The Family Medical Leave Act ( Fmla ) - 1620 Words

The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) was passed with the idea of creating job protected leave when necessary, while also providing employees with the opportunity to balance work, health, and family responsibilities. FMLA is designed to avoid job loss when employees request additional time off in order to treat a critical medical condition or deal with serious family or personal matters. Due to the establishment of FMLA, workers can now maintain employment as they treat qualifying medical conditions, care for a close relative, bond with newborn, etc. In other words, the concept of FMLA was for employers to legally support their workers during life’s challenging circumstances. Although many positive outcomes are a result of this law, administering FMLA has turned into a challenging and complex task for employers. Passing this law triggered many unintended consequences that have tremendously affected the way organizations manage their leave of absence policies. Employee abuse of t his privilege is a major issue employers are being faced with. The impact FMLA leave has on the entire company, including quality, performance, and productivity can be dramatic. These unplanned concerns that now exist due to FMLA provide tremendous amounts of stress for the employers to properly manage the law; FMLA has turned into a problem employers are defenseless against. Employee Abuse of FMLA The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) was enacted to offer relief and protection to those workersShow MoreRelatedEssay about Family and Medical Leave Act (Fmla)885 Words   |  4 PagesFamily and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) What is Family and Medical leave Act (FMLA)? The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) that was passed in 1993, is a national policy that grants workers up to twelve weeks of unpaid leave in four situations. These four situations are for pregnancy; to care for an infant, such as newborns, newly-placed foster children, and adoptions; to care for a relative with a serious health condition; or to allow an employee to recover and recuperate from a personal seriousRead MoreEssay about The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) 1904 Words   |  8 PagesThe balancing act of family and work can be very difficult at times. At some point in everyone’s life, he or she will need to take time off of work to deal with family matters. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993 was created to help employees find a balance between the challenging demands of work and home. This Act allows eligible workers that require time off for personal reasons or family emergencies up to twe lve weeks of unpaid leave. During the 1992 presidential campaign, GovernorRead MoreThe Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) Essay988 Words   |  4 PagesYou just got over a serious medical condition yourself which you acquired while on vacation and do not have any vacation time or sick time to take off. Do you have to quit your job? Can your employer terminate you for taking time off to be with your child? What options do you have? What can your employer do for you? Well, the answer lies in the Family and Medical Leave Act. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) was passed in 1993 and allows employees to take unpaid leave for up to 12 workweeks inRead MoreThe Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA)1236 Words   |  5 PagesSituation A. The Family Medical Leave Act, deals with the laws regarding â€Å"eligible† employees taking off up to twelve weeks of unpaid leave for their childs birth, adopting a child, taking care of an ill family member, or if they themselves have a serious health condition (Vikesland, 2006). In order to be considered an eligible employee, you must work for a company that employs at least fifty people, have worked there for a year and have worked a minimum of 1,250 hours in that year. â€Å"The employeeRead MoreEssay about The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) 865 Words   |  4 PagesThe Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) provides certain employees with up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave and job protection for childbirth, adoption or foster care; to care for a seriously ill child, spouse, or parent; or for an employee’s own serious illness (Caà ±as Sondak, 2011). It also requires that their group health benefits remain intact during the unpaid leave of absen ce. The employee must have worked for the employer for at least a year and must have earned 1,250 hours of serviceRead MoreHuman Resource ( Hr ) Departments988 Words   |  4 Pagesto help both the employee and the employer. This paper will discuss the Family and Medical Leave Act and what it is able to provide for employees. The Law Public Law 103-3; 29 U.S.C. sec. 2601; 29 CFR 825, better known as the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA), was put into effect on August 5, 1993. Interestingly, the FMLA was proposed to congress every year since 1984 but was blocked repeatedly. Finally, the FMLA passed with bipartisan agreement through the U.S. House of RepresentativesRead MoreInformative Outline Essay856 Words   |  4 PagesTitle of Presentation: The role of the Family and Medical Leave Act in the workplace. Name of Presenter: Maria Vargas Description of Business Audience: Informative presentation to managers to fully understand the new standard regulations of the Family and Medical Leave Act in a company. Introduction: The year 2013 celebrates the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) by President Clinton. Since then, many families has had the advantage of this law. InRead MoreAnalysis of the Amended Family and Medical Leave Act Essay852 Words   |  4 PagesOn August 5, 1993 the amended Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA), was intended to help employees have a work life balance. This accomplishment placed the United Stated ahead of major barriers for the fair labor laws. Before having the amended FMLA put into place, employees were rarely granted job protection for caring for newborns, relatives and personal medical illness. With the new amended act, it allowed employees to take a leave of absence from their job and allowed protection from beingRead MoreEmployment and Medical Leave Act Essay696 Words   |  3 PagesFamily and Medical Leave Act The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) was established to help protect employees who missed work for medical reasons. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides employees job protection in case of family or medical emergency. FMLA permits eligible employees to take up to 12 workweeks of unpaid leave during any 12-month period. (Martocchio, 2003) The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) is responsible for administrating and enforcing most of the labor laws, including

Analysis Of The Story Of An Hour And Hills Like White...

Hemingway and Chopin develop through both short stories, â€Å"The Story of an Hour† and â€Å"Hills Like White Elephants†, a symbolic setting representing the characters feelings, two themes- time and life decisions, and a feministic approach. The setting embodies the stories principal aspect contributing to why men and women have different perspectives and emotions. Revolving around the setting, both themes of time and life decisions support the idea that gender impacts our outlook in the world; however, the main characters in the short stories were women. â€Å"Hills Like White Elephants† is a short story published in 1927 and written by Ernest Hemingway taken place in a Spanish train station near the Ebro River symbolizing the couple at crossroads. The train station lies on two different roads just like The American and Jig, one side of the train is fertile while the other is dry and sterile. The American and Jig are in a journey to make a decision that can c hange their lifestyle, abortion. However, instead of having a serious conversation about a life changing commitment, The American utilizes alcohol as a distraction to change the conversation. As a result, Jig faces a difficult situation and decides to take a different road, literally and emotionally, than that of the American. Jig encounters herself in a moment where her lover does not agree with her keeping their unborn child and tries persuading her to abort. The reader can see that Jig is going along with the abortion becauseShow MoreRelatedThe Tell Tale Heart Analysis1295 Words   |  6 PagesPoe’s, The Tell-Tale heart? An unreliable narrator is a narrator whose credibility has been seriously compromised whether it be in literature, film or theatre. Such as providing faulty, misleading or distorted details. The narrator in this short story is the killer. We really do not get the opportunity to really know the killer such as his name and what his motive is in killing the old man. What we do learn is he displays no guilt and he is not â€Å"mad†. He also appears to be proud of what he has doneRead MoreAnalysis Of Hills Like White Elephants 1911 Words   |  8 PagesC2C Eric J Holm 10 Dec 2015 Dr. Van Nort Final Essay: â€Å"Hills Like White Elephants† Jig’s Abortion through the Historical and Textual Lens â€Å"I know you wouldn’t mind it, Jig. It’s really not anything. It’s just to let the air in† (Hemingway 213). In Ernest Hemingway’s â€Å"Hills Like White Elephants,† an abortion is debated through subtleties, similes, and symbols. The abortion is never explicitly mentioned, but instead Hemingway leaves the reader to conclude what this â€Å"simple operation† really is (213)Read MoreAnalysis Of The Story The Story Of An Hour Essay1554 Words   |  7 Pages T/R 5:40PM TO 9:00PM WOLFSON CAMP ANALYSIS OF FEMALE CHARACTERS IN â€Å"THE STORY OF AN HOUR† â€Å"HILLS LIKE WHITE ELEPHANTS† AND â€Å"THE CHRYSANTHEMUMS† JUAN FELIX CASTILLO BATISTA PROFESOR JOSEPH FALLAD This essay is an attempt to describe the females’ characters between three of the most powerful short stories I ever read. My goal is to describe and compare three different women, in their different circumstancesRead MoreAn Analysis of Moulin Rouge2590 Words   |  11 Pagesabout; straight musical and backstage musical. Straight musical refers to musical films like Grease where the film is a story (usually a romance) in which the characters sing and dance to tell the story. â€Å"The myth of spontaneity suggests that the musical is not artificial, but rather completely natural.† (Cohan, 2002, pg 38) Backstage musical is where the story is centered around performers in their own story world. As Martin Rubin said; it is the idea of a â€Å"show-within-a-show.† (Cohan, 2002, 55)Read MoreSegmentation of Mercedes2980 Words   |  12 PagesTable of Contents 1.0 Situation Analysis/Current Marketing Mix†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦...†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.3 1.1 Current Product........................................................................................................3 1.2 Current Pricing†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦...†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.4 1.3 Current Distribution†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦4 1.4 Current Promotion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..5 2.0 Segmentation Theory†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦...†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.6 2.1 Defining and Explaining Segmentation†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦...†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..........6 2.2 ExplainingRead MoreThis Tournament Goes to Eleven4982 Words   |  20 Pagessequences, while Mallivin is an infinite-dimensional one on the Wiener space and is also called the stochastic one of variations. Church and Kleene developed a formal logic known as the lambda one. In old literature it was known as infinitesimal analysis, due to the presence of quantities getting very small. For 10 points, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz and Sir Isaac Newton independently developed what branch of mathematics that utilizes limits, derivatives, and integrals? ANSWER: calculus [the dogRead MoreANALIZ TEXT INTERPRETATION AND ANALYSIS28843 Words   |  116 Pagesï » ¿TEXT INTERPRETATION AND ANALYSIS The purpose of Text Interpretation and Analysis is a literary and linguistic commentary in which the reader explains what the text reveals under close examination. Any literary work is unique. It is created by the author in accordance with his vision and is permeated with his idea of the world. The reader’s interpretation is also highly individual and depends to a great extent on his knowledge and personal experience. That’s why one cannot lay down a fixed â€Å"model†Read More Raymond Carvers Cathedral Essay6977 Words   |  28 Pages In quot;The Compartment,quot; one of Raymond Carvers bleakest stories, a man passes through the French countryside in a train, en route to a rendevous with a son he has not seen for many years. quot;Now and then,quot; the narrator says of the man, quot;Meyers saw a farmhouse and its outbuildings, everything surrounded by a wall. He thought this might be a good way to live-in an old house surrounded by a wallquot; (Cathedral 48). Due to a last minute change of heart, however, Meyers choosesRead MoreStylistic Potential of the English Noun16714 Words   |  67 Pages-30 1.5.4 Stylistic potential of the category of article determination -34 Chapter Two. Analysis of examples taken from fiction on the basis of considered theoretical phenomena -42 2.1 Analysis of the examples regarding the category of gender -43 2.2 Analysis of the examples regarding the category of number -53 2.3 Analysis of the examples regarding the category of case -55 2.4 Analysis of the examples regarding the category of article determination Read MoreMandinka Empire21578 Words   |  87 Pageswhat became English. Long before studying the Mandinka as an anthropologist in west Africa, I was exposed to their legacy in the United States through my contact with the Gullah of Saint Simons Island, Georgia, my home town. The correlation between a white minority and the Mandification of the 1 See Djinns, Stars and Warriors, Mandinka Legends from Pakao, Senegal, published by Brill Press in 2003, containing oral traditions I collected in 1972 and 1974 in the Pakao region of middle Casamance in southern

Mandatory Sentencing Free Essays

string(30) " different set of influences\." Many changes have occurred over the past three decades with regards to the sentencing systems from both the state and federal levels.   In 1975, all states and also the federal system principally relied on an indeterminate sentencing system that accorded judges wide discretion with respect to sentencing and gave parole boards practically unchecked discretion regarding the release of prisoners (Tonry Hatlesad, 1997). All jurisdictions placed great emphasis on the philosophy of tailoring sentences to reflect offenders’ characteristics. We will write a custom essay sample on Mandatory Sentencing or any similar topic only for you Order Now This strategy represented an attempt to achieve the rehabilitation of the offender. That uniform response to sentencing has disappeared; in the year 2000, there is no common philosophy or common sentencing practices across jurisdictions in America (Tonry, 1999). All states, however, have adopted statutes requiring mandatory minimum prison sentences for certain violent, drug, and property offenders. The result has been increased sentence lengths (and numbers of admissions to custody) for a wide range of offenses. This, in turn, has led to overcrowded prisons across the country. Mandatory Sentencing Despite many legislative changes regarding specific crimes, 30 states still rely primarily on an indeterminate sentencing system which incorporates parole release (Tonry, 1999). Fourteen states have eliminated early release at the discretion of a parole board for all offenders, and many more states have substantially reduced â€Å"goodtime† credits, by which prisoners may earn their early release (Ditton and Wilson, 1999). Some jurisdictions have attempted to structure sentencing through the use of presumptive or voluntary sentencing guidelines. Several states have made a conscious effort to avoid populist punitive policies by requiring legislators to consider the impact of a law on criminal justice resources. For example, before approving legislation, Louisiana legislators must consider an impact statement on how a mandatory sentencing bill would affect jury trials, plea bargaining, overcrowding in prisons, and the corrections budget (DiMascio, 1997). In stark contrast to the federal sentencing guidelines, eight states have adopted â€Å"front-end resource matching†; the resources required for the implementation of a sentencing law must be approved before the sentencing law is enacted. This focus on resource matching may create more rational sentencing and allow legislators some breathing space in which to resist intense public pressure arising from high-profile cases (Frase, 1995, p. 179). These efforts, however, are infrequent, and policies reflecting penal populism still carry the day more often than not in contemporary America. Criminal Control Truly, the complexity of the criminal justice problem is such that issues like the etiology of crime and the impact of drug addiction on criminal behavior may never be completely understood. Because of this, there is much room for the purveyors of scientific snake off to sell their wares to an unsuspecting public. Proponents of the various programs that are engineered as solutions to such problems as recidivism and crime prevention are so diverse in their political philosophies and theoretical schools as to cause the head to reel. Still, the public demands that there be answers, and politicians have mandated that they be found – and they have been. Bureaucrats and academics, professional consultants and political activists, government commissions and high-powered think tanks have all been analyzing data and constructing better programs for the alleviation of crime. Each of the many camps that have sprung up around this industry has a particular theory to espouse and a specific agenda to promote. Most of them have budgets, jobs, and political turf to protect. And whether one is trying to deflect attention away from the failure of law enforcement and its allies or pursuing failure as a means of promoting a political agenda of scapegoating the poor, nothing will achieve the goal better than the latest and most fashionable pseudoscientific technique for reducing crime. Evaluating the Criminal Justice Policy Criminological research, just as any other body of scientific knowledge, can serve ideological or bureaucratic ends just as readily as it can serve the advancement of positive social goals. Indeed, this is the entire point of Jeffrey Reiman’s Pyrrhic defeat theory. By selectively collecting and analyzing some data while ignoring others, one can frequently arrive at whatever conclusion will support the practitioner’s or researcher’s favorite theory. At the very heart of Reiman’s assessment of the American system of justice is the contention that the police focus on street crime while ignoring white-collar and corporate crime. He notes, for example, that while 9,285 members of the work force lost their lives due to crime in 1972, 100,000 of them died as the result of occupational hazards (Reiman 1979, p. 66). It is Reiman’s contention that many of the latter deaths were preventable, and thus were tantamount to negligent homicides. It is no wonder, then, he contends, that corporate interests use their influence to ensure that no legislation that would make such negligence prosecutable comes into being while, at the same time, supporting the aggressive pursuit of street gangs, burglars, and robbery suspects. Samuel Walker and the Criminal Justice Policy Samuel Walker does an excellent job of illustrating the impact of ideology on criminology and the American system of justice. In his book Sense and Nonsense About Crime and Drugs, he describes what he refers to as the conservative theology (pp. 17-19) and the liberal theology (pp. 19-20) of crime control: â€Å"Conservative crime control theology envisions a world of discipline and self-control; people exercise self-restraint and subordinate their personal passions to the common good. It is a place of limits and clear rules about human behavior. The problem with criminals is that they lack self-control† (p. 17). So goes Walker’s account of the stance of the right. He goes on to asses the position of the left on issues of crime as well: â€Å"Liberal crime control theology views the world as a large and idealized school. It explains criminal behavior in terms of social influences. People do wrong because of bad influences in the family, the peer group, or the neighborhood, or because of broader social factors, such as discrimination and lack of economic opportunity. The liberals’ solution to crime is to create a different set of influences. You read "Mandatory Sentencing" in category "Essay examples" Rehabilitation involves shaping the offender in the direction of correct behavior† (p. 19). Samuel Walker and the Mandatory Sentencing Having set the stage, Walker goes on to explain that each of these camps has set upon a quest for its own brand of success. He describes the liberal push for reforms in the area of corrections as â€Å"the story of a continuing search for the Holy Grail of rehabilitation† (p. 19). As for the conservative tendency to equate deterrence with parental discipline, he tells us that â€Å"The real world, unfortunately, does not work like family discipline† (p. 18) Walker then supports these characterizations of the liberal and conservative schools of criminology by debunking several of the programs the two sides support and the claimed successes for each. One example used by Walker is that of the mandatory sentencing programs so near and dear to the hearts of law-and-order conservatives. The state of New York’s 1973 drug law mandating lengthy prison terms is one of those examined. The law provided that convicted heroin dealers would serve minimum, mandatory prison terms ranging from one year to life for minor offenders, and fifteen years to life for major offenders (those who either sold an ounce of heroin or possessed two ounces of the substance). It was found, however, that between 1972 and 1976, â€Å"the overall percentage of arrests leading to conviction fell from 33.5 to 20 percent† (Walker 1994, p. 92). Walker points out that members of the â€Å"courtroom work group† (p. 48) (prosecutors, judges, and defense attorneys) were able to evade the intent of the law by selectively charging and dismissing the offenders. Although he concedes that there was some modest success, in that the rate of incarceration did go up for those who were convicted, the effect of the law was essentially nullified (p. 92). The claim that mandatory sentencing program are, by and large, not successful is further supported by the experiences of both the state of Florida and the federal system. Even though Florida passed mandatory sentencing laws in 1975 and 1988, no significant impact on sentencing practices has resulted. Walker again points out that such factors as judicial discretion and â€Å"good time† reduction of prison terms effectively negated the laws’ impact as an effective tool for reducing crime (pp. 87-88). The story for the federal system is similar, though it must be conceded that the length of prison terms for those convicted did increase. Walker points out that this served to greatly increase the prison population and add to overcrowding. At the same time, however, correctional officials employed a greater use of â€Å"good time† programs in an effort to ease these conditions. The result is that whatever benefit might have been realized has again been negated (p. 95). An example of how Samuel Walker explains the failure of the left to come up with the right answers to the question of how to control crime is found in his account of the Martinson Report. This 1974 criminological report by Robert Martinson resulted from a review of all of the evaluations of correctional programs that were available in English-language publications between 1945 and 1967. Walker informs us that most of this universe of data was eliminated as not bun scientifically valid, for the Martinson team found that they were lacking such vital research components as control groups or drew â€Å"questionable conclusions from the data† (p. 209). The upshot of the study was that although Martinson did find some positive results from correctional rehabilitation, he also stated that â€Å"with few and isolated exceptions, the rehabilitative efforts that have been reported so for have had no appreciable effect on rehabilitation† (pp. 208-209). Follow-up studies of the type conducted by Martinson, Walker indicates, have resulted in similar findings, fueling a long-term debate on the efficacy of rehabilitation programs. Samuel Walker makes it clear that practitioners and researchers alike are guilty of wishful thinking and of stacking the deck in favor of their individual arguments. Time and again he demonstrates that many of the so-called successes in rehabilitation have been invented rather than achieved. Closer attention to ethical decision making might have served to advance the state of criminology in these instances, just as it might aid in achieving a more effectively run police department. A brief look at two of Walker’s examples will be illustrative. Diversion is one of the programs Walker examines, and he chooses the Manhattan Court Employment Project as an example (p. 212). In this program employment services were provided to underemployed and unemployed defendants-not facing homicide, rape, kidnapping, or arson changes. Such persons were granted a delay of prosecution and could have their cases dismissed if they secured stable employment. A program evaluation conducted shortly after the project was initiated gave it high marks, including a 48.2 percent success rate and a very low cost. Later, however, another study found that recidivism was not abated and that the cost figures were misleading. Walker explains that this was due to the â€Å"net-widening syndrome,† (p. 213) a situation in which low risk offenders who would otherwise have their cases dismissed were selected for inclusion in the diversion program. The result, of course, is a skewing of statistics and the incurring of a cost that would otherwise not have been necessary. â€Å"The net-widening phenomenon suggests that the ‘old’ diversion did a better job,† writes Walker (p. 214). Walker notes that what he means by this is that district attorneys who declined to prosecute and police officers who elected not to arrest offenders for minor violations of the law did a far more cost-effective and less intrusive job of diversion than did the Manhattan Court Employment Project. Walker also takes a look at intensive probation supervision (IPS), another of the many fads to hit the rehabilitation scene. In IPS programs, probationers are closely supervised with a great number of contacts between the client and the probation officer, frequent testing of drugs, and generally much tighter restrictions on behavior and movements. Not all that surprisingly, Walker finds that such programs are not new. As evidence of this he cites the San Francisco Project, an IPS program that was put into place during the 1960s. The San Francisco Project, a federal program of intensive probation supervision, was subjected to systematic evaluation at the time. Control groups were set up, reports Walker, for the purpose of comparing the new intensive measures with more traditional and less restrictive ones. The evaluators learned that there was â€Å"no significant difference in the recidivism rates of offenders in the various groups† (p. 214). Walker points out that there are similar findings in studies of the newest wave of IPS programs. Evaluations recently conducted in California, New Jersey, and Georgia are equally disheartening. â€Å"IPS suffers from both confused goals and exaggerated promises,† he writes (p. 220). Conclusion After all, a question still remains as to what are we to make of all of these?   Confusion and a seemingly endless series of fits and starts appear to constitute our best effort at finding a solution to crime and violence.   Samuel Walker provides us with a very solid explanation in his book as he goes about the task of illustrating the significant issues that encompass the current criminal justice policy. References DiMascio, W. M. (1997). Seeking justice: Crime and punishment in America. New York: Edna McConnell Clark Foundation. Ditton, P. M., and D. J. Wilson (1999). Truth in sentencing in state prisons. Bureau of Justice Statistics: Special Report (NCJ 170032). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice. Frase, R. S. (1995). State sentencing guidelines: Still going strong. Judicature. 78(4): 173–179. Reiman, Jeffrey (1979). The Rich Get Richer and the Poor Get Prison. New York: John Wiley and Sons. Tonry, M., and K. Hatlestad, eds. (1997). Sentencing reform in overcrowded times: A comparative perspective. New York: Oxford University Press. Tonry, M. (1999). The fragmentation of sentencing and corrections in America. National Institute of Justice: Research in Brief. NCJ 175721. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice. Walker, Samuel (1994). Sense and Nonsense About Crime and Drugs: A Policy Guide. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.       How to cite Mandatory Sentencing, Essay examples

Knowledge Management System in Walmart-Free-Samples for Students

Question: Analyze the Current Knowledge Management System (KMS) in Walmart. Answer: Introduction The objective of this report is to analyze the current knowledge management system (KMS) in Walmart. Walmart is the multinational corporation in US that runs a chain of huge departmental stores as well as warehouse in various nations. It is one of the worlds biggest organizations in terms of revenue. It is also one of the biggest private employers in globe with around 2.3 million total staffs. At present, the company has numerous joint ventures in various nations and huge number of subsidiaries. Although it operates under various banners in the international stores, all of them work towards one common goal that is enabling their consumers to save the cash for living in the better way. Knowledge management system refers to the method for improving the performance in business process (Becerra-Fernandez and Sabherwal 2014). It is generally used in business organizations in some applications that include information systems, public policy and general management are few to be named. Succe ssful business organizations commit huge investments towards developing knowledge management system (KMS) within the organizations. The implementation of KMS helps them in emerging as one of the largest corporation in the world. Knowledge management system in Walmart Knowledge management system in Walmart indicates that the practices as well as strategies that are used by the company are to create and enable implementation of particular experiences. Knowledge must be organized within the organization in such a way that it becomes valuable and useful for expansion of business (Geisler and Wickramasinghe 2015). It identified four different dimensions of the KMS. These dimensions include connectedness, perspective, congruency and completeness. The innovation of knowledge is usually brought about via recognition of the existing gaps in the companys knowledge management practices. It is identified that the gaps that occur within knowledge management might hinder in developing new goods and can create difficulty in making decision and solving any problem within the organization. Hislop (2013) opines that KMS plays a vital role in the business organization as it helps them in gaining competitive advantages causing sustainability in competitive business environment. In addition, there are few models for decision making that facilitate in the knowledge management. This framework generally involves assessment and identification of alternatives by processing data as well as knowledge that is gathered until date. With the efforts of nurturing the perceptive skills of knowledge management, Wal-Mart mainly focuses on the corporations objectives that particularly include enhanced performance of business, innovation, continuous enhancement of operations, competitive advantage and business processes (Grimshaw et al. 2012). The organizations knowledge management integrates some vital issues that include formal apprenticeship, corporate libraries, professional training, discussion forums and mentoring programs. Wal-mart also employs particular adaptations of specific technologies such as knowledge bases, support systems for group decision, cooperative work that is supported by computer and intra-nets knowledge repositories. Knowledge management framework and its significance in Wal Mart stores KMS has huge significance in Wal-mart stores around the globe. Wal-marts effective program on knowledge management has enabled them to retain their competitive advantage mostly at times of bad economic conditions. It also facilitated the corporation in achieving goals by adhering to target as well as operations along with economic growth. However, economic gain owing to positive KM strategies has been achieved throughout. These KM strategies also enabled the corporation in focusing on their strategic operations of business for reducing operational cost and building shareholders value. Moreover, through differentiation, this organization has achieved success in attaining huge productivity. Nevertheless, this corporation stores have also combated several challenges for introducing numerous KM strategies. In addition, effective KM at the organizational stores hugely contributed to their financial gains on production. Due to this, Wal- Mart is now ideal for doing business as KMS improved their business operation. One of the strategies of improving KM by Wal-Mart that is improvement in employees skills helped them in encountering different challenges during bad economic condition. However, effective KM skills adopted by its stores also increased efficiency in customer care and service delivery. Proper KM in the organization had also enabled their management in solving the issues regarding the operational practices as well as making any business decision. One of the main driving forces behind the success of Wal-Mart is its sound KMS. This organization maintains awareness in changing scope as well as directions of several investment projects, which have been the vital factors to determine the best strategy that they need to adopt. Historical data reflects that failure in keeping track of the changes in KM led the company to adverse elicitation effort. Actual knowledge elicitation of Wal- Mart takes various forms, which can be classified mainly into two types such as direct method and indirect method. Direct eliciting knowledge methods occurs in collaboration with good programs that have efficiency in KM. on the other hand, indirect methods are usually improved through study or relevant information sources. However, the KM process generally leads to innovation of maps, which are given in the organizations knowledge management models. The diagram below illustrates the KM model that Wal-Mart uses in eliciting knowledge within the organiza tion Figure 1: Technology push framework of KM used by Wal- Mart (Source: Mehrabani and Shajari 2012) The above diagram reflects that KM is mainly driven by various technological systems, which are not in alignment with execution and hence is featured as technology push-model. This framework generally serves the requirements of organizational performance given proper information and lesser types of systems within particular business environment. Therefore, with unprecedented increase in information, huge variety of new technologies and rapidly changing business environment, this particular framework has outlived utility. This framework is specially attributable for inputs as well as processing drives the adoption of KM with greater emphasis on the information and business decisions (Wang and Wang 2012). It mainly relies upon only one loop automated, automatic and pre-program response for receiving stimulus. Wal-mart applies this model for enhancing the processes of creating knowledge, transfer, retrieval and application. The integration of this type of technology facilitates them in communicating with their customer and employee. Moreover, it also enhances the efficiency of the employees, which in increases overall productivity. It has been seen from the recent study that deployment of RFID (Radio frequency identification) in Wal-Mart led to lower processing cost of shipment and the lead times that resulted to safety stocks and less cycle inventory Issues relating to knowledge management system There are certain issues that knowledge currently captured in Wal- mart are Balancing data overload and useful content This is vital issue that occurs in Walmart as the increase in both size and diversity involves implicit trade-off between present content and vital information (Holtshouse 2013). Now, if utilization of system is limited to small group, then the employees might lose important input, which can be used for motivating wider participation. In addition, if the system is wider, then the risk of overloading of unrelated information may take place. Improper flow of knowledge In the KMS, improper flow of knowledge is another vital issue that can occur within this organization. When the content of knowledge is highly framed, proper effort is needed for ensuring appropriate structuring (Mehrabani and Shajari 2012). The workers are also needed to append proper keywords and data on their documents for filling out questionnaires and extensive skills. In addition, motivation is another issue as extra time and effort is required for framing contributions that is required to be allocated to job task. Long term impact of KMS Exploitation as well as exploration Another issue that has been raised in the long term effect of utilization of KMS on innovation and learning. The existing solutions bias the workers in adopting it rather than developing new solutions that might be effective (Holsapple 2013). However, reliance on the present solution might result in ability traps that restrain this companys innovation. Furthermore, KMS predisposes the employers of Walmart to the use of information that is easily available rather than implicit knowledge that might be highly intensive in accessing account of that knowledge. Additionally, implementation of new technology in Wal -Mart generates new kind of problems and challenges. Some of the employees in this organization face difficulties in adopting with this technology and this adversely affects the organizational performance. However, some knowledge is also lost due to employees defection (Liebowitz and Frank 2016). Furthermore, improper budgeting in adopting KMS led to excessive costs of this corporation. Apart from this, the uniqueness that this corporation adopts in context of KM also creates difficulty for the traditional systems that is to be applied. However, the nature of adjustment needed to traditional deployment methods in this context of KM has been the vital problem that occurred within the corporation. Recommendations on improvement in knowledge management system in walmart Although Walk-Mart has met its target and balance operations with the growth of the economy owing to these KM strategies, there are few recommendations on improvement in KMS that Wal-Mart must follow to achieve economic gain. These recommendations are given below: Wal- Mart invests huge money in adopting new technology for dealing with huge sales and track total production (Wu 2012). Therefore, it is suggested that the company must order their suppliers to provide them microchips for RFID in order to improve the system that is created by bar codes. It is suggested that Wal- Mart must adopt DSS (decision support system resources) in order to improve the productivity of individual employees. As it is a web based knowledge repository, it will help this corporation in improving decision quality and solve the problem in less time. It will also facilitate Wal- Mart in increasing control within the organization (Grimshaw et al. 2012). Wal-Mart should recruit skilled workers so that they have the ability in adopting with the new technology and increase their efficiency. It is recommended that the Wal- Mart should provide incentives or bonus to the employees for knowledge sharing in order to make KMS successful within the organization. Conclusion From the above discussion, it can be concluded that knowledge management system improves the performance of the organization. It also improves team effectiveness as well as delivery of outcomes. At Wal- Mart stores, KMS is used for solving the conflicts within the organization. Moreover, integration of KMS helps them in enhancing communication within the company. As a part of KM, HRM (human resource management) strategies in Wal- Mart are also used for managing their business activities through employees coordination. 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