E-Commerce Business Aims and Objectives

E-Commerce Business Aims and Objectives Md Imtiaz Ahmed Task Covering LO1 INTRODUCTION TO E-COMMERCE E-Commerce, formerly referred to as Electronic Commerce, is the trading of several of goods services over a wide area of electronic means; such as the Internet or any other Computer Networks. The various sources where the e-commerce is successfully being running and the uses of e-Commerce are mobile commerce, electronic funds transfer, supply chain management, internet marketing, online transaction processing, electronic data interchange (EDI), inventory management systems and automated data collection systems. E-Commerce allows the exchange of data over electronic means in order to facilitate the financing payment aspects of business transaction. Within the help of e-Commerce, an organization is benefitted through effective communications better business conducts. In order to build up a proper e-commerce website for a business, there must have to be some implementations of these analyses as follows:- PEST (Political, Economic, Socio-cultural, Technological) Analysis Political- The potential change of government, as well as the changes in the policies priorities and the introduction of a new government initiative could be major political factors. Such factors include political stability, tax guidelines, trade regulations, safety regulations employees laws. Economic- Economic factors may also be limited to the home country but as global trade continues to grow, economic difficulties in one nation would tend to have a broad impact overall. Factors affecting the economy in such ways include inflation, interest rates, economic growth, the unemployment rate policies, and the business cycle followed by the country. Socio-cultural- Socio-cultural factors are those that arise from customers or probable customers. These changes can often be slight and they can be difficult to assume or identify until there’s a major effect or impact. Within this social factor the business finds it helpful to analyze the socio-economic situation of its market by means of fundamentals like customer demographics, cultural limitations, lifestyle attitude, and education. Technological- This area is all about those that are related to the uprising developments on the uses of technology. There are 2 types of changes in technological uses in general: developments in the uses of IT, and, developments in IT in specific industry or market.[1] In modern days, we have an extension in the PEST analysis which has added two more factors to take effect in the business. These are Legal(L) factors and the Environmental(E) factors, which for instance, stands to be the PESTLE Analysis. Legal- It is very important to take into accounts the factors arising from changes to the law. Changes can be by means of Discrimination laws, Health safety laws, Consumer Protection laws, Copyright Patent laws. Environmental- The factors arising from the concerns about the natural environment, in other words the ‘green’ issues, include increasing concerns about packaging and the increase in pollution. SWOT(Strength,Weakness,Opportunities,Threats) Analysis This analysis is only focused on the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities threats that are significant to an organization for a brand new scheme. Strength(S)- Internal attributes that are helpful to the organization to achieving its objectives. Example includes: superior product quality, superior technological equipment, education to employees, popular product name, products embraced by consumers. Weaknesses(W)- Internal attributes that are harmful for the organization achieving its goals. Examples include: extension of the distribution system, lack of direct contact with customers, higher prices. Opportunities(O)- External factors that help the organization to achieve its aims objectives. This might arise from: exports, approaching the youth markets, cross-selling. Threats(T)- External factors that help the organization to achieve its aims objectives. These are brought up by: huge tax rates on luxury items, indirect competitors.[2] Onto a business organization, the SWOT Analysis has been divided into two categories, Internal Analysis which is Strengths Weaknesses, and External Analysis which is Opportunities Threats. The Strengths are valued by measuring the ability of an organization to compete with other companies globally or locally. The start-up cost overhead cost is low to introduce e-Commerce system in the business, which is a plus point. Direct consumer communication too takes place while this e-Commerce system is implemented by means of when an order is made; the goods are directly delivered where a personal meet up takes place. So it generally creates a good customer relationship. Weakness could be the higher prices of their products which will result in less consumer attentions and hence less profit. Another point to take into account as the weakness of an e-Business could be the online page loading time. If the page takes much time to load, the visitors of the site will eventually tend to turn their search off and leave. Hence no profit would be earned by the business. Opportunities are measured by their 24/7 availability online to serve their consumers. Growth is estimated to continue at high rates and launching an online business allows the merchant to be in a position to benefit from this growth. Threats are measured by the business’ ability to survive in the field by competing with other organizations. Another point to take into consideration is fraud. Some consumers find it risky to deliver their financial data and such kinds of feeling among the population can be a great threat for any online business stores. Privacy concerns too are a factor to be thought of. CORE BUSINESS FUNCTIONS OF E-COMMERCE I am Md. Imtiaz Ahmed, and, Mr. Bashar has appointed me as an e-Commerce Developer in his e-commerce business. He is planning to open an e-Commerce online book store. Nowadays we see a rapid rise in such businesses that runs online. There are various sectors such as the one Mr. Bashar is planning to open, apart from that there are jewelries, fashion items, perfumes, groceries, electronic appliances, household items and much more. Mr. Bashar wants to organize such an online book store where people from all around the world can get access to and order for their desired books of their own choices favorite authors. E-commerce is basically functionalized as to deliver the customers with the desired service in an online basis. For instance, the customers will stay at their favored place from where they can easily place an order for the product they want. They will either make the payment online using debit/credit cards or, they can also make the payment on cash while the product is finally delivered at the right place. That’s one of the most efficient and generally important function though which the system runs. Named Boibazaar.com, Mr. Bashar has set his online storefront targeted to basically the people of any ages since there are absolutely no limitations to read books. Starting from the youngest to the oldest, anyone can order for books as they want or would like to. Mr. Bashar targets to deliver his potential customers by serving them the right output as required. There are various functional areas partly divided in a sense to run the e-Commerce business on a smooth flow. Among them, follows are the most important ones that Mr. Bashar’s online storefront must implement:- The Sales Function- This department is assigned to maintain the sales promotion of the business, for instance, by means of effective advertisements discount offers. It also responds to their customers’ queries and tries their best to deliver them with the best possible solutions. Their task is to sell their products either over the telephone or using the face-to-face method of business transactions. They decide the estimations to offer discounts on their selling items, this is done through effective persuasive advertisements. Financial terms too are anyhow maintained by this department in some businesses. They also provide technical advices keeps records of their customers updated. The Production Function- This department plays a vital role in any business organization since it checks monitors the storage of raw materials. It also builds up the schedule of the productions for the maximization of the uses of equipments. Producing the items is the core function of this department and hence it also assembles the finished output. This functional area is also assigned for the quality checking of the products all through the production process. Machinery inspections too are managed by this area of business. The Purchasing Function- This department is necessary since its task is to order inputs/raw materials for the production of expected items from its suppliers. If any problems, such as disagreements from a supplier to sell raw materials, are faced, then the department would hold the right to change the supplier and order from the new one. If to introduce new items, new kind of raw materials is to be bought and utilized. In such cases, this department would search for new suppliers to meet the requirements. It also refers to the problems on delivery, e.g. quality or quantity. It is also very necessary for this department to be in good relation with its suppliers so that the business doesn’t face any negative trust issues amongst each other. The Administration Function- In simple senses, this department is all set to maintain the legal documentations, paper works necessary record keepings. In some business it helps their customers by providing expert advices for the queries faced. The Customer Service Function- Similar to the above one, it responds to their potential customers and gives them the best soluble options. It also provides after-sales services including the replacements of damaged items, arrangements for repairing the items, etc. It deals with the customer complaints and takes necessary steps to overcome the problems arising. The Finance Function- All the financial works are maintained by this area of business. The money that is received is well recorded by this department. The checking paying of the invoices received are too done by this department. All any financial documentations payments involved in the business are monitored by the Finance Department. The ICT Function- Most of the tasks of the Administration Department are followed by this ICT area such as maintaining the records on computer. Also the online helps too are done by this department. All that are related to the IT are controlled by this department. Since Boibazaar.com is an online book store, the Production Department is not much necessary since Mr. Bashar’s business does not produce books but deliver what are available on the market, just by means of selling on the online method. The ICT Department is the most important one since the business is online basis and thus the whole thing is maintained according to its own ways as supposed. Boibaazar.com has categorized their selling items according to the genres so that the visitors of the site find it handy easy enough to find out what they are looking for. The prices too are mentioned so that they don’t really need to navigate to any more pages to go for inner details. Seller contacts too are added so that if customer decides to purchase can make direct deals with the seller easily. Boibazaar.com agrees accepting the method of payments on Cash on Delivery basis for local consumers. Soon they will be accepting Card Payment method using VISA, debit/credit cards and online payments. For local consumers, the shop is also accepting the online payment procedure of Bkash. Regarding International consumers’ payments, the store is working on to accept methods followed by banks and also The Western Union process. But customers must be sure that there are different methods to follow for payments for different orders. Cash on delivery basis is highly being appreciated by the customers who prefer dealing online for their desired products. It’s less hassle and over all the difficulties that might appear compared to physical trading. AIMS OBJECTIVES OF E-COMMERCE Profit maximization is the core aim of any organization whether it is a physical business place or the one that runs online. Some organizations even aim to survive with just less or no profit at all. Breakeven, one method of surviving is to focus on breaking even over a certain period. This means making enough money to cover the total costs involved in producing and selling the goods or services, and running the business, although there is no profit, no money is lost. Also there are some businesses that only tend to focus on selling (sales maximization) as more products as possible in order to expansion in their business. BUSINESS STAKEHOLDERS AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP IN THE BUSINESS Below is a table that shows the aims of the business following the relationship of their stakeholders into the business. Stakeholders are those people who are both directly and indirectly related to the business in general means. The table below will help make a clear view:- Task Covering LO2 [1] http://pestleanalysis.com/pest-analysis/ [2] http://searchcio.techtarget.com/definition/SWOT-analysis-strengths-weaknesses-opportunities-and-threats-analysis

Leadership In Sustainable Organisational Change Management Essay

Leadership In Sustainable Organisational Change Management Essay This report outlines the effective management of change through different leadership styles. The role of leadership has been viewed in the process of organisational change in this essay. Organisational change is referred to the process of intentionally inducing change in the organisation by altering its structure, processes, systems, products or any other component. The role of leadership has remained vital in bringing the change to organisation. Thus, this assignment tends to explore the role of different leadership styles in exploring the process of change in the organisation. There are two leadership styles that have been studied in this essay. These are transactional leadership styles and transformational leadership style. The transactional leadership cannot emphasise on the expressive aspects that are present in the organisation namely innovation, cultural changes and technological changes. The transformational leadership is more oriented towards participative and charismatic form of leadership. It values the participation and cooperation of the employees. Thus, both the leadership styles have been critique from different source after which conclusion has been made. Introduction Organisational change is referred to the process of intentionally inducing change in the organisation by altering its structure, processes, systems, products or any other component. This change is usually induced to help the organisation in accomplishing its goal more efficiently and effectively (Lines, SÃ ¡enzAramburu, 2011).Davies (2007) asserted that the role of leadership has remained vital in bringing the change to organisation. However the scope of the leadership has been broadened to incorporate the sustainable leadership. Sustainable leadership is basically based on the moral purposes that envision the success as the feature for all i.e. organisation as well as the society. Thus, this essay tends to explore two different sustainable leadership approaches towards organisational change. The role of these leadership approaches would be critically analysed from different theoretical sources. How these approaches help to make and sustain change in the organisation will be discussed with the help of few examples. An Overview of Leadership vs. Management Gill (2003) enunciated that the fundamental and primary component in successfully integrating change in the organisation is the effective leadership accompanied by the true organisational values and beliefs. The change is not a single day process rather it is a complete journey from the current state to the desired state. It also involves handling the issues and hurdle that come under the way of change institution. This requires a proper and pragmatic leadership approach therefore leadership has given a lot of importance in the context of organisational changes. The effective leadership theory encompasses a multi-track approach towards the organisational change that is used by many leaders. These tracks are based on the cognitive intelligence (rational and logical thinking processes), spiritual intelligence (attaching meaning to the work and lives of people), emotional intelligence (feeling and sentiments) and behavioural skills (action oriented leadership) (Gill, 2002). On the other hand, Pettinger (2004) narrated that management of the organisation is also effective while introducing change in the organisation. Sometimes, the failure of the change programs is attributed to the poor management, lack of proper management planning, absence of managerial control, inefficient use of resources by the management and unreliable managerial policies and practices. Like the leadership approach, management also focuses on behavioural, cognitive and committed style for embarking the change in the organisation. However, too much emphasis on any single component or approach may lead to produce deficiencies in the change program. Chenhall and Euske (2007) signified that an effective change management can be instituted if the change encompasses a skilful, knowledgeable, action oriented and intellectual approach towards the organisational processes. Therefore, a successful change is the indicator of effective management and leadership of the organisation. Without proper leadership and management, change cannot achieve the successful results in the organisation. An Overview of Sustainable Organisational Change The concept of sustainable change as mentioned by Cameron (2008) has emerged from the increasing use of technologies and the emerging globalisation. The sustainable change is a change that is introduced to serve the benefits for the organisation and for the society as well. The purpose of introducing sustainable change in the organisation is to improve the overall organisational performance. Andrews, Cameron and Harris (2008) Affirmed that this change is performance is expected to bring positive results for the company and for the society as well. The increasing awareness of the customer and the high variation in their demands has caused the companies to take a sustainable look of the change. This means that a change should be favourable for the both the organisation and the society as well. Nevertheless, when the company fails to successfully integrate change, many problems emerges. These problems require the company to take some immediate measures to rectify the change process. For example, the development of the new automaker subsidiary Saturn by the General Motors (GM) is the witness of the dramatic change that resulted from the companys exposure to huge losses in the market share. The bureaucracy was deeply rooted in the GMs culture. However, when it set to change its patterns for overcoming the potential losses of share it had to change its deep rooted cultural practices. This eventually resulted in developing new technologies, structures, relationships and policies in the Saturn. One of the most important changes that were made to Saturn was the appointment of new and talented people. The purpose of these appointments was to make the employees and people feel that GM is constantly engaged in upgrading its system and policies to integrate with the technological cha nges and advancements of the world (Higgs Rowland, 2006). Two Different Approaches to Leadership for Sustainable Change In Leadership, the transformational and transactional styles have remained subjected to huge debates over the period of time in social sciences. However, both the styles are being adopted by leaders while seeking the develop change programs in the organization. The distinction between these leadership styles set the whole change program is the different dimension. Therefore, leadership styles are deemed to be an important predictor of type of organizational changes (Bennett, 2009). There are certain other forms and styles of leadership as proclaimed by Bennett (2009) such as goal oriented leadership, task oriented leadership, authoritative leadership, participative leadership, etc. that has also been debated in comparison with the transformational and transactional leadership styles. Thus, leadership consists of different dimensions and approaches through which leaders pursue the change oriented mechanism of the organization. However, the transactional and transformational leadership styles are two broad categories of leadership that encompass all the other leadership styles. The transactional leadership is often called as instrumental leadership. There are various benefits associated with this approach to leadership. Nevertheless, it cannot work in times of accelerating change. The transactional leadership cannot emphasise on the expressive aspects that are present in the organisation namely innovation, cultural changes and technological changes. Thus, when the production becomes unstandardized then the institution of transactional change does not fit with accomplish of organisational change objectives (Leybourne, 2011). The most important factor in the transactional style of leadership is the vision and mission set by the leader that helps him in reaching to the change goals and objectives. On the other hand, the transformational leadership is perceived to be more expressive in nature. The transformational leadership style as articulated by Ismail, Mohamed, Sulaiman, Mohamad and Yusuf (2011) can be well-understood in terms of differentiating it with the transactional leadership. The business organisation often incorporates a mix concept of transformational and transactional leadership styles. However, for their proper understanding, it is important to have a look at each from contrasting perspective. Purvanova and Bono (2009) determined that the transformational leadership is more oriented towards participative and charismatic form of leadership. It values the participation and cooperation of the employees. However, a transactional leadership style is based on the principle of exchange among the leader and the sub-ordinates (followers). This differentiation between the two leadership styles is depicted from the political view. The followers are being valued by the leaders or given certain rewards and incentives when they follow the leaders direction and orders. Thus, the conflicting status of both the theories is set to thoroughly examine in this essay from the behavioural perspective. The reason for choosing the behavioural perspective is that both the theories encompass behavioural differences in the leadership styles. However, these styles will be explored in the context of organisational change (Leybourne, 2011). The transactional leadership has always been viewed from the perspective of cost-benefit relationship analysis. It follows strict rules and procedures towards judging the quality of outcomes. The followers are only benefitted when they seem to fulfil leaders interest. Thus, a pure exchange process exists between the leaders and the followers characterised by the behavioural intentions of the leader toward change. The instrumental leadership usually embrace the concept of providing a direction and order to the followers that should be achieved by the way leaders have designed for them. Any discretion and authority is not entertained among the followers in the organisation (Boseman, 2008). The leaders pursuing transactional leadership approaches usually compromise the value of motivation, team orientation and employee satisfaction in their work and goal setting. However, these three components are the most important driver of change in the organisation. The compromise of these three factors can lead to compromise in the change program of organisation. However, the critique argued that the transactional leadership approach set the context for the social exchange process among the leaders and the followers where both the parties involved in the pure exchange process. The leaders set the goals and aims and influence the followers to accomplish these goals and objectives. In such instance, the norms and the values of the organisation are sustained and the followers assert their wills to the leadership goals and objectives (Boseman, 2008). The leader has the power which he emphasise on his follower to get the work done. In return, the followers also get the valued outcomes in terms of incentives and wages. Thus, this signifies the presence of social exchange process in the transactional leadership approach. However, the control, structure and conditions of the organisation play an equally important role in transactional leadership style. Organisations that are pursuing change programs use transactional leadership because the leaders are responsible to take important decisions regarding the companys structure and culture and these decisions cannot be handed over to the followers (Leybourne, 2011). Generally the leaders emphasise more on the structures and goals of the organisation in transactional leadership approach that is very helpful in instituting change in the organisation. Sir Alan Sugar represents a true example of the transactional business leader. He was renowned for making gradual changes in business over a period of time. He did not support the radical change rather he embarked upon the practices of continuous change by using the potential dimensions for change. He led Amstrad to the peak of success through his string commitment to the transactional leadership style. He has been regarded as the one of the most successful entrepreneurs of todays world (Bennett, 2009). The transactional leaders often use contingent reward and management-by-exception (MBE) approach for enhancing the performance and attaining the coordination of the followers in the change process. The followers are promised rewards by the leaders on achieving outcomes and objectives that help them to boost their performance level. This beholds the concept of contingent rewards in transactional leadership style (Bennett, 2009). Management-by-Exception (MBE) usually has less impact on the employees as compared to the contingent rewards approach.The MBE helps the leaders to constantly watch and monitor the performances of employees and then take corrective measures. This approach is less used in the transactional leadership style. The most avoided form of leadership is the Laissez-Faire Leadership (LF) that the transactional leaders do not follow. LF is actually the process of delegating authorities to the followers for achieving the outcomes and goals. They set their own direction and take important decisions whenever needed. However, the transactional leadership style totally opposes this form of leadership style (Boseman, 2008). Burns (2003) asserted that the transformational style of leadership envisions the charisma and coordination as the main components of the leadership style. It is based on the concept of transformational changes and great environmental variations. It can work in the difficult times when the balances and stability in the companys processes seem to be missing. In such instances, the transformational leadership could help the organisation in beating the crises. The transformational leader is able to motivate the employees through encouraging their participation and by influencing them through charisma rather than power. The followers tend to follow the leader because of his charismatic personality. Ismail et al. (2011) mentioned that the transformational leadership witnesses huge changes and transformation in the goals and objectives of the company.The major difference between the transactional and transformational leadership style can be seen in terms of coordination, control and self-interest. The followers under the influence of transformational leaders are more encouraged to participate in the decision making, exhibiting their self-interest and getting aware of the values outcomes as compared to the transactional leadership style. The employees are motivated by means of self-esteem and their self-interest rather than monetary factors such as money and wages. The esteem of the followers is being values by the transformational leaders. The transformational leader contains a shared vision and perspective of the organisational values and norms and pursues a future oriented and team oriented approach towards the organisational outcomes. With these shared beliefs and values, transformational leaders are prone to change the whole organisation for making it competent in the global market (GumusluogluIlsev, 2009). Some of the most prominent examples of transformational leaders include the name of Bill Gates Bill Gates has pursued a transformational leadership style throughout his tenure. He has always encouraged the participation of his sub-ordinates and followers in the decision making. He values the thinking and opinions of his followers and this is the reason why Microsoft has been able to reach the heights of success in such a global and competitive market. He envisions the future in his mind and leads a whole team towards the accomplishment of that mission. The changes that have been taking place in the Microsoft are the true reflection of the collective efforts of the employees and the Bill Gates that has led the Microsoft to the peak of the success (GumusluogluIlsev, 2009). Thus change is a dynamic process that requires the use of both the styles of leadership by the leaders. However, transformational leadership style is often viewed as more appropriate since it values the outcomes and participation of employees. Conclusion Summarising all the above discussion and examples, it can be said that the transactional leadership rest on the concept of social exchange between leaders and followers. They actively take part in this exchange process as leaders being the goals setter and followers being the goals follower. This approach is usually pursued when the organisation undergo some strategic and corporate changes in their businesses. At that time they demand the proper rules and policies and enforce the employees to follow their direction to achieve the goals and outcomes. They often need to take some immediate decision therefore incorporating Laissez-Faire Leadership would not be the best choice for transactional leaders. In summary, the employees are supposed to work with the change program in the organisation regardless of their wills and they are to follow the directions set by the leaders for them. However, the transformational leadership style has been recognised as the best approach for the transformational changes. It demands the participation and coordination of the followers in the changes process. Without their participation and coordination the change cannot work well in the organisation. Since employees are the one who work with these changes and modifications therefore, their participation is extremely important for the leaders. The transformational leadership also envisions this concept as the best approach for achieving organisational outcomes. However, critique suggests that the mixture of both the transactional and the transformational leadership style can serve the best in the change process.

The Sentiment, Mood, and Philosophy of The Best Slow Dancer :: Free Essay Writer

The Sentiment, Mood, and Philosophy of The Best Slow Dancer Feelings can twist reality in the most peculiar ways. Emotions push the mind to the most stunning conclusions, and stir within the soul the strangest storms. In fact, senses reach their peak in David Wagoner’s poetic work â€Å"The Best Slow Dancer†. In the poem, Wagoner brings out the height of sentiment through the eyes of a teenage boy at a school dance, who overcomes the teenage social hierarchy and his own fear to share in the longed-for dance with one special girl. All the while Wagoner takes his readers into depths of wafting dreaminess, romance, and intimacy they are projected through an unbroken flow of words uninterrupted by punctuation, rhythm, or strict lines. â€Å"The Best Slow Dancer† portrays the mental state of a boy as he experiences a dance. It is a short dance, but one that seems to him prolonged for an eternity, the â€Å"three-second rule forever/ suspended†. The feelings that go through the youth’s soul range from extreme delight to just as extreme tension, and the reader may see them all exhibited in the lines of the poem. His surety when with the girl in his embrace is seen when his â€Å"countless feet light-footed sure to move as they wished wherever [they] might stagger without her†, but then he â€Å"tried†¦to tell her [he wasn’t] the worst one†, the worst of the boys, the one that she would not be seen dead with—which implies that he is fearful of the fact that she might reject him, â€Å"not waving a sister somebody else’s partner†. The full textual image demonstrates that the boy is with all his heart trying to impress the girl, and gets the dance with her against all odds of popularity and such, and then he treasures the experience, as he says to himself â€Å"remember† at the end. All throughout â€Å"The Best Slow Dancer†, the key ingredient to the image within the reader’s mind is the mood set by the poem. The mood is mystical, quixotic, intimate, and continual. This state is accomplished by three techniques—poetic devices, turns of phrase, and contortion of syntax. The main pair of poetic devices that set up all these moods and humors simultaneously are enjambment and synecdoche. Enjambment is bizarre in this poetic work, especially in descriptions of physical setting or position, such as the setting of the dance, â€Å"in the school gym across the key through the glitter/ of mirrored light†, or the position of the main character with his â€Å"cheek against her temple, her ear just under/ that†.

Three Strike Laws Essay -- Law Laws Argumentative Persuasive papers

Three Strike Laws Mandatory minimums and three strike laws, are they really the answer to the crime problem America has faced for years? Many would say yes, including me, as long as it is for a violent crime such as murder, rape or arson; some feel that even theft, drug trafficking or possession, and burglary are all worthy of the 25-to-life sentence that can be carried under the mandatory minimums for three strike laws. A three-strike law is a law that states that you will be sentenced to 25years to life for three violations and convictions of a law. Where the three strike laws have mandatory sentences, mandatory sentences aren’t always tied in with three strike laws. A mandatory minimum is a law that requires someone serve a predetermined amount of time in prison for specific offenses and the only way to have it reduced is by assisting the authorities in further convictions of others. In California a man was sentenced under the three strike laws for theft because he had two prior convictions. This man had been convicted of robbery and attempted robbery; therefore the slice of pizza he stole got him 25 years to life in prison (Lungren Trumpets ‘Three Strikes’ Law). Yes now, in California, you can be sent to prison for life if you take a slice of pizza from someone. Let’s talk about how fair these laws are. Many say that these laws are used to profile African Americans and inner-city minorities primarily by the sentencing difference in rock and powder cocaine. There is a difference in the two forms and how they’re sold. Cocaine can be bought and sold as powder or rocks, also known as crack or crack cocaine. The effects of each are essentially the same. People will get the same effects with powder as w... ...ad, Peter. â€Å"Mandatory Sentences: Putting the Record Straight† Contemporary Review 270.1573 (1997): 57-61. Easton, Steve. â€Å"Incarceration Aids Drug Fight.† USA Today 30 Sept. 2002: News A11. Free, Jr. Marvin D. â€Å"The Impact of Federal Sentencing Reforms on African Americans.† Journal of Black Studies 28.2 (1997): 268-287. Goodwin, Catherine M. â€Å"Determining Mandatory Minimums In Drug Conspiracy Cases.† Federal Probation 59.1 (1995): 74-79. Heath, Erin. â€Å"One-Track Justice.† National Journal 33.34 (2001): 2614-2617. Locy, Toni and Joan Biskupic. â€Å"U.S. Panel to Urge Change in Crack Penalties.† USA Today 4 Aug. 2002: News A3. Stodghill, II, Ron. â€Å"Unequal Justice: Why Women Fare Worse.† Time 2 Jan. 1999: 50-52. Taylor Jr., Stewart. â€Å"Good Pardons, Bad Laws, and Bush’s Unique Opportunity.† National Journal 33.7 (2001): 466-468.

John Miltons Paradise Lost Essay -- John Milton Paradise Lost Essays

John Milton's Paradise Lost John Milton’s Paradise Lost is filled with fantastical tales from the depths of Hell, extravagant descriptions of the fallen angels, and a curious recitation of the council of demons in their new palace. How did Milton dream up such vivid depictions of such horrible demons as the ones we see in Book I? Most of his fallen angels originate in the form of Pagan gods condemned by the Bible, with actual historical backgrounds which Milton cites in his lengthy descriptions. Firstly, a few words about Satan would seem prudent, as he is the first of the fallen angels, the leader in the revolt, and the first to venture to earth to corrupt mankind. He is Milton’s main character, and the only one to extend outside of strict biblical interpretations of his character. He appears first in the Bible (if you discount the snake in the Garden of Eden) in the Book of Job, in which he convinces God to test Job by taking away all his worldly possessions and bringing harm to himself and his family. He is addressed with the angels and named as Satan, so his status as an angel who helps bring pain and suffering is no stretch from the ‘biblical truth’. Old Testament Books such as Isaiah and Ezekiel refer to what appears to be Satan, but are in the midst of passages that reflect upon wicked, fallen kings. In Isaiah 14:12 it is written, â€Å"how you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!† Most speculation is that this directly refers to Satan, although in no other passage is he referred to as Lucifer. The passage is actually concerning a Babylonian king, as is Ezekiel 28:14-15, which laments (for the King of Tyre), â€Å"you were the anointed cherub†¦ till iniquity was found in you.† These passages are about wick... ...of the Memphian Kings (Egyptian Pharoah’s at the great city of Memphis) who built the Great Pyramids, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, but whose city Memphis sustained much damage throughout the years (the city decayed and the capital eventually moved to Thebes). These are the players of Milton’s epic of light and darkness, good and evil, Heave, Hell, and everything in between. Expounding upon popular beliefs of Satan and his rogue angels and borrowing Pagan gods from old Palestine and Jordan enable the creation of almost Protagonist demons. Though it’s easy to relate to Satan as a rebellious child dealing with punishment, the poem preaches that you strictly obey God. God is omnipotent, omniscient (he even sees Satan’s approach from the depths of Hell), he has conquered countless false and pagan gods, his word is not to be questioned as Adam and Eve did.

Introduction to Integrated Christian Apologetics Essay

Over the past centuries, many religious beliefs have been criticized by many philosophers and critics. Christian faith has never been saved from these criticisms. In fact it has received one of the major blows of disparagement. This criticism of the Christian faith has caused damage to the Christian believers. Due to the criticism of Christianity, Christian believers were also criticized and were questioned by their fellow human beings. And because of these, Christian believers were caught unaware and did not know what to do. Furthermore, this also caused believers to have weak faith in Christianity. There were even others who lost their faith because of these attacks. Due to a lot of criticisms, it was seen by many school of thought in Christian Theology that a solution must be provided to the arising problem. According to the scholars, apologetics is the solution to the dilemma. Christian Apologetics is a branch in Christian Theology that defends the Christian faith. It tries to answer the question â€Å"is Christianity believable? †. It originated from the Greek word â€Å"apologia† which means ‘making a defense†. Attacks of the Christian faith coming from the outside of the church are mean dealt with apologetics (Philip and Cherian). Presently an integrated approach in apologetics has been developed which sees apologetics in a holistic perspective. A person who is studying or has background on Apologetics is called a Christian Apologist and can help inquirers about their question in Christianity. A Christian Apologist can teach and help the person having doubts on Christian beliefs to see and find the answers to the problems and questions that he is facing. The Apologist can also teach the inquirer the humanistic philosophy which can help them overcome their doubts and will help them find the root causes of the problem. These also give the inquirer capability to deal effectively with the questions being raised to them. The basis of Christian Apologetics could be traced back to the bible. According to Philip and Cherian, Apologetics is a biblical activity which has been advised and demonstrated in the Bible at various places. One of the example is the verse from 1 Peter 3:15 which goes â€Å"always be prepared to make a defense to any one who calls your account for that hope is in you†. Many verses in the bible give a good definition of the character of Apologetics. According to Philip and Cherian, almost all of the books of Jobs are an Apologetic to justify to God’s dealings with mean. Furthermore, they also mentioned that verses in Psalms 14 and 19are apologetic in character. Romans 1:20 is also another verse in the bible that describes the character of Apologetics. With this few examples it can be said that all activities in Apologetics is referred from the Bible. An important role of Apologetics towards the Bible is that it answers inquiry of people who have been attacked by nonbelievers. Base on the module written by Philip and Cherian entitled â€Å"Introduction to Integrated Christian Apologetics†, the Bible places a great deal on faith and belief, though I condemns deliberate skepticism and unbelief, it does not speak against reason and investigation. The Bible encourages the use of reason and investigation when they are done sincerely and is an aid to honest inquiry. This is where Apologists play an important role, providing answers to honest inquirers. Furthermore, Apologetics is also related to Polemics which deals with attacks originating from within the church (Philip and Cherian) which is a bit unusual. Attackers from within the church includes everyone who teach perverted doctrines which could take in two forms. The first form is in the form of distorted bible and the second is through those of false cults who claim that they are a true Christian group. Apologetics and Polemics have the same purpose, which is to refute error and to establish truth in Christianity (Philip and Cherian) though they are two different activities. However, with the various forms of attacks that the Christian Church has undergone and undergoing, both polemics and apologetics has to know hw counter all the forms of attack which means that if you’re an Apologetic you should have knowledge on Polemics and vice versa. In this way, the person is well prepared for the things that will come his way. Attacks of the word of God are no just recent. Apologetics has its roots in the Bible. The Old and New Testament gives enough evidence of this (Philip and Cherian). The attacks can be rooted back to the Old Testament. It can be noticed that during the old times many people have already questioned the existence of God which had form doubts on the Christian Church and has never ceased up to the present date. Thus, from then on Apologetics has been part of history. During those days, it is the Jewish Fathers and leaders that have to face so much opposition from non-believers. The non-believers published a lot of written works to question and discard the Christian faith. At this point also, the Jewish fathers and Leader also wrote some books to counter the attacks and one famous apologetic works is Contro Apion which was written by the first century army officer and historian name Flavious Josephus (Philip and Cherian). During the rise of the New Testament, the attacks to Christian faith were a little different compared to the Old Testament. The attacks to the Christian faith were a lot faster because of the new technological advancements on this time. Aside from the advancements, Philip and Cherian stated that during this time the availability of the New Testament itself cause the rise of many critics, heretics and heretical movements. However, this was countered by the authors of the New Testament. Majority of the readings in the New Testament is an opposition to scornful people and heretics that distrust biblical truths. To make the truth heard, the writers of the New Testament wrote extensively to expose errors abut the attacks that has been made (Philip and Cherian). The existence of the New Testament has caused more damage to the Christian faith since the teaching found in the New Testament were in contrary to the beliefs of the heretics, criticizers and rebel Christians (Philip and Cherian). In addition, the New Testament insists of Bible alone, Christ Alone, Grace Alone, and faith alone which further provoked the doubtful believers. These non believers were also afraid that Christianity would spread very fast that they tried to stop it by destroying or saying things against the Bible, Jesus Christ and Christianity. However, this has not shaken Christian Apologist at that time, instead of giving in, they fought the non-believers of Christian faith by producing volumes of Christian Apologetics and Polemics. However, during the recent years, the fight of Christian Apologist became dormant when the Roman Catholic Church ruled the Christian world stiffly. The roman Catholic Chruch at this time (fourth century to the 14th century) indulged in a great struggle for ecclesiastical as well as temporal power that they tend to silenced, torture, and killed millions of dissenting people (Philip and Cherian). So instead of fighting back, Christian Apologists tend not to speak because of the life threatening situation. When the dictatorial rule of the Catholic Church was over, Christianity was rejected by many people since the didn’t understand the difference between Roman Catholic Church, the true church of Christ, and the Christ of the Bible. This was coupled with the rise of a lot of anti-Christian thinkers, philosophies and movements. A lot of anti-Christianity group arise during the 19th century and there common goal is to oppose to the Bible and to Christianity as well. They also believed that Christianity could be challenged but they haven’t got sufficient information to do so (Philip and Cherian). During this time, Charles Darwin, a scientist who proposed the Theory of Evolution for the first time in a theory of science united all the dissenting movements. This Theory of Evolution had greatly affected Theology by the end of the 19th century. Many theologians from Europe and America accepted the Theory of Evolution and convinced other theologians especially German Theologians. However, these German Theologians began to act as mercenaries and destroyed the belief in the Bible. And one of their major goals is to destroy Christianity. They published lots of books that were spread worldwide. But despite the eagerness of German Theologian to destroy Christianity, many still don’t agree with them. Many were interested in keeping both beliefs together. However, this did not give Christianity a positive light. Instead, it created more conflict especially on the creation. Defenders then of the doctrine became so few. Belief on Christianity and the Bible, was risen during the fifties were in a group started writing aggressively on themes defending the historical and scientific reliability of the Bible which gave birth to the modern interest in Apologetics and Creation (Philip and Cherian). In India, the theological situation is the same with the West. Thus, it was expected that is would turn out the same with what had happened in the West. However, there were few people who stood up against these teachings. One of the first was Prof. H. Enoch, during the 60’s he published a book entitled â€Å"Evolution or Creation† which has influenced a lot of young Indians (Philip and Cherian). During the 60’s and 70’s in India it was only Cross and Crown, a Pentecostal Magazine that publishes articles defending the history of the Bible and creation. This magazine was edited by Dr. Thomas Mathews from Udapair, Rajasthan (Philip and Cherian). In the 70’s A. K. Skariah, a secretary of the fellowship of scientist known as FOCMOS or Fellowship of Christian Men of Science, which was later called Creation Scientist Fellowship (CSFI), became a tireless campaigner for creation and Apologetics even if their organization is not functioning anymore (Philip and Cherian). Another important person in India who studied apologetics is Dr. Johnson Philip who founded a project namely Creation Research in 1970’s. The objective of his research is to publish articles about apologetics and creation. Currently, the book has more than 1500 articles and is publish in six different languages. This movement is now known as Calvin School of Apologetics and Theology (Philip and Cherian). This man also, Johnson George, born in Kerala is another person who palyed a significant role in Christian Apologetics. He has contributed writing on apologetical themes in several languages. Other people such as Dr. Ezhamkulam Samkutty, J. C. Dev, E. S. Thomas and Paul K. Ramakrishan also played a role in apologetics. Recently an apologetics organization entered India known as RZIM which was founded by Dr. Ravi Zacharias from the U. S. A. (Philip and Cherian). Through the years, apologetics has been very important in the everyday living of many people. Together with the constant change that humanty is facing, approaches used by Christian Apologetics has also been changing with time. However, certain puposes of Apologetics has never changed with time which includes: a) to refute all the accusations that are brought against the Bible and the Christian faith; b) to demonstrate that only the Bible and the Christian way of life work in the actual life and that only the Bible and Christian faith provide permanent peace and happiness; c) to remove the sincer doubts in the hearts of believers and unbelievers, so that the hindrances to the growth and establishing their faith are eliminated and; d) to provide sufficient evidence for achieving the above goals. Thus, t is necessary for the apologist to understand the difference between sufficient and total proof (Philip and Cherian). In Christian apologetics, everything is decided on the basis of proof. However, there are still people who think of it differently. There are many people who views Christian Apologetics through skepticism, Christian Rationalism, Local Christianity and through faith (Philip and Cherian). Apologetics is a fast changing and fast growing field in Christian Theology. Thus, people who want to study this field should not misunderstand its role, purpose and contributions. It should be noted that Apologetics is a â€Å"manward operations† (Philip and Cherian) which means that its main purpose is to help those who are confused and in anguished due to doubts. It does not defend the bible a though it were a helpless book. In apologetics, the bible is defended to those who have doubts about it so that they will have a clear belief about the bible. Apologetics is not there to preserve the Bible but it there to preserve the faith of the doubting believer. For this to take effect, the apologist should b able to briefly understand the aim and goals of apologetics because only a person with proper understanding of apologetics can do his job properly. It should also be taken into consideration, that though the main purpose of apologetics is to defend the Christian faith, it also has limits. One of its limit which is crucial is that it should never be use to prove that the Bible is the word of God. It can only point to the unusual character of the Bible in matters of unity, accuracy, consistency, historicity and life-changing power. At this point an apologist should take note that it’s purpose is to aid a person to see that the attacks bought up against the bible are not valid (Philip and Cherian). Another purpose of apologetics is to remove the barrier that hinders faith (Philip and Cherian). The removal of these barriers helps accepts Christian faith whole heartedly. It also helps them make deeper commitments to the church. With this, the Christian faith and church becomes stronger with believers that have a complete trust to it. In addition to the purpose of apologetics is to inform honest inquirers on how reliable the rational content of the Bible is and that the Bible is not for rationalist. However, the demands of rationalists have been a benefit to Christian apologist because it formed an excellent standard to evaluate the statements of apologists (Philip and Cherian). To help a person who wants to abandon his unbelief that has been there due to his lingering but sincere and honest doubts is another purpose of apologetics (Philip and Cherian). It is not a treatment for deliberate unbelief but it is meant to serve as a cure for sincere doubts. Apologetics is not there to prove the divinity of the Bible instead it is there to point to the uniqueness of the scriptures which places the scriptures in proper sequence (Philip and Cherian). It should also be noted that apologetics is not scientism. They are of two different schools. Scientism is the belief that ultimately everything has to be explained with the help of science which is a false belief (Philip and Cherian). It should be taken into consideration that not all things happening in this world can be explained by science. There are certain things that happen what cannot be explained by science and it in manner faith is strongly given emphasis. Moreover, studying Christian apologetics has many practical values. Studying apologetics conserves the faith of an individual which means that he is ready to face the questions that will bombard him in his everyday living. Individual who is ready for such will not be able to loose his faith because he already knows what to do to the attackers. Ability to combat a foe is also improved when one is studying or has a background in Christian apologetics. He becomes better in answering the questions of unbelievers. Aside from this he can provide believable answers to the inquirers and wile main composed in circumstances. In addition, apologetics can also aid the youth in there sincere queries about Christian faith. In this manner apologists serves as a guide to the young minds. It should also be taken into account that there are also people who are not interested in Christian apologetics. This people became uninterested in apologetics due to their misconceptions and misunderstandings of the study. These people are categorized by Philip and Cherian into six categories which are: a) those people who never had any doubts in Christian faith; b) people who never had to face questions and attacks from scornful people; c) people who have indeed faced personal doubts and external attacks but who have been running away from facing the challenge; d) people who have lost sensitivity towards the pains and problems of other and pseudo-apologists who love prestige, but who have never mastered the subject. These six categories of people do not have any sufficient evidence to object or question Christian apologetics. Most of their objections are base on their personal views on how they view the subject. They are not sincere inquirers but rather they only want to impose what they believe and think is right. They believe that the bible contains errors and are insensitive to other people. Aside from non-believers, there are also people who oppose to Christian apologetics. These people who oppose to apologetics do not agree that reason and faith should be placed in the same dominion. They believe that the human understanding is not capable in the spiritual realm. This belief is highly in contrast with the Christian approach to truth wherein one has to accept that faith and reason do mix with each other in many realms of spiritual truth (Philip and Cherian). In addition to distrust, fear of being attack or questioned about faith is another reason why people oppose to apologetics (Philip and Cherian). They are afraid to face attacks because they feel that they aer capable of doing such things. So instead of facing the problem, these people tend to run away from the problem. Ignorance is also another reason why people are opposing to Christian apologetics (Philip and Cherian). They are completely ignorant about the things that are happening that when they are faced in certain problem or situation they tend to react to things because of their ignorance. Due to the much opposition of apologetics, an apologist should be very careful in handling situations. A debate is a big no in apologetics except when the crowd is mature enough and is made up of small number of seekers (Philip and Cherian). If engage in a debate, the apologists should still be very careful and should bot deliver the debate in a form such as speaker-to-audience. Apologists should bear in mind that they should always take control of the situation they are in. Apologetics is such a very complicated topic and because of it’s complexity, many apologists tend to make compromises to patch some things that cannot be resolved. However, this kind of act is not advised by Christian apologists as it can cause more damage to the truth. Compromise is like a slow poison that attacks the Christian faith which can be more destructive than the fiercest direct attack in the Christian faith. When opposing systems are synthesized into one, it is the truth that always suffers (Philip and Cherian). In the integrated approach to Christian apologetics, the following statements are the benchmark: Bible alone, Grace alone, Faith alone, Christ alone, to God alone be Glory. Christian apologetics shall always stand in favour of truth, total truth and truth alone (Philip and Cherian). The truth will always be the truth and should always be separated from error. Reference Philip, Johnson and Cherian, Saneesh. Introduction to Integrated Christian Apologetics. A Calvin Research Group Academic Resource, Module 001A1. Retrieved on 22 January 2007.

Columbus City Schools Policies Essay

The reason I don’t like the rule about fire arm look-alikes is because, if you have a toy gun that your younger sibling has asked you to hold for them in your bag and you forget about it is an instant 5-10 day suspension. I understand why you would suspend someone for that reason; it is because you have to insure the person’s safety and the rest of the schools. But if someone leaves the toy or look-alike in your bag and you forget about its unfair we have to get suspended for that amount of time I get a day or two but 5-10 it’s not fair that is the only reason I have to have a problem with that policy. Insubordination is another one. When a teacher asks you to do something unfair for instance give up your phone when it has fallen out your pocket and they say you have been texting while doing an assignment or cheating is also unfair. Not everyone cheats on their work if our phone happens to slip out why get punished it was an accident not intentional. But I get why you do it, it’s only to insure we aren’t cheating or texting during class. The last one is possession, sale or distribution of drugs other than tobacco or alcohol. If someone has a massive headache and can’t concentrate in class and the student asks you for an Aspirin or Tylenol and you give it to them why put it as possession, sale or distribution of drugs other than tobacco or alcohol. That in my mind is unfair you’re just helping someone out with a legitimate problem that they are having. We are keeping them out of the nurse’s office and having them in class longer so what is the problem with that? The reasons for this and I know why are because of Marijuana, Cocaine and crack or other narcotics you should put narcotics as its own punishment instead of Aspirin or another type pain reliever. If you would only make the slightest change I would greatly appreciate it. also the drug problems we have and leaving the school without permission. Those are the only few changes I would make about the CCS policy.