Conflict Between Staff And Management Management Essay

Conflict Between Staff And Management Management Essay Within corporations one of the most common forms of conflict occurs between management and staff. This conflict arises when both groups are trying to fulfill the same desire, self-interest. If both parties are concerned with the overall result, it could be presumptuous to think that no conflict or controversy could arise in the given situation. However, for management to improve the company position and consequently, their own position, they need to maximize profit. Often the methods used by companies to undergo such a change would include: a lower distribution of wages, less benefits for the employee, and less funding towards safety training. These methods are in direct opposition to workers, who attempt to increase their own wages and benefits in a safe environment. Due to these incompatible ideals, conflict often occurs. As a result, negotiation is required. This report outlines the reasons behind the conflict within the Aliant company in 2004, as well as the costs, attempted solu tions, and the final result. The example of Aliant is provided to give a firsthand account of the origin of conflict, possible solutions to conflict as well as issues surrounding conflict. Aliant Inc, is the Atlantic sub division of Bell Aliant, which is the largest telecommunications company in Canada. Bell Aliant was forged when Ontario and Quebecs regional wire lines were connected (Our Focus, 2010). The company boasts its integrity in accordance with social, economic, and green issues that affect our globe on a daily basis, seeking new options, innovative programs and trying to define customer service with their impressive communication systems. (About us, 2010) A list of exceptional accomplishments of Bell Aliant includes the companys new status as of 2000, as the innovative local telephone company in North America (A history of Bell Aliant, 2010). As stated in Bell Aliants timeline of their history, in 2002, one of every five Canadians was choosing Aliant telecom call service. Bell Aliant is a socially responsible company, as well as an understanding company. It is also mentioned that in 2005, when devastating news broke of the tsunami, the company provided free long distance for calls made to the countries compromised. In 2006, Aliant announced that it would be a proud sponsor of the Vancouver Olympics Games in 2010. In the following year the company worked with the Barenaked Ladies to support and fund the Winter Games. In 2007, Aliant was the first to offer unlimited, unrestricted long distance calling across Atlantic Canada. In 2008 Aliant won the gold medal at the worldwide contact center competition. And finally in 2009 the company wo n the international award for marketing innovation (A History of Bell Aliant, 2010). Bell Aliant has been a successful company in supporting its customers and their needs. Up until 2004 the company had little dispute between executive administration and the labour force. However, in the late spring of 2004 a strike broke out. The Strike took place in Nova Scotia among the union and communication representatives. They worked and trudged through a four month long strike. The terms of the employees and executive members were negotiated and mostly resolved (A History of Bell Aliant, 2010). The terms of the conflict, and the process of resolution that Bell Aliant used to eradicate the strike will be discussed in the following section. Regardless of the chemistry of a workplace, there will always be conflicting issues. These issues can arise from clashing personalities, responsibility misunderstandings and limited resources (Rau- Roster, 2000). In the case of Aliant, limited resources were the cause of the conflict, as the Aliant employees wanted a more desirable pension (Ottawa Appoints Mediator in Aliant Strike, para. 7). Pension and the rate of pay have always been a significant factor in conflict as well as with the creation of strikes. Strikes encourage employers to listen to their subordinates and resolve conflict through negotiation. Communication problems are one of the top reasons why conflict occurs. As more employees are hired by an organization, communication weakens. This is because more employees are dependent on others, and not all employees have the same knowledge capital. Conflict can also occur when two employees with different personalities work together, this is the result of the employees not h aving the motivation or incentive to correlate ideas and information, as well as the possibility of the employees having conflicting views with regard to the task at hand. We can see both causes of conflict in the Conflict Process Model. The model shows how incompatible goals, differentiation, interdependence, scarce resources, ambiguous rules and poor communication all lead to conflict in the workplace. To resolve conflict employers must choose a conflict handling style. These include using problem solving, and compromising to negotiate what the employees would like to see change in the workplace. It is recommended that employers avoid the forcing, avoiding or yielding styles. (McShane Steen, 2009) These styles could lead to further conflict because they do not resolve what the employees want. In order for conflict to be resolved in the workplace, employees must feel as if they have been acknowledged. They must also recognize their employers compromises made in negotiation. As see n with Aliant, there can be conflict in any workplace. Employees will not always get along or they may depend too much on each other. Employer and employee conflict is also very frequent, as employees always want more from their jobs. As supported by McShane and Steen (2009) the Model of Conflict Process includes sources of conflict, conflict perceptions and emotions, manifest conflict, conflict escalation and conflict outcomes (p. 261). According to CBC News Staff (2004) the employees source of conflict at Aliant was job security, pay, hours of work and benefits. They also want[ed] better health-care and pension benefits as well as limits on contracting out (Talks Resume in Contracting Out, para. 9). Evan Cronk, union negotiator, stated that he thought that they à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦went over backwards this week to get a deal but the end result was the company tabled an offer this morning that took most of what we were prepared to do but offered nothing in return (As cited by CTV News Staff, 2004, Aliant Telecommunications Workers go on strike, para. 8). Evan Cronks statement reveals his conflict perception. According to McShane and Steen (2009), conflict perceptions and emotions manifest themselves in the decisions an d behaviours of one party toward the other (p. 261). This decision on behalf of Cronk to believe that the company was offering nothing to union workers further escalated the conflict and forced the strike to carry on for months longer than (Aliant)was prepared for. McShane and Steen (2009) call these visible changes in behaviour conflict episodes (p. 261). The perception that Aliant was not willing to provide their employees with what they wanted seemed to start a visible conflict as seen through the conflict style of both Aliant and their employees. Both parties seem to have been using what McShane and Steen describe as the win-lose orientation [which is] the belief that conflicting parties are drawing from a fixed pie, so the more one party receives, the less the other party will receive (p. 264). With both parties using this style of conflict it was extremely hard for them to reach an agreement that would end the strike and save the company from losing millions of dollars. There were many negative outcomes as a result of the conflicting styles of negotiation used by both parties. The service of Aliant deteriorated greatly over the length of the strike. CTV News Staff (2004) found that Over the course of the dispute, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) which regulates Canadas phone industry received an increasing number of complaints over the deteriorating quality of service (Taking a Toll section, para. 5). The situation of Aliant employees deteriorated so much that one employee had been à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦evicted from his home, and othersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦found themselves having to use community food banks (CTV news staff, 2004, Taking a Toll section, para. 6). Whilst union workers were on strike About 2,200 managers did the workOne manager in New Brunswick was injured after falling while working on a power pole. However, Aliant wouldnt provide any details on such incidents (CTV news staff, 2004, Taking a Toll Section, para. 7 ). As reported by CBC news staff (2004), The strike also caused numerous problems for people needing phone service and there were also allegations of union sabotage in June when vandals knocked out service to 250,000 people in Newfoundland and 5,000 in Nova Scotia (Deal Reached in Aliant Strike, para. 8). The low performance of workers, high stress and low morale of the company are all categorized as conflict outcomes in the Model of the Conflict Process (McShane Steen, 2009). According to the CTV News Staff (2004) the four month long Aliant strike was unsuccessful for both parties. When the employees went on strike in late April their hopes, as with most strikes, were to increase wages and benefits as well as job security(1). CBC News Staff (2004) reported that employer loses were significant. In the affected quarters over a 20 million dollar decrease in revenue was reported when compared to the same period of time in the previous year. (Ottawa Appoints Mediator in Aliant Strike, para. 2). As reported by CTV News Staff (2004) this is due, no doubt, to the fact that the companys customers thoroughly felt the impact of the strike. The customers were affected by the quality of service they received. {1} To satisfy company needs, the company was forced to train over 2000 managers to do basic duties that were usually performed by employees. This training cost the company money. The managers, who are paid higher wages, caused higher wage costs allocated to basi c customer service. Many of the employees were not ready for a strike, especially one that would last five months. They began to notice dramatic lifestyle changes as they had not seen a pay cheque for months. The union also reported that some employees were in such financial trouble because of the strike that their houses had been foreclosed on. (Ottawa Appoints Mediator in Aliant Strike, para. 2) It is clear that both management and employees view this strike as a severe failure. http://autos.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20040423/aliant_strike040423?s_name=Autosno_ads http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2004/08/27/aliant_040827.html McShane and Steen (2009) name communication problems as one of the main sources of conflict within organizations (p. 262). They state that conflict often occurs due to the lack of opportunity, ability, or motivation to communicate effectively (McShane Steen, 2009, p. 264). Ellen Malcolmson, Senior Vice-President- Operations, Bell Canada stated that their à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦industry has changed significantly and permanently and the union must recognize thisà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦In such an environment, there are limits to how far the company can go and remain competitive (As cited by France Poulin, 2004, Bell Receives 72 Hours Strike Notice, para. 5). These limits, however, are somewhat ambiguous. The striking union members did not seem to know how far the company was able to go in regards to negotiations while they were à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦demanding greater job security and better pension and benefit packages (CBC News Staff, 2004, Deal Reached in Aliant Strike, para. 7) Had these limits been define d earlier in the negotiation process, it is possible that the strike would not have escalated to the magnitude it reached. Negotiation is defined as the process whereby two or more conflicting parties attempt to resolve their divergent goals by redefining the terms of their interdependence (McShane Steen, 2009, p. 269). In the case of Aliant, Federal Labour Minister Joe Fontanaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦appointed a mediator in the four-month-old strike (CBC News Staff, 2004, Ottawa Appoints Mediator in Aliant Strike, para. 1) A mediators à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦main purpose is to manage the process and context of interaction between the disputing partiesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦[they] have little or no control over the conflict resolution decision (McShane Steen, 2009, p. 272). This intervention worked and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦agreement [came] after five days of negotiations conducted by two federally appointed mediators (CBC News Staff, 2004, Deal Reached in Aliant Strike, para. 4) As mentioned earlier, the conflict handling style used by Aliant and union workers during the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦four-monthà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦strike by 4,300 workers at Aliantà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (CBC News Staff, 2004, Deal Reached in Aliant Strike, para. 1) can be compared to McShane and Steens (2004) win-lose orientation (p. 264). The win-lose orientation is affiliated with the forcing style which occurs when one side of the bargaining process tries to gain something at the expense of their opposition (McShane Steen, 2009, p. 264). Forcing is the conflict handling style with the highest risk of relationship conflict (McShane Steen, 2009, p. 266). From comparing the five conflict handling styles it can be seen that compromising may have been a better tactic during the negotiations between Aliant and their unionized workers. Aliant needed their unionized workers in order to maintain the same profit level that they had been used to, and the unionized workers needed the cooperation of Aliant in o rder to gain the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦greater job security and better pension and benefit packages (CBC News Cast, 2004, Deal Reached in Aliant Strike, para. 8) that they were seeking. Thus, it would be fair to say that both parties had fairly equal bargaining power. Compromising [is the] preferred style when parties have equal power, time pressure to solve the conflict [and when] parties lack trust/ openness for problem solving (McShane Steen, 2009, p. 266). From July 30 [alone]: the strike has cost [Aliant] $21M (CBC News Staff, 2004, Ottawa Appoints Mediator in Aliant Strike, para. 2). The time pressure component was certainly present throughout the Aliant strike as seen through the continually decreasing profits and poor living conditions of unionized workers. We rarely know for certain that mutual gains are not available, so entering into a conflict with the compromising style may cause the parties to overlook better solutions. (McShane Steen, 2009, p. 267) Even if the forcing styl e seemed most appropriate during the beginning of the conflict, due to thoughts that the other party would take advantage of more cooperative strategies (McShane Steen, 2009, p 267), it should have been noted sooner than four months that forcing was inappropriate. One of the oldest recommendations for resolving conflict is to seek out and find common goals (McShane Steen, 2009, p. 267). How could Aliant and their union workers possibly have common goals when The company and the unions are trying to reach their first contract since the phone companies of Atlantic Canada merged to form Aliant in 1999 [?]. Thats meant trying to transform nine collective agreements into one (CTV News Staff, 2004, Aliant Telecommunication Workers go on Strike, para. 13). Common goals generally increase employees commitment to the organization and reduce conflicting goals within different segments of the company, which in turn could make employees happier and reduce the risk of strikes while increasing the ability to compromise effectively (McShane Steen, 2009, p. 267). Aliant should have made a more concerted effort to establish common goals within the organization so that employees would feel a sense of unity with the company. This may have decreased aggressiven ess between management and their subordinates. Time Passage and Deadlines are mentioned as being an important situational influence on negotiations. (McShane Steen, 2009, p. 271) One problem is that time pressure inhibits a problem-solving conflict management style, because the parties have less time to exchange information or present flexible offers (McShane Steen, 2009, p.271). Both parties in the Aliant dispute felt a great pressure to settle the negotiations in a timely fashion. This pressure may have resulted in less concessions being made during the offering process. McShane and Steen (2009) believe that parties taking place in negotiations under time constraints usually do not have the ability to process information as well as they would under other circumstances (p. 271). The union leaders had a strict notion that the company was going to take advantage of them. This may have had an impact on the way that they viewed offers made by Aliant. The time constraint would have further enabled this conception by forcing them to think quickly and rely on their initial perceptions (McShane Steen, 2009, p. 271). Aliant could have started negotiations of a contract much earlier when they were formed in 1999, thus reducing the time constraint and the chance of a strike. As shown in the Aliant case, conflicts which arise within companies often have a much greater effect than would be thought initially. In this case, not only did the company lose money but the staff suffered financially, mentally and emotionally as they were required to rely on others such as food banks despite having a job. Management also suffered because of Aliants financial loss because of the physical and mental strain they undertook as they tried to do both their own job as well as that of their subordinates. Customers suffered because the overall quality of service dropped. Finally, all parties suffered a significant loss of trust. In order to resolve this problem the two parties were forced to enter into binding arbitration. Binding arbitration was used because other avenues of negotiation failed. These included talks with and without a mediator. The final solution was one that satisfied no one and left the chance of future conflict. Conflict exists now as it always has and it will continue to do so. People will always search for different ways to resolve conflict. Negotiation is a tool commonly used today. However, negotiation has evolved and will continue to do so. Nevertheless negotiation will always be reliant on communication. Conversation, barter, mediation, arbitration are all tools which can prevent and solve conflicts by allowing people to surpass differences in order to reach understanding.

THE WAI AND DISABLED POPULATIONS :: Essays Papers

THE WAI AND DISABLED POPULATIONS Introduction-In a world where the Internet is the fastest growing method of communication and educational resources, it should be available to all of its users. However, it seems that the creators seemed to have left out a certain group of people. This group of people would be the disabled population of the world. It might seem to the "normal person" that this is not a big issue. Contrary to what people might think it truly is. The Web Accessibility Initiative was established by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). Its promise is to assure all users of the web a fair and equal opportunity for people with disabilities. There are many important reasons why web accessibility is important. Not many people realize how many obstacles the web has for people with disabilities. This affects millions of people throughout the world. Some of these include visual disabilities. For example, web sites that have poorly marked-up table or frames, unlabeled graphics or undescribed videos. People with hearing disabilities also experience problems, such as lack of captioning for audio, and proliferation of text with out visual markers. Other sites on the web are also unfair for people who have cognitive or neurological disabilites. This can cause problems because of flickering or strobing graphics on pages, and highly complicated presentations and language use(Brewer). In October 1994, the W3C was created to lead the information superhighway to it's highest potential by developing a set of guidelines that ensure its evolution, accessibility and understanding by everybody. WAI is sponsored by a mixed group of government and industry supporters of accessibility. It has three different guidelines to address different needs. 1.) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0. 2.) Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 3.)User Agent Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 Each guideline has specific supporting documents and resources. Some examples of this are checklists, technique documents with implementation detail, curricula, and logos. Research and development can have a major impact on the future of web accessibility. WAI plays a key role in assessing trends in implementations of accessible and inaccessible web technologies. It also helps with devoloping collaborations with research projects to promote awareness of the need for accessibility and benefits of universal design. For people with disabilites the Internet has been a "mixed blessing(Brewer)". Inaccessibility is unfair because the Internet is an excellent source for news, information, commerce, distance learning, email, voting, entertainment and even keeping in touch with family and friends.

Dansk Designs, Ltd. :: essays research papers

Dansk Designs Ltd., founded in 1955, is a company that markets stainless steel flatware. The firm traditionally followed a strategy of differentiation. They produce high quality products for the â€Å"top of the table†. Their goal was to reach a small market segment, which consisted of upper class, prestigious customers. Dansk Designs wanted to sell the concept of the Dansk brand, and believed their consumers would purchase the Dansk products because of the prominent brand name and because the products were the very best in taste and quality. Ted Nierenberg, the founder of Dansk Designs has recently decided that he wants to keep Dansk growing at 15% to 20% per year. Nierenberg feels as if his current product line will not provide sufficient growth to meet his objectives, and believes it is in the company’s best interest to introduce a new line of house ware products called Dansk Gourmet Designs Ltd. Nierenberg believes they should market this new line to a much wider g roup of consumers at competitive prices. However, I believe that although expanding into a new market with a new product line will increase short-term revenues, in the long run it will be detrimental because the new line will dilute the brand identity of Dansk Designs. If Nierenberg wants to grow every year 15% to 20%, I believe he should consider ways to lower costs instead of increasing volume and revenues.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Traditionally, Dansk Designs followed a strategy of differentiation. When a firm follows this strategy, they create differences in the firm’s product or service by creating something that is perceived as unique and valued by customers. Differentiation can take many forms, including prestige or brand image, which Dansk decided to implement. Their product line consists of eight product categories, which include flatware, china, linen, glass, decorator cookware, and wooden bowls and trays. Their products are of high quality and are highly priced. Dansk was able to achieve a differentiation advantage because their price premiums exceeded the extra costs of being unique. Dansk is able to create these unique products because of the talented designers they employ, including Jens Quisrgaard, Niels Refsgaard, and Gunnar Cyren. Another competitive advantage of a strategy of differentiation is the ability to deal with supplier power. There is a certain amount of statu s associated with being the supplier to a producer of differentiated products. Dansk’s principal supplier, Richard Nissen, has enjoyed working with Dansk because he believes they have been able to â€Å"preserve the handcrafted nature of the products†.

Children of the City Essay

Amadis ma Guerrero was born in Ermita, Manila in 1941, hegraduated from the Ateneo de manila in 1965 from theUniversity of Santo Tomas in 1959. His short story â€Å"Children of the City† is a departure from his usual style. It won the PalancaAwards in 1971. Setting This story happened in the late 1980’s. Everything occurredin the dark perilous busy streets of Manila. Boulevard . streets of avenida Characterization -Victor He is a boy from Intramuros. At the age of eight, he loses hisfather and his mother abandons him for some other man. He ishired as a newsboy by his uncle and starts his life on the streets.Innocent and young, he ponders on the menace and vices of hiscolleagues and the people all around him. -Victor’s Dad A good-natured man and a loving father to Victor, he was apart of a worker’s strike. The man loved his son dearly and hisdeath brought a huge blow to Victor. -Victor’s Mom She loved Victor’s dad but never cared felt any affection forher son. She took her husband’s death grievously. But later on,she ignores Victor, becomes a prostitute, then leaves Victor to hisUncle to go away with her new lover. -Tio Pedring Victor’s uncle, he adopted victor after the leaving of hissister. He forces victor to become a newspaper boy. -Nacio He is a newspaper boy. He was victor’s new friend. Thoughfull of cruel vices, Victor took his death as another major loss. Summary The father of the boy Victor got involved in a strike. He actsas though it was nothing and takes Victor to night walks aroundManila. He takes Victor’s mind off vices and promises Victor abright future someday.One day, during the strike. Victor’s father was shot dead inthe heart. His wife mourned greatly and his son was subdued. Thewife began to disappear late at night and come home early dawn.She refuses to take care of Victor. And then, she comes homewith some goon, telling that the goon will be Victor’s new dad.Victor didn’t like the stranger at all. As often as possible, he triesto stay out of his mom and her lover’s way.And then, Victor just woke up with his mother and the mangone. His Uncle Pedring introduces to take care of him. Herecruits Victor to a newspaper job. The man does not treat Victorwell unless he brings home money.During his job, Victor meets Nacio. Nacio was also anewspaper boy. He taught Victor various tricks in newspaperselling. They become close friends.Victor’s job grew prosperous. Soon, his â€Å"Boss† starts to trusthim with a ration of 20 papers a day. He becomes contented withhis life until-Nacio was run over a car. He was dead. Victor grieved for hisfriend just like the way he did with his father. He gets beaten upwith the other kids.His colleagues beat him up whenever he refuses to smoke orsay curse words†¦ Victor was defiant at first. But after long, tiredof being tossed around like a stray dog-Victor finally gave up. Moral lesson The story ended when the author realized how cruel theworld is†¦Ã¢â‚¬ Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ And Victor, swirled the life of the city: this city, flushed withtriumphant charity campaigns, where workers were made to signstatements certifying they received minimum wage, wheremillionaire politicians received Holy Communion every Sunday,where mothers taught their sons and daughters the art of begging, where orphans and children from broken homes slept onpavements and under darkened bridges, and where best friendsfell out and betrayed one another.† This world is mean indeed†¦ people become the way theyare, not because of fate, but of how the people around themrevolve. Children of politicians study at universities and tend toget spoiled. Whereas, orphans are shunned downwards and areleft to fill the streets and crawl under the powerful’s shoes. The story shows us the way life turns and how what webecome rests upon our defiance and decisions. This has been ahackneyed phrase through the decades but it portrays some kindof truth.

International Law †Definition Essay

There have been many attempts at codifying the laws governing international activities. An international law essentially governs international activities, or activities that have international implications, between two sovereign nations or entities by common rules, standards and conditions. The concept of legally binding agreements with an international scope was first introduced by Jeremy Bentham in the last quarter of the 18th Century (ILC, 2009). Jeremy Bentham was an English philosopher who first coined the idea of an international law that would regulate all important activities or aspects of international activities like commerce, justice, high sea activity, illegal acts, sovereignty, self defense and crime (Britannica, 2009). International law is inherently different from other laws as it primarily addresses the concerns of nations and not private citizens. It can legally be categorized into three different legal disciplines: 1. Public international law deals with common law issues between sovereign states and international organizations. Legal areas that are covered under the ambit of Public international law include international crime, high sea issues and humanitarian laws. 2. Private international law also called as conflict of laws, addresses the issue of ‘private relations’ across national borders and decides on the jurisdiction of the law. It has its roots in all the conventions, model laws, sovereign laws, legal guides, and all other documents and related instruments that govern such international relationships (ASIL, 2009). 3. Supranational law also called the law of supranational organizations, governs regional agreements between two international entities and distinguishingly nullifies laws of the respective nations in a situation of conflict with their sovereign laws. Public International Law Public international law relates to the form and ‘conduct’ of individual states and various organizations across the globe. Over a period of time, there has been an increased international activity and globalization has further enabled internationalization of issues. These issues, whether, economic, geo-political, environmental, criminal or else, find their right place under the ambit of Public international law. Public international law mainly has two branches that that deal with international issues. ‘jus gentium’ or ‘Law of nations’ was initially used by the Roman empire when they dealt with foreigners. Law of nations is a common law among nations that deals with issues like peace and war, extraditions, national boundaries and international diplomatic exchanges (Wiki, 2009). The other branch of Public international law, known as ‘Jus inter gentes’, also finds its roots in the Roman law system. This branch mainly deals with international treaties, conventions and other agreements between sovereign nations and international organizations. Public international law is also used to address sovereignty issues of nations, their boundary issues and jurisdictions. They also identify the legal responsibilities of a state, their jurisdiction of a territory and other territorial issues. This may lead to a situation of conflict between the international law itself and the sovereign state. Private International Law Private international law as described earlier addresses the issues between two private international entities. This branch of law regulates all the lawsuits that involve an element ‘foreign’ in nature and ones that may result in different interpretations and judgments depending on the jurisdiction of the subject (Collier, 2001). Private international law, in a situation of conflict between two international entities, determines if the proposed forum has any jurisdiction at all over the conflict situation. It then analyses and decides on the ability of competing state laws in dealing with the dispute. This branch of international law is also responsible for enforcement of the law. The term ‘conflict of Laws’ generally refers to the disparities between laws and reflects this disparity irrespective of the fact whether the legal system is international or inter-state. The term ‘conflict of laws’ is used by countries with common law system whereas the term Private international law is used more appropriately in cases where civil law countries are involved. The term that was initially used by and American lawyer and Judge Joseph Story for a common gamut of international laws, was discarded later by the common law researchers but was adopted by civil law lawyers (Collier, 2009). Since Private international law deals with international territorial disputes and also decides on legal jurisdictions of nation states, it is generally not easy to enforce decisions. There are two different lines of legal thinking that that try to define this law. One called ‘universalism’ is a stream of thinking where the researchers believe that this branch of law is a part of international law and applies in uniformity and is legally binding to all the nation states. The other group of researchers claims it to be ‘particularism’, according to which each state has its own unique norms of private international laws and pursues them in line with its policies. There are two major areas of functioning for Private international law. ‘Sensu stricto’ or narrow sense comprises of these set of rules and guidelines that actually determine the applicability of law of a nation in relation to the dispute. ‘Sensu lato’, also called as broader sense, comprises of a set of legal guidelines that has a direct bearing on material norms crossing the borders of a state (Collier, 2009). This branch of Private international law normally deals with global issues like international insurance, realty and financial disputes. It was in 1834 that Joseph Story’s treatise on the conflict of laws introduced the contemporary field of conflicts to the system of international law. His work had a great influence on the further legal research done on English laws and thus became the heart of Private international laws for most of the commonwealth countries. Sources of International law International law has evolved over a period of time and has its roots in the Middle Eastern and European history. It was Muhammad al-shaybani who first introduced the Law of the Nations at the end of the 8th century. These were the early legal treaties that explored applications of Islamic ethical code of conduct, and Islamic economic and military jurisprudence in relation to international law. Even though these treaties were in their nascent stage as per today’s complexity of issues, they still covered a number of areas under the ambit of international law, including treaties involving diplomats and diplomatic issues, issues of war, hostages and prisoners of war, and also women, children and civilian protection issues, especially during conflicts (wiki, 2009). The first ever treaties discovered in European history were written by a philosopher, theologist and jurist, Francisco de Vitoria, a staunch Roman Catholic, in late 16th century. Most of these legal opinions by the researchers were greatly influenced by the Islamic International laws that were the only legal International law treaties that took shape in the previous few centuries. Another legal scholar Hugo Grotius in the early 17th century further researched on the international treaties governing international laws and was credited for his legal endeavors (Wiki, 2009). The concept of sovereignty further evolved from the 17th century to the early 20th century in Europe. It was in Munster, in 1648, Germany that the first such instance of any treaty governing the concept of international law called ‘Peace of Westphalia’ took shape. This is when nationalism took precedence and people started identifying themselves with a certain nation-state. It was in the United States that history saw for the first time a modern instrument of international law take shape. Lieber Code was passed in 1863 by the Congress of the United States to govern actions of US forces involved with the civil war (Wiki, 2009). This was the first ever written law detailing guidelines and rules of war that were adhered to by all the civilized nations. The sources of International law are various resource materials and the processes that have shaped it over a period of time. Most of these processes or the building blocks of rules were greatly influenced by the politics in general and the legal theories by the researchers or philosophers. The decisions taken by the judges and the writings by the jurists are considered the auxiliary sources for the development of the international law. The international treaties between nation states and organizations, and the customs are also considered international laws of equivalent legitimacy (Wiki, 2009). As per the International Court of Justice, Customs are considered a primary source for International law, along with general principles of law and various treaties. International law and Customs Customary law is already acknowledged by the International Court of Justice by a statute in Article 38(1) (b), and is also incorporated in United Nations charter by Article 92 (Villiger, 1985). Customary laws are applied by international agencies in addressing the issues related to international disputes where the application of customs is considered an equivalent to the general practice accepted a part of International law applicable to the dispute. As a thumb rule, as and when a practice becomes a custom, it is applicable to all the member states of the international community. These states are bound by these customary principles whether or not they have consented for it, unless they opposed it from the start. Customs have long been a primary source for International law. Even though codification of customary laws took place in 1899 and 1907 in the Hague and Geneva conventions, some customs that were codified, like the ‘laws of the war’, had long been the part of international customs. The new codification of customary civil laws developed over a period of time since the middle ages. The customary expressions of law that were repetitive and were widely accepted within a particular community were written into laws by the local jurists. An example of such law would be ‘custom of Paris’ that regulated the community within Parisian region (Villiger, 1985). The term ‘customary law as a part of International law, also refers to the legal norms that were developed over a period of time and with customary exchanges between two independent states either through diplomacy or with wars. Though customary laws are not considered as superior as other laws written by statute or treaties in the International law system and are loosing their influence, they still are considered and recognized as building blocks for the ever evolving international laws and given great thought in most of the scholarly works by jurists. We may find examples of strong customary laws across the globe, like the Canadian aboriginal law, that have a constitutional backing and thus have an increasing influence over deciding factors (Villager, 1985).

A Students Fast Trip to Oblivion

A Students Fast Trip to Oblivion Essay I am so full of regret. In fact, if there is one way to describe how I feel at this moment, its living in hell. I have had sleepless nights for several days, and yet I still havent finished my work for our TV production. From rehearsals, to preparations and editing canned materials, it seems like an endless chain of suffering for a CMS student like me. In our previous production, I failed. And I cried. A lot. Right now, there is only one thing on my mind: hard work doesnt always if ever pay off. If I ever failed at such a magnitude again, Id be devastated. I dont even know if Id survive. Thats how fragile I am. Push me too far and watch me shatter like a brittle sheet of glass. I ask myself if its possible that I chose the wrong degree program? Do I really belong in this CMS group? I dont dont feel as if I do. I dont feel a connection to the teachers, the other students, the lessons or the practicum. I am frustrated and confused; frustrated with myself and confused over why Ive made the decisions I have over the past two or three years. Ive asked God to lead me and lay out an obvious path for me to walk. Show me a sign, an arrow, a lighted stairway anything. So, I lay on my bed, exhausted and worn. I closed my eyes but couldnt sleep. I picked up a romance novel and began to read; my heavy eyelids fighting to close like stubborn window shades. After reading for a while and struggling to stay awake, I found myself laughing at the humor in the novel. The heroine of the story was a romance novelist, and of course, as in every penny-store romance novel, she faced some extreme challenges in her life. There are times when some people critique her work and told her that those are scraps, while others are telling her that she is a good author. But despite all that, she never gave up on her career, because according to her, when you are trying to achieve something, you must do everything. That was 10 years ago. I remembered those times when I feel frustrated and annoyed of what I am doing. It only tells me that this world is truly unfair, and there is no space for justice because for every production that we have, I always put my 101 per cent to it. However, my efforts are useless for it is not always visible in my output. Well, thank God I have shifted from BA CMS to Political Science. Now, I dont have to work for suicidal TV productions. I only have to memorize the Philippine Constitution. I have fought for justice in my country. I have defended those who are accused of crimes, cleared their names and proved that they are innocent. However, the only downside of my career is that, I always eat death threats for breakfast. Sometimes, I am afraid of my familys and my owns safety. However, for years of being a lawyer, I always feel like an empty person. I always feel that there is something lacking in me. I just couldnt figure it out. It seems like I am unhappy of what I am doing right now. I relaxed my mind and body for a while. Then, at the corner of my table, I saw a romance novel. The same novel that I have read 10 years ago. Ten years ago. What could have happened to me when I didnt shift to other course and followed the motto of the lead female character in the story? Being into a broadcast industry is my passion but because I couldnt take the pressure of the work of a CMS student, I gave up. So right now, I feel regretful.

Inspiring Policy on Disease- and Emergency-Related Issues Essay

Inspiring Policy on Disease- and Emergency-Related Issues - Essay Example cy is on the process of being revised as the policy network grapple with the issue of whether routine mammograms for women starts at the age of 40 or 50. This particular issue is dependent on the movements of the current health care reform being undertaken in America. In examining the trajectory of breast cancer policymaking beginning in the 1980s towards the 1990s, one can identify the glaring fact that a single policy could take years to be made. This is demonstrated in Lillquist’s (2001) study on breast cancer policymaking, which mapped out the timeline of the most important legislative achievement to date, The Breast and Cervical Cancer Mortality Prevention Act. Legislative hearings on this policy began in 1984 and this stage in the process took six years before a bill was finally introduced and passed into law in 1990 (Lillquist, p.20). The period taken by the process was, as a matter of fact, short in comparison with the conventional lawmaking since breast cancer as a health problem is considered a special case with special characteristics. According to Lillquist, the breast cancer issue became an amalgamation of environmental, racial, aging and feminist issues (p.24). These characteristics entailed the political leverage that helped expedite policymaking. It must be noted that during the 1980s, the policymakers are lukewarm to the issue, treating breast cancer as part of a wider health policy. Prior position during this period did not consider services as the government’s responsibility (Lillquist, p.19). Kasper and Ferguson pointed out that even when breast cancer has been identified as a social issue since the 1970s, public policy responses were minimal (p.18). But in the course of the legislative process, this changed because of the advocacies of the National Breast Cancer Coalition (NBCC). This group, which was composed of cancer survivors, worked tirelessly to raise the level of public awareness on the issue and get people involved. By the time a