Whistle-Blowing. Interest in Public Administration, Policy and Ethical Essay

Whistle-Blowing. Interest in Public Administration, Policy and Ethical Analysis - Essay Example Politicians must, as a result, maintain equilibrium between information exposure and the preservation of the incentives of the bureaucrats in order to exert efforts. The tradeoffs can easily be explored with the help of a model of agency decision-making under partial information. It involves an employee's effort which determines a project's type, and a manager which opts whether to approve the project and regulate the employee. With the help of whistle-blowing, an employee unleashes the type to a politician, who may supersede the manager's decision. While whistle-blowing always increments the transmission of information, its influences on employee effort are dependent on the managerial preferences. A key finding states that stronger whistleblower securities reduce effort when the manager is aggressive and may commit more Type I faults than the politician would, however, would increase efforts otherwise. Whistleblower protections, therefore, definitely benefit the politicians if an ag ency is oriented to make Type II errors (Ting, 2006:2). Whistleblowers have chronologically played influential roles in passing critical information from lower gradations of the organizations to higher grade officials. An informal survey of American organizations in recent years delineates that this trend has not subsided. In the year 2002, the Federal Bureau of Investigation staff attorney Coleen Rowley went communal over the bureau's investigation of the suspected 9/11 accomplice Zacarias Moussaoui (Ting, 2006:2). Her account of the way FBI headquarters stifled attempts to examine his activities build assistance for the reorganization of its anti-terrorism attempts. Further, in the year 2004, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) researcher David Graham gave evidence before a Senate committee that the agency had paid no attention to the warnings about the heart disease menaces posed by Vioxx prior to its endorsement (Ting, 2006:2). Such exposures caused crucial destruction to the credibility of the FDA, thereby, generating the demand f or both the stricter drug approval processes and improvised the post-approval monitoring. Such incidents have not been confined to the public sector. In the year 2002, Sherron Watkins of Enron and Cynthia Cooper of WorldCom gained acknowledgement for their roles in unleashing the managerial irregularities in their respective corporations (Ting, 2006:2). Instantaneous with its practice, whistle blowing has enjoyed both the political as well as legal protection. In the United States, the rudimentary securities were first enacted by the Continental Congress, and a centralized entity of the contemporary legal framework dates to 1863, when Congress passed the False Claims Act so as to combat the Civil War profiteers (Ting, 2006:2). The law enabled the citizenry to bring about a suit against an alleged offender on behalf of the government, thereby, sharing in a percentage of the damages awarded. In 1978, the Civil Service Reform Act criminalized the vengeance against the whistle blowers b y creating procedures for altering the terminations of their employment. The Whistle blower Protection Act or WPA of 1989 ensured confidentiality of the whistleblower

Beauty of Nature Essay Example for Free

Beauty of Nature Essay Nature can bring a lot of beauty into our lives. Nature has a way of affecting our moods and it can force us to change our plans. Nature is responsible for the sun, clouds, rain, and snow. When it is sunny and bright outside, we feel cheerful inside. When it is cloudy and rainy, we often feel gloomy. When there is a beautiful and starry night, the moonlight makes us feel romantic. William Wordsworth in his poem â€Å"Daffodils gives the romantic in nature; the beauty of nature as I wandered lonely as a cloud That floats on high oer vales and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, A host of golden daffodils; Beside the lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. Nature can set a sky aflame at sunset or magically transform a familiar landscape into a snow-white wonderland. It can paint a rainbow in the sky, paint beautiful autumn colors on trees, or paint a clump of daffodils in the grass with glow of soft sunlight. When we wake and see a sunrise, when we walk and feel a breeze, when we gaze at the mountains and the splendor of the seas, when we see the earth renew its beauty at each season of the year, and when the stars shine at night, we should be so very thankful to the Lord for giving us all these wonderful and miraculous things. This poetic line substantiates this The whistle of the wind rushing past my face, Looking for the exit so it can leave this place; The branches sway and the leaves begin to fall, I can hear the birds now, sending me their call. When we see the leaves budding on a tree or when a timid flower pushes through the frozen ground, or when we smell the freshness of spring, new  hope will always come to us. Nature is truly an intrinsic part of our lives.

Epistemology Essay examples -- Philosophy, Hume

â€Å"I have found that such an object has always been attended with such an effect, and I foresee, that other objects, which are, in appearance, similar, will be attended with similar effects† (The Search for Knowledge 74). This foretells that with knowledge, our society may be able to associate a certain aspect/detail with an object, but that does not necessarily mean it will always happen. Therefore, Hume, who starts out as an empiricist, has arrived at the conclusion where an individual may not have knowledge at all, of skeptic doubt. This is explored through the three epistemology questions, the process he did take, and what the reader thinks on the matter. According to Hume, with his process of thought with empiricism, thinks knowledge is possible. He believed that all information about the world comes through experience. The contents of consciousness are what he calls perceptions. [†¦] include our original experiences [impressions] [†¦] sense data [†¦] â€Å"internal† world composed of the contents of our psychological experiences [†¦] also include what he calls ideas, or the contents of our memories and imagination (The Search for Knowledge 69). With this approach to whether knowledge is possible, it is clear that he thinks knowledge is possible through experience; through real experiences, sense data, psychological experiences and ideas. It states that one does not have innate ideas with us such as our senses or emotions, that an individual must experience these actions first in order to recognize what they must be. If one does not experience such actions, they are what he calls ideas, â€Å"the copies of them [impressions]† (The Search for Knowledge 69). He also states that, â€Å"We can deny any matter of fact without falling into... ...external world or the self, we are never certain of anything. Hence, we have no knowledge at all because knowledge is classified as true, justified belief and our ideas and thoughts are not. This is a strong case, and therefore, I believe with his knowledge towards skepticism, but I do not necessarily believe in skepticism. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, Hume has answered the three epistemological questions with very strong points; first as an empiricist, who then leads to a skeptic. Overall, the opinion of the reader is satisfied, because even though Hume has a very doubtful thought process of empiricism with the idea of perceptions and ideas, he then breaks down his theory with the fact that this so-called knowledge is the only source of knowledge an individual can possibly have, therefore it is not knowledge. Knowledge is worth nothing unless you can practice it. Epistemology Essay examples -- Philosophy, Hume â€Å"I have found that such an object has always been attended with such an effect, and I foresee, that other objects, which are, in appearance, similar, will be attended with similar effects† (The Search for Knowledge 74). This foretells that with knowledge, our society may be able to associate a certain aspect/detail with an object, but that does not necessarily mean it will always happen. Therefore, Hume, who starts out as an empiricist, has arrived at the conclusion where an individual may not have knowledge at all, of skeptic doubt. This is explored through the three epistemology questions, the process he did take, and what the reader thinks on the matter. According to Hume, with his process of thought with empiricism, thinks knowledge is possible. He believed that all information about the world comes through experience. The contents of consciousness are what he calls perceptions. [†¦] include our original experiences [impressions] [†¦] sense data [†¦] â€Å"internal† world composed of the contents of our psychological experiences [†¦] also include what he calls ideas, or the contents of our memories and imagination (The Search for Knowledge 69). With this approach to whether knowledge is possible, it is clear that he thinks knowledge is possible through experience; through real experiences, sense data, psychological experiences and ideas. It states that one does not have innate ideas with us such as our senses or emotions, that an individual must experience these actions first in order to recognize what they must be. If one does not experience such actions, they are what he calls ideas, â€Å"the copies of them [impressions]† (The Search for Knowledge 69). He also states that, â€Å"We can deny any matter of fact without falling into... ...external world or the self, we are never certain of anything. Hence, we have no knowledge at all because knowledge is classified as true, justified belief and our ideas and thoughts are not. This is a strong case, and therefore, I believe with his knowledge towards skepticism, but I do not necessarily believe in skepticism. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, Hume has answered the three epistemological questions with very strong points; first as an empiricist, who then leads to a skeptic. Overall, the opinion of the reader is satisfied, because even though Hume has a very doubtful thought process of empiricism with the idea of perceptions and ideas, he then breaks down his theory with the fact that this so-called knowledge is the only source of knowledge an individual can possibly have, therefore it is not knowledge. Knowledge is worth nothing unless you can practice it.

Legal Implicaiotn of human resource management Essay

A union is an organization of workers, acting collectively, seeking to promote and protect its mutual interests through collective bargaining. However, before we can examine the activities surrounding the collective bargaining process, it is important to understand the laws that govern the labor-management process, what unions are and how employees unionize. Although the current percentage of the workforce that is unionized has declined steadily, there are still many employees who feel that the workforce is primed for a positive response by employees to a new effort in organizing. The main reasons for union organizing are: higher wages and benefits, greater job security, influence over work rules, compulsory membership and being upset with management. Among various reasons why employees join a union, we see one common factor: management, specially the first-line supervisor. If employees are upset with the way their supervisor handles problems, upset over how a coworker has been disciplines, and so on, they are likely to seek help from a union. In fact, it is reasonable to believe that when employees vote to unionize, it’s often a vote against their immediate supervisor rather than a vote in support of particular union. CASE: In the provided case, the employees are upset with company since employer rolled out its plan to organize employees into teams, change job titles, work assignments and the pay structure. Beside that employees were told â€Å"this is how it will be. † I am working as the top HR Manager and have to deal with this situation. First of all I would learn some basic legal implications of union organizing. The legal framework for labor-management relationships has played a crucial role in its development. There are two important laws that have shaped much of the labor relations process. Wagner Act: Also knows as the National Labor Relations Act of 1935, this act gave employees that right to form and join unions and to engage in collective bargaining. The Wagner Act is cited a shifting the pendulum of power to favor unions for the first time in U. S labor history. This was achieved, in part, through the establishment of National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The Wager Act provided the legal recognition of unions as legitimate interest groups in American society, but many employers opposed its purposes. Some employers, too, failed to live up to the requirements of its provisions. Thus, the belief that the balance of power had swung too far to labor’s side, and the public outcry stemming from post-World War II strikes, led to passage of the Taft-Hartley Act (Labor- Management Relations Act) in 1947. The Taft-Hartley Act: Amended the Wagner Act by addressing employers’ concerns in terms of specifying unfair union labor practices. Realizing that unions and employers might not reach agreement and that work stoppages might occur, Taft-Hartley also created the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) as an independent agency separate from the Department of Labor. FMCS is a government agency that assists Labor and management in settling disputes. The Wagner and Taft-Hartley Acts were the most important laws influencing labor-management relationships in the United States, but there are other laws that influence the labor organizing. Specifically, these are the Railway Labor Act; the Land rum Griffin Act; Executive Orders 10988 and 11491; the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act of 1970; and the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 (discussed in previous module) is as relevant to labor organizations as it is to management. Title VII of the act is focused on this subject. In the provided case, it seems like there is already union getting into shape. The labor laws do permit us as HR Manager to defend ourselves against the union campaign, but we must do it properly. I would follow the following guidelines of what to do and what not to do during the organizing drive. * If your employees ask for your opinion on unionization (as my supervisor is asking me this question), should respond in a natural manner. For example, â€Å"I really have no position on the issue. Do what you think is best. * You can prohibit union-organizing activates in your workplace during work hours only if they interfere with work operation. This may apply to the organization’s e-mail, too. * You can prohibit outside union organizers from distributing union information in the workplace. * Employees have the right to distribute union information to other employees during breaks and lunch periods. * Don’t question employees publicly or privately about union-organizing activities- for example, â€Å"Are you planning to go to that union rally this weekend? but if an employee freely tells you about the activities, you may listen. * Don’t spy on employees’ union activities, for example, by standing in the cafeteria to see who is distributing pro-union literature. * Don’t make any threats or promises related to the possibility of unionization. For example, â€Å"If this union effort succeeds, upper management is seriously thinking about closing down this plant, but if it’s defeated, they may push through an immediate wage increase. * Don’t discriminate against any employee who is involved in the unionization effort. Be on eh lookout for efforts by the union to coerce employees to join its ranks. This activity by unions is an unfair labor practice. If you see this occurring, report to your boss or to HR. Company might slow want to consider filing a complaint against the union with NLRB. Keeping all the above points checked, I will also keep in mind that union organizing drives may or may not be successful, but when they do achieve their goal to become the exclusive bargaining age, the next step is to negotiate the contract or demands. Now, I’ll get myself ready along with my first line supervisors, for the next expected step: collective bargaining. This typically refers to the negotiation, administration, and interpretation of a written agreement between two parties that covers a specific period of time. This agreement, or contract, lays out in specific terms the conditions of employment that is, what is expected of employees and any limits to management’s authority. Although collective bargaining is mostly used in public sectors, however it is also common in private sector. My employees are upset because of three months old change; based on my supervisor’s comments I assume that union has been certified; I might come up with a new set of interpretation of this change between my management and employees. I will make sure that my management and the union must negotiate in good faith over these issues. I would follow the following collective bargaining process outline in order to resolve these issues: Preparing to Negotiate: Once a union has been certified as the bargaining unit, both union and management begin the ongoing activity of preparing for negotiations. We can consider the preparation for negotiation as composed of three activities: fact gathering, goal setting, and strategy development. Information is acquired from both internal and external sources. With all the collection of this background information in hand, and tentative goals established both union and management must put together the most difficult part of the bargaining preparation activities, a strategy for negotiations. This includes assessing the other side’s power and specific tactics. Negotiating at the Bargaining Table: Negotiation customarily begins with the union delivering to management a list of â€Å"demands. † By presenting many demands, the union creates significant room for trading in later stages of the negotiation; it also disguises the union’s real position, leaving management to determine which demands are adamantly sought, which are moderately sought, and which the union is prepared to quickly abandon. Real negotiations typically go on behind closed doors, each party tries to assess the relative priorities of the other’s demands, and each begins to combine proposals into viable packages. Next comes the attempt to make management’s highest offer approximate the lowest demands that the union is willing to accept. Contract Administration: Once a contract is agreed upon and ratified, it must be administered. Contract administration involves four stages: (1) dissemination the agreements to all union members and mangers; (2) implementing the contract: (3) interpreting the contract and grievance resolution: and (4) monitoring activities during the contract period. Providing information to all concerned requires both parties to ensure that changes in contract language are spelled out. The stage of contract administration is ensuring that the agreement is implemented. All communicated changes now take effect, and both sides are expected to comply with the contract terms. The most important element of contract administration relates to spelling out a procedure for handling contractual disputes. These contracts have provisions for resolving specific, formally initiated grievances by employees concerning dissatisfaction with job-related issues. As an HR Manager for a company with 1500 employees, who are quite upset with our management and are unionizing, I have tried to come up with a plan to resolve this issue. First of all, I gathered the legal data in this respect, I proposed some guidelines to avoid unionizing and last, I have discussed the plan in detail to resolve the issue in provided case. I would like to comment that although historically, the relationship between labor and management was built on conflict and the nterests of labor and management were seen as basically at odds-each treating the other as the opposition. But times have somewhat changes. Management has become increasingly aware that successful efforts to increase productivity, improve quality, and lower costs require employee involvement and commitment. Similarly, some labor unions have recognized that they can help their members more by cooperating with management rather than fighting them which is quite positive for both management and employees.

Nutrition concepts and controversies

Mammals, like humans, have a unique way of bearing an offspring. They carry this offspring in their womb for several days or months until their offspring are ready to face the world. This process is called pregnancy. In scientific terms, pregnancy is the phase from conception until birth wherein a fertilized develops into a fetus inside a mother’s womb. Pregnancy is a delicate situation, and needs utmost care and attention. During pregnancy, a mother is exposed to a lot of risks, so risky practices should be avoided. One practice that should be avoided is doing strenuous sports, particularly sports with risks of falling. A fall would cause an impact, and this impact may initiate the separation of placenta from the uterus, a condition known as placenta abruptio. This might cause an excessive loss of blood to the mother. Death to the unborn child would be the other risk. Another habit that should be avoided is smoking. This increases the risk of miscarriage for the mother, and possible health problems and lower birth weight for the offspring. This might also trigger an event known as sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).   Another practice that should be avoided is drinking alcohol. A drunken mother is more prone to accidental fall which may trigger a miscarriage, and therefore excessive loss of blood or death of the unborn child. The child might also have some health problems after birth like a heart problem. Drinking great amounts of caffeine are also strictly prohibited for pregnant mothers. Caffeine affects the nervous system, making you more nervous, irritable and unable to sleep. Too much caffeine in a pregnant mother’s body might increase the likelihood of a miscarriage. This would either lead to excessive bleeding and loss of blood to the mother, and death to the offspring. Lastly, a pregnant mom should also avoid hot bath tubs and sauna baths/steams. These practices increase the core body temperature of the mother. This would increase heart rate to increase the blood flow on the body. It makes the heart work even harder and therefore might result to fainting. The increased heat in the environment of the fetus might also have a significant impact on the health of the child after birth. Reference: Children and Youth Health. (2007). Pregnancy – risks. Retrieved May 1, 2008 from http://www.cyh.com/HealthTopics/HealthTopicDetails.aspx?p=114&np=304&id=1964   

Huck Finn Essays (2931 words) - English-language Films, Free Essays

Huck Finn Essays (2931 words) - English-language Films, Free Essays Huck Finn The narrator (later identified as Huckleberry Finn) begins Chapter One by stating that the reader may know of him from another book, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mr. Mark Twain, but it ain't t no matter if you have not. According to Huck, Twain mostly told the truth, with some stretchers thrown in, though everyoneexcept Tom's Aunt Polly, the widow, and maybe Marylies once in a while. The other book ended with Tom and Huckleberry finding the gold some robbers had hidden in a cave. They got six thousand dollars apiece, which Judge Thatcher put in trust, so that they each got a dollar a day from interest. The Widow Douglas adopted and tried to civilise Huck. But Huck couldn't stand it so he threw on his old rags and ran away. But he went back when Tom Sawyer told him he could join his new band of robbers if he would return to the Widow and be respectable. The Widow lamented over her failure with Huck, tried to stuff him into cramped clothing, and before every meal had to grumble over the food before they could eat it. She tried to teach him about Moses, until Huck found out he was dead and lost interest. Meanwhile, she would not let him smoke; typically, she disapproved of it because she had never tried it, but approved of snuff since she used it herself. Her slim sister who wears glasses, Miss Watson, tried to give him spelling lessons. Meanwhile, Huck was going stir-crazy, made especially restless by the sisters' constant reminders to improve his behavior. When Miss Watson told him about the bad place, Hell, he burst out that he would like to go there, as a change of scenery. Secretly, Huck really does not see the point in going to the good place and resolved then not to bother trying to get there. When Huck asked, Miss Watson told him there was no chance Tom Sawyer would end up in Heaven. Huck was glad because I wanted him and me to be together. One night, after Miss Watson's prayer session with him and the slaves, Huck goes to bed feeling so lonesome I wished I was dead. He gets shivers hearing the sounds of nature through his window. Huck accidentally flicks a spider into a candle, and is frightened by the bad omen. Just after midnight, Huck hears movement below the window, and a me-yow sound, that he responds to with another me-yow. Climbing out the window onto the shed, Huck finds Tom Sawyer waiting for him. Commentary In a few short dense pages, Twain manages to accomplish a great deal. Most importantly, the two introductory notes and the first chapter establish the author's use of humor and irony, the character of Huckleberry Finn, the novel's theme, narration, and the use of dialect. One hateful word the characters use has brought occasional condemnation onto the book and its author. The characters of the Widow Douglas and Miss Watson are also established. As well, the author establishes that the reader needs no familiarity with his previous work, Tom Sawyer, to understand Huckleberry Finn, though he fills the reader in on the pertinent information from the previous work. The brief Notice that introduces the book has been reprinted above in its entirety. In humorously highfalutin language, it states that the reader must not seek plot, moral, or motive the last two of which likely correspond to the present-day concepts of theme and character development. Of course, what the author really means by this notice is that the book does in fact contain all these thingsthat it is more than just a children's, adventure, or humor book. Twain is using irony, saying one thing but meaning the opposite of its literal definition. He is using this irony humorously, covering this declaration of the book's seriousness in a joke. The joke pokes fun at the seriousness of adult American society, with its rules and officials, especially with the citation to G.G., Chief of Ordinance. Twain will use humor and irony throughout the book, most often combining the two. Indeed, humor usually occurs as a result of irony, with the gap between the expected and the actual provoking a

Imperialism of Decadence Essays

Imperialism of Decadence Essays Imperialism of Decadence Essay Imperialism of Decadence Essay Imperialism of Decadence Modern History Sourcebook: Francisco Garcia Calderon: Imperialism of Decadence, 1913 Calderon was a Peruvian diplomat and writer. Here he criticizes U. S. policy, as well as US businesses, for exploiting Latin Americans. He also warns of the dangers of cultural imperialism. Interventions have become more frequent with the expansion of frontiers. The United States have recently intervened in the territory of Acre, there to found a republic of rubber gatherers; at Panama, there to develop a province and onstruct a canal; in Cuba, under cover of the Platt Amendment, to maintain order in the interior; in Santo Domingo, to support the civilising revolution and overthrow the tyrants; in Venezuela, and in Central America, to enforce upon these nations, torn by intestine disorders, the political and financial tutelage of the imperial democracy. In Guatemala and Honduras the loans concluded with the monarchs of North American finance have reduced the people to a new slavery. Supervision of the customs and the dispatch of pacificatory squadrons to defend the interests of the Anglo-Saxon ave enforced peace and tranquility: such are the means employed. The New York American announces that Mr. Pierpont Morgan proposes to encompass the finances of Latin America by a vast network of Yankee banks. Chicago merchants and Wall Street financiers created the Meat Trust in the Argentine. The United States offer millions for the purpose of converting into Yankee loans the moneys raised in London during the last century by the Latin American States; they wish to obtain a monopoly of credit. It has even been announced, although the news hardly appears probable, hat a North American syndicate wished to buy enormous belts of land in Guatemala, where the English tongue is the obligatory language. The fortification of the Panama Canal, and the possible acquisition of the Galapagos Island in the Pacific, are fresh manifestations of imperialistic progress. Warnings, advice, distrust, invasion of capital, plans of financial hegemony all these Justify the anxiety of the southern peoples. Neither irony nor grace nor scepticism, gifts of the old civilizations, can ake way against the plebeian brutality, the excessive optimism, the violent individualism of the [North American] people. All these things contribute to the triumph of mediocrity; the multitude of primary schools, the vices of utilitarianism, the cult of the average citizen, the transatlantic M. Homais, and the tyranny of opinion noted by Tocqueville; and in this vulgarity, which is devoid of traditions and has no leading aristocracy, a return to the primitive type of the redskin, which has already been noted by close observers, is threatening the proud democracy. From the excessive tension of wills, from the elementary state of culture, from the perpetual unrest of life, from the harshness of the industrial struggle, anarchy and violence will be born in the future. In a hundred years men will seek in vain for the American soul, the genius of America, elsewhere than in the undisciplined force or the violence which ignores moral laws. Essential points of difference separate the two Americas. Differences of language and therefore of spirit; the difference between Spanish Catholicism and multiform Protestantism of the Anglo-Saxons; between the Yankee individualism and the omnipotence of the State natural to the nations of the South. In their origin, as in their race, we find fundamental antagonism; the evolution of the North is slow and obedient to the lessons of time , to the influences of custom; the history of the southern peoples is full of revolutions, rich with dreams of an unattainable perfection. Source: From Francisco Garcia Calderon: Latin America: Its Rise and Progress (London: T. F. unwtn, 1913), pp. 392-393.