A critical exploration of incorporated and unincorporated business structures and an examination of potential consequences to managers and directors for ignoring provisions of the equality act 2010.

Introduction An important first step in any business decision is deciding the type of structure of the company. There are several business structures which may include sole proprietorship, partnership, corporations and unincorporated business structures (Bhushan 2008). The first section of this analysis is going to focus explicitly on unincorporated business structures; highlighting some of the benefits of establishing an unincorporated entity such as simplicity, low cost and flexibility and the risks of running unincorporated businesses. The paper will also discuss the benefits as well as the drawbacks of incorporation. The second section will explore on the employment law, and the Equality Act 2010 in particular. It will examine some of the provisions of EA 2010 and discuss the potential consequences for managers and directors where provisions of the EA 2010 are ignored. Defining incorporated and unincorporated organizations Before exploring further, it is important to first define incorporated and unincorporated organizations. Incorporation is generally defined as the creation of an organization’s legal identity, separate from its members (Behrenfield et al. 1989). On the other hand, an unincorporated entity refers to a collection of individuals coming together for a specific purpose (Davis & Lawrence 1963). The main distinguishing feature is the lack of a separate legal personality for unincorporated forms. Even though unincorporated entities may operate under a common name, they do not have a legal structure (Gansler 2013). Thus, the law does not distinguish between the organization and its members. Unincorporated business entity may take on three main forms: a sole proprietor, partnership, or unincorporated association (Oleck & Stewart 2002). To an entrepreneur seeking to start a business, understanding the benefits and the drawbacks of setting up unincorporated business structure as well as the challenges of incorporation is very important. Familiarity with the benefits and challenges encountered with each approach will help guide investment decisions. This will help in developing a better understanding of the various challenges, risks, and the concerns and conflict that the entrepreneur might face with each approach. Benefits and the costs of incorporation versus the advantages and the risks of running unincorporated entities The choice of whether to operate an unincorporated business entity or to incorporate the business is not an easy one. Each approach to business has its own advantages and disadvantages. This requires some form of analysis whereby one weighs the benefits and the costs of incorporation against the advantages and the risks of running unincorporated entities. One particular point that is worth noting is that, unlike unincorporated forms, incorporation limits personal liability. This particular factor sets corporation apart from all other forms of businesses. Unlike an unincorporated entity, a corporation is an independent legal entity which is separate from the members controlling, owning or managing it (Williams et al., 2000; Davies & Lawrence, 1963 & Lazier 2009). In other words, incorporation will shield the owner’s personal assets from business debts and claims. This is not the case with an unincorporated business entity as the sole proprietor or partners are subjected to unlimited personal liability for the firm’s obligations (Williams et al., 2000; Davies & Lawrence, 1963 & Lazier 2009). That is, the owners or individuals carrying out the activities of the unincorporated entity will be personally liable for the acts and liabilities of the entity. For example, if for some reason, the firm becomes insolvent or runs into debts; then all of the firm’s assets as well as the personal estates of the business owners/partners will be applied in the satisfaction of the business debts. However, the business assets will first be applied and any indebtedness due or rather not covered by the business assets will be recovered from the owners/partners personal estates (Carter 2014). This means that the personal assets for each individual running the entity will exposed to the creditors once the business has exhausted its assets and insurance. Another point of divergence lies with the filing of tax. Owners of unincorporated business structures are required by law to pay income taxes on all net profits of the business regardless of the amount taken out by these owners (Lazier 2009 & Oleck & Stewart 2002). On the other hand, a corporation is taxed as a separate entity. It is subjected to special corporate tax rates, separate from an individual shareholders tax. However, if a portion of the corporation’s after-tax income is distribute to the shareholders in the form of dividends, then a separate tax will be charged dividend received by each shareholder (Laurence 2014). The separate level of taxation can be beneficial in some cases. The corporate owners are not required by law to pay personal income taxes on profits that they do not receive (Williams et al. 2000). And, given that corporations are subjected to a lower tax rate than most individuals for corporate income between $50,000 and $75,000, the owners of the corpo ration may benefit from a low combined tax bill compared to owners of unincorporated business earning the same profit (Laurence 2014). Perhaps another advantage of incorporating a business lies in its ability to attract investment capital. Unlike most of the unincorporated business forms, incorporation allows the business to sell ownership shares through the company’s stock offerings (Gansler 2013). This can be of great benefit especially where the need for attracting more investment capital arises. This advantage also makes it easy to hire and retain key employees by allowing employees to purchase company’s stock through employee stock options. This is particularly beneficial to the firm as it helps in aligning employees interests with those of the shareholders (Bickley 2012). However, business that have no intention of â€Å"going public† or issuing stock options may not find this added expense worthy. Yet another benefit that is worth mentioning is that the business will have an unlimited life in the event of death of the owners. Corporations may last for centuries even in the absence of the original owners (Davies & Lawrence 1963). The business will continue to act a separate legal entity which can freely transfer ownership interest from one person to another (Carter 2014). But for unincorporated entities, the business may come to an end in the event of death of the owner. It is clear that there are enormous benefits with incorporating a business compared to running an unincorporated business. However, there are several drawbacks to incorporating a business as well. One particular drawback relates to the high cost involved in incorporation. The corresponding filing fees charged for incorporation and the extra administration costs and the considerable organizational and overhead costs incurred by the corporation can be extremely high (Carter 2014). Besides the high cost involved, the process of incorporation is normally very lengthy due to the huge amount of paperwork which must comply with regulations. Unlike many other business forms, incorporated business forms have many formalities and regulations that they must comply with such as recording shareholder rights, establishing a board of directors, maintaining corporate minutes, corporate records and filings (Davies & Lawrence 1963). On the other hand, unincorporated business forms benefit from simplicity, low cost and the flexibility associated with their structures. It is easy and less costly to set up an incorporated business entity compared to a corporation. Continuing maintenance costs are minimal and there is a greater flexibility in terms of conversion of the entity to other forms as the business grows (Bhushan 2008). Also, the length of time and the amount of paperwork involved in setting up an incorporated entity is very minimal compared to incorporating a business. Another consequence of incorporating a business is that it is subject to greater regulation and supervision by government bodies. For example, financial corporations such as banks and trust banks, credit unions, investment and holding companies, insurance companies and many others are supervised by the Department of Financial Services (PWC 2008). Supervision include an examination of the licensing and registration requirements and chartering among many others. Regulations governing incorporations are also highly complex. Establishing a bank in the US requires one to conduct discussions with regulatory advisors, lawyers and federal and state supervisory officials due to the highly complex banking regulations (PWC 2008). On the other hand, unincorporated entities are not subjected to greater supervision and extensive regulations as corporations. And since they are not governed by any statute, unincorporated business entities have more flexibility with regard to how the entity should be structured. The owners can take all the actions of an individual. However, this lack of regulation could be a problem when a dispute arises since there is no formal statute for addressing it (Lazier 2009). The choice of whether to incorporate or run an unincorporated entity is clearly a complex decision which can only be made with consideration of a number of factors such as the projected business risks/liabilities, the need for attracting addition investment capital, need for regulations among many others. The choice of whether to set to incorporate the business or set up an incorporated business structure will most likely depend on the projected risk and liabilities of the business. For example, if the business is going to engage in high risk activities such as trading stocks, then it would be best to incorporate the business in order to provide for personal liability protection. However, where the risk is minimal, it is prudent to consider establishing an unincorporated business entity. Nonetheless, I will advise the couple setting up the retail business to incorporate as the risks of running an unincorporated business may outweigh the risks of incorporating it due to many unforeseen costs arising especially where lawsuits are involved. Plus there are the benefits of attracting additional investment through company stock offerings and issuing of stock options to employees which will also have the effect of aligning employees’ interests with those of the shareholders. While incorporating may be time consuming and costly due to the high filing fees, the extra administration costs and the considerable organizational and overhead costs incurred by the corporation; the benefits are greater in the long run compared to running an unincorporated business entity. Assessing potential consequences for managers and directors where the provisions of EA 2010 are ignored. An important part of running a business is understanding the various employment legislations which may have significant consequences on managers and directors of the company if ignored. One particular employment legislation of great interest in this analysis is the Equality Act 2010. The Act requires employers to take reasonable steps to protect their employees from discrimination and harassment in various areas including age, disability, religion, belief, race, sexual orientation, gender reassignment and pregnancy or maternity (GOE 2010). For example, part 5 of the Act which covers provisions relating to equal pay create an implied sex equality clause in employment contracts (GOE 2012). These provisions require employers to ensure equal pay for both the male and female gender where the contractual nature of the work is the same (EHC 2011). In general, the act places duty on employers to protect the rights of each employee by ensuring that they are not being discriminated against in the various areas highlighted above. It requires employers to make reasonable adjustments to working arrangements to prevent job applicants or employees from any form of discrimination (Jacobs and Jerald 2007). Ignoring the provisions of the EA 2010 will lead to severe repercussions. Managers and directors that choose to overlook some of these provisions will face severe court penalties. In addition, the legal costs incurred may be extremely high. The legal bill for the employer starts right at the moment when the employee expresses grievance and files a claim of harassment, discrimination or victimization (Muyi-Opaleye 2014). It should be remembered that the cost of hiring employment lawyers is very high and the legal bill can easily run into tens of thousands of dollars. In fact, estimates put the current defense costs of a single claimant lawsuit at $250,000 and a jury verdict of $200,000 (Heathflieid 2014). The settlement costs may fade in the face additional indirect costs that are often hard to quantify such as the losses resulting from damages to a firm’s reputation, the costs resulting from the loss of employee morale and distraction of organization’s staff as internal investigations are conducted (Heathfield 2014). There is also the loss resulting from the amount of time spent in defending against the claim. The managers/directors may incur indirect costs such as the loss of reputation which can also affect the firm’s reputation. Where such cases attracts publicity, the managers and directors may suffer from reputational damage irrespective of whether the claim was found to be valid or not. It should be remembered that reputation is a matter of perception and that the firm’s reputation is a function of reputation of key stakeholders including managers and directors of the company (Shah 2013). A strong positive reputation among the managers and directors of the company will result in a firm’s strong positive reputation and vice-versa (Burns 2012). If the managers and directors continue to allow for unfairness to go unchecked in the workplace, then this can cost them as well in terms of consumer demand. Consumers may react by choosing to do business elsewhere. This will have a significant adverse effect on the company’s bottom line as sales will significantly decrease thereby decreasing revenue and net returns. Companies cannot afford to lose a share of the market by allowing unfairness to go unchecked in the workplace (Burns 2012). The other indirect additional costs may have severe repercussions on the firm as well. Employee morale may decline to levels that their productivity are significantly affected (Burns 2012). Employees will feel that their grievances are not being addressed by the managers and directors of the company, thereby creating disengaged employees. Eventually, this will have a negative effect on the company’s bottom line. It is clear that the risk to the managers and directors for ignoring provisions of the EA 2010 are significant. From the very high costs of defending lawsuits to the hard-to-quantify indirect costs arising from reputational damage, loss of employee morale, and distraction of organization’s staff. It is imperative that the employer addresses employees concerns related to their employment contracts in order to avoid lawsuits and ensure a pro-active diversity workforce. If the employer fails to address employee concerns, proves evasive or provides unequivocal answers; it may lead to a tribunal drawing inferences which could be enough to establish a â€Å"prima facie† case of discrimination (Muyi-Opaleye 2014). Besides the lawsuits that may arise when a case of â€Å"prima facie† case of discrimination is established, the management may be ordered by the employment tribunal to undergo equality and diversity training. The Equality Act 2010 provides the employment trib unal with wider powers to order changes in workplace (GOE 2012). Conclusion There is no denying that the consequences of overlooking this employment legislation are enormous. The managers and directors may choose to ignore the provisions of EA 2010 at their own peril. The risk of ignoring these provisions is high from costly lawsuits to the hard-to-quantify indirect costs arising from reputational damage, loss of employee morale, and distraction of organization’s staff. The managers/directors of the company also run the risk suppressing overall job performance, forcing otherwise qualified and innovative individuals out of the labour force, and losing the lucrative consumer market to competitor firms. Reference Behrenfeld, W.H. and A.R. Biebl, 1989. Business Entities. New York: American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Inc. Bhushan, Y.K., 2008. Fundamentals of Business organization and management, New Delhi: Sultan Chand and Sons Inc. Bickley, J.M., 2012. Employee stock options: tax treatment and tax issues. Congressional Research Service. Available from http://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL31458.pdf [viewed on 4th December 2014] Burns, C., 2012. The costly business of discrimination: the economics costs of discrimination and the financial benefits of gay and transgender equality in the workplace. Center for American Progress. Carter, C., 2014. Advantages and disadvantages of incorporating a business. Chron. Available from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/advantages-disadvantages-incorporating-business-364.html [viewed on 5th December 2014] Davies, R.N. and K.H. Lawrence, 1963. Choosing a form of business organization. durham, north carolina: small business studies. Durham, North Carolina: Duke University School Of Law. Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), 2014. Equality Act 2010 Code of Practice: Employment Statutory Code of Practice. Available from http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/sites/default/files/documents/EqualityAct/employercode.pdf [viewed on 5th December 2014] Gansler, D.F., 2013. Guide to legal aspects of doing business in Maryland, A joint publication of the office of the Attorney General and the Department of Business and Economic Development. Government Equalities Office (GEO), 2010. Equality Act 2010: public sector equality duty what do I need to knowA quick start guide for public sector organizations. Government Equalities Office (GEO), 2012. Equality Act 2010 – employer liability for harassment of employees by third parties: A consultation Heathfield, S.M., 2014. Prevent employment discrimination and lawsuits. Available from http://humanresources.about.com/od/discrimination/qt/prevent-employment-discrimination.htm [viewed on 5th December 2014] Jacobs and Jerald A., 2007. Association Law Handbook. ASAE & the Center for Association Leadership, 4th ed. Laurence, B., 2014. How corporations are taxed: learn the benefits and drawbacks of corporate taxation, Available from http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/how-corporations-are-taxed-30157.html [viewed on 5th December 2014] Lazier, K., 2009. Benefits and disadvantages of incorporating an unincorporated association. Association of Corporate Counsel. Available from http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=49d3dabe-8f35-4e5e-b971-5c2c93c79b73 [viewed on 5th December 2014] Muyi-Opaleye, D., 2014. Archive for the ‘Equality Act 2010’ category: asking and responding to questions of discrimination. Employment Law Blog. Available from http://employmentlawblog.fieldfisher.com/2014/asking-and-responding-to-questions-of-discrimination [viewed on 5th December 2014] Oleck and Stewart, 2002. Nonprofit Corporations, Organizations & Associations , Prentice-Hall, Cum. Supp. Price Water-house Coopers (PWC), 2008. A regulatory guide for foreign banks in the United States 2007–2008 edition. Price Water-house Coopers Shah, A., 2013. The costs of discrimination. The London School of Economics and Political Science. Available from http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/diversity/2012/03/the-costs-of-discrimination/ [viewed on 5th December 2014] Williams, C., Barton, D. and Coltrain, D., 2000. Selecting a business structure: an informational guide to forming businesses. Kansas State University, Department of Agricultural Economics.

Internet Privacy Essay

Electronic commerce (e-commerce) is a great opportunity for any fledging entrepreneur to expose his goods to buyers all over the world through the internet. Small and medium scale businesses, with the right mixture of products and e-commerce capabilities can thrive in a global market. Geography is now longer a hindrance. One doesn’t even need a great amount of capital outlay to get started. For $ 25 a month, one can get an e-commerce start up kit (â€Å"Exploring E-Commerce†). Every imaginable commodity is now sold on-line. It would be wise for any business minded person to ride the information age. Of course, one area of concern when it comes to electronic transactions is security. There have been many instances where credit card information submitted to certain business related websites were stolen and used for other purposes. Customers would need some measure of guarantee that they are not getting scammed. At the same time, businessmen, especially the newer ones, would like to minimize costs of implementing a highly secure environment. Like everything else, a balance must be reached between security for the customer and cost for the business owner. The advantage of a non-secure e-commerce environment is that the business can start right away, even at the comfort of your own home if you prefer. Starting capital would be affordable since one only needs to register a website name and post the products he is offering. The site functions as a showroom for global customers. The disadvantage is that the number of hits on the site doesn’t necessarily translate to customers. 54% of prospective buyers cancel their transactions because of concerns which include insecurity (â€Å"Exploring E-Commerce†). Another disadvantage is that safe payment options are limited. Because non-secure e-commerce sites are vulnerable to hacker attacks, customers would prefer not to use any kind of electronic payment. This would limit the customer’s options to bank deposits and cash-on-delivery schemes. If credit card payment is offered in an insecure web environment, the risk of theft is increased. Overly secured e-commerce sites provide the customer with a blanket of safety and convenience for both the customer and the site owner. With up to date security measures, the owner opens his business to the more than 1. 2 billion credit card owners, world wide (â€Å"Exploring E-Commerce†). Applying encryption methods such as the widely accepted secure socket layer (SSL) certificates on the business website shields important customer information, like credit card numbers, from hackers and other web predators. One disadvantage of a highly secure e-commerce setup is the cost in putting up the safeguards. Verisign, the company that offers SSL certificates, charges over $1,000 for an extended SSL good for 1 year (â€Å"Verisign†, 2007). Other security costs include purchasing and updating of anti-virus software and firewall infrastructure. A minor inconvenience for the customer would be repeated input of customer information including passwords to help secure a transaction. These are not one time only costs. SSL and anti-virus software need regular updates to adapt to relentless hackers and virus code programmers. Even with all of these, there is still no 100% guarantee that the e-business is safe since security is meant to â€Å"manage not eliminate risks† (Tung, 2007). If the entrepreneur is new to the e-commerce business and confined with a limited budget, it is advisable that he start with registering the website first and live with the payment limitations. If the product is good, and the owner makes up for the limitations with above average service like on time delivery and packaging, then he may gradually add components that would make his e-business more secure. If money is no object to the businessman, then adding market accepted security features will certainly not hurt and will even attract repeat business. References: E-commerce 101. Retrieved December 10, 2007, from Sell it on the web Web site: http://sellitontheweb. com/ezine/webstore101. shtml Exploring E-Commerce. Entrepreneur. com , Retrieved December 10, 2007, from http://www. entrepreneur. com/growyourbusiness/howtoguides/article81238. html Tung, Liam (2007, November 2007). ‘Friendly rootkits’ proposed for safe e-commerce. Retrieved December 10, 2007, from ZDNet. co. uk Web site: http://news. zdnet. co. uk/internet/0,1000000097,39291134,00. htm? r=2 Verisign (2007). Retrieved December 10, 2007, Web site: https://ssl-certificate- center. verisign. com/process/retail/product_selector? uid=f149c3d301a629c3897d6187982dbfe7

Christianity in the later Roman Empire Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Christianity in the later Roman Empire - Essay Example Christianity has its own struggles before it became the widely accepted and practiced religion in the world. Its history has its own share of historical significance that had made it become more meaningful to its followers. There had been too many stories to tell that eventually made the Christian faith even stronger and richer. Looking into the Christian faith today, it could be drawn from the mere observation of the society at present â€Å"that the most important basis for this development is to be found in the fact that the genuine Roman view concerning the general nature of the supernatural remained a national religiosity of peasantry and patrimonial strata.† (â€Å"The Sociology†) What Christianity offers its believers and followers is with a rich context of human religion that requires the least of his capabilities in honor of the god they now admire and respect. After Christianity had gone through various transitions and reformation; after it had confronted and overcome all the challenges that it had faced, what results is a polished, spiritually stimulating and that is more universally accepted and acclaimed. The Christian religion has not only taught the purest and sublimest code of morals ever known among men, but actually exhibited it in the life sufferings, and death of its founder and true followers. (â€Å"Literary Contest†)"Literary Contest") Religio from Superstitio In the Roman context, religio is defined as the "proper reasonable awe of the gods." ("Reclaiming") The primary characteristics of the Roman tradition were conserved virtually unchanged in ritual practices. Looking at its historical context, Roman religio was associated into two derivations such as "religare," which means to tie, "relegere," which is to consider, that is tied with tested cultic formulae and a consideration for "numina" or spirits - which are active everywhere. ("The Sociology") Every member of the Roman Empire is acquainted with his or her duty regarding the traditional rituals that constituted religio even if the nature of the gods whom they offer these rituals is vague. Romans in the ancient Rome had continued to perform rites and rituals in honor of the gods they have traditionally praised. "Religio meant fulfilling an understood contractual relationship with the gods. It involved acts, rather than beliefs; it centered on cult, instead of theology." ("Reclaiming") Life in the case of the Roman was spent under conditions of austere restraint, and, the nobler he was, the less he was a free man. All-powerful custom restricted him to a narrow range of thought and action; and to have led a serious and strict or, to use the characteristic Latin expressions, a sad and severe life, was his glory. No one had more and no one had less to do than to keep his household in good order and manfully bear his part of counsel and action in public affairs. But, while the individual had neither the wish nor the power to be aught else than a member of the community, the glory and the might of that community were felt by every individual burgess as a personal possession to be transmitted along with his name and his homestead to his posterity; and thus, as one generation after another was laid in the tomb and each in succession added its fresh contribution to the stock of ancient honors, the collective sense of dignity in the noble families of Rome swelled into that mighty civic pride, the like of which the earth has never seen again, and the traces of which, as strange as they are grand, seem to us, wherever we meet them, to belong as it were to another world. It was one of the characteristic peculiarities of this powerful sense of citizenship, that it was, while not suppressed, yet compelled by the rigid simplicity and equality that prevailed among the citizens to remain locked up within the breast during life, and was only allowed to find expression after death; but then it was displayed in the funeral rites of the

Drunk Drivers should be imprisoned on the first offence Research Paper

Drunk Drivers should be imprisoned on the first offence - Research Paper Example Many people’s lives are put to risk by this annoying habit. Drunk driving began long before the invention of automobiles. As soon as a man climbed onto the back of a transport animal and began riding, there were drunken donkey, camel, elephant and horse riding. In almost all cultures backdating to thousands of years ago, there has been awareness that drunkenness is undesirable. Moderation has always been advised since wiping out alcohol is impossible. The fact that alcohol is continually referenced through history as a bad thing proves that there have always been abusers of alcohol. These abusers have either caused harm to themselves or society at large. Almost all of us have had an experience with a drunk driver weaving in between lanes or driving on the opposite side of the road. Worse still, we have witnessed fatal accidents caused by these drunk drivers (Klein A10). No form of irresponsibility by anyone justifies such loss of lives. This ill vice has to come to an end! The government has tried to curb the menace by introducing road sobriety tests and other measures but the habit is still not dying down. Certain ages are prone to drink more than others men are responsible for 81% of drinking and driving incidences. Young men between 21 to 34 years of age contribute 11% of the incidences and 85% by people drinking above the required amounts. This is according to Centre for Disease Control and prevention (CDC). The problem is so grave that it has attracted anti-drunk driving activism. Opposition to drunk driving is as old as the automobile. One of the activists, Doris Aiken who got involved in anti-drunk driving activism in 1978 says the tragedy that inspired her involved two teenagers who she barely knew. This led her to establish an organisation called Remove Intoxicated Drivers (Baron 1, 4). An unfortunate incident is of a young girl who got an accident after a 17-year-old male

Emergency Management 670 week 7 Conference Essay

Emergency Management 670 week 7 Conference - Essay Example In the future, emergency managers will need to develop a region wide approach to emergency management, implement interoperable GIS technologies and protect key infrastructure in the communities. Effective emergency managers need some skills and traits in order to effectively manage the unforeseen disaster. Some of the skills include risk assessment skills, mitigation planning, and ability to work with the communities in preparedness through periodic drills. According to Drabek’s study of 1987, effective emergency managers should have salient traits such as anticipating disasters, exhibition of professionalism, being community mentors, reconciliatory traits, the knowledge of extend of authority and ordinance based powers and doing anything possible to protect and preserve the safety of the community. The National Academy of Sciences study of emergency management concluded that efficient emergency managers need critical future skills such as grasp of the public administration and budgeting skills. It also made it clear that understanding of HAZUS software and improvement warnings and communications was essential for emergency managers. The study concluded that emergency managers should improve the use of social media and acquire higher education on risk assessment and preparedness skills (Langberg, 2010). The study also suggested that emergency managers should be more regionally focused and share best practices in emergency management in order to enhance the response capabilities of the first responders. The National Academy of Sciences study also proposed the better use of GIS and other software technologies in identifying and responding to emergencies. On the other hand, International Association of Emergency managers (IAEM) recently announced that the emergency managers should be compressive, risk-driven, progressive, inclusive, collaborative, professional, coordinated and flexible in response to

Wealth distribution. Wealth tax and estate planning Essay

Wealth distribution. Wealth tax and estate planning - Essay Example Riches are accumulated at a rate faster than the affluent can normally spend yet it is being held and proportioned among themselves while the gap between wealthy and the needy visibly widens.In a study of disposable weekly income by the ONS, the richest 10% of have at least 658 per week (after deductions), compared with the poorest 10%. T Twenty-three percent of the nation's total riches is owned the by richest 1% group. Intangible wealth is left to the hands of its owner to amass and enjoy during his lifetime free from any liens and encumbrance. With the current budget crisis, tax imposition and structure on intangible wealth would surely correct the scenario and for the country to appropriately create solutions that is beneficial to each citizen. Instead of finding ways and means to increase the tax percentage remittances of the working class, channeling the deficit to the excess of the affluent could entirely minimize the growing responsibility of its weary ordinary taxpayers.Weal th according to Frank "is an abundance of items of economic value or the possession of such items" which could either be money, personal property or real property. Other countries would identify wealth as the possession of crops and livestock. Historical data would portray wealth as an accumulation of non-necessities. In the Middle East, wealth denotes ownership of arable lands. Smith saw wealth as "the combination of materials, labour, land and technology in such ways as to capture profit. Across the ages from tribal society to modern age several means to moderate wealth distribution and its acquisition and use was relatively studied. Some tribes along the Pacific Rim kept wealth evenly distributed by means f giveaways to the poorer members of the society. The tradition of philanthropy exists in modern civilized society. Such traditions according to Cook "are recognized as responsible wealth". Government policies can gear towards the redistribution of wealth to the rich and poor respectively. In disaster relief operations, wealth is transferred to those who are victims of natural disasters and calamities. Social security benefits transfers wealth earned to the older individuals. Wars transfers wealth to other sectors of the society and in reparations wealth is transferred to other countries. Public education allows the wealthy to send children of needy families to school. Certain government campaigns support the hungry in third world countries. Yet, people from the upper social strata despise having to contribute to these programs and continue to evade them. The act of wealth distribution itself cannot achieve 100% efficiency due to the maintenance of structures to collect and redistribute it. Arguments as to its accumulation and redistribution often create conflicts within the system. However if a certain society implements wealth distribution by means of persuasion valued on the different capital and the production of wealth, the rich once in a while can be mandated to give away at least a small part of their extra assets to the poor. In turn, according to the Keynesian theory, this redistribution and expenditures have a multiplier effect that stimulates the economy and creates wealth again back to the wealthy capitalists. In France, residents declare their annual worldwide assets and their value for which assets exceeding 732,000 a graduated tax is payable annually. Married couples and minor children file one common return. Non-residents who own assets or bank deposits including shares of stock in France or French companies are also liable under the wealth tax law. As a significant source of revenue this law was implemented in 1989 and declared taxable assets which include: real estate; furniture; jewelry; cars and other vehicles; horses; shares and bonds; endowments and redeemable value of life insurance. Assets that are held in trust for beneficiaries under the French law are not recognized. French authorities regard a trust as

Reason and democracy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Reason and democracy - Essay Example In his speech on (2009), the united state president Barrack Obama claimed that, American presumes no knowledge of everyone's needs, but he believes that everyone yearns for certain things in life. These things include; the ability to share their thoughts on how they are governed; the ability to confide in the judicial system. In addition, citizens need to have a government they can confide in with their resources, and for the freedom to live as they may choose (Obama's Speech in Cairo 2009) In this sense, a true act of democracy must be supplied by reason. Democratic state, government in office are open and ready to supply all the essential facts of their actions to their citizens. This builds the citizens trust on the government in managing their resources, in the judicial system and their freedom to make their own chooses without state manipulation or threats (Obama's Speech in Cairo 2009).. If an individual believes that they are entitled to certain aspects in life, if one can clearly elaborate the reasons as to why they enjoy such rights as opposed to if they were not entitled to them, hence, they believe in democracy. In a judicial system, every judgment ought to be backed by reason. It is only in such circumstances that democracy is fulfilled. If a judge were to pass judgment on individuals without clarified reasons, then this would defile the aspect of democracy. Acts of democracy should be justifiable based on reason. In a dialogue between; Theseus from a democratic city, and Theban Herald from despotism city.

Media system, communication ethics and society Assignment

Media system, communication ethics and society - Assignment Example For the past 40 years, the development of media has highly been influenced by the authoritarian policies regimes where the media has been controlled very finely by the strict laws and regulations imposed by the government. It has been very cleverly used by their governments as a tool to publicize their own social, cultural and economic programs. In Saudi Arabia, till 1990’s most of the television channels were government owned but with time, private channels also entered in the market and introduced by more professional and independent approach to media management. Al-Jazeera, Al-Manar, Al-Arabiya are few of the pioneers in satellite television industry. The history and trends of the Saudi Arab region and other Arabian countries has never let them deviate from their cores and roots thus they also avoided adoption of westernization in their media system like rest of the countries. However, the historical dominance of political system has been the primary force in shaping the media structure in most of its parts. The history in Arab has largely been influenced by political system that shaped the media

Amazing Grace And Amazing Revelations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Amazing Grace And Amazing Revelations - Essay Example The entire book is devoted to moving real life stories of the poor and deprived of the district and mind boggling figures of poverty. Perhaps, the main reason behind the success and effectiveness of the book is that it does not put forth long, confusing scientific charts and graphs to explain the poverty and give related figures but exposes the situation by introducing the reader to real life characters - people who live and breathe in that district and are stuck in such a vicious cycle of poverty that is simply beyond our imagination. Kozol's prime focus is women and children. He tries to show that poverty, racial discrimination and lack of basic civic amenities affects this weak and vulnerable stratum of our society the most. For instance, Kozol points out how widespread AIDS actually is by simply stating that almost everyone knows someone who has died of or is currently suffering from AIDS. By 1993 alone, nearly 2000 children had lost their mothers due to AIDS (194). Health care facilities are almost non-existent and hospitals are over-crowded. Patients suffering from serious and at times terminal diseases actu ally have to wait at the hospital for days before they can get a bed or a room. Kozol relates the incident when he had a conversation with David about his sick mother. When asked if she got approval for SSI, David replies in the negative, simply saying, "They say she isn't sick enough" (99). The hygiene and sanitation conditions are so terrible that toxic barrels are strewn everywhere and a great majority of the children suffer from asthma due to the garbage incinerators operating in the residential area. Perhaps the most horrifying section of the book is when Kozol speaks of the problem of rat infestation. Kozol's relation of the incident when a child's fingers are eaten away by rats is too sickening (114). The poverty problem in the area is so acute that soup kitchens and shelters are crowded with mothers elbowing violently and hoping that their child might get some food today. During winter there is acute shortage of warm clothing and sometimes the city government is benevolent enough to hand over sleeping bags. The distressing words of a father of four haunt one by the ruthless honesty of their tone, "You just cover up ... and hope you wake up the next morning" (4). The extreme poverty and totally hopeless circumstances has given rise to widespread depression amongst the children. The seriousness of the problem can be gauged from the fact that the school psychiatrists have long waiting lists of patients. Kozol relates many cases, for instance, of a child staying awake late at night simply to smack cockroaches and of children who cry a lot without knowing or being able to explain why. Kozol's friends at Mott Haven are vehemently critical of the governments policies regarding the poor and are furious at Mayor (fmr.) Rudolph Giuliani for cutting back on a few basic and precious facilities provided to the poor (100). They claim Giuliani's policies, which aim to cut back on sanitation facilities, food programs, drug-rehabilitation programs etc., are unfair and will hurt the poor exceedingly. Saying that the book is an eye opener will be a terrible under statement. The first thought that comes to mind

Sixth Sense Technology Essay Example for Free

Sixth Sense Technology Essay As human beings we are most concerned about physical and digital information. We are growing up with the physical objects around us. We are really fond of interacting with physical objects instead of computing devices. Sixth Sense Technology is a mini-projector coupled with a camera and a cell phone which acts as the computer and connected to the Cloud, all the information stored on the web [4]. Before implementing the sixth sense technology the inventor tried to combine the physical world to digital world creating a gesture interface device that actually acts as a motion sensing device. The basic idea behind this is always objects are connected with gestures that are used to interact with both objects and each other. The first thought was basically regarding taking part of the physical world to the digital world by implementing things like sticky notes coming to a sms or a meeting reminder, writing query connected with paper input output system, pen can draws 3D images and Google map without searching key words. Thus computing became so intuitive. The goal was to connect these two worlds in the first. However we know that people don’t like computing [4]. The reverse operation of previously mentioned concept that is taking digital world to physical world occurred due to the reason human is really interested about information. They want to know about things, basically about the dynamic things going around them. The technology is called as sixth sense technology since it is out of our familiar five senses. This technology is based on wearable gestural user friendly interface which links the physical world around us with digital information and uses hand gestures to interact with them. Thus this becomes a vital issue since people get more aware about their day to day information and this technology provides you a way to carry your digital world always with you wherever you go. Sometime ago these things were amazing and nowadays with this technology people’s lives have become more convenient and informative. By this I’m thrilled to research about the way of connecting two worlds, the technology behind sixth sense and what are the uses of this and further improvements since I’m fond of finding ways of interacting with world of information. . Background and motivation The physical world is set to blur into the digital with the invention of a new ‘sixth sense’ device. This is specifically designed with mobility in mind. And if this new prototype manages to see the commercial light of day, it could hold the potential to become the preferred option for multi-touch devices worldwide. The genius behind this technology, Pranav Mistry says i t’s all about integrating the virtual world with reality and it can really let you connect as a sixth sense device with whatever is in front of you. I’m really enthusiastic in this research area of sixth sense technology since I’m searching for a way to interact with these two worlds and information out of the scope which is always with regard to our five senses. On the other hand it’s an amazing idea to carry our digital world with us where ever we go. This is a wearable gestural interface. We are all human beings. As you I’m always keen on making aware of dynamic information. Imagine that we can experience a live discussion while reading a news paper and we can dial a number on our palm and make a call. We can use any surface to modify our information. Therefore we can pinch many physical things to our digital world. I was so motivated to this technology since it will help us to take better decisions about day to day lives by using instant dynamically changed information. It makes our task effective and efficient. Before the arrival of sixth sense technology the inventor implemented a way to connect part of physical world to digital world. What we are doing physically is replicated in digital world. I’m so interested in learning about that area since it was the approach for the concept of sixth sense technology. And this technology is open source. If we are interested in this we can make our own sensing device. Still some of the testings are done on to make this more advanced. The concept is always with regard of connecting these two worlds. 3. The thrilling potential of sixth sense technology Sixth sense is a wearable gestural interface device that augments the physical world with digital information and lets people use natural hand gestures to interact with that information. The prototype implements several applications that demonstrate the usefulness, viability and flexibility of the system like map application, the drawing application and freehand gestures (postures). The device is comprised of a pocket projector, a mirror, a camera, mobile component and colored markers. This is basically for carrying digital world to the every day physical life. We know that people are really interested to use objects , gestures they are familiar instead of sitting in front of a machine and computing devices. Firstly the researches were carried for taking the physical objects to the digital world. These experiments are done by Pranav Mistry and his group in MIT. We know that when we talk about objects the gestures automatically connected with them. So this was his first thought and implementation. Then he thought about reverse operation since people always need information. You can carry digital information source with you. This device recognizes the objects around us displaying information automatically and letting us to access it in any way we need. The technology allows the user to draw icons or symbols in the air using the movement of the index finger and recognizes the symbols as interaction instructions.

Effect of Paradigms on Research Methods

Effect of Paradigms on Research Methods Each paradigm brings a unique view to research and to how reality and all of which it consists should be viewed. No paradigm is more effective than another as each looks at reality differently. Interpretivism is a paradigm which was created as an alternative to Positivism and took an alternative approach to research by encouraging the use of qualitative, in-depth data to create knowledge. The article, The Insider’s Experience of Long-Term Peer Victimisation, by Mackay, Carey and Stevens (2011), is informed by the Interpretive paradigm as it aims to understand the concept of bullying from a subjective perspective through the use of personal experience. The use of the Interpretivist paradigm influences every aspect of this research from how the topic is viewed, the purpose, how the research problem is presented, the collection of materials, how the data is analysed and displayed as well as the ethical considerations of the research. Interpretivism, similarly to other paradigms, has a unique and distinct view of the world and of how the world should be understood. Interpretivism does not accept reality as it appears at face- value. Instead this paradigm claims that reality consists of people’s subjective experiences of the external world (Terre Blanche Durrheim, Histories of the present: Social science research in context, 2006). This means that a world which is shared by everyone is experienced differently by everyone as each individual applies their own unique perspective and meaning to their experiences and actions. In order to understand this type of reality, the patterns and problems which occur in reality and even solutions to these problems; Interpretivism proposes that research explores people’s subjective experiences and actions and the meanings or reasons they attach to these actions and experiences. In order to conduct research through the Interpretivist paradigm, the researcher must also take a unique stance to reality and to the subjects in the research. The researcher is required to be open and empathetic. Empathy involves attempting to view the beliefs and experiences of other as they themselves would view or experience them. Therefore, the use of empathy will allow for the researcher to fully understand the individual’s subjective experience and the meaning they attached to the experience. Empathy and understanding of the subjective experience can be achieved through the Qualitative methodologies which Interpretivism uses. These methodologies create a subjective relationship between the researcher and the participant which allows the researcher to interpret the data at a deeper, involved level and to form ideas from the interpretations in a mutually – constructed manner (Mottier, 2005). Ultimately, it is important to emphasise that the way the Interpretivist p aradigm sees reality, the way the researcher engages in the research and the various research methods used by this paradigm all work simultaneously and influence the research in order to answer the research question in a particular, desired way. The topic of the study is usually the first part of the research which is decided upon. How the researchers wish to study and understand the topic, however, is influenced by the research paradigm, â€Å"Paradigms are all-encompassing systems of interrelated practise and thinking that define for the researcher the nature of their enquiry† (Terre Blanche Durrheim, Histories of the present: Social science research in context, 2006, p. 6). The topic of the article by Mackay, Carey and Stevens (2011) revolves around bullying and the experience of bullying. The researchers have chosen to look at the experiences of bullying which requires them to look into the data deeply as the experience of bullying is not simple but an extremely personal experience which has many complex layers and effects to understand. Through this topic, the influence of the chosen paradigm, Interpretivism, begins to immerge. Kelliher (2005) states that Interpretivism is based on the assumption that if people are studied according to their social context, there is a greater chance of understanding the meanings associated with and perceptions they have of their experiences and actions. Therefore, the interpretivist paradigm is perfectly suited to study and understand the concept of bullying as a social action and a social problem experienced by individuals. This is because this paradigm focuses on the meanings underpinning human actions and associated with human experience (Kelliher, 2005). Ultimately, it is clear that how the topic is being viewed and researched is influenced by the Interpretivist paradigm as the researchers have chosen to study bullying in an in-depth manner and to view it from a subjective or personal perspective in order to understand bullying in its entirety. The paradigm informing the research also has an effect on the purpose of the research as the paradigm indicates what type of questions are asked about the topic and the purpose of the research is to ensure that these questions are answered. This idea is supported by Durheim (2006) who states that although the paradigm does not directly define the purpose of the research, it provides a guiding framework for the purpose of the research. The article states that the overall purpose of this research is to improve the understanding of bullying through the personal experiences of bullying victims who have experienced long- term victimization (Mackay, Carey, Stevens, 2011). The research is however divided into three sub-questions or purposes in order to gain a full representation of bullying. The first purpose of the research is to understand the victims’ perspectives of what factors contributed to bullying while the second purpose aims to understand the why the victims allow themselves to be continuously subjected to the bullying. The third purpose of the research is to provide information on and discuss various treatments and interventions of bullying. All of these research aims rely heavily on the personal opinions and experiences of the victims. Thus it is evident that Interpretivism plays an indirect role in the formation and fulfilment of these research purposes. This is because these purposes have a qualitative, interpretivist nature as they require the researcher to delve into the experiences of the individuals. Therefore only Interpretative, qualitative methods focusing on individual’s personal experiences can thoroughly and correctly fulfil these purposes. The collection of material in research typically involves the type of sample and participants used, the sampling methods and the methodology used to collect data from this sample group. The methodology used within Interpretivist contains various Qualitative methods which are clearly employed in the research conducted by Mackay, Carey and Stevens (2011). These interpretivist methodologies had a great impact on the type and number of participants used, how the participants were selected and how the data was retrieved. The participants used in this research had to be victims of bullying and had to have experienced bullying for the majority of the school year. These specifications of the participants are undoubtedly influenced by the Interpretivist nature of the research which aims to understand the subjective experiences of individuals and therefore, the research specifically requires the participants to have subjective experiences of bullying which can be analysed and interpreted. The sample population size used in this research was also influenced by the Interpretivist nature of the research. Only three participants, one female aged eleven and two males aged twelve and fifteen were selected to take part in the research (Mackay, Carey, Stevens, 2011). This is due to the fact that Interpretivism only needs a small amount of participants in order to achieve a meaningful, ethnographic inquiry. This small sample is also influenced by the type of interpretive data analysis which is used, namely Interp retive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). IPA requires an even smaller sample sizes than typical interpretivist research as it analyses the cases of the participants in intense detail rather than using many participants to form generalizations, â€Å"The detailed case-by-case analysis of individual transcripts takes a long time, and the aim of the study is to say something in detail about the perceptions and understandings of this particular group† (Smith Osborn, 2007 , p. 55). Thus, it is clear through the extremely small sample population, that Interpretivism and IPA have had an impact on the number of participants decided to be used. The interpretivist nature of the research requires the research to rely heavily on the participants and their experiences and therefore these participants should be selected extremely carefully (Scotland, 2012). The size of the sample population and the specifications of this population greatly affect the type of sampling used in the research. In the case of this research, only a small sample population, who had personal experiences of being bullied, was needed. Therefore, purposive sampling was used to meticulously select these types of participants. Purposive sampling is the typical sampling method used for interpretive research as it allows for a particular group of participants, for which the research question will significant, to be chosen (Smith Osborn, 2007 ). Ultimately, the use of purposive sampling was influenced by the Interpretivist nature of the research as it allowed for the perfect sample population to be selected. The method of data collection is also an aspect of research which is undoubtedly influenced by the paradigm informing the research. Interpretivist research primarily focuses on using the power of ordinary language and expression in order to understand the social world (Terre Blanche, Kelly, Durrheim, 2006). This is achieved through Interpretivist data collection methodologies which are flexiable and yeild indepth, qualitative data; for example interviews, focus groups, observations and role-playing (Scotland, 2012). The semi- structured interview, which is used in Mackay, Carey and Steven’s (2011) research, is a common type of data collection method informed by the Interpretivist paradigm. This is because a semi- structured interview allows insight on behaviours to surface and also aids in explaining actions and experiences from the individual’s perspectives which is the primary goal of this research. Scotland (2012) further states that semi- structured interviews are unique as they allow the participant to freely express themselves and for the participant to delve deeper into their story. In Mackay, Carey and Steven’s (2011) article semi- structured interviews are used precisely for this purpose as the research requires the method of data collection to be able to get the particpant to reveal intimite details of their victimization and also to allow for important areas of the topic to be probed. The quote, â€Å"if it gets bad, the teacher will actually say the names of the bullies, and they get really embarrassed †¦ So that usually keeps them down for a few days. Which is a relief for me†, in the article taken from a participants interview cis just one example that shows how the particpant was able to explain and express their feelings around their experience through the interview. The paradigm informing the research instructs the research to use certain participants, collect certain data in a certain way and therefore it also instructs the research on how this data must be analysed. In Mackay, Carey and Steven’s (2011) research, the Interpretivist paradigm has influenced the use of the Interpretive technique, Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), in order to analyse the data in manner which will yield the results needed. Generally, IPA is used to examine how individuals interpret their world and their experiences and attempts to understand the meaning of these interpretations and experiences. When researching a specfic topics such as bullying, IPA focuses on attempting to understand what the individual believes and feels about the topic and how they have personally experienced the topic and ultimately transforms this information into themes (Chapman Smith, 2002). The use of IPA is clearly seen through the results of the research which used how the individuals described their experiences to generate themes of why the victims felt they were bullied. An example of this is seen through the theme, ‘being different’ which emerged from the interpretive analysis of the victims’ statements such as, â€Å"they tease me about being [name]’s friend, because she’s different† and â€Å"They tease me about being different, because I care for my brother†(Mackay, Carey, Stevens, 2011). IPA is also distinct from other Interpretivist research as it understands that the researcher plays an active role in data analysis as they interpret the participants’ interpretation of their experiences in order to reveal patterns and themes in the data (Smith Osborn, 2007 ). The use of this interpretive technique is evident in the research by Mackay, Carey and Steven (2011) as the researchers regularly discussed the emerging themes throughout the data analysis process in order to assure that they each found were related to the experience of the individual. Thus, the influence if the interpretive paradigm is seen in the data analysis of the research as it allowed for the use of IPA to generate themes. IPA was specifically needed in order to completely understand and interpret the individuals’ experiences but also allowed for themes to be formed based on these three experiences. In Mackay, Carey and Steven’s (2011) research, the way in which the themes and findings were presented was based on the interpretive nature of the research. Through the use of IPA, the superordinate themes, ‘experience of victimization’ and ‘Strategies’ and their subthemes were generated and were presented in a very simple thematic table (Mackay, Carey, Stevens, 2011). Typical to interpretive research, the thematic table containing the superordinate and subordinate themes is then explained and the themes are described in depth and are supported with statements made by the participant (Chapman Smith, 2002). An example of this is seen when discussing the bullying policy at school which was discovered through the research to be inefficient and was support by statements such as, â€Å"Yeah they had a bullying policy, but nobody abided by it.† (Mackay, Carey, Stevens, 2011). Terre Blanche, Kelly, and Durrheim, (2006) further state that Interpreti ve techniques in communicating research findings make use of â€Å"evocative language† which is strong language used to bring about images or feelings (p. 274). In the results of this research the use of descriptions stating that the vicitms had, â€Å"only one or two friends† and that there was an â€Å"unwillingness of teachers to suspend bullies† creates an image of the problem and consequences of the bullying being experienced by the participants. Ultimately, the influence of the Interpretivist paradigm is evident through the thematic table and various linguistic techniques used to discuss the results of the research.

Mercury :: essays research papers

Mercury   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mercury is the closest planet to the sun. It’s average distance from the sun is approximately fifty-eight million km and it’s diameter is 4875 km, making it the second smallest planet in our solar system. It’s volume and mass are about 1/18 that of the earth and it’s average density is approximately equal to that of the earth. Mercury’s magnetic field is one-hundred times weaker than that of Earth’s. Mercury has the shortest revolution of all the planets in our solar system and revolves around the sun in about eighty-eight days. Radar observations of the planet show that its period of rotation is 58.7 days, or two-thirds of its period of revolution. That means that Mercury has one and one-half days in it’s year.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mercury doesn’t have an atmosphere, but it does have a thin layer of helium. The helium is actually solar wind that is trapped by Mercury’s weak gravity. Scientists think that collisions with protoplanets early in the history of the solar system may have stripped away lighter materials, making Mercury a very dense planet with an iron core extending outwards 4/5 of the way to the surface.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mercury bares a very similar resemblance to our moon because it has a lot of craters. The craters, which cover seventy-five percent of Mercury’s surface, were formed by huge rocks that smashed into the planet’s surface. The largest crater is called the Caloris Basin and it is 1400 km in diameter and is flooded with molten lava. Mercury also has many cliffs that are usually over 300 miles long and two miles high. The rest of the planet’s surface is smooth and may have been formed by lava flowing out of cracks in the surface.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Temperatures on Mercury vary greatly because of it’s closeness to the sun. The surface temperature on the sunlit side is about 430 degrees Celsius, while the dark side may reach temperatures of -170 degrees Celsius..   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mercury was a difficult planet to study before the invention of the telescope. Even then, you could only see Mercury in the morning and evening. Then the Mariner 10 was built in the 1970’s to go observe Mercury.

Kant and the Morality of Anger Essay example -- Philosophy Papers

Kant and the Morality of Anger Introduction This essay does not comprise a defence of retributive punishment, neither does it imply a rejection of deterrent punishment. The writer suggests that one possible reason for the tendency to advocate punishment of offenders with ever increasing severity can be discovered in the concept of the 'morality of anger'. It is this explanation of the phenomenon that forms the principal burden of the arguments used in this essay. The salient characteristics of the two theories of punishment, which find expression in English law, will be found below [1]. In the absence of any definitive public policy an unresolved tension exists, which derives from attempts made to reconcile the two theories, with some degree of balance, in sentencing practice. Actual sentences in the English courts are often a compromise between the demands of retribution and deterrence. Any uncertainty that may exist about which theory is being used, in particular circumstances, leads to actions which cannot be completely justified by either theory [2]. Crime and Punishment in Kant's Civil Society According to Kant's moral theory an exacting principle of respect for humanity, in the form of the person, can be reconciled with the absolute necessity of punishment, because punishment, within a properly constituted civil society, is a legitimate and necessary response to crime — punishment must comply with the moral law as a 'categorical imperative [3]. Kant's theory of retributive punishment is of particular importance, because it is one of the most coherent and consistent of the retributive theories, and has not lost its relevance in contemporary discussions [4]. Kant's civil society rest securely on th... ...Foundation Course The Open University 1986, Units 13-15 pp. 68-76 Feinberg, Joel Harmless Wrong Doing, The Moral Limits of the Criminal Law Oxford 1988, pp. 159-165 Guyer, Paul (Ed.) The Cambridge Companion to Kant Cambridge 1992, Essay 10, 'Autonomy, obligation and virtue: An overview of Kant's moral philosophy', pp.309-341, also Essay 11, 'Politics, freedom and order: Kant's political philosophy,, pp.342-366 Hoffe, Otfried Immanuel Kant New York 1994 Honderich, T Punishment, The Supposed Justifications Oxford 1989, pp. 208-237 Paton, H J The Categorical Imperative London 1947 Rawls, John A Theory of Justice Oxford 1972 pp. 251-257 Singer, Peter A Companion to Ethics Oxford 1993 Essay 32, 'Crime and Punishment', C L Ten pp. 366-372 Sorell, Tom Moral Theory and Capital Punishment Oxford 1987 Walker, Nigel Why Punish? Oxford 1991

The Historical Context of Terrorism and Our Next Steps :: September 11 Terrorism Essays

The Historical Context of Terrorism and Our Next Steps    As the horrific tragedy of September 11 settles into permanent corridors of our conscious life, our reactions as a society are manifold. There is shock, grief, anger and other emotions that we have not fully understood or found words to describe. As we search for explanations, our sages in government, the media and the academy try to help us articulate what we have experienced. We have been told that our innocence is gone, that the third world war has begun and that we are confronting a new and more lethal form of terrorism than the world has ever seen.    There is no doubt that our life as a nation will be altered by the destruction of that day. The thousands of lost lives cannot be restored, and their loss cannot be explained to those left without them. Fear will become a presence that increased security can never really dispel. Sacrifices will be made if our government chooses to seek retribution by war, as seems now to be the case.    We are urged to resume normal life, as both a healing mechanism and a tactic in the war against terrorism. Sports events resume and we will cheer for another kind of victory, movie theaters will again draw crowds to view digitalized specters of violence, mayhem and terrorism, and our daily routines of earning a living, providing food for our families, and seeking temporary escape in front of televisions, at bars and in restaurants with friends will go on. The firebomb that brought down the World Trade Center will be a memory.    In historical perspective, the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon are not really new; they are part of an evolutionary pattern that continues to metastasize into the social fabric of the Western world. Modern terrorism began in a democracy: In 1793, the French government, after four years of experimenting with the problems of establishing a democratic republic, inaugurated a self-proclaimed "reign of terror" in which tens of thousands of citizens were victimized and executed as "enemies of the revolution." Terror from below began with the Italian Carbonari, small cells of Italian patriots who killed French officers during the occupation of Europe under Napoleon. In 1849, Karl Heinzen wrote the first manifesto on modern terrorism in which he justified the killing of "the barbarians" in government as the only means of ending the injustice and brutality of monarchical rule.

Case Study of “Bookoff, Amazon Japan, and the Japanese Retail Bookselling Industry”

Case Study of â€Å"Bookoff, Amazon Japan, and the Japanese Retail Bookselling Industry† 1. The reasons for the profitability of large Japanese retail booksellers relatively poor and their scale relatively small. One reason for this is that there is no significant industry consolidation has occurred, so there is no dominant bookseller, because there is a unique formal institution which is price-fixing system that makes it illegal for larger and potentially more efficient competitors to use price competition to drive out small competitors. Laws have allowed publishers to fix the price of new books, music, and newspapers in the bookselling industry, this means retailers are unable to compete on price. For a long time, sales has been in stagnation, even worse, the steady increase of costs over time has reduced the profitability of both large chains and small stores. Also because of the undifferentiated book in multiple book stores, the only way to compete is on price, but this is illegal, and also the entry to this industry is low, small entrants can enter this industry easily ,this lead to the scale relatively small. . The benefits for individual companies and the industry to participate in Saihan system and the costs. Under Saihan system, for individual companies, they sell books, musics, magazines at fixed price, the competition is not fierce and they can almost earn average profit of this industry, because there is no need to compete on price, this can make them more cautious of their diversity of products, so they w ould provide as more product as they can, which could increase customer loyalty if customers could always find what they want. Another benefit is that Saihan system encourages new tittles to publish, this enables individual company to bring many new books in their stores to attract customer. While the costs of this system for individual companies are becoming bigger, they have to spend large amount of money to process the new titles while they are making less profit on them. Because of fixed price, all the stores are providing undifferentiated books and also the less competition makes individual companies much less efficient. As the industry is under price fixing system, first benefit is that this system combined with Consignment sale system which allows retailers and wholesalers to return unsold books to the publisher free of charge, leading publishers and wholesalers prefer to supply larger retailers first, which drives small retailers out of business. Another benefit is that this system maintains market stability, the price is not volatile and the industry can grow steadily. On the other hand, costs are, as the industry entry is not high, many small book stores being set up in Japan, with the large number of stores, every company is earning lower profit but they can not compete on price. Because of the rigidity of price, customer would like to buy cheaper imported books and CDs and also buy second-hand books, online books, and also rental books instead of buying a new book, these substitutes are now threatening the industry and also hamper the growth of the industry. . Industry-, resource-, and institutional based views to explain the success of Bookoff and Amazon Japan. †¢ Industry-based view From industry-based view, rivalry among competitor in Japanese industry is characterized by large numbers of relatively small booksellers, as they are all selling products at the same prices, the rivals in the industry are similar in size, influence and product offering, so the competition with this saturated industry is vigorous. As the entry barriers of this industry is relatively low, some incumbents enjoys economies of scales, only large retailers are earning higher profits, small operations are being driven out of this industry, the profitability of the industry is not so attractive, so, potential entrants are few. In the area of book distribution channel, the competition is very low, as Nippon Shuppan Hanbai and Tohan control between 70% and 90% of the book wholesale market. They prefer to supply larger retailers first, because they don’t need to worry much about returned books under Consignment Sale System. So the small number of suppliers and they provide the newest and most popular books shape the strong bargaining power The buyers of this industry now can choose to use internet to entertain, this causes the overall drop in book sales in Japan, and the number of retailers in the industry is very big, so they can choose between different stores without any switching costs, and they are all facing undifferentiated books, so the bargaining powers of buyers in the industry is very enhanced. The substitutes are posing big threat of this industry, e-book and cell phone novel are convenient and less expensive compared to existing hard copy books and customers virtually incur no costs when switching from hard copy books to e-books, cell phone novels. So the substitutes are a big threat for this industry. For Bookoff, the strategy Bookoff deployed is low-cost leadership, it uses a loophole in the Saihan system to offer lower prices by opening used-book stores, because used books are an exemption to the Saihan system. Bookoff uses its new technologies to clean book covers and grind down dog-eared pages to make a used book look practically new, and the rehabilitated books are at new book quality, so, it offers the same value of a product at a lower price compared with its rivals, the technology it is using is an entry barrier for other competitors and potential entrants. While the suppliers of Bookoff are those used book holders, their bargaining power is much lower since it buys books form the suppliers at 10% of its list price. In addition, Bookoff focuses on the used book and differentiates itself by shaping the new recycle industry, the students can feel frugal and environmentally conscious without suffering a drop-off in the quality of books when buying new-used ones, and new-used book store such as Bookoff is also an acceptable compromise for the still image-conscious, but increasingly thrifty, Japanese consumer. For Amazon Japan, first, it uses product differentiation strategy to provide a wide variety of products besides book. It offers music, DVDs, videos, software, gaming and even kitchen appliances. By offering the wide range of products, Amazon Japan differentiates itself by offering larger selection of products. Also, it differs itself by allowing customers to read excerpts and passages from books before they purchase them. Low cost leadership strategy is also deployed to compete with existing competitors by offering free shipping which put Amazon on par with its bricks and mortar competitors but give it an advantage over other online stores. †¢ Resource-based view. Bookoff has several new technologies as tangible resource and has intangible resource as reputation for offering new used books. These new technologies can add value to those used books, Boooff can clean book covers and grind down dog-eared pages to make a used book look practically new. And the value-adding activity is very firm-specific, so, the technology resource is vey valuable. As Bookoff’s new valuable technology is a rare resource and capability, other competitor has no access to it, so it has the potential to provide continue competitive advantage. And because the new championed technology probably has been registered as patent by Bookoff, the imitation of this capability is almost impossible. The organization of Bookoff is unlike most bureaucracy-laden Japanese companies, it franchises all its stores, and the owners and employees are encouraged to act like entrepreneurs, and this feature of organization of Boooff gives its competitive advantage that its competitors don’t have. For Amazon Japan, when the bookselling activity is not value-adding in Japan, it turns to offer a wide variety of products besides books such as electronics, toys, and sporting good, etc. Because of this innovation resource, Amazon Japan always keeps increasing its product lineup to provide value to consumers. Another question is that this innovation of Amazon Japan is not rare, it can be easily imitated by its competitors, and thus, this competitive advantage is just contemporary for Amazon Japan, but other competitors can only imitate its product line, they probably are not as innovative as Amazon Japan. †¢ Institution-based view Institution is the humanly devised constraints that structure human interaction, the institution in Japan is quite unique compared with that in American. The Saihan system, a formal institution, this law prevents these bookseller competing on price. For Bookoff, this institution doesn’t constrain its competitive advantage, it uses low-cost leadership to compete with its competitors, there is a loophole in the Saihan system, because it is a used-book stores, so, it is an exemption to the Saihan system, then, it can lower its prices which can be much lower than its competitors. Further more, it accommodate to the changed informal institution in Japan that the Japanese consumer’s image-conscious, but thrifty culture, and it also cater for the Japanese young people’s taste that it is new-used book stores, the young generation are much more environmentally conscious. For Amazon Japan, it uses a clever methods to bypass the Saihan system to offer free shipping to customers which put its products at lower prices than its competitors that do not offer this service, and its also opened Amazon Marketpalce, this allows Amazon to indirectly sell books and music at prices below Saihan-mandated prices as third-party uses, where those third-party users are not bound by Saihan system. In addition, Amazon uses a points system for customers to accumulate points to redeem for a gift certificate, this also by pass the Saihan system to lower the price of its products. Because of the informal institution of Japan, people in Japan are fear of fraud to use credit care for online purchase, in order to cater for this unique culture, Amazon Japan started a service to allow its customer to make payments at any convenience stores and ATMs throughout the country, enabling customers to avoid the risk of online fraud. And Amazon Japan also accommodate the Japanese customers’ tradition of standing and reading to provide â€Å"look inside† option to allow customer to read excerpts and passages from books before they purchase them. 4. What will happen if the Saihan system dissolves? After the dissolve of Saihan system, all the competitors in Japan can then compete on price, a lot of small stores will not hold because they lack economies of scale and will be driven out of the bookselling industry, the industry structure will have fundamental change. The competition will be fierce, significant industry consolidation will occur and the industry will probably be dominant by giant companies. The suppliers’ competition will also be intensified, so, it will be important to have good supplier intimacy, buyer will have access to much lower prices of books. 5. If I were a board member of Barnes& Noble or Borders, I would approve a proposal to open a series of book stores in Japan, because the success of Amazon Japan and Bookoff has indicated that Saihan system can be easily by-passed, we can follow the success of Amazon Japan to offer free shipping and provide a wide selection for our customers, because the capabilities Amazon Japan are not hard to imitate, we have our own human resources to even build even better facilities than Amazon Japan, based on out resources in American, I believe we can success in Japan, if the Saihan System dissolves, we can still proceed to Japanese market, because after Saihan System dissolves, the competition in Japan will be very fierce, a lot of small operation will be driven out of business, we can then buy these small business and integrate them into our business operation. And we have economies of scale, we believe we can offer lower prices if price war begins in Japan. References 1. Peng, M (2009) Bookof f, Amazon, and the Japanese retail bookselling industy, Global Strategy, 2e, 387-395.

Hometown

Hometown is a  place we live in. It is the place which means a  lot for us and that’s why it is important to think about how to make it a better place. As I  am thinking about what I  miss in my hometown, I  realize it is a  bathing pool. Bathing pool is a  place the people can go over the summer, the place where they can relax and also the place where they can get healthy. Many young people in Piestany are very bored over the summer holiday, because they don’t have the place to go.They are bored and feel very hot, and that is the reason they spend so much time in their houses doing nothing productive. Having a  bathing pool could definitely entertain them and contribute to a happy society. As in a  lot of big cities, in my city there are a  lot of adults who are permanently stressed from the work and need a  place to take a  rest, relax and forget about the daily stresses. The bathing pool over the summer can provide an effective way to cool dow n.As well as over the winter, the hot healing water in the pool can provide an effective way to warm and heal the person. Piestany is a spa city which has a lot of healing thermal springs. If they can make a bathing pool combined with the thermal water, it can be a good place for all the citizens of my city. Basically, the bathing pool with the healing water can contribute on making our society healthier. In summarize, having a bathing pool in my hometown would be a great way how to make the citizens in in the city happy, relaxed and healthy. Hometown Hometown is a  place we live in. It is the place which means a  lot for us and that’s why it is important to think about how to make it a better place. As I  am thinking about what I  miss in my hometown, I  realize it is a  bathing pool. Bathing pool is a  place the people can go over the summer, the place where they can relax and also the place where they can get healthy. Many young people in Piestany are very bored over the summer holiday, because they don’t have the place to go.They are bored and feel very hot, and that is the reason they spend so much time in their houses doing nothing productive. Having a  bathing pool could definitely entertain them and contribute to a happy society. As in a  lot of big cities, in my city there are a  lot of adults who are permanently stressed from the work and need a  place to take a  rest, relax and forget about the daily stresses. The bathing pool over the summer can provide an effective way to cool dow n.As well as over the winter, the hot healing water in the pool can provide an effective way to warm and heal the person. Piestany is a spa city which has a lot of healing thermal springs. If they can make a bathing pool combined with the thermal water, it can be a good place for all the citizens of my city. Basically, the bathing pool with the healing water can contribute on making our society healthier. In summarize, having a bathing pool in my hometown would be a great way how to make the citizens in in the city happy, relaxed and healthy.

Martha McCaskey The Seleris Associates Industry Analysis Case Study

For the past 18 months Martha McCaskey has been an exemplary performer with high integrity and been assigned as a project leader to a crucial high profile project named Silicon 6. Upon successful completion of Silicon 6, McCaskey has been promised a promotion to group manager. McCaskey is being pressured by senior management to finish the project and have an action plan to present to the client. Now she has some options to weigh in order to complete the project. What McCaskey must decide is where she draws the line on compromising her values in order to complete Silicon 6. She will have to decide what constitutes proprietary information or is she engaging in â€Å"gentleman’s industrial espionage† McCaskey has also realized she might have to pay someone off to finish her project in order to attain her promised promotion. She felt she has always maintained a high degree of integrity until now. There were some warning flags McCaskey should have noticed. The focus this paper is to examine specific reasons underlying McCaskey’s situation, what the warning flags were and what tactics she should employ concerning her involvement in the Silicon 6 project and her future with Seleris. Martha McCaskey Seleris Associates Industry Analysis Division Case Study Martha McCaskey has been assigned as the Project Leader of the Silicon 6 Project with Seleris Associates Industry Analysis Division (IAD). She is facing some real tough decisions that can be career threatening and possibly have legal ramifications. Silicon 6 has become a crucial project for IAD. Silicon 6 will account for 20% of IAD’s revenues. If successful for IAD’s client then more lucrative projects would follow. This should have been a warning sign to McCaskey, a high profile project given to a new hire would not happen. McCaskey has been promised a promotion to Group Manager with a substantial increase in pay if she performs well. This was a warning sign. How could McCaskey be promoted to Group Manager? There were only 2 groups who was going to go? Was it just â€Å"lip-service† to entice her further to obtain the needed information on Silicon 6? Selersis’s client is a semiconductor manufacturer based in California. The client has retained IAD to identify cost structure and manufacturing processes for a new chip being manufactured by a competitor. Selersis’s client has offered to double the consulting fees if the required information could be obtained. McCaskey has been tasked by her management to formulate an action plan to present to senior management of the client and IAD. McCaskey is struggling with how she must decide what constitutes proprietary information and what is public knowledge. McCaskey wonders if she is engaging in â€Å"gentleman’s industrial espionage†. She has always maintained a high degree of integrity, until now. McCaskey now has some different approaches for finishing the Silicon 6 project to ponder. The Events Leading Up To Martha’s Situation Martha McCaskey has the right pedigree; Electrical Engineering (EE) degree from CalTech, and Harvard MBA. Shortly after finishing her MBA she became an associate with Seleris Associates Industry Analysis Division. This division specializes in clients in the computer component manufacturing industry. McCaskey’s offer was generous plus she received a good reference from a former CalTech associate who was employed there. The division was divided into 2 units. One unit was under Group Manager Bud Hackert called the â€Å"Old Guard† which worked mainly on independent projects and the other unit under Group Manger Bill Davies comprised of newer associates or â€Å"New Guard† where McCaskey was assigned. The New Guard group worked predominately on team projects. McCaskey’s first project received high praise from Tom Malone the division’s vice president stating her performance was the best the division had ever seen. The second project was very challenging. Under heavy pressure McCaskey was successful. After presenting successfully to the client, the president of IAD Ty Richardson asked McCaskey what her delay was on this project in writing the clients report. McCaskey was so outraged she finished the report in 10 days. Malone established her report as the new benchmark for IAD projects. This behavior by Malone should have been a warning sign as well. McCaskey had been with IAD a short time and already her work was a bench mark? There is no easier way to gain loyalty then by praise. McCaskey felt Richardson and Malone disapproved of her handling of the project. It was during this period that Malone suggested McCaskey ask advice of 2 members of the Hackerts’ group; Dan Randall and Chuck Kaufmann concerning obtaining sources of information. Hackert’s group was involved in gathering detailed information about competitors. This McCaskey quickly ascertained that Kaufmann and Randall were the real producers of this group. Before she was done on her current project McCaskey was asked by Richardson to talk with the rest of the members of Davies Old Guard group on the Silicon 6 Project. Randall was cold and unapproachable and Kaufmann was unavailable. McCaskey did work later with Kaufmann on some team projects and she found him to be approachable and fun to work with. The Atmosphere At IAD Several senior associates had left the firm in the last few months. McCaskey over the months has discovered was that IAD had some severe ethics issues. The president Ty Richardson is very sharp as well as a convincing salesperson with plenty of charm and charisma. He was very driven, mostly by money. The defacto Chief Operating Officer (COO) Tom Malone was the type of leader who was another great talker and salesman who once stated to Kauffman that he did not care about the turnover at IAD because he could just put an ad in the paper and hire all the staff he needed. Richardson and Malone stated to the staff about being part of the management team. However both would go on a client visit without involving the staff. The staff felt left out and perceived themselves as being non-contributors. McCaskey had been given the freedom by Richardson to perform her work as she wished and her work was also recognized by Richardson. Her bonus that year was $25,000 while the other associates bonuses were much smaller. This should have been a warning sign to McCaskey, special attention by senior management, to include a large bonus in excess of co-workers share. McCaskey And Silicon 6 McCaskey had been asked to work on Silicon 6 because of her EE degree and coursework on chip design. Richardson had stated the project was behind schedule and her expertise would be valuable. McCaskey was informed she would be working with Chuck Kauffman. Kaufmann was hard working but was taken advantage of by both Richardson and Malone. He was paid less than any other associate and felt the company needed his expertise to run the business. Kaufmann could not step back and see his situation. When trying to obtain information from industry sources McCaskey would identify herself as a representative of a trade journal. McCaskey thought that was a little more above board than visiting a target company and pretending to be interviewing for a job, as a consulting friend of hers does. Richardson spends more time with Randall, McCaskey and Kaufmann often making impromptu visits to see McCaskey and Kaufmann. McCaskey was still struggling with obtaining credible information on the target company. Seleris’ client had also placed a stipulation that the target company was not to be contacted, to avoid the appearance of price fixing. Malone had queried McCaskey on whether she had been able to contact any former employees of the target company. On other projects she had found former employees of target companies a valuable source of information. Kaufmann had confided in McCaskey he had paid a former employee of a target company a $5,000 consulting fee for spreadsheets and a business plan for a new product line. He mentioned Randall had done this on a regular basis on Seleris projects. IAD had no written formal policies concerning solicitation guidelines and rules of engagement working for a client. McCaskey confirmed with a coworker that members of Hackerts’ Old Guard group routinely paid off ex employees of target companies to obtain sensitive and proprietary information for Seleris’ clients and the Group Manager Hackert condoned and encouraged this behavior. Desperate for information McCaskey considered using former employees of the target company to complete Silicon 6. When she learned of the bribes McCaskey should have known what Seleris was all about, ethics not being an attribute. This was another warning sign she chose to ignore. Enter Phil Devon McCaskey’s best lead came via some random events. During her research she came across a professor at a small east coast engineering school who actively consulted with European semiconductor manufacturers. After contacting him McCaskey discovered he could not provide her with any information. Malone then suggested McCaskey fly out and interview him in person indicating he might have some â€Å"gossip† on the new chip. The face to face interview provided no new information that McCaskey could use. The professor suggested she contact Phil Devon a consultant in southern California who had been involved in the design and start up of one of the European chip manufacturers. The lead for Devon came about under such obscure circumstances. Malone told her to fly out to see the professor for â€Å"gossip† and then she discovered Devon? Did he know of Devon and intended to use McCaskey as a patsy? This was another set of warning signs for McCaskey. McCaskey set up an interview with Devon and discovered he was a former employee of the target company at the vice president level. This was large warning sign for McCaskey. You should never approach an executive of a target company, they are not ignorant. Your true intentions will be figured out in no time. McCaskey felt uneasy with Devon from the start. Devon was almost too forthcoming with information. McCaskey felt certain that Devon could provide her with all the information she needed to complete Silicon 6. She felt he might be leading her on in order to find out who she was working for. This should have been a red flag warning for McCaskey. Devon was way too anxious to give up information. What were his motives? Just a nice guy who wanted to help for the right price? A disgruntled ex-employee? Was he working for the target company? Was he part of a sting operation ? She did not listen to her â€Å"gut† on this one. McCaskey was an intelligent person she should have gone with what she felt (Welch Jack: Straight From The Gut) When McCaskey debriefed Malone she informed him of her meeting with Devon and how she felt Devon could have provided her with all the information she required had she just asked. She then informed Malone she had come away empty handed with the needed information. She also informed him about how uneasy she felt about Devon’s demeanor to the point that he might call the authorities or inform the target company’s plant Silicon 6 of her interest if she pressed him for the target company’s information. Malone told her not to contact Devon anymore and just go through her client presentation with him. Malone informed McCaskey that Seleris would present the data as though it represented the actual Silicon 6 plant. When McCaskey objected Malone informed her no one would notice when they presented. Another warning sign, Malone was going to lie to the client. What McCaskey thought was to be a dry-run of her presentation turned out to be held in front of the client’s senior plant management. The plant managers stopped her within 15 minutes of her presentation stating it provided no new information. In a closed door session with Malone and McCaskey the client plant management stated their displeasure in Seleris’s handling of the Silicon 6 project stating how much business they had given Seleris and how they hope to continue the trend. However, given what they had just witnessed they had doubts. Malone then brought up how Seleris had just made contact with an former employee of the Silicon 6 plant who could provide them all the information required given the proper â€Å"incentives† were provided. The attitude with the client senior management immediately changed. The client senior management doubled the consulting fee for IAD stating the additional funds could be used for â€Å"incentives†. The client stated they did not care how IAD obtained the information as long as they got it. Malone was delighted in the turn of events and how delighted Richardson would be. When Malone briefed Hackert, he suggested that the consulting fee paid to Devon should be $7,000 not the usual $4,000 or whatever would make it worthwhile. Malone then informed McCaskey to think about how she handle Devon and not rule out the idea of using Kaufmann to meet with Devon. McCaskey realized she was in the middle of paying Devon off to complete Silicon 6 and receive her promised promotion. This was a huge warning sign. Malone was shooting from the hip and he succeeded. Plus he had the perfect patsy; McCaskey or Kaufmann. Strategies Martha McCaskey Could Have Taken One strategy McCaskey could have taken was to stand up and define herself as a person and an employee (Jack Welch Video: Define Yourself or Others Will). If you allow people to think that you condone certain behavior, as in McCaskey stating to Malone â€Å"You’re Amazing! † after the presentation she and Malone made to the Silicon 6 client. She seemed to admire him for his dishonesty. When she learned that Seleris was bribing former employees of target companies she further failed to define herself in not speaking up for ethics and distancing herself form the situation. Her co-workers could only assume she approved of such behavior. Being new McCaskey desired to excel and seek approval of her management; however bribery to succeed is not the way to differentiate or advance yourself. Differentiation is a way to manage your people and your business. It’s about getting the best players on your team in order to have everyone pull together and win. (Jack Welch; Winning; Chapter 3) You do not win by being dishonest. When McCaskey discovered her management was basically unethical she needed to have a face to face meeting with them immediately. McCaskey was not in a situation of good boss vs. bad boss (Welch Podcast: Good Boss vs. Bad Boss) with someone who was just a jerk or a bully, she was dealing with 2 people who were blatantly dishonest and unethical who were condoning and encouraging bribery and industrial espionage. They were crossing a line that could land them or McCaskey or Kaufmann in jail. More than likely it would have not been Richardson and Malone as they were the â€Å"know it all† types of mangers who would let subordinates take the fall. (Welch Podcast: Bosses Who Get It All Wrong). At this point McCaskey has realized both of her managers were dishonest. You cannot trust dishonest people. Trust is the fiber of good peer to peer relationships, once gone it’s hard to win back. Trust is like the stock market you can lose it overnight (Fiener Chapter 3 Law of Trust). McCaskey should have confronted both Richardson and Malone both with their behavior and asked to be moved off of the project. Better to be moved off or moved out than go to jail. McCaskey did not give herself a lot of options to improve her or change her situation as she went along with the status quo. She chose not to stand up and do her job the right way. She more than likely is going to be cannon fodder for her management. (Feiner Chapter 8 Law of Conscientious Objector). A culture change needed to take place at Seleris from top to bottom and bottom to top. However, the persons you had running the company Richardson and Malone were not about to inspire any change that would interfere with their personal cash flow. The main problem with Richardson and Malone is that while both were bright and charismatic, but they were the wrong type of leaders, they were not inspiring the right attributes. Feiner Chapter 2). They were not taking control of the situation for the good of the company or employees, they were doing for themselves. The burning bridge technique might have worked (Fiener Chapter 9 The Law of the Burning Bridge). For change to end it right the process must start right. Malone and Richardson were not about to upset their empire by admitting they were wrong and begin a dra stic change process. It is not in their moral fiber to do so. There was no way for McCaskey to have changed their behavior. A painful end is waiting for them. Three Emails McCaskey Should Write Ty: After some thought and soul searching I feel I should be removed from the Silicon 6 Project. I realize I have not produced well on this project and I sincerely regret my less than stellar performance. I would like to stay on with Seleris IAD and perhaps work on less high profile projects in order to give myself a much needed break. I feel very stressed and overwhelmed at this point. I would like to meet face to face with you in your office to personally discuss my options with you. I would also like to take a 2 week vacation to recover from the last few months as well. I notice your calendar is clear form 1300-1400 would that be convenient for you? Tom: Due to the tremendous stress I have been under I will be taking a couple of weeks vacation to recover. I would like to remove myself form the project. I will let you decide who should meet with Phil Devon, as I know you know the right person to speak with Devon. I have cleared this with Ty Richardson and he agrees that I need some time off. I will be moving on to some less high profile projects. Head of Human Resources: I have enjoyed my tenure Seleris IAD where I feel I have grown personally and professionally. I feel I have worked with some of the industry’s best consultants. It is a decision that I have thought about for a while and I feel it is the best option for me at this point. I will be terminating my employment within 2 weeks from receipt of this email. A certified letter confirming the same will be coming to you forthwith. Conclusion Martha McCaskey has painted herself into a corner. She can pay Devon off take her promotion and hope for the best with her future. Her situation is this; she is considering bribery and has engaged in industrial espionage. McCaskey should run not walk away from this situation. She should run; self terminate her employment and cut all ties with her co-workers. She should have seen the warning flags and listened to her â€Å"gut†. As soon as possible McCaskey should quit Seleris IAD and retain an attorney. She needs to provide him or her with complete details of her dealings on Silicon 6. McCaskey should act on the advice of her legal counsel to protect herself if Seleris IAD chooses to come after her if the dealings with Devon take a turn for the worse. Call it what you want; incentive, consulting fee, gift, it’s still bribery and illegal. I wonder what Jack Welch would have done?ReferencesWelch, Jack with Suzy, (2005). Winning, Harper Collins. Welch, Jack with John A. Byrne. (2001). Jack: Straight From The Gut, Warner Books Inc. Feiner, Michael, (2005) The Feiner Points of Leadership. Warner Business Books. Welch, J., Welch, S. (2009). Define Yourself or Others Will Retrieved from The Welch Way Website. http://www.welchway.com/