The Chinese Juvenile Justice System

Introduction

Nowadays, the existence and operation of a juvenile justice system is an inseparable constituent of the state. However, it is a relatively recent legal invention because up to the beginning of the nineteenth century, young criminals were judged under the same system as adults. In the late 1800s, the system of delinquent behavior was designed to become the foundation of the juvenile justice system (Whitehead & Lab, 2015).

The specificities of determining the term “delinquency” and designing justice systems vary across countries about the historical development of different countries and the primary features of their legal environments. This paper will investigate the development and special aspects of the juvenile justice system adopted and operating in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Specific attention will be paid to studying its emergence and the alterations it witnessed over time as well as comparing it to the American system.

Historical Makeup

The concept of juvenile justice was introduced to China relatively recently. The primary reason for the short history of its development is the fact that the Republic was created in 1949. Before the establishment of the PRC, the first reference to juvenile justice dates back to the 1936 Department of Justice order, which highlighted differences between adult and juvenile criminals. However, this document did not require creating a special system for judging them. Instead, it mentioned the necessity to involve experienced judges to work with juvenile cases. In 1946 the Prison Law ruled the requirement to keep children younger than 18 years old in separate cells (Winterdyk, 2015).

Once the new country, the PRC, was founded, the new era referred to as the Cultural Revolution began. For the next 25 years, juvenile crimes were hardly a problem because crime rates across China were extremely low. However, as they started growing in the 1980s, it required vigorous actions. The growth of juvenile crimes’ share in the general crime rate led to the foundation of the Chinese Juvenile Delinquency Association in 1981 and declaring the creation of the Chinese juvenile justice system in 1984. Since then, it has experienced numerous changes and improvements. Nowadays, there are more than 180 juvenile judges and clerks representing 17 pilot courts (Cao, Sun, & Hebenton, 2014).

Legal System and Traditions

The Chinese juvenile system is closely connected to traditions and religion. Because Confucianism has a significant impact on the development of society, it could not but influence the operation of this area of social relations. This philosophy emphasizes the importance of family ties and the interconnectedness of groups and rulers. It also focuses on the critical role of education. These aspects were transferred to the Chinese juvenile system based on reinforcing participation (i.e., promoting the involvement of society in juvenile cases), which results in the number of judges and clerks involved (Winterdyk, 2015).

In addition to this, the system is characterized by educational doctrine, implying the significance of educating young people on the negative consequences of committing crimes and giving them the chance to change their lives. It means that they are strictly punished only after they have been allowed to atone for their crimes. This aspect of the Chinese juvenile system resembles family relations and the process of bringing up children, which is a common feature of Confucianism.

Sanctions

The Chinese Juvenile System is based on several types of sanctions and punishment depending on the criminal’s age and the severity of the committed crime. Moreover, they are determined by the area of law infringed: administrative or criminal. Some administrative punishments include warnings, fines, detentions, correction through work, and rehabilitation. If a criminal is younger than 15 years old, administrative responsibility is transferred to parents or guardians. As for criminal responsibility, it involves pre-trial detention and sentencing to imprisonment. The most severe cases end up in life-long confinement (Winterdyk, 2015).

If a criminal was sentenced to prison confinement, keeping him or her with other young people is required (i.e., prison cells are divided between youngsters and adults). That said, there are two levels of corrections determined by the Chinese legislation: community and institutional. Community corrections include penal detention, probation, and public surveillance. Speaking of institutional corrections, these are either fixed-term or life-term imprisonment.

Juvenile Justice System

The system operates under the provisions of the 1999 Juvenile Delinquency Prevention Law, 2012 Criminal Procedure Code, 2011 Criminal Code, and 1982 Constitution of the People’s Republic of China. The juvenile justice system functioning in the PRC is made up of several constituents. The first element is the police department. Its primary role is to determine the area of responsibility by pointing to the breach of administrative or criminal law.

The police department is free to choose whether to arrest a juvenile or release him or her with a warning. The second element of the system is procuratorate. It is given the role of finding out the details of law violation and proving or disproving that it had elements of a crime. If prosecutors rule that a crime was committed, the case is transferred to the juvenile court for judicial considerations. If the court denies dismissal, a criminal becomes a subject of juvenile correction, including whether community or institutional corrections.

Juvenile Court System

In the PRC juvenile court system, there are two types of juvenile courts: juvenile collegial panels and juvenile tribunals (Winterdyk, 2015). Juvenile tribunals are divided into tribunals of general jurisdiction and criminal ones. The only difference between the two is specialization in cases under judicial consideration because juvenile criminal tribunals deal with criminal cases only. As for juvenile collegial panels, they are characterized by the absence of an independent organizational system. It means that they operate under the regulations of criminal tribunals and cannot review cases without the participation of tribunals.

There are several working practices in the Chinese juvenile court system. They include round-table trial, social inquiry investigation, appearance with eligible adults, conditional non-prosecution, suspended judgment, mitigation, and standardization of penalty, psychological correction and treatment, different forms of education and relief, and sealed criminal records for minors (Cao, Sun, & Hebenton, 2014).

A round-table trial is a special form of judicial consideration characterized by reviewing a case as a discussion instead of holding a traditional court hearing. Social inquiry investigations focus on identifying social factors that might have led to delinquent behavior and violating rules. These forces are upbringing, family environment, and some personal character traits of a juvenile. Appearance with eligible adults is required if adults are the juvenile’s accomplices. Conditional non-prosecution is pre-trial detention permitted if the time for questions has expired but the decision to prosecute has not been reached and procuratorates need more time for considering the case.

Suspended judgment is a dismissal of a juvenile with the further monitoring of his or her behavior. Mitigation and standardization of penalty aim at avoiding sentencing imbalances and imply the establishment of the universal system of penalties. The juvenile justice system is also characterized by different forms of psychological corrections and education, which derive from the influence of Confucianism and the promotion of family values mentioned above. Finally, sealed criminal records is a practice stipulating the abolition of cases involving those that served less than five years with the purpose of protecting them.

Rehabilitation System for Juvenile Delinquents

Rehabilitation is a critical milestone of reintegrating juveniles that committed crimes into society. The focus is made on education and psychological methods instead of severe punishment. They work not only with those that are dismissed but also with juveniles that are sentenced to fixed-term or life-term confinement. There are a number of rehabilitation institutions across China. Educative instructions can be provided by parents and guardians in case of minor violations (Winterdyk, 2015).

Reasoning Behind Juvenile Delinquency

The reasoning behind juvenile delinquency is simple. There are two types of behavior falling under the jurisdiction of the juvenile justice system. Illegal acts are either criminal offenses or violations of the law. The first ones lead to criminal responsibility, while the second ones entail administrative punishment. Social factors stimulating delinquent behavior as well as recurrence of illegal acts are also taken into consideration during case consideration (Winterdyk, 2015).

Comparison of the Chinese and U.S. Juvenile Justice Systems

Juvenile justice systems adopted in the PRC and USA share numerous similarities. Evidently, it is caused by the fact that the Chinese regulations were borrowed from Western counterparts even though they have many peculiar aspects. Both systems recognize the difference between judging adults and juveniles as well as the necessity for establishing different rehabilitation and correctional institutions for crimes of different ages.

Moreover, both acknowledge that juveniles are people under 18 years old. Both were established relatively recently. However, it is paramount to note that some states of the USA judge those younger than 21 years old as juveniles (Bartollas & Clemens, 2014). Other differences derive from the consequences of illegal acts. In the USA, probation, incarceration, alternative schooling, and community service are practiced.

Furthermore, the focus is made on punishment instead of education, while the situation is antipode in China, emphasizing the significance of education and granting a second chance. In addition to this, one of the most critical distinctions between the two systems is the fact that the American system is not universal because each state is free to develop its own juvenile legislation, while the Chinese legal environment is homogenous. Finally, the role of religion in the development of the American juvenile justice system is less influential as compared to China.

Conclusion

The juvenile justice system operating in the People’s Republic of China is a new phenomenon because, for most of China’s history, juveniles were judges under the same legislation as adults. The development of the modern system began in the 1980s. Even though it was established based on numerous borrowings from the Western systems, there is a significant distinction between the two because Chinese legal institutions emphasize the role of religion and education, focusing on the participatory model of justice.

Still, the system faces numerous challenges because, in most cases, running a system resembling a family unit does not achieve the desired objectives (i.e., does not lead to the decrease of juvenile crimes). That is why it is in a process of continuous reforms concentrating on shifting the emphasis from educational instruction to punishment as the primary tool for making it more effective.

References

Bartollas, C., & Clemens, S. (2014). Juvenile justice in America (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Cao, L., Sun, I. Y., & Hebenton, B. (2014). The Routledge handbook of Chinese criminology. Abingdon, UK: Routledge.

Whitehead, J. T., & Lab, S. P. (2015). Juvenile justice: An introduction (8th ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.

Winterdyk, J. A. (2015). Juvenile justice: International perspectives, models, and trends. Boca Raton, FL: Taylor & Francis Group.

Read more

The Fair Work Australia Decision for Minimum Work Hours

Introduction

The decision by Fare Work Australia (FWA) to lower the minimum working shift for school students from 3 hours to 1.5 hours has been met with mixed feelings by the students themselves, the retail industry, and the unions. The research paper is an endeavor to explore why employer associations in the retail industry have decided to pursue a reduction in the minimum shift for school students to 1.5 hours.

The research paper further explores whether the shorter minimum shift will create more jobs for young people, and why unions are opposed to it. The views of students on the new development have also been reviewed, along with the writer’s position on FWA’s decision.

Why have employer associations in the retail industry pursued a reduction in the minimum shift for school students to 1.5 hours?

Employer associations in the retail industry have been pursuing a reduction in the minimum shift for school students on grounds that this is a chance for the young people to pursue various career paths in future. Then new decision means that school students can now complete small shifts within the retail businesses once they have completed normal school hours (Fair Work Australia 2011).

In this regard, it portrays a level of common sense and flexibility in as far as the relations regime in the workplace is concerned (National Retail Association 2011). This is an important arrangement for the retail industry. This is because the retail sector is often characterized by peak periods whereby the demand for human resource is high. Sometimes, the peak demand can be quite intense but short (Wooden 2011). Traditionally, the retail sector has willingly offered school students a head start in the workforce whereby they get a chance to learn valuable skills that they cannot get at the classroom. In addition, students also have the chance to get some independent income. This is a role that the retail industry is only too willing to assume once more (Burke & Davey 2011).

At the moment, we have a number of small businesses within the retail industry who cannot accept shifts since the time between the end of school hours and the time when businesses close is quite limited. For instance, before the reduction of minimum the shift for school students to 1.5 hours, a student whose classes ended at 3pm would not be allowed to work for a shift ending at 5 pm.

Once the shorter shift provision is being implemented in July, it shall be a win-win situation for both retailers and students alike. In addition, it would also ensure that the jobs of thousands of students are saved, in addition to enabling the creation of others (Stewart 2011).

If the shorter minimum shift will create more jobs for young people, why are unions opposed to it?

Although the shorter shift is bound to create more jobs for students, nonetheless, unions are opposed to it on grounds that the retail industry may exploit them. Not only are the students likely to earn less (because they are working for less hours anyway), but even the insufficient earnings may very well be eclipsed by the travelling costs incurred. However, the introduction of the three hours minimum shift did not elicit resistance from the unions.

At the time, many young people had to be sacked. There are also those who opted to quit their jobs because they were not prepared for the three hour minimum shift. Another reason why unions are not happy with the new rule is because for the 1.5 hours that students work, they can only take home $ 11, and it is barely enough to even cover their transport costs. Therefore, it will not be easily for students to accept working for a 1.5 hours shift.

Unions are also skeptical of the retail industry employing teenagers cheaply in order to replace adults. Already, a majority of the adult workers are casual employees. With the daily increase in living pressures, a loss in say, 1.5 hours would mean that the workers sinks deeper into poverty and despair. Finally, the decision is seen by unions as an attempt to cut out the protection that workers have enjoyed for many decades (Lawrence 2011).

The Burke and Davey article presents the perspective of students at one workplace who are pleased with the change to minimum shift requirements. Do you think all school students would share their view?

The minimum 1.5 hours shift is a welcome respite for school students because it allows them to strike a balance between their school work and working. After putting in several hours a day at school, students are normally very exhausted and when they have to put in an extra 3 hours, this is bound to impact negatively on their concentration in class the next day. When a student has an assignment to hand in the next morning, most of them would opt to leave a little bit earlier so that they can attend to it.

The same case applies to when they have to sit for examinations. This way, they can prepare adequately for the assignment or the examination. With the new 1.5 hour shift rule, students are more flexible. Even when a student wishes to work for fewer hours, this is not possible because of the minimum three hour shift rule. However, the students have now been granted a lifeline in that they have the choice to work for a shorter period of time.

On the other hand, a lot more students depend on the allowances from working after school for their upkeep. Therefore, once the minimum shift has been reduced to 1.5 hours, they are likely to earn less. Also, the academic schedule of students differs, and there are those who would still comfortably handle a 3 hour shift comfortably. With the new rule however, they are not able to do so.

After weighing up all the evidence and arguments, do you agree with the FWA decision? Explain your position

I agree with the decision by FWA to reduce the minimum working shift for students to 1.5 hours. I think that the decision by FWA to reduce the working hours for student workers to a minimum of 1.5 hours is the right one because there are still students who have no desire of working for 3 straight hours after school (Wooden 2011). There is a lot more that these students can accomplish with their extra time, besides working. After all, education should be their first priority because most of these jobs are temporary and at best, pay dismally.

Reference List

Burke, K., & Davey, M., 2011. Teenagers back in business with 90-minute shifts. Sydney Morning Herald.

Fair Work Australia., 2011. Fair Work Act 2009 s.158 – Application to vary or revoke a modern award. Fair Work Australia.

Lawrence J., 2011. Shorter shifts leave workers out of pocket. Newcastle Herald.

National Retail Association., 2011. Minimum Hours decision will open doors for young people. National Retail Association.

Stewart, D., 2011. Fair work for teens. Newcastle Herald.

Wooden, M., 2011. The after-school job is the comeback kid. The Conversation.

Read more

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act – Obama Care

Introduction

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Affordable Care Act or ObamaCare) is a health care law signed by President Barrack Obama in 2010 that marked a major turning point on the delivery of health care services in America (Sipes 18). The law was enacted to improve the accessibility of health care services by citizens. Its objectives are to increase access to health insurance, to improve the quality of health care, to lower health costs, and to decrease the number of uninsured Americans (Tate 22). The law introduced several mechanisms in order to ensure that its objectives are attained.

Examples of these mechanisms include government subsidies and insurance exchanges (Sipes 21). The law has been a topic of heated debates since its enactment in 2010, especially due to its impact on public and political policies. Despite the prevalent criticisms, Obama Care has several advantages compared to its disadvantages. Americans have a lot to benefit from the law than they have to lose from it. Therefore, Obama Care is an important and beneficial law that lowers health care costs, increases access to health insurance, improves the quality of health care, and fosters the growth of the healthcare sector.

Advantages of the Affordable Care Act

First, Obama Care makes health care services affordable and accessible by Americans (Sipes 23). This is made possible by its numerous mechanisms that lower the overall healthcare costs and make insurance accessible to millions of Americans. In addition, it makes preventive carefree. Millions of uninsured Americans will be able to access high-quality and affordable health insurance (Anderson par. 2).

The law has put certain mechanisms in place that have expanded Medicaid, facilitated the insurance of employees by employers, and created the Health Insurance Marketplace for comparisons of different insurance premiums available to citizens (Tate 24). People can sue the Health insurance Marketplace to get assistance on out-of-pocket costs in order to lower the amount of money individuals pay for health insurance costs. This is possible through the Cost Sharing Reduction Subsidies (CSR) that are facilitated by the law (Tate 24). These benefits make the law indispensable in improving the lives of Americans with regard to their health and quality of life.

Second, the law will increase the number of insured individuals and thus improve their health (Sipes 27). This is facilitated by two mechanisms that include the expansion of Medicaid and the creation of state-based insurance exchanges. The expansion of Medicaid enables more people to access insurance, while the state-based insurance exchanges enable businesses and individuals to purchase health insurance plans at subsidized rates. The original estimates released by the Congressional Budget Office revealed that the law would probably lower the number of uninsured Americans by 32 million by the year 2019 (Tate 26).

The estimates also showed that the legislation would increase the number of insured people who are not covered by Medicare by approximately 11%. The legislation does not cover certain groups that include illegal immigrants, people who are not covered by Medicaid, and people who reside in states that oppose the expansion of Medicaid. The legislation aims to improve the quality of people’s lives and lower the number of medical bankruptcies cases. The law also allows children to access insurance and health care services under their parents’ plans until they attain the age of 26 (Sipes 28).

Third, the legislation contains several cost-cutting measures that lower the overall cost of health care (Tate 31). According to government reports, the legislation has resulted in the lowest health care price inflation in the last five decades. In addition, it resulted in the lowest health care spending in several decades because of cost-cutting measures. The law requires large employers to offer insurance cover to their employees. In addition, gender cannot be used to determine the amount of premium an individual will pay. Finally, the law protects citizens by giving them the freedom to repeal any decision made by an insurance company (Tate 31). Moreover, an insurance company is required to give an updated and comprehensible report about the coverage and benefits that a citizen will enjoy by buying into any of their health plans.

The legislation has put mechanisms in place to protect citizens from being dropped by their insurance providers when they get sick. In addition, they cannot be dropped for making an honest mistake during the application process. On the other hand, an insurance provider cannot charge more for a sick client or deny any citizen coverage or treatment on the basis of a sickness (Sipes 33). Insurance providers cannot raise premiums because a client gets sick and cannot apply any pre-existing conditions to drop anyone. The legislation prevents insurance companies from hiking premiums without proper legal justification and facilitates the use of premium dollars on providing health care (Tate 33).

Another aspect of the law that makes it beneficial to citizens is its tenet that requires all major medical coverage to fall under minimum essential coverage. Therefore, any insurance coverage must have ObamaCare’s protections and provide essential health coverage. In addition, it must not have annual or lifetime dollar limits in order to make it accessible to the poor from low-income families.

Disadvantages of the Affordable Care Act

One of the main disadvantages is that many people who had private health insurance had their plans nullified because many of the plans failed to meet the requirements of the legislation’s essential health benefits (Tate 37).

This has resulted in the high costs of replacing their plans. On the other hand, others could lose their insurance plans that are catered for by their employers. Many businesses could take advantage o the legislation by opting to pay the fine than insuring their employees. A short-term consequence of ObamaCare is the high costs of health care because of increased accessibility, which means that more people will receive free preventive care and other services (Sipes 38). However, this should not deter the im0pememntation of the legislation that has a long-term scope. The costs of healthcare will decrease after the Act has been implemented fully. More accessibility means that health care professionals will have more workload that will lead to burnout and job dissatisfaction (Anderson par. 11).

Another disadvantage is the introduction of new taxes in order to cater for the increased access (Tate 39). The taxes were levied mainly on high-income earners and the healthcare industry. The individual mandate and the employer mandate taxes will affect many Americans in significant ways. According to the individual mandate, any American who is able to purchase insurance should either pay a fee or get an exemption. This makes the process of filing taxes more complicated. On the other hand, many people barely live the Federal Poverty Level. This means that they do not get any assistance because the federal government considers them able to purchase insurance. The cost of offering insurance will rise because insurance companies are required by the legislation to cover even sick people (Sipes 41).

A large percentage of people will be required to obtain coverage or pay a certain monthly fee in order to ensure that they are fully covered and do not only buy insurance when they need it. According to the legislation, coverage can be obtained only during annual open enrollment periods that occur at certain periods (Tate 41). In case an individual forgets to pay their premiums, they will not be covered until they pay the premiums, which can only happen during the next open enrolment. This will disadvantage many people. Finally, the expansion of Medicaid is implemented using funds from the federal and state governments. This means that people from states that oppose the expansion will be left out without coverage options.

Conclusion

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is healthcare legislation that was passed in 2010 to increase the quality of healthcare and increase the accessibility to health insurance by Americans. Since its enactment, the legislation has elicited heated debates regarding its advantages and disadvantages. Opponents argue that it will increase healthcare costs in the short term, increase the overall costs of offering insurance because sick people are covered, and necessitate the introduction of new taxes to cater for the increased coverage. On the other hand, proponents argue that it will improve the quality of health care, increase access to health insurance, and improve the overall health of Americans.

Government reports have shown that legislation has decreased health care price inflation. In addition, it has encouraged stability in the issuance of insurance because insurance companies cannot hike premiums without legal reasons. Despite the raging debates, Americans have more to gain from the law than they have to lose. Therefore, the Affordable Care Act is good legislation for American citizens.

Works Cited

Anderson, Amy. The Impact of the Affordable Care Act on the Health Care Workforce. 2014. Web.

Tate, Nick. ObamaCare Survival Guide: The Affordable Care Act and What it means for You and Your Healthcare. New York: Humanix books, 2012. Print.

Sipes, sally. The Truth about ObamaCare. New York: Regnery Publishing, 2010. Print.

Read more

The Issue of Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

Executive Summary

The following proposal focuses on the issue of sexual harassment in the workplace. It discusses the need for the implementation of recommended changes that provide an opportunity to prevent and overcome this problem. Those companies that do not pay enough attention to the cases of sexual harassment should follow the described action plan. The advantages of the recommended alterations are explained in detail in the text of this paper. A range of negative effects made by poor employee relationships and the presence of sexual harassment cases are mentioned for the management to realize the necessity to address this problem.

Start-ups and those companies that already have a long history of performance can face the discussed issue while operating. As a result, their personnel becomes unable to perform their duties appropriately, which worsens organizational performance. Stating this position regarding sexual harassment and educating employees, companies can receive an opportunity to improve employee relations and increase their satisfaction, which will definitely affect their performance.

In this document, I provide a set of recommendations that can benefit any company. I believe that proper change can be implemented anytime. The enhancement of employee knowledge is the main element that requires the management’s attention.

Introduction

Employee relationships are often discussed by professionals because they have a great influence on the way a company operates and reaches their goals. In positive and supportive relationships, workers tend to be motivated to reach their potential. However, the same outcomes are never observed in those organizations where diverse workforce fails to have appropriate relationships. Some employers believe that workplace romances prevent their employees from being focused on their duties.

Even more adverse effects can be observed because of sexual harassment, as it does not involve mutual attraction, but it is based on unreciprocated advances (Mainiero & Jones, 2013). If such cases are overlooked, employee performance worsens, and they become less motivated to reach organizational goals (McLaughlin, Uggen, & Blackstone, 2012). A sexual harassment policy, consensual agreement forms, workshops, and dress codes are to be developed to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. In this way, they can ensure diversity, encourage gender equality, and develop a positive working environment.

Background

Sexual harassment is a critical issue that can be observed in a diverse workplace when employees of both genders need to cooperate in order to perform their duties. In the majority of cases, this type of gender discrimination targets females. It can involve physical abuse but can also deal with the use of social media and text messages (Nielsen & Einarsen, 2012). Even though it is not a direct representation of sexual harassment, this aspect of the issue cannot be ignored because employees have access to social media not only at home but also in the workplace.

Even though the management does not have an opportunity to control the presence of the whole personnel on social media, it can develop associated policies that are to be followed in the office. Without them, the whole company is likely to observe adverse influences of sexual harassment. A victim will be affected emotionally: she will lose her self-esteem, which will influence the way she communicates with clients and coworkers. As a result, she will have a poor appetite, suffer from headaches, and have sleep disturbances. Facing such issues, this person will become likely to look for another job. In this way, sexual harassment will also cause low productivity and morale in the organization. Employee turnover will increase as well as associated expenses.

Recommendations

First of all, a company should develop its sexual harassment policy and ensure that all professionals have an opportunity to access it. This information can be provided in a handbook or/and placed in the break room for it to be regularly observed (Letke, 2014). This policy statement should include the following information:

  • Company’s attitude towards discrimination and harassment as well as their definitions;
  • Employee’s rights and obligations;
  • Explanation of the violation of the policy;
  • Description of unacceptable behavior;
  • Outline of the way complaints are handled (confidentiality, protection, assistance, investigation, resolution, etc.);
  • Applied measures.

Even though it seems that in order to prevent sexual harassment, it is better to prohibit office romances, they are still likely to appear. The leaders of the organization can benefit if they develop consensual agreement forms that are to be filled in by those employees who entered the relationship willingly. As a result, an opportunity to prevent sexual harassment will be received.

The leaders of a company should always remember that employees follow their example. They should not be engaged in those behaviors they do not encourage. For instance, they should not laugh at inappropriate sexual jokes, reminding personnel that they are offensive (Letke, 2014). In addition to that, it is significant to let an employee know that those jokes one tells are inappropriate so that he/she can avoid such context in the future.

The management can also develop the office dress code to prevent sexual harassment. It especially deals with the way female employees dress up. Their clothes should not emphasize their bodies and attract additional attention to them.

It will be beneficial to develop anti-harassment workshops, during which problems that are associated with this issue are discussed. The upper-level employees are to be present at these meetings, as they are expected to share the obtained information with others.

Taking into consideration the fact that sexual harassment can deal with emails and social media, the management should encourage employees to follow particular standards of this communication. Moreover, corporate emails can be checked randomly. It is also vital to make all employees know that reporting of social harassment cases is appreciated. In this way, they will be less likely to become engaged in such actions.

If the management received sexual harassment complaints, they should respond to them as soon as possible. Immediate action ensures that inappropriate behavior will not last long, and adverse influences on a victim will not become even more critical. Moreover, such an approach ensures that no retaliation will follow harassment (Letke, 2014). An effective sexual harassment preventive plan should be developed to ensure a safe and comfortable environment.

In order to implement the discussed initiatives, the leaders of the organization should develop an action plan. Fortunately, such alterations can be done using minimum resources, which means that they can be used by any company regardless of its success. The whole process can last for a month approximately, but more time may be needed if some employees are not willing to accept changes and follow new instructions.

  • Week 1: gather information needed for the development of sexual harassment policy and consensual agreement forms. Identify those behaviors that should be appreciated. Develop a general plan for workshops. Reveal what kind of dress code is likely to be the most appropriate.
  • Week 2: prepare all materials that are to be studied by employees and ensure that all of them have access to it. Create a meeting that is focused on the sexual harassment and those initiatives the company is implementing in order to prevent it. Select those upper-level employees who will monitor the situation and make sure that the personnel follows new rules.
  • Week 3: observe changes. Identify those issues that occur as well as changes in the organizational environment. Prepare reports for the management team.
  • Week 4: create a meeting for the upper-level personnel to discuss observed obstacles and develop solutions to overcome them. Implement additional changes to minimalize employee resistance.

The management of any organization needs to realize that successful implementation of changes that address the issue of sexual harassment in the workplace can be done in four steps (see Fig. 1). At first, professionals should develop a strategy that they will use as a guideline for alteration. It is to point out how employees’ behavior will be made different, describing specific approaches that minimalize associated problems (Imran, Bilal, Aslam, & Rahman, 2017).

This strategy should be followed by the creation of a plan that can be used to recognize, approve, implement, monitor, and evaluate changes. With the help of this information, the management can pass to the second step and start educating its personnel. All employees should become aware of the existing problem and realize why it is critical for the company. They need to understand what behaviors and actions are associated with sexual harassment so that they can avoid them in the future. In addition to that, it will be advantageous for them to find out how this issue can be prevented and avoided, as well as how they should act if it is observed (Sikdar & Payyazhi, 2014).

When the main step to the change is made, the management should consider the ways to monitor alterations. It is the only possibility to find out if the implementation was successful and the alteration was useful for the organization. They need to focus on the prevalence of sexual harassment cases, employee relations, and performance. Finally, utilizing the data received through monitoring, the management should identify weaknesses of the implementation and cases of resistance to change (Jones & Van de Ven, 2016). Concentrating on them, they should develop a strategy to overcome these problems and execute it.

Implementation Plan.
Figure 1: Implementation Plan.

However, this approach works for a company that has not to face such issues yet. In cases of sexual harassment made the management implement changes, there would be a necessity to add an initial step to this process that deals with the evaluation of the current situation.

When the management is willing to alter something in the way the company operates, it should develop a change strategy, pointing out what should be done and how. As soon as all needed resources are gathered, it is possible to let the personnel acknowledge how they are expected to change their behavior. Additional education should be provided for them to be able to meet new requirements.

Then, the upper-level personnel or selected supervisors should monitor the situation, noting what alterations are observed and what effects they make. If some weaknesses of the plan or personnel resistance were seen, the management should design additional changes to overcome them. In case some employees do not agree to follow new instructions, regardless of the attempts to make them alter their position, it can be better for the management to fire them. Those adverse influences their obduracy creates can damage leaders’ reputation and make the rest of the personnel follow their negative example.

In this way, advantages are likely to be observed due to the creation of sexual harassment policy and consensual agreement forms for romances in the workplace. The management should organize anti-harassment workshops and remember that they are to lead their employees by their own example. It will also be advantageous to create address code that can minimalize risks of improper treatment of female employees. Emails and social media should be controlled, as well. Finally, even if cases of sexual harassment occur, they are to be responded immediately.

Benefits

If the management realizes how critical the cases of sexual harassment in the workplace are, its members will definitely implement changes to follow provided recommendations. As a result, the company is likely to observe numerous benefits. When no gender discrimination exists, and employees are not sexually harassed, they are likely to create a positive environment that encourages equity and cooperation.

The personnel will be able to share and accept varied viewpoints without being afraid to observe adverse consequences of speaking up their minds. Both men and women will improve workplace functionality (Clapon, 2015). They will not have any problems while cooperating and will stimulate each other to reach their potential.

Employee communication will definitely improve when no sexual harassment is observed. Female workers will not lose their self-esteem and will not be afraid to stand their ground or explain their ideas. In this way, it will be easier for them to find a conflict resolution.

Needless to say that the absence of sexual harassment will increase an opportunity for the employees to build a positive work environment that encourages support and respect. It will be more pleasant for all involved parties to work in such an environment as diversity will not cause any critical problems that prevent workers from performing their duties. Mutual respect is vital in this framework because it already presupposes the absence of sexual harassment, as they cannot coexist.

In this way, employees can have an opportunity to focus on the strengths of their colleagues, which will have positive effects on the allocation of tasks in the future (Mayhew, 2017). As a result, the whole personnel will be prepared to handle conflicts when they arise without affecting company morale adversely. All in all, job performance will be expected to enhance significantly.

When the management implements those initiatives that are targeted at the prevention of sexual harassment or when it tries to resolve an existing issue, it shows that it values its employees and is always ready to take care of them. This fact is critical for the successful cooperation of the whole personnel and for the enhanced working outcomes. In particular, realizing that they are supported by organizational leaders, employees tend to become more willing to work harder and improve the quality of their services. In addition to that, their job satisfaction will enhance because they will definitely see that they are highly valued, and their contribution is appreciated.

As it was already mentioned, customer performance has a positive influence on the performance of the whole organization. When the leaders of the company develop initiatives to prevent sexual harassment, they make their employees feel valued and respected. Gender equality and diversity is supported, which is definitely mentioned by the personnel. In this way, they become more motivated to work hard. Their enhanced performance ensures that the company enhances its competitiveness and manages to satisfy its clients. As a result, its reputation improves significantly, and its positive image is spread all over the world (NAWBO Publications, 2016).

In this way, more people will be willing to work for this company, as discriminatory work environments do not attract potential workers, as they are associated with additional stress. Equality, support, and reward are those things that attract people. Having an opportunity to develop them with the help of initiatives that address sexual harassment, employers can receive an opportunity to make their company outstanding.

In the same perspective, dealing with sexual harassment, the management can obtain an opportunity to minimalize turnover and reduce associated costs. If a woman is sexually harassed by her colleague and the management does not do anything to overcome this situation, she will be likely to leave her position and to look for another job outside of this company. The same can be said about men. Even if they are not victims, they may be willing to avoid the created environment because it is not positive.

Moreover, their relationships with female colleagues can worsen even if they are not involved in the very case of sexual harassment just because of their gender. However, emphasis made on care and support is likely to have good retention outcomes. Fostering gender diversity and equity, a company can spend less on recruiting because there will be no necessity to look for new employees all the time. In this way, expenses associated with advertising, resources needed for interviews, and termination pay, etc. can be minimalized. Observing decreased turnover, new workers will be less likely to change their job as well.

Conclusions

Thus, it can be concluded that sexual harassment in the workplace is a critical issue that has adverse influences on employee relationships and the overall performance of the whole organization. It prevents the creation of a supportive environment and does not provide employees with an opportunity to reach their potential. In order to overcome this problem, organizational leaders should develop and implement those initiatives that are expected to prevent sexual harassment or at least to point out the way such issues can be overcome. In this way, advantages are likely to be observed due to the creation of sexual harassment policy and consensual agreement forms for romances in the workplace.

The management should organize anti-harassment workshops and remember that they are to lead their employees by their own example. It will also be advantageous to create address code that can minimalize risks of improper treatment of female employees. Emails and social media should be controlled, as well. Finally, even if cases of sexual harassment occur, they are to be responded immediately. Only in this way, the leaders of the organization can obtain an opportunity to ensure diversity, encourage gender equality, and develop a positive working environment that motivates the personnel to cooperate and fulfill organizational goals.

References

Clapon, P. (2015). Here’s why you should encourage gender equality in your company. Web.

Imran, M., Bilal, A., Aslam, U., & Rahman, U. (2017). Knowledge management strategy: An organizational change prospective. Journal of Enterprise Information Management, 30(2), 335-351.

Jones, S., & Van de Ven, A. (2016). The changing nature of change resistance: An examination of the moderating impact of time. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 52(4), 482-506.

Letke, A. (2014). 7 steps to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. Web.

Mainiero, L. A., & Jones, K. J. (2013). Sexual harassment versus workplace romance: Social media spillover and textual harassment in the workplace. The Academy of Management Perspectives, 27(3), 187-203.

Mayhew, R. (2017). Why is respect important in a diverse workplace? Web.

McLaughlin, H., Uggen, C., & Blackstone, A. (2012). Sexual harassment, workplace authority, and the paradox of power. American Sociological Review, 77(4), 625-647.

NAWBO Publications. (2016). Five huge benefits of gender equality in your business. Web.

Nielsen, M. B., & Einarsen, S. (2012). Prospective relationships between workplace sexual harassment and psychological distress. Occupational Medicine, 62(3), 226-228.

Sikdar, A., & Payyazhi, J. (2014). A process model of managing organizational change during business process redesign. Business Process Management Journal, 20(6), 971-998.

Read more

Business Organizations Forms

Introduction

A form of business organization is the general structure in which a business is constituted. There are three forms of business organizations namely: sole proprietorship, partnership, and corporations. A sole proprietorship is a business form that is run and owned by one individual (Angualia, 2010). The advantages of a sole trader are that he takes all the profits, it is easy to start, family members assist in the running of the business, and decision making is easy because it depends on one individual.

However, this form of business organization has the disadvantage of unlimited liability which means that the owner takes all the risks and losses. A sole proprietorship will end when the owner dies. Also, the capital raised to start a sole proprietorship is limited to the owner’s capital. The other disadvantage of a sole proprietorship is that it is not easily transferable from one person to another.

Analysis

A partnership is a form of the business organization formed by more than two people called partners or shareholders. The partners write the rules of the partnership called the partnership agreement. The partnership is easy to start, large amounts of capital are raised, partners share unlimited liability and the business will go on in case one partner dies. The disadvantage is that decision making becomes a problem because all partners must be consulted before a decision is made. Also, ownership is not easily transferable (Reinier, 2004).

Corporations are the largest forms of business organizations formed by more than 20 people. The first stage involves forming the articles of incorporation and setting out the by-laws to govern the corporation (Angualia, 2010). This form of business organization has the advantage of large amounts of capital are raised, the death of one person does not affect the continuity of the corporation, ownership is easily transferable and capital is obtained through the sale of shares. The disadvantage is that it has many legal requirements, decision making is difficult, and the problem of double taxation.

The main goal of financial managers within a corporation is to develop policies that will best implement the objectives of the corporation and increase the value of its shares in the stock exchange market (Angualia, 2010). I agree with this goal because the corporation’s policies keep on changing from time to time according to the government’s security laws and the global accounting principles and procedures. This requires managers to adjust to any changes when they arise (Angualia, 2010).

Anne Kurtz, you are right about the forms of business organizations you have listed. What you need to know about the partnership is that it is formed by a maximum of 20 people. On the corporations, the bylaws are drafted by the owners of the corporation and are only provided for registration. Financial ability can not be an advantage of the sole proprietorship because he is limited to the amount of capital he has.

Rhonda Payne, it is true that the three forms of business organizations are sole proprietorship, partnership, and corporations. You mentioned the silent partner among the types of partners; does he take part in the management of the organization? Also, you did not tell much about the partnership deed document which shows how partners share profits. Corporations are taxed twice as a corporation and also each shareholder is taxed separately and this its disadvantage (Dignam et al. 2006).

References

Angualia, D. (2010). “ Goals of a Multinational Corporation and the Role of a Financial Manager.” 49 (2): 134-154.

Dignam, A. & Lowry, J. (2006) “ Company Law” New York: Oxford University Press.

Reinier, H. (2004). “Anatomy of Corporate Law: A Comparative and Functional Approach.” New York: Oxford University Press.

Read more

HealthCare Law’ Repeal: Analysis and Critique

Synopsis

The Health Care Law was signed by president Obama on March 23, 2010. The law is aimed at improving the health care system in the country. If the will function as it was planned, the quality of the medical care will be improved and health care insurance will be affordable to everybody. However, the implementation of the issues provided in the law can be a big threat to the country’s economy, affect the quality of the medical care and make the cost of the insurance very high. Moreover, in the light of new reforms, many Americans can lose their healthcare coverage. As we can see, the Health Care Law should be repealed and considered one more time in order to provide more affordable decisions for the implementation of the issues provided. Special attention should be paid to health insurance exchanges as a core idea of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Introduction

The Health care Law signed by president of the Unites States of America Barack Obama is considered to be one of the most significant conversions that were implemented in the health care system of the United States. The law covers nearly all aspects of the health care system staring with insurance and ending with the delivery of services. The aims of the healthcare reform are improving the quality of the Medicare and provide every American with affordable medical insurance. However, it still provokes much debate and confusions about the impact of the law on economy of the country, quality of the health care services, as well as life of Americans. There were numerous suggestions to repeal the Health Care reform, especially from the side of Republicans. In this paper, we are going to discuss the disadvantages of the Health Care Law and provide the reasons to repeal it, as well as suggest several recommendations to improve it.

Methods

In this report, we used the method of the critical analysis of the specialized literature that deal with the Health Care Law analysis and critique. In order to support the idea that Health Care Law should be repealed, we analyzed the key policy issues of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act presented in the “President Obama’s Health Care Plan” and recent surveys on “Potential Impact of State Health Programs” provided by the Legislative Analyst’s Office, as well as the work by Paul Howard, “The Impact of the Affordable Care Act On the Economy, Employers, and the Workforce” and “Fund Report” on key points and lacks of the Affordable Care Act provided by Timothy Stoltzfus Jost, J.D.

Background

During the elections of the 2008, the candidate Barack Obama’s main point in the campaign was to reform the health care system of the United States as it was disadvantageous for the economy of the country. He argued that health services should be equal and affordable for everyone. Since the projects of the Health Care Reform were passed to the House, it was debated for many times and did not have support from the Republicans and many Democrats as well. In January 2010, president provided his own proposal health care bill and placed pressure on Houses to pass it. Finally, on March 23, 2010 President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (HR 3590) into law.

According to this Obama’s health care plan, the main purposes of the law are the following ones: “It will provide more security and stability to those who have health insurance. It will provide insurance to those who don’t. And it will lower the cost of health care for our families, our businesses, and our government” (“President’s Obama’s Health Care Plan”, 2010, p. 1). As we can see, the idea of the law is to improve the health care system in the United States and make it equal for all citizens. However, there are many arguments that this law will be a threat to national economy and people. This is the main claim provided by Republicans who strive to repeal the Health Care Law.

Key Points of the Health Care Law

In order to analyze why the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act can be disadvantageous for the country’s economy and American citizens, we should analyze the key points of the law. Thus “the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is far-reaching legislation that will change how millions of Americans access health care coverage” (Tailor, 2010, p. 2).

The law offers the following primary provisions as creating an individual mandate (all citizens should have health insurance or pay a penalty); establishing the American Health Benefit Exchanges (the individuals who has no access to affordable employer coverage could purchase it); changing, private health insurance coverage (new requirements for health plans that will provide individuals with affordable coverage and prevent them from losing it); law-income and childless adults will be mandated coverage; providing coverage to individuals who cannot purchase it or regarded as medically uninsurable. (Tailor, 2010, p. 3). However, behind the benefits presented in the Health Care Law Plan, their implementation needs improvement, moreover, the results of such reforms will be far from beneficial for many American people as well as for the country’s economy.

Reasons to repeal Health Care Law

In the light of negative influence of particular points in the Health Care Law, it should be repealed, or reviewed accordingly. In this part of the report, we are going to provide reasons to repeal Health Care Law. First of all, it is a great economic impact, as it will increase the deficit and not reduce it, the insurance cost will raise and the employment will be reduced, finally, regulatory uncertainty under the law will hinder job creation (Howard, n. d., p. 2). The implementation of the strategies mentioned in the Act needs much funding and spending, “the reduction of federal deficit will be an enormous boon for U. S. economy” (Howard, n. d., p. 2). In this light, it will cause the cuts in the government spending. Providing coverage to “medically uninsured” will increase health care spending and cost of the medical services and care goods.

The Health Care Law was claimed to reduce the deficit, however, “the CBO notes that the federal government will spend about $401 billion more on health care programs in the Affordable Care Act’s first decade, while increasing federal revenues, through taxes and fees, by an even greater amount, $525 billion” (Howard, n. d., p. 2). In addition, there will be many implementation costs. Moreover, “providing coverage for everybody” implies that employer should be preoccupied with this question, as a result, the employer will cover expenses on coverage while reducing employee wages or job creation. In addition, under the new law, many Americans can lose current health care plans. Moreover, it is unconstitutionally to force every person buy health insurance or pay penalty. Finally, such reforms will lead to lowering of the quality of the medical services, as the main focus of the law is put on the cost and health coverage of people.

Recommendations

In order to prevent the negative consequences of the Health Care Law, the legislator should address the government with comprehensive analysis of the consequences that it can lead to, and appropriate solutions to these problems in the legislative session. We suggest you to address these recommendations in the next session in Senate before negative consequences of the law make itself felt. This plan may contain the next suggestions: to establish the cost control through “minimizing administrative cost and adverse selection” (Jost, 2010, p. 6).

In addition, in will be valuable to protect the introduced exchanges from adverse selections which means “the disproportionate purchase of health insurance by the least healthy individuals” (Jost, 2010, p. 6). The exchange model should provide more choice flexibility for customers. Transparency and disclosure are very important while implementing the Act, as it will allow the government control over situation. The ACA provisions should enforce the competition among insures with the focus on prices provided and quality of services.

Conclusion

Thus, we can see that the Health Care Law should be repealed, otherwise, it can lead to great economic problems, as well as increase the level of unemployment and lower the quality of medical services and make the cost of the medic aid very high. In addition, it will enforce the deficit in the country and hinder job creation. Many points of the law and their implementation need close attention and improvement.

References

Jost, T. S. (2010), “Health Insurance Exchanges and the Affordable Care Act: Key Policy Issues”. The Commonwealth Fund. Web.

Howard, P. “The Impact of the Affordable Care Act: On the Economy, Employers, and the Workforce”. Web.

“President Obama’s Health Care Plan”. Web.

Tailor, M. (2010). “The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act: An Overview of Its Potential Impact on State Health Programs”. Legislative Analyst. Web.

Read more

The Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights

The Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights can be viewed as the documents that shaped the political, legal, and even economic history of America. Overall, the analysis of these documents can show that the Founding Fathers developed a set of reliable safeguards that could shield the society from the risks of totalitarianism. More importantly, they made the country more resilient to various social stressors. This is one of the main points that can be made. Much attention should be paid to the following issues:

  1. due process or legal requirements that regulate the work of law-enforcement agencies;
  2. the right to bear arms;
  3. freedom of speech or the ability to express one’s thoughts without restraint.

These privileges reflect the values of people who lived in America at the end of the eighteenth century. There requirements were ratified in 1791, and since that time, they have often been applied by legal professionals. Certainly, one cannot say that by the standards of the twenty-first century, these provisions look very revolutionary. Such an assumption can hardly be called accurate. Nevertheless, these elements were unprecedented even during the age of Enlightenment. This is why they can be singled out among others. This paper will explain why these provisions are critical for protecting the rights of citizens against the state oppression.

Overall, the Constitution of the United States can be viewed as the main law which regulates the functioning of American government. This document outlines some of the main principles such as the division of state powers; furthermore, it clearly indicates that America is a representative democracy (The United States Government, 1787, unpaged). Yet, one should also remember about the provisions which identify the rights of individual citizens. These provisions are included in the Bill of Rights or amendments to the constitution of the country. Overall, this law lays the foundations for the “relationships of the government to its citizens” (Ashcroft & Ashcroft, 2014, p. 5).

These are the main aspects that can be singled out. At first, one should speak about the rights to due process (The United States Government, 1789). This term can be described as a set of rules, according to which the society has to respect the natural rights of citizens. For example, due process means that a person can appeal the decision of the court. Furthermore, an individual should have access to the trial by jury. This protection is particularly relevant to such an area as criminal justice. The main implication of this requirement is that the state cannot become an all-powerful entity that can deprive citizens of their liberty and dignity. This inclusion of this element in the Bill of Rights is one of the reasons why American people could put trust in the courts. Furthermore, this safeguard is critical for protecting the property rights of citizens.

Furthermore, it is possible to speak about the right to bear arms (The United States Government, 1789). It should be noted that in the eighteenth century, this right was given mostly to the representatives of aristocracy (Muchembled, 2012, p. 177). Other social groups were not able to use weapons in order to protect themselves against injustice (Muchembled, 2012, p. 177). The authors of the Second Amendment say that this opportunity is “necessary to the security of a free State” (The United States Government, 1789, unpaged). In turn, the amendments included in the U.S. Constitution equaled the opportunities which were available to citizens. To a great extent, American legislators departed from the tradition which existed in other countries. In most cases, the governments of other countries did not enable citizens to use force against the state, even if it had been unjust. This is why the right to bear arms should not be overlooked by the readers.

Furthermore, it is important to remember about the freedom of speech or the opportunity to express one’s views without the threat of legal prosecution (The United States Government, 1989). According to this document, “Congress shall make no law” that can prevent a person from speaking openly (The United States Government, 1989, unpaged). Again, it is important to say that in many other countries, the state was able to suppress the press. In Europe, this practice could be very widespread. However, the same thing could not be said about America in which policy-makers could be subjected to criticism. More importantly, this opportunity was important for improving the work of governmental organizations. In many cases, the improvement was the response to public criticism. This is why the impact of this requirement should not be disregarded by the readers of these documents.

On the whole, these elements of the U.S. Constitution have been vital for the development of American civil society. Their main impact of these safeguards is that that they shield an individual against a hypothetical oppression of the state. Furthermore, they are useful for resolving urgent problems affecting the society. These are the main arguments that can be put forward.

Reference List

Ashcroft, J. & Ashcroft, J. (2014). Law For Business. Mason, OH: South-Western Publishing. Web.

Muchembled, R. (2012). A History of Violence: From the End of the Middle Ages to the Present.New York, NY: Polity. Web.

The United States Government. (1787). The Constitution of the United States. Web.

The United States Government. (1789). The Bill of Rights. Web.

Read more
OUR GIFT TO YOU
15% OFF your first order
Use a coupon FIRST15 and enjoy expert help with any task at the most affordable price.
Claim my 15% OFF Order in Chat
Close

Sometimes it is hard to do all the work on your own

Let us help you get a good grade on your paper. Get professional help and free up your time for more important courses. Let us handle your;

  • Dissertations and Thesis
  • Essays
  • All Assignments

  • Research papers
  • Terms Papers
  • Online Classes
Live ChatWhatsApp