Marple Leaf Shoes Company

Assessment of the performance system The company carries out its performance appraisal annually during which the supervisors assess the employees by awarding scores to various aspects of their jobs. The performance appraisal forms are simple showing the varied elements for employees’ assessment.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Marple Leaf Shoes’ Company specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The form contains eight aspects viz. quantity and quality of work, dependability and initiative at work, cooperativeness and communication, energy and enthusiasm and the employees’ socialization with co-workers. During appraisal, the supervisors should award scores to each aspect for each employee. This proves the process tedious given the large employees’ population. The supervisors undertake this operation in one day – 31 December, every year. The human resource department then carries out cumul ative ratings for each employee. To effect promotions within different departments, the human resource office uses the rated information. The office also uses the information during salary increment for the employees. Close examination of the appraisal exercise reveals that the process is tedious and time consuming, especially for the supervisors. The exercise is also subject to individual manipulation by the supervisors since the information contained in the evaluation forms is simple. The evaluation process is nonprofessional since the management has never offered training to the supervisors on how to carry out the process (Schwind, Das Wagar, 2009, p. 362). Due to volumes of the evaluation forms, the human resource personnel finds it difficult to retrieve any information required for promotions and salary hikes; thus rendering the process useless and a waste of resources. Recommendations First, the management should adopt a continuous performance appraisal rather than the curren t one-day practice. This method will improve the credibility of the evaluation process. As the case shows, the current exercise is vulnerable to manipulation by the supervisors and the human resource personnel. In fact, the survey conducted astoundingly revealed that, only 10% of the supervisors adhered to the rules of the appraisal (Schwind, Das Wagar, 2009, p.363). In order to root out this administrative malpractice, the management should design a new approach in which the supervisors have limited capacity to manipulate the process. Ideally, a continuous appraisal approach would enhance this achievement. Secondly, the human resource department should alter the content and format of the appraisal form. The aspects of initiative and dependability are indeed confusing, especially to such supervisors who have no skills in performance evaluation. Conventionally, initiative people are dependable.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! G et your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Therefore, in order to avoid the reigning confusion, the management should either combine the two aspects or remove the aspect of dependability. The forms should be designed in a way that, the supervisors retrieve most of the information from the past records of the employees. For instance, instead of using quality as an aspect, the evaluation should look into successes and failures of specific employees. This move will reduce the capacity and probability of supervisors providing wrong or predetermined information. Since the supervisors have to deal with more than 700 employees, the process is time consuming. Therefore, altering the content of these forms to reduce time expended shall save the company considerable costs. Finally, the management should provide training to the supervisors on appraisal performance because the training will make the process professional and therefore an important tool for decision-making by the human resource office. As a result, the company’s promotions and salary increment criterion shall be credible and satisfying to the employees and the management. Alternatively, the management can hire the services of an external professional to monitor the process. This move will ensure that the supervisors adhere to the rules of the process and hence make the process useful to the company. Reference Schwind, H., Das, H., Wagar, T. (2007). Canadian Human Resource Management: A Strategic Approach (8th ed). Ontario; McGraw-Hill Ryerson. Print. This essay on Marple Leaf Shoes’ Company was written and submitted by user Rudy Benton to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Painted Horse essays

Painted Horse essays To have a freedom, is to have unrestricted independence over a situation or decision. A perfect example of which, is the freedom of choice which all living things have. Alex Colvilles painting, Horse and Train, provokes a sense of wonder in the viewer by leaving them guessing what the outcome of this scene will be. In this scene, the horse is free to change direction, the engineer to engage brakes (National, 2000). Alex Colvilles, Horse and Train, symbolizes ones freedom to make choices. Alex Colville was born in Toronto in 1920 and grew up in Amherst, Nova Scotia, where his family moved in 1929 (National, 2000). His main influence in painting came after university when he became a war artist. He was sent to such places as the the liberated Belsen concentration camp (National Film, 1983), where he painted such soldiers and the deceased. Painting in such environments would bring out emotions and thoughts relating to such issues as, life, death, peace, and war. The theory of life and death can be seen quite apparently in Colvilles Horse and Train. Many questions regarding life and death are brought up by viewing this painting. Why is this horse running straight at the train? Is it memorized by the light? Is it challenging a foe? Is it aware of the terrible danger? If not, can the engineer stop the train in time? (National, 2000). By interpreting the horses thoughts one can realize that the horse is contemplating a serious decision between life and death. The horse, in a way, is raging against the machine. Its war is not against the train itself, but the idea of the industrial revolution in general. The horse is depicted as being, black, well-muscled, and confident. In the past, the horses uses were infinite. It was the main mode of transportation, it tilled the farmers fields, and it w...

The Point Sample Method of Timber Cruising

The Point Sample Method of Timber Cruising Ed. Note: The first essential step toward selling timber or timberland is an inventory. It is a necessary step which enables the seller to set a realistic price on both the wood and the land. The inventory and methods used to determine volumes are also used between sales to make silvicultural and management decisions. Here is the equipment you need, the cruising procedure and how to calculate the cruise. This report is based on an article written by Ron Wenrich. Ron is a sawmill consultant and has extensive knowledge on how to inventory your forest using the point sampling method. All links included were chosen by the editor. Equipment For a timber cruise, other equipment besides the angle gauge will be needed. Some like to do a systematic cruise where plots are taken at regular intervals throughout the stand. In addition to an angle gauge, a compass, and a property map, something to accurately determine diameter should be taken along. Plots Each plot will represent a 1/10 acre sample. Its a good idea to do a 10% sample and take point samples at 200 ft intervals. This is a little better than a 10% cruise, but it is easy to plot on a map and is easy to locate on the ground. For a 10% sample, every acre will need 1 plot. A 5% cruise can be taken by taking point samples at 300 ft intervals. There is no need to run cruise lines through fields or other treeless areas. It is also best to cruise when leaves are not a factor - spring and fall are best. Each plot will take about 5 to 10 minutes to locate and record, depending on conditions of both the area and the cruiser. Paces For point location, use a compass and pace system. But before starting it is important to know how many paces you take to make 100 ft. To do this, measure 100 ft on a level surface. Simply walk the distance to find how many paces it takes to complete 100 ft. (some people use 66 ft. or a chain to compute their grid using a chain length). When pacing it is important to remember that you are measuring level distances. On slopes, you will have to take a few more paces to find your level point. The more severe the slope, the more paces that are necessary. Brushy conditions will also make it necessary to slip a few paces, since your gait will be altered. Walking downhill will cause your gait to be longer, so not as many paces will be needed to compensate as walking uphill. Accuracy is not a factor in plot location, so if youre off, it wont impact your results. Point Samples Before the cruise, you will need to establish where your points are to be placed. Make a map of the property or you can use aerial photos. From a known starting point that can be found on the ground, start to run north-south and east-west lines in a grid at every 200 ft. for a 10% sample. Where the lines intersect is where the point samples are to be taken. Successive plots do not have to be all in one line. Turning to get a plot is helpful and should be used where there are natural obstacles, such as wet areas, etc. For the actual cruise, it may be useful to take some sort of staff along to keep track of your plot center. Ribbon can also be used. I always take it down when done with the plot. Cruising Starting at your known point, run your line to your first point. Along the way, you can mark on your map, anything that is of notice, such as a stream, road, fence, or timber type change. This will help if you are making a type map or are writing a management report. At the first point, take your angle gauge and count the number of trees that fall into your plot. For each plot, take note of each counted tree by species, diameter, and merchantable height. Diameters should be tallied by 2 diameter classes. Tree form may also be noted. Any pertinent information should be noted before moving on to your next plot. Also note any trees that you would remove at each point. This can be used as a preliminary cruise for harvesting. Keep each plot information separate. After all the lines are run, you will have a complete map of your property. Just connect where roads, fences and other occurrences intersect. Ronald D. Wenrich is a sawmill management consultant from Jonestown, Pennsylvania, USA. This Penn State graduate has logged timber, inspected treated forest products, been a mill foreman, procured wood, and is now a sawmilling specialist and consultant.

Forensic Analysis of Soil Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Forensic Analysis of Soil - Assignment Example Soils develop on these accumulated sediments because of physical and chemical weathering. The characteristic of the uniqueness of the soil such as horizon that has unique physical and chemical properties, color, structure, and texture are the common features that and in forensic analysis. Techniques currently used to characterize soil samples rely on either physical descriptors such as color, density gradient, particle size determination, and microscopy or chemical analysis chemical analysis such as elemental composition. However, these characterization techniques are not adequately capable of investigating organic compounds present in the soil. On the other hand, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) technique involves collecting a range of soil sample that has already undergone oxidative pyrolysis hence all organic have been degraded. This spectrum is spectrum is subtracted from the spectrum of the same sample that contains the organic prior to pyrolysis. The result IR spectrum represents the organic portion of the sample. Samples of soil collected from within the agriculture site where the murder scene is committed to the victim. After soil samples are collected from the surface to 3.4 below, the sample from the scene is compared with various color layers of different places several miles from the ‘agricultural site’ of the scene. Each sample is compared to every color in the Munsell Color Chart and is assigned a Munsell value. A second examiner later confirms each color assignment. The assigned values help to indicate the soil color both before and after pyrolysis is similar within the ‘agricultural site’. Color is a useful tool to distinguish soils that do not share a common color to show that they do not have a common source. Lastly, those soil samples that cannot be distinguished using color are submitted to a more rigorous analysis to eliminate common provenance.

3 QUESTIONS IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE and deviance Coursework - 1

3 QUESTIONS IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE and deviance - Coursework Example Ermann and Lundman (1982) also offer some suggestions on how to reduce occurrences of corporate deviance, such as â€Å"changes in corporate chartering, the protection of whistleblowers, and the punishment of executives involved in corporate criminality.† All these propositions must be taken together and combined with greater vigilance from the public. This includes ensuring that corporate wrongdoers know that their actions will not go unpunished. Yes, I think there are common threads apparent in the four articles in the book by Thio, Calhoun and Conyers (2008.) One clear apparent commonality is that it demonstrates that human beings who are victims of violence do not always react to violence in the way that other people might think to be commonsensical. Instead of automatic resisting or abhorrence of the abuser, we see a complex mix of pity, self-blame, guilt, feelings of helplessness, and this is true for mothers who are victims of their children’s violence (Jackson, 98), stalkers from previous relationships (Dunn, 94) and battered wives (Bates, 89). This is also true for victims of exclusion who then found themselves as sexual molesters (Lawson, 108.) Also, these articles demonstrate that motivations for committing crimes are more complicated that we think and have psychological motivations. Akers and Sellers (2004) described psychological theory as one wherein the understanding of crime can be traced back to an und erlying personality or psychological disorder. 3. Are there identifiers visible that would indicate potential self-destructive deviance? If so, what are they and what can be done once observed? If not, what can be done to attempt to identify indicators of future self-destructive behaviour? Yes, the research in the field of self-destructive deviance have shown some possible indicators of suicidal tendencies, although the research is also quick to point out that

HR Strategic aspects of the labour market and Managing organisational performance Essay Example for Free

HR Strategic aspects of the labour market and Managing organisational performance Essay The economic events occurring during the last two decades provide indications and evidences that the area of human resourcing has significantly changed in response to the emerging complexities of the discipline. Perhaps, among the primary components of corporate organization, the dynamics of human resourcing appear to be the most challenging as well as complex. Experts in the area of Human Resource Management (HRM) invariably agree that the surging demand for a new organizational role for the human capital. Even the usually common terminologies used to describe the HRM processes, such as labor contracting, training and development, performance evaluation, have been recycled to outsourcing, learning and growth or performance management systems. Many even replaced, such as personnel to human resource to human capital, to describe in more sophisticated way, the new character of human resourcing. Still, HRM practitioners are of the opinion that changes will continue to pervade the HR area and may soon take or evolve into new competencies again. Torrington’s Views: The HRM discipline and the Labour market Torrington presents the burgeoning labour issues confronting many organizations as propounded by theorists and practitioners. Indeed, the complexities of human resourcing are invariably revealed in the documented HR practices compiled by the author, who has been keenly observing that the area of human resource management is beginning to undergo a form of transformative process where the task s, positions and the organization virtually mutates into its more sophisticated form. Based on data provided by the author and taken from a report, there is a general shortage of workers especially the young sector. In the area of healthcare, the National Health Service (NHS) is spending ? 1bn annually on temporary, agency and locum staff. According to Laing and Buisson, well known heathcare analysts, the demand for agency staff is expected to increase across public and private healthcare sector in response to the long-standing manpower shortages in practically every healthcare occupation. The author adds that the size of the market for manpower has risen by more than four times during the two decades commencing from 1992. Even the NHS had to triple their budget expenditures during the same period. Torrington estimates this sector is worth ? 2. 4bn in the market. However, the core of the problem has shifted to the quality of care that many temporary staff provide, thus the decision to reduce manpower outsourcing, Here, the need to get better deals from agencies is becoming paramount as new alternatives of human resourcing in this sector is being addressed. The author concludes by proposing an appropriate response system through flexible staffing solutions. Torrington highlights the strategic aspects of resourcing to respond effectively to the critical messages demanded and manifested by the labor market trends. Here, he analyzes the need to adopt certain flexible resourcing choices that will focus attention either to the ready-made or home grown human capital. The labor market trends bespeak of the dilemma faced by the human resourcing industry in general. A number of recommendations are provided to address this set of HR issues – the retention strategy. The retention indicators point to a disturbing trend at the charts. The issue of retention and its corresponding techniques and strategies has been brought into the open as a result of the need to assuage the cost of transfers, job and even career shifts. The author brings the issue of turnover rates and trends as indicative of HR instability in many sectors while exacting some forms of costs on the organization as a result of new rounds of resourcing and the need to adopt staff retention strategies. Torrington insists that organization strategies versus HR strategy issues not only should be HR-driven but primarily must mutually provide a perfect fit. The author discloses the strategic aspects of performance how these are driven by HR policies and processes as practiced. This is implied to mean that a change in perspective be made in the human resourcing function: from taking control of the employment processes to a more significant HR function of managing performance. True enough, this shift in focus may have been long wanted to smoothen human capital transitions to work excellence. This further suggests that efforts are better spent on ensuring that performance management becomes the primary driver of the HR function. A number of firms have found better insights into this form of HR shift considering that the new HR performance processes adds relevance and more meaningful roles for HR theorists and practitioners rather than just the documentary and aspect legalese of human resourcing. The author proposes the adoption of a performance management system that translates into organizational performance anchored on the knowledge and learning processes as HR initiatives. Here, the proactive roles expected of the HR practitioners are deemed directed towards gradually converting the company into a learning organization where the human capital competencies are planned, managed and nurtured. Performance management system indeed is a critical need as with the 360 degree feedback system. Conclusion Torrington proposes a two-dimensional performance appraisal system based on individual and team perspectives. He emphasizes management of employee performance guided towards organizational and personal goals and objectives and an objective appraisal system to measure extent of accomplishment based on target setting. A sequential and step-by-step approach is propounded with a component critique system based on an overarching 260 degree feedback system. A comparison and contrasting view of performance management system (PMS) and its environment of procedures indicate that the PMS has and is being widely used in organizations out to harness the potentials of its people. The degree of effectiveness indicates the variability of conceptualization and implementation, but nonetheless removes the major irritants in people management that ultimately affect the relationship as well as the performance dimensions of each of the component of the human capital sponsored primarily by senior management. Thus, the proactive nature of the PMS approach entitles it to wider adoption and desirability among organizations aiming to address many of its human resourcing issues. Subject 2 Performance Management System: Linking Organizational Goals Torrington outlines the essential factors in managing organisational performance showing how a Performance Management System (PMS)links to organisational goals. Concrete and abstract benefits and disincentives are identified and benchmarked with industry practices guided by the universal principles and theories of performance management. As practiced, performance management systems commence from the goal and target setting based on the requirements of the job. Here, employees and workers are clarified in the objectives of their positions, the requisite competence, and the learning and growth perspectives if the job as well as the compensation based on how the organization assesses the relative important of the task. The use of the PMS has been tested widely and has proven to be more effective than the traditional evaluation system. This is because of the inclusion of a compendium of measures that ensures that organizational goals are aligned with the specific tasks assigned to the employee. From the targets, agreements on the degree and how these targets are achieved under quality processes are laid down and the PMS target setting contract is accomplished. Thus, the use of the PMS allows the following benefits to accrued to both the worker and the organization: among others, expectations are clear and scope and limitations of the jobs are understood by both sectors; employees can clearly predict and manage their own levels of performance based on targets as well as the needed support to accomplish the tasks; there is an objective system of evaluation and appraisal that removes subjectivity and abstract judgments; when provided with an incentive and reward systems, PMS becomes effective as a tool and basis of rewards and incentives; and, there is a better working relationship between the worker and his superior based on earlier agreements and covenants. Likewise, PMS considers possible constraints and limitations on both sides, thus alternative measures are agreed for the degree of performance resulting from the occurrences of such constraints and impediments. For the organization, the benefits are clear in terms of stronger motivation on the worker; budgeting can be integrated into the system through measurable and appropriate inventive and rewards system; the subsequent appraisal and evaluation system allows for an ideal atmosphere for the discussion of the evaluation and appraisal results to encourage future performance based on areas that additionally needed reinforcement and support. In addition, PMS encourages both individuals and teams to be evaluated based on targets that are aligned with the organizational goals. On the other hand, the disadvantages of adopting a Performance Management System (PMS) includes the requirement for a more detailed procedures and measurement system that may prove to be too elaborate and complex for the worker to understand and appreciate. Likewise, the process of documentation in support of the performance is considered difficult and tedious. Further there is no assurance that performance can indeed by achieved as there may be unforeseen circumstances not considered during the target setting completed before the start of the performance period. (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, Wright, 2008) Nonetheless, there is a need to study the organizational culture on whether the latter would help the system or otherwise. Conclusion Taking into account the benefits and disadvantages of Performance Management Systems (PMS), the absence of a more measurable, objective and comprehensive system of measuring and evaluating performance is non-existence despite the presence and utilization of good measuring tools and instruments. This is the complexity of the new HResourcing strategy that allows greater flexibility and uniqueness in the approach to managing performance. On the overall, the rationale for adopting PMS far outweighs the need to ignore the benefits provided by this new system. Often, the major constraint in adopting PMS is whether the organizational culture would allow such a change in the system. Thus, the efforts may indeed be tedious, but nonetheless, there is strong desirability in the system that will be more advantageous to every stakeholder in the PMS environment system.

Women Empowerment by Demystification of Motherhood :: Free Essay Writer

Women Empowerment by Demystification of Motherhood Patriarchy has tactfully created a myth that motherhood is the only sphere that is essentially ordained for women. Women as a sex are considered to be the natural reproducers of mankind - naturally supposed to be the child bearers and rearers. Patriarchy celebrates this innate capacity of women as the so called woman – power. It indulges in an exaggeration of the motherly values of nature. Self effacement, unconditional love and devoted service are demanded from women for the perpetuation of patriarchal norms. This results in an idealization of motherhood which confines women to their role as nurturers. Feminists from the West, recognise this vicious trap – that patriarchy elevates motherhood and misleads women is order to exploit and circumscribe them. Feminists maintain that motherhood as constructed by patriarchy is highly oppressive. It is far from being a liberatory and enriching experience for all women. It has been very important to contest the point of patriarchy that happiness comes only through motherhood and attack this myth which denies women their range of possibilities and opportunities. Betty Friedan relates the true essence of motherhood in her book The Feminine Mystique : Motherliness is a way of life. It enables a women to express her total self with the tender feelings, the protective attitudes, the encompassing love of the motherly women (58) But patriarchy misuses it as an instrument to subordinate women as a whole. The experience of maternity has been channelled to serve male interests and to stabilize the patriarchal laws as the universal law for women. In addition, the sanctity of motherhood is accepted only when acknowledged by matrimony. The man made society commands that motherhood is valid only within the bounds of marriage and it desecrates unwed motherhood as a curse for women. Simone de Beauvoir puts this aptly : Maternity in particular is respectable only for married woman; the unwed mother remains an offense to public opinion, and her child is a sever handicap for her in life. (482) The feminists of the West understand the tyranny that goes on behind the glorified label of motherhood. Patriarchy’s motive is always to enslave women and motherhood serves as a powerful way in enabling them to do it. Motherhood, as â€Å"rewarded† to women by men, only serves to hamper the progress of both women and their children. . The social responsibility of the caring of children lies entirely on the mothers and they are expected to devote their time and their entire self on their children.

Apple iPhone Essay

â€Å"Apple introduced the original iPhone back in 2007, instantly obsoleting every other smartphone on the planet in every way that mattered† (Ritchie, 2013, p.1). Within the next two years Apple came out with the iPhone 3G and 3GS which they were able to increase the functionality while simultaneously lowering the price, this allowed Apple to take the smartphone fully out of the niche and make them mainstream (Ritchie, 2013). Apple was able to bring the iPhone to broader carriers and faster speeds along with better displays and more natural language interfaces with the iPhone 4 and 4S. The iPhone 5 has taken manufacturing to new levels and screen to new heights but the biggest change is iOS 7 along with the iPhone 5s and 5c. With smartphones we are able to have immediate access to the internet which allows us to access any information with n seconds instead of having to wait until we have access to a computer. We are able to make reservations, look up movie times, find recipes, shop online, update or Facebook status, and find a local doctors office within minutes. Smartphones allow us to have more of a social presence. Even more businesses are focusing on having a mobile site as part of their marketing strategy. More people conduct all of their internet needs on their smartphone because you are able to download hundreds of apps ranging from calendars, to-do lists, emails, games, books, movies, and music. On my personal phone I have word, excel, and PowerPoint, I do not use them but if I left my computer at home I would be able to connect my phone to a laptop and conduct a presentation from it. In the next three to five years I feel that smartphones and tablets will take over and will be what businesses use to conduct business transactions. I think that businesses will soon stop excepting cash and strictly only accept debt and credit cards. This would eliminate some business expenses by switching to tablets instead of cash registers; it would also speed up the checkout process. If this were to occur the software industry would have to re-design to find more effective and efficient ways to give users the proper interfaces they need at the speed that they want to complete their tasks.

Public Administration

Journal of Public Administration and Policy Research Vol. 4(2) pp. 23-31 March, 2012 Available online at http://www. academicjournals. org/JPAPR DOI: 10. 5897/JPAPR11. 049 ISSN 2141-2480  ©2012 Academic Journals Review Ethics in Public Administration D. Radhika Ph. D. Research Scholar, Post-Graduate and Research Department of Public Administration, Anna Adarsh College for Women, (affiliated to the University of Madras) Chennai-600040, Tamilnadu, India. E-mail: [email  protected] com. Accepted 23 February, 2012The modern world has seen an increase in interest in the areas related to the ethics of the sovereign good. A number of studies have focused on this subject matter and several academicians have exposed a number of ethical and philosophical dilemmas related to the concept of ethics in public administration. Despite the increasing number of studies that have focused on the importance of administrative ethics, there has been very little effort spent on identifying what exactly constitutes the crux of ethics in administration.The objective of this paper is to review the implications of the basic principles of ethics for public administration in the context of new public governance and discuss their impact on different administration imperatives which in turn act as the determinants of ethics in public administration. This review will also focus on the importance of ethics in new governance practices (privatization, decentralization, debureaucratization, devolution of budgets etc. ,) with reference to the push and pull of ethics and administration and how ethics mindsets and basic approaches to administration and governance can be changed.Key words: Ethics, public administration, ethical imperatives, ethics and public administration, ethics and morals. INTRODUCTION Since the 1970s there has been a great deal of change associated with the implementation of administrative ethics. These changes have been promoted and motivated by the concept of public administ ration in the new era. An important position is given to the concept of ethical issues in today’s civil governance. There has been a great deal of research associated with this concept which has been supported by translation of evidences and theories into practice across different continents.Frederickson and Ghere (2005) address both the managerial and individual/moral dimensions of ethical behavior as well as new challenges to administrative ethics posed by globalization. As promoted by Cooper (2001) ethics in public administration is not a transient concept but has proven to be an approach which has shown a great deal of sustainability which is fundamental to the area of public administration. Public administration has certain issues with regard to ethics implementation and finds it troublesome to come to terms with them. One reason for this is because ethics is embedded in an intellectual framework.This framework is based on stable institutional as well as role relationshi p levels, among both public employees as well as the organization. According to the views of a number of researchers (Bang and Sorensen, 1999; Keast et al. , 2004; Rhodes, 1996; Sorensen, 2002, 2006; Sorensen and Torfing, 2004; Stoker, 1998), current government perspectives believe that clarity and stability at these levels would be problematic. Despite the increasing number of studies that have focused on the importance of administrative ethics, there has been very little effort spent on identifying what is exactly the crux of ethics in administration (Cooper, 2004).This lack of directed research in the dynamics of operations with regards to ethics in public administration along with constant changes in the principles and policies associated with administrative ethics need to be examined. These developments have raised new topics for concern in this field. One example which can be cited at this juncture is the emergence of the concept of egovernance which would require the identifi cation of a whole new paradigm of ethics in public administration. This article tries to identify the ways in which administrative policies in public organizations can be 24 J.Public Adm. Policy Res. promoted and managed by adopting an effective and novel ethical approach. It would be prudent to mention the â€Å"ethics framework† here. The ethics framework (Bosseart and Demmke, 2005) is a voluntary, non-legally binding European Code of Ethics. It reflects the basic common values and standards which member states consider important for the proper functioning of public service. It comprehensively discusses the general core values, specific standards of conduct, actions to safeguard integrity and measures on handling situations where there has been possible violation of ethics.It helps to structure the discussion on public-service ethics and it serves as a toolkit or general guideline for the development of codes of conduct at a national and subnational level. Originally, the e thics framework identifies general core values that should be common to all member states. These values are the rule of law (â€Å"lawfulness†), impartiality/ objectivity, transparency (â€Å"openness†), accountability, professionalism (â€Å"expertise†), and duty of care, reliability (â€Å"confidence, trust†) and courtesy (â€Å"service principle†).If it is believed that these are the core values, then they should be fully recognised in every country. Public-service ethics is an issue that is taken seriously in every member state of the European Union. However, member states are at different stages of development and measures that are considered necessary in one country may be deemed irrelevant in others. The ethics framework has had a greater impact on those new member states that are currently fighting against corruption.In the case of old member states, the Framework has had smaller impact since the core values have traditionally been an integ ral part of their administrative culture and many of the tools proposed in the Framework were already in use. For example if one considers Portugal, an old member state where the administrative culture is traditional and core values are already a part of the administrative framework there are alterations in the form of codes of conduct which can be proposed in order to promote ethics in public administration.However the norms and regulations associated with the old administrative culture were not modified or removed. This resulted in two different viewpoints being promoted by the same government. This has resulted in a great deal of tension between traditional administrative culture and the new concepts of quality in public administration. NEW PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND ETHICS Globally the concept of privatization has been promoted in new public administration. It is seen that this concept is related to the measures which promote establishment of efficiency and efficacy leading to ev elopment of quality deliverance of public services. In the research conducted by Savas (2000), the concept of â€Å"privatization in new public management†, is promoted. Further identified by Walsh et al. (1997) introduction of new market mechanisms which promote effective implementation of public services in organizations is identified. Walsh in his research has identified that privatization in governance in the United Kingdom has resulted in a new paradigm, which has promoted transformation of both organizational and cultural needs.The purpose of these reforms include reduction of cost relating to the actions of the governments, identification of measures to reduce the direct impact of action of public employees and bringing about a variation in the overall views of the government by the public. This type of privatization maneuver not only challenged the current realities associated with ethics in public administration, wherein administrators were considered as technical pr ofessionals, but also identified the type of functioning that does not take into account good judgment on the part of employees.Accordingly, intellectual proponents of the ethical perspective were responsible for the first noteworthy approach of public administrators’ ethical obligations and the importance of citizen participation in administrative decisions (Cooper, 2004). This has long been in place in developed countries across the world as seen with the NPM concepts promoted by Ronald Reagan in USA and Margaret Thatcher in the UK. REINVENTING GOVERNMENT As seen by Osborne and Gaebler (1992), it is observed that reinventing the government assumed importance in Bill Clinton’s administration.In his era, new concepts of public administration with regards to two different areas were promoted. The first, involved identification of factors which promoted the productivity of governance and the second involved setting a new vision and mission policy. It was proposed that th e productivity of governance can be increased by adopting more ethical measures in terms of distinguishing between the results and quantity of resources used. The use of a new mission policy will satisfy the needs of the general public. These measures may be identified to be less drastic when compared to the concept of privatization of governmental organizations.However this idea can be promoted and productivity increased only when there is a change in attitude towards current concepts of established hierarchy in governance. A move should be made toward promotion of methods to identify flexibility, centralization and concentration of public administration aspects. These aspects may be considered to be an intermediate solution to privatization. If it is not possible, delegation mechanisms can be a solution. With regard to the ethical position, the researcher advocates that privatization may not alter the fact that the responsibility of the state towards its citizens will be met.Radhi ka 25 Different processes which are to be supervised and controlled need to be realized by the government because ultimately the accountability and ethics of the action of the government to its citizens is needed. The scope and responsibilities of public administration changed due to the dynamics of new public management systems such as privatization, decentralization, debureaucratization and citizen partnership that are essentially new public management techniques and practices drawn mainly from the private sector and increasingly seen as a global phenomenon.These concepts shift the emphasis from traditional public administration to public management which accorded ethics a central position. The purpose of public service is to essentially fulfil a citizen’s basic requirements. Rocha (2000), observes that groups calling for professional management of public administration argue that they are more efficient and effective than the existing framework. They call for breaking down large institutions into manageable centres, thus allowing for independent functioning as part of the new economic institutional ideal.MORALS: THE RISE OF ETHICAL REASONING ABOUT MORALS Snell (1976) has maintained that it was Socrates, the founder of moral philosophy who enquired into the nature of ethics as his thoughts led him to the inner person rather than the external physical factors in 5 B. C. Morality’s choice of good and sound ethics was a natural means of developing a strong moral fibre. Socrates also felt that knowledge and morality were interrelated and one could not be moral if one did not know what morals were and what was good for mankind. Thus, he thought of virtue as being the centrepiece of nowledge and reasoned that virtue was knowledge. All thought and action therefore had to emanate from the knowledge of what was good or bad and then, be judged by ethical and moral standards. This would then lead to true happiness. (Vlastos, 1991), states that it was Socr ates’ idea that morality be linked to happiness because he felt ethics was about knowing what was good. Socrates’ thoughts also reached the common man through discourses and debates, and intense conversations, which constantly probed, questioned and thus, evoked reactions and insights while testing his views and theories through his now-famous dialogues.He felt constant engagement with the questions of virtue. He believed that morality would make people better as they would focus more on their own moral standards. DETERMINANTS ADMINISTRATION OF ETHICS IN PUBLIC public sector include: 1) The political construct of which public administrators are a part 2) The legal framework 3) The administrators and public employees who are responsible for the provision of public services 4) The citizens and users of public services that are a part of the civil society.First, the determinants of ethics in public administration with regard to the individual attributes of public/civil se rvants include ethical decision-making skills (Richardson and Nigro 1987), mental attitude (Bailey, 1964), virtues (Dimock, 1990; Dobel, 1990; Gregory, 1999; Hart, 1989), and professional values (Van Wart, 1998). Secondly, the organizational structure dimension is explained by clear accountability, collaborative arrangements, dissent channels, and participation procedures (Denhardt, 1988; Thomson, 1985).Third, the political organizational culture includes artefacts, beliefs and values, and assumptions (Schein, 1985). Leadership is important in the development, maintenance, and adaptation of organizational culture (Scott, 1982; Schein, 1985; Ott, 1989). Ethical behavior is encouraged when organizations have a climate where personal standards and employee education are emphasized, where supervisors stress the truth, and where employees regularly come together to discuss ethical problems (Bruce, 1995, 1994). Finally, societal expectation includes public participation, laws, and policie s.The advanced set of fundamental principles or criteria that integrate the process of dealing with ethical dilemmas in public administration are: 1) Democratic accountability of administration, 2) The rule of law and the principle of legality, 3) Professional integrity and 4) Responsiveness to civil society. This can be described as the ALIR model of imperatives of ethical reasoning in public administration. The research by Parsons (1964) presented the concept of ‘evolutionary universals in society’; wherein there are aspects associated with the identification of issues related to public administration ethics.In his Evolutionary Universals Parsons tied his functionalist theory to an evolutionary perspective and argued that, like biological organisms, societies progress through their ‘capacity for generalized adaptation’ to their environment. This is achieved mainly through processes of structural differentiation; that is, the development of specialized ins titutions to perform the social functions necessary to meet increasingly specialized needs. However, this increasing complexity then requires new modes of integration, in 1 The major determinants of administrative conduct in the ALIR- Accountability, Legality, Integrity, Responsiveness 26 J. Public Adm. Policy Res. order to co-ordinate the new and more specialized elements. This is achieved via the principle of the ‘cybernetic hierarchy’ or the increased information exchange or the growth of knowledge. Evolution is then from traditional to modern societies, and progress can be charted via the development (structural differentiation) of evolutionary universals such as bureaucratic organization, money and market complexes, stratification, and the emergence of generalized universalistic norms.Each of these enables a society to adapt more efficiently to its environment. The concepts of ALIR and Parsons’ evolutionary universals have some commonalities from the point o f view of public administration. The identification of a new type of governance which promotes evolutionary universality will be vital in democratically identifying the rule of law which is capable of carrying out its role as well as taking into consideration the tasks of the civil society. The researcher feels that this type of interdependence and connection will help in distinguishing between various concepts of ethics in public administration.This will also help extend morally and effectively the following four functional concepts: 1) Accountability of public bureaucracy which helps identifies the relationship between legitimate actions and its link to administration. 2) The rule of law and legality wherein public administration should be governed by the law. 3) Concepts of professional integrity and autonomy among public administrators which will ultimately help promote the principle of meritocracy. 4) Concepts of responsibility and immediate action of public administration to i ts citizens.Consequently, the artful application of such a set of moral commands in concrete situations and circumstances will bear witness to the particular kind of ethical reasoning that a specific administrative system or public institution is able to achieve and sustain. PRINCIPLES OF ETHICS It is important to concentrate on the two leading models(ethics of the sovereign good and ethics of the service of goods) that are involved with ethical thoughts and actions within the public sectors. Furthermore, we will also compare and contrast them with the collaborative ethics that were mentioned above.It has to be kept in mind that we are not taking any particular or specific approach but rather will be taking the modern understanding of could be called â€Å"vulgar Kantianism† or a â€Å"vulgar utilitarianism† (Harmon, 2005). Ethics of the sovereign good The ethics of the sovereign good is nothing but the set of guidelines based on which an individual acts. The ethics of the sovereign good is identified to be a set of values from which the different views on ‘what is good’ can be judged. It can be commonly seen in real world scenarios that many people have different versions of the same ethical concept.People try to twist the concept to fit their needs based on their conception of the â€Å"good†. Therefore it is important to identify the viewpoint that holds the true spirit of the ethical guidelines. Michael (2005, 2003) makes a compelling argument in â€Å"The public administration†, with regards to the ethics of the sovereign good. According to him it can be called ‘principled morality’. In his argument he talks about why one should not act on the principles set by the ethics of the sovereign good. An important reason is the issue of opposing principles.According to him, not all conflicts can be resolved by basing it on the ethics that are subscribed in the sovereign good. This is because ethics does not t ake into account a large number of variables that other principles apply to that particular scenario. The primary issue with the ethics of the sovereign good is the fact that it refers to itself as the absolute last word when it comes to ethical decisions. Another issue is that it tends to assume an attitude that is raw linguistic positivism.One reason why the ethic of the sovereign good is so appealing is that it tends to transcend beyond the individual and looks at the bigger collective when it comes to defining proper ethics. Therefore it will not solve the individual issues but will rather lead us into an unrecognized and impossible (from its perspective) aporia. Ethics of the service of goods The values that are promoted by the ethics of the service of goods are mainly efficiency and maximization of the inputs to outputs. Basically there are three aspects which are important when it comes to the service of goods.They are logic of reciprocity, its view of the collective, and its criteria for judgment. It can also be clearly seen that the ethics of the sovereign good are mainly targeted towards the market. At the very core, service of goods is based on mutual exchange. Basically it assumes that people are rational and have the freedom to choose what goods or services they want. Thus, if an individual likes a particular good/ service; he/she can enter into an agreement with a suitable trader on the terms for the purchase of the same service or good.In exchange the individual can offer monetary resources to compensate the trader for the services and goods that they have provided. This is an amicable process that is disrupted only when someone fails to deliver the goods as per the terms agreed to. This will result in the decline of the social good. However in the case when everything is going smoothly, what is good for the individual ends up being good for the collective Radhika 27 whole. There have been a lot of questions that have been directed towards the e thics of the service of goods.The questions that are raised are often related to the presumption of self-interest and about the ability of people to know their true interests. These questions are considered to be problematic for reasons both empirical and logical. According to different researchers (Bauman, 2001, 2005; Catlaw, 2009), viability is an issue since the ethics of the sovereign good tends to legitimize everything as long as it promotes trade and therefore in the long run has a tendency to wear away minimal stability . This stability is needed for an intelligible world with better ethics.It neglects the problem that one must always ask â€Å"efficient to what end†? â€Å"Or â€Å"good for whom†? Following this line of thought different imperatives need to be understood in the context of ethics in administration which are discussed subsequently. ACCOUNTABILITY IMPERATIVES The distinction between politics and administration, which forms one of the most classic doctrines of modern political science and public administration (Easton, 1953), connotes not only their division of functions and their structural separation but also the subordination of the latter to the former.This stream of thought also feels that politics is superior to administration and that the government controls the administrative machinery. Bureaucrats are loyal to their ministers, who in turn are loyal to the legislature, which is loyal to the people as they are their countrymen. Thus these ‘people’s representatives’ hold the administration accountable in the interests of the general public. Ministers are accountable to the Parliament and not civil servants and hence civil servants have to act as per the orders of their ministers whether they are in agreement or not as long as the law is not circumvented or breached.Subordination of civil servants to elected representatives who act as law-makers and policy-setters forms a sine qua non precondition of democratic politics. When the bureaucracy and administration usurps power, which does not belong to it; the bureaucracy (civil or military) enters the political arena, undermines representative democracy and subjugates politics and government to its own interests and commands. Thus, it falls upon the civil servants to work diligently under the legislature as these representatives actually reflect the will of the people. They also have to apply considerable restraint in partisan politics nd while expressing their personal views. Thus, democratic virtue is not a part of the core value of public administration and neither can the parliament usurp public service institutions for its own political ends. Modern governance celebrates the different roles and responsibilities of politics and administration as it leads to higher efficacy of both functions and that is an important part of moral and personal integrity-the ability to be able to tell the truth to the powers that be. LEGAL IMPERA TIVES Administrators have to respect the legal framework and act within its bounds thus rendering all government action legitimate.Law is a universal concept in both politics and society. (Reichstadt, Etat de Droit). Max Weber sees the action of a state within the law as the third way of legitimizing authority with the other two being, charisma and tradition. Once the administration works within the realm of the law, it automatically sets forth for itself a series of controls and regulations. Power flows from the people and thus all power must be used for the good of the people, a fundamental requirement of most democratic constitutions. Governments and administrations therefore have no choice but to work within the legal framework.Thus, the way the judiciary implements these laws which are there to ultimately serve the people forms the core of the legal determinants. Brown and Duguid (2000) state that courts ensure that the law will be followed during the discharge of public duty a nd that no injustice or partiality will do and that power will not be abused. Constant monitoring and protection of the law has to be a priority if administrative reforms are to take place. Even Aristotle commented that the law should be supreme in the eyes of the people and should operate without any interference.THE INTEGRITY IMPERATIVE Chapman (1959) states, as professional ethics entered the administrative space so did the need for studying public administration and defining its scope and determinants. The nation states of Europe among others 2 have taken steps to professionalize the government. (The ethics framework and the European code of ethics) Ministers guide the bureaucracy which discharges its public duties in conformity with the law. They are chosen on the basis of special criteria and procedures which govern their recruitment, career path, discipline, and scope etc.Professional virtue brings with it integrity and acceptance of the hierarchical dominance of the governme nt but works under the authority of the law. Argyriades (1996) observes that civil servants are the permanent officers of the transient politicians in Parliament. Their competency from experience, knowledge, depth etc. , helps them assess ground realities and advise the parliament and implement public policies in an effective manner in the interest of the public. The essential 2 The ethics framework: Available on http://forum. europa. eu. int/ 28 J. Public Adm. Policy Res. eatures of a professional public service which would include knowledge of expertise, of judgement and conduct in accordance to standards, as well as commitment to the field comprise the following: 1) Recruitment should be carried out on the basis of tests and merits conducted by separate bodies and governed by regulations that are independent of politics and political systems. It should take place impartially and solely consider merit and achievements. Merit, therefore is a huge determinant of integrity and autono my. 2) Self governance should be stressed on by administrative councils to promote corporate spirit and professionalism.Experience and length of service as well as achievements and performance must be taken into account for promotions. 3) Training and education should increase professionalism in government and administration as a whole. Professionalism in public service can be seen in people who have a very good knowledge of the job in which they are working at, their expertise and talent and their ability to adhere to the highest ethical standards. Thus a true professional is one who has an adequate mix of expertise, knowledge and experience and also those who can meet the public’s expectation of them.The general public and society have certain guidelines for various professionals who are expected to adhere to these standards. For example, corruption is frowned up on by the general public and therefore a true professional would be expected to follow such practices. Otherwise , the profession is deprived of an essential precondition of its claim to legitimacy. Corruption can be a major obstacle in the process of economic development and in modernizing a country. The greater recognition that corruption can have a serious adverse impact on development has been a cause for concern among developing countries.In a survey of 150 high level officials from 60 third world countries, the respondents ranked public sector corruption as the most severe obstacle confronting their development process (Gray and Kaufmann, 1998). Countries in the Asia and Pacific region are also very worried about this problem and they are in substantial agreement that corruption is a major constraint that is hindering their economic, political and social development, and hence view it as a problem requiring urgent attention at the highest level.An example of how corruption can affect a nations’ stability that can be cited at this point is the pandemic bureaucratic and political in stability in Nigeria which is the main cause of democratic instability in the country. Ogundiya (2010) argues that democratic stability will be difficult to attain as long as corruption remains pandemic and unchecked. According to Hegel (1967), â€Å"What the service of the state really requires is that men shall forego the selfish and capricious satisfaction of their subjective ends; by his very sacrifice, they acquire the right to find their satisfaction in, but only in, the dutiful discharge of their public functions†. It may be inferred from the aforementioned that there exists a link between the universal and particular interests. The government employee would then be expected to follow a code of ethics consolidating professional virtue and integrity. Another advantage of this is that by doing so, their self confidence and motivation will rise. This is applicable for any professional in any country. Integrity can be achieved through self control in administrative conduct based on ethical standards.THE IMPERATIVE FOR RESPONSIVENESS According to Hegel (1967), public servants worked solely for the state and not for society as it was the first, which determined the choice of citizens. The society as opposed to this was viewed by Hegel as being a total of specific and contrasting desires. This then became the sphere of the particular, of concrete persons with their own private ‘systems of needs and the efforts to satisfy them. Whereas the state served the general interest, civil society was the state of partial interests.In this somehow dichotomous idea of social construction, individuals actualize themselves while partaking in various activities in civil society and ‘in becoming something definite, that is, something specifically particularized' (Hegel, 1967). The state, however, with its system of governance and law provides the underlying conditions by which individuals and their actions may find their fullest fulfillment. For that reason , the state was for Hegel the ‘actuality of the ethical idea', that is the unity of the universal and the particular.Hegel’s ideas could be more properly comprehended if it is considered that he lived in a nation where many of the people were basically subjects with no role in the functioning of the government and hence a political life and convention such as the English have had was almost negligible. His work was an effort to spread awareness among the Germans about the political aspects of life. Gellner (1996) and Argyriades (1998) observe that without an expressive and self-sufficient civil society, no political life and even less democratic polity is likely to grow and flourish.Hence, civil society has been thought of as one of the most crucial requisites for freedom and democracy. The idea that was advocated by the beginning of the twenty-first century was that the state must neither direct civil society nor be submissive to it. Rather it should stress and pitch i n the task of building social capital to the advantage of the human race which is involved. Hence, juggling an alert state and an active civil society poses a good plan for improving the standards and the future for democratic tasks.In this respect, the ‘civic virtue' of ethical reasoning in state action entails that public institutions be responsive Radhika 29 to society and pay attention to the needs and demands of the people, facilitating access to services and creating an enabling environment for sustainable human and social development. (Bovens, 1998) states, alertness is not confined to market authorities but is majorly involved in the citizens’ role in to every extent and in every tier of the government, and it also involves giving power to people in human groups.Responsiveness also entails consultation in governance and the promotion of a kind of ‘communicative ethic’ (Habermas, 1987) in societal affairs. The transition, however cumbersome it may be , from the command type of authority over people to more communicative types of reasoning and administration of things seems to emerge as a radical paradigm shift in societal affairs. In this context, civil society not only furnishes the state with needs and demands of an individual nature, but also with valuable sources of information, feedback criticism and evaluation of performance.Therefore, notions like decentralization, de-bureaucratization, privatization and citizen participation loom large in the repertoire of reform programmes and practices of many contemporary administrative systems, and affect the interface between civil society and the state. It also influences the interaction between the state and the civil society. (Buchanan, 1985) observes that society has ceased to be just the concern of state actors and molded by bureaucracy, on the contrary it is now in the purview of the active citizen’s concern.Naturally, ‘a country's view of public administration re flects its underlying philosophy of society and the state' (Chapman, 1959). State officials are affected by the way the public at large regards them. Eventually, civil servants forming a middle-class profession, par excellence, acquire the features that society expects of them. Public administration forms a partial regime in the societal complex; it is part of the state, which is subject to a distinct ‘ethic of responsibility' – in the Weberian sensevis-a-vis the society. The ideas of alertness and accountability and answerability have some similarity.These ideas also have overlaps. In spite of the number of meanings they have, it cannot be ignored that the basic aspect concerns duty and the preparedness of civil servants to honestly rationalize and defend their moves for public good. NEW ETHICAL APPROACH Denhardt and Denhardt (2002) argue that public administrators influence, and are influenced by, all of the competing standards, values, and preferences of the complex governance system. These variables not only influence, and are influenced by, public administrators; they also represent points of accountability.They plead for a â€Å"new public service† instead of â€Å"new public management† under the slogan â€Å"serving rather than steering. † Maesschalk (2001) defines the new public service approach as a viable third alternative to the observed dichotomy between â€Å"the old public administration† and â€Å"the new public management,† paying considerable attention to the development of a new ethic for public servants. The new public service authors largely join the traditionalist group in their negative assessment of the ethical consequences of NPM reforms.They propose new mechanisms in which â€Å"the primary role of the public servant is to help citizens articulate and meet their shared interests rather than to attempt to control or steer society. † It is necessary to have a management which makes available the standardization of professional ethical values, and an Aristotelian procedure of absorbing constant adjustments. This achievement resides in true ethics-based politics, which is standardized and universal. It is a must to move from forced bureaucratic demands to more agreement-based behaviour for public good.Thus the current reality needs creative methods and clubbed techniques. Hence we recommend that a public governance moral structuring could include the following aspects: 1) Instruments for answerability 2) Supervising systems through local and outside question forms 3) Forging of helpful measures to motivate moralistic attitudes award ethical acts 4) Application of audit techniques at an Intergovernmental level 5) Official socialization (for example, structuring, knowledge and guidance) 6) Establishing of whistle-blowing mechanisms cautiously 7) A greater plea for an active citizenry. ) Outlining managerial tasks 9) Effective communication. Management of ethics Th e concept of ethics is naturally reliant on genuine political desire. In this manner there is sufficient scope to establish a holistic moral code in an inclusive, organised fashion. Stand-alone steps are of no use. By evolving certain mechanisms for moral functioning, one can provide solutions for conflict of ethics, difficulties, and other scenarios.It is also helpful to encourage the growth of instruments and techniques which can predict difficulties related to ethics and beneficial to propose solutions in a more agreeable manner. Unsurprisingly, the basic principle and aim of worthy administrations are, according to Aristotle, to habituate citizens and civil workers to the inculcation of virtue. This is validated by the events in states, for law makers who mould citizens to act properly by inculcating good habits in them. It is the desire of every law maker and as for 0 J. Public Adm. Policy Res. those who cannot succeed; this is what distinguishes an effective polity from a bad one. Aristotle is of the view that the main role of the governor is to facilitate moral literacy for citizens. To be able to do so, he or she will need a lot of awareness, knowledge of virtue, and that kind of awareness can only come through a perpetual quest and enquiry about things and acts. Morality is basically about questioning. This is the main advantage of human life else it is an unworthy life.Life which has not been exposed to tests is unacceptable to humans said Socrates, in his exceptional Apology (38 A) for a moralistic stand in life. Dealing with administration ethical dilemmas in public Hart (1961) states that at the time of facing basic queries about what to do and which manner to behave in complicated scenarios and the degree to which opposed values or choice factors could be used in the scenario, one ventures in the region of ethical confusions or of â€Å"hard choices†. A dilemma is a concept which is broader and more exacting than a problem no matter how to ugh or complicated it is.The reason is that dilemmas, unlike problems, cannot be solved in the terms in which they are initially presented to the decision-maker. Being entangled in a dilemma, the choice-maker is not just confronted with contradictory and unwanted substitutes, worse, the impossibility of their being matched also means that they are separate in the sense that one can only be fulfilled if the other is not taken care of. Hence a scenario of a dilemma could result a no-win game in which the decision of one worthy substitute is always adhered to by the negation of the other.Addressing the dilemma in such a fashion would then be an opposition in terms and an aberration as the answer which is arrived at would appear to be no good and signify a complete break-up of the entangled factors of the matters to be solved. A difficulty could however be managed properly if the conditions of reference changed and the entire scenario was restructured so that focus be given to all optio ns which are organised and connected among themselves in a more orderly and sensible way. Obviously, dilemmas are many in complicated establishments, which cannot solve them properly.As an outcome, state officials and civil servants witnessing sharp dilemmas cannot but help being confused and embarrassed unwillingly. In such scenario, public governance rather than operating in the manner in which it is supposed to, lapses into a condition of chaos and uncertainty. It is in this case that moral ambiguity and lack of lucidity about larger values to direct choices and tasks in hard events may cause unbridled scepticism and a cynical attitude. Naturally, dilemmas abound in complex organizations, which fail to tackle them effectively.As a result, state officials and civil servants exposed to acute dilemmas can hardly help succumbing to a state of confusion and embarrassment in which they are often quite unwillingly thrust. In circumstances like these public administration instead of func tioning as a well ordered state of legitimate purposes degenerates into a state of confusion and indeterminacy. It is then that the case of ethical vagueness and lack of clarity about overall values to guide action and choices in ‘hard cases' comes about in administration.But if everything stands and anything goes, then nothing can be taken seriously, neither ethics and values nor rights and duties of public servants and citizens alike. The growing group of basic tenets or aspects that unite and restructure the procedure of handling ethical dilemmas in public governance are: (1) democratic answerability of governance, (2) the application of law and the notion of legality, (3) official honesty, and (4) alertness to civil society needs. CONCLUSION Even prior to the close of the twentieth century, it was apparent that states, governments, and public entities were venturing into an era of change.This was basically a period of change and not a model-based shift from dictatorial, ce ntrally-powerful states to increasingly free and consultative kinds of social communication between the people and the administrators. A different set of equations between politics, economy, culture, and civil society has been the trigger for new research on more inputs and restructuring of the responsibilities of the state and those of the public services with regard to the society and the economy. The planning for moral improvement in the public sector throws up uge questions impacting the nature of democracy, law, motivation and ethics in the public domain, and the state’s communication with civil society. There is not much uncertainty that clashing demands can make governance appear inconsistent. As a matter of fact, every one of the ALIR requirements for moralistic rationalizing if taken to its extreme would be a big hurdle rather than an asset. Some disagreements between constituents of an entity which upset the state of larger conditions can only be set right if justic e at par is given to every one of them; or rather if it dispenses what is apt to all.Not surprisingly, for Aristotle justice is the balance of passions and actions, and moral virtues reside in middle states (Lasswell, 1971). The basic aim would therefore be not the triumph of one principle or ethical imperative over the other, but rather the reduction of incongruence among them and the provision of conditions for their harmonious coexistence, mutual support and complementary fulfillment. Turning mutually exclusive dilemmas into solvable problems would then require a holistic and reflexive approach to Radhika 31 ethical reasoning.Thus modernity and change in public administration is not just applicable towards the civil society but also the civil service and public administration in a number of different ways both locally and internationally. Therefore when it comes to public administration, ethics must provide a fair degree of flexibility when it comes to framing a rational decision . It can be seen that public administrators are best placed to answer someone’s need. Thus, there is a pressing need to place morality and ethics first in the public administration of today. 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The Boxer Rebellion essays

The Boxer Rebellion essays Around 1900, after many years of succumbing to the superior military of the West, the Chinese stood up for their country. China was a weak, backwards, country, exploited by the West. They felt that they could counter the foreign domination, but reforms were useless because they needed the West to help with the reforms. But something sparked their confidence, and they believed themselves to be able to conquer any foreign power. This spark was the Society of Harmonious Fists, commonly known as "Boxers." Combined with unhappy people, and new weapons technology, the Chinese rebelled against the foreign The first reason of this confidence was the Boxer Society, which formed in North China after the Sino-Japanese war, but wasn't well known until 1898 in Shantung. This organization was actually a cult, following strange and absurd practices of defense. It had no central leaders, and the practices varied in different locations. Their goal was to rid China of the foreign menace. The boxers were different from most other rebels of their time. They would conduct public physical exercises that were supposed to make a magical shield to protect one against foreign bullets and shells. These looked similar to a boxers training exercises so the westerners nicknamed the members of the Society of Harmonious Fists "Boxers." Rather then using foreign weapons, they relied on magical spirits and swords, knives, staves, and polearms to drive the foreign devils from their precious home country. The membership of this group consisted of mostly the criminals, poor, and illiterate of China who wore a simple uniform consisting of a red armband, sash, or waistcloth. These people truly believed that magic would protect them, and help remove the foreigners from China. That gave them enough confidence to try to destroy the foreigners. Missionaries were killed, ra ...

Understanding the Gist of the Matter

Understanding the Gist of the Matter Understanding the Gist of the Matter Understanding the Gist of the Matter By Maeve Maddox Ive begun to notice the misuse of just for gist in the expression gist of the matter. Admittedly, many of the occurrences appear in informal comments at the end of blogs and articles, but Ive also found examples in formal pieces written by writers who should know better. I think I got the just of the matter. Though I also suspect that I missed a few points†¦ The just of the matter is that it isnt Christ that fell short, when you mess up, it is you. I think that [it] is very hard to please men†¦The just of the matter is, either they like you or they dont. The just of the matter is, whenever you hear something about biofuels and biorefining, keep an open mind and never assume that what you’ve heard about it in the past applies now. gist    1. Law. The real ground or point (of an action, indictment, etc.). 2. The substance or pith of a matter, the essence or main part. The noun gist in the gist of the matter, derives from Anglo-French legal phrases that included the word gist in the sense of the verb lies.; for example, cest action gist, literally, this action lies, from French gà ©sir, to lie, from Latin jacet, it lies. The meaning of this action lies was this case is sustainable by law. Other ways to say the gist of the matter are: the heart of the matter the most essential thing to know or remember the main point Here are some examples of the correct use of gist on the web: Sometimes we crunch data and painstakingly calculate choices and positions, and sometimes we rapidly and automatically seize on the essence, the simple value, the gist of the matter. The gist of the matter can be found on Lisa’s post, as well as a rather lengthy discussion Microcontent: Sometimes You Just Need the Gist We now come to the gist of the matter. That, in our opinion, is what the real gist of Lenins thesis on the identity†¦of dialectics†¦[is]. I found a business podcast called The Gist of the Matter. Theres also a web application called Gist. It analyzes email and summarizes the content based on perceived importance sorted by time, people, attachments, communication frequency, or companies. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Passed vs PastEmail Etiquette75 Synonyms for â€Å"Hard†

The study of Society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The study of Society - Essay Example For example, carnivorous animal like tiger or lion dependents on the annihilation of its prey like deer or rabbit for survival. The deer and rabbit themselves depend on living vegetation for food and survival. These situations are part and parcel of our daily lives. Hence, it escapes our notice and attention for major part of our lives. They have been so prevalent and ingrained as a phenomenon that we have failed to sufficiently go into the underlying forces and factors that influence them. It is not that attempts were not made. Biology as a branch of science has emerged because of the curiosity about various life cycles and their influences on environment as a whole. The study of biology and environment provides rich insight into their various forms, forces and marvels on micro and macro scales. From the budding of a flower to the formation of thunder, lightning, and volcanic eruptions, this world is one example of the vast terrain of greenery and marine life that hides innumerable volumes of destruction and glory biology and environment have witnessed. (Judith Lorber). The genetics of living objects and their mutability is currently one of the most modern branches of science. Genetics help in mapping pre-historic existence, DNA, deeper understanding of organisms, etc. Generally, the existence of biology is assured through the cycles of births and deaths, pollination, and other factors. We are aware the earth is no more home to gigantic and monstrous dinosaurs and theriomorpha simply because of its inability to sustain these. Other forms of life are also becoming extinct due to man's inroads into the domain of flora and fauna, causing conflicts heavily one-sided in favor of man. The intrusion of man into natural resources like gas, oil and metal is also causing environmental hazards inimical to biology. (Will H. Courtenay). At present, it is premature to decisively conclude biology's role in shaping destiny. Nevertheless, it is difficult to think in terms of destiny without biology. From microbes to plants, animals and humans, biology overwhelmingly dominates the physical framework of living objects. However, there is no evidence to state with confidence that biology has the capability to metamorphose and consequently shape destiny. II. Marx's views to contemporary period Introduction The working pattern and culture have changed radically over the past few decades. The changes have been driven mainly due to rapid advancements made in technology during this period, globalization, and the internet. The new pattern brought along changes and transformations from the organizational to individual levels. It metamorphosed the organizational hierarchy, improved efficiency, shook the mandarins of power, and weakened the trade unions. The information age following closely on the heels of the electronic era did much to advance the causes espoused by the manifesto of the communist party. On the demographical scale, the gap between the bourgeois and the proletariat increased, the rich and poor divide widened, the illiterate class felt the pangs of lacking in education, and prompted those with poor knowledge of the English language to quickly learn