Community Policing Corruption Essay Example for Free

Community Policing Corruption Essay In today’s society, the amount of crime that occurs can be quite difficult to deal with and responsibility ends up falling on police to curtail it. Unfortunately, the infectious nature of crime often drags these assigned â€Å"stoppers† into the same mud that they are trying to prevent others from falling into. When officers abuse their legally sanctioned position of authority, it is known as police corruption. It is a persistent problem that is more significant in a criminal sense than the average person committing a crime because it is happening by a representative/protector of the law. Since police are not judiciaries, they do not determine who is guilty and thus undermine the law system when they do these crimes. Also, it is important to note that police corruption is not the same as an ordinary instance of crime. To elaborate, â€Å"Police corruption is an illegal use of organizational power for personal gain. The personal nature of the gain distinguishes corruption from brutality, perjury, illegal search, or any other law violations committed in the pursuit of such legitimate organizational goals as fighting crime. The organizational nature of the power used illegally excludes many crimes committed by policemen, such as burglary committed by a city police officer in his suburban town of residence in which he has no contact with the local police. That particular burglary would be merely a crime. A burglary committed by a police officer in his own police jurisdiction, under the protection of his colleagues or aided by his organizational knowledge of his colleagues’ practices, would be both a crime and an act of police corruption.† (Sherman, 31). As one can see, police corruption is a serious problem as it is almost always involves an associated act of crime. There is no room for this behaviour in fair environments and it cannot occur if society wishes to advance. Ultimately, police corruption cannot coexist with the concept of community policing because it is unethical and morally wrong, it is contrary to Robert Peel’s nine principles of policing and undermines effectiveness, and it offers no sense of accountability to the government and to the public. There is no logical way to justify corrupt actions by the police. Any time it occurs, it involves the â€Å"abuse of a legally sanctioned position of authority—in other words, the status of the police officer makes the crime possible. It is this abuse of a ‘sanctioned and sacred’ social position that makes police corruption so dangerous. It is the ultimate social inversion—the cops become criminals. (Police Corruption)† Instead of helping to fight crime, they end up contributing to the problem through means that are only available to them because of their sworn duties as protectors of the community. When corruption is revealed to the public, the police lose the confidence and trust that allows them to function and be legitimate. Corrupt acts are completely immoral as they are motivated by personal gain which demonstrates selfishness and a disregard of the well-being of society. The detrimental aspects of police misconduct cannot be overstated as they immediately threaten the possibility of effective police-community relationships. â€Å"In terms of public trust for law enforcement, recent polls show that only 56 percent of people rated the police as having a high or very high ethical standard as compared with 84 percent for nurses. Over the past few decades, great strides have occurred in the law enforcement profession. To begin with, many police agencies have avoided hiring candidates who have low ethical standards and have identified those onboard employees early in their careers who might compromise the departments integrity. In addition, research has discovered new methods of testing candidates for their psychological propensity to act ethically. However, unethical conduct by the nations police officers continues to occur in departments large and small. (Martin). Clearly, society has made some strides toward ensuring ethical and rational behaviour in the police force but it is impossible to root it out all the way to the individual level. For community policing to be effective, a high percentage of officers must be able to see the difference between right and wrong and take appropriate action. Recent studies offer some understanding of the phenomenon in the hope of rooting out this behavior that serves to undermine the overall legitimacy of law enforcement. Theories on the role of society in law enforcement, the negative influence of an officers department, and a persons own natural tendency to engage in unethical behavior have been offered as potential explanations. While some may argue that the â€Å"rotten apple† theory is the best explanation for this problem, the vast amount of evidence to the contrary is overwhel ming. Deviance rarely persists in an isolated environment but it thrives when it is adopted by an entity such as a department. To explain, â€Å"If we scan these activities then it must be plain that we are no longer dealing with individuals seeking solely personal gain but with group behaviour rooted in established arrangements. Police officers have to be initiated into these practises, rationalisations have to be produced to accept them, supervisors have to collude or turn a blind eye, justifications have to be sought to continue them, and organizations have either in some way to condone or encourage these activities or else fail to tackle them. This is social behaviour, conducted in groups within organizations, that is powerful enough to override the officer’s oath of office, personal conscience, departmental regulations and criminal laws (European Committee, 68).† For all of these events to occur, it is evident that a multitude of people inside the organization must collaborate and therefore it is rarely an isolated case of corruption. Corruption is highly contagious and this is illustrated well through theories such as the â€Å"slippery slope† and â€Å"grass vs meat eaters† This also explains why corruption is usually concentrated in certain precincts or areas instead of being dispersed. Sir Robert Peel was credited with the concept that the police depend on citizen cooperation in providing services in a democratic society. â€Å"Peel envisioned a strong connection between the police and the community (Police Corruption)†. Unfortunately, the existence of police corruption is contrary to all nine of his principles. The police’s basic mission is to prevent crime and disorder, which they only contribute to if they are corrupt. They rely on the public approval of their actions, which cannot happen in a just society (â€Å"community tolerance, or even support, for police corruption can facilitate a department’s becoming corrupt [Sherman, 32]). Corrupt police officers do not cooperate with the public; they avoid contact as they do not want to reveal their illicit nature. Since corrupt officers are aware of their actions, they might have improper judgement and use physical force. They fail to demonstrate absolutely impartial service by attempting to manipulate public opinion, do not become â€Å"one† with the public, they usurp the power of the judiciary, and sacrifice efficiency for personal gain by not devoting all of their effort to reducing crime and disorder. These corrupt officers also undermine effectiveness as they do not use their time as well as they should be, show only self-concern and indifference to the morality of the situation, and abuse resources. â€Å"The legal authority of police departments and the nature of law violations in their jurisdiction provide organizational resources that can be exploited for personal gain. The nature of these resources varies greatly among and within police departments according to the nature of police tasks performed and the social characteristics of the police task environment. A police department that is a corrupt organization can exploit the resources for internal profit. In all cases, exploitation of these resources for personal gain is an inversion of the formal goals of the organization. (Sherman, 38). Depending on exactly what type of resources the organization deals with, they may or may not be suitable for exploitation. Federal drug enforcement entities constantly deal with opportunities to make a lot of illicit profit whereas Secret Services almost never has chances to make illicit gains at all. In many situations, police may lose some or all of their accountability to the public or government if they do not act with the appropriate intentions. Accountability is a vital element of not just community policing but policing in general. If the police are to achieve their goal which should be lawfulness and legitimacy, they require effective accountability procedures. â€Å"Lawfulness and legitimacy, in turn, are essential if the police are to achieve their goals of reducing crime and disorder, enhancing the quality of neighborhood life, and serving community needs. A lack of legitimacy inhibits the development of working partnerships that are an essential ingredient in community policing and problem oriented policing. Contrary to the popular view that effective crime control and respect for constitutional principles are competing values in policing, experts today increasingly recognize that lawful conduct and accountability are essential for crime-fighting. (Walker, 1). While it is apparent that lawfulness and legitimacy must be upheld in order to serve the community, a fundamental principal of a democratic society that the police should be held accountable for their actions. This includes choosing what actions they take and how they perform. This is especially true in post-conflict environments where police forces are viewed as brutal, corrupt, and unfair. In order to maintain a healthy relationship, a â€Å"liberal society must be maintained, complaints about the police must be addressed, and police themselves must be protected by disgruntled acts by the community† (Accountability and Police). At the same time, police must keep a healthy distance to avoid excessive personal interaction which leads to preferential treatment, discretion, and favouritism. Furthermore, it is important to note that, â€Å"The accountability of police to the public is undermined when charges are often dropped while officers under investigation are usually suspended with pay. In other words, there is no real certainty of punishment and this de-legitimizes any notion of public accountability and respect for the law (Police Corruption). In the eyes of the public, it is already bad enough that the officer are taking advantage of their position of authority but to have them face virtually no consequences is beyond demoralizing. In order for community policing to exist, the public must be confident in the fact that the police are not taking advantage of their position and are accountable in and out of service. In conclusion, because police corruption is unethical and morally wrong, violates all of Robert Peel’s principles, and shows a complete disregard of the notion of accountability, it is impossible to coincide with effective community policing. Police corruption is the illegal use of organizational power for personal gain and unfortunately a still a common occurrence in modern society. It is crucial for the police, as protectors of society, to not allow themselves to stoop so low. The community has to be able to know that no matter what police might have to deal with, they will remain pure and free of corruption in order to begin forming positive relationships. Methods of containing corruption include abolishing existing precedures that encourage corruption, letting go of any member that demonstrates corrupt tendencies, requiring a certain level of accountability, and many other steps. Organizations such as the Special Investigations Unit have made strides in reducing corruption however it is not nearly enough. If corruption is controlled to a point where it no longer has a detrimental impact to society, community policing can have enough room to develop. â€Å"Preventing corruption completely is a tall order. However, steps can be taken to reduce it significantly. There are a few fundamental ideas that can be implemented that can, by their very nature, curb corruption. The three areas that need attention are the officer training, personal characters, and the incentives program. The first step is to hire police officers of good character. Stricter screening methods need to be implemented to decrease the chance that a potential hire will become corrupt. Once an officer is hired, the department should do all it can to promote ethics on the job. The department must understand that the citizens trust the police to be ethical, and a breach of that trust is unjust. Further, it is not practical to act unethically. People eye the police and their behavior constantly. Corruption in the force makes it easier for a citizen to rationalize acting unlawfully, which just creates more work for the police. If a police officer, who is allegedly the pillar of the law, can defy it, why cannot the citizens who pay for the police services? (White) A corrupt police officer cannot very well express effectively why citizens should obey the law, for he has no consistency and thus no credibility. Works Cited Sherman, Lawrence W. Scandal and Reform: Controlling Police Corruption. N.p.: University of California, 1978. Print. Police Powers and Accountability in a Democratic Society. N.p.: 2000. Google Books. Web. http://books.google.ca/books?id=cVAOfvU1o-wC. Walker, Samuel. Police Accountability: Current Issues and Research Needs. National Institute of Justice Police Planning (2006): 1-35. National Criminal Justice Reference Service. Web. 25 Nov. 2012. http:/https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/218583.pdf. White, Stuart A. Controlling Police Corruption. Stanford University. N.p., 4 June 1994. Web. 25 Jan. 2012. http://www.stanford.edu/class/e297c/poverty_prejudice/paradox/hwhite.html. Martin, Rich M.S. Police Corruption: An Analytical Look Into Police Ethics. FBI. N.p., May 2011. Web. 25 Nov. 2012. http://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/law-enforcement-bulletin/may_2011/law_enforcement_professionalism.

Ethical Dilemmas in a Business

Ethical Dilemmas in a Business Introduction Ethical Dilemmas often occur in business situations as well as everyday life. These could be simple problems such as whether to lie about deadline requirements in order to get work done faster, or something complex such as manipulation of facts and figures in financial statements. The core value system of the person making any such decision plays a huge role in the extent of his or her ethical manipulation. Competitve pressure on the other hand can force people to make ethical decisions radically different from what their value system might relay. This is a problem that is widespread in todays business environment, where stepping on someone else ensures an easier platform for growth. The model of The ends justify the means has overwritten a lot of the value based ethics which was heavily ingrained in our psyche. This report hopes to make simple guidelines which will allow one to make decisions keeping a humane as well as ethical approach which emphasizes the Right decisions, not the Easy ones. Business Scenarios Entailing an Ethical Dilemma Some of the best learning regarding any Ethical dilemma occurs when one experiences it firsthand. These problems occur when we are unprepared for it, thus a pre-determined framework would prove extremely useful. Ethical decision making deals with moral issues: A moral issue is present where ever individual actions, when freely performed, may harm or benefit others (Jones, 1991, p. 367). An ethical decision is defined as a decision that is both legal and morally acceptable to the larger community whereas an unethical decision may be regarded as either illegal or morally unacceptable to the larger community (Jones, 1991, p. 367). Thus let us have a look at some examples of Ethical Dilemmas which would require such Ethical Decision Making. Company Bankruptcy and Employee Loyalty Lehman Brothers which was a premium investment bank until its Chapter 11 bankruptcy declaration in September 2008 was a preferred employer for over 25000 people and their families. The company evoked a vehement sense of loyalty and pride, but bankruptcy changed all that. Lehman Brothers Services India LTD, which is the outsourcing and knowledge center in India received the news on a Monday, employees which included the author himself resolved themselves to jumping ship before even trying to see if they could do anything to help the firm. This is an ethical dilemma since on the one hand the employer has helped support the families of its employees, however on the other hand the employee has to decide quickly about the future course of action which will affect his or her family. A possible solution which would have been feasible was for the employees to provide their utmost support to management in order to steer the company out of rough waters. This is a difficult decision to make since it may even involve no pay during the period of bankruptcy, and hence almost no employee chose this decision. Service Bonds in Companies A widely used vehicle in corporate culture today is service bonds, issued by the company against almost all its new employees. These simply state that the employee must stay within the employ of the company for a certain duration before switching companies and/or leaving the job, failing which he or she would be penalized a certain amount of money. The Ethical Dilemma appears here mainly when the employee gets hired by the company while he or she may have an offer or opportunity in the near future. A prime example is when freshers are hired out of college, but they are waiting for an MBA admission. The job is just a failsafe option, and as soon as said MBA admission goes through, the employee will leave the firm. This is an Ethical Dilemma on both fronts, from the point of view of the employer as well as the employee. On the one hand, the bond is in itself a vehicle which does not hold any value in a court of law. Thus most companies will harass the employee but ultimately they are unable to recover any of the amounts mentioned in the bond, however they do withhold experience and relieving certificates. On the other hand the employee himself signs up for the training knowing full well that he or she may be leaving the job early, it is a very hedonistic approach, and is done only for self benefit, he or she does not care whether the company hired him or her keeping in mind requirements, and does not bother about the damages the company may incur due to a sudden loss of an employee. A possible solution here, which is unfortunately infeasible is a full disclosure on the part of the employee while joining up a company, this would usually result in the employer not hiring said employee to prevent any problems should the employee suddenly leave. Credit Sharing in the Workplace As rational human beings most of us understand the value of teamwork. The workplace however emphasizes this in order to have smooth and uninterrupted functioning. Teamwork is a prime requirement for any employee who joins any firm. One of the biggest ethical dilemmas faced both as an employee as well as a manager is how best to recognize individual contribution in a team based environment. It would be wishful thinking to assume that all employees contribute equally to the success of a project, thus the emergence of performance rewarding was born in the workplace. Here employees are gauged on individual performance in a team context, their contributions, mistakes as well as ideas are all assessed and suitable reward systems are kept in place. This however results in what is known as Credit Sharing whereby employees try to gain credit for work that they had a minimal contribution in. This usually happens when the work itself provides a sizeable benefit to the project, either in terms of revenue generation or cost minimization. Employees who were unrelated to this work still try to leverage it since it could provide a boost to their immediate future in terms of salary raise, or promotions. A possible solution to such a problem unfortunately cannot be found, this is simply because it is highly dependent on individual ethics to determine how low he or she may be willing to stoop to gain credit where credit was never due. Management unfortunately also cannot efficiently monitor this since it might result in inefficiencies in overall management of the project. Guidelines for Self for Dealing with Ethical Dilemmas An easy way to create a guideline for self to deal with Ethical Dilemmas, one needs a reference model of some kind which will allow for such a guideline to be created in the first place. Moral Dilemmas and Ethical Dilemmas both share a common thread in that they deal with moral issues at their core. Thus for a decision maker to act ethically he or she must (a) recognize a moral issue, (b) make a moral judgment, (c) give priority to moral concerns and establish a moral intent, and finally (d) act on the moral concerns (Selart and Johansen, 2010, p. 3). Thus logically it would be a necessary condition that the moral agent in this case the decision maker should be able to recognize a moral dilemma. This is highly relevant since pressure or competition usually dull our senses in this regard, since profits or immediate gains will be present and must be decided upon. However the severity of the moral dilemma elicits a moral impulse which could be radically different from what rationality tells us to pursue. What this means is that we may be more prone to making moral/ethical decisions, when we are able to identify the severity of the problem at hand. This is referred to as moral intensity and is a prime candidate for allowing ethical decisions to be made. Let us have a look at how some external factors could influence decision making and use them to form a basic guideline for dealing with ethical dilemmas. Effect of Stress or Competition on Ethical Decision Making Stress is deemed as having a negative effect on leaders decision making by preventing them from recognizing ethical/moral dilemmas which their decisions could entail. Time related deadlines have an effect which could result in limited focus and to cognitive biases. It also makes leaders have less access to external information sources (Selart and Johansen, 2010, p. 11). Thus a primary rule of thumb which we should ensure while dealing with any decision that could involve moral issues is Prevent or reduce stress while making a decision, since studies have shown that stress influences ethical decision making primarily through its effect on pro-social behavior or the willingness and motivation to take others interest into account (Jex et al., 2003) Studies also show that a root cause of stress related problems comes from the reward or lack of thereof which results in stress related ethical failings in managers (Selart and Johansen, 2010, p. 12). Effect of Globalization on Ethical Decision Making Globalization is the new mantra by which todays companys move. It ensures competitive advantage by reducing costs and promoting more profitable sales opportunities, it also results in a diversified and distributed workplace. This is one of the prime causes of ethical dilemmas. Being distributed could result in marginalization of branch employees when decisions affecting corporate culture or financials get made; this is often seen in the case of a lot of the leading multinationals which operate with an IT arm in India. Another great challenge for managers in global business is the misunderstanding of their decisions due to conflicting moral compasses of their stakeholders from different cultures, which could result in their best decisions being, confounded (Thompson, 2010, p. 1). An effective tool suggested to counter this is the Global Moral Compass which allows for managing complex moral challenges that business leaders cannot ignore, as well as providing an adaptive framework which allows for linking diverse value propositions and wisdom traditions (Thompson, 2010, p. 1). This is the global moral compass for business, its 4 parameters include. Vision Moral vision is the true north of the moral compass; the spiritual, affective aspect of moral identity expressed in the power of myth, narrative, and images representing core values. Code it is the moral code by means of which one lives ones life, this code is enhanced by personal experience and is ever changing. Fitness Moral fitness is the symbolic aspect of moral agency; it is ritualized action that expresses and reflects the vision and values of moral identity. Performance Performance is the proof of the pudding the intentional aspect of moral agency demonstrated in concrete decisions and behavior (Thompson, 2010, p. 13-14). Thus some more rules of thumb can be generated via the means of globalization and its effect on ethical decision making Globalization requires a more complex set of moral principles which guide decision making; this is enhanced by the use of the global moral compass which can be used to point decisions to the right direction. Globalization requires that the culture, socio-economic situations, geographies as well as history of stakeholders involved be understood to a certain degree, before a decision benefitting them all can be made. True value addition can be had when all the stakeholders are in almost full or full agreement with decisions made, thereby we may need a certain degree of inclusivity to be incorporated in decision making to ensure that stakeholders are completely in sync with the decisions being taken. Effect of Monetary Gain in Ethical Decision Making In recent times a lot of unethical decision making has been uncovered in terms of financial misreporting done by CEOs and other top ranking officials of various companies. The lure of money is thus viewed as a serious barrier in ethical decision making; this is something even laymen can understand. Simple financial incentives like bribes given to government officials influence how fast they perform work, and as such is an ingrained habit in the minds of people today especially in a corrupt bureaucracy like Indias. However studies have found that it cannot simply be narrowed down to the lure of financial incentives that lead to such behavior, other factors including CEOs narcissism, shareholders expectations and subordinate silence as well as CEOs dishonesty could all be possible causes for such unethical decision making (Chen, 2010, p. 1). Now the study also aims to look just beyond financial remuneration as a source of ethical failing on the part of the CEOs, since a lot of them have contributed to charities of some kind or the other (contributions themselves being significant). Thus this evidence suggests that simply CEOs character flaws cannot conclusively be used to resolve this ethical failing (Chen, 2010, p. 2). Some factors which could influence this include Moral or Ethical standards present in the country of origin, cultural norms which influence managerial behavior, corporate and individual corruption levels in the country of origin and incorrect assessment of information due to inflated self expectations in terms of performance. All of these factors can lead to unethical decisions being taken mainly in regards to financial reporting of the firms performance. However we must also identify the effect that stakeholders can cause on mangers when it comes to financial reporting or ethical decision making. Ever increasing expectations, continuous percentage improvement requirements and unrealistic targets all have a direct influence on managers and CEOs making the decisions that they do. However most people are ready to brush this aside as it would result in the blame being spread across people rather than rest squarely on a single person, this unfortunately is a Scape-Goat mentality and is highly ingrained in the psyche of the general populace as was amply demonstrated by the victimization of Mr. Kalmadi in the Commonwealth Games scandal in India. More attention needs to be paid to the responsibilities of shareholders, financial analysts and the financial press in setting realistic expectations for companies. Simply focusing on improving the ethical behavior of individual CEOs without removing this root cause is unlikely to have much effect on the level and frequency of misreporting (Chen, 2010, p. 15). Thus the rules of thumb which we can garner from the above include. While making financial decisions, it is better to make it keeping multiple trustworthy people in the loop, this ensures that decisions although signed off by a single entity (the CEO) would still be ratified by multiple people. The key point here is that decisions made collectively have the possibility of dissonance among stakeholders making said decisions, which would lead to further questioning of the decisions and thus a more refined and correct decisions can be made. Altruistic perspectives aside, stakeholders themselves should be able to handle negative results and management must have enough moral fiber to take the right decision in letting the stakeholders know of any failings without fear of castigation. Effect of Communication in Ethical Decision Making In todays competitive environment, communication or a lack of thereof can lead to decisions being made which may seem unethical. Information is a powerful tool which can prevent decisions which can negatively affect people. Thus communication of this information from the holders to the decision makers becomes paramount to ethical business decisions being made effectively and efficiently. Communication on corporate culture itself can have a positive impact on ethical decision making in the workplace, we thus explore the use of a Business Code of Ethics or BCE which is a pre-requisite in recent times for any company in operation. The BCE simply conveys acceptable behavioral norms and rules which are active in the workplace, and could prove to be an efficient tool in curbing unethical decision making which managers might make in the absence of such an instrument. Studies however show that such a BCE comes with several limitations, this could include, frequency of communication of the BCE, quality of communication used, reinforcement of the BCE via actions of top management, level to which the BCE is ingrained in the decision making of middle and lower level management and finally overall adoption of the BCE via the general populace in the workplace. Communication in this regard is mainly seen via the means of this code of ethics. Now this could result in certain limitations with respect to achievable targets, or patterns of behavior which can be deemed acceptable to meet said targets, however in the long run it is observed that this has a positive impact on both the quality of work culture ingrained in the organization, as well as individual ethical standards which permeates through the employee base (Kaptein, 2010, p. 16). Thus some takeaways from communication and BCE include Effective communications of acceptable ethical standards have a significant positive impact on both workplace culture as well as individual ethical/moral standards improvements. Although a certain degree of compromise must be made in terms of performance for enforcing said ethical standards, it will have a positive impact in the long run and will allow the company to overcome any future negative impacts which may have occurred had such a provision not been in place. Conclusion Thus all throughout we have seen that just external factors alone cannot be used as the final determinant of ethical decision making abilities of an individual. He or she can also influence the surroundings and make decisions which can be both Right as well as beneficial to the maximum number of people, not just his or her organization. This is illustrated by the use of effective communication, utilizing the moral compass, reduction the impact of stress and financial incentives and finally realizing that the individual has to take the ultimate responsibility of his or her decision, and although redemption may be found by attributing any fallacies to external factors, the price will still have to be paid by the individual who made the decision.

N1 Solutions LLC Business Technology Analysis

N1 Solutions LLC Business Technology Analysis Student: Suresh Barre COMPANY PROFILE N1 Solutions LLC. Provides in-depth experience and expertise in legacy application development, release management, and maintenance. We understand that Applications are the key point of any organization. N1 Solutions LLC. Offers VALUE ADD services for both internal and external facing client applications. Their resources come equipped with proven project management techniques, application development methodologies, and release / change management principles whether it is a single resource requirement or staffing up a complete project team, team N1 Solutions LLC has it all. N1 Solutions LLC capabilities help companies improve revenue, drive efficiencies and productivity improvements, automate key processes, reduce process/cycle times, and transform business data into valuable information. N1 Solutions LLC service spectrum consists of a range of technology offerings like: 1. Application Maintenance and Enhancement 2. Custom Application Development 3. Data Centric Services 4. Implementation Methodologies Total no. of Employees: 120 Financial synopsis N1 Solutions LLC is well-established in growth markets and aims to be the right partner for its customers. The company combines deep local knowledge with global capability. The company is trusted across its network for its standard of governance and its commitment to making a difference in the communities in which it operates. N1 Solutions LLC annual revenues more than 20M broke down roughly 20% license, 35% pro services, and 45% maintenance. For new sales, maintenance was 18-20% of license revenue and implementation services roughly equaled license revenue. Here are the few nuggets and features I found so far from this kind of work environment. Transparent Open Communication Give and Take policy Work-Life Balance Training Development-Focused Recognition for Hard Work Strong Team Spirit Clients: 3i InfoTech Walmart Cognizant Technology Solutions Intelligroup IGATE Robert Half Technology HCL Infosys OPPURTUNITIES The experience with N1 Solutions will provide me the opportunity to achieve the real world experience in the ground of Information Technology, Sales Force cloud computing technology and implementation. From the beginning I have been afford the opportunity to partake as an equal member of their internal process. Internship Technology: Salesforce Salesforce Inc. is a global cloud computing company headquartered in San Francisco, California. Though best known for its customer relationship management (CRM) product. Internship objectives: Working as a salesforce intern, performing duties and activities and analyzing them in different perspectives. Here I am presenting few important internship objectives. To get familiarity with Apex code, Triggers and Visualforce. To Learn SOQL (salesforce object query language) and SOSL (salesforce object search language). To get experience with building salesforce apps and objects. To learn integration techniques using web services and APIs. To get experience in Salesforce customization. To learn Creating Apex business logics. To get salesforce 401 Developer Certification. Personnel Development Goals Observing and learning different projects. To improve business communication skills Planning and organizing client interaction. To develop reporting skills To get experience with managerial skills 3.0 LEARNING OBJECTIVES During the course of my internship, I had a great and vivid exposure in Salesforce technology and implementation. I also had an opportunity to get familiarize with many programs and tools. Also had an opportunity to interrelate many real time Salesforce implementations and design. Programs and tools used and learned during the internship Salesforce Edition: Enterprise Features: Workflow approval automation Report history tracking Profiles and page layouts Custom app development Integration via web service API Salesforce Identity Salesforce Private AppExchange Project Management Tool: Smart sheet for sales force Features: Import from Microsoft Project or Excel Multiple levels of tasks Single sign-on from Salesforce Share project sheets and attached files with anyone inside or outside your Salesforce account IDE (Integrated Development Environment): Eclipse Helios Features: Market place client Open Implementation Package Name abbreviations Virtual Folders Compare Configurations Instance counts Support for Apache Tomcat 7 Other Tools: HTML, Java, .net, Visualforce, Saas and apex code. PROJECT I got an opportunity to involve in a real time project for an implementation of Salesforce architecture. Here is the snapshot of the project I was involved. By using cloud computing technologies the new way of building and running applications are being enabled where applications are accessible as utilities over Internet rather than different softwares running on server or desktop. This is a fairly common model for consumer applications like email etc., and also some business applications, such as customer relationship management. The website force.com platform as a service is the first of its kind in the world, which enables developers to create as well as deliver any type of business applications in the cloud, without software which is entirely on-demand. This technology is a breakthrough new concept. It makes businesses widely successful by making them translate their ideas into usable applications in a very short time. Developing and running these kind of business appliactions with regular software is a complex, not so fast and costly. To overcome these issues a new model, called cloud computing has been brought into existence. To stop buy and maintain hardware and software applications in the cloud are delivered as services. Salesforce.com, over the last decade helped and established this model with applications bussiness. More recently, force.com opened up and made it as open source so anyone can build and run bussiness applications on its server. Salesforce.com mastered this model with applications for business since ten years. Recently Force.com made available its proprietary technologies as open source for anyone who is building and developing bussiness applications and then running them on force platform. This platform allows you to store structured data, implement and run business logic with rules of workflow techniques, custom code and also custom codes and approval process, web browser support, integration with other applications as well. The overall scope of this project is all, but limited to To develop an application for sales forecast details. Provide the Sales forecast details of a company product. Ease of access and use. Secured analysis (confidentiality). Views about present status. PROPOSED SYSTEM In the previous CRM system, there are lot of problems, so a new technology is being used in this project called as cloud computing. To develop an application in the cloud computing environment and to deploy it and also launching it in the cloud is being proposed in this project. It is called as salesforce environment. A simple application developed and deployed in the cloud by using the tools and in the environment there itself. System Specifications User Requirements: A high-speed Internet Connection is needed as an interface between the service provider and User. User name and Password provided by the administrator is needed to the user to work with the application. Hardware Requirements: Processor: 32 bit Processor Ram: 512 Mb Hard Disk: 40 GB Internet: 512 Kbps high speed internet connection Software Requirements: OS: All OS supporting internet browsing. Environment: Force.com Environment Language: Visual Force Functional Requirements Understand the cloud environment provided by SalesForce.com Learning VISUALFORCE Developing an application using Visualforce in the SalesForce.Com Environment Deploying the application Providing the User accounts Accessing the application from user accounts and should work with the applications clearly. Other Non-functional Requirements: Performance Requirements: The performance will be fully based on the Internet connection. The user may not worry about their local system. The local system will be only used as a terminal. Safety Requirements: There are the possibilities of data loss due to the interruption of connection in Internet. So the user must ensure about his uninterrupted internet connection. Security Requirements: All the security issues will be provided by the service provider itself (SALESFORCE.COM). No users are allowed to enter and view the details without proper authentication (password protection). ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES       This role is more about learning people than coding new fields in Salesforce. One should have familiar with sales process and sales team in a company. Applying and acquiring Salesforce admin and developer skillset as required for project and assignments. Creating Salesforce customization like creating layouts and pages, learning user maintenance, database de-dumping and cleanup, creating reports and dashboards through Salesforce platform. To learn managed outsourced Salesforce implementation and development process. Apply and acquire technical analysis as required per each task, data extraction from old to new system. Salesforce Cloud Application Layout: Dashboard Reports Accounts creation Forecast 6.0 Learning experience Internship is a way to show you if that is the career is you really want. And have first hand experience on what youre going to do, if you choose the trade. This is an option to pay your dues early on. By gaining early experiences as an intern, earn myself a bit more of a leg-up to start. Internship given me exposure to new and professional situationsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦with a safety net. They had given me real opportunities for practical application of skill, but are also there to catch me if there is a problem along the way. They provide you experience with a chance to grow. You just dont stop after some years in the trade. The open-minded mentality, Ive experienced, can differentiate successful, progressive professionals from the rest. My learning focus and implementing contribution for the project: Creating Workflow Rules: To automate organizations standard processes by configuring workflow rules. Every single workflow rule consists of: A criteria which determines when the software salesforce executes the workflow rule. And also any changes that causes any record to match this can trigger the workflow rule-it even changes it to hidden fields. The actions immediately to take, when this workflow rule executes. For an example, the software Salesforce sends automatically an email that notifies the opportunity team when a new high-value opportunity is created. There are Time-dependent actions which the Salesforce software queues when the workflow rule executes. Creating Page layouts and Field level security: Field-Level Security It restricts users to edit files and also view them by any means, which includes reports and search results, list views and related lists and email and also mail merge templates, with custom links, connect offline to the API and when also synchronizing data or importing personal data. It overrides any weak restrictive field access settings in the pages layouts and also mini page layout. For an example, if the field is required and read only in the page layout in the field level security settings, it overrides the page layout and the field will be read only for the user. It overrides low restrictive field settings in layouts of search. For example, if a field is visible in the search layout but hidden for certain users via the field-level security settings, the field-level security overrides the search layout and the field will be hidden for those users. For an example, if it is any field, which is visble Page Layouts It controls the layout, organization of detail and edit pages , related lists, which fields, custom link users see on detail and edit pages only. And also control standard and custom buttons display on detail pages as well as related lists. Page layout will determine whether fields are visible, read only, or required, on detail and edit pages only. In Personal category , by going into Contact Manager, and to Group, and Professional Editions, and to control which fields users can access in related lists, and to list views, reports, and to Connect Offline, and to email and mail merge templates, and to custom links, and when synchronizing data or importing personal data. In Professional category, by going into Enterprise, and to Unlimited, Performance, and Developer Editions, and to determine some aspects of mini page layouts, including record type and profile associations, related lists, fields, and field access settings. The visible fields and related lists of the mini page layout can be further customized, but the other items inherited from the associated page layout cannot be changed on the mini page layout itself. Mini page layouts display selected fields and related lists of records in the mini view of the console. It Should not be used to secure data, if we take an example, by removing the Edit button from a page layout, it doesnt prevent users from using inline editing to modify the already established or any records. And to prevent the users from editing data, it uses any number of combination of sharing rules, field-level security, page layout field properties, validation rules, object permissions, and Visualforce pages. Sandbox Testing: Sandboxes create copies of your organization in separate environments. Use them for development, testing, and training, without compromising the data and applications in your Salesforce production organization. Sandbox Types: Developer Sandbox These sandboxes are meant for using coding and testing to be in an isolated environment. These include production organizations configuration which is also known as metadata. Developer Pro Sandbox These are the sandboxes that are intended for developing and testing in the isolated environment. These include the metadata of the organization. These have more storage than developers sandboxes. This allows for more robust test data sets and enables the environment to handle development testing more. Partial Copy Sandbox These are intended for using as testing environments. These can be used for testing tasks like user acceptance testing, training and integration testing. These include metadata configuration, your production data as defined by this sandbox templates. Full Sandbox These sandboxes are intended to be used as testing environment. Only sandboxes support performance testing and load testing and staging. These are a replica of your production organization. This includes all data including metadata. Refresh interval length makes it difficult to use full sandboxes for development. When you create a Full sandbox, you also have to decide how much field tracking history and Chatter activity to include. The default is to omit field tracking, but you can include up to 180 days of field tracking. Specify fewer days to avoid generating an excessive amount of data if you track field history for many objects in your production organization. Chatter activity data can be extensive, which can add a significant amount of time to your Full sandbox copy. Validation Rules Validation rules verify that the data a user enters in a record meets the standards you specify before the user can save the record. A validation rule can contain a formula or expression that evaluates the data in one or more fields and returns a value of True or False. Validation rules also include an error message to display to the user when the rule returns a value of True due to an invalid value. Salesforce runs validation rules before creating records submitted via Web-to-Lead and Web-to-Case, and only creates records that have valid values. Validation rules continue to run on individual records if the owner is changed. If the Mass Transfer tool is used to change the ownership of multiple records, however, validation rules wont run on those records. Workflow Rules and Approvals: Each workflow rule consists of: The criteria that determines salesforce executes the workflow rule. And any change that causes the record to match the criteria triggers the workflow rule- it even changes to hidden fields. Workflow automates some types of actions which are as: Email Alerts-Send an email to one or more recipients. It can automatically send the sales management an email alert where the sales representative qualifies a large deal. Tasks-Assign a new task to a user, role, or record owner. It can automatically assign follow-up tasks to a support representative one week after a case is updated. Field Updates-This Updates the value of a field on a record. This will automatically change the Owner field on a contract 3 days before it expires. Flow Triggers-It Triggers an auto launched flow. It triggers the wrokflow actions, which are formerly available in a pilot programme, are superseded by using the process builder. Outbound Messages- this sends a secure configurable API message to a designated listener. For an example, this will automatically initiate a reimbursement process for the approved expense report after triggering an outbound API message to the external HR system. Approvals This is an automated process where the organization can use to approve salesforce records. This process explains in detail the steps necessary for the record, for the approval and also decides who has to approve it at each step. These steps can apply to each record in the process or certain defined by the administrator. It also specifies for any action taken in the records for approval. Apex code: Apex is an object-oriented programming language which allows developers to execute flow and transaction control statements on the Force.com server. It uses syntax that almost looks like java and this also acts like database stored procedures. Apex also enables developers for adding business logics and visualforce pages. This code can be started by web service requests and also from triggers on objects. Apex is: Integrated, Easy to use, Data focused, Rigorous, Hosted, Multitenant aware, automatically upgradeable, easy to test, Versioned. Visualforce Visualforce is a framework which allows developers to build fully sophisticated, custom UIs that can be hosted nativly on the Force.com platform. The Visualforce framework includes a tag-based markup language, similar to HTML, and a set of server-side standard controllers that make basic database operations, such as queries and saves, very simple to perform. In the Visualforce markup language, every Visualforce tag relates to a coarse or fine-grained UI component, such as a section of a page, a related list, or a field. The behavior of Visualforce components can either be controlled by the same logic that is used in standard Salesforce pages, or developers can relate their own logic with a controller class written in Apex. Visualforce page definition consists of two primary elements: Visualforce markup HTML, JavaScript, or any other Web-enabled code are tagged by visual embedded within a single tag. It defines user interface markup of components are to be included on the page, and they should appear the way they should. A Visualforce controller It is a set of procedural instructions that specifically tells what happens when the user starts to interact with the specified components in associated Visualforce markup, such as when a button or a link is clicked. They also provide access to data which should be displayed and can modify component behavior. A developer can use standard controller provided by the Force.com platform, or add some custom controller logic by using a class which is written in Apex: A standard controller which consists of the same functionality and logic used for a usually standard Salesforce page. For an example, if we use some standard Accounts controller, by clicking the Save button in the Visualforce page which results in the similar behavior by clicking Save on a standard Account edit page. Triggers Apex can be started through the use of triggers. A trigger is an Apex code which executes before or after the following types of operations: insert merge upsert upload delete undelete Relationship between the internship and my field of studies A primary objective of internship is to provide students with an opportunity to test abilities and attitudes toward particular material or career possibilities for the future For me classroom learning is important, but it does not provide me with real work experience to prepare me for a career after graduation. Exposure to the workplace environment is needed to bridge the gap between learning in the classroom and application in the work environment. Since I am doing MBA with Management Information Systems as my concentration, it is a great opportunity to get real time work exposure in multi-faceted environment. Salesforce objects and relationships Salesforce Development Life Cycle Stages 7.0 CONCLUSION In review the internship that I have been to work is an excellent and rewarding experience. I was fortunate to meet and work with many people that I am sure will be able to help me with opportunities in the future. The things I have learned from this internship are time management skills and self-motivation as well as work discipline. I never thought I could work eight hours straight everyday for five days in a week. When I realized that I planned my day and work ahead so I dont waste any of my working hours. I made myself to be ready with all the doubts, when it was the correct time to get feedback. This internship motivated me through work in the office continuously for many hours. I also suggested my share of ideas and proposed some proposals that the company is looking forward into using. In conclusion, the internship is an useful experience, I have find out what my strengths and weakness are; I gaining new knowledge and skills and met many new people, I am achieving many of my learning goals, however for some the conditions did not permit to achieve them as I wanted. This Internship is giving me new insights and motivation to pursue a career as a salesforce developer. To prepare myself for my future career I can improve several things. I can work on my communication skills so that I am able to present and express myself more confidently. 8.0 APPENDICES THANK YOU ******************************************************************

Schizophrenia: A Possible Etiology? Essay -- Mental Illness Health Ess

Schizophrenia: A Possible Etiology? As for me, you must know I shouldn’t precisely have chosen madness if there had been any choice. What consoles me is that I am beginning to consider madness as an illness like any other, and that I accept it as such. -in a letter to his brother Theo According to the National Institute of Mental Health, nearly 20% of the US population may suffer from a diagnosable mental illness in any given six month period (1991). Obviously the issue of mental health warrants close scrutiny, as such illness can translate into lost work days and lost dollars. From a health care perspective, many of those suffering can be relieved of their symptoms and return to normal life, so to speak. Schizophrenia, however represents one of the more disabling illnesses whose prognosis for the patient looks poor. Affecting nearly two million Americans, "schizophrenia" probably represents a grouping of many types of resembling illnesses (NIMH, 1991). Typically, the patient exhibits prodromal signs such as social isolation and withdrawal, role impairment, eccentric behavior, decreased affect, and disregard for personal hygiene. These then generally give way to intermittent psychotic episodes with intervening, sometimes long negative symptom periods. The so called positive symptoms of schizophrenia include disordered thinking and memory; the patient may display incoherent speech and rapid shifting to unrelated ideas. Delusions and false or bizarre beliefs, hallucinations, and perceptual difficulties also comprise the symptomology. Schizophrenic persons usually have an absence of feeling, a sense of remoteness and inappropriate reactions. Even more difficult to treat (Kandel) are the negative signs of poverty ... ...orks Cited: Kandel, Eric R. Disorders of Thought: Schizophrenia. pp. 854-868. Krieckhaus, E. E., Donahoe, John W., Morgan, Maria A. Paranoid Schizophrenia May be Caused by Dopamine Hyperactivity of CA1 Hippocampus. Biological Psychiatry. Vol. 31, 1992: pp. 560--570. Nasralleh, Henry A. Neurodevelopmental Pathogenesis of Schizophrenia. Psychiatric Clinics of North America. Vol. 16, no 2, June, 1993: pp. 271-279. National Institute of Mental Health. Caring for People With Severe Mental Disorders: A National Plan of Research to Improve Services. DHHS Pub. No. (ADM)91-1762. Washington, D.C.: Supt. of Docs., U.S. Govt. Print. Off., 1991. Wright, Padraig, Gill, Michael, Murray, Robin M. Schizophrenia: Genetics and the Maternal Immune Response to Viral Infection. American Journal of Medical Genetics (Neuropsvchiatric Genetics, Vol. 48, 1993: pp. 40-46.

Fyodor Dostoyevskys The House Of The Dead :: essays research papers

Fyodor Dostoyevsky's The House of the Dead   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Fyodor Mikhaylovich Dostoyevsky was born in Moscow on Nov. 11, 1825. As his father was a former military surgeon, Dostoyevsky grew up in the noble class. He entered the military engineering school at St. Petersburg at age 16. Shortly after graduating, he resigned his commission and devoted all his time to writing. However, he soon became caught up in the movement for political and social reform during the reign of Tsar Nicholas I. He began to participate in weekly discussions about the ideas of French utopian Socialists. This Petrashevsky Circle was arrested in April 1849. After a long investigation, Dostoyevsky, along with 20 other members of the Circle, were condemned to be shot. Literally moments before his execution was to occur, his sentence was commuted to four years hard labor in Omsk, Siberia. He accepted his punishment and began to regard many of the simple convicts as extraordinary people. During his sentence, he became devoted to Orthodox Christianity.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The House of the Dead was initially published in Russia, 1860. Upon initial examination of the work, it appears to be a stream of consciousness account of Dostoyevsky's four years in a Siberian prison camp. But, upon further review, it seems to be more an account of Dostoyevsky's personality and attitudes through these years. In his first year in prison, Dostoyevsky â€Å"found myself hating these fellow-sufferers of mine.† (305) His first day in prison, several convicts approached him, a member of the noble class and no doubt very wealthy in the convicts' eyes, and asked him for money four times each; and each refusal seemed to bring more convicts. He quickly grew to spite these people, for they thought him to be an idiot, unable to remember that the very same convict had approached him for money not fifteen minutes earlier. (67-8) But, Dostoyevsky makes a startling realization at the end of this first year, a discovery which allows him to drastically alter his personality: â€Å"...the convicts lived here not as if this were their home, but as some wayside inn, en route somewhere.† (303) this concept is followed by Dostoyevsky's realization that he wanted, unlike many other convicts in the camp, to live as he did before his imprisonment. He believed that â€Å"Physical, no less moral strength is required for penal servitude if one is to survive all the materiel deprivations of that accursed existence. And I wanted to go on living after I had left prison....† (277). The remaining twenty pages are anti-climatic; they simply deal with the change of a Major stationed at the prison and Dostoyevsky's

Comparing the College Cafeteria to Dinning below the Poverty Line :: Compare Contrast Comparison

Comparing the College Cafeteria to Dinning below the Poverty Line At the beginning of every school year I have to decide whether to get the $6000 carte blanche meal plan or the next smallest $5900 meal plan because I am required to have one of these two options as an on campus student. It's not a tough decision to go with the carte blanche because it is only $100 more for many more meals. The worst part is writing the check and imaging the money being moved from my account. But for the people of Jubilee Partners, a Christian intentional community in rural Georgia, meals have a much different focus. The people of Jubilee Partners intentionally live below the poverty line so that they will not have to pay federal taxes, a portion of which goes into the defense fund. This is just one of the many ways that they choose to live differently from the rest of the world. The thirty residents take turns to make the food that is eaten at their communal meals. During my stay I helped three Central American girls prepare an evening meal. As it was an evening meal, we were allowed to make something new rather than just use leftovers. Lunch always consisted of the preceding nights leftovers, fresh salad from the garden, bread, cheese, and peanut butter. If there were no leftovers, as there often were not, we only ate salad, bread, cheese, and peanut butter. As I looked around the small, simple kitchen, I wondered where were the large stainless steal pots and shiny stove that I was familiar with. The girls instructed me in broken English that I should make bread. With flour-covered arms I mixed and kneaded the dough in an old plastic bowl and smiled as I listened to the excited laughter and rapid Spanish that I could not understand. As Gabby showed me how to roll and form the loaves, I watched as the others make lasagna with synthetic meat from a government surplus. Meat was rare at Jubilee as it was expensive and much of the food they ate came from a food bank. Meat night, which was held once a week, was a special occasion anticipated by many. Standing in line in the Goshen College cafeteria, I examine the array of food spread before me trying to decide what I want. I had glanced at the menu board as my id was scanned but still am not sure what I am hungry for.

A Reflection on Plan Evaluation

Topic: PLAN EVALUATION REFLECTION In this topic plan evaluation, I now understand why we always have visitors from the division, region and even from the central office visiting our school to evaluate and observe how things are being carried out. In my three years of service in the government, there was no school year that there was no evaluation. Seeing them holding some checklists made us tremble while asking us things and observing our classes.Being new in the system I wondered and ask myself, is it proper that after evaluation they will have feed backing so that we will be able to know what areas we need to improve and what are their suggestions for the betterment of our school and children. That is one thing that I had observed that after evaluation, results of the observation were not discussed for improvement sake. As I go over with my topic in plan evaluation I was enlightened why they regularly conduct evaluation and why we were not informed about the results of the evaluati on.It was then that the results were for the policy makers, program directors and direct program staff consumption only. If given a chance in the future to plan for an evaluation, I would suggest that any corrections or any part of the program that need some improvement, during the onset of evaluation, feed baking should took place right after the evaluation so that the implementers of the program (teachers) will be able to know where they need some polishing that will be congruent with the objectives of the program.During the design of the evaluation process it would be better if local persons and all those who are involved in the implementation of the program will be present during the discussion period so that opinions are expressed and be validated, for everybody has its part to the success of the program. All evaluation plans should identify both participants and stakeholders, and should include the relevant items developed in the evaluation process.In the monitoring aspect, I would go with the combination of performance evaluation and evaluation done on a continuing program because this will measure the impact of the program on the society or on the people. This is done to improve continuously the performance of the program period after period and in the same way this will enable planners identify shortcomings and can devise remedial actions while the plan/program is still in progress.Thorough studies should be done on what evaluation design will be best applicable to a program and I would recommend applying it or testing first the evaluation design on small population prior to the piloting. Through this, monitoring and evaluation will be manageable and any unexpected occurrences in the program will be observed right away and be given solution.Revisions of the program can be done as early as this stage. Lastly, ensure that the evaluation will be as fair, accurate, and effective as possible. The use of specific tools can help in the success of the project like annual reports, quarterly or monthly reports from the monitoring system, and anything else should equally agreed between the organization and the evaluation team.