Short analytical memo report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Short analytical memo report - Essay Example The research investigated three charitable organizations within the Halifax regional municipality to establish ways through which the company can support the organizations humanitarian activities through other charitable acts in addition to direct fiscal assistance. The investigative undertaking took advantage of various research methods such carrying out surveys, correlation and a case study of two charitable organizations within the Halifax region, Research Methods (2011).The report begins by an individual description of the two charitable organizations followed by an attempt to match the organizations activities and the company’s objectives. This forms the main body of the report while the summary explains how the particular charity is more beneficial to the company than the rest. Finally, the report concludes by declaring a recommendation. According to Parker Street (2011), this registered non profit agency is responsible for the provision of food, furnishings, skills improvement, and mentoring and support assistance to residents of Halifax regional Municipality. The organization commenced its operations in early nineteen eighties as a food bank. The furniture part commenced operation in mid nineteen nineties at a dissimilar location before combining to form the present major organization. Over the years, it has progressively participated in charitable activities. Parker Street is charity organizations that respect the existence of individuals and are involved in activities to eliminate racism, poverty and other social ills and injustices. They strive to build societies that are concerned about people’s welfare irrespective of their areas of origin, devout affiliations or social and political stand, (Parker Street, 2011). Notably, it formed the IT program in the year 2001 in collaboration with the local Nova Scotia Community college through which scores of students

World War 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

World War 2 - Essay Example Roosevelt went into the conference with the agenda of trying to influence the Soviet Union to join in the war in the Pacific where the United States almost single-handedly fought Japan. He was of the belief that if Russia were to enter the war on its side, then it would be much easier for the allies to defeat the Imperial military of Japan and force the latter to surrender. Roosevelt desired to end the war with Japan with minimal American casualties and the participation of the Soviet Union would have made this possible (Berthon & Potts285). Stalin, because of his relatively strong position, declared that the only way that he would agree to declare war on Japan would be if the United States recognised the Mongolian Peoples Republic as an independent state and that all of the islands which Russia had ceded to Japan after their war in 1902, namely the Kuril and Sakhalin Islands, were returned.These conditions were agreed to by the other participants in the conference and it has remaine d controversial ever since because China, the biggest loser in their implementation, was not consulted. Furthermore, Roosevelt and Stalin reached an agreement to keep the Korean peninsula in one piece once the Soviet Union became involved in the Pacific arena. Stalin agreed to enter the war with Japan some three months after the fall of Germany so that the Soviet Union could be able to marshal itself sufficient to help the United States invade the Japanese home territory. Stalin agreed to the proposition that the Soviet Union join the United Nations and this guarantee was secured through the Soviet Union is one of the nations which had the veto power in the Security Council; ensuring that all of the decisions that it did not agree with were blocked (Schlesinger185). During this conference, the three leaders agreed to create spheres of influence in the postwar Europe with each of them having zones to occupy within Germany and this agreement ensured that these three nations upheld the ir supremacy over the entire European continent. In conclusion, the discussion above has shown that the Yalta Conference was held by the Big Three, in a bid to discuss the development of a postwar order of Europe after the defeat of Germany.Each of the leaders went into the conference with their own agenda and it should be noted that before this conference, the Soviet Union had attained great strides and was close to capturing the German capital, meaning that Stalin was in an especially strong position in the Yalta conference and the attendees from Britain and the United States realised that they were in a weak position to oppose his demands.

Should Defendants with Traumatic Brain Injuries Be Held Accountable for Their Actions Essay Example for Free

Should Defendants with Traumatic Brain Injuries Be Held Accountable for Their Actions Essay â€Å"Six weeks after getting his driver’s license, Christopher Tiegreen was in a car collision near his home in Gainesville, Ga. Tiegreen’s Isuzu Trooper flipped several times, causing severe head injuries. A month later, Tiegreen emerged from a coma a different person. The impact of the crash caused damage to the frontal lobe of his brain and sheared his brain stem. During his recovery and rehabilitation, the usually gentle Tiegreen became violent toward his mother, as well as with other family members and rehab staff. On Sept. 1, 2009, Tiegreen walked out of a duplex apartment where he was supposed to be under 24-hour supervision. In a yard nearby he attacked a young woman holding her 20-month-old son. He was charged with aggravated assault, criminal attempt to commit a felony, false imprisonment, battery, sexual battery and cruelty to a child in the third degree. † (Davis, 2012). Is Christopher Tiegreen a different person now, with a severely impaired mental capacity, because of his traumatic brain injury, or is he just an angry, violent person who has simply committed his first crime? More succinctly; do Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) cause violent behavior in previously â€Å"normal† people, or is the TBI personality change simply a smoke screen being used to defend people with dangerous personality traits who happen to have a brain injury? To begin with, a definition of Traumatic Brain Injury, especially as opposed to a head injury, as most people do confuse the two. The Mayo Clinic defines Traumatic Brain Injury as â€Å"Traumatic brain injury occurs when an external mechanical force causes brain dysfunction. The Mayo Clinic, 2012). Traumatic brain injury usually results from a violent blow or jolt to the head or body. An object penetrating the skull, such as a bullet or shattered piece of skull, also can cause traumatic brain injury. â€Å"(The Mayo Clinic, 2012). A Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is not a â€Å"head injury†, it is not a concussion nor an injury to the skull or spine; it is exclusively an injury the brain (and/or brain stem). With the definition clear, we see that the statistics regarding TBIs are shocking; Dr. William Winslade provides the following information from 2003, â€Å"Traumatic brain injury for decades has been, and continues to be, a major public health problem in the United States. Car crashes, gunshot wounds, falls and sports injuries account for two million brain injuries a year, nearly 400,000 hospital admissions, and at least 60,000 deaths. Approximately 90,000 people suffer a severe brain injury and survive but require extended, expensive rehabilitation. Some 2,000 people a year lapse into permanent unconsciousness lasting for months or years before they die. † (Winslade, 2003). Some survivors of traumatic brain injury fully recover, but many others experience a multitude of cognitive, emotional and behavioral disabilities. † (Winslade, 2003). As a survivor of a traumatic Brain Injury, the patient faces a myriad of recovery issues, not simply medical issues such as headaches, lethargy, pain in the distal limbs, speech issues, attention deficit and memory loss may affect cognitive functioning. Per Dr. William Winslade, an expert on Traumatic Brain Injuries; the changes in an individual with a TBI are profound and noticeable â€Å"Personality changes are common. Those who were calm and controlled may become quick-tempered and impulsive. In some people anger erupts into aggressive attacks on others. Many with severe brain injuries lack the ability to control their thoughts, emotions, impulses and their conduct. They may become uninhibited, promiscuous, anxious, paranoid or violent. † (Winslade, 2003). It is precisely these personality changes that makes Traumatic Brain Injuries so different from â€Å"head injuries† such as concussions, which do not present any marked changes is personality. Courts in the United States have increasingly been faced with the question as to whether or not the profound changes that are associated with TBIs should be considered a mitigating factor in trying defendants with the injury, or in determining what their sentences should be and where they should serve their time, if any; in a prison or in a mental health facility. â€Å"According to Duke University researcher Nita Farahany, the number of cases in which judges have mentioned neuroscience evidence in their opinion increased from 112 in 2007 to more than 1,500 in 2011. † (Koebler, 2012). The use of neuroscience in the courtroom is definitely increasing, Nita Farahany has been tracking criminal cases in which â€Å"lawyers have introduced neuroscientific evidence since 2004. By combing legal opinions, she’s found about 2,000 examples, with 600 of those cases in 2011 alone. † (Davis, 2012). â€Å"While attorneys have tried to win cases based on the lack of control over impulses based on the defendant having a TBI, † The biggest way in which neuroscience is being used in the courtroom is to mitigate punishment in one way or another, Farahany says, adding that its almost exclusively used in death penalty cases. They say they have a history of brain injury and trauma to say I have a different brain than the average person. Because of that difference, I have less control over myself. (Koebler, 2012). While medical scan, such as CAT scans and MRIs can show a difference in the appearance of the brain itself, there is scant evidence that these damaged brains are actually the cause of crimes committed by defendants suffering from a personality change brought on by a Traumatic Brain Injury. The science behind these brain scans is still in its infancy, but neuroscientists point to anecdotal evidence that traumatic brain injury or brain abnormalities can cause criminal behavior. † (Koebler, 2012). There is a case that many legal professionals point to when arguing the point for special consideration when trying or sentencing a defendant with a TBI. â€Å"In 2002, a 40-year-old Virginia teacher was caught viewing child pornography and making advances on his stepdaughter. He was convicted of child molestation, but the night before he went to jail, he went to the doctor with a crippling headache and confessed he might commit rape. Doctors found something they didnt expect: A brain tumor. The cancerous tumor was putting pressure on his orbifrontal cortex, which controls impulse and judgment. The tumor was removed, and the man no longer exhibited pedophilic tendencies. † (Koebler, 2012). The fact that is most persuasive with this case is the fact that once the tumor, and the pressure it was exerting on the orbifrontal cortex, were removed the patient no longer exhibited any pedophilic tendencies. Could this be the answer to whether or not TBIs do so adversely affect individuals that the personality changes they exhibit should not be held against them in the legal forum? Not necessarily. â€Å"Daniel Martell, a forensic neuropsychologist who examined Weinstein and testified for the prosecution, says the brain images were nothing more than fancy pictures meant to stir a jury. â€Å"It was the Christmas tree effect,† Martell says. â€Å"Lots of people ooh and aah at the pictures. It doesn’t tell you anything about a person’s behavior. † (Davis, 2012). Martell makes the point that many attorneys take when faced with opposing counsel who is presenting the TBI defense, stating that the profound changes in persons with TBIs should be a mitigating factor in trials and during sentencing. That hasn’t stopped defense attorneys from trying to introduce evidence of damaged brains into the courtroom, including brain scans. One such case, frequently cited in law and neuroscience journals, is that of New York advertising executive Herbert Weinstein, 65, who was arrested on charges that he strangled his second wife, Barbara, and t hrew her out the window of their 12th-floor Manhattan apartment in 1991 during an argument about their children. Weinstein never denied killing his wife. His lawyer, Diarmuid White, argued that Weinstein was not himself due to an arachnoid cyst on his brain. White contended that the cyst caused pressure on part of Weinstein’s temporal lobe, compromising his self-control and emotional regulation. Zachary Weiss, the New York City district attorney who prosecuted the case, thought it was simply a matter of a man getting angry at his wife and killing her. That was until White sent him the brain scan during discovery. â€Å"I got this picture in the mail and thought you’ve got to be joking,† Weiss recalls. It got complicated. I called this the rich man’s defense. † Whether Weinstein’s brain made him do it or not, Weiss believes the case was important. â€Å"It opened up a debate academically about responsibility and free will, and how we evaluate scientific evidence,† says Weiss, twenty years after the case; Martell still believes brain scans don’t explain specific behaviors. â€Å"The problem is that the science has not come along to support what the scan means,† says Martell, now a Newport Beach, Calif. based consultant for criminal as well as civil cases. â€Å"Since the ’90s, we’ve been much better at generating the cool pictures than we are at explaining what they mean. † (Davis, 2012). The opinion that Martell expresses about TBIs is not rare; many in the legal profession see the whole TBI debate as another â€Å"smoke and mirror† defense on par with the famous â€Å"Twinkie† defense; interesting and impressive in the courtroom, but lacking in any real legal merit. There is a group of individuals whose TBIs are taken into special onsideration; combat veterans. â€Å"Am ong the growing number of cases involving neuroscientific evidence are those that involve combat veterans from Afghanistan and Iraq as defendants. † (Davis, 2012). â€Å"Dr. Chrisanne Gordon, a Columbus, Ohio, rehabilitation medicine specialist who works with brain-injured vets, is one of three authors who wrote a chapter about traumatic brain injury. â€Å"They’re not insane, they’re not retarded, but they frequently have issues with impulse control and fall through the cracks of the legal system,† she says. (Davis, 2012). Combat veterans pose a desperate problem for the court systems judging them as defendants; because their injuries are usually combat related most people view them with a particular amount of sympathy because they received their injury in a â€Å"heroic† manner; serving the country. Agreeing that veteran’s legal situations are difficult to handle, at best, it has been suggested that courts need to view veteran’s with an air of compassion. There are courts who are taking definitive steps when dealing with combat veteran’s with TBIs who have ended up as defendants. â€Å"One of veterans’ biggest allies in Ohio is state Supreme Court Justice Evelyn Stratton, who plans to work full time with veterans’ justice issues after she retires later this year. She supports the development of more veterans’ treatment courts and hopes to change sentencing guidelines to ensure judges in all courts look at a defendant’s military service record. We want them to look at war experience as mitigation,† she says. â€Å"And we want them at least to look at the causes of what happened. † (Davis, 2012). Traumatic Brain Injuries are not simple to define and apply to a law principle; they allow that a defendant can be found not guilty of a crime because of their mental health issues, saying, in essence, that the defendant is not responsible for their crime because they had no real understanding of their actions or the consequences thereof. It will take many more years of research, to produce empirical evidence to supplement the anecdotal evidence that does exist, to determine if the dramatic personality changes that patients with Traumatic Brain Injuries exhibit, has the brain been so physically damaged that the victims of TBIs are no longer able to control themselves, or is the Traumatic Brain Injury defense simply a criminal defense â€Å"flavor of the week. †

J.S.Mills One Very Simple Principle: An Analysis

J.S.Mills One Very Simple Principle: An Analysis How simple is J.S.Mills one very simple principle? In and of itself, the principle is entirely simple – it takes barely a line to be stated, and is easily understood. â€Å"The sole end for which mankind are warranted, individually or collectively, in interfering with the liberty of action of any of their number, is self-protection† (Mill,1869: pg 9). He goes on to explain exactly what he means, but that single line encapsulates the principle itself, without requiring additional clarification. Subsequent lines do not in any way contradict this statement, they merely emphasise. The principle by itself being simple, however, does not mean that its implications and ramifications are so straightforward; it may seem clear, but logical absurdities can be found – can paternalistic interference be justified when, for example, the member of mankind has no knowledge of how dangerous his activities are? The classic example is that of the bridge, which appears to be intact, but will collapse if a man steps on it. A direct an d literal reading of Mill’s principle would forbid anyone from interfering when a man unknowingly took a step onto this bridge – such an interpretation would not, however, be fair either to Mill or to the unfortunately ill-informed member of society. The principle is therefore simple to state, but not so simple to understand. It has its subtleties, and must be considered, rather than straightforwardly accepted. Before continuing, it is important to note what it is Mill is meaning with the word ‘freedom’ – referring to it without an accepted definition would at best be confusing, and far worse could potentially lead to a highly misleading understanding. Mill’s use of the word is value free. That is not to say that he has no morals, merely that when he writes, ‘freedom’ is not judged. It consists merely of the ability to act following one’s own desires. If one can follow these desires, one is free. If one cannot, he is not. There is no further weighting given to whatever those actions may be, whether they are buying a newspaper or committing murder – all that matters when it comes to ‘freedom’ is whether or not a person with the desire to carry out an action is permitted to do so (Scanlan, 1958: pg 198). Mill’s writings were concerned with power over the individual, but not merely with the legislative power of the state; he was deeply concerned with the moral force that society was capable of exercising over the individual. It was not merely the capacity of an over powerful government or monarch about which he wrote. The capacity for the tyranny of the majority over the individual also concerned him deeply. For this reason it is perhaps surprising that he installed caveats immediately after his principle; a man’s own good was a valid reason â€Å"for remonstrating with him, or reasoning, or persuading, or entreating† (Mill: pg 9). This level of input that Mill considered acceptable under such circumstances perhaps goes a long way towards mitigating the lack of any compulsive interference that he was willing to accept – in his eyes, a sufficiently great force of remonstration represented an almost compulsive effect due to societal forces, against which he f requently railed. Even though his principle would ban any actual compulsion, consideration of Mill’s normal arguing position reveals that he was prepared to permit events in the interests of protective paternalism which he typically considered to be undue influence over others. The interplay between state, society and the individual is a leitmotif of Mill’s writings, and merely because the theory he states forbids the state from carrying out an act does not mean that he does not feel it should be permitted; indeed, in this scenario when not only does he not forbid societal interaction, but positively encourages intervention of a kind suggests that he was willing to allow society to attempt to morally force people down a route which was less harmful to the individual concerned. The principle itself remains simple, but the context in which it is framed is significantly more complex. Joel Feinberg concludes that the state has a right to prevent self-regarding harmful conduct only when it is substantially non voluntary or when temporary intervention is necessary to establish whether it is voluntary or not. (quoted in Arneson, 1980: pg 470). In the example of the bridge referenced earlier, an ill informed member of the public stepping on a bridge which would collapse under their weight could not be said to be acting voluntarily; the state would be well within its rights in such a scenario under Mill’s logic to station a guard patrolling the area, to leap in and tackle such ill-informed people, stopping them from involuntarily taking the fatal step. If, however, they are running towards the bridge and shouting about how they know it will kill them, his logic would forbid the guard from taking any direct action. Whatever we feel about this compulsion to allow people to harm themselves if they so choose, it is a basic tenet of liberalism, that people know what the best for themselves is, and that interfering in their desire to pursue their own good in their own way is intrinsically wrong. This can, however, be harder to test than it would originally appear; what if the person is, for example, mentally ill? Indeed, if a person wishes to take an act which can obviously further their good but contains in it some degree of harm, or pain, we can easily understand both why a person, or state, would want to interfere and why they should be prevented from doing so. Yet if a person states that they wish to follow a course of action that will bring them no obvious benefit, and yet will clearly generate a great deal of harm, at what point should the state step in to take action? Is a mental assessment to determine their sanity unjust interference? After all, if a person is mentally unstable, surely they cannot truly be said to be acting of their own free will. Informed consent means more than merely knowing what the risks are, it means understanding what the consequences mean. Furthermore, Mill’s principle divides matters crucially into two areas: the personal and the public. Even if all the questions relating to the private are answered satisfactorily, the questions relating to public actions are somewhat greater: when a man acts, it will typically affect others, however mildly. If the impact of these effects is to infringe upon the rights or happiness of others, then the state and the people are justified, under Mill’s logic, in interfering with their actions. So what about the guard on the bridge – compelled to allow the suicidal to continue running, and then forced to witness their deaths? Could it be said that in order to prevent this mental anguish, the runner should be prevented from acting? Mill gives great consideration to various potential actions later in On Liberty, showing how his simple principle can be interpreted and used. The guard can of course turn away, and in Mill’s time such considerations would not have be en given much thought, so long before modern ideas about mental health. It is a question that would have been interesting to see Mill’s actual argument, but we must make do with merely applying his principle in order to find his likely answer ourselves. It is unlikely he would have wishes it to have an impact on the consideration of the action – after all, if it did then any serious act could be prevented simply by placing somebody there who would be injured by watching it. It is highly unlikely he would have even momentarily entertained this massive curtailment of individual liberty. There is not necessarily any need to over-think Mill’s principle by inventing wild circumstances and asking whether or not his decisions would still apply. Mill’s â€Å"one very simple principle† is, at the point of statement, very simple indeed; the only circumstances in which mankind may interfere in the liberty of another is in the interest of protecting harm to others. No action may be taken solely due to the apparent interests of the person whose liberty would be interfered with. This ban on paternalism assumes a high degree of freedom and responsibility, and more than that, in order to be applied simply it seems to assume a very high degree of knowledge, and to discount the possibility of mental illness at least that which cannot easily be tested. Feinberg attempts to account for this with his assertion that actions may be interfered with when a person is not acting voluntarily, or when it is not clear that they are acting voluntarily, and this is an appealing idea; when the hypothetical person is heading for the equally hypothetical damaged bridge, failure to ascertain whether or not they know that stepping on it w ill lead to death cannot be rectified after the fact. Interfering in their liberty whilst those checks are made may be odious, but it is merely temporary, and need not be seen as an infringement of Mill’s principle. Overall, the principle itself is indeed very simple; it is merely application in certain fringe circumstances which has any need to become anything to the contrary. References John Stuart Mill, On Liberty 4th Ed. Longman, Roberts Green, London, 1869 Richard J. Arneson, Mill versus Paternalism, in Ethics, Vol. 90, No. 4. (Jul., 1980), pp. 470-489. James Bogen; Daniel M. FarrelL, Freedom and Happiness in Mills Defence of Liberty in The Philosophical Quarterly, Vol. 28, No. 113. (Oct., 1978), pp. 325-338. Clark W. Bouton, John Stuart Mill: On Liberty and History in The Western Political Quarterly, Vol. 18, No. 3. (Sep., 1965), pp. 569-578. D. G. Brown, Mill on Liberty and Morality in The Philosophical Review, Vol. 81, No. 2. (Apr., 1972), pp. 133-158. Robert W. Hoag, Happiness and Freedom: Recent Work on John Stuart Mill in Philosophy and Public Affairs, Vol. 15, No. 2. (Spring, 1986), pp. 188-199. David Lyons, Human Rights and the General Welfare in Philosophy and Public Affairs, Vol. 6, No. 2. (Winter, 1977), pp. 113-129. James P. Scanlan, J. S. Mill and the Definition of Freedom in Ethics, Vol. 68, No. 3. (Apr., 1958), pp. 194-206. J. Salwyn Schapiro, John Stuart Mill, Pioneer of Democratic Liberalism in England in Journal of the History of Ideas, Vol. 4, No. 2. (Apr., 1943), pp. 127-160. C. L. Ten, Mill and Liberty in Journal of the History of Ideas, Vol. 30, No. 1. (Jan. Mar., 1969), pp. 47-68.

The Origin of the Civil Rights Movement Essay -- Racism, Civil Rights,

Before one woman refused to head to the back of the bus, before there was a voice to peacefully express the dream, before Jim Crow was scared away, there were organizations, fighters and events that contributed to the advancement of African Americans. As W.E.B. Du Bois provided the diving board that would allow blacks to dive into the pool of equality, he is found at the origin of the Civil Rights Movement. The Pan-Africanism movement, the rage following the Red Summer, and the Great Migration continued the efforts of W.E.B. Du Bois. The bold and striking words and actions of Marcus Garvey showed whites that blacks would not be called an inferior race any longer. Following World War II, many bounds toward racial equality were made and Brown versus the Board of Education poured gasoline onto the civil rights fire. Around 1900, many U.S. historians released theories proclaiming the racial inferiority of blacks, and discrimination against southern blacks became even more widespread throughout the early 1900s. Every southern state required racial segregation on trains and in churches, schools, hotels, restaurants, theaters, and other public places. The southern states also adopted an election practice known as the white primary. This process banned blacks from voting in the Democratic Party’s primary election by calling them â€Å"private affairs.† By 1910, every southern state was, if they had not already, in the process of revoking suffrage from African Americans, and the Ku Klux Klan enforced this (Forces). The Ku Klux Klan attempted to keep blacks from voting through an increased use of threats, beatings, and killings. More than 3,000 blacks had been lynched during the late 1800s, and hundreds more ... ...rmined to keep and expand these gains. NAACP membership soared from 51,000 in 1940 to 351,000 in 1945; this made it possible for the relentless organization to expand its activities. Because of both rising black income and the efforts of the United Negro College Fund, founded in 1950, giving blacks a much broader base for their future leadership. As the years slowly passed by, black triumphs added up (Levine 171) The most significant victory for African American civil rights during the 1950’s was the Supreme Courts ruling in the Brown versus the Board of Education ruling, which declared separate but equal unconstitutional. It was a great victory for the NAACP and for Black America. The victory in the courtroom, however, was not manifested until many years later as the majority of school districts continued their segregationist policies across America.

Increasing Animal Adoptions at Shelters Essays -- increase dog adoptio

It was a hard day for me. My dog of almost 7 years had to be put down, and it was the first pet I had ever lost. My dad wasn’t too keen on me getting a new puppy. We started looking at other dogs and my dad found one that he thought we should get. My parents decided to take me on a surprise trip to the animal shelter to get a better look at the dogs that we wanted to adopt. As we entered the dog room, barks started to echo around us and excited dogs jumped up on their kennels to make sure we saw them. As we got to Mack’s cage, I think his puppy face must have melted my dad’s heart because he agreed to adopt him and take him home. Today, years later, I still believe adopting Mack was one of the best decisions I could have made. Through adopting Mack, I was inspired to volunteer at the animal shelter as soon as I was old enough. One day I went up just to look at animals and I realized that there were many dogs that had been in the shelter for a long time. No one was interested in adopting them because they weren’t a popular breed, or they were not the right color. From that day forward, I decided that I was going to find a way for those dogs to be adopted, so they had the chance to be as happy as Mack is, in a home and out of a shelter. By finding a way to positively promote breeds prone to indifference, unwanted color, and through establishing positive behaviors and character, animal shelters will be able to increase canine adoption. One of the most significantly impacting characteristics on adoption success is breed preference. Because some breeds are â€Å"talked up† more than others, for example, beagles compared to pitbulls, people would be more likely to lean towards a beagle if they had to choose between those two breeds for... ...olor and breed are not able to be changed, but by changing the behaviors of a dog, a shelter could increase the dogs appeal no matter the breed and color. Works Cited Woodward, Lucinda, Jennifer Milliken, and Sonya Humy. "Give A Dog A Bad Name And Hang Him: Evaluating Big, Black Dog Syndrome." Society & Animals 20.3 (2012): 236-253. Academic Search Premier. Web. 14 Mar. 2014. Siettou, Christina, Iain Fraser, and Rob Fraser. Kent University. 2012. PowerPoint. secure.fera.defra.gov.ukWeb. 14 Mar 2014. . DeLeeuw, Jamie L. Animal Shelter Dogs: Factors Predicting Adoption Versus Euthanasia. (2010): n. page. Web. 14 Mar. 2014. . . N.p.. Web. 14 Mar 2014. .

Analyze Two Main Theories of Motivation Namely: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory and Herzberg Two-Factor Theory Essay

INTRODUCTION From as early as the beginning of the 20th Century, corporations began to realize that motivated employees are a strategic necessity in the harshly competitive and fast paced market place. This new understanding or paradigm shift brought to an end the era of coercive, machine-like workplaces where employees were considered to be just another input in the production of goods and services. Hence the reason, there has been substantial research that has been done and is still being carried in the area of employee motivation and there is a general consensus that that employee motivation and company performance are positively related. The concept of motivation has been variably described by many authors, but for the purpose of this analysis, Higgins (1994) definition will be borrowed. He describes motivation as the inner force that drives individuals to accomplish personal and organizational goals. The global economic downturn has had damning effects on companies which have left many employees disengaged and demotivated and yet according to Smith (1994), companies need motivated employees for survival because motivated employees help organizations to survive even in the most turbulent of times. There has therefore never been a time when companies needed motivated employees more than this time. The purpose of this paper therefore is to analyze two main theories of motivation namely: Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory and Herzberg  two-factor theory and how they can be applied by companies to boost workers’ satisfaction and therefore, organizational effectiveness. 2 DEFINITION OF TERMS 1. Organizational Effectiveness: There is no true consensus about the definition of this ubiquitous term. Wikipedia defines it as ‘the concept of how effective an organization is in achieving the outcomes the organization intends to produce’. 2. Employee Engagement: Is the ‘extent to which employees feel passionate about their jobs, are committed to the organization, and put discretionary effort in their work. Passion, commitment, and most importantly, discretionary effort. Engaged employees are motivated to do more than the bare minimum needed in order to keep their jobs’, Custom Insight (2011) 3. Disengagement: has two levels a) Disengaged employees: Disengaged employees don’t have an emotional commitment to their work or their place of employment, according to Entec Corporation, which has conducted employee surveys since 1966. Entec emphasizes that disengaged employees aren’t necessarily bad employees, but they just do what’s necessary to get their jobs done. They typically don’t take part in offering suggestions for improving the workplace. Entec indicates that disengaged employees usually don’t stay at work late if it’s not required, and they don’t give their jobs much thought after they finish a workday. b) Actively disengaged employees: These are the workers who undermine their jobs and employers. Actively disengaged employees can sink employee morale and performance. In such cases, employers should try to determine what’s behind active disengagement to prevent it from getting out of control. 4. Employee satisfaction: Is the extent to which employees are happy or content with their jobs and work environment. 3 MOTIVATION THEORIES: 1. MASLOW’S HIERARCHY OF NEEDS THEORY: In 1943, psychologist Abraham Maslow theorized that people have five basic needs and he further came up with a pyramid that prioritized these needs. His needs-based framework went on to become a model for both personal empowerment and workplace management, and embraces the concept that basic needs must first be satisfied before higher, unselfish goals can be pursued and achieved. Several companies have implemented the ideas of this theory with differing success levels. The theory is delved into below and examples are used to substantiate the analysis. Physiological Needs Maslow identified the core physiological needs to sustain human life as air, water, food and sleep. To perform their jobs, workers require healthy air to breathe, water to keep their systems hydrated, sustenance to fuel their bodies and adequate time to rest and recuperate between shifts, including regularly scheduled breaks. As described in his own book, â€Å"Maslow on Management (1963),† Maslow cites that when deficiencies exist in these four basic requirements for survival, people become incapable of developing any ambition, much less acting on it and achieving their full potential. In regard to a work place, this could mean furnishing a pleasant and comfortable environment for staff to work in. A company that has embraced this idea is MTN Swaziland. Their new state of the art building was not just constructed for aesthetics, but the construction was also a strategic goal with regards to their Employee Value Proposition. The building has ample work space, beautifully furnished staff canteen, gymnasium for the staff, day care center for staff children, golf course and a club house. A survey that was conducted after the relocation to these new premises showed that staff were now happier and were willing to work extra hours as it had become more comfortable for them to do so. 4 According to Dan Romaniak, the communications Manager from Hewlett-Packard’s (HP) Geographic Operations, HP attempts to retain its employees and keep them motivated by offering not only competitive salaries and benefits, but  also perks like flexible time off from work are specific examples of physiological, social and ego needs. They also provide company cars or memberships privileges at country clubs. He further mentioned that HP is also using benefits such as non-cash bonuses or additional paid time off if company goals are met. Others like managers taking employees out to lunch to reward good work or allowing them to use reserve parking spaces for performances above and beyond the norm. By offering attractive benefits and satisfying employee needs, the employers will reap the positive benefit of motivated employees a Safety Needs A safe and secure working environment reduces the threat of physical injury. When workers believe that the level of risk has been minimized and that good health and safety practices are judiciously enforced and monitored by management, they feel more comfortable and are less distracted from performing their tasks and interacting with others. Conscientious safety practices reduce absenteeism as well, which can impact productivity and morale. Security also extends to emotional well being in the workplace. An employer that provides medical benefits contributes to retirement plans and is financially solvent makes workers feel more secure about their jobs and the future. Conley (2010) writes that companies that demonstrate they care for the welfare of their workers create an atmosphere of trust which, in turn, encourages loyalty and decreases st ress. Coca cola is a typical example of a company that has harnessed the power of this theory because they understand that their success depends upon ensuring the safety of their workers. So they integrated the Coca-cola Safety Management System as part of their day to day management. This system incorporates occupational safety, quality, environment and loss prevention into a single framework. It also defines rigorous operational controls. With this in place, the company has employees that are able to work without worrying 5 about safety, thereby focusing all their energy into production. This could explain why coca-cola has remained the world’s number one brand even throughout the economic down turn.nto a single framework. Social Needs Man is a social animal and, accordingly, seeks out companionship, acceptance and  inclusion. Maslow identifies social needs as friendships, peer support and the ability to give and receive love. Podmoroff (2009) observes that the workplace offers an opportunity to be part of a team in which members share their respective knowledge, skills and unique experiences to solve problems in which they have a vested interest. Competitions, focus groups, mentoring, brainstorming sessions, after-work get-togethers and even office potlucks can make employees feel as if they are â€Å"family.† A small company that is nestled at Ezulwini is cognizant of this fact. Bethel Court Hotel has formalized daily devotion which is a crucial element to the staff. There is a special hall that is designated for such purposes. This hall is well taken care of and is well furnished. This crucial component unites the staff and makes them feel like family. Hence the reason, they are always motivated to go the extra mile with regard to their work. Esteem Needs In concert with social needs is the desire to be recognized for personal accomplishments. Maslow divides this portion of his theory into external and internal motivators. External motivators are prizes and awards bestowed for outstanding performance, elevation in status such as a coveted promotion and newfound attention and admiration from others. Internal motivators are the private goals that workers set for themselves such as beating a prior month’s sales figures and the satisfaction of experiencing self-respect for having done the right thing. Silverstein (2008), notes that fairness and consistency in the recognition process are critical. When employees know that their efforts aren’t going unnoticed by management, they take more pride in their work product. In addition, their coworkers see 6  the correlation between responsibility and reward and may endeavor to set the performance bar higher for themselves. Once again, MTN Group of companies makes a good example of how meeting esteem needs through reward and recognition can motivate staff. Their annual bonuses are not shared equally amongst staff, each staff member is rewarded a bonus in accordance with the performance appraisal score. The higher the score, the higher the bonus. Furthermore, individual annual increases are also determined by the performance of individual employees. The effect that  this has is that; throughout the year, the employees work with a mind to deliver set targets because they are aware that delivering or mot delivering has an implication on their pockets. So there is always a drive and motivation to go beyond set goals. Self-Actualization Once the quartet of physiological, safety, social and self-esteem needs are met, Maslow believed that individuals are capable of achieving their true potential and embodying truth, meaning, wisdom and justice in their words and actions. Self-actualization moves them to a higher plateau of understanding as well as a greater empathy for the needs of others. Those who achieve this ultimate state and Maslow himself speculated that it was only 2 percent of the population enjoy a greater autonomy, have a deeper sense of humility and respect for others and a better sense of distinguishing between real and fake. Maslow also tied this to the belief that the journey in whatever form it takes can be more rewarding than the actual destination. Managers can apply this to a practice of appreciating the worth of each of the individuals â€Å"traveling† with them rather than focusing so intently on the end-game that they lose all sight of human emotions. 7 2. HERZBERG’S TWO FACTOR THEORY Herzberg’s work categorized motivation into two factors as described below: a) Hygiene or extrinsic factors: these are based on the need for business to avoid unpleasantness at work. According to Riley (2012) if these are the factors are considered as inadequate by employees, then they cause dissatisfaction at work, riley further makes examples of what hygiene factors are: Company policy and administration Quality of supervision Quality of interpersonal relations Working conditions Feelings of Job security b) Motivator or intrinsic factors: are based on the individual’s need for personal growth. When they exist, motivator factors actively create job satisfaction. Riley (2012) says that if these are effective then they can motivate an individual to achieve above average performance and effort. Motivator factors include: Status Opportunity for advancement Gaining recognition Responsibility Challenging/ stimulating work Sense of personal  achievement and personal growth in a job. Apple is a major user of motivator factors. There is an outstanding creational culture within the organization which Steve Jobs as always argued that it is the main gravitational force that puts all the right and creative people together and motivates them to achieve above expectation. Although Steve Jobs was the centric force of innovation at Apple, employees were still allowed to directly contribute to their jobs by being given responsibility which they are accountable for. This job enrichment is challenging and stimulating staff not to let down their employer, but to always deliver beyond target. This practice also creates a sense of personal achievement 8 Job enlargement, rotation enrichment Another example is from HP; they create an excellent company policies and conditions of work and offer bonus incentives as increasing the hygiene factors for motivation. As a motivator, HP has implemented HP’s Educational Assistance Policy (EAP) which is very helpful for workers who want to go back to school. HP EAP policy states that â€Å"our changing business needs demands a dynamic, flexible workforce in order to maintain our competitive advantage and remain a leader in our industry. In accordance with PH’s employee development philosophy including our commitment to lifelong learning and career selfreliance, the company may provide employees with financial assistance for education relevant to meeting our business needs, Approval of financial assistance will be based on recommendation from the employee’s management and guidance from Human Resources† (HP 2003). The HP EAP can be looked at as a hygiene factor where employment security is tied to competitive realities as well as individual results and performance. Employees are responsible for ensuring that they possess the competencies required in HP’s dynamic environment which will definitely provide the grounds for employee striving to get the into the EAP and therefore getting motivated by higher qualification in the long run. Furthermore, for job posting, HP employees will receive consideration for open posting provided  the competencies the employee possesses are competitive with external talent. Additionally, employees whose jobs have been eliminated or who working where excess capacity exist should have preference in filling open positions provided there is a current and future business need for the competencies the employee possesses and the those competences are competitive. 9 Conclusion Companies cited in this paper are successfully motivating their working through application of the two content theories (Hierarchy of Needs and Two-Factor theories). It is important to note, however, that there is no single content theories which can successfully stand alone as a sole motivator. Each theory has its drawbacks – each one is deficient in one or more ways. Each of the two content theories described above fails to account for individual differences, to link motivation and needs to both satisfaction and performance, or to consider cultural and professional differences† (Schermerhorn et al., 2002, p. 159). Using only one motivational technique is a poor solution; employee needs would remain unfulfilled and, therefore, create low-performing employees. In an effort to promote the ideal model of employee motivation, MTN, Coca-Cola, Bethel Court Hotel, Apple and Hewlett-Packard are efficiently utilizing a combination of motivational strategies in order to consistently and effectively motivate their employees to perform at peak standards for the company. Motivation drives existing talents and develops new areas of interest and expertise.