Monday, September 30, 2019

Up from Slavery: the Struggles and Triomphs

UP FROM SLAVERY: THE STRUGGLES AND TRIOMPHS OF BOOKER T. WASHINGTON IN A DIVIDED AMERICA Even though slavery has been abolished in the United States for decades now, the stories from the people who lived in the period when slavery was still practiced and experienced the period after the abolishment, are still alive today. The experiences Booker T. Washington tells about in Up From Slavery range from haunting to inspirational, and give a clear view on the South of the US post-Civil War from the eyes of a black man. Even though Booker T.Washington endured horrible circumstances during slavery, Washington sets an example for black people of the perseverance to succeed in the US and to overcome all obstacles. The autobiographical story in Up From Slavery starts with introducing Washington’s life on the plantation where he worked. As he phrases it himself: â€Å"[his] life had its beginnings in the midst of the most miserable, desolate, and discouraging surroundings† (Washin gton 870). These surroundings, combined with devastatingly hard labor, created an environment with no apparent end in sight, and no hope of changing the situation.This helplessness is expressed by Washington, as he sees other boys and girls his age going to school. Due to the situation in the US at the time, there were no chances at all of Washington getting into school, or as he calls it: â€Å"paradise† (Washington 872). When this no-escape-possible situation ends –when slavery is abolished– and Washington hears about a school for black people, he immediately is determined to go to the school. His persistence is recognized by the school board and he gets accepted in the school, which leads to Washington excelling in school.When he began delivering his first speeches years later, he developed himself as a leading figure, who was fighting to help black people and other minorities to grow out of the place they have been kept in for years, and advance themselves. For black people, often in circumstances not dealt with by whites, having Washington as an example as someone who defeated his personal enemies by escaping his situation, was of grave importance. To actually see someone who has climbed to the top, coming from horrible circumstances, could inspire a next generation to work as hard as Washington did.To let other black people get to the place Washington is, he not only talks about education, he also talks about always being friendly to white people. During a speech at the Atlanta Exposition in 1895, Washington talks about significance of finding allies: To those of my race who depend on bettering their condition in a foreign land or who underestimate the importance of cultivating friendly relations with the Southern white man, who is their next-door neighbor, I would say: â€Å"Cast down your bucket where you are†Ã¢â‚¬â€œcast it down in making friends in every manly way of the people of all races by whom we are surrounded. Washi ngton 888) By sending this message to people of every color and casting down ones bucket, Washington said that a society where black people could work themselves to the same level as whites could be created. This approach to overcoming the racial issues between black and whites did lead to criticism, with them saying that Washington was keeping discrimination in place by not addressing it fully. Especially W. E. B.Du Bois was critical of Washington’s ideas, stating that â€Å"[Washington’s] program asked blacks to give up political power, insistence on civil rights, and higher education for Negro youth† (Gibson). And while Washington did play down some issues, one must not forget the time Washington was living in, and that his speeches even without those issues more assertive leaders like Du Bois were rooting for, were controversial to many Southern white people. Booker T. Washington pushed aside the force of the Southern whites wanting to hold black people back and overcame his obstacles.Coming from an enslaved and poor position, educating and working himself up to a high position, Washington was and still is an inspiration to all people, but especially for those who are in the position he was in. He gave hope to the people that needed it most, and his words still continue to do so. WORKS CITED Gibson, Robert A. Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. Du Bois: The Problem of Negro Leadership. Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute. Web. 17 Oct. 2012. http://www. yale. edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1978/2/78. 02. 02. x. html Washington, Booker T. Up From Slavery. New York: Doubleday, 1901.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

MGT 501

Developing the Session Long Project Paper:   The SLP paper is a unique opportunity to directly use the course materials to improve your understanding of the OB-related issues within your immediate work organization (or another organization you know very well).   This should help to make the course more personally relevant. Please note that they ARE NOT simply ‘personal opinion’ papers.   Rather, they ask you to conduct a series of brief personal assessments, relating insights you have gained from reviewing the assigned academic materials, to your specific career.   Spend some time thinking about how to apply these assessments and coming up with a substantive career development plan to build on your skills and shore up your weaknesses. Your analysis should be approximately two double spaced pages, plus include both title and academic reference pages (the same as requested for each case paper).   Also, as with the case paper, please use contiguous citations (at the point in the paper where they are most relevant†¦again, see the TUI Style Sheet on this).   These will assist help your professor to better understand how you have used the applicable academic material to support your analysis. The SLP for this class involves constructing a personal inventory of your management skills, and a plan for improving those skills. In each module, you will complete an assessment of a relevant set of skills, focusing on your strengths and identifying any weaknesses that may have been revealed through the assessment an/or your personal experience. You will then be asked to create a plan by which you can `grow` your strengths and shore up your weaknesses. By the end of the project, you will have a personal management profile and action plan. In this module, you will be assessing your cultural awareness. Click on this link to Kwintessential Language and Culture Specialists. ((http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/culture-tests.html)) You will find a selection of 20 or so cultural awareness quizzes. Choose one or two that looks interesting to you. (Hint: You will learn the most if you choose a general quiz, or one that concerns a country with which you are not familiar, as well as test your knowledge of a culture with which you think you are highly familiar.) After completing the quiz(s), address the following questions in a 1-page essay: Which quiz(s) did you take? As I am from Asia and I do know a bit of Spanish, I took the Cross-Cultural quiz on Islam and on Mexico. Were you surprised at your score? Yes, I was a bit surprised about the results.   In the Islam quiz, I got an 80 %, and in the Mexican quiz, I got 60 %. What strengths do you think that you have in the area of inter-cultural awareness? Some of the strengths I have in the area of cross-cultural awareness includes: – Knowing a bit of the local languages, such as Arabic, Urdu, and Spanish Knowing the customs and traditions belonging of these groups Belonging to the same religion or staying with people of the same religion as these groups. Having an idea of the attitudes, beliefs and practices followed by these groups. Having respect for one another, irrespective of the caste, creed, race, etc. Having more of cultural encounters and interactions Having an idea of interacting and developing a relationship with people from other cultures Staying in a cosmopolitan environment I have met people from these countries I have read about these groups in books and in web sites.  · What weaknesses are you able to identify? I have not traveled to these regions of the world I do not know to read and right the languages spoken in these regions Taking a bit longer time to learn local languages Taking longer time to get accomplished with local traditions – Create a plan of specific steps can you take to build on your strengths and decrease areas of weakness. During cross-cultural interactions, the individual should not be bias and have a faulty attitude towards people belonging to certain cultural background.   These attitudes develop when others provide inappropriate information of these groups.   Hence, we tend to develop negative behaviors with individuals of these groups leading to negative interactions and bad experiences.   It would be more important for us to be unbiased and have an open mind. 1. As I stay in a cosmopolitan environment, I would be open for discussion, interactions and ability to accept people belonging to foreign cultures. 2. Before interacting with any individual belonging to another cultural group, a thorough cultural assessment similar to this needs to be conducted. 3. Once the cross-cultural skills have been developed, individuals belonging to other groups would begin to trust us and have a stronger relationship with us. 4. During interactions, eye-to-eye contact is necessary. 5. It is important to respect the beliefs, attitudes and practices of these groups during interactions, as many of them follow strong traditions and customs. 6. During intercultural interactions, it is necessary to keep in mind whatever ideas exist of the attitudes, behaviors, traditions and practices.   Even a little bit of these put into practice would be identified by the other individual and would be appreciated.   In this way, slowly but surely relationships can be developed. 7. If the individual expresses a belief, which is superstitious in nature, it may be better to be nonjudgmental about it.   I would respect such superstitious as it would mean giving credit to the other individual’s culture. 8.It may be difficult for me sometimes to mix with people from other cultures, as I have not traveled to other regions of the world.   However, reading more about these individuals, their countries and their cultures through books, videos and the Internet can reduce the problem. 9.As I take longer time to learn languages, I would have to make an extra effort to do so.   It may be easy for a child to learn and accept a new language as they have good learning capacities.   However, once an individual crosses the age of 8 to 9, the ability to learn a new language may decrease.   Adults having good motivational capacity would also be able to learn a new language.   Hence, I would have to motivate myself further to learn the new language. 10.   In order to get accomplished with new traditions, an open mind and greater amount of intercultural interactions is required. Why is it important for managers to increase their levels of cultural awareness? Managers have to increase their level of cultural awareness so that they can develop a strong relationship with individuals belonging to other cultures.   Once these relationships develop, both parties would begin to trust and have confidence in one another.   The Managers could now motivate the staff and also be able to understand and solve their problems better.   This would be positive not only for the manager and the staff member, but also for the organization as a whole. References: Campinha-Bacote, J. (2001), A model of practice to address cultural competence in rehabilitation nursing, Rehabilitation Nursing, 26(1).      

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Women in the united states Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Women in the united states - Assignment Example The theory of feminism is therefore developed based on the concept of inter-sectionalist with an aim of achieving equality for all the women in all the spheres. The theory further states the fact that racism, classism and homophobia are still a hindrance in the interactions of the social groups. The theories indicate that women still divide themselves in terms of race, social class and education which are common peculiar attributes. Above all else, our politics initially sprang from the shared belief that Black women are inherently valuable, that our liberation is a necessity not as an adjunct to somebody elses may because of our need as human persons for autonomy. As indicated by the short history of Audre Lorde who responded to another feminist scholar in the 1979. In the fierce attack, Lorde criticized clearly the white feminist erasure of the voices and experiences of the women of color hence a realization of a women’s liberation through the conference The discrimination between educated and classy white women, the women of color is clear as indicated in the two books. They openly shows how the black women have been sidelined basing on race and gender making the black women be invisible while making them appear as mere objects. They have fought through activism, in conferences and through scholarships to attain education. This has lead to a forced indictment of the racism from the white class feminism movements. In the book sisters of yam, hooks examines the theories and complicates the notion that black women are obliged to stand in unity with their fellow counterparts even when their female counterparts ignore them and their experiences. The outright assumption that the black women must align and conform themselves with the women movements but not be heard is a notion that is overtaken by time. The women also framed their lives for the better through organized protests

Friday, September 27, 2019

Global financial crisis and its effects on Nokia Company Assignment

Global financial crisis and its effects on Nokia Company - Assignment Example On one side, many people believed those responsible for the crisis were the ones receiving bailouts, whereas on the other end, the worldwide financial problems were to affect the livelihoods of almost every individual on the planet due to global interconnection. The subprime turmoil came about in large potion due to the financial tools such as securitization used by banks (Sheila, 2008: 20). Through securitization, banks would pool some of their loans into sellable assets. In so doing, they off-load the risky loans onto others. For this matter, banks knew they would make millions of cash through money-earning loans. However, these money-earning loans tied up for decades, therefore, banks turned them into securities. Security buyers received payments regularly from all mortgages. As a result, the U.S. banks off- loaded their risks. Upon testing this instrument, financial gurus saw securitization as perhaps the greatest innovation of the 20th century. With economic slump entrenching it s effects into the global economy, the divisions of the Nokia including telecommunication and mobile phones division started backing up the pillars of Nokia. In spite of the global deep recession, Nokia grasped potential, quickly came to its feet, and soon started streamlining its business. Financial crisis affected most financial institutions. However, as the securitization business continued buoying, high street banks got into a form of investment banking where they bought, sold, and traded risks. Same investment banks not contented with trading risks, selling and buying, they ventured into home loans and mortgages while they lacked the right management and controls. Many banks took huge sums of money inform of loans thus increasing their... This paper seeks to address the global issue of the financial crisis unfolding, and tries to consider the effects the crisis had on money lending institutions. Also, the change in the financial state of Nokia company is being considered against the background of the crisis. The subprime turmoil came about in large potion due to the financial tools such as securitization used by banks . Through securitization, banks would pool some of their loans into sellable assets. In so doing, they off-load the risky loans onto others. For this matter, banks knew they would make millions through money-earning loans. These money-earning loans tied up for decades, therefore, banks turned them into securities. Security buyers received payments regularly from all mortgages. The U.S. banks off-loaded their risks. Financial crisis affected most financial institutions. High street banks got into a form of investment banking where they bought, sold, and traded risks. Same investment banks not contented with trading risks, selling and buying, they ventured into home loans and mortgages while they lacked the right management and controls. Many banks took huge sums of money in form of loans thus increasing their exposure to financial problems. When people eventually began noticing the risk, their confidence fell down at an alarming rate. As a result, the level of lending slowed down at once and in other cases ceased . September 14, 2008 witnessed Lehman Brothers collapse. Following its collapse, governments worldwide struggled to rescue their gigantic financial institutions as the state of the failing stock and housing sectors persisted. In conclusion, global financial crisis was inflicting and driving even the developed economies bankrupt.

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 200

Summary - Essay Example Grouping together of the nodes forms an ad hoc network that exposes the system to errors. The allowance of each node to interfere with each others transmission causes hidden and revealed problems within a wireless network station. The solution for this problem is available using the IEE standard and Point Coordination. The wireless networks have more chances of undetected frame collisions at the MAC sub layer. Detecting the collision and retransmitting the lost frame is imperative practice in preventing the loss of data integrity. However, the wired (Ethernet) local data networks rarely experience data integrity issues. Therefore, collision control is unnecessary for the Ethernet and wired LANs. The wireless network faces transmission issues when signal problems occur due to signal-bounce. Consequently, this necessitates the need for the MAC layer to solve these challenges. The MAC sub-layer for wired segments does not need collision avoidance protocol despite not having much transmission capabilities as those in wireless LANs. The wireless LANs is prevalent than the wired ones as they have various benefits found at the MAC sub layer of the network

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

How is technology shaping the future of tertiary institutions and what Thesis Proposal

How is technology shaping the future of tertiary institutions and what must the do to survive - Thesis Proposal Example Technology is the skeleton, muscles and blood of higher education for the students in meeting the standards of excellence in scholastic merits, viable and sustainable productive skills for future, and adaptability to changing trends in real world. In order to keep pace with the changes around the globe, it is indispensable for the institutions to connect the teaching to technology so that the beliefs about future can be transformed to realities in their practical outcome. This paper is aimed at making an exploration of the various management challenges for rendering a tertiary education strategy in connection with the increasing demand for technology in the application level learning. The project will investigate, experiment and evaluate the information, factual data and chronological details related to the advancement of technology as a relationship with its viability and scope in the field of tertiary education by pursuing the following question - The paper will be an evaluation of the current system of education at higher levels with apt suggestions for improvement by highlighting the relevance of technology at learning process so as to enable the students find their place in the competitive world. It does not take strain to understand the inevitable role of technology in the present day world in connecting lives as a vicious cycle comprising various dynamic activities for growth and sustainability. Although the focus of technological advancement is mainly on the business sector, the fact that educational institutions are the suppliers of creative human resources is indisputable. This proposal will focus on underlining the importance of a discussion of management challenges before universities and institutions in framing a balanced course inclusive of technology at its core. Experimental approach to management challenge is important in tertiary institutions for various reasons. Most basically, it is

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

M4a2 TEAM DEV AND LEADERSHIP Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

M4a2 TEAM DEV AND LEADERSHIP - Essay Example nal connections built over time between the team members, therefore passionate debates regarding more critical issues associated with the task at hand were replaced with veiled or irrelevant discussion about social issues among group membership. This created, in itself, a secondary type of dysfunction referred to by many scholars in academia and leadership philosophy as lack of commitment. Why is this? Because individuals in the group did not consider the development of conflict as being vital to producing a basket of opinion, it did not provide the group with the foundations for quality and relevant ideas about cognitive dysfunction. The social connections within the group put members into the position where individuals would, to save their in-group status, avoid debatable topics that would have enhanced the discussion and improved cognitive mapping. According to Lencioni (2002) dysfunction is introduced into teams where there is a strong social connection and members will seek what is referred to as artificial harmony rather than worthwhile debate or discussion. Katzenbach and Smith (1992) support this notion, suggesting that the conventional wisdom among in-group members, or where there are powerful, previous social connections, is to avoid conflict in pursuit of harmonious discussion not necessarily relevant to the actual, productive construction of conflict. This avoids the ability to create workable, differing opinions that somewhat flatten the quality of discussion toward the main goal assigned to the group. If left unchecked, Field (2009) iterates that it will become increasingly difficult to establish a sense of purpose for the group. The team will become further more indecisive due to the desire to continue with in-group discussion more relevant to the social environment rather than academia. In order to overcome indecisiveness, lack of group clarity about goals, and fear of conflict, it would be pertinent for the group leader to actually inspire

Monday, September 23, 2019

Leadership interview business paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Leadership interview business paper - Essay Example He carried along on the same lines, often doing two jobs in a day to support his family and education. Davis graduated with a degree in electronics engineering and went ahead to do his MBA. Throughout his education, he was always working part-time to take care of his siblings and mother. Right now, he has his own small company which is growing at an enormous pace and is already perceived to become more successful. With such great experience and personality aspects, I found him an ideal candidate for this interview. The questions I asked him were: His answers to my questions were all very brief, yet highly powerful. All of his answers were supported from practical knowledge and exposure and had no text-book touch to them. According to him, a leader is somebody who is standing in front of his people and controlling and directing them. A leader cannot be a person who sits in isolation in a corner. He needs to be there among people all the time. This is highly essential in gaining popularity and trust with his people. Having been a leader of a successful organization since 8 years, he considers this to be the major difference between leaders and managers. I learnt that leadership traits do not occur in a person by birth but are developed, since childhood, with the help of the environment around. If, at a very young age, a person is thrown up with difficult obstacles and told to cross them, this develops leadership skills in him. Moreover, when a person assumes responsibility of something, be it a house, younger siblings or a company, he automatically assumes the role of a leader. He believes training and education cannot make a successful leader, but can only polish the existing leadership skills in a person. An important point I learnt was that a leader needs to be loved by his people. The love can only come when the people trust him, respect him and are fond of him. A strict

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Solution of trhee question Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Solution of trhee question - Essay Example Separating the roles of chairman and CEO mainly helps in distributing the balance of power and responsibilities. Board is the primary internal control mechanism for aligning the different interests of shareholders and top management. When an individual serves simultaneously as chairman and CEO, the Board’s control over him will be weakened. This does not happen when the roles are separated. The role of Chairman includes managing the business of the Board and monitoring its progress. Non-segregation of duties of Chairman and CEO would reduce the monitoring effectiveness over the management of the company. Opportunistic executives may take advantage of their combined role as Chairman and CEO in order to personally benefit at the expense of the shareholders. The chances of such injustice would reduce to an extent if the roles are separated. Having a single leader instead of two helps promote effective action by the CEO speeding up response to external events faced by the company. Separation of roles could lead to delays in such response. (iv) The main reason for any company to issue its rights shares at a discount is to make the offer relatively attractive to shareholders and encourage them either to take up their rights or sell them so the share issue is â€Å"fully subscribed†. The price discount also acts as a safeguard should the market price of the companys shares fall before the issue is completed. The existing shareholders or purchaser of rights would still be interested in subscribing for the shares so far as the subscription price remains lower than the market price of the shares. A company would prefer to use rights issue as a source of finance because the chances of the shares being fully subscribed under rights issue is higher when compared to shares being freshly issued in the market. A firm can grow in two ways: either by merging with or

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Comprehensive and Continuous Evaluation Pattern Essay Example for Free

Comprehensive and Continuous Evaluation Pattern Essay It is ironic that Kapil Sibal declared at 125th Birth Anniversary celebrations of great Mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan that exam-centric education system would have to go. One wonders what Ramanujan himself would say – â€Å"Mr. Minister, even I am a product of exam centric education system†? Kapil Sibal says he would like to replace the current system with a child-centric one. Now that is a very interesting term. So how does the minister define the term? Expressing his determination to do away with rote learning and the â€Å"archaic† examination-oriented system, he said: â€Å"We are endeavouring to reform this with emphasis on skill development and unlocking the creative talent within the child. † The Ministry’s decision to do away with examinations at the end of the year, replacing them with a Comprehensive and Continuous Evaluation (CCE) system in a bid to de-stress children, was a step in that direction. [Link] Comprehensive and Continuous Evaluation has its benefits. It has to be, however, said that CCE will not de-stress the children all by itself. Students are under stress due to the range of competition. Imagine a candidate appearing for IIT JEE during +2. He faces at least 7 lakh others across the country. Imagine what goes on in the family, forget the candidate! Every IIT graduate has a story to tell as to how many sacrifices the complete family makes for success at the exam! CCE has its benefits and can de-stress the students but in an autonomous organization with tight controls within the organization. For example, some engineering colleges at graduate level and almost all of them at post-graudate level use it to the maximum benefit of both students and professors. The system is a success at these places because of the autonomy. JNTU implemented CCE in engineering colleges affiliated to it. It had limited impact and yet, it couldn’t do away with the final exam. The final exam had to cover 80% of the total score. CCE makes sense when the number of institutions involved is less. Another important factor that influences the impact of CCE is the physical proximity of affiliated institutions. Otherwise fraud and cheating would happen as the case is with JNTU’s example. Understanding the issue JNTU faced several issues with implementing CCE is more than 100 colleges in AP affiliated to it at the time of introduction of the system. They started with 80% external evaluation in the form of final comprehensive exam and 20% internal evaluation across the semester via 5 exams conducted by the instructor. Due to lack of feedback mechanism between students and the governing body – JNTU, the system led to several problems. There were cases of cheating and fraud. JNTU wanted to solve this problem by making internal evaluation â€Å"not so internal† through online objective evaluation. For this, an internal evaluation question bank was created through suggestions from all its professors, assistant professors, associate professors across the affiliated institutes. The online evaluation software would throw random questions on the screen to be answered in stipulated amount of time. This system again failed at several institutions due to infrastructure issues but the major problem was again cheating and fraud. The issue is quite clear – large educational bodies with centralized governing body cannot use CCE effectively. Effective use of CCE can happen with decentralized model. JNTU understood this and divided colleges between JNTU Hyderabad, JNTU Kakinada and JNTU Ananthapur. The division was purely based on physical proximity of the institute to the governing body. This system still faces the issues that it had initially. It will continue to face them. Take another example. IITs. For evaluating graduate students, IITs dont have a common examination across all the IITs! Even BITS Pilani which has its campuses in Pilani, Dubai, Goa and Hyderabad doesnt use CCE across all four via a common evaluation body. Closed loop within each campus is used. In fact in all these institutes, swift justice in case of any fraud/cheating via committees within the institutes ensures better evaluation, without hindering the process of education. The key phrase – â€Å"checks and balances†. One then wonders why such a tight loop cannot be framed within the schools or a set of schools within close physical proximity! What is happening now? In our current system of school education, we have CBSE at national level and as competing bodies we have State Education Boards. Schools are allowed to choose one of the bodies. The chosen body not just dictates syllabi but also evaluates students in a final examination with a common exam held on a common date at all affiliated schools. So by design CCE is missing. Private schools, so far bridged this gap by having internal evaluation which does not affect scoring at final exam but will only help students to be ready for the final evaluation. Government schools on the other hand, have been busy serving meals at noon to children rather than conducting classes regularly. All government education bodies across India have a common goal – syllabus. Core of the problem lies in this – skill development has never been the area of interest of these bodies. Skill development was and still is the school’s responsibility to compete with other schools. Students who make it top notch institutes across India via JEE, AIEEE, BITSAT etc. , generally have a set of skills in some area or the other. But it has to be understood that they do not make it there due to those skills. They acquire those skills at school, due to their own enthusiasm and sometimes due to the school’s stress on extra-curricular and co-curricular activities. Fortunately or unfortunately, skill development is not due to the governing body. Some exceptions do exist in places like Kerala though! In terms of the system of education, both geography and demography have a huge role to play. Before CCE Implementation†¦. Sibal’s megalomania and grandiose plans lack substance just because of one of his very fundamental assertion – centralization. For a country of the size of India, with such a large population, centralization of education is a disaster to start with. Decentralizing and allowing that little freedom to schools would be a very important step. Such a decentralization process must be addressed before CCE can be implemented. If we are supposed to get anything useful from implementation of CCE, what Governments at class X, +1, +2 level in Government Schools needs to Allow more freedom to schools to collaborate and spool resources – they are already in severe resource crunch. Leaving out examinations completely would be a recipe for disaster. As it is, drop out rates in Class X, +1, +2 across states like AP is too high. Any hasty introduction of CCE without first correcting some fundamental flaws in organizing schools would only bring about faster drop out rates at these levels. CCE is already available in an abstract way in private schools. Several aided and government schools tried to emulate it to see marginal success. But the issue remains. CCE it self will not reduce stress on students. In conclusion, CCE would make sense only with a proper mechanism to address drop-out rates at class X, +1, +2 levels across government schools in India. Acts proposed by Sibal like RTE only make it worse as they attack Private schools which have a decent CCE model already in place. Bottom line – leave private institutions alone. If possible allow them a % share of total evaluation points/score. Don’t scrap examinations, even if you introduce grading. Meanwhile, ensure Government and Aided school improve standards w. r. t infrastructure and faculty. Form conglomerates of schools within a certain radius and allow them to frame, organize and evaluate their students through proper resource spooling.

Friday, September 20, 2019

The cultural and social challenges faced by IHRM

The cultural and social challenges faced by IHRM Now we going to introduce the challenges that IHRM had to face. We know the main challenge was to convince the mangers that the culture is different, the social system is different, the legal principles are different etc. Overall its a completely new environment and it is a challenge for the international HR manger to identify these changes and adopt accordingly. This is the main difference between HR and IHRM, in IHRM the manager operates in an alien environment which makes decision making and implementation much difficult. Thus the recruitment and training of these mangers, communication between the head office and the subsidiary becomes more important than in a local operation. The IHRM is focuses more on how to select, recruit and retain managers for international operations, rather than focusing on how to manage international employees. Now , we moved along, expatriates. An expatriate is an employee who is working and temporary residing in a foreign country (Dowling Welch, 2004, p.g.5). The fundamental difference between domestic HR and IHRM is that staff are moved across national boundaries, thus expatriates e are born. Hence it is natural in an IHRM subject to focus more on handling these expatriates. There can be three types of employees in an international firm. Employees from where the firm is headquarted is known as Parent Country Nationals, employees from where the subsidiary is located are known as Host Country Nationals, other country nationals are known as Third Country Nationals (Dowling Welch, 2004, p.g.5). Now it started to make sense, IHRM is more complex and complicated than domestic HRM, because now you not only have to have a thorough understanding about the host country, you also need to decide who are we going to use as employees HCNs, PCNs or TCNs, or a mixture of them. If so in what proportions? How can the organization select the right person? How is training, compensating and other activities are carried? we hope to find answers for these questions during the report. Cross-cultural communication Similarly, among various countries cross-cultural communication is very necessary so that they can understand each others through religion ,culture, art , literature, foreign policies ,fiscal polices ,etc. such type of bridges of understanding will help to lessen and minimize the gap between two culture. Thirukkural , a noted tamil poet ,who has been translated in more than twenty five languages and who had been famous for ethical themes and brevity, has very aptly remarked on power of speech: The goodness called goodness of speech IS goodness which nothing can reach Since gain or ruin speeches brings Guard against the slips of tongue Weight the words and, speak, because No wealth or virtue words surpass. They overspeak who do not seek A few and flawless words to speak (Gupta .reprint 2004) It is said that speech is grater than words ,mind is greater than speech ,will is grater than mind consciousness is greater than will ,meditation is greater than will and power of understanding is greater than meditation.sanakumara ,surmonzing narad atma vidya or brahmavidya (knowledge of the supreme) says : power of understanding beings sine quo non for proper meditation ,thats is greater than meditation . if we cannot correctly understand and discriminate good and bad ,truth and untruth and discriminate between good and bad ,truth and untruth , and the like pairs of opposites ,how can we meditate? Thus there is no doubt that the power of understanding is linked with speech ,one of the tools of communication. point 02 Cultural Differences That culture played a major role in IHRM as it involves understanding and handling a new culture and a new social system. what aspects should an international HR manager should focus on and how he should respond to cultural differences in an international arena. But the topic had lot more to offer than what I initially anticipated. Culture is the way in which a group of people solves problems and reconciles dilemmas (Trompenaars Turner, 2002, p.g.02). There are so many elements in a culture and there is no one way of understanding or defining a culture. But it was evident that having a thorough knowledge about it was essential for those who are engaged in IHRM. In order to give meaning and understanding to the culture there were several models discussed. However the one that looked most promising and attractive was the Hofstedes five dimensions. He developed a model that focused ways of measuring a national culture and how these measures might work differently in different context. The cultural values that are important in a national culture, could be reflected in the way business within that country are operated and organized (Hofstede, 2006). According to the Hofsteds there are 5 cultural damnations. Power distance this is the extent to which power is distributed unequally among the employees in between the higher positions and the lower positions. Eg- India is a high power distance culture ( even have a cast system) and USA is a lower power distance culture. Individualism vs collectivisms In a individualistic country people would priorities them self ( USA) where as collectivism country people would priorities group needs. Uncertainty avoidance People would try to minimize risk they face in a situation ( avoiding paralysis through analysis ) usually countries with long history and traditions have a high uncertainty avoidance. Countries such as USA well come higher risks. Masculinity / femininity Masculine- tough value dominant Eg; success, money, satiates, competition Feminine- tender values dominant such as personal relationships, care for others, quality of life etc. When we take Sri Lanka for a example I think we have feminine culture even though have many masculinity futures. The best example for this is during the tsunami situation whole county get together to help the tsunami victims within ours. This is an excellent model where you can get a quick idea about something complex as a national culture. we believe this simplicity itself is the major short coming of this model. Hofstede selected a country and gave marks to each dimension, thinking that the culture is static. But we all know that in todays context culture is anything but static, it changes at a rapid pace, thus a country which was once collectivist could now be individualistic due to many reasons such as economic pressure, government policies etc. And also Hofstede never took into account the complexity of the task. For an example USA is an individualistic culture, but certain complex projects and operations may force an individual to work as a group to succeed in that particular project. Thus the complexity of the task has forced someone with individualistic character to be collectivistic. But overall the model is excellent to get a glimpse of what an unknown culture would look like, but we do not believe that you can make sound business decisions based on this model. Now we had understanding about how to analyze a national culture, and also the importance of culture to employees and international HR managers. It was evident that this should be the starting point of any international HR plan. Decisions should be taken where culture is kept at the center, as the success of implementation will depend on how well international employees accept your plans. point 03 The Organizational Context All the previous section discussed about the external environment and this topic discussed how the internal environment should be arranged in accordance to international operations. Again we touched upon areas such as importance of culture in HRM and also the organization strategy and HRM etc. Although these areas are very interesting we found it difficult to see the practicality of it. For an example in one point it was said that if a certain culture is high in power distance and have respect for authority then the authority should be centralized and if not it should decentralized. But in practice it is not the culture that influences the structure most but the objectives and the task of the organization (manufacturing companies are more centralized while service oriented companies are decentralized). The most interesting form of structure for us it was the Matrix structure; it was different from all other traditional structure and had certain unique features. A matrix structure creates dual lines of authority and combines functional and product departmentalization (Robbins, Millett, 2004, p.g. 475). The most interesting part about the Matrix structure was that it broke the departmental boundaries and goes against the unity of command where now one employee reports to two mangers. This type of structure is ideal for a large matured organization. When an organization grows its information processing capacity could get overloaded, under a matrix structure this can be changed as it allows the flow of communication and greater flexibility. But what we found out was even large complex organizations are reluctant to move along with a matrix structure. First of all it is a complex structure, and secondly breaking departmental boundaries has its own repercussions such as there is greater room for conflicts, there will be constant issues about span of control and level of authority and there will always be a struggle for power among managers etc. What was clear for us is that its difficult to look at an organization and say this is the best structure for you. Whatever the structure selected it must be flexible enough to change according to situations and most importantly factors such as national culture, employee behavior must be taken into account prior to deciding on a structure. An organizations structure is the spine that allows it to stand still, the HR activities of the organization and all other activities will depend on the support it gets from the structure. Thus HR has a greater responsibility in designing the structure, the structure should be strong enough not only to stand still against the internal environment but also against the external environment as well. That is why in IHRM we look at aspects such as national cultures, work practices, ethics, norms, behaviors etc. So that HR managers can design a structure that is suitable for the external environment. Lesson 04 HRM in the Host Country Context Host country is the place where the subsidiary is going to be set out. HRM in host country is how you organize your employees, recruit them, train them and compensate them once the subsidiary is operational. But as always the subject went a step further than what I anticipated. Certain type of questions an international HR manager would ask himself. Such as should pay for performance be implemented? Should EEO be practiced here? How far are we going to distribute authority? We feel that we always focus on big areas such as compensation, recruitment, training etc. that we somehow consider the above questions as irrelevant. But we believe in todays context those questions are the burning issues. Before deciding on training and compensation we need to outline the way the organization is going to operate. This way could be the overall corporate strategy, or may be the vision of the organization, whatever it is, it should be the platform of the new subsidiary. Why we call it as the platform is because, once an organization have outlined how it plans to operate such as should it implement pay for performance or should it practice EEO etc. Then the organization has created a clear path for it to travel. Now that the core areas have been outline we can decide what our recruitment policy is going to be like, or how we are going to compensate. For an example lets say that we decided to go along with pay for performance and EEO. Now the HR manager knows what exactly to do, he can design a compensation package that would compensate according to the way employees perform. Also he can design a recruitment policy where applicants are given an equal chance of getting selected. But then there were several other questions that came up. How can an organization decide whats the best path to move forward for it subsidiary? Should it depend on the corporate strategy or the environment of the host country? These were answered quickly by the next few discuss. The topic is trying to teach to us how an organization should look for host country specific factors that will have a direct impact over the operations of the organization. As an example it might be the corporate strategy to use a pay for performance system but certain legal and social conditions in the host country will not allow an organization to use such a strategy (like in Japan where pay is according to the seniority). An organization has a choice when it comes to selecting the way it plans to operate. It can either standardize work practices where parent country standards are maintained globally. Or it can localize the operations according to the host country. These two factors are like two extremes of a continuum, the challenge is to find the point where both options are blended in correct quantities. But in reality we feel organizations do not wish to localize operations and are keen in standardizing as much as possible. From a managers perspective this is completely agreeable as it would solve lot of problems at the corporate level. But when it comes to the operational level it will create ambiguity and confusion. But still in order to ease the pressure at the corporate level and to save time, organizations are more attracted towards standardizing. And this is one of the key reasons why expatriates are used so frequently by multinationals. Apart from many other benefits they bring to the subsidiary they most importantly help the parent country to have a greater control over the operations, thus allowing them to standardize operations to a greater extent. point 05 Sustaining International Business Operations To our knowledge staffing is just one aspect of IHRM and in order to sustain, there are so many other factors that needs to be discussed (such as management style, distribution of power and autonomy etc.). There are several ways approaches to staffing available for MNE. Ethnocentric is where the subsidiary is given little autonomy and key management positions are held by foreign nationals (Dowling Welch, 2004, p.g.58). There can be many examples found here in Sri Lankan for this particular staffing policy such as Hilton, Suntel, IOC, Laughs etc. Polycentric is where each subsidiary is treated as a distinct national entity with some decision making autonomy (Dowling Welch, 2004, p.g.59) examples could be Airtel, Dialog etc. Geocentric is where the MNE takes a global approach to its operations. It is accompanied by a worldwide integrated business and nationality is ignored in favor of ability (Dowling Welch, 2004, p.g.60) e.g -: United Nations, HSBC. Regiocentric is like the geocentric approach, it utilizes a wider pool of managers but in a limited way (Dowling Welch, 2004, p.g.62) e.g -: Unilivers. However what we going to understand how important the subsidiary is to the organization. The higher the importance the greater the control the organization requires over the subsidiary, thus it is more likely that they would go ahead with an ethnocentric or any other similar approach where they can have greater control. That is why we see mature organizations such as Suntel and Hilton still using an ethnocentric approach. And a new subsidiary like Aitel Sri Lanka using a polycentric approach tells us that it is not of significant importance to the group. Regeocentric and geocentric approaches are separate from the above two, because in order to practice these approaches the MNE should be large and spread across many countries. Our observation may not be 100% true for all organizations, but it would apply for many MNEs especially small and medium once. point 06 Recruitment and Selection for International Assignment When recruiting and selection you asked your self was what should be so different in selecting a domestic manager and an international manger. After all if youre successful as a domestic manger you just have to apply the same thing abroad with a bunch of foreigners. This time we was completely wrong, we soon found out that there was a significant difference in selecting a domestic manager and an international manager. The first thing we realized about an international manager is that his task is lot more complicated than of a domestic manager. There is a lot expected from an expatriate, he will have to perform in an unfamiliar environment, he will have to play different roles in different situations (e.g-: an interpreter, a boundary spanner, an agent, a negotiator etc.), the support of the family and friends maybe absent, he is expected to be flexible and adopt to the host country situations quickly etc. An important point we want to understand, expatriate failure. We found it very interesting because we was unaware of this term and also when we looked deep in to it; it is something practically experienced by many MNEs. Expatriate failure is defined as the premature return of an expatriate (that is, a return home before the period of assignment is completed) (Dowling Welch, 2004, p.g.86). There were several reasons highlighted for expatriate failure, the most common issues are the inability of the expatriate to adapt to the host country and family concerns. Why we say is that when an expatriate is selected, the organization makes sure that he has performed well domestically. This certifies that he has the necessary technical competencies. So the reason for not performing internationally is not because he lacks technical skills, its just that he doesnt know how apply his knowledge to that particular culture. And also humans are social animals; they always want to be a part of a group and a community. But when an expatriate is send abroad he gets cut off from his community and gets isolated. This adds tremendous physiological pressure on the expat. That is why we believe that these two factors are the most common reasons for expatriate failure. Lesson 07 Training and Development Now we want to understand how important it is to select the right person to head an international operation. Being successful in a domestic environment does not guarantee the success in an international environment. But selecting the candidate with all these factors is difficult. So it was my understanding that if organizations cannot find individuals with the desired characteristics, they must use training and development to bring those individuals to the desired level. Before this discussion starting this we want to identify and understand the difference between training and development. As explained by Stone (2005, p.g.335) training emphasizes immediate improvement in the current job performance, while development involves those activities that prepare an employee future responsibilities. Thus the correct word to be used in IHRM would be development. The interesting thing in this discussion that expats are in most occasions going act as trainers themselves. This is a true fact; one of the main reasons of using expatriates is because they have certain skills that host country employees do not. Thus they will in time teach these new skills to host country employees. Now we had idea about how important training of expatriates really is. Not only should an organization train them on handling cross cultural instability and breaking the language barrier, they should also be trained to handle the trainers position (a person who trains host country nationals). Many expats fail due the inability to adapt to host country environment. Thus having a good cross cultural training session is vital to a successful international operation.It was also mentioned that preliminary visits should be a key area in cross cultural training. I totally agree with that statement, the expat should be given a chance to experience the host country for himself, which is more effective than any class room session. And language has been a huge barrier for many expatriates to perform well, thus it should also be a part of the cross cultural training. We strongly feel that there should be some concern given in developing the expats technical skills as well, especially if hes going take on a new management position which was absent in this chapter. point 08 Performance Management, Re-entry and Career Issues we had an understanding about performance management from a previous discussion but re-entry was a new area. So we were going to looking forward to identifying the link between these two topics. What performance management really is and how it can benefit an organization.This is because there are so many other factors that needs to be taken into consideration when assessing an expat, things like the host country environment, the culture, employee behavior etc. And another significant difference in IHRM performance appraisals is that it takes into account factors such as the expats ability to connect with the host country culture and social values, ability to understand its employees etc. Our understanding is that having a thorough, fool proof performance appraisal and conducting it correctly is vital for an organization. This is the best point where the organization can do a thorough audit about the performance of the expat. As explained earlier expatriate failure is a major issue in most of the international organizations. This can be avoided to a greater extent if the organization carries out a thorough performance appraisal. Repatriation was a interesting area. The interesting part was that most international manager after a successful international operation upon re entering to the host country underwent certain issues. This was so common that it is been included into the expatriation process. From we want to feel there two sides to this story. One being that the manager who is returning after a long time will find it difficult to adopt to his culture and environment after being away from it. Secondly issues related with the work environment such as change in positions, change in reporting styles, change in organization culture, new recruits etc. I believe the change in the work environment is the one that affects the most. Our understanding is that in order to avoid this, the expat should constantly keep in touch with the parent country during his assignment. point09 Compensation People work because they know that at the end of the day they are paid a decent amount. So if an organization wants to keep its best employees intact it must make sure that they compensate accordingly. We thought that this same rule applied in IHRM. We knew that international mangers are paid much better than local mangers, and our understanding was that it is because the task they handle is difficult. But compensating in IHRM is lot more complicated than in HRM. First of all we want to discuss about a topic that we found very interesting. There are two ways an organization can compensate an employee. The going rate approach is where the salary structure is in parallel with the host country standards (Dowling Welch, 2004, p.g.144). The balance sheet approach is where the salary structure would be similar to home country standards (Dowling Welch, 2004, p.g.146). Our understanding is that the salary structure is always designed to benefit the expat. For an example if an Australian manager is transferred to Sri Lanka they would adapt the balance sheet approach since Australians are paid better than Sri Lanka. If a Sri Lankan manager was to go to Australia then they would adapt the going rate approach. The reason for this as we understand is that most expats are sent to handle senior management positions, and it is most likely that they would have to start lot of things from starch such as accommodation, schooling, furniture etc. Thus the organization must make sure that not only they are paid better than their subordinates but also it should be equal or better than what theyre paid in their parent country. Otherwise an organization will not be able to attract talented individuals. The important thing to understand as we feel is that it is very difficult for someone to accept an international assignment. There is change in culture, living standards, family issues, re location issues, fear of moving into uncertain territory, career issues are some of the things that an international manager will have to face. Despite all this, if an organization wants an individual to accept an international assignment the best way of breaking the above barriers is by compensating them accordingly. we believe that is the reason why expats always gets the benefit when it comes designing their salary structure. Another important area in compensation as we found out was allowances. As we want to understand it has two purposes. Firstly an allowance makes the remuneration package attractive, thus managers will be attracted in accepting international assignments. Secondly it will help to increase the living standards of an international manager. Especially senior managers have a certain image to maintain, they reflect not only their standard but the standard of the entire firm. Hence an allowances will help senior managers to protect that image. point 10 Business Etiquettes and Social Customs There were always something new to learn in etiquettes, because every culture has their own unique way of conducting business. The important thing that we want to understand that no matter how qualified and well equipped a manager maybe he can mess the whole thing up by just doing something that is not excepted in that culture. That is how important etiquettes are. By doing things according to the hosts culture you show that you respect them and their culture. Handling these etiquettes should be one of the factors discussed in the expatriate training programs. As it will help the future expats to handle business smoothly, since then they know what they should do and what they shouldnt. The interesting part is that you can damage a relationship by doing something, or by not doing as well.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Siddhartha and Hinduism/Buddhism Essay -- Religion Spirituality Essays

Siddhartha and Hinduism/Buddhism Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse discusses the many paths of teaching that relate to Hinduism that Siddhartha followed on his journey through life and how each path helped him realize what he wanted with his life. Siddhartha follows many teachings or paths in which to reach his spiritual destination, which at the beginning was to reach Nirvana. The four stages of life choices, which favor both renunciation and world upholding, are 1) student 2) householder 3) forest hermit and 4) wandering ascetic (Ghose, 1/18/01). In the book, Siddhartha participated in each of these lifestyles for a significant amount of time. Unlike his father, Siddhartha did not want to be a Brahmin. He thought his calling was to be a samana, which is very similar, if not an interchangeable term for wandering ascetic. Siddhartha and his beloved friend Govinda were at heart destined to be samanas. Siddhartha bid farewell to his family renouncing material wealth and sensual pleasure as in two of the four aims of life. They wander into the woods to concentrate and try to reach the heightened sensation that is to come with being closer to realizing Nirvana. During his journey with the samanas, he learned to follow many paths that took him away from his self-centered ego. By following and voluntarily suffering through, and eventually overcoming things such as pain, hunger, thirst and fatigue, he was getting closer to what the samanas thought was pure and good. Although he would leave his ego, behind when enduring those scenarios he always came back to his ego, what he and Govinda were working for had only been a lesson in the many teachings and sets of goals they must accomplish to reach the ultimate goal they wanted; redemption (Hesse 14-17). Their journey as samanas and students in the stages of life leads them to questioning the path that they were following, where these teaching helping them were they leading them on the right path? â€Å"There is, I believe, no such thing as what we call ‘learning.’ O my friend, only one knowledge: it is everywhere, it is Atman, it is in me and in you and in every being. And I am starting to believe that this knowledge has no worse enemy than the wish to know, than learning (Hesse 18).† Siddhartha and Govinda spend three years, as samanas in which Siddhartha’s soul feels not fulfilled. After these three ye... ... youth. Vesudeva waited for Siddhartha to realize the revolutionary thought that everything in the world was together as one. The wholeness and the oneness of the river communicated him to show him serenity and understanding. The river also provoked a thought that gave him the understanding that of why as a child he had to leave the teachings of the teachers â€Å"wisdom cannot be communicated. Wisdom that a wise man tries to communicate always sounds foolish. Knowledge can be communicated, but not wisdom. We can find it, we can live it, we can be carried by it, we can work wonders with it, but we cannot utter it or teach it (Hesse 123-4).† Siddhartha’s followed many paths in his life. Each of his paths led him to another lesson or teaching that furthered his quest for his spiritual destination. He experienced all aspects of life, from rich to poor, lonely to companionship, stranger to lover and from guest to friend. By going through those path changes, his emotions and mind were put to the test and succeeded. The paths and four different types of living made his spiritual journey a successful one and that is why he reached the highest of ‘wholeness and oneness’ feeling he did.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Loosening Up in Southern Spain Essay -- Descriptive Writing Examples

Loosening Up in Southern Spain Our group and I were looking out towards the unfamiliar landscape waiting for our arrival at our hotel. As our tour bus traveled through the rolling hills and the city towards the coast, we were looking out towards the unfamiliar. The scenery was heightened by the late afternoon and the seemingly picture perfect shadows everything evidently cast. The Spanish countryside was a beautiful place. As we traveled closer to our hotel and the Mediterranean Sea, our tour guide rambled on about the history and other things that only the older people cared about, while we teenagers talked and looked out at the new world before us. All of the non-adults were really bummed about there being so many adults in the group, and old ones at that. I felt somewhat estranged because of my noticeably younger age. I was at least two years younger than everyone else there and was in a way not fully welcome into their world. I was not specifically excluded from anything, but it was noticeable in the way they spoke to me. As we drew closer to the coast, the roads became more active and the pathways not on the main streets began to grow smaller. Soon it was as one would imagine if they have ever seen a movie with a setting in Spain. A lively environment, plants and trees growing wherever possible gave the place a natural, laid back look. All over Spain the houses and buildings were made up of a white substance that gave an old but clean feeling. There was a good mood in the air that made the short trip seem even shorter. We were all happy to be on the bus, but even happier when we finally did arrive at the hotel. We all grabbed our luggage and slowly worked our way off the bus. The place was beautiful; at least... ...and took my first drink. The taste was bitter, just as I suspected it would be from the smell. I didn't like it but tried to hide my displeasure. I didn't fool any of the others; they told me after a while I'd get used to it and love it. I finished the rest of it ounce by ounce throughout the rest of the night. It felt good doing something that had been strictly outlawed my entire life. I think that after that night the guys looked at me differently and gave me a newfound respect. For the rest of the trip, I was one of them, an equal. I look back on that day and think of how much that night changed me. More importantly, I attribute my change to being in southern Spain and the Mediterranean. I still believe that if I had not been able to make this trip I would still be the up-tight person I used to be. I learned to relax and enjoy life, 5000 miles away from home. Loosening Up in Southern Spain Essay -- Descriptive Writing Examples Loosening Up in Southern Spain Our group and I were looking out towards the unfamiliar landscape waiting for our arrival at our hotel. As our tour bus traveled through the rolling hills and the city towards the coast, we were looking out towards the unfamiliar. The scenery was heightened by the late afternoon and the seemingly picture perfect shadows everything evidently cast. The Spanish countryside was a beautiful place. As we traveled closer to our hotel and the Mediterranean Sea, our tour guide rambled on about the history and other things that only the older people cared about, while we teenagers talked and looked out at the new world before us. All of the non-adults were really bummed about there being so many adults in the group, and old ones at that. I felt somewhat estranged because of my noticeably younger age. I was at least two years younger than everyone else there and was in a way not fully welcome into their world. I was not specifically excluded from anything, but it was noticeable in the way they spoke to me. As we drew closer to the coast, the roads became more active and the pathways not on the main streets began to grow smaller. Soon it was as one would imagine if they have ever seen a movie with a setting in Spain. A lively environment, plants and trees growing wherever possible gave the place a natural, laid back look. All over Spain the houses and buildings were made up of a white substance that gave an old but clean feeling. There was a good mood in the air that made the short trip seem even shorter. We were all happy to be on the bus, but even happier when we finally did arrive at the hotel. We all grabbed our luggage and slowly worked our way off the bus. The place was beautiful; at least... ...and took my first drink. The taste was bitter, just as I suspected it would be from the smell. I didn't like it but tried to hide my displeasure. I didn't fool any of the others; they told me after a while I'd get used to it and love it. I finished the rest of it ounce by ounce throughout the rest of the night. It felt good doing something that had been strictly outlawed my entire life. I think that after that night the guys looked at me differently and gave me a newfound respect. For the rest of the trip, I was one of them, an equal. I look back on that day and think of how much that night changed me. More importantly, I attribute my change to being in southern Spain and the Mediterranean. I still believe that if I had not been able to make this trip I would still be the up-tight person I used to be. I learned to relax and enjoy life, 5000 miles away from home.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Csr Work by Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola India Wins Golden Peacock Global Award for Corporate Social Responsibility Coca-Cola India was awarded the prestigious 2008 Golden Peacock Global Award for Corporate Social Responsibility on Feb. 15 during a global conference in Vilamoura, Portugal. Dr. Ola Ullsten, former prime minister of Sweden, presented the award to Deepak Jolly, Vice-President, Public Affairs & Communication, Coca-Cola India, on behalf of the Company.The Golden Peacock Global CSR Award showcases the â€Å"human face of business† by recognizing the continuing commitment of companies â€Å"to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce, their families and the local community and society at large. † A distinguished jury chaired by Dr. Ola Ullsten, former prime minister of Sweden, selected this year’s Golden Peacock award winners. Presenting the award to the Company, Dr.Ola Ullsten, said, â€Å"Golden Peacock Awards hav e been instituted by World Council for Corporate Governance, UK to create competitiveness in the area of Corporate Social Responsibility. We are hopeful that Coca-Cola India’s effort in promoting sustainable communities sets an example for other organizations to follow. † Her Excellency Ms. Nilima Mitra Ambassador of India in Portugal said that she was very impressed with the manner in which Coca Cola is fulfilling its CSR in India in water management and conservation especially the intervention to ensure potable water to 1000 primary schools in India.Commenting on the Coca-Cola India winning the award, Atul Singh, President & CEO, Coca-Cola India, said, â€Å"Coca-Cola India has always placed high value on good citizenship and has undertaken several initiatives for community development and inclusive growth. We are gratified to receive this global award and are humbled at being recognized for the little contributions that we have been able to make to preserve and prot ect the environment and towards community development. We are also establishing the Coca-Cola India Foundation which will further strive to make a positive impact on local communities.The Company remains committed to work with stakeholders and communities across the country in its bid to contribute to mutual growth and development. † The award recognizes Coca-Cola India’s water conservation/management and community development initiatives. The Company has installed 320 Rain Water Harvesting (RWH) structures in 17 states and has restored several traditional water bodies like the Sarai Bawari and Kale Hanuman ki Bawari in Jaipur and check dams across the country.Additionally, the Company recently set a target to reach a â€Å"net-zero† balance with respect to groundwater usage by 2009 and launched the â€Å"Elixir of life† project to provide drinking water to nearly 30,000 children in 100 primary and panchayat schools in and around Chennai. The Company plans to provide clean drinking water in 1,000 schools by 2010. Coca-Cola India also promotes sustainable packaging through PET recycling and has undertaken several projects in the areas of primary health, primary education and infrastructure for local communities.The Company has undertaken these Citizenship initiatives in partnership with government, NGOs, educational institutions and local communities. In 2006, the World Environment Foundation (WEF) honored Coca-Cola India with the Golden Peacock Environment Management Special Commendation Award for its world-class environment practices. Dr. Olla Ullsten, former Prime Minister of Sweden and Chairman of the Awards jury presenting the Golden Peacock Global Award for Corporate Social Responsibility to Deepak Jolly, Vice President, Public Affairs & Communication, Coca-Cola India.Local community using water from the rejuvenated Sarai Bawari at Amer, near Jaipur, RajasthanA photo of the drinking water project in 100 schools, launched by the Company in Chennai, which will benefit nearly 30,000 children on completion Kaladera Community Recognizes Coca-Cola’s Community Initiatives Rakesh Pathak, Unit HR Manager, Kaladera plant & Sunil Sharma being felicitated by Chhittarmal Hatwal, Sarpanch (head) of Kaladera at the community event Coca-Cola India was recently acknowledged for the various citizenship initiatives in & around Kaladera in Jaipur, Rajasthan.Rakesh Pathak, Unit HR Manager, Kaladera plant and Sunil Sharma, who’s been associated with the company for a long time, were felicitated by the villagers of Dabar Basti in Kaladera. As part of public-private partnership, Coca-Cola installed a new bore well recently in the area to provide water in the houses of villagers. Chhittarmal Hatwal, Sarpanch (head) of Kaladera presented a Safa (head gear) to Rakesh Pathak & Sunil Sharma as a mark of gratitude to the company. â€Å"We are deeply honored by the recognition of the people of Kaladera† said Rakesh Pathak. Coca-Cola India has always placed very high value on citizenship and has taken various initiatives to conserve water the area. â€Å" Coca-Cola India has worked with the government, local bodies & the entire community of Kaladera in the area of water conservation. This includes restoration of Sarai Bawari & Kale Hanuman ki Bawari – historical step wells (over 400 years old), providing water to the people of the community. The company has constructed over 140 recharge shafts in the area. Rain water harvesting projects have been set up in various schools, government bodies & the community areas. No other company has ever come forward & worked towards the welfare of the Kaladera Community except Coca-Cola. We appreciate the efforts taken by Coca-Cola for the conservation of water in Kaladera. † Chhittarmal Hatwal, Sarpanch (head) of Kaladera. In addition, Coca-Cola India has undertaken an annual scholarship program for the students in the nearby villages for the f ifth consecutive year. Amongst various educational initiatives, Coca-Cola also supports ’Aap Ki Beti’ (your daughter) program to provide education to a girl child.Community Recognition to Coca-Cola India Certificate of appreciation given by Cultural Council, Kaladera Community in Rajasthan Coca-Cola India was recently acknowledged for the various citizenship initiatives in & around Kaladera in Jaipur, Rajasthan. Sunil Sharma, who’s been associated with Coca-Cola India, received the certificate of appreciation on behalf of the company from the Cultural Council of the Kaladera community during the celebration of Holi, the festival of colors & joy. I’m deeply honored by the recognition of the people of Kaladera† said Sunil Sharma with his face painted in the colors of festivity. â€Å"Coca-Cola India has always placed very high value on citizenship and has taken various initiatives to conserve water the area. â€Å" Coca-Cola India has worked with th e government, local bodies & the entire community of Kaladera in the area of water conservation. This includes restoration of Sarai Bawari & Kale Hanuman ki Bawari – historical step wells (over 400 years old), providing water to the people of the community.The company has constructed over 140 recharge shafts in the area. Rain water harvesting projects have been set up in various schools, government bodies & the community areas. Sitaram Sanwaria, President, Cultural council, Kaladera Community and a local resident, presenting the certification of appreciation to Sunil Sharma, as a token of appreciation to Coca-Cola India for its community efforts during Holi celebrations, a festival of colors where people play with colors and have fun & enjoyment.The festival aims at bringing the society together & strengthen the social fabric of the country â€Å"No other company has ever come forward & worked towards the welfare of the Kaladera Community except Coca-Cola. We appreciate the efforts taken by Coca-Cola for the conservation of water in Kaladera. † said Bhura Mal Sharma, a 65 year old farmer. â€Å"The Rain water systems installed by Coca-Cola ensure that the rain water goes back into the ground which is very beneficial to the farmers and if we get good rains this year the results will speak for themselves. Said Shri Hanuman Sahaya 70-year-old farmer. In addition, Coca-Cola India has undertaken an annual scholarship program for the students in the nearby villages for the fifth consecutive year. Amongst various educational initiatives, Coca-Cola also supports ’Aap Ki Beti’ (your daughter) program to provide education to a girl child. â€Å"The roads, hospitals, medical camps, hand pumps etc. all indicate that Coca-Cola cares for Kaladera. We are confident that the company will carry on need based developmental programs in future also. aid Shri Bhagwan Sahai ji, a local social worker and leader. The presence of a company like Coca-Cola in the area is a blessing for the local people of Kaladera. † added Shiv Sahay, a 60 year old farmer and a civil contractor. â€Å"The certificate of appreciation that we to Mr. Sunil Sharma is a token of thanks for the relentless efforts of Coca-Cola for the welfare of the community†, said Sitaram Sanwaria, President, Cultural council, Kaladera Community. â€Å"There is no better ways to be recognized for your dedicated community efforts than by the people of the community themselves.Getting such a recognition at Holi, which is a festival of colors and binds people together shows the confidence that the community has in us†, concluded Sunil Sharma. Coca-Cola wins Bhagidari Award- Fourth time in a row Coca-Cola India won the Delhi Government's Bhagidari Award for the 4th consecutive year for its efforts in Water Conservation and Community Development. The award was presented on the second day of the two day Bhagidari Utsav at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi on February 3, 2007 by the Hon'ble Chief Minister of Delhi, Smt.Ms. Sheila Dikshit. We took this opportunity to also present the Water Calendar 2007 to the Hon'ble CM. The Bhagidari Utsav is an annual event to celebrate the success of ‘Bhagidari' – A public -private-community partnership program launched by the Delhi government a few years ago. Hon'ble CM visiting the Company stall at the Bhagidari Utsav 2007 Among the highlights of the Utsav was an exhibition cum display by some of the partners of the Delhi government, where each partner showcased its initiatives to make Delhi a ‘better' place.In recognition of Coca-Cola's efforts in Water Conservation and PET Recycling, we were given two stalls to outline our initiatives in these areas. Ms. Dikshit was one of the first to visit our PET Recycling stall and after being briefed on our PET Recycling program, she urged the Company to spread the awareness on PET Recycling not just amongst the visitors to the Bhagidari Utsav but also among people at large. Our Water Conservation stall was visited both by the Hon'ble Chief Minister Ms. Sheila Dikshit as well as by the Hon'ble Mr. A. K. Walia, Minister for Finance, Planning, P.W. D ; Urban Development, and Delhi Government, who were briefed about the various programs undertaken by the Company to spread awareness and to conserve water. The dignitaries were very appreciative of our efforts. We had showcased a device called ‘Drip Gauge' for the first time in the country at the stall. Drip Gauge is a simple but effective tool to sensitize people to save water. A 3-D Rain Water Harvesting (RWH) model demonstrating the utility, functioning and commissioning of Rain Water Harvesting projects at individual households ; residential colonies was also on display.In addition, people were apprised of simple methods to Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Recharge water in their daily lives. Our stalls evoked tremendous response from all stakeholders and nearly 3000 people vis ited our stalls during the event. Of these, nearly 2500 participated in the two quiz contests that we ran at the stalls. Several Resident Welfare Associations and NGOs also approached us seeking our guidance and help for RWH and PET Recycling programs in their colonies. St. Agnes College (Mangalore University) Wins The First Jimmy ; Rosalynn Carter Partnership Award in India from left) President Jimmy Carter, Ms Rosalynn Carter, Dr Sue Sehgal, Founder ; President Jimmy ; Rosalynn Carter Foundation, Sister Carmel Rita from St Agnes College and other members of the College. President Jimmy Carter ; Ms Rosalynn Carter personally presented the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Partnership Award for Campus-Community Collaboration to St. Agnes College (Mangalore University) for the exemplary work done by them in the field of ‘Watershed Management & Development'. The award has been brought into India by Coca-Cola India in association with Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce ; Industry (FICCI).?The coveted award serves as one of the highest recognition for academic-service learning to educational institutions for outstanding ‘Campus Community' Learning programs. St Agnes received a special handcrafted golden globe trophy, a citation ; a cash prize of US $ 10,000. The 2nd and 3rd runner's up i. e. Punjab University for its Literacy Program & Aligarh Muslim University for its Pulse Polio Immunization Program also received a citation and a cash prize of US $ 3000 and US$ 2000 respectively.The winner was selected by the Foundation based on the combined merits of each program out of scores of applications received for the award. Speaking on the occasion, President Jimmy Carter said,†This will be the first presentation of this award outside the United States, and it is particularly significant to me that India is the next country to embrace this recognition of service. Many years ago my mother, who was a nurse and Peace Corps volunteer, ministered to Indian citizens.That experience touched her deeply, and the emotion she felt, and also the love for India has filtered through to me through her recollections. † Also present at the Award Ceremony were Shri Kapil Sibal, Honorable Minister for Science & Technology & Earth Sciences, Government of India & Aparna Sen, noted film actor, director. According to Atul Singh, President & CEO, Coca-Cola India, â€Å"President Carter and Coca-Cola share a strong belief in the benefit of working for the local communities. As an example our Company is actively spearheading water sustainability and conservation programs in India.We have so far commissioned more than 220 rain water harvesting structures in 17 Indian states both at bottling plants and in the local communities. We are constantly trying to benefit the communities where we operate. â€Å" Carter Partnership Awards celebrate schools, communities, and businesses working together to make a difference in the lives of people in need. The A ward aims to be a powerful motivator for the academic community to develop community service programs in their curriculum and encourages the student community to inculcate values of selfless service and empathy towards the community.Other members present at the function included, Mr. S K Poddar, President FICCI, Dr Sue Sehgal, Founder & President, Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Partnership Foundation, Shri Farookh Abdullah, eminent parliamentarian, Naveen Jindal (Member of Parliament) & other well known personalities. Cola-Cola India wins the Bhagidari award from the Delhi government for its efforts in community development The Company has already executed nearly 200 rain water harvesting structures across 17 states Coca-Cola India has plans to undertake 40 new rain water harvesting projects during the current yearThe company is also working with local communities in various states on projects like Paper & PET recycling, education and clean environment projects Coca-Cola India won the â₠¬ËœBhagidari award' on February 25, 2006, in New Delhi, for its contribution in water conservation & environment management programmes and for its contribution to community development, from the Delhi Government. This is the third year in a row that the company has won this award. Mr. Atul Singh, President & CEO, Coca-Cola India received the award from the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Delhi, Ms.Sheila Dikshit on behalf of the company at a function during the Bhagidari Utsav at the Pragati Maidan in New Delhi. Coca-Cola India is supporting several rain water harvesting projects spread across 17 states with nearly 200 rain water harvesting structures. The company plans to take up another 40 such projects by the end of the year. The company is currently engaged in such projects in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Delhi, Gujarat, Goa, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Kerala, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.I n addition to this, the company has also undertaken various projects in the areas of Paper & PET recycling and Education & clean environment in partnership with local communities in different states. On receiving the award, Mr. Atul Singh, President & CEO, Coca-Cola India, said, Water is a subject that is loaded with urgency and even emotion. It is a critical global challenge and it will take a wide variety of efforts, most of them at a local level to overcome the problem.At Coca-Cola we have undertaken numerous projects across the country in partnership with local communities for their development and we continue to look for areas where private-public partnerships can bring about good results. We are honoured to get this award and we are thankful to the government and to the residents of the state for giving us an opportunity to partner them in some truly path breaking community development initiatives. The Coca-Cola Company has always placed high value on good citizenship. At th e heart of business is a mission statement called the Coca-Cola Promise.It says, quite simply, that The Coca-Cola Company exists to benefit and refresh everyone who is touched by our business†. This basic proposition means that the company’s business should refresh the markets, protect, preserve and enhance the environment and strengthen the community. Coca-Cola India provides extensive support for community programs across the country, with a focus on education, health and water conservation. Bhubaneswar Team wins 2005 Pollution Control Excellence Award! The winning Bhubaneswar Team with their trophy The â€Å"Pollution Control Excellence Award† for 2005 has been awarded o HCCBPL Khurda unit, by the Orissa State Pollution Control Board. The award went to the Khurda team for achieving excellence in implementation of pollution control systems in the plant and for their constant efforts for protection of the environment. The Pollution Control Excellence Award is a n annual award given to industries that excel in environment protection. Khurda's multiple initiatives – PET recycling, Vermicomposting and Rain water harvesting, in addition to its Environment practices to prevent/control pollution bagged the unit this award.Khurda beat over 20 shortlisted industries throughout the state for the award. The award was presented on the 23rd Foundation Day Celebration of the State Pollution Control Board, Orissa by S. P. Nanda, Principal Secretary, Dept. of Environment ; Forests Govt. of Orissa on 16th September 2005. The Award was received by the Region – Vice President Mr. T. Krishna Kumar. Speaking on the occasion Mr. L. N. Pattnaik – PCB Chairman lauded the efforts of the company in the field of environment protection. Best Organization Award to Coca-Cola India – giving equal opportunity to differently-abled people.H. E Shri T V Rajeshwar felicitating Mr. Ashutosh Bhardwaj, Area General Manager, Hindustan Coca-Cola Beve rages Pvt. Ltd. Varanasi The State Government of Uttar Pradesh, under the aegis of Directorate, Handicapped Welfare conferred Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt. Ltd. , Varanasi with the Best Organization Award for allowing differently-abled people to prosper ; carve a niche for themselves in the professional world. The Award was given by the Governor of the State, H. E. Shri T V Rajeshwar to the Area General Manager, Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt.Ltd. Varanasi, Mr. Ashutosh Bhardwaj, in a function organized at Sahkarita Bhawan, Lucknow, to mark the World Disability Day on December 3, 2005. According to Mr. Ashutosh Bhardwaj, it’s a policy at Coca-Cola to give equal status ; provide equal opportunity to the differently-abled people who are in a perfect physical condition. They are especially trained to carry out certain responsibility. Anomalies should not hamper the growth of an individual. At present, twelve differently-abled people are working as Bottle Inspectors (bott le supervisors) in the unit.The Company shared this award with B. C. G. School for the Deaf, Varanasi. Patna Unit wins CSR Award 2004-05! Saurabh Pande, AGM, Patna receives the CSR award Our Patna Unit has been awarded ‘Corporate Social Responsibility Award' for the year 2004 05 by the J. M. Institute of Speech and Hearing, Patna. The award was given to the Patna Unit for the continued support provided towards upliftment of physically challenged children. Since last one-year, the principal focus of Patna Units Citizenship activities has been supporting the physically challenged.The multiple initiatives in this direction include Organizing Sports for Deaf and Dumb, Cultural Programmes, Educational Trip to Plants etc. The Award was presented to the AGM, Patna – Mr. Saurabh Pande, by the Lokayukth of Bihar, Shri Narmadeshwar Pande in a ceremonial function held in Patna on 24-September 2005, the International Deaf ; Dumb Day. Coca-Cola India Receives Bhagidari Award From Th e Delhi Government -Only Corporate to be presented with this award in recognition for its Citizenship Program- Honourable Chief Minister of Delhi, Ms.Sheila Dikshit presented a Commendation Certificate to Coca-Cola India for its contribution in the Bhagidari scheme recognizing the Company's efforts and contribution towards community development programs. The Company received the award at a glittering ceremony during the Bhagidari Utsav at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi. The Utsav was attended by more than 5,000 citizens of the city. Bhagidari celebrates the spirit of collective responsibility between citizens and Government agencies for improving urban infrastructure and environment. On receiving the award, Division President, said, we are honoured to get this recognition.Citizenship at Coca-Cola India is integral to our business and we continue to work with local communities across the country. Coca-Cola India has implemented a host of citizenship projects in Delhi under the Bhagidar i scheme including: Rainwater harvesting projects Clean Delhi Campaign in association with the Government of Delhi PET and Paper recycling projects in schools Tree plantation drives with Department of Environment Vermi-composting The company had earlier also received a special award from the Delhi Government in 2002 for its active participation in the Bhagidari programme.Government Acknowledges Coca-Cola’s Concern for The Disabled Chennai 16th August 2004: Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt. Ltd. has been honoured as the ‘BEST PRIVATE COMPANY’ in the State by the Government of Tamil Nadu for its contribution to the communities in providing employment opportunities to physically challenged people. Ms. J. Jayalalitha, Honourable Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, presented the award to the company at a simple function here on the occasion of the occasion of Independence Day. The Company employs 88 people with hearing and speaking disability, who work as â€Å"Special In spectors† at its Nemam plant near Chennai.They have been trained by the Company to observe the bottles and check for any foreign particles during quality check. Coca-Cola India awarded the Bombay Stock Exchange Award for Social and Corporate Governance 2009 Coca-Cola India has been awarded the Social and Corporate Governance Award for Best Practices in Corporate Social Responsibility 2009. The award which has been instituted by Bombay Stock Exchange Limited, Nasscom Foundation and Times Foundation recognizes and honours organisations for their contribution to society.Coca-Cola India was declared as one of the four winners of the award in recognition of its community development and sustainability initiatives in the four pillars of marketplace, workplace, environment and community. The other winners include prestigious organisations like IT major Infosys, Construction conglomerate Larsen & Toubro and leading bank, The Punjab National Bank. Jury Members of the Bombay Stock Exch ange Social and Corporate Governance Award 2009 at the award presentation ceremony. Harish Mehta, Founder,Nasscom Foundation presenting the Bombay Stock Exchange Social and Corporate Governance Award 2009 to Deepak Jolly, VP PAC, INSWABU on behalf of Coca-Cola India. According to Mr. Atul Singh, President & CEO, INSWABU, â€Å"It is an honour for Coca-Cola India to receive this award for a well rounded effort in the sphere of corporate governance and social responsibility. This is a just reward for all the initiatives that has been put into restoring the growth and image of the Coca-Cola system in India by more than 25,000 system associates and I congratulate each of one of them for winning this prestigious award.Recognitions like these will further encourage us to strengthen our programs towards making a meaningful difference in the lives of millions of people that we touch daily. † This award comes is the third in a series of corporate responsibility awards won by the Comp any in 2010. Notable among these are the Golden Peacock Global CSR Award for the second consecutive year and the Frost & Sullivan Green Excellence Award for Corporate Leadership. Coca-Cola India was one amongst the

Monday, September 16, 2019

Cambridge Consulting Group: Bob Anderson Essay

Assignment: 1. Does Bob Anderson have a problem, or are these the musings of an overly successful partner? Bob has a problem: lack of vision and long range thinking for the business. Bob also has some unresolved issues with his colleague John Burgess, which is affecting his sense of direction. 2. If he has a problem, how would you describe it? He is ignoring important warning signs in his business and personal life, by busying himself with tasks that he enjoys, and that deliver him visible and easily measurable achievements – primarily sales and new business. While business is currently very strong, Bob is personally responsible for too much of the success. Bob’s five vice presidents are craving guidance, training, mentoring and career direction, and Bob’s wife and family are craving attention and affection. By forgoing long term planning, training and effective delegation, Bob is putting both the business, and his personal life in jeopardy, therefore placing even more pressure on himself. 3. What are the underlying causes? Bob is still trying to prove to his colleague John Burgess that he is the right person for the managing partner role, after John was overlooked for the position. By burying the issue, and not addressing the problem in their relationship soon after his promotion, a rift formed between the two partners and has now divided the business. Bob underestimates how evident this is to his staff, and still feels that he has to prove his eligibility for the role, by demonstrating his value to the business through growth in billings. By failing to properly delegate to John, the only other partner in the business, Bob is essentially making his job twice as challenging by failing to properly utilise John’s skills and talents. 4. What actions, if any, should Anderson take? Short term? Medium term? Long term? Short Term: As the business is currently performing very well, Bob could afford to take some time off for a holiday with his family. He needs to stop avoiding responsibilities not only in his business, but also at home. He is burying himself in his role and if he doesn’t quickly address the issues in his personal life, he is heading for a mid life crisis. Medium Term: Bob needs to address the underlying issues with his colleague John, and ask for his support in developing and growing the structure of the business. Bob must delegate responsibilities, especially those around business acquisition. Bob should invest in a formal training and development program, along with a more clearly defined path to becoming a partner for his vice-presidents. Long term: Bob should empower his vice-presidents to take on significantly more responsibilities, in order to reduce his personal exposure and workload.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Cultural Considerations Essay

This paper will examine and assesses the cultural concerns and influences of today’s societies with mixed cultures and the effect on the criminal justices system. The paper will address how the cultural concerns and influences affect justice and security administration and practice. The paper will show some contemporary methods by the police and security used in societies of mixed cultures. The paper will address how these influences and considerations relate to and affect nondiscrimination practices within the criminal justice system. Finally, the paper will address Sir Robert Peel’s nine principles and how they fit into today’s police departments. The military occupation of numerous countries in the Middle East and Europe has brought police practices into question. The local police forces have been trained by the military in which the rules are different. The free people are suffering abuse at the hands of the police in those countries. In those cases where militant law is present and security is more prevalent, the police appear to work more for the current occupying military than for that country’s government or the people. More than 200 cases of torture have either been investigated or court marshaled by the United States in violation of the United Nations anti-torture body in 2006. This increase in torture may be caused by racial, ethnic, and religious differences in the contemporary War on Terrorism (French &Wailes, 2008). The abuse on that scale does not occur within the United States; however, a problem still exists with the assessment of police and security personnel. These practices are scrutinized by the military, governments, security agencies, and local and foreign police. Of course, these practices question discrimination and profiling. Profiling is one of the major concerns here in the United States. Some confusion exits between profiling and racial profiling. A person cannot be profiled by a police officer based on color, sex, religion, or culture. However, a person can be profiled if he or she matches the description of a suspect. The measures currently used to assess officers are objective and may disclose intimate aspects of the person tested. The standard for recognition in the United States is the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) that was established in 1979. Psychological testing is in place, however; standards are not set by CALEA, and each agency conducts their own testing (French & Wailes, 2008). In 1973, the National Advisory Commission on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals recommended that every police agency follow a formal selection process that includes a written test of mental ability or aptitude, an oral interview, a psychological examination, and a background investigation. It was believed that introducing greater screening and standardization to the selection process would result in a more qualified police force. International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) developed several guidelines for pre-employment psychological evaluations. These recommendations address such issues as validation of testing instruments, compliance with legislation, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), using qualified psychologists familiar with the relevant research, and content of the written reports (Cochrane, Tett & Vandercreek, 2008). Compliance with such acts as the ADA indicates the implementation of diversity in the testing process. A few of the most common comprehensive personality tests given to police officers during their psychological testing include the following: Neuroticism, Extraversion, and Openness (NEO) Personality Inventory, Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory–2(MMPI-2), and Inwald Personality Inventory (IPI). Traits from the NEO Personality Inventory–Revised, which was based on the five-factor model of personality, have also shown to be predictive of police performance. The MMPI-2 and the IPI have been shown to be effective in predicting several job criteria for police officers as well (Cochrane, Tett & Vandercreek, 2008). Today’s American policing and justice system is based on English principles and English common law. One such tradition was limited police authority. This gives way to liberties and freedoms and limits governmental authority. Another tradition was the localized police control as opposed to a national, centralized police force as experienced in many other countries. This turned out to be both an advantage and a detriment. The localization resulted in fragmentation and decentralization of law enforcement. The advantage was acquiring little national control (Walker & Katz, 2011, p. 24). Peel believed that prevention of crime could be accomplished without intruding into the lives of citizens so he developed the nine principles of community policing. His first concept was the basic mission of police was to prevent crime and disorder. The prevention of crime makes the job easier of the police. Police presence is deterrence, therefore prevents crime from occurring. This is the basis for today’s community policing concept. The public must also approve of the actions of the police in the performance of their duties. The people must work voluntarily with the police in observance of the laws to maintain public order (History, 2002). The public must comply voluntarily with the laws and work with the police. Most people do what is morally correct; in turn the police also must do what is lawfully correct. The police are directed by the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights to safeguard every citizen’s right from interference from government. These philosophies are still observed today. If a citizen does not approve of the conduct of the police, a complaint is filed. If the public does not agree with a law, they work to make changes. If the public fails to observe the law, there are consequences, such an arrest or a fine. Another concept concerns the use of physical force to gain compliance. The public is cooperative with the police whereas physical force not need be employed. If compliance is not gained and physical force is required, the force will not be so great as to be considered excessive (History, 2002). The Constitution provides rights to the people and protects them from the police in this area. Laws in most states specifically write out what is considered â€Å"force,† when and how it can be used. Last, the police are specifically trained in the application of force through means of various weapons and hand to hand combat. This force is not to be excessive, not to be used as punishment, or in a punitive manner. The force used is that reasonable force to effect and arrest, to protect oneself or another from death or great bodily harm. The police serve both the public and the law, they shall not show impartiality, but to the law. The officers are also members of the public. Any interest the public has would also be interest to the police (History, 2002). In this case, the officer may come from any background may be either sex or any race. The officer must show fairness to members of other groups and not discriminate against those members or members of his or her own group. The officer shall treat everyone as equally as possible. The police are hired to uphold the law, at the same time serve the public. Peel’s theory indicates, when a conflict arises, the service to the law should outweigh the public service. This concept is contradictory to today’s practices. Policing has become â€Å"customer service†-oriented, where the customer is always right. The officers are members of the public, when they are in an off duty capacity, they are afforded the same rights as any other citizen. However, they should govern themselves as an upstanding citizen because they do represent the law. The final concept indicates the effectiveness of policing is the lack of crime and disorder. This concept is known as preventative policing. In today’s society, the crimes are not occurring where there is a high police presence. So, Peel’s principles are still used to some extent. The demographics have changed since his time. People and crimes have evolved. People’s values have changed, whereas they are tolerant of certain crimes. The attitudes toward police have changed. In a location where there is a strong police presence, fewer crimes occur. This is consistent with Peel’s concept. However, if the demographics of the neighborhood are less desirable, the people of the neighborhood indicate the police are prejudiced and do not want the police in the neighborhood. Thus, more crimes occur in this less protected neighborhood. If fewer police are present, the response time for an officer to an incident is longer because there are fewer officers and more calls. The ratio of officers to calls is higher. In these cases discrimination is blamed for the increased of police presence and the lack of it as well. The affected parties assume they are discriminated against because more police are in their areas, where more crime occurs. However, when the police are not present, they blame the police for the increase in crime because the police are not present. In conclusion, most of Sir Robert Peel’s principles can be applied to the organization of a police department today. In fact, many departments in England still work by his principles. Some need to be altered to accommodate today’s society to be more â€Å"customer† friendly. The United States Constitution and Bill of Rights need to be recognized, as well such as the Due Process Clauses to both the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments if his principles are applied.