Interpretive exercise Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Interpretive exercise - Assignment Example imothy 6:10 gives one of the most famous (although often misquoted) verses in the entire Bible, â€Å"For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows† (Bible). It is misquoted in that For the love of is often left off. When one puts that into context, one could probably step across that river. Becoming consumed with greed is just as a big issue in the twenty-first century as it was in Timothy’s time, if not more so. One can get so caught up in the trappings of society he can be consumed. But like Doctor Constable points out, â€Å"it is possible to have very little money and yet to love it† (Ibid). In Acts 20:33 Paul had already said â€Å"I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing† and used the passage to Timothy to illustrate the similarity of being caught up in thorns in comparison to allowing money to let one stray from the straight and narrow path of Christianity. Thus the person is caused great pain and what he thought was going to be joyful actually turned out to be one of misery. The Bible is full of passages warning being caught up in the pitfalls of money. For instance, Matthew 6:24 says â€Å"You cannot serve both God and money†. In Luke 18, when the rich young ruler was asking Jesus how to get to heaven. The Savior told him to sell everything he had and give it to the poor. When he became sad, Jesus told him â€Å"it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God†. Even in the Old Testament, when Abram spoke to the king of Sodom in Genesis 14:23 he said â€Å"that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the strap of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, ‘I made Abram rich’†. Again quoting Doctor Constable, (the whole concept of the verse) â€Å"is an especially difficult task in a society like the one in which we live in

Situation Ethics Essay Example for Free

Situation Ethics Essay Situation ethics is not dissimilar from utilitarianism, in that it is a way a deciding upon the correct action that is to be taken in a given situation. It does however take an individualistic approach, with the emphasis being upon each person, rather than looking after the majority, as is the case in utilitarianism. It is a Christian principle, and so would not apply to those outside of Christianity. It revolves around what the most loving thing to do is. Joseph Fletcher, an American professor of ethics used his beliefs and concerns to come up with what he believed was a fair way of deciding what was the right action to take in a situation. He didnt like the way in which so many ethical theories, such as utilitarianism were based upon and around a basic set of rules, a legalistic approach. He believed that it was too rigid, and did not allow for exceptions. He also firmly disapproved of any antinomian, because it Rejects the idea that there are any authoritative laws, rules or regulations that you ought to obey in a decision-making situation.1 Instead he used love as a general rule in decision making; not storge, to love a country or place; not philia, to love a family member or friend; and not eros, to make love and to lust for someone; but instead agape, self-giving love, as is demonstrated by Jesus dying upon the cross. To Fletcher, agape was fundamentally sacrificing, without any reward or pleasure, as the teachings of Jesus are told in the Bible, and he took a lot of his ideas from this. The quote in Matthew saying, Love your neighbour as you love yourself,2 epitomises what agape is all about. He believed that something could be determined as good or evil, depending on whether or not love had been fully served. Fletcher used four different working principles before setting out his theory: i) Pragmatism the proposed course of action must work, and must work towards the end, which is love3 This is based around the idea of reaching a goal or the end. ii) Relativism in situation ethics Fletcher tries to avoid the absolute by not referring to words such as never, perfect and always. He also added that, all decisions must be relative to Christian love.4 iii) Positivism faith comes before reason and anything else. People must see for themselves that love is the most important thing. iv) Personalism a situationist believes you put people first, not laws, and that, There are no values in the sense of inherent goods value is what happens to something when it happens to be useful to love working for the sake of persons.5 He then worked out six fundamental principles about love and these were: The first proposition Only one thing is intrinsically good; namely love; nothing else at all The basic idea behind this lies in his thinking that only love can be good in all situations, and everything else is good or bad depending on the situation and are not properties of actions. Something can only be good if it brings about love. The second proposition The ruling norm of Christian decision is love; nothing else Fletcher believed you are only required to follow laws, rules and regulations if they serve love. Love replaces law and cannot be equalled by any other law. The third proposition Love and justice are the same, for justice is love distributed, nothing else Love is intellectual and Fletcher said, Owe no man anything except to love,6 categorising the two together. His reasoning behind this lies in his belief that Justice is agape working out its problems.7 The fourth proposition Love wills the neighbours good, whether we like him or not Agape doesnt have to be a matter of felling, but of attitude. It isnt sentimental or erotic, but, rather, a desire for the good of the other person.8 This applies to everybody, not just people we know or people we like, but universally, and nothing is required in return. The fifth proposition Only the end justifies the means, nothing else This is the same principle that applies within utilitarianism. You must consider what the consequences of moral actions will be, and the end must be the most loving result. The sixth proposition Loves decisions are made situationally, not prescriptively Something is right or wrong depending on the situation. b) I am now going to examine one moral dilemma relating to sexual equality, and apply some of the principles outlined in situation ethics in this argument, in order to work out what is The most loving thing to do. I shall also try to establish whether or not there are any problems with the ideas of situation ethics in deciding upon the outcome of the given dilemma. The dilemma is one which takes into account a number of moral issues regarding what is right or wrong and it is this: Two people, Mr A, a 25 year old father of one, and Mrs B, a 24 year old single woman have both applied for a vacant job working as a nurse in the accident and emergency department of a hospital. They have both graduated from universities with the same exam grades, and are both in desperate need of work in order to pay off their universities debts; Mrs. A also wants to help save lives after she saw her mother die in casualty, and Mr. B in order to support his family. They are the final two on the shortlist from over 20 applicants and the governing body at the hospital must now decide which one they shall employ. There is a stereotype that would say the Mrs. A is more likely to get the job as it is thought that nursing is a job for women, as building is a job for men, but is this taken into consideration when the choice is taken? There is also the question as to whether or not personal circumstances will be taken into consideration, as you may argue that Mr. B is more entitled to the job, and therefore the pay, because he has to support a family. If you argue from a situationists perspective you may reach one of a number of different conclusions based on your choice of argument. One that you would not come to however is that Mrs. A deserves the position on the grounds that she is female and nursing is a womans job. If you look at the argument from the perspective of why they want the position you may look at the different meanings of love and you could say that they both want the job in the sense of philia; Mrs. A because she is doing it for her mother, after witnessing her death, but this could also be seen as agape on the grounds that she wants to help people who are in a similar position to her mother so this raises a slight problem which is not dealt with within situation ethics. This is a criticism and quite an important one, because if there are numerous reasons for wanting to do something, such as apply for a job, which do you taker into consideration more, philia or agape, and if you choose one or the other, which one and why? Mr. B on the other hand seems to only want the job in order to support his family, and to pay off his debts. This once again raises a problem in the way in which you perceive his reasoning behind supporting his family. Is it because he loves them in the sense of philia and does not want them to leave him if he fails to support them? or is it because he loves them in the sense of agape and wants to be there for them and not for selfish reasons? This again raises a debate as to how you determine what somebody means when they say something. I shall now examine how each persons argument would be accepted or rejected by the situation ethics in relation to the consequences that would occur in giving each person the job, and the benefits of this. Firstly I shall look at Mrs. A and then Mr. B, to finally draw a conclusion to this ethical dilemma. There are a number of reasons for giving the job. Firstly Mrs. B is obviously a very clever person and would perform the job to a very highest standard but this is not one of the criteria which would be looked at from the view of a situation ethicist unless you thought that it would be the most loving thing to do on behalf of the patients who she would treat at the hospital because she would be able to help them in the best way possible. A good reason for her being appointed is that it looks as though she wishes to work from the perspective of agape and this is vital in making any decision within situation ethics. If she is prepared to work for the people you would believe she would not mind working double shifts, and would do the best she could all the time. If this was the case then she is beginning to build a string argument for her being appointed. It is unlikely that she is extrinsically motivated, and working only because of the benefits she will receive in wages, because the pay of nurses working on the NHS is very poor, but she does mention that she wants to pay off her debts. This could be taken as the main reason for her applying for the job, and if this is true she is unlikely to get the job on a situationist basis because this may not be seen as just, if the other applicants are prepared to work for the people not just the money. This may be thought of a reason she should not get the job but if you put it into context then it seems as though her argument of agape and wanting to help the people of her community outweighs her need for money, and it is not as though she wants the money to be greedy. She requires it in order to pay off her debts. The great majority of Mr. Bs argument from a situation ethics perspective lies in the interpretation of his need to support his family. In some ways this could be seen as wrong as he is not using agape, and wanting to help the patients, but on the other hand you could say that he is doing what he believes is the best and most loving thing for his family, not for himself. However, somebody may take a different approach to his actions and reasoning, and for this reason alone prevent him from getting the job. This is another problem that arises when arguing from situation ethics. The ideas are not precise enough to account for all of the possibilities that could arise, and every situation is different to the last one. If you did not give the job to Mrs. B you would have a young woman who does not have a steady income, in a great deal of debt, and unable to support herself, but you would have exactly the same problem if you did give her the job. You may then have a whole family who cannot support themselves, but it is unclear from the criteria, whether or not Mr. As wife is bringing in any sort of income. If she was then you may give the position to Mrs. B because she is unable to support herself, but this would really not be a situation ethics argument. In conclusion, you would not have as much of a dilemma if you were arguing from utilitarianism because for the greatest good of the greatest number you would give Mr. A the job, but you are not, and situation ethics is far broader than one simple statement. I believe you would give him the job however even from a situation ethics perspective but it is very difficult to decide because you have no way of telling the main reasons for each applying, but the fact that Mr. A loves his family and wants to support them appears to give him the edge, not to say that Mrs. B does not have a strong argument, but just not quite as strong as Mr. As. 1 Dialogue-Special Issue, Ethical Theory; p.47 2 The Holy Bible New International Version; Matthew 22:39 3 Ethical Studies; Robert A Bowie; Nelson Thornes Ltd; published 2001; p.102 4 Ibid; p.102 5 Situation Ethics- The New Morality; Fletcher; p.50 (Taken from ibid) 6 Situation Ethics; Fletcher; SCM Press Ltd; published 1966; p.89 7 Moral Responsibility; p.19 8 Ethical Studies; p.104

Formal Authority

Formal Authority INTRODUCTION Authority is a defining feature of hierarchy. Authority in management is the formal or legitimate authority specified in a charter that gives a project manager the authority to act in the name of the sponsoring executive or on behalf of the organization. There are various types of authority according to different people. But they all seem to have a fundamental flaw that is they are unable to clearly distinguish between formal, informal authority and leadership. Formal authority is the authority provided by an organization or the law to an individual enabling him to carry out certain actions in accordance with his own will and without the need to consult others. Informal authority is the authority that the manager holds over his subordinates due to certain qualities that the subordinates value in him. A manager with good leadership skills has more informal authority as opposed to people with less leadership skills. It is a common perception that most organisations give formal authorit y to managers to direct and control the activities of their subordinates but this is not always true it depends on various other factors as well. One of the major factors that affect the type of authority given to managers is size of the organization usually smaller organizations have a system of authority whereas large organizations have a formal system of authority. FUNCTIONAL AUTHORITY Functional authority is authority delegated to an individual or department over specific activities undertaken by personnel in other departments. Staff managers may have functional authority, meaning that they can issue orders down the chain of command within the very narrow limits of their authority. For example, supervisors in a manufacturing plant may find that their immediate bosses have line authority over them, but that someone in corporate headquarters may also have line authority over some of their activities or decisions. Organizations create positions of functional authority to break the unity of command principle by having individuals report to two bosses. Functional authority allows specialization of skills and improved coordination. This concept was originally suggested by Frederick Taylor. He separated â€Å"planning†from â€Å"doing†by establishing a special department to relieve the labourer and the foreman from the work of planning. The role of the foreman became one of making sure that planned operations were carried out. The major problem of functional authority is overlapping relationships, which can be resolved by clearly designating to individuals which activities their immediate bosses have authority over and which activities are under the direction of someone else. THEORIES Fayol (1949) defined authority as the right to give orders and the power to extract obedience. He emphasised the importance of linking authority to responsibility, which together required increasing judgement and morality at senior levels. He justified higher pay for commercial managers in comparison with senior civil servants since, in his view, the latter exercised authority without responsibility. In general, he concluded that responsibility is feared as much as authority is sought after, and fear of responsibility paralyses much initiative and destroys many good qualities. FORMAL AUTHORITY IN A BANK Union National Bank in Abu Dhabi is an organization that exercises formal authority. As a manager in the bank i was provided with formal authority over a group of six employees and we were a part of the internal customer satisfaction survey department. One of the main reasons the bank believes in providing formal authority is so as to not concern people at higher positions with unimportant tasks. Another important aspect of formal authority is it reduces conflict among people in higher positions if still unable to completely remove it. The reason that there may still be conflicts is that though formal authority empowers managers to a certain degree the managers boss still has a say in the managers decision should he choose to. OVERVIEW OF UNION NATIONAL BANK Established as a Public Joint Stock Company in 1982, they are one of the leading domestic banks in the United Arab Emirates and are headquartered in Abu Dhabi. They offer a variety of products and services, addressing needs ranging from basic requirements of individuals to the more complex requirements of corporate entities. Electronic delivery channels, ably supported by an extensive network of Banking Centres spread across the emirates, offer greater banking convenience to their customers. They are the only bank that is jointly owned by the Governments of Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Their Chairman, H. H. Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan, Minister of Education and Scientific Research, is well supported by their Board of Directorsthat consists of eminent business personalities and their Senior Managementteam which is made up of experienced professionals. Their Vision and Missionis clearly defined and their business strategy is well understood by all staff across the bank. Union Brokerage Company (UBC), one of the oldest brokerage firms in UAE is a subsidiary of UNB. Besides being a leading player in the Brokerage industry, it was among the first national companies to deal in the brokerage field in the country. Besides its head office in Khalidiya, Abu Dhabi, it has a well diversified branch network with 6 other branches at ADX, DFM, Al Ain, Al Dhafra, Fujairah and Gold Diamond Park, Dubai. The Al Wifaq Finance Company, a subsidiary of UNB has been established with the purpose of offering Sharia compliant financial, commercial and investing services to both organizations and individuals in compliance with the rules and principals of the Islamic Law As partof the Banks vision, to be â€Å"a key player in the region†, UNB has now a presence in the Egyptian banking sector through itssuccessful acquisition of the Alexandria Commercial and Maritime Bank. UNB is also reviewing other geographic locations for a presence or strategic alliances that will add to shareholder value. PERSONAL EXPERIENCES ON FORMAL AUTHORITY Though formal authority is considered to be authority provided by the organization or superior to an individual it is more often implied than anything else. When employees had issues with anything to do with the customer satisfaction department i had the authority to decide what was to be done. This greatly reduced the time taken for certain tasks to be done. As i had the authority to take decisions on issues such as upgrading of equipment or changes in software and other issues i did not have to elevate it to my boss. This helped also as i could take a better decision as i had more interaction with employees and knew their needs. If these problems had to be elevated to the higher management these issues could have taken a much longer time frame to get resolved. Also managers at the upper levels especially while working in large organizations that have branches at various parts of a country or the world are unable to clearly see the needs of each branch. Providing formal authority en ables a more personalized approach between employees and the organization. Also individual employee needs are better recognized by their immediate managers rather than managers at the top. At the same time there were certain issues that i faced as when i decided to implement a change in the questionnaire on the request of several employees i found that the management wanted to stick to the older pattern. This shows that formal authority is not always clearly outlined in an organization. Managers are unencumbered by management theory and standards established by others. Effective managers want to be in charge; they also possess an intrinsic desire to achieve substantial personal recognition and to earn that recognition based on their own merits. They never abuse power; they know that the corrupt use of power creates a vile corporate poison that can quickly spread throughout an entire organization and paralyze it. They thus practise humility and refrain from using their position to intimidate others. They can define and manage each situation or person with an appropriate leadership style. Example-they tend to treat their vice-presidents and line workers with the same level of respect, but through different approaches. Authority is the defining feature of hierarchy. The boss can restrict the subordinates actions, overturn his decisions, and even fire him (unless the bosss boss objects, in which case the boss herself may be fired). Tracing this chain of authority up the hierarchy, we eventually reach a person (sole proprietor) or group (shareholders) who can be thought of as owning all the decision rights in the organization. In short, formal authority resides at the top. Leading is one of principal managerial functions. Managers are suppose to be formal leaders because they have the authority to influence their subordinates and are expected to use it. They are officially responsible for outcome of their group. However, in an organization, not all managers are leaders, whether they have direct reports or not. In certain cases job description might demand strong leadership, on other hand leadership might not be major factor. However, in todays competitive world, most of the managerial jobs demand leadership qualities, inter personal and inter group interaction and a manager has to manage different type of responsibilities and roles. A leader influences other member of groups, leads group, and directs members towards its goals. A leader influences s ubordinates level of motivation, their performance and quality of their decisions. DISADVANTAGES OF FORMAL AUTHORITY Authority is a wily beast. In general it means that people will abide by your decisions. They will do what you want them to do. no manager can be effective with merely formal authority. True power comes from the trusting relationships that one forges with the people around him. He does this by being genuinely interested, and helpful. He commands attention by making lucid, compelling points, and acting decisively and transparently. Formal authority will not inspire people to do their best work with a happy heart. The best one can hope for with merely formal authority is grudging or indifferent acquiescence. We can easily become enamored with the â€Å"power of our positions.† Having people do what we tell them to do when we tell them to do it can have an intoxicating effect. Under such circumstances, too often our senses become dulled and we become oblivious to the dangers of formal authority. When authority â€Å"goes to our heads,† it becomes much too easy to disregard , or overlook entirely, critical input we might otherwise receive from peers, superiors and even clients. CONCLUSION From this essay we can conclude that formal authority is like a two sided coin it has its ups and downs. Also formal authority depends a lot on the situation and the organization. Smaller organizations may find that formal authority does not suit them whereas larger organizations may find that formal authority is better suited for them. At the same time larger organizations that have strict rules on company policies may find that formal authority conflicts their objectives. Every manager is unique thus formal authority may be needed by some managers to perform well whereas managers with strong leadership qualities may be able to perform well even in the absence of formal authority as they naturally have the respect and support of employees. Formal authority can be thought of as the right to command or compel another person to perform a certain act. Power is the ability to influence or cause a person to perform an act. It is possible for a manager to have formal authority without powe r, just as it is possible for a subordinate to have power without formal authority. The distinction between these terms may be significant for the manager, who may assume that his formal authority automatically gives him power but overlook the fact that his subordinates also have power, at times greater than his own. The manager in such a situation can encounter difficult and frustrating experiences without knowing why. The conventional view of leadership, formal and informal, can be seen as a confused mixture of leadership and management. Leadership can be seen as an occasional act rather than an ongoing role, a bit like creativity. On this view there is no such thing as formal leadership. Being in an organizational position of authority over others makes you a manager, not a leader. To be a leader, you need to be able to convince people to willingly follow some new direction. This means that there is formal and informal management but only informal leadership. Most managers show s ome leadership. The conventional view is that executives show leadership in two ways. By using their powers of persuasion, they influence people who report to them to take actions they would not otherwise take. The second way executives show leadership, on this view, is by making decisions that move the organization in new directions. However, we are gradually moving away from this concept of leadership, one based on formal authority. It is becoming increasingly recognized that making such decisions should be considered managerial actions. Managers can only lead by persuading people to act differently, either directly or by example. REFERENCES Baron, David P. and David Besanko: Information, Control, and Organizational Structure, Journal of Economics and Management Strategy, 1, Summer 1992, 237-76. Barro, Robert J. and Paul M. Romer, 1987, Ski-Lift Pricing with Applications to Labor and Other Markets, American Economic Review, 77, 875-90. Ibarra, Herminia, 1993, Network Centrality, Power, and Innovation Involvement: Determinants of Technical and Administrative Roles, Academy of Management Journal, 36, 471-501. Jensen, Michael C. and William H. Meckling, 1992, Specific and General Knowledge, and Organizational Structure, in Lars Werin and Hans Wijkander eds. Contract Economics, Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 251-74. Laffont, Jean-Jacques: Analysis of Hidden Gaming in a Three-Level Hierarchy, Journal of Law, Economic and Organization, 6, Fall 1990, 301-324. Mankiw, N. Gregory, 1985, Small Menu Costs and Large Business Cycles: A Macroeconomic Model of Monopoly, Quarterly Journal of Economics, 100, 529-39. Marschak, Jacob and Roy Radner, 1972, The Economic Theory of Teams, New Haven CT: Yale University Press. Milgrom, Paul and D. John Roberts, 1988, An Economic Approach to Influence Activities in Organizations, American Journal of Sociology, 94 (Supplement), S154-S179. Pfeffer, Jeffrey, 1981, Power in Organizations, Marshfield MA:Pitman.

1920-1930 Essay -- Essays Papers

1920-1930 The 1920’s are also known as the "Roaring 20’s". It was the first modern decade experienced by this country, as America flourished after WW I. The average number of hours worked per week dropped from 60 hours to 48 hours (Rayburn). For the first time, people felt that it was just as important to play as it was to work; family outings and weekend trips had become things that workers expected (Rayburn). Women became more open by appearing in public smoking and drinking. Trojan condoms first appeared and sex became an open issue for discussion. During these years, Prohibition caused the rich and the common folk to come together in the name of alcohol. The business of America had become business (Rayburn). Calvin Coolidge was president for most of the decade. He won his first election with the slogan, "Keep Cool With Coolidge" (Library of Congress). At this time, credit first appeared, and people took advantage by buying all the things they wanted like cars and radios. This mindset eventually led to the Great Stock Market crash, October 24, 1929. Women were becoming more open with their bodies and showed them with the clothes they wore. Fashion trends showed that skirts were getting shorter, but many expected them to return to the full-length style of the past after a year. Instead skirts and dresses continued to get shorter from that point. Many people also accepted the fact that women were now drinking and smoking. In the World there was an uncertain peace. World War I had just ended and some peoples had felt that peace negotiations were unfair. In 1922 Joseph Stalin was voted to be the general secretary of the Communist Party. He eventually became head of the Communist Party and issued his first five year plan in... ...s, 1931. Betts, John Rickards. America’s Sporting Heritage: 1850-1950. Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1974. Hamilton, George Heard. 19th and 20th Century Art. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc. Lucas, John. The Radical Twenties. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1997. Rayburn, Kevin. The Roaring 20’s. March 1997. "Calvin Coolidge and History in the 1920’s." The Online Library of Congress." http://www.memory.loc.gov Spielvogel, Jackson J. Western Civilization A Brief History. London: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1999 Buildings on Campus. Dayton: 1937. Archives Collection, Albert Emanuel Hall, University of Dayton, Dayton, Ohio. Wehrle, William O. History of the University of Dayton. Dayton: 1981. Archives Collection, Albert Emanuel Hall, University of Dayton, Dayton, Ohio.

Acting Against Personal Belief to Comply With Other’s Expectations Essay

It is impossible to find a situation in which the individual is not faced with having to act according to the expectations of others. Children react to the expectations of their parents, students must respond to the expectations of fellow students and teachers, employees are guided by the expectations of the employer, and coming full circle, parents feel the expectations of their children. The individual’s moral response to acting in accordance with other’s expectations is very situational. In some circumstances the response is minor. An adolescent may firmly believe good grades are pointless, yet comply with the expectations of parents and teachers. In some cases the response may be much greater. An otherwise honest college student may feel a great deal of remorse when he or she gives in to the demands of a â€Å"significant other† or fraternity to â€Å"share† answers on a take-home exam. The worst-case scenario is the life or death situation. A true pacifist draftee must make the decision to kill someone as the expectations of his fellow soldiers are to obviously protect them from injury or death. Fortunately I have not had to face this sort of dire quandary. The qualifying question is whether the expectation of others goes to what they think is best for me or what is best for the group. Presuming that others honestly have my best interest in mind, I would certainly give weight to their thoughts. This is particularly important when their wisdom and knowledge of a situation is greater than mine. My â€Å"moral compass† has developed from the examples of my family and greater environment, and I alone will have the satisfaction or shame in either living up to or abandoning my beliefs. This was not always easy. I remember breaking a neighbor’s garage window playing ball. I could have run with the other kids, but I told him what had happened because I knew from my parents that it was the right thing to do, an ideal to live up to, and short of endangering the lives of others, I would never give up my ideals. The idea of giving up my ideals is repugnant. I live by my principals and I respect others ideals and principals. Similarly I cannot force my beliefs on anyone, although someone may learn from my example as I have learned from others. I do not believe in bending my ideals to make others happy, besides I could not live with my conscience knowing that I gave up what I believe in to make someone else or an institution happy. Honesty and morality is really all one has; once one compromises up their beliefs and ideals, one loses his sense of self. Perfection is something few, if any of us will ever achieve. At some point in our lives we may succumb to temptation or other factors and temporarily place our sense of morality â€Å"on the shelf†. For instance I may firmly believe in doing the best job possible yet be forced to cut corners by an employer who is under pressure to make a production deadline. I do not have the luxury of quitting and finding another job, and in truth my work is of adequate quality as opposed to the excellent quality I want to produce. My work output will affect the entire company. If I hold up production to meet what I believe is a â€Å"better† standard of quality other workers will suffer the consequences of my decision and make less money because of the slowdown. Similarly, I may have family and teachers who expect me to maintain an excellent GPA. Instead, I find it more important to work to defray the costs of tuition and thus have time to only produce a â€Å"C+† average. In this situation I am the only one affected by my decision. Ethical decisions are not made in a vacuum. In the first example I may have â€Å"compromised† my strong belief in producing quality, and act according to others’ expectations but I can live with it because my actions affect others and my compromise did no harm. In the second situation I cannot live to others expectations particularly when my actions have no effect on them. In either situation the beliefs may differ; what will be important will be my response. Ultimately I must make my decisions based on the effect upon my sense of self as well as what I believe to be the common welfare.

Discuss the drawback of the jury system as it is implemented in the UK The WritePass Journal

Discuss the drawback of the jury system as it is implemented in the UK Introduction Discuss the drawback of the jury system as it is implemented in the UK : 1). It is arguable whether this demonstrates the ineffectiveness of jury systems but it is evident that the Germans do not agree with them. Jury trials were also abandoned in India following the case of K.M. Nanavati v State of Maharashtra [1962] Suppl 1 SCR 567 where it became clear that juror’s decisions were capable of being influenced by the media and the public. As put by Debroy; â€Å"the Nanavati case was responsible for abolition of jury trials in India and it was the last trial by jury† (2009: 1). It was also identified by Debroy that there is a correlation in India between the abolishment of jury trials and the prolonging of cases (2009: 2). In view of this, it cannot be said that jury trials should be completely abolished in the UK as cases may actually be prolonged as a result and there are various safeguards that have been implemented so as to ensure juries are not being influenced by the media and the public (Rackstraw, 2008: 726). Therefore, whilst jury systems do create difficulties, it cannot be said that they should be completely discarded as a result as they are still considered a vital p art of the justice system. Furthermore, if jury trials were abolished it is likely that this would result in prolonged trials as is the case in India. Furthermore, judges would also be capable of producing prejudicial decisions, which would ultimately contravene Article 6 of the ECHR which provides for a defendants rights to a fair trial. In a study that was conducted by Sturcke, it was found that; two in three jurors did not fully understand the legal directions and that more than one in 10 jurors carried out their own investigations online about a case (2010: 1). This study was based on 69,000 cases over a two-year period, which highlights the injustices that can actually be caused by a jury trial. This seems to provide a strong argument as to why jury trials should be abolished, however problems will still be caused by judge alone trials. In effect, it appears as though there ought to be a balance so that juries do remain, yet where cases are likely to be prejudiced a judge alone trial should be conducted. Essentially, this is what seems to be happening at present as jury trials are being discarded in serious and complex fraud cases, yet whether this scope should be broadened to allow for their elimination in other cases is likely. This will ensure that juries are maintained, on the one hand, whilst also enabling them to be discarded in cases which would be difficult for them to cope with. Whether this means that there will be an effective jury system in place, is however arguable. Conclusion Overall, there are many underlying difficulties which emerge from a trial by jury, yet it cannot be said that they should be completely eradicated. This is because judge alone trials will also have many drawbacks, which demonstrates the need for the jury system to be maintained. In order to prevent unfair outcomes from being produced, it is therefore necessary that a balance is attained which could be achieved by removing juries from serious and complex cases and those which would have a damaging effect on their ability to cope. 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