Capital Punishment Essay example - 1781 Words

Capital Punishment Capital punishment was established in this country many years ago to punish those members of society which have committed horrendous crimes against fellow citizens and in a way to give the family of the victims a sense of peace. Various forms of capital and corporal punishment exist around the world and in most cases are very closely related to the religion of the nation. I believe that capital punishment is an atrocious institution and should only be used in those very few cases where rehabilitation is not an option because it does not help the criminal become a member of society. It should be used only for those who kill just for the act of killing and for no other reason. The killer must be proved guilty beyond a†¦show more content†¦The justice system is so poorly funded that it has no choice but to hire lawyers fresh out of college, or lawyers who can get no other case because of reputation, and throw them into the system to defend a poor guy with no other means of repr esentation. Is it fair that the poor get such bad representation while the rich may get away with crimes simply because they can afford to pay for the best lawyers? Certainly not. To illustrate this point we must look at the case of Antonio James. He has been on death row at Angola Prison for nearly twenty years waiting for the death when he will walk down the hallway and enter the death chamber. His death sentence had been previously postponed fourteen times and he was up for the next walk to the chamber. Mr. James had been in trouble the law as a young child growing up in the ghettoes of the south, but one day he was with the wrong guy and totally not in the control of the situation. Shots were fired and in the end, two people were killed, one two separate occasions. Antonio and two other men were arrested and tried for the robberies and murders but only Antonio went to jail for any significant time and was sentenced to death. His partners in crime walked out almost free because t hey testified that Antonio was the gunman on both occasions. Antonio went to jail and years later he got a new lawyer, who discovered evidence that Antonio had not committed the murders. This kept Antonio alive for yearsShow MoreRelated Capital Punishment1099 Words   |  5 Pages Capital Punishment Murder, a common occurrence in American society, is thought of as a horrible, reprehensible atrocity. Why then, is it thought of differently when the state government arranges and executes a human being, the very definition of premeditated murder? Capital punishment has been reviewed and studied for many years, exposing several inequities and weaknesses, showing the need for the death penalty to be abolished. Upon examination, one finds capital punishment to be economically weakRead MoreCapital Punishment1137 Words   |  5 Pagescorresponding punishments. Among all penalties, capital punishment is considered to be the most severe and cruelest one which takes away criminal’s most valuable right in the world, that is, right to live. It is a heated debate for centuries whether capital punishment should be completely abolished world widely. The world seems to have mixed opinion regarding this issue. According to Amnesty International (2010), currently, 97 countries in the world have already abolished capital punishment while onlyRead MoreCapital Punishment1786 Words   |  8 PagesCapital Punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the toughest form of punishment enforced today in the United States. According to the online Webster dictionary, capital punishment is defined as â€Å"the judicially ordered execution of a prisoner as a punishment for a serious crime, often called a capital offence or a capital crime† (1). In those jurisdictions that practice capital punishment, its use is usually restricted to a small number of criminal offences, principallyRead More Capital Punishment1898 Words   |  8 PagesCapital Punishment Imagine your heart suddenly beginning to race as you hear a judge give you a death sentence and then you’re quickly carried away in chains as your family sobs as they realize that they will no longer be able to see you. As you sit in your cell you begin to look back at your life and try to see where you went wrong to end up in jail waiting to carry out a death sentence, and at the same time know that you are an innocent waiting to be heard. This same scenario repeatsRead MoreCapital Punishment1276 Words   |  6 Pagesbroken to get the death penalty, increased murder rates and wrongful accusations. There are many different views of the death penalty. Many different religions have their own views of the death penalty. In Hinduism, if the king does not inflict punishment on those worthy to be punished the stronger would roast the weaker like fish on a spit. In the religion of Jainism, mostly all of their followers are abolitionists of the death penalty which means that they oppose of it. Infact, this religionRead More Capital Punishment Essay: Retain Capital Punishment?696 Words   |  3 PagesCapital Punishment - Retain or Not?      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This essay tangles with the question of whether or not we should retain the death penalty within the American code of penal law.    There is a feeling of frustration and horror that we experience at the senseless and brutal crimes that too frequently disrupt the harmony of society. There is pain which accompanies the heartfelt sympathy that we extend to the victims families who, in their time of suffering, are in need of the support and compassionRead MoreCapital Punishment2506 Words   |  11 PagesCapital Punishment and the Death Penalty Capital punishment exist in today’s society as citizens of the United States should we have the right to take an individual life. As illustrated throughout numerous of studies the death penalty is an unfair process seven out of ten deaths handed down by the state courts from 1973 to 1995 were overturned when appeal and the seven percent were later found to be innocent. Such as the Dobie Williams case which took place July 8, 1984. DobieRead MoreCapital Punishment Is A Legal Punishment1116 Words   |  5 Pageswhat the big deal about Capital Punishment is? According to free dictionary, Capital Punishment is to put to death as a legal punishment (Farlax). Capital Punishment is used worldwide, and is guaranteed to prevent future crime. Capital Punishment is a large controversy in the U.S. but before a personal opinion can be formed, some facts need to be known, such as what it is, where it is used and why it could be good or bad. Well, what is Capital Punishment? Capital Punishment is where a person is executedRead MoreCapital Punishment Is The Ultimate Punishment1704 Words   |  7 Pageswhat would you want from the government if he had killed someone you know? He should receive the capital punishment. The capital punishment is the ultimate punishment given to the precarious crimes. It is the last stage of capital punishment. There are different methods of like hanging, electric chair, lethal injection, firing squad, gas chamber. Murderers and rapist should be given extreme punishment, and they have to pay for their wrongdoing. We can observe crime rates are accelerating day-by-dayRead MoreCapital Punishment And Juvenile Punishment1631 Words   |  7 Pages Capital punishment is the term used when an individual is put to death by the state or government for the commission of a crime. Until recently, juveniles were not exempt from this punishment, however they would generally need to commit a more serious offense compared to their adult counterpart. Then there was the decision ruling the execution of mentally handicapped individuals was unconstitutional, using the 8th amendment as their authority, while taking into account the diminished capacity of

Knowledge Management in Education Free Essays

string(154) " automatic query about the subject, reaches out onto the knowledge management program and pulls information that might be applicable to the task at hand\." KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT ACKNOWLEDGMENT I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to all who gave their support throughout the process of writing this Seminar paper. I would also like to thank my beloved lovely wife Edith Lisalitsa and my son Macdonald Lisalitsa for giving me humble time to concentrate in preparing this Seminar paper. I would also wish to thank my classmates and session mates for their support. We will write a custom essay sample on Knowledge Management in Education or any similar topic only for you Order Now Special thanks, goes to my supervisor Mr. Abanti Cyrus Makori for his underlying support, patience, intellectual support and guidance. Most of all I thank the Almighty God for sustaining me through this process and giving me good health, sound mind and strength to carry on. INTEGRATING KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS IN IMPROVING QUALITY OF EDUCATION IN TECHNICAL INSTITUTIONS By:Lisalitsa Fred Ambutsi E-mail: Lisalitsa2007@yahoo. com or lisalitsa@gmail. com Abstract. The new trends of use of knowledge management system in business organization have increased the need to integrate the knowledge management system in higher education sector. The current means used in technical institution in knowledge management is based on the experts in various fields. The creation and transmitting is through face to face interactions, mentoring, organization, and policies, routes and procedures, reports and staff development. This method does not conserve knowledge, does not allow standardization, neither does it allow uniform and maximum sharing of knowledge. Knowledge management system can be integrated in technical education in order to improve management and its utilization. Knowledge management system provides tools for capturing, organization, delivery, tracking and assessment of various types of learning and training. The knowledge management allows improved service capability of lecturers and students improve sharing of internal and external information and improved effectiveness and efficiency. The objectives of the seminar paper are: 1. To apply knowledge management system in teaching at technical institution level. 2. To examine the ways of capturing and sorting knowledge for utilization in technical institution. 3. To investigate IT support of knowledge management system and how it can be used in technical Education. 4. To investigate challenges technical institution are facing Key words Knowledge, Integrating, Systems, learning. TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATIONI DECLARATIONII ACKNOWLEDGMENTIII 1. 1 IMPORTANT DIMENSION OF KNOWLEDGE2 2. CAPTURING AND SORTING KNOWLEDGE2 2. 1 STEPS IN KNOWLEDGE GATHERING3 3. SUPPORTING TECHNOLOGIES6 4. TYPES OF KNOWLEDGE WORKS6 5. TYPES OF KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS7 6. KNOWLEDGE BASED SYSTEMS8 7. BENEFITS KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS9 CHALLENGES OF IMPLEMENTING KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS12 9. TYPES OF KNOWLEDGE13 10. INTERNET AND KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT14 11. CONCLUSION17 REFERENCES18 1. .INTRODUCTION Oz et al (2006) defines knowledge management as the combination of activities involved in gathering, organizing, sharing, analyzing and disseminating knowledge to improve an organization performance. Information that can be gleaned from stored data is knowledge, much k nowledge is accumulated through experience is in peoples minds, on paper notes, on discussion transcripts. Knowledge management is the attempt by organizations to put procedures and technologies in place to do the following: a) Transfer individual knowledge into databases b) Filter and separate the most relevant knowledge. c) Organize that knowledge in databases that allow employees easy access to it. Barnes(2002) made the following interesting comparison about knowledge , information and data he says that knowledge as a justified personal belief that increases an individual’s capacity to take effective action. Information is data interpreted in to a meaningful frame, whereas knowledge is information that has been authenticated and thought to be true. Data is raw numbers and facts, information is processed data and knowledge is information made achievable. According to Rainer et al(2007) The goal of knowledge management is to help organization to make most effective use of knowledge. it has the following benefits are: ? Makes the best practices, which are most effectives and efficient ways of doing things rapidly available to a wide range of employees ? Enhance access to best practices knowledge improves overall organization performance. ? Improved customer service. ? Most efficient product development. ? Improved employee morale and retention. Barnes(2002) says traditionally, knowledge creation and transfer has occurred through various means such as face-to-face interactions (planned or adhoc), mentoring, job rotation and staff development. Barnes(2002) observes that the concept of coding and transmitting knowledge in organization is not new: training and employee development programmes, organization policies routines, procedures, reports and manuals have served this function for years. These traditional means may prove to be too slow, less effective and need of being supplemented by by more efficient electronics methods. 1. 1 IMPORTANT DIMENSION OF KNOWLEDGE Data: is a flow of events or transactions captured by organization’s systems that by itself is useful for transacting but little else. To turn data into information a firm must expend resources to organize data into categories of understanding, such as monthly, daily, regional or stored based reports of the total sales. To transform information ito knowledge the firm must expend additional resources to discover patterns, rules and context where the knowledge works. Finally wisdom is thought to be the collective and individual experiences of applying knowledge to the solutions of problems. Wisdom involves where, when, and how to apply knowledge. Knowledge is both individual attribute and collective attribute of the firm. Knowledge is stored in libraries, and records, shared in lectures and stored by firms in the form of business process and employee know how Laudon and Laudon (2006). . CAPTURING AND SORTING KNOWLEDGE (a) Online questionnaires: According to Oz et al (2006)[3] knowledge can be captured through the use of online questionnaires. Some of the questionnaires provide multiple choice answers, which make the input structured and easy to sort and analyze, but some of the most valuable input is in the form of free text. Knowledge can also be done by use of software such as polygamist to analyze data form (Megaputer intelligence). . A good example is Watson an application created by intellect. It is installed in a PC and embedded in Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Outlook. It analyses and employees’ document as it is being written, creates an automatic query about the subject, reaches out onto the knowledge management program and pulls information that might be applicable to the task at hand. You read "Knowledge Management in Education" in category "Papers" (b) Software Tools: Oz et al(2006) also describes that Knowledge can also be captured by use of software tools that search for such information and derive valuable business knowledge form it. For example Online Audience Analysis software that was developed by Accenture Technology Labs. Such tools help organization add to their knowledge base especially in terms of what others say about their product and services. The tools take into account factors such as its industry, context in which an enquiry works to select and deliver the proper information. (c) Knowledge network systems: Laudon and Laudon (2006) say that knowledge network systems also known as expertise location and management systems, provides an online directory of corporate experts in well defined knowledge domains and use communication to find the appropriate expert in the company. Some knowledge network systems go further by systematizing the solutions being developed by experts and then storing the solutions in a knowledge database as best practices or frequently asked questions (FAQ), repository e. g. AskMe, inc offers a widely adopted enterprise knowledge net system. (d) Employee Knowledge networks: facilitates knowledge sharing through intranets. Tacit systems activates tool continuously process email, documents and other business communication and automatically ‘discover’ each employee work focus, expertise and business relation ship. This tool ‘mines’ this unstructured data to build a profile of each employee in terms of topics and interests. The goal is to ensure that two people who might benefit from creating a connection in a work place do so, so that one can learn form the expertise of another about issues. According to Oz(2006)some companies have developed software tools that search for such information and derive valuable business knowledge form it. E. g. Accenture Technology labs developed audience analysis such tools helps organization add to their knowledge base especially in terms of what others say about their product and services. The tool takes into account factors such as the industry and context in which an enquirer works to select and deliver the proper information. (f) A web portal: also known as a links page, presents information from diverse sources in a unified way. Apart from the standard search engine feature, web portals offer other services such as e-mail, news, stock prices, information, databases and entertainment. Portals provide a way for enterprises to provide a consistent look and feel with access control and procedures for multiple applications and databases, which otherwise would have been different entities altogether. Examples of public web portals are MSN, Yahoo! , AOL, iGoogle and Netvibes. 2. 1 STEPS IN KNOWLEDGE GATHERING The first challenge in the knowledge-gathering process is simply deciding what knowledge to gather. For example, while identifying the most frequently asked questions is critical for a self-service web site implementation, call centers will also need to know the most frequently escalated questions. Moreover, while management goals may center around ROI issues, the system must be designed with users in mind, or it will not be successful. According to paper published by eGain Communications Corporation [2004] that appeared in the internet and internetworking here is a step-by-step review of the knowledge-gathering process. Step 1: Building the team There are four roles in the knowledge management team:  ¦ Lead expert: The individual (or individuals) who decides how the knowledge base will be organized, which topics will be covered, and to what extent.  ¦ Users: Call center agents who have good performance records and can provide suggestions. Knowledge authors: Individuals who are technically trained in using authoring tools.  ¦ Project manager. The individual who keeps the project on track. Depending on the scope of the project, one person may play several roles. Step 2: Assessing the value of knowledge The best way to determine what knowledge should be gathered is to estimate what the value to your enterprise would be if every agent managed service interactions by effectively using that knowledge Step 3: Settin g content boundaries When defining the scope of the knowledge base, the most common mistake is to try to include too much. Overly ambitious deployments almost always result in what’s called â€Å"the Swiss cheese problem†Ã¢â‚¬â€a knowledge base that is solid in places, but full of holes. This is a recipe for failure, because if users can’t find the answers they want most of the time, or get the wrong answers, they will quickly stop using the system. It is better to be thorough with a limited area than to cover a broad area superficially. For instance, for an enterprise that sells printers, scanners, fax machines, and copiers, the best approach would be to cover one product line thoroughly, rather than all products at once. Step 4: Prioritizing objectives Establishing the value of knowledge enables prioritization, but this process may involve trade-offs. For example, in a technology subscription environment like cable TV, Internet service provision, or mobile telephony, there are typically three competing goals:  ¦ Speed of problem resolution (the â€Å"right answer† focus): The shorter the average duration of a call, the ower the cost to the enterprise.  ¦ Customer retention: Educating customers about unused features can result in greater customer acceptance and lower churn.  ¦ Up-selling and cross-selling: It may be that the best solution to a customer’s problem is selling that customer a higher tier of service or an add-on product. Enterprises must match their knowledge systems and processes to the service priorities. Step 5: Setting time boundaries In our experience with many deployments, a time-boxed approach to knowledge gathering works best. If the deployment appears to be falling behind schedule, narrowing the scope of the knowledge base (to avoid the Swiss cheese problem) and finishing on schedule is the way to go. The reason has to do with ROI—the main reason for the deployment to begin with. The longer it takes to get the system up and running, the longer it takes to achieve the ROI. If the knowledge scope has been correctly identified and prioritized, the most important questions will be covered. Furthermore, it is always possible to expand the scope later. As a rough guide, a typical enterprise deployment should not take longer than three months (after planning is done), with three or four full-time people engaged. This period includes software installation, knowledge gathering, and testing both the quality of the knowledge base as well as the performance of the system. Step 6: Selecting and managing experts Obviously, the people who contribute to the knowledge base must be technically competent, but it is equally important that they not be too far removed from day-to-day customer contact. Successful knowledge management depends as much on the questions as the answers, and it is sometimes difficult for subject matter experts to â€Å"stoop† to the level of ordinary customers who may not know complex details like the baud rate of their modem or whether their mutual fund is front-loaded or back-loaded. There is another very important issue with experts: the reluctance to share knowledge and the fear of being â€Å"replaced by a machine. † It is important, therefore, that enterprises plan and communicate how the role of the experts will change once knowledge management has been implemented. Moreover, enterprises should create incentives for domain experts to share their knowledge with the rest of the organization. Step 7: Controlling content Once the knowledge gathering process has been completed, results must be reviewed in light of strategic objectives. It is critical for organizations to set up a review process for approving the final content of the knowledge base. This includes determining who (beyond the experts) should review the content, and who has the authority to make final decisions. There are good reasons for not leaving these decisions to content experts alone. For example, any material an enterprise presents to the public can have legal or safety implications. One good approach to quality control is the use of workflow authoring software where agents (or customers and partners, in the case of self-service) can suggest additions or changes, but only authorized individuals can approve them. 3. SUPPORTING TECHNOLOGIES According Laudon and Laudon (2006) major commercial knowledge management systems vendors has integrated their content and document management capabilities with powerful portal and collaboration technologies. Enterprise knowledge portals can provide access to external sources of information such as news feeds and research as well as to internal knowledge recourses along with capabilities for e-mail, chat, instant, messaging, discussion groups and video conferencing . Laudon and Laudon (2006) further states that companies are now staring to use consumer web technologies such as blogs, wikies and social booking marking for internal use to facilitate the exchange of information between individuals and teams. E. g. Intel COE Paul; Otellini has a Blog for conveying his thoughts. Learning management systems provides tools for the management, delivery, tracking, and assessment of various types of employee learning and training. Contemporary leanaing management system support multiple modes including CD-ROM, downloadable video, web based classes live instruction in cases or online and group learning. In online forums and chat sessions. Learning management systems consolidate mixed media training, automatic the selection and administration of courses, assemble and deliver learning content and measure learing effectiveness. (Laudon and Laudon 2006). 4. TYPES OF KNOWLEDGE WORKS Oslon(2000) describes the following as types of knowledge works. a) Diagnosis and problem finding These are knowledge work because they depend heavily on knowledge and expertise of the analyst or diagnostician. The work of diagnosis tends to be semi structured and unstructured b) Planning and decision making Many people who engage in knowledge work may contribute to the decision making process. Staff professions such as financials analyst or market researchers are responsible for collecting and analyzing data before results are presented to the person responsible for decision making. Planning and decision making are knowledge work because they depend on expertise of the decision maker and manipulation of data using decision model. Highly structured programmed decision making has less knowledge work content than unstructured decision making. c) Monitoring and control Many monitoring and control activities can be structured and made fairly routine. Analysis of the meaning and of monitoring reports and analysis of variances often require expertise and judgment on the part of the reviewer, these monitoring and control activities are knowledge. ) Organizing and scheduling Organizing is critical component of knowledge work productivityand scheduling is a structuring activity which establishes a time sequence to other activities including personal activities and meetings. e) Authoring and presentation The objective of this class of knowledge to to progress from an idead through multiple media transformation to a final presentation form, whether document, diagram, or a s et of visual aids for a presentation. 5. TYPES OF KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS a) Structured knowledge systems: Some knowledge exists already somewhere in the form of structures text documents and reports or presentation, and the central problems organizing this existing structured knowledge into a library and making it accessible throughout the firm. (b) Semi structured knowledge systems: Managers may also need information that exists somewhere inside the firm in the form of less structured documents, such as e-mail, voice mail, chat room exchangers , video, digital pictures, brochures, bulletins boards. This knowledge can be stored in knowledge repository. Knowledge repository is collection of internal and external knowledge in single location for more efficient management and utilization by the organization. 6. KNOWLEDGE BASED SYSTEMS McLeod Jr(1998) describes artificial Intelligence, Expert systems as knowledge based system. He further expounds as follows (a) Artificial Intelligence: Is the activity of providing such machines as computers with the ability to display behaviour that would be regarded as intelligent if it were observed in humans. A. I represent the most sophisticated form of human reasoning. According to O’Brien(2004) Artificial Intelligence offers the following advantages of knowledge systems. †¢ Reducing training time †¢ Reducing training costs. †¢ Replication valuable expertise †¢ Reducing operation response time. †¢ Presenting valuable knowledge (b) Expert system: Is a computer program that attempts to represent knowledge of human experts in the form of heuristics. Expert system is expected to: †¢ Better performance for the firm: As the managers extend their problem solving abilities through the use of the expert systems the firms control mechanism is improved. The firm is better able to meet its objectives. †¢ To maintain control over the firms: Knowledge expert systems afford the opportunity to make the experiences employees knowledge more available to new, less experiences employees and to keep that knowledge in the firm long even after the employee have left the firm The expert system outputs through: †¢ Explanation of questions: The manager may desire explanation while the expert systems perform its reasoning. Theses is done through questions as the expert system provides the explanation †¢ Explanation of the problem solution after the expert systems provides a problem solution, the manager can ask for an explanation of how it ws reached. The expert system will display, each of the reasoning steps leading to the solution (c) Decision Support System: Decision support system provides information and models in aform to facilitate tactical and strategies decision making. They are information system that support management decision making by integrating: †¢ Company performance data Business rules based on decisions tables. †¢ Analytical tools and models for forecast and planning †¢ Easy to use graphical interface Decision support system tends to be used for adhoc queries rather than regular reporting. The technology varies particularly rapidly in this area and the newest development such as data warehouse attests to this Bocij (2009) (d) Executive Support Systems: provides s enior management with system to assist them in taking strategic and tactical decision. The purpose is to analyze compare and highlight trends to help govern the strategic direction of accompany. They are commonly integrated with operational systems giving managers the falilitioan â€Å"drill† to find out further information or a problem Bocij(2006) (e) Hypermedia system: Provides computer based storage of documents composed of text, graphs, diagrams, sound, schematics, pictures motion, video and the link. Hyper documents include not only document but also indexes for cross references its materials Kroenke and Hatch(1989). f) Interactive Video: Is atype of knowledge system, video segments integrated via a menu processing application. Interactive video application overcome on of the biggest disadvantages of video media. The requirements of sequential access instead users are presented with video segments that they can control through a menu Kroenke and Hatch(1989). 7. BENEFITS KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS a) Improves service for students b) Improves services capab ility of faculty and staff c) Improved effectiveness and efficiency of advising efforts. ) Improved ability to identify improvement efforts. e) Improved sharing of internal and external information to minimize redundant efforts and lessen the reporting burden f) Reduce turn around time for research. g) Facilitation of inter-disciplinary research h) Increased competitive and responsiveness for research grants, contracts and commercial opportunities. According to by Jillinda J. etl (2000) the benefit of Knowledge management in the area of research which is the key to learning especially in higher education is as outlined in table 1 below. Table 1: Application and Benefits of KM for the Research Process |Knowledge Management Application |Benefits | |A repository of: |Increased competitiveness and responsiveness for | |Research interests within an institution or at affiliated institutions (potential |research grants, contracts, and commercial | |Subcontractors). |opportunities. |Research results (where possible) and funding organizations (federal agencies, foundations, |Reduced turnaround time for research. | |and corporations) with easy search capabilities to facilitate interdisciplinary |Minimized devotion of research resources to | |opportunities. |administrative tasks. | |Commercial opportunities for research results. |Facilitation of interdisciplinary research. | |A portal for research administration procedures and best practices related to: |Leveraging of previous research and proposal | |Funding opportunities. efforts. | |Pre-populated proposals, budgets, and protocols. |Improved internal and external services an d | |Proposal-routing policies and procedures. |effectiveness. | |Award notification, account setup, and negotiation policies and procedures. |Reduced administrative costs. | |Contract and grant management policies and procedures. | | |Technical and financial report templates and policies and procedures. | | |Overview of internal services, resources, and staff. | Jillinda J. etl (2000) also derived the following application and benefits of management as stated in table 2 below. Table 2: Application and Benefits of KM for the Curriculum Development Process |Knowledge Management Application |Benefits | |Repository of curriculum revision efforts that includes research conducted, effectiveness | Enhanced quality of curriculum and programs by | |measures, best practices, lessons learned, and so forth. identifying and leveraging best practices and | |Repository of content modularized and arranged to facilitate interdisciplinary curriculum |monitoring outcomes. | |design and development. | Improved speed of curriculum revision and | |Portal of information related to teaching and learning with technology, including faculty |updating. | |development opportunities, outcomes tracking, lessons learned, best practices, technology |Enhanced faculty development efforts, especially | |overviews, and so forth. for new faculty. | |â€Å"Hubs† of information in each disciplinary area, including updated materials, recent |Improved administrative services related to | |publications, applicable research, and so forth. |teaching and learning with technology. | |Repository of pedagogy and assessment techniques, including best practices, outcomes |Improved responsiveness by monitoring and | |tracking, faculty development opportunities, and research. incorporating lessons learned from the | |Repository of analyzed student evaluations updated each semester for lessons learned and |experiences of colleagues, student evaluations, | |best practices for all faculty. |and corporate or other constituent input. | |Portal for new faculty with guides for developing curriculum, working with senior faculty, |Interdisciplinary curriculum design and | |establishing effective teaching styles, advising do’s and don’ts, supervising PhD students, |development facilitated by navigating across | |and so forth. |departmental boundaries. |Repository of corporate relationships to identify curriculum design advisory task forces, | | |guest speakers, adjuncts, case study sites, and so forth. | | 8 CHALLENGES OF IMPLEMENTING KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS According to a document posted on internet by Kristy Annely (2006) Most of the challenges in knowledge management primarily stem from the types of knowledge reuse situations and purposes. Knowledge workers may produce knowledge that they themselves reuse while working. However, each knowledge re-use situation is unique in terms of requirements and context. Whenever these differences between the knowledge re-use situations are ignored, the organization faces various challenges in implementing its knowledge management practices. Some of the common challenges resulting due to this and other factors are listed below. (a) Willingness to share Knowledge: The employees may not be willing to share their personal tacit knowledge:. This call for a scheme to reward employees who add expertise to the knowledgebase. Knowledge base must be continually maintained and updated. New knowledge must be added and old, outdated knowledge must be deleted. (b) Data Accuracy: Valuable raw data generated by a particular group within an organization may need to be validated before being transformed into normalized or consistent content. (c) Data Interpretation: Information derived by one group may need to be mapped to a standard context in order to be meaningful to someone else in the organization. Data Relevancy: The quality and value of knowledge depend on relevance. Knowledge that lacks relevance simply adds complexity, cost, and risk to an organization without any compensating benefits. If the data does not support or truly answer the question being asked by the user, it requires the appropriate meta-data (data about data) to be held in the knowledge management solution. (d) Ability of the data to support/deny hypotheses: Does the information truly support decision-making? Does the knowledge management solution include a statistical or rule-based model for the workflow within which the question is being asked? Adoption of knowledge management solutions: Do organizational cultures foster and support voluntary usage of knowledge management solutions? e) Knowledge bases tend to be very complex and large: When knowledge databases become very large and complex, it puts the organization in a fix. The organization could cleanse the system of very old files, thus diluting its own knowledge management initiative. Alternatively, it could set up another team to cleanse the database of redundant files, thus increasing its costs substantially. Apart from these, the real challeng e for an organization could be to monitor various departments and ensure that they take responsibility for keeping their repositories clean of redundant files. . TYPES OF KNOWLEDGE (i) Tacit and Explicit Knowledge The distinction between tacit and explicit knowledge is critical in appreciating the scope of knowledge management and how it differs from information and data management. Nonaka8 refers to the spiral of knowledge where new knowledge always begins with the personal. For example, a researcher has insights that lead to a new patent. Explicit knowledge deals with more objectives, rational and technical knowledge. Consist of policies, procedures, guides, reports, products strategies, goals, core competencies and it infrastructure. Is the knowledge that has been codified (documented) in a form that can be distributed to others or transformed into a process strategy? Tacit knowledge is a cumulative store of subjective or experimental learning. In organization Tacit knowledge consists of experiences, insights, expertise, know-how, trade secrets, skills sets, understanding and learning. It also includes the organization culture, which reflects the past ans present experiences of the organization peoples and processes as well as prevailing and costly to transfer. It is also highly primal because is unstructured, it is difficult to formalize or codify Rainer etl (2009). Nonaka(1991) identifies four basic patterns for creating knowledge in any organization: (a) From Tacit to Tacit. When one individual shares tacit knowledge with another in face-to-face contact. (b) From Explicit to Explicit. When an individual combines discrete pieces of explicit knowledge into a new whole, such as a finance manager collecting and synthesizing information and opinions from different parts of the organization then putting this into a financial report.. c)From Tacit to Explicit. This extends the organization’s knowledge base by codifying experience, insight, or judgment into a form which can be reused by others. (d) From Explicit to Tacit. When staff begin to internalize new or shared explicit knowledge and then use it to broaden, extend, and rethink their own tacit knowledge. 10. INTERNET AND KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT Blogging Himanshu (2009) says blogging is a greatest source to share things on Internet. Slowly blogging taking place of online media; in fact Blogging is now an example of online media. Many news agencies buy news from blogging companies time to time. There are enormous advantages of Blogging. Some of the advantages of blogging which enhances performance of any blogger are: Blogging brings lots of knowledge. From Word press to blogger, server to host, blogging to make money online, resources to online tutorials, bloggers get aware of all the small to big things present on the internet. Also blogging teach people to use internet resources effectively. Why Blogging is so popular Duermyer (2008) explains that Blogging is very popular today because it llows people to interact with each other. Blogging has also become a popular search engine optimization (SEO) tool because search engines like Google and Yahoo know that a blog is frequently updated with content or visitor comments, so their spiders visit blogs frequently looking for new content to include in their index. Additionally, blog content can be delivered automatically via electronic RSS (Really Simple Syndicatio n) data feeds. Visitors subscribe to a blog’s feeds in order to stay up to date with content that’s being posted on subjects that interest them. Cassanova(2007) say that blog templates are coded in a way that they’re well viewed by the Google’s search engines. So we can consider this as an advantage since your blog will get much traffic from google if you’re using his templates. He further explains that a blogger is flexible with all kind of entries like the bookmarking tools in footers and RSS subscription like FeedBurner. Blogger also allows for easy comments moderation and posts edition. However they have some Drawbacks e. g The dot blogspot subdomain can affect the image of your blog when it comes to advertisers to choose where to advertise for their products. Actually, it’s not only about Blogger but it’s the drawback of having a free domain name and Unlike other Blogging templates themes, blogspot’s aren’t really beautiful. You can do a better presentation with WordPress. Moreover, the columns are difficult to manipulate; you can hardly get three columns with blogspot while it’s easy with wordpress.. (a) Word Press: Site ground knowledge base defines Word Press as an open source blog publishing application and can be used for basic content management: According to an article presented in the internet it is the most popular web blogging software because it provides   Ã¢â‚¬â€œ Ease of use. WordPress is suitable for just about anybody – from the absolute novice to the advanced programmer. – Feature-rich interface. WordPress has a rich text editor with advanced multimedia support; – Expandable. WordPress’s community distributes a large number of modules for almost any popular website feature; – It is Open Source. This means it is free to install, use and distribute WordPress on your site. (b) Face book: According to the web site page on http://www. vfw. org Face book is a social networking service that lets you connect with friends, o-workers, and others who share similar interests or who have common backgrounds. Facebook enables users can join networks organized by city, workplace, school, and region. The website’s name stems from the colloquial name of books given at the start of the academic year by university administrations with the intention of helping students get to know each other better. Agnes(2008)says Clients or users can make groups and conversation or discussion topics. This assemblage or group can cultivate, or be gone alone to pass away, depending on the clients or users and their involvement.. Facebook is a one-stop shop or supermarket for imparting blogging, media, calendaring, communicating, sharing ideas or information and others. Facebook can provide â€Å"Cooperative Extension† abilities or capabilities to work together and construct our networks in a single place by giving one place without difficulty, imparting ideas or information and discuss subject or topics of interest. Face book brings jointly more than a few online apparatus. Furthermore to being capable to impart ideas or information and pictures, you can append applications few examples are: Flickr ,   del. cio. us, Twitter, your blog, news feeds to your Facebook home. (c) Youtobe: Geller(2008) defines YouTube as an online public communications site. The site allows for registered users to upload and have available for the public their videos for viewing. Anyone who goes to the site can view the videos that are posted on this site. The videos are anything from beginner videos to more professional vi deos. McGrath (2008) suggest using the technology (video) to capture knowledge dumps that can be prepared and stored for distribution. Face it, a video capture of someone’s thoughts and actions delivered with their passion or emotion of the situation is far better (and a lot quicker) than trying to capture the same knowledge in writing. More specifically, he had several great ideas †¢ Use video to capture knowledge and a YouTube-type repository for storage and distribution. †¢ Use Blogs for day-to-day capture of activities and what is being worked on. †¢ Use a Wiki for collaborative projects. †¢ Use a  delicious-style tagging system for classification. McGrath’s suggesting the utilization of today’s most popular technologies for knowledge management purposes is strong and useful advice. (d) Wiki: According to Tech Terms Computer Dictionary (http://www. techterms. com/ ) A wiki is a Web site that allows users to add and update content on the site using their own Web browser. This is made possible by Wiki software that runs on the Web server. Wikis end up being created mainly by a collaborative effort of the site visitors. A great example of a large wiki is the Wikipedia, a free encyclopedia in many languages that anyone can edit. Wikis can be used for a number of purposes: †¢ On public Web sites to enable end users to easily contribute information. †¢ In teaching. Wikis can provide an opportunity to learn about team working, trust, etc. A good example is provided by Queen’s University Belfast . †¢ By researchers. Wikis are by Web researchers to make it easier to develop collaborative documents e. g. the FOAF Wiki . †¢ On Intranets, where departmental administrators with minimal HTML experience may be able to manage departmental content. †¢ Wikis can be used at events for note-taking e. g. in discussion groups . ) Flickr : Hendricks (2009) explains that An easy way to share videos and pictures of the people you love has brought about a social media networking site called Flickr. In a society of overwhelming social media networking sites, it is refreshing to find a website like Flickr with a specific purpose. Flickr was designed in February 2004 and has been growing since. It is in more ways than one a media site for the people. Members are able to upload their favorite pictures and videos to share. Some of the key features of Flickr not initially present but soon added are the abilities to separate your pictures. You can mark some as favorites, or separate them into groups. Tagging provides to be a helpful addition as well in order to keep the pictures organized and document people and dates. It is also possible to share your pictures with friends only or publicly. 11. CONCLUSION Technical education institutions are in the knowledge business, since they are involved in knowledge creation and dissemination and learning. Knowledge Management can transform technical schools to new levels of effectiveness, efficiency, and scope of operation. Through advancements in technology, data and information are readily available. The technical institutions lecturers and students able to discover and learn new measures, new technologies, and new opportunities, but this requires the ability to gather information in usable formats and disseminate knowledge to achieve the organization’s objectives. Knowledge Management can continually help discovering what an organization knows—codifying tacit knowledge, Data Mining, and Intelligence; continually increasing what the organization knows—organizational learning and communities of practice, and continually organizing and disseminating knowledge for use by the students and for research. REFERENCES Effy Oz and Andy Jones [2008] . Management Information Systems. Course Technology, Division of language learning, inc ,London. James a. O’Brien (6th Ed). [2004]. Management information system. McGray-Hill New Delhi Kenneth C Laudon and Jane P. Laudon (10th Ed) [2006]. Management Information System Pearson Education, Inc. New Jersey. Margrette H Ol son(2nd Ed) [2005] Management information systems , Tata McGraw-Hills, New York.. Nonaka, I. [1991] â€Å"he Knowledge Creating Company, Harvard Business Review, Paul Bocij Dave(3rd Ed) [2006]. Business Information System . Prentice Hall, London Kroenke and Hatch. (3rd Ed) [1989]. Management Information System McGraw-Hill. Watsonville. Raymonf McLead, Jr,( 7th d) [1998], ] Management Information System, Prentice Hall Upper New Rainer R. et al [2007]. Introduction to information systems supporting and transforming business. John wileys and sons inc. New Delhi Stuart Barnes (2nd Ed) [2002] Knowledge Management Systems Theory And Practice. Thomson learning London. Delhi . Agnes December 2, 2008. Some Advantages of Facebook. http://www. socialmediawatch. net/index. php/social-media-watch/1356/ Seth McGrath’s  January 10, 2008. YouTube for Knowledge Management http://ykm. typepad. com/yerfdogs_knowledge_manage/2008/01/youtube-for-kno. html Dr. E. Scott Geller. October 15, 2007 12:57 PM. YouTube: What Is It and Why Use It? http://www. surfnetkids. com/safety/youtube_what_is_it_and_why_use_it-19026. htm Himanshu on November 5, 2009 . Top 10 greatest advantages of Blogging http://www. blogtechnika. com/top-10-greatest-advantages-of-blogging Randy Duermyer, What is the Meaning of  Blogging? http://homebusiness. about. com/od/homebusinessglossar1/g/blogging. htm Cassanova at Wednesday,October 10, 2007, 8:59 AM    . Blogspot .. dvantages and Drawbacks http://wddc. blogspot. com/2007/10/blogspot-advantages-and-drawbacks. html Kaylee Hendrick . Jun 29, 2009. Flickr Proves Itself and its Advantages http://www. prlog. org/10270123-flickr-proves-itself-and-its-advantages. html Kristy Annely . November 09, 2006. Knowledge Management Challenges http://ezinearticles. com/? Knowledge-Management-Challenges;id=352953 Ji llinda J. Kidwell, Karen M. Vander Linde, and Sandra L. Johnson. Knowledge Management Practices Applying Corporate in Higher Education http://www. unlibrary-nairobi. org/PDFs/knowledge_management1. pdf How to cite Knowledge Management in Education, Papers

Organization Change Management School of Business Case Study

Question: Discuss about theOrganization Change Management for School of Business Case Study. Answer: Introduction Organizations operate in an ever changing environment which is prone to variations(Samuel, 2013). This calls for organization change management as per the dynamics of the organization environment to survive the turbulences of change. However, the anticipated change may be difficult to attain if all the obstacles have not been eliminated(Li, 2005). Again, if the change is realized may not prosper to the objectives of the change if the peoples short term wins are not converted into long term wins. Therefore, the management should ensure that all the stakeholders interests are put into consideration before implementing change. Alternatively, the purpose and the goals of the change should be explained to the organization employees to ensure that they align their interests with the core objectives of the change(Pieterse, Marjolein, Homan, 2012). This should be supplemented with the preparation for the change to avoid the anxiety and other consequences of change. If the above-addressed is sues ignore the realized change may be full of problems and challenges. Business School case study in Australian University is the perfect example of the challenges and the problems which may face the organization if is to fully prepared to change. Although the organization structure changed, employees seem not to have gone through the process. From the scenario of Business School, it is clear that the management focused on the change of the organization structures rather the employees. According to they are people who undergoes the process of change but not the organization structures. Case Background The management problems of the Business School originates from merging three departments in the university. The university resolved to integrate the Department of Economics, Accounting and Finance and Management Studies. Upon the merging of the three departments, the Business School has resulted in the problems and challenges majorly rooted in the employees. Even though the school business is termed as one organization, the three departments seem to work separately. The division in the organization has resulted to each department working to meet its objective other than that of the School of Business. For example, the Department of Economics seems to enjoy the benefits generated by Management Studies Department. On the other side, Accounting and Finance Department seem to focus on the core objective of the school of business and thus it has majorly focused on quality cheating and research to enhance the reputation of the organization. Again, despite the fact the Management Studies De partment is working very hard for the school of business, it seems to develop some resistance. This is because it feels that its efforts are being used to benefit other departments such as Economics and Accounting and Finance. Case Analysis From the case background, it has come out, even though the three departments have merged each department seems to work separately. It is clear that the management did not prepare the employees to undergo the process of change. Again, the school of business to have not set the clear objectives that all the employees should aim to achieve. Instead, the management seems to have just created the structure. It failed to understand that the employees are the ones who should be subjected to change instead of the organizational structure. The effective and successful process of change should focus on changing the mindset of the people(Diefenbach, 2006). This ensures that the organizational culture which serves as the biggest obstacle is eliminated and the new targeted behavior is adopted. However, the school of business seems to have not been prepared to engage in the process of change. As a result, this had to the realization of change that is full challenges and problems that seem to be bi g obstacles to achieving the objectives of change. Problem Identification/Case Issues The critical aspect of the process of change is to identify the problems that are causing the need for change(Suresh, 2001). This aspect requires the management to carry out the deep and extensive diagnosis of the organization condition to determine the issues that may be arising. This is achieved by scanning both the organization internal and external environment(By, 2012). From the internal analysis of the school of business, it is quite clear that there are critical issues that need to be addressed. The following case issues are arising. First, the Department economics seems to still its culture it adopted in the last ten years. It is underperforming and thus it has hampered the realization of the school of business objectives. Second, Management Studies Department feels that its efforts are being utilized by other departments especially the Department of Economics. Third, the school of business has not established the core objectives which all the employees under the school of bu siness should aim to achieve. Instead, each department seems to focus on its goals, and their targets are only confined to the departments. Therefore, it is evident that the school of business lacks the aspect of working as a team and thus some problems need to be addressed to keep the organization on the right track. Problem Analysis and Justification The problems analysis in the school of business clearly indicates that there is a gap between the present state of affairs and the future goals of the organization. The analysis of the current problems facing an organization offers an opportunity for the managers to establishment the strategies of dealing with the problem(Kotter, 2007). Alternatively, it leads to justification of the issue at the hand to all the stakeholders that the change is needed(Heeks, 2006). For the school of business, it seems to lose focus on its roadmap for achieving the organization goals. Even though some departments such as Accounting and Finance are keenly focused on research which is the key goal of the school, it is doing it separately. The analysis portrays that the school of business lagging behind because of the lack of team spirit as well as the failure of some employees to drop the old culture and adopt the new culture under the umbrella of the school of business. Alternatively, the department of economics seems to suffer from the deficit which may be highly attributable to the high salary to the employees under this segment as well as the lack of research to enhance its department reputation to increase the number of enrolment. Therefore, it is highly justifiable that the school of business should undergo the process of change if it is to realize its core objectives of research and the deficit facing the school of economics. Alternative Solutions The solving of the organizational problem requires the manager to come with various courses of actions(G, 2010). The managers analyses and evaluates the various methods of getting rid of the problem and thus goes for the best one after each strategy benefits and costs(Donald, Cooper, Pamela, 2011). This report suggests that the solutions to the anticipated change should be more focused on the people rather than the change of the organizational structure. First, the management should consider revising high salary paid to the employees under the department of the economics. This is because this seems to be one of the major element causing the problems especially in the department of management studies. Again, the workers at the department of economics are no longer performers as before. Therefore, the solution of salary review should be based on compensating economics department employees based on the performance. Second, the management should set the overall objectives that link all the other goals of each objective. Fourth, the hardworking employees in the departments of Accounting and Finance and Management Studies should be motivated for their continued excellent performance. Recommendations It has come out clearly that the school of business is experiencing a significant number of problems hence calling for the need of change. This report recommends that all the organization should people should be taken through the process of change. Based on the alternative solutions offered by the report, this paper recommends that school of the business should adopt the following. Reduce the amount salary paid to the employees under the department of economics. This will help to resolve the internal and silent conflict within the school of business. Second, the organization should be the school of business goal which will accommodate all other goals within the organization. Fourth, the hardworking employees should be motivated through promotion and increased competition. However, despite the basic competition, all other employees should be recognized based on their performance. Implementation Kotter (1995) argued that organization change can be implemented by observing eight step change model. The eight steps suggested by Kotter include the creation of need for change; coming up with change management team; establishing the change vision; ensuring that the organization key stakeholders are informed about the anticipated change; getting rid of any obstacles which may prevent the change from happening; develop short-term wins and finally integrate the aspect of change in the organization culture. Similarly, the school of business should follow this steps if it easy to establish effective and successful change. However, note that for change to effective it must be implemented in the short term, medium and long term phases. Short Term Implementation This phase puts emphasis on the immediate achievement of the short-term goals (Bennett Segerberg, 2012). In support Al-Haddad Kotnour (2015) acknowledged that short-term implementation is helpful in creating a path for both immediate and long-term implementation. The School of Business can undertake short-term implementation by changing the compensation system within the organization. Medium Implementation Medium implementation aims to test the peoples adoption to change (Amagoh, 2008). This is because the change is inclined within the people and thus they cannot be coerced to conform to the targeted change. The medium implementation of the School of Business should be focused on a period of one year. The management should focus on achieving the integration of the organization objectives into one objective. Long Term Implementation Once the change has successfully gone through the first two stages, it is an indication that the people have already accepted the change. The school of business should thus implement all the elements of change, and they are included in the organization culture. This means that the organization will incorporate the changes in its activities and operations. Conclusion Organizational change management is a critical aspect of any organization and should be taken with due care. This is because if it is not well implemented will result to people reverting to the old behavior. Therefore, instead of realization effective change, the results will be wastage of organizational resources. Even though the school of business was as a result of change for merging the three departments, it seems it had not achieved the final objective, and it was still in the process of change. The initiators of the change seemed not have a clear objective when they brought together the three departments. As a result, the anticipated change has resulted in the widespread problems. References Al-Haddad, S., Kotnour, T. (2015). Integrating the organizational change literature: a model for successful change. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 28(2), 234-262. Amagoh, F. (2008). Perspectives on Organizational Change: Systems and Complexity Theories. The Innovation Journal: The Public Sector Innovation Journal, 13(3), 1-14. Bennett, W. L., Segerberg, A. (2012). The logic of connective action. Information, Communication Society, 15(5), 739-768. By, R. (2012). Organisational Change Management: A critical review. Journal of Change Management, 5(4), 369-380. Diefenbach, T. (2006). Competing Perceptions and Business Models of Senior Managers in a Higher Education Institution. International Journal of Knowledge, Culture and Change, Management, 3(2), 12-49. Donald, R., Cooper, Pamela, S. S. (2011). Business Research Methods. New York: McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. John G. (2010). In praise of context. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 22(1), 31-49. Heeks, R. (2006). Implementing and managing e-government: An international text. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publication. Kotter, J. P. (1995). Leading Change: Why Transformation Efforts Fail. Harvard Business Review, 73(2), 59-67. Kotter, J. (2007). 'LeadingChange. HarvardBusinessReview, 85(1), 96à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ 103. Li, L. (2005). The Effects of Trust and Shared Vision on Inward Knowledge Transfer In Subsidiaries Intra and Inter-Organizational Relationships. International Business Review, 14(5), 23-49. Pieterse, J. H., Marjolein, C. J., Homan, T. (2012). Professional discourses and resistance to change. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 25(6), 798 - 818. Samuel, K. (2013). The Effects of Change Management in an Organisation: A Case Study of National University of Rwanda (NUR). Wyno Journal of Management Business Studies, 1(1), 1-18. Suresh, H. (2001). Change Management Must for todays Organization. Coimbatore: Think Business Networks Pvt. Ltd.

What could be said to be the deeper meaning or implicit message of An Inspector Calls Essay Example For Students

What could be said to be the deeper meaning or implicit message of An Inspector Calls Essay An allegory is a story in which the meaning of the message is described using symbolism. An Inspector Calls can be described as an Allegory because of J. B Priestlys attempt to put his socialist views across within the text. He does this through a variety of sources particularly the time period in which the play is set and the attitudes of the characters. The play is set in 1912, two years before World War One and in the same year as the sinking of the Titanic . This date is symbolic as the play is written in hindsight, this gives Priestly the chance to use dramatic irony. We will write a custom essay on What could be said to be the deeper meaning or implicit message of An Inspector Calls specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now The characters which are the major cause of symbolism within the play. All of the characters must be examined on two levels. At face value, that is to say the level at which one is present just from a cursory reading of the play, and at the symbolic level that can be discovered upon closer examination of the text. Mr Birling is described in the opening stage direction as being a heavy looking, rather portentous man in his middle fifties with fairly easy manners and rather provincial in his speech. He is the head of the family and as such believes that he deserves respect. From his speech it would appear that he earned his wealth rather than inheriting it, it also appears that his wife is his social superior. This is aptly demonstrated through his lack of knowledge of basic etiquette, particularly when he complements his servants when visitors are around, and is he swiftly rebuked by his wife Birling: Good dinner too, sybil tell the cook from me. Mrs. Birling: Arthur your not supposed to say such things Symbolically Birling represents capitalism and all that is abhorrent about it. Priestly goes to great lengths in the play to make Birling look stupid, He uses dramatic irony to achieve this effect. Birling says that the Titanic is absolutely unsinkable and that there is no chance of war. Seen as the text was written in 1945 the events that Birling was decrying had all ready taken place. Therefore the audience see this as stupidity, thus achieving Priestlys aim to degenerate capitalism. Mrs Birling is described in the initial stage direction as being about 50, a rather cold woman and her husbands social superior. Throughout the text her demeanour demonstrates this particularly in the above incident with Mr Birling. She seems to be in complete control Sheila, when Gerald asks her questions Mrs Birling will answer for her. She also likes to believe that she is in complete control of her perfect family. This illusion is shattered however late on in the text when the truth about Erics drinking is revealed. She is also a hypocrite as when the inspector informs her of the fate of Daisy Renton/ Eva Smith after she made a claim to her charitable organisation, she claims that the father should be responsible for the support of the woman. and make sure you take some steps in public his responsibility. However this all makes an abrupt about turn when it becomes evident that Eric is the father of the unborn child. She also admits being prejudiced against Eva Smiths claim because of the fact that she applied using the name Mrs. Birling. She said that she was only doing her duty by refusing to give money to the girl . Mrs Birling is a difficult symbol to fathom as she could stand for so many things and yet still stand for nothing. from what I can fathom Mrs Birling represents the upper-middle class old money. She is shown to be a hypocrite by Priestly, particularly in the incident with Eric at the end of act 2. She also appears to be extremely controlling of Sheila, for instance when Sheila is choosing a dress at Milwards, she tries to council her against it in the plainest of terms and mother said that it was quite unsuitable. Sheila is described in the stage direction as being a pretty girl in her early twenties, very pleased with life and rather excited. At the beginning of the text she appears to be a stereotypical spoilt rich girl. .uf4b86be98c5a915e57f10090ea85badf , .uf4b86be98c5a915e57f10090ea85badf .postImageUrl , .uf4b86be98c5a915e57f10090ea85badf .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .uf4b86be98c5a915e57f10090ea85badf , .uf4b86be98c5a915e57f10090ea85badf:hover , .uf4b86be98c5a915e57f10090ea85badf:visited , .uf4b86be98c5a915e57f10090ea85badf:active { border:0!important; } .uf4b86be98c5a915e57f10090ea85badf .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .uf4b86be98c5a915e57f10090ea85badf { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .uf4b86be98c5a915e57f10090ea85badf:active , .uf4b86be98c5a915e57f10090ea85badf:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .uf4b86be98c5a915e57f10090ea85badf .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .uf4b86be98c5a915e57f10090ea85badf .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .uf4b86be98c5a915e57f10090ea85badf .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .uf4b86be98c5a915e57f10090ea85badf .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .uf4b86be98c5a915e57f10090ea85badf:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .uf4b86be98c5a915e57f10090ea85badf .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .uf4b86be98c5a915e57f10090ea85badf .uf4b86be98c5a915e57f10090ea85badf-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .uf4b86be98c5a915e57f10090ea85badf:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Examine Juliet's relationship with her parents EssayShe is obsessed with appearances on the surface as demonstrated when the inspector is describing the Eva Smith affair and Sheilas first questions is pretty? . She also does not have the same standards of English usage as her mother as she uses slang on a number of occasions, she refers to Eric as being squiffy. However later on in the text she begins to swing around to the inspectors point of view. She begins to feel compassion for Eva Smith. She shows remorse for her treatment of her, after her supposed slight on Sheilas dress sense, if I could help her now I would.. . Sheila, along with Eric, appears to be the only one who is genuinely remorseful for the familys behaviour. She thinks that her family are wrong to believe that so nothing really happened. behaving just like we did. I think that Priestly was using the character of Sheila to represent the younger generation. He believes that the course of the world can be changed only by the young, those who are more open and accepting of new ideas, rather than their parents who are more conservative. Eric is described in the opening stage direction as being in his early twenties, not quite at ease, half shy, half assertive. He is brother to Sheila and in approximately the same age bracket and as such shares many of the same characteristics. He admits that he was wrong in his treatment of the girl, when the inspector tells him to remember what you did Eric quickly replies in a guilty tone Im not likely to. Eric, I believe, represents the young generation. He could be said to be a victim of his class, because of his treatment of Eva. He is much the same character as Sheila on the symbolic level, the only real difference being that he is male and thus Priestly can represent both side of the young generation in the same play. However he is a weaker character than Sheila because he takes he lead from her in all the statements he makes in support of the Inspector. Gerald is the last character to be examined that was actually present at the Birlings celebratory dinner. Described in the stage direction as an attractive chap about thirty, rather too manly to be a dandy but very much the easy-well bred young-man-about-town. Gerald is marrying Sheila but from even a cursory reading of the text you get the impression that it is not necessarily a match purely based on desire. When Mr. Birling makes his speech he sets great store by Crofts and Birlings working together striving for lower costs and higher prices to which Gerald replies hear hear and Im sure my father would approve this all makes it seem as though the match is purely for business reasons and not for the couple themselves. Gerald met Eva Smith after she had left Milwards. She had changed her name to Daisy Renton and was working as a prostitute. Gerald saved her and kept her in his home and paid her way. Gerald was the person who was nicest to Eva Smith because he didnt really do her any harm. I think that he is used to represent a member of the younger generation who has already been swung by the opinions of his parents and their peers. Gerald, when he arrives back from his evening walk at the end of the play points out that he has discovered that there is no Inspector Goole on the police force. All in all he is just like Mr and Mrs. Birling in character, he holds the same values and is mostly motivated by money, he is therefore representative of the new breed of young capitalists who take on their parents values without any problem whatsoever. He is too comfortable in his lifestyle to change at the end of the play, and as he discovers that the Inspector is not a real policeman gives him the perfect excuse not to. The final character to be examined is that of Eva Smith. Eva Smith is not described in the stage direction because she is not present at the Birlings soiree. We only get a vague idea about Eva Smiths character but they are interesting glimpses. we are first introduced to her by the inspector once he arrives. Her does not describe her, in fact the only descriptions we ever get are very pretty and deep brown eyes. .u9f3a68ccaf8b4792f1441f7570d1e2c4 , .u9f3a68ccaf8b4792f1441f7570d1e2c4 .postImageUrl , .u9f3a68ccaf8b4792f1441f7570d1e2c4 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u9f3a68ccaf8b4792f1441f7570d1e2c4 , .u9f3a68ccaf8b4792f1441f7570d1e2c4:hover , .u9f3a68ccaf8b4792f1441f7570d1e2c4:visited , .u9f3a68ccaf8b4792f1441f7570d1e2c4:active { border:0!important; } .u9f3a68ccaf8b4792f1441f7570d1e2c4 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u9f3a68ccaf8b4792f1441f7570d1e2c4 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u9f3a68ccaf8b4792f1441f7570d1e2c4:active , .u9f3a68ccaf8b4792f1441f7570d1e2c4:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u9f3a68ccaf8b4792f1441f7570d1e2c4 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u9f3a68ccaf8b4792f1441f7570d1e2c4 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u9f3a68ccaf8b4792f1441f7570d1e2c4 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u9f3a68ccaf8b4792f1441f7570d1e2c4 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u9f3a68ccaf8b4792f1441f7570d1e2c4:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u9f3a68ccaf8b4792f1441f7570d1e2c4 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u9f3a68ccaf8b4792f1441f7570d1e2c4 .u9f3a68ccaf8b4792f1441f7570d1e2c4-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u9f3a68ccaf8b4792f1441f7570d1e2c4:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: The dramatic devices EssayShe appears to be an independently minded character as she was classed as the ringleader of the strike at Birlings. She was also described by Sheila as being very pretty and looked as though she could take care of herself. I think that Eva Smith is a symbol that represents all working class people who are being exploited by their capitalist bosses. She is a symbol of Priestlys views on the mistreatment of workers. The inspector, is he real or not and is not does it really matter. These questions pervade the final few pages of act 3, during which the whole family is involved in a great debate about it. The first person to put the question forward is Sheila Was he really a police inspector. after which all the characters of the play state the opinion that he is not. This is reinforced in two ways. First when Gerald first returns he states that that man wasnt a police inspector he then continues to validate this by saying I met a police sergeant I knew. on the force here. After this Birling again strengthens this belief by ringing the chief inspector , after which he announces there is no Inspector Goole on the police.. weve been had. All this establishes that the inspector isnt real, but the question remains. If he isnt real then who is he? Eric describes him as one of the cranks (meaning socialists) which Birling refers to at the beginning of the play. This would suggest that the Inspector was a friend or colleague of Eva Smiths sent to aggravate the Birlings. However I think that a more plausible explanation is defined by the inspectors name Goole. This would insinuate that the inspector was a spirit. Perhaps he is the spirit of justice, the ultimate inspector. Perhaps not but I dont think that it matters whether he is real or not as Sheila said He inspected us alright in other words he still made the younger Birlings realise that their behaviour previous to his visit had been inappropriate and abusive of their position. This all ties in with Priestlys believe of the hope for the future lying in the younger generation. John Boynten Priestly was born in Bradford in 1894. His father was a teacher and he grew up in a middle class circle of friends. He worked as a wool clerk before the war. Once the war broke out Priestly joined up almost immediately. He was wounded in action on the Somme, his was cited in dispatches for his valour. He spent a number of months at home recuperating but once able he re-enlisted almost immediately. He was again wounded, gassed and buried alive by a German shell. These experiences had a profound affect upon him and his writing style. He was appalled by the lack of concern from the aristocratic generals in sending working class battalions over the top. He became a socialist on his return to Britain. He completed a degree at Cambridge and set to work as a journalist. These experiences all created the attitude which was portrayed in An Inspector calls. He felt that it was not fair that working class people could not get the education and opportunities that the higher classes could receive. Priestlys main aims in an inspector calls were to highlight the gross exploitation of the poor by the upper classes. To sum up I believe that it would be true to say that An Inspector Calls is an allegorical play. I think that the main meaning of An inspector calls is that of caution for the upper classes, Priestly is saying that they must change their behaviour otherwise they will be Inspected as the Birlings were.

The Irony in Tell the Truth But Tell it Slant by Emily Dickenson.

The Irony in Tell the Truth But Tell it Slant by Emily Dickenson. The irony cannot be missed in Emily Dickenson's poem "Tell the Truth But Tell it Slant". This poem is read like a church hymn, advising the reader to not exactly tell the blunt truth if asked. Thus, in the cadence of very familiar moving religious tunes, Dickinson implores one to tell the truth, but to give it an angle that makes it more palatable to the listener. Dickinson either wished to dramatically touch the spiritual side of the individual as he read the poem, or she was totally irreverent concerning religion. Either interpretation serves to get the message across. Dickinson believes that most individuals do not possess the ability to handle truth with grace. Truth hurts. An example in its simplest form could be described as follows. An individual wishing to tell a significant other "I am sick of you! I do NOT want to date you anymore!" will find the message accepted more readily, and handled with more dignity if, in the telling, the truth is couched in a little white lie.Angie Dickinson"I don't deserve a wonderful person like you; I could not ever be good enough for you, and since you ought to have someone much better than me; I am going to step out of your life and allow you to find someone more worthy of your wonderful qualities." The truth, put into a sugar coated "line," is less emotionally damaging and the receiver of the bad news will possibly remain more composed and self confident than hearing the truth. Therefore, the truth, bent, is less harsh to the listener. Truth is personified, giving it a life of its own in Dickinson's poem. The irony of a hymn-like poem suggesting the "darker edge of truth" gives an eerie quality to the very honesty...

The Email Outreach Plan Ian Cleary Uses to Build Relationships + Links

The Email Outreach Plan Ian Cleary Uses to Build Relationships + Links Do you open your Inbox only to see several emails asking for the same thing? To link to someone else’s content? Instantly, you move them to the Trash folder. Email outreach can actually work and complement your inbound marketing efforts. But your emails need to not be anything like the random ones that you throw away. Today, we’re talking to Ian Cleary of RazorSocial and OutreachPlus. He is an amazing inbound marketer, who has discovered that complementing inbound tactics with outbound email outreach can help you build relationships, increase brand authority, and boost your backlink profile. To do it well, you need to think about personalized connections, providing value to them, and starting small. Everything you will learn about email outreach from Ian is pure gold. It works, and it can help you reach your goals. Definition of Email Outreach: An email outreach tool helps you reach out to subscribers, a new audience, a smaller audience, or a group of influencers Send highly personalized emails to promote content or generate leads Benefits of email outreach include building your brand, driving relevant traffic to your site, promoting your content, and growing your authority Cold email outreach works by with highly personalized, relevant, and very targeted emails Provide something of value; deliver brief, quality content Conduct research to make sure you are reaching out to the right target audience Don’t think about selling, but about starting a conversation Ways to find influencers and build relationships, develop relevancy Following Up: Send two emails and then stop; don’t be annoying or damage relationships Outreach Criteria: Look for opportunities to engage and interact with Websites with a higher authority to get valuable links Tactics that work to complement outreach efforts include getting onto social media, sharing content, and looking for opportunities to interact; when reaching out, reference conversation, interaction, or piece of content Highest converting outreach for Ian is guest posting; invite people to be a part of the blogs you’re writing When getting started with email outreach start small, build the skill, and get better at it over time to be successful Links: RazorSocial OutreachPlus How to Find Influencers with a Framework for Measuring Influence Twitonomy GroupHigh Write and send a review to receive a care package If you liked today’s show, please subscribe on iTunes to The Actionable Marketing Podcast! The podcast is also available on SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Quotes by Ian Cleary: â€Å"Ive done a lot of outreach reaching out to people to build relationships, to build links to my content, do a lot of promotional content.† â€Å"I think nowadays, you need to do inbound and outbound–its crucial to do both. Email outreach is where youre reaching out by email.† â€Å"I say do a small number of emails, highly personalized, and very targeted. Do your research to make sure its very relevant.†

Whole Grain Food Choice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Whole Grain Food Choice - Essay Example Amanda (2014) indicates that USDA recommends individuals to consume grains daily and at least half of the grains should be whole grains. Unless one is experiencing non-celiac gluten sensitivity, this article depicts that an individual should not miss the health benefits of eating whole grains. Some of the notable benefits of whole grains as outlined by this article include getting adequate fiber, vitamins, a variety of phytochemicals, and minerals. A Vital aspect to note is that whole grains have the original parts of the kernel which include bran, endosperm, and germ. This article indicates that whole grain lower blood pressure, which is a major factor for heart diseases. As compared to refined food, Amanda argues that whole food helps individual’s blood glucose from rising, thus reducing the risks of getting type 2 diabetes. For example, a study indicated that by taking one-third of serving cooked white rice per day for brown rice, the risks of type 2 diabetes is reduced by 16%. Reference no. 2: WebMD. Tips for Reaping the Benefits of Whole Grains This article indicates that whole grains diet has positive implications on bowel health due to the regular bowel movements and promotion of healthy bacteria in the colon. Despite the importance of whole food in consumers’ bodies, WebMD indicates that only 10% of Americans consume three servings a day, which is the recommended level. This is due to the fact that it is somehow challenging to tell just which foods are whole grains.

Walmart Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Walmart - Article Example Wal-Mart purchases directly from the manufacturer. This coupled with the effective use of technology and warehousing strategies, Wal-Mart is able to provide its customers with quality products at competitive prices. Such decisions made by companies, which help them gain a competitive edge against their rivals in the market are termed strategic decisions. These decisions involve some degree of innovation and thus, help companies gain advantages which are sustainable (Hayden et al, 4). One of the key components of Wal-Mart’s business model is its human resource. The company has a frugal culture yet the working environment is pleasant. The employees are called associates as opposed to employees. An associates’ well being is of high priority for the management. There is no concept of work-union, as the company takes care of associates’ needs and demands. The promotion criterion for managers is dependent upon the profits made by their particular outlet; thus, it leads to maximum work efficiency. In order to inculcate spirit of competitiveness, the stores are not only encouraged to compete with other retail franchises, but also amongst themselves. The organization is well equipped with the latest technological innovations, which are like real time market research, satellite system and store performance tracking. In addition to this Wal-Mart is very particular about its logistic partnerships with various vendors from around the world. Low cost logistics are the reason why Wal-Mart has its present competitive edge. Thus, the company pays special attention to its procurement process (Canak, 5). Over the years Wal-Mart has thrived by using a number of various different factors to its advantage. This includes a business model which till date is a mystery to those outside the organization. The company is also very good at hiding its deficiencies and covering its faults. Thus, it provides an example of organisational model to the competitors seems which virtually seems flawless and is overall very efficient and effective. Such effective strategies by the company, has made it one of largest retailers of America. Wal-Mart follows three fundamental and generic strategies - Focus Strategy, Differentiation Strategy and Cost Leadership. Wal-Mart started its operations by opening large stores in small shops (Canak, 5). At that time, all the other companies focused their efforts and resources on large metropolitan cities. However, Wal-Mart saw a gap and thus, capitalized on it by opening stores in small towns, not only did the company had a monopoly, but also had to pay low rental costs and goods were available at cheap local prices. Wal-Mart aims to not only provide products at low prices, but also provide unique and differentiated products to its consumers. The store’s USP is high quality products at lowest possible prices. This is one strategy that Wal-Mart has followed since the very beginning and plans to follow for its future strategic plans as well. It order to reduce its product cost, the company streamline its procurement process by getting products manufactured from different parts of the world. This reduces the production costs and thus, the eventual end price of a product (Hayden et al 12). High inflation has plagued the world over the past few years. Even though countries have found their way out of the recession, high economic inflation is still a problem. Wal-Mart plans to provide goods at affordable

Affirmative Action Essay Example for Free

Affirmative Action Essay Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, â€Å"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.† This statement will always ring true especially on the subject of equal opportunity when it comes to employment and education here in the United States. It’s no secret that equality has been something America has always lacked, but at the same time has always been something America stood for. In fact it can be easily inferred that equality among all men has been something America has stride for since it gained independence from the British in 1776. Our founding fathers were the first to have this initial thought, that being best portrayed in the declaration of independence, which state’s We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.(qtd. In declaration of independence) To me this means our founding fathers believed that every man from birth has the god given right to a life of liberty and the pursuit of happiness, but somewhere during Americas journey as a country it forgot it’s true creed and became it’s own tyrant preventing people from reaching their full potential while also denying it’s own citizens liberty and a pursuit to happiness. And although achieving equality in this country has been nothing short of easy with countless set backs and hypocritical ideas, equality among all its citizens is still something America does strides for, and nothing brings you direct equality quit like Affirmative Action does. If you consider affirmative action for its intentional purposes than Affirmative Action is very just, its purpose being to equalize the education and economic gap between minorities and causations. Although it is not a perfect method to achieving equality in this country, it is essential to accept it for why it’s been put into place and that it is all part of a process. Of course affirmative action is far from perfect and has a fair deal of problems, like promoting reverse discrimination while backing up negative stereotypes. I researched all of these aspects while pondering the question â€Å"is affirmative action still needed in today’s society?† In this paper I will be explaining what affirmative action is. The History behind affirmative action like how it all unfolded, who made it, and the history as to why it is in effect now. I will also list some pros and cons of affirmative action, how the United States could better affirmative action for the future and f inally a conclusion, which is my opinion on the topic. But what exactly is Affrimative action? Born of the civil rights movement three decades ago, affirmative action calls for minorities and women to be given special consideration in employment and education acceptance decisions. Universities with affirmative action policies generally set goals to increase diversity. Affirmative action decisions are generally not supposed to be based on quotas, nor are they supposed to give any preference to unqualified candidates. And by no means is affirmative action supposed to harm anyone through reverse discrimination. The purpose was to create equal opportunity for the people who had been unjustly treated in the past. It was set out to correct this wrong, and make it right. But at the same time too often is Affrimative action is looked upon as a solution for a nation once ill with, but now cured of, the evil disease of racial discrimination. Some would say Affirmative action is, and should be seen as, a temporary, partial, and perhaps even flawed cure for past and continuing discrimination. But all in all affirmative action is defined as â€Å"The positive steps taken to increase the representation of women and minorities in areas of employment, education, and business from which they have been historically excluded. When those steps involve preferential selection—selection on the basis of race, gender, or ethnicity† (Fullinwider) Of course affirmative action has a very deep history to it, and to why it was put into place. Now that you understand the purpose for which it was made, le t me explain who made it and why affirmative action was created. The history of Affirmative action, the first step in affirmative action was the creation of it. President John F. Kennedy first introduced it in 1961. The following is in sections to show the timeline of affirmative action in the begging stages of its creation: * March 6, 1961 Executive Order 10925 makes the first reference to affirmative action (Timeline) President John F. Kennedy issues Executive Order 10925, which creates the Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity and mandates that projects financed with federal funds take affirmative action to ensure that hiring and employment practices are free of racial bias. * July 2, 1964 Civil Rights Act signed by President Lyndon Johnson The most sweeping civil rights legislation since Reconstruction, the Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination of all kinds based on race, color, religion, or national origin. (Timeline) * June 4, 1965 Speech defining concept of affirmative action In an eloquent speech to the graduating class at Howard University, President Johnson frames the concept underlying affirmative action, asserting that civil rights laws alone are not enough to remedy discrimination: You do not wipe away the scars of centuries by saying: now, you are free to go where you want, do as you desire, and choose the leaders you please. You do not take a man who for years has been hobbled by chains, liberate him, bring him to the starting line of a race, saying, you are free to compete with all the others, and still justly believe you have been completely fair . . . This is the next and more profound stage of the battle for civil rights. We seek not just freedom but opportunity—not just legal equity but human ability—not just equality as a right and a theory, but equality as a fact and as a result. (Timeline) * Sept. 24,1965 Executive Order 11246 enforces affirmative action for the first time (Timeline) Issued by President Johnson, the executive order requires government contractors to take affirmative action toward prospective minority employees in all aspects of hiring and employment. The rest of the affirmative actions timeline from here on out is mainly just Supreme Court cases, which can help define what exactly it can do and what exactly it can’t do. * In the 1978 Supreme Court case University of California vs. Bakke, a white male named Allan Bakke claimed reverse discrimination because he was rejected twice from medical school while less-qualified minority students were admitted to fill a quota that required 18 out of every 100 places be filled with minorities. The Supreme Court ruled against inflexible quota systems, but did not outlaw affirmative action as a whole.(Timeline) Most of the lawsuits were against Universities since many universities also adopted affirmative action programs in the 1970s. These programs were aimed at increasing black enrollment and the number of black faculty. None more notable then Jenifer Gatz law suit again the University of Michigan â€Å"Gratz vs. Bollinger and Grutter vs. Bollinger.† It ruled that affirmative action fulfills a compelling interest in obtaining the educational benefits that flow from a diverse student body. The purpose of affirmative action policy shifted from redressing injustice to promoting values of diversity. But even after all these deciding cases on affirmative action it’s still a heated matter of dispute. After much legislation and many Supreme Court decisions, affirmative action continues to be controversial (Legal History, Ongoing Debates section, para. 1). These controversies lead to questions, which can only be answered by understanding why affirmative action was put into effect in the first place. It is important to remember affirmative action is still a work in progress to achieve something much bigger than any one individual. People tend to forget that and the history to why affirmative action was put into place. It cannot be denied that Americas history is full of mistreatment of minority individuals. Women did not have a chance to vote for nearly a century and half after the birth of the country. African Americans were captured and forced into slavery, Although the Thirteenth Amendment ended institutionalized slavery in the United States in 1865, African Americans were not treated equal to whites in the eyes of the law for nearly another century, they were considered only one third of citizen. So with the two hundred years of slavery coming to an abrupt end a new regime or prejudices was to come into effect. Of course even after the end of slavery African Americans were consistently denied employment, housing, and education. In the south discrimination was a daily routine supported by â€Å"Jim Crow laws.†(Affirmative action) Unjust social statues and norms were passed in the 1800s that establish separate, inferior, public facilities, schools, waiting rooms, railways cars, and restrooms for African Americans through out the country. This has caused a domino effect on our society that still seen today. Those outrageous social norms were practiced in America until late in the civil rights movement when president JFK finally acknowledged the struggle for equality and the idea of Affirmative Action was born. After President Kennedy’s assignation, President Lyndon B. Johnson passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It banned discrimination on the basis of race, national origin, and sex in the areas of employment, public facilities, and government programs. The idea of equality in America, that every man is created equally was slowly and surly becoming more realistic, due largely to Martin Luther Kings efforts. Here are Dr. King’s own words on the idea of Affirmative action from his 1963 book â€Å"why cant we wait† King states: â€Å"Among the many vital jobs to be done, the nation must not only radically readjust its attitude toward the Negro in the compelling present, but must incorporate in its planning some compensatory consideration for the handicaps he has inherited from the past. It is impossible to create a formula for the future which does not take into account that our society has been doing something special against the Negro for hundreds of years. How then can he be absorbed into the mainstream of American life if we do not do something special for him now, in order to balance the equation and equip him to compete on a just and equal basis?† – Martin Luther King J.R (Wise) In his 1967 book, Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community? King argued: A society that has done something special against the Negro for hundreds of years must now do something special for him, to equip him to compete on a just and equal basis.(wise) Continuing: â€Å"†¦for Two centuries the Negro was enslaved and robbed of any wages: potential accrued wealth which would have been the legacy of his descendants. All of Americas wealth could not adequately compensate its Negroes for his centuries of exploitation and humiliation. It is an economic fact that a program such as I propose would certainly cost far less than any computation of two centuries of unpaid wages plus accumulated interest. In any case, I do not intend that this program of economic aid should apply only to the Negro: it should benefit the disadvantaged of all races.†- Martin Luther King J.R (Wise) It is clear that these are some of the reasons why Martin Luther King J.R and others thought affirmative action should be and eventually was put into effect. A large part as to why affirmative action is in effect is so Compensation can be made to those who are at a disadvantage due to past racial biases and predjedism. You should now have a better idea as to what exactly affirmative action is, what it’s intentions are, the history behind who made it and the deeper history as to why it is still in effect and why it was originally put into effect. Affirmative action is however a major controversy in the United States, ever since it’s beginning, the concept of affirmative action raised difficult questions. â€Å"Many civil rights activists see affirmative action as a necessary step in achieving equality for groups that had faced discrimination in the past. However, critics of affirmative action argued that individuals should be treated on their own merits without regard to color, national origin, or sex.†(Affirmative Action) The Benefits of Affirmative Action â€Å"The one benefit of affirmative action is to correct past discriminations such as the mistreatment of women and slavery. This remedial justification of affirmative action recognizes that wrongs have been committed in the past and acknowledges a moral obligation to set things right† (Affirmative Action Pros and Cons, The Origins Of, Legal Treatment Of, Political and Social Debates, The Future, Pros and Cons section, para. 1). It is important for injustices to be redressed. â€Å"Slavery and institutionalized racism have not been redressed yet in America and around the world. In order for justice to be served, it is necessary for the main losers of racism in America (African Americans) to be compensated for their loses through affirmative action.† (Affirmative Action) And affirmative action does just that, not in the sense of giving physical money, but through opportunities in education and in life. The following are the benefits affirmative action provides: Affirmative action has provided many opportunities for students from diverse backgrounds and income levels who ordinarily would not be considered for admission to colleges and universities. This means that the pool of talent coming out of the higher education system is larger and better able to contribute as productive members of the workforce. Affirmative action has had a profound effect on employment hiring and promoting practices. Historically, â€Å"close to 90% of all jobs are filled without being advertised, with the majority of positions going to friends, relatives, or acquaintances of company employees.†(Wise) This is often the case with a lot of jobs. Unfortunately it can boil down to whom one knows not what they know. The result of this practice is that employers often end up with employees who are not the best person for the job if it were properly advertised. Affirmative action has encouraged many companies to engage in employment practices that set minimum standards of job definition, recruiting, outreach, and evaluation that result in choosing the right person for the job. Finding the right person for the job or the promotion is critical in letting business efficiently utilize the workforce and allow each person to reach his or her full potential. Diversity in itself is desirable, it has been since the birth of this country, but it won’t always occur if left to chance. But when affirmative action is working like its initial purpose was intended too miraculous things can happen, and there are good facts to back that up. â€Å"Between 1981 and 2001, the total number of degrees awarded to Native Americans rose by 151.9% because of affirmative action policies.† (Patterns) Also, from â€Å"1982 to 1995, there has been an increase in the percent of black managers from 5 to 7 percent. Hispanics have shown a 3 percent increase from 5 percent in 1982.†(Patterns) Affirmative Action has been successful in providing minorities with opportunities. â€Å"At the same time a recent study has shown a person with a white sounding name has a 50% more change of getting a call back from a interview than those with black sounding name even when qualifications are indistinguishable.† (Tim Wise) Again equality is desirable but it won’t always occur if left to chance. â€Å"Eliminating affirmative action can lead to the re-segregation of higher education. When affirmative action was outlawed at the University of Texas in 1995, the number of black students at the UT Law School dropped from 65 in 1996 to 11 in 1997 and Latino student enrollments have been cut in half since the decision.† (Patterns) this isn’t necessarily a pro, but interesting enough. With affirmative action being banned in Texas the number of white students also dramatically increased while the number of Asians skyrocketed. I guess the best-qualified applicants where accepted. Here is a statistics that shows why affirmative action is still needed. For â€Å"every dollar earned by men, women earn 74 cents, African American women earn 63 cents and Latina women earn 57 cents.† (Patterns) This unjust statistics will continue with out the help of something like affirmative action. It is the reality inequalities like this that suggest maybe affirmative action should be left alone till equality is fully reached or a better solution is thought of.