Pay for Performance Best Practices Essay Example for Free

Pay for Performance Best Practices Essay Best practice can be defined as an idea that suggests that there is some sort of technique, method, process, incentive or reward which is considered to be more useful at producing the desired outcome or result for the company than any other technique, method or a reward etc. The performance best practice is mostly done through checklists or rating scales etc. so that the desired outcome can be achieved with fewer problems and complications. (Tech Target, 2008) Compensation When talking about compensation best practice what comes to mind is incentives and gain sharing of the employees. Compensation can be defined as what the employees of the company receive in exchange for their contribution to the company. When they are managed correctly, it helps the company to achieve its targeted goals and objectives and the company is able to obtain, maintain and retain a productive workforce. Without the right kind of compensation, the current employees of the company are very likely to leave and the company will have a difficult time in replacing and the training the employees for that job. The outcomes due to pay dissatisfaction can be very harmful to productivity and can disrupt the quality of work life. If worse comes to worst, pay dissatisfaction can reduce the performance of the employees, which in return may lead to strikes which will cause grievances and that will lead to physical or psychological withdrawal ranging from absenteeism and turnover and it would also increase poor mental health of the employees. (DRMR, n. d) But it must be remembered that overpayment can also cause harm to a company and its employees. The affects of overpayment will decrease the company’s competitiveness and it will lead to anxiety, guilt and discomfort among many employees. The human resource department can contribute to the organization’s strategic objectives through the company’s compensation program. When it us seen that wages and salaries are linked with ‘pay for knowledge’ and ‘pay for skill’ the employees will have an incentive to pursue vocational training. Vocational training can be defined as training for a specific part of a work activity. For example, Dunkin’ Donuts mostly benefits from having better trained workers, who are more productive. The result of linking compensation to continuous learning is a perpetual learning machine that furthers an organization’s strategy. Compensation is not only a way to align performance with strategy. Human resource planning, recruiting, selecting, placement, development, performance appraisals and career planning are also considered in individual efforts and company strategy. But unlike the recruiting and developing activities, compensation programs can be quickly modified and linked with new strategies of the company. (Werther Davis, 1996) Strategic Objectives Strategy can be defined as a set of decisions and actions that are used to formulate and implement strategies that will provide a competitively superior fit between the organization and its environment so as to achieve the stated goals and objectives of the company. Strategy basically shows that where is the organization standing in the market? Or where does the organization wants to be in the next 5 years? It is with the help of strategy that the executives of the company define an overall direction for the company. The strategy if the company is based on growth, entrenchment and stability. The strategic analysis begins when the executives of the company evaluate the current position of the company with respect to the mission, goals and strategies. The executives scan the company’s internal and external environment and identify the strategic factors that require change. The internal and the external environment may show a need to redefine the mission or goals or to formulate a new strategy for the company at either corporate, business or functional level of the organization. (Fullmer, 1983) Dunkin’ Donuts specializes in the provision of doughnuts and beverages. Dunkin’ Donuts client and customers are mostly based of average income households. The company has established itself as one of the most formidable forces in the restaurant business. However, this does not undermine the fact that the company still has a lot to learn from other competitors in the industry. Job Analysis and Evaluation It is a known fact that job analysis collects information about jobs through surveys, observations and discussions among the workers and supervisors, to produce job and positions descriptions. With job analysis information as a part of the department’s HR information system, compensation analysts have the minimum information needed to evaluate the work activities of their employees. Job evaluations are steps and procedures that help to identify the relative worth of jobs or work activities. There are different kinds of approaches to the evaluation of a job; these approaches consider the responsibility of the employee, skills that are needed for the job, efforts done by the employee and the working conditions related to the job. Without job evaluation the HR department would not be able to create a rational approach to pay. The most common methods for job evaluation that helps with a compensation plan are job ranking, job grading system, factor compensation and the point system. The Point System The methods that I would be suggesting for Dunkin’ Donuts would be the point system. Why? Because this system evaluates the compensation factors for each job instead of using wages as the factor comparison does, this method uses points and it is more easy to use and it’s not filled with complication plus this method is most commonly used by most companies when they are evaluating their employees. This method is slightly hard to create in the initial stage, but it is more precise than any other method because it is able to handle critical, compensable factors in more detail. This system is based on six steps and theses steps are usually implemented by a job evaluation committee or by an individual HR analyst. The steps are as follows:- Step 1 is the, determine critical factor stage. The point system uses the factors which are mostly used in the factor comparison method but it mostly adds more detail by breaking down the factors into sub factors for example, responsibility can be broken down into safety for others, equipment and materials, assisting trainees and product or service quality. Step 2 is the, determine the levels of factors stage. In this stage the amount of responsibility or any other factor like skill may vary from job to job. The point system actually creates different kinds of levels which are associated with each other. This level actually helps the HR analyst to reward different degrees of responsibility, skills and other critical factors. Step 3 is the, allocate points to the sub factor stage where the factors list down to one side. And the levels are placed across the top of the evaluation sheet; the result is a point system matrix. Starting with a level IV, the job evaluation committee subjectively assigns the maximum possible points to each sub factor. For example, if safety (75) is twice as important as assisting trainees (37), it gets twice as many points.

The Advantages and Disadvantages of Lean Six Sigma

The Advantages and Disadvantages of Lean Six Sigma 1. Introduction While businesses seek for ways to survive and also to remain competitive in a changing global environment, they either choose adopting business excellence models or continuous improvement philosophies to guide them in the journey of organisational excellence. Lean Six Sigma is a new breadth in the area of continuous improvement, which constitutes strengths and key focuses of Lean and Six Sigma approaches. The rest of the paper is organized as follows: section 2 provides an insight on the concepts Lean,Six Sigma and Lean Six Sigma. Then relevant examples of Lean Six Sigma in manufacturing and service sector will be presented in section 3.The advantages and disadvantages of Lean Six Sigma will be discussed in section 4. Lastly, an overall recap on the subject is done. 2. Literature review The objective of this section is to provide an insight of the Lean Six Sigma by briefly outlining the concepts behind Lean and Six Sigma, the two ingredients of this blend, along with their strengths and criticisms. 2.1 Lean Approach Lean manufacturing, developed by Toyota Motor Corporation in 1950s, has been adopted and adapted by many companies (Finch,2006). It then extended into a concept of Lean thinking that was introduced by Womack and Jones.The current state of Lean is called Lean enterprise that reaches beyond the shop floor and encompasses various departments within the organisation as a whole (Papadopoulou and Ozbayrak,2005). Dale (2007) defines Lean as a way of thinking, consisting of a set of methods and operating principles to identify and eliminate waste in business processes (Dale,2007,p.565). While for Ferguson (2007) Lean is a change that takes an organisation from where it currently stands and move to a desired state. Briefly, the objective of Lean is to eliminate all types of unnecessary waste by managing resources depending on customers needs and at the lowest possible costs (Andersson et al. 2006). In other words, doing more with less (Thomas,2009). Principles There are 5 principles of Lean; providing right product or service for the right price and time to customer,identification of value stream,smooth flow of processes,only customers demand trigger the action and lastly continuously improve to value stream in pursuit of perfection (Dale,2007). The first step when implementing Lean is to identify value-added and non-value added processes (Pepper and Spedding, 2009) by Value stream mapping(VMS) which is a qualitative analysis tool. Other tools and techniques from the Lean Toolkit such as Single Minute Exchange of Die, 5S, TPM etc. are used in order to achieve above-mentioned principles. Whereas, it should be noted that using these tools and techniques only, does not guarantee a Lean organisation (Bendell,2006). Criticism In the literature, there are many criticism topics on Lean where the most popular ones are about its universality and social aspects. It has long been argued that Lean is not flexible (Andersson et al.,2006) and not applicable to all environments but only to high volume-low variety (HVLV) operations. Authors like Arnheiter and Maleyeff (2005) define this view as one of the key misconceptions whereas Pepper and Spedding (2010) refer it as a limited success of Lean in their work. There is a common misconception caused by the misunderstanding of the concept that Lean means laying-off people (Arnheiter and Maleyeff,2005). However, Flinchbaugh (2001), Arnheiter and Maleyeff (2005) stress that Lean does not mean less people but using people in a smarter way. David Meier (2001) who is a Senior Lean Manufacturing Consultant, argues that Lean creates a stressful, uncomfortable environment due to sense of urgency while ensuring an immediate response to customers. On the other hand, Papadopoulou and Ozbayrak (2005), and Williams et al. (1992) take the opposite view. 2.2 Six Sigma Approach Six Sigma,which is developed by Motorola and popularised after the adoption of General Electric (Finch,2006) aims at value creation and improving the process through variation reduction (Dale et al,2007).Six Sigma inherits principles from TQM (Arnheiter and Maleyeff, 2005) while setting focus on customer satisfaction. In statistical terms, the goal is to achieve a defect rate of 3.4 per million (Pepper and Spedding,2010). This structured,top-down approach has a positive impact on business in monetary terms since it reduces risk and costs (Slack et al., 2006) especially related with scrap and rework. Due to realised benefits, many organisations have adopted Six Sigma today. Principles DMAIC(Design,Measure,Analysis,Improve and Control) is the most commonly used 5-stage methodology which is employed to achieve minimum defects and to reduce the variation throughout the processes in an organisation (Bhuiyan and Baghel,2005). The approach is on project basis and these projects are carried out by trained supervisors called Black belts and Green belts (Bendell,2006). Criticism Six Sigma has long been seen as a statistics-heavy, technical approach to process control (Pepper,Spedding, 2009, p.145). Bendell(2006) supports this view and criticises Six Sigma due to its tendency towards being a complex approach. The training of Black Belts and Green Belts is required in order to be able to use statistical tools and handle the projects effectively. Senapati (2004) mentions that these trainings and solutions to problems can be costly for many businesses. Bendell (2006) states that there is no formal link to policy deployment in Six Sigma. Since Six Sigma projects are chosen depending on their cost-effectiveness, it is possible for this cost-down approach dominates the primary customer driven focus. and may shift it to cost-down possible to be dominated by immediate cost down driver (Bendell,2006). 2.3 Similarities and Differences between Lean and Six Sigma: The point of intersection -overlapping areas(kà ¼me Ã…Å ¸ekli) The intersection point:Similarities-The area of convergence Both approaches have related operating philosophies,performance objectives,work focus,team approach and improvement focus (Watson,2003). Lean Six Sigma Since Lean Sigma or Lean Six Sigma (LSS) is a relatively new management trend, there is not much literature available comparing to the information and facts found about Lean and Six Sigma alone. Recently, many companies have started to combine continuous improvement programs together by utilising the best of each initiative to get an extensive and more effective program than individual programs (Bhuiyan and Baghel, 2005). Thus, Lean Six Sigma is evolved as a hybrid methodology that encompasses benefits from both Lean and Six Sigma (Bhuiyan and Baghel, 2005). Watson (2003) defines the merge between Lean and Six Sigma as a marriage of necessity. The objective of this integrated approach is boosting quality and reducing costs through elimination of waste and variation reduction (Kamensky,2008). The origins of Lean and Six Sigma come from different roots however they both have an aim of improving the processes of a business. It has been shown that the benefits achieved with LSS cannot be achieved when applying Lean or Six Sigma solely (Bhuiyan and Baghel, 2005). This data-driven approach enables sustainable competitive advantage if properly applied (Burgess,2009). In the report of John Maleyeff (2007) to IBM Business of Government, LSS is defined as: Lean Six Sigma encompasses many common features of Lean and Six Sigma such as an emphasis on customer satisfaction,a culture of continuous improvement,the search for root causes,and comprehensive employee involvement.In each case,a high degree of training and education takes place,from upper management to shop floor. It is now being realised by many businesses that Lean is more powerful and meaningful when combined with Six Sigma and vice versa (Watson,2003). Many businesses in both manufacturing and service sector including GlaxoSmithKline,Xerox and Dell turned to Lean Six Sigma and achieved significant benefits (Neuhaus and Guarraia,2007). There has to be a careful blend of Lean and Six Sigma that brings two extremes into equilibrium. One end is becoming too Lean thus being very responsive to the market whereas the other end is too much focus on reducing variation beyond the expectations of customers resulting in unnecessary resources being wasted to achieve zero variation (Pepper and Spedding 2010). The optimum point is where market share is maintained by creating sufficient value in the eyes of a customer and the process variation is kept inside acceptable levels to achieve lower costs without over-engineering (Pepper and Spedding 2010). Principles George (2002) states the principles of LSS as the activities that cause the customers critical-to-quality issues and create the longest time delays in any process offer the greatest opportunity for improvement in cost,quality,capital,and lead time. Focus is on customer needs as in Six Sigma and also on speed as in Lean, in order to be responsive to market by shortening lead times. It should be noted that there is no standard framework of LSS that businesses can take it and apply step by step for a specific problem. In other words, there is no one fit for all since it depends on the situation and also the environment within a company. Nevertheless, there have been some attempts regarding different ways of implementing LSS in the literature and industry. Some authors argue that it would be more effective when Lean is used as a first step smoothen the process by eliminating waste and then run the DMAIC cycle. Another view is to implement Lean tools within DMAIC cycle as it can be seen in the work of Kumar et al (2006). Thomas et al. (2009) also proposed a similar framework where basic Lean principles are integrated in each phase of DMAIC method. Criticism Since it is a new breadth in the area of management, LSS has become the target of criticism in the literature. Bendell (2006) suggests a single approach that effectively combines the two philosophies rather than an alleged combination (Pepper and Spedding,2010). Another criticism is about the compatibility of these two approaches. Mika (2006) argues that Six Sigma cannot be embraced by the workers in the shop floor since it requires an effective use of statistical tools and techniques unlike Lean. In contrast, George (2003) outlines several points that Lean compliments Six Sigma and vice versa. Furthermore, since LSS is an integration of two different approaches there is a possibility that one dominates other throughout implementation. Some authors and practitioners see this new continuous improvement initiative as the latest management fad. However, Westwood and Silvester (2007) argue that these approaches such as Six Sigma, Lean or Lean Six Sigma are not fads but they are vital for improving and sustaining competitive advantage. As opposed to views about the negative social aspects of LSS, Burgess (2009) strongly disagrees that it does not support creativity and turns people into robots mainly due to increased workload. It has been argued that the continuous improvement initiatives including LSS are not working well in small-to-medium-sized enterprises (SME) due to lack of critical success factors such as commitment from top management, lack of understanding of tools and techniques and lack of financial capability (Thomas et al. 2009). 3. Findings In this section, an attempt is made to present examples regarding the application of Lean Six Sigma in both manufacturing and service sectors. Manufacturing firms were the early adopters of LSS. Then, it was embraced by the service sector in the 1990s (Kamensky,2008). Halliburton, which is one of the worlds largest oilfield providers, began to implement Lean Six Sigma in 2004, in response to the growth in demand with the purpose of being able to respond customer needs by increasing efficiency and improving customer service (Atkinson,2009). The amount that they used to produce in the manufacturing plants is tripled as a result of reduced cycle times and high utilisation of their equipments. Halliburton also encouraged its supply base to adopt the same strategy so that a synchronisation can be achieved in terms of being more responsive to the market (Atkinson,2009). The main reason to implement LSS approach in Caterpillar Inc. was to gain competitive advantage by breakthrough improvements. As a result of innovative products, their revenues had grown by 80 percent (Byrne et al.2007). Another notable example would be Xerox Corp., which was having problems with its long filing time for patents so first of all the root causes of delays were identified. To eliminate these non-value added steps, Xerox Lean Six Sigma team carried out DMAIC, and came up with a solution which reduced the cycle time of 64 days and saved $400,000 in overall time (Xerox Corp. Brochure,2009). National Grid, who is a client of GE Fleet Services in the UK listened to the voice of its customers and applied Lean Six Sigma to reduce the time spent running (issuing and managing) order prompts (Fraser and Fraser,2008).This project is an example of a well-applied Lean Six Sigma method in a service sector in terms of achieving expected results in a timely fashion (Fraser and Fraser,2008). In the work of Kumar et al. (2006), the implementation of LSS in a die casting manufacturer is resulted in a significant decrease in the number of defects occurred in the final product and an overall savings of around $140 000 per year. Apart from the success stories, National Health Service Modernisation Agency (MA) in UK, is a well-known failure case of LSS. In 2004, Six Sigma together with Lean implemented in NHS to improve processes and quality (Proudlove and Moxham et al., 2008). Whereas, due to lack of well-designed processes, lack of support and unclear link between business strategy, it resulted in failure (Montero,2010). 4. Discussion In light of the findings and review of literature, the advantages and disadvantages of LSS will be discussed in this section. It is believed that this integrated approach will bring better results when the structured and systematic approach of Six Sigma came together with the agility of Lean with a focus of customer in the centre (Antony et al,2003). Despite some views arguing its effectiveness, in theory, by integrating the best of Lean and Six Sigma, the outcome would be satisfactory or even delightful both from the organisations and the customers point of view that creates a win-win situation. According to Arnheiter and Maleyeff (2005), if Lean firms adopt Six Sigma principles, costs incurred by defective products such as rework or scrap costs and the related overhead costs can be reduced. Likewise, when Six Sigma companies adopt Lean principles, faster lead times and deliveries can be achieved. Antony et al. (2003) outlines four major benefits of implementing LSS as; becoming faster and more responsive to customers, striving for Six Sigma capability level, operating at lowest costs of poor quality, achieving greater flexibility throughout the business (Antony et al.,2003,p.41). Companies that have successfully implemented Lean Six Sigma have gained considerable benefits in terms of increased shareholder value and market share. Based on the examples of several companies given in the Findings section, these benefits are provided in dollars. On the other hand, a recent BainCo.survey of 184 companies, shows that 80 percent is dissatisfied with the results they got from their LSS efforts because they have not achieved their goals in both monetary terms and level of improvement (Neuhaus and Guarraia,2007). Because it brought many advantages to leading firms, it does not imply that every attempt will be success or that every firm is ready for this initiative. Basu (2001) outlines the difficulty of sustaining a process improvement program even it may be successful in the beginning. Thus, this situation causes employee layoffs and a decrease in employee morale (Basu,2001). Despite being a powerful engine for businesses, the necessity of high skills to be able to use relevant tools and techniques is seen as one of the weaknesses of LSS (Montero,2010). This factor is seen as a critical prerequisite for the successful implementation of LSS. Though,the training and necessary investment can be costly to some companies. Therefore, this situation may limit its applicability. Unless a necessary change within the business is done including cultural aspects, mindset of employees together with the full commitment of top management, the result will be a failure. 5. Conclusion Many businesses in various sectors have recently started to adopt LSS either as a result of an external pressure or due to inadequate results achieved with their current methodology applied (internal need). Benchmarking plays a significant role in creating a trendy environment in the market where companies follow the giants and trying to adopt the best practice in order not to be obsolete. Although, this integration is seen as a fad by some authors and practitioners The concept was emerged as a response to market requirement. This merge between initiatives Regardless of the continuous improvement strategy that is chosen to follow, there is a common ground that no positive results can be gained without an adequate support, and attention across the business. There are still some uncovered areas of LSS for further research or no one knows what is next.

The Fighting The War On Terrorism Politics Essay

The Fighting The War On Terrorism Politics Essay Weapons of Mass Destruction have is a major concern for the United States and other countries around the world. The history of weapons of mass destructions goes all the way back to the Middle Ages and is still a major issue today. My predictions at this time for this issue is that if the United States and other countries do not continue to work together and monitor those people whom they believe are capable of committing acts of terrorism that a Terrorist group will attack this country if not another as they have threatened to support their beliefs. I recommend that the United States criminal justice system continue to take all measures to protect this country and continue to treat all threats as if they are real to ensure and protect this country from additional attacks or a major attack from a weapon of mass destruction. Weapons of Mass destruction is defined as a weapon that can kill and bring significant harm to a large number of humans and other life forms and/or cause great damage to man-made structures, natural structures, or the biosphere in general. The more technical terms refers to any chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear weapons (Weapon of, 2010, para 1). The use of this term goes back to Cosmo Gordon Lang, an Archbishop of Canterbury, who first used the term weapons of mass destruction in 1937 in reference to the aerial bombardment of Guernica, Spain. Lang (1937) states, Who can think at this present time without a sickening of the heart of the appalling slaughter, suffering, the manifold misery brought by war to Spain and to China? Who can think without horror of what another widespread war would mean, waged as it would be with all the new weapons of mass destruction (Weapons of, 2010, para 2). During this time there were no nuclear weapon, and the biological weapons were already being researched by Japan, and chemical weapons had been seen in wide use in World War I. The first recorded use of weapons of mass destruction goes back to the Middle Ages. When the rules of war fell into disregard, the target moved from the enemys soldiers to his people. The weapon of choice against a civilian enemy became biological, then chemical, and nuclear, as soon as scientific advancement and technological developments made them available (Rebehn, 2003, para 1). The first noted weapon of mass destruction goes back to 430 B.C. when Leucippus and his pupil, Democritus are credited with postulating the theory of Atoms and Void. Since then there has been an estimate of seventy-seven recorded building of mass destruction, attempts, discovery of weapons of mass destruction, and attacks around the world. The first use of a weapon of mass destruction came with World War I. World War I bore witness to the first chemical weapons attacks of the 20th century. Research on biological warfare agents began after World War I and several nations continued research and development during the Cold War. The theories of Einstein and other eminent contributors to the 20th century physics provided the basis for the development of nuclear science. Research towards nuclear energy began in the 1930s. Nuclear weapons were used during World War II, and nuclear deterrence played a major role during the Cold War. The nuclear arms race slowed in the early 1970s following the negotiation of the first control treaties (Briefing, 2005, para 4). During World War II the trope mass destruction came to be increasingly associated with aerial bombing and particularly, after August 6, 1945, with the atomic bomb (Oren and Solomon, 2006, pg 12). In the aftermath of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, a debate developed in Washington regarding Americans nuclear policy. Many atomic scientists expected the United States nuclear monopoly to be short lived; scientist sought to avert a dangerous arms race with the Soviet Union by turning over Americas atomic weapons to an international authority on the condition that future nuclear powers will do the same. Treaties and agreement were developed to address weapons of mass destruction to get everyone nationally to turn over weapons and prevent additional weapons from being made. The 1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) does not explicitly require states parties to adopt national implementation measures to give effects to the treaty. (Persbo and Woodard, 2005, pg 3). This treaty requires that states enter into nuclear safeguards agreements with the International Atomic Energy Agency also known as the (IAEA), which has promulgated non-binding guidelines for national measures to protect nuclear materials and equipment from security breaches. The International Atomic Energy Agency verifies state compliance with their safeguards agreements primarily through material accountancy measures (Persbo and Woodard, 2005, pg 3). Present day concerns with weapons of mass destruction arose after the attacks on September 11th. An even greater threat to U. S. and Western security is the potential for biological, chemical, and nuclear attacks. The United States is making alliances around the world, not just to track down the pockets of Al Qaeda, but to identify those countries that are trying to acquire the materials to develop and construct such weapons of mass destruction (Simonsen and Spindlove, 2007, pg 508). After the attacks on the September 11th America was attacked within weeks with letters containing Anthrax spores being sent around the country killing American. American citizens were afraid to open their mail for fear that it may contain Anthrax. As a result of these attacks former President Bush believed that there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq which caused America to go to war. The danger posed by weapons of mass destruction was the Bush administrations chief justification for invading Iraq. President George Bush declared a War on Terror after 9-11 and singled out Iraq as part of an axis of evil. (Simonsen and Spindlove, 2007, pg 509). The United States went to war and invaded Iraq to search for weapons of mass destruction in addition to finding Osama bin Laden. The United States was able to locate Saddam Hussein whom felt that he was always at war with the United States and he was executed for his crimes against the United States. The United States continues to look for Osama bin Laden, the leader of the Al Qaeda and mastermind behind the attacks on September 11th.Osama continues to threaten the United States as well as others with future attacks that can lead to millions of people being killed. No weapon of mass destruction was not found and was reported by Iraq Survey Group to never exist in January 2004. Al Qaeda continues to grow and inspire globally is a major problem. Al Qaeda, little known before the September 11, 2001, attacks is now linked to almost every terrorist atrocity around the globe-rightly or wrongly- this is the most notorious movement of the late twentieth and early twenty-first that will shape the lives of westerners over the coming decade (Simonsen and Spindlove, 2007, pg 510). Osama bin Laden continues to remain in seclusion and Al Qaeda continues to show signs that they plan to intensify attacks against the West. Persbo and Woodard (2005) writes, The terrorist attacks on the United States on 11 September 2001 catalyzed a significant shift by certain states away from efforts to strengthen the multilateral WMD treaty regimes (through improved verification arrangements) towards a rather less ambitious (or eminently successful) agenda to improve national implementation of these treaties. While national compliance is essential for the success of these treaties, the future to strengthen the treaty verification systems has made it more difficult to assess the status of states national implementation measures (pg 2). My predictions are that Al Qaeda and the Taliban will continue to grow and use the United States resources to assist them with attacking the United States as well as other countries. I think that these terrorist groups are in the United States now flying under the radar as they have done before which assist them with their attack. I think that they will not attack in the next few years, because they know that the United States is aware and taking all threats seriously and will wait until they feel that the United States guard is down. I also think that if they do attack that it will be on a larger scale injuring and killing more people, instead of attacking building. These groups will continue to increase their organizational skills and may seek to expand outside assistance from other races that support their cause. My recommendation to the criminal justice practitioners is that they must continue to treat all threats as if they were real and maintain and increase security measures to prevent additional attacks against this country as well as other countries in the world. The governments across the world must continue to work together to keep and protect their way of life and honor the treaties and agreements that they have put in place. Communication with each other is very important with ensuring everyone is on the same page and no one is in the dark, especially where the weapons of mass destruction are concerned. The United States should follow the lead of other countries and make it a little more difficult for immigrants to enter the country and remain here. The government should continue to monitor the activity of the Al Qaeda and Taliban and any other terrorist groups, we should not make the same mistake and believe that we will not be attacked again and expect the unexpected to protect th is country. An attack of mass destruction does not only affect the target but also affects the entire world and we must always keep this in mind if we want to continue to live. In conclusion, Weapons of mass destruction consist of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear attacks. These weapons have been in existence since the Middle Ages and are still a major concern for the United States as well as others countries in the world. I predict that the terrorist groups will continue to grow and organize and will wait to attack on a much grander scales to support their cause. As stated earlier I recommend the criminal justices practitioners around the world need to continue to work together to assess for weapons of mass destruction and treat all threats as if they are going to occur,

Iagos Manipulative Nature in Shakespeares Othello Essay examples --

Iago's Manipulative Nature in Othello    Iago's manipulative nature has a profound effect on the decisions made by other characters in Shakespeare's ‘Othello’. Through his relations with those around him Shakespear characterizes him as a man full of malice, vengeance and dishonesty that is wholly inspired by jealousy. Furthermore it would appear that Iago has an exceptional ability to scheme, a talent which he uses to snake his way into the lives of others and exploit them through their weaknesses. Whether he does this for profit or for pleasure is a separate issue. Throughout the course of the play, Iago crosses the path of each major character we encounter. Though his effect varies according to characters, he is a presence in the life of each. Rodrigo, Othello and Desdemona who each allow Iago to demonstrate his capacity for manipulation. Using Rodrigo as a tool, Iago discovers that Othello’s passion for Desdemona to also be his weakness and eventual downfall. Latching on to this notion Iago’s uses it to his advantage. Rodrigo is a mere pawn in Iago's master plan with him being used as a back up, almost like an unknowing sidekick, winning him over by providing him with false confidence regarding Desdemona. "She must change for youth. Whe... ...: Penguin, 1991. Campbell, Lily B. Shakespeare’s Tragic Heroes. New York: Barnes and Noble, Inc., 1970. Kermode, Frank. â€Å"Othello, the Moor of Venice.† The Riverside Shakespeare. Ed. G. Blakemore Evans. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1974. Mack, Maynard. Everybody’s Shakespeare: Reflections Chiefly on the Tragedies. Lincoln, NB: University of Nebraska Press, 1993. Shakespeare, William. Othello. Ed. Alfred Harbab. Middlesex, England: Penguin, 1970. Shakespeare, William. Othello. In The Electric Shakespeare. Princeton University. 1996. http://www.eiu.edu/~multilit/studyabroad/othello/othello_all.html No line nos.

Social Movements Compartion Essay -- Sociology

Introduction Why is it that specific movements succeed in broadening the scope and scales of the struggle, whereas other do not? Given the dearth of resources at their disposal, social movements see to attract the attention, empathy, and support of third parties, as a way to balance the unfavorable asymmetric power structure in which they are situated. The importance of expanding the scope of contention and attracting supporters become even more critical in cases of ethnic driven movements, given the nature of their goals and the frequency with which restrictions are imposed on their collective sentiments by the state. Globalization and the Battle of Seattle Globalization describes what a number of people perceive as a fundamental change in the conditions of human life. Just what has changed and how it has changed, however, are matters of great contention. Nonetheless, current writing on globalization focuses on some specific trends that appear to have pushed the sources and implications of social action beyond state borders. Recent transformations in transportation and communications technologies have altered our sense of distance, radically compressing time and space. Territorial states have apparently lost some of their capacities to establish order or mediate change within their borders. The number and power of intergovernmental institutions and multinational corporations have grown remarkably. The communications media are increasingly global in both their reference and their reach, and the media also help provide resources in the building of transnational epistemic communities of immigrants or like-minded activists. Social movements ride the waves of these global processes and formations; in turn, they begin to define ne... .... (1997). Arab national communism in the Jewish state. Gainesville, FL: Florida University Press Keck, Margaret, and Kathryn Sikkink. 1998. Activists Beyond Borders: Advocacy Networks in International Politics. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.. Landau, J. (1991). The Arab minority in Israel, 1967– 1991: Political aspects. New York: Oxford University Press. Lustick, I. (1980b). Arabs in the Jewish State: A study in the effective control of a minority population. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press. Neuberger, B. (1993). The Arab minority in Israeli politics 1948-1992: From marginality to influence. Asian and Africa Studies, 27, 149-169 Peoples’ Global Action. 2000. â€Å"Worldwide Resistance Roundup: Newsletter ‘Inspired by’ Peoples’ Global Action.† London. UN Development Programme. 2000. Human development report 2000: Overcoming human poverty. New York: UNCP

Paleys Arguement From Design, And Humes Counter-analogy :: essays research papers

Hume’s counter-analogy does not succeed in undermining Paley’s argument from design. Paley clearly explains to his reader that humans are so complicated that we must have been made by a designer. Hume argues that since the universe is not a human art, and is more like an animal, it does not need a designer. Paley argues that the complexity and functionality of a watch clearly shows that it was made by a designer. Animals are also complex and functional, therefore, Hume does not change the argument adequately enough to effectively counter it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Paley lays his argument as such: a watch is like the universe in complexity and functionality, a watch needs a designer, therefore, the universe needs a designer as well. Paley’s argument centers around the simile between a watch and the universe . He points out that the watch is complicated with many parts, yet all work together to form a functional machine. Paley shows in his argument that all the pieces of the watch are put together for a definite purpose. No matter how many watches were made before this one, Paley explains that the watch still has a maker. Watches cannot be designed by other watches, some superior being must have created at least the first one. The designer obviously understands how the watch works and how to create it to function properly.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  With this premise, Paley introduces the connection between the watch and our universe. He explains clearly that if a watch needs a designer, surely the far more complex universe should need one to. Paley justifies the existence of God through this watch and universe simile. He concludes that if a watch needs a superior designer, then the universe needs a maker as well, this maker being God.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hume attempts to counter Paley’s argument by saying that the universe is more like an animal than a work of human art. He says that because the universe is not a human art, it does not need a maker, just as animals do not need makers. Therefore, Paley argues, the universe also does not need a designer, and because of this, God does not exist. Hume does not effectively counter Paley’s argument because he simply replaces a complex watch with an even more complex animal in his statements. He does not successfully address the fact that animals were at some point created as well. Paleys Arguement From Design, And Humes Counter-analogy :: essays research papers Hume’s counter-analogy does not succeed in undermining Paley’s argument from design. Paley clearly explains to his reader that humans are so complicated that we must have been made by a designer. Hume argues that since the universe is not a human art, and is more like an animal, it does not need a designer. Paley argues that the complexity and functionality of a watch clearly shows that it was made by a designer. Animals are also complex and functional, therefore, Hume does not change the argument adequately enough to effectively counter it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Paley lays his argument as such: a watch is like the universe in complexity and functionality, a watch needs a designer, therefore, the universe needs a designer as well. Paley’s argument centers around the simile between a watch and the universe . He points out that the watch is complicated with many parts, yet all work together to form a functional machine. Paley shows in his argument that all the pieces of the watch are put together for a definite purpose. No matter how many watches were made before this one, Paley explains that the watch still has a maker. Watches cannot be designed by other watches, some superior being must have created at least the first one. The designer obviously understands how the watch works and how to create it to function properly.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  With this premise, Paley introduces the connection between the watch and our universe. He explains clearly that if a watch needs a designer, surely the far more complex universe should need one to. Paley justifies the existence of God through this watch and universe simile. He concludes that if a watch needs a superior designer, then the universe needs a maker as well, this maker being God.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hume attempts to counter Paley’s argument by saying that the universe is more like an animal than a work of human art. He says that because the universe is not a human art, it does not need a maker, just as animals do not need makers. Therefore, Paley argues, the universe also does not need a designer, and because of this, God does not exist. Hume does not effectively counter Paley’s argument because he simply replaces a complex watch with an even more complex animal in his statements. He does not successfully address the fact that animals were at some point created as well.

Deviation from Social Code: Analysis of Characters and Theme of The Age of Innocence

Edith Wharton’s The Age of Innocence (1920) is a detailed depiction of social conventions and decorum of the high society of New York during the late 19th century. One of the central themes of the novel is the struggle of an individual inside a rigid society. Order, loyalty, tradition and duty are the values upheld by the society where Newland Archer grew up. He is a lawyer, engaged to be married to May Welland, raised to be a perfect wife and mother according to society’s standards (Wharton, 1998).These same rules and standards dictate that she pretends to be ignorant of her fiance’s feelings toward Countess Ellen Olenska. For a long time, Newland and Ellen had to sacrifice their desires and feelings in order to maintain order in society. Society in The Age of Innocence shapes and directs the life of an individual, sacrificing what they truly want and truly believe in. Society’s forms and conventions decide how one should think and behave. Society’ s primary agent of its laws is the family, specifically the old money families belonging to the high society New York.These are the families with inherited wealth which separates them from the lower class. Their wealth is an important dimension in stratification because it ensures the financial stability of the future generation of the family. Their â€Å"old money† allows them a luxurious lifestyle without having the need to work. The greatest manifestation of the importance of order is seen in family. It is the foremost duty of the individual to promote and protect the harmony of his/her blood and marital relationships.The family disapproved Ellen’s decision to divorce his husband despite his being abusive and cruel to her. For them, it was just natural to endure little sacrifices to maintain the family. By going against their principles, she became an outcast; someone who is pitiful. At first, Newland was hesitant to be associated with Ellen. She has a bad reputatio n and he wanted nothing to do with her. However, the family expected him to help bring Ellen out in the public so he was forced to enter the Mingott’s opera box and introduce himself.And of course eventually, they hide their true feelings in fear of hurting their family. Following this duty to the family and society, a code of morality dictates the actions and thinking of the individual in whatever aspect of his/her life. May informed Newland of her passion by letting him guess that she â€Å"cares† for him as this is the only way a love of a young unmarried woman should be declared. She must conform to society’s perfect portrayal of a young maiden ? sexually innocent and ignorant on matters about affairs and passion (Barker-Benfield, 2000).She was fist seen with white lilies in the valley, unaware of sexual implications of the scenes in the play she is watching. Later in the book, it was established that from the start she was aware of Newland’s feelings towards the Countess but she chose to remain silent and follow the code of ignorance. Despite this knowledge, her wedding at Grace Church must continue to maintain the order on how things should be done. Newland has his own list of socially mandated duties according to Lawrence Lefferts and Sillerton Jackson, expert on manners and expert on family matters, respectively.Order in society is maintained through these rarefied practices to continue the continued existence of the civilization. The social code is strictly enforced by society which compromises the personal freedom of the individual (Charles, Davies & Harris, 2008). Sometimes a family member has to let go of his/her personal wants and follow the decision of the family to avoid economic and political sanctions. Newland and Ellen could not pursue each other in order to maintain their social integrity. Even a simple walk together cannot be done without arousing suspicion.To be divorced to a husband is frowned by society eventh ough that husband treats you badly, go out with other women even men. Her family wanted her to seek reconciliation with her husband in order to reaffirm the values of society. When she refused to do so, they cut off her allowance as a consequence for her decision. In the end, Ellen chose to maintain her individuality by leaving America, a price she had to pay. She was forced out of New York, condemned by her own family, who believed that she and Newland are having a secret affair.Newland defended the right of Ellen to be with another man: † ‘I'm sick of the hypocrisy that would bury alive a woman of her age if her husband prefers to live with harlots†¦ Women ought to be free – as free as we are,' he declared, making a discovery of which he was too irritated to measure the terrific consequences. † (Wharton, Book One, Chapter 5, p. 35) He condemned the double-standard prevalent in the society where a man can seek sexual pleasures outside a failed marriage but the woman cannot.He may have progressive views but he was unaware of their implications in his own very traditional marriage. But these codes exist not without loopholes. Those who found these loopholes are often despised but still accepted in the society. Hypocrisy is common and rampant in Old New York high society. Families attend balls and gatherings hosted by the same person they contempt for being so common who they would gladly exile following the collapse of his business. Lawrence Lefferts claims to be an expert in Christian virtues while snubbing Ellen for being a divorcee.Newland is aware that if he leaves May for Ellen, society’s sympathy will pour for May. She told Ellen of her pregnancy despite being unsure of it to drive her away from Newland. She was aware of Newland’s passion for Ellen but did not say anything. This society, with its rigid rules and conventions, was challenged by the arrival of a new society symbolized by the Beauforts and Countess Ellen Olenska. Though they were not successful in blending and harmonizing with the old society’s tradition, they opened new possibilities of otherwise closed-minded individuals.Towards the end of the novel, it became clear that a new order has taken over with fresh ideas and movements. They began to consider and attribute importance to different things such as interesting and artistic people. There was an obvious change of attitude to people like the Beauforts. Beaufort’s illegitimate daughter, Fanny, and her marriage with Dallas Archer were not objected by society. In fact they were fond of her bright personality. Society did not post any obstacle to Newland and Ellen being together but Newland was so stuck in the past that he failed to recognize that time has changed.