Introduction to Legal Research Essay Example for Free

Introduction to Legal Research Essay Facts: Samantha Smith, a young and single mother, was shopping in the bath aisle of the local grocery store in Indiana. At approximately 1:30 pm she slipped and fell on a clear shampoo that had leaked out of one of the bottles and onto the floor. The aisle had been inspected, logged as clear of any dangerous hazards at 1:00 pm by an older employee who requires glasses. As a result of the fall, Samantha was transported to the hospital where she was admitted overnight and diagnosed with a broken hip. She will require many months of physical therapy. Samantha has no healthcare insurance coverage to cover any of her expenses and is responsible for a two year old son. Issue: Did the grocery store have knowledge of the hazardous substance on the floor, therefore being held liable for the injuries that Samantha sustained? Rule: The grocery store can only be held liable if it had knowledge of the hazardous condition. Breach of duty is defined as â€Å"the violation of a legal or moral obligation; the failure to act as the law obligates one to act; especially a fiduciary’s violation of an obligation owed to another.† Black’s Law Dictionary 214 (9th ed. 2009) Negligence is defined as â€Å"the failure to exercise the standard of care that a reasonably prudent person would have exercised in a similar situation; any conduct that falls below the legal standard established to protect others against unreasonable risk of harm.† Black’s Law Dictionary 1133 (9th ed. 2009)  Analysis: Samantha is not able to prove that the grocery store had any knowledge of the hazardous substance on the floor; therefore, the grocery store was not negligent in its duty to the customer and cannot be held liable for Samantha’s injuries. Conclusion: It is not likely that Samantha will be awarded damages for her injuries because she cannot show proof that the grocery store had any knowledge of the hazardous spill on the floor. Vaughn v. National Tea Co., 328 F.2d 128 (7th Cir. 1964)  Facts: The Plaintiff, Vaughn, slipped and on a piece of lettuce and fell on the floor while shopping at National Tea Company. The store employee stated under testimony that she did not recall cleaning or picking up anything off of the aisle the day before the slip and fall occurred. The lettuce had multiple step marks on it which indicated that it had been there for a while. As a result of the slip and fall, Vaughn ruptured a disc in her back that resulted in the need for surgery. Vaughn filed a lawsuit against the National Tea Company for damages for the injuries she sustained. A jury found the Defendant guilty and awarded damages to Vaughn in the amount of $25,000. See more: how to write an introduction paragraph National Tea Company appealed the case stating there was no proof of negligence. Issue: Did National Tea Company have any knowledge of the lettuce on the floor which would ultimately hold them liable for the Vaughn’s injuries? Rule: Negligence is defined as â€Å"the failure to exercise the standard of care that a reasonably prudent person would have exercised in a similar situation; any conduct that falls below the legal standard established to protect others against unreasonable risk of harm.† Black’s Law Dictionary 1133 (9th ed. 2009) Evidence showed that the lettuce had been stepped on multiple times and, therefore, the jury could find that it was on the floor ample enough time for someone at the store to have a duty to clean it up. Analysis: The jury held that National Tea Company was negligent and a breach of duty occurred because they lettuce was on the floor for a long enough time period to be noticed and removed; therefore, Vaughn was awarded dama ges. Carmichael v. Kroger, 654 N.E.2d 1188 (Ind. Ct. App. 1995) Facts: Carmichael was shopping in the dairy aisle at Kroger and at approximately 2:00 pm slipped on a broken egg. As a result, Carmichael filed a lawsuit against Kroger for damages as a result of the slip and fall. Records show that a Kroger employee checked the dairy aisle just after 2:00 pm the same day and confirmed that there was no hazardous material on the floor. Carmichael was unable to prove to the Court that Kroger knew about the broken egg on the floor; therefore, Kroger was not found negligent or liable for Carmichael’s injuries. Issue: Did Kroger know about the broken egg on the floor which in turn would hold them liable for  Carmichael’s injuries? Rule: Liability cannot be imposed if Kroger was not aware of the broken egg on the floor. Negligence is defined as â€Å"the failure to exercise the standard of care that a reasonably prudent person would have exercised in a similar situation; any conduct that falls below the legal standard established to protect others against unreasonable risk of harm.† Black’s Law Dictionary 1133 (9th ed. 2009)  Analysis: Carmichael failed to prove to the Court that Kroger had any knowledge of the broken egg on the floor that created a hazard; therefore, Kroger was not negligent in its duty of care to Carmichael and cannot be held liable for Carmichael’s injuries. Conclusion: The Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court’s decision that Carmichael failed to prove negligence and breach of duty.

Importance of Studying Child and Adolescent Development

Importance of Studying Child and Adolescent Development Cognitive developmental theories are based on research that indicates an individuals development from birth to adulthood. It was once believed that babies werent aware of their surroundings until they started to learn to speak, however we all know this isnt the case and researchers have proved this theory in a number of studies. From birth through infancy and into adulthood we constantly develop and learn from genetic and learned factors. As children grow into adolescents and then into adults, individual and innate characteristics (hereditary) and life experience (environment) play an increasing role as children adapt to internal and external conditionsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (Papalia, Olds, Wendkos, Feldman, Duskinn p 12) We learn from our surroundings as well as from inherited traits. This paper examines three cognitive theories namely Piagets Cognitive Theory, Social Cognitive Theory and Eriksons Cognitive Theory. This paper examines the key points and postulates of the theories, the basic similarities and differences between the theories. It is very significant to understand the relationships between adolescent and child development for the proper rearing of an individual. This paper also explains the reason for this. Piagets Cognitive Stage Theory Psychologist and life scientist, Jean Piaget, formed a theory that was based on the fact that children go through 4 developmental stages from birth to the age of 15. His research was done on his own children of which he formulated his conclusion of how a developing child perceives the world around them. His theory concerned the growth of intelligence which for Piaget, meant the ability to more accurately represent the world and perform logical operations on representations of concepts grounded in the world. (Nation Master Encyclopedia 2005). Jean Piagets 4 stages of development are as follows: Sensorimotor Stage This stage involves children from birth to the age of two. The baby establishes an apprehension of herself or himself and realism (and the way matters work) by encounters with the surroundings and ecology.(Learning Theories Knowledge Base 2009). This stage is when a baby starts to identify the difference between right and wrong, and yes and no. Because they can relate to a wide range of viewpoints, they no longer feel that there is an absolute standard of right and wrong (Papalia, Olds, Wendkos, Feldman, Duskinn p. 355). The baby is capable of distinguishing between herself or himself and various other substances around. The cognitive process happens through absorption (the arrangement of entropy and absorbing it into subsisting scheme) and adjustment (when a substance cannot be absorbed and the schemes have to be altered to admit the substance). Preoperational Stage This stage comprises children from the age of two to four. The infant is still not capable of conceiving theoretically and requires strong physical circumstances. Substances are relegated in simple methods, particularly by significant characteristics. During this stage it is said that a child has the inability to be able to put themselves in others shoes. They think that everyone else feels the same way they do when they are feeling a certain way. The child is typically described as being egocentric during this phase. Egocentrism refers to the childs inability to see a situation from another persons point of view. According to Piaget, the egocentric child assumes that other people see, hear and feel exactly the same as the child does. (McLeod 2007). Concrete Operations This stage comprises children between the ages of seven to eleven. Jean Piagets concrete operational approach is the third of four stages. According to Piaget this stage of development begins at around age seven and ends at about age eleven.During this time, children gain a better understanding of mental operations, children begin thinking logically about concrete events, but have difficulty understanding abstract or hypothetical concepts (Van Wagner 2005). This stage is seen beginning at the elementary years. The infant initiates to conceive theoretically and gestating, making coherent structures that explicate her or his physical encounters. Formal Operations This stage comprises children between the ages of eleven to fifteen. This child learns to think creatively and logically putting outcomes to particular actions. By this particular stage, the individual no longer needs strong substances to decide intellectual assessments. He or she is able to reason with deduction and hypothesis. As adolescents enter this stage, they gain the ability to think in an abstract manner, the ability to combine and classify items in a more sophisticated way. (McLeod 2007). Piaget used a series of experimental data from a number of children to come to the conclusion that children develop a significant amount of logical reasoning during this period. Social Cognitive Theory Albert Banduras Social Cognitive Theory explicates cognition in terms of the interrelation between demeanor, ecological aspects, and personal aspects. It also furnishes the theoretical account for synergistic cognition utilized to formulate both Cooperative Cognition and Constructivism. (SCT 2007) Bandura conducted several studies on the idea that children learn behavior from others. Evaluating behavioral change depends on the factors environment, people and behavior. SCT provides a framework for designing, implementing and evaluating programs. (Glanz 2004). An example of Banduras theory can be observed in a household. If a child has parents who have anger issues and are always exploding when they get upset, chances are the behavior will be observed and performed by their children. The child will learn to think that this is the correct way to act and in turn mimic their parents. As per the Social Cognitive Theory, the learner develops cognition as her or his surrounding comes together with personal encounters and personal lineaments. (Kids Development 2009) Fresh encounters are assessed face-to-face with the past; anterior encounters succor to gradually lead and communicate to the learner as to in what way the present must be looked into. Eriksons Psychosocial Theory Eriksons Psychosocial Theory growth is one of the best-recognized hypotheses of personality in psychological science. He conceived that personality springs up in a sequential manner, in eight stages. His theory depicts the affect of social encounter across the entire lifetime. It lays down the basis of a properly growing individual should develop from an infant to maturity. In every stage the individual faces, and hopefully overcomes, fresh challenging situations. First Stage Mistrust vs. Trust This stage comprises infants ranging from birth to two years of age. The child relies on the parents, particularly the mother, for comfortableness, existence, and food. The infants comparative apprehension of society and world descend from the parents and their involvement with the infant. During the first year of life, a baby forms their first feelings about the world and whether or not it is a safe place based on the level of consistent care provided by caregivers. (Kids Development 2009) If the parents allow the infant to tenderness, regularity, and reliable lovingness, the perception of the child of the world will be one of faith. If the parents go wrong in furnishing a safe surrounding and in meeting the requirements of the infant, a feeling of disbelief will consequence. Second Stage Autonomy vs. Shame This stage comprises children between the ages of two to three. As the child develops check over eliminative operations and motor capabilities they initiate to ascertain their environment. The parents even in this stage furnish a strong ground of safety from which the infant can embark out to put forward their volition. The forbearance of the parents and support succors further liberty in the infant. Children who successfully complete this stage feel secure and confident (Van Wagner 2005). Third Stage Initiative vs. Guilt During the years of primary schooling, children start to asseverate their check and power over the world by aiming play and other social involvement. Children who are flourishing at this stage decipher the capability and ability to guide others. Those who go wrong in attaining these acquisitions are left with a guilty conscience, absence of initiative and self-dubiousness. During this stage it is helpful when parents are actively rewarding their children for doing right rather than wrong. It helps a child prosper more and feel more confident when they know their parents are recognizing their good deeds and encouraging them to act in this manner more. Fourth Stage: Industry vs. Inferiority This stage comprises children between the age of five to eleven. Through social involvements, children start to grow a feeling of plume in their works and capabilities. Children who are supported and guided by teachers and parents grow a sense of competency and faith in their acquisitions. Parents and teachers who provide positive feedback can help children to feel confident and capable, vital characteristics for happiness and future success(Kids Development 2009) Those who attain no or little support from teachers, friends, or parents will incertitude their capability to be prosperous. Fifth Stage Identity vs. Confusion This comprises teenagers. During teenage years, teenagers are enjoying their liberty and growing a feeling of self. According to Bandura, those who attain support through personal ascertaining will emanate from this stage with a concrete feeling of self and a sense of liberty and check. Those who retain dubious of their faiths and wishes will be unsure and insecure about the futurity and themselves. (Van Wagner 2009). Sixth stage Intimacy vs. Isolation This stage engulfs the period of early maturity when people are experiencing personal kinships. Erikson conceived it was critical that individuals acquire intimate, committed kinships with other individuals. Those who are victorious at this stage will acquire kinships that are committed and safe. Those who wont will endure isolation. Seventh Stage Generativity vs. Stagnation When teenagers become adults, they go on to establish their lives, centering on family and career. Those who flourish during this stage will think that they are adding to the world by being dynamic in their society and home. These are the years when careers flourish families are raised and people find their comfort zones being productive and responsible members of society. (Kids Development 2009) Those who do not succeed to achieve this acquisition will consider themselves ineffectual and detached from the world. Eighth Stage Integrity vs. Despair This stage comes in to action in old age and is centered on pondering back over life. Those who are abortive during this stage will think that their life had been a waste and will encounter many types of rue. The person will be left with resentments and desperation. Those who have pride in their achievements will have a feeling of wholeness. Prosperously finishing this stage means retrospection with few rues and a sense of satiation. These people will achieve sapience, even when facing demise. Similarities Between The Theories All the three theories basically throw light upon the development of personality of an individual throughout their lifetime. They suggest that an individual analyzes his or her surrounding and people around and learn in the process, and the cognition in return helps them, to make an impact on the society and on the world and have a successful life. All the theories assume the utilization of the scientific processes, and usually refuse self-examination as a reasonable process of probe, dissimilar to the pleasure-driven advances like the theories formulated by Sigmund Freud. They denotatively recognize the subsistence of internal mental conditions like trust, wants, support and encouragement. Sensationalism of the theories aggregated with the espousal of internal mental conditions present the validity of the theories as suggested by the three theories. All the theories can be successfully employed educational exercises and kinships. Differences Between The Three Theories The theories formulated by Piaget concerns development from birth to the age of fifteen, where as the theories of Erikson concerns the development process from birth till old age. So, Eriksons theory is a wider conceptualization. Piaget observed his own children for the purpose of formulation of the theories, whereas there were no such circumstances in case of the formulation of theories by Eric Erikson. On the contrary, the social cognitive theory does not focus on people belonging to any particular age group. Eriksons theory bases its assumptions on social and self preferences, whereas Piagets theory bases its assumptions on the capabilities of a child and senses. On the other hand, the assumptions of the Social Cognitive theory were primarily based on the environment in which an individual lives. One of the primary formulations in the theory suggested by Erikson was the ego individuality, which is a conscious self-sense that is acquired through coming in contact with various aspects of the society. Erikson suggested that an individuals ego individuality constantly alters due to altering encounters and altering interactions. There is no such definition in the theory proposed by Jean Piaget, although the developmental alterations are discussed in four different stages. This aspect is described in the Social Cognitive Theory as mutual assessment, as said by one of the famous psychologists promoting this theory, Albert Bandura, emphasizing on the fact that not only does the surrounding around an individual crusade demeanor, but also the demeanor of an individual crusades the surroundings. Importance Of Understanding Child And Adolescent Development Since sundry decades, the inter-relation between health, psychological growth and physical development have become apparent. It is very necessary to apprehend how children and adolescents develop, in what environment they are being brought up and how much encouragement and support they receive from their peers and family. As we might have seen through many practical experiences, a happy childhood leads to a contended adult. Individuals who did not have a happy childhood fear from taking new challenges in life, where the ones with a happy childhood can confidently face new challenges, one of the reasons being that they know there are people who will support them and foster them through trifles of life. Adolescents are very fickle and are very likely to be influence by the bad elements of the society. Therefore, parents and peers must understand in what environment and adolescent and a child grows so that he or she acquires the acquisitions to take the right decisions whenever required . Most importantly, the environment in which an individual grows must be monitored and understood well to ensure proper development of the individual. Conculsion The basic attention of the researches conducted by Jean Piaget, Eric Erickson and Albert Bandura has been on how to attain, work on and store entropy collected during the lifetime of an individual. There exist diverse practical diligences for cognitive theories, like enhancement of memory, enhancement of resolution-taking efficacy, and the strengthening of educational and emotional spheres in the life of an individual. From birth through adolescence and into our adulthood years theorist have proved that we develop through inherited traits along with influences from our environment.

Effect of Technology on Social Interaction

Effect of Technology on Social Interaction INTRODUCTION: Since the presence of technology, humans have ignored themselves and each other. Technology, organized with commerce, which has slowly raided humans and their natural abilities and removed their capabilities. Today, many of us bargain with ourselves in depressed, alienated, drug addicts, stressed out, exhausted, poor health, isolated, alcoholics, and overweight and overworked. We are spending a lesser amount of time together in active face-to-face interaction and conversation with our families, neighbors, colleagues and friends, and more time at working, driving cars, drinking, eating, being online on the computer, sending text messages and emails consuming, eating, watching TV. We have endorsed this situation to change and have not been capable, to find the strength to repel. We have given up so much in conversation for the magnificence and never-ending progress of science, commerce and technology. But we have slight or no time for an insufficient kind statement with a friend or a n eighbor or simply another human being whose conduit we cross throughout our busy days. This condition is in extensive need of our genuine wisdom and attention in order to find elucidations for more congruence, health for human beings everywhere and wellness, and also to establish a balance among our habit of technology and the time we employ in social interaction and conversation with others. CURRENT SITUATION: It is an undeniable fact that the contemporary technologies, particularly the invention of the internet, has transfigured the way people live, work,, entertain and, communicate. To twitch with, the online messages and communication tools such as emails, MSN messenger and teleconference software have enabled the contacts of mutually the loved ones in distant place and associates working in another region. However, it is not unusual to see that news reporting constantly reports on the disadvantageous effect of these fluctuations in telecommunication. Firstly, misusing internet and ignoring the real communication can lead to social separation and segregation. Researches disclose that people, who spend their too much time at the computer cafes, tend to have complications when communicating and interacting with people in the actual world. Furthermore, many family actions which normally help fortify the family bonds cannot be merely replaced by online conversation. Generally, I personally believe that scientific and technological development has transformed our mode of communication in an optimistic and encouraging way, in terms of the expediency, time-efficiency and convenient. However, taken all the above stated negative inspirations into contemplation, we do need to keep poise between the period we employ on line and in actual and real world. DECLINE OF FACE TO FACE CONVERSATION: We are now in the middle of another daunting revolution, which is the Technological Revolution, having a very prodigious effect on the oral word and on societies and their relatives with each other. Only 50 years ago, the computer seemed on the scene. Its arrival and development is instigating the Technological Revolution to interchange ahead at supersonic speed and rapidity as we move profounder into the 21st century. We are forfeiting a very high value to have all these machineries and technologies at our disposal. It is crucial that we evaluate and analyze this situation. Multi-tasking is instigating us to be easily abstracted and diverted. Despite all the machines and technologies for easy interaction and communication with each other, we often sense socially isolated and lonely because most of our acquaintances and contacts are by machines and technology, not close sincere living human acquaintances. SOLUTION TO THIS HORRIBLE SITUATION: In order for us to move forward to the future, it is necessary and essential to go back to the past and history, because we have elapsed, left behind, and unrestricted an essential component that we want so that we can aware about our lives more effusively and with more sympathy. That component is our humanity. We need to get up and observe first what has transpired to us and then to guise deep into past to see what ensued to our ancestors, who, over the millenniums, had to undergo the slow procedure of losing their capabilities and of seeing the deterioration of living face-to-face social interactions and conversation as technology has developed, appeared and developed. All of us have been detached of many of our inherited abilities and of other capabilities that we have assimilated during our lives. The television, media and particularly advertising have influenced us that electronic or written communication is someway better and more precise than our own living spoken statement. W e have been persuaded that somehow inspecting life on a screen is more exciting and interesting than incarnate our own lives. We have become observers, immobile, consumers and seated, who always observers of what we need somewhat separate from ourselves. We have vanished confidence in our institutions, feelings, and abilities, and in our amusing inner resources that we barely know to find or how to exist. It is untainted that we need to re-become contestants in life and not just spectators and observers. By concerning with each other, we could be able to comprehend this goal. There are elucidations to ease up this condition, which we need to contemplate seriously. Many observers and philosophers of life have given us significant messages as to how to achieve this assignment. Communicating with each other can mean bartering concepts about positive and creative action we can take in mandate to resist this modern imperative that is determining us into spectators, users of machines, consumers and non-stop workers. Today, many of us devote a marvelous amount of our time placed in front of a TV or Computer screen or sending messages and emails to each other. It is unblemished that we need to be in touch with everyone, but most of the period our acquaintances are by machine and technologies not by actual life living face-to-face interaction. Before all the technology and machines evolved, people certainly used to employ more time together and as a consequence they were happier and social relations were flatter and more harmonious. IMPORTANCE OF INTER-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION: Today, we come into interaction regularly with other people not only from our own society and country but from all over the sphere and of all eternities and from altered walks of life, political, and religious opinions. This condition requires great sympathy, tolerance, sensitivity and understanding. Intercultural communication assistances can help us to communicate more harmoniously and smoothly with people on a face-to-face root with ease and without arguments or misunderstanding. We need to seek a profounder and more sympathetic understanding of the human knowledge of living a life on this earth and in our world. It can be very obliging to cultivate more familiarity of the many cultures and societies of our world, their past and histories, their characteristics and geographies, and their current states. ENCOURAGING HOSPITALITY INSTEAD OF HOSTALITY: People will communicate with others if they pass smiles and have a friendly expression and appearance. A cold, inimical facial appearance does not offer conversation communication or social interface. Therefore another elucidation to keeping face-to-face conversation and sociability thriving is to encourage and however friendly, pleasant and gracious relations, understanding, kindness, politeness, tolerance, and respect between human beings, irrespective of their age, race, nationality, social backgrounds, and the way of life, the language they express, their facial appearances, religious beliefs and dogmas, or other points of view. If we exercise this mode of behavior, others will follow. In normal conditions, friendly association should find between and among human. After all, we have a great transaction in common with everyone. For instance, we all have two arms, two legs, a head, and a body, and we all breathe, sleep, eat, and have a heart that is continuously beating. We all share the knowledge and information that we are not on this world forever and that we will consent here with nonentity in our hands. So it would seem impeccably reasonable for us to contemplate talking, conversing, communicating and interacting with our corresponding human beings more often and in a friendly and warm manner whenever the occasion presents itself while spending, at work, at shopping, at school, in a bus or road, at the airport, anywhere and everywhere, we often we ignore and avoid each other. So many chances to meet motivating people are conceded by. CONCLUSION: Since, thanks to the growth of e-commerce, people can accomplish a variety of actions, such as booking flights and accommodations, purchasing material ranging from cars to clothing, or even dating a foreigner, without treading out own house. Most prominently, the social links such as the Facebook has even fabricated an entire cybernetic world for us.

Comparison between Adele Ratignolle and Mademoiselle Reisz Essay

Comparison between Adele Ratignolle and Mademoiselle Reisz In order to help to get a point or idea across it is not uncommon to provide two stark contrasts to assist in conveying the point. Writers commonly use this technique in their writing especially when dealing with a story that concerns the evolution of a character. An example of such writing can be found in Kate Chopin's The Awakening. The novel deals with Edna Pontellier's "awakening" from the slumber of the stereotypical southern woman, as she discovers her own identity independent of her husband and children. In order to illustrate the woman that Edna can become in The Awakening, Chopin creates two opposing forces Adele Ratignolle and Mademoiselle Reisz for her best friends that not only contrast each other but also represent different genres of women in Creole society. Adele Rataignolle serves as not only the epitome of the nineteenth-century woman but as Chopin's model of the perfect Creole "mother-woman". Adele's gold spun hair, sapphire blue eyes, and crimson lips made her strikingly beautiful even though she was beginning to grow a bit stout. A devoted wife and mother Adele idolizes her children and worships her husband. Her days are spent caring for her children, performing household duties, and ensuring the happiness of her husband. Even while vacationing at Grand Isle over the summer she thinks about her children and begins work on creation their winter garments. As a matter of fact sin...

Democracy: Justices, Injustices, and Socratic Arguments to Improve Cur

In the Republic, Plato seeks to define justice and, through definition, show that justice is intrinsically worthwhile. In doing so, Plato sets out to explain the principal concept of political justice, and from this obtain a parallel model of individual justice. Essentially, justice is defined as a result of accurate logic or reasoning. However, it is quite important to note that the democratic regime discussed in the Republic is not the same as the known democratic regime of today. The democratic establishment discussed in the Republic is a direct democracy, which, even at that time, proved to be a failure. However, the overall idea of justice and injustice found in direct democracy oftentimes proves analogous to that of the current representative democracy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Throughout the Republic Plato seeks a definition of justice, and, in Book VIII, what justice might be found in the different regimes presented, including the democratic regime. Justice, as found in democracy, has its roots in equality and variety. Indeed, Socrates confirms that â€Å"it looks as though this is the finest or most beautiful of the constitutions, for . . . this city, embroidered with every kind of character type, would seem to be the most beautiful.† Variety is important to some, equality to most, and it is in the democracy where these two elements are highly valued. Here, justice is seen through the concept of equality, a vital concept of the true Form of Justice to many. Indeed, equality is a core aspect of democracy in the Republic, from which Plato identifies that it is the democratic regime that gives way to equality in the purest form available. This democratic regime containing the pure equality is admired by Plato, for it is â€Å"a pleasant constitution . . . which distributes a sort of equality to both equals and unequals alike.† Another aspect of the Form of Justice which is extremely important to many, and is also found in the democratic regime, is freedom. Plato, in fact, seems to admire the concept of freedom, although not placing it above the quest of seeking the Form of the Good, as Socrates observes that in â€Å"this city there is no requirement to rule . . . or again to be ruled if you don’t want to be, or be at war . . . or at peace unless you want it . . . Isn’t this a divine and pleasant life, while it lasts?† Freedom is basically found only, or at le... ...hildren at a young age, and reinforce it throughout their life. Yet another argument Plato might present toward improvement might be the value to which we hold personal freedom. Truly, is personal freedom outside sacrifice? Plato might argue that, indeed, too much emphasis is currently placed on personal freedom rather than discussing the benefits, such as harmony and order, in conceding some freedom. Plato would also argue that society currently holds tightly to the concept and value of personal freedom because the regime is disordered, and therefore those living in such a society are unhealthy. Ultimately, Plato might argue that to improve the current democratic regime would be to reach towards, and possibly achieve, the ideal state; however, realistically to improve the current democracy would be to keep the constitution of democracy intact. That is, some adjustments of education, specialization, and morality are necessary, in the Socratic argument, to achieve improvements in the current democratic regime, but not so much that it is moved out of the status of a democracy. Bibliography Plato. Republic. Translated by G.M.A. Grube. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, 1992.

Exemplary Leadership

Abstract In order to be a successful leader, one must have specific virtues to qualify them as effective. This analysis examines how a leader utilizes organizational power, the magnitude to which the leader is constrained by contingency factors, how the leader deals with ethical issues, and the leader’s decision-making style and influence tactics in addition to other characteristics.The leader detailed in this analysis is proven to be effective based on certain qualities and the methods he employ to successfully reach the organization’s goal, and motivate the employees to efficiently meet their subdivision and complete organizational goals. Upon completion of this analysis, it is recommended that a study is done to assess if factors such as age, sex, heritage, etc. contribute to the type of leader one becomes. Introduction Leaders are an essential part of every organization. The quality of leaders determines the success of the organization.There are exemplary leaders, a nd there are leaders that can learn a thing or two. What is a leader? Colquitt, Lepine, and Wesson (2011) define leadership as the use of power and influence to direct the activities of followers toward goal achievement (p. 451). This analysis will chronicle an exemplary leader that many other leaders can learn from. The analysis will assess the leaders use of sources of organizational power, how the leader is constrained by contingency factors, how the leader makes decisions, his influence tactics, and how ethical issues are dealt with.Context My boss at the job that I currently hold is a prototypical leader and the example chosen for this analysis. While studying Management at Howard University, one subject that was constantly visited is what makes a proficient leader. I always wondered where all of my bosses learned their horrible leadership skills from until I crossed paths with my present boss. His kindheartedness, importable nature, and accommodating temperament raises the bar for leaders everywhere.The way he interacts with his staff makes them happy to work dexterously to meet organizations goals above what is expected. These are the behaviors that Colquitt et al states an effective leader achieves. Discussion and Analysis The Use of Organizational Power Power is the aptitude to guide the performance of other individuals and limit unwanted influence in return (Colquitt et al. , 2011). The authors stated that even if one posses the power to influence, it does not guarantee they can effectively influence.Power is made up of five facets – legitimate, reward, coercive, expert, and referent. My supervisor has the power to request that I perform tasks within the scope of his authority – legitimate, the power to extend specific resources I need and rewards I want – reward, the power to control consequences for adverse behaviors – coercive, the expertise that I depend on to get my job done and to grow within the organization  œ expert, and finally he is an individual that I’d like to be associated with in the organization – referent.He has all five facets of power as described by Colquitt et al. My supervisor exercises his rights to power in order to help the organization reach its overall goals and not to be seen as a coercive leader. He exercises legitimate power for reasonable requests such as asking me to come in earlier than my scheduled time to attend an important meeting that could only be scheduled at that time. Notice that he makes reasonable requests, meaning that he gives the option to decline if I cannot make reasonable accommodations.He exercises reward power by periodically making mention of how he intends to go about upcoming performance appraisals. This is actually a strategic method as he utilizes his reward power to remind me of what he can do, which in turn heightens the effectiveness of legitimate power as I am more prone to be submissive to his requests in order to rece ive greater rewards. My supervisor has been in the marketing field – the basis of our department – for over fifteen years, which makes him somewhat of an expert, giving him expert power.My supervisor is not a fan of coercive power, as he does not feel the need to intimidate because he effectively gets his employees to do what they need to do. He encourages his employees to obtain the results he desires. Overall, my supervisor has a great deal of power. He strategically applies his powers in order to achieve what is most important – the organizational goal. As mentioned earlier, he uses his reward and legitimate power concurrently, which is beneficial for him and his staff.His expert power has strength in that I try to use it to my advantage to acquire new talents to help me grow in this organization and any future organizations. He is well respected because of his choice to not use coercive power. Contingency Factors There are four contingencies of power, which Colquitt et al tells us are substitutability, centrality, discretion, and visibility. My supervisor is insignificantly constrained by substitutability, which is the extent to which people have alternatives in accessing resources. My organization strongly attempts to adhere to budgets previously set for the year. o stick to budgets and discretion is the degree to which managers have the right to make decisions on their own (p. 455). Centrality represents how important a person’s job is and how many people depend on that person to complete their task, and visibility is how aware people are of a leader’s powers and position. . He does not have sole control of rewards and resources. As a non-profit, my organization relies heavily on budgets and each higher manager must adhere to their budgets that must be agreed upon by the chief financial officer and president.So even with his reward power, there are limitations. His centrality contingency is not a restraint. He has a ver y important role in the organization as we rely on him significantly to bring money into the organization. I personally depend on him for the completion of many of my assignments, as he must approve many of my tasks before it is executed fully. The discretion contingency may serve as a restraint for my supervisor; while he is Vice President of Marketing, the CFO or president must approve many of his big decisions.They can then revise or rebut his decision if they feel it is necessary. The visibility contingency is not necessarily a constraint or helper to my boss. The resources he can provide are not necessarily organizational record but his title makes it known that he is above most employees and under just the CFO and president; this makes it so he still has relatively high influence. Influence Tactics Colquitt et al (2011) defines influence as the use of an actual behavior that causes behavioral or attitudinal changes in others (p. 56) or as Ceasar and Grant (2004) define as Infl uence tactics are specific types of proactive behavior used to exercise influence. The influence tactics that my boss uses are exchange, consultation, collaboration, and ingratiation. One of my supervisor’s favorite influence tactics is the exchange tactic, which is when an individual extends a reward or resource to the target with the intent for them to perform a request (p). This tactic is most common when my supervisor has projects with outsourced associates.If we are compensating someone for their expertise and we need them to start working prior to receiving payment, he will construct and send an email stating â€Å"your payment is on its way, in the meantime please†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Usually, when I am asked to complete an assignment, I am also asked how we should implement it and at that point he approves or change it somewhat. This is the consultation tactic, which is when the target – me – is allowed to participate in deciding how to carry out or implement a request (p. 457). He uses the collaboration tactic, which involves making the request easier to complete.He generally provides me with the necessary resources I need to complete the task as well making it simpler so that it is done efficiently and effectively on the first try. Ingratiation is his favorite tactic to use. Ingratiation is the use of favors, compliments, or friendly behavior to make the target feel better about the influencer (p. 457). He never fails to tell me how awesome I am, or on occasions he would tell me that he does not need to review my work because he trusts me, or explain that he gave me a task because he knew I was smart enough to handle it.Influence tactics are the medium through which managers convert power into behaviors; when managers need others to perform tasks or participate in activities, influence tactics serve as a means of facilitating individual cooperation (Ceasar & Grant, 2004). The tactics that he uses are effective and he uses them appropri ately as well. He also uses personal appeals because in his line of work, he deals with a lot of outside clients.It is beneficial for him to build relationships with people in other industries so that they are readily available to help us when we need them. All in all, the tactics my boss uses results in internalization, which involves getting the target to agree with and become committed to a request (p. 459). Ethical Issues My boss works extremely well under intense conditions and with conflicts. Just recently, we joined with a major corporation for a campaign and sought help from a board certified doctor so that the information we offered would be further validated.Prior to execution of the assignment by the doctor, he let us know that he was not satisfied with the pay and proceeded to tell the major corporation false accounts of what we told him were part of the agreement. My boss could have outright denied his claims in the same rude manner that the doctor was exemplifying. Ins tead, he apologized to the doctor for the misunderstanding and attributed his false account to miscommunication. He then asked the doctor what his normal fee was for the task he performed, and he accommodated him accordingly.He then concluded he would never use the doctor again. In this example of an ethical issue, the fault is not of my organization or my boss but that of the doctor. However, my boss handled the situation in an ethical manner when he could have very well become as unethical as the doctor. I personally respected him for his handling of the situation, as I know my initial instinct would have been to react a lot differently. Decision-Making Styles Colquitt et al talks about four decision-making styles: delegative, facilitative, consultative, and autocratic.With delegative style, a leader gives an individual employee or a group of employees the responsibility for making the decision within some set of specified boundary conditions and with facilitative style, the leade r presents the problem to a group of employees and seeks consensus on a solution, making sure his or her own opinion receives no more weight than others (p. 488). With a consultative style, the leader present the problem to an individual employees or a group, asking for their opinions and suggestions before making a decision him- or her- self and with autocratic style, the leader makes the decision alone (p. 57). My boss uses three of the four decision-making styles as he sees appropriate. For example, he would use the delegative style in a situation where he gives the staff a project. He will provide the specified conditions and then allow us to determine the way we carry out the assignment. He would use the consultative style in a situation where he may want different viewpoints about a decision he has to make to see if he explored all relevant avenues before ultimately making the decision based on his own views.He uses the autocratic style when the decision does not directly affe ct the team and he needs no further input. Transformational Vs. Transactional Leadership According to Colquitt et al (2011), transformational leadership involves inspiring followers to commit to a shared vision that provides meaning to their work while also serving as a role model who helps followers develop their own potential and view problems from new perspectives (p. 496). Transactional leadership occurs when the leader rewards or disciplines the follower depending on the adequacy of the follower’s performance (p. 98). Grant (2012) defines transformational leadership as a central purpose to articulate a vision that focuses employees’ attention on their contributions to others. He states that this form of leadership motivate employees to perform more effectively. My boss is a transformational leader. Not only is he great at inspiring his staff to commit to a shared vision, he makes sure that their work is worth their while. He continually asks if our work is suffici ent and challenging enough because he does not want us to become bored.In addition, he gives us tasks that may go beyond our duties just to develop us into more valuable professionals. He gives us leeway to execute our tasks in a manner that is most comfortable to us while giving his input when we ask or when he sees it is necessary. He does not micro-manage and puts more focus on making us better employees so we can help him with our current skills while learning new skills to be more of a help in the future. Neutralizers Vs. Substitutes Neutralizers, as Colquitt et al (2011) explains, reduce the importance of the leader but have no beneficial impact on performance (p. 05). Substitutes reduce the importance of the leader while providing a direct benefit to employee performance. My supervisor’s effectiveness is rarely affected by substitutes. Because our organization is small, outside staff is less likely able to help us because each department has its specialty. Staff could gain experience that will lessen the extent to which they need the manager’s help but could never alleviate it completely because he is the provider of the tasks. Neutralizers are also minimal. There is task stability, formalization, and spatial distance, but inflexibility is not a factor.For the most part there are tasks that are unchanging and daily and there are written instructions for many of the tasks. Also, all leaders have offices and therefore there is spatial distance. Impact My supervisor has a major impact on performance and commitment in a positive way. His personality and leadership techniques make it so he is a pleasant person to work for. He governs over his employees just enough to make sure the work is done while giving enough space for them to be creative and comfortable. His behaviors definitely influence commitment because it is rare to find a boss of this caliber.Conclusions and Reflections I have always viewed my boss as a great boss. I never had the op portunity to think of why he was such a great boss. This assignment allowed me to do just that. And from my research, I found that my boss has virtually everything that makes a boss a great one from his personality to leadership skills. I have always had the attitude that I want to work for myself because most bosses were not very nice people. While I still desire to work for myself, I would not mind working with a boss like mine and now know that all bosses are not horrible people.I desire to be the exact type of boss that my boss is because his methods are effective. After taking the initiation and consideration assessment, I found that my score for initiating was considered low and the score for consideration was considered high. That coincides with the way I think I would lead. I would care about more about input from group members and their comfort than being more autocratic as a high initiative score would indicate. I would be interested in further researching if certain chara cteristics attribute to the sort of boss a person becomes such as gender, race, age, etc.References Colquitt, J. , Lepine, J. , Wesson. M. (2011). Organizational Behavior: Improving Performance and commitment in the workplace. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Gardner, W. L. , & Ceasar, D. (2004). Transition to Self-Directed Work Teams: Implications of transition time and self-monitoring for managers' use of influence tactics. Journal Of Organizational Behavior, 25(1), 47-65. Grant, A. M. (2012). Leading with Meaning: Beneficiary contact, prosocial impact, and the performance effects of transformational leadership. Academy Of Management Journal, 55(2), 458-476.

Post-Modernism

The term â€Å"postmodernism† can literally be translated as â€Å"after the modern movement†. This term’s use can be traced back to the 1870’s, and was commonly used to describe a change in art, music and architecture. It describes a movement from modern thinking and attitudes to a new set of beliefs. Although the actual beginning of the post modern era is unknown, it is best believed to have started in the mid – 1900’s. There have been many influences driving the postmodern way of thinking, some of the more influential of these potentially being Jean-Francois Lyotard, Jean Baudrillard and Fredric Jameson.Of course, this is left to interpretation. Postmodern thinkers believe that there is no absolute truth. They believe that what is true for one person can be false for another. So what is false one day could be truth the next. They do not see one complete and grand narrative in the world in which everyone can believe in. Rather they believe that there are different truths for different people. Whatever a person believes to be true is truth for them, but not necessarily to another person. The postmodern view heavily relies on the view of self-conceptualization and rationalization.They put science aside and depend on personal opinions and thoughts. Postmodern thinkers believe that morals and ethics are based on personal opinions. They believe that our cultures general morals can be disregarded, what matters is what we personally believe is moral and true. Globalization is another issue that postmodernists commonly raise, saying that separation, and having individual countries is what causes war in our world. They believe that separate countries should be united. As far as religion goes, postmodern thinkers believe that there is not one true religion. Any religion can be true, it doesn’t matter what you believe.As long as you believe in something you will go to heaven. Postmodernists denounce the idea that Jesus Ch rist is the only way to God, and that Christianity is the only one true religion. Postmodernism reacts against modern principles, and changes the modern way of architecture, music, beliefs etc. Recent postmodern architecture and art, are meant to look like they have no structure, which feeds off of the un-structuralized postmodern way of thinking. Postmodern thinkers want to implement the idea of pluralism in every aspect of life, saying that there is more than one way of looking at things.There is not only one truth, instead there are many and anybody can believe whatever they want. The idea of postmodernism is very easy to criticize especially as a Christian. The postmodern view says that there are no absolute truths and that everyone needs to come up with their own truths and opinions of reality. This postmodern view does not allow for Christianity, as Christians believe that the fact that Jesus was God’s son and came to earth, died and rose again in three days is an absol ute truth. We also believe God exists and created the world around us to be truth.Without these absolute truths, Christianity would not exist. In our postmodern world people are given the ability to come up with their own truths, and their own views on reality. Instead of allowing God to show us truth, we are basing truth on our feelings. Isaiah 5:20 says, â€Å"Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! †, and Jeremiah 17:9 says, â€Å"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? †.God warns us about depending on ourselves for truth, by doing this we do not allow ourselves to abide by the higher law God has laid out for us, and depend on him to show us truth. Our postmodern world says that what we see as truth may not be truth to someone else. They believe that as long as we each have a truth and we live by it, we are doing the right thing. As Christians we do not agree with this as we know that we cannot depend on ourselves to find what is real and true in this world. God warns us against this many times in the bible. We need to depend on what he tells us is moral and true.Post modernity has made religion into something that people just come and see what they like and take from it what they want. Postmodernism also contradicts itself in the fact that if everything is true, then nothing is true. It takes away the meaning from everything. Postmodern thinkers have a weak argument in saying that there are no universal morals. It would be wrong for people to kill, and this does not go unpunished in our country. With a postmodern worldview, it would be up to the person if it is morally alright for them to do it, and if it is there would be nothing we could do against it, as this was true for him.It is often hard to come up with positives for postmodernism as a Christian; however pluralism can be a positive to a certain degree. It is good to respect other people’s decisions and hear their opinions. When we get different views on a certain subject, we can often come up with a better and more complete answer or decision. It helps when analyzing scriptures as well, by getting other opinions on the meaning of a scripture we hear opinions that may be influenced by a different culture or background.This causes us to look at scripture from a different angle and come to a better understanding of it. Although we shouldn’t persecute people for their beliefs, we shouldn’t just accept others beliefs as truth right away before looking into it ourselves. Jean-Francois Lyotard, is arguably one of the most important figures in the development of Postmodern thinking. Born in France in 1924, Lyotard grew up studying philosophy, and later became a teacher of the subject. By the 1970’s Lyotard’s ideas for postmodernism began to form, specifically in the areas of meta-nar ratives.Meta-narratives, which are described as grand truths, things that are believed to be universally accepted as truths, do not exist. Lyotard tried to simplify everything in life saying, â€Å"Simplifying to the extreme, I define postmodern as incredulity towards metanarratives†. Lyotard was the first to introduce this type of thinking that says everything needs to be destructuralized, there is no structure or metanarratives in our world. This idea of removing structure has been implemented in many things in our postmodern world today, we see it in art, music and architecture.Destructuralization is dangerous as without structure in our world, people will be confused and there will be no rules, rather everyone will do as they see fit. This idea makes it hard to evangelize to people as our Christian views are structuralized, and we believe in an overarching truth. Lyotard introduced ideas of pluralism, saying that there is not just one truth, rather there are different tru ths for different purposes. He argued that Rome’s religious views had an advantage over monotheistic religions, because they had different god’s each pertaining to a different area of life.He explains that this helps show that each of our human experiences are not all connected necessarily, and cannot all be grouped together into one overarching classification. This postmodern view is a direct contradiction to Christianity, in that Christians believe in one God and one way to heaven. This statement allows everyone to believe what they want without any guilt or accountability. This mindset does not leave room for anyone to be corrected as no one has experienced exactly what another has, and therefore your opinions would not be relevant to another person.Lyotard also dealt with issues of technology, saying that with the advancements of technology we are provided with an infinite amount of information, and believes that eventually wars will be fought over control of infor mation. Lyotard suggests that information in our postmodern age is becoming more of a business, people are producing it in order for it to be sold to a select group of people. Lyotard says that information is no longer being used for the purpose of inspiration in order to come up with truths.He wants the information to be used for people to find their own truths, and understand different ideas, rather than just believing what they are told. There are some very real truths to this analysis, in that information is very powerful and can help form our opinions. By leaving information to one person or a select group of people the information is left to only one interpretation. The scriptures require many different interpretations in order for us to grasp a complete meaning of it, and we shouldn’t just take the first interpretation we hear as truth, we need to analyze it ourselves.However, we shouldn’t take this principle too far. Lyotard is implying that by having all this information accessible to us, we can pick and choose what we want to believe, and what we find as truth. Nevertheless, as Christians we need to match what we read to the scriptures to see if they line up, and if they don’t, we shouldn’t take them to be truth. All of Lyotard’s writings and ideas regarding postmodernism, strongly influenced it into what it is today. However, postmodernism’s ideas are dangerous for us as Christians to follow.We need to look at what is going on around us in the world, and what people are thinking, and compare that to how God has told us to live in his word. Postmodern ideas are finding themselves into more and more aspects of our world. These ideas do not suggest Christianity to be truth, and go against the structure of Christianity. Though there are a few things we can take from Lyotard’s writings and other postmodern ideas, there is a vast majority of these ideas that are very false and non-conducive to a Christian l ife.Bibliography Bertens, Johannes Willem, Bertens Hans, Natoli Joseph P. Postmodernism. Malden, Massachusettes: Wiley Blackwell, 2002. Simons, Herbert W. and Billig, Michael. After Postmodernism. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications, 1994. Connor, Steven. Postmodernist Culture. Cambridge, Massachusettes: Blackwell Publishers, 1989. Grenz, Stanley J. A Primer on Postmodernism. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1996. Eagleton, Terry. The Illusions of Postmodernism. Malden, Massachusettes: Blackwell Publishers, 1996.