American History. The Trans-Atlantic Slave trade

Think piece #1 I choose to answer the second topic. the dehumanizing forces of the transatlantic slave trade The Trans-Atlantic Slave trade was considered the most abominable and cruel force of slavery, during the trade, the way of obtaining the slave is dehumanizing, if we were to conclude the dehumanizing force in only one word, it would be: the minimum food, clothing, and shelter was given to those slaves who survived the Middle-Passage, and the maximum amount of work was expected of them. The first challenge was on their homeland, they were towed into a forest where no one can see them, then people who work for the capitalist beat the person to faint, and then they were chained together and â€Å"escorted† to the small boat which will send them to the slave boat. After that, when they were on boat, they were put on the lower cabin like cargos, there was almost no room to breathe or take a turn. And the food is horrible as well, the slaves can only get food once or at most twice a day, and the food is at most one-spoon full and the taste is awful. Slaves also have no bowls or spoons to eat; they ate with their bare dirty hands. What is more horrible is that ships often run out of food or sometimes there is infectious disease on board, then the slaves who is extra will be thrown into the sea with a bag of heavy rock tied in the beginning. Thus the survival rate during the transportation is extremely low; the number is only 13% or so. The first reason why that method is employed is that slaves were better used to the tropical weather than the capitalist, what is more, their physical building is tough and the number of slaves is much more than the solders on the ship. If they were treated like a human, whom they can get sufficient food and shelter, there might be a rebellion which may put those capitalist into peculiar situation. And at second, the slaves were considered property instead of human in the mind of those capitalists, thus they will not be treated like human. Despite all those horrible conditions and treatments, black people formed a strong culture tie between one and another to keep their rebellion force. The culture they formed is fusion of their own cultures with that of the white colonists, and the culture varies from country to country, region to region across the Americas. Although the slaves were captured from the same kingdoms, for instance, Louisiana is vastly different from that in Haiti or in Brazil. The differences were due to the differing conditions of slavery and the different input from whites in those places.

Organisational Behaviour Essay

In any organisation, the employers exhibit varied behaviours. Behaviour is a social corporate responsibility (Antal & Sobczak, 2004). An organisation should not just demand some kind of behavior but be incorporated in ensuring that this is achieved. The systematic study of how individuals act in an organisation, either individually or as a group is referred to as organisational behaviour (Michael, 2005). There exists many factors that would shape the way people interact in organisations. These seek to predict, control and explain some facts. Despite major criticisms concerning the ethics of controlling the behavior of workers, organisational behaviour has been very instrumental in the development and success of organisations. In the modern world, organisational behaviour is a rapidly growing field. People from different regional and cultural backgrounds have to work together thus making it necessary to moderate the way they interact. These studies have been integrated with other domains for effectiveness, these are: anthropology, ethics and leadership. The leadership domain seeks to give an insight into the role leadership plays in an organisation in the change management process. An individual learns some behaviour from an organisation either directly or indirectly (ICMR, 2007). Theories widely accepted in learning are cognitive, behaviouristic and social learning theories. Learning is attributed to the association between stimulus and response. In behaviouristic theory, the desired behaviour is achieved through the application of theories on behaviour. This theory tends to deal with those skills learnt to be used later excluding those capabilities that are inborn (Behavioural Theory, 2008). People are taught and learn rather than inherit traits. In the context of ‘Waiting Tables for Godot’ passage, we can analyse some of the traits that are taught rather than the inherent ones. Jean-Pierre Godot, the owner of La Maison taught his staff some of the things he expected them to observe. He taught the workers to work as a team and work excellently for that matter. It is out of this that Diane knew that she had to give her best. How else could she be excellent? In essence, she was putting into practice what was taught to her by Godot; excellence in duty. It is also easy to see that Diane had acquired some other knowledge elsewhere. She had learnt to balance several plates on her arms. Diane could speak French despite living and studying in Australia. It is therefore only wise to conclude Diane should have been taught French. This enabled her to perform well since it is clear from the passage that she was an excellent worker. Customers complemented her for offering efficient service and even gave her tips. Cognitive theory involves learning through mistakes (Domjan, 2003). An individual avoids the path leading to pre-committed mistakes the next time similar activities are undertaken (Jaffee, 2000). In the case passage, when Diane dropped a bowl of bouillabaisse appetiser, her boss yelled at her and even went ahead to deduct $44. 95 form her pay. This taught Diane that carrying many order plates at once was not safe. It also made her realise that Godot was not concerned with the good deeds by the workers but rather by their shortcomings. Slowing down her pace was the immediate lesson that Diane learnt from this experience. From the same mistake, the University of Canberra student realised that with a slower pace, she would make little money to meet her needs. It was only advisable for her to carry on at the same pace but take more caution to avoid any outbursts from her boss. Lastly, the kind of behaviour that is passed on through observation is expounded in social theory. An individual watches some traits that others exhibit and adapts the same. It is very common with children. According to Miller and Dollard (1941), the observer imitates the observed action which is then adapted and rewarded with a positive reinforcement. Diane, a newly employed worker at La Maison observed the cook being scolded by Godot. She immediately learnt that she had no option but to give the best in her capacity if she was to avoid any trouble. By observing the nature of her customers, she learnt to be friendly and even employ some other skills like speaking French when need be. Diane observed that by warmly welcoming customers she had served before, she was able to retain them. She thus employed her courtesy skills to retain customers. Social behavior includes the inherent characteristics. Diane exhibited traits like the art of balancing several plates on her arms. She was also talented in the recommendation of wines that go well with specific meals. This Canberra student had persuasive skills to convince customers to buy lavish desserts by the way she described them. Her memory never failed. She correctly entered her orders and duly delivered them. Moreover, she remembered repeat customers and ushered them back warmly. These are some behavioural traits that are not necessarily taught. They could be inborn. Consequences have been used in many cases to determine the occurrence of behaviour. This is referred to as operant conditioning or instrumental conditioning. Learning occurs only at that point where the learner appreciates the connection that exists between behaviour and its consequences (Wagner, 2005). It is operated in by the environment but maintained by consequences. Reinforcement and punishment could either be positive or negative. The positive aspect is achieved when it is delivered due to some response whereas the negative is withdrawn due to a response. Extinction is another tool of operant conditioning where there exists no change in consequences following some response. In punishment, the behaviour of an individual is weakened following the experience of some negative condition (Operant Conditioning Basics, 1999). It is of significance to note that it is only response that is extinguished, punished or reinforced. Positive reinforcement exists where a pleasant stimulus that enhances a certain behaviour is a result of a response. In ‘Waiting Tables for Godot’, customers kept complementing Diane’s service as a consequence of her excellent service. They would also give tips to this University student. Godot on the other hand always yelled at her workers. The La Maison owner would even use French to express his dissatisfaction. In a way, this made sure things get done the right way. It is seen that even Diane becomes more careful when handling his order plates to avert losses like the one experienced before. Godot explained to new workers what he expected from them; excellent job. This, if taken from Diane’s reaction, shows that workers gave their best because of this initiative. On the other hand, negative reinforcement is a situation where a behaviour is a result of stopping a negative condition, usually considered unpleasant. For example, when Godot scolds his cook and chef, they get things moving. When he yells out his anger at Diane for dropping bouillabaisse appetiser on the carpet, Diane reconsiders how careful she is with her job. She therefore averts the negative consequences where she has to break her employer’s property and even have her pay deducted for compensation. It is also clear that Diane finds some work to do during her vacation than just stay at home to avoid rice and spaghetti meals when she resumes back to Canberra University the following semester. Positive punishment would refer to a situation where a response occurs as a result of an aversive stimulus. This includes the introduction of loud noise or shock. Jean-Pierre Godon knew how to employ this tool. He would yell at his workers if only to get things moving faster. Regularly, he would speak in French if only to drive the point home. At one particular time, when Diane dropped the bouillabaisse appetiser, she was scolded and part of her salary deducted to cater for the losses her employer had incurred. This produced positive change as she became more careful in whatever she handled in La Maison thereafter. When Diane’s pay was slashed, she opted to observe extra caution. Not only was her pay deducted but she also lost a considerable amount of tips because of the slow down in her service. This served to improve the way she handled her order plates. This condition where a favorable outcome is withdrawn following an unpleasant behaviour is known as negative punishment (Wagner, 2005). Both the negative and the positive punishment result to decreased behaviour. There are conditions that result when a behaviour that had been reinforced previously ceases to be effective. This is extinction. In the case passage, Diane is portrayed as a very efficient worker who would go extra lengths to accomplish her duties. For instance, she would balance several plates on her arms which made her avoid many trips to the kitchen. She would also carry out her duties so well that Godot, her boss, never crossed paths with her. However, on the day she messed herself by dropping appetiser of bouillabaisse on the carpet, all these things ceased to be meaningful. Her expertise in balancing several plates in her arms was no longer a positive attribute. It had cost her $44. 95 of her pay. It was therefore not worth going on with this but rather resort to carrying just a few plates at a time. Although she did not break any item in La Maison henceforth, Godot was still irritated with this University student. Godot was not satisfied with her wait staff effort. No matter how hard they tried to fulfil their boss’s demands, Godot would still hurry them up with insults in French. Their effort was therefore extinct. Diane’s life was surely affected by these learning tools in one way or another. Positive reinforcements made her achieve her targets. When customers would complement her, she would feel that she was doing the right thing. This motivated her to offer the best that she could. Customers would tip her, t times to a high of $23 a day which implied to Diane that she would not take rice and spaghetti in the next semester at the University of Canberra. She would also get more customers into Godot’s business place because of her good communication and interpersonal skills. Nonetheless, some negative reinforcement aspects caused her humiliation. When Godot finds her on the wrong and scolds her, she is forced to do away with quite a portion of her pay as compensation for the losses the boss incurs. She is prompted to reduce her service speed to avert similar happenings. When Godot imposes a fine to Diane for her actions, he knows that this will assist this lady avoid carelessness in the future. She is forced to serve lesser customers which implies reduced tips for her. This is positive punishment since it is meant to give positive results. It is out of this that this student becomes cautious with her work. Though this impacted negatively on her goals, losses in the organization was prevented. From the unpleasant behaviour of Godot in the context of Diane, this worker changes and becomes even a better employee as she does not break items anymore but becomes more cautious. There are various ways that an employer would incorporate in their management to yield the desired results. Godot’s idea was to pay per hour and allow the workers have tips from customers. It would thus ensure that at no one particular hour would the workers desire to do nothing. They would always seek to be busy each unfolding hour. This simply meant that Godot would have an all time operational business. This translates to more work and more profits for him. He would also not have to pay for any wasted hours during the day than if he was to pay, say per month. It will also mean that he could employ new employees every hour and avert the problem of absenteeism. Tips on the hand encouraged the workers to serve more customers in anticipation for more tips. This similarly translates to more work and consequently profits for Godot.

Business Model and Strategic Plan Essay Example for Free (#3)

Business Model and Strategic Plan Essay Coffee (372) , Starbucks (158) , Strategic Plan (66) , Business model (48) company About StudyMoose Contact Careers Help Center Donate a Paper Legal Terms & Conditions Privacy Policy Complaints Why do businesses need innovation is simple, the world is changing at a rapid speed and no one can predict what is coming in the future. Organizations are facing many new types of vulnerabilities everyday. Innovation helps to determinate the strategic management within an organization and prepares organizations for the unforeseeable change and to make the change. Although very organization have different priorities, or balance the unique issues of their own, ignoring the innovation, or implementing the strategic plan inefficiently can bring risks of losing key employees, inefficiency of the operation, and lose competitive advantages to the competitors. This paper will create a new division for Starbucks Coffee Co. Using this division as an example to explain the importance of the innovation in company’s vision, mission, and values, and how it related to strategic management. Starbucks Corporation, doing business as Starbucks Coffee, is an American global coffee company and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington. Today, with more than 21,000 stores in 65 countries, Starbucks is the premier roaster and retailer of specialty coffee in the world. And with every cup, the company strives to bring both their heritage and an exceptional experience to life. (Starbucks.com) Since the first Starbucks opened in 1971, the company has a goal to share great coffee with friends and help make the world a little better place. (Starbucks.com) To better server Starbucks Coffee’s customers, and provide quick and easy coffee for the people who have to fight the morning or anytime traffic, Starbucks coffee co. has purposed a new business model of Self Severed Coffee Machine. This new Machine will be located outside of Starbucks stores, shopping centers, and large office buildings to better server the consumers who does not have time to wait in line and get their favorite cup of coffee. In this tough economic climate, Starbucks needs to compete smart, this means to stay a step head on ensuring the best response to customers’ need and demand. It is often to see a line of customers either inside the store or in the drive through. While we appreciate the their patience to wait in line, we also share their frustration. It is our intention to ensure everyone loves his or her coffee. While we are proud that every cup is made to earn our customers’ satisfaction, we are also spending a considerable amount of time on making them. The Self Served Starbucks machine has an ability of produce majority flavors of the coffee, which our customer likes. Simply pay the cash, wipe the credit card, or scan the mobile Starbucks App on your smartphone, the machine will make a fresh brew cup of coffee in just 45 seconds. With this machine outside of store or mall, our customer can save time on waiting in line. Even more convenient, the machines outside of the office building not only can save our customer a trip to the coffee shop in the morning, also be able to enjoy a hot fresh coffee when they sat down by their desk. This new machine can ensure the competitive advantage by its product differentiation, more focused group on customer service, and operational efficiency. Starbucks’ mission is a reason for the company’s existence. With the unique style of combining both, our vision and mission statement is â€Å"to inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time.† (Starbucks.com) To align with this mission statement, our new division’s mission statement is to † bring the best quality coffee and convenience to our customers on the go, one machine at the time† This mission statement reflected the company value and beliefs to show our costumers that we care, it will also guide our employees on understand and establish what the company truly does. A good mission statement inspires employees and provides a focus and direction for strategic planning. While mission statements vary from organization to organization and represent the distinctness of each one, they all share similar components. (Mission and Vision Statements, 2010) The new division’s mission statemen ts include descriptions of Starbucks’ target market, the geographic domain, and concern for survival, growth, and profitability. Being the giant leader of the coffee and snacks industry, Starbuck coffee company needs to develop a strong strategic plan through the analysis of SWOTT. SWOTT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats and trends. A SWOTT analysis identifies strengths and weaknesses within a company, and outside opportunities and threats. The most important parts of a SWOT analysis specify the actions that correspond to the elements the company identify. By using the results of the analysis to improve the situation of the new division, we can reduce the likelihood of developments that negatively affect the business while improving performance. (Smallbusiness.Chron.com) Starbuck is currently in the retail coffee and snacks industry. The  self-serve coffee machine will be able to satisfy customers not just a cup of coffee but also tea, water and juice, which Starbuck currently provide in the store. The loyal based reward programs provide customers with convenience, giving presents, and increasing frequency of the machine visit. Although there will not be any customer service involved, but the efficiency of leveraging technology with the capability of mobile App will still attract customers. The machine will provide extra ideas on the screen related to recycling and reducing waste; this is a great way to communicate with people about the social responsibility initiatives of the company. Due to the economic crush in 2008, this industry has experiencing a major downfall in sales. Because of the sensitivities to the macroeconomic factors, most of industry consumers have to give up extra expenses such as over priced drinks, snacks, and food. However, with economy slowly recover, consumers will start feeling the relaxation of the financial situation, it is safe to say, this industry will has a considerable amount of growth in the near future. With Starbuck having the most of market share in the industry, they have a monopolistic competition. By far the biggest threat the company face is the mature stage of the industry. Dunkin donuts, McDonalds, or Pete’s coffee are all the main pressure on Starbucks. Starbucks brand recognition and the convenience of the self-severed machines differentiates itself, the brand and the machine will draw more customers’ attention, gain competitive advantages for the company. The self-served Starbucks coffee machine will be located in some of the most prime and strategic location across the city such as universities, office buildings, and grocery stores. They will primarily targeting mid-income individuals and students. This strategy will gain competence due to the customer convince factor. The Starbuck coffee-pricing factor does pose a weakness to some targeted consumers; however, the self-severed machine will be 5% cheap because there are no labor costs involved. Expansion into a global market is an opportunity for these machines. Starbucks has a great growth potential in further expanding into the emerging and developing  markets. The company can leverage their size, experience, financial prowess and efficiencies to make new market share. (Forbes.com) Starbuck has putting significant amount of time and money on training their employees. Their employees are known for highly knowledge and experienced. They are the main assets of the company and they are provided with great benefits like stock option, retirement accounts and a healthy culture. This effective human capital management translates into great customer services. It was rated 91st in the 100 best places to work for by Fortune Magazine. (CNN.com) The internal threat for Starbucks currently is the change of life style and taste choices of consumers. More and more customers are shifting towards healthy foods and drinks; this treading can hurt the coffee culture of the company, even to industry in the future. The Balanced scorecard is a management system that enables organizations to clarify their vision and strategy and translate them into action. It also provides an organization with feedback of both the internal business processes and external outcomes, which allows for continuous improvement of strategic performance and results. Develop the strategic objectives for the new division of the Starbuck in the balanced scorecard format in the context of key trends, assumptions, and risks. The strategic objectives are measures of attaining the new vision and mission. Below are the three strategic objectives for each of the four balanced scorecard areas identified (Financial, Customer, Process, Learning and Growth). How to gain the market share is the objective in financial perspective. This is aggressive strategy the new division can use to power our organization and weaken the competitors. The new † Self served coffee machine† can gain market shares by: One: New technology. This market has always been a high growth market, and high growth markets has less competitors, it means they will not fight our  efforts as fiercely. Two: Innovation. This new machine is absolutely a breakthrough innovative idea once it is release into the market. Innovation can help the new division obtain large market share. Three: Strategic Alliance. The new machine can advertise other products, which is great choice when drinking coffee. If the alliance company can help with founding, we can lower our coffee price. This is efficient way to lure customers from competitors. How do we create value for our customers are the objective for the customer perspective? Customers are the key factor to an organization success. Creating value for our customers in three ways: One: New Value. This is the most challenging way to impress customers. By setting new machines by the office buildings or school parking lots will be most convenience for people do not have time to stop for coffee in the morning, or anytime during the day. Two: More value. The machine will provide the same product as in a Starbucks coffee store, but cheaper. Three: Better Value. To expend on the existing value, the customer will be able to purchase snake from the machine. The addition product provided will simply delivering more powerful impact to consumers. PROCESS OR INTERNAL OPERATIONS PERSPECTIVE How we measure the new division performance? The new division will have its own survey attached to the machine. Customers are the top choice for us to know what does the new division do to make them come back for more. Also, customers can leave feedbacks and advice via Facebook, Yelp, or preferred  social Media. Our new division will make huge impact on the organization, because it will release the busy traffic in the morning for the store location. LEARNING AND GROWTH (EMPLOYEE) PERSPECTIVE There is no employees’ turn over or retention involved with the â€Å"Self served machine† However, the mechanics are needed for the daily maintenance and refill. The new technology will notify the mechanic department if the machine needs any attention or checkups. While having a strategic plan, mission and vision Statement is crucial for the new division, but crafting and developing this plan is only the half of the battle. To have a communication plan is one of the most important factors after the plan and analysis is finalized. Although the new division will not have any human operating the machine, there are still the needs of new policies and procedures to be carried out. The effective of these policies and procedures are most likely effect the success of the plan. For example, machines maintenance schedule, or refill of the machine. Failure to take communication plan into account can cause disastrous. Our new business plan is a comprehensive document that outlines key elements of how we going to operate this new division. The plan typically includes an assessment of the market and the competition, operating budget breakdown, and short and long-term business goals. (smallbusiness.chron.com) There are three suggest way to monitor and control our new plan: Any new business plans within an organization needs to be reviewed on a regular basis, especially the expectancy of the busy traffic with the new  self-served machine. The new division management needs to set a date, this can be quarterly or annually, to review the long-term and short-term goals. Conducting the comparative analysis will help to ensure the strategic plan is on the right path. The management team of new division needs to develop a new tracking system to assess how the sales are doing regularly. For example, if the target sales goal is 5000 cups per month, then track the sales weekly or twice a month to monitor and control the process. Monitor key elements frequently. Key elements of the business plan include research on the market and competition as well as revenue projections. Each of these elements is subject to rapid change, and the management team should remain aware of where you stand with regard to these issues. (Smallbusiness.chorn.com) COORDINATE BUSINESS AND MARKING PLANS Our new division will have both business and marketing plans. Sometimes, they overlap in several ways. For example, if the Marketing plans calls for a major launching campaign with the media, but the business plan’s revenue prediction rejects that plan, then the managers needs to revise the plan to stay on track. Ethical behaviors and organization social responsibility is one of the key factors to bring large benefits for the business. With the new self-served coffee machine, it attracts customers with Starbucks signature products, thereby to boosting sales and revenue. It will create more jobs, therefor, help with unemployment. It will also attract more investors and keep the company’s share price high, therefor, protecting the business and employees’ benefits. The fact is brutally simple: the accelerated change within the business world is unavoidable. Evidence shows in current business world, customers are changing their needs and interest each day, markets are relentlessly unstable, and competitors are more aggressively capture any chance possible at new ideas. With technology advances faster and faster, and modifying the traditional strategic management that it touches, Innovation has become what shapes the current strategic management trends, and the right strategic management is the key to business success. http://www.starbucks.com/about-us/our-heritage Mission and Vision Statements. r Business Plan. We have essays on the following topics that may be of interest to you

See details Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

See details - Essay Example However, when the Spartans staged a war against the Athenians, the Athenians managed to win against them with an army three times less than theirs. The victory of the Athens against the Spartans won the state a lot of respect form other Greek states. However, it was the rise of the Persians and their conquests against the Greek states and islands that prompted the formation of the Delian League. The formation of the League promoted Athens’ struggle to conquer the Persia. Many things did not go as planned after the formation of League, with Athens hijacking the leadership and control of the union. The activities of the Athens in the leadership of the League prompted the question, were Athens trying to genuinely make a united government under their leadership to promote a better defence against the Persian threat or were the Delian League just an attempt by them to create a Thalassocracy. According to various studies, the Athens was angry for power. Little did they consider the interests of other cities. The Persian threat, although having been key to the formation of the government, in a big way, it was not the main interest of the Athenians. There was more to the unity, as the various scholars suppose. If the Athenians were after uniting the various cities into the Delian League, they would have allowed independence to various states forming part of the league. However, the exercise of supremacy by the Athenian power indicated their intentions to create a Thalassocracy. The forceful pulling of the various groups into the League by the Athens, and intimidating means it used to draw the members into the league was proof enough that Athens was not interested in uniting them into the common interest that united them against Persian. This paper seeks to justify that the reasons why Athens formed a united government under their leadership was not to promote a better defence against Persian invasion, but the Delian League was an attempt to create a Thalassocrac y. In explaining whether Athens was genuinely making a united government under their leadership to promote a better defence against the Persian threat, reasons for the formation of the Delian League are discussed. The Delian League as an organization was established in the early 5th Century BC by several Greek states. The main reason why these states formed the league was to defend them against Persian invasion. They had defeated the Persians in the Greaco-Persian wars, and an alliance of several states against them was the best way to ensure immunity (Spielvogel 78). Uniting against a common enemy made states stronger. They created a strong army by bringing the best men together to form one common army. They would also enjoy the best leadership and command from a single source. The unity would also ensure that the states shared a common interest, making them even stronger. Although they had earlier defeated the Persians, its Empire was still powerful. Besides, the reason for the le ague was to get a little payback for the devastation the member states had suffered in the hands of the Persian forces (Duiker and Jackson 103-104). The common interest between Greek forces united together states consisting of Athens and Greek from Ionia, the Hellespont of the besieged Sentos, a city previously held by the Persians. As a result of this, the Greek fleet under the command of   Pausanias who was a military commander from Sparta, sailed to

Discuss the meaning of MRP terms, such as planned order release and Assignment

Discuss the meaning of MRP terms, such as planned order release and schedule order receipts - Assignment Example Moreover, the proposed order is determined by balancing the expected order receipt in the procurement lead-time of the item. Therefore, a planned order release transaction incorporates within a particular time, for it to schedule within a companies or organizations procedure. Confirmation of the order is determined by balancing the amount of the order in the receipts of procurement over a particular period (Coyle et al., 2012). It is a scheduled order designed to meet the customers’ demand in a market within the firms planned orders and forecasted demand. Planned order within the materials requirement planning of a company meets the customers’ demand the time speculated to reach a customer. Demand in MRP systems originates from finished goods within forecast design or components of products. Moreover, the sources of MRP system fall under independent and dependent requirements. An Independent order affects the demand for finished goods while dependent demand refers to demand items, which are subassemblies or component parts used in the production of finished

What is the best nursing intervention to prevent urinary tract Essay

What is the best nursing intervention to prevent urinary tract infection for older people - Essay Example Very few of the nursing interventions have been studied and proven to be safe and useful to the patient. The paper will mainly focus on the best available evidencesupporting nursing interventions for the elderly that suffer from incontinence and urinary tract infections. Older people will be the main focus because of their vulnerability to infections (Miller, 2008) and the care provided to them. Definitions of both terms will be provided and an analysis of each will be done based on the best nursing interventions. Protocols and policies concerning the prevention of urinary tract infections will be looked at and of major interests will be examined from a range of countries. The subject is very important because it provides an insight into the issues concerning incontinence and urinary tract infection in the elderly adults. It also provides information of the best nursing practices that can be used in the prevention of these conditions and provide a future plan for the control and prevention of such conditions. Incontinence is a very common, disturbing and potentially immobilizing condition in the elderly or geriatric population. Incontinence can be defined as an involuntary loss of the stool or urine in adequate quantities or frequency to comprise a health and/or a social problem (Vieria, 2009). The condition is heterogeneous and it varies in severity from the occasional incidents of trickling small quantities of urine to a continuous urinary incontinence and associated fecal incontinence (Abrass, Kane and Ouslander, 2004). Older persons with incontinence are not usually severely bedridden, demented or in the nursing homes. Many of these patients in the community and in the institutions are ambulatory and their mental functioning is good (Abrass, Kane and Ouslander, 2004). Incontinence has impact on the self-esteem of the patient and there is the usual fear of soiling or wetting during a sexual intercourse and this has a

Case study analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Case study analysis - Essay Example Discussion Division â€Å"A† manager has proposed the management and the stakeholder of the organization about the automation of the data. It is an effective and useful idea. It can ease the business process of the organization. In addition to this, adoption of the automation process can help the organization to reduce the stress level of the employees as it will save time and physical effort of an individual. Looking into these advantages, the management and stakeholder of the organization approved the proposal of Division â€Å"A† manager. Moreover, the organization paid huge capital to develop this automation system. The â€Å"A† division of the organization is consists of two sections, such as Section â€Å"G† and Section â€Å"S†. After getting the approval, it was the responsibility of the division â€Å"A† manager to ask his two sections to focus on this project. Major reasons behind the project were high capital investment and to work with organization’s vision in order to improve its service. The major portion of the employees in the sections under the Division â€Å"A† manager was not competent to use the newly approved data automation system and instead was willing to carry out their daily paper based activities. Several arguments were framed by the employees to explain the shift in the working platform as a glamorous attempt to keep up with the vision on technological advancements. Thus the employees resisted to the forces of change. The steps taken towards change management in the organization were extremely crucial to keep up with the competitive environment. The employees resisted to change due to the gaps in the desired level of knowledge and skill required to adopt the data automation platform. There was also lack of transparency in the organizational decisions on change managements and it was not conveyed properly to the employees who would execute the work in the automated data platform. The practices of the Division â€Å"A† manager and the Section â€Å"S† manager in putting pressure on the employees to work on the automated data platform reveal unfair practices and inefficient leadership skills to motivate the employees (Schein, 2010). The recruitment of the new Finance Manager in order to achieve integration of finance function with the data automation platform resulted in conflicts between the managers due to difference in individual interest. One of the managers may be inclined for individual incentives while the other may have the broader perspective and will take decisions that are god for the organization. Here a conflict of their interests may arise. The employees started to take sides in order to establish their position in decision making. The lack of coordination among the managers, chaos among the employees led to the creation of a toxic work environment. All these reflected weakness in organization culture. Poor communication or interac tion among the managers will slow down the work flow. The existence of informal information will shed the impact upon the work process. Recommendation The senior management of Emirates especially the Human resources department had to the take up a host of actions for the improving the workplace environment of the company. First of all, the employees had adopted themselves to the conventional system of paperwork and therefore they were not ready to adapt to the new system of

The Bicycle Thief 1948 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Bicycle Thief 1948 - Essay Example In this way, a social commentary is housed within what one might otherwise see as a simple story of loss and redemption. It is necessary to note, prior to examining such constructs, that the subject matter was born out of two primary factors which will be discussed at some length within this essay: the destruction and hardships that the Second World War had affected on Italians and the recent freedom of expression that had been granted due to the demise of the fascist party in Italy. Upon the conclusion of the Second World War, Italy, like much of the rest of Europe, lay in ruins. The infrastructure was effectively paralyzed, severely damaged, and outdated. Similarly, the nation’s economy experienced a period of extreme high unemployment, rapid and prolonged inflation, and a series of unstable political unions that existed shortly after the war. In this way, the time in which the film was created has an extremely important bearing on the way in which the material is presented in the subject matter which his discussed as a function of the influences that have been mentioned. The effects of these factors of course cannot be underemphasized with relation to the way in which the subject matter is dealt with. ... Artists during the post World War I years also sought to develop new mediums and new forms of expression to engage their audience with the new â€Å"realities† that faced the world as a result of the loss of innocence and industrial carnage that defined such a struggle. In this way, directors such as Vittorio De Sica sought to express the realities that greeted Italians in the post-war era in a way that directors of previous films had not engaged. Rather than focusing on a noble struggle that defines a hero through power of will and acknowledgement of a higher ideal, the viewer is greeted with a character that is merely trying to make ends meet for his family. Therefore, the action and drama is concentric around the daily struggle that the common man faces as a result of the surroundings in which he is placed. Although this model itself is not greatly different from the other models of analysis which previous and successive film directors have chosen to employ, it is noteworth y due to the fact that the action is concentric upon the humble worker who is struggling to survive the situation that has been placed upon him and his family. Although the effect of the devastation and near collapse of society cannot be underestimated or understated, it should also be noted that the Italian directors of the time experienced a different type of stimuli than many of the other European post-war directors (Ben-Ghiat 109). This was the result of the fact that during the Fascist regime that had ruled Italy for over 20 years, all art forms were brought under the dominance and supervision of the fascist regime. As such, writers, artists, and filmmakers, as well as a host of others, were

Assignment 4 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 8

4 - Assignment Example The Fourteenth Amendment of the United States guarantees all citizens of the United States citizenship rights and equal protection of their rights (Engdahl, 2009). Under the Fourteenth Amendment, all citizens of United States should enjoy their rights without anyone or any organization infringing on these rights. If a policy is put in place to control whether civil servants should have tattoos or how and when they should have tattoos, the policy will be infringing on their rights. This is a right that is enjoyed by all citizens in the United States and excluding a group of citizens from this right based on their status as civil servants will be tantamount to preventing them from enjoying this right as other citizens (Engdahl, 2009). Tattoos are put on the body parts of individual persons. These tattoos do not in any way endanger the lives of the persons who choose to put them in their bodies. As such, they cannot be considered illegal unless in circumstances where the tattoos are meant to disturb public peace by wrongfully targeting other people or when they promote unwanted issues such as racism. The policies on the code of conduct for civil servants address issues such as mode of dressing. Such a policy covers how civil servants should dress and behave in public offices. Such policies are enough because they cover issues such as how much privacy civil servants should display when in office. The above reasons show why a policy on tattoos for any civil servant should not be in place. Such policies will infringe on the rights of civil servants as American citizens. Secondly, the policies will treat civil servants as if they are second-degree citizens. If such policy were to be implemented, then it should apply to all citizens. Comment on thread: The fact that the First Amendment does not provide absolute rights for public employees, it does not provide absolute rights for other citizens and putting tattoos is not an absolute right but a privacy

Owner-Manager Types Essay Example for Free

Owner-Manager Types Essay Cranfield School of Management has been studying the behaviour of entrepreneurs and their relationship with key staff in some thousands of growing UK companies. Cranfield study has concluded that it is the entrepreneurs themselves who are the most likely to be the biggest stumbling block to the growth and development of their own company. Cranfield grouped entrepreneurs into four dominant types of relationship with their staff, mainly: Heroes, Artisans, Meddlers and Strategists. Past Cranfield studies shows that most small firms do not think very much about their future strategy. In fact, less than a third of small and medium enterprises across Europe set their objectives in terms of profit and margins. This is somewhat surprising as profit and profitability are the key measures of business success. However, as over two-thirds of owner-managed companies with a turnover of i 10 million do not have a plan at all, it should come as no surprise that few entrepreneurs are strategists. Other research has uncovered the shocking fact that 60 per cent of senior staff in small firms leave within two years of their appointment. Some of these early departures can be put down to poor recruitment. The researchers studied two important elements of this relationship. The first element studied was how much time the owner-manager spent on routine management tasks such as marketing, selling, analysing figures, reviewing budgets or arbitrating between managers. The second one examines what level of business skills has been attained by the key staff. Heroes Probably the Heroes undertake one management function such as sales or production. The Heroes time is now spent on managing the business. As the level of business skill throughout their employees is still relatively low, the Heroes will take the lead in starting routine management procedures. They will introduce ideas from the courses they attend to the firm and be the only persons who really understand them. That is the reason why they will be considered as Heroes from the rest of the employees. Unfortunately, this leads to the Heroes taking the Herculean role on their hands. In this case, allocating operations to the employees is relatively simple as the working skills in most businesses are either readily available in the local community or the people can be trained up without too much difficulty. On the other hand, passing out routine management tasks will almost always require that the owner or manager trains up his own management teams. There are few well trained managers available to the small company because of two main reasons. Firstly, the overall pool of such people is small as training in the small business sector until recently has been almost exclusively concentrated on the Entrepreneur. Secondly, well trained managers usually seek jobs in larger firms with more opportunities for advancement and more resources to practice the art of management on. The Heroes have a high capacity for improving the firm performance but still have low growth prospects when compared to their market. They have no time for strategic thinking and no depth of management to handle growth effectively. Artisans In the Cranfield model, the Artisans are characterized by low occupation with routine management tasks. The reason is that most of their time is spent producing a product or delivering a service. The level of business skills in the company is also low as most of the Artisans staff is employed helping in production or performing primary duties, such as book-keeping or selling. Artisans can include professional firms, such as architects and surveyors, manufacturers, sub-contractors or small building firms, owners of small retail chains such as chemists, video stores and proprietors of hotels and restaurants. Little time is available either for routine management tasks such as examining performance or reassessing methods. Every hour that can be sold is sold and little time is left over to either improve the quality or profitability of todays business or to consider strategy for tomorrow. The Artisans have low growth prospects in relation to their market. Their training and development needs are to raise their awareness of the management significance as a business task of equal importance with daily revenue earning. Meddlers The Meddler increases the level of management skills either by training or recruitment but then fails to delegate routine management tasks. At this stage, according to the Cranfield model, the owner-managers probably have no operative responsibilities and have assumed the role of managing directors. Typically, they spend much time anticipating subordinates, introducing more refined, but largely unnecessary management systems. They also go on courses or read books that make them even more well-informed and sometimes better at routine management tasks than their own employees, who anyway are by now doing a perfectly satisfactory job of managing todays business. They get in early and leave late and practice management by walking about. The Meddlers problem is that they cannot delegate routine management tasks because they feel useless. They have been used to a 70-90 hour week with only 10 days holiday each year. Once their management team is in place and trained, they are out of a job. Until they reduce their involvement with routine management tasks, they will limit the growth capacity of this firm for two reasons. Firstly, their management team will not take on more duties if the reward for taking on the last lot of responsibility was being irritated and criticised. Secondly, they are too busy checking on people to develop sound strategies for growth. Strategists The Strategists are the most desirable type of entrepreneurs to develop a growing business. They develop the management skills of their team to the highest appropriate level and in depth. They may introduce a staff duty to help their line managers in such areas as personnel and market research. This will free-up their key managers to think strategically too. They will dedicate roughly a third of their time to management tasks such as monitoring performance, co-ordinating activities, resolving conflict and helping to manage todays business. A third of their time will be spent motivating, counselling, developing management teams and helping them to manage change. This activity is aimed at improving the existing business. The final third of their time will be devoted on developing strategic thinking to form the shape of the future business. Their training needs will be to continuously update their core leadership and motivation skills and to increase their depth of knowledge on strategic issues, acquisition or divestment activity and financing sources. Relationship between the Owner-Manager and His Key Staff in a Growing Firm The natural path of development for the relationship between the owner-manager and his team is to pass from Artisan to Hero to Meddler and for the lucky few to become Strategists. Why Family Businesses Die The family business is deeply rooted in the sense of pride of the owner like most of other forms. Schein (1998) said that this is reinforced by a desire for autonomy which forms part of the five career anchors. This becomes possible with the combination of vision, energy and dedication. Moorman and Halloran (1993) stated that there are more businesses that fail than they succeed in this competitive market place. Twenty-four from one hundred start-ups fail in the U. S. , within the first two years and more than sixty within the first six years. This happens due to lack of planning and preparation which is the most common reason. The second is the lack of creativity which is important to survive. Some businesses offering the same product may succeed because they are doing something better and more innovative than competition. The Copy Cat approach lacks creative skills to turn its product into a unique selling proposition. This can be harmful for family businesses.

Feminism in Legal Jurisprudence and Social Analysis

Feminism in Legal Jurisprudence and Social Analysis Discuss critically the contribution of feminist thought to social and legal analysis. Consider the extent to which you regard feminism as a distinctive and coherent approach to these fields of enquiry. Introduction This paper will critically examine the feminist contribution to legal jurisprudence and social analysis. The theoretical range and methodologies of feminist dialogue will be investigated in context of legal philosophy and social academic discourse. First, classical social theories of law will be discussed in order to asses the value of feminist analysis of social theories. In particular the feminist investigation of the socio economic theory of Marxism will be discussed in order to understand the sociological perspectives concerning the role women played in the social order. Secondly, aspects of feminist legal inquiries looking at thematic issues central to feminist thought will be analyzed. In relation to this, internal academic criticisms between feminist factions will be addressed to highlight the sheer diversity of feminist legal jurisprudence. This essay will aim to demonstrate that feminism is a distinctive inquisitive range of inquiry, but it is not a unified approach to lega l and sociological fields. In this sense its pluralism and diversity can at times leave the movement fractured and divided. But this essay argues that this does not diminish the ability of the movement to raise important ideas while tackling broad theoretical academic queries. Feminism thought: contextual origins Feminism thought originated from a historically wide ranging social debates and theories. It can trace roots back to the women’s liberation movement which gained momentum in the 60’s and 70’s along side other social struggles in the same era, notably the American civil rights movement. Feminist thought is indefinable as a single unitary theory. Feminist thought primarily is a ‘diverse, competing and often opposing collection of social theories, political movements and moral philosophies.’[1] The innermost guiding issue is to critically discuss the role of women and their experiences in various social, political and economical contexts. Issues of inequality, discrimination, institutional female representation, socialized or biological constructions of gender differences and resulting cultural implications are a just a few lines of inquiry explored by modern Western feminist thought. Thus feminist thinking is a multifarious and pluralistic academic dis cipline. There is ‘no single form of feminism that represents all feminists.’[2] Social feminist theories Feminist legal thought, it can be suggested, has made a substantial contribution to social analysis. It is a relatively new area of analysis for feminist scholars. Feminist social theory examines social relations between the sexes, expressly looking at how societal actions can be transported into the public domain for the emancipation of women. It is suggested feminist social theory has made pivotal contributions[3] and changes in modern society. It has worked to revolutionize existing attitudes with reference to social structures. It is argued, that recent social changes have been achieved through the committed agitation of feminist thinkers who fully participating in socially engaged issues such as women’s rights and reform. This has resulted in the ‘increased involvement of women in public life’[4] suggesting feminist legal thought has in some small way played a part to advance equality of the sexes. In this sense, social feminism is continually evolving[5] thr ough analytic inquiries to understand female subordination which assimilates issues of class and gender. This includes the consideration of wider factors related to identity, race, and ethnicity. By focusing on such factors, Holmstrom argues social feminist academics aim to ‘help use this analysis to liberate women.’[6] In this context, feminist thought has been able to add confidently to general social theory. For example feminist inquiries of social theory have helped to change the way sociologists previously conceptualized social theories, by focusing upon reoccurring lines of inquiry. For example, first, feminist social theory discusses biological differences and socialized activity in society. Secondly the interpretative meaning and explanation of what the term ‘social’ can mean has been praised as helping to erect a broader scope of inquiry than exhibited by earlier forms of sociology. As a direct consequence it is argued ‘feminist theories have moved beyond the issue of women and point the way to a more creative form’ of intellectual inquiry.[7] Thirdly, social feminists have usually examined patterned links between males and females which are socially structured. This can be seen in the work of Catherine Mackinnon discussed below. Finally, the feminist inquiry looks into how particular social relationships are formed and the structural workings of societal institutions.[8] It’s methods of examining ‘the meaning of the â€Å"social†, how a person’s experience affects her understanding of the social world and how males and females relate to each other’ has led sociologists to rethink previously established and influential social theories.[9] Critiques of classical social theory This impact is most noticeably seen in the radical feminist analysis of traditional social theories such as Marxism. Mackinnon [10] and Sydie[11] critically reveal how classical theories of Marx, Weber and Durkheim marginalized women to varying degrees, in order to promote social and economic aspects of their theories. Thus a major criticism leveled at classical theory is that women are fundamentally ignored by male sociologists who were preoccupied with the ‘male activities, experiences and parts of society dominated by males.’[12] For example, sociological classical theories are formulated within context of industrial society and economies. Feminists argue that capitalism helped to expand the male public sphere of influence through industrial structures. This expansion in turn was balanced by the constraint of females in the domestic private section of society, with almost no engagement in public, political or economic events.[13] This can be seen in women’s ele ctoral disenfranchisement and the suffragette movement in 18th and 19th century England. Feminist analysis of Marxist ideas A large area of feminist discourse concerns Marxist ideas. Marxism is analyzed through its historical materiality and approach. It conceptualizes history as distinct ‘succession of modes of production.’[14] Each stage of society’s historical development will progress through evolving social stages such as feudalism, capitalism and socialism. Such phases are characterized by unique modes of production. Such modes of production within the economy are made up by the integral power relations between the ‘direct producers and the owners of the means of production’ who exploit workers. Holstrom explains that within Marxist theory, issues of inequality and class division are utilized by feminist scholars to extend the range of social inquiry. Further more, they are used to examine societal divisions between the sexes, and the ‘process through which social relations of gender are created organized, expressed and directed’ as such gender relations fundamentally ‘create society.’[15] For example Mackinnon provided an influential feminist account of the social and economic theories of Marx: Marxism and feminism provide accounts of the way social arrangements of patterned and cumulative disparity which can be internally rational and systematic, yet unjust. Both are theories of power and social inequality. As Marxism exposes value as a social creation, feminism exposes a desire of the socially relational[16], internally necessary to unequal social orders. Thus, Marxist study is focused on the production of commodities for exchange and the subsequent social exploitation encouraged by this phenomenon. Feminist thought argues Marxist emphasis is placed on creative human labour which sustains the productive economy. In analyzing the modes of production and social exploitation, the societal theory neglects females who were not seen to be exploited in the same way as male workers as they did not constitute the oppressed labor force.[17] A further example of the disregard of women’s contribution to the production of commodities is the female role in the private sphere. It can be suggested that Marx ‘spends little time analyzing goods and services produced in the household and family’[18] where the trade is non commercial. Thus, feminist theory provided a valuable analytic discourse exposing the fallacy that Marxist ideas discuss all types of labour. It is in fact, limited by the barrier of gender inequalities. It failed t o adequately investigate such discrepancies according to feminist criticisms. Such external activities outside the market, such as reproduction which biologically provides the supply of labour from the family, are taken for granted by Marx.[19] Thus, feminist thought crucially highlighted how Marxism failed to comprehensively debate how a woman’s domestic and familial role aided the value of labor power as an economic commodity in society. Social theory examines many aspects of gender differences and inequality, factors which the works of classical sociologists developed no such theories about. Feminists revealed deep-seated conceptual weaknesses in such theories. For example Mackinnon’s critique of Marx discusses the notion that within the idea of class relations, women were to Marx defined by nature[20] and not by society. Therefore Marxism offers no authoritative scrutiny on the role of women within class division of society. Social feminist disciplines are argued by Adams and Sydie to help voice challenging questions which are ‘women centered in perspective, questions core concepts and assumptions of sociology’[21], and asks how change can produce a more socially acceptable human society for the sexes. In summary this paper believes feminist thought has performed a pivotal function in reassessing the nature of traditional sociological theories such as Marxism. In doing so, feminist scholars have created new perceptions of sociological theories in relation to discussing women in society. Feminist Legal and Jurisprudence Feminist legal theory, developed from the Critical Legal Studies School of jurisprudential thought. Feminist legal theory, aims broadly to: Analyze the contribution of law constructing, maintaining, reinforcing and perpetuating patriarchy and it looks at the ways in which this patriarchy can be undermined and ultimately eliminated.[22] According to the writer Leslie Bender patriarchy is a term used by feminists to address the ‘ubiquitous phenomenon of male domination.’[23] Discussion of patriarchy allows feminist discourse to examine social and legal power relations, primarily as men have used institutional methods of power to subordinate women. These methods of power ‘manifest itself in the political and economic world that governs families and sexual relationships.’[24] Freeman argues that this fundamental belief in social patriarchy is the only primary notion which brings together feminist legal theoretical discourse as a whole body.[25] Theoretical lines of inquiry stemming from the Critical Legal school, demonstrates that feminist legal thinking also aspires to create a basic critic of the: ‘inherent logic of law, the indeterminacy and manipulability of doctrine, the role of law, in legitimating particular social relations, the illegitimate hierarchies created by law and legal regulations.’[26] In this sense, feminist legal theories endeavor to locate and identify the underlying imbalances in legal rules and institutional structures in society, assessing the impact upon women as a whole. In a wider context, feminist thought is seen as an inevitable progression in academic debate into the area of jurisprudence. Ashe argues it is a ‘natural progression of the engagement of female reflection to one more area of discourse’ in view of other feminist studies in sociology, philosophy and history.[27] Therefore the extent of feminist contributions to legal jurisprudence can not be underestimated. It forms a solid ‘committed inquiry’ according to Dalton[28] in order to address female subordination, analyzing fundamental questions as to how and why mechanisms operate and succeed in placing women in such social positions. Furthermore feminist inquiry into law is a vital contribution for those studying the field. For example, this author believes continued fem ale expression and analytical work helps promote feminist legal jurisprudence within mainstream discourse. Dalton pessimistically characterizes the belief that from an outsiders view it is ‘beyond the pale’ to be a ‘women who teaches and writes as a woman, expressing women’s concerns.’[29] This paper would doubt the assertion that the role of academic feminist legal thought is viewed so disparagingly by mainstream society. Feminist legal thought may be thought of as a selective field of inquiry, but it is important for legal jurisprudence that all aspects of the law are examined from a variety of theoretical standpoints. This enables academics to discover and discuss the nature of law as an evolving social institution in a comprehensive manner. It helps to frame feminist jurisprudential within an inquisitive, exploratory framework which guides such discourse. This enables academics to focus on particular points in the discussion. This can be demonstrated by Heather Wishik,[30] in which feminist legal inquiry concentrates on answering the following analytical questions to provide a structurally coherent focus within the legal field: 1. What have been and what are now all women’s experiences of the ‘life situation addressed by the doctrine, process or area of law under examination? 2. What assumptions, descriptions, assertions and or definitions of experience – male, female or gender neutral –does the law make in this area? 3. What is the area of mismatch, distortion or denial created by the differences between women’s life experiences and the laws assumptions or imposed structures? 4. What patriarchal interests are served by the mismatch? 5. What reforms have been proposed in this area of law or women’s life situation? How will these reform proposals if adopted, affect women both practically and ideologically? 6. In an ideal world what would this woman’s life situation look like and what relationship if any, would law have to this future life situation? Such an analytical framework and inquiry demonstrates the reasoned theoretical approach plotted by feminist legal thought within jurisprudence. Locating specific questions enables feminist legal discussion to examine areas of law with purpose and structure, while sustaining its clear purpose of understanding the position of females operating within social structures. Feminist Legal Methodology To understand how feminist thought in relation to law is carried out, it is necessary to discuss the methodology of the academic school. The methodology can be simplified into three main points. First, it challenges the ‘positivist empirical tradition’ arguing that it is assumptive to accept the validity of observation and objective measurement. Feminist legal theorists therefore challenge a firmly established positivist concept within jurisprudence, that through a neutral standpoint the ‘truth or reality will emerge.’[31] Lacey discusses the ‘supposed’ neutral framework for legal reasoning such as the rule of law which is central to liberal and positivist legal philosophy. The idea of the rule of law is that it sets up standards which are applied in a neutral manner to formally equal parties. Questions of inequality and power may effect the capacity of those parties to engage effectively in legal reasoning. Gilligan on constructing moral problems in relation to gender has opened up a striking argument about the possible masculinity of the very process of legal reasoning.[32] The importance of challenging the conventional legal methodology helps to legitimately question the fundamental instutionalized legal reasoning processes which impact upon society. Finally, feminist methodology continually asks what is known as ‘the woman question’, investigating the nature of law through probing and recognizing female events which the law regulates in society. K.T Bartlett elaborated on the ‘woman question’ in Feminist Legal Methods[33] to mean ‘how the law fails to take into account the experiences and values that seem more typical of women than men or how existing legal standards and concepts might disadvantage women.’ Secondly, female practical reasoning stemming from contextual investigation is used to highlight the fundamental differences between people, and recognizes the value of the disenfranchised in society. Freeman suggests female practical reasoning is an interpretative approach[34] also used by the critical legal methods. Such influence means the interpretative approach is drawn on to ‘emancipate and uncover aspects of society especially ideologies that maintain the status quo by restri cting or limiting groups access to the means of gaining knowledge.’[35] Thirdly, through the tactic of ‘conscious raising,’ sharing and increasing individual awareness of the female life experience is a tool for feminists. Such ‘conscious raising’ enables the exploration of social constructs while challenging the objective truth exhibiting itself as ‘law and the criteria for legal legitimacy.’[36] The validity of such characteristic feminist methodological traits discussed by Bartlett reveals ‘things which traditional legal methods ignore.’[37] Such an approach places emphasis on the idea of: Positionality a stance that acknowledges the existence of empirical truths, values and knowledge. Knowledge is situated in social contexts and reflects different experiences. Thus they key lies in the effort to extend ones’ limited perspective.[38] This methodological standpoint is used as a launch pad by feminists to comprehensively consider different types of knowledge. Through experimental and far-reaching scrutiny, feminist scholars believe such a methodology will lead to heightened responsiveness achieving the goal of self determination and change in society. Freeman argues this point by stating an ‘improved methodology will result in a better understanding and ability to urge transformative practice.’[39] Categories of feminist legal thought Within feminist jurisprudence, there are many theoretical branches focusing on different conceptual points by academic feminists. Freeman identifies four main categories within feminist jurisprudence which have discussed extensive aspects of law’s relationship to the female gender in society. For example Liberal, Radical, Cultural and Postmodern approaches to feminist legal thought have provided thought provoking and powerful examinations of how women can be affected by law. Such diverse inquiries also investigate the consequences this has for female gender identity and socialized power relations. All theories are important as particular writers under each category discuss very real topical legal subjects which the reader can relate to. Examples of legal topics discussed by feminist scholars For example the legal subjects of rape, domestic violence, and harassment have been examined under English case law. R v. R (1991) has been a notable case for radical feminist attention in discussing the laws of rape, which attempt to protect women from sexual violence within and outside marriage. Feminists look at such emotive topics in order to place critical attention on women’s legal rights as citizens, examining the context of situations associated with the female experience. It can be suggested, a crucial aim of such discourse in not only theoretical, but represents genuine pragmatism to produce change which prevents rape head on,[40] and alters traditional ingrained conceptions which permeate gender relations in society. For example, rape should not be conceptualized as a phenomenon female victims should ‘have to deal with trying to avoid’ but infact it should be reformulated as an act which men must prevent.[41] It can be argued, it is imperative for femin ist legal scholars to continue to question how we view issues of sexual violence and critically assess how laws might unintentionally reinforce negative male values against women. A second area of feminist legal analysis is concentrated on the notion of equality for the sexes. Laws regulating pension retirement ages and equally pay opportunities under labour laws have been an issue within liberal feminism. Aspects of inequality between the sexes have been discussed using the differences in pay opportunities between the genders, and the existence of the glass ceiling in economic corporate structures. Such examples showing the range of analysis feminist legal thought pursues, demonstrates how resourceful the discipline is. Further more feminist thinking can provide distinct and logical investigations of previously unexplored areas of law. Black letter law, statutory legislation and rules effecting social relations and power structures have been exposed by feminists questioning the nat ure of legal rules upon female social existence. In this respect, feminist aims of uncovering the patriarchal aspects of the legal system increase awareness and help to establish necessary debates challenging the current condition of legal structures. This essay will now discuss some of the theoretical contributions of liberal, radical, and cultural feminist thought to legal theory. Feminist responses to Liberal theories This essay believes analysis of equality and earlier liberal theories have provided a valuable contribution to legal analysis. The work of Cain[42] and Lacey both examined models of equality in a legal environment. Liberals believe in the autonomous rational individual and minimal state involvement with private agents, which theoretically displaces gender differences. It suggests all humans are equal on the basis of possessing free will. Liberal feminism is rooted in the belief that women as well as men are right bearing autonomous human beings. Rationality, individual choice, equal rights and equal opportunities are central concepts for liberal political theory. Liberal feminism building on these concepts argues that women are just as rational as men and those women should have equal opportunities with men to exercise their right to make rational self interested choices. [43] Cain directly challenges established libertarian thought, arguing it is not the point ‘ to make women into men but expand the possibilities for female life experience by freeing women from the limitations of the male constructed category of â€Å"women† if she so chooses.’[44] Nicola Lacey extends this line of argument by examining the institutional limitations which are placed on women. This is known as the public and private sphere which effects power relations between men and women. The private spheres of life, such as family domestic life are contrasted to male dominated areas of public life such as in employment. Freeman argues ‘family is seen as beyond the control of the state, as power is deemed to be in the public arena while power relations in the domestic sphere can be ignored.’[45] Lacey raises an important theoretical point, questioning the extent to which the state should legitimately intervene into the private realm, especially in the co ntext of domestic violence and sexual abuse within family relations. It is argued the state should favor a pro interventionist policy in such cases even if it goes against traditional liberal values infringing on individual civil liberties and private autonomy. Thus, Lacey argues the ‘ideology of the public and private allows the government to clean it’s hands of any responsibility for the state of the private world and depoliticizes the disadvantages which may spill over the divide, affecting the position of the privately disadvantaged.’[46] Lacey argues the language of public and private spheres helps to support the status quo of pre existing power relations. For example, in the case of domestic violence the victims are ignored, resulting with ‘women being depoliticized and marginalized.’[47] It is suggested by Freeman that women’s injuries are ‘often not recognized by public legal culture’[48] such as in prosecutions which invo lve Battered Women’s Syndrome, and the application of provocation and self defense in criminal prosecutions. Olsen suggests the lack of state intervention is itself ‘a political act confirming the status quo and affirming the public private power relations.’[49] Such powerful discussions of feminist thought applied to legal analysis shows how traditional theories can be persuasively challenged from the feminist perspective to encourage new degrees of awareness and dialogue. Radical ‘identity’ theories Radical feminist thought is voiced by Mackinnon[50], claiming the dominant official voice is that of the male. It is suggested that the only significant distinction between the sexes is inequality. It is a patriarchal society where socio – legal structures facilitate the entire oppression and exploitation of women by men. Law is viewed to perpetuate the imbalance of power representing ‘a particularly potent source and badge of legitimacy’ which is systematically geared to enable male domination. Radical theories are controversial as they argue that dominance within power relations is central to accurately voicing the ‘authentic feminist approach.’[51] Such theories can be criticized for being defeatist as it implies that ‘inherent masculinity of the law can not be changed by increasing women’s entry into the structures of the legal system or by incorporating female values into its rules and processes.’[52] Therefore, laws aimed at abolishing discrimination and establishing equality in the workplace is deemed ‘futile’ in attempting to realistically alter the status of women. Logically the theory follows, if the law is fundamentally male orientated then its apparent objectivity and ‘equality for all persons’ is a cruel myth promoting a ‘false consciousness’ among women who believe they are regarded equally under law. Harris suggests that radical feminist legal theory believes only in the validity of exposing the ‘systematic stereotyping and denigration of women’[53]. Only through the broad methods of conscious raising will true social freedom grow, overcoming patriarchal structures as female self awareness of their own oppression is enhanced. Criticism of radical theories It is important to note such radical feminist legal theories have been ferociously criticized by those of difference and equivalence feminism. For example academics such as Cornell[54] specifically attack Mackinnon for conceptualizing female experience as a form of sexually passive victimhood. Secondly, Harris[55] criticizes radical feminist thought for over generalizing the suggestion that female dominance is the only universal experience encountered by women. Furthermore, is it incorrect to characterize the law as male, since discrimination is not limited to gender. It can apply to race which can affect both men and women. Cornell attacks Mackinnon’s conclusion that the distinctive female values are simply a social construct formulated within the confines of the male dominated system. Therefore they are not truly feminine values per se. Cornell strongly criticizes Mackinnon’s reclamation of tough language to argue the point that women are degraded for example, in porn ography as ‘passive receptacles’ in intercourse. [56] Cornell believes such ‘militant anti utopianism, is the inevitable expression or her argument that there is only one self-enclosed, self-perpetuating reality for women’[57] that of male domination. Cornell contends that the sexes are different, and this must be recognized to encourage positive conceptions of sexual difference. She argues it is possible to maintain equality but also remain different and embrace the existence of womanhood which is rejected by the radical theorists. Such internal factionalism within the movement of legal feminist thought, it can be suggested reflects negatively on the discipline in terms of promoting a coherent and distinctive approach to the legal field. But such disagreements are ultimately reflective of the extensive nature of feminist thought in tackling the legal field. Cultural feminist theory It can be suggested cultural feminist theory, especially exhibited in the work of Gilligan[58] has provided a distinctive but divisive legal analysis of law. In Gilligan’s difference feminism, the writer argues constructs of morality are formed at an early age and are crucially gender orientated, thus specific to males and females in different ways. Difference feminism has created an alternative paradigm assessing male and female social structures. Gilligan suggests women focus on an ‘ethics of care’ instead of the male ‘ethics of justice’. An ethics of care is argued to stress the values of