on the matter concerning the wage increases during the existence of the agreement (Guasco, 2007). This matter is very important to the workers, as it one way or the other shall determine their productivity and effectiveness. The union requests an award for the workers that will help cover the past 3% inflation and a 2% salary increment for previous contributions towards productivity. The union requires the agreed disbursements made right after the agreement commences, and not on any conditions whatsoever (Bond, 1999). The union workers will be more than willing to look into productive bonuses in addition to this increment, as long as it agrees to measures of productivity. Where a mistake come from one individual, the rest workers should not suffer. The union demands an even distribution of bonuses to all hourly paid employees (Guasco, 2007). The workplace Arrangements It is important and right of the workers to attend premium training when they get the need to progress, and not when there is a vacancy in the company. When employees who reach a higher level that demands a higher salary cannot find a position within the company, an allowance for such training is to be awarded which, is a half the difference between the grade they trained for, and the one they are now in. The trained employees are would promoted, before advertisement is considered whenever there is a higher vacancy in the company. Hours Roster, Shifts and Overtime Implications The workers union has set forth these three working arrangement options, a shift pattern, making one work for 76 hours over two weeks. There is also a monthly arrangement cycle of 152 hours, or an annual cycle of 1976 hours. An employee should work for an average of 8 hours overtime weekly on summer and at least two in the winter. The union demands that the company rewards the overtime hours double the amount paid on normal hours and compensation arranged to the employees who in some c ases might find themselves sitting in for others, hence breaking the usual roosters routine. The Duration of the Agreement The workers union intends to make this the only negotiation they would have with the Dairy Company, where proper assessments are required to make sure that no contradicting loopholes left through successive plans such as in the case of future salary increments. This will see an improvement in the productivity of the employees via time conservation. It will also convince the employers that the hearts of the workers are at what they do, and not for destruction of the firm in any way. Workplace committee The Union will take the workplace committee as a consultative body since as said in the above point; this is a onetime negotiation only. The committee formed from the collaboration of the employers and the employees will only be set to resolve any arising issues within the company, and act as a uniting code between the workers and the company. The Union understands that other light issues also need redress, but since the agreement is a unifying dialogue leaves them open for employers suggestions. Such concerns are sick-offs and day-offs (Eden, 2010). The workers intend to build a relationship with the Dairy Company, and that is why the employers have a room to air their views on some issues. The Union, therefore, resolves on adopting the integrative

American History Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

American History - Term Paper Example Unequal conditions among the blacks and the whites were rampant in almost every sector and part within the country. Considering that the blacks received unfair treatment than their white counterparts, the demonstrations were justified. Considering the cause of reasons behind these protests, i would advice that it is right to support the demonstration as opposed to the white students during that period who failed to support their fellow black students’ demonstrators. The next incidence that occurred in the following year relates to the Weather Underground Organization formation. The organization founded at Ann Arbor branch of Michigan University aimed at achieving a democratic society by students. The primary objective as evidenced through the naming of the faction as Students for a Democratic Society was to work as a radical left wing that would materialize and succeed in overthrowing the American government. October 8, 1969 characterized the first demonstration organized by t he group in Chicago that was deliberate to coincide with the trials of Chicago eight. The group embarked on bombing demonstrations, jail breaks among other ill forms of demonstrations. The attacks mostly focused on government buildings as well as various banks while evacuation warnings were also given to others. It is important to note that these students’ demonstrators grew to become criminals over time and facilitated bombings or became parts of bombings after their engagement in 1969. Although the authorities failed to engage them forcefully to abandon their demonstrations, deaths among the students were reported on various occasions. My opinion relating to such engagements falls against joining such students owing the acts of violence the group engaged in, it is ill-advising for any student of the current multi-cultural and civilized U.S to participate in such demonstrations. From

[Political Economy]Draw the view of good community and its purpose by Essay

[Political Economy]Draw the view of good community and its purpose by classical philosopher like Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, and Be - Essay Example The two individuals and their parties hold divergent views and positions on the political economy of the American Nation. This essay will generally view the whole country as one single national community. The paper will analyze and argue the ideas of what is good for the community and review the party and candidate positions in the presidential elections campaigns. The Community and the American Vote In the ongoing political campaigns, both candidates are seeking the votes of various groups. They are seeking the votes of young people, seniors, the wealthy, the middleclass, the poor, professionals, and the jobless, among many different other categories of voters. In wooing the different voters, the candidates and their parties are proposing different policies that they feel will better suit the whole American community while at the same time benefitting some special interest groups. A government's budget is more than a mass of numbers; it reveals a nation's priorities and aspirations. The Obama and Romney budget proposals offer two starkly different visions of America's future, making this election the sharpest contrast between competing economic philosophies since Lyndon Johnson routed Barry Goldwater in 1964. (Blinder) For example, one strategy proposed to achieve the good of the community is President Obama’s Medical Care program that was signed into law in 2010. The law seeks to afford every American citizen universal health care. The Democrats have been in its full support while the Republicans have been critical about it. Obamacare seems to respond to Bentham's theory of Utilitarian rights as explained in his book, Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation. The most common criticism of Obamacare is that it encourages a culture of dependency and undeserved entitlement. Distribution of Power and Wealth for the Good of the Community Morath (2012) aptly captures the differences the two politicians and their parties approach the campaigns and issues affecting the voter. Kevin Hassett, adviser to  Mitt Romney, said the Republican nominee would take a hard line on entitlement spending that would create the â€Å"sigh of relief effect† needed to encourage businesses to expand. Obama adviser  Jeffery Liebman  said the president would spark job growth, and ultimately consumer demand, through targeted spending on infrastructure, schools and public safety. (Morath) Taxation is one area where the two presidential aspirants widely differ in policy. Both parties offer taxation policies that work according to the philosophies of distribution as expounded by Aristotle in his views on distributive justice. â€Å"Yet the true friend of the people should see that they be not too poor, for extreme poverty lowers the character of the democracy; measures therefore should be taken which will give them lasting prosperity.† (Aristotle, Politics, in Sommerville, p.93) Rousseau asserts that the general will is most impo rtantly enforced by the rule of law and is for the good of both the individual and the community. The general will serves first the community of citizens, rather than the rich minority. This seems in line with the taxation proposals by Obama’s team to tax the rich more. The 2012 election seems to represent some contest between the rich and the poor. Gazing beyond the rhetoric, they would notice how unwilling each party really is to cede any

Over the long term, has state power increaded r decreased in relation Essay

Over the long term, has state power increaded r decreased in relation to that of the federal government - Essay Example Similarly, it has acquired most of state powers such as the mandate to control inter-state commerce, the autonomy to agree on treatises with foreign countries and the authority to form an arm and declare war on enemies2. Additionally, the federal government has becoming powerful resulting to undesired incidents such as the Civil unrest or war which strengthened unions, the Great Depression which instituted bureaucracies for assisting the suffering Americans and Civil Rights Movement that called for intervention at the state level to reduce rampant cases of racism against blacks. Furthermore, because of the protection of Constitutional powers, the federal government has usurped state powers in terms of fundamental rights and freedoms enjoyed by citizens. This is manifested in through federal courts that ensure violators of such rights and freedoms enshrined in the constitution are tried and convicted. On that note, state has been reduced to playing minor roles of supervising the feder al government to avoid losing its independence and

What you feel is the most Significant Constitutional Amendment Essay

What you feel is the most Significant Constitutional Amendment - Essay Example It is worth noting that all ideas, whether good or bad, are protected under the first amendment (Bird 56). As an American citizen, I have been able to enjoy the right to free speech and freely expressing my ideas and opinions. However, there are other countries where citizens do not enjoy the same right. I travelled to Ethiopia a couple of years ago, for a vacation and to view the beautiful scenery. Before I embarked on the journey, I was thoroughly briefed regarding the stringent rules of law in Ethiopia. At the embassy, citizens were constantly reminded to be careful of what they expressed to avoid being detained by the police. In addition, once we were outside the embassy and into the city of Addis Ababa and its environs, we were to avoid expressing any views against the regime; lest we be imprisoned. Unlike in America, citizens have to be mindful of what they express to avoid being imprisoned. As a tourist, I found these unfamiliar and confusing due to my perception that all citizens in the world enjoyed similar rights like other Americans did. The experience was an eye-opener and since then, I have appreciated the right conferred on me by the Constitution; to express my thoughts freely. In Ethiopia, for instance, there are hundreds of journalists and other perceived dissidents who have been detained illegally by their government, as political prisoners. Fortunately, I was not imprisoned in Ethiopia, and I continued expressing my thoughts, regarding Congress on Twitter, once I was at the United States Embassy. Through research, I have been able to identify the importance of the first amendment through critical analysis of world politics and political journals. I identified the primary reason as to why the Arab Spring uprising broke was due to the atrocities committed by the regimes in North Africa and the Middle East. The atrocities are

Over the long term, has state power increaded r decreased in relation Essay

Over the long term, has state power increaded r decreased in relation to that of the federal government - Essay Example Similarly, it has acquired most of state powers such as the mandate to control inter-state commerce, the autonomy to agree on treatises with foreign countries and the authority to form an arm and declare war on enemies2. Additionally, the federal government has becoming powerful resulting to undesired incidents such as the Civil unrest or war which strengthened unions, the Great Depression which instituted bureaucracies for assisting the suffering Americans and Civil Rights Movement that called for intervention at the state level to reduce rampant cases of racism against blacks. Furthermore, because of the protection of Constitutional powers, the federal government has usurped state powers in terms of fundamental rights and freedoms enjoyed by citizens. This is manifested in through federal courts that ensure violators of such rights and freedoms enshrined in the constitution are tried and convicted. On that note, state has been reduced to playing minor roles of supervising the feder al government to avoid losing its independence and

Worldview Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Worldview - Essay Example To be a Baptist, to me, means that a person can be â€Å"different† from the others yet still be part of the same collective. This is a beautiful and inclusive message, and that is why I would describe my worldview as diverse and inclusive. The core beliefs of Baptism include that there is only one God, who manifests Himself in three persons: the Father (God in Heaven), the Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit. Moreover, there is belief in the birth of Jesus Christ from a virgin mother, Mary. Jesus Christ performed many miracles during his lifetime, including raising the dead, and then died, was buried, and finally resurrected. Also, we believe that human beings are in need of salvation, without which they are doomed; this salvation is provided to us by the very death, burial and resurrection of Christ. It is the grace of God, due to which He has given us humans the unearned favor of eternal salvation by sending his Son to earth and dying on a cross for our sins. Baptists a lso believe that the world will end, and Jesus would return to us and the dead will be raised and everyone be judged by Him. Finally, we believe that the Message of God needs to be spread throughout the world, so that more people can be brought within the fold and experience the Grace of God. I know that my beliefs are true, because the Bible speaks out to me. I have personally experienced the grace and miracles of Jesus Christ in my life. When a very close cousin of mine was diagnosed with cancer, and it was clear that the cancer had spread throughout her body, the doctors told her that there was no treatment available for her, and the best all of us could do was to keep her comfortable at home. I turned to Jesus Christ in my time of need and He spoke out to me and answered my prayers through a miracle: my cousin not only survived, but her cancer is in complete remission. My worldview is accurate because it is clear by looking around that God exists, also, He is just and kind and i t was told in the Bible many years ago. What is more, the Bible is a direct account of what God wanted people to do, and its message is still true today. Even after 2,000 years, we can still derive our morality from the Bible and that is clear proof of its Divine Origins. It is very clear when one observes these facts that my worldview is accurate and believable. Part 2 Just like Baptists, Catholics are a denomination of Christians who believe in the unity of the God and the Holy Trinity. There are many more similarities between the two groups. The Catholics also believe in the virgin birth of Jesus Christ. Like the Baptists, the Catholics believe in the miracles of Jesus Christ, including healing the leper and raising Lazarus; his crucifixion and subsequent death; his burial; and his resurrection after three days. Moreover, they also believe in the infinite Mercy and Grace of God, which God showed by sending his only son to die for humans for their salvation. There are many similar ities in the ethics of the two groups as well; there is an emphasis on moral uprightness in both the groups, but, both believe, that there is no salvation for us except through Jesus Christ and his sacrifice for us. There are, however, many differences between the two, I will mention two big differences here. Firstly, there is no central authority for Baptists. Unlike the Catholics who have the papacy, whereby a group of priests elect a Pope, the Bishop of Rome, who is the considered to be a successor of Saint Peter, the Baptists do not have a central authority that ensures that beliefs are kept identical throughout the various Churches of the denomination. For Catholics, the pope gets to decide the policies

Relationship Between Freedom And Authority

Relationship Between Freedom And Authority In this essay I will discuss the relationship between freedom and authority in Jean-Jacques Rousseaus essay The Social Contract, and John Stuart Mills essay On Liberty. I will argue through my comparison of each philosopher that Mills conception of liberty is the richer and more persuasive of the two. Rousseaus conception of freedom in The Social Contract is that people attain their freedom through a transformation from a state of nature to civil society. We give up our natural freedom in exchange for civilized freedom. His contention is that we can be both free and subject to political authority; Rousseau thinks its possible to be autonomous and subject to law, when we obey those laws of which we are the author. He justifies this model of political authority by saying that government and laws are the will of the sovereign we give our consent for them to exist. That consent is guided by what Rousseau calls the general will. The general will is an idea that signifies the wishes or welfares of society as a whole. The purpose of the general will is to guide society to a common good, to advise society in its creation of laws and express what is best for all individuals. The problem with the general will, Mill claims, is that it seems to reject individual diversity. Mill is worried that minorities may be oppressed if they think differently to the majority. Considering all individuals revoked their natural liberty through the change from a state of nature to civil society, Rousseau thinks that society must force individuals to conform to the general will, or as he puts it, society must force them to be free. He thinks that by associating ourselves with the general will we acquire morality, and actually become freer than we were before. To Rousseau, freedom is attained when one follows the general will. Mills essay On Liberty is a strong counter argument to Rousseaus conception of freedom, especially regarding the general will. Contrasting Rousseau, Mills idea is not a social contract theory. According to Mill, in order for a society to be free it must avoid interfering with the lives of its people wherever possible. The threat, as Mill sees it, is that if we subscribe to the concept of the general will then society risks becoming paternalistic, or a tyranny of the majority where minority views are supressed if they do not conform to those of the majority. Mill thinks that society constrains the individual, and that society should be limited in the power it can exert over individuals; he enumerates three conditions upon which society must follow in order to be free: freedom of thought and feeling, freedom of tastes and pursuits and the freedom to unite with other consenting individuals for any reason providing it does no harm to others. He says that if a society does not follow these conditions it is not free. Mill wants to avoid principles and laws as much as possible because he sees them as unnecessary constraints. The only principle that Mill does want to establish is the harm principle what he calls the object of his essay. The harm principle says that the only time one can interfere with the liberty of another person, individually or collectively, is for self-protection. This principle claims that if an individual is not doing any harm to anyone in their actions, then society has no right to interfere. Over himself says Mill, over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign it is the individual, and not society, who should decide how best to live. Mills conception of freedom appears to be a version of negative liberty, a type of freedom that allows one to do what they want free from restrictions. His freedom is the absence of obstacles, barriers or constraints. Rousseaus social contract theory is a type of positive liberty, that allows citizens to act in such a way as to take control of ones life and realise ones fundamental purposes. Rousseau characterises two types of freedom in The Social Contract: the natural liberty, which is limited only by the strength of the individual and civil liberty, which is limited by the general will. Natural liberty is the freedom to follow ones own desires. Civil liberty is the freedom one attains when they follow the general will. Like Rousseau, Mill talks about a type of civil or social freedom; however, unlike Rousseau he doesnt speculate about a state of nature. Rather, Mill states that his theory is justified by utilitarianism, he isnt making a comparison between a state of nature and civil society. I think this makes Mills argument more persuasive because he isnt making an assumption that we have natural rights. Mill doesnt seem to think we have natural rights, and even if we do, Rousseau doesnt tell us how we can actually know what they are. Rousseau appears to think that we have an intrinsic freedom that exists in the state of nature, and he wants to merge the individual liberty one supposedly has in the state of nature, with civil society. He thinks the way to do this is by following the general will. I think the biggest problem at the heart of Rousseaus social contract theory is the way he deals with individuals who disagree with the general will. He states that if anyone refuses to obey the general will he will be compelled to do so by the whole body; which means nothing else than that he will be forced to be free. His social contract declares that if an individual disagrees with the general will, then they must be wrong, and for their own good they must be forced to conform to the general will. Mill would undoubtedly consider such forced conformity a tyranny of the majority because of his strong belief that individuality is something that should be cherished and valued. Mill would disagree with Rousseaus notion that people should be forced to be free since he thinks its detrimental to both the individual and the majority when an alternative opinion is oppressed. Rousseau on the other hand, thinks that taking up the general perspective of the community is always the right thing to do. Contrary to Rousseau, Mill doesnt think that the majority gain their power because they are infallible, but simply because they are the most numerous or the most active part of the people. Mill states that silencing the expression of an opinion deprives the human race. Firstly, reasons Mill, if a majority silences an opinion that is different or less popular than their own, and that alternative opinion turns out to be right, then they are depriving themselves of what is right. Almost as great a benefit to society is listening to an alternative opinion even if it turns out to be wrong, because challenging dominant opinion prevents stagnation. Stifling opinion is always a bad thing; Mill says that Absolute princes, or others who are accustomed to unlimited deference, usually feel this complete confidence in their own opinions on nearly all subjects because their opinion is never tested. It is through this collision with error that the truth becomes stronger. Mill thinks that this proc ess of listening to a whole variety of thought and feeling leads to a healthier cultural climate and a place of greater freedom and liberty. Rousseau might object to Mills importance of minority opinion by saying that emphasis on individuality undermines social and political obligations. That its somehow an unrealistic idea to consider everyones opinion. He says in the social contract that citizens must be forced to follow the general will, because it means society will not depend on any one person for change to occur. Rousseau says of the general will that this condition is the device that ensures the operation of the political machine. He thinks its naÃÆ'Â ¯ve to listen to a minority not only because he assumes they must be wrong, but because they prevent the political system from making any progress. Rousseau thinks that without the general will, a political system would be absurd and tyrannical, and subject to the most terrible abuses. However, Mill would still disagree and respond by saying that if all mankind minus one were of one opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind. I think where they really differ here is that Mill doesnt think anyone can be free if theyre forced to conform to the majority, whereas Rousseau thinks conformity is necessary for liberty and best for the community- he says that every authentic act of the general will, obligates or favours all the citizens equally. He knows that its unrealistic that all citizens will agree to the general will, and so he says minorities must be forced to follow it (forced to be free). Perhaps its painfully obvious here that Rousseau has left himself in a vulnerable position he doesnt really explain to us how one must be forced to follow the general will. Thus, theres possibly an element of compatibility between Rousseaus and Mills conceptions of freedom. If its the case that the process of being forced to be free includes Mills notion that people should be free to debate and discuss, and providing everyones opinion is treated with respect and they are convinced, through discussion, to change their vi ews, then its certainly possible that eventually all citizens will individually come the same conclusions about the common good of their community. Its certainly conceivable, but it seems unlikely. Even if this compatibility were to exist, Mill would object by saying that we still need a variety of opinion even if its wrong to prevent social stagnation and to challenge popular views. He would say that providing an individual is doing what they please by means of the harm principle, then society has no right to demand such an active citizenship from them. Rousseau may take issue with Mills harm principle but asking what actually constitutes harm. Its obvious that physical harm is detrimental and people shouldnt be free to harm others but there are forms of consequentialism that can piece together seemingly harmonious actions, and prove that they actually have damaging effects. For instance, universal consequentialism focuses on the consequences for all people rather than the individual agent. Rousseau might say that a person may not seem to be harming another individual in their actions, but an ingenious person could find harmful consequences for almost anything a person does. One might find themselves aroused by conflicting emotions if made to choose between the philosophies of Rousseau and Mill, depending on how they feel about an issue. It seems especially difficult to feel one has to conform to the majority when they disagree with it, but of course when one is on the side of the majority it can be hard to understand why anyone wouldnt be. The majority of climate scientists support global warming, and if one believes in global warming it seems hard to understand why anyone would reject it. If you want gay marriage but the majority doesnt, it seems crazy to think you have to conform to the general will. I think this is what makes Rousseaus and Mills conceptions of freedom so attractive to us. I find Mills argument to be more persuasive than Rousseaus because even with modifications to Rousseaus social contract, the general will seems unable to avoid a tyranny of the majority. The general will seems too abstract to utilise without thinking of it as simply the sum of all private interests; Rousseau makes it hard for us to recognize what the general will is or how to determine it, and he offers no reassurance that the majority knows what is best. He seems to be making a huge assumption that we have natural rights in the first place, but he provides no evidence for them. Works Cited Mill, John Stuart. On Liberty and The Subjection of Women. London: Penguin Group, 2006. Rousseau, Jean Jacques. The Social Contract, A new translation by Christopher Betts. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008.

Organizational behavior Essay -- essays research papers

To help us understand organizations, we might consider them as political systems. The political metaphor helps us understand power relationships in day-to-day organizational relationships. If we accept that power relations exist in organizations, then politics and politicking are an essential part of organizational life. Politics is a means of recognizing and, ultimately, reconciling competing interests within the organization. Competing interests can be reconciled by any number of means. For example, resorting to "rule by the manager" might be seen as an example of totalitarian rule. On the other hand, politics may be a means of creating a noncoercive, or a democratic work environment. As mentioned, organizations need mechanisms whereby they reconcile conflicting interests. Hence, organizations, like governments, tend to "rule" by some sort of "system". This "system" is employed to create and maintain "order" among the organization's members. Systems of rule within organizations range from autocratic to democratic at the extremes. Between these extremes we find bureaucratic and technocratic systems. Whatever the system, each represents a political orientation with respect to how power is applied and distributed throughout theorganization. Each type of organizational "rule" simply draws on different principles of legitimacy. According to Aristotle, politics stems from a diversity of interests. To fully understand...

The Multicultural Workplace Essay -- Occupational Issues

The modern American workplace has become culturally diverse as different immigrant communities increased in size. According to the US Department of Immigration, 148,426 immigrants received their residency in 2011 in New York. Because of the increased workplace diversity, businesses have to deal with a variety of cultural awareness and multiple language issues. These are very pressing issues in New York City, the â€Å"melting pot† of cultures from all over the world. Each workplace in New York City has at least one employee of a non-American background or a bilingual employee. While exploring the multinational workplace, which consisted of immigrants from a variety of countries, I was able to distinguish three distinctive themes. The first is immigrants’ self-consciousness of having an accent. The second is mixing two languages in speech. The third is the problem of building an effective multicultural team. Full-time employed adults spend at least 40% of their time at work and for many adults it accounts for 100% of their â€Å"public† life. Workplace has become a place of social interaction. Vicky Schultz described the importance of the workplace to individual’s growth in her work The Sanitized Workplace as the following: For most people, working isn’t just a way to earn a livelihood. It’s a way †¦ to make friends and form communities †¦ and to know themselves and others in a deep way. †¦ [Workplace] is also a source of citizenship, community, and self-understanding. From this perspective, for immigrants learning the language of the host country is a tool to develop a net of useful social contacts. Cristina Rodriguez states that in addition to its role in developing social bonds, the language use assists with preserving a multilingual en... ...ogy.uchicago.edu/people/faculty/LevAriKeysar.pdf 6. Rodriguez, Cristina. "Language Diversity in the Workplace." www.law.northwestern.edu. Northwestern University School of Law, 2006. Web. 6 May 2012. http://www.law.northwestern.edu/lawreview/v100/n4/1689/lr100n4rodriguez.pdf 7. Shultz, Vicky. The Sanitized Workplace. Yale L.J., 2003. 2069-70. Print. 8. Estlund, Cynthia. Working Together: How Workplace Bonds Strengthen a Diverse Democracy. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2005. 256. Print. 9. Keogh, Jack. "International Teams: Beyond Cultural Difference." www.jackkeogh.com. Keogh and Associate Consulting, LLC, n.d. Web. 6 May 2012. http://www.jackkeogh.com/Multicultural team article by JK.pdf 10. "Masculinity." www.clearlycultural.com. ClearlyCultural.com, 2009. Web. 6 May 2012. http://www.clearlycultural.com/geert-hofstede-cultural-dimensions/masculinity/

On-Time Package Delivery

Case 2: On-Time Package Delivery Michael Bushmann Erika Thompson Jocelyn Russell Katlin Eason Mark Hogan MKT 452- Sales Management November 14, 2012 Overall, we felt that Wayne Jacobson – Senior Vice President of Sales performed his responsibilities very well. Furthermore, it was good to see that he was so vested into figuring out the problems of the company. Ultimately, the negative effects that were found could be detrimental to the sales personnel, but further – his position and the company as a whole. Jacobson conducted an effective job analysis by conversing with: current employees/sales staff, managers, and customers.Additionally, Jacobson calling upon local district managers before calling sales representatives or KAM’s displays that he is truly a â€Å"team member. † Now we would like to go into the problems, one-by- one, along with what we feel are respectable solutions for On-Time Package Delivery. Competition On-Time Pack Delivery is a niche com pany OTPD delivery services are specific to documents and small packages to be delivered quickly, reliably, and cost effective. Being the first intracity package delivery service to maximize technology gives them a great advantage.OPTD targets a condensed Market of 4 districts: Eastern U. S. cities- New York, Boston, Washington, and Philadelphia. UPS, FedEx, and U. S. Postal Service are considered competition to an extent. However, OPTD markets towards a portion of their customers (legal and consulting firms). â€Å"OTPD has carved out a niche by focusing on express intracity package delivery. † The condensed region gives OTPD no reason for decline in salesSolution: Solution: Ron Young founded OTPD as a solution to a problem and generated a business model of highly trained â€Å"delivery specialist† .The trained specialist, improved technology services, and great customer service in the package delivery business is what yielded a loyal customer base. REMEMBER: These at tributes have helped establish OTPD as a company. OTPD sales forces needs to refocus on customer service considering these attributes are what initially established loyal customers. Being OTPD was the first company to enter the specific market of quick reliable delivery services, this gives them an advantage. The company needs to refocus on their customer service strategy to remain established before more competitors enter the market.Competition within OTPD? Setting higher sales standards within the company will provoke the sales force to compete amongst them selves. Lack of competition within the company. Stimulated from– OTPD targeting only a 4% sales growth, when the national average is 8%, Why? OTPD sales force are given cell phones (unlimited use), laptops, company cars, and outrageous salaries. OPTD needs to focus on exceeding their sales goals before smaller companies similar to Gold Package Delivery Services quickly come about take over the small niche market. Solutio n: OTPD should consider removing some of the sales forces privileges.While cell phones and laptops are necessities for the delivery services, outrageous salaries and a company car should not be. Taking away a a company car and lowering salaries would trigger sales competition within the company. A company car should only be awarded to those who- reach a certain sales growth percentage establish new customers maintain a certain level of customer service, i. e. quick and reliable Role Perceptions Role Conflict Judy Billings was accused of lacking customer service by Clark, Burton, and Bowers, one of their largest customers, but it was contributed to unreasonable demands by her DM Dan Gunther.This is placing Judy in a position of the â€Å"person in the middle† where she has conflicting expectations of her responsibility To solve this problem the job roles need to be laid out clearly for each employee to understand. There should be no confusion when it comes to taking care of cu stomers. Salespeople should also meet with their cliental on a regular basis. This will reduce role conflict Training will also be a huge factor in solving this issue Role Ambiguity Lynn Attaway made the mistake of making a client wait for more than five hours when their package was promised within two hoursThis was contributed to lack of information concerning the changes to the Package Expedite Form (PEF) which was sent through email for employees to see Solutions Better communication throughout the work place from management down through all levels Training Weekly/monthly meetings where employees can learn and have a better understanding of new technology they will be working with. Mike Wagner recently visited First Call Medical Centers where he heard that Gold Package Delivery Services was offering similar services for a lower costCould not give them an answer as to why OTPD’s costs were so much higher Felt he did not have adequate information on the competition Solutions Mentoring Someone else’s insight would have been beneficial in this instance just so he wouldn’t seem so uninformed when talking with clients On the job training Closer supervision This will reduce role ambiguity Work-Family Conflict Problem Role Conflict: Some employees may become unsure about how they want to spend most of their time and what is most important. Employers should be concerned about their employees plateauing.Carol Klein, Key Account Manager in Philadelphia, â€Å"I find myself being torn between doing an outstanding job at the OTPD and being a mom to Alice. † Solution Activities that bring the employee’s work and home lives closer. One step to a solution would be to no longer give Sales Representatives cars, and to save that luxury for the D and upper level personnel. Instead of cars, OTPD could give sales representatives a card to put gas on and maybe even a stipend for car maintenance. This not only saves OTPD money, but it also gives sales representatives another level of incentives to work to achieve.Instead of buying all those cars, OTPD could use the money saved to have more family event and functions. Another idea would also be to have an in-house daycare facility. By having these functions, OTPD will be more of a family-friendly environment. Employees would feel like their family life and their work life would be able to blend together more. Training Each level of employee (key account managers, sales reps and district managers) need to be trained individually. Some employees are making mistakes which are leading to key accounts being dissatisfied:Example: Lynn Attaway, Key Account Manager, made the mistake with the Strawn, Night and Squires (SNS) client regarding the Package Expited Form (PEF). This all happened because Attaway was emailed the changes to the Package Expedited Form. Attaway said that she receives hundreds of emails every day and must have missed the email. I suspect that many other employee s missed the email too. Attaway said, â€Å"I get dozens of emails every day and that one must have slipped by me†. Emailing is NOT the way to train and educate employees about changes in the business.When a change like this is made to the way packages are sent out, a meeting must be called to discuss and learn the new changes. Mike Wagner, Sales Representative in Washington D. C. District also made remarks that suggested more adequate training is required. When Jacobson asked if Wagner needed more information on the competition in order to respond to questions he replied, â€Å"Yes, I did not have a good understanding of how our products compared with Golf Package Delivery† On-Time Package Delivery should designate one morning every 12 weeks to educating their employees about the competition and how it has changed.This is essential in order to be able to tell clients why OTPD’s products and services are superior. With our current report, we hope that OTPD imple ments many of our solutions to become the company that we once were. OTPD customers will love doing business with us as we deliver by: maximizing our technology, high level of customer service, and new innovations will lead to more loyal clients and customers. Furthermore, we will become the premier intra-city package delivery company in the eastern United States and beyond!

Men Are Superior to Women Essay

Men are Superior to Women for the Appellation of ChineseThe cultures in china, Men are stereotyped as a muscular, tough, and strong figure. Until now, the positions of men are still the same. In the traditional Chinese point of view, they deem that men are better. I don’t deny this opinion because I am a man. As a result, my assumptions for the man culture in china in the following aspects, parental training, education and social expectations. First of all, in my country, parents or grandparents used to treat sons better than daughters. According to my culture, â€Å"men should take care of the outside (means earn money), and women should take care of the business inside (means domestic). † My assumption is in the poor area, when a lady is young; she is not got the best from her parent. They used physical punishments when she was misbehaved; she can not allowed to sleep on the bed or couch, instead, she had to sleep on the ground; while she can not allowed to receive education. Besides parental training, education is another area that I think being a man is better in china. My assumption is there are more choices for men in either high school or college most of the time. It is because in china, the educational system in high schools is divided to two major which is art and science. There are no such requirements that woman couldn’t take the science streams. As well as the education and parental training, there are conscious different in social expectations between males and females in china. It is always true that there are more social expectations of males than females. My assumption is â€Å"A male without a job is seen as somebody who is simply not fulfilling his or her major social role, whereas a woman without a job is more acceptable. † The responsibilities for men are taking care of their soul mate and their family. After leaving school, men just work. All the entire life is about work. However, there are no such things for woman. No one will blame a woman who does not have a job. Even so, once I born as a male, I deserve the challenge. Is it become a men are easier than women? There is no certain answer for this question. I strongly believe that men cultures make their life easier in the following aspects, parental training, education and social expectations. As a result, my assumptions for the men culture in china in the following aspects, parental training, education and social expectations. I am proud of being a man and I know my assumption is negative for the women. Indeed, I do not deny that most of the Asian’ nations limit the female’s opportunities. Thus, encouragement needs to be given to girls to help them get past the societies limits on girls. Today, woman power going up and a lot of people talk about men and woman should be more equal. My positive assumption for the future is Chinese culture will start change due to china opens the door to accept new thing form the west. It should be good for women and I hope women’s life will be better. Now they start trust that men and women are equal in importance, either one side has a heavier proportion.

Public Relations Professionals and Educators

As Michael Winkleman described, public relations professionals and educators are currently engaged in a vigorous discussion of the role of ethics within the profession and the means by which ethics can be taught to both public relations students and professionals. According to Winkleman, the rise in concern over ethical issues can be traced to the reaction of the profession to events in the 1980s, which included high-profile instances of insider-trading and covert government foreign policy activities. In addition, the ethical debate is thriving because corporations have realized that they have to pay more attention to social demands and be more responsive to â€Å"stakeholders. † This realization has paralleled the move from theoretical ethics to applied ethics. Winkleman's conclusion is that ethics are crucial for public relations because they will benefit the profession and the companies for which the public relations work. Ultimately, ethics are good for business. In addition, there is empirical evidence suggesting that public relations professionals basing their decision-making and recommendations to management on ethical principles and social responsibility are more likely to have a greater role in management decisions and activities. The result of this concern over ethics in the public relations field has resulted in a vigorous debate over the pros and cons of a universal ethics code. Many writers agree, despite their differences, that not only does ethical decision-making give public relations professionals more opportunities to participate in the management function, but it also assists the development of public relations as a â€Å"profession. † Ethics and social responsibility are also vital issues in public relations because public relations facilitates communication among the company and its many publics, including society at large. As Pratt notes, there are three main points that result from all the empirical research conducted on practitioner ethics. First, â€Å"they underscore the notion that ethics is an important issue practitioners confront. † Second, â€Å"they suggest that practitioners cannot ignore public (and industry wide) evaluation of their professional ethics and that corporate managements need to continually institute ethics in the workplace. † Third, â€Å"they suggest that older practitioners can help set an organization's ethical tone. However, as will be discussed later, Donald K. Wright convincingly argues that ethical behavior is performed by practitioners primarily out of a sense of personal morality and wanting to be respected by his/her various publics, rather than as a result of vague, codified ethical guidelines. Perhaps, what makes the subject of ethics difficult to address from a pragmatic point of view within public relations is the paucity of empirical research and theoretical writing on public relations ethics. This is surprising given that 75% of the educators at a recent AEJMC conference stated that ethics was an important aspect of their teaching and that PRSA members, in a questionnaire, voted the Code of Professional Standards to be the most important member benefit. Many educators are currently urging public relations practitioners to adopt a universal code of ethics. The interest in this topic is evidenced by the special issue of Public Relations Review from the spring of 1993 entirely devoted to the subject of ethics. Naturally, the problem will arise in developing a code that can specifically address each specific morally problematic situation. Possibly due to this problem, some of the writers addressing this issue have been somewhat non- specific in delineating the actual components of an ethical code. However, others such as Hunt and Tirpok have suggested the framework for a code and the strategy for its employment. Kruckeberg believes that increased globalized trade has hastened the need for an international (universal) code of ethics for communicators. In analyzing the functions of transnational corporations, he describes four social benefits these companies provide to Third World countries: â€Å"(1) development of human resources through employment, training, and indigenization†¦ ;(2) strengthening the knowledge base through research and development and the transfer of technology; (3) raising standards of living through the creation of wealth, encouraging local industry and providing consumer goods; and (4) enhancing the quality of life by assisting programs that raise standards in health, housing, nutrition, and education. Given that a transnational corporation is actually able to produce these benefits in Third World nations, they are indeed meeting demands of social responsibility. However, Kruckeberg notes that many corporations have encountered criticism relating to graft and corruption issues, consumer issues, environmental/human safety issues, and political/humanitarian issues. For example, Nestle was embroiled in a controversy surrounding their marketing practices in the Third World of breast milk substitutes. Nestle responded effectively and in a socially responsible manner in 1981 by endorsing the World Health Organization's Code of Marketing for Breast Milk Substitutes the day the measure was enacted and assembled experts to monitor the company's compliance with the Code. Kruckeberg suggests that a code of ethics could be developed that would be â€Å"capable of guiding behavior which attempts to resolve the inherent moral dilemmas [of the four types of criticism previous described] as well as other dilemmas that have occurred or potentially could occur. Many of the codes currently in existence do not take into account the particular responsibilities of transnational corporations. However, despite weaknesses in ethical codes they serve four valuable functions: (1) providing guidelines for practitioner activities, (2) demonstrating what clients and supervisors should expect from practitioners, (3) providing basis for charges of wrongdoing, and (4) providing defense against charges of wrongdoing. The new code of ethics should be developed under the leadership of professional communicators from multinational companies, but there should be input from all members of the professional public relations associations. Hunt and Tirpok extend Kruckeberg's argument and suggest that the public relations profession needs to establish a universal ethics code. In addition, they suggest an actual framework for the code and provide a strategy for its adoption. Hunt and Tirpok believe that a universal code of ethics ought to apply to all communications professions, uniting public relations and journalism in this sense, but that the code must be adaptable to the needs of the individual professions. While journalism's purpose is most often objectivity, public relations' purpose is often advocacy. In this manner, public relations practitioners share the general nature of their purpose with lawyers. Nonetheless, â€Å"all systems and codes of ethics seem to be rooted in the same fundamental principles and similar values. Their suggestion for an actual code is that it deal with first order concerns, such as â€Å"keeping faith with the public† and â€Å"achieving consensus,† not specific communications situations, since no code could possibly address all these situations. The timetable for developing and adopting the code would take six years. The first stage would be organizing and conducting a conference of academics and representatives of professional organizations with the purpose of drafting the code. In the second phase encompassing two years, a task force would visit the professional organizations with the aim of obtaining suggestions for modification, implementation, and dissemination of the code. The third phase would involve the ratification and implementation of the code. In the final stage, the code would be published and publicized â€Å"to inform target publics about the code and its importance to global communication. † There have been objections to the implementation of a universal ethics code on the grounds that public relations cannot be defined, that anyone can practice public relations due to First Amendment-type rights, and that there are differences within the global community as to what constitutes ethical behavior. Kruckeberg dismisses the criticism of cultural relativists who argue against a universal ethics code citing Asuncion-Lande's recommendation that in distinguishing â€Å"between what is universal and what is distinctive in the ethics of different cultures, ethicists should develop an inventory. This inventory of universal ethics would include â€Å"culturally sanctioned rules of ‘proper' interpersonal conduct, i. e. rules which serve to preserve order and to promote social harmony and unity and which provide stability of human relationships in a rapidly changing world. † Complications in Establishing Effective Ethics Programs A significant problem in the functioning of many corporate ethics programs that undermines its success is that fact that many of these programs are so general and short on specifics, as well as not being equipped to address complex problems. An ideal example is Dow Corning. For years Dow was recognized by business educators as leaders in the area of corporate ethics programs. In 1976, Dow's chairman John S. Ludington established a Business Conduct Committee and Dow also set up ethics training sessions for employees and audits every three years to monitor compliance with the company's ethical guidelines. Nonetheless, there were indications as early as 1977 that the breast implants manufactured by Dow were unsafe. The question raised by Eric Schine was why did the audits monitoring ethical compliance not discover this information. His answer is that â€Å"for the most part, ethics programs aren't designed to deal directly with complex problems. Instead, they are there only to help cultivate an overall environment of proper conduct. † Similar problems occurred at McDonnell Douglas despite their extensive ethics program. In the late 1970's and early 1980's, defense contractors were accused of severe overcharging of the government and some of these contractors were required to compensate the government for the overcharging. In addition, the Iran-contra scandal further tainted the image of defense contractors. In 1980, Sanford McDonnell became Chairman and CEO of McDonnell Douglas and established the company's ethics program because of his conviction that ethics must be woven into the decision process at all steps through all levels of authority. In 1983, McDonnell instigated a study to determine the best course of ethics training for MDC employees. The MDC training program developed a conceptual model for defining ethical decision making. More than 75,000 employees took part in the training seminars. Subsequent to the implementation of the program, the company discovered the following: ethics became an acceptable topic for discussion, Sanford McDonnell's personal participation in the videotape sent a strong message, the case study approach highlighted ethical issues with practical benefits, employees found they did not have to face ethical issues alone, an increased sense of pride developed among the employees, and MDC issued a new policy and procedures manual relative to pricing and contracting with the government. Some of the lessons learned by MDC that could be transferable to other entities include: ethics training should be pragmatic and managerial in nature, strong leadership is needed from the top and implementation must be from the top down, managers must serve as role models, there must be a standardized training procedure and workshops should utilize a participative process. Center and Jackson's main point about the MDC case is that â€Å"a track record of exemplary conduct builds slowly. It requires constant tending. An honorable reputation is both precious and fragile. Opponents or competitors are rearmed by infractions. † In 1988, investigations by the Justice Department, FBI and the Navy, showed evidence of bribery, fraud, and kickbacks in defense contracting. MDC was among the 75 companies named in the investigation. According to Donald K. Wright, voluntary ethics codes are largely ineffective because there is no enforcement mechanism and the codes are only as good as the people who subscribe to them. Much of this criticism is directed at codes of the professional associations. He feels that many codes are just filled with â€Å"meaningless rhetoric. Ultimately, public relations practitioners conduct themselves according to ethical principles because â€Å"they believe in themselves and want others to respect them. † Ethical behavior is not the result of adherence to codes, but rather to the individual practitioner's sense of personal morality. Wright conducted a study to examine the ethical and moral values of practitioners with the major premise of the study being that â€Å"public relations never will be any more ethical than the level of basic ethical morality of the people who are in public relations. He found that the structure of moral values of American practitioners is based on socio-economic morality, religious morality, basic morality, puritanical morality, basic social responsibility morality, and financial morality. Some corporations have addressed the problem cited by Wright, namely that ethics codes are often ineffective when they are not accompanied by enforcement mechanisms. For instance, General Dynamics instituted a comprehensive ethics program aimed at situations involving anti-trust, political contributions, international business, inside information, and corporate resources. Crucial to this program is the possibility of sanctions for infractions, including penalties ranging from warnings to dismissals and criminal proceedings. In terms of professional associations, PRSA developed its first statement of principles in 1950 and its code of professional standards in 1959. Between 1952 and 1985, 168 cases were investigated, with only 10 cases resulting in sanctions. However, the chairman of PRSA's Board of Ethics and Professional Standards, Donald McCammond, claims the â€Å"enforcement procedure gives the Code its teeth, makes it a deterrent in addition to a set of guidelines. Greater Opportunities for Participation in Management Policy Decisions A distinctive benefit of improving social responsibility and ethical decision- making among public relations practitioners is that it will enhance their credibility and increase their opportunities for participating in management policy decisions. Judd conducted a study to test the hypothesis that there is a â€Å"positive relationship between public relations recommending socially responsible actions and public relations participating in policy decisions. One hundred members listed in the 1986-87 Register of the Public Relations Journal were asked, â€Å"Are you aware of situations where public relations has recommended changes in what the organization does or what it produces in order to satisfy the responsibility of the organization to society? † In addition, respondents were asked whether responsibility to the client/employer or to society is more important and were asked a number of questions addressing public relations' credibility in relation to other professions and ways in which credibility could be improved. The study did find a significant relationship at the statistical significance level of . 05 that recommendations of socially responsible actions translated into higher participation in policy decisions. Judd connects these findings to Bernays' opinion that feeling more responsible to society and less motivated by financial rewards marks the development of a profession. This increase in involvement in policy decisions also illustrates public relations strong credibility with management in these cases. Hence, the value of Judd's study is that it shows concern for socially responsible actions among public relations practitioners define public relations as a profession, involve practitioners more intimately in management policy decisions, and improve the credibility of the profession. Judd's study also found that 65% of the respondents viewed responsibility to society as more important than responsibility to the client/employer; in effect, they view themselves as a corporate conscience. In this sense then, public relations practitioners, at least those surveyed, view their ultimate purpose as that of a counselor as opposed to the traditionally assigned role of public relations people as advocates. Grunig fundamentally conceives of public relations as a critical element of the management function. Public relations is â€Å"an essential management function because of its contribution to the long-term, strategic management of the organization. In particular, public relations is involved in the planning process in the sense that it enables communication and building of relationships with publics that support or can divert the mission of the organization. As a result of public relations' capabilities to facilitate communication among publics and its intrinsic role within the management function, it has a unique responsibility to act according to social and ethical considerations. In fact, Grunig asserts that adherence to the requirements of this responsibility is the only way in which public relations can be considered to be an important element of the global communication system. If public relations is practiced according to the principles of strategic management, public responsibility and the two-way symmetrical model, it is an important element of the global communication system — facilitating symmetrical communication that helps to build relationships among organizations and publics and to develop policies that are responsible to those publics. † Ethics Code as a Requirement for Professional Status Thomas H. Bivins asserts that professionalism requires autonomy, but that autonomy comes with the expectation of objectivity. This presents a problem for public relations because not all public relations practitioners serve the role of counselor, many fill the role of advocate. Bivins describes how these two different roles result in the necessity for different ethical guidelines, which involve the degree of responsibility or obligation to the client/employer, degree of objectivity, and degree of autonomy. However, as Judd's study showed, public relations practitioners increasingly view their role as that of counselor, given that they feel more bound to social responsibilities rather than client/employer obligations. This will place a more stringent ethical impetus upon public relations practitioners because the responsibilities of counselors are broader in the sense of having to be concerned with both larger and a greater number of publics. â€Å"Although both the advocate and the counselor must practice within the bounds of the truth, good taste and the law, the counselor must also practice within the moral boundaries of, and with ethical consideration for, all concerned publics. Purpose, therefore, becomes a factor which must be decided upon, to a greater degree, by the counselor. † Bivins stresses that it is the move towards professionalism in the field which has actually led to a concern over ethical principles. Center and Jackson similarly connect ethical concerns with the development of a profession. â€Å"The public relations function has sought to fulfill its aspirations by exerting an ethical and moral force as well as technical skill and, by doing so, developing an identity and a professional discipline of its own. As Winkleman noted, the ethical debate began with Watergate and has gained momentum in the public relations community with the scandals involving Michael Deaver (indicted for perjury) and Anthony Franco (insider trading). Despite the lack of substantial empirical research literature on public relations ethics to date, there appears to be an increased interest in the subject of ethics among educators and researchers. For example, Public Relations Review devoted entire issues to the subject of ethics in 1989 and 1993. Regardless of whether the public relations profession institutes a universal code as some are advocating, empirical evidence has shown that practitioners who base their decision-making on social responsibility and within ethical guidelines, whether personal or structural, will be more likely to be involved in policy decisions. In turn, practitioners will enhance their credibility with management and the public at large. Furthermore, observance of ethical principles demonstrate the mark of a profession.