Kants Categorical Imperative Essay Example for Free

Kants Categorical Imperative Essay Kantian ethics is a deontological, absolute theory proposed by Immanuel Kant in the late 1700’s. Kant taught that an action could only count as the action of a good will if it satisfied the test of the Categorical Imperative. The categorical imperative is based around the idea to act solely for the sake of duty. For example, you should share your sweets because it is a good thing to do; not because it makes you feel good. Consequentially, Kant would justify the good feeling you do when you perform a good act as a bonus not a reward. This opposes the hypothetical imperative which is where you act simply so you receive a of reward of some sort. The categorical imperative is based upon universable rules; maxims. These maxims are absolute moral statements that Kant says should be used everywhere by everyone and should thus never be broken. For example, do not kill. Additionally, the categorical imperative does not take individual situations into account. This means it is applicable to all situations and very straight forward to follow considering that everyone allegedly has the innate knowledge to follow these rules; for example do not steal. However, since it is absolute it means you must ignore any emotional influences on your decisions. Kant’s morals truths are revolved around following reason, not feelings. For example, if you have to choose between saving your grandfather or an unknown baby; the baby should be saved considering it has longer to live and more potential. You must ignore any temptation to save your relative due to your emotional attachment because you know reason does not justify that decision. Unlike the hypothetical imperative, the categorical imperative uses ends not means so is non-consequentialist. Therefore, it is wrong to use someone or something to achieve a certain outcome. For example, to be kind to my mum simply so she gives me money to go shopping. Kant would object to this instance in that you should be kind to your mother since it is your duty to respect your parents and be a kind person. Kant believed in a kingdom of ends. This idea is if everyone followed universalisation we would all be treated with equal respect. Furthermore, the Kantian theory is based upon the concept that good will joined with duty accounts an action as good. â€Å"It is impossible to conceive anything at all in the world which can be taken as good without qualification except a good will†. Thus good will, to â€Å"act for the sake of duty†, should a priority in your actions in order to fulfil your purpose not for external motives. This duty is innate within every person as a priori so an individual’s experiences, or lack of, cannot justify an action which does not follow good will. Kant believed numerous qualities for example, courage, intelligence, ambition and honour all to make a situation morally poorer. Kant also introduces the idea of the Summun Bonum. This is derived from Kant’s postulates of practical reason; aspects that are necessary within his theory for it to work. Firstly we must have freedom in order to use the innate knowledge we attain to follow duty and good will to achieve good. The Summun Bonum is the ultimate goal for everyone to aim to achieve in order to accomplish the ultimate reward. This reward points towards the existence of a God since one can only attain Summun Bonum in the afterlife; it is not achievable on earth. This means someone must be in the afterlife to give reward you what you deserve. Furthermore, this makes sense of the inequality in life. For example, paedophiles living happier lives than charity workers. Kant would say your good will must be repaid in the afterlife. b) â€Å"Kant’s ethical theory has no serious weaknesses† (Jan 09) Kan? an moral ethics is an absolute, non-consequen? alist, deontological theory proposed by Immanuel Kant. It is divided into two categories; hypothe? cal impera? ve and categorical impera? ve. The hypothe? cal impera? ve is when an act depends upon something else whereas the categorical impera? ve is an independent ac? on. A main weakness to Kant’s ethical theory is the fact that it is revolved around ful#lling your supposed duty. But who decides your duty? And what if you have two conic? ng du? es, for example you to #ght for your country but also to support your family; which do you priori? se? There are no guidelines as to which to priori? se. Furthermore, there are no guidelines how to face not priori? sing your emo? onal a)achment. By not having any considera? on for your feelings, this theory has a massive weakness since you have to be very strong willed to convince yourself Kant is correct. Especially if you were ever actually put that posi? on it seems unrealis? c anyone would chose to apply these rules, for example to save a stranger over their family. However, people may object saying a key strength to Kant’s theory is that it is a simple, absolute theory that by being applicable to all sta? ons is allowing for all people from all backgrounds and circumstances to understand as long as they have ra? onal thinking; according to Kant all human beings have. â€Å"Everyone who is ideally rational will legislate the same universal principles† Pojman (2002:147). Another unavoidable weakness to Kan?an moral ethics is that his universable laws are not applicable to all situa? ons. For example, do not lie. Should we follow that and make someone unnecessarily distressed? Kan? an ethics is not a consequen? alist theory however humans ae naturally compassionate and sensi? ve for a reason. Furthermore, from this we can deduct that your reason might not be the best thing to do. It is not guaranteed since it does not take consequences into considera? on. There are some situa? ons which require consequences to be considered since the outcome is so severe it seems kinder just to break a rule. However in response to this some people may say a prime strength of Kant’s theory is that Kant has a great respect for human beings autonomy. Therefore, a lot of dignity is carried with his theory that we have the ability to use our own ra? onal. In conclusion, Kan? an ethics de#nitely has some serious weaknesses due to the unrealis? c priori? sing of those you don’t have emo? onal connec? ons to, the fact it is not clearly applicable to every situa? on and addi? onally that it is based upon following your ‘duty’ of which is a weak concept itself for reasons explained.

A Child Labour In India Children And Young People Essay

A Child Labour In India Children And Young People Essay Child labour is undoubtedly a human rights issue. It is not only exploitative but also endangers childrens physical, cognitive, emotional, social, and moral development. It perpetuates poverty because a child labour, deprived of education or healthy physical development, is likely to become an adult with low earning prospects.[1]This is a vicious cycle which apart from ruining the lives of many results in an overall backwardness in the masses. Moreover, conceptualising child labour as a human rights issue gives the victim with the authority to hold violators liable. Human rights generate legal grounds for political activity and expression, because they entail greater moral force than ordinary legal obligations. Children are right holders with the potential to make valuable contributions to their own present and future well being as well as to the social and economic development of the society and thus they should under no circumstances be perceived as passive and vulnerable. Today, traditionally prescribed interventions against child labour which were welfare based like providing a minimum age for work are being replaced by rights-based approach. A rights-based approach to child labour needs to be adopted which puts internationally recognized rights of children to the center while utilizing UDHR, ICCPR and ICESCR as a supportive framework. Child labour is a condition from which the children have a right to be free and it is not merely an option for which regulating standards must be devised. In this paper we shall firstly trace the slow orientation of child labour laws to include human rights perspective internationally, and then evaluate current Indian laws and policies from a human rights perspective II. A Human rights approach to child labour Initially, scholars were unsure over extending human rights to children.[2] For instance, the 1948 Universal declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) emphasises that everyone is entitled to all rights and freedoms set forth in the declaration but makes no age qualification to the same. So it is unclear whether it extends to children. However, Art.4 of UDHR has been interpreted as prohibiting exploitation of child labour by interpreting servitude to include child labour.[3] In addition, Articles 23 and 26 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights seek to guarantee just and favorable conditions of work and the right to education, both of which are violated constantly and globally through the exercise of the worst forms of child labor. In 1966 the International Covenant on economic, social and cultural rights (ICESCR) and International Covenant on civil and political rights (ICCPR) took significant preliminary steps towards modifying human rights according to age, by defining childhood as a state requiring special protection, with rights distinct to those of adults.[4] Even so it was not until 1989 that the Convention on Rights of Children (CRC) clearly spelt out the rights of the child while giving them a special status apart from the adults. Thus, it should not be surprising that early international legal efforts to address child labour tended to be abolitionist in tone and treated as an aspect of labour market regulation.[5] Next, a prioritization approach was adopted where concentration was on the more abusive forms of child labour. So the ILO adopted Convention 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labor, 1999, aimed at the immediate elimination of intolerable forms of child labor. The convention requires signatories to work with business groups to identify hazardous[6] forms of child labor and introduce time-bound programs for eliminating them. Conventions 138 and 182 are recognised as core International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions but unfortunately human rights groups have done much to criticise it. They argue that this artificial division of hazardous and non-hazardous forms of child labour is artificial and made only for the benefit of labour regulations. Child labour in any form is very harmful and exploitative for the children.[7] Secondly, child labour, as defined by ILO is work done by children under the age of 12; work by children under the age of 15 that prevents school attendance; and work by children under the age of 18 that is hazardous to their physical or mental health. It is an economic activity or work that interferes with the completion of a childs education or that is harmful to children in any way.[8]Such an age based classification is incongruous and is behind time.[9] The right to a childhood cannot be replaced by placing such age barriers which imply at least some work could be done by children at even age 12! Where is the best interest of child seen in such laws? Fortunately, a human rights approach to child labour was soon adopted by Convention on Rights of the Child (CRC) in 1989. Such rules focus not only on the avoidance of harm to children but as well, on regulation of employment relationship in which working children find themselves and beyond that, on rights of children to education and to participate in decisions that affect their lives, including those related to their employment. This holistic view of child labour as only a part of a childs life is principally what sets human rights approach apart from the labour regulation approach.[10] However, some critique of CRC feel that categorizing child labour as a special category has trivialized their rights and have made them weak and in need of an adult advocate. Conversely, the defenders of CRC argue that it is through this classification that children gain more rights with legally recognized interests which are specific to their stage in life cycle. The slavery convention, 1926 and Supplementary convention on abolition of slavery, the slave trade, institutions and practices similar to slave trade, 1956 entered into force in 1957 prohibits slavery like practice under Art 1. In recent times Child labour has been read as a slave like practice as it involves economic exploitation. Since children are more vulnerable than adults and are dependent on their parents, it can be assumed that when they are economically exploited by their parents or by their consent, the decree of dependency necessary for work to b qualified as slavery like practice will be attained in most cases. In the light of ICCPR (art 8(2)) and Supplementary convention on abolition of slavery, the slave trade, institutions and practices similar to slave trade, 1956, Art.4 of UDHR should be interpreted as prohibiting exploitation of child labour as child labour comes under servitude. Child labour also comes under the term forced or compulsory labour in Art.8(3) of ICCPR. The obligations of state parties under art 8 are immediate and absolute. Thus state parties have to prevent private parties from violating child labour norms. Art 24, ICCPR obliges the state to protect children from economic exploitation. III. Convention on rights of child United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is the first legally binding international instrument to incorporate a full range of human rights such as civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights for children. The Convention offers a vision of the child as an individual and as a member of a family and community, with rights and responsibilities appropriate to his or her age and stage of development. By recognizing childrens rights in this way, the Convention firmly sets the focus on the whole child. The Convention under Art.32 speaks of economic exploitation of children by making them perform work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with the childs education, or to be harmful to the childs health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development. The Convention spells out a childs right to education[11], as well as identifying the forms of harm to which children should not be exposed. Other rights given to children include right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health and to abolish traditional practices that are prejudicial to childrens health (Article 24), a right to a standard of living adequate for the childs physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development; parents have the main responsibility for this, but governments are required within their means to assist parents, as well as to provide material assistance and support in case of need(Article 27) and a right to rest and leisure, to engage in play and recreational activi ties appropriate to the age of the child. Article 22 specifies that refugee children have the same rights as all other children. Article 6 of the convention makes it the obligation of the governments to ensure that children are able to survive and develop to the maximum extent possible while Article 11 urges governments to prevent the illicit transfer and non-return of children abroad. Under Article 19, Governments must take action to protect children against all forms of physical or mental violence, injury, abuse, neglect, maltreatment or exploitation, including sexual abuse[12] and must provide special protection and assistance to children who are deprived of their own family environment under article 20. Article 35, requires governments to take action to prevent children from being trafficked while articles Article 36 and 39 requires governments to protect children against all other forms of exploitation prejudicial to any aspects of the childs welfare and to help children recover from exploitation, neglect or abuse (particularly their physical and psychological recovery and return and reintegration into th e communities they come from). Two other provisions in the Convention are also vitally important for working children. Article 3 says government agencies and other institutions taking action concerning a child or children must base their decisions on what is in the childrens best interests. Article 12 emphasises that when a child is capable of forming his or her views, these should be given due attention, in accordance with the childs age and maturity. Other conventions of interest include Optional protocol to the convention on rights of child on sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography and Optional protocol to the convention on rights of child on the involvement of children in armed conflict both adopted in May, 2000. IV. India and its International commitments India has ratified six ILO conventions[13] relating to child labour but have not ratified the core ILO conventions on minimum age for employment (convention 138) and the worst forms of child labour, (convention 182) recognised as the core conventions at the international labour conference which makes it mandatory for the international community to follow certain standards in their crusade against child labour. Nevertheless, India has taken commendable steps to eliminate child labour. The recent right of children to free and compulsory education Act, 2009 and the preceding 86th amendment exemplifies the same. Furthermore, the passing of Juvenile Justice (care and protection) Act, 2006 shows Indias commitment to a human rights approach to child labour. The Act emphasises on looking into the best interests of the child and allows for social reintegration of child victims. In such a scenario India not signing the core labour conventions does not make a difference in the fight against child labour. India is a party to the UNdeclaration on the Rights of the Child 1959. India is also a signatory to the World Declaration on the Survival, Protection and Development of Children. More, importantly India ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child on 12 November 1992.[14] Other important international initiatives against child labour include the adoption of the first Forced Labor Convention (ILO, No. 29), 1930, Stockholm Declaration and Agenda for Action: States that a crime against a child in one place is a crime anywhere, 1996, establishment of 12 June as the World Day Against Child Labor in 2002 by ILO and the first global economic study on the costs and benefits of elimination of child labour.[15] V. Indian laws on child labour The present regime of laws in India relating to child labour are consistent with the International labour conference resolution of 1979 which calls for combination of prohibitory measures and measures for humanising child labour wherever it cannot be immediately outrun.[16] In 1986 Child labour (Prohibition and regulation) Act was passed, which defines a child as a person who has not completed 14 years of age. The act also states that no child shall be employed or permitted to work in any of the occupations set forth in Part A or in the process set forth in Part B, except in the process of family based work or recognised school based activities. Through a notification dated 27 January 1999, the schedule has been substantially enlarged to add 6 more occupations and 33 processes to schedule, bringing the total to 13 occupations and 51 processes respectively. The government has amended the civil service (conduct) rules to prohibit employment of a child below 14 years by a government employee. Similar changes in state service rules have also been made. The framers of the Indian Constitution consciously incorporated relevant provisions in the constitution to secure compulsory primary education as well as labour protection for children. If the provisions of child labour in international conventions such as ILO standards and CRC are compared with Indian standards, it can be said that Indian constitution articulates high standards in some respects The constitution of India, under articles 23,24, 39 ( c) and (f), 45 and 21A guarantees a child free education, and prohibits trafficking and employment of children in factories etc. The articles also protect children against exploitation and abuse. Equality provisions in the constitution authorises affirmative action policies on behalf of the child. The National child labour policy (1987) set up national child labour projects in areas with high concentration of child labour in hazardous industries or occupations, to ensure that children are rescued from work and sent to bridge schools which facilitate mainstreaming. It is now recognised that every child out of school is a potential child labour and most programs working against child labour tries to ensure that every child gets an education and that children do not work in situations where they are exploited and deprived of a future. Similarly, there are other programmes like National authority for elimination of child labour, 1994 (NAECL) and National resource centre on child labour, 1993 (NRCCL). Recently, government of India notified domestic child labour, and child labour in dhabas, hotels, eateries, spas and places of entertainment as hazardous under the child labour (prohibition and regulation) Act, 1986, effective from 10-10-2006. National human rights commission has played an important role in taking up cases of worst forms of child labour like bonded labour. In 1991 in a silk weaving village of Karnataka called Magdi it held an open hearing which greatly sensitised the industry and civil societies. It also gave rise to new NCLP programmes.[17] VI. Judicial reflections Judiciary in India has taken a proactive stand in eradicating child labour. In the case of M.C. Mehta v. State of Tamil Nadu and Ors[18], this Court considered the causes for failure to implement the constitutional mandate vis- ¿Ã‚ ½-vis child labour. It was held that the State Government should see that adult member of family of child labour gets a job. The labour inspector shall have to see that working hours of child are not more than four to six hours a day and it receives education at least for two hours each day. The entire cost of education was to be borne by employer. The same was reiterated in Bandhua Mukti Morcha v.UOI[19] and directions were given to the Government to convene meeting of concerned ministers of State for purpose of formulating policies for elimination of employment of children below 14 years and for providing necessary education, nutrition and medical facilities. It was observed in both the case that it is through education that the vicious cycle of poverty and child labour can be broken. Further, well-planned, poverty-focussed alleviation, development and imposition of trade actions in employment of the children must be undertaken. Total banishment of employment may drive the children and mass them up into destitution and other mischievous environment, making them vagrant, hard criminals and prone to social risks etc. Immediate ban of child labour would be both unrealistic and counter-productive. Ban of employment of children must begin from most hazardous and intolerable activities like slavery, bonded labour, trafficking, prostitution, pornography and dangerous forms of labour and the like.[20] Also, in case of PUCL v. UOI and Ors[21] children below 15 years forced to work as bonded labour was held to be violative of Article 21 and hence the children were to be compensated. The court further observed that such a claim in public law for compensation for contravention of human rights and fundamental freedoms, the protection of which is guaranteed in the Constitution, is an acknowledged remedy for enforcement and protection of such rights. However, Human rights experts criticise the scheme of payment of compensation envisage in Child labour act and further adopted by the Judiciary with gusto.[22] They say that monetary compensation is like washing away ones conscious which still believes that if a child labour is sent to school he must be compensated for the amount which he might have got if he had worked instead. This only confuses the already divided opinion of the society today which still thinks that poor and needy children are better off working. VII. Conclusions India has done well in enacting suitable legislations and policies to combat child labour. Nonetheless, its implementation at grass root level is very much lacking. The child labour laws today are like a scarecrow which does not eliminate child labour but only shifts it geographically to other places, to other occupations like agriculture which may be less paying or it might be still continued clandestinely.[23] The lack of a specialised enforcement officer leads to lesser attention being given to child labour legislations. Furthermore, many of the child labour programmes remain poorly funded. Child labour is a complex problem which cannot be eliminated without first attacking it at the roots. Thus, poverty, unemployment, lack of social security schemes, illiteracy and the attitude of society need to be tackled first before any progress can be made. A starting point can be to treat Child labour as a human rights problem and discouraging its manifestation in any form. If the society as such sees child labour as a social malaise, we will be much closer at achieving success. Lastly, there is a lot of debate over the age from which child labour should be banned. The ILO conventions do not give a definite age, 14 years seems to be the general understanding but CRC defines a child to be below 18 years. Right to education is for children below 14 years and Child labour is prohibited till age of 14 years. This brings the question as to whether children of age 14-18 years are to be denied basic human rights and are to be left vulnerable.

Studying - With Children! Essay -- Personal Narratives

Studying - With Children! When people think of starting over, a lot of different things come to mind. Starting over could be simply going back to the drawing board in a business venture, rewriting an English paper, or rearranging your life. Even rearranging your life can be from many different aspects. Alcoholics need to start over. Gamblers need to start over. Divorced people need to make a new start as well. In which direction does starting over take you? Starting over for me first of all meant finding a way to keep up with all of the payments a married couple acquire with a home and kids. Everyone always says, "you’ll be just fine." And I suppose that is true. Financially there is always a job out there. Maybe not a high paying job, but a job to get you by. There are other factors. The kids. There are a lot of questions that need to be answered, and depending on their ages will decide how you will answer them and how much information you will give. They do bounce back a lot quicker than us adults†¦ "Mom, are you alright?" asks a concerned four-year old. Ever since Larry...

St. Boniface Essay -- Christian saints

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  St. Boniface, originally named Winfrith, was an extremely studious man, a converted monk, priest, missionary and finally martyr. Born in 672, near Exeter, England, St. Boniface at an early age developed a desire to follow the path of God and live a monastic life. Through non-stop prayer and religious practices, he tuned his mind and body to reach beyond the obstacles and enticements of everyday life at his young adult age. He was a major influence on society during his life and affected the lives and history of Germany permanently. Often called the â€Å"Apostle of Germany†, St. Boniface was a strong believer in the principles of the Church and truly wanted to open any pagan believers minds to the knowledgeable and rewarding path of the Christian life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In his youth, St. Boniface encountered many priests or clerics who traveled from town to town. Through these spiritual conversations, it became evident to St. Boniface that he wanted to pursue a life with God. Eventually, after continuos begging and his fathers fatal sickness, he was sent to the care of the Monastery of Examchester. (Appleton) It is here, that St. Boniface expressed to the Abbot at the time, that he wanted to live a monastic life. The father of the monastery, after council, granted him his wish. Here is where the saint began to prove his love for God, and could begin his journey of the Christian life. After exceeding all expectations and surpassing the knowledge of his teachers, he moved to a neighboring monastery, called Nursling, whereby he studied under the influence of Abbot Winbert.(St. Boniface Church) Here he gained vast knowledge of scriptures and the spiritual exposition of the Bible. Here, he gained such a reputation that men and women f rom far and wide traveled to study scriptures under his guidance. At the age of 30 he was humbly ordained a priest and yet another branch of his life was fulfilled.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  St. Boniface once again yearned to explore and travel. Through such ventures he could express the meaning of God to non believers and convert as many as possible. After continuos begging, Abbot Winbert gave in and Boniface’s petition was granted. During this journey, Boniface’s first obstacle appeared. â€Å"King Radbod, the King of the Frisians, and Prince Charles, the noble Duke of the Franks broke out in ... ...spread their religion and did not stop until their death. It is interesting to find out that there were people like that , that dedicated so much of their lives for a cause. I am sure other saints accomplished as much as St. Boniface, but to my knowledge, he seemed like the most active and aggressive. He not only prayed for change, he went out and made it happen. He took journey’s that lasted years, traveled aimlessly at times, from one ship to another converting pagans and spreading the word as he went along. He even went on these missions in his elder years, though dangerous for his age, he continued until his death. Work Cited Page   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Appleton, Robert. â€Å"New Advent.† St. Boniface. 3 November 2004 . Dunney, Joseph. â€Å"Church History, St. Boniface† Catholic Information Network. 20 March 2004   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  .   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Garnett, Ken. â€Å"Medieval Church.org.uk† St. Boniface . St. Boniface Church. â€Å"So-Who was St. Boniface?† St. Boniface Church. 2002-2003   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  . Talbot, C.H. The Anglo-Saxon Missionaries in Germany. New York: Sheed and Ward, 1954.

Speech Recognition and Speech Synthesis :: Essays Papers

Speech Recognition and Speech Synthesis Speech Recognition. Speech Recognition is the process by which a computer maps an acoustic speech signal to text. It is different that speech understanding which is the process by which a computer maps an acoustic speech signal to some form of abstract meaning of the speech. This process depends on the speaker, and how he speaks the language. There are three different systems for the speaker. * Speaker dependent system. * Speaker independent system. * Speaker adaptive system. Speaker Dependent System. A speaker dependent system is developed to operate for a single speaker. These systems are usually easier to develop, cheaper to buy and more accurate, but not as flexible as speaker adaptive or speaker independent systems. Speaker Independent System. A speaker independent system is developed to operate for any speaker of a particular type like American English, or any other kind of English Language. These systems are the most difficult to develop, most expensive and accuracy is lower than speaker dependent systems. However, they are more flexible. Speaker Adaptive System. A speaker adaptive system is developed to adapt its operation to the characteristics of new speakers. It's difficulty lies somewhere between speaker independent and speaker dependent systems. There are many things that effects the speaker systems. For example The size of vocabulary of a speech recognition system affects the complexity, processing requirements and the accuracy of the system. Some applications only require a few words like numbers, others require very large dictionaries (e.g. dictation machines). There are no established definitions for the size of vocabulary. To make it easy to understand we can say that :- small vocabulary - tens of words medium vocabulary - hundreds of words large vocabulary - thousands of words very-large vocabulary - tens of thousands of words. As well as the size of vocabulary effects the speaker system, the way on speaking this words effects too. There are two different ways of speech. continuous speech or isolated-word speech. Isolated-word Speech:- An isolated-word system operates on single words at a time - requiring a pause between saying each word. This is the simplest form of recognition to perform because the end points are easier to find and the pronunciation of a word tends not affect others. Thus, because the occurrences of words are more consistent they are easier to recognize. Continuous Speech:- A continuous speech system operates on speech in which words are connected together, i.e. not separated by pauses.

Perkins Component Company

What type of power does Jerry Taylor have, if any, in this situation? What would you recommend Jerry do at the end of this case, and why? First of all, it is really important to have a good understanding of the organizational realities and power dynamics in the Perkins Components organisation to be able to evaluate Jerry Taylor’s position in it. By identifying the different power sources available in the organization, we can obtain the following â€Å"power map†: As we can see in the â€Å"map† above, Jerry Taylor’s formal power (through his status) in the organisation is not very important; but his â€Å"collaboration network† within his department and outside with the engineering department puts him a particular position. He seems to be the only one with the necessary authority and connections to be able to make the collaboration between the two departments in the company happen. Thus, his network gives a certain power. At the end of the case, we can see that the situation as become very difficult to handle with Frank getting very upset, and for good reason! The most important for Jerry Taylor is to maintain this situation under control. In order to do so, he can’t let Frank leave his office like this. Since it’s the manufacturing department which Jerry Taylor belongs to that is in the wrong, it is Jerry’s duty to accept responsibility for Tom Darrow’s decision not to get a TA from the engineering department and present the manufacturing department apologies (represented by him) to the engineering department (represented by Frank). If manufacturing does not accept and recognize that it was his fault, the two departments won’t collaborate anymore in the future which would result in a disaster for the company! Moreover, when making a change in the company organisation, it is very important to implement guidelines and rules and stick to them. In this case, it had been made clear that a TA should be asked from engineering when a change in plan wanted to be done, and Tom Darrow deliberately did not respect this rule. To make it up to engineering and show them that they can work together with the manufacturing people, Jerry Taylor needs to show them that manufacturing is respecting the rules. Thus, he needs to get someone from his department to ask for a TA, Tom Darrow would normally be the one in charge but he did not do it. Therefore, he should ask Ralph since as a machine shop foreman, he is responsible for following the procedure as stated.

Machievelli Biography Essay

Machiavelli lived during the Renaissance era of the Medieval times. In this time period many concepts and ideas were being reborn, including the Christian faith. He lived during a time period in which the people of the time thought of the Black Plague as a symptom of judgment upon the sinfulness of the land. These same people began to scourge themselves in order to express their sorrow and therefore remove God’s judgment laid upon them. Although Machiavelli lived long after the fall of the Roman Empire, he lived in an Italy that had evolved into a war-torn battleground between the city state dynasties. There were conflicts between the French and Spanish for the control of land. Machiavelli lived in a time of growing political powers and a Christian community that was adapting and changing according to the claims of the Reformers. Machiavelli had a goal: he sought to create a dichotomy between ethical Christianity and the Ethical demands of political rule. The 15th and 16th century world focused on theologically reforming the Church. Many reformers of the time and before Machiavelli’s life, including the 14th century reformer John Wycliffe, wrote on how the papacy of the Church had grown far too powerful. During Machiavelli’s life St. Francis was teaching the commoners about Jesus, and the commoners began relating to Christ. The Church was not only effected by the reformers and the teachings of St. Francis, but it was also effected by itself; it was hurting itself. The church fought against the reformers, condemning them as heretics; the church was threatened by the words of reform. Machiavelli lived among the Christians and like many of the reformers he was seeking a reform between the Church and the State. Essentially, Machiavelli writes to prove that being a moral ruler and a person are two separate ideas, in the case of extreme circumstances and, like Luther, there are two kingdoms independent of each other. Machiavelli probably would’ve been considered a think tank of his time and he believed that a ruler, or anyone may publicly state that they are Christians yet exhibit no real conviction. In the eleventh chapter of The Prince Machiavelli argued that Ecclesiastical principalities were to be desired because the people who inhabited them were governed by their own religious laws. Machiavelli viewed these laws as tools, tools to prevent unruly citizens within the principalities rather than to enforce outside rules. Machiavelli idealizes an idea completely different from the church, that politics is something that deals with facts and not abstracts, that it is a challenge to the notion of both Pope Gregory VII and Pope Innocent III’s â€Å"Divine Right to rule.†3 Machiavelli realized that the divine right to rule theory is nothing but a religious idea that does not work with the present state of man. Machiavelli also understood that human corruption and sin is an unend ing problem that rulers need to deal with. Machiavelli continues by suggesting that being a moral leader does not mean that one is a good leader as good leadership leads to order, stability, and public good. He claimed that when order, stability, and public good are threatened a ruler cannot risk limiting their actions by piety or virtue. Machiavelli believed that morals stood in the way of success, that rulers need to learn how to not be good, and be willing to kill. While the religious leaders saw Machiavelli as non-Christian and destructive, Machiavelli states that leaders need to administer necessary evils in efforts to maintain order and stability within their rule, that humans can be predicted through reason. The Church saw his political agenda as lacking in Christian ethics; however, his political reform lines up with Christian thinkers and with Christian ethics of generosity, compassion, and even the golden rule as we see in Saint Augustine’s and St. Benedict’s writings. An initial consideration of Machiavelli’s thoughts on generosity, we notice that he believes it is good to be considered a generous person, but that it is dangerous to do so. Although sounding contradictory to Christianity, Machiavelli’s reasoning lies in the Christian idea of doing the most good for as many people as possible. Machiavelli argues that being generous requires that the ruler imposes new ways of revenue collection and therefore make his subjects hate him and lead to a guarantee that no one will think well of him.1 Machiavelli makes a similar case for compassion, in that it is better to be seen as cruel then it is to be viewed as loving, if necessary. He asserts that as the head of an army a ruler needs to â€Å"be prepared to be thought cruel.† The same Christian idea can be used to explain his argument as before. In the words of Star Trek’s Spock, â€Å"the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few†. Machiavelli states that its more compassionate to impose harshness on a few rather than make use of compassion and risk chaos to take place.2 If we look back to St. Augustine’s The City of God 4 we learn that rulers and people are dominated by their own selfish lust for power, whereas in the City of God, which Luther also makes notions of in his Doctrine of The Two Kingdoms, people serve one another in charity. Under this assumption we see that men do not serve out of charity, but rather serve in a situation of ‘do unto others as you would have done to yourself.’ Perhaps Machiavelli agreed with this view of Christianity. Machiavelli’s ruler never commits an act that they would not have done to themselves. I think the Machiavellian ruler loves their neighbor as much as themselves. Machiavelli sees the political field as a place for necessary evil. He believes, out of love, that some evil must take place in order to benefit the most people. Machiavelli saw the world he lived in as a two kingdom place, like Luther and St. Augustine did. He viewed human history for what it was, not what it could be; he saw people as evil and sick. Machiavelli’s picture of human history took into account the human equation, that we are sinful and therefore predictable, which he believes will lead to a better understanding of the future.