Consensus and Conflict Theories of Education

Consensus and Conflict Theories of Education What are the principal differences between consensus and conflict approaches to the sociological analysis of education? The sociological study of education focuses upon the effects that social institutions and individual characters have upon the education system. Education is often seen as positive social practice which thrives to identify personal skills and talents, and subsequently build upon them. Consensus social theorists support this approach with structural functionalism claiming education to have many positive functions. Education is essential to maintain the modern workforce. This view, however, is not universal; with Marxists taking a contradictory view that education works to reproduce social inequalities, therefore providing negative functions for society. This conflict approach claims that the education system does not promote equality but instead transmits capitalist norms and values, benefitting the ruling class and leaving the working class at a disadvantage. One of the main purposes of education, according to the consensus approach of functionalism, is that of socialization. This is described by Bilton (1996: 12) as the process through which individuals ‘learn the ways of thought and behaviour considered appropriate in society. Primary socialization is administered informally by the family. This process is then continued with the provision of a more formal style of secondary socialization by other institutions within society. According to Durkheim (1925) and Parsons (1959), both key consensus theorists, education plays an essential role in this secondary socialization, albeit in different ways, by performing functions that the family is unable to. This is done through the teaching of specific skills for specialised occupations, but also, possibly more importantly in Durkheims eyes, through the socialization of the common norms and values of society. The teaching of religious and historical beliefs helps to create a child with a sen se of identity within the community. Fulcher and Scott (2007: 321) feel it was, however, the moral aspect of the secondary socialization provided by the education system that concerned Durkheim the most. Through discipline within school, children are taught morally acceptable behaviour. However, rather than simply being forced to obey, it is essential that they are made to understand and appreciate the moral code of wider society, causing them to go on to choose to behave in a moral way. Hargreaves (1982) commented on the idea that the education system should promote social solidarity, the concept of providing pupils with a sense of community. Aspects of school, such as all wearing the same uniform and participating in group charity or sporting events help to provide pupils with a sense of belonging within the school, but also provide links with the wider community, and society as a whole. The moral significance of education is also recognised by Parsons; however it is the value of individual achievement which he focuses upon. This sense of achievement was the central aspect to a functioning industrial society in mid-twentieth-century America, where Parsons was studying. Although their approaches differed, both Durkheim and Parsons focused upon the positive functions of education for society. Another key concept in the consensus approach to the sociological study of education is that of meritocracy. That is the idea, endorsed by Parsons, of a social system in which rewards are gained for individual hard work, talent and ability. In such a situation, people would be rewarded for their effort, and not on the basis of other characteristics such as age, gender, ethnicity, class. Thus giving all children within the education system an equal opportunity to succeed. An example of an attempt to create a meritocratic school system is that of the tripartite system put in place by the 1944 Butler Act. By the creation of Grammar, Secondary and Secondary Technical schools the government was recognising the need for equality of opportunities, and therefore attempting to suit the abilities of children to right type of schooling. It also provided free education for all children between the ages of 5 and 15, regardless of their class background, emphasising this attempt to create equal op portunity. This system has been criticised, however, as even though it did mean that the 11+ was open to all, the test itself was said to be written in middle class language, therefore meaning that the working class were still left at a disadvantage. This led to it being said that the system was actually leaning towards Marxism, rather than functionalist ideas, as it appeared to reproduce social class inequalities. On the other hand, the conflict approach of Marxism opposes the view that we should assume that the education system serves to meet the needs of society as an entirety. Within society there is a significant conflict of interests, and therefore needs, between capital and labour. This demonstrates a capitalist society in which the ruling class owns the means of production, bringing them power over the working class. We should therefore, according to Marxists, not view education as meeting the needs of society as w hole, but instead as meeting the needs of the bourgeoisie. In order to maintain a state of false class consciousness, capitalism requires a workforce that is obedient, passive and motivated who are prepared to work hard at the benefit of the ruling class without question. According to Bowles and Gintis, the education system was the main means used by capitalism to produce such workers. The correspondence principle (1976: 131) claims that what working class students are taught in schools mirrors that of what goes in the workplace. The qualities that the workforce are required to have are taught to students in schools. This is done through the curriculum and the hidden curriculum (Illich, 1973 in Fulcher and Scott, 2007). Aside from the formal curriculum, the subjects which provide students with academic knowledge, vocational skills and qualifications, Illich identified a hidden curriculum. This hidden curriculum teaches pupils patterns of behaviour such as punctuality, meeting deadlines and accepting authority. The working class are unaware of this covert curriculum that is being imposed upon them. Along with the acceptance of hierarchy, the hidden curriculum also leads the working class to believe that they are part of a meritocratic society; in they will gain the rewards for working hard. Therefore meaning that they will conform in the hope of long term gratification, however it is just another way for the ruling class to keep them passive. It is also helps to justify inequality, as the working class are led to believe that everyone is equal, however, in reality; the middle class are receiving more encouragement. Another way in which the correspondence theory works is by connecting levels reached within the education system to that of occupational levels (Fulcher and Scott: 327). When in the lower levels of the education system, obedience is emphasized, as it is in low-level occupations. This pattern continued with intermediate levels in education when more independent work is encouraged. Once a student reaches higher education they are expected to be both self-motivated and self-disciplines, essentially a completely independent worker, just as those in senior levels of occupation. Therefore, the level a student reaches in education determines the occupational level they will stay at. This is another way in which education reproduces social inequalities. Bowles and Gintis, like the Marxist perspective in general, have however been criticised for being too deterministic. It is too presumptuous to claim that everyone is going to conform to the rules and remain passive. The education system, also, could not produce complete conformity of the working class without the support of the family. As can be seen there are a number of differences and varying ideas between the consensus and conflict approaches to the sociology of education, however they are all based on the idea that functionalism (a consensus approach) identifies education as providing society with positive functions, however the conflict approach recognises the education system as a negative body which reproduces social inequalities and is detrimental to the masses. Where functionalism sees education as meeting the needs of society as a whole, capitalism instead claims for it to serve the needs of the ruling class and ignore those of the rest of society. References Banks, O. 1978. The Sociology of Education. London: Batsford. Barton, L. And Walker, S. 2007. Sociological perspectives and the study of education. In: Meighan, R. and Harber, C. A Sociology of Educating. (Fifth Edition), London: Continuum. pp. 282-298. Bilton, T. et al. 1996. Introduction to Sociology. (Third edition), London: Palgrave Macmillan. Bowles, S. and Gintis, H. 1976. Schooling in Capitalist America: educational reform and the contradictions of economic life. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. Fulcher, J. and Scott, J. 2007. Sociology. (Third Edition), New York: Oxford University Press. Trowler, P. 2003. Education Policy. (Second Edition), London: Routledge.

Animal Farm, by George Orwell Essay examples -- Animal Farm Essays

The English language is one of the most complex languages known to man. Words, sentences, and ideas can be built and misconstrued because of the language’s depth. In the novel Animal Farm, the head pigs in charge, Napoleon, twists words in order to gain control and power over the entire farm. The Manor Farm transforms from the totalitarian rule of Mr. Jones, a mean farmer who feeds his animals meager portions, to Napoleon, a pig that will have you liquidated for a bottle of liquor. Language is used as a means of social control because of its irony, it changes, and it’s illegible by some. Irony is the first reason that language may be used as a form of social control. Many words have double meanings, for example: break, spread, dress, match, etc. For this reason, various meanings and definitions can be derived and used as a person pleases. In Animal Farm, when all the animals were first rebelling, Snowball said, â€Å"The only good human being is a dead one." Human being can be interchanged with numerous words, which is what Napoleon did in order to control the animals with an iron fist. ...

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act Essay -- Healthcar

The Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information, better known as the Privacy Rule, that took effect in April 2003 for large entities and a year later for small ones, was established as the first set of national standards for the protection of health information. This rule was issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to meet the requirement of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). The Privacy Rule was born out of a need for health information to be appropriately protected yet still allowing the health information to be shared to ensure quality health care and to protect the public’s health and well being. It allows for the protection of the privacy of the patient and yet it also permits vital uses of information. The Privacy Rule established a category of health information that a covered entity may only use or disclose to others in certain circumstances and under certain conditions. According to the National Institute of Health Publication Number 03-5388, the protected information is known as Protected Health Information (PHI) and includes individually identifiable health information transmitted by electronic media, maintained in electronic media, or transmitted or maintained in any other form or medium. However, it excludes education records covered by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, as amended, 20 U.S.C. 1232g, records described at 20 U.S.C. 1232g(a)(4)(B)(iv), and employment records held by a covered entity in its role as employer. Covered entities are organizations that are subject to the Privacy Rule. Three types of covered entities are 1) Health Plans - which are individual or group plans that provide or pay the cost of medi... ... and HIPAA, Does instant access and availability from mobile technology jeopardize patient privacy? [Electronic version] Nursing Management, June 2007, 38-40 Martin, J. (2008). Who’s looking at your medical records? COPDConnection.com Retrieved November 12, 2011, from http://www.healthcentral.com/copd/c/19257/30481/comments Robertson, L. (2008). Who’s looking at your medical records? [Electronic version] Saturday Evening Post, 280.3, 54-92, Consumer Health Complete. Protecting Personal Health Information in Research: Understanding the HIPAA Privacy Rule, NIH Publication Number 03-5388. Retrieved November 12, 2011 from http://privacyruleandresearch.nih.gov/pr_02.asp Summary of the HIPAA Privacy Rule, Office of Civil Rights Privacy Rule Summary, (2003). Retrieved November 12, 2011 from http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/summary/privacysummary.pdf

Review of The Odyssey by Homer

Throughout history, women have been expected to behave a certain way in order to uphold some kind of ideal image. The woman is expected to be a virtuous and upright person, forever loyal and subservient to her husband. However while history adheres to this common image of the woman, a very different mold is shaped for the man. This establishes a double standard between the two genders. The dictionary defines the term ‘double standard' as a â€Å"system, code, or criterion applied unequally; specifically a code of behavior that is stricter for women than for men, especially in matters of sex† (Agnes et al. 29). This phrase defines women's history, as women are constantly viewed under different guidelines and principles than their male counterparts. Written by Homer, the epic poem entitled The Odyssey epitomizes the idea of the double standard in Ancient Greek society. It revolves around the subject of promiscuous behavior in the sexual sense, as males engaged in the behavior while females were expected to abstain from it. The idea of sexual promiscuity in The Odyssey creates an unfair double standard between its male and female characters. The difference of accepted sexual behavior between gods and goddesses is exemplified in an angry speech given to the gods by the goddess Calypso. When Hermes informs her that the prisoner Odysseus must return home, Calypso becomes frustrated. Oh you vile gods, in jealousy supernal! You hate it when we choose to lie with men – immortal flesh by some dear mortal side†¦ Then Demeter of the tasseled tresses yielded to Iasion, mingling and making love in a furrow three times plowed; but Zeus found out and killed him with a white-hot thunderbolt (Homer 5. 24). In this passage, Calypso points out the fact that the male gods can engage in promiscuous behavior. However when the goddesses try to involve themselves in the same activities, they face persecution by their counterparts. The gods disapprove so much that they resort to murder as a type of negative reinforcement, discouraging the goddesses from such sexual acts. Calypso's ability to refer to specific past instances of this behavior proves that the tendency to place women under different guidelines than men exists. The fact that Calypso could cite more than one occurrence of the double standard shows that the goddesses were not allowed to engage in such activity, and that this was at the fault of their male counterparts, who were allowed to participate in such sexual looseness. In this speech she outwardly scrutinizes the norms of society, deeming them as hypocritical. This difference in standard concerning sexual promiscuity is present in the highest class of Greek culture, the gods, which is proof enough of its prevalence. The Odyssey highlights this idea further by projecting the ideas onto not just immortal beings, but mortal beings as well. Odysseus is a prime example. Although he claims loyalty to his wife Penelope, Odysseus does not hesitate to submit to the Greek goddess' desire for him. Calypso did nothing to conceal her longing for Odysseus when she held him captive on her island. Stranded, Odysseus spent many years with the Greek goddess and â€Å"he lay with her each night, for she compelled him† (Homer 5. 163). Despite the fact that Calypso required him to sleep with her on a regular basis, nothing in the text indicates that Odysseus literally did just that. An analysis of the circumstances surrounding this situation suggests otherwise. Calypso, a forever young and beautiful goddess, wants to have sexual relations with Odysseus. Although he is a married man, he is still a man by nature. No one can deny the universal fact that men have an inherent need for sex. The text remains ambiguous towards the situation, which in itself alludes to the notion that he did indeed have intercourse with Calypso, despite the fact that Penelope awaited his return. On the other hand, nothing in the text indicated that Penelope was at all sexually promiscuous during the time apart from her husband, suggesting that she remained faithful. Another example of sexually promiscuous behavior can be found in Book Ten, when Odysseus and his crew happen upon the island of the goddess Circe, who turns the crew into pigs. She and Odysseus reach a compromise in which he consented â€Å"[to enter] Circe's flawless bed of love† (Homer 10. 390). The pact seems almost trivial to Odysseus, since the text inputs nothing to indicate any feelings of guilt over betraying Penelope, who back in Ithaca remained faithful to him by continually snubbing her suitors. This situation shows the different expectations of men and women regarding their sexual behavior. In both incidences, Odysseus seems hypocritical due to the fact that his actions do not coincide with his claim to remain loyal to his wife. Through him, The Odyssey projects the idea of promiscuity as an acceptable act for only the male characters of the epic tale. In The Odyssey, women were discouraged by society to become sexual promiscuous while men were allowed to indulge their sexual impulses. Homer's projection of this theme to both immortal and mortal beings makes it apparent that it was a societal norm. As with many aspects of Greek culture, this too has also been adapted into modern day society. President Bill Clinton did not receive nearly as much criticism for his affair with Monica Lewinsky as Britney Spears did for her activities following her breakup with Justin Timberlake. Disapproval fell upon Spears despite the fact that there was no substantial proof of sexual promiscuity on her part, and while Clinton's was quite apparent, he did not receive the same amount of backlash. The double standard regarding sexual promiscuity is a subject that has lasted from Ancient Greece, documented in The Odyssey, up until the present date, documented in today's popular culture.

Ethics in Contracts Essay

Abstract: When creating a contract, a negotiator is not only doing so to reach an agreement between two or more parties, but to create an agreement that is durable; whereby parties of the contract are legally bound and committed to its promises . â€Å"A legally binding contract is defined as an exchange of promises or an agreement between parties that the law will enforce, and there is an underlying presumption for commercial agreements that parties intend to be legally bound† [1]. When a contract does not expressly address a contingency that occurs, the morality of breach is assumed here to depend on what the contract would have said had it addressed the contingency. Morality in contracts becomes crucial to parties entering into a contract. This is where the role of ethics comes in. Introduction: The etymology of â€Å"business† relates to the state of being busy either as an individual or society as a whole, doing commercially viable and profitable work. The most common form of business all around the world is corporation. There are more than 2 partners who either wholly or has limited liability over the business. In such a scenario the need to bind by certain terms arose both within the organization by the stakeholders and outside the organization with the suppliers and wholesalers. This dire need gave rise to â€Å"contracts†. The leaders of the organization cooperate with a set of written rules bounded by every other stakeholder. HOW CONTRACT? It all started as an idea of shaking hands, the idea it expresses has had greater impact on Business ethics. Just a simple handshake denotes the idea of agreement in economic contexts. A contract is an agreement entered voluntarily by two or more parties, each of whom intends to create one or more legal obligations between or among them. The elements of a contract are offer and acceptance by competent persons having legal capacity who exchanges consideration to create mutuality of obligation, and, in some circumstances, do so in writing. A contract is always enforceable by law and has the following essentials.[2] 1.Intentions to create a contract 2.Offer and acceptance 3.Consideration 4.Capacity to enter into contract 5.Free consent of the parties 6.Lawful object of consideration Being Ethical in contracts is behaving in accordance with social conventions, religious beliefs and law where the humans are basically evolved in a moral sense and possess the ability to engage in moral behaviour. The law here is aforesaid liability in contracts where the generic importance is of getting a fair share in corporation profits. That is why it becomes extremely important to maintain ethics in contracts. The lawful object of consideration is considered very important in the contract and ethics related to contract. This is because in case of contract breach ethically or non-ethically reimbursing the value of lawful object of consideration is hereby treated as lawful. It is therefore imperative that contracts are created to be as durable as possible so parties are unable to find legal ‘loopholes’ and use their power, wealth, ignorance or cultural differences in setting contracts aside. Apart from that the ethical behaviour of the parties involved in contract adds an extra layer to the contract thereby keeping the best interest of people involved in contract. The following factors seem to affect the ethics involved in contracts. Cultural Flexibility Japanese culture for instance, the creation of a contract symbolises formation of a working relationship, and not a legally binding agreement. Some groups will regard the contract as being flexible in terms that if any problems or issues arise, the parties will reassess the obligations of the agreement and negotiate ways to preserve the relationship. Being Ethical and professional at the same time is viewed with high regard by the Japanese. However, this is not generally the ‘Western’ view on contracts. In relation to the ethical issue of cultural relativism, a business is obliged to operate in a manner acceptable to the host country, both legally and morally. The example cited here dealing with Shell portrays the fact of having contract as per the ethical behaviour of the host country. In those cases, there arises a question, is it morally wrong for a Western party to hold a Japanese party to the contract when it is known that the Japanese party would not have intended to be legally bound? Or is it unethical or immoral of the Japanese to sign such an agreement, even though they mean well when signing it, knowing the Western party intended to be legally bound by the contract but themselves see the contract as more of a flexible agreement? 1.Shell Oil : Brent Spar incident Popularly known as the Nigeria/Spar episode which taught the company to be ethical in its host country. In its action to maximize profits Shell articulated roundtables of 14 countries which brought together 159 shell executives and 145 external participants including opinion leaders and journalists. In this meet Shell articulated a contract which ensured its commitment to health, safety and environment. It set the same as the goals of the company. The step to the goal was supposedly implemented immediately by setting up safety team to manage HSE and Shell publicly announced its commitment towards human right and health safety[4]. Shell’s initiatives in the wake of Nigeria and Brent Spar signalled a fuller recognition of subtlety of ethics. With the completion of a pipeline connection to the oil terminal at Sullom Voe in Shetland, the storage facility had continued in use but was considered to be of no further value as of 1991. Brent Spar became an issue of public concern in 1995, when the British government announced its support for Shell’s application for disposal in deep Atlantic waters at North Feni Ridge (approximately 250 km from the west coast of Scotland, at a depth of around 2.5 km)[3]. This put issues of societal expectation in sharp relief. These incidents forced shell to recognize that people around the world come to place a heightened value on conservation of natural resources. Nigeria on the other hand had distinctively non European ethical expectations for companies. The evolving ethical attitudes of emerging economies, made Shell recognize that unless it changes global and regional changes in attitudes it cannot draw a line between ethical and unethical behaviour. Nigeria and Brent Spar forces shell to realize the importance of social contracts that framed business activities. Shell later on monitored the changing communal understandings as they played a growing role in company’s actions. Shell started to factor social contracts into ethical decision making process. Ethical games in business are played with different rules in different countries. In companies multinationals and corporations’ racial gender and world, questions of clash and compatibility between family and work are now assumed to be proper province of corporate management. Shell with its troubles it faced in early 90s due to Brent spar incident stands as a perfect example to approaching ethical issues in business. The differences in cultural expectations can predictably lead to the more economically powerful party attempting to negotiate that all breaches will be dealt with ultimately by courts from their own culture, applying their own cultural and legal rules. This then highlights the issue of different legal rules existing in different countries which enable contracts to be set aside. The list of exceptions to finality of contracts varies from one jurisdiction to another, and this is often placed under the label ‘frustration of contracts’. Some jurisdictions, notably Australia, Israel and India, imply a term of good faith into contracts. A final way in which terms may be implied due to fact is through a previous course of dealing or common. The Uniform Commercial Code of the United States also imposes an implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing in performance and enforcement of contracts covered by the Code, which cannot be derogated from. [5] Lack of Informed Consent Some acts cannot legally take place because of a lack of informed consent. Another person is generally authorised to give consent if an individual is unable to. These cases sometimes result in a party refusing to comply with the terms of the contract. This usually is exploited by many unethical behaviour. 2.This was the case in Gerbert and Gerbert (1990) FLC 92-137 [1], where a husband settled for 10% of assets against his probable entitlement to 40%, and it was held that there was no miscarriage of justice as the husband acted feely and was advised to seek legal advice. In cases where an individual is provided limited facts, serious ethical issues may arise. It is unethical to hold someone to a contract when they clearly had no awareness of exactly what they were signing and committing themselves to, due to ignorance. It is unethical for a lawyer to encourage the signing of a document if they are clearly not fully understanding of the document. Wealth If the chance of success and money is opportune to a wealthy person, their capacity and willingness can give rise to alleging various legal justifications for breach. A few years of legal expenses may only be a small proportion of their empire, and the resulting attrition and disparate investment in the conflict may eventually encourage other parties to renegotiate the disputed In terms of moral relativism, most people would agree that it is ethically wrong to use wealth to control a situation and to ‘force’ people into renegotiating clauses in contracts if they are unable to afford the legal bill accompanying a dispute. In situations such as these, the ‘little man’ usually loses out and will ultimately succumb to the power of the other party or parties. 3.Gujarat Housing Board vs Vipul Corporation on 21 June, 2004 [6] Housing Board was awarded a contract to Vipul Corporation for Water Proofing work of 360 Middle Income Group Houses at Valsad on 22.11.1994, being highest bidder, on accepting the tender. It appears that at the last moment, when work was about to be started, the work was obstructed. Housing Board was sincerely trying to create an atmosphere which may enable the contractor to perform the contract. It appears that the Housing Board also took the defence of frustration of the contract as per sec. 56 of the Contracts Act. Vipul Corporation lost the case but it hardly did anything to their business that they were able to pay the indemnification amount in the contract and started bidding for other contracts as if nothing had happened with their wealth. This was because of the large amount of accumulated wealth. Undue Influence Undue influence is an equitable doctrine that involves one person taking advantage of a position of power over another. The law presumes that in certain classes of relationship there will be a special risk of one party unduly influencing their conduct and motives for contracting. The general rule is whether there was a relationship of such trust and confidence that it should give rise to such a presumption 4.An example of such a case is Odorizzi v. Bloomfield School District CA Ct of App 54 Ca Rpt 533 [1964]. The plaintiff was under contract as a teacher. He was arrested, and the next day he allegedly was pressured by his superiors to sign and deliver his resignation. He was cleared of the criminal charges, and then he sought to be reinstated by the school district. They refused, so he sued to rescind his resignation. He claimed that his resignation should not be enforced because, among other things, he signed it under the â€Å"undue influence† of his superiors. When a party has placed their confidence and trust in another and this relationship is broken, the view of moral relativism will generally see this situation as being wrong. Here we see that the implications of Ethics in contracts being ignored. Ensuring Ethics of Contracts †¢A longstanding relationship –a contract with them raise incentives to perform †¢Avoiding making contracts with cultural groups that view contracts as the ‘beginning of a relationship’, rather than a legally binding agreement [1] †¢Clarifying whether ‘yes’ means ‘maybe’ or ‘no’ and whether signed and detailed contracts are considered to be binding, morally, legally and/or in reputation, †¢How any future misunderstandings and problems will be addressed to be discussed at the time of the contract †¢Only going into contract with parties that are stable and reliable †¢Attempting to reduce buyer’s remorse by †¢Making congratulatory speeches about the agreement’s benefits †¢Never agreeing quickly to any clauses †¢Adding post-agreement gifts and bonuses †¢Publicize the deal by mutual agreement. A wider audience will then place expectations on all parties to perform, or risk losing face and credibility in future arrangements. Most people have a strong desire to act consistently with their own clear commitment Signing a contract We focus so much on deal substance and style that we often lose sight of the problems that can arise at the most critical time of all—when pen is hitting paper. If a lawyer mishandles contract execution, it can lead to a malpractice claim, professional discipline and a very angry client (or, more likely, former client) A DEAL ISN’T â€Å"DONE† UNTIL YOU SEE A FULLY SIGNED AGREEMENT (or, better yet, cash in the bank) 5.As a great example of this, see International Telemeter v. Teleprompter, 592 F.2d 49 (2d Cir. 1979). Kirsch’s client told Kirsch that it had signed a settlement agreement, but Kirsch didn’t get the signed copy into his possession. Kirsch then relayed the alleged good news to the other side. However, Kirsch’s client had a management change before delivering the signed copy, and the new management balked at the settlement. This left Kirsch in the middle—he had told the other side that the agreement was done (and had authority to do so), but his client had reversed course and was saying the deal was never signed. Not only did Kirsch’s eagerness cost Kirsch a client (he resigned), but he has very few defences if his former client sues him for malpractice based on being committed to a deal they didn’t want. This issue also comes up with press releases—no public announcements of a completed deal until you see the fully signed contract. 6.ONGC vs Streamline Shipping Co. Pvt. Ltd. on 22 March, 2002 [7] On 19-2-1999 the appellant floated a tender for manning, running, operating, repairing and maintenance on hire of three vessels under Group IX i.e. Samudrika 2, Samudrika 7 and Sindhu 9. The respondent was one of the tenderers. On 30-12-1999 a contract was signed between the appellant and respondent for vessel Samudrika 2 for the primary term of 2 and half years from 9-12-1999. Clause 1.10.1 of the agreement provided. In the case above a contract was floated between ONGC and Streamline shipping co. for maintenance of three vessels. The vessels were damaged pretty badly in an exploration expedition and ONGC sought their help as per contract. But the streamline shipping company due to the high cost that may be incurred, viewing their personal interests acted unethically in contract and avoided to repair. In the 1990s, this issue reached a zenith as lawyers scrambled to obtain equity in clients, either as part of undertaking the representation or as directed shares when clients were lining up for an IPO. Seeking big payoffs, some lawyers took pretty aggressive interpretations of the rules to engage in these transactions, but it would be a mistake to relegate this behaviour to the dot-com boom. Instead, doing business with clients occurs in all aspects of the legal profession, and it poses significant risks in every format. Parties’ concern of breach Still another reason why it may be rational for parties not to take pains to include many contingent provisions in a contract concern the general possibility of renegotiation of their contract. The reason why we would expect only limited use of contingent provisions is that our legal regime, under which parties usually are able to commit breach and pay damages, serves as an implicit substitute for contingent provisions. Under this regime, a party will be motivated to perform if the cost of so doing is not high, in order to avoid paying damages; whereas he will be led to commit breach if the cost of performing is high, because paying damages will be less expensive than performing. This behaviour – performing when the cost is below a threshold and not performing when the cost would exceed a threshold – is in at least qualitative alignment is considered unethical. Still another reason why it may be rational for parties not to take pains to include many contingent provision s in a contract concerns the general possibility of renegotiation of their contract. The parties can anticipate that if they do not provide for a troublesome contingency and it occurs, they will often be able to renegotiate and resolve their problem. If, for instance, the seller finds that it would be unexpectedly costly to perform when the contract requires that, he might be able to obtain a release from his obligation by paying the buyer some bargained-for sum. Of course, the outcome of such renegotiation may be uncertain and it may introduce an added risk into a contract. The question of the morality of breach is when contracts are incomplete. To ascertain whether a breach in a contingency that was not explicitly provided for is moral or immoral under our definition, one needs to determine whether performance would or would not have been required had the contingency been expressly addressed, and whether the parties to the incomplete contract know this. The morality of breach of incomplete contracts occurs when damages equal the expectation measure. When sellers have to pay damages for breach, they will be motivated to obey the contract if the cost of performance is less than the damages they would have to pay for a breach. If, though, the cost of performance exceeds the damages they would owe for a breach, they will have a financial reason to commit breach. Hence, they will tend to commit breach if and only if the cost of performance exceeds the measure of damages. Ethics comes in this aspect when the sellers has the cost of performance exceeds the damages they have to pay. The ethical aspect is whether to perform the contract or not. Since the penalty is very less compared to the cost of performing the work, the contractor tends to do violate the contract and pay the penalty. This should be avoided by corporations to create a good reputation within its peers. In order to avoid this circumstance, the contracting parties now-a-days agree to have the compensation amount to be greater than the cost of doing the actual work. The case regarding the state of Kerala precisely portrays this part of the ethics in contracts. 7.State Of Kerala vs United Shippers And Dredgers Ltd. on 15 July, 1982 The Government of Kerala through Superintending Engineer, Irrigation Central Circle, Trichur, entered into a contract with the respondent on 19-9-1975 to do the work of improvements to Champakkara Canal-Dredging works and allied works. The work was agreed to be completed on or before 15-7-1976. The agreement also required the contractor to maintain progress in work as prescribed in the schedule in Clause 3 of the agreement. There was also a provision in the contract to enable penalty to be levied in case of failure on the part of the contractor to maintain stipulated progress. The contractor did not maintain stipulated progress and extensions of time were granted on contractor’s requests as per supplemental agreements. Or account of the delay in maintaining agreed progress in the work; penalties were levied against the contractor at the rates prescribed. After the completion of the work end the drawing of the final bill, disputes arose between the contracting parties and as provided in the agreement. From withheld amount a sum of Rupees 7,35,000/- (Rupees seven lakhs and thirty five thousand only) shall be refunded to claimant by the respondents.†. The United shippers Ltd. performed the breach on account of the cost of compensation being higher than the cost of performing contract. The ethical aspect of this made contracts thereafter to rewrite them in lieu of having the cost of compensation and the cost of lost profit to be included in the terms of contract. Had the parties been ethical, it wouldn’t have required the contracts to reinvent their terms for this sake. For example, if the measure of damages is $125 instead of the expectation of $200, breach will occur whenever the cost of performance exceeds $125. Consequently, if breach occurs when the cost is between $125 and $200, for instance when it is $150, the complete contract would have insisted on performance. Such breach would be immoral and unethical, if the seller realizes that the true expectation is $200. Given the conclusions reached in the prior section, what can be said about whether the breach that we see in practice is moral or immoral? If damages tend to be fully compensatory, we could say that breach tends to be moral, as breach should occur if and only if contracting parties would have allowed non performance had they addressed in their contracts the contingencies that engendered breach. But if damages are not really compensatory, breach might be immoral. Situations portraying Ethics Damages tend not to reflect the often considerable delays that victims of breach suffer. The legal costs are not compensated. In view of the foregoing, the practical reality seems to be that breach could be immoral or moral, that we have to inspect the reasons for breach and the knowledge of the party committing breach to know which the case is. To gain an understanding of these issues, a small-scale survey was conducted [8]. The number of respondents were 41. The survey consisted of four questions, each of which asked about the morality of breach and could be answered as follows: (1) definitely unethical; (2) somewhat unethical; (3) neither ethical nor unethical; (4) somewhat ethical; (5) definitely ethical. Assigning a score of 1 to definitely unethical, a score of 2 to somewhat unethical, and so forth. Hence, the lower score, the less ethical a respondent felt breach would be. The first question was designed to ascertain whether respondents believe that breach in general is unethi cal. It was as follows: 8. [8]â€Å"Suppose that a Renovator has made a contract with a construction company to do a Home decor. The Renovator then discovers that the job would cost him a lot more than he had anticipated because the price of decor equipment has risen sharply – so the Renovator would lose money on the job. Is it unethical for the Renovater to break his contract with the company?† Note that the question does not mention whether damages would be paid. The average answer score was 2.41, meaning about midway between somewhat unethical and neither ethical nor unethical. Also, 38 of the 41 respondents found breach unethical or ethically neutral; only 3 of respondents answered that the breach would be somewhat ethical (none as definitely ethical). 9.[8]â€Å"Suppose that a Renovator has made a contract with a construction company and finds that his costs have risen sharply due to an increase in the price of decoration equipment. Suppose too that the Renovator and the company did not discuss this unlikely possibility when they made their contract. However, the Renovator knows what they would have agreed to if they had discussed this possible large cost increase in advance: They would have agreed that the contract would be cancelled if there was a large cost increase – the Renovator would be excused from the contract. Under these assumptions, is it unethical for the Renovator to break his contract?†The average answer score was 3.0, meaning ethically neutral. Also, 17 of the respondents found breach more ethical in this question than they had in the first question; none of the respondents found breach less ethical than in the first question. 10.[8] â€Å"Suppose that a kitchen Renovator has made a contract with a construction company and finds that his costs have risen sharply due to an increase in the price of decoration equipment. Suppose too that the Renovator and the comapany did not discuss this unlikely possibility when they made their contract. However, the Renovator knows what they would have agreed to if they had discussed this possible large cost increase in advance: They would have agreed that the contract would remain in force despite a large price increase – the Renovator would still have to do the job.† The average answer score for this question was 1.56, which is to say, midway between definitely unethical and somewhat ethical. All but three of the respondents found breach to be somewhat or definitely unethical, and the other three considered it ethically neutral. Further, 31 of the respondents found breach to be less ethical than in the prior question where the hypothesis was that performance would not have been agreed to. 11.[8]â€Å"Suppose that a kitchen Renovator has made a contract with a construction comapny and finds that his costs have risen sharply due to an increase in the price of decoration equipment. If the kitchen Renovator breaks his contract with the company, suppose that (as contract law says is required) he compensates the construction company for his losses – for delay, inconvenience, having to hire another renovator, and so forth. Is it unethical for the Renovator to breach his contract?†The average answer score for this question was 3.56, which is about midway between ethically neutral and somewhat ethical. In summary, the individuals participating in the survey found the simple, unqualified fact of breach to be unethical on average (2.41 was the average for question 1). In other words, the felt reaction to the fact of breach is that it is an unethical act. However, when individuals were prompted by being told what contracting parties would have agreed to had they discussed the particular contingency that arose, individuals tended to change their evaluation of the morality of breach, finding it better or worse in the expected way. When informed that if the problematic contingency had been discussed, the contracting parties would have said no duty to perform, individuals found breach ethically neutral (3.0 was the average for question 2). When apprised that if the problematic contingency had been discussed, the contracting parties would have said there was still a duty to perform, individuals found breach to be quite unethical (1.56 was the average score for question 3). And when told that breach would be accompanied by full damages payments, individuals again changed their opinion of breach, finding it to be somewhat ethical (3.56 was the average score for question 4). An important normative aspect of many commentators’ writing on breach is their moral advice. Their writing often suggests that individuals and corporations ought to feel a general ethical duty to obey contracts, that is, a desire to obey contracts above and beyond that due only to having to pay damages for breach. If we could shape individuals’ moral feelings, we would want corporations to put a thumb on the scale in favour of contract performance. According to a perfectly calibrated and flexible moral system, the moral sentiments would come into play if and only if they are needed to correct the too-great incentive of a â€Å"bad man† to commit breach, when the personal benefit from breach would exceed damages but not the true value of the expectancy. This ideal moral system is consistent with the spirit of traditional advice, and is inconsistent with the spirit of efficient breach theory, in that morality has a useful role to play. The actual moral system, however, is not as flexible as the ideal one. The moral impulses probably cannot be freely tailored to turn on for this kind of contract breach and to turn off or that one. The implications for moral advice about breach become complicated, for when giving moral advice, we have to consider the degree to which the advice will be understood as special to the circumstances of the breach, or as having a more general effect, and thus entailing the implicit disadvantages just mentioned. A striking instance of such thinking is that underlying the approach of the German Civil Code to contract performance, according to which the general remedy for breach is supposed to be specific performance. Had it been that contracts are to an important extent incomplete promises and thus on reflection that the morality of promise-keeping does not imply that performance should always occur. Damages are inadequate because it is time-consuming and expensive for the legal system to resolve what would often be contentious proceedings about subjective elements of loss from breach. It may be that our legal system works better avoiding the costs of ascertaining these problematic elements of loss, relying on moral forces, such as they are, to fill the gap in inducing appropriate performance. Conclusion The implications article for the general normative thrust of the writing of traditional commentators concerned with the morality of breach and also of the efficient breach theorists. Assuming that the social objective is to promote an corporate measure of social welfare, one based on individuals’ utilities. In particular, our moral feelings which have been portrayed as Ethics throughout will have a direct effect on social welfare because they are themselves components of corporate utilities and they will also exert an indirect influence on social welfare because they provide incentives toward socially desirable behaviour. In any event, the belief that there is a clear and overarching moral reason to alter contract law to enhance the keeping of contracts appears to me to be the product of an over simple view of the moral sentiments and of a related failure to take into account the importance of the incompleteness of contracts. List of references 1.http://www.bond.edu.au/law 2.Course material on Indian Legal System-IIMC 3.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brent_Spar 4.Ties that Bind- Donaldson and Thomas 5.http://contracts.uslegal.com/elements-of-a-contract/ 6.http://www.indiankanoon.org/docfragment/927021/?formInput=gujarat%20housing%20board%20vs%20vipul%20corporation 7.http://www.indiankanoon.org/docfragment/1617242/?formInput=ongc%20vs%20streamline%20shipping 8.A Social Contracts Approach to Business Ethics By Thomas

Akamai Case Study Ecommerce

1. Why does akamai need to geographically disperse its servers to deliver its costumers' web content? Akamai allows its costumers to move their web-based products closer to their end users (local). Meaning that an Akamai website can deliver from 4 to 10 times faster as non-Akamai website, due to the 73. 000 servers around the world. 2. If you wanted to deliver software content over the Internet, would you sign up for Akamai’s service? Why or why not? Yes we would sign up for the Akamai service due to the following advantages * Reliability * Availability * Speed * Security Reporting tools with regards to problems or traffics * Scalability (the possibility of having many users and large files) 3. What advantages does an advertiser derive from using Akamai’s EdgeScape service? What kinds of products might benefit from this kind of service? The main advantage of this EdgeScape service is the tracking possibility of online shopping behaviour. This way an advertiser can pin p oint buyers based on geographic locations, and validate an end user’s location. 4. Why don’t major business firms distribute their videos using [email  protected] networks lie Bittorent?P2P means the sharing of files between users of the P2P service such as Bittorent or Bitlord. But this also means that all users are actually servers meaning that it is not easy to collect user data. Also major firms might want to use Akamai instead of P2P as it is more reliable, secure and stable. With the underlying infrastructure of the Internet major companies will most likely not benefit from p2p services. Due to the slow loading of websites companies will most likely chose for a web-streamed based content. These content are often saved on a local server and are most likely quicker distributed to their costumers. . Do you think Internet users should be charged based on the amount of bandwidth they consumer, or tiered plan where users would pay in rough proportion to their usage? No, we believe that the Internet must remain free without people paying for the use of bandwidth. When you are charging people for the use of bandwidth then many people will avoid certain websites that use up allot of bandwidth such as video streaming which uses up allot of bandwidth. It might even result in people avoiding the high use of the internet due to the costs, which is bad news for many online businesses.

Free Essays on Capitol Punishment

Capital Punishment Introduction This day in age Murderers' actions are getting more and more incomprehensive. They are no longer just committing murder: they are torturing, mutilating and engaging in grossly inappropriate acts against fellow human beings. Behaviors such as this will continue if nothing is done to stop them. The death penalty is a humane way to punish the convicted and deter these gruesome acts. Early as 1930, we can find the first recorded execution. Between the times of 1930 to 1967 there was a recorded number of 3,859 people executed. The following nine years would bring victory for those against capital punishment, there was no executions done in this time frame. Gregg vs. Georgia, Supreme Court of 1976 made a ruling that "the death penalty does not violate the Cruel and Unusual Punishment Clause of the Eighth Amendment." The death penalty has been accepted by thirty-nine states of America (Newton, 1983). I will be showing how selections of death row are made. The last of subject matters that I will be touching on are the problems with the process of capital punishment and a possible more effective approach. I will also be concluding my findings and ending with a thought of my own. There are many logical factors that determine a person being sentenced to death. A criminal's past record and the seriousness of the crime currently committed are two major factors in determining death row sentencing. These factors are what have sent more men to death row than women. Some people believe that the selection of death row is unfair due to the number of men vs. women facing it. Jurors have many things to consider when convincing the accused. How brutal was it, how many people were killed, was it premeditated, was it torturous? These are all things that the jurors considering when determining the fate of the accused. Of course they also have to decide if the evidence proves, with out a doubt, the person is guilty. In se... Free Essays on Capitol Punishment Free Essays on Capitol Punishment Capital Punishment Introduction This day in age Murderers' actions are getting more and more incomprehensive. They are no longer just committing murder: they are torturing, mutilating and engaging in grossly inappropriate acts against fellow human beings. Behaviors such as this will continue if nothing is done to stop them. The death penalty is a humane way to punish the convicted and deter these gruesome acts. Early as 1930, we can find the first recorded execution. Between the times of 1930 to 1967 there was a recorded number of 3,859 people executed. The following nine years would bring victory for those against capital punishment, there was no executions done in this time frame. Gregg vs. Georgia, Supreme Court of 1976 made a ruling that "the death penalty does not violate the Cruel and Unusual Punishment Clause of the Eighth Amendment." The death penalty has been accepted by thirty-nine states of America (Newton, 1983). I will be showing how selections of death row are made. The last of subject matters that I will be touching on are the problems with the process of capital punishment and a possible more effective approach. I will also be concluding my findings and ending with a thought of my own. There are many logical factors that determine a person being sentenced to death. A criminal's past record and the seriousness of the crime currently committed are two major factors in determining death row sentencing. These factors are what have sent more men to death row than women. Some people believe that the selection of death row is unfair due to the number of men vs. women facing it. Jurors have many things to consider when convincing the accused. How brutal was it, how many people were killed, was it premeditated, was it torturous? These are all things that the jurors considering when determining the fate of the accused. Of course they also have to decide if the evidence proves, with out a doubt, the person is guilty. In se... Free Essays on Capitol Punishment The Ultimate Punishment Your choices would be either to die gasping and coughing to try to force toxic chemicals out of your lungs, or to be injected with a lethal mixture of chemicals until your body submits to the poison circulating in through your veins. That would be a rather tough decision to make. It is the decision made by a few inmates on death-row. These methods of murder are an example of inhumanities and injustices in today’s system of capital punishment. The commonly offered arguments for the death penalty are filled with holes. The death penalty has yet to be proven as an effective deterrent. And it is actually a continuation of the cycle of violence which â€Å"...degrades all who are involved in its enforcement, as well as its victim.†(Stewart 1) Realistically, the death penalty is an expensive and time consuming process. The death penalty is ineffective when it comes to serving justice to our society today. The most frequent argument for capital punishment is probably that of deterrence. The idea behind this is that criminals will choose not to do certain crimes for fear that a death penalty could be their punishment. Numerous studies have been created attempting to prove this belief; however, â€Å"all the evidence taken together makes it hard to be confident that capital punishment deters more than long prison terms do.†(Cavanagh 4) Going ever farther, the executive director of the Montgomery based Equal Justice Initiative, has stated that â€Å"people are increasingly realizing that the more we resort to killing as a legitimate response to our frustration and anger with violence, the more violent our society becomes†¦We could execute all three thousand people on death row, and most people would not feel any safer tomorrow.†(Frame 51) In addition, with the growing humanitarianism of modern society, the number of inmates actually put to death is lower than 50 years ago. This creates a situation in which the d...