Minorities, Racial, And Social Inequality - 1966 Words

Minorities experience homelessness compared to white counterparts. Minority groups experience countless discrimination in employment, housing and criminal justice system. Those who have a criminal history experience difficulty in finding a job and a home, which leads to homelessness if they fail to do so. African Americans are imprisoned at higher rates than other groups. Their place in education justifies are racial inequality because they have to be put into overcrowded and under-resourced school due to lack of many. This leads to fewer opportunities in the real world. In turn, minorities turn to drug dealing and being part of gangs to uphold their families. â€Å"Desperate times call for desperate needs.† To prevent youth and young adults†¦show more content†¦According to 2015 U.S. Census Data, African Americans have the highest poverty rate at 24.1%, followed by Hispanics at 21.4%. Asian Americas had a poverty rate of 11.4% and Whites had a poverty rate of 9% (US Census). The Montrose Center in Houston has a program called LGBT Switchboard. The Switchboard is a 24-Hour Helpline for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. They assist LGBT individuals who have become targets of domestic violence and sexual assault. The Helpline assists with depression, suicide, crisis intervention, domestic violence help and shelter help, sexual assault and hate crime support, addiction support and treatment, HIV and STD information and LGBT-affirming resources. The Switchboard also provides community events and visitor information for those seeking help. This program is only provides help to Texas residents only, so those coming from another part of the United States would not be able to find help from them. I would inquire from the Helpline, if they have ever declined a call from a LGBT individual who was not a Texas Resident, and why are they only limiting help to Texas Individuals. I would suggest the Montrose Center to help the non-Texas Res idents with as much information as they can before the LGBT individual does something harmful to themselves and others. Only thing a person needs while going through crisis is to know that someone is there for them and care about them. National Alliance to EndShow MoreRelatedRacial Stereotypes : The Film, Crash, Director Paul Haggis1304 Words   |  6 Pagessociety are thwarted due to racial and ethnic prejudice, stereotypes, and discrimination. In the film, Crash, Director Paul Haggis addresses racial inequality by conveying instances of racial stereotypes, social class disparity, and police brutality. The usage of racial stereotypes constructs an unreliable generalization of all members of a race. Racial stereotypes fail to recognize the individual differences that lie within a race. Haggis demonstrates several racial stereotypes that Asians and AfricanRead MoreRace Relations And Social Inequality1610 Words   |  7 Pagesto discuss social inequality related to race relations. By comparing two articles â€Å"Ethno-Racial Attitudes and Social Inequality† and â€Å"What happens before? A field experiment exploring how pay and representation differentially shape bias on the pathway into organizations† this paper will explore racial social injustices with the intent to showcase the thinking about race relations and social inequality. Points of Interest Racial inequality is a volatileRead MoreRacism : A Long Way From The End Of Colonialism Essay1740 Words   |  7 PagesRacism Transition from Domination to Hegemony Historically, United States battle against racism has come a long way from the days of colonialism, slavery, racial hierarchies, racial demarcated reserves, strict policies and segregation. And yet, discrimination and inequality continue to persist in our society. Howard Winant, an American sociologist and race theorist, stated that, â€Å"the meaning of racism has changed over time. The attitudes, practices and institutions of epochs of colonialism, segregation†¦Read MoreWhether or Not Quotas for Job Applicant Selection Are a Solution to Racial Inequality in the United States1470 Words   |  6 Pagesfor job applicant selection are a solution to racial inequality in the United States of America. In considering this subject I will rely on In Defense of Quotas by James Rachels who argues that the use of Quotas is justifiable in certain circumstances. First I will qualify my use of the word race and clarify what I mean when I reference racial equality. Then I will present an arg ument that quotas will not work as the sole solution to racial inequality. After this I will support a premise for my mainRead MoreAddress Racial Inequalities : Past And Present1247 Words   |  5 Pagesaddress Racial Inequalities: Past and Present Introduction It is no secret that racial inequalities exist today and have for many years now. They have existed at many levels including institutional, collective, and personal. In this paper, I plan to show how previous policies created these inequalities, and explain how we can address these issues at all levels. I will also show which policies have had an impact on minorities in contributing to greater equality. For racial inequalityRead MoreRacial Inequality797 Words   |  4 PagesRacial inequality is regrettably imbedded in the history of the United States. Americans like to think of the American colonies as the start or founding of the quest for freedom, initially, the ending of religious oppression and later political and economic liberty. Yet, from the start, the fabric of American society was equally founded on brutal forms of supremacy, inequality and oppression which involved the absolute denial of freedom for slaves. This is one of the great paradoxes of American historyRead MoreThe Issue Of Teacher Quality1322 Words   |  6 Pagesaid, scholarships, experienced teachers and good grades. Schools that are filled with low-income colored students across the country are far more likely to have inexperienced teachers, bad grades, very little opportunities for economic funding and racial segregation compared to schools in wealthier areas. The issue of teacher quality is considered significant to growing efforts to understand and decrease gaps in achievement between students of color and students that are white. Students of color inRead MoreRace And Ethnicity Searches For Equality1232 Words   |  5 Pagesthroughout all racial and ethnic groups though we find that inequality is still a common issue. Racial and ethnic groups are expanding and outnumbering the dominant force, however, minority groups still have no rule against the dominant force. A minority is a subordinate group whose members have remarkably less control or power over the dominant force.(pg.4) Groups are ranked by pinpointing unique features of an individual in order to define them within a specific bracket . For example, a minority or subordinateRead MoreRacism : Racism And Community Competence1436 Words   |  6 PagesBook Analysis: Racism Racism is a major social problem in the world. It is not restricted to a certain country or society. A lot of times, racism is portrayed in a subtle way. Like how certain races don’t get as much chances to get a good job. Or perhaps how certain races aren’t given an equal social reality than people with different backgrounds get. As an example, it may be harder for someone that is African American to get a job at a rich business than a person who is caucasian. That is the unfortunateRead MoreRace And Gender Discrimination : Contemporary Trends751 Words   |  4 PagesGender Discrimination – Contemporary Trends Social Inequality; as defined by sociologists is the unequal opportunities of different social statuses and positions within a group of individuals or in society. The opportunities we receive, our wealth, our rewards, and our punishments, can all be influenced because of our positions we hold in society today. Remember the saying â€Å"the rich get richer and the poor get poorer†, why is this? It’s all because of inequality, there is no fairness when it comes to

Short Story - 1358 Words

My eyes fall to Thorn and there’s a similar softness gracing her features. She doesn’t blame me either. But it doesn’t matter if they don’t blame me because guess what? We’re still stuck. Caught in a damn mousetrap. One way in, no way out. Loud banging erupts against the door as men try to break it down. The cracking of wood reverberates against the walls. However, above all that noise, something roars even louder. The well. It’s positioned in the middle of the room about forty feet away. Two huge pipes lead out of it, across the floor through the walls and a small generator is bolted to the ground a few feet away, pumping the water out. There’s still enough room in the middle to peek over and see if there’s a pipe leading away. Away†¦show more content†¦He knows I’m right. Thorn shakes her head, her voice soft and pleading. â€Å"No. Don’t.† I don’t answer her. The banging door grows louder as does the shouting. They’ll no doubt breakthrough in a matter of minutes. â€Å"You know I’m right, Felix. There’s no other way. Not this time. You’re going to take your sister and get out of here.† I shrug, forcing a sad smile as I continue to back up. â€Å"Besides, your lives will be easier without me. One less mouth to feed.† â€Å"Crysta, please†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Felix begins and stops. â€Å"Do it now, Felix!† I yell. â€Å"Help her up and get under the staircase. She can’t walk by herself.† He hesitates before turning his back to me and picking up his little sister. Thorn shakes her head, trying to pry her brother’s hands off. â€Å"No. No, we can’t do this. We can’t leave you. We won’t.† â€Å"Yes, we will,† Felix murmurs. â€Å"But†¦but she’s our friend,† she growls. I chuckle. I’ve almost reached the well. â€Å"I thought we weren’t friends.† â€Å"Don’t be an idiot, Cry,† she begs. I shrug. â€Å"Too late for that.† The door bursts open, wood snapping and men rushing down the stairs. I’m almost to the well as my hands clasp the empty gun behind my back. Eight men instantly surround me, blocking the stairs and seizing me up. â€Å"End of the line, Crysta Crane,† a short, extremely broad-shouldered man with a missing hand announces. My eyes shift from one Red to the next. â€Å"This all of you?† The men laugh, exchanging glances and the one-hand guy whips out a gun. â€Å"Maybe, though I highly doubt youShow MoreRelatedshort story1018 Words   |  5 Pagesï » ¿Short Stories:  Ã‚  Characteristics †¢Short  - Can usually be read in one sitting. †¢Concise:  Ã‚  Information offered in the story is relevant to the tale being told.  Ã‚  This is unlike a novel, where the story can diverge from the main plot †¢Usually tries to leave behind a  single impression  or effect.  Ã‚  Usually, though not always built around one character, place, idea, or act. †¢Because they are concise, writers depend on the reader bringing  personal experiences  and  prior knowledge  to the story. Four MajorRead MoreThe Short Stories Ideas For Writing A Short Story Essay1097 Words   |  5 Pageswriting a short story. Many a time, writers run out of these short story ideas upon exhausting their sources of short story ideas. If you are one of these writers, who have run out of short story ideas, and the deadline you have for coming up with a short story is running out, the short story writing prompts below will surely help you. Additionally, if you are being tormented by the blank Microsoft Word document staring at you because you are not able to come up with the best short story idea, youRead MoreShort Story1804 Words   |  8 PagesShort story: Definition and History. A  short story  like any other term does not have only one definition, it has many definitions, but all of them are similar in a general idea. According to The World Book Encyclopedia (1994, Vol. 12, L-354), â€Å"the short story is a short work of fiction that usually centers around a single incident. Because of its shorter length, the characters and situations are fewer and less complicated than those of a novel.† In the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s DictionaryRead MoreShort Stories648 Words   |  3 Pageswhat the title to the short story is. The short story theme I am going conduct on is â€Å"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty’ by James Thurber (1973). In this short story the literary elements being used is plot and symbols and the theme being full of distractions and disruption. The narrator is giving a third person point of view in sharing the thoughts of the characters. Walter Mitty the daydreamer is very humorous in the different plots of his dr ifting off. In the start of the story the plot, symbols,Read MoreShort Stories1125 Words   |  5 PagesThe themes of short stories are often relevant to real life? To what extent do you agree with this view? In the short stories â€Å"Miss Brill† and â€Å"Frau Brechenmacher attends a wedding† written by Katherine Mansfield, the themes which are relevant to real life in Miss Brill are isolation and appearance versus reality. Likewise Frau Brechenmacher suffers through isolation throughout the story and also male dominance is one of the major themes that are highlighted in the story. These themes areRead MoreShort Story and People1473 Words   |  6 Pagesï » ¿Title: Story Of An Hour Author: Kate Chopin I. On The Elements / Literary Concepts The short story Story Of An Hour is all about the series of emotions that the protagonist, Mrs. Mallard showed to the readers. With the kind of plot of this short story, it actually refers to the moments that Mrs. Mallard knew that all this time, her husband was alive. For the symbol, I like the title of this short story because it actually symbolizes the time where Mrs. Mallard died with joy. And with thatRead MoreShort Story Essay1294 Words   |  6 PagesA short story concentrates on creating a single dynamic effect and is limited in character and situation. It is a language of maximum yet economical effect. Every word must do a job, sometimes several jobs. Short stories are filled with numerous language and sound devices. These language and sound devices create a stronger image of the scenario or the characters within the text, which contribute to the overall pre-designed effect.As it is shown in the metaphor lipstick bleeding gently in CinnamonRead MoreRacism in the Short Stor ies1837 Words   |  7 PagesOften we read stories that tell stories of mixing the grouping may not always be what is legal or what people consider moral at the time. The things that you can learn from someone who is not like you is amazing if people took the time to consider this before judging someone the world as we know it would be a completely different place. The notion to overlook someone because they are not the same race, gender, creed, religion seems to be the way of the world for a long time. Racism is so prevalentRead MoreThe Idol Short Story1728 Words   |  7 PagesThe short stories â€Å"The Idol† by Adolfo Bioy Casares and â€Å"Axolotl† by Julio Cortà ¡zar address the notion of obsession, and the resulting harm that can come from it. Like all addictions, obsession makes one feel overwhelmed, as a single thought comes to continuously intruding our mind, causing the individual to not be able to ignore these thoughts. In â€Å"Axolotl†, the narr ator is drawn upon the axolotls at the Jardin des Plantes aquarium and his fascination towards the axolotls becomes an obsession. InRead MoreGothic Short Story1447 Words   |  6 Pages The End. In the short story, â€Å"Emma Barrett,† the reader follows a search party group searching for a missing girl named Emma deep in a forest in Oregon. The story follows through first person narration by a group member named Holden. This story would be considered a gothic short story because of its use of setting, theme, symbolism, and literary devices used to portray the horror of a missing six-year-old girl. Plot is the literal chronological development of the story, the sequence of events

Night World Secret Vampire Chapter 16 Free Essays

â€Å"You have got to be kidding,† Poppy said. Phil just gaped. â€Å"No. We will write a custom essay sample on Night World : Secret Vampire Chapter 16 or any similar topic only for you Order Now I’m perfectly serious. You’re witches of thesecond kind. Remember what I told you?† â€Å"There are the kind of witches that know theirheritage and get trained-and the kind that don’t.Who just have powers. And humans call that kind-â€Å" â€Å"Psychics!† James chorused with her. â€Å"Telepaths.Clairvoyants,† he went on alone. There was something in his voice between laughing and crying.†Poppy, that’s what youare. That’s why you picked up on telepathy so quickly. That’s why you had clair voyant dreams.† â€Å"And that’s why Phil heard me,† Poppy said. â€Å"Oh, no,† Phil said. â€Å"Not me. Come on.† â€Å"Phil, you’re twins,† James said. â€Å"You have the same ancestors. Pace it, you’re a witch. That’s why I couldn’t control your mind.†Ã¢â‚¬ Oh, no,†Phil said. â€Å"No.†He flopped back in his seat. â€Å"No,†he said again, but more weakly. â€Å"But whose side do we get it from?† Poppy wondered. â€Å"Dad’s. Of course.† The voice from the backseatwas very faint. â€Å"Well, that would seemlogical, but-â€Å" â€Å"It’s the truth. Don’t you remember how Dad wasalways talking about seeing weird things? Havingdreams about things before they happened? And,Poppy, he heard you yell in yourdream. When you were calling for James. James heard it, and I heardit, and Dad heard it, too.† â€Å"Then that settles it. Oh, and it explains otherthings about all of us-all those times we’ve had feelingsabout things-hunches, whatever. Even youhave hunches, Phil.† â€Å"I had one that James was creepy, and I wasright.† â€Å"Phill—â€Å" â€Å"And maybe a few others,† Phil said fatalistically.†I knew it was James driving up this afternoon. Ithought I just had a fine ear for car engines.† Poppy was shivering with delight and astonishment, but she couldn’t quite understand James.James was absolutely beaming. Filled with unbelieving elation that she could feel like streamers andfireworks in the air. â€Å"What, James?† â€Å"Poppy, don’t you see?† James actually pounded the steering wheel in joy. â€Å"It means that even before you became a vampire, youwere a Night Person.Asecret witch. You have every right to know about the Night World. You belong there.† The world turned upside down and Poppy couldn’t breathe. At last she whispered. â€Å"Oh . . .† â€Å"And webelong together. Nobody can separate us.We don’t have to hide.† â€Å"Oh†¦Ã¢â‚¬ Poppy whispered again. Then she said,†James, pull the car over. I want to kiss you.† When they were in motion once more, Phil said, â€Å"But where are you two going to go now? Poppycan’t come home.† â€Å"I know,† Poppy said softly. She had accepted that.There was no going back for her; the old life wasover. Nothing to do but build a new one. â€Å"And you can’t just wander around from place toplace,† Phil said, doggedly persistent. â€Å"We won’t,† Poppy said calmly. â€Å"We’ll go to Dad.† It was perfect. Poppy could feel James think, Ofcourse. They would go to her father, the always-late, always-impractical, always-affectionate parent. Herfather the witch who didn’t know he was a witch.Who probably thought he was crazy when his powersacted up. He’d give them a place to stay, and that was all they needed, really. That and each other. The whole Night World would be open to them, whenever theywanted to explore it. Maybe they could come back and visit Thea sometime. Maybe they could dance atone of Thierry’s parties. â€Å"If we can findDad, that is,† Poppy said, struck by sudden alarm. â€Å"You can,† Phil said. â€Å"He flew out last night, buthe left an address. For the first time.† â€Å"Maybe somehow he knew,† James said. They rode for a while, and then Phil cleared his throat and said, â€Å"You know, I just had a thought. I don’t want any part of the Night World, you understand-I don’t carewhat my heritage is. I just wantto live like a human-and I want everybody to bedear on that†¦.† â€Å"We’re dear, Phil,† James interrupted. â€Å"Believeme. Nobody in the Night World is going to force youin. You can live like a human all you want as long as you avoid Night People and keep your mouth shut.† â€Å"Okay. Good. But here’s my thought. I still don’tapprove of vampires, but it occurs to me that maybethey’re not as completely bad as they seem. I mean,vampires don’t treat their food any worse than humans do. When you think of what we do to cows †¦at least they don’t breed humans in pens.† â€Å"I wouldn’t bet on it,† James said, suddenly grim.†I’ve heard rumors about the olddays†¦.† â€Å"You always have to argue, don’t you? But my other thought was that you’re part of Nature, and Nature just is what it is. It’s not always pretty, but †¦ well, it’s Nature, and there it is.† He wound upglumly, â€Å"Maybe that doesn’t make any sense.† â€Å"It makes sense to me,† James said, entirely serious. â€Å"And-thanks.† He paused to look back at Philinacknowledgment. Poppy felt a sting behind hereyes. If he admits we’re part of Nature, she thought,then he doesn’t believe we’re unnatural anymore. It meant a lot. She said, â€Å"Well, you know, I’vebeen thinking, too.And it occurs to me that maybe there are otherchoices for feeding besides just jumping on humans when they don’t expect it. Like ‘ animals. I mean, isthere any reason their blood won’t work?† â€Å"It’s not the same as human blood,† James said.†But it’s a possibility. I’ve fed on animals. Deer aregood. Rabbits are okay. Possums stink.† â€Å"And then there must be somepeople who’d bewilling donors. Thea was a donor for me. We could ask other witches.† â€Å"Maybe,† James said. He grinned suddenly. â€Å"Iknew a witch back home who was verywilling. Nameof Gisele. But you couldn’t ask them to do it everyday, you know. You’d have to give them time to recover.† â€Å"I know, but maybe we could alternate. Animals one day and witches the next. Hey, maybe even werewolves on weekends!† â€Å"I’d rather bite a possum,† James said. Poppy socked him in the arm. â€Å"The point is, maybewe don’t have to be horrible bloodsucking monsters.Maybe we can be decentbloodsucking monsters.† â€Å"Maybe,† James said quietly, almost wistfully. â€Å"Hear, hear,† Phil said very seriously from theback. â€Å"And we can do it together,† Poppy said to James. He took his eyes off the road to smile at her. Andthere was nothing wistful about his gaze. Nothingcool or mysterious or secretive, either. â€Å"Together,† he said out loud. And mentally headded, Ican’t wait. With that telepathy of yoursyourealize what we can do, don’t you? Poppy stared, then felt an effervescent rush that almost shot her out of the car. Oh, James-do youthink? I’m certain. The only thing that makes exchanging blood so special is that it enhances telepathy. But you don’t needany enhancementyou little dreamer. Poppy sat back to try and still her heart. They would be able to join their minds again. Anytime they wanted. She could imagine it, being sweptinto James’s mind, feeling him surrender histhoughts to hers. Merging like two drops of water. Together in a waythat humans could never know. I can’t wait, either,she told him. Ithink I’m going tolike being a witch. Phil cleared his throat. â€Å"If you guys want someprivacy.. .† â€Å"We can’t have any,† James said. â€Å"Not with youaround. Obviously.† â€Å"I can’t help it,† Phil said through his teeth.†You’re the ones who’re yelling.† â€Å"We’re not yelling. You’re snooping.† â€Å"Both of you give it a rest,† Poppy said. But she felt warm and glowing all over. She couldn’t resistadding to Phil, â€Å"So, if you’re willing to give us someprivacy, that means you trust James alone withyour sister†¦.† â€Å"I didn’t saythat.† â€Å"You didn’t have to,† Poppy said. She was happy. It was very late the next day. Almost midnight, infact. The witching hour. Poppy was standing in a place she’d thought she’d never see again, her mother’s bedroom. James was waiting outside with a carload of stuff,including one large suitcase of Poppy’s CDs, smuggledfor them by Phil. In a few minutes James and Poppywould be heading for the East Coast and Poppy’sfather. But first, there was something Poppy had to do. She glided quietly toward the king-size bed, making no more noise than a shadow, not disturbing either of the sleepers. She stopped by her mother’sstill form. She stood looking down, and then she spoke withher mind. I know you think this is a dream, Mom. I know youdon’t believe in spirits. But I had to tell you that I’m allright. I’m all right, and I’m happy, and even if you don’tunderstand, please try to believe. Just this once, be!ieve in what you can’t see. She paused, then added, Ilove you, Mom. I alwayswill. When she left the room, her mother was stillasleep—andsmiling. Outside, Phil was standing by the Integra. Poppyhugged him and he hugged back, hard. â€Å"Goodbye,† she whispered. She got into the car.James stuck his hand out the window toward Phil. Phil took it without hesitation. â€Å"Thank you,† James said. â€Å"For everything.† â€Å"No, thank you.†Phil said. His smile and his voicewere both shaky. â€Å"Take care of her. . . and of yourself.† He stepped back, blinking. Poppy blew him a kiss. Then she and James droveoff together into the night. How to cite Night World : Secret Vampire Chapter 16, Essay examples

Reaction Paper on Leadership free essay sample

Righteous leaders are rare and seemingly belong to a class of their own. But when is a leader a righteous leader? What makes one virtuous? A lot of people have already listed traits that make up a good leader and the article provided was just one of them. Even the Bible had summed up the qualified traits that make up a righteous leader. Titus 1:7-9 talks about the leader that God required to lead – that the man chosen to have the responsibility to lead his people must be blameless, not self-willed, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre but a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just holy, temperate; holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine to exhort and convince the gainsayers. Such were the words to describe an honorable leader – a person that offers service and does not abuse power. We will write a custom essay sample on Reaction Paper on Leadership or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page He does not maim, oppress and destroy compared to power- drunk leaders. He is never arrogant but humble. Being humble is one of the â€Å"must be attitude† of a true leader and it’s quite a challenge for a person to be humble when he is already a boss. As the wise saying goes†¦ â€Å"You can know the true nature of a man when you give him money and power†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Wicked leaders are defined in most banal of senses as compared to righteous leaders. Listed below are only a few of my understanding from the literary piece which had provided the good points befitting an upright leader. Who cannot be bought and whose world is their promise†¦Ã¢â‚¬  – they have the trait called genuineness. I believe this is the very foundation of a leader. Leadership begins and ends with this trait. It’s because they are genuine people that they manage to lead their people into what they believe is right and because of this that they also gain true and loyal subor dinates. â€Å"Who put character above wealth†¦Ã¢â‚¬  – righteous leaders are guided by their heart as well as their mind and are committed to empowering not only themselves but also their subordinates in making a difference. They are more interested in that rather than in power, money or prestige. â€Å"Who will be honest in small things as well as in great things and who will make no compromise with wrong†¦Ã¢â‚¬  – these leaders never compromise the truth. They do not bargain towards their favor. They are honest and do not twist the truth. They refuse to compromise when principles are tested. â€Å"Whose ambitions are not confined to their own selfish desires†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Leaders are selfless people who never think of what they can give or what they can gain. They lead because they wanted to lead their eople and not because of some hidden motives behind the veil of sugar-coated words. â€Å"Who will not lose their individuality in a crowd†¦Who will not say they do it because everybody else does it†¦who can say No with emphasis although the rest of the world says Yes†¦Ã¢â‚¬  – true leaders are never swayed by the majority. Rather, they are very clear in where they stand and it is also because of this trait that people follow them. As was stated, they are in a league of their own and that’s why they were never swallowed by the majority and can stand out among them. Instead, they belong to the minority group – people who stand on their own, who have the power to refuse the temptation of majority and it’s what made them unique and able to lead with a clear sight. True leaders lead by example. They lead with a purpose, their goal is clear in sight and they were never partial. They are fair in judging people and never play bias based on religion, color or any mundane stuffs. They are willing to listen from others and never think they know it all. They are fairly considerate and empathic. Perhaps the best example to illustrate the difference of being led by a wicked and righteous leader is once again found in the Bible. It was set right after the reign of Solomon. Solomon was considered the wise king and through him, he righteously led Israel until his death but following that, Israel was thrown into chaos when his son took over the kingdom. Israel was divided due to Rehoboam’s harsh leadership. It was only three generations later, when his great grandson reigned Judah that the kingdom experienced peace that Israel once felt under the leadership of Solomon. Aside from what was already mentioned in the literary piece, one characteristic that sets righteous ones apart from common leaders is their ability to recognize their own flaws and works hard to overcome them. They use their natural abilities in leading their people and acknowledge their own shortcomings. There are still many ways to define a righteous leader and it could always go on and on but it always talks about the same thing but only put in different words. The abovementioned qualities as well as others implied are considered sine qua non for a righteous leader and if we really look closely into it, it mainly revolves around a person’s attitude and state of mind. In conclusion to this, having a righteous leader’s presence makes one feel his sense of worth, sense of care and protection. It is rather easy just being a leader in words only than being a true leader. But still, one can become righteous and honorable by learning these qualities as well as sticking up to it. It’s one of the challenges of an honorable leader.

Development of E-Leave Application Essay Example

Development of E-Leave Application Essay In presenting this thesis in partial fulfillment of the requirements for undergraduate degree from Limkokwing University of Creative Technology, I agree that the University Library may make it freely available for inspection. I further agree that, permission for copying of this thesis in any manner, in whole or in part, for scholar purposes may be granted by supervisor, in his absence, by the Dean of the Fuculty of Information and Communication Technology. It is understood that any copying or publication or use of this thesis or parts thereof for financial gain should not be allowed without my written permission. It is also understood that due to recognition shall be given to me and to Limkokwing University of Creative Technology for any scholarly use which may be made of any material from my thesis. Request for permission to copy or to make use of material in this thesis, in whole or in part should be addressed to: Dean of the Faculty of Information and Communication Technology Limkowking University of Creative Technology Jalan Technokrat 1/1 3000 Cyberjaya Selangor Darul Ehsan Malaysia Abstract E-Leave is an online leave management system that allows users to apply for leave conveniently anytime and anywhere as long as there is an internet connection. E-Leave is designed to make application and approval as easy and simple as possible, with auto-routing for approval and online leave management capabilities. ? Acknowledgements I would like to express my gratitude and honors to the Almighty God who gave me all I needed before and during this project completion, more especially the life and wisdom he gave me to complete this project. We will write a custom essay sample on Development of E-Leave Application specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Development of E-Leave Application specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Development of E-Leave Application specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer My sincere gratitude goes to my supervisor Madam Noris for her encouragement, ideas and support throughout the project. She was a good inspiration and a motivator to me when I was feeling down and depressed. I will like to thank my project coordinator Mr Tee Wee Jing for organizing this project for us students and making it to be a success Special thanks goes to Madam Nursyarizan Mr Rabi, Miss Azliza, and Miss Siti Fazilah who their help and guidance have made this project a success My special thanks go to my parents and my brothers for their continued support during my time in LimKokWing. Finally, I will like to acknowledge all my friends who have contributed in one way or the other to help see that this project was a success. This proposal relates to the creation of an e-leave application system that allow workers to apply online anywhere they can reach internet and also coordinates the schedules of workers applying for leaves in an organisation. It will be an easy way to apply and keep accurate information about leave application in any organisation. . 1. 0Problem Statement My proposed project proposal is a web based application in which it will replace a paper leave application to e-leave application for Limkokwing university, among the problems were existing in the present university system are; ? Due process: this is the problems that exist when an applicant have to wait for a very long time for his/her approval of the application as a result of having to pass through so many approval procedures before coming out with the result of either the application have bee n approved or not ? Data duplication: this happens when an applicant mistakenly applied for more than one time at the same period. ?Physical redundancy: this problems result when forms filled have to be re-entered into data sheet before going for approval. ?Lack of security issue: this leads to the lost of filled application forms and other valuable document by misplacing, natural or artificial disaster or they can easily be stolen by somebody because all information about the application are stored manually. 1. 2. 0 Problem Solving So base on the above mentioned problems, below are some of the solutions I proposed: ? To develop web base leave application were an applicant can easily apply online anytime, anywhere on their own convenient. ?To establish a secure e-leave application for the university that can only be access by authorized applicant. ?To reduce physical redundancy and easy monitoring of information. ? As the proposed project will be a web base application it will help in minimizing bureaucracy. ?With the proposed system, data duplication will completely be eliminated. 1. 2. 1 What E-leave system, is usually the case where an employee will apply for leave online and receive an approval or disapproval online or cancelling of the application, at the same time, the information is collected and used by members or staffs of the company to construct an employee’s database, The purpose of the system is to determine which employee applied for leave, what type of leave did he/she applied for, how many time have he/she applied, was it approved, what is the balance from his/her total leave and for the administration of the company/school to keep its records. . 2. 2. Why This system was developed to improve faults difficulties risen on the analysis conducted and it was discovered that the services rendered with the existing paper work is slow, stressing, insufficient, unreliable and inefficiency, so the employees/ workers and the organisation will find it easier to apply and manage all the leave applications 1. 2. 3. Whom The system will be a relief from all those d rawback faults and for sure it will increase the services performance at any organization offering leave opportunities to their workers. So the e-leave system process is extremely important to all organisation company. 1. 2. 4. Where The target organisation is any university or companies which would like to apply a real time system into their organisation, since nowadays all organisations go digital and computerised so as to reduce some inefficiency and redundancy in the work, thereby giving solutions to the problems of the organisations and the workers appreciate the undisputed convenience and reliability. 1. 2. 5. When The system development started midst 2009 and the project timeline shows that the system will be ready for delivery by midst 2010. . 3. 0 Aims and Objectives 1. 3. 1 Access Control An electronic leave application system is protected, allowing the users to log in with a username and password assigned to them by the system administrator(s). This is to prevent unauthorized users or inexperienced staff from accidentally deleting important information stored in the system or changing the settings of the sy stem which can lead to system crash. On the other hand, the administrator has the privilege to create accounts for new users and set permission masks to limit their access to certain information. . 3. 2 User-friendly The system will be developed with a user-friendly interface such that anyone can easily lean how to use it to apply for their leave anytime anywhere conveniently. More so To develop an automated system for better management of Limkokwing University and any other organisation that will like to adopt e-leave for their workers. 1. 3. 3 Reduce Cost and Data input time The e-leave system will reduce the need for paper documents because most of the documents and data entry will be done electronically which can be constantly updated. It also save the time of processing documents manually which provides employees with an easy and intuitive approach to data entry and information retrieval that was previously difficult. 1. 3. 4 Reduces duplication of duties The chances of manual data getting lost are a lot higher compared to automated data. When the manual data gets lost, there is a need to redo it all over again, probably from scratch, which will certainly take up a lot of time whereas database resources can always be recovered by doing backups regularly. It substantially cuts down on costly errors. 1. 4. 0 Project Scope The electronic leave application system will have the following functionalities: 1. 4. 1 Security access level This system will have staff and administrator login, the administrator or the root user will have complete control of the system security and will have the authority to create new accounts for new staff or users and set permission masks (access level) to limit their access to certain information or limit their authority from carrying out certain functions. 1. 4. 2 Apply for Leave online Users can apply for leave online anywhere at any time so long there have internet around them 1. . 3 Reports Users can also view comprehensive reports generated by the system based on yearly, monthly and days about the previous application and the balance remaining in their accounts that include reports on the either applications are approved or not, showing date and time etc. 1. 4. 4 Data Input Allows users to easily add, edit update and delete report information and staffs’ informati on. 1. 4. 5 Database The systems will keep track of all the data input into the system and will store them in an open source relational database. Key fields will be indexed to speed information retrieval, and use masks to improve validation and data input integrity. 1. 5. 0 Constraints ?This system is developed to provide user friendly so it would be easier for user to learn and use it. However, for some users that do not have computer background might face little difficulty. ?Due to rapid changes in hardware or software, the budgeted cost may go over estimated cost. ?The major constraint face during the implementation of this work was to integrate with finance department database. This is among other frustrations such as program failures during modular construction stages. E. g. For the deduction of salary in case unpaid leave is applied. ?Due to time constraint, some additional feature such as integration with finance department for salary checking might not be included. ?Organizations that involved include users (applicant) and administrator. Organizations not involved include part time employees. (limitation) 1. 6. 0 Project Resources The following are the software and hardware equipments in the developing and running the system. 1. 6. 1 Hardware requiremen Dell Vostro TM desktops are built specially for the unique needs of small businesses and are ready to be customised with the futures and software the users want. The vostro TM 200 slim tower is a compact, powerful and reliable desktop solution with a space-saving design that is optimised to meet user’s business demands, from basic productivity to high performance (Dell inc. 2008). ProcessorIntel Pentium Dual-Core Processor E 2180Operating SystemGenuine Window Vista Home BasicMemory512MB (1x512MB) DDR-2 SDRAMHard Drive160GB SATA Hard DriveOptical Drive16xDVD Burner 1. . 2 Software requirements Dreamweaver/PHP PHP, Hypertext Pre-processor, is a widely used, general-purpose scripting language at was originally designed for web development, to produce dynamic web. It can be embedded into HTML and runs on a web server. This needs to be configured to process PHP code and create web page content from it. (MySQL)MySQL is a comprehensive, integrated relational database system that enab les organisations to manage information’s and complex business application (Microsoft 2008)1. 7. The deliverables During this project an electronic leave application system was developed for the university and any other company that will like to adopt the e-leave system in their organisation. The deliverables of the project is as follow: ? Software: An electronic leave application system that will allow users to apply for leave online anywhere they are at ease, add, delete and update information, they can also view users application status. Finally staff will receive an automatic e-mail report of either application is approved or not approved. Report: There will be a comprehensive report that covers various aspects of the SDLC phases, planning, analysis, design, coding and implementation surrounding the creation of the prototype. ?Documentation: A user manual is provided to help users easily lean how to use this system and this is in both hardcopy and softcopy formats. ?Diagr am: A context diagram, Level 0 diagram, Flowchart and Entity Relationship diagram (ERD) of the electronic leave system. ?Project plan: A gantt chart for constructing and testing the system as well as documentation of the whole project. 1. 8. 0 Conclusion Electronic leave system is an online web based application system. It allows staff and all permanent workers to apply for leave online, get information about their leave histories, view application status and update their details. This application will have a friendly and interactive user interface. Electronic leave application system offers a wide range of options to fully customize it to fit customer needs. It provides customer with up to date information. To improve the system performance some new features will be added into the system and the system will be built using integrated flash to make it more interactive and attractive. Electronic leave application system has some potential benefits, such as: it is low cost, easy access to the information, the system would store the data efficiently and effectively avoiding any redundancies or errors, and it is a user friendly system. ? CHAPTER 2 2. 0. 0 LITERATURE REVIEW 2. 1. 0 INTRODUCTION I have completed this report by two methods; the first one is by finding the information about existing e-leave application Online on the internet and the second one is by a research from book or any organization such as ,the schools, organization that apply e-leave for their staff. In the course of my review to this project topic, I recapped, re-organized and re-shuffled all the important information such as the knowledge and ideas that have been established. By research on internet, I have initiated and learned more about electronic leave application. Much information I got from internet, includes the user interface, an existing e-leave application body or organization, their requirements, the software suitable for an online application, like PHP, ASP. NET, MySQL Server, the method to apply and so on, have given me a great insight thereby provoking the need to compares them. For researches from books and organizations, I collected the information by visiting any library in Malaysia and the schools of which Limkokwing University of Creative Technology is among. The purpose of this research is to compare the information that I gathered and see the areas that there is limitation for me to improve on them especially within my scope. This research requires time and money for getting the information. The web has changed in current decades from being just a simple static information provider to what it is today; a dynamic connecting entrance to the world of education, news, sports, business, etc. Web sites have changed from a collection of static pages containing text and maybe a few pictures, to more interactive and engaging websites. Web Developers now have tools available to them that enable them to implement animations, environment-sensitive content, embedded productivity tools and more in their websites. An Electronic Leave Application System (e-leave) provides many advantages to Universities, companies and organizations staff. This however, is not a new system; there are a number of universities and organizations currently providing this system to their staff, while some are still with the paper works. This new system (e-leave) being developed strives to compete with these existing systems in terms of usage, understanding, simplicity in user interaction and security. Electronic leave application demands a server side scripting language and a database to provide a good, interactive system to the user. Research has been done on different available scripting languages and databases; along with interface design, and below are the findings. 2. 2. 0 Findings 2. 2. 1 Server scripting languages In my findings I discovered that there are a large number of different server-side scripting languages to decide from. The predominant languages used today include: Hypertext Pre-Processor Protocol (PHP), Cold Fusion (CFM), and Microsoft web application framework (ASP. NET) etc. Comparing these languages we find out that they all have their individual strengths and weaknesses. The project requires one of these to be selected for its web application development. CMF is the first commercial server-side language developed. It uses Cold Fusion Mark-up Language tags to generate active web content. CMF is connectable to database that are ODBC-compliant, which includes databases such as Oracle and MySQL. It is reputed to be the easiest web language of all. This can be attributed to the fact that Cold Fusion has built-in tags, which perform the most common tasks that web developers normally take on. Its simplicity is also one of its drawbacks. This drawback is that CMF does not have the flexibility other full programming languages such as Java has, because it is tag-based. PHP is an open source server-side scripting language that creates dynamic web pages for web applications. PHP is exclusive in that it allows programmers to implant PHP commands right into a HTML page. PHP is easy to learn for anyone with basic programming skills. Its syntax is similar to that of C and Perl. PHP provides excellent Connectivity to a wide range of databases, including Oracle, myself, Sybase and other ODBC-compliant databases. This scripting language has some disadvantages. One disadvantage PHP has is that its troubles to be parsed by the server each time it loads. A simple solution to this is not incorporating PHP in the files that dont need to be processed; in that case other non server-side scripting languages such as Ajax can be used. 2. 2. Comparing php with other languages Every server-side scripting language has its own strengths and weaknesses. When comparing CFM and PHP side by side some differences are notices. While CFM is platform dependant, PHP is platform independent; but you can run it anywhere you want. CFMS cross Platform support is relatively limited, because its scripting language is primitive and does not support standard operator syntax or user-de fined functions. Another difference is that CFMS Scripting language is primitive but quite easy to learn, while PHP has an advance and flexible language. CMF has adequate file handling support, has good try/catch functionality, making formal error handling possible. PHP on the other hand has complete file handling system support, has some try/catch functionality. One exceptional difference between the two is that PHP, because it is open source, is free to be used by anyone, while Cold Fusion you have to pay some charges to use. PHP and ASP. NET are the most competitive server-side scripting languages to date. When comparing ASP. NET with PHP we see that they differ primarily in speed, cost, programming style, cross platform support and database support. PHP will always be the faster among them. This is because ASP. NET is built on Computer Object Model (COM) based architectures, which slows down things for ASP. NET. Cost is not an issue with PHP because it is free and open source, while there is cost involved with ASP. NET. A wide range of programming styles are available to ASP. NET users, which include Visual Basic, C#, Pearl and Python; with modular and procedural coding available to them. This is an advantage to users who might be better familiar with one language over another. PHP however only supports an html like’ language that has good support for both modular and procedural coding. PHP is not limited in any way to any platform; it can run on Windows, Linux and other operating systems. It is superior when compared to that of ASP NET, which requires a Windows operating environment to operate. Based on these findings I have chosen to program my electronic leave application using PHP. 2. 2. 3 Database The choice of database server used in the website is also important. There are many factors to consider when choosing the right database. One factor to consider is the compatibility of the database server with the scripting language used. Not all languages can communicate with all databases. Other factors to be considered are; the speed at which the database should respond and the robustness of that database, the amount of access to a database can severely slow or even stop the functioning of the database. The expected amount of access per-second must be taken into consideration. There are many databases servers today, such as PostgreSQL, Oracle, MySQL and Microsoft Access. 2. 2. 4 Comparison Msql with other Database In comparing MySQL with Postgre it can be seen that MySQL is favorable for a few reasons. One of these reasons is that it is faster. While PostgerSQL is slower, MyQSL is more suitable for web application use. MySQL also has fewer disconnections and core dumps than Postgre. Another advantage that MySQL has over Postgre is that MySQL has many functions available to alter a table, whereas Postgre only has a few altering table functions. However, it is not all pros for MySQL; it lacks in comparison to Postgre in terms of security and data integrity. An advantage MySQL has over many other databases when it comes to deciding a database for this project, is it collaboration with PHP. PHP has special features designed for databases in MySQL, and both PHP and MySQL are free. For this reasons I made the choice to use them in my project (e-leave application system). 2. 2. 5 Security The World Wide Web is not a secure environment and even more so in recent times, since the electronic leave system is online, is therefore not secured for organization to allow their staff and company information through the e-leave application on the net. However it has become a necessity for businesses to utilize this communication gateway if they will completely succeed in the global market. Businesses can protect their websites against web application vulnerabilities with simple and affordable services such as firewalls, intrusion detection and prevention systems. Unfortunately this is not enough to protect websites from today’s online application vulnerabilities. The alarming amount of businesses that experience data breaches continues to increase daily. Even the large US military companies are not exempted. This is due to the activities of cyber criminals, which put sensitive business and personal information into the wrong hands. These actions done by hackers and other cyber criminals lead to problems such as identity theft, credit card fraud, etc. Billions of dollars have already been lost as a result. The five top web application vulnerability as reported by Web Application Security Consortium are as follows; Cross- Site Scripting, SSI Injection, SQL Injection, HTTP Response Splitting and Information Leaking, in that order. It is believed that above 90% of all web applications are vulnerable to web attacks. In earlier years web hacking was new, and was done for exploration and experimentation. Currently the malicious targeting of web applications has become a business for cyber criminals. They exploit the weaknesses of the web for personal and monitory gain. This can be seen in the change from indifferent viruses and worms that only purpose would seem, is to cause damage; to the more sophisticated attacks that target specific groups or organizations. Even big web sites such as the Department of Homeland Security and the United nations were subject to web attacks; specifically SQL-injection attacks. No website is too big or too small to be targeted, because exploitation for illegal gain can be done through just about any website. When a website is under attack, or threats are found that reveals vulnerabilities, it has three options open to it. The first option is to take down the website. Secondly they have the option of reverting to an older version of the website that is not open to that problem, if this is applicable. The next option is to stay up while still being vulnerable to attacks. Lastly they can implement a virtual protection with a web application firewall. While these procedures are taking place, the problem must be fixed in the shortest amount of time. SQL-injection is one of the few web application vulnerabilities that can be prevented at the website development level. Some of the other web application vulnerabilities need to be dealt with at the server level. Websites that interact with users often use interactions from users to perform interactions with databases. It is often assumed that theses inputs are legitimate and are used to perform SQL queries with databases. These websites are vulnerable to QUL-injection. This security threat exploits week validation, or the lack of validation of text inputted used to build databases queries. Applications typically used DB-API routines to communicate with databases. An example of this is the function â€Å"mysql(str,db)†, which is used in PHP to communicate with MySQL databases. The string containing the query is held in ‘str’ while ‘db’ is a database handler. It is easy to identify these DB-API routines in PHP code. SQL-injection attacks occur when access statements are used without authorization. This is done by adding SQL code into an input statement. Authorization of database operator, such as UP-DATE, SELECT, etc, which allows users to add, view and edit data in a database, this should be granted based on login and authorization level run-time. These levels of security should be defined during the specification phase of a project before the application is built. With PHP the web application can be automatically protected from SQL-injection. It is done by combining static analysis to test input of strings into PHP, dynamic analysis to build legitimate SQL queries that have the correct syntax and code re-engineering to project existing programs from SQL-injection. 2. 2. 6 Interface (GUI) To work with a system, users have to be able to know and control the system, they have to be able to assess the state of the system and be able to accomplish their goals. For example, to drive an automobile, the driver uses the steering wheel to control the direction of the vehicle, and the accelerator pedal, brake pedal and gearstick to control the speed of the vehicle. The driver perceives the position of the vehicle by looking through the windscreen and exact speed of the vehicle by reading the speedometer. The user interface of the automobile is on the whole collection of the instruments the driver can use to accomplish the tasks of driving and maintaining the automobile, likewise the interfaces of an electronic leave application. When a person enters a website they only have the interface to direct them as to what to do. The interface has to be clear so that the user can understand where to get the content they desire. Interfaces should also be attractive so that users stay focused on the website and are provoked to use it. When designing a website that its purpose is for communication, you must consider what the audience’s goals and expectations are. The questions can be asked; â€Å"What are you saying† â€Å"To whom are you saying it to? † and â€Å"Why are you saying it? this is to get the goals of the users. If these questions are answered earlier in the development, it will help to keep a web project on track and help establish the tone of the website. In designing a website it must also be noted that a website can only be used if it is understood. It has to be interactive and very effective in communicating. The better a website communicates with its user the easier it is for that user to understand the message intention from the website. Users generally appreciate a website more when it’s easier to understand. The e-leave application shears the same type of web user interface, therefore it need a user friendly interface. The design of a Web User Interface is a serious issue and the methodology behind it is often problematic. Web User Interface however defines how usable a website is. Problems can arise if the target audience does not participate earlier in the web design. This can result in no specific definition of user requirements, causing problems that results in not giving the users what the user would like to see on the site, but what the owner or designer would like to see. 2. 2. 7 E-Commerce Simply put, e-commerce is the online transaction of business, featuring linked computer systems of the vendor, host, and buyer. Electronic transactions involve the transfer of ownership or rights to use a good or service. Most people are familiar with business-to- consumer electronic business (B2C). Common illustrations include Amazon. com, llbean. com, CompUSA. com, travelocity. com, and hotels. com. E-commerce can be divided into: ?E-tailing or virtual storefronts on Web sites with online catalogs, sometimes gathered into a virtual mall ? The gathering and use of demographic data through Web contacts ? Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), the business-to-business exchange of data e-mail and fax and their use as media for reaching prospects and established customers for example, with newsletters. ?Business-to-business buying and selling (B2B) E-commerce is the vital concept of creating this website, information technology has helped simplifying the ways of getting information and proposals from one human being to another as well as helping them do business together. The electronic commerce represents the process of selling, buying or changing products, services and information by means of computer networks. Consumers need to know the facts about the agreement concluded through electronic means in order to fully understand the rules and regulations. Firstly, the concurrent presence of all the contracting parties is not required due to the fact that users are binding in a distance contract and the offer and acceptance is launched electronically. The effects recognized by the law for contracts and consumers must carefully fill an electronic form with the person’s name, address, and contact details, e-mail and the confirmed password. This password can help the user to track the orders that person made, therefore reducing the time needed to fill all the personal data every time an order is made. Secondly, the services supplier is bound to confirm the receiving of the offer, or its acceptance, except the agreements concluded exclusively by e-mail or other equivalent means of individual communication. This is done by sending an â€Å"acknowledgement receipt† by e-mail or any other equivalent means of individual communication to the address specified by the consumer. Also by confirming the reception of the offer or of the offer’s acceptance, through a way which is equivalent to the way the offer acceptance was sent. Thirdly, the offer and the offer’s acceptance are considered received when the parties to whom they are sent can access them. The contract is then concluded when the acceptance of the offer is known by the professional. The services supplier must inform the consumer in the pre-agreement phase provider’s name, postal address, conta

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Leadership and Organizational Behavior - Case Study Example The writer claims that women are not as good as networking and communicating, but that he grew up with his mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. They taught him to be independent and self-motivated with his ambition. One theory the article suggests is that sports teams are the cause of men networking better than women. The theory that women are more independent minded and men network and communicate better than women is a statement based on his entrepreneurial accomplishments. A mentor may be suggested. A self-mentor is a professional at independent goal setting ambition. A mentor would be a boss that keeps you motivated the entire day with your goals and what you want to accomplish told to you. The art of self-mentoring is based on self-reliability. That women need mentors more than men is suggested in the article; that they need to learn to network within their own the range of abilities and be more connective in the workforce. Women often separatist themselves being financially beneficial to a marriage and are just taken care of by a man. This then puts the financial dependency on one person. The woman then is separatist from financial obligation. Sometimes the woman relies on looks for a relationship and is dependent on the man for finances. This happens quite often. Where women need mentors more often than men is that women are inspired by the motivation, the strategies, and the way that other people handle their lives burdens. This then inspires them to be more hard working and more ambitious on their own account.

What are some of the strengths and weaknesses of revealed preference Lab Report

What are some of the strengths and weaknesses of revealed preference methods used to determine market values for environmental goods and services - Lab Report Example choices made by individuals on the basis of comparing the influence of policies on consumer behaviour is meant examine and reveal consumer purchasing habits on the basis of their market value. This theory examines the idea of diminishing marginal rate of substitution and identifies how consumers make decisions on the best ways of maximising utility. This involves the identification of the consumptive value of environmental attributes or goods. Clearly, this is a problem of theoretical assumptions made by the economist who measures the data and sets the parameters for the study. This is because the theory is mainly conceptual and most consumers’ minds and their views and sensitivity to issues cannot be measured in the same way other empirical materials might be measured. Thus, there is an issue with the design of the data collection systems and the underlining assumptions of the study and research. Secondly, the data collection process is open to a lot of issues and difficulties when the revealed preference theory is applied to the environmental matters. This is because it is difficult to compile data of the consumption of environmental factors and this might require some kind of complex accounting system that might not be easily explicable to people who will take part in these studies. Thirdly, this method cannot value attributes that vary across regions. Hence, there is a problem with the need and the possibility of examining and valuing products across different parts of Australia since the prices of one product solely found or demanded in one state might not have a comparative base for persons in other states. Comparability remains a problem in the revealed preference method because consumers have different attributes across geographical regions. This might bring variations that might not be logical and realistic. Also, across timelines, there could be huge variations. For example, examining something in an area before a mining boom and another after the

Informal Groups within an Organisation

Informal Groups within an Organisation Abstract Organisations contain formal groups which have been put into place by the organisational management to perform specific tasks in order to further the aims of the organisation. In addition to the formal groups, there are informal groups which can assume an existence in organisations as a result of the mutually shared interests of the individuals who are a part of the organisation. Informal groups exist purely because of mutual interests and have no formal mandate from the organisation. The membership of the informal groups seeks to satisfy some need by belonging to these groups. These needs may include needs for security, knowledge acquisition, informal attempts to shape organisational policy, family, social interaction etc. Leadership position in such groups is freely accorded by the group membership based on qualities that are considered to be critical for the satisfaction of the needs of the moment, with changing needs resulting in changes of leadership. Informal groups in formal o rganisations can be powerful and important because they have the capability of supporting or opposing organisational aims. Organisational managers should attempt to acquaint themselves with the informal groups in their areas of jurisdiction so that informal discussions with these groups may be possible and attempts may be made to change their norms if they prove to be contrary to the organisational aims. Informal groups can be found in any organisational setting including clubs, schools, health care units, industries etc. The motives behind their formation are a part of human nature and it should not be necessary to excessively interfere in the activities of informal groups unless they are proving to be destructive. In this essay, an attempt has been made to take a look at informal groups in organisations with a special emphasis on the informal groups to be found in a hospital ward. 1.1 Introduction Organisations exist in order to perform useful functions or tasks which will generate revenues or provide a service. In order to achieve organisational missions, teams may be established within the organisation which are organised around a set of objectives. A team or a group is, therefore, considered to be a number of people who have been brought together as a result of a desire to perform some function or accomplish a set of objectives. Groups and teams are formally created in order to provide a remedy for the dysfunction of bureaucratic structures that may be present in an organisation. Segmentation in organisations results in large problems being cut into sub – problems which are then cut into even smaller problems. These problems are then allocated to sub – units or components of sub-units which offer inputs to the problems or tasks and the solution to the whole consists of these inputs. Specially created groups within organisations may horizontally cut across exis ting boundaries and functions existing within organisations in an attempt to take advantage of lateral linkages. A management team or group with lateral linkages can therefore be created by the corporate management in order to better manage the organisation. Such groups which have been created as a result of the design choices and the development processes in an organisation are different from the informal groups which almost always come into existence in organisations if opportunities exist. The informal groups which can come into being within organisations can come about as a result of common interests, desire to learn and share knowledge and achieve specific objectives. These groups can also act to counter organisational function and the imposed standards of management. Standards of the informal groups are the standards of the group members which have not been imposed on them by anyone and certainly not by the organisational management. The leaders of the informal groups in organ isations will have power within the groups which can oppose the formal directives of the organisation or the organisational managers. Hence, it is important to realise that informal groups do exist within organisations and that they have an implicit code of ethics or an unspoken set of standards. In order to positively harness the power of the informal groups, it is important to understand group dynamics and to bring about changes in the informal group norms so as to support the formal organisation. [Arndt 1997]; [Onepine.Info 2005] The terms groups and teams are often used interchangeably and are important concepts in management literature. Groups can be found almost anywhere including schools, work organisations, families, and hospitals as well as in sports clubs. As opposed to a group, a team is expected to have some positive attributes to it. A team will have cohesion, cooperation and teamwork and groups are expected to develop into teams. A team is, therefore, a special type of group which has became sufficiently organised in order to fulfil a mission or a purpose. A group can consist of more then one individuals capable of interacting with each other who are aware of their membership within a group as well as their positive interdependence as they strive to achieve mutual goals. Although members of the group are most likely to have face-to-face interactions most of the time, they can also have interactions over the internet or other media once the group has been formed and members are known to each other. Informal groups will have communication processes which are smoother and less cumbersome then those of the formal organisation. Leadership status is mostly afforded to members who have access to information vital to the functioning of the group or the ability to distribute this information. Whereas formal groups come into existence as a result of organisation design, task allocation and decision making which result in communications and team learning, informal groups are formed as a result of mutually shared interests and are led by members with a strong commitment to the cause. Informal groups can provide a sense of belonging with friendship, support and affiliation along with a sense of identity as well as self esteem for its members. Informal groups can also serve as defence mechanisms for forces that can be too great for a single individual to resist and may also serve as a platform to develop a consensus amongst members about issues which can also be related to the organisation and which may have been regarded as being controversial. The members in an informal group can feel more secure, less anxious and more capable of facing threats such as the cruel behaviour of a supervisor. The leadership of the informal group mostly belongs to the member who is most capable of satisfying the needs of the group and this leadership changes with changing requirements and the ability to cater for the requirements of other members. Because the informal leader does not possess formal powers, therefore, the informal leader can be deposed if this leader cannot adequately satisfy the requirements of the members. Because the cohesiveness of the informal groups can be enhanced in the face of external threats, attempts to force a group to conform to organisational norms can backfire and it may be better to try and neutralise the group leader or to conduct reasonable dialogue. Informal groups can have norms, values and unspoken rules which may be necessary to perpetuate the exis tence of the group and in some groups violations of these rules or norms can carry severe penalties. Although informal groups become important and noticeable because they start to challenge the formal organisation, it must however, be realised that not all informal groups in organisations are harmful and some may in fact be serving a useful purpose such as knowledge sharing, helping members cope, generating ideas or pursuing hobbies. Apart from the work floor, informal groups can also exist as ‘communities of practice’ amongst professionals who are informally sharing knowledge, pursuing design excellence or in other ways controlling and generating knowledge or skills in an organisation. [Accel-Team.com 2005]; [Rupert 2004]; [Fiona 2004] Informal groups in organisations arise as a result of the interpersonal relationships of the members of a formal organisation and there are formal leaders who have authority because of the existence of a formal organisation as well as informal leaders who may be given deference by the employees because they have been able to assist in the satisfaction of some of their needs. Some of the leaders of informal groups or the ‘workers of influence’ can hold rather ordinary positions in the formal organisations but can be a force to be reckoned with because of their leadership of the informal organisation even though this leadership may be temporary or in transition. Without any formal mandate, leadership in the informal group may be based on knowledge, past services, seniority, personality attribute and the art of inducing compliance, a power relationship, the desire for the achievement of a goal or the emerging result of group interactions. Generally, groups do not act becaus e there are leaders but they acquire leaders to help them act. In a fee environment, the leader of the informal group will be the individual who will have a reciprocally rewarding relationship with the rest of the group. However, just like any other leader, the leader of the informal group will have a guiding vision, enthusiasm and a passion for action, integrity, maturity, knowledge, candour, trust, curiosity and daring. The reason why an informal group leader may not have succeeded in the organisation’s formal management structure could be due to a lack of formal qualifications or money and they may be perceived to be belonging to a different ‘class’ which is distinct from the formal managerial core. Power in the informal groups is vested by the peers and informal group leadership has influence over their members as well as the capability to exert an influence over managerial decision making. Hence, an informal organisation exists in parallel to the formal orga nisation and there is informal status that can be conferred on members of the organisation as distinct from the formal status in an organisation [Sandra 2004]; [Onepine.Info 2005] The development of formal as well as informal groups can be described in terms of Tuckman’s five-stage model consisting of the stages of forming or the process of group formation, storming in which individual search and conflicts occur, norming or the normalising of relationships between group members, performing during which peak group activity takes place and adjourning a stage when group members leave and are replaced by others. At the informal group level, where personal relationships are more significant, factors related to sociometry or the science within psychodrama may influence the informal relations between actors apart from considerations related to gain or protection from threats. The basic notion behind sociometry is the flow of feelings which can attract or repel individuals to each other and this is used to explain the inner structures of groups which also have an outer structure. The outer structure of a group may not fulfil the needs of the group members altho ugh such a structure will reflect the decision and responsibility structure of the group and attention should also be placed on relationships of attraction between members without which a group can loose its creative life. In a hospital ward, for instance, the formal structures consist of the nursing supervisors who are in charge of the ward and the doctors, but there is an element of interaction between the patients who are all in the ward because they have a need to get well and be looked after while they try to achieve this aim. There are no formal groups which have been put in place by the administration in a ward, but patients will tend to form informal groups because of their likes and dislikes as well as a need to cope with and survive their experience of ill health and get better. These informal groups will lend support to the members, help them when they need assistance, guide new members and may also take a stand against the formal administration of the ward consisting of the nurses and the doctors on duty if the interests of their members are threatened. [Diana 1996]; [Arndt 1997]; [Nathan 2004] In this essay, an attempt has been made to take a look at perspectives associated with informal groups within organisations and to consider the dynamics of such informal groups. An emphasis has been placed on attempting to understand the dynamics of informal groups by considering the situation in a hospital ward in which patients have been placed because of a joint need to get well and informal groups are formed in order to satisfy the needs of members. 2.1 The Development of Informal Groups in Organisations When creating formal groups in organisations, attempts are, or should be made to bring together individuals who are capable of harmoniously interacting with each other so that the group which has been created to accomplish a task can work at peak efficiency. In informal groups which are created spontaneously and not by an organisational dictate, the self interest of the individual members and a likeness for each other is what keeps the group together. Jacob L. Moreno (1892 – 1974) was the first to attempt to analyse group interactions using psychodrama and sociodrama, which are role playing techniques, in an attempt to analyse interpersonal relations. Members of the group will interact with each other and the behaviour of the group will have a tendency to modify the behaviour of the individual members, as was observed by Kurt Lewin (1890-1947). Most informal groups are controlled through leadership and the group discipline is maintained through internal pressure. In most infor mal groups, there is a respect for the individual and all members can participate in deciding things which are affecting them. However, once rules have been made, disobedience in certain groups can carry heavy penalties. Prison gangs are also a form of a group in which force and terror is used by the informal prison organisation to make members join and the penalty for disobedience can be very heavy. Hence, it is important for formal authorities to ensure that informal groups operating in an organisation are operating in a healthy and constructive manner with any conflict with the established authority lying within manageable and legal limits. Extreme behaviour in a group should be of concern to the law enforcement authorities and the group can no longer be described as an informal group. The humanist philosophy of Abraham Maslow (1908 – 1970) suggests that individuals are motivated by a dynamic hierarchy of needs including psychological, safety, love, esteem and self-actuali zation, with individuals moving up or down the ladder in order to satisfy their needs as best as possible. These needs of individuals are what keep informal groups together and in a hospital ward situation, the patients form informal groups in order to satisfy these wants. Responsibility, recognition and opportunities for growth along with opportunities for self actualization which cannot be satisfied in the formal organisation because of the specialisation of labour and command / obey directives as well as the control of activities are amongst the reasons why individuals in an organisation may want to join informal groups. According to Douglas McGregor (1906 -64), the average individual does not dislike work and has an acute interest in attempting to present solutions for organisational problems which can also motivate individuals to form informal groups. The strict division of labour in a formal organisation without the participation of the organisational members and the resulting dissatisfaction can also lead to the creation of informal groups in which members can participate and which have the capability to provide stronger inputs to the formal organisational hierarchies. There are many other evolving needs such as those involved with safeguarding the family, the community and the self in a hostile or alien ambiance which can cause individuals to form informal groups. Examples of such tendencies may include groups formed by expatriate workers or their spouses in foreign lands. [Arndt 1997]; [Malcolm 2000]; [Tim 2001]; [Betty 1997] In formal groups, there is a greater emphasis on task or goal-oriented activities which aim to get the job done rather then the maintenance-oriented activities which involve creating a good atmosphere, creating social-relationships and the general happiness as well as a state of well being for the members. The emphasis on task-oriented activities rather then the maintenance-oriented activities, however, does not mean that the maintenance-oriented activities are irrelevant. In fact every group tries to find a balance between the two and in a formal group, neglecting the maintenance-oriented activities can mean that the overall group starts to malfunction or a member who may be quite proficient at doing the job is not much of a success any longer. In an informal group, maintenance-oriented activities can be more important then they are in a formal group, although informal groups do have broad aims behind their creation. [Arndt 1997]; [Thomas 2004] All groups including informal groups exhibit a state of dynamism with new members arriving, getting accepted into the group, coming to terms with their status within the group, contributing and then leaving because they have found new places to go to or have developed new interests. Members must, however, have a reason to become a part of an informal group and most often the reason is that they have to be in the organisation to satisfy their economic wants or have been put into a situation or a place in which joining the local group can be beneficial. As new members of an organisation arrive on the scene, they are exploring and finding meanings in the new environment. Initial social contacts are limited and mostly existing members of the informal group will sound out the new arrivals, offer clarifications and provide support. In the forming stage of the group, dependency is rather high and the group leadership may want to exploit the situation in order to induct new members. In the s torming stage, the new individual member will start to exert their individuality and begin to come to terms with other members of the group and the group’s values as well as mode of operation. Personal conflicts can occur as differences in the roles and personalities of members are resolved. There can be competitions over status and positions as well as roles and responsibilities. A hostile environment can develop with members coming to term with reality. The position and the role of the informal group leaders and hierarchy may be questioned by the new arrivals but a realisation may sink in that there are benefits to be attained by the individual as well as the group because the members cannot all leave immediately. Dialogue, facilitation, coaching as well as discovery may take place as the group moves towards normalcy. In the norming stage, a level of understanding between members will develop after the new information and facts have been processed with an acceptance of the differences. Cooperative patterns will start to emerge in the group which are broadly acceptable and members will start discussing issues and making decisions on consensus. Tensions which had existed will start to disappear as group cohesion grows, although feelings of disenchantment may occur as a reaction towards authority of the formal organisation and the group leadership. The group members will try to become independent and adjust the norms of the group to be broadly suited to all and there may be a tendency to attack the group leadership in order to bring in greater democracy. [Arndt 1997]; [Robert 2002] The group will tend to move towards performing in line with its broad aims after the process of normalisation and will carry on with its day to day existence. The group members will have settled into their roles and will be valued for their talents and the contributions that they may be able to make to the group. Ways of improving the situation and enhancing the levels of happiness for all may be pondered on and implemented along with ways to neutralise any threats. Individual members may move towards building up better relationships with others in the group that they like. Excitement may once again enter into the group as a result of new members joining and some old members leaving because they have to move to new places that are located far from the place where a group is functioning. Adjournments from the group may be marked with rituals such as a dinner, a drink or a last conversation, with some members looking back while others looking towards their future. Departure of old memb ers and the induction of new members can move the group into an earlier stage in its dynamics with members coming to terms with new realities, roles and changes in the group composition. Loss of some departed members may be deeply felt and certain new members can be very refreshing, bringing in new ideas and to challenges to the group norms. [Onepine.Info 2005]; [Arndt 1997] 3.1 Sociometry at Work in Informal Group Interactions Interpersonal relationships in a group are important because they enable individuals in a group to perform their function and contribute to the objective of the group. Poor relationships in any group can cause a gulf to develop between the members or the group leaders and between members resulting in poor performance. Members may leave groups in which there are poor interpersonal relations or they may want to keep away from the activities of such groups. In formal groups, absenteeism, sick leave and poor work attitude may be the result of poor interpersonal relationships while an informal group can disintegrate in such a situation. Tele or the two-way flow of feeling, as distinct from empathy or transference which are one-way flow of feelings is the basis of individuals forming relationships and coming together to pursue common aims. Individuals are drawn together spontaneously by common motives in order to achieve certain aims. The forces of mutual attraction can be constantly chang ing within a group with individuals coming closer on the basis of various criteria. Hence, there are likely to be a number of constantly changing sub-groups within a group, with the group being kept together by a stronger common goal. The forces of tele may determine who may be found sitting to whom, the person whose advice is sought on problems and the member who is seen to be providing the leadership in a group. Members in a group may have relationships based on dependency, mutual respect and pairing or indecisive fight or flight type relations with a group’s leadership. The identity of an individual within a group will contain identities from many other groups including identities related to family, profession and place of residence, previous affiliations related to education, employment or membership of clubs as well as any special experiences including those related to culture. Individuals who are thinking of forming stronger affiliations with a group will be asking them selves questions related to inclusion as well as identity, control, influence, power and acceptance as well as intimacy. Attempts will be made to determine what an individual can become in a group, how much influence or control an individual may be able to exercise and if the individual will be liked and respected. Based on the answers to these questions and the alternatives that are likely to be available, the individual will form a relationship with a group. If a member’s expectations related to the group are responded to positively then greater energy is likely to result, alternatively anxiety and preoccupation with the self and a lack of interest may be the result of thwarted expectations. Strong group cohesion is likely if individuals are drawn to each other as a result of more then one factors of common interest which are enduring and not of transitory nature. Cohesion is demonstrated by spontaneity, sincerity and enthusiasm. Observing and analysing the affection, trust and advice networks in a group can assist in the determination of what is going on in a group and who is likely to be able to influence group behaviour and values. Such knowledge can be useful if the formal organisation wants to change the behaviour patterns of an informal group to be less damaging or supportive of the aims of the formal organisation. [Diana 1996]; [Robert 2002]; [John 1998] In a formal organisation, it is the informal networks of working relationships and the informal groups which can have a bearing on productivity and resistance to change. Managers must, therefore, try to keep the informal organisation in mind when implementing change and making decisions. It is important to know the key members of informal groups and have some sort of a dialogue and channels of communication open with them so that discussions based on reason may be initiated if there is a need to change some behaviour patterns. Misunderstandings, a lack of communication and dissatisfaction with some decisions of the formal organisational managers and their way of working can result in the informal network attempting to work in a manner that is contrary to the interests of the formal management and the organisation. Indications that this is happening may manifest itself in the form of apathy, a lack of interest in work and communications with the formal managers. Members of the informa l groups may try to conduct secret discussions in order to try and find a solution and there can be a sense of disillusionment with the organisation. Such wars are usually not healthy either for the organisation or the workers and the formal organisation can try to conduct a dialogue with the informal organisation in order to discus and explain matters which may improve the situation. [Cristiano 2004]; [Diana 1996]; [David 2001]; [John 1998] Some informal groups in an organisation may not have aims which are contrary to the interest of the organisation. Informal groups of professionals who may want to enhance their knowledge, knowledge workers, managers, sports and hobby groups etc can actually greatly benefit the organisational capabilities as well as prestige. Such groups can also assist the organisation by furthering their skills and using these skills to assist organisational aims such as those related to product design, management, marketing, sales etc. The formal organisation may choose to assist such groups within the resources that are available to the organisation. [Kristina 1999]; [Andrew 2004]; [John 1998] In the next section, an attempt is made to study the dynamics of informal groups in a hospital ward. Such a study can be instructive because a hospital ward is likely to be a place where the most idealised informal group formation is possible with there being a possibility of far fewer harsh forces at work in the hospital ward as compared to other settings. 4.1 Informal Groups in a Hospital Ward Treating and caring for the ill can be a challenging occupation and depending on the nature of the ward being considered, there can be a certain level of tension between the hospital staff and the patients. The nurses in the ward are more directly involved with the patients and come in contact with them far more often. The doctors are the senior managers of the formal hierarchy and remain relatively distant from the action whereas the patients and informal groups made up by the patients is the informal organisation. A children’s ward is the place where there is a minimal level of tension between the formal organisation and informal organisation consisting of the relatives of the sick kids. The kids themselves are too young to be making rational informal groups. Caring for the mentally ill or for adult patients in a depraved economic environment can result in serious frictions being generated between the ward staff and the groups formed by patients. Mentally ill patients can be very demanding while the adult patients may not be receiving the proper care in a depraved hospital because of a lack of resources. The circumstances presented in the novel Cancer Ward by Alexander Solzhenitsyn are instructive in this regard. [Valerie 2000]; [Harborne 1996]; [Sandford 1990]; [Ann 2004] In most hospitals, however, a genuine attempt is made to care for the patients and depending on the formal culture which has been cultivated as a result of the policies of the senior medical staff of the hospital, the relationship between the formal ward organisation and the patients tend to be friendly and cooperative. Informal groups consisting of patients, however, do spring up because there is a need to be helpful and be helped, pass time, converse and help each other to face the common enemy, the illness, as well as any other threats which may present themselves including the attitude of the ward staff. [Harborne 1996]; [Sandford 1990]; [Ann 2004] The arrival of a new patient generates an interest amongst the existing members of the ward and as the new arrival is investigated by the ward patients, the process of the forming of a new group starts. The newly arrived patient in the ward will initially be assisted by the formal ward staff or the nurses and will slowly get to know the other patients. The leaders of the informal patient groups may also express an interest and assist in the resettlement of the newly arrived, gathering information and making an assessment of the new patient. The formal ward administration will know much more about the patient because they will have their particulars and medical records Any factors in common between two patients in the ward including similar medical conditions, close neighbourhoods, cultural experiences or professional background etc will lead to an attraction or tele between two individuals which can assist in the formation of an informal group. An attraction or tele can also exist be tween a patient and a member of the formal organisation such as a nurse if there are any common backgrounds or interests. Norming of the ward takes place when the newly arrived patient starts to fit into the new environment and slowly gets to know the other members. In the storming phase, there may be personality clashes or debates about ward regulations and perhaps attempts to deliberately flout any regulations of the ward such as restrictions on smoking or meeting with others as a result of the attempts by the new members to personalise the ward space. The performing stage occurs with ward members settling down and helping each other while trying to get better. Sub-groups will be constantly formed and re-formed as the process of discovery continues and mutual interests shift. A member who has been through trying times, undergone a painful procedure or an operation may be given extra attention by the group as a whole and especially by those who have a strong attraction or tele with this member. The nursing staff, doctors, the senior medical staff as well as the administrators can judiciously intervene by conducting a dialogue and reasoning to keep the situation in the ward under control in order to maintain healthy relationships amongst the patients as well as between the patients and the ward staff. The ward group is adjourned with the departure of a patient and ritual farewell meetings or exchange of gifts may take place for those who have recovered, while some ritual mourning and remembrance will be present for those who may not have recovered. Informal groups in a ward can act in a protective manner towards their members, the patients, while collectively standing up against threats or the unreasonable behaviour of the ward staff. Occasionally, an informal group of patients may threaten the discipline of the ward and the formal medical staff will have to find ways to bring this group in greater harmony with the aims of the hospital and the ward. [Valerie 2 000]; [John