The Death Penalty Debate in the United States of America

Introduction Capital punishment has otherwise been referred to as death sentence or death penalty. It can also be used to refer to legal execution of a convicted individual or through a judicial process.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Death Penalty Debate in the United States of America specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The capital punishment has always been used in situations where an individual or criminal is judicially convicted of a capital offence or capital crime (Milhorn 401). It is important to examine the origin of capital punishment. The capital is a term that was coined from the Latin word â€Å"capitalis† which actually, in its literal sense means â€Å"gaze at the head.† So it means that initially, capital punishment was a situation where a convicted criminal had his or her head judicially severed. Nonetheless, it is important to note that capital punishment, in the past, has virtua lly been utilized every society (Milhorn 401). However, available literature indicates that only 58 countries of the world still practice capital punishment; this represents only approximately 5% of all countries in the world. The meaning of this is that about 95% of all countries in the world have turned away from using capital punishment to contain crimes. In many countries, capital punishment is still a subject of hot debate in many countries, including the United States of America, and standpoints can vary within a given singular cultural religion amongst a group of individuals or political ideology (Clarke and Whitt, pp29-46). Amongst the nations that do not recognize capital punishment as a form of deterring or terminating the commission of capital offences are those that are found within the European Union. This is well spelt in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. Even though the Transparency International consider most countries as abolitionists against capital punishment, research findings indicate that more than 60% of the worlds population reside in countries where capital punishment is still an option for punishing or deterring capital offenders. Example of such countries where capital punishment is still an option are the United States of America, the People’s Republic of China and Indonesia (Clarke and Whitt, pp.46-57). However, looking at the contemporary society, the global distribution of death penalty has been varying greatly with some countries and states abolishing and reinstating capital punishments.Advertising Looking for essay on criminal law? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Since the end of the Second World War, the global tendency toward abolishing the death penalty has been on the rise. According to available information, there are countries that have abolished death sentencing completely; some have only allowed it under special or specific circumstan ces while others are yet to make their decisions and take a stand on abolishing it. Even though death penalty is still being practiced in a significant number of developed nations, it was widely practiced in developing countries most of which were under the control of repressive, dictatorial or totalitarian governments. With regard to this, it will be accurate to argue that that capital punishment has some times been used for political reasons to contain political dissidents. The death punishment in America is varied depending with jurisdictions. Practically, death punishment in the United States of America is only applicable in cases of motivated murder and more remotely for felony assassination or what is otherwise referred to as indenture murder. The (capital) punishment is believed to have been there even at the time of the earlier colonies of the United States; it as well continued to be in force within the states that came to form afterwards. In the process of judicial executi on, the methods are different and depended on the type of criminal activity committed. The first to be sentenced to capital punishment in America was executed in 1608; the person was judicially executed after being convicted of spying on behalf of the government of Spain. Afterwards, the capital punishment in the United States have been abolished and reinstated for a significant number of times. Nonetheless, several states within the United States apply capital punishment for differently in relation to crime committed (Clarke and Whitt, pp.03-68). This positional paper will argue in favor of death penalties. To this effect, the paper will examine the various reason death penalty is still appropriate and important towards containing certain types of criminal activities. Moreover, the paper will utilize the ideas such as DNA evidences and other forms of evidences as they relate to death as a penalty. The various impact of banning death as a penalty will also form part of the themes in this paper. Abolitionists’ Views In order to get the basis on which to understand the significance of capital punishment, it is important to start by looking at arguments against the judicial execution.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Death Penalty Debate in the United States of America specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More It is important to note that even though death penalty has gained support from various individuals, private organizations and state institutions, the subject is still hotly detested; there are a significant number of people or group of individuals who cannot see the positive side of capital punishment. The opposition to capital punishment began as early as 1767 when abolitionist movements were taking roots. The current abolitionist movement has its roots in the works of Montesquieu, a European theorist. Other theorists included English known as Quakers John Bellers, Bentham and John Ho ward. Meanwhile, it was Cesare strongly campaigned against capital punishment the world over. Beccaria hypothesized that the state does not encompass any validation to take away life either for a group of individuals or an individual. The work of Beccaria offered staunch abolitionists with a renewed energy to argue champion against capital punishment with an authoritative voice. In fact, the influence of this theory achieved some grounds worldwide where some countries actually abolished death penalty as a way of judicial killing. The ideas of Beccaria on death penalty had great influence on the American intellectuals who fought for its abolishment except in extreme cases like treason and crimes of murder. The abolitionist movement has argued, borrowing from Beccaria’s arguments, that capital punishment does not serve as a deterrent to crimes for which it is meted. During the early part of the 19th century, abolitionist movement gained momentum in the United States of America and consequently some states revised their statutes in relation to capital punishment. Even so, more states maintained their capital punishment statutes. By the time the United States was facing the First World War, capital punishment was reinstated; this could be interpreted as a blow to the anti-capital punishment crusaders. As much as death penalty is necessary, those arguing against it advance a significant number of incontrovertible arguments that are worth acknowledging. They have argued that there exist nothing like humane method of judicial execution irrespective of what crime the convict might have committed to warrant death sentence. These people state that execution is torturous to a convicted criminal and that it must be realized that the criminals are also human beings with human feelings and fear of losing their families. Moreover, an argument has been advanced that the mental conditions of the convicted as at the time of commission of capital offense is not usually gi ven the attention it requires; besides, it is noted that from the time capital punishment is pronounced on a convict upto the time when execution takes place, the convict undergoes a lot of psychological torture and mental disturbance. This causes more suffering to the convict than the commission of offence may warrant.Advertising Looking for essay on criminal law? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The most important point raised by those arguing against capital punishment is the virtual conviction that there may be a miscarriage of righteousness where an innocent individual may be judicially executed and there is no possible compensation in case this takes place. Due to this uncertainty, many individuals have petitioned and pressurized states to consider abolishing death penalties in their judicial systems. Another argument advanced by anti-capital punishment crusaders is that the families of the convicts should not be overlooked. They say that the families also feel pain when they realize there loved ones are to be judicially executed; the families of the convicts are said to go through hell during the time starting from the pronouncement of death sentence to the actual execution of the convicted criminal. Racism has been linked to unjustified death sentences where members of a given race are more likely to be handed death penalty than others. For instance, it is estimated t hat black capital criminals are highly likely to get death penalty where the victims are mostly whites; in cases involving black victims, white capital offenders are most likely to escape death penalties. Meanwhile, there are so many reasons the anti-capital punishment crusaders have advanced against death penalty. However, maintenance of death penalty in the penal code is still very important in terms of certain crime prevention. The Need for Capital Punishment As much as there have been oppositions to death penalty by human rights and activists and other abolitionists, death penalty still has a significant role to play in terms of ensuring deterrence to keep away capital criminals from committing capital offences. In the history of death penalty, there are sufficient evidences indicating that even countries in which capital punishment had been removed from the statutes have reinstated the form of punishment. This implies that the role played by the legality of capital punishment r emains invaluable in terms of crime control and prevention (Council of Europe, pp.3-13). The argument between those for the death penalties has been going on for sometimes now in the United States of America. There are many people who have tried by all means available to them to push the state to abolish death penalty. However, the fact is that death penalty is necessary in cases of certain crimes like serial killing, abduction and rape of underage children and other forms of felony. Those opposed to death penalty base their arguments on the possibilities of convicting and subsequently executing an innocent person (Council of Europe, pp. 15-25). The death penalty provision exists after the law makers realized that it is the only solution to certain crimes, otherwise what government will want to execute the very innocent citizens it is mandated to protect. One striking fact is that before someone is convicted of a felony and sentenced to death, through investigation must be conducted ; the process of conducting such investigations includes the use of scientific techniques like DNA tests even though this has been faulted to have possible errors of proof just like any other means of determining the guilt of a criminal offender. Most important to note is the fact that the conviction process does not only utilize one means of determining whether one is guilty or innocent, a combination of methodological techniques is used so that one technique is highly likely to examine what is beyond the scope of another. It is important to note that those arguing against the death penalty have advanced some arguments that are both logical and realistic. However, they seem to be oblivious of the fact that the process of conviction is so elaborate and effective that the chances of convicting an innocent individual is actually close to unlikely (Council of Europe, pp. 15-30). Moreover, it is still wrong to argue that death punishment may condemn an otherwise innocent person to death . There is absolutely no proof for this claim; before anybody faces execution, especially within the United States of America, a carefully selected jury is selected to examine and make decisions on such cases as relate to capital punishment; and they have always worked towards proofs beyond any reasonable doubt that a defendant is actually guilty of the capital crime committed. Therefore, the likelihood of any innocent individual being executed by mistake is actually limited. Given the perpetually improving forensic science, the chances of judicial execution of an innocent individual is nearing zero. It therefore implies that the fear of executing an innocent person judicially should not now be amongst the reasons anti-capital punishment crusaders use against the death penalty (Gershman, pp. 107-117). The inappropriateness of capital punishment has also been widely propagated through the various media. The fact is that the media has always confused the true distinction between the t erms â€Å"acquittal† and â€Å"innocence† as they are used in the justice system. It is this confusion in the media’s judicial reporting that present the public with the belief that those who escape convictions are actually innocent individuals who would otherwise be executed for a given crime. The clear characteristic is that innocence suggests that the individual did not indulge in the offense although being exonerated does not imply innocence. The fact is that the court is likely to acquit a suspect in cases where the defendants are not able to prove beyond any reasonable doubt that the accused actually committed the offense. It is in such cases where the court has acquitted an individual, irrespective of whether he or she committed the crime or not, due to lack of proof beyond reasonable doubt that the media has taken it as if the court has found the individual innocent. In summary, a jury is obliged to acquit an individual who is most likely guilty but who se guilt cannot be proven before the court or the jury beyond any reasonable doubt. This is also a proving ground on which capital punishment should not be abolished (Gershman, pp. 131-140). The possible conviction and subsequent execution of an innocent individual is unfortunate by all standards of justice available. But, it is noteworthy that the unfortunate scenario can not only be avoided through abolition of death penalty. Instead, the immense role played by death penalty in terms of criminal deterrence should appear in the bigger picture. Even if innocent people can mistakenly be executed for crimes they have not committed or abated, their number may not match those offenders who qualify for death penalty. This implies that the probability of executing an innocent person is immensely insignificant and hence should not be a reason for which death penalty should be abolished. Besides, in the recent past, there has never been heard of a situation where and individual has mistaken ly been convicted and sentenced to death. This reinforces the argument that the chances of executing an innocent person are very limited and almost unlikely (Gershman, pp. 202-213). Looking at the bigger picture, it is important to acknowledge that there are some career criminals whose existence means perpetual threat to social tranquility besides creating social disorder. For example, a career criminal whose presence in any setting is always defined by violence and even death might have been in and out of jail. This implies that such as criminal cannot be rehabilitated through jailing and hence the need to eliminate him or her from the society. In this case, death penalty may not be considered as a punishment to the offender, but should be seen as a way of ensuring that a single individual or few people do not threaten the overall social peace within a given society. In relation to this, it will be noted that judicial execution is an effective way of stopping capital offenses. Ther e may be many criminals who carry out capital offenses, but the judicially executed ones will never commit such crimes again. The victims of criminals vary in terms of gender and age. In many cases, there are vulnerable groups which suffer in the hands of certain offenders. For example, children and women are the most likely victims of sex offenders. Sex offenders are normally handed more severe punishment than other offenders. This is acknowledgeable, but the fact is that punishment should not be seen in terms of what kind of offence is committed; it should be viewed in the light of what effects or impacts it is likely to have on the general public, especially with respect to right to life and other fundamental freedoms. In this case, it will be defeating to logic to let an individual whose behavior has proved heinous to the general public to continue living amongst the members of the society; this will simply offer such an individual more opportunities to continue with is heinous act. If left unchecked through death, such individuals are likely to remain threats to the neighborhood of their residence. So, the only way to ensure they do not continue with their socially threatening undertakings is sentence them to death (Gershman, pp. 231-137). Generally, punishment is used as deterrence to criminal activities. In view of this, it is worth mentioning that death sentence is a unique its own capacity as a deterrence to reoccurrences of particular crimes. Unlike other penalties, death is not meant to teach the convicted a lesson. It performs two levels of functions; one, it simply puts an end to heinous criminal activities by a specific individual. This implies that there may be other criminals committing similar crimes but the actions by the executed individual are completely terminated. Two, it is a fact that many people fear dying; and the constitutional provide for death as a penalty to deter an individual from committing certain crimes. Therefore, in situati ons where a convicted individual is executed, the message is not to the executed but to those who are yet to commit a similar act. This is what is referred to as general deterrence or indirect deterrence to crime. According to research findings, death penalty has been found to reduce homicide where it is being meted. For instance, the research study conducted by Emory group during the period between 1977 and 1999 indicated that death sentence had been effective in terms of lowering homicide rate in about 3, 054 counties. The study findings further indicate that each death sentence pronounced resulted into 4.5 reductions in murder crimes while each execution led to reductions in murders by three. Research studies have also been conducted within the United States of America and the findings shows that the rate of homicide increased by 91% in the states where death penalty was abolished. Meanwhile, 70% of the states are reported to have experienced a decline in homicide after the state s had re-introduced death penalty (Espejo, pp1-15). Data collected from the general public are in agreement with the sentiment that capital punishment should not be abolished. Many of the surveyed public members of various countries have expressed their sentiments that retribution for the criminal activities committed against them, their relatives and friends is more significant to them than deterrence. An important point to take into consideration is that many criminals have been executed since death penalty was introduced several decades ago. This means that the justice system has actually not been sufficiently equipped to handle the criminals and hence failed to reform their behaviors. For instance, different sex offenders have been caught severally in different cases. The fact therefore is that the threat of death has not deterred them, so the focus shifts from rehabilitating the criminals to protecting the safety of the general members of the society; and this is through legall y eliminating them by execution. The argument here may be that death penalty has not succeeded to deter such heinous criminal activities; nonetheless, it is better to have new people committing the crime dealt with rather than let individuals to live and repeatedly commit there heinous acts. This makes sure one does not perpetually commit the offence (Espejo, pp.34-38). Death penalty has been limited to certain age. In 2005, the Supreme Court of the United State of America made a ruling that adolescent individuals are not subject to capital punishment. The ruling was premised on the research done by the American Psychological Association. The research findings claimed that adolescents are less mature than the adults and hence are subject such factors as peer pressures, difficulties in restraining their impulses and the general underdeveloped sense or responsibility. This research made the Supreme Court to rule that people under the age of 18 years old cannot be handed death sentence . The Supreme Court ruling on this matter is not sustainable in terms of ensuring justice for all citizens, especially the victims whose only hope is retribution for criminal acts committed against them. It implies that victims of heinous activities committed by the less than 18 years old criminals can never get justice yet the state is mandated to ensure justice and safety for all. The fact is that, in terms of development, there is a thin line between an 18 year old and 17 years old individuals and thus adult age may not imply. The 17 year old averagely thinks just like an 18 year old individual. In this case, age should not be a factor in determining who gets death sentence and does not. Every behavioral activity should be considered with respect to its danger to the members of the society (Espejo, pp.132-146). Death sentence should apply to all irrespective of age since the consequences or impacts of such heinous activities are always relatively the similar. For instance, the vi ctim of rape by a less than 18 year old teenager will have the same horrible experience as the victim of rape by some who is 18 years and above. The death penalty should therefore be applied for the safety of all members of the society. The rationale here is that the magnitude of pain inflicted through heinous act is totally independent on the age of the offender and that is what should actually inform the justice process. It has also been argued that death punishment is cruel an unusual to both the convict and the convict’s family members and friends. Those who pose this argument are oblivious of the fact that the victim and his or her families and friends also have the same experience. To argue on the cruelty about the cruelty of capital punishment meted to a convict and remain silent on the side of the victim actually defeats the logic of justice. One thing that is important to be borne in mind that the convicted criminal must have been aware of the consequences of committ ing capital offenses. This is reinforced by the fact that the consequences of crimes are well spelt in the statutory books and have been in existence for very many years. Again, it is worth recalling that every judicial execution taking place now, especially in the 21st century, is not the first ones; the executions have been going on since over a thousand years ago. It is therefore a common knowledge that every criminal should know the most probable consequence of every criminal act. In addition, the law is very clear on the kind of people who can be tried and convicted before the court (Espejo, pp.156-162). There are those who are exempted from judicial proceedings; such are those who are mentally ill or have mental disorder, the minor children who are statutorily underage amongst others. In view of all these, it is important to realize that a convicted criminal is always aware of the consequences but went on to commit the crime anyway. Again, the convict must have been aware of t he potential harm and pain to the victim, the victim’s family and friends but went on to commit the crime anyway and also, the convict must have been aware of those who have committed similar offenses and actually convicted and judicially executed. So, it is justified to say or assume that a convicted individual sentenced to capital punishment had sufficient information at his or her disposal to enable him make a rational choice, though this may not always be the case. It therefore implies that in the presence of all these overwhelming information, that is also common in the public domain, the convicted individual still chose to go a head commit a capital offense; this may be referred to as crime by impunity. For this reason, it justified to judicially execute the convict irrespective of whether he or she feels the pain or his or her friends and family do. The idea here is that in case of pain felt by family members and friends of the convict, the convict failed to think of t hat before committing capital offense. In support of the forgoing argument, it is suitable that the mode of an eye for an eye is utilized. Many people who support capital punishment are highly likely to see this as cruel, but this will be very effective in terms of deterring capital offenses and protecting the general innocent public members. The issue is that the victims of capital offenders are, in most cases, innocent; and in cases where they die from heinous acts of offenders, it cannot be argued that they will ever get justice. So, judicially executing somebody who has killed does not necessarily afford the dead victim justice, but it is ensuring that as many capital offenders as possible are eliminated from the society. In terms of moral grounds, anti-capital punishment crusaders have argued that death penalty does not have moral standing; but it is important to state that if that may be true, then the activities of capital criminal offenders are also not morally acceptable in the society. Nonetheless, the question that may be asked is that of how the perpetually or dangerously immoral behavior can be eliminated from the entire society if not by judicial execution. If this question were to be answered, then the response will be none, hence leaving capital punishment as the only means (Mandery, pp.1-9). One other thing that has not been given much of attention in the debate about the appropriateness of death penalty is that every prisoner or inmate would like to escape from prison should an opportunity arises. In fact, there have been several reports indicating that many prisoners have escaped from prison premises. In particular, those on long-term jail terms are most likely to escape from prison given that there lives are at stake due to the jury’s approval. In this case, if capital offenders were to be given long jail terms, they are likely to escape and find their ways back into the society where they are likely to continue committing the very c apital offenses they had been convicted of. In order to avoid such incidences, it is important that those found guilty of capital offenses be handed death penalty and thereafter be executed within the shortest time possible (Espejo, pp. 260-167). Again it is important to recognize that laws are very dynamic and subject to change with time. In situations where a capital offender were to be jailed for life without a parole, the change of law may grant such an offender some minimum level of parole which may beat the logic of justice for the victim or close relations of justice. For instance, a capital offender may be sentenced to life in prison but after some times, the law may possible change in such a way that those who are on life imprisonment jail term may be eligible to release if they meet certain requirements like changed behavior or showing remorsefulness. The consequence of this is that this kind of statutory change may be misused by the inmates through pretending to have beha vior change but once released may again go back into committing similar capital offenses for which he or she was jailed. This imprisonment may be considered to be the most appropriate alternative to capital punishment, but laws change and people also tend to forget about the past. In this scenario, life imprisonment may be abolished and capital offenders may be allowed back into the society after a given period of imprisonment. For this reason, it serves no good the society to abolish capital punishment and this may even lead to upsurge in the number of capital offenders (Yorke 283). The cost of judicial execution has been fronted as one of the reason capital punishment should be abolished; it is explained that the process of running a case of capital punishment demands a lot of money from the state and also the family members of convicts who may be engaged in several court appeals. It is true that going through the process of issuing capital punishment is complex and requires time and financial input. However, the cost is justified; first to ensure that the due process is thorough to avoid convicting an innocent person and also to ensure that it is proven beyond reasonable doubt that the suspect is actually guilty. The processing of executing a convict requires exhaustive evidences which should be ensured are as accurate as possible since everything at that time revolves about lives; first, it revolves around the life of the suspect who may unjustifiably be executed for a crime that might attract lesser sentence and second, in case of murder, the life of the members of the society who may continue to be victims if the accused is released on account of insufficient proof. It is clear that the cost of the whole process is to ensure justice for both the suspect and the victim and potential victims (Yorke 283). Conclusion Death penalty is a capital penalty used in punishing criminals who engage in serious criminal activities that may even go far as causing real o r perceived threat of life. The death penalty has been a serious debate topic in the United States of America. The existence of execution as a form of meting punishment to serious offenders and criminals has over the past drawn mixed perceptions. It is important to note that the differences in opinions are significant reasons for which some states within the United States have abolished death penalties while some still maintain it in their statutes (Milhorn 401). As much as capital punishment is still relevant, there has been heated debate about it with a significant number of people arguing against it. The opposition to capital punishment began as early as 1767 when abolitionist movements were taking roots. The current abolitionist movement has its roots in the works of Montesquieu, a European theorist. Other theorists included English known as Quakers John Bellers, Bentham and John Howard. However, it was the work of Beccaria offered staunch abolitionists with a renewed energy to argue champion against capital punishment with an authoritative voice. As much as death penalty is necessary, those arguing against it advance a significant number of undeniable facts that are worth acknowledging. They argue that capital punishment is cruelty against humanity, offenders might have not been sound mind at the time of commission of a capital offense and that execution puts the family of the convicted into pain and agony (Clarke and Whitt, pp29-46). The most central point raised by those arguing against death punishment is the virtual certainty that there may be a miscarriage of fair dealing or honesty within the court system where an innocent individual may be judicially executed and there is no possible compensation in case this happens. Because of this, several human rights group have petitioned various governments in the world to drop capital punishment from their statutes. Despite the opposition to it, death penalty still has a significant role to play in terms of ensuring deterrence to keep away capital criminals from committing capital offences. In the history of death penalty, there are sufficient evidences indicating that even countries in which capital punishment had been removed from the statutes have reinstated the form of punishment. This implies that the role played by the legality of capital punishment remains invaluable in terms of crime control and prevention. The death penalty provision exists after the law makers realized that it is the only solution to certain crimes, otherwise what government will want to execute the very innocent citizens it is mandated to protect. In order to avoid executing an innocent individual, anybody who faces execution, especially within the United States of America, a carefully selected jury is selected to examine and make decisions on such cases as relate to capital punishment; and they have always worked towards proofs beyond any reasonable doubt that a defendant is actually guilty of the capital c rime committed. However, a jury is obliged to acquit an individual who is most likely guilty but whose guilt cannot be proven before the court or the jury beyond any reasonable doubt. Death punishment is used as deterrence to criminal activities. According to research findings, death penalty has been found to reduce homicide where it is being meted. For instance, the research study conducted by Emory group during the period between 1977 and 1999 indicated that death sentence had been effective in terms of lowering homicide rate in about 3, 054 counties. Capital punishment should be applied to all irrespective of age since the consequences or impacts of such heinous activities are always relatively the similar. Moreover, capital offenders seem to be always aware of the consequences of their criminal act before they commit it yet choose to go ahead (Clarke and Whitt, pp.46-57). Again, in case capital punishment is commuted to life imprisonment, there is high possibility that if the lo ng-term serving inmates escape out of prison, they will still continue to commit the very crime they were convicted of and hence place a mockery on the justice system for the victims and potential victims. Besides, the laws may change in such a manner that the capital offenders get an opportunity to go back into the society and may possibly not be cowed by the lesser consequences (Espejo, pp.156-162). Works Cited Clarke, Williams Whitt, Lauelyn. The bitter fruit of American justice: international and domestic resistance to the death penalty. New York: UPNE, 2007. Council of Europe. The death penalty: beyond abolition, Parts 42-43. New York: Council of Europe, 2004. Espejo, Roman. Does Capital Punishment Deter Crime? New York: Greenhaven Press, 2002. Gershman, Gary. Death penalty on trial: a handbook with cases, laws, and documents. New York: ABC-CLIO, 2005. Mandery, Evan. Capital punishment: a balanced examination. New York: Jones Bartlett Learning, 2005. Milhorn, Thomas. Crime: C omputer Viruses to Twin Towers. New York: Universal-Publishers, 2004. Yorke, Jon. Against the death penalty: international initiatives and implications. New York: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2008 This essay on The Death Penalty Debate in the United States of America was written and submitted by user Sincere Schmidt to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Pat Parker Associates

Pat Parker Associates Relevant FactsPat Parker was a law school graduate who started a consulting firm called Pat Parker Associates and specialized in conducting opposition research and writing reports for political candidates, primarily for the Democratic Party. This case is about how Pat Parker developed a research report for Democratic nominee, Dale Jackson for the statewide Attorney General position.Two years later, representatives of the State Academy of Trial Lawyers wanted to buy the same research document on the Republican Attorney General, Terry Paine in what Parker believed to be an effort to inoculate their candidate during an upcoming election. Parker wasn't sure how to proceed knowing that this could potentially jeopardize the political party's candidate or even worse, could be arrested for soliciting the information.The evidence presented in this case was concerned with ownership and the control of research created by one party for use by another.Legal IssuesThere are several legal issues r elated to this case.I created the graph myself with data from a Pew Re...1. Would Pat Parker violate either contract or federal copyright laws by selling the research or associated postcards to the State Academy of Trial Lawyers or anyone else who desired to purchase them?2. Could Pat Parker sell the research to the State Academy of Trial Lawyers without violating the $500 maximum funding limit under the Florida Campaign Finance Statute?3. Would Pat Parker be violating the Florida Voluntary Code of Fair Campaign Practices by selling a report generated for one party to the other party? Specifically the $500 maximum funding limit?4. If the items were resold to a third party, would Parker Associates be violating any particular codes of ethics?Legal PrinciplesThe Pat Parker Case highlights the legal and ethical issues involved in the resell of research material, which was originally contracted from a campaign analyst,

Human Resource Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 17

Human Resource Management - Essay Example erms of cost, total business performance, culture and even corporate image if the organisation maintains effective recruitment and selection procedures. This paper describes the many advantages for contemporary organisations in maintaining quality human resources systems related to hiring employees. There are tremendous pressures being placed on the modern organisation in terms of maintaining competitive advantage and sustaining strategic superiority over competing firms in the business environment. Total business performance and the management of internal quality are two primary objectives of most members of the management hierarchy (Williams, McHugh & McHugh, 2005). The total quality management focus involves aligning all aspects of the organisation, for instance from manufacturing (if relevant) to finance, all employees are expected to conform to a well-identified model of expected business performance. Ahmad & Schroeder (2003) offer that many organisations fail to recognise the importance of total quality management (TQM) in their recruitment and selection practices, thus providing the organisation with opportunities for failure. The authors propose that in recruitment, the human resource division in today’s organisations focus strongly on prospective employee techni cal skills but focus very little on the soft skills of employees such as personality-based and behaviour-based competencies. It is suggested that soft skills are most crucial to total quality management as it is these talents which determine levels of individual motivation or whether the candidate will evolve successfully to adopt the prevailing culture and attitude in the business (Ahmad & Schroder, 2003: 542). Under a less TQM-focused organisation, technically-skilled candidates can be selected for their individual, mechanical talents and perform to job role expectations efficiently. However, today’s businesses require leaders who must adapt to project team coordination, work with a variety

The planning system's approach to managing change in rural areas is Essay

The planning system's approach to managing change in rural areas is fundamentally flawed. Discuss - Essay Example ountry planning†, so that planning is not just a regulator of land and property uses, but is at the centre of the spatial development process, coordinating policy with implementation based on sustainable development. (Gallent et al, 2008). Some of the most important factors which have shaped the United Kingdom Planning System are: the strong ethics towards land preservation which is epitomized in the work of the Council for the Protection of Rural England, and its Scottish and Welsh counterparts. and the agriculture and breeding of livestock of the land owning class. Additionally, popular attitudes to the preservation of the countryside and the containment of urban sprawl are related to the early industrialization of the United Kingdom, the small size of the country, the long history of parliamentary government, the power of the civil service in central government, and the professions in local government (Cullingworth & Nadin, 2002). Fundamental flaws are present in the planning system’s approach to managing change in rural areas, partly because of the following reasons: the United Kingdom planning system has been highly effective in stopping development, rather than in facilitating it. There are serious weaknesses in anticipating needs, and in acquisition and allocation of land, and in integrating the planning of infrastructure with new development. The powers which the system has for such important planning actions are inadequately used because of insufficient relationship between the public planning process and the largely private development process. Though the Town and Country Planning Act 1947 envisaged the undertaking of positive planning by the public sector, this was not adopted due to lack of feasibility; and alternative mechanisms remain underdeveloped (Cullingworth & Nadin, 2002). Another shortcoming of the planning system is the most difficult issue facing any policy, that is, defining the right questions. Current United Kingdom debates are

Portfolio Report Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Portfolio Report - Research Paper Example This information is in accordance with her mother who can remember these problems. The student also is found to have problem with tutoring. Her mother is concerned that her child may have some kind of reading disability because she too had trouble learning in school, but up until now has no evidence or documentation to support this. The student has been known to have some strength is certain areas but weak in other areas. Her strong areas include expressive vocabulary, reading comprehension, oral comprehension, sentence comprehension, and listening comprehension. She is cheery and enthusiastic and loves horses and writing her own stories. She is organized and loves to draw as well as coloring. She has much interest in science. She has been found to have problems with decoding skills, oral reading, reading, writing, math, and numeracy operations. Her academic weaknesses happen despite that she hardly misses her classes. The student is learning within a contusive educational environmental. The teachers are qualified and there are a number of bright students who are ready to assist her. Besides, all the necessary resources are provided. Her general academic achievement is not good. She is relatively poor in math, numeric problems, writing, reading, science, and art. She however seem to love some of these areas. Despite her love for some of the areas or subjects, she ends up performing poorly. Her attention is poor since she makes careless mistakes in school work all the time. She also is not able to stay focused on a task for periods of time that would be expected of peers, which happens all the time. She always avoids school work or homework when possible. She also has difficulty returning to a task when focus has been lost for a short period. Besides, her assignments are ever incomplete. In the case of her selective attention, she does not seem to listen when being spoken to, she is easily distracted by objects,

Nature of the leisure industry

Nature of the leisure industry 3.0 Introduction The nature of the leisure industry is constantly changing because of new innovations and economic trends. A good example of a new innovation would be air sports such as hand gliding and bungee jumping. Many developments from previous to current products such as the mp3 player and mobiles have increased in the amount of popularity and appeal. There are many reasons why there are so many changes in the leisure industry because the leisure industry in itself is an open market in which many people can and have developed in. Leisure providers are always planning for the future and how they are going to be successful, so in order to achieve their goals they attempt to create a new innovation or innovations for (mainly) the general public. If they were to be successful then results could vary from really high success to maybe just a moderate success. A good example of a successful innovation would be the iPod range because when mp3 players were just playing songs and nothing else the iPod franchise saw the opportunity to build and grow in that certain market and so are where they are today because of their innovations. A moderate successful innovation would be a product or service which is fairly popular and is showing some signs of growth. In order to get towards the high end market they must keep changing certain products or how a service is run. Some innovations are quite articulate whilst some are quite indispensable, this shows how the leisure industry is constantly changing; they are all aiming for that one product which will give them that extra advantage over other companies. It mainly depends on the social trends and economical state or balance. The nature of the leisure industry is very unpredictable because it can change in an instance and can either gain or lose appeal to any product. 3.1 Recent innovations Mobile phones are a main source for socializing amongst most people. It is a passive pursuit because we choose to receive a call or make a call in our own free time, meaning that we usually dont have any duties to pursue and respond to. Mobile phones have had many recent changes; mobile phones have had different innovations applied towards it ever since the early 1990s, when Dr. Eric Fossum and his team achieved the first steps of realizing the modern camera phone which we have today. Another example of changes in camera phone innovation is when new technology was applied to the already advanced technology. ‘first camera phones, as successfully marketed by J-Phone in Japan, used CCD sensors and not CMOS sensors, more than 90% of camera phones sold today use CMOS image sensor technology.(Wikipedia, 2007) The most noticeable changes in innovation have to be the Apple iPhone because it has practically started a revolution in phone design single handed. There have been numerous designs to match the iPhone but always have fell short, mainly because of the iPhone software. Many competitors have copied the design, the style and even some of the icons but they could not copy or replicate the Apples operating system. It is an internet device a phone and without having buttons. ‘Iphone turnover represents 18.5% of Apples sales. Up from 5.7% the previous year 57 million iphones and iPod touches sold in the last two years (txt4ever, 2009) The advantages in which the apple iPhone have on an average mobile phone are hefty. Such as, the iPhone includes stock chart, calendar, compass, maps, YouTube, weather, voice memos, iPod, world clocks, iTunes, notes, camera and App store as a normal default setting. Meaning that other mobiles can only include half of what the iPhone has to offer. In addition to revolutionizing phone designs the iPhone has already created a huge market for accessories, cases, docks, applications and much more. With its vast range and variety of applications it can be used by almost anyone. It has free wireless internet, video recording, safari, and mail. Many apps are based on general and social needs but can be utilized for active, passive and home based pursuits. For example the iphone have produced numerous cooking apps and timers to aid anyone who may need assistance in cooking. The iphone also offers a wide variety of games where you can even play online with other player from around the world. T his would go under as a home based leisure. The iphone isnt just for socializing and low energy activities it can also perform various high energy activities such as the Nike+ iPod app system. It can apparently time your goals, measure the distance travelled, workout how much calories were burnt and fix a timetable for your work out. It is described as a personal trainer without a personal trainer. Apple iPhone shows the importance of new innovations in technology. Many leisure facilities can have a huge advantage in terms of benefit and profit. If recreation facilities have a Wi-Fi zone such as in a cafe or a store than many iPhone and laptop users can connect directly with minimum trouble. The leisure facility would see increase in participation and social commuters in the facilities. Another example of recent innovations is the Wii Fit from the Nintendo franchise. It has revolutionised what we usually do in our homes, or even in recreational facilities. Its objective is to combine fun and fitness into one product; it can apparently change how you exercise, how you balance and even how you move. This new technology has changed the popularity and participation rates in local recreational facilities, for example yoga and fitness classes would see a distinctive decrease in participants most probably because of the new innovations produced. The advantages of owning one of these new innovations such as the Wii Fit can produce more advanced accurate readings of progress, it can estimate how many calories you might have put on or burned, no membership costs, uses a user interface system, wireless, Wii fit has a variety of games and exercise in which you can participate in and is generally easy to use. ‘The most popular sports/physical activities in NSW were: Walking (other than bushwalking) Aerobics/fitness Swimming Tennis Cycling Golf Running Bushwalking Soccer (outdoor) Yoga'(Government, 2009) Participation rates in sports/physical activities amongst different age groups ‘Participation decreases with age: 15 24 years 94.3% 25 34 years 85.2% 35 44 years 85.3% 45 54 years 80.4% 55 64 years 83.4% 65 years and over 70.7%'(Government, Participation in exercise, 2009) 3.2 Technology Reading books in our spare time used to be one of our leisure pursuits whether home-based or public. Recent innovations have lead normal reading to new technological heights. One example is the kindle where people can read their favourite books with just a few push of the buttons. The Kindle has the potential to store up to more than 300,000 books and can easily be accessed. The Kindle has many advantages as well as disadvantages. The advantages are: Its very useful for short and long range trips You can send any files via the kindle email Its portable and light You can read almost any book at any time You can get an on-line dictionary The disadvantages are: It has limited research abilities No internet connectivity abroad Limited memory expansion Battery is quite heavy Could be vulnerable to break Doesnt have the real feel of book (depends on personal tastes) There are many other advantages and disadvantages but what makes this product a success is because of its unique qualities. It has already shown progress in its growth in the USA, UK and Europe. The chart shows the increase in kindle users in a course of a month. (Steve, 2009) Kindle has created a new technological innovation where they relate to many people across the world. They have already partnered up with the apple in building a new Kindle app for the iPhone and iTunes. ‘On March 3, 2009, Amazon.com launched an application entitled Kindle for iPhone in the App Store for iPhone and iPod Touch owners to read Kindle content.'(Wikipedia, 2009 ) This image shows the Kindle Wi-Fi range and coverage. This shows that the Amazon kindle still has many more innovations impending ahead. (Switch31, 2009) There are other new technologies where it is mainly based on your leisure pursuits. Battlefield sports are a new innovation in combat entertainment. It uses digital technology called S.A.T.R which stands for small arms transmitter receiver. It has already had a convention in which it was very successful and has made many breakthroughs in the recent leisure attractions. S.A.T.R is the worlds first real time hit feedback which creates an impelling realistic like in game statistics. It also doesnt need a central computer system. Battlefield sports are build system where gamers can participate in combat missions for their measurable entertainment. Millions of games have been played across 34 countries where they all experienced unique battle missions. Battlefield sports have already won numerous awards such as the member of the year (2007) of the Australian technology showcase. Battlefield sports are dedicated to 100% quality in service, design and manufacturing. Battlefield sports are live meaning everything is in real time and active. It is also very versatile meaning it can be played indoors and outdoors. It offers exciting, satisfying and potentially profitable business opportunities on the planet. It isnt the same as regular gaming, where it is mainly home-based and less active. They also offer partnerships meaning they are still growing and are leading in new innovations in numerous ways (new systems, S.A.T.R, infra red lasers, inflatables etc). Battlefield sports have created a new innovation in which many people can benefit it greatly. It is mainly active and offers many health benefits and a new market in which businesses can evolve and excel. ‘The experts at Battlefield Sportsâ„ ¢ have created a unique business platform for anyone who wants to take advantage of business opportunities created by the dramatic cultural shifts in todays computer game environment'(Sports, 2009). â€Å"S*A*T*R is a huge step forward in combat entertainment,† explained Paul Diamond, UK Agent for Battlefield Sports. â€Å"Battlefield Sports spent two years developing this latest innovation in the leisure industry and now will showcase this breakthrough at Leisure Industry Week† (LIW, 2009) 3.3 Influences of the media The media has a large impact in influencing change, appeal and popularity of leisure activities because the media itself is very broad and diverse matter, meaning it can affect large amounts people across almost any region of any country.

Internet Laws :: essays research papers

Crime and the Criminal Internet Laws Cyber Space Law Right now there is a very interesting war being waged in the court rooms across America. It is a battle for the rights of citizens on the Internet. The Internet is a fairly new medium gaining wide popularity in 1994. Because of its incredible growth in popularity in a very short amount of time it has been hard to regulate. The first act to come out regarding the Internet and Freedom of Speech was PL 99-508 the Electronic Communications and Privacy Act of 1986 . This act consisted of two parts, title I and title II. Title I - Interception of Communications and Related Matters. Basically takes the existing laws and updates them to include computers. Where before it was illegal to intercept private telephone calls, it now says it is illegal to intercept private computer transmissions. It also includes a provision to make it legal to intercept public radio transmissions like it is with public radio programs. It also allows Internet Service Providers to keep a log of who c alled and their activity on-line to protect themselves. Title II - Stored Wire and Electronic Communications and Transactional Records Access. This provision adds sections to Title 18 of the United States Code (USC). In section 2701 - Unlawful Access to Stored Communications; it makes it a federal offense to hack into a computer system. Actually what it says is that it is not illegal to gain access but once you do gain access, by mistake or intention, it is illegal to continue to access the computer system. This crime is punishable by $5000 or up to six months in jail. Section 2703 of USC Title 18 is the section that instructs Internet Service Providers to keep a back-up record of your activities on-line with a court order from a government entity. Then after the government notifies the individual in question, the material is either used by the agency or is destroyed. Probably the biggest battle yet over the first amendment rights so far has been the Communications Decency Act or CD A. In March 1995 Senator Jim Exon introduces legislation to criminalize online publication of any material deemed "obscene, lascivious, filthy or indecent." This legislation was attached to a larger and popular Telecommunications Reform Bill. The Senate and the House voted to approve the Telecommunications Reform Bill in February 1996.

Patrick Platt

HISTORY AND PHYSICAL EXAMINATION Patient Name: Patrick Platt Patient ID: 771033 Room No: 560 Date of Admission: 08/30/—- Admitting Physician: William Payne, MD Admitting Diagnosis: Rule out fracture of left arm. CHIEF COMPLAINT: Pain and swelling, left upper arm. HISTORY OF PRESENT ILLNESS: The patient is an elderly male, who fell four days prior to admission. He noted immediate pain and swelling in the area just above his left elbow. He presented to the emergency room for treatment. PAST HISTORY: Past illnesses include whooping cough as a child. Tonsillectomy in the past. No known allergies to medications. FAMILY HISTORY: No hereditary disorders noted. Mother and father are deceased. Two brothers are alive and well. One sister has adult-onset diabetes mellitus. SOCIAL HISTORY: The patient is married and has two children. His wife does not work outside the home. (No mention of tobacco or alcohol use). PHYSICAL EXAMINATION: GENERAL: The patient is a well-developed, well-nourished male who appears to be in moderate distress with pain and swelling in the upper left arm. Vital signs: Blood pressure 140/90, temperature 98. 3 degrees Fahrenheit, pulse 97, respiration 18. HEENT: Head normal, no lesions, Eyes, arcus senilis, both eyes. Ears, impacted cerumen, left ear. Nose, clear. Mouth, dentures fit well, no lesions. NECK: Normal range of motion in all directions. (Continued) HISTORY AND PHYSICAL EXAMINATION Patient Name: Patrick Platt Patient ID: 771033 Date of Admission: 08/30/—- Page 2 INTEGUMENTARY: Psoriatic lesion, right thigh, approximately 1 mm in diameter. CHEST: Clear breath sounds bilaterally. No rales or rhonchi noted. HEART: Normal sinus rhythm. There is a holosystolic murmur. No friction rubs noted. ABDOMEN: Normal bowel sounds. Liver, kidneys, and spleen are normal to palpation. GENITALIA: Tests normally descended bilaterally. RECTAL: Prostate 2+ and benign. EXTREMITIES: Pain and swelling noted above the left elbow, other upper extremities normal. No cyanosis or clubbing. The legs demonstrate 2+ pitting edema to the knees. NEUROLOGIC: Crainial nerves II through XII intact, memory intact, sensation intact to light touch. ASSESSMENT AND PLAN: The patient was sent for plain film of the left arm, which revealed a fracture of the left humerus. The fracture was reduced in the emergency room. X-ray revealed anatomic alignment. He was released to home with a prescription for a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory and instructions to elevate his arm. He will follow up in the office in three days. PROGNOSIS: Good. _________________________ William Payne, MD WM:R D:08/30/—- T:09/01/—-

Lobbying essayEssay Writing Service

Lobbying essayEssay Writing Service Lobbying essay Lobbying essayThe introduction of health care reform is essential for the improvement of health care services and making health services available to citizens. In this regard, the lobbying of health care reform is essential for the improvement of health care services and successful completion of the reform. The current criticism of the health care reform can raise a strong opposition that will undermine the successful implementation of the reform, while lobbying will help to complete the reform successfully and bring consistent changes to the contemporary health care system of the US making it available to all citizens.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In actuality, the health care reform will bring considerable changes in the health care system of the US because the current situation in the national health care system fails to provide health care services for all citizens. Even though the quality of health care services and their availability is unequal and there are wide gaps between health care services’ available to citizens and the quality of health care services. To put it more precisely, high quality of health care services are available to the rich, whereas the poor have limited or no access to basic health care services and even when they receive health care services, they are of the low quality.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Therefore, the health care reform will help to implement changes that can change the situation for better. To put it more precisely, the health care reform will make health care services more available to the public and close quality gaps between the rich and the poor. The point of the health care reform is to make health services available to all citizens. However, the reform is costly that makes lobbying essential.

Racism in Film Essays

Racism in Film Essays Racism in Film Essay Racism in Film Essay Everywhere you look you can find some type of racial stereotyping. It’s around us, in the books we read, and the films we watch. Most movies just poke fun at racial stereotyping but some movies show the harsh side of labeling a certain race. After 9/11 many people saw Middle Eastern and South Asian people as terrorists. In airports the tighter security portrayed the seriousness of the US government. However, the firmer security was only leaned toward people with specific last names, and certain nationalities would be stopped for further screenings. Another racial stereotyping present in real life and films are the arrest of dark colored men. Racial profiling against blacks have gone on for decades. The most recent reference was the Trayvon Martin case, in which a 17 year old colored teenager had a hoodie on and 27 year old Hispanic American suspected him of suspicious behavior, and shot him claiming it was self-defense. Colored people are also more likely to get stopped by the cops while driving. Men in Black II poked fun at this when in the movie, the car had a robot driver and it was a white male. Kevin Brown asks, â€Å"Does that come standard? and Agent J replies, â€Å"Actually it came with a black dude, but he kept getting pulled over. † Films usually poke fun at racial stereotyping, but some portray the harsh consequences of racial profiling. The movie American History X is about a neo Nazi group based in the United States, and how their cult discriminates Jews and colored people. Throughout the movie as told in the narration by Danny Vinyard we learn that before going to prison Derek, Danny’s older brother, was a skinhead and the leader of a violent white supremacist gang that committed acts of racial crime throughout L. A. In film, many racial profiling can be spotted. In Broadway plays, colored people were not allowed to act, thus the white males put on black make up and went on stage to play the black males or females. In the play The Scotts borough Boys the directors use the same concept of showing how racism has declined but still remains. Throughout the play the male black actors would put on black make up portraying how Broadway shows were back in the day. Near the end of the film the actors took off their make ups to show their rue self, this showed a evolution in the unity of all. It showed that people now have more rights than ever before. It shows that the minority should not be shadowed by the majority. Sometimes films don’t intentionally use racial stereotyping or if they do, they aim for a certain target audience. In a Disney movie, Aladdin, the stereotype the viewer is introduced to is the phony salesman, the bootlegger. In reality Arabs are seen as bootleggers. Some commercials have also poked fun at this racial stereotype. In Time Warner Cable ads, there portrays an Arab man trying to sell bootlegs. Also, Indians are portrayed as computer IT’s, as seen in the Metro PCs commercials. Racial profiling will always be there I believe. Even though everyone is the same on the inside, our looks separate us from one another. This separation disrupts a unity amongst us all. Thus wherever there are differences there are gaps, and whenever there are gaps, there are dislikes and oppositions, that leads to racial stereotyping.

Social Theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Social Theory - Essay Example 66). Marx argues that there is a relation between ideas and material activity in society. The different ways of production thus determines relations. For example, in modern capitalist societies such as Britain, labour is valued and is exchanged voluntarily with wages so as to earn a living because the society is based on exchange of commodities and labour. All labour that is not used for producing commodities for exchange such as housework is valueless and is not accounted for in national income calculations as it does not add any value. The manner of production also divides the society into classes with one class being dominant and the other subordinate. In a society based on exchange, the bourgeoisie or capitalist is the owner of means of production hence is dominant and the wage labourer is subordinate. Contrary to Hegel’s perception that ideas were the forces in history, Marx argues that ‘ideas and beliefs symbolize our economic and class relations and experiences we have with others in society’ (Morrison, 2006 p. 66). He also acknowledges that the political economy develops in stages through historical events. In the critique of the political economy, they explained how economy moved from feudalism to capitalism as a result of English civil war which dismantled it thus putting land under private ownership. Serfs were separated from means of production hence were forced to offer their labour to owners of the means of production (Gaunt, 2000).Using the labour, the capitalists transform raw materials into finished products with own forces of production and become owners of the products. Labour in this case is transformed from its use-value into a commodity and become labour power which has an exchange value. They criticized the work of Adam Smith and Ricardo who were advocates of capitalism and were of the view that capitalist society is governed by fixed economic laws and that value was inherent in commodities. For Marx, consumption and p roduction were related contrary to Smiths assertion that they were independent. He also saw commodities as not having value as they had two uses; consumption and exchange in the market. If a commodity is not for use as in feudal society, then value is obtained when it is exchanged in the market thus the labourers lose ability to freely employ means of production and have no control of the product (Morrison, 2006). The system of exchange thus determines the relations of production in capitalist societies. The exchange of labour according to Marx is a historically developed system of division of labour from family labour which only had use value to capitalism where labour power is exchanged for wages and that in future, labour would be free where one would work according to his needs. In Britain, the products produced by wage labourers are exchanged in the market and so as to measure value, the monetary system was introduced such that price actualizes the exchange-value instead of exc hanging goods with other goods or with gold. However, prices are affected by other factors involved in the activity of exchange such as input prices. Marx acknowledges that wage labour is a form of exploitation (Marx & Engel, 2002). Wage labourers produce surplus value which Marx defined as the proportion of unpaid, surplus labour workers perform for their employer to the necessary labour workers pe

Analysis of Business Excellence criteria Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Analysis of Business Excellence criteria - Essay Example This formula for such unflinching success has come through none of what management books could preach. The story behind the rise of Emirates Group lies in being an opportunist and seeking the opportunity at the right time and solving all their problems as and when they came through. This can be highlighted as one of company’s key strengths. Emirates has been working in a multicultural environment where the company seeks to address whatever shall keep the company motivated and ensure team functions to perform well. The key business practice is to keep things running as they are if they appear good, defying the conventional wisdom of not having any functional fit in the organization. Emirates group is run like a family rather than a management driven organization. It is a fully owned government organization based in Dubai. As a part of business strategy, the company has a policy of not entertaining any alliance and believes in making strategic partnerships with its competitors t o move forward on the path of success. Its range of services includes commercial airlines offering all of passenger, postal and cargo services. It also sells consumer goods in airlines as both wholesale and retail. It also operates in hotels and resorts and engineering products is leisure and destination management (The Emirates group, 2013C). As a part of company strategy, Emirates group does not believe in a fixed organizational structure and has built its company structure based on people strengths. Also, the company does not have a board of directors that comprises of executive and non-executive directors. They have a group of 30 people who discuss an agenda openly. The senior management and HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum act as the sole decision making body. This senior management believes in focussing on details, rather than the bigger picture. Emirates also follow a strategy of hiring people from all across the world. Staff salaries are pegged to their home country base s but recruitment from across the globe has its own economic advantages. Employees get attracted to the company despite its comparatively lower salary because of lack of tax implications in Dubai. This allows the company to have a competitive advantage over its staff costs. The paper is a survey that is based on the EFQM model. It analyses the Emirates Group on nine parameters of the model through survey results. The results are analysed and helps in determining key strengths and weaknesses of the company. Based on the analysis, the paper concludes with recommendations of suggested practices. Methodology In this section, the research methodology has been discussed. It is to be noted that the research was carried out by means of a questionnaire based on the EFQM excellence model. The questionnaire was answered based on the secondary data obtained from various print and online sources. Based on self assessment study, the answers to the questions were formulated, wherein each answer is based on information obtained through secondary source of data. No outside person, group of persons or body corporate was approached for seeking answers to the questionnaire. The question response format was based on a Likert scale of 1 to 6. However, each one of these numbers was defined in terms of attributes as Zero Base, Very Weak, Weak, Acceptable, Strong and Extremely Strong. The scores were assigned as 1