Thursday, October 31, 2019

Discussion #3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Discussion #3 - Essay Example However, on this particular occasion, it was cold and windy and as my partner – my supervisor on this occasion - and I combed through alleys, we came across an old man who was being held at gun point by a young male. We soon discovered that the point of dispute was an oilskin bag that the old man carried which was bulging with dollar notes. The young male was demanding that the bag be handed over. My superior officer intervened and ordered the young man to step back, but it turned out he had a gun and tried to shoot him. In the ensuing conflict, my superior officer shot the young man and killed him. The old man was effusive in his gratitude and rose, clutching the bag to his chest. That’s when I received a shock. My superior urged me to kill the old man so we could snatch the money and divide it among us. He had exhausted his own bullets on the young man and therefore ordered me to do it. I flatly refused, since it was my duty to rescue the victims, not shoot them because of sudden, overpowering greed, which had obviously overcome my superior officer. This was the first time I deliberately disobeyed an order and it led to a hands on battle between my supervisor and myself with him trying to grab my gun from me. I yelled at the old man to run away and suffered through a severe beating from my officer which left me half dead. I later brought charges against my superior officer before a military tribunal. I became a man that day, when I had to truly face up to what my own values were in a situation where I could have possibly escaped and gotten away with killing the old man and dividing the loot with my supervising officer. However, the fact that it was ethically and morally wrong to steal the property of another was one consideration which restrained me. Another was the fact that it seemed morally very wrong to attempt profit during a time of calamity, when the old man

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Plans and direct actions Essay Example for Free

Plans and direct actions Essay A church leader knows how to plan and direct actions to avoid any mistakes being made. He formulates and deploys plans to achieve objectives – he directs the work accordingly until it finishes. He creates different questions in his mind; for example, what to do, why to do it, when to do it, how to do it, who to do, and how to finish it. A church leader’s plans are simple, people who work as group members and other people who follow him understand his plans clearly. He forms teams and give them duties so that they can work with authority and responsibility. He makes rules that people accept to follow. The God wants a church leader to share His vision with his team members and people. A good church leader knows how to put the God given plan into practice. A church leader is the person who influences his team members and leads team members to carry out the agreed objectives, by following the example of the Christ. People under him follow his way of life; a church leader gets people to act on church and mission goals, and he also ministers the need of people. A Church leader humbly realizes that he needs Gods help and needs it in developing good plans that will work for others. These working plans then successfully meet the desired goals. A church leader does not build plans for other people to merely honor them, but he does it for the good of his people with everlasting results. UNCHANGED LOYALTY A church leader demonstrates loyalty that never changes. A church leader is faithful to his promises and duties. He never finds fault in his job; people respect him as a man of God living among them. A church leader gives his life to Gods mission and purpose and spends his entire life doing it. Loyalty being a leadership quality, a church leader is always loyal to God and his people. A church leader needs loyalty to start and grow a church or group. A loyal church leader is the base of a healthy church to grow and a key element for a church to produce other churches. A church leader influences others in his ministry through his loyalty to Jesus Christ as the Savior and Lord. A loyal church leader produces loyal members he starts and finishes his job with his team very well. A successful Christian leader is always keen and willing to work with a community or groups. He has a strong desire to develop community services together. USE OF GOD’S GIFTS God has gifted all people with different abilities and characteristics. Nowadays, this divine gift directs people to serve churches, as ushers, church school teachers, financial officers, directors of food pantries, youth leaders, and in so many other roles. It all starts with gifts, which can be utilized in a variety of ways. Gifts are given by the God to everyone. The God doesn’t limit the gifts to his people, so we shouldn’t limit leadership to others. The potential to lead by using gifts for enabling others in ministry does not requires intelligence, education, economic status, age, gender, or any other human distinction. â€Å"Children and youth, as well as adults, all are gifted. Women and men, boys and girls have all been gifted which they can use in leadership of a church. It does not mean, however, that everyone should be an administrator of a church†. Gifts are several and of different nature, the variety of these gifts is much greater than churches usually realize. There are many gifts beyond the gifts that are usually used in preaching, teaching, and committee work. If one is to use all God given gifts for his leadership within a church, he/she must discover that wide range of gifts, and welcome the spirit to employ them. It is not always an easy task for a human to identify gifts since gifts have strange way of hiding themselves, particularly from those people who hold them. God’s given gifts are so much a part of our personality that people not likely to think of them as gifts. For example, if a person is a good organizer, he must recognize this specialty and take it as a gift given by God. As God’s gifts are discovered by interacting with others. However, discovering gifts is not enough because many people use there gifts haphazardly, with no attention to their development. God’s given gift’s effectiveness can be significantly enhanced through intentional development of them. For example, if a person with natural painting ability can choose not to practice or take lessons and keep his ability as hobby and keeps his gift undefined from being fully utilized for service. The church leaders provide opportunities to people for training and development of Gods given gifts. They are intentional about using these gifts of children and youth in future leadership. The church leaders encourage their members to affirm and identify one another’s gifts. People discover and experiments their gifts in an atmosphere of acceptance provided by the church leader. A church leader expands his understanding in order to be comprehensive and not neglect people’s gifts.

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Operation management of Primark and Atlas Honda

Operation management of Primark and Atlas Honda INTRODUCTION The report describes the operation management of PRIMARK and the ATLAS HONDA LIMITED PAKISTAN which are two different companies in two different industries. PRIMARK in garment industry is a big retailer in the high streets for the readymade cloths which is basically belongs to tertiary sector (service) in which it distribute/sell the manufactured goods(cloths)in his retail stores and the ATLAS HONDA is a joint venture which manufacture and sell automobiles which is in manufacturing industry. This report is structured in a way that describe both companies 1: Competitive priority 2: Marketing strategy and also compare and contrast their operations in their industries and report also include the analysis of their internal factors as capacity planning, inventory management, quality control and the external factors as environment, innovation. After the report we will be able to understand the operating management of the two different industries which help us to gain knowledge to design one best operating model which help us in both industries. Before forwarding to the report structure as discuss above we need to know about both companies to be familiar with their operations. PRIMARK PRIMARK is the subsidiary company within the ASSOCIATED BRITISH FOODS and one of the biggest retailer in UK who sell readymade clothes with stylish fashion, design and variety at affordable prices. It focus on womenwear, menwear, childrenwear and home products. In 1969 the first store opened in DUBLIN(IRELAND) in the name of first Pennys store and till 1973 the number of stores reached at18 in all around the IRELAND, in the following year it expanded to GREAT BRITAIN and opened his first stores in DERBY and BRISTOL and in within next 10 years the number of stores become 22 in each. After expansion to GREAT BRITAIN, in 1995 PRIMAK applies the acquisition policy in his expansion and acquire first BHS ONE-UP discount chain in UK 16 stores,then CO-OP with 11 stores, 11stores from retreat ion of A C. After 2005 PIMARK moved to Europe for more expansion and opened stores in SPAIN,PORTUGAL,HOLLAND,GERMANY,BELGIUM. Till September 2010 it has 150 stores in UK. Its competitors are NEXT, ZARA, GAP, RIVER ISLAND etc which compete in different bases of competitive advantage. We take only UK market for the Primark business operation. http://www.primark.co.uk/page.aspx?pointerid=eb44df4565934edca627dac6ec12145a Last access 10th march 2011 ATLAS HONDA LIMITED (AHL) PAKISTAN ATLAS HONDA LIMITED PAKISTAN is a joint venture of ATLAS GROUP and HONDA MOTOR CO.LTD which manufacture and sell motorcycles. The company was created by the merger of Panjdayar LTD and Atlas Autos LTD, in 1988. AHL manufactures and markets Honda motorcycles in collaboration with Honda Motor Company. The Company also manufactures various hi-tech components in-house in collaboration with leading parts manufacturers like Showa Atsumitech, Nippon Denso and Toyo Denso. Honda motorcycles are by far the largest selling motorcycles in the country with an unmatched reputation for high quality, reliability and after-sales-service. ATLAS HONDA manufactures four models of motorcycles 1: CD 70 2: CD 100 3: CG 125 4: CG 125 DELUXE Company has two big inhouse manufacturing capability at Karachi (Sindh) which manufactures 300 units of CD 70 only and Sheikupura (Punjab) plants which manufactures all four models. A vast and growing network of over 1600 sales service and spare parts dealers has been established in all over the country. Company has more than 60% of market share in Pakistan motorbike industry, it exports the products to Bangladesh and Afghanistan. http://www.atlashonda.com.pk/company. Last access 10th of march 2011 COMPARISON/CONTRAST OPERATIONS IN BOTH ENTITIES In any organization the operation function is the part of organization which produces the products and services for that entity, it is not called with same name all the time but it is concerned with managing the core purpose of organization which produce some mix of products and services. nigel slack, stuart chambers, robert johnston , alan betts (2009).operations and process management. 2nd ed. england: pearson education limited. 1-1. In another words the operation is defined as the systematic design, direction and control of process that transform input into services and products for internal, as well as external. Primark and Atlas Honda are two different companies in two different industries, one is a retailer in service industry and 2nd is in manufacturing industry. the service sector create value or add value to the product and manufacture industry produce the tangible product so some similarities and contrast appeared in their operations which can be analyzed and criticize on the basis of their marketing strategy and their competitive priority. MARKETING STRATEGY Market strategy is developed by the entities to fill the gap between current performance and the forecasted performance which is the objective/targets of the entity to achieve, so the company develop the marketing strategy for its product in target market for targeted customers to make them aware to the products and service it provides. Cim,bpp, 76-77 2008 We can use the Ansoffs growth model which is used to analyze the product and market of the company in its marketing strategy. cim (2007). professional diploma in marketing. 3rd ed. london: BPP. 76-78.http://franteractive.net/resources/Ansoff-Matrix.GIF We will use this model to define and criticize the marketing strategy of the Primark and Atlas Honda. MARKETING STRATEGY STRATEGY PRIMARK AHL Market penetration Y N Product development Y Y Market development Y Y Diversification N N Primark has its objective of DELIVERING VALUES AND TRADE ETHICALLY http://www.primark.co.uk/ethical/values last access 10th march 2011 Primark use the leaflets drop, ads on bus shelters, the London Underground and radio ads. university of wales, marketing, database source complete Above marketing strategy used by Primark for his new stores in BRITAIN and it opened six more new stores one of which is in the oxford circus. According to Ansoff model we can explain the marketing strategy of Primark as follows Market development strategy which is in new market in existing product so the entry from Ireland and to Britain and other European countries is the example of entry in new market. Product development is in new product in new market, so Primark products are women, men, child wears but it include homemade garments as well, product development strategy basically elicited the customers to come in the store for all his garment needs. But the problem in market development strategy is the high distribution cost which Primark used to distribute his merchandise which it get form Asian countries and distribute them to his different stores which cost him high and reduce his profit. http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/jun2009/gb20090616%5f4 498429.htm. Market penetration is to enter in the market with the low price to compete in the market as the GILLETTE company sell his MACH 3 new product in the market on 60% of cost which is the best example of market penetration to enter in the market with low price, so the entrance of Primark in the BRITAIN garment industry is the market penetration in the presence of GAP,NEXT etc, with low cost strategy, but market penetration strategy has the main criticize is that it starts the price war in the market and through the small entities out of business Diversification is to diversify from the industry to another industry which comes into unrelated diversification so the parent company of Primark ASSOCIATED BRITISH FOOD, who diversify from food to garment is the unrelated diversification. But Primark has it self not any diversified activity in any other industries. ATLAS HONDA use mostly the electronic media for his products marketing as internet, television ads, salesmen etc. For CD 70 and CD 100 Atlas Honda target middle income families and mostly these bikes used in villages due to the brand loyalty and durability. CG 125 and CG125 DELUXE these both bikes target the special segment of market with the customers who want to pay more for high speed and beauty of the products. DIVERSIFIATION is the Honda joints venture in Pakistan as Atlas Honda is his related diversification in motorbike industry. The problem with Atlas Honda in his joint venture is that it manufacturing units in Pakistan and the changing political parties and insecurity affecting its this diversified product making units which affect the motorbike production and the business as well. Product Development is the four type of product CD 70, CD 100, CG125, CG125 DELUXE are the example in market for product development, the Atlas Honda believe in quality in return of high prices which opened the ways for his competitors with low cost and low price strategy like Chinese company STAR, SOHRAB, LIFAN etc. which affect the market share ( 63% in Pakistan) and the profit of the company. Market Development strategy of ATLAS HONDA is it exporting the products to Bangladesh and Afghanistan is its market development in other countries, this means the distribution cost will be high for Atlas Honda and affect his sale and profit in the market. COMPETITIVE PRIORITY Competitive priority include low cost operations, top quality, consistent quality, delivery speed, on time delivery, development speed, customization, variety and volume flexibility, these are the competitive priorities which set a company aside and superior to the rest of the companies in the industries by the result of his operations, it is not necessary that a company acquire all of them to compete but it can get any mixture of them to perform well. Under we show the similarity and contrast in the competitive priority of the PRIMAK and ATLAS HONDA LIMITED. It is need to be cleared that under the table the element of competitive priority is categorized in four broad concepts. COMPETITVE PRIORITY C.P PRIMARK ATLAS HONDA LTD QUALITY TOP QUALITY N Y CONSISTANT QUALITY Y Y COST LOW COST OPERATIONS Y N TIME DELIVERY SPEED N Y ONTIME DEIVERY N Y DEVELOPMENT SPEED Y Y FLEXIBILITY CUTOMISATION N Y VARIETY Y Y VOLUME FLEXIBILITY Y Y QUALITY Quality is different for different customers, quality is simply defined as the completeness of features, value for money, conformance of specification, reputation. Consistent quality In the case of Primark and the AHL both companies products have the similar feature of consistent quality as in the Primark in garment industry sell fashion cloths for men, women, children and homemade products and AHL in motorbike industry both meet their design and specifications on the continuous basis to maintain the consistent quality of their products Top quality on the other hand the AHL is manufacturing and selling the top quality motorbikes in the motorbike industry of Pakistan thats why AHL has 63% market share in the market but the Primark is selling low quality products in the garment industry of Britain against his major competitors GAP, NEXT, ZARA which is the major difference in both of companies. COST Cost feature include manufacturing cost, value added cost, running cost, service cost and selling price is included Low cost operations: Primark is the strategy of low cost on which it sell its outsourced garment products to the customers by adding its services with its efficiently designed and operation process (appendix 2).so this strategy in the motorbike industry of AHL in Pakistan is applied by Star company and Titan company is the example of low cost operations. So in the Primark business the low cost operations credit goes to its supplies from its suppliers who operating their activities in low wage and other low production cost countries like Bangladesh. But the AHL is differentiate strategy for its product so its premium charges for his products in the market and this example in the garment industry is the ZARA, NEXT, GAP etc in the garment industry of UK. AHL operations are in house system in which a efficient manufacturing process is undertaken with all new production and management techniques (JIT, MRP, TQM)and charge the highest price in the market. (appendix 1show the process of operation in both companies) TIME Time included the delivery time, manufacturing lead time, due date, frequency of delivery, rate of production of the entity. AHL has its two manufacturing plants one is in Karachi and 2nd is in Shekhupura, AHL has Karachi plant produce 300 units of motorcycle per day. AHL has design its process efficiently to minimize the manufacturing lead time and fulfill the customers orders on time but again this internal efficiency depend on suppliers relation and efficient supply chain. The production example given 300 units for Karachi plant is the best example of manufacturing speed which is short and good for the company and this in return help on time delivery system where demand occur. The Primark outsourced its garment products from ASIAN countries mainly from Bangladesh, so according to the nature of the business in its industry the Primark has face fast development speed in the products because its products become out of fashion very fast so Primark has need the good relationship with its supplier because of its fast changing industry nature so wants the continuous deliveries. AHL also used the product development in its manufacturing plants in KARACHI and SHEHUPURA for introduction of new products. FLEXIBILITY Flexibility include the customization, variety and the volume of the production. The AHL production have all the customization, variety and volume features are included for example the four different products it produce is one feature of customization, variety and volume in production process is to support larger volume production and quickly manage within fluctuating demand which is again come in AHL production system in which it produce four type of customized motorbikes for targeted customers market with the production capacity of 600000 per year. The variety and volume flexibility is also seen in the Primark retail stores in which large amount of fashion cloths for all men, women and children are on the shelf and in the warehouses but the customization is in the product is not inside its process because it sell the products TO general public in the market. B: criticize 1: CAPACITY MANAGEMENT Capacity information is used by the companies to analyze and maximize their output, understand the companies capacity cushion and use the information for long and short term decision for expansion strategies. Capacity planning is a systematic approach to three issues pertaining to capacity,estimating the amount of capacity required, evaluating the alternative methods to augmenting the capacity and devising methods to use capacity effectively. b.mahadeven (2007). operations management theory and practice. new delhi: dorling kindersley. 219-221. The firm go through the situation of overcapacity, appropriate capacity and inappropriate capacity. The size, time and capacity become the constrains in the organizations. The company use the expansion and see and wait policy to cope when they face the constrains for example the BRITISH AIRLINE use the seats as his capacity, PRIMARK floor space and the ATLAS HONDA use his machines or the process in the one constrain theory as a capacity which become the constrain at the time of demand. In short time company use to manage itself within capacity but in long term it use to expand by acquisition or investment in the operation process. The capacity management take long time to manage if it applied by expansion policy with the large investment in operations to cope with demand but in short term lose the increased demand. Capacity planning included the judgment with based on the experience and the capacity planning used to get the economy of scale but after an specific point this benefit turns into the marginal increased unit cost which start to reducing the profit. b.mahadeven (2007). operations management theory and practice. new delhi: dorling kindersley. 219-235. Inventory management. Inventory management can be defined as Systems and processes that identify inventory requirements, set targets, provide replenishment techniques and report actual and projected inventory status. The companies use the different inventory methods for managing inventories 1: Just in time (JIT) In the JIT method the company use the pull strategy according to which it place orders when it requires for production or demand by customer. CIMA P7, CIMA PUBLISHER,2005 2: Economic Order Quantity(EOQ) The EOQ system is a quantitative method for inventory management , which minimize the inventory holding cost and ordering cost by use of a formula : à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡2*A*CP/CH 3: SAFETY STOCK Is a PUSH POLICY, safety stock is normally used traditionally to cope with unanticipated demand so the large buffer stock is retained in the big warehouses to manage with the unforeseen demand otherwise the company lose the sales and there will emerge the danger to lose the customer so company pay more to stock the inventory and pay more to stocking. 4: ABC INVENTORY is use to cauterize the inventory according to their value in organization . The companies used to manage their inventory because on average, 56 cents out of every dollar of revenue (i.e. 56 percent of revenue) to cover the direct cost of purchased goods, with this percentage figure being even higher for the typical wholesaler or retailer (Monczka et al., 2002; Handfield, 2002). Add to this figure the indirect cost of having to manage inventory of purchased goods (which has been estimated to be 30-35 percent of the value of purchased goods see Chase et al., 2004)and the total cost of purchased goods inventory can be quite alarming. The inventory management need the investment and warehouse which used by PRIMARK who received the outsourced supplies and distribute to other stores in Europe which cost him high and reduce profit. The inventory management polices as JIT and ABC systems want the basic changes in operation and the process and affect the emplyees as well to understand the them. New inventory policy as JIT want supplier commitment because it change the whole supply chain and want the amendment in suppliers system so it affect all supply chain system. organizational management and information system,2005,oxford,c.i.m.a The PRIMRK and the AHL need to decide the inventory management system before the decision of capacity management because the JIT system not need high investment on expansion policy. PERFORMANCE MEASURE Here we use two type of performance measure 1: Multidimensional performance measure Balance scorecard 2: Qualitative performance measure Matrices 1: BALANCE SCORECARD The balanced scorecard translates mission and strategy into objectives and measure into four different perspectives provide a framework, a language, to communicate mission and strategy, it uses measurement to inform employees about the drivers of current and future success. By articulating the outcomes the organization desires and the drivers of those outcomes, senior executives hope to channel the energies, the abilities, and the specific knowledge of people throughout the organization towards achieving long term goal. It should be used as a communication, informing, and learning system not controlling. (adopted, Kaplan and nortan, 1996, p.25) Balance scorecard does not lead to a single aggregate summary control for example if we use RETURN ON INVESTMENT (ROI) it conveniently show how things are going. No clear relation between the BSC and shareholders value. Measure may give conflicting signals and confuse management. For example high customer satisfaction lead to falling financial indicators. BSC involves substantial shifts in corporate culture to implement. So if the AHL and the PRIMARK use the balance scorecard for their performance measure the above problems also occur in the system. So the capacity management and the inventory management comes in the internal business process part of the balance scorecard. Supply chain value Normally porters value chain model used for analyzing the operating process in manufacturing industry but we can use it in service industries as well. These activities are linked with each other to create value for the customer in the product and service. (appendix 1 shows the value chain of both companies). But the supply chain value add two more componenets in the value chain. Supply value chain à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ company value chain à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ customer value chain According to a July 16 report in The Wall Street Journal, Nissan Motor Co. halted production at four factories in Japan and at two auto manufacturing plants in the United States for three days in July due to a delay in the shipment of engine control units from supplier Hitachi Ltd. Hitachi officials said the delay was caused by a shortage of semiconductor chips from its suppliers. Nissan, which had adopted the Lean model about five years ago and dramatically reduced its inventory, said the production stoppage will reduce the companys output by 15,000 vehicles. However, Lean expert Matt Wrye, who writes the Beyond Lean blog (beyondlean.wordpress.com), said that Nissans issues were the result of a misapplication of Lean techniques. If you had hiccups in procurement, Lean behavior would ask questions around what are the hiccups in procurement, he wrote. Then Nissan would solve [these] problems, not arbitrarily start to add more suppliers just in case they have a similar hiccup in the future. http://www.isixsigma.com/index.php?option=com_k2view=itemid=1699Itemid=156 last access 22 march 2011 Total Quality management TQM is a process and philosophy of achieving best possible outcomes from the inputs, by using them effectively and efficiently in order to deliver best value for the customer, while achieving long term objectives of the organization. r.ashley.rawlins (2008). total quality management. london: authur house. 5-10. TQM involves the three main components Customer satisfaction involve conformance to specification, value, fitness for purpose, support, psychological impression Employee involvement include cultural change, teams. Continuous improvement is based on the philosophy of KAIZEN theory, to improve in each aspect of the entity. Quality as four type of cost Prevention example check the inbound logistic Appraisal example quality of inbounds Internal failure include cost of failure before sell to customers External failure example warrantee, guarantee TQM is the continuous improvement in the product and services which is not enough because the quality is what the customer so the AHL not only continuous improve the process but also make sure the customers needs in his products. TQM is not easy to apply but it needs a long time to internalize in the companies all aspect and it is also expensive for any company for example if Primark want the quality in his services it need to implement in each activity. TQM want the employee commitment so it is not easy to get the person to do what you want . TQM wants the cultural change in the organization which is a challenge for the organization and if not implemented successfully its become the danger for the companys survival. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3257/is_n12_v47/ai_14858551/?tag=content;col1 last access 21 march 2011 1:

Friday, October 25, 2019

Good Country People by Flannery OConnor Essay -- essays research pape

Good Country People by Flannery O'Connor Good Country People'; by Flannery O’Connor is an excellent example of irony in literature. From beginning to end it has a steady procession of irony, much of it based on the title of the story: â€Å"Good Country People.'; In the beginning of the story we meet Mrs. Freeman, wife of the hired hand. She and her husband have been working for Mrs. Hopewell for four years. â€Å"The reason for her keeping them so long was that they were not trash. They were ‘Good Country People,’'; according to Mrs. Hopewell. Ironically one of the first things we learn about Mrs. Freeman is that her previous employer has called her â€Å"the nosiest woman ever to walk the earth.'; Then, as the story progresses, we learn she has â€Å"a special fondness for the details of secret infections, hidden deformities, assaults upon children';. It seems that for a â€Å"good country person'; she has a perverse curiosity in the macabre. She particularly enjoys hearing all the details of how Joy/Hulga had her leg literally blasted off in a hunting accident. As the story moves on we can see the conflict between Mrs. Hopewell and her daughter Joy/Hulga. Joy/Hulga treats her mother with disdain, and does everything she can to emphasize her own individuality. She professes to believe in nothing. She is a proud intellectual and has little doubt of her belief in â€Å"nothingness.'; However, ironically in the end she is proven to be very muc...

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Disparity and Discrimination Essay

Statistics continue to reflect issues of disparity and discrimination within the American criminal justice system. The issues that affect the enforcement of laws and government policy can result in justice for the safety of society and/or justice that will single out members of society. With the diverse population living in the United States, stereotypical judgments and attitudes can influence and possibly overwhelm the direction of the criminal justice system. The American system of criminal justice is thought to include equal rights, due process of law; in addition to fair and equitable treatment for all people – these ideas do not correlate to the information provided by law enforcement, court procedures and correctional facilities. Disparity is defined as, â€Å"The condition or fact of being unequal, as in age, rank, or degree† (American Heritage Dictionary, 2005). This idea whether on an individual level or communal, is something heavily affected by the difficulti es of crime. The conflict issues within members of society and the existing disparities are becoming ever more complicated by the growing immigrant and minority populations in the United States. From these disparities, the seeds of discrimination are sown. Discrimination is the act of singling out a certain individual/group for unfair treatment and has been defined as, â€Å"Treatment or consideration based on class or category rather than individual merit† (American Heritage Dictionary, 2005). Discrimination should not and cannot be tolerated in a just society, especially in its criminal justice system. There are varied causes of disparity including law enforcement emphasis on certain communities, criminal activity, policies by legislature and by criminal  justice professionals during decision making processes using broad discretion. Racial disparity in criminal justice is when â€Å"the proportion of a racial/ ethnic group within the control of the system is greater than the proportion of such groups in the general population†¦Illegitimate or unwarranted racial disparity results from the dissimilar treatment by the criminal justice system of similarly situated people based on race. In some instances this may involve ov ert racial bias, while in others it may reflect the influence of factors that are only indirectly associated with race† (The Sentencing Project, 2000, p. 1-2). The impact of racial disparity is evidenced in all levels of the criminal justice system. â€Å"Statistics show that more than one-fourth of all black males and 16 percent of Latinos can expect to spend time in prison during their lifetime, while only 4 percent of white males ever go to prison. African-Americans make up 12 percent of the U.S. population, but they compose about half of all prison inmates and 40 percent of those sentenced to death. Even more startling, a third of all African-American males aged 20-29 are right now either locked up, on probation, or on parole† (Brown, 2006). Interpretations of the crime data can vary based on its source and these variations call into question whether the disparities come from racism within the criminal justice system or other factors. There are those that believe racial disparity results directly from discrimination and is a violation of equal justice. It is often that disparities have a collective effect; for example, biased inf luences at one stage could contribute to an increase of disparities in the following stages. One illustration given by The Sentencing Project stated that if bail practices resulted in minorities with similar situations being detained before trial in greater occurrences that whites, these minorities will also be disadvantaged during trial and sentencing due to less access to defense counsel, community resources and treatment options (The Sentencing Project, 2000. p3). Another alarming trend is the use of capitol punishment practiced in cases of black offenders v. white victims. Disparities are a simple fact of our ever shrinking world as we continue to come into contact with multiple peoples from all over, especially in the United States. While these disparities can often lead to discrimination; the reverse can also be true. Society must realize that both of these issues affect decisions resulting from conflicted notions from its members.  Within the criminal justice system discretion should be used cautiously and provide justification for such use. In many stages of the correctional process there are possibilities of discrimination due to disparities. If this situation occurs, the action would be considered biased and inconsistent with the idea of justice as it should be upheld in criminal justice proceedings. It is unfortunate that disparity is often intertwined with discrimination directed at minority groups. Additional factors that can contribute to discrimination from disparity are income level, learned skills, education and connection to society. Crime and its conviction should be based on the knowledge of what is right and wrong; not the basis that one particular group is more likely to commit that particular crime. Differences or disparities should not have to result in discrimination; however, the key lies within the education of society as a whole. References The American Heritage ® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright  © 2005, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated 2005. Brown v. Board of Education. (2006). Retrieved on May 17, 2009 from the Landmark Cases website: http://www.landmarkcases.org/brown/home.html The Sentencing Project. (October, 2000). Reducing Racial Disparity in the Criminal Justice System, A Manual for Practitioners and Policymakers. Retrieved on May 17, 2009 from The Sentencing Project website: http://www.sentencingproject.org/Admin/Documents/publications/rd_reducingrdmanual.pdf

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Learning and Degree Program Essay

Describe the information literacy skills you have gained over the entire program and how you use technology and resources to accomplish your goals. Throughout the entire program I have learned to better my writing and compression skills by using multiple types of media and technologies. Earning an education through an online program has made me very independent, to realize on my self for understand and interpreting directions and information using many sources. The sources I have become comfortable with include books, online articles, online videos and media. 2. Relational Learning Describe the ways and list the courses in which you transferred knowledge from life lessons and formal instruction to new situations. By taking time each week to reflect on what I have learned and how the teaching relate to my career and personal life I have developed critical thinking skills. Looking outside of the box, I am now able to stand back from a situation and apply what I have learned to new situations not covered in class. As I take more classes I am able to build my knowledge, applying concepts from earlier lessons to help me understand my current classes. 3. Community and Career Evaluate how your degree program has increased your critical awareness of your responsibility to contribute to society as both a citizen and a professional in your chosen field. My degree program has opened my eyes and made me realize how important my role is in my community as a citizen and as a professional. Many of the classes I have taken have made me realize that I am needed to take care of my future patients. I will do this by ensuring they have an advocate in their corner, embodying both laws and morals. As a citizen I realize that developing my career is my calling to serve my community and contribute to being a productive member of society. 4. Metacognition Describe where in your degree program you can show evidence as to reflective opportunities that demonstrate how your critical thought process and approach to completing course assignments, such as preparing for assessments and completing your portfolio project, has evolved. When I first began at Bryant and Stratton I remember feeling very overwhelmed and would try to complete all of my assignments and lessons at once. I do not feel this is idea for learning or efficiency. Now, as I complete portfolio projects and other assignments, I go about it very semantically. I first develop a plan and goals to complete each day or week depending on the size of the project. I then take the time to learn and research the topics being covered. Taking the time to really complete the project well and truly learn from the research is the key to developing critical thinking and completing the work as best as you can. 5. Communication Skills Demonstrate your proficiency in oral and written communication from various projects within your degree program, and how will those communication skills be of value in the workplace? Working online I have developed excellent oral and written communication skills. Because I am not working face to face with others it has forced me to write more clearly and concisely. I have to communicate through writing and make sure I am understood the first time as email and online discussions are not as fast as real-time communication and not being clear or understood the first time could cause an necessary delay. 6. Quantitative Skills Evaluate how the courses you have taken at Bryant & Stratton College have helped you to demonstrate proficient math skills that are relevant to your life, community and career At Bryant and Stratton I have taken math related classes that will help me in my career. For example, I have taken an accounting class that will help me to run my company’s office budget, payroll and determine revenues. In addition, gaining the knowledge of accounting skills will allow me to better run my own household finances. This is one way I will use math skill in an everyday setting!