News Is Nothing More Than A Strategic Ritual Media Essay

News Is Nothing More Than A Strategic Ritual Media Essay From my opinion, to be objective, it is to illustrate both sides of a particular point of view without being subjective. This means that what is being portrayed should be value free. The journalist illustrates the whole truth about an event without including his or her own opinion in a subjective manner. There has been an ongoing discourse about objectivity. Objectivity in the news being nothing more than a strategic ritual. Firstly, objectivity can be hard to define as illustrated by Schudson â€Å"Objectivity might be a professional idea, but it is one that seemed to disintegrate as soon as it was formulated. It became an ideal in journalism, after all, precisely when the impossibility of overcoming the subjectivities of presenting the news was widely accepted. Criticism of the â€Å"myth† of objectivity has been a contrapuntal accompaniment to the enunciation of objectivity as an ideal from the beginning† (Schudson, 1990: 269). â€Å"To a sociologist, the word â€Å"Objectivity† is fraught with meaning. It invokes philosophy, notions of science, and ideas of professionalism. It conjures up the ghost of Durkheim and Weber, recalling disputes in scholarly journals concerning the nature of â€Å"social facts† and the term â€Å"value free†Ã¢â‚¬  (Tuchman 1972: 660). This therefore suggests that the term objectivity is burdened with different meaning, thus very difficult to define as any definition of such word can easily be obsolete. However Schudson on the other hand argues that â€Å"A commitment to objectivity in journalism can be defined as meaning that â€Å"a persons statement about the world can be trusted if they are submitted to established rules deemed legitimate by a professional community† (Schudson 1978: 294 cited in Harcup 2009: 82) According to Bennet, â€Å"there are reasons to be dissatisfied with the news these days. Yet, news remains the primary source of information about society, politics, and government†. These problems could be said to be related to the term objectivity. In the sense that so many factors affect the news, thus the news cannot be seen as the whole truth, as it could be argued that it is fragmented. Furthermore the publics perception about society and all other events are distorted. In relating it back to the question, it can be argued that objectivity in the news is not a strategic ritual because there are factors beyond the newsmans power that cannot be controlled, as other individuals are involved in the production of the news, such as the gate keeper who decides what news is and is not presented. Thus the news is subjective. â€Å"Perhaps the most unsettling thought of all is that the electronic media, the principal source of political information for many if not many American citizens (Robinson and Levy 1985), might be biased in the presentation of public affair† (Kuklinsk 1992: 810). This can be said to be related to objectivity because there is always the question about selection of news. How journalist select news would determine whether the news they produce would have bias included, thus the selection of news would be considered in further paragraphs. Bearing in mind that they previously hold a certain view about a topic. This would then create bias in the news report. News is the only source in which individuals find out events happening in society. However like it was previously reiterated, the news is always biased, one way or the other, thus the public is not fully aware of what is going on around them. â€Å"More than one public official has made this very claim.when every president- liberal or conservative, democrat or republican-has complained bitterly about the inaccurate and unfair picture the networks were presenting†(Kuklinsk 1992: 811)â€Å"Reagans secretary of state, George Shult, was heard to protest that â€Å"it seems as though the reporters are against us. Theyre always seeking to report something thats going to screw things up† (quoted by Karp 1985, 63). With this, it can be illustrated that the newsmen may actually do it on purpose, so that they could attract increasing audiences. This could be said to be objectivity in the news to be a strategic ritual, in the sense that journalist would go any length just to entertain the public at the expense of politicians profile. Thus getting increased audience because relating it to news values, the public would like to hear more on bad news and unexpectedness. The more the news is unexpected, the more it would attract increased audiences. There are two questions which confront us when we deal with the problems of how news is selected from the multitude of events which occur in the world. The first is: what is selected?the second is that of objectivity: namely, how accurately does such a selection reflect the real world? (Cohen and Young 1973: 17). The idea that journalist have the choice to select the news they want to report on, it means that they are already being subjective about the particular topic they want to report on. Thus, objectivity in the news could be said to be a strategic ritual. This could be so, because they might already hold a particular perspective on the topic. Hence would unavoidably be able to neglect their point of view in reporting the news, so the news becomes biased in the sense that they are selling their opinion to the public about a particular topic. Consequently, they give biased news to the public; therefore the public gets a distorted view about what the journalist is writing about. â€Å"According to Gaye Tuchman, objectivity can be seen as a strategic ritual that journalist use as a defence mechanism. She identified four routine procedures that allow journalist claim objectivity for their work: the presentation of conflicting possibilities, the presentation of supporting evidence, the judicious use of quotation marks, the structuring of information in an appropriate sequence† (Tuchman, 299-301 cited in Harcup 2009) The word objectivity can be affected by several factors of only some would be discussed, which in turn affects the report in which the journalist produces. This can be illustrated by Tuchman 1972, who explained that â€Å"there are three types of factors which influence the newsmans notion of objectivity: form, inter organization relationships, and content. By form, I mean those attributes of news stories and newspapers which exemplify news procedures such as the use of quotation marks†(Tuchman 1972: 661) This is to show that by using such quotation marks, it would mark the objectivity of the event. Individuals who must have witnessed whatever event would be able to give a full account about what happened. Thus, the journalists report would be objective and free from bias thus exemplifying him from problems if he produced inaccurate news. â€Å"By content I mean notions of social reality which the news paper man takes for granted. Content is also related to the newsmans orga nisational relationships, for his experiences with these organisations lead him to take for granted certain things about them† (Tuchman 1972: 661). Everett Hughes (1964) cited in Tuchman 1972: 661 â€Å"suggests that procedures that serve this purposes may be seen as â€Å"rituals†inasmuch as newspapermen invoke ritualistic procedures in order to deflect potential criticism and to follow routines bounded by the â€Å"cognitive limits of rationality†, they are also performance â€Å"strategies† (March and Simon 1967, pp.137, 142)Objectivity as strategic ritual may be used by professionals to defend themselves from critical onslaught†. Overall, these factors/ procedures help protect the journalist and the organisations integrity in the sense that they would not get accused of producing inaccurate news and they would not get sued unnecessarily. All these factors explained by Tuchman, it can be argued that objectivity in the news is a strategic ritual i n the fact that, they are trying to protect their back and save the organisations reputation. It can be argued that objectivity in the news is a strategic ritual because it can be said that the newspaper and writers are trying to get an increase audience. With them publishing the news, it would actually help increase their organisational revenue in the sense that they would experience high circulation. Also with the increased audience, it means that they would be at the top of the competition list, therefore giving them the competitive edge against other news providers. Thus giving them a unique selling point, which means they would be able to differentiate themselves from other news organisations. as a result stand out. This could be illustrated further, according to Young â€Å"the market model then maintains that the responsible journalist selects these events which are in the public interest to know and objectively portray reality within the format and genre of the particular media concerned†(Young 1973: 17). The public would like to know that they are being provi ded with objective news, thus the journalist would try their best to provide the news, so by making sure they get objective news, and they increase their readership and circulation. This would benefit them because it would allow them to be popular against their competitors. However, for the fact journalist select the news they think the public would be interested and present it as objectively as they can, this could be said to be a strategic ritual. The selection of news would further be illustrated later in this essay. This may be so, in the fact that they dont want to get themselves into trouble for providing biased news, thus affecting their integrity in the organisation they work and publicly soiling the organisations reputation. This means that the public would not trust the news they produce, thus, they would continually get negative criticism. This could be illustrated by Tuchman 1977b cited in Shoemaker 1996 who â€Å"argues that objectivity is a ritual that objectivity is a ritual that serves primarily to defend the organisational product from critics. Because newsworkers have little time to reflect on whether they have gotten at the â€Å"truth† in their stories, the need a set of procedure, or strategies, that if followed will protect them from occupational hazards such as libel suit and reprimands from superior†. Consequently, journalists follow a set of guidelines to avoid critics so that they dont get into unnecessary trouble and to be able to protect themselves from disgrace. Like it was previously said, journalist get chance to select the news they want to write about. The idea that they are allowed to do that shows that the news they are going to write about is already biased on the fact that they might already have a subjected view about it. Thus, the news would be value laden as well as hardly value free. Also for the fact that journalist use different sources to make up their news, Even though they are supposedly trusted sources of theirs, the question is how can they be so sure that the news the trusted sources provide is objective. Thus, it shows that they cannot be sure if the news is 100% objective. â€Å"Calling into the question of validity of representational knowledge about the world- arguing that news is as much a bureaucratic product as it is a reflection of external reality and that ‘objectivity is essentially a strategic ritual- is at bottom incompatible with journalisms self legitimating discourses. Pointing out that the subjects (i.e. the journalists) perception are not just the product of individual autonomy, showing that journalist (like all of us) are inexorably entangled with and in part constituted by language us, serve to erode the foundations of the conventional wisdom†(Dahlgren 1992: 11). Consequently, this shows that, it is not only the journalist who influences the news they write, as all other people are involved..This can also be reiterated by Shoemaker 1996: 112 â€Å"objectivity, although a cornerstone of journalist ideology, is rooted in practical organisational requirements. In this sense, objectivity is less a core belief of journalist t han a set of procedures to which journalist willingly conform in other to protect themselves from attack†. Consequently, this shows that the organisations also have an influence on the new. With the organisation involved there would be less chance of the company endangering their integrity and shame on their organizational image. Both of these sources show that the firm in which these journalists work for, has an influence on the type of news they produce in the sense that they always have a say. This is done so as to protect their image. Thus a set of gu are provided for the journalist to follow, so that they do not drift off the organisations rules and regulation about reporting news. This therefore means that journalists have no choice but to follow the set guidelines or they lose their job. According to Michael Schudson (1978) cited in shoemaker 1996: 112 â€Å"notes that at the turn of the century, newspapers in competing for circulation, tried to conform to the publics standards of truth, decency, and good taste. Reporters believed they had to be lively and entertaining while factual at the same time. Indeed, editors and reporters were pre-occupied with facts to avoid public criticism and embarrassment for the newspaper†. This could be said to be spin and twisting, for the fact that journalist thought that they had to be entertaining and lively. The idea of being entertaining would mean that they are trying to reach audiences they never actually reached out to. This can also be related to the idea that objectivity in the news is not an objective idea, for the fact that the news would most probably be shortened thus audiences would not get the full picture. This could be illustrated by Shoemaker who argued that â€Å"the objectivity routine also leads to omitt ing seemingly harmless information† (Shoemaker 1996: 113). Consequently, it means that audiences are not receiving the whole story of an event. The thought that journalist are omitting some of the information may be good, in the sense that the public would get an idea and grasp a bit about a complicated story about events in society. As illustrated in Bennets Book in a case study, â€Å"news stories often oversimplify larger and more complex realities. In many ways it is goodHowever, the news may radically simplify realities to the point of distortion or omission of important information for various reasons†(Bennett 2007: 211)† This therefore suggests that objectivity in the news could be omitted for good reason; however, it should not necessarily be said to be a strategic ritual, because it is being done for a good cause. However on the other hand, it can be argued that objectivity in the news is strategic ritual in the sense that important information would be h idden an omitted from the public thus making the public naÃÆ' ¯ve to events happening in society. It can also be argued otherwise that objectivity in the news is not a strategic ritual on the fact that journalist right from the start have the obligation to report the truth and try as much as possible to be objective so as to avoid libel suits but for the fact that they have deadlines to reach. This means they would actually be time conscious. Thus having less spare time to check over their report therefore it might be difficult to have totally objective news as illustrated by Tuchman 1972 â€Å"unlike social scientists, newsmen have a limited repertoire with which to define and defend their objectivity. He must make immediate decisions concerning validity, reliability, and â€Å"truth† in other to meet the problems imposed by the nature of his taskthe newsmen need some working notion of objectivity to minimize the risk imposed by deadline, libel suits, and superiors reprimands† (Tuchman 1972: 662) â€Å"Objectivity is defined as a matter of intent, it includes the freedom to disregard the implications of the news. Indeed, objectivity could not long exist without this freedom, for the moment journalists are required to consider the effects of news on sources and others they would have to begin assessing their own intent and to relinquish their detachment, especially if they wanted to prevent injury to someone (Gans, 1979: 188). Overall, it can be argued from a perspective that objectivity in the news is a strategic ritual, down to the idea that organisations train their potential journalist and give them guidelines on how to report news in an objective manner without being biased. This is done so as to protect the organisations integrity and the journalist status. Thus, it would help them avoid libel suits. This could be illustrated by Tuchman 1972: 678 who concluded that â€Å"objectivity used defensively as a strategic ritual. Objectivity refers to routine procedures which may be exemplified as formal attributes and to protect the professional from mistakes and from his critics†. And for the fact that journalist have to follow these set guidelines means objectivity in the news is a strategic ritual, as it means that these journalist have no choice, thus they cannot go against it as they would most probably lose their job Furthermore, if journalists do not provide objective news as they could, then the public would most probably not think journalism is a serious and professional job. Thus no one would see them as trustworthy. Thus it is their duty to provide the public with objective news. This can then be said that objectivity in the news is not a strategic ritual, as they have no choice but to provide non biased news so as to inform the public. Bibliography Bennet, W. L. (2007) News: The Politics of Illusion, New York: Longman, Pearson Cohen, S. Young, J. ( ) The Manufacture of News, London: Macmillan. Dahlgren, P. Sparks, C. (1992) Journalism and Popular Culture: London, SAGE Publications. Galtung, J. Ruge, M. (1981) ‘Structuring and Selecting News, in S. Cohen J. Young (eds) The Manufacture of News, London: Macmillan Gans, H. (1979) Deciding whats News. A Study of CBS Evening News, NBC Nigthly News, Newsweek and Time. New York: Random House Harcup, T. (2009) Journalism: Principles and Practice. London, SAGE Publications Kuklinski, J. H. Sigelman, L. (1992) ‘When Objectivity is not objective: Network T.V News Coverage of US Senators and the â€Å"Paradox of Objectivity† in Journal of Politics, 54 (3) Shoemaker, P. Reese, S. (1996) Mediating The message: Theories of Influences on Mass Media Content. (2nd ed.), London: Longman. Schudson, M. (2003) The Sociology of News. New York: United States of America. Tuchman, G. (1972) Objectivity as Strategic Ritual: An examination of Newsmens notion of Objectivity in American Journal of Sociology, 77: 660-67

Ethics In Law Enforcement Philosophy Essay

Ethics In Law Enforcement Philosophy Essay Character and ethics are the societys basic tenets. Without these tenets, human relations would become arbitrary and disorderly (Landauer Rowlands. 2001). They assist in interpersonal interactions, the creation of agreements and law enforcement. As such, the issue of ethics is a significant issue for people all over the world, more so in law enforcement. Law enforcers are anticipated to be above accusation in the sense that they should not act in a manner to open them up for accusations (Mignone, 2005). The public expects police officers to be excellent, to exhibit such disposition like being above all the actions that would make a lesser person corrupt. I carried out separate interviews with two police officers as the respondents in my hometown. Not many officers were willing to participate in the interview. I was lucky to have the pleasure of interviewing two law enforcers but on condition of anonymity. For that reason, the said officers will be herein referred to as respondent on e and respondent two. This paper tackles their responses to precise questions alongside my personal understanding of their replies. From my interviews, I got the impression that the two cops were somewhat proud of the ethical choices they make in their line of duty and were confident of always doing their best as law enforcement officers. The Significance of character and Ethics in the area of Law Enforcement When interviewing the first respondent, the following was found to be his perspective of the police force generally. On the importance of ethics and character in the field of law enforcement, he was of the opinion that ethics and character are inseparable. In law enforcement, the officer opined that there are numerous motives for doing the right thing. The first reason he offered was based on the public opinion, and this included their influence on young people who are growing to be citizens of the state and country. The respondent was of the opinion that if the law enforcers fail to have an excellent character they will fail in being a good role model. In fact, he postulated that if they set a bad example, the young citizens would grow to believe their actions are tolerable. For him, in order to enforce the law, it is necessary, first, to examine the things that possibly will sway them to conduct themselves in a poor manner. A law enforce should never allow anyone to alter their vie wpoint in an unconstructive way. According to this respondent, doing so would be falling short of exhibiting good character. When I asked the respondent what between ethics and character is more important, he retaliated that they are both inseparable, but ethics leads to character. However, it was not lost to the officer that one can present an impeccable character but when it comes to following the rules of ethics, fail miserably. According to the officer, the lure of small favors from honest citizens has the capability of influencing the choice of an officer. This can easily impair their judgments. For instance if a person gives a gift to an officer, then the cop is covertly anticipated to return the favor in the form of forms of safety, extra presence of officers, or even disgraceful actions such as letting someone off with a caution and not a ticket. When I asked the second respondent the same question, he presented me with insight into his position on the importance of good character and ethics. According to him, the field of law enforcement primarily involves numerous possible corruption situations. As such upholding of ethics and having a good character is paramount. An officer who catches a suspect with drugs on them can choose to do the ethical thing and show good a good character, which is turn the criminal in, or can let the criminal walk and confiscate the drugs, sell them and make money. An officer arresting a very abusing suspect can get mad and beat silence into him or show good character by doing the ethical thing, which is ignore him, cuff him and turn him in. The second respondent echoed the first one by opining that ethics and good character are so important in that law enforcers are meant to be role models for other citizens. He pointed out the double standards in doing what you are supposed to stop others from do ing. He pointed out the folly of arresting a person who does a crime that you (the officer) commit when off duty. To him police officers are assigned the duty of enforcing the laws and protecting the people. To him they are, and rightly so, held to a higher standard than the citizens are held. They should show others that they are not above the law and demonstrate, by their deeds, how to coexist in the society. The cops, according to him, should follow the laws alongside upholding ethics. Do the interviewees feel that in today, police have more ethics than they had ten years ago? When I presented this question to the first respondent, he seemed to feel that cops are more ethical today than they were a decade ago. This he attributed to extra and improved learning alongside improved leadership. According to him, police officers are nowadays armed with more apparatus and information that enables them to work in a more ethical way and uphold a good character. He points out the fact that a decade ago, law enforcers were not as closely monitored as they are today and were never expected to uphold the ethical standards they are presently expected to uphold. For example, then, a free gift like a cup of coffee was acknowledged by the law enforcers as freebies that they merited for offering services to a society. These small gifts are now recognized as bribes. More stress is being placed on ethics. Delattre, on the slippery incline of corruption, opines that it all starts with a minute thing, which leads to bigger acts until the acts, turn unlawful (2006). The second respondent had a similar response to this question to that of the first respondent. To him, the law enforcers are more ethical nowadays than a decade ago. This, he believes, is for the reason that the public is more watchful of the law enforcers than they were ten years ago. The cops know they are always being recorded on a camera, monitored, or reviewed. His contention, in my view, is that new technology has introduced novel methods of policing everyone. It ensures that officers stick to acceptable standards by introducing checks and balances that were non-existent ten years ago. Everybody, police included, is being watched. According to Delattre, (2006) the main shortcoming with this motivation for ethical conduct is that it is driven by apprehension for being discovered rather than the general ethics and character of the police force. Why do police officers become involved in misconduct? On the question of the reasons why law enforces get caught up in misconduct, the first respondent remarked that the cops he has known to be caught up in misconduct did so out of discontent. Discontent with their life and family alongside their work were cited. Niederhoffer, (1969) opines that loss of faith by the law enforcers in human kind normally generates private and departmental corruption. Cops find themselves not capable of making ends meet with their earnings. In high crime metropolis in which the cost of living is astronomical, police are incapable of paying their bills. The cops also discover that in such metropolis, they can get away with vices such as brutality, or skimming cash from drugs raids. This is so because no one will be willing to castigate an officer for beating up someone who has been selling drugs to their kid or notice a few dollar bills missing from cash from a drug bust as no one knew the original sum to start with. This respondent also hypothesizes that o fficers put in long hours among the worst elements society produces. They see their lifestyle, the money, and the trappings that crime comes with. Slowly they realize that they work more for far less and with their jobs, they will never achieve the material wealth the criminals have. When the second respondent is accosted with the same question, he was of the same opinion with the first officer. According to him, the police swear and desire to offer a safe environment for the society but at times things go haywire in his private life and that could affect his professional life. Personal feelings can, though should not, impair judgment. An officer just having a bad day or with some prejudice acquired in his private life could get themselves caught up in misconduct. This respondent also held the view that an officer can get involved in misconduct for the same reason others do. Officers are after all human. It was also not lost to this officer that the force screening procedure for new recruits is not perfect. A few less-than-ethical elements sneak through the fissures into the force. When they get into the force, they feel protected by the badge to do their misdeeds. The second respondent opined that the societys offhand approach towards unlawful acts at times rubs off on the law enforcers. The moment such an attitude is entrenched in mentality of the officer; it is only a matter of time before the officer commits the criminal acts. Do the interviewees feel that police are trained enough in ethics at the level of the police academy? If not, why is that? The first respondent, replied in the affirmative. The respondent pointed out that there is a recent upsurge in the teaching of Ethics for police officers in Police Academies in the country. This he attributed to a greater media and public awareness of allegations of Police Misconduct. He confirmed that there are both Recruit and In-Service level training for officers in ethics. In the officers opinion it was necessary to equip officers with all the laws and ethics, and train them on how to maintain character traits that are needed to become an excellent officer. When queried on the same issue, the second respondent had an opposite opinion. According to this officer, police in the country are loosing it. Their seniors need to sit back and reflect on the training methods in existence. The methods require either a complete overhaul, extension or a revamp as, in his opinion; they are not working. He went on to assert that some gangsters behave in a more ethical ways than some officers in the country do. He pointed a case of an officer dismissed from the force for molesting female victims of crimes. For him, this was a testimony that training on character traits and how to deal with ethical dilemmas was not effectively offered. Anson, (1983) states that instruction in ethics for police has to be more specific and considerate of time limits. It is however important to note that this respondent was a veteran in the force and therefore may have not been aware of the new methods of training in the force colleges. Should ethics training be offered as continual process for law enforcement officers? The first respondent indentified the need to provide ethics training as a continuous process for law enforcement officers. In his view, an officer can never can never know a lot neither can he or she know it all. He impressed on me the need to learn or refresh novel methods to manage every day unique challenges. Officers must progress their awareness continuously; they must endeavor to uphold a high level of knowledge. The respondent suggested formal sittings as excellent method of teaching new ideas to solve new problems that may crop up. The respondent, in my view, was open-minded, could do whatever is necessary to advance his awareness of ethical conduct, and would recommend the same for the force. Unfortunately, as Delattre (2006) correctly points out scholars are not automatically people of good disposition. Ethics can be taught and drilled; however, the scholars must be of good character and ready to accept the teachings. They must be willing to act in the ethical behavior in w hich they are being trained. The second respondent opined that ethics training should be offered as a continual process for police officers, however, it is important to understand no matter for how long you teach people of bad character they will never take in the teachings. He was on the opinion that there were persons in the job merely for the power. The veteran cop recalls seeing individuals who appeared to be of excellent character at the time when they began work only to disgrace the badge later in their career. These officers started swashbuckling around acting in a manner that is an embarrassment to the force instead of working to improve the relations between the police and the citizens. Officers like those were re-trained and assigned to a desk or some other non-public responsibility. If they were for another time unable to exhibit good disposition and ethical conduct, they were stripped of their budges and guns and expunged from the police force. This is also mentioned in Delattre (2006) where he says that police with uninhibited negative character traits ought not to be part of the police force. Do the interviewees feel that training in ethics would reduce cases of corruption? The first respondent communicated after a moment that he supposes that training would help to diminish the incidents of corruption. He was of the opinion that most of corruption is rooted into the unavailability of knowledge. According to him, unless law enforcers are provided with relevant training or education from others concerning how they are expected to conduct themselves, their single basis of information will be their own conviction that is based on their individual experiences. According to this respondent, a law enforcer who is endowed with ethical understanding will have good basis from which to build up ethical conduct. The respondent though points out that some individuals are simply crooked, and will always be crooked regardless of the education and guidance that is provided. He concluded that officers who are corrupt and irresponsible must be removed from their respective forces as fast as they are proved so. The second respondent agreed in a similar fashion that educating the police in ethics would reduce, occurrence of police corruption. He held that since the late 50s and early 60s the levels and value of education for kids has been deteriorating. He remembers the initial norm that was allowed to deteriorate to nothingness, the Citizenship Class. This was the daily one-hour class from first graders to graduation. Students were actively persuaded and indoctrinated with ethics and morality ideas. This was to integrate them into a law-abiding community. He passionately talked about how the class taught decorum, law and why it is necessary, critical thinking, diplomacy, and judgment, among others. He opined that there was a need to incorporate education regarding ethics to the law enforcement team. He went ahead to lament that there is an apparent raise of instances where ethics have been overlooked among a minor group of law enforcers. This happens despite ethics training having been inte grated into all forces academies, he pointed out. He concluded that there was some inconsistency. This he attributed to the absence of ethical training at early stages. This has affected the ability of some individuals to obey the law even when they are enforcing it. He hypothesized that these crooked cops might perceive an apparent lack of role models for ethical conduct (within the police force and in the community as a whole) and deciding that to hold on to their role in the society is not only pointless, but also insignificant. The respondent was very passionate about this issue. He was of the opinion that early education is weakening the foundation of ethical and moral tenets. Adults with no ethical and moral foundation cannot at all time act decorously, civilly, or with an acknowledgement of the fact that ethics and morals are more desirable than anarchy. During the interview with the first correspondent, I perceived him to be of an extremely fine character. He was patient and considerate. He took time to respond to questions thoughtfully and in an interesting manner. He exhibited a great character, and even politely declined a soda I offered him while I was interviewing him. Through out the time, he did not refer to anyone he has had the joy or misfortune to meet with contempt. He gave the notion that he considers that most human beings are intrinsically good and have the potential for greatness. Aged in his twenties, he is considerably fresh in the force and I perceived him to be a bit idealistic. I thought that either he is yet to be corrupted by bad mind-sets, or he really does exhibit the perfect quality that all law enforcers ought to be exhibiting. In the two interviews, I was able to establish that both officers had been educated in ethics in the course of their service in the law enforcement agency. I sampled these two law enforcers since the two were from dissimilar training generations and dissimilar years. The second respondent had fifteen years of service under his belt while the first respondent had just five years of service under his belt. Ethics and good character are gradually becoming more significant in law implementation. To be able to make and sustain a good working relationship with the society, and secure, professional working with suspects and criminals, it is paramount that an officer be able to manage all circumstances with a level of calm that will guarantee that everybody will come out of any situation alive and healthy. An officer devoid of the entrenched good ethics and character makes errors that can proof to be dangerous to a citizen, the officer or to the standing of the police department. If the public looses the trust and respect for the police, no citizen is secure. The police will not be capable of managing cases as they arise without the public support. Nothing can be more destructive to the police departments and the entire law enforcement profession than acts of officer misconduct and unethical activities. The impacts of unethical acts and conduct are many. One effect of unethical conduct is that it exposes the police department to civil lawsuits. Setting up a defense against accusations not only drains an agency financially but also has a lasting reputation outcome. The second consequence is the individual harm suffered by the supervisors. People loose their jobs or stagnate in their career progress. The involved officers and their family also suffer a devastating public humiliation. Any allegation of unethical behavior in a police person tends to make them to be stigmatized by the community and this can persist in their lifetimes. Thus, by avoiding unethical acts, an officer will be helping a great deal.

Analysis of Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte Essay -- Wuthering Heigh

Analysis of Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte Wuthering Heights is, in many ways, a novel of juxtaposed pairs: Catherine’s two great loves for Heathcliff and Edgar; the two ancient manors of Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange; the two families, the Earnshaws and the Lintons; Heathcliff’s conflicting passions of love and hate. Additionally, the structure of the novel divides the story into two contrasting halves. The first deals with the generation of characters represented by Catherine, Heathcliff, Hindley, Isabella, and Edgar, and the second deals with their children—young Catherine, Linton, and Hareton. Many of the same themes and ideas occur in the second half of the novel as in the first half, but they develop quite differently. While the first half ends on a note of doom and despair with Catherine’s death and Heath-cliff’s gradual descent into evil, the novel as a whole ends on a note of hope, peace, and joy, with young Catherine’s proposed marriage to Hareton Earnshaw. In the first of the chapters in this section, we witness the event that marks the di...

History of Perfume and Fragrances Essay examples -- Hygiene Smell Essa

History of Perfume and Fragrances The history of perfume is a reflection of humanity: a means of exchange, a protection against disease, a potion with divine virtues, a gallant message, which reflects society, perceptibly communicating its sense of commerce and medicine, of the sacred and the sensual. The word "perfume" comes from the Latin per fume "through smoke". This refers to the original use of fragrances - the burning of incense and herbs as a religious offering. Perfume is made up of denatured ethyl alcohol and essential oils. The different names refer to the percentage of essential oils, and thus the strength of the scent. Perfume: 22% of essential oils. Eau de Parfum: 15 - 22% Eau de Toilette: 8 - 15% Eau de Cologne: 4% Ancient Time During the civilizations of antiquity, perfume was presented as an offering to the gods. It was believed to sublimate the body and make it more god-like. 10th Century BC: The Medes, ancestors of today’s Kurds are generally given credit for the invention and widespread use of perfumes, presumably to hide certain smells originating from overeating and failure to observe what are now common hygienic practices. 1580-1085 BC: The Egyptians create perfumes for daily consumer use and ultimately, use in religious ceremonies. Egyptian women used perfumed creams and oils as toiletries, cosmetics and aids to lovemaking. Queen Cleopatra was reported to use opiates and perfumes to seduce her many lovers and she may be the first to invent pomades from bear grease. Perfumes, especially those developed from resins, were originally used to appease the gods but in time they became more important in the embalming process for chemical reasons. Materials with drying agents like asphal... ...n Klein's, Yves St Laurent’s, and Nina Ricci's. Conclusion In the end, history of perfume shows how great human in developing what we call fashion. From all those history we know that there are a lot of perfume usages, like medicine, surgeon, etc. People developed not only the fragrances, but also the bottles. They also invented a lot of way to obtain the fragrances, like distilling oil from the petals of roses. After all, perfume is part of human history, without it our live is not complete. References: Maginnis, Tara. Perfumes For The Period Scent. The Costumer’s Manifesto.2 July 2003. <http://www.costumes.org/pages/perfume.htm>. Karppinen, Shannon. A View of the World of Perfume.2 July 2003. <http://zebra.sc.edu/smell/shannon/shannon.html>. Ackerman, Diane. A Natural History of the Senses. Vintage Books, New York. ISBN #0-679-73566-6.

PESTEL Analysis of K-Mart Essay

Understanding the general environment of a certain business requires knowledge regarding the key factors and trends in broader society. PESTEL Analysis gives a business the ability to break down the general environment into six different categories: Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental, and Legal. By analyzing and studying each area, a company can create a strategy that most benefits them. Sears and K-Mart are two retail businesses that can gain from understanding the general environment through PESTEL Analysis. They could use it bad. One way to take a step forward is by creating new innovative strategies and conducting a PESTEL analysis is a good place to start. The first step of PESTEL is to try to understand the political environment. Sears and K-Mart focus on what political factors might affect the way they conduct business and create strategies based on this information. Sears and K-Mart are a part of many companies owned by Sears Holdings Corporation. Sears Holdings Corporation engages in government and political affairs that will benefit them. They openly express interest in politics on their website, stating â€Å"In some jurisdictions, Sears Holdings is engaged in the political campaign process to help elect candidates of both major political parties who support the retail industry and believe in the free enterprise system.1† Engaging in the political arena helps a business like K-Mart understand political trends. Political factors that may be lobbied on by Sears and K-Mart are ones that involve tax policies, labor laws and tariffs. Sears Holdings Company would most likely back the candidate that most benefited them. In 2008 former CEO of Sears, Alan J. Lacy, was one of many retail executives who supported John McCain for President.2 Being open about political affiliations can possibly affect customer opinions. This may not have affected the customer base of Sears, but Sears believes that the Republican Party best helps them. Economic and Social conditions are two major areas that any retail company must focus on in order to create effective strategies. These two areas have can have tremendous affects on the success of retail companies. If the Economy is down then people don’t usually like to spend a lot of money, and this takes a toll on sales of retail businesses. In 2011 Sears and K-Mart closed over 100 stores in an effort to raise cash. According to an article in the Huffington Post, the â€Å"problem is the weak economy that is hurting virtually  all retailers that cater to low- and middle-income shoppers, who are being forced to cut back on spending.3† Today, Sears and K-Mart are being affected by the changing retail landscape, where shoppers are going online for convenience and finding better prices. In order to be successful Sears Holdings must try to get on top of this changing landscape before it passes them by. Social factors go hand in hand with economic factors. If the economy is doing well that does not immediately translate into a major boost in sales. Social factors, like perception, play a gigantic role in the success of today’s businesses because of the affects of social media and the internet. Social perception is an area Sears and K-Mart have been lacking in. Preschool teacher Sara Kriz expresses a view that captures the perception of K-Mart beautifully by saying, â€Å"It seems easier to go to Target and Wal-Mart to get the same thing at the same price,† adding â€Å"the stores are cleaner, and they’re better stocked.4† If Sears and K-Mart want to become more profitable and generate more sales then they must direct their attention to trying to change this negative view associated with their stores. Social media and internet give customers a platform to share their opinions and experiences with the whole world. If most experiences are negative, then the general consensus will be to shop at other places. Technology like the internet has brought about a lot of change and it is another area of the external environment that businesses must try to understand in order to gain a competitive edge. Technology is everywhere we look and its getting better and better. Technology has affected the way Sears and K-Mart strategized in the past. In an attempt to bridge digital and in-store shopping, Sears and K-Mart rolled out iPads and iPod touch devices to almost 450 stores around the country in October 2011.5 Kimberly Freely, spokeswoman for Sears, Chicago, explained the move: â€Å"We wanted to enhance the relationship between customers and associates and improve the overall shopping experience,† adding that, â€Å"it is part of our strategy to become more of an integrated retailer a nd combining the digital and retail formats within the company.† This goes to show the impact that technology is having on the retail market. Today Sears and K-Mart are still striving to incorporate advanced technology in order to improve. Environmental and Legal factors are the last two pieces of PESTEL analysis. Sears and Kmart have aligned their environmental goals with that of the general public.  Sears and Kmart realize promoting a clean environment can benefit both themselves and society as a whole. Many of the appliances Sears sells tout the label of being energy efficient. This reflects Sears and Kmarts efforts to educate customers about a variety of environmental issues, including carbon and energy management, waste reduction and recycling, and water and transportation management. On Sears Holdings Company’s webpage you can learn about all the steps it is taking to promote a clean and sustainable environment. By continuing to engage in this type of activity, Sears and Kmart demonstrate responsibility and a genuine care for protecting the environment. This can go a long way in terms of changing social perception of Sears and Kmart. The Legal aspect of the external environment plays an everyday role in the way Sears and Kmart do business. Sears and Kmart must follow strict legal guidelines covering accounting and reporting practices, antitrust laws, and bribery and corruption among others. Failing to stay within the boundaries of the law can be detrimental to any business. Sears addresses its willingness to comply with laws in the Corporate Governance section of its main website. It states that â€Å"Sears Holdings Corporation values honesty, integrity, and adherence to the highest ethical standards. As part of this commitment, SHC has instituted a series of policies and procedures to reaffirm its dedication to the highest ethical standards.6† Keeping a keen eye on the legal aspect of the external environment will allow Sears and Kmart to focus on its corporate strategy without unnecessary distractions. Understanding the general environment of a certain business requires knowledge regarding the key factors and trends in broader society. It is essential for a business to know the aspects of the external environment so that it can create and enforce an effective strategy. Performing a PESTEL Analysis is the first step in understanding the external environment. Sears and Kmart can greatly benefit from knowing what external factors impact business operations. SWOT Analysis is the next step in collecting information to help understand what capabilities Sears and Kmart should focus on. Works Cited 1 â€Å"Government Affairs.† Sears Holdings. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2014. . 2 Farfan, Barbara. â€Å"Democratic and Republican Parties Both Get Strong Support from Retailers.† About.com Retail Industry. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2014. . 3 Berman, Jillian. â€Å"Sears Kmart Stores Closing: At Least 100 Stores To Shut Down Retailer Says.† The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 27 Dec. 2011. Web. 17 Apr. 2014. 4 Berman, Jillian. â€Å"Sears Kmart Stores Closing: At Least 100 Stores To Shut Down Retailer Says.† The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 27 Dec. 2011. Web. 17 Apr. 2014. 5 Tode, Chantal. â€Å"Sears Puts IPads in Shopper Hands to Enhance In-store Shopping.Napean LLC, 17 Oct. 2011. Web. 17 Apr. 2014. 6 â€Å"Corporate Governance.† Sears Holdings Code of Conduct. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2014. .

Chapter Reviewing the Facts

Of course, It Isn't always pleasant to hear active comments about what we are doing. Sometimes our feelings get hurt, our ego Is wounded, or the feedback strikes us as, well, stupid. That said; let's consider a shift In our perspective. Feedback Is a form of coaching. When we work with a coach, he or she Is constantly giving us negative feedback-?and we appreciate It. A golf coach, for example, will correct the way you hold or swing the club and you're delighted to get the negative feedback. In fact, you pay for all these â€Å"complaints. † Dissatisfaction happens.What we choose to do about it can make all the difference in reading customer and employee loyalty. To do something about dissatisfaction, we need to know when it is happening-?we need to get the silently dissatisfied customer to speak up by creating open communication channels. (Customer Service: Career Success through customer Loyalty) Chapter 9-Reviewing the Facts 2. – What are the three important steps ne eded to recover the potentially lost customer? The first step consists of both apology and accountability. Say, â€Å"I'm sorry,† and take ownership of a mistake, even if it's because of supplier or other problems.Next, work with the customer to determine an appropriate remedy. This involves the customer in the resolution and sometimes uncovers less costly solutions. Resolution should not only address a customer's direct loss but also compensate â€Å"pain and suffering. † Some refer to such compensation as â€Å"atonement. † Manage expectations with resolution schedules. In one Citibank experiment, specifying time frames for next steps increased customer satisfaction by 40%. Finally, follow-up. Determine whether the customer has received the promised treatment, and, more important, how they feel about it.One study indicated that a follow-up call to a once-unhappy customer can boost satisfaction by 5%-7%, and intentions to repurchase by 8%-12%. The second level is building integrated customer recovery capabilities In the following four areas: Companies must do more to upgrade the skills, training and pay of customer service representatives, especially since they handle an estimated 65% of all complaints. Other employees must also understand the Importance of customer retention. Ford trains new hires In such recovery skills as Interpersonal communications.Others regularly rotate employees Into customer service to underscore the Impact of departmental processes on customers. How much authority do employees have to recover customers? Employees at Marriott International, for example, can spend up to $2,500 without authorization to compensate customers. What are the timetables for resolution? Brothels Airways research showed that of customers defected if it took the company longer than five days to respond want level AT complaints trigger corrective Acton? Can any employee handle recovery, or should you depend on special representatives trained for customer recovery?Customers should be easily able to complain via email, letter or even well-publicized hot lines. Systems should streamline complaint acceptance, and generate complaint-based reports. Insurance giant USA scans every complaint letter into its database. Causes for the complaint are analyzed, and processes examined to avoid similar complaints in the future. To institutionalize improvements, systems should be developed to hold other departments accountable for their actions. Complaint data should also be used to determine investment priorities and service improvements. (Small Business Resources – How to Recover Lost Customers)

Attitude Toward Elderly

Old Age Attitudes towards Older People Attitudes and treatment towards elderly people can be said to vary drastically across cultures. From Europe, Asia, the Middle East, the America's, Africa and Australia, the attitudes expressed by the community towards older people are very different when compared to one another. 1. In the 1960s, Robert Butler coined the phrase ageism, which he defined as: â€Å"A process of systematic stereotyping of and discrimination against people because they are old, just as racism and sexism accomplish this with skin color and gender.Old people are categorized as senile, rigid in thought and manner, old-fashioned in morality and skills . . . . Ageism allows the younger generations to see older people as different from themselves; thus they subtly cease to identify with their elders as human beings . . . â€Å". People of older age who were once respected and admired are now being dehumanized and being categorized as â€Å"undesirables†.People look ed up to them as someone who have been around the block a couple more times and therefore they held a certain level of knowledge in their life banks that society thought of as useful. Society has robbed them of those life banks now and is holding them hostage in â€Å"homes†. Instead of grandchildren getting to enjoy stories of war, love, life, and experiences from their grandparents around the dinner table they are subject to visiting them in retirement homes.Those same people who took care of the new society and gave up so much to raise them are now being â€Å"punished† for aging and al the affects that come along with it. People use to hold doors open, do lawn work, fix things, anything they could to help and show respect for their elders who were incapable of doing such for themselves. Now-a-days those people have turned their cheeks on elders and just throw them in a retirement home to make it easier on themselves. However there is a town in New York that is revi ving the respect owed to all elders. 2. The community was built on the backs of our seniors,† said Melissa Lee of the Coalition for the Improvement of Bedford-Stuyvesant, which is in charge of the program. â€Å"It’s important that now they reap the fruits of their labors and are able to age in place. † Treating older people as if they are completely useless and incompetent is not only demoralizing them but it is also dehumanizing them. Not only are people handing over the well being of their parents/grandparents/ect. over to a caregiver, but they are not putting in effort to see who some of these care givers truly are.They bully them by: withholding medication from or overmedicating the elderly person, keeping the elderly person in unclean living quarters, not maintaining the elderly person’s physical appearance, sexual abuse, preventing the elderly person from having any or meaningful contact with his or her family, neighbors, or the public, psychologica l abuse which includes name-calling or a systematic plan to dehumanize the elderly person and make him or her more dependent upon the caregiver, the caregiver prompting the elderly person to answer questions and putting words in the elderly person’s mouth. . Before the early 1980s, there was little, if any, reference made to elder abuse in literature that did address family violence. However, as the years pass, more and more studies have been made, and research conducted on this subject. In 1990, the information of two incidence studies and their results was released, which revealed shocking statistics: anywhere between 1. 6 million and 2 million Americans considered elderly were abuse victims each year. Some of this abuse occurred in the family home; some in institutions. In 2003, the Elder Justice Act was implemented.The neglect and shame put upon the elderly has reached such a peak that they are now the â€Å"undesirables† among society. Set aside and cast away from the new age society, elders have become invisible to today’s youth. Elders are seen to have no purpose or abilities left, which makes them completely and utterly useless to society. Therefore society continues to go on and change leaving elders where they are and not doing things to improve their lives. Stories making headlines such as 4. â€Å"To Be Elderly And Unwanted In Mohegan Lake† show the shameful act of some communities to rid of their elderly. shameful story of how a respected local nonprofit group has tried to winterize four summer cottages to house eight elderly poor people – and how neighbors and town officials have fought them so that the case has dragged on three years. † These kinds of stories are too often seen and there is a heightening need for young people to come down a few levels and see their elders and respect who they are. The scarce respect that is left for elders is rapidly being taken over by dehumanizing and demoralizing trait s. Instead of just sitting and talking or oing to play games with all of the people of old age in society, the new age people of society decide to take the elders to â€Å"homes† that will do it for them. However society is not looking long term, they are only looking at instant gratification moves. In twenty to thirty years when this society becomes the elders karma is going to come back and have some harsh payback to hand them. The only thing to be done to stop this awful cycle would be to start respecting, admiring and helping out the old age of today because nobody stays young forever. Works Citied The New York Times. The New York Times. Web. 27 Apr. 012. . Elizabeth, Jessica Anne. â€Å"The Elderly Abuse Prevention Act. † EHow. Demand Media, 21 July 2009. Web. 27 Apr. 2012. . â€Å"Respect Your Elders: Bed-Stuy Launches an ‘AgingA Improvement District'A . † NY Daily News. Web. 27 Apr. 2012. http://www. nydailynews. com/new-york/brooklyn/respect-elders -bed-stuy-launches-aging-improvement-district-article-1. 1067380? localLinksEnabled. â€Å"Sonnet 127: In the Old Age Black Was Not Counted Fair – Poem by William Shakespeare. † Famous Poets and Poems. Web. 27 Apr. 2012. . â€Å"Why Has the Elderly Lost Society's Respect? † HubPages. Web. 27 Apr. 2012. . Old Age Formal Outline I.Attitudes and treatment towards elderly people can be said to vary drastically across cultures. From Europe, Asia, the Middle East, the America's, Africa and Australia, the attitudes expressed by the community towards older people are very different when compared to one another. 1. In the 1960s, Robert Butler coined the phrase ageism, which he defined as: â€Å"A process of systematic stereotyping of and discrimination against people because they are old, just as racism and sexism accomplish this with skin color and gender. Old people are categorized as senile, rigid in thought and manner, old-fashioned in morality and skills . . . Agei sm allows the younger generations to see older people as different from themselves; thus they subtly cease to identify with their elders as human beings . . . â€Å". People of older age who were once respected and admired are now being dehumanized and being categorized as â€Å"undesirables†. II. People looked up to them as someone who have been around the block a couple more times and therefore they held a certain level of knowledge in their life banks that society thought of as useful. A) Robbed of cherished memories with grandchildren. 1. being placed in â€Å"homes† 2. unable to see familyB) Going from being honored to abandoned by all. III. Treating older people as if they are completely useless and incompetent is not only demoralizing them but it is also dehumanizing them. A) Caregivers bullying elders. 1. withholding medicine, keeping away from family 2. calling names, planting mental attacks on them. B) Elder abuse on a rise. 1. 1980 almost unheard of 2. 1990 research shows shocking high results of abuse 3. 2003 Elder Justice Act put to work IV. The neglect and shame put upon the elderly has reached such a peak that they are now the â€Å"undesirables† among society.A) Cast aside from society 1. invisible to younger society 2. left in the dust of new age change B) Fought to be kept hidden 1. neighbors don’t want them 2. court cases filed to keep away 3. numerous stories making headlines suggesting the â€Å"unwanted† C) Society steps down to analyze what needs to change. V. The scarce respect that is left for elders is rapidly being taken over by dehumanizing and demoralizing traits. Instead of just sitting and talking or going to play games with all of the people of old age in society, the new age people of society decide to take the elders to â€Å"homes† that will do it for them.However society is not looking long term, they are only looking at instant gratification moves. In twenty to thirty years when th is society becomes the elders karma is going to come back and have some harsh payback to hand them. The only thing to be done to stop this awful cycle would be to start respecting, admiring and helping out the old age of today because nobody stays young forever. Sonnet 127: In the old age black was not counted fair by William Shakespeare In the old age black was not counted fair, Or if it were, it bore not beauty's name;But now is black beauty's successive heir, And beauty slandered with a bastard shame. For since each hand hath put on nature's power, Fairing the foul with art's false borrowed face, Sweet beauty hath no name no holy bower, But is profaned, if not lives in disgrace. Therefore my mistress' eyes are raven black, Her eyes so suited, and they mourners seem, At such who, not born fair no beauty lack, Sland'ring creation with a false esteem. Yet so they mourn, becoming of their woe, That every tongue says beauty should look so.