Kant Moral Law Theory Essay Example for Free

Kant Moral Law Theory Essay â€Å"Two things fill the mind with ever new and increasing admiration and awe the oftener and more steadily we reflect on them: the starry heavens above me and the moral law within me.† – Kant (1788), pp, 193, 259 Immanuel Kant introduced and initiated his ‘moral law theory’ in the late 18th century. The doctrine in question sought to establish and constitute a supreme or absolute principle of morality. Kant disputes the existence of an ‘ethical system’, whereby moral obligations are obligations of ‘purpose’ or ‘reason’. The accuracy of actions [i.e. the rightness or wrongness of an individual deed] is determined by its configuration and conformity with regard to ‘moral law’. Evidently, according to Kant, an immoral transaction is invariably contemplated as an illogical or unreasonable occurrence or action. The supreme moral principle is a consistent working criterion that proves to be practically helpful and theoretically enlightening when used by rational agents as a guide for making personal choices (Kant VI). A supreme guiding moral principle must carry with it an absolute necessity and be done out of duty to the moral law in order to be free from corruption. Kant believed in a fair and impartial law. He accredited and affirmed the presence of an objective moral law that we, as humans, were/are able to identify with through the process of reasoning. Kant argued that we are able to recognise and distinguish moral law, without making reference to the possible consequence or outcome. Immanuel Kant declared a differentiation between statements [i.e. posteriori and priori] that he believed to coincide with moral law. A posteriori statement is one that is based on experience of the material world. In opposition, a priori statement requires no such knowledge; it is known independent of the phenomenal world. Furthermore, Kant continued to make additional distinctions with regard to analytic and synthetic statements. An analytic statement, he claims, is one that by its very nature is necessarily true, as the predicate is included within the definition of the subject. Example: – [â€Å"all squares have four sides†]. The previous statement is of an analytic nature, as the predicate, i.e. the square having four sides, is implicit and is part of the definition of the subject – [â€Å"square†]. An analytic statement is necessarily true – true by its own authority, and is purely explicative, as it tells us nothing new about the subject. In contrast, a synthetic statement is one in which the predicate is not included in the definition of the subject, and thus is not necessarily true. A synthetic statement also tells us something new about the subject. Prior to Kant, it was widely accepted that there were only two types of statement: a priori analytic and a posteriori synthetic. Kant accepted these two statements although believed there to be a third: a priori synthetic statement. These are statements that are known independent of experience that may or may not be true. Kant claimed that these priori synthetic principles are inherent within us and therefore subsequently form the basis of all moral decision making. Kant’s theory is based on and is primarily concerned with the aspect of ‘duty’. Kant believed and promoted the notion that to act morally is one’s ‘duty’, and one’s ‘duty’ is to act and proceed in accordance to the principles of moral law. Due to this, Kant’s theory is categorised and distinguished as a ‘deontological argument’. A deontological theory is one that maintains the moral rightness or wrongness of an action and depends on its fundamental qualities, and is independent of the nature of its consequence – â€Å"Duty for duty’s sake†. This perspective can be viewed in contrast to the beliefs and ‘rules’ associated and belonging to teleological arguments, i.e. utilitarianism. Immanuel Kant argued that moral requirements are based on a standard of rationality he dubbed the â€Å"Categorical Imperative. The categorical imperative has derived from the initial belief and notion that humans base their moral judgment on pure reason alone. This view can be viewed in contrast to a ‘morality theory’, which assumed/s that human’s actions are guided by emotions or desires. Example: When deciding what I ought to say to a friend who is distraught. Rationale would dictate that I give sensible advice, whereas my emotions may impulsively tell me to give comfort and sympathy. The categorical imperative declares and differentiates between obligatory and forbidden actions, and places further emphasis on the notion of ‘duty’. This statement can be strengthened through the following quotation – [â€Å"All in imperatives command either hypothetically or categorically†¦ If the action would be good simply as a means to something else, then the imperative is hypothetical; but if the action is represented as a good in itself†¦ then the imperative is categorical.†]. Example: If someone tells me that they will buy me dinner if I give them a lift into town, then this is a conditional action and would fall into the hypothetical imperative category. Conversely, if I think that I should give my friend a lift into town with no other agenda (i.e. she will not buy me dinner because of it), then this is a categorical imperative because it is independent of my interest and could apply to other people as well as myself. There are three principles of the categorical imperative: * Universal law; * Treat humans as ends in themselves; * Act as if you live in a kingdom of ends. 1. The categorical imperative is [â€Å"Do not act on any principle that cannot be universalised†]. In other words, moral laws must be applied in all situations and all rational beings universally, without exception. 2. [â€Å"Act that you treat humanity, both in your own person and in the person of every other human being, never merely as a means, but always at the time as an end.†] – The previous statement declares that we must never treat people as means to an end. You can never use human beings for another purpose, to exploit or enslave them. Humans are rational and the highest point of creation, and so demand unique treatment. 3. The quotation [â€Å"So act as if you were through your maxim a law-making member of a Kingdom of ends†] states Kant’s belief in the fact that humans should behave as though every other individual was an ‘end’. In conclusion, it is arguable that the categorical imperative possesses a sense of authority with regard to what actions are permitted and forbidden under Kant’s moral law theory.

Soft And Hard Human Resource Management

Soft And Hard Human Resource Management HRM is an essential and vital function for organizational success. Areas within HRM like Manpower planning, Job analysis, Selection and Recruitment, Compensation and Benefits, Performance evaluations, Contract negotiations and Labor legislations are parts of hard HRM whereas functions like Organizational development, conflict management, human resource education, leadership development, organizational culture, and relationship building are components of soft HRM. The hard HRM can be categorized as the basic functions and soft HRM as advanced functions. In todays knowledge economy, where human capital determines the growth and success of an organization, both hard and soft HRM are sig. Hard HRM:- a very instrumental, practical approach, people seen as a passive resources to be used, deployed and if necessary disposed of HR planning is seen as a factor of production incompatible with trade unions-may necessitate confrontation to implement concepts. Soft HRM: sometimes known as development humanism stresses human side entails trust, collaboration, skill development place for unions in this model where unions are marginalized and by passed on many issues or alternative forms of employee representation are initiated above all, about commitment and partnership. Hard HR Management Soft HR Management Treats employees simply as a resource of the business (like machinery buildings) Strong link with corporate business planning what resources do we need, how do we get them and how much will they cost Treats employees as the most important resource in the business and a source of competitive advantage Employees are treated as individuals and their needs are planned accordingly Focus of HRM: identify workforce needs of the business and recruit manage accordingly (hiring, moving and firing) Focus of HRM: concentrate on the needs of employees their roles, rewards, motivation etc. Key features Key features Short-term changes in employee numbers (recruitment, redundancy) Strategic focus on longer-term workforce planning Minimal communication, from the top down Strong and regular two-way communication Pay enough to recruit and retain enough staff (e.g. minimum wage) Competitive pay structure, with suitable performance-related rewards (e.g. profit share, share options) Little empowerment or delegation Employees are empowered and encouraged to seek delegation and take responsibility Appraisal systems focused on making judgments (good and bad) about staff Appraisal systems focused on identifying and addressing training and other employee development needs Taller organizational structures Flatter organizational structures Suits autocratic leadership style Suits democratic leadership style As analyzing this, the hard approach to HR might be expected to result in a more cost-effective workforce where decision-making is quicker and focused on senior managers. However, such an approach pays relatively little attention to the needs of employees and a business adopting a genuinely hard approach might expect to suffer from higher absenteeism and staff turnover and less successful recruitment but the soft approach will certainly appeal to the touchy-feely among it who like to see people being treated nicely. And it can also make a good business case for an approach which rewards employee performance and motivates staff more effectively. However, the danger of taking too soft an approach is that when all the employee benefits are added up, the cost of the workforce leaves a business at a competitive disadvantage. HMR and Personal/ IR Practices with Compared to 27 Dimensions of Storys Definitions Storys model gives a clear idea about the difference between personal and industrial human resource management, According to storys model of human resource management: Human Resource Management has to be implemented into the organization strategy and has to be considered in the higher level of the organization. Human Resource Management needs to be included to management functions and creates an impact on the organizations ability to achieve their goals. Human Resource Managements main key function is to encourage commitment from the employees in the organization but not complaints. Humans ability, capability and commitment is what differentiate each organization has. Points of difference between personnel and IR practices and HRM practices Dimensions Personnel/IR HRM Beliefs Assumptions Contract Careful delineation of written contracts Aim to go beyond contract Guide to management action Procedures Business need Behavior referent Norms Values Managerial task via a vise labor Monitoring Nurturing Strategic Aspect Key relations Labor management Customer Corporate plan Marginal to Central to Speed of decision Slow Fast Line Management Management role Transactional Transformational leadership Communication Indirect Direct Standardization High Low Key Levelers Selection Separate, marginal task Integrated, key task Pay Job evaluation Performance related Conditions Separately negotiated Harmonization Labor management Collective bargaining contracts Towards individual contracts Role of the Line Managers and employees in the organization. The areas where front line managers and employees make a significant difference to people management practices are: Performance Appraisal Training, coaching and guidance Involvement and communication Openness how easy is it for employees to discuss matters with their front line manager Work-life balance Recognition the extent to which employees feel their contribution is recognized. These are all areas where, although the process may be designed by HR, it cannot be delivered by HR. The front line manager role is crucial in a number of respects In enabling the HR policies and practices, or bringing them to life. in acting upon advice or guidance from HR in controlling the work flow by directing and guiding the work of others To do this successfully, this part of the front line managers role must be given at least as much recognition as other operational areas and they must be allocated time within their work schedule to carry out the people management side of the job. The qualities and skills needed from front line managers. The Bath research found that front line managers exercise a strong influence over the level of discretion that an individual has over how they do their job. Some managers can permit and encourage people to be responsible for their own jobs whereas others can stifle initiative through controlling or autocratic behavior. To encourage the kind of discretionary behavior from employees associated with higher performance, front line managers need to: Build a good working relationship with their staff. They need to lead, listen, ask, communicate, be fair, respond to suggestions and deal with problems. Help and support employees to take more responsibility for how they do their jobs by coaching and guidance. Build effective teams. Many of the qualities and skills which are associated with higher quality front line management are around the behaviors of front line managers. It is not enough to educate front line managers in the behaviors required; organizations must also ensure they are developing the environment and culture in which front line managers are actively encouraged and permitted to exhibit the behaviors above. The Bath research found that organizations which had a strong shared culture with guiding principles for behavior which were embedded into practice over time were more successful Attribution: http://www.citehr.com/15998-role-front-line-managers-hr.html#ixzz21Teh5Dml Section B There are potential benefits for both the individual and the organization from using a proper performance management A good performance management system works towards the improvement of the overall organizational performance by managing the performances of terms and individuals for ensuring the achievement of the overall organizational ambitions and goals. An effective performance management system can play a very crucial role in managing the performance in an organization by: Improved business profits The bottom line of an organization improves significantly by increasing employee productivity and quality of work. Increase employee responsibility Communicating realistic but challenging job expectations and making employee accountable for their decisions and actions result in noticeable improvements in employee tardiness, absences and organizational commitment. Equitable treatment of employees All employees are treated fairly by implementing standardized procedures that promote consistency throughout an organization. Enhanced quality of work life Employees experience greater job satisfaction because they become more successful As a HR manager, you need to manage different human resource practices in the workplace Yes I do agree with the statement. Approaching the nature of HRM from a slightly different perspective, (Bowen and Ostroff, 2004) have argued that what they term a strong HR system is more likely to have an impact. Where more high performance practices are in place, and all helping to elicit the same kind of attitudes and behavior from employees, the cumulative impact is likely to be greater. In this context, the specific sets of practices that might be associated with competence, motivation or contribution become rather less important. Another reason why specific bundles of practices might be less significant and difficult to link to performance is that some practices might contribute to several HR outcomes. For example, job design or goal setting might affect both motivation and opportunity to contribute. This leads to two possibilities. On the one hand it may be most appropriate to follow the Bowen and Ostroff line and count the number of practices in place; on the other, it may b e sensible to explore whether specific practices are consistently associated with superior performance. There is an impact of globalization on issues such as human resource planning Yes I do agree with the statement. The interest in strategic human resource management (HRM) has spawned a number of empirical research studies that investigated the impact of HRM practices on organizational performance. However, very little attention has been paid to address the impact of HRM practices on operations management and to generalize the findings across countries and industries. Success of some business decisions. Globalization and The Changing Face of Human Resource Management The pressures on traditional IR models are not all due to globalization, as we shall see, but many of the changes taking place can be traced to globalization. It is not always easy to disentangle the causes and effects of globalization. However it would probably be true to say that globalization is represented by the opening up of markets due, in large measure to foreign direct investment consequent upon the lowering of investment barriers in practically all countries by the liberalization of trade and by the deregulation of financial markets in consequence of which governments increasingly have little control over the flow of capital across borders. All this implies the dominance of the market system, facilitated by the collapse of alternative economic systems. Introduction of new technology Pushing for a more deregulated and flexible labor market More emphasis on productivity and quality Greater employee involvement in the design and execution of work Shifting the focus of collective bargaining from the industry level to the enterprise level. Employers are of the view that issues relevant to the employment relationship such as work re-organization, flexible working hours and contractual arrangements, and pay for performance and skills, are increasingly workplace-related, and should therefore be addressed at the enterprise level. Downsizing the workforce. One important response has been the introduction of flexibility in the employment relationship to increase the capacity of enterprises to adapt rapidly to market changes. This has involved measures such as: flexible working hours, part-time work different types of employment contracts to the standard ones familiar to collective IR flexibility in functions, so that employees who are multi-skilled are not confined to the performance of only one task. They can cover up for absenteeism, and make some jobs redundant. Globalization has, through technology diffusion, substantially increased the introduction of new technology. This, as well as the need for flexible adaptation to market changes, has led to the re-organization of production systems and methods of work, such as the following: Reduction of narrow job classifications and demarcation lines between managers and workers, accompanied by skills enhancement needed to perform jobs with a broader range of tasks. The competition generated by globalization and rapid technological changes accompanied by shorter product life have, while destroying countless jobs in industrialized countries, created opportunities for multi-skilled and easily trainable workers, and for the most significant group of emerging employees the knowledge worker. Knowledge and skills have become the most important determinants of investment, employment opportunities, productivity and quality and of flexibility. Different national cultures and practices make an influence for making a culturally diverse workforce Difference national cultures and practices make an influence for making a culturally diverse workforce. The workforce of the twenty first century is increasingly diverse and multicultural. To effectively manage and lead in this environment, HR must be knowledgeable about cross cultural factors on both the domestic and global fronts in human resource management. By promoting education in cross cultural competencies throughout the organization HR can better serve the company to successfully achieve its mission and goals. As a concept and as a reality, culture is broad and multifaceted. On a daily basis culture influences who we are as individuals, families, communities, professions, industries, organizations and nations and how we interact with each other within and across regional and national borders. Defined as a set of values and beliefs with learned behaviors shared within a particular society, culture provides a sense of identity and belonging. From language, communication styles, history and religion to norms, values, symbolism and ways of being, culture is everywhere. In domestic and global workplace settings people in organizations reflect their respective cultures. As shifting demographics bring together people of many cultural backgrounds, human resource management must be thoughtfully examined and sometimes altered to support organizational goals. Special Expertise Panel members point out that for sustainability, organizational leaders must expand their perspectives from a local to a worldly view. HR professionals experienced in workplace diversity and cross cultural communication are well positioned to develop and implement culturally appropriate HRM strategies, policies and practices. While not exhaustive this Research Quarterly focuses on selected cross cultural factors in HRM in todays workplace and provides insights for HR to better serve the needs of the organization. Business Case for Cross Cultural HRM With the advent of globalization, research on cross cultural organizational behavior has become a pathway to understand the dynamics of multicultural domestic and international workplaces. In fact successful organizations of the 21st century require leaders who understand culturally diverse work environments and can work effectively with different cultures that have varying work ethics, norms and business protocols. Yet diverse cultures create HRM challenges. Gaining cross cultural competence takes time, education, experience, openness and sensitivity. When people lack intercultural skills miscommunications can damage business relationships deadlines can be missed projects may fail and talented people will go to the competition. Key HR responsibilities are to understand how cross cultural factors interact with HR, be the conduit for organizational learning for cross cultural intelligence and foster cross cultural communication throughout the organization. Cultural Value Dimensions Cross cultural intelligence is the ability to switch ethnic or national contexts and quickly learn new patterns of social interaction with appropriate behavioral responses. This competence is essential to work effectively in multicultural environments. Thus linking future career paths and global business success with cultural competence is important for HR to emphasize, with the goal that managers are motivated to acquire new behaviors and skills and understand the benefits of learning from different cultures. Task 02 Section A- Case Study Explain the Audit Firms model of flexibility. The concept of a flexible firm recognizes that organizations will requires enhanced flexibility to meet ever evolving market and competitive pressures. The flexible firm model suggests that we can design our workforces to proactively meet our business needs through flexible staffing arrangements. In other words it is a concept of simply integrating flexible conditions into the administration an organizations functional operations, in order o meet the demands of a highly competitive market and attain its strategic aims and goals. Flexibility is a calculated risk utilized by organization to survive and gain strategic competitive advantage. Therefor this case study, shows how they has developed and implemented flexible work practices improve its services and meet the changing needs of its staff. According to the contracts help the Audit commission to cope with all of its changing needs. They also help it to be flexible. There are three main types of flexibility they practice. Numerical Flexibility Functional Flexibility Place- of- work flexibility The Audit Commission is constantly face with peaks and troughs in the workload that cannot be met simply by having its employees on full time contracts. There are situations where they need either more staff or fewer staff. By increasing or reduce staff in their situation the Audit Commission has developed numerical flexibility. The Audit Commission has also developed flexibility through developing the skills of its employees to deal with a wider variety of work. This means that when the nature and type of work changes, employees are comfortable undertaking different tasks. This is known as functional flexibility. Homeworking is an example of place-of-work flexibility. The Audit Commission uses this way to respond to the challenges within their business environment. This method of working has helped it to meet more closely the needs of its staff. As part of its flexible working arrangements, homeworking has helped to transform the ways in which many people work and improve their work-life-balance. Briefly explain the need for flexibility. According to this firm do you believe that they are implementing the correct types of flexibility? Explain your answer. Employers have always wanted workers to be as flexible as possible. In the past this has mean paying overtime for extra hours worked, or higher rates for shift work. Faced with competition, businesses attempt to use their existing employees more effectively. Sometimes this could benefit employee. Working flexible hours could mean an employee may take time off for personal reasons and still work their required number of hours a week. The need for flexibility is increasing due to demographic and social changes the number of people in the paid work force with caring responsibilities is set to increase. In turn this will increase the demand for flexibility in the workplace. Moreover, increasing competition has placed emphasis on quality, innovation and reducing the unit cost of production: job design and the organization of work must both mobilize employees energies for quality innovation and reliable productivity. In addition to this Technological change, particularly in the automation and computerization of work process and information flows, has eroded traditional demarcation boundaries between jobs: job design and the organization of work must fit the new technology in order to secure its benefits for efficiency. Increasing market uncertainty means that organizations need to be more adaptable to changes in demand: able to vary the size and deployment of their workforces to meet demand as effectively and efficien tly as possible. Yes I do believe that they are practicing the correct types of flexibility. The benefits they are getting form those types are more and it will lead to build effective flexible working system. Flexibility is not about integration of the different spheres of life to reduce conflict or to harmonizing paid work with other parts of life; rather flexibility is about how self-managing employees constitute synthesis of work life and home life as distinct parts of one and the same life. If Audit Commission is very much concerned about their flexibility in the work place those types they are currently practicing is totally suitable. By regular homeworking helps an organization to develop family-friendly policies that improve the work-life balance of its staff. For the organization, homeworking assists in recruiting individuals who are attracted to this style of working and this enables the Audit Commission to retain a diverse workforce. Evaluate the advantages and dis advantages of flexible working practices from both of the employee and employer perspective relate with this firm. For Employee Advantages It reduces the transport cost for the employee and by reducing the transportation it is good for environment. Regular homeworking helps an organization to develop family-friendly policies that improve the work-life balance of its staff especially in Audit Commission. Employers have great freedom to organize their work to finish on time. By implementing flexible working system employers can improve morale and reducing absence and lateness. A better work/life balance being able to meet both work and personal commitments Increased sense of control leading to increased sense of well-being With the greater job satisfaction employees can make better working environment with a happier person all around. Being able to remain in the workforce longer with greater loyalty, trust and respect towards employers Disadvantages Lower salary if you work fewer hours. Possible sense of isolation from colleagues. Loneliness. Need for a dedicated work space. Difficulty in judging performance. Need to be self-disciplined and highly organized. Possible obstacle to promotion. A sense that you have been forced into it by circumstances not of your choosing. For Employer Advantages Happy and satisfied employees, who have a greater sense of trust and loyalty, create many business benefits: Attracting skilled and motivated employees Particularly those who wouldnt normally apply. For example mature aged workers those who have Auditing experience, those with family/care responsibilities and those seeking greater balance between work and personal interests. Keeping skilled and motivated employees Effective flexibility can reduce unwanted staff losses by up to 25%. A huge cost saving in terms of retaining knowledge, maintaining Agent relationships and in re-training, creating awareness and administration costs. Motivating and energizing staff Resulting in increased productivity and greater profits, as employees focus more on business success, are more flexible to meet its needs and driven to work harder specially service organization like Audit commission. Increasing employee satisfaction creating a happier workplace, with greater teamwork, collaboration and sharing of knowledge. Lower staff absences employees are less stressed about meeting their job and outside/family commitments and have a greater sense of well-being, reducing unplanned absences. Increasing skills and creativity of your managers Managers are challenged to look outside the square, develop leadership skills and manage a more diverse workforce Improving customer service and retention More committed employees, greater employee retention and a better match between peaks and troughs in workflows and staffing will allow you to more closely meet customers needs Becoming an Employer of Choice which expands the pool of talented workers that an advertisement will attract. Disadvantages Finding qualified employees who want to be part of a flexible workforce can be challenging, because people generally prefer jobs that provide a reliable and predictable income stream. It can be difficult to retain employees in a flexible workforce. Thats because during times when business is slow and members of a flexible workforce arent working, theyre likely to spend their time looking for other work. If Audit Commission is opened in non-working working hours as a result it will lead to increase the unwanted costs like electricity and heating and so on. Section B Essay Equal opportunities with in the workplace The term equal opportunities is a broadly used phrase which promotes the idea that everyone within an organization should have an equal chance to apply and be selected for posts, to be trained or promoted and to have their employment terminated equally. Providing equal opportunity and treating employers without prejudice is vital to achieve organizational objectives. Over the past 30 years, the workplace has changed dramatically. Women have become more empowered giving them the opportunity to seek career progression which had previously been denied to them. Disabled people who can work are being helped back to work and offered the same opportunities as able-bodied people and economic globalization of business has meant that managers must be aware of cultural and race issues. There should be no discrimination on the grounds of gender, homosexuality, age, racial origin, religious affiliation, disability or marital status. Employers can only discriminate on the grounds of ability, poten tial and all employment decisions taken on an individuals ability to do a particular job. There are two main forms of discrimination. First of all direct discrimination involves treating an individual within the workforce less favorably than others on sexual, marital, racial or disabled grounds. It occurs when interested group is treated less favorably than another. (Except for exempted cases) For example, Management decision is not to select or promote a woman because she is pregnant or because of her nationality. One act of discrimination is sufficient and must be directed at an individual for action to be taken. Second type of discrimination is indirect discrimination. Indirect discrimination describes a term or condition applicable to both sexes but where one sex has considerably less of an ability to comply with it than the other. It occurs when, an employer applies a provision, criterion practice to men and women equally, but it has the effect of putting one sex at a particular disadvantage without justification. For example, change the shift patterns to include an early morning to start, as a woman is more likely to be responsible for childcare or a condition that a candidate for a job must be of a minimum certain height. It is unlawful to discriminate in employment on the grounds of color, race, nationality, gender, gender reassignment, marital status, and disability for all staff, regardless of their hours, or patterns of work. Within the work environment the majority of discrimination claims Centre around the recruitment and selection process. Several pieces of employment legislation exist in order to provide a framework for implementing equal opportunities within the workplace. The main legislation is Equal Pay Act, Sex Discrimination Act, Race Relations Act, Human Rights Act, Race Relations, Employment Equality in Religion or Belief and Gender Recognition Act. In developed countries there are migrants and even students who work for lesser wages than the minimum wages. The wages that they are paid is less than the national wages that is allowed by the government and not only the payment is less but there could be situations where they work for longer hours than they can in a weeks time. In countri es such as Sri Lanka there are many places and organizations where framework is not followed and are broken with many discrimination such as sex, pay and also race but due to the fear of the influence and also the fact that they need the money to work the employees do not take necessary actions. Organizations consist of many individuals working together to achieve organizational success. These individuals collectively bring different attitudes, perceptions and learning experiences to the workplace, as well as ethnic, gender and personality differences. When the Equal Opportunities Commission was set up, it was to tackle the issue of Gender Discrimination predominantly and to offer women the same working rights as their male complements. However, in modern day society, equal opportunities has been broadened and backed up by law to provide the same level of protection to other minority groups in the workforce. Mainly there are three types of discrimination. First type of discrimination is age discrimination. Age discrimination involves treating employee less favorably because of his age. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act only forbids age discrimination against people who are age 40 or older. It does not protect workers under the age of 40, although some states do have l aws that protect younger workers from age discrimination. It is not illegal for an employer or other covered entity to favor an older worker over a younger one even if both workers are age 40 or older (The Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006, 2006). Second type of discrimination is sex discrimination. Sex

Causes of Unrest in Middle East and North Africa

Causes of Unrest in Middle East and North Africa Historians and philosophers, political scientists, economists, and sociologists are trying to identify the root causes of social unrest and their implications in the Arab countries of the Middle East and North Africa in the end of the first and the beginning of the second decade of the 21st century. There are quite a lot of factors serving as the foundation for social unrest in the ME and NA. They are both objective and subjective. The bases of social revolutions are mainly domestic factors, though not without external assumptions. The root causes of the revolutionary upheavals in the Arab world and the Middle East and North African crisis lie in the limited model of modernization, which has led to a disproportionate, extensive and slow development of the region. [1] In January 2014, the Arab world has noted the fourth anniversary of the event, which journalists dubbed as the Arab Spring . Indeed, at first, the world started to witness iconic events occurring in the region, where the resignation of Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, who ruled the country since 1987, on January 14 2011, launched the cascade known as the domino effect. Later, on the 11th of February 2011 the fall of Tunisian president was followed by the most sensational resignation of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who ruled the country since 1981. In combination with the removal of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi (who ruled from 1969) on the 20th of October 2011, events of the Arab Spring began to be perceived and interpreted as signs of radical changes in the entire Arab region, and more broadly within the whole Islamic World[1]. The nomination of main slogans demanding the democratisation of public institutions of government had a dual effect on the countries of the region. Firstly, the spring tide having swept away a number of Middle Eastern regimes, still failed to overthrow the most powerful outposts of authoritarianism within the region[2]. These authoritarian outposts are personified by Arab Monarchies of the Persian Gulf[3], who happen to be traditional allies of the USA. Reluctance to initiate the reforms for the liberalisation of the regime led to them being discredited in the eyes of the global community as well as the indigenous peoples of the region. And secondly, the events of the last decade, beginning with the US invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq[4] have led, in combination with crisis of power in Egypt and Syria, to the elimination of the political culture and institutions of the Middle East, by knocking out the traditional heavyweights† of the Middle East: Iraq, Egypt and Syria. All of t hese events together resulted in the emergence of activity of those labelled as outsiders by the Arab world. These non-Arab outsiders are primarily Iran and Turkey. The failure of the revolutions to lay foundation for new Political, Economic and Social institutions has been replaced by simple â€Å"reshuffling of spheres of power and influence. And in Iran, a â€Å"green movement† has been chosen as an alternative path[5]. Throughout the course of the revolution, there were strong expectations that the Middle East was entering a period of democratic development[6], which was said to achieve all of the attributes of a free civil society, which had for so many years existed in Western countries. However, further advancement of the situation in the region has led to an increase in the influence of supporters of critical perception of the nature and probable consequences of this rebellious movement not only for countries of that region, but also for the whole system of modern international relations. Western experts have increasingly highlighted the ambiguity of this phenomenon for the fate of the entire region, by agreeing on the fundamental reshaping of the entire system of balance of forces†. This choir is particularly dominated by the notable work of Efraim Inbar, an Israeli expert and his work The Arab uprisings and national safety of Israel.According to Inbar, all what is happening in the regio n, will not deliver any positive outcomes in terms of stability and regional security[7]. Despite the secular influence of Western culture, none of the Arab States managed to build a stable, democratic society, based on the ideas of civil liberties, political rights, a system of universal education, gender equality and economic development. The democratic elections in Lebanon in 2005 and Palestine in 2009 brought to power of the Islamists, indicating that the imperfection of the civil society in the Arab world. The most dangerous version of the situation under the influence of the Arab Spring and according to Inbar, there will be an emergence of nuclear Iran, who may ultimately win some time to complete work on its nuclear program and put the global community fait accompli. This may result in a chain reaction when other countries region will aim to commence the development of their own nuclear programs, seriously complicating the national security of Israel, which as of now is the o nly nuclear Power in the conflict-laden region. Activation of Iran on the foreign policy arena after the uprisings is not accidental. Behind its activation lies the influx of huge amounts of Petrodollars, rising anti-American sentiment in the region caused by frankly failed policies of the United States, the rise to power of an ambitious and eccentric leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Irans implementation of its own nuclear program, which turned into a personification of Iran’s power revival[8]. Hence the interest of specialists and politicians on foreign policy doctrine of modern Iran, where it states that it is based not on the principles of national interest but rather the principle of Islamic solidarity, rooted in the teachings of Imam Khomeini, in relation to the Islamic revolution. Thus, consideration of ideological concepts of Imam Khomeini in interpreting the current leader of the Islamic Revolution (Rahbar) Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, should help understanding and explain ing the steps taken by Iran during the reign of the current President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad[9]. The analysis of these concepts will help to forecast future foreign policy initiatives of Iran with its aim to resolve the intra-regional problems. Analysing the statements of Khamenei on reasons which caused the revolutionary events in the Arab world, it is crucial to highlight the fact that such uprising were labelled in Iran as Islamic awakening, emphasizing the specificity of a theoretical framework, where Islam is seen as the foundation. Whereas the term Arab spring has not found support among the Iranian ruling elite, as it was associated with a distinct national colour and the secular character of the movement. Thus, Khamenei, addressing a speech to the delegates of the 1st International Conference of Islamic awakening on the 17th of September 2011, said: This awakening has led to more movement among the peoples of our region and caused several uprisings and revolutions which could not be foreseen by the dominating regional and international satanic powers. It overthrew authoritarian and imperialist tyrannical regimes[10] and under such he meant the Ben Ali regime in Tunisia, Hosni Mubarak in Egypt[11], Muammar Gaddafi in Libya. Analysing the reasons for their failure, he thus highlights the background of the beginning of the Islamic awakening. Khamenei calls the fallen aforementioned regimes as American puppets, and this, in his opinion, is one of the main reasons for the anti-government protests in these countries[12]. The Social explosion occurred precisely in those Arab countries where government accountability measure and respect for human rights was below average in the Arab world. In Yemen, Egypt, Tunisia, Syria, Libya. And in Libya, this ratio was almost zero.[13] However the Political Arab spring, to which so many hopes were pinned in the beginning of 2011, resulted in a bloody drama, destroying many of revolutionary conquests of Arabs in the 20th century. Libya became crushed and practically ceased to exist as an independent state. Islamists seized power and are now trying to impose their rule and solve all of the problems in Egypt, Yemen and Tunisia. They threw an open challenge to the Government of Syria, unleashing in the country a bloody and destructive civil war in order to transform this ancient Arab state in something they have already transformed Libya to. In Syria, there are as of now about 200 thousand militants fighting[14]. There are more than 8 thousand men leaving the country monthly, and their total number, according to According to the UN reached 1 million. Events in Syria, no doubt, influenced what is happening in neighbouring countries Iraq, Lebanon and Jordan. And it is not surprising that from these countries there has b een an influx of Islamic militants to Syria. Syrian issue becomes equally important part of the Middle East crisis, on par with the Palestinian problem. Since the end of social upheaval in the Arab countries of North Africa, there have been some major changes. The time limit for deep historical and philosophical generalizations about events in these countries is yet insufficient. However, economists, political scientists and politicians who are guided by intelligence and analytics for the time period of 3-4 years believe it is more than enough to draw some conclusions on the effects of social unrest in the North African region. It is safe to say that the social unrest in countries North Africa had a dramatically negative impact on the development of their economies, although not equally. So, if in a more modernized Tunisia GDP growth in 2011 in comparison with 2010 decreased by 4%, from + 3 to 1, then in Egypt fall in GDP in the same period was more pronounced from +5 to -3%. GDP of Libyan economy, as of February 2012, decreased by more than twice. Adverse economic consequences of social upheaval in the three North African countries has witnessed rising inflation. According to the IMF in Libya, it reached 40% in Egypt, 12 and in Tunisia, 6% per year. Depreciation of money, in turn, has led to the fact that, for example, Egyptians began to put less money on deposits. Banks are also deprived of the flow of money and fearing the increased risk, they began to give loans at higher interest rates. As a result high interest rates on loans have become unaffordable for the majority of Egyptian businessmen. Social instability in North African countries significantly reduced foreign direct investment. For example, in Tunisia, they decreased by 25%. In 2011, Tunisia had gone 120 foreign companies, and this has led to the disappearance of 40 thousand. Jobs. The sharpest drop recorded in Egypt from 2010 to 2011 .: with 6.4 billion. Dollars. 0.5 billion. Dollars. In Libya, the results even more impressive with 3.8 billion. Dollars. to almost zero [10]. Social upheavals in North Africa led to a significant reduction in thei r foreign exchange reserves. For example, Egypts foreign exchange reserves at the beginning of 2011. accounted for 36 bln. dollars. However, after the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak in Egypt, they began to decline at an increasing rate in the first half of $ 1 billion dollars per month, and by the end of 2011. Monthly expenses of foreign currency reserves have doubled. By January 2012. Egypts foreign exchange reserves fell to $ 15 billion dollars. Social unrest in the North African countries and had a negative impact on the stock markets. Thus, the index of the Egyptian stock market since the beginning of 2011. fell nearly 48%, losing 32 billion. dollars. The Egyptian stock market was the most impaired in the world after Greece. It grows in North Africa and the budget deficit. In the same Egypt in fiscal year 2012 it was 9% against 8.1% a year earlier. According to the Tunisian and Egyptian entrepreneurs business climate has worsened in all three North African countries after the social upheaval in them. Recurrent strikes in Tunisia and especially in Egypt, paralyzed the normal course of production activities. Workers everywhere are demanding higher wages. The result of social unrest in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya became an active redistribution of property, which was previously in the hands of clans. Tunisia sees intensive redistribution of retail chains. In Libya, exists a struggle between the companies and mobile operators in Egypt are divided into trade and transport companies, and service enterprises. In all three countries there is a process of redistribution of real estate. Social upheavals in the states of North Africa had a very negative impact on the development of tourism industry. Indeed, in Egypt overthrowing Mubarak’s regime affected the share of tourism whichrevenues accounted for 12% of GDP. Already in 2011. Egypts tourism sector has missed 3 billion. US., and in fact it involved about 10% of the 85 million inhabitants of the country . Social unrest in Egypt in early 2011. and the removal of Mubarak from power in general weakened the rule of law in the country. This is particularly evident in the unprecedented growth in Egypt of crimes and violence against foreign tourists. This kind of excesses led to a sharp reduction in the influx of tourists to Egypt from Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland and the Scandinavian countries. Social upheavals in Tunisia and Libya of 2010-2011violated the close and mutually beneficial economic and social contacts between the two countries. Like This, trade between Tunisia and Libya was until 2011. 2 billion. USD. Per year. About 800 thousand. Libyans were treated annually in Tunisia, in turn, about 200 thousand. Tunisians working in Libya. Arab revolutions in North Africa largely paralyzed the state apparatus. For example, civil servants need not only higher wages, but also the dismissal appointed under previous regimes managers whose place they do not take themselves off. Same old heads in fear of the possibility of dismissal try not to take responsible decisions, in order to avoid accusations of fraud and corruption. One of the important political consequences of social unrest in countries of North Africa is coming to power, particularly in Egypt and Tunisia, of Islamist forces. After the victory in the parliamentary elections Tunisian and Egyptian Islamists have committed to domestic policy principles of democracy. However, the alarming fact that in addition to the moderate Islamists in Tunisia in the face of the party Ennahda[15], and in Egypt MB[16], seats in parliament were also obtained by pretty active Salafis. United States of America and Israel are concerned especially with the statements of some representatives of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood calling for the need to review some articles Camp David agreements concluded in 1979 between Egypt and the Jewish state. However, in an official statement of the organization of Muslim Brotherhood emphasized that Egypt still respects the signed treaties and agreements. Thus, the causes of social unrest in the Arab countries of North Africa and the Middle East at the beginning of the twenty-first century are rooted in many factors, both internal and external order. On top of acute internal socio-economic and political problems that could not be solved in the post-colonial period, further externalities were imposed in the form of the global economic crisis of 2008- 2013 and contradictory processes of globalization. In my view, the role of external factors in the formation of the objective prerequisites of social upheaval in the Arab States was minimal, but subjective quite significant. The consequences of the Arab revolutions now appear to be more as a negative, not only in economic, but also political and social spheres. As the events of July 2013 in Egypt show[17], the post-revolutionary consensus among the main political forces in this country did not come to a consensus. There are, however, hopes that authoritarian leaders who remained in power for long and not only in Middle East, but also in other countries of the third world, will learn from the Arab revolutions and will conduct periodic rotation of political elites from above, without waiting for the process to be executed by its citizens from below. Bibliography [1] Anderson, Lisa. Demystifying the Arab Spring: parsing the differences between Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya.Foreign Aff.90 (2011): 2. [2] Stepan, Alfred, and Juan J. Linz. Democratization Theory and the Arab Spring.Journal of Democracy24.2 (2013): 15-30. [3] Gause III, F. Gregory. Why Middle East Studies missed the Arab spring: The myth of authoritarian stability.Foreign Aff.90 (2011): 81. [4] Dodge, Toby. The causes of US failure in Iraq.Survival49, no. 1 (2007): 85-106. [5] Khosrokhavar, Farhad.The new Arab revolutions that shook the world. Boulder, CO: Paradigm Publishers, 2012. [6] Sakbani, Michael. The revolutions of the Arab Spring: are democracy, development and modernity at the gates?.Contemporary Arab Affairs4, no. 2 (2011): 127-147. [7] The 2011Arab uprisings and Israel’s national security // Mideast Security and Policy Studies. 2012. à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾- 95. February http://www.biu.ac.il/Besa/MSPS95.pdf [8] http://iranprimer.usip.org/resource/politics-irans-nuclear-program [9] Morady Farhang (2011), Who rules Iran? ‘The June 2009 election and Political turmoil’ in Capital and Class, Vol. 35. No 1, pp39 [10] http://www.brandeis.edu/crown/publications/meb/MEB71.pdf [11] Tadros, Mariz. 2012.Backstage Governance.IDS Bulletin43(1):62–70 [12] http://www.rferl.org/content/iran-khamenei-attacks-us-israel-worldview/25174663.html [13]http://www.currenteconomics.net/Economic_Research/Two_Years_of_Arab_Spring312.htm [14] http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/war-with-isis-islamic-militants-have-army-of-200000-claims-kurdish-leader-9863418.html [15] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15442859 [16] http://edition.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/02/14/gerges.muslim.brotherhood/ [17]http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/egypt/10158922/Egypt-in-crisis-July-4-as-it-happened.html

A Comparison of Classical Management Theorists and Contingency Theorist

A Comparison of Classical Management Theorists and Contingency Theorists The management field is characterised by a wide variety of theories, schools and directions. This essay examines the classical and contingency schools of thought -- the approaches to organization that have had the greatest impact on management today. Firstly the essay delineates and criticises the important theories propounded by classical writers. The essay continues with an account of the contingency school, and finally evaluates its impacts on managerial thought. Up until about the late 1950s academic writing about organisational structure was dominated by the classical management school. This held that there was a single organisational structure that was effective in all organisations. (Clegg & Handy, 1999). According to Holt (1999), the classical school is characterised by ?being highly structured, with emphasis on the formal organisation with clearly defined functions and detailed rules, autocratic leadership, a rigid chain of command and control by superiors? (Holt, 1999, p.137). The three greatest proponents of classical theory were Taylor, Fayol, and Weber. Each identifies detailed principles and methods through which this kind of organisation could be achieved. Taylor (1947) developed a systematic approach to called ?Scientific Management?, which focused on efficient production. Through the study of task movements, or ?time and motion studies? as it was known, he recognized matching the correct worker to the task was crucial to increasing work efficiency. Under this so-called Taylorism, emphasis is placed on power confered to those in control. According to Morgan (1997), this approach to work design is found in traditional forms of assembly-line manufacturing and in production processes. Another major sub-field within the classical perspective is ?Administrative Management,? set forth by Fayol (1949). While Scientific Management took a micro approach, Fayol saw the macro concepts, a body of knowledge which emphasised broad administrative principles applicable to large organizations. In Fayol?s account, management is conceptualised as consisting of five elements, namely planning, organizing, command, co-ordination, and control. He also developed 14 principles of management or organisation, the best-known being division of work, unit... ...ure. Academy of Management Journal, 25 (3), 553-566. Luthans, F. (1973). The Contingency Theory of Management: A path out of the jungle. Business Horizons, 6, 67-72 Meyer, M.W. (1972). Size and the structure of organizations: A causal analysis, American Sociological Review, 37, 434-441. Pugh, D., Hickson, D., Hinings, R. & Turner, C. (1969). The context of organization structures. Administrative Science Quarterly 14:91-114. Pugh, D. & Hickson, D. (1996). Writers on organisations. London: Penguin. Robbins, S. & Barnwell, N. (2002). Organisation Theory: Concepts and cases. Victoria, Australia: Pentice Hall. Taylor, F.W. (1947). Scientific Management, Harper & Row. Watz, T. (1996). Technology rules OK? A review of technological determinism and contingency theory. Creativity and Innovation Management, 5(1) 13-21. Weber, M. (1947). The Theory of Social and Economic Organization. A.H. Henderson and Talcott Parsons (eds.). Glencoe, IL: Free Press. Woodward, J. (1980). Industrial Organization: Theory and Practice, second edition. New York: Oxford University Press --------------------------------------------------------------------- [1] Pugh et al.

Leukemia Essay -- Health Medical Cancer

Leukemia Leukemia is a disease that affects blood-forming tissues, mainly bone marrow. Leukemia also affects the lymph glands and spleen. Leukemia causes the body to produce an extreme amount of abnormal white blood cells. This causes infections because the abnormal cells cannot stop infections like the normal cells do. Leukemia also causes anemia. Anemia is a disease in which the body makes less blood cells. This happens because the leukemic cells crowd the system. Leukemia also causes excessive bleeding. This happens because the amount of platelets will decrease and clotting will not occur, Researchers think a change in genetic structure causes leukemia. Changes in gene structure could be caused by environmental problems. Some of these problems could be: birth defects, radiation, viruses, and chemicals. Leukemia is not inherited and is not contagious. There are two major types of Leukemia, Lymphocytic and Granulocytic. In Lymphocytic Leukemia white blood cells known as Lymphocytes, which are made in the Lymph glands and bone marrow are abnormal or immature. In Granulocytic Leukemia this causes an increase in white blood cells known as granulocytes. Granulocytes are made in the bone marrow, and other tissue. Granulocytes that are affected by leukemia cannot fight of infections. There are two ways in which leukemia can occur. One is acute, and the other is chronic. Acute leukemia is found most in children. It progresses r...

Is College Worth it Essay

â€Å"What is a College Degree Worth? † by Maggie Gallagher. The overall main idea of this article is that the cost of college is going up and people is taking loans out which are putting them in debt because they have to pay them off. That is the reason why some people don’t go to college, I believe the author wrote the article to inform you about why teens are in debt after they graduate college. According to Mrs. Gallagher the main reason why college debt is increasing is  because loans are available and teenagers are encouraged to borrow money. At least 700 colleges have contract with bad banks to market credit cards to students. About nine in 10 students use credit cards to help pay for their college expenses. The main reason why the increase in college debt is because colleges have taught teenagers bad financial decisions, which has caused the decrease in the worth of a college degrees. The degree I’m pursuing at this moment is my Bachelor’s degree in Culinary Arts. I want a better education other than a high school diploma. Me wanting to become a chef/ Pastry chef, there is nothing Flint nor Michigan for my degree. I want to be up there with the people on the Food network channel and the TLC channel as well. With me having more degrees it will most likely guarantee me a VERY nice job in the near future.

Gideon’s Trumpet Book Report

Gideon’s Trumpet, a well-known book in the field of law was written by Anthony Lewis in 1964 and the book presents us with the true account of a man by the name of Clarence Earl Gideon, a semiliterate transient who is put in prison for breaking and entering and minor stealing. In the book we find a detailed account of the story of a man that managed to become a constitutional landmark. The book is set in the 1960’s in the beautiful state of Florida. The scenery is always in a courtroom or Gideon’s Jail cell. The setting is set in a time period where there civil unrests existed in equality. The book presents to the reader the story of Clarence Earl Gideon who was a petty thief previously. He conserved his documentation by applying for the slotting of a lawyer for him, and he filed an opportune appeal for doing so to the United States Supreme Court. As luck would have it, even though the Florida courts deprived him of legal representation, the judges appointed Abe Fortas, to dispute his grounds. His triumph, ceaselessly setting up the right of the underprivileged to advocate in criminal act cases in America, was one of the milestone cases of the Warren Court. The book, Gideon’s Trumpet has been penned down by the author in order to call to mind the old times behind the Gideon v. Wainwright court case and the ways in which it made such an everlasting impact on the laws of the United States. This exceptional book scrutinizes the case Gideon v. Wainwright, the milestone 1963 Supreme Court case which detained that impoverished criminal defendants are unconstrained to legal advocates at the expense of the government. Gideon’s Trumpet is an articulate and edifying book which provides the reader with at the imperative tale which has never before occurred in the United States legal system. The book is recited with an adequate amount of side comments on the subject of the legal procedure and communal framework and it also proposes an extensive viewpoint of the ordinary people at the legal system. On August 4, 1961, in the Circuit Court of the 14th Judicial Circuit of Florida, Mr. Gideon was tried and convicted by Judge Robert L McCrary, Jr. During this trial, Mr. Gideon didn’t have a counsel and was accused with burglary for breaking into a pool house in Panama City. Evidence, such as wine and loose change was found on Mr. Gideon. During this trial, Gideon actively seeked a counsel and asked the court on numerous occasions to provide him with a counsel. With each request, the court denied him the right to counsel. Thus, the case was extremely bias. Mr. Gideon had to represent himself against a state prosecutor. Gideon failed to understand the proper procedures in a law case and certain attorney techniques such as questioning the jury for bias opinions and asking relevant questions that lead to a point. Mr. Gideon simply asked questions that didn’t contain any lead and was shut down by the prosecutor. With the most unfavorable conditions, Clarence Earl Gideon was convicted and sentenced to five miserable years in prison. After a short time in jail, Gideon used the sources that were closest to him such as the prison library. Gideon checked out multiple books on law and studied his case. He then sent a petition to the Supreme Court of the United States to appeal the case. Mr. Gideon claimed that his 6th and thus 14 amendment rights have been clearly violated. His appeal went through the proper process and became approved. His efforts and his case caught the eye of case reviewers and thus his petition didn’t just go in the regular pile that went nowhere. The main character in the book is Clarence Earl Gideon. Despite the speculations, Gideon was not a black male but rather a white male with white hair. Gideon was born August 30th, 1910 in Hannibal Missouri. With the age of fifty-one, Gideon had a wrinkled and prematurely aged face. Mr. Gideon had a frail body with a voice and hands that trembled. Mr. Gideon survived off gambling and occasional thefts. Mr. Gideon would often find himself on the wrong side of the law. Gideon’s family had little education. Mr. Gideon ran away from his life of misery at the age of fourteen and ran away to California. From there, his life became the living definition of turmoil and Gideon would find himself in and out of jail. He was sentenced in a juvenile court in Ralls County Missouri for stealing clothes from a country store. In the later part of 1934, Mr. Gideon worked in a shoe factory because that was his skill. Within a short time, he was sentenced for stealing government property to wit a armory. While he was in jail, Gideon sent money back home to his folks. In 1937 through 1940, Gideon remained in jail until he escaped. In 1943, Mr. Gideon escaped prison another time. In 1944, Mr. Gideon was arrested again, this time for falsifying records while he was trying to work in a shoe company. In October 1955, he married his current wife named Ruth Ada Babineaux. Clarence accepted Ruth’s children, paying 8 eighty dollars to take custody of Ruth’s children. In 1956 Clarence received his 1st official son and in 1957 came the second son. Clarence understood the necessity of religion and infused religion on his household by sending the children to class fully prepared. There were other characters in the book. Abe Fortas was the defense attorney who represented Mr. Gideon. Fortas had just turned fifty-two years of age when he was assigned to Gideon’s case. Being born on June 19, 1910 to a modest family, Fortas loved living the grand life of being a lawyer graduating from Yale. Mr. Fortas flies around the world giving lectures and workshops. Fortas really had an interest for law on the philosophical aspects of law, such as what is really right. Fortas was a small man but with very powerful voice. His speech was very low and quail but had a great sense of intellectuality behind it. Justice Jackson was not a strong supporter of the judicial review. He wrote a statement in 1954 referring to the real strength of the Court. Justice Jackson wrote â€Å"The real strength of the position of the Court is probably in its indispensability to government under a written Constitution. It is difficult to see how the provisions of a one-hundred-and-fifty-year-old written document can have much vitality if there is not some permanent institution to translate them into current commands. Two other important characters in the book were Justices Black and Frankfurter. Chapter 6 provides an excellent review of methods of judicial, particularly those employed by Justices Black and Frankfurter. Lewis’s objective in this chapter is to provide the reader with some idea of the difficulty that a justice faces each time he is forced to decide a case. Gideon had lodged his complaint as if there wa s no precedent in the area of right to counsel. Gideon had made no reference to Betts, but the Court could certainly not ignore the presence of Betts in making its decision. At the crux of the issue which Lewis raises in this chapter is judicial review. The principle of judicial review has been accepted; however, the method about which method of judicial review should be used is still very much in question. As previously stated, Justice Frankfurter supposedly employed the judicial self-restraintist mode of judicial review. According to this model, the Court is to defer to the legislature and the states in its decision-making. Frankfurter expressed â€Å"apprehensiveness† about the Court interjecting its wisdom over that of the popularly elected legislature. In a stark contrast to Frankfurter, Justice Black’s method of interpretation held the Constitution’s provisions as â€Å"absolute† truths inviolable by the legislature. From this view, Justice Black did not have trouble overturning an act of the legislature that ran afoul of a Constitutional provision. However, as Lewis describes, the differing modes of interpretation employed by Frankfurter and Black are not always logically consistent. Frankfurter did not show deference in striking down the constitutionality of wiretapping and the provision of public funds to parochial schools. Justice Black did not act to strike down such actions as unconstitutional. As Abe Fortas began formulating his argument for the Court, he realized that for a justice like Frankfurter overturning the precedent of Betts would not be a simple task. As a judicial self-restraintist, Frankfurter usually held that the Court’s opinions were to be made under the guise of stare decisis, which means to stand by a decision. However, Frankfurter was not absolute in conforming to precedent. For instance, he voted to overturn the â€Å"separate but equal† doctrine proscribed in Plessy v. Ferguson in the case of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. For the reasons previously stated, Fortas felt that he would not face similar difficulties in convincing Justice Black to join his argument. Beyond precedent, the issue of federalism also presented a difficulty in Gideon’s case. Federalism has been an issue of utmost importance for the Court ever since its momentous decisions in McCulloch v. Maryland, in which the Court held that the federal government’s power to create a bank was superior to the states’. Relevant to Gideon’s claim was Frankfurter’s belief that the federal government should not impose upon the states to protect individual liberties. Justice Black had little of the same resistance. At the crux of the considerations Fortas was making in regard to the views of Justices Black and Frankfurter was the issue of incorporation. The biggest problem in the book was simply the fact that there was a great injustice done to Clarence Earl Gideon. During the initial trial, Mr. Gideon didn’t have a counsel and was accused with burglary for breaking into a pool house in Panama City. Evidence, such as wine and loose change was found on Mr. Gideon. During this trial, Gideon actively seeked a counsel and asked the court on numerous occasions to provide him with a counsel. With each request, the court denied him the right to counsel. Thus, the case was extremely bias. Mr. Gideon had to represent himself against a state prosecutor. Gideon failed to understand the proper procedures in a law case and certain attorney techniques such as questioning the jury for bias opinions and asking relevant questions that lead to a point. Mr. Gideon simply asked questions that didn’t contain any lead and was shut down by the prosecutor. With the most unfavorable conditions, Clarence Earl Gideon was convicted and sentenced to five miserable years in prison. Gideon felt that there would have been a better chance of him not being convicted if only he had a proper attorney. Gideon also believes that because he is poor, he should really have the right to be appointed a proper counsel. Therefore, Mr. Gideon sends in the petition in order to solve his conflict by having an appeal and have a retrial. In this retrial, Gideon hopes that justice will be served because he didn’t commit that crime. One of the most important events in the book was the landmark case Betts v. Brady. Betts v. Brady was a landmark United States Supreme Court case that denied counsel to indigent defendants when prosecuted by a state. It was overruled by Gideon v. Wainwright. In its decision in Johnson v. Zerbst, the Supreme Court had held that defendants in federal courts had a right to counsel guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment. In Powell v. Alabama, the Court had held that state defendants in capital cases were entitled to counsel, even when they could not afford it; however, the right to an attorney in trials in the states was not yet obligatory in all cases as it was in federal courts under Johnson v. Zerbst. In Betts v. Brady, Betts was indicted for robbery and upon his request for counsel, the trial judge refused, forcing Betts to represent himself. He was convicted of robbery, a conviction he eventually appealed to the Supreme Court on the basis that he was being held unlawfully because he had been denied counsel. At the end of the book, Clarence Gideon was granted a new trial. This time when he appeared for trial in the Circuit Court of Bay County, Florida, Gideon had a lawyer, and the lawyer made a difference. The jury acquitted Gideon in his retrial showing, in just one person’s case, what we know to be true: The right to counsel has profound meaning in the lives of those who are accused. Gideon’s Trumpet was a great book; it had a lot of factual information that was useful in the class. The book was on the subject of law, which I enjoy dearly so it was interesting. After reading this book I obtained a great deal of knowledge on such a landmark case that helped establish a position on such a on going debate.