Shawshank Redemption: Critical Analysis of Subcultures

Shawshank Redemption: Critical Analysis of Subcultures Critical Analysis of The Shawshank Redemption The Shawshank Redemption is a 1994 movie written and directed by Frank Darabont, featuring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman. The movie is a classic and is considered as one of the all-time best. The principal theme of the movie remains around the life of a prisoner, Andy, and tells us about the various circumstances and adversities faced by him and how does he manage to go through all this. The movie skillfully integrates the representation of harsh realities of the prison world and remains successful to a large extent in conveying the intended message to the viewer as to how brutal and harsh a prisoner’s life can be. The media generally portrays prison as an unpleasant and frightening place, and â€Å"The Shawshank Redemption† is a prime case that backs the medias proposal about jails. In the film, we get acquainted with the character Andy Dufresne, played by Tim Robbins, a banker who is wrongfully sentenced for killing his wife and her lover. He is indicted and is sentenced to serve two lifelong incarcerations consecutively. While attempting to survive and discover his jail personality, he meets and becomes friends with Ellis Boyd Red Redding ,which is played by Morgan Freeman, a vendor, and Brooks Hatlen, played by James Whitmore, another life prisoner, in addition to other detainees. While trying to establish his place in the jail, he develops a kind of business relation with the guards’ in charge named Captain Bryon Hadley, played by Clancy Brown and Samuel Norton, the jail Warden, among several other staff members at the Shawshank jail. The movie provides an insight into several aspects of the life in a prison. These attributes include jail society; particularly the guard subculture and detainee subculture. Likewise, the film also demonstrates the adjustments to the jail’s environment, as start, prisonization or institutionalization and finally rehabilitation. The film also gives a view of the purposes behind utilization of the jail for discipline and how it works as a system. Guard Subculture There are various types of guards in prison; these include the rule enforcer, hard liner, people’s worker, synthetic officer, and loner (Cesaroni, 2009a). The rule enforcer is a quite inflexible guard who is mainly focused on maintaining the control. These types of guards are not much interested in negotiations with the inmates; rather they are more interested in displaying their power and authority over the prisoners. The people worker type guard is an older, more seasoned guard who relies on their verbal skills and common sense instead of physical force. The ‘Synthetic officer’ is a guard who treats the inmate fairly, and follows the rules closely, depending on the situation. The loner type of guard strictly enforces the regulations and is always on the lookout to prove their skills to other guards. The Warden, Samuel Norton, is portrayed as an individuals’ specialist to start with of the movie. This is accepted in light of the fact that the Warden is indicated to be a change oriented person. The Warden is additionally indicated to be a dedicated Christian; in the scene when he is initially acquainted with the gathering of people, he clarifies I put stock in two things, discipline and the biblical canon. However as the film advances we see that the Warden Samuel Norton is an extraordinary sample of the hard liner monitor, because of different activities. The Warden demonstrates his actual nature to be that of a hardliner guard, when he plots to have Tommy Williams slaughtered so Andy does not have a shot of escaping from jail. Another case for the Warden thought to be a hardliner guard is that he is utilizing the detainees as free work, while taking influences from contending offices. The film Shawshank Redemption traces the head guard, Captain Byron Hadley to be a decent outline of the tenet authority. At the point when Captain Hadley is acquainted with the group of onlookers he is hollering at another prisoner You consume when youre advised to consume, you crap when we say you poop, you piss when we say you piss because of the inquiry When do we consume? This delineates that Hadleys part is to implement the guidelines. Hadley delights in being a horrible and amazing guard who appreciates frightfully beating the detainees. The Captain additionally beats another detainee to death on Andys first night in jail. Inmate Subculture Inmate subculture is described as the norms, beliefs, values, ideologies, symbols, and language specific to a group of inmates in prison (Ishwawan Neugebauer, 2001). We will discuss two models for inmate subculture: the deprivation model and the importation model. The Deprivation model suggests that â€Å"the prisoners suffer and get frustrated due to the absence of liberty, privacy, free access to goods and services, heterosexual relationships, autonomy and security† (Stojkovic, Stan Lovell, 1998). This theory clearly says that inmate subculture is evident through the pains of imprisonment. While the importation model says that the subculture is evident because the prisoners are replicating the outside world. This model includes the prisoner-staff dynamic, 3 types of inmates, various racial groups within the prison population, type of offence, record of recidivism (re-offending), personality differences (prior to imprisonment), power of â€Å"politicians† (top of the inmate social hierarchy), work gangs, work groups, and sexual â€Å"deviation† which would directly affect inmate subculture. Both inmate subculture models comprise of a behavior code, a power hierarchy, an economic system for illicit goods and service distributions and â€Å"argot† rules. Argot rules are a set of terms that inmates use to refer to various roles in the prison subculture .The jail language incorporates terms such as fish, rat, gorilla, center-men, merchant, ball buster, tough, real man, wolf, fag and punk. Fish is a new detainee; in the film all the new detainees are called fish by other prisoners. As the new detainees are wandering in, there is another (more seasoned) detainee who is making motions about reeling-in fish. A center-man is a disagreeable prisoner who tries to opportunist with the jail power. In the film, Andy would be a good example as he helps the guards (and the Warden) with their taxes and deals with their cash. However when gotten some information about it, Andy denies the case. Andy is likewise enjoyed by other prisoners, once they get to know him, subsequently he would not be a complete focus man. A rivulet is an alternate illustration of a center man, however in the movie Brooks is well known, and everybody likes him. A merchant is a prisoner who offers things for sale when given the chance, for this situation Red is an impeccable illustration. Red is the fellow that can get it for you, cigs, liquor, anything inside reason. A wolf is a detainee that takes the male part in sexual experiences. These people are exceptionally forceful and are not of gay person introduction outside of jail. In the movie Bogs Diamond the leader of The Sisters group is a good example of this. Prisonization/Institutionalization To really comprehend jail and how it influences the individual Goffman depicted it as an aggregate establishment. An alternate approach to ponder jail is as a position of habitation and work where a substantial number of like-arranged people, cut off from the more extensive society for an obvious time of time, together lead an encased, formally directed round of life. This is in the feeling of the controlling structure and social association in which the jail capacities. Clemmer expresses that prisonization or regulation is the methodology of socialization of a prisoner into the subculture of the jail. This procedure incorporates researching the jails subculture, for example, values, convictions and practices that test the jail staff. Despite the fact that these guidelines and subcultures are set up to restore the guilty party they may fortify a few sorts of freak conduct too. Some individuals who enter jail wont completely receive the jail subculture. People who get tied up with the jail society have a tendency to have longer sentences, flimsy identities and have a tendency to not have powerless associations with individuals on the outside of jail (Cesaroni, 2009b). The people who oppose jail society have a tendency to have shorter sentences, stable identities and genuinely great associations with individuals in the public eye. In the movie, many characters had long sentences and effectively got tied up with the prisonization impact. A prime illustration of that is the character Brooks. Streams was in the jail for a long time, been sent to Shawshank Prison in 1905. He began to consider himself a paramount man inside the jail dividers since he had been accountable for the library since 1912. However he had no significance outside of the jail, and he couldnt get a library card on the off chance that he needed to. Red said all what needed to be said when dis cussing prisonization and the dividers at Shawshank Prison the dividers are clever, first you loathe them, then you get used to them, then you require them. Streams figured out the hard path while on parole, that following 50 years of being in jail and keeping the jail societies he couldnt live in ordinary society any longer. An alternate explanation behind people to get tied up with the prisonization or systematization influences is because of Sykes hardship model (Cesaroni, 2009b). This model expresses that the anxiety and troubles are brought about by the denying states of the jail itself which at last prompt the detainees adapting to jail society components. Sykes hypotheses on hardship are not far-removed regarding states of the jail. There is an ache in entering jail significantly after a detainee conforms to their new home. They have lost their privileges of freedom and are denied from merchandise, administrations, security and the choice of a hetero relationship. Prisoners are dealt with like kids by being advised when to consume, when to work, when to rest and actually when they can utilize the washroom. The offices are a poor environment on the grounds that there are rats and a high danger of ailments because of crowdedness with different prisoners. In the film, one of the new detainees asks Cap tain Hadley when they will consume to which he reacts that you consume when we say you consume. You poop when we say you poo. You piss when we say you piss. This was one of the bitter experiences for Red in the prison. Rehabilitation Recovery is a project and an objective that the punitive framework uses to help detainees come back to society without the dread of relapse. In the past it was accepted that culprits perpetrated unlawful acts in light of the fact that they were apathetic hence the prisoners required to buckle down with the end goal them should change. It was accepted that a solid hard working attitude was specifically associated with positive social conduct; consequently instructing prisoners to buckle down was seen as an approach to change them. It is currently accepted that genuine work can prompt restoring a prisoner in light of the fact that they learn abilities and create great work propensities that can be utilized as a part of society. This can likewise help the prisoners when petitioning parole. Prisoners who buckle down while in jail are seen more great by the parole board, since the need to re-irritate is diminished. Recovery is a science and it began being seen that route in Canada in 1935. It was viewed as that keeping in mind the end goal to restore detainees expert assistance from therapists, specialists and remedial chiefs was required. This functioned admirably until around 1970, when all the rights and activities gatherings began dissenting with the utilization of mobs, killings and prisoner takings. At this point the individuals were requesting a get extreme mentality towards lawbreakers and their wayward kids. After the common turmoil of the 1970s, restoration was brought go into the contemplations of amendments in new ways, it was felt that a few detainees had a place in the group, far from the masters and not bolted away in a correctional facility. Conclusion Jail has been delineated in numerous diverse movies through the years, each of them including Shawshank Redemption, has indicated to the world that jail is appalling. Shawshank Redemption has demonstrated that jail is a fierce place by showing how distinctive guards carry on and treat the detainees, and also delineating the way the prisoners associate with each other and the courses in which they attempt to make their day by day carries on somewhat more tolerable. The film clarifies how detainees change in accordance with jail life from the launch toward the start of their sentence; to restoring the wrongdoer go into typical society and in addition prisonization or regulation the prisoners experience. The film Shawshank Redemption additionally clarified how jail is utilized for discipline purposes and demonstrated that jail can work as though it were a bit of hardware. The media has constantly portrayed jail to be a negative spot and the film The Shawshank Redemption is a prime sample. While there are a few suppositions and suggestions that can be produced using the film about society and its convictions, two appear to emerge. The main moral ramification of the movie is the way to go that society takes a utilitarian perspective of morals. Under a utilitarian methodology, choices are focused around their outcomes (Johnson, 2012, p. 154) and normal rules dont apply in this situation. There are feelings that while certain activities, all by themselves, can be viewed as untrustworthy, the society is eager to view them all the more positively inside a certain setting. Case in point, there is by all accounts an innate requirement for individuals to feel that equity has been carried out, and certain exploitative practices may be adequate in attaining that end. This can be seen throughout the movie. Boggs, the pioneer of the Sisters, is beaten until he is deadened for harming Dufresn. Dufresn escapes from jail and takes $370,000 of sick gotten, laundered cash the whole tim e. Both of these may be viewed as untrustworthy all by themselves, yet the gathering of people is eager to hail both in light of a legitimate concern for equity being served. We see this same utilitarian view in the utilization of force in the film. The Warden and the guards misuse their energy to varying degrees and the group of onlookers is intended to grimace and look askance. Then again, when Dufresn misuses his budgetary capacities in an illicit action and escape or Red takes part in carrying things into the jail, the crowd praises. In a vacuum, the majority of the demonstrations are dishonest. Notwithstanding, the activities of Dufresn and Red appear to serve, in the eyes if the group of onlookers, to offset a percentage of the ill-uses of force and development the reason for equity. Therefore, they are taken a gander at as being moral in as much as they helped meet the moral standard of equity in spite of being dishonest themselves. The second ramification is the force of moral administration. This can be seen in the response of the two fundamental gatherings, the administering force of the Warden and the guards and Dufresns gathering, to their particular pioneers. On account of the guards, we see the impact that the administration of the Warden and Hadley has over them. As was said prior, the guards are roused to act in pitiless ways towards the detainees when around the Warden and Hadley, yet we see more moral and altruistic collaborations when the guards are distant from everyone else with the detainees. Indeed Hadley changes once the spell of the Wardens initiative is broken, sobbing on and on when he is captured. Hence, one sees the length and force of the shadow that the Warden throws. Rather than the guards, one sees the positive impact that Dufresn has on Red and other detainees in their gathering. When he arrives, they are useful and sober minded, surrendered to the way things are. Notwithstanding, Dufresn demonstrates to them that moral conduct and rightness can even now exist. This starts with their initially meeting, when he requests the name of a detainee who was beaten to death. This appears immaterial to the others however serves as an image of Dufresn bringing the morals of the outside world with him into the jail. Notwithstanding all that happens amid his stay, he never loses those morals. He never loses trust. Furthermore, all the while, he raises the moral level and level of trust for all parts of the gathering. Both men lead their particular gatherings through their activities and choice making. Ones activities lead in an unscrupulous way and the other in a more moral one. Through this, it is apparent exactly how persuasive the moral choices of a pioneer and the shadow or light they cast can be (Johnson, 2012). In this way, against the setting of the microcosmic subculture of Shawshank Prison, one sees the essentialness of equity and reasonable utilization of force to American culture. The saying Power adulterates and total force ruins completely, (Johnson, 2012, p. 11) turns into a reality inside the jail dividers and the characters are left to comprehend it. Eventually and incidentally, it is the apparently exploitative deeds of Dufresn and Red (who breaks his parole to go to Mexico) that restore the parity of equity and power that the crowd is looking for and, in doing along these lines, uncover the paramount part that these moral standards play in the public eye. References Analysis Of The Shawshank Redemption Philosophy Essay. Retrieved from http://www.ukessays.com/essays/philosophy/analysis-of-the-shawshank-redemption-philosophy-essay.php Ethics. In The Free Dictionary by Farlex. Retrieved from http://www.thefreedictionary.com/ethics Glotzer, L., Lester, D.. Marvin, N. (Producers) and Darabont, F. (Director). (1994). The Shawshank  Redemption [Motion Picture]. United States: Castle Rock Entertainment. Johnson, C.E. (2012). Meeting the Ethical Challenges of Leadership: Casting Light or Shadow, fourth  edition. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications Ltd. Justice. In The Free Dictionary by Farlex. Retrieved from http://www.thefreedictionary.com/ethics

History of Stonehenge Essay -- Architecture Historical Essays

History of Stonehenge On May 20, 1996, TIME magazine contained an advertisement for the Mita DC-8090 copying machine. It included a vivid image of a very recognizable work of art, Stonehenge. TIME magazine is a weekly news magazine and its readers are educated and interested in current events, politics, business, science, and the arts. The text of the advertisement states, "The new Mita DC-8090 has the technology to manage complicated copying jobs from start to finish-it's fully automatic. Sunsets should be watched, not copiers." The advertisement utilizes the beautiful image as a setting to make the product look attractive and the text to suggest that the copier will save time and effort. It also assumes that the reader will associate Stonehenge with the sun and sunsets using common knowledge about this famous structure. Stonehenge is located on the Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England. It is a megalithic monument built during the Neolithic Period, approximately between 2750 and 1500 B.C..(Stokstad, p.54-55) The builders of this magnificent monument remain unknown although it was once incorrectly thought to have been built by the Druids.(Balfour) Stonehenge was built in several different phases beginning with the large white circle, 330 feet in diameter, surrounded by an eight foot-high embankment and a ring of fifty-six pits now referred to as the Aubrey Holes.(Stokstad, p.53; Hoyle) In a subsequent building phase, thirty huge pillars of stone were erected and capped by stone lintels in the central Sarsen Circle, which is 106 feet in diameter.(Stokstad, p.54) This circle is so named because the stone of which the pillars and lintels were made was sarsen. Within the Sarsen Circle were an incomplete ring and a horsesho... ...he advertisers assumed that the readers of TIME magazine had seen the site before and knew something about its history. This is a fairly safe assumption since the readers of TIME would probably have had some exposure to this very famous work of art. The readers may not have known specific details about the original but, as with most art from the past that is reproduced in the present, the work is associated with certain well-known facts. Works Cited: Balfour, Michael Stonehenge and Its Mysteries New York 1979 Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia (Computer Program) Hoyle, Fred From Stonehenge to Modern Cosmology San Francisco 1972 On Stonehenge San Francisco 1977 Humbert, Jean-Marcel Pantazzi, Michael Ziegler, Christiane Egyptomania Paris 1994 Stokstad, Marilyn Art History, Volume 1 New York 1995 Wainwright, Geoffrey The Henge Monuments London 1989

Human Resources Strategic Plan Essay

The Human Resources Department (HR) developed a strategic plan that tackles strategies to support the overall goals and objectives of The ABC Services Agency (ABC). In this report, the strategic HR planning process along with the mission, vision and goals of ABC will be discussed. The proposed HR strategy, which is named Diversity Program, will be explored by looking into elements including costs, benefits and outcomes. The main focus of this report is on attracting and retaining qualified direct care staff. Executive Summary ABC, founded in 1961, is a volunteer parent support group that provides support services to children and adults with disabilities. Furthermore, it provides them and their families with assistance and support from birth to senior years. ABC is committed to support people with disabilities through job placements, residential support, respite care, social activities and vocational training. ABC also tries to incorporate disabled people into the community through education and by working with many volunteers and donors. ABC’s 20-year vision is full acceptance and inclusion by the community. In addition, ABC aims to improve its services, support systems and technology. The mission is all about â€Å"achieving full community life for children and adults with disability, one person at the time.† The goals are divided into two dimensions—achieving and full community life. â€Å"Achieving† refers to ensuring individuals are given opportunities to experience their own potential. â€Å"Full community life† focuses on families, friends, colleagues and other valued relationships to create a joyful and fulfilled life. To accomplish this mission, ABC operates according to essential values that complete the heart of the organisation. Some of these values include a caring attitude, responsiveness, respectfulness, partnership, financial sustainability and diversity. ABC also has a strong belief that all people have equal rights, strengths and assets. Other beliefs include positive  difference, the same opportunities for people with disability, the difference that valuable member and motivated staff could make and the importance of family role. In the next five years, ABC will approach a leadership role in working with a broader array of community resources. It will also explore the feasibility of actively engaging volunteers. Moreover, ABC has set up goals that are based on important issues found by the previous strategic planning process. These goals are relevant to work week opportunities (e.g. employment and day supports), recreation and leisure activities, residential support (e.g. community living and participation) and family support and education. Strategic Human Resources Planning To convey ABC’s mission, HR developed the following main objectives: ABC improves its capacity to attract and retain qualified direct care staff; All staff thoroughly understands the meaning of the mission and how their job contributes to achieving it; A professional development program is implemented to strengthen and expand the supervisory and management capacity and opportunities among mid-level managers; and A professional development program is implemented to strengthen and expand the capacity of direct support staff to be community liaisons and successfully integrate the consumer they support into the community (Managance Consulting, 2015). This report focuses on the first objective, which is to attract and retain qualified direct care staff. Through a strategic planning process, HR was able to set three sub-objectives to achieve the four main objectives relative to the organisation’s mission. Firstly, HR aims to increase the organisation’s visibility in the community by updating the communication plan and utilising strategic communication to attract potential employees and volunteers and facilitate their recruitment. Secondly, HR intends to increase the number of volunteers by 50% through volunteer programs, training, leadership development and recognition. Lastly, HR plans to increase the amount of contributions that support the operating budget even  more. This will be done through fundraising, which is ultimately essential for any non-profit organisation (Managance Consulting, 2015). Strategic Human Resources Planning Process HR aims to develop a stable, highly qualified and motivated workforce that actively advocates ABC’s mission. While it remains positive about the outcomes of the plan, HR is aware of the gaps that lie between ABC’s current and future state. These gaps include significant growth that led to challenges to human resources, difficulty with supervision, lack of structure for coordination among departments and inconsistent administrative and clerical support as shown in the image below. Figure 1. Gaps between ABC’s current and future state. To address these current issues for a better future, HR is going to implement new practices. A diversity program in the forms of interest groups will be established. These interest groups include the following: Cooking Club Singing & Dancing Club Moms Club LGBTF Club Figure 2. Diversity program’s interest groups. Each of these interest groups will be discussed in the latter part of the report. PESTEL Analysis To develop a well-informed, strategic plan, the external environment that ABC operates in was analysed. With this PESTEL analysis, various external environmental factors that can impact ABC were identified and understood. Hence, HR is equipped to monitor any changes that may influence ABC’s performance. Political Analysis ABC’s day-to-day operations and future decisions can be affected by different government policies such as taxation policy and delivering community service policy. In that regard, ABC, like all other organisations, must comply with certain rules and regulations to ensure survival. While strict compliance with the law is required, government initiatives and political infrastructures also need to be taken into consideration. Government initiatives may have an effect on ABC’s performance relative to employment and unemployment rates. Some of the political ambitions of the government may provide ABC with employment opportunities, while others may lead to retrenchment or attrition. This is something that ABC needs to be fully prepared for. The same concept applies to existing and forthcoming political infrastructures in the forms of transportation systems and skyscrapers. All these political factors must be taken into account to avoid negative publicity and potential fines (Business Case Studies LLP, 2015). Economic Analysis Like other organisations, ABC aims for profit maximisation. To strive toward this particular goal, economic elements such as economic growth, banking, employment, income, general price level, interest rate, inflation and recession need to be analysed. Among all these elements, economic growth, which leads to development, is the most important one as it dictates the volume of finances that the society as a whole is earning and investing. To keep up with the demands of a diverse economy, ABC must be as proactive as possible (K, 2013). Being proactive extends toward being aware of the other economic factors. Banking, which is interconnected with money, can affect ABC in terms of borrowing capacity and purchasing power. Banking policies and facilities can  influence the borrowing capacity of both ABC and the people. Furthermore, money and its circulation can dictate the purchasing power of the customers (K, 2013). Employment density and income rate can also impact ABC’s operations. During an economic surge, the number of employment opportunities, which generate income, increases. This upturn provides people with a stronger purchasing power. On the other hand, as the economy goes downward, the purchasing power of the people also shrinks (K, 2013). General Price level is another economic factor that can influence the growth of ABC. Cost of resources, cost of production, cost of labour and cost of transportation are some of the components that dictate the general price level. An increase in the cost of any of these components will reduce the total amount of money ABC generates for products sold or services provided. Similar to general price level, the rate of interest can impact the development of ABC. Interest rates can have a direct effect on the loans that ABC takes to drive its performance improvement strategies forward (K, 2013). The Agency needs to establish strategies and contingencies to cope with the above-mentioned economic elements, along with inflation and recession. Socio-Cultural Analysis As the society evolves, there is a need for organisations like ABC to adapt to stay ahead of the game. By being aware of the societal and cultural changes, ABC will continue to operate smoothly toward success. Changing customer preferences is a socio-cultural factor that can impact ABC’s operations, especially its business decisions. In that regard, it is of utmost importance that ABC examines the lifestyles, attitudes, styles and priorities of its customers. Relative to the changes in preferences is the changes in demographics. Changes in demographics can significantly affect ABC’s operations because population rates increase, people age and gender  roles change. As the morals, values and tastes of people change, ABC needs to keep up especially in terms of advertising techniques (Richards & Media, 2015). Other socio-cultural factors that need to be considered include population health, education, social mobility, employment patterns, press attitude, public opinion and social taboos (Public Health Action Support Team, 2011). Technological Analysis The constant evolution of technology impacts organisations as it provides them with opportunities to improve. ABC must be aware of the emerging technologies to be a frontrunner in the market. Monitoring the advances in technological processes is vital to sustain any organisation. These technological innovations can be used to improve productivity, quality and efficiency. Some of the technological advances that can help improve ABC’s daily operations include online databases, shared drives, e-mails, blogs and mobile applications (Education Portal, 2015). The development of the internet can also affect ABC’s marketing strategies and activities in a positive way. By utilising the internet, ABC can reach a wider audience as youngsters nowadays are much more eager and confident to experiment with advanced technologies. Additionally, ABC can also utilise today’s technology to enhance the way it communicates with its internal and external customers. Aside from e-mails and smart phones, online meetings, web conferencing and videoconferencing can also be used for effective and efficient communication (Business Case Studies LLP, 2015). Technological advances offer a variety of advantages. However, it can also transform an organisation into a failure when it is abused or used improperly. In that regard, ABC needs to take note of its responsibilities when posting something online. Environmental Analysis ABC, like other organisations, must abide by certain environmental rules and regulations in all developmental stages. ABC’s equipment, procedures and even building expansions must conform to environmental regulations and meet regulatory requirements (Jeanty & Media, 2015). ABC also needs to be aware of its local competition. Market research can be used to create awareness relative to the day-to-day operations of the competitors. The information gathered can be used for process improvements. Other environmental factors that need to be considered include geographical location, climate and weather (Blurtit Ltd., 2015). Legal Analysis Legal changes that can impact ABC are tied up with some political changes. The key to survival is to not only anticipate but also prepare to come across future legal changes. ABC needs to ensure all the legal requirements are met. Some of the legislations that ABC needs to comply with include Equal Opportunity Act 1984, Anti-Discrimination Law, Anti-Bullying Law and Occupational Safety and Health Act 1984 (Business Case Studies LLP, 2015). SWOT Analysis Conducting a SWOT analysis to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of an organisation is important to achieve success. In this report, the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of HR’s proposed diversity program was analysed. Strengths The diversity program will be an ongoing program. This will give all participants a sense of belongingness for a long period of time. Although the program is innovative, it does not require a large amount of money for it to be implemented. Its implementation will be supported by different fundraising activities like garage sales. The program will advocate workplace diversity inside and outside the organisation. The diversity  advocacy will emphasise not only age and culture but also sexual orientation and physical ability. Furthermore, this diversity program will provide future participants with a variety of interest group options that will enable them to express themselves through food or music. Weaknesses The greatest weakness of the diversity program is the ageing employees. The program will depend on the existing staff to facilitate the interest groups efficiently. As some of the existing younger staff can perform the tasks well, the old staff can become a liability. This weakness leads to another weakness which has something to do with technology. The program will be facilitated by old people and this people are not technology savvy. This unfamiliarity with advanced technologies can impact the implementation of the program. Because ABC is a non-profit organisation, it has limited function rooms. This room insufficiency can create conflicts among the different interest groups in terms of meeting or activity schedules. Opportunities This diversity program offers various opportunities such as motivated workforce, wider audience, awareness, visibility, recognition and more volunteers. The sense of belongingness that the staff will get out of the program will motivate them to deliver a high performance. HR plans to update ABC’s official website by adding a page that talks about workplace diversity in general. The proposed diversity program as well as the interest groups will also be posted. This update will give ABC an opportunity to reach a wider audience. In addition, it will create awareness on workplace diversity. This will provide ABC with an opportunity to expand its visibility in the community, which may also lead to several recognitions. An increase in the number of volunteers is another great opportunity. Threats Since the program will be open to people with different backgrounds and even  to those whose first language is not English, a communication gap due to language barrier is a possible threat. There is also a possibility of the workforce not willing to work extra hours. This is a threat because if there is an issue with the number of facilitators, the program will be unsuccessful. In relation to that, potential volunteers may only be involved in the program for a short period of time. Lastly, ABC’s team managers who will be the facilitators of the interest groups may get overwhelmed with all the duties and responsibilities that will be given to them. Selected Human Resources Strategy Diversity Every organisation consists of individuals and each of these individuals is unique. This individuality calls for workplace diversity. Workplace diversity refers to the differences among people in an organisation. These differences can include age, gender, race, sexual orientation, family status, religion, physical ability and experience. In totality, diversity encircles acceptance, understanding and respect (Commonwealth Bank of Australia, 2015). Workplace diversity is important as it is increasingly being considered an asset to organisations. Establishing a positive, diverse work environment will lead to motivated workforce and improved services for the customers. Moreover, research states that the most engaged employees are those working in a diverse environment (Commonwealth Bank of Australia, 2015). Diversity Program This diversity program aims to attract and retain qualified direct care staff by providing them with a welcoming, inclusive and supportive workplace. The program consists of different interest groups namely the cooking club, the singing and dancing club, the moms club and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender employees and straight Friends (LGBTF) club. Basically, these interest groups will be formed to support identified groups such as people with disability, indigenous Australians, aged people, people with caring,  family or relationship responsibilities, people from other countries and cultures and people whose first language is not English (Australian Public Service Commission, 2012). This diversity program was inspired by the Australian Federal Police (AFP). The AFP is an organisation that provides its employees with equal opportunities while complying with relevant government legislations. It acknowledges that workplace diversity does not only encompass language and culture but also age, gender, sexual orientation and attitude (Commonwealth of Australia, 2015). The AFP advocates diversity in the workplace through the following ways: the Employee Assistance Program which provides external support for members and their families the Malunggang Indigenous Officers Network which supports the recruitment and career development of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people support for community events and celebrations such as Harmony Day, Disability Day and NAIDOC Week Gay and Lesbian Officer Network which provides support to its members and advises management on strategies and initiatives relevant to the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex (GLBTI) communities the Women’s Network which aims to support, encourage and network by providing leadership to women in the organisation and developing and implementing strategies to meet a wide range of interests and needs the internal network of Harassment Contact Officers and Confidantes which provides support to anyone who may need it the Workforce Diversity Plan, which aims to encourage managers and employees to value diversity the Employee Management Pla n through which managers are accountable for work/home/life balance strategies for themselves and their team the appointment of staff with key roles in building relationships within the AFP and the broader community, including GLBTI and Indigenous community officers (Commonwealth of Australia, 2015) Human Resources Plan Interest Groups The cooking club will be open for food enthusiasts. While people who love to cook will be highly encouraged to join the club, people who do not cook but want to learn how to cook will also be welcomed as cooking classes will be provided once in a while. The singing and dancing club will be open for music aficionados. People who are interested to join this club will be given an option to become a member of either a choir or a dance group or both. The moms club will be open for all the mothers who like to mingle with other mothers. This club will be beneficial for the new mothers as they will learn a lot of things relative to being both a good mother and a good wife. LGBTF Club Gender and sexual preference impact not only organisations but also laws and attitudes in different ways. The treatment of people toward this issue varies from country to country and culture to culture. The positive thing about the modernised societies all over the world is they now provide the LGBTF community with a favourable treatment (University of Michigan, 2015). Because of the acceptance, understanding and respect the society is currently demonstrating, HR intends to form the LGBTF club not only to celebrate diversity but also to create a workplace culture that is welcoming and accommodating (Australian Public Service Commission, 2012). Through this club, HR aims to achieve the following: Treat all employees and volunteers with dignity and respect Take advantage of diverse backgrounds, ideas, beliefs, circumstances and needs relative to operational methods, work systems and leadership styles Include all employees and volunteers in business decisions Utilise available resources in making reasonable, objective decisions (Australian Public Service Commission, 2012) Aside from the AFP, Thomson Reuters, a multinational organisation that provides businesses and professionals with intelligent information, also  supports the LGBTF community. As a matter of fact, Jan-Coos Geesink, the Managing Director of Thomson Reuters UK and a straight guy, is backing gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender rights in the workplace. He believes in these people and their power to create a better place to work. â€Å"But one global aspiration that Pride At Work has is for people to be able to celebrate who they are at work, regardless of their sexuality or gender-alignment, and for them to be accepted,† he added (Geesink, 2015). Other places around the globe that support the LGBTF community include Africa, the United States of America, Asia, Europe and Middle East (University of Michigan, 2015). Plan Implementation Fundraising The diversity program will be backed up by different fundraising activities such as food selling, clothes selling and garage sales. The proceeds together with the 25% increase in the amount of money acquired from donations will be used to support the interest groups. The fundraising activities will be conducted by ABC’s volunteers along with the existing staff and those people with disability. The interested individuals will be asked to bake cookies, cupcakes and the likes and produce crocheted clothes and accessories. The goods will be sold inside and outside the organisation. This initiative will be implemented once or twice a month. The volunteers will not only be able to frequent any of the interest group activities but also get a chance to be part of the organisation. Figure 3. Fund raising methodology. Website The existing official website of ABC will be updated by adding a new page that tackles workplace diversity. The update will also include information  about the proposed diversity program as well as a detailed description of each interest group. Procedures on how to join the clubs will also be posted. In addition, the page will allow visitors to post testimonials about people with disability from all over the world. The write-up can be based on their own experience or someone else’s. There will also be a section on the page for announcements or updates regarding the interest groups. The update will be done by the previous web designer for free. This project will be completed within a month. However, the website will have to be updated regularly. Figure 4. Updated website methodology. Mothers as Volunteers With the help of the updated website, HR anticipates to attract volunteers, potentially the mothers of children with disability, to help facilitate the diversity program. A series of training sessions every Saturday morning in a span of two months will be given to the volunteers. The volunteers will be encouraged to take their kids to ABC to participate in any of the activities. One of the existing team managers will conduct the training sessions. While available resources will be utilised, the cost of additional resources will come from the budget provided by the government. Figure 5. ‘Mothers as volunteers’ methodology. Outcomes The expected main outcome of this entire program is ABC’s improved capacity that leads to attracting and retaining qualified direct care staff. Other expected outcomes include motivated workforce and patients, wider audience, diversity awareness, greater visibility in the community, more volunteers, recreation and leisure activities and family support. Through this diversity program and all the social activities that come along with it, ABC’s staff will be motivated to perform their responsibilities. The interest groups will allow them to do the things they are passionate  about. It will also give them an opportunity to express who and what they are through food, music and so many other things. Not only that, even the people with disability will also be motivated to do the things they are good at despite their physical condition. Because of the sense of belongingness they will get out of the interest groups, these people will be more willing and enthusiastic to participate in the fundraising activities. One of the expected outcomes of the updated website is awareness on workplace diversity. This awareness is expected to reach a wider audience which can possibly lead to more volunteers and donations. An increased visibility in and a full acceptance by the community are also expected to happen after updating the official website and implementing the program. The other positive outcomes of this diversity program are new recreation and leisure activities and family support for both the ABC’s direct care staff and patients with disability. Barriers There are several issues that may hinder the success of HR’s strategy, which is the diversity program. These barriers include insufficient function rooms, insufficient funds and work overload. Since the program will offer four interest groups, ABC needs more rooms to facilitate every activity that will be conducted. Furthermore, additional budget to sustain all the interest groups will be necessary. Another important issue that may exist is work overload. The staff may get overwhelmed with the extra tasks that they will need to perform to implement the program. Action Plans To avoid the above-mentioned potential barriers, HR came up with several action plans. A systematic way of reserving meeting or function rooms will be implemented to address the issue about insufficient rooms. To ensure the budget is enough to sustain the interest groups, a selection of fundraising activities will be conducted. To prevent the staff from getting overwhelmed with additional tasks, more volunteers will be acquired. Bibliography Australian Public Service Commission. (2012). Australian Government Australian Public Service Commission. Retrieved 2015, from APSC Workplace Diversity Program: http://www.apsc.gov.au/about-the-apsc/the-commission/including-you Blurtit Ltd. (2015). Blurtit. Retrieved 2015, from What Are The Environmental Factors That Affect Business?: http://business-finance.blurtit.com/325745/what-are-the-environmental-factors-that-affect-business Business Case Studies LLP. (2015). Business Case Studies. Retrieved 2015, from Responding to Changes in the Market Environment: http://businesscasestudies.co.uk/jessops/responding-to-changes-in-the-market-environment/political-factors.html#axzz3STTKCKMw Business Case Studies LLP. (2015). Business Case Studies. Retrieved 2015, from Responding to Changes in the Market Environment: http://businesscasestudies.co.uk/jessops/responding-to-changes-in-the-market-environment/technological-factors.html#axzz3Skbz74Cw Business Case Studies LLP. (2015). Business Case S tudies. Retrieved 2015, from Managing external influences: http://businesscasestudies.co.uk/first-group/managing-external-influences/environmental-and-legal-factors.html#axzz3Skbz74Cw Commonwealth Bank of Australia. (2015). Retrieved from Diversity Policy: https://www.commbank.com.au/about-us/PDS_PDF/CBT638-Diversity-Policy.pdf Commonwealth of Australia. (2015). Australian Federal Police. Retrieved 2015, from Diversity and Opportunity: http://www.afp.gov.au/jobs/diversity.aspx Education Portal. (2015). Education Portal. Retrieved 2015, from Technological Factors in Business: Definition, Lesson & Quiz: http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/technological-factors-in-business-definition-lesson-quiz.html Geesink, J.-C. (2015, 2 13). Thomson Reuters The Knowledge Effect. Retrieved 2015, from Why I support LGBT rights at Thomson Reuters: http://blog.thomsonreuters.com/index.php/im-straight-guy-supporting-lgbt-rights-thomson-reuters/ Jeanty, J., & Media, D. (2015). Chron. Retrieved 201 5,

Niccolo Machiavellis The Prince Essay - 1060 Words

Niccolo Machiavellis The Prince Niccolo Machiavellis The Prince examines the nature of power and his views of power are still somewhat in existence today. Ill discuss this in this essay, emphasizing the following theses. Machiavelli discusses power over the people, dictatorial power, and power with people, shared power. While it is possible for power with to attain greater prevalence in society, it will not completely eliminate power over. In The Prince, Machiavelli discusses two distinct groups of people, the political elite, including nobles and other princes, and the general public. Today in the United States, the first group, the political elite, includes political leaders, religious leaders, business leaders and the leaders of†¦show more content†¦While Machiavelli emphasizes power over in relations between the political elite, he discusses a different kind of power in the relations between a prince and the general public. Machiavelli notes that a prince can share power with the people, since a prince can trust the people much more than he can trust the nobles. Nobles can not be satisfied if a ruler acts honorably but the people can be thus satisfies, because their aims are more honorable than those of the nobles are: for the latter only want to oppress and the former only want to avoid being oppressed (p.35). The people are not unforgiving and greedy so the prince can place more trust in the people. Since the public can be trusted, the prince can empower the people. An empowered public will protect the ruler rather than overthrow him. Machiavelli suggests providing people with power in terms of arms, since when you arm them, these weapons become your own (p. 72). In this way power is an increasing resource, sharing power with the people can result in greater power for the people and for the prince. 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