Evaluate the benefits for a company of practicing Corporate Social Responsibility Essay

I certify that the attached is my own work. Material drawn from other sources has been acknowledged according to unit-specific requirements for referencing. Signature of student:________________________________ Date:__25 June 2013___ Traditionally companies focus primarily on gaining profits without regard for the community and environment. Ignoring the waste and pollution for example causes adverse impact for the social. Air pollution, for example, caused by factories with chemical materials can weaken respiration system. It was believed that the concern about environment produces extra expenditures reducing firm’s profit. Thus, they tend to override and ignoring the issue. In contrary, majority of the costumers expect more respects, supports, and cares from factories for the communities and environment. In addition, the government through policies has tried to force the corporations being care about their responsibilities. However, a concept including strategy to build a good relationship between corporations and their stakeholders has been introduced. Corporate social responsibility (CSR), the concept, has been practiced and developed since the 1970s receiving good responses from government and society around the world. CSR today is performed as a strategic management approached. A research by Preuss (2011, p. 23) mentions the 4Ps of innovative CSR on the basis of CSR project content, processes, positioning, and paradigm. A firm could receive worthwhile benefits through its CSR activities by being different from their competitors. Therefore, this essay evaluates the benefits of CSR to a company through several examples of successful achievement. According to Madzimure (2013) article, the benefits of CSR beyond financial return but provide strategy to protect firm’s sustainability. Organisation can uses this concept as instrument in human resources management, risk management, brand differentiation and obtaining an operation license (Madzimure, 2013). Preuss (2011, p. 19) defines the advantages of CSR namely, competitive advantage, which affording the firm’s reaction to external factors faster and better than the competitors, cost and risk reduction by building relations among stakeholders avoiding social problems, reputation and legitimacy, and synergistic value creation which bringing promotion value growth. Recent research from Galbreath (2009, p.111) explains that the CSR cover various associations consisting internal and external stakeholder as stakeholder theory. Hence, carrying the important roles in social and environment, corporations are expected to pay more attention about their responsibilities (Madzimure, 2013). However, byapproaching CSR from the beginning, both small and large corporation could find a number of advantages for an organisation, society and industry levels (Preuss, 2011, p. 25). Firstly, CSR helps the legal responsibility to comply with local, state, federal, and relevant international laws (Galbreath, 2009, p.111). An article by Madzimure (2013) states that avoiding government interference in their business through taxation or regulation is common with multi-national companies when they are doing business in developing countries. Being aware about community activities organisations can convince governments and publics. For example involving in education program, software company could have attention from the students. (Madzimure, 2013) Firms have to face additional behaviours and activities that society desired such as contributing party to social organisations, when they also can gain some advantages from it (Galbreath, 2009, p.111). Through paying attention with poverty a firm produce low price products contributing to the increasing of costumer demands. The benefits, moreover, affect both company and costumers. For example, conducting a discount for grocery purchase for their product, an instant food manufactory can received growing income and the society spends less expense. (Preuss, 2011, p. 23) To maintain good relationship with community, Fenn (2013) describes organisation can be a donator for local or larger charity and thus, again, providing advantages for both sides. Secondly, Galberth (2009, p.118) argues that CSR benefits both to the environment and the organisation. This social project content is clearly focused on environmental side, which driving manufacturers has to replace heavy metals, solvents or other toxic ingredients with safer and natural materials (Preuss, 2011, p. 23). A pharmaceutical company could protect the environment by utilising waste water treatment, for instance, in their production process. As a result, the entire community may receive the advantages and the corporation will be able to avoid fines or disapproval federal pollution standards permission, because of healthier environment. Other example is, investing resources in cogeneration technology which processing heat into energy, manufacture can substitute electrical power consumption for the local utility. Economically, both factory and community spend fewer budgets for electricity. (Galbreath, 2009, p.118) Through CSR, manager can use improve employee satisfaction (Preuss, 2011, p. 25). Ingenhoff and Sommer, (2011, p. 85) founds CSR can also support employee’s activities, by providing educational improvement programme such as scholarship. Moreover, positive employee perceptions to the company can be improved by involving them in charity and fundraising activities or community volunteering (Madzimure, 2013). Skilful employees can be maintained by trying to keep them motivated and loyal which may optimise organisation productivity. A firm can incorporate their staff welfare plans in order to constructing community relationships. For example in a charity project, staff should be involved and part of the project. A survey from Net Impact found that working in the place where they can contribute an impact was important to their choice and several of them indicate to take a pay cut to work for a corporation practicing CSR. (Fenn 2013) Fenn (2013) explains that CSR is about managing the relationships between employees, customers, supplier and stakeholder to produce positive impact on society, whilst gaining profits. AT&T and its foundation, for instance, connected CSR with specific business functions by establishing a family care fund that managed committee to support employees and their communities. The result is, not only improved the availability and quality of day care facilities, but it also widely used to solve union management disagreements. (Preuss, 2011, p. 24) Other example of the successful CSR implementation in a company is Walt Disney by creating the ‘Green standard’ to engage and motivate the staff in reducing their environmental impact when working, having meetings, travelling and eating lunch. With more than 60,000 employees they succeed to achieve financial benefits from reducing 10% the corporation’s electricity use. (Fenn, 2013) The next success story is the well-known natural fragrance manufacture The Body Shop. A trend by this anti-chemical perfume widely accepted around the world. The founder, Anita Roddick, believes in the importance of environmental protection, animal rights, community trade and human rights, although The Body Shop Foundation started a struggle in finance. Thus, today The Body Shop reaches markets in the USA and Japan, create a loyal customer, and gain annual profits of over  £40m. Having a similar idea, Haagen-Dazs and their natural ice creams created a website, started a social media campaign and donated a portion of proceedings to research about honeybees and its benefits in the chain food. In fact, the advertise helps society, company’s CSR goals, showing humanity to consumers which likely to pay a premium price for charity reason. (Fenn, 2013) On the other hand, In the term of education, The Shell Foundation was involved to provide Early Learning Centre in the Flower Valley, South Africa which helping to educate both children and adults new skills. Considering the similar idea, Econet Wireless, a Zimbabwean multi-national company, offers education scholarships for any level students, supports football club around Africa and participates in HIV/AIDS education programmes. (Madzimure, 2013) In conclusion, although the consequence of implementing CSR experiencing expenditure increases, CSR contributes significant benefits not only for a company but also for stakeholder, society and environment. Some organizations both local and international level allocate funds for long investment for social responsibility, aiming to the better reputation and revenue. Primary, CSR helps the legal responsibility through convincing the society in other to obtain government trust. By satisfying customer demands, a firm also can create a loyal buyer and it is not impossible to improving profits. Secondly, CSR economically benefits both to the environment and the organisation. The firm through differentiation has an opportunity to spread the market while sustaining the environmental sources. Through CSR, corporate could improve employee’s satisfaction, because well performance employees lead to optimal organisation productivity. World class corporations such as Walt Disney, The Body Shop, and Haagen-Dazs have practised CSR and experienced a successful achievement. Moreover, African company such as The Shell Foundation and Econet Wireless involve in educational support for children. Therefore, facing engaged responsibility from various sectors, a company not only can maintain its sustainability but also, gain more advantages by implementing CSR. The old fashioned corporation which only concentrating to gain profit has not longer been primary evaluation to the decision makers because in the future social expectation will drive organisation in any part of the world contributing more important role in environment through CSR. References: Fenn, R 2013, ‘Benefits of Corporate Social Responsibility’, Sustainable Business Toolkit, 14 May, viewed 22 May 2013, Galbreath, J 2009, ‘Building corporate social responsibility into strategy’, European Business Review, vol. 21, no. 2, pp. 109-127. Ingenhoff, D & Sommer, K 2011, ‘Corporate Social Responsibility Communication: A Multi-method Approach on Stakeholder Expectations and Managers’ Intentions’, Journal of Corporate Citizenship, Iss. 42, pp. 73-90. Madzimure, J 2013, ‘Let’s embrace corporate social responsibility’, Nehanda Radio, 19 May, viewed 22 May 2013, Preuss, L 2011, ’Innovative CSR: A Frame Work for Anchoring Corporate Social Responsibility in the Innovation Literature’, Journal of Corporate Citizenship, Iss. 42, pp. 17-33.

After high school Essay

As we get older, more and more problems begin to form. When we reach our teenage years though, it becomes worse. One problem I think the hardest is for young adults is deciding what we want to do for the rest of our lives when we are so young. You can go to college, military or the working field depending on your preference. When we’re in high school, we have to raise our hand and ask to use the restroom, go to the office to make any phone call no matter how important it may be and have ridiculous dress code rules. You are treated like a child from kindergarten all the way up to senior year and yet they expect you to make the most important decision of your life then. One thing that people do straight out of high school is go directly to the work field. Although its normally in most people’s best interest not to, not everyone is made for college. Unless you are extremely lucky, it has been found that people who didn’t advance to other education after high school make 85% less than those with a college diploma. My brother has a roommate in college and his dad dropped out of college after his first year or two and he makes more money than most people will ever see. His wife doesn’t have to work and his kids have it made when it comes to the materialistic things in life. He owns his own real estate company in Pittsburgh and sells and rents houses to people. He does most of his own work so he doesn’t have to pay people to do it, which is very convenient for him. Although most people do not get as lucky as him, that’s okay for some people because money isn’t everything though. Sometimes it’s better to take time off of school instead of wasting all that money when you don’t even know what you are planning on doing for the rest of your life and going straight to college. There are many reasons why people decide to not go to college, not because they just don’t think that they can do it. Sometimes people have kids before they plan, family problems or even they just can’t get help to pay for it so it holds them back from attending. College is an expensive thing that most people don’t want to pay for. You have years of loans to pay back and for a lot of people; they end up miserable at their jobs after a few years. It is also very hard to get help to pay for you college education. When my cousin tried getting help for college, because she had a full time job and no kids she could get barely any money even though she wasn’t getting any help from her parents. If college still isn’t the right thing for you but you don’t want McDonalds to be your only  definite in for a job, the military is a great option. Although you have to work your butt off for it, the military gives awesome benefits. Of course it’s nothing that the NBA players make, which is ridiculous, but it is still a lot just for being in the military. A player in the NBA averages about $5.15 million per year and all the do is dribble and shoot a basketball for a living where people in the military have to work their tails off every single day to fight for our country and they only get about $70 thousand per year. There is a lot of schooling that they will pay for you so you can still get an education while being in the military. Not only will you get your schooling paid for, but also you can even get paid for going. Also, they have programs like ROTC where you can still train for the military but you are in an actual college getting your education. As well as getting your education paid for, you also get free medical care, financial security and you can retire around 20 years before other people do. If you get all of that stuff paid for, is there even anything left to buy? Food and housing. No worries, in the Army, you receive a regular paycheck and free housing including meals. If you live off of base, you will still receive a housing allowance. Even if the amount of free meals and the checks don’t cover all of the food you want, some restaurants and grocery stores offer military discounts, which will also save a lot of money. My dad owns houses and rent them out to people and the first thing he looks at is what kind of job they have to make sure they can keep up with rent. Last summer there was a guy from the Army that tried to rent of my dad and he told him that the monthly paying isn’t going to be a big deal because he gets checks from the Army specifically for his housing so it is totally free for him. Although college isn’t everyone’s best option, I believe it’s more worth it than working forever at a job that barely gets you by. Colleges can really help you out when you aren’t exactly sure what you want to do. Some even make you take a full year of general education classes just so you are sure that you want to be in that major. Nobody should waste thousands of dollars just to change their mind like 50-70% of college kids end up doing. Also, most colleges have classes that help you transition from high school to college and help get good study habits and things like that. For most kids, what they do for the school like sports, music, theatre and clubs is the most important part of high school. Proceeding to college gives you the opportunity to further  your career in things like that where there are plenty of sports, clubs, different bands and also sororities and fraternities. Although that would be going to college for the wrong reasons, a college education in general expands your knowledge base, makes you more organized and exposes you to a whole new world of learning. There are also so many different types of colleges though. Depending on your preference, you can go to school for a few months or 12 years. There are community colleges, tech schools, four-year schools and also schools that are totally based on what you want to do. At the four-year schools, you have to take a certain amount of general education courses where as a college with a certain amount of month program, all of your classes are dedicated for your major. Every school that you go to has a variety of majors to choose from which also make the college option hard. There are some things that people will never even hear of until they go to college and even then, there are thousands of jobs you can do with most majors that people will probably never even know throughout their entire life. A lot of people don’t realize that a really big benefit of going to both college and the military is the life long friends that you make. Of course you’ll always have your friends from high school, but college and the military both give you the opportunity to start over and make new friends. As you can see, there are benefits to every option you decide to do when you graduate high school. There are also a lot of cons to the option that you decide. It all depends on the person and what they are like. It’s just a very hard decision to make when you are barely old enough to stay outside past 11pm. We are very uneducated about the all the different majors in college and the benefits of or other options if we decided to not go to college. We have only lived about a quarter of our life and we are expected to decide what we want to do for three more quarters of our life. This decision is the one that is going to affect you for the rest of your life and I just don’t think that we are educated enough to make it.

Adolescence: Developmental Psychology and Social Work Practice

Module Title: Human Growth and Behaviour. Assessment Title: What are the advantages and disadvantages of viewing behaviour through the life-span perspective for social practise? ADOLESCENCE The author’s aim is to outline the advantages as well as disadvantages in adolescence behaviour and human development processes across people life span, and particular adolescence. This essay will look at the different models, theories of social work and the factors that may have influence social work practice.The physical, psychological, socio-cultural, environmental and politico-economical are the factors that Bowlby (1999), Erikson (1995), Freud and Piaget (1977) have mentioned in their theories and the author will explore, discuses and examine them. The factors and the theories are numerous to cover in the essay of this size, and with this in mind the author is looking at examining same of them very briefly and same more in depth. In the first part, the author will cover human developme nt through the life span. The reasons why knowledge and understanding of human development throughout the life course are important to social work practice.The author will also outline the importance of our own personal values, and the impact that these may have on social work practice. Understanding the impact of transactions within a person’s life course is important for social work practice in order to understand other people’s lives. However, it is important to remember that although people may experience the same life event, their response to the situation and the decisions that they make will differ. Deferent people have different perceptions of what is happening to them as they move through transitions in their lives.Their response and learning from it might be very different from one individual to the other. For example, one may have enjoyed school, another tolerated it or hated it. Social workers need to recognise in working with people the different transitio ns and may use them as an opportunity in helping the service users to grow, change, or develop. Of course, there are numbers of different perspectives that could be taken into account of how we develop into who ‘we are’. That is why the author will look at some ideas and theories from biology, sociology, psychology, and their assumptions of what influences they may have on human life.Firstly, the author will look at two theories and try to explain the individual’s behaviour namely, ‘nature’ and ‘nurture’. (Crawford, 2003) The nature viewpoint believes that our genes predetermine who we are and the characteristics we have are inherited, for example people’s physical appearance etc. The problem with this believes is that it suggests that the change is impossible, we are who we are and there is nothing we can do about it. The danger in this thinking is the stereotyping people, and thus supporting prejudice and oppression.On the other hand, the nurture’s viewpoint argues that the environment, and the way we are brought up influence our development, giving the evidence in patterns of family behaviour, for example, introverted or extroverted family members. Again, there is a danger in stereotyping people thus contributing towards oppression. (Crawford, 2003) A sociological approach explains human identity by examining the interactions between people and society in which they live. It explores the different classes of society starting from wide perspective then looking at them and the influence it may have on the individuals. (Giddens, 2001)Physiological approach explains human development by examining the physical development and genetic make-up, for example, biological theories explain a child’s growth and development, concentrating on characteristics inherited from biological family. (Crawford, 2003) Psychology is a discipline, which studies people their thoughts, feelings and emotions. There are m any different theories the most relevant to the subject are the developmental psychology and psychosocial theory. Developmental psychology has an approach of how people develop across life course, by exploring their thoughts, feelings and behaviours (Aronson, 2005).Piaget (1977) the author of cognitive development theory believed that the child seeks to understand and adopt into the environment. In doing so, the child undertakes certain actions as it moves through stages of development. Another approach to understand the human life course from a developmental psychology perspective is presented trough theories that focus on behaviour and how behaviour and actions influence our learning. (Piaget, 1977) Skinner’s (1953) behaviourism explained human development as the acquisition of behaviourism that is learned through responses to experiences.Skinner did not see the individual’s thoughts or conscious mind as influencing their behaviours, but rather behaviour as a respons e controlled by the rewards or punishments in the individual’s environment. (Skinner, 1953) Albert Bandura (1977) also emphasised in his social learning theory the importance of behaviour and the environment, but he saw cognition or thoughts as being a significant factor in the person’s development. Therefore, the social learning theories consider the influence of values, beliefs, self-determination, emotions and thought on the learning process.Psychosocial theories arise from a combination of two perspectives psychology and sociology disciplines. David Howe describes psychosocial as being created by the interplay between the individual’s psychological condition and the social environment (Howe, 1998) Erik Erikson (1995) in his model of life stage development saw people building their identity as they move through ‘crisis’ points in their lives. Each person moving through stages by moral excellence, however the successful progression through each st age, by negotiation of the particular ‘crisis’ to a positive outcome, ensures healthy development (Erikson, 1995)All these theories explain human development as being largely dependent upon the impact of the environment, social and cultural influences. They can be criticised or appreciated for their strengths and weaknesses in the way they explain and describe certain aspects of development. For example, Jean’s Piaget’s (1977) theory of cognitive development could be considered as one of the most comprehensive and logical in helping to understand children’s mental development. However, Piaget’s (1977) theory is not as useful in understanding how life events and challenges influence growth and development in adulthood. Piaget, 1977) For this area of life, course development Erikson’s model of life stage development is more likely to be relevant. (Erikson, 1995) The human life can be very complex, influenced by interactions of biological , social, psychological and environmental factors. It is therefore, very important to appreciate a range of theories from across disciplines. It may not be possible for anyone’s theory to explain all aspects of human life and its development. Taking one approach would lead to one aspect of someone’s life leaving the other aspects of the person’s ignored (Adams, 2003).The author believes that each of the models and theories introduced within this essay are valuable to our understanding of human development through the life span. Social workers need to develop an understanding of these theories from a range of disciplines in order to take holistic approach in their practice. Very important aspects of social work practice are assessments, planning, intervention and reviews. Parker (2003) describes a number of aids and activities that social workers may use when gathering and analysing information as they make assessments with service users. (Parker, 2003)Before mov ing on more deeply to adolescence, the author will briefly look at the importance of childhood and the implications that it has on adolescence, and the rest of life. One of the most important parts of social worker practice is empowering people to be actively involved in processes and decisions that affect their lives. Social workers need to develop this skill as well as other skills like communication and listening to help those who are unable to speak or express themselves. The right of children to have their voices heard has been enshrined in an international treaty, the convention on the Rights of Children (1999).The Convention on the Rights of Children 1991 is a universally agreed set of standards and obligations in relation to the basic human rights that all children have – without discrimination Grant (1991). Early relationships are often viewed by theorists as having a critical role in the person’s emotional well being throughout their life. Attachment theory i nvolves the study of relationships, in particularly early relationships of infants and children. ( Lindon, 1998) Attachment by Lindon (1998) is described as a positive emotional link between two people (a link of affection).The original concept of attachment has been attributed to the studies of John Bowlby (Howe, 1999). He believed that the source development of personality lay in early childhood and that any trauma of failure in these early relationships could permanently shape the development of the child’s personality thus have a great impact on adult’s life. Dozens of studies shown that children rated as securely attached to their mother in infancy are later more sociable, and more positive in their behaviour towards friends and family.They are less dependent on people, less aggressive and disruptive, more empathetic and more emotionally mature in their interactions in school and other settings. Adolescents are also more socially skilled, have friendships that are more intimate, are more likely to be rated as leaders, and have higher self-esteem and better grades Bee (2002). Attachment theory also provides a sophisticated set of ideas for making sense of people’s feelings and behaviours. (Lindon, 1998)) Adolescence in Latin, adolescere means ‘to grow up’ it usually starts with the physical changes associated with puberty, which begin the physical changes to the body. Carlson, 2000) Whilst these are important, there are other critical processes of development: ‘self’ and the search for identity, the development of relationships, for example with friends, and very important changing nature of relationships within families, that are a central feature of this period of an individual’s life. It is a time of not only biological changes but also, psychological and social. Adolescence as a period of life is often seen as a whole period of transition, the transition from childhood to adulthood, probably the mos t challenging and difficult period of life in terms of development (Herbert, 2002).All adolescence confronts the some development tasks – adjusting to changes in their bodies and the challenge of their developing sexuality and new ways of thinking, as they strive for their own identity, emotional maturity and independence. Consequently, relationships, particularly with the family, will be subject to adoption and change. However, the timing of these changes varies between individuals, influenced by such things as gender, genes and culture (Ackerman, 1958). Adolescence as a period of development maybe considered for a range of different perspectives that focus on biological, psychological and social aspects of development. Davies, 1997) Biological development in adolescence is associated with a whole range of physical changes. Puberty is the period of rapid changes that occur as the person moves from childhood and begins adolescence. Hormones affect every aspect of growth and d evelopment and the level of certain hormones rises naturally during adolescence, primarily causing increased sexual interest and mood swings Numbers of physical changes take place, for example a rapid acceleration in growth and weight. (Bee, 2002) Social development in adolescence is a period of transitions from being a child into being an adult.Adolescents seek greater independence from their parent’s relationships moving more towards their peer relationships (Sugerman, 2001). The peer group and the friendship within it play very important part not only in sharing inner feeling and secrets but also in the development of the individual’s identity, changes in our self-concept and self-image. It provides new ways of thinking about problems, values and relationships. It gives the opportunity to think about themselves and the person they are becoming (Erikson, 1995). Erikson (1995) recognised this as the critical crisis of adolescence in the eight stages of development.He believed that the successful resolution of this depends on how the individual resolved the previous crisis of childhood. This period is critical in making sense of the future. Erikson (1995) believed the key to this is the interactions with peers, families, institutions, especially school, society and so on. Erikson(1995) also suggests that the search for identity is ongoing process during adolescence. He says that they may adopt identity based on parents or society they live in, or opposite to that in which the adolescent adopts rebellious, negative stereotype.There can be a situation where a child does not know or care for their identity may explore different alternatives without making any choices. Another one may achieve their identity through assimilation of the experiences and the future plans. Two important parts of identity in social context are gender and ethnicity. Few studies had explored the issue of possible gender differences in relation to social context, with no tren ds apparent. In sum, there has been little evidence of gender differences regarding questions of identity structure or developmental process (Adams, 2003).For young people who are not part of a dominant cultural group, there is concern to establish their cultural identity. They must develop a sense of individual identity and ethnic identity that includes self-identification as a member of their specific group, commitment to that group and its values and attitudes (Bee, 2002). For some young people from an ethnic minority group this may be an issue. However, the critical issue is the decisions they may have to make in operating in a culture of racism and in dealing with negative and racist situation.As a social worker, we need to make sure that our practice is anti-racist and anti-discriminatory with promotion of positive images of people from different cultures and ethnic backgrounds. Moving on to the end of this piece of work the author will look at the complexity of human life in context of sexual exploration, usage of substances and some of major events and their influences upon adolescence life. Herbert (2002) says that homosexual and lesbian experimentation are ordinary in adolescence however longer term attraction to the some sex or both sexes is reported in fewer than 10 per cent of the population.The way of how others see ‘us’ and think of ‘us’ is of vital importance to the way ‘we’ perceive ‘ourselves’ – our self image. This has particular bearing on how adolescents deal with their dawning realisation of the permanence of homosexual feelings of identification. (Herbert, 2002) Our society relies upon various kind of drugs and substances for every day living. It has become a ‘drug culture’. There is a huge increase of drugs and alcohol usage among young people. For the majority of young people this may be a serious issue.Young people who use substances may demonstrate low self-estee m and self-worth, rebelliousness and lack of aspiration in relation to academic achievement. A distinction needs to be made there are those young people who present with a range of anti-social behaviour, such as criminal activity, aggression, and so on. (Coleman, 1990) This might be difficult but social workers need to know how to balance the rights of young people and their responsibility to society. It might be very difficult to understand people’s life course, especially the influences and the complex events that they may have been through.Recognising the impact of life events is very important, their complexity and the effects, they can have not only on people’s lives but on social work practice too. The impact of parental conflicts, for example being exposed to verbal and physical violence will have an impact on children’s behaviour. Children are generally the losers when their parents’ marriages end in divorce or their long-term partnerships are ter minated. Boys and girls are both equally vulnerable says Herbert (2002). Divorce is usually a lengthy process, not simply a single incident in children’s lives.Parental conflict has been associated with poor academic performance, depression and antisocial behaviour (Carlson, 2000). Although not all children will be affected by parental conflict, this behaviour has clear and negative effect on children and their future behaviour. Children who loss their mother before age 11 are more vulnerable to depression and suicide thoughts. Suicide attempts are very much a late adolescent phenomenon, the peak being among 15-19 years old. The rate of attempted suicides for adolescent girls far exceeds that for boys.Frequently the action is unplanned, impulsive and undertaken in a manner that is likely to be discovered. Teenagers sometimes have fantasies about their own death, which involve their ‘ending it all’, and yet surviving the event by ‘attending’ their own funeral where they are able to savour the grief and guilt displayed by errant parents or boyfriend/girlfriend. These fantasies indicate how, in some adolescents, the finality of death is not fully comprehended, or at least not while in a depressed or hysterical state. Herbert, 2002) Other young people may present emotional issues, such as depression and anxiety. A distinction also needs to be made between those that might be associated with development issues and those that may be more serious. For example, small portion of young people will present with psychiatric disorders such as the author mentioned above suicide attempts, schizophrenia, anorexia or bulimia nervosa. (Barker, 2003) One in five children and adolescents suffer from moderate to sever mental health problems.A significant number of sever problems in childhood, if not adequately treated can lead to lifelong mental illness in adulthood Children whose parent have mental health illness are known to be at higher risk of developing the same difficulty of their own. (Barker, 2003) The cognitive explanation of children’s and young people’s behaviour is concerned not only with what is actually happening but also with their understanding and a mental representation of what is going on. That is why it is important for social workers to have an understanding of ‘normal’ child growth and development.This will allow comparing, and assessing the development of a child that needs to be assessed. Additionally it would help to judge the role of parents, or carers and their ability to meet the demands of the different stages of the child development, their ability to respond to good parenting, their values, attitudes, and the impact that this can have on the child. (Herbert, 2002) Throughout this essay, the author tried to attempt to identify issues that may specifically affect the individual’s experience of adolescence, namely issues of gender, race and culture.Social workers r esponse to different behaviour issues has to depend of an assessment of the individual, and the range of factors, planning a response and supporting children, young people, parents and others to understand and manage their behaviour problems. Understanding of the theories of human development is necessary in establishing effective partnership with people who use social services. In conclusion, the author presents in this essay some of the advantages and disadvantages of viewing behaviour across the life span.Social workers need to look at the particular individual behaviour in context of life span perspective because only then they can make the right judgement of that person. However, it is very important for social workers to have a holistic approach in understanding someone’s behaviour. This means taking to account every aspect of the individual’s life. In other words, building an understanding of the whole person’s life, not only physical or psychical but als o social, cultural, historical factors that may have influence their life.Looking at human behaviour gives also a wider perspective, and it takes the social worker beyond his own particular life experience giving a ‘bigger picture’, understanding of people’s behaviour. However, it is important again to be careful to not stereotyping or labelling people. Finally, social workers need to remember that they are dealing with human beings, unique individuals that is way they need to make sure that when they talk to them they must listen carefully and try to understand them from their perspective. 3,228 words Reference: Ackerman, N.W. (1958) Psychodynamics of family life, Imprint Adams, G. R. (2003) Blackwell's handbook of adolescence, Blackwell Publishing,   Adams, R (2002) Social work, Themes issues and critical debates. Palgrave, New York. Aronson, E (2005) Social psychology 5ed. Upper Saddle River,  Pearson Education,   Barker, P (2003) Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing. The craft of caring. Arnold, London Bee, H. (2002) Lifespan development  3ed. Allyn ; Bacon,   Boston. Carlson, N. R. (2000) Psychology, The science of behaviour,  Allyn ; Bacon   Coleman, J.C. (1990) The nature of adolescence,  2ed. Routledge. Crawford, K. (2003) Social work and human development, Learning Matters,  Exeter. Davies, M. (1997) Blackwell companion to social work, Blackwell Publishers, Erikson, E. H. (1995) Childhood and society, Vintage. Giddens, A. (2001) Sociology, 4ed. Polity Press,  Cambridge. Grant, J. P. (1991) The state of the world’s children 1991,  Unicef. Herbert, M. (2002) Typical and atypical development. From conception to adolescence. BPS Blackwell,  Oxford. Howe. D. 1999) Attachment theory, Child maltreatment and family support, A practice and assessment model. Macmillan Press. Lindon, J. (1998) Understanding child development, Knowledge theory and practice. Macmillan Press. Parker, J. (2003) Social work practice . Assessment, planning, intervention and review. Learning Matters, Exeter. Piaget, J. (1977) The origin of intelligence in the child,  Penguin Books, Harmondsworth. Skinner, B. F. (1953) Science and human behaviour, Macmillan Press. Sugarman, L. (2001) Lifespan development, Frameworks, accounts and strategies. 2ed. Psychology Press,  Hove. Adolescence: Developmental Psychology and Social Work Practice Module Title: Human Growth and Behaviour. Assessment Title: What are the advantages and disadvantages of viewing behaviour through the life-span perspective for social practise? ADOLESCENCE The author’s aim is to outline the advantages as well as disadvantages in adolescence behaviour and human development processes across people life span, and particular adolescence. This essay will look at the different models, theories of social work and the factors that may have influence social work practice.The physical, psychological, socio-cultural, environmental and politico-economical are the factors that Bowlby (1999), Erikson (1995), Freud and Piaget (1977) have mentioned in their theories and the author will explore, discuses and examine them. The factors and the theories are numerous to cover in the essay of this size, and with this in mind the author is looking at examining same of them very briefly and same more in depth. In the first part, the author will cover human developme nt through the life span. The reasons why knowledge and understanding of human development throughout the life course are important to social work practice.The author will also outline the importance of our own personal values, and the impact that these may have on social work practice. Understanding the impact of transactions within a person’s life course is important for social work practice in order to understand other people’s lives. However, it is important to remember that although people may experience the same life event, their response to the situation and the decisions that they make will differ. Deferent people have different perceptions of what is happening to them as they move through transitions in their lives.Their response and learning from it might be very different from one individual to the other. For example, one may have enjoyed school, another tolerated it or hated it. Social workers need to recognise in working with people the different transitio ns and may use them as an opportunity in helping the service users to grow, change, or develop. Of course, there are numbers of different perspectives that could be taken into account of how we develop into who ‘we are’. That is why the author will look at some ideas and theories from biology, sociology, psychology, and their assumptions of what influences they may have on human life.Firstly, the author will look at two theories and try to explain the individual’s behaviour namely, ‘nature’ and ‘nurture’. (Crawford, 2003) The nature viewpoint believes that our genes predetermine who we are and the characteristics we have are inherited, for example people’s physical appearance etc. The problem with this believes is that it suggests that the change is impossible, we are who we are and there is nothing we can do about it. The danger in this thinking is the stereotyping people, and thus supporting prejudice and oppression.On the other hand, the nurture’s viewpoint argues that the environment, and the way we are brought up influence our development, giving the evidence in patterns of family behaviour, for example, introverted or extroverted family members. Again, there is a danger in stereotyping people thus contributing towards oppression. (Crawford, 2003) A sociological approach explains human identity by examining the interactions between people and society in which they live. It explores the different classes of society starting from wide perspective then looking at them and the influence it may have on the individuals. (Giddens, 2001)Physiological approach explains human development by examining the physical development and genetic make-up, for example, biological theories explain a child’s growth and development, concentrating on characteristics inherited from biological family. (Crawford, 2003) Psychology is a discipline, which studies people their thoughts, feelings and emotions. There are m any different theories the most relevant to the subject are the developmental psychology and psychosocial theory. Developmental psychology has an approach of how people develop across life course, by exploring their thoughts, feelings and behaviours (Aronson, 2005).Piaget (1977) the author of cognitive development theory believed that the child seeks to understand and adopt into the environment. In doing so, the child undertakes certain actions as it moves through stages of development. Another approach to understand the human life course from a developmental psychology perspective is presented trough theories that focus on behaviour and how behaviour and actions influence our learning. (Piaget, 1977) Skinner’s (1953) behaviourism explained human development as the acquisition of behaviourism that is learned through responses to experiences.Skinner did not see the individual’s thoughts or conscious mind as influencing their behaviours, but rather behaviour as a respons e controlled by the rewards or punishments in the individual’s environment. (Skinner, 1953) Albert Bandura (1977) also emphasised in his social learning theory the importance of behaviour and the environment, but he saw cognition or thoughts as being a significant factor in the person’s development. Therefore, the social learning theories consider the influence of values, beliefs, self-determination, emotions and thought on the learning process.Psychosocial theories arise from a combination of two perspectives psychology and sociology disciplines. David Howe describes psychosocial as being created by the interplay between the individual’s psychological condition and the social environment (Howe, 1998) Erik Erikson (1995) in his model of life stage development saw people building their identity as they move through ‘crisis’ points in their lives. Each person moving through stages by moral excellence, however the successful progression through each st age, by negotiation of the particular ‘crisis’ to a positive outcome, ensures healthy development (Erikson, 1995)All these theories explain human development as being largely dependent upon the impact of the environment, social and cultural influences. They can be criticised or appreciated for their strengths and weaknesses in the way they explain and describe certain aspects of development. For example, Jean’s Piaget’s (1977) theory of cognitive development could be considered as one of the most comprehensive and logical in helping to understand children’s mental development. However, Piaget’s (1977) theory is not as useful in understanding how life events and challenges influence growth and development in adulthood. Piaget, 1977) For this area of life, course development Erikson’s model of life stage development is more likely to be relevant. (Erikson, 1995) The human life can be very complex, influenced by interactions of biological , social, psychological and environmental factors. It is therefore, very important to appreciate a range of theories from across disciplines. It may not be possible for anyone’s theory to explain all aspects of human life and its development. Taking one approach would lead to one aspect of someone’s life leaving the other aspects of the person’s ignored (Adams, 2003).The author believes that each of the models and theories introduced within this essay are valuable to our understanding of human development through the life span. Social workers need to develop an understanding of these theories from a range of disciplines in order to take holistic approach in their practice. Very important aspects of social work practice are assessments, planning, intervention and reviews. Parker (2003) describes a number of aids and activities that social workers may use when gathering and analysing information as they make assessments with service users. (Parker, 2003)Before mov ing on more deeply to adolescence, the author will briefly look at the importance of childhood and the implications that it has on adolescence, and the rest of life. One of the most important parts of social worker practice is empowering people to be actively involved in processes and decisions that affect their lives. Social workers need to develop this skill as well as other skills like communication and listening to help those who are unable to speak or express themselves. The right of children to have their voices heard has been enshrined in an international treaty, the convention on the Rights of Children (1999).The Convention on the Rights of Children 1991 is a universally agreed set of standards and obligations in relation to the basic human rights that all children have – without discrimination Grant (1991). Early relationships are often viewed by theorists as having a critical role in the person’s emotional well being throughout their life. Attachment theory i nvolves the study of relationships, in particularly early relationships of infants and children. ( Lindon, 1998) Attachment by Lindon (1998) is described as a positive emotional link between two people (a link of affection).The original concept of attachment has been attributed to the studies of John Bowlby (Howe, 1999). He believed that the source development of personality lay in early childhood and that any trauma of failure in these early relationships could permanently shape the development of the child’s personality thus have a great impact on adult’s life. Dozens of studies shown that children rated as securely attached to their mother in infancy are later more sociable, and more positive in their behaviour towards friends and family.They are less dependent on people, less aggressive and disruptive, more empathetic and more emotionally mature in their interactions in school and other settings. Adolescents are also more socially skilled, have friendships that are more intimate, are more likely to be rated as leaders, and have higher self-esteem and better grades Bee (2002). Attachment theory also provides a sophisticated set of ideas for making sense of people’s feelings and behaviours. (Lindon, 1998)) Adolescence in Latin, adolescere means ‘to grow up’ it usually starts with the physical changes associated with puberty, which begin the physical changes to the body. Carlson, 2000) Whilst these are important, there are other critical processes of development: ‘self’ and the search for identity, the development of relationships, for example with friends, and very important changing nature of relationships within families, that are a central feature of this period of an individual’s life. It is a time of not only biological changes but also, psychological and social. Adolescence as a period of life is often seen as a whole period of transition, the transition from childhood to adulthood, probably the mos t challenging and difficult period of life in terms of development (Herbert, 2002).All adolescence confronts the some development tasks – adjusting to changes in their bodies and the challenge of their developing sexuality and new ways of thinking, as they strive for their own identity, emotional maturity and independence. Consequently, relationships, particularly with the family, will be subject to adoption and change. However, the timing of these changes varies between individuals, influenced by such things as gender, genes and culture (Ackerman, 1958). Adolescence as a period of development maybe considered for a range of different perspectives that focus on biological, psychological and social aspects of development. Davies, 1997) Biological development in adolescence is associated with a whole range of physical changes. Puberty is the period of rapid changes that occur as the person moves from childhood and begins adolescence. Hormones affect every aspect of growth and d evelopment and the level of certain hormones rises naturally during adolescence, primarily causing increased sexual interest and mood swings Numbers of physical changes take place, for example a rapid acceleration in growth and weight. (Bee, 2002) Social development in adolescence is a period of transitions from being a child into being an adult.Adolescents seek greater independence from their parent’s relationships moving more towards their peer relationships (Sugerman, 2001). The peer group and the friendship within it play very important part not only in sharing inner feeling and secrets but also in the development of the individual’s identity, changes in our self-concept and self-image. It provides new ways of thinking about problems, values and relationships. It gives the opportunity to think about themselves and the person they are becoming (Erikson, 1995). Erikson (1995) recognised this as the critical crisis of adolescence in the eight stages of development.He believed that the successful resolution of this depends on how the individual resolved the previous crisis of childhood. This period is critical in making sense of the future. Erikson (1995) believed the key to this is the interactions with peers, families, institutions, especially school, society and so on. Erikson(1995) also suggests that the search for identity is ongoing process during adolescence. He says that they may adopt identity based on parents or society they live in, or opposite to that in which the adolescent adopts rebellious, negative stereotype.There can be a situation where a child does not know or care for their identity may explore different alternatives without making any choices. Another one may achieve their identity through assimilation of the experiences and the future plans. Two important parts of identity in social context are gender and ethnicity. Few studies had explored the issue of possible gender differences in relation to social context, with no tren ds apparent. In sum, there has been little evidence of gender differences regarding questions of identity structure or developmental process (Adams, 2003).For young people who are not part of a dominant cultural group, there is concern to establish their cultural identity. They must develop a sense of individual identity and ethnic identity that includes self-identification as a member of their specific group, commitment to that group and its values and attitudes (Bee, 2002). For some young people from an ethnic minority group this may be an issue. However, the critical issue is the decisions they may have to make in operating in a culture of racism and in dealing with negative and racist situation.As a social worker, we need to make sure that our practice is anti-racist and anti-discriminatory with promotion of positive images of people from different cultures and ethnic backgrounds. Moving on to the end of this piece of work the author will look at the complexity of human life in context of sexual exploration, usage of substances and some of major events and their influences upon adolescence life. Herbert (2002) says that homosexual and lesbian experimentation are ordinary in adolescence however longer term attraction to the some sex or both sexes is reported in fewer than 10 per cent of the population.The way of how others see ‘us’ and think of ‘us’ is of vital importance to the way ‘we’ perceive ‘ourselves’ – our self image. This has particular bearing on how adolescents deal with their dawning realisation of the permanence of homosexual feelings of identification. (Herbert, 2002) Our society relies upon various kind of drugs and substances for every day living. It has become a ‘drug culture’. There is a huge increase of drugs and alcohol usage among young people. For the majority of young people this may be a serious issue.Young people who use substances may demonstrate low self-estee m and self-worth, rebelliousness and lack of aspiration in relation to academic achievement. A distinction needs to be made there are those young people who present with a range of anti-social behaviour, such as criminal activity, aggression, and so on. (Coleman, 1990) This might be difficult but social workers need to know how to balance the rights of young people and their responsibility to society. It might be very difficult to understand people’s life course, especially the influences and the complex events that they may have been through.Recognising the impact of life events is very important, their complexity and the effects, they can have not only on people’s lives but on social work practice too. The impact of parental conflicts, for example being exposed to verbal and physical violence will have an impact on children’s behaviour. Children are generally the losers when their parents’ marriages end in divorce or their long-term partnerships are ter minated. Boys and girls are both equally vulnerable says Herbert (2002). Divorce is usually a lengthy process, not simply a single incident in children’s lives.Parental conflict has been associated with poor academic performance, depression and antisocial behaviour (Carlson, 2000). Although not all children will be affected by parental conflict, this behaviour has clear and negative effect on children and their future behaviour. Children who loss their mother before age 11 are more vulnerable to depression and suicide thoughts. Suicide attempts are very much a late adolescent phenomenon, the peak being among 15-19 years old. The rate of attempted suicides for adolescent girls far exceeds that for boys.Frequently the action is unplanned, impulsive and undertaken in a manner that is likely to be discovered. Teenagers sometimes have fantasies about their own death, which involve their ‘ending it all’, and yet surviving the event by ‘attending’ their own funeral where they are able to savour the grief and guilt displayed by errant parents or boyfriend/girlfriend. These fantasies indicate how, in some adolescents, the finality of death is not fully comprehended, or at least not while in a depressed or hysterical state. Herbert, 2002) Other young people may present emotional issues, such as depression and anxiety. A distinction also needs to be made between those that might be associated with development issues and those that may be more serious. For example, small portion of young people will present with psychiatric disorders such as the author mentioned above suicide attempts, schizophrenia, anorexia or bulimia nervosa. (Barker, 2003) One in five children and adolescents suffer from moderate to sever mental health problems.A significant number of sever problems in childhood, if not adequately treated can lead to lifelong mental illness in adulthood Children whose parent have mental health illness are known to be at higher risk of developing the same difficulty of their own. (Barker, 2003) The cognitive explanation of children’s and young people’s behaviour is concerned not only with what is actually happening but also with their understanding and a mental representation of what is going on. That is why it is important for social workers to have an understanding of ‘normal’ child growth and development.This will allow comparing, and assessing the development of a child that needs to be assessed. Additionally it would help to judge the role of parents, or carers and their ability to meet the demands of the different stages of the child development, their ability to respond to good parenting, their values, attitudes, and the impact that this can have on the child. (Herbert, 2002) Throughout this essay, the author tried to attempt to identify issues that may specifically affect the individual’s experience of adolescence, namely issues of gender, race and culture.Social workers r esponse to different behaviour issues has to depend of an assessment of the individual, and the range of factors, planning a response and supporting children, young people, parents and others to understand and manage their behaviour problems. Understanding of the theories of human development is necessary in establishing effective partnership with people who use social services. In conclusion, the author presents in this essay some of the advantages and disadvantages of viewing behaviour across the life span.Social workers need to look at the particular individual behaviour in context of life span perspective because only then they can make the right judgement of that person. However, it is very important for social workers to have a holistic approach in understanding someone’s behaviour. This means taking to account every aspect of the individual’s life. In other words, building an understanding of the whole person’s life, not only physical or psychical but als o social, cultural, historical factors that may have influence their life.Looking at human behaviour gives also a wider perspective, and it takes the social worker beyond his own particular life experience giving a ‘bigger picture’, understanding of people’s behaviour. However, it is important again to be careful to not stereotyping or labelling people. Finally, social workers need to remember that they are dealing with human beings, unique individuals that is way they need to make sure that when they talk to them they must listen carefully and try to understand them from their perspective. 3,228 words Reference: Ackerman, N.W. (1958) Psychodynamics of family life, Imprint Adams, G. R. (2003) Blackwell's handbook of adolescence, Blackwell Publishing,   Adams, R (2002) Social work, Themes issues and critical debates. Palgrave, New York. Aronson, E (2005) Social psychology 5ed. Upper Saddle River,  Pearson Education,   Barker, P (2003) Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing. The craft of caring. Arnold, London Bee, H. (2002) Lifespan development  3ed. Allyn ; Bacon,   Boston. Carlson, N. R. (2000) Psychology, The science of behaviour,  Allyn ; Bacon   Coleman, J.C. (1990) The nature of adolescence,  2ed. Routledge. Crawford, K. (2003) Social work and human development, Learning Matters,  Exeter. Davies, M. (1997) Blackwell companion to social work, Blackwell Publishers, Erikson, E. H. (1995) Childhood and society, Vintage. Giddens, A. (2001) Sociology, 4ed. Polity Press,  Cambridge. Grant, J. P. (1991) The state of the world’s children 1991,  Unicef. Herbert, M. (2002) Typical and atypical development. From conception to adolescence. BPS Blackwell,  Oxford. Howe. D. 1999) Attachment theory, Child maltreatment and family support, A practice and assessment model. Macmillan Press. Lindon, J. (1998) Understanding child development, Knowledge theory and practice. Macmillan Press. Parker, J. (2003) Social work practice . Assessment, planning, intervention and review. Learning Matters, Exeter. Piaget, J. (1977) The origin of intelligence in the child,  Penguin Books, Harmondsworth. Skinner, B. F. (1953) Science and human behaviour, Macmillan Press. Sugarman, L. (2001) Lifespan development, Frameworks, accounts and strategies. 2ed. Psychology Press,  Hove.

An Analysis of the Culture of an Organization Essay

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Hitler's Rise to Power and Fascism - Essay Example Rather, he wanted to become the dictator of a Nazi Germany. This paper seeks to examine and analyze the events that took place between 1929 and 1934 that contributed to the rise of power of Hitler and evaluate how these events define fascism. The paper also tries to examine fascism and its nature from a Marxist viewpoint1. The late 1920s and early 1930s market the most unstable period in Germany socially, politically, and economically. Most of the government administrations were is a state of disarray, the populace scared and disillusioned, and the Great Depression of 1929 market the crumble of the economy before the eyes of the population. The events combined to create a precarious stature in the nation, a country looking for a saviour. However, the saviour came in form of fascism, an ideology whereby the all-power state dominates the individuals under the rule of one supreme leader. The hand â€Å"designated† to lead the Germany people out of the deceptions and problems was Adolf Hitler, the fascist dominator2. The challenges and difficulties of this period gave the Nazi party and Hitler an opportunity to employ their schemes and propaganda to gain favour with the disenchanted nation and win their trust, but importantly, manipulate their minds. By mid-1920s, Hitler was an established leader of the Nazi Party. Hitler’s success in his pilgrimage to higher power as a politician was due to his dominating and powerful personality. Hitler was not only a master orator and a charismatic speaker, but also his public speeches were so dynamic and passionate that he drove the crowds wild with enthusiasm. His devoted oratory prowess enabled him to make vague promises while avoiding details, by using simple catchy phrases and repeating them repeatedly3. Hitler’s authoritarian and dominance nature was the exact change that people of Germany were looking for after subjection to unsuccessful and indecisive muddling of Weimar government and other predecess ors. Another most significant factor that led t the rise of power of Hitler was the Treaty of Versailles, in five basic ways. First, the people of Germany believed that they had been betrayed because the Armistice was signed before the arrival of allied troops into German soil. Second, the treaty angered the people of Germany and caused economic and political disabilities. Third, the Weimar republic was moderate and weak, thus allowed things to get out of hand. Fourth, the German economy was over-dependent on American loans, which led to significant devastation after the Great Depression of 1929. Last, the Stock Market Crash and the subsequent increment of tariffs created tense international relations4. All these created the right condition for Hitler to seize power. After the Great Depression, the economy of Germany was in ruins, and the inflation rate was staggering. For majority of its citizens, the hyperinflation resulted to more suffering than the war5. This led to festering re sentment and anger among the people, not laying the blame on Kaiser’s war government that had initiated the borrowing trend. Instead, the blame was on Weimar government, which had signed the Versailles treaty to pay reparations. This meant that Germans were more willing to listen to extremists who advocated for the overthrow of the government. Among the most successful extremists was the Nazi Party, under the leadership of Adolf Hitler. The famous Wall Street Crash and the resultant Great Depression of 1929 plunged the world into an economic slide. Most people fell

Legal Methods Paper Term Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Legal Methods - Term Paper Example Mrs McColl, the petitioner, sought to establish that fluoridation would have several unfavourable side effects such as causation of cancer and that it would be ineffective in minimizing dental decay (Murray, Rugg-Gunn and Jenkins 1991, p.349). The petitioner also held that, in any event, Strathclyde Regional Council did not have the legal power to fluoridate its water supplies. [# 2] The Ground(s) on which the petitioner alleged that the Council’s decision was  ultra vires      Mrs McColl had petitioned that fluoridation of the water supplies would be ultra vires the respondents (Strathclyde Regional Council), a nuisance, and thus illegal. The petitioner also claimed that fluoridation was a breach of the Water (Scotland) Act 1980 and a violation of the Medicines Act 1968. McColl claimed that adding fluoride to the water supply system was out with Strathclyde Regional Council powers. The Council did not have explicit powers on the issue of wholesomeness of the water. Howe ver, the Regional Council argued that it was in essence rendering the water more wholesome by righting a deficiency in fluoride, which results to caries. [# 3] Lord Jauncey’s Response to the Petitioner’s Arguments on the  ultra vires   Any decision that can be considered to have not been taken in a lawfully permitted manner is considered to be ultra vires. The judge repelled specifically and in details all of Mrs McColl assertions that fluoride was medically unsafe, excluding that of ultra vires. The judge concluded that the decision making body (Strathclyde Regional Council) acted in excess of its powers. Strathclyde Regional Council duty to provide wholesome water did not entail power to add fluoride to water. The judge also quoted the water (Scotland) Act 1980 to establish that the law obligated the provision of â€Å"wholesome water† by the Regional Council (Henriques and Winter 2002, p.143). Beyond this requirement, though, â€Å"statutory provisions w ere nonexistent, which could be reasonably construed as advocating the improvement of the general health of the water consumers.† Hence, the council was acting beyond its powers hinged on whether the addition of fluoride was necessary to make the water wholesome (contrary to making the water unwholesome). In his verdict, the judge declared that fluoridation for the purpose of minimizing the occurrence of dental decay was ultra-vires the respondent (Murray, Rugg-Gunn, and Jenkins 1991, p.350). Lord Jauncey granted the interdict on this point alone. Lord Jauncey also stated that it was improbable that parliament would have sought to award a water authority the authority to enhance â€Å"the health of the water consumers,† especially since water fluoridation would â€Å"incorporate a violation of individual rights† (Yiamouyiannis 1983, p.162). [# 4] Techniques of Precedent Utilized in McColl  v.  Strathclyde Regional Council Lord Jauncey’s 400-page judgem ent featured the medical evidence for or against water fluoridation, except for a few pages dealing with legal issues evident in the case. Prior to 1985, there was no explicit statutory basis for water fluoridation in the UK, although some water fluoridation schemes were present at the time. In forming his verdict, the judge reviewed other similar cases, especially that of Lower Butt, New Zealand, even though their findings were not necessarily binding (Wright 2009, p.183). Jauncey judgement examining sources of authority on the subject of wholesome water was not in depth, as the

The world financial crisis and recession aftermath Assignment

The world financial crisis and recession aftermath - Assignment Example Due the financial crisis, the world economy include the United States went into deep recession that can be comparable into the Great Recession of the 1930s. According to research, in severe financial crises the crucial indicators such as housing prices and unemployment take longer to hit their lowest points. Several economic strategies have been proposed to tackle the financial crisis and resuscitate the global economy. One school of thought proposes that austerity measures should be taken to cut public expenditure in order to bring the global economy back on course. On the other hand, there are those who advocate for stimulus packages to jumpstart the economy through increased spending ability of the people. In evaluating the best course of action for handling the global recession, I would analyze the current situation based on the Keynesian economic theories. In his General Theory, Keynes renders an opposing view to the classical economic model in which the perfectly competitive ma rkets with flexible measures resulted in self correcting and balancing measures. According to the orthodox doctrine, the Loanable Funds Theory played an important role in determining the interest rates. In this respect, consumption, saving and investment were all functions of the rate of interest. Thus, theory proposed that as long as the interest rate was sufficiently flexible savings automatically turned into investments. However, Keynes pointed out that consumption is a function of income. This implies that in as much the interest rates are flexible, the determinant factor for economic activity was the level of disposable income that individuals had. This argument is relevant to the policy debates concerning the most appropriate approach to the solving of the global financial crisis. I think that it is necessary to ensure that the ordinary citizen has disposable income in order to spur economic recovery. This means that governments should implement stimulus packages in a strategi c way to make it possible for money flow in the economy. Use of austerity measures may not have the desired impact on the economies of the world. For instance, I believe that austerity measures may indeed put a cap on the government expenditures and create some control over money interest rates. However, this may only go as far as stagnation of the economy since people will still lack disposable income for consumption. Keynes also rejected the quantity theory of money. Keynes argued that the assumptions upon which the stable velocity held sway were invalid. Also, it should be noted that people hold on to money for a variety of reasons other than transactional purposes. In his money theory, Keynes pointed out that people may hold money as income deposits, business deposits and savings deposits. It is therefore imperative that if the quantity of money changes, then there will be equal changes in the general price level. This implies that the general state of the economy is affected by the amount of money in circulation. For economic growth, there should be sufficient industrial money circulation. Suffice to say, only stimulus packages can pump in money to the economy. On the other hand, austerity measures lead to reduction of the amount of money that is in circulation. The intention of governments worldwide is to move their economies to the path of growth therefore it is imperative that economic policies taken should ensure that there is more money in the economy. The concept of multiplier effect is a major tool that can be used to help governments to maintain high levels of employment even during times of economic depressions. According to Keynesian economics, the multiplier effect can be used by governments to attain a level of national level of income that would

Does Marketing Cost Too Much Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Does Marketing Cost Too Much - Term Paper Example This is Micromarketing, because it pertains to choices affecting market segments that the restaurant will cater to. Micromarketing is ‘one-to-one’ marketing (Donovan, 2005); essentially, marketing techniques regarding market segments and individual customers. Here, his marketing style will cost the restaurateur; he will lose a large market segment that enjoys wine with food. Furthermore, he will lose sales volumes and consequent profits. Profits will dip sans high profit margin alcohol sale. A sole tourist is launched into orbit for a fee of $20 million dollars. The flight is not conducted solely for the benefit of the tourist as scientific research takes place. Furthermore, the $20 million fee can be used to fund future research or to help underwrite the cost of future flights. This is Macro marketing, it looks at the effect marketing has on society and vice versa by research. (Mick, Bateman and Lutz, 2009). In this case marketing is not ‘costing too much’ because it will reap future benefits, also the money spent can be utilized in the future to fund further scientific research and cover other costs in the process. A retailer has to mark the price down below cost to unload inventory. Does this suggest that the initial pricing wasn’t competitive, and/or that the marketing mix as a whole was ineffective? Perhaps failure in part is due to the purchase of a poorly designed product or a product that doesn’t meet the clienteles’ needs. Alternately, it may be that the store’s advertising didn’t reach or influence the appropriate target market. Finally, failure may have resulted from the retailer’s inattention to the competitive environment. These are Micromarketing issues relating to the marketing mix and other micro issues such as product design, advertising, targeting market segments, ineffective competitive measures etc. Former mix and strategy would have cost the retailer

Environmental Development through Role Play in Schools Essay Example for Free

Environmental Development through Role Play in Schools Essay 1. Executive Summary In this proposal the Environmental Protection Group (EPG) requests funding for its Environmental Development Project through Role Play in Schools. The project’s goal is to contribute to the reduction of environmental devastation and destruction through the implementation of role-play strategies that highlight concomitant preventive and behaviour change interventions. With this support, EPG will emphasize on increasing awareness practices and measurement requirements and work in close collaboration with partners toward the reduction of the burden of environmental devastation. EPG is requesting Kyats 16,000,000 to support its efforts to combat human effects on our environment and its resultant environmental destruction among the currently unnoticed affected areas of Myanmar. EPG will work in collaboration with the â€Å"Save Earth†, community-based organizations and International NGOs, promoting positive behaviour change through the Environmental protection Role play in schools project. 2. Environmental Issues in Myanmar While environmental protection projects and environment activists are endeavoring to bring forth harmony amongst our environment and our society, Myanmar has rather a slow rate of environmental protection measurements. Citizens should be warned of the effects of their behavior on the environment and the resultant destruction of the environment. However, since the population of working people will not be able to contribute much to our project, we have set our targets on children. Through role play on environmental devastation, we will raise children’s awareness of the environment. Despite learning about the deterioration of the environment only when they get older, making children contribute to the environment is claimed to have much effect both on the children and on the environment. While the environment will get greener with children’s interest in it, the children, on the other hand, will also learn the advantages and disadvantages of their behavior towards the Earth. This way, the science of the Earth and the art of individual responsibility will be learned by the children at the same time, as well as benefit in the eco-friendliness of men and our Earth. 3. Project Objectives to raise environmental awareness through community participation approach to get ideas from the community to promote community’s critical thinking of the environment 4. Our Vision Statement Communities in which people respect the environment, develop the sustainable eco-friendly lifestyle and share the environmental knowledge and practice from generation to generation. 5. The weaknesses of our community Lack of environmental awareness Weakness in practicing conservation Ignorance of the significance of the natural environment 6. Skills and Qualities Patience Motivation in community participation Theatre ability Persuasiveness Ability to understand the reality of the community Scientific Knowledge

Perelmans Argumentation Theory And International Relations Philosophy Essay

Perelmans Argumentation Theory And International Relations Philosophy Essay The purpose of this essay is to outline the main notions of Chaim Perelmans philosophy as presented in The Realm of Rhetoric. Let it be mentioned here that Perelman never intended his book to be a methodological study book, but a concise work on what justification of values looks like in practical discourse. Still, his works have been widely applied as a methodological tool in the field of international relations. From outlining Perelmans philosophy I will proceed onto how it has been applied in international relations research. In the last part of my essay, I will study how to use Perelmans work in my own research. 2. BACKGROUND Initially, the Polish-born philosopher Chaim Perelman carried his research in law and philosophy along the lines of logical positivism. In 1944, Perelman completed an empiricist study on justice, De La Justice  [1]  . In his research he concluded that the applications of the law always involve value judgments, and as values cannot be subjected to the rules of logic, the foundations of justice must be arbitrary. Perelman found his own conclusions untenable since value judgments are an integral part of all practical reasoning and decision-making. To deny the value judgments would mean denying the rational foundations of philosophy, politics, law and ethics. As a result of his own empiricist study, Perelman rejected his positivism, absorbing influences from the philosophies that provided a rationale for value judgments  [2]  . According to him, the usefulness of logical positivism was limited to the applications of pure science  [3]  . Regressive philosophies that provide a rationale for value judgments were just as untenable for him because metaphysics self-evident axioms only one perceived error would cause the metaphysical construction and its claims for universal truths to collapse  [4]  . Prevalent alternatives, especially the existentialism of Jean-Paul Sartre, do not elicit any sympathy from Perelman either: Perelman says that Sartre merely replaces absolutes of metaphysicism with absolute skepticism  [5]  . In 1948 Perelman met with Madame Lucie Olbrechts-Tyteca, with whom he set on a collaboration project, the purpose of which was to develop a philosophy that avoided the absolutes of both positivism and radical relativism. Their basic question can be expressed as: What does justification of values look like in actual, verbal discourse?  [6]  In other words, they set on to research non-formal arguments. Together with Olbrechts-Tytega, Perelman created a theory of rhetoric and argumentation, based upon Greco-Latin rhetoric, as the foundation for a logic of value judgments. Their multidisciplinary study, Traità ¨ de largumentation la nouvelle rhà ©torique was published in French in 1958  [7]  . This work, where Perelman and Olbrechts-Tytega create their theory of rhetoric and argumentation, is the basis of Perelmans The Realm of Rhetoric, where he broadens the original work further. Relying heavily on the works of Aristotle, Perelman concludes that instead of aspiring to universal truths, philosophy in reality is more concerned with persuading specific audiences to accept its claims. For Perelman, a functioning philosophy (which would induce action and essential aspects of being) should be constructed on probabilities, not universal truths, and it should also be able to carry propositions of values stemming from its reception by particular audiences.  [8]   3. THE NEW RHETORIC AND THEORY OF ARGUMENTATION Rhetoric and theory of argumentation form the central core of Perelmans thought. Perelmans study of argumentation is the study of discursive techniques that induce or increase the minds adherence to the theses presented for its assent  [9]  . As Arnold  [10]  proposes, Perelmans realm of rhetoric is the entire universe of argumentative discourse. Perelmans rhetoric is based on the idea that since argumentation aims at securing the adherence of those to whom it is addressed, argumentation is relative to the audience to be influenced  [11]  . Thus, rhetoric is an art of persuasion. 3.1. Audience and the premises of argumentation Argumentation is a person-centered activity it is personal because it starts with the premises that the audience accepts  [12]  . As for the audience, Perelman sticks to the twin concepts of a particular audience and a universal audience; while every argument is directed to a specific individual or a group, it is up to the speaker to decide what information and data will win the greatest adherence according to an ideal audience  [13]  . The aim of all argumentation is to move an audience from an agreement on the premises to an agreement about some conclusion, to modify an audiences convictions through discourse, gain a meeting of minds instead of imposing its will through constraint or conditioning  [14]  . Thus, all argumentation must begin from bases of agreement adequately accepted by the audience prior to the argument. Perelman differentiates between two categories of bases of agreement: the first category consist of facts and truths, the second of the values and hie rarchies  [15]  . Facts and truths here can be understood as supposedly having been accepted by the universal audience, whereas the second category, the values, which can be concrete and abstract, are not universal  [16]  . Establishing values as a starting point of argumentation is important as they may influence action and define good behavior. Values are usually arranged in hierarchies, for instance the superiority of the just over the useful; as a starting point for argumentation an audience may value both but in argument set a preference between the two  [17]  . The last argument starting point, to draw the attention of the audience, is creating a presence. Perelman refers to creating and evoking presence as a technique belonging uniquely in the realm of rhetoric, reaching beyond space and time; convincing an audience through their imagination.  [18]   3.2. Techniques of argumentation As the non-formal argument depends on the adherence of an audience, the orator must see to it that his successive elements of an argument will be accepted or adhered to by the audience. Perelman offers two basic techniques to achieve this: firstly, the association through quasi-logical arguments, and appeals to reality; secondly responding to incompatible opinions through dissociation of concepts.  [19]   Quasi-logical arguments resemble logical, mathematical thinking. However, a quasi-logical argument always presupposes adherence to non-formal theses which alone allow the application of the argument  [20]  . An example of this would be a parlamentarian presenting budget figures in the Parliament, with the aim of initiating an additional rescue package for banks. He/she presents actual figures but purports them in a certain way in his argumentation, in order to convince his/her audience. Association through appealing to reality, on the other hand, refers to affirming of a causal tie between phenomena. From this vantage point argumentation can be directed toward the search for causes, the determination of effects, and the evaluation of a fact by its consequences, which in some cases leads to further inquiries  [21]  . A simple example of this could be a discovery of a corpse and the consequences that follow this particular action. Other ways of argumentation by appealing to reality include examples, illustrations, models and analogy  [22]  . The second technique dissociation of concepts the orator uses when the tenets of an argument are incompatible with accepted opinion. Perelmans view is that when faced with the incompatibilities that ordinary thought encounters, a person tries to resolve it in a theoretically satisfying manner by reestablishing a coherent vision of reality by dissociating the ideas accepted in the start. An example of this dissociation to an appearance vs. reality, a practice found directly or indirectly in all dissociations, could be an oar plunged into the water it appears broken but when we touch it, it is straight. Accordingly, appearances have an equivocal status some of them correspond to reality but sometimes they are only a source of an illusion.  [23]   4. PERELMANS ARGUMENTATION THEORY AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS First and foremost, Perelman was a philosopher, not a theoretician in the field of international relations. Secondly, as far as I have understood it, he never aimed his project on rhetoric and argumentation theory, neither his book The Realm of Rhetoric, to be used as a book of methodology in any academic discipline per se. Anyway, during the past two decades there has been a lot of research in the field of international relations that focus on the impact of the politics of talk, or linguistic practices on world politics. Rhetoric and argumentation theory have been used extensively as a method. However, in my opinion, different scholarly communities seem to be pursuing different agendas on different forums, and despite the overlaps, complementarities and possible unification of how language matters in politics, seems to be beyond reach. The different forms of talk bargaining, rhetoric, commonplaces, legal argument, verbal fighting take place in different forums in the sectarian field of international relations. The different forums vary in the degree to which they are public, or rule-governed/institutionalized. The talk of politics also exerts its effects through different mechanisms legitimization, representational force, grafting, framing, persuasion, coercion. The political effects of talk are manifold: the resolution or the escalation of the conflict, the acceptance of or resistance to authority and domination, the construction and transformation of identities and narratives, etc.  [24]   What I would conclude about Perelmans rhetoric and theory of argumentation in the realm of international relations, is that as a method it is extremely adaptable and flexible, and it has thus been used extensively. An itemized listing of using Perlmans philosophy as a method in the different studies in international relations, apart from on the general level, as in the previous chapter, would run tens of pages. When trying to find examples of studies in the field of international relations, where Perelmans philosophy had been applied as a method, the most interesting one I stumbled upon was a study by the Viennese researcher Markus Kornprobst, called International Relations as Rhetorical Discipline. Kornprobst proposes that the irreconcilable differences and debates inside the fragmented discipline of international relations are not that irreconcilable and immeasurable at all if we understand the discipline in Perelmanian terms. He proposes, borrowing from Bakhtin and Gadamer that we should understand international relations as a field of overlapping paradigms, which are not hermetically sealed and sectarian. Speechlessness, non-communication inside the discipline can be overcome by uncovering overlaps. Secondly, he argues that this can be applied even to the most irreconcilable epistemological differences (positivism/postpositivism) inside the discipline. His heuristic vehicle for uncover ing overlaps is a classification of epistemological stances in Ancient Greece, which in Kornprobsts study starts from the thesis that international relations is a rhetorical discipline; based on its Aristotelian truth claims, the modes of reasoning and its manner of disseminating what is taken to be knowledge. Thus, the epistemological differences inside the discipline are actually not irreconcilable at all. Dialogue can develop out of the overlap of the horizons and (re)produce the shared language across horizons on which a scholarly community depends.  [25]   5. PERELMAN AND MY OWN RESEARCH I have planned to write my Masters thesis on Thailands democratization process and the national identity of Thainess. I am still at the early stages in my thesis. However, I am planning to use an interdisciplinary theoretical framework in my thesis, along the lines of the political thought of Robert J.Cox, Antonio Gramsci, Karl Polanyi and Gianbattista Vico. Let it be mentioned here that I am only beginning to outline the theoretical framework of my thesis, so the method I am going to use is still open. However, my intention is to study how the Western concept of democracy has been implemented in the local Thai context so that the concept of democracy has been assimilated to the strong nation state by the local competing elites. In this process, the local elites have used the concept of democracy as an instrument of order and discipline. This elite liberal democracy has been used to create Western-style projects, of which creating a national identity of Thai-ness -project is a prime example to suppress diverse segments of population. Thus, the liberal democracy is a kind of ideological tool to secure hegemony to control and discipline the population. An important part of the hegemonic process is immersing for instance the civil society, various peoples movements and democracy it into creating obedient citizens, who will act as guardians to the elite and their interest. In the centre of the national identity project in Thailands particular case is the monarchy. My emphasis would be on the socio-cultural interplay between rulers and ruled within state struggles over hegemony leading to different ways along which domination and resistance can be studied. Initially, I thought my emphasis would not be on economics and on the economical analysis, however during the research process my research is directing me more and more towards the international political economy and critical geography.  [26]   When it comes to the applicability of Perelmans rhetoric and argumentation theory to my thesis as a method, the argumentative approach would be easily applicable. As footnote here: Gramsci offers a very elastic frame of thinking, which calls for interdisciplinarity and open-mindedness just like Perelmans philosophy does  [27]  . A good starting point to use Perelman in my own research would be the central notion in Gramscis thinking, namely hegemony. Hegemony is a multilayered concept; it operates within the duality force/consent and violence/persuasion that to Gramsci characterizes the nature of power. It acquires concrete structure and specific content particularly during those periods in history in which the people or the masses either form the ground for political action or become a force in politics  [28]  . According to Gramsci, capitalism maintains control not only through political and economic coercion and force but also ideologically, through a hegemonic culture  [29]  . Any class that wishes to dominate in a society, has to move beyond economic-corporate interests, to exert moral and intellectual influence and to make alliances and compromises with different social forces to create a counter-hegemonic historic bloc  [30]  . Applying Perelmans rhetoric and theory of argumentation in analyzing Gramscis notion of hegemony would mean analyzing everyday argumentative discourse in public policy, in my thesis it would involve the dichotomy between the struggle of the subaltern classes versus the dominant elites. What is the dominant discourse in holding onto power of the different elites and how is it used to solidify the sovereignty of the authoritarian state over different segments of society struggling for power? What are the aspects of the dominant discourse, political, economical and cultural? As Gramsci sees the society as an organic process, much like the modern physics, he also sees the prevailing hegemony as a process on many levels, including the struggle between the authoritarian state and subaltern classes. Thus, the history of the subaltern classes and counterhegemonical forces is bound to be sporadic, depending on the political space that the subaltern classes manage to create for themselves at certain periods of history. What is the public discourse and the argumentative discourse of the subaltern classes like, and what are its implications when the space the subaltern forces create for themselves at these historical periods? How to interpret the talk of politics in my own research? In many respects, Perelmans rhetoric and theory of argumentation offers an extremely interesting and fruitful tool for my own research. However, as I am still writing my own research plan and doing the background research, I will leave the option of which method to use, open. 6. CONCLUSIONS In this essay, I have tried to outline Chaim Perelmans sometimes obscure philosophy on rhetoric and theory of argumentation. Perelmans theory has been widely applied as a methodological tool in the overlapping fields of research in the academic discipline of international relations. When it comes down to my own research, I find that Perelmans rhetoric and theory of argumentation is definitely one possible option I can as a methodological tool. 7. SOURCES OF REFERENCE: Agnew, J. (2001): The New Global Economy. Time-Space Compression, Geopolitics and Uneven Development. Journal of World Systems Research VII, 2, Fall 2001, 133- 154. . Accessed 15/12/2010. Arnold, C.C. (2008): Introduction. In Perelman, Ch. : The Realm of Rhetoric. Notre Dame, IN: UND Press, vii-xx. Cox, R. (1987): Production, Power and World Order: Social Forces In Making the World History. New York: Columbia University Press. Fontana, B. (2005): The Democratic Philosopher. Rhetoric as Hegemony in Gramsci. Italian Culture 23 (2005), 97-123. Accessed 15/12/2010. Gramsci, A. (2007): Selections from the Prison Notebooks. Edited and translated by Q. Hoare and G.N. Smith. London: Lawrence and Wishart. Gross, A.J. R.D. Dearin (2003): Chaim Perelman. Albany, N.Y.: SUNY Press. Kornprobst, M. (2009): International Relations as Rhetorical Discipline. International Studies Review 11(1), 1-22. . Accessed 14/12/2010. Perelman, Ch. (2008): The Realm of Rhetoric. Notre Dame, IN: UND Press. Perelman, Ch. L. Olbrechts-Tytega (1969): The Treatise on New Rhetoric and Argumentation. Notre Dame, IN: UND Press. The Politics of Talk in International Relations. A Workshop at the Research Centre Transformations of the State.University of Bremen 27-28 July 2010. . Accessed 14.12.2010.