Differentiate between Management and Leadership Essay

Differentiate between Management and Leadership - Essay Example As the report stresses the terms management and leadership have been defined and discussed with different words and perceptions ever since their evolution. To better evaluate the distinction between these two terms, it is imperative to have an insight into their meaning and essence. Bateman-Snell describes management as â€Å"the process of working with people and resources to accomplish organizational goals†. Management is about having the work done through other people under a set of pre-defined policies and procedures to fulfill the organizational goals. By the definition, a manager strives to achieve set goals through proper utilization of what is available him, in the form of human and other resources. This study discusses that outstanding leaders combine good strategic substance and effective interpersonal processes to formulate and implement strategies that produce results and sustainable competitive advantage. The definition reflects that true leadership never relies on accomplishing a goal only under some pre-defined policies. It takes to have the ‘strategic substance’ blended with ‘effective interpersonal processes’ to lead a team in a highly competitive environment. At the heart of leadership is the act of swiftly adapting the strategies to the demands of a given situation in the pursuit of obtaining the desired results. Bateman and Snell identify management in the spectrum of its four functions viz., planning, organizing, leading and controlling.

Privacy and New Technology Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Privacy and New Technology - Assignment Example This way, in a certain case, consent will not be the only exemption to a certain prohibition nor will it be the only basis for allowing the handling of personal information in a certain way. This calls for the law that controls the handling of the data if the individual concerned maybe signed consent oblivious of the circumstances that can surround its leakage to the third party. According to Naomi and Charles, 2011, information Privacy Principles do not require that an individual should give her consent to the collection of the concerned person’s personal information. There is a laid rule that governs or is against an organization collecting sensitive information about an individual. Among the exceptions to the prohibition is where the individual has given the consent. The control of the information is also important to prohibit an agency from using the information obtained from an individual with consent in other ways that are contrary to the ones intended in the initial agreement. a. Uses the information acquired in other ways that are different from the one that was stipulated in the consent. The agency or company should be accountable if the information is used on other ways and leads to inconveniencies on the side of the individual. b. If the information is leaked to third parties. This could mean that the information has been allowed to be used contrary to the consent signed. Even if there was no consent signed the agency or company should be held accountable for the act. The code of data sharing clearly states how the personal information should be handled. In case of any act that should prove without doubt that the information leaked to another party or was used for other means it should be held

The Problem Of Evil Philosophy Essay

The Problem Of Evil Philosophy Essay The Problem of Evil is a provocative philosophical issue that has perplexed the minds of great thinkers throughout the ages up to the present time. Intellectuals such Aristotle, Averroes, and Kant have vigorously debated and held various positions concerning the reality of malevolence in the world and how it correlates to the eminence of a Higher Being, better known as God. Questions such as If God is altogether good, where does evil come from? and Why does God reveal that he is going to punish the wicked if He created them to be that way in the first place? are among literally hundreds of others that have been contemplated in the minds of millions all over the world. The objective of this paper will be to address questions such as the aforementioned, as well as to spotlight an associated dilemma, The True Innate Nature of Man, which quite fittingly arises as a subheading under this broad heading of The Problem of Evil. The True Innate Nature of Man also serves as a quandary for numerous individuals who aspire to comprehend the supposed world beyond sensible perception. This too can be a confounding issue for most students of knowledge, as there are various opinions about what the correct stance of mans nature in relation to Gods is; although some may be deemed as more correct than others. Is it that man was created in the image of God, yet still in a corrupt state of sin due to a crime committed by his alleged father Adam for which he needs redemption, as affirmed by Christian theologians such as Thomas Aquinas? Or is that man is born absolutely pure on the true, bona fide nature of goodness or fitra (in Arabic) but may be tarnished by his environment, as asserted by Islamic metaphysicians such as Avicenna and Averroes? Perhaps it is neither, and man was actually born inherently evil and immoral, but may be trained to do good by following the Tao or Proper Way as is taught by Confucians including Xun Zi, also known as Hsun-tzu. A thorough investigation into the topic of The Problem of Evil and its sub related subject matter, The True Innate Nature of Man, is sure to clear many misconceptions and reveal the fundamentals of the issue. God, as defined by The American Century Dictionary, refers to the creator and ruler of the universe and the being or spirit worshipped as immortal and with supernatural power over nature, human fortunes, etc. As such, due to the postulation that God is the One that creates human beings, bestows on them reason and intelligence, provides for them food and drink, and promises a reward in one way or another for the righteous, while not asking anything from them except that they worship Him alone, the rational mainstream view is that He is a good God. Not only is he just a good God, but He is a perfect God; a God that is absolutely and eternally free from any and all faults and shortcomings of any kind, whether inwardly or outwardly, or deliberately or unintentionally. The supposed problem does arise for the skeptic, however, when this perception of God is applied practically to the sensible world that is filled with crimes such as theft, murder, and rape, as well as diseases including HI V/AIDS, leukemia, and cancer. There seems to be an apparent contradiction in the notion of God being a good God and there being evil in the world. According to the logic of the skeptic, since God created everything from nothing and can be traced back to the origin of everything and identified as the unmoved mover, He must also be accredited with having evil as one of His attributes. In reality, there is no genuine contradiction between the actualities of God being good and there being evil in the world. The misapprehension here stems from the fact that there is confusion in the minds of many with regards to the free will of man and the omniscience of God. Human beings have been created with a choice of whether or not they want to be virtuous upright citizens on earth. Their free will allows them to commit immoral actions if they truly wish to do so. The choices that they have are merely a reflection of the circumstances around them which may or may not be favorable. Nevertheless, they still do have a choice and may opt to do the right thing. The selection to be virtuous or immoral is ultimately made by the human being himself and not by God. Even though God knows any and all things that have already happened or will take place in the future, the choice is left to the person to do as he pleases. The knowledge of God is not to be confused with the deeds of man; th e latter being imperfect, while the former, flawless. Evil actions such as murder and prostitution are thus a result of the imperfections of man and are not to be attributed to God directly because He does not force any of His servants to commit the crime. Rather, He allows them to commit the offenses out of their own desires and in conjunction with His infinite wisdom. As a result, it may be said that since God is the creator of each and every single thing in the universe from nothing, He is also indirectly the creator of evil since even though human beings are directly to blame for the evil perpetrated on earth, He created the human beings to begin with. With that issue being settled, a more complicated one still remains in that of natural diseases, disasters, and occurrences. Part of the reason that diseases such as HIV/AIDS and cancer infect people is because of their refusal to act in a prudent and temperate manner. Before proceeding, however, it is necessary to explain what this virtue of temperance is and how it should apply in human beings day to day life: The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines temperance as a habitual moderation in the indulgence of the appetites or passions. The ancient, as well as contemporary scholars of philosophy such as Thomas Aquinas, Stephen Pope, and Diana Cates generally seem to agree with this definition by consensus on a broad level. It is located in the concupiscible appetite, which deals primarily with the human lusts of eating, drinking and sexual desire; as opposed to the irascible appetite that is involved in the emotions of anger and exasperation. As Thomas Aquinas indicates in Summa Theologica IIa IIae, q. 141, a. 2, ad 2, temperance is a habit of responding with tranquility or serenity of soul to sense impressions of food, drink, and sexual relations. Its principal function is to moderate in the mean between extremes the emotions of enjoyments and service concerning the pleasures of touch and taste in order to achieve the good of reason as known in the concupiscible passions. Furthermore, it is con cerned with the sentiment of maintaining the gratification of sense pleasure as a whole, especially in the elation supplementing the impression of predominantly touch and secondarily taste. The ideal balance of temperance is generally found between the excess extreme of indulgence and the defect extreme of insensibility, while leaning slightly towards insensibility in this respect. Since the human species has an overwhelming innate desire for excess with regards to the pleasures of the flesh, it is only natural that most people seek to avoid this excess, and lean towards the defect while seeking to uphold the integrity of moral standards. The proximate object of temperance is the concupiscible appetite; pleasure on a general level, and contentment and grief more specifically. The remote object of this cardinal virtue is anything and everything that generates the gratification of touch and taste in an individual person; that is to say, food, drink, and sex. Through habitual moderation of temperance, as with any other virtue, the good of reason can be achieved in this regard. (Introduction to Ethics by John A. Osterle) It is clear from this brief introduction to temperance that this is a most serious issue that many people are heedless of. Moderation in deeds, particularly those of the sexual nature, preserves the wellbeing of individuals while an excess leads to their ruin. HIV/AIDS is the direct cause of the choice of human beings to be promiscuous in their sexual activities or act in some other carnal manner. God should not be held liable for the intemperate and depraved actions of human beings. Similarly, the diseases of certain types of cancers such as lung cancer and other ailments of the kidneys and such are usually the result of the choices of man to smoke sedatives or drink alcohol. Even though man has knowledge of the fact that these items have harmful effects on their wellbeing, he still chooses to willingly purchase and utilize them anyway; not only damaging ones self, but paying money to do so as well! The evil result of these diseases is brought upon only from the intemperate and male volent actions of man. While God did indeed create these types of diseases, He undoubtedly cannot be attributed as being the direct cause of someone acquiring them, as He does not force anyone to take the means to obtain these diseases even though He has perfect knowledge of the unfortunate individuals who will. The final type of alleged evil that occurs in the world which some people mistakenly attribute directly to God is that of natural disasters or occurrences such as earthquakes, volcanoes, hurricanes, inherited diseases (both mental and physical), and the like that result in casualties. With regards to this type of evil, there is no clear cut definitive answer and it must be accepted that since God is described as All-Wise, there is wisdom behind all of these perceived tragedies. To explain, the perception of human beings is deficient, while Gods knowledge and wisdom are perfect. Even the greatest of metaphysicians such as Aristotle and Plato attested to this actuality. It would be irrational to try and prove that God creates evil through these calamities because human beings do not know the wisdom behind these occurrences. The truth of the matter is that there is actually much good behind these perceived dreadful and appalling incidents. A case in point example which may be likened to the understanding of this concept of the perception of natural disasters by human beings is that of when a parent accompanies his or her young child to the doctors office to obtain a flu vaccination from the doctor. The young child would be shocked at the fact that his parent would allow a person to thrust a six inch needle into his arm. The child does not have the foresight to understand that this is what is best and most beneficial for him; his perception of the action leads him to believe that this is a malicious undertaking being committed. However, it is apparent to any logical person that the good of this action by the doctor far outweighs any temporary harm that the needle may have been caused to the youth. Accordingly, this action would not be deemed an evil act. On the contrary, this action would be considered virtuous and very much necessary, even though the child might not agree at this point in his development. Similarly, since all human beings are mortal and vastly dis similar to God in that they are neither All-Wise nor Omniscient, they do not have the foresight that God does. Therefore, it would be extremely rash for them to label something as evil even though they do not understand the very core foundation of it. The good of these so-called natural disasters is evidently there, even if people do not have the perception to sense or understand it. A sub-related theme to The Problem of Evil is known as The True Innate Nature of Man. The genuine natural disposition of human beings is essential to understanding The Problem of Evil because if it can be proven that the mans natural disposition is one that is towards righteousness, this would also strengthen the argument in favor of the proposition that there is no valid Problem of Evil. Since the creation often reflects the creator, a legitimately good concept of the internal disposition of man would indicate an eternally good God, while an evil concept of the internal disposition of man would suggest some legitimacy to the Problem of Evil. Basically, the two main views with regards to The True Innate Nature of Man are that it is either one of vice and iniquity or it is one of morality and virtue. Scholars have rigorously debated this topic with great diligence in order to persuade the masses of people to see things from their perspective. The vast majority of religious scholars, h owever, have settled upon the notion that man is born virtuous, but with the ability to perform evil. The reasons for this view are abundant and not difficult to comprehend. Another view held by some of the scholars is that man is born inherently evil, but may be trained to do virtuous deeds. Attempting to explain and refute this view would certainly be much more remarkable, as the vast majority of people are oblivious to the arguments presented by the philosophers for this view and whether or not they actually carry any weight. One such unorthodox philosophical intellectual who believed that The True Innate Nature of Man is evil was a Confucian by the name of Xun Zi, better known as Hsun-tzu. He held the belief that all human beings are born inherently evil by nature. According to him, human beings must be trained thoroughly in order to become virtuous. Goodness is acquired by learning and cultivation from the sages. He puts a great deal of emphasis on the sages and regarded learning from these sages as an essential aspect in an individuals journey towards righteousness. Furthermore, Hsun-tzu made a clear distinction between nature and conscious activity. Whereas the nature of humans is the characteristics they are born with (i.e. natural instincts) and can never be changed or controlled, conscious activity is something that can be learned and taught by the sages; this is the part of man than can be changed and acquired through learning and effort. In order to support these various claims, Hsun-tzu also lai d down several arguments so that he could expound his bold stance on this issue. His foremost argument to support his claims is the notion that if a ruler did not have any limits or rules to abide by, then he would be unjust to his subjects beneath him. A different argument he uses is that the sage kings and ritual principles recognized that man was born evil, and hence, had to train the common man so that he would be good. Yet another argument presented was the assertion that people are born with intrinsic desires naturally in them, and these desires are never-ending. Clearly, Hsun-tzu is one of the greatest philosophers ever known to hold the view that human beings are born evil, but his arguments for this are questionable at best. Hsun-tzus primary argument for deeming the human nature of man to be evil is his allegation that the people underneath a ruler would be treated unjustly if he did not have any limits to his power. If the entire world were to function this way, there would be immense commotion and disarray. Similarly, if a man did not have any rules to live by, he would also be corrupt and evil. Conscious activity would be needed to show any goodness, and the leaders natural inclination would be towards evil. Therefore, the sage kings are needed so that a person can be transformed from the person he is born as into a moral individual that can eventually be able to honorably lead an entire nation. It may contended, though, that while it is true that a person needs to have some kind of formal training in order to be a just leader, the sage kings and Confucianism in general are not always required. This occurrence has undoubtedly taken place in many parts of the world. Authoritative rulers such as dictators tend to abuse their powers more than democratically elected officials do. This has always been the case throughout history. Since dictators are given much more power than elected individuals, they tend to oppress their citizens more as well. On the other hand, le aders that are given less power, such as the ones in most of the Western world, have a less chance to of becoming tyrannical and obsessed with power. The citizens of these Western countries are more easily able to prevent corruption in the government when it takes place. However, there are exceptions to this argument proposed by Hsun-tzu. There have been instances in history where dictators have not had a repressive stance towards their people. Leaders such as Napoleon Bonaparte and Mustafa Kemal Ataturk have been classified by historians as treating their people with dignity and respect. These dictators, as well as others, did not abuse their powers even though they were never trained by the sage kings or even followed the Tao. While Hsun-tzu may argue that the dictators of recent centuries do not have unlimited power, it should be noted that they still have enough to be able to oppress the masses of people in their country and still get away with it. Perhaps following the Tao woul d help improve upon the leadership performance of many of todays heads of states, but this remains to be seen. Hsun- tzus argument that leaders would be unjust if no limitations were placed upon them is an unpersuasive one, as there are still some flaws in it which need to be addressed. Another of Hsun-tzus foremost arguments regarding the True Innate Nature of Man as evil is the affirmation that the sage kings of ancient times were aware of the fact that man was born inherently evil, and thus, they had to train the common man so that he would be good. By the use of ritual principles and setting guidelines and punishments for the individuals actions, a person is refined from his original malevolent nature into a more honorable and virtuous individual. This person then must continually practice Confucianism and the Tao and continually strive to become a better person. According to Hsun-tzu, there would be absolutely no need for sages if the people were naturally born righteous. Logic would hold that this view is vastly constricted. Hsun-tzu is thinking only from the point of view of a Confucian. If a person does not want to follow the Tao or Confucian way or life, then it becomes impossible for this person to develop into a state of goodness. Furthermore, Hsun-tzu is assuming that the sage kings are good people and able to cultivate others just because they are sages, but if they are not known as such in the community, does that make them any less wise or less competent in terms of teaching others about how to become righteous people? Just because a person known as a sage decides something to be correct, doesnt make it so. The sages arent the only morally good people in the world. People in todays society can be known as righteous, and many of them have never even heard about the Tao. The conclusion that Hsun-tzu seems to be drawing is that the fact that there are sages is proof that human beings are intrinsically inclined towards evil. This is illogical because he is basing his whole argument on what some people during the ancient times decided upon. There are people in todays society that do not follow the way of the sage kings and ritual principles, and can still be considered to be moral, righteous beings. This argument of Hsun-tzus may have been true during his time, but definitely not today. The fact that the sages teach humans to be good is not evidence that they are evil. On the contrary, this can go to show just how good humans actually are in their quest to improve their virtuosity from when they are born until they die. Conclusively, a final argument of Hsun-tzus is that human beings are born with intrinsic desires naturally in them, and these desires are endless. No matter how often these desires or natural impulses are acted upon, human beings are never satisfied and will always strive to satisfy these desires, though they can be contained by following the Tao and learning from the sages. Goodness is not natural to people; conscious activity is required to reach a certain level of virtuousness. According to Hsun-tzu, this is proof that people are naturally born evil and must learn to be good. This view of Hsun-tzus is a flawed one because it actually can be proven that goodness is natural to people. An example of this is when human beings deal with infants. Even the most hardened criminals in jail seem to show an exceptional amount of mercy and compassion when dealing with babies and little children. This shows that there is a quantity of good in all human beings that can come out when the circums tances are right. It is definitely true that humans have innate carnal desired similar to those which animals have. In spite of this, humans can be classified of being moral or immoral, while animals cannot. The intelligence of human beings is the aspect that separates them from animals and allows them to be judged according to their respective actions. This same intelligence that people possess causes them to learn to distinguish between what is right and wrong. If peoples psyche can be honed so that they can easily perceive malevolence and righteousness and act accordingly, they can undoubtedly become better human beings. This means that according to this logic, the true nature of human beings must be virtuous because there is an amount of good in the human, however small, that can be honed and cultivated. If humans continually give in to all of their desires like most species of animals do, they will eventually be overcome by them and be deemed immoral by society. Since people are naturally not adept at containing many of our societys taboo desires, they must learn to do so from experienced people such as the sages. Consequently, people will learn how to contain their infinite desires, and over time it will become like second nature for regular people as it has already become for the sage kings. This argument of Hsun-tzus can definitely be deemed as an adequate one, but still not sufficient to prove that human beings are inherently evil. Human beings have to greatly strive in order to stop themselves from acting upon these instincts, so this must mean that they have to continue to consciously act to become virtuous, and goodness is something natural and feasible if one tries hard enough. Clearly, the debate on whether mans intrinsic nature is truly virtuous or immoral is a highly controversial one that many people have strong opinions on and tend to disagree about. The Confucian philosopher Hsun-tzu was of the opinion that human beings are born naturally evil and must be thoroughly trained in order to become good people. He further believed that man is born with natural inclinations towards profit, envy, hatred and desire and if left unattended, these mere inclinations can transform into attributes of strife, violence, crime, and wantonness. However, he also believed that there is no limit to how righteous an individual can become, but true goodness must be attained through thorough and continual learning and cultivation from the sages. Anybody and everybody can become virtuous, although not just anyone can reach the moral level of a sage. The key is to follow Confucianism, the Tao, and learning from the sages. Learning is the most essential concept in an individuals path towards righteousness. Hsun-tzu also made an apparent distinction between nature and conscious activity. By conscious activity and learning from the sages, and following the Confucian rites rigorously, he can transform himself into a morally good person. To further expand on his views, Hsun-tzu presented a number of arguments to convince the masses of people to see things from his perspective. Firstly, he felt that if a ruler is not subject to any limits or rules, then he would be unjust to his the citizens beneath him. This assertion is true sometimes, but not always. There have been exceptions throughout history that contradict this theory. Another argument he proposes is that the sage kings with their ritual principles took notice that people were born evil, and as a result, had to teach the common men so that they would be good. This logic may be deemed as flawed because it took place during th e ancient times and may not be applicable today or even true for that matter, as many individuals would strongly disagree with this claim. The final and most reasonable, although unsound, argument presented by Hsun-tzu is the contention that human beings are born with intrinsic desires naturally in them, and these desires are endless. These desires are never to be completely satisfied no matter how much a person tries to satisfy them. However, they can be controlled through learning from the sages and following the Tao, which is to be in harmony with the laws of heaven. Clearly, there are various positions that can be taken with regards to the true nature of man and Hsun-tzu was of the opinion that human nature is evil. This is a rather ineffectual view, as it can be easily disproven by the use of logic in examining the arguments he presents. The Problem of Evil is a subject matter of philosophy that has been around since the first days of scholarly discussion. The metaphysicians have held various positions on it with the correct position being that there is no real Problem of Evil, but only an apparent misunderstanding of what evil actually is and how it takes place. God may be seemed as the creator of evil in the sense that He is the creator of each and every single thing in the universe out of nothing. In spite of this, He is not the direct reason that evil continually comes into existence, but rather it is due to the actions of human beings and their misjudgments of what the accurate perception of good is that the evil comes to be. Hence, God is indirectly the cause of evil, while man is the direct cause. As for the natural disasters and occurrences such as floods or diseases that happen on earth, there is the perception of evil by human beings but actually there is good in all of these happenings. The All-Wise and Omniscient God is far above what any human being can ever imagine or become, so it is only logical that the humans perception has some weaknesses and shortcomings in it, while Gods does not. This can be likened to a baby in front of its parents; the parents know what is good for the baby while the baby does not even really know what is good for its self. Likewise, God knows what is good for the human beings while the human beings, even though they may think they know, do not unquestionably know what is right or wrong for themselves. As one can clearly see, due to the cumulative evidence provided, The Problem of Evil is not really a problem at all and may be accounted for if a person uses logic and reason to try and contemplate over the nature and characteristics of God. The Innate Nature of Man, as proven earlier, is not inherently evil and thus, by default, should be inherently good. Hopefully, in the future, people will begin to realize these realities so that they can cease to blame others, such as God, for their shortcomings and live up to their respective natures as being citizens with a natural propensity towards goodness and excellence in conduct.

Coputers In Modern Society :: essays research papers

Coputers In Modern Society   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Looking around at daily life, I noticed a pattern of computer oriented devices that make life easier and allow us to be lazier. These devices are in most daily activities ranging from waking up to an alarm clock that is computerized to watching the news before going to bed on a computerized television. All of these computerized facets of our society help to increase our daily productivity and help us to do whatever it is we need to accomplish in the day. The computer age is upon us and it will continue to grow in influence until society revolves around it daily without need for improvement.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In personal computers, the industry has began to create faster machines that can store much more information. For speed, the internal microprocessor has been tweaked to perform at high rates of speed. One such microprocessor is the Intel Pentium chip that is the fastest commercial microprocessor on the market. In addition to internal speed and to allow faster hook- up to the Internet, faster telephone lines, most notably the fiber optic lines, have been added, for an extra charge, to transfer data about 4 times faster than conventional phone lines (about 28,000 bits per second has been quadrupled to about 128,000 bits per second. As speed enhances, memory and storage space is needed to hold excess information. EDO RAM is a new, faster memory module that helps transfer RAM data twice as fast as normal RAM. For long term storage of large amounts of data, hard drives have been under a constant upgrade of performance, and it is not uncommon to find hard drives about 8-9 gigabytes on the market.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Along with technology, an ease of use factor has been instilled in the modern day PC's. The most notable ease of use enhancement is a GUI(Graphical User Interface), which allows the user to see a choice instead of reading about the choice. This is accomplished by using pictures and windows to simplify the choices. Windows 95 and the Macintosh OS both use GUI to simplify use. Another change in technology has been in almost putting manufacturing of typewriters into extinction. Offices are more and more turning to computers instead of typewriters because the computers integrate many office tasks in one machine, most notably the use of word processors. With the use of word processors on a computer comes the use of spell check which is only offered on a few typewriters.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The most growing part of the computer-oriented world is the Internet. It allows users to send electronic mail (E-mail), faster and more conveniently

Preparing To Conduct Business Research Essay

Introduction In conducting business research for the NFL organization instruments to collect data and conduct interviews will need to be used. The appropriate sampling and research methods will also be discussed for this research process. The NFL organization will see great benefits from conducting this research to reach the right conclusions about the problems they are facing as of late with their players violating the league’s personal conduct and substance abuse policies (â€Å"2014 NFL Fines/suspensions Tracker†, 2014). Their players have also been a part of many domestic violence arrests. (Morris, 2014). Sampling/Research Methods For this particular research, this study will require purposive sampling. The participants will have to be chosen arbitrarily for their unique characteristics, experiences, attitudes, or perceptions. Then as conceptual or theoretical categories of participants develop during the interview process, new participants will be sought out to challenge emerging patterns (Cooper & Schindler, 2014). The first two groups will have to be NFL players who have a history of being involved in personal conduct and substance abuse violations, and those who do not. Individual interviews will have to be conducted face to face during the player’s practices or other down time they may have. If they choose to participate in the study, individual interviews will allow each player to feel more comfortable sharing truthful information about themselves and their possible involvement in personal conduct and substance abuse violations. The interviews will be semi-structured in nature because semi-structured interviews develop a dialog between interviewer and participant, and use the skill of the interviewer to extract more data and a greater variety of data, and can achieve greater clarity and elaboration of  the participant’s answers (Cooper & Schindler, 2014). Instruments to Use to Collect Qualitative Information The instrument that will be used to collect this qualitative information will be survey via personal interview. This is because the depth and detail of information that can be secured is greater. The interviewer has the ability to improve the quality of information collected with this technique over any other methods. This is because the interviewer has the ability to observe the participants and see if they are having a hard time understanding questions and make it so that the participants can relate to them and feel more comfortable overall responding to them considering the nature of the questions that the NFL players will be answering (Cooper & Schindler, 2014). Appropriate Sample Method The appropriate sample method for this research is a probability sampling because personal records of the players are already on file and they can choose narrow down the candidates for the survey to determine the best ones. Although with all the care taken for the survey â€Å"some people will refuse to participate† (Cooper & Schindler, 2014). Due to players refusing to participate â€Å"sampling error is likely to rise† and the researchers would take that into account when determining the sample method (Cooper & Schindler, 2014). Sampling Frame The sampling frame that would be used for this research study would be drawn from the roosters of the current players that are currently held by the coaches. To increase the sampling group this would also include previous players that had been involved with the league (Cooper & Schindler, 2014). The researchers would pull from a â€Å"larger population and then use a screening procedure to eliminate those who are not members of the group† that the team wishes to study (Cooper & Schindler, 2014). Players have been accused of the infraction in the past or currently have a case pending will not be included in the survey. The players will be assigned numbers and chosen at random to be surveyed. Appropriate Sampling Size â€Å"How large a sample should be is a function of the variation in the  population parameters under study and the estimating precision needed by the researcher† (Cooper & Schindler, 2014). Due to the variance that could arise within the population the sample of the research would need to be larger to account for the variance (Cooper & Schindler, 2014). The sampling size will also be large due to the smaller error range needed to determine the punishments for the players that commit break the player code of conduct set by the league. Cost considerations would not affect the size of the sampling because the current and former players will not be compensated for their survey. Sample Size The sample size regarding this particular experiment will be determined as followed: the first sample group will be NFL players known for having a history in being involved in personal conduct and substance abuse violations and the second sample group will be NFL players who do not have a history in either of those regards. As of now in the 2014 season, 41 NFL players have been suspended for substance abuse or personal conduct that can be interviewed in the first group and the remaining 1,655 players to choose from in the second group (â€Å"2014 NFL Fines/suspensions Tracker†, 2014). Qualitative Methods Being Used The qualitative method being used in the experiment is survey by face-to-face interview. The benefit to a face-to-face interview is being able to observe and record nonverbal as well as verbal communication (Cooper & Schindler, 2014). It is believed that this method will produce the most honest, truthful data and in a study like this it is important to make your samples feel comfortable in opening up. Statistical Tests Being Used A powerful statistical test is recommended for this experiment. The number of players who have been suspended is too low, so it’s important to make sure the sample size will give enough data to make the experiment valid against the interviews done in the second group. Results and Conclusions The individuals that are in charge of gathering the data that is needed to create new policies for off-field incidences is going to make sure that they get everything they need to make new policies. They are going to want these  new policies to stay intact and not change every year. From the results, the NFL should be able to answer the original research question, â€Å"What should the off-field punishments be based on what the incident was?† In conclusion, the NFL was made aware that the policies for punishment of off-field incidences wasn’t strict enough. The NFL had to start by conduction interviews with players that were open to sharing information. The instrument that was used is qualitative information. The appropriate sample method for this research is a probability sampling because personal records of the players are already on file and they can choose narrow down the candidates for the survey to determine the best ones. Once all the information was gathered, the NFL was able to share the data by creating new policies for off-field incidences. References 2014 NFL Fines/Suspensions Tracker. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.spotrac.com/fines-tracker/nfl/2014/suspensions/ Cooper, D.R. & Schindler, P. S. (2014). Business research methods (12th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Morris, B. (2014, July 31). The Rate of Domestic Violence Arrests Among NFL Players. DataLab. Retrieved September 26, 2014, from http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/the-rate-of-domestic-violence-arrests-among-nfl-players/

Kohlberg`s Three Levels and Six Stages of Moral Reasoning

Lawrence Kohlberg, a professor of psychology in the University of Chicago, has created his own theory of moral development. The theory is based on children’s reasoning, when facing moral dilemmas, however, Kohlberg went far beyond that and created a common theory for all ages. Under his theory moral thinking passes through six separate stages, which are broken into three levels. This paper aims to provide a review of stages and levels proposed by Kohlberg.  The first level is PRE-CONVENTIONAL. This level is more characteristic for children, although it is sometimes passed by adults too. At this level an individual considers exclusively direct consequences of an action for himself. Reasoning at this level is purely egoistic and consists of two stages:Stage 1 An individual concentrates only on direct consequences for himself and the main moral deterrence is fear of punishment. Moral futility of an action is estimated by punishment. The more severe is the punishment, the worse an action is[1].Stage 2 is characterized by limited interest to the needs of others. However, this interest is of egocentric. A person is interested in getting something for himself for his/her moral behavior[2].  The second level is CONVENTIONAL. This stage is typical for most adults. At this level individuals compare the morality of their actions to social norms and expectations. This level includes the third and fourth stage of moral reasoning.Stage 3 is related to social roles. People act so, as their relatives, friends and members of their group act to receive their praise. Actions are evaluated in terms of personal relationships and social stereotypes. The main deterrence is fear of authority and fear of social condemnation[3].Stage 4 is similar to stage 3, however it is extended as actions are evaluated in terms of laws and social conventions. Individual needs are overcome at this stage and laws are attributed own value. A distinction between right and wrong in this stage i s created by culpability of an action.  The third level is POST-CONVENTIONAL is also called â€Å"principled level†. Actions are evaluated by an individual before they are evaluated by society. A person becomes morally â€Å"autonomous†[4]. The level includes stages 5 and 6.Stage 5 At this stage an individual comes to understanding, that people hold different views and opinions. Laws are understood not only as rules, but as useful social contracts. Those, who act against common good are considered to be morally bad and those have to be changed. The aim of morals is understood as â€Å"as much good for as many people as possible†, which is achieved by decision of the majority.Stage 6 is characterized by abstract reasoning and universality of ethical principles. An individual comes to understanding that any laws may be justified only to the extent they correspond those universal principles[5]. The social consensus is reached after â€Å"seeing the situation fro m another man’s eyes†. It is firstly necessary to get full understanding of all moral positions on the matter and after that a consensus between those positions should be reached. This action is validated by consent of every person, not only the majority.References1. Shaffer, David R. (2004). Social and Personality Development, 5th Ed, Wadsworth Publishing2. Kohlberg, Lawrence; T. Lickona, ed. (1976). â€Å"Moral stages and moralization: The cognitive-developmental approach†, Moral Development and Behavior: Theory, Research and Social Issues. Rinehart and Winston3. Rawls, John (1971). A Theory of Justice. Cambridge, MA: Belkap Press of Harvard University Press4. Kohlberg, Lawrence (1973). â€Å"The Claim to Moral Adequacy of a Highest Stage of Moral Judgment†. Journal of Philosophy 70[1] Shaffer, David R. (2004). Social and Personality Development, 5th Ed, Wadsworth Publishing, p.- 43                         [2] Kohlberg, Lawrence (1973). à ¢â‚¬Å"The Claim to Moral Adequacy of a Highest Stage of Moral Judgment†. Journal of Philosophy 70: 630-646 [3] Supra note                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              [4] Kohlberg, Lawrence; T. Lickona, ed. (1976). â€Å"Moral stages and moralization: The cognitive-developmental approach†, Moral Development and Behavior: Theory, Research and Social Issues. Rinehart and Winston p.-188    [5] Rawls, John (1971). A Theory of Justice. Cambridge, MA: Belkap Press of Harvard University Press, p.-201

Rules of Negotiation in Construction Contract Management

Rules of Negotiation in Construction Contract Management Negotiation role in contract management cannot be downplayed. It is the surest way through which companies and other multinational bodies secure tenders to undertake any project or even land a business deal. Negotiation itself takes place in between two or more parties and lead to a common resolution, an agreement for a common goal or course of action. It leads to overall content of the two parties and intends to achieve compromise. Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Rules of Negotiation in Construction Contract Management specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More For the success of the negotiation to be achieved, both parties must contribute. It should not be a monologue, but rather a dialogue. When the term negotiation is mentioned various aspect comes into play such as the venue, when or the time for negotiation, aggression in the push of the agenda, the role played among many other issues. Negotiation process normally revo lves around the issue at hand, preferably the pre-contract issue. In a more systematic manner the real process of agreement eventually follows. Unfortunately one of the parties may fail to confer to the agreed terms and conditions or even the indulgence of another third party that breaches the contract. This then trickles to a post- contract claim by the other party, which in the end may either lead to contract termination or restating of the contract afresh. In a more coherent manner the essay tries to give a simple summary of various rules of negotiation. For any negotiation to be a success in contract management, preparations must take place. To avoid any inconveniences that may result from date fixation, each stakeholder should be informed prior to match with their diaries. The days leading to the agreed date should be occupied with events culminating to the main negotiation event. These events may include, holiday trips, vocational meetings. At other times, the day of negotia tion may be placed in a tight schedule. The last minute rush leads to little or no time to gather the necessary information or indulge in constructive consultation. Ample time is essential for negotiation to be successful. The negotiator should arrange for the pre-meeting. The parties involved should see the importance of attending the pre-meeting. The meeting should not in any manner be treated with triviality, but rather crucial and essential. It is at this meeting that the plan for negotiation is drawn up and any discontent of the participants met. It should not be treated as a presumption that the participants have all the information necessary for negotiation to commence.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The pre-meeting serves to establish a negotiation plan and assimilate the necessary information. Contributions by each party are made at this area. Preparatory meeting also equip the negotiator with the necessary information that is needed sorting out what is of importance and discarding the irrelevant information. Relevant information helps in proper time management since it enables the negotiator to stick to the plan. It is also at this pre-meeting where the negotiator interacts with the participants through asking of questions. Any material of relevance is also submitted at this stage. The parties should not withdraw any information they regard to be of essence. The preparatory meeting is also involved in weakness identification of one party. The meeting drafts the counter measures to be used if the other party capitalizes on the weaknesses. The meeting also serves in identifying the kind of people one is dealing with. The information obtained from the preparatory meeting helps in planning. It gives the clear-cut objectives, for the negotiator and the other two parties and also how the objectives can be attained for compromise. This creates the avenue for an agreement to be reached. The objective of each group is identified together with their real needs. The background information for each group is also identified and the key information is fed to the lead negotiator. The real needs of the opponent are also taken into consideration as some of the issues raised may not augur well with the opposition. The issues raised should not be treated with negligence. The other side may easily not be coerced and it is very vital for the other party to know what these issues are. Once the issues are known depending on the progress of negotiation talks, it helps one to bring a breakdown in the negotiation talks. The most difficult parts for the opposition to yield should be taken into consideration. After the objective search, a well-established plan is laid out. Not everything that is planned succeeds, thus no matter how the plan is, there are inevitable events. However, the existence of a plan gives a stable framework thr ough which the ideas to be covered are dealt with without the divergence from the mainstream idea. It also helps to keep the negotiation talks on course. A negotiation plan should always be drafted taking into consideration each and every aspect.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Rules of Negotiation in Construction Contract Management specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The objectives for each party involved must be viable to help the lead negotiator comprehend the true stand. Both parties should also strive to be realistic. Being honest is crucial to the success of any negotiation. For the negotiator to strike a balanced deal, the negotiator must know the real truth. This is only achieved by thorough briefing to the lead negotiator. The plan should not at any moment exclude the intended structure of negotiation. If the discussion proceeds to the plan as intended, success can be achieved. A well-structured plan should have at least an opening position, the order through which negotiation will take place, the manner through which the issues will be raised. The most significant thing in any negotiation is for each team to define their respective roles and the contributions to make. Each member in the negotiation group should be briefed on the subject tackled and the process of negotiation process. The members in the negotiation process should have a role to play. In all negotiation talks the leader forms their epicenter thus should be respected. The leader is responsible for the success of any negotiation talks. He provides the guidelines to be followed. All participants should be case sensitive and pay attention. The worst thing that can happen to a leader is when the leading role is compromised. This drains down to deviation from the stipulated negotiation plan. Even though nothing goes as planned, both parties must stick to the plan. Diversion from the plan is the leader doing. No new informati on should be tabled without the consent of the leader. The teams involved should be united until the closure of the process. The credibility of the team is put into question if it appears to be divided. Any disagreement should not be made public, but should be treated discreetly. Sometimes it is of benefit to feign ignorance and evade some questions which may jeopardize the strength of the team. Questions which may seem to be obvious should be avoided. Questions which seem to be difficult for one to answer should be avoided especially those that are out of an individual profession. One should also be economical in answering questions. The questions should also be answered with a lot of certainty. Information should not be volunteered. This leads to objective lose and revelation of the secrets to the other group. Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In the push for their views the teams should be aggressive, but in a formal manner. Negotiations at any instance are not easy, but they are tough and time involving. The other aspect of negotiation is the attainment of satisfaction. Good principles should be observed after the process of negotiation.