Federal and State Sentencing Essay

In 1998 the District of Columbia Sentencing and Criminal Code Revision Commission was charged with developing a comprehensive structured sentencing system for the District. The Commission concluded that the District could benefit from a comprehensive structured sentencing system. Next, the Commission embarks the difficult task of creating workable sentencing guidelines for felonies. As Washington, DC follows the lead of other jurisdictions as well as an earlier effort in the District, the Commission developed two grids: one for drug cases and one for all other cases in the direction of the dominant factors in sentencing: the offense of conviction and the criminal history of the offender. The Commission also established standards for departing from the recommended prison ranges in extraordinary cases, rules for imposing concurrent or consecutive sentences, along with adjustments and exceptions to sentencing. Together, the grids, standards, rules, adjustments and exceptions form the Voluntary Sentencing Guidelines for the District of Columbia. (ACS, 2012-pg.9) Sentencing for a felony conviction is usually heard by the judge/court in a separate hearing which is held several days or weeks after the verdict. There is so many types of offenders with varied backgrounds and criminal histories that the act of sentencing them is one of the most stressful and complex decisions made by judges. (Champion, D., Hartley, R. & Rabe, Gary. 2008, 2002). At the felony sentencing hearing, the prosecution makes a recommendation of punishment, and the defendant usually argues for leniency. The Supreme Court’s decisions that struck down state and federal criminal sentencing guidelines have caused a cascade of prediction of disaster. Shephard shows  in his study how sentencing guidelines have actually increased crime and not decreased crime. It has also been shown that in a landmark Blakely and Booker decisions, the Supreme Court had found that Washington State and federal sentencing system violated the Sixth Amendment and has identified nine other states whose regimes may also be unconstitutional (ACS, 2012-pg.9). Some guidelines were deemed invalid because they allowed the judge to determine factual issues during the sentencing that should have been decided by a jury. References ACS, (2012). Voluntary Sentencing Guidelines Manual. Retrieved, Feb. 22, 2015, from DC Sentencing and Criminal Code Revision Commission (Formerly Office of Advisory Commission on Sentencing): http://acs.dc.gov/acs/frames.asp?doc=/acs/lib/acs/pdf/2012_Voluntary_Sentencing_Guidelines_Manual.pdf Champion, D., Hartley, R. & Rabe, Gary, (2008, 2002). Sentencing and Appeals: Chapter Ten p.405, Criminal Courts: Structure, Process, and Issues -Second Edition, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

Business Ethics Essay

INTRODUCTION There are decisions made every day in the business world, some big, some small. The biggest struggle professionals face when making these decisions are the ethical consequences they face. Every decision that is made is going to have an impact on at least one person, no matter the size of the decision. And there are ethical consequences to all decisions. In the following paper I will be comparing Maslow’s Stages of Behavior and Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development with ethical and unethical behaviors of businesses and society. Both Maslow and Kohlberg have established a hierarchy of either behavior or moral development. I will take both of these hierarchies and apply them to the behavior of business and society, as well as including service-to-self and service-to-others concepts. BACKGROUND (MASLOW & KOHLBERG) Before we can discuss how Malsow and Kohlberg play a role in ethical and unethical behaviors in business and society, it is necessary to understand the values of these theories, beginning with Maslow’s Stages of Behavior. Malsow presents these stages in a hierarchical format, beginning with the lowest order, up to the highest level. The first level is physiological needs, followed by safety, love/belonging, esteem, and finally reaching the highest level of self-actualization. 1 In this hierarchy the first level is usually achieved before reaching the second level, and this continues along the hierarchy. Therefore, the ultimate level of reaching self-actualization isn’t usually achieved until all lower levels have been reached and in a sense, conquered. Similar to this theory is Kohlberg’s stages of moral development. Kohlberg’s theory also states that the stages are reached in an order and one must be reached before the next, but can stop at any point, so that the highest level is not attainable by everyone. 2 Kohlberg’s stages of moral development consist of three levels and six stages. The first level is Pre-conventional morality (stages 1-2): Obedience and Punishment, Individualism and Exchange. The second level is Conventional morality (stages 3-4): Good Interpersonal Relationships, and Maintaining the Social Order. The third level is Post-conventional morality (stages 5-6): Social Contract and Individual rights, and Universal principles.3 FOCUS ON UPPER LEVELS For both Maslow and Kohlberg there is a heavy emphasis on reaching the final stage or level. Reaching the self-actualization stage of Maslow’s stages shows that one has fully developed behavior, and moral behavior. Reaching the final stage of universal principles of Kohlberg’s stages shows that one has fully developed morally, very similar to Maslow. For Maslow’s stages a person is capable of reaching this final stage and then regressing back to lower stages.4Usually reaching this higher stage is only temporary and is seen as peak experience.4 This could be in a sort of out of body experience. But once someone has reached this stage, it usually impacts them for the rest of their life, and they do not immediately go back down to lower levels. This stage could also be called, or is known as having integrity.5 This integrity is for oneself and for others, including â€Å"a total commitment to the highest standards of behavior†. 5 This is where ethical and moral reasoning and behavior comes into play. People who have reached or have experienced the highest level of Maslow are going to act morally and ethically in their behavior. The last stage of Kohlberg is universal principles. This stage â€Å"defines the principles by which we achieve justice†. 6 To me this stage entitles treating everyone with dignity. This reminds me of the integrity involved in the highest stage of Maslow. In this stage every human being is given equal respect and is treated with the highest dignity. People who have reached the highest stage of Maslow would not vote for a law or agree with anything that causes some harm to others while helping the majority.6 ETHICAL AND UNETHICAL BEHAVIOR Now that the theories and stages of Maslow and Kohlberg have been discussed, it is necessary to see how these stages play a part in making either ethical or unethical decisions in the workplace and in society. The first example to take a look at is the behavior of students cheating in school. This is a common example, but it could easily be applied to employees stealing from a company, or anyone taking shortcuts in life to get ahead. Many people would agree that cheating would correlate to students with less moral and ethical values. During a study by Kohlberg, it was seen that 70% of the students on the pre-conventional level have been found to cheat.7 The pre-conventional level indicates that people are not fully morally developed. These people seem to lack moral development, and therefore will act unethically. The people at these lower levels do not have the respect and dignity for others that the upper level people do. Because this is the case they are more willing to cheat, and don’t feel guilty for what they are doing. This can easily be transpired into the business world. People cheat and steal money because they have no respect or dignity for the people that they are affecting. They will not take into consideration all of the stakeholders at risk because of their actions. Take for example, Bernie Madoff and the scandal at Enron. This is a case famous across many business environments, for unethical behavior that caused harm to many stakeholders. No one would disagree that Madoff was a very savvy and smart business man. But, because of his actions he would fall into a lower level of Maslow. SERVICE TO SELF AND OTHERS People who have reached the highest level of Maslow (peakers, we will call them), and those who have achieved the highest level of development Kohlberg presents will have a service-to-others attitude. These people are less materialistic, and are more socially concerned.8 There seems to be a correlation between people in upper level Maslow who have higher levels of ethical development, and those who are in the upper stage of Kohlberg and have higher levels of moral development.8 This correlation also relates to how these people treat those who are around them. They are not self-centered and are instead focused on the well being of everyone around them. As mentioned before, they seem to be concerned with giving every human being the respect and dignity that they deserve. If someone is concerned with the way that they are treating others, this is seen as a moral consideration. And if they are concerned with how well they are treating themselves, it is seen as a non-moral consideration.8 So, those who are focused on service-to-others instead of service-to-self are more likely to belong to the higher levels of Maslow and Kohlberg. Those who are more concerned with themselves and have a service-to-self attitude; they are stuck in the lower levels. They are still trying to achieve the basic needs that Maslow sets out. HOW IT ALL FITS INTO AN ORGANIZATION The most difficult part about these two theories, are what they have to do with an organization, how employers can utilize this information to better motivate their employees, and people are going to treat themselves and others within the levels of Maslow and Kohlberg. One of the biggest examples of this, are how these theories can be incorporated into a non-profit organization. These organizations would be more known for their ethical behavior than most other companies. These companies can obtain an ethical culture by following and paying attention to the hierarchy of values that Maslow proposed.9 Maslow noted that in order to achieve the highest value the previous needs have to have been met. If a company takes this into consideration than they should make sure the lower needs of the employees are being met, if they expect them to behave ethically. This leads to an ethical culture. In the article that discusses this they translate the individual levels of Maslow into levels that an organization should achieve. These levels or needs are financial competence, accountability, reciprocity, respect, and integrity.9 They feel that in order to employees to attain the ethical values and culture that is wanted, the lower needs must first be met. This may include wage benefits and giving employees more responsibility to begin with. Eventually employees will feel a sense of respect from the employer and will work their way up to level 5. If all of the employees at this company are at the level 5, then they have an ethical culture. This is a way to apply the theories of Maslow and Kohlberg into an organization, even if is a for profit company, and achieve the ethical culture that is desired. CONCLUSION To sum up, Maslow and Kohlberg have developed a hierarchy of needs and stages of moral development, respectively. It is possible to use these models to understand the ethical and unethical behavior of people in businesses and in society. There is a focus on achieving self-actualization and universal principles. If someone has reached this level of self-actualization it transforms their identity, and they are more apt to act morally and ethically. In the same sense, those who are in the universal principle level of Kohlberg, treat all humans with the respect, integrity, and dignity that they deserve. The people in these upper levels are also known to have a service-to-others attitude, instead of service-to-others. Lastly, companies can use this information to make sure the basic needs of their employees are being met, in order to achieve an ethical corporate culture. ENDNOTES 1. SADRI, GOLNAZ, and R. CLARKE BOWEN. 2011. â€Å"Meeting EMPLOYEEE requirements: Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is still a reliable guide to motivating staff.† Industrial Engineer: IE 43, no. 10: 44-48. 2. Walker, Lawrence J. 1982. â€Å"The Sequentiality of Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development.† Child Development 53, no. 5: 1330-1336., 1330-1336. 3. W.C. Crain. (1985). Theories of Development. Prentice-Hall. 4. Christopher, John Chambers, Guy J. Manaster, Robert L. Campbell, and Michael B. Weinfeld. 2002. â€Å"Peak Experiences, Social Interest, and Moral Reasoning: An Exploratory Study.† Journal Of Individual Psychology 58, no. 1: 35 5. Strickland, Ruth Ann, and Shannon K. Vaughan. 2008. â€Å"The Hierarchy of Ethical Values in Nonprofit Organizations.† Public Integrity 10, no. 3: 233-235 6. W.C. Crain. (1985). Theories of Development. Prentice-Hall. 7. Emerci, Çetin. 2006. â€Å"THE OPINIONS OF MEDICINE FACULTY STUDENTS REGARDING CHEATING IN RELATION TO KOHLBERG’S MORAL DEVELOPMENT CONCEPT.† Social Behavior & Personality: An International Journal 34, no. 1: 41-49 8. Christopher, John Chambers, Guy J. Manaster, Robert L. Campbell, and Michael B. Weinfeld. 2002. â€Å"Peak Experiences, Social Interest, and Moral Reasoning: An Exploratory Study.† Journal Of Individual Psychology 58, no. 1: 35 9. Strickland, Ruth Ann, and Shannon K. Vaughan. 2008. â€Å"The Hierarchy of Ethical Values in Nonprofit Organizations.† Public Integrity 10, no. 3: 233-235

Can rejecting a job offer actually elevate your career

Can rejecting a job offer actually elevate your career Imagine going through the grueling process of creating your resume, optimizing your LinkedIn profile, applying to dozens of jobs, and going on a handful of interviews to finally be offered the job – only to turn it down! Are you insane? Why would anyone ever decline a job offer after going through all this? Maybe the salary wasn’t up to par. Perhaps the vacation time didn’t start for a year after you began. You may have found during the lengthy interview process that you just weren’t feeling the company’s culture. You may have even accepted a better job offer. But is it bad to decline offers? Will this hurt your career? Not necessarily. Rejecting a job offer may actually help elevate your career. Sharpens your negotiation skillsOne of the main reasons candidates turn down job offers is due to salary discrepancies. Unfortunately, you really can’t discuss how much you’ll be paid during your first interview before any job offer was extend ed. You may have only seen a salary range from the job description or perhaps no salary was listed at all.You went on the company’s multiple interview process expecting to make a certain amount but ended up being offered much less. Now is the perfect opportunity to negotiate your salary! Negotiating your salary is something that can improve your career and forces you to know what you’re worth in your industry. Knowing how to negotiate your salary during the interview will benefit you when you’re up for a promotion and want to negotiate your raise.Improves your interview skillsTurning down a job offer opens you up to interview at other places. Regardless of the rapid expansion of technology today, interviewing is a skill that isn’t going away anytime soon. Knowing how to effectively speak with different types of employers, who all have their own unique methods, will significantly increase your confidence and make you comfortable with the process. As a bonu s, the more interviewing you do will not only make you a better interviewee with other companies but will make you a better interviewer if you’re a manager and need to recruit new talent.Leaves the door open for better opportunitiesIn today’s digital world with companies and job boards regularly posting positions online, there are always opportunities out there, even during recessions. It’s not uncommon for professionals and executives to routinely go on interviews just to get a feel for what’s out there. They may initially have no intention of accepting the job offer if extended, but just seeking better opportunities and feeling the pulse of the current job market in their industry is invaluable.Makes you a more attractive candidateThe Chronicle of Higher Education published an article that showed interest from one company can serve as a leverage point or negotiation for another company. This is especially true when you’re in a specialized field w ith a select number of qualified candidates. I once worked as an executive recruiter where there was a frenzy in search of plastic injection molding engineers. These specialists were very difficult to find, and many companies were competing with one another to try and hire them. The plastic injection molding engineers would routinely decline offers, which only made them more appealing. Talk about a specialized field with a small talent pool!Teaches you how to say â€Å"no†Learning how to say no is an often-underrated but invaluable skill. Many CEO’s and top-level executives attend leadership training sessions to learn how to strategically say â€Å"no,† which has shown to enhance their abilities to work more efficiently since they’re constantly bombarded with proposals.One thing that’s essential when declining a job offer and saying â€Å"no† is to respond quickly to the job offer and be honest and polite. People will respect your honesty be cause it requires a lot of courage and takes responsibility. Learning to say no will sharpen your focus and keep you from making unnecessary mistakes because you may have been too polite to just say â€Å"no.†In the end, if you have any doubts about a position, then it clearly wasn’t meant to be. You’ll feel better knowing you made the right decision and that your gut was telling you the offer just wasn’t right. This newfound attitude will allow you to go after the job you’ve always wanted and push you to elevate your career goals. Being decisive and not regretting your decisions are characteristics of success. Trust your judgment, and you just might be surprised where your career path will take you.About the Author: Maria Gold is currently a Content Manager/Writer for Empire Resume. She is dedicated to helping educate people with the latest career articles and job search advice. When Maria is not working, she enjoys reading and spending quality ti me with her family.

Daimler Chrysler Essays

Daimler Chrysler Essays Daimler Chrysler Essay Daimler Chrysler Essay Julie I. Gonzalez DaimlerChrysler AG: A Decade of Global Strategic Challenges Leads to Divorce in 2007 The DaimlerChrysler merger of 1998 was accepted with anticipation of greatness by analysts, stockholders, and the auto industry. Both companies had a global presence and combined heralded a revenue of 154 billion and 5. 6 billion in profit, combined. However, this merger ended up in divorce due to cross-cultural problems, production and manufacturing glitches, competition, lack of demand, , and incompatible brand portfolios. On the Hofstede dimension, Germans rank very high on individualism. They are conservative and value privacy, politeness and formality. Individualism is not conducive to a combined effort. This need for individualism as a culture affected the overall efforts to combine knowledge and skills. Daimler employees were competitive and resented the Chrysler division. Efforts and goals were not combined and there was a lack of synergy. One of the reasons for the merger was to combine their operations, share Ramp;D know-how and joint sales. As a result of the lack of cooperation there were production manufacturing glitches. Manufacturing was not properly streamlined. Both companies had very different methods of manufacturing and production. There was no learning from one another or implementation of each other’s best practices. Competition in the auto industry is always tense. Toyota, for instance was the most efficient manufacturer and quality and consumer satisfaction. DaimlerChrysler’s goal was to become a major global player. These goals were not realized duet other challenges Daimler branded vehicles faced in maintaining their position as a luxury and quality tradition and Chrysler facing issues of safety. Chapter 7 lists the guidelines for a successful alliance. The number one factor is choosing a partner with compatible strategic goals and objectives with whom the alliance will result in synergies through the combined markets, technologies, and management cadre. They did share the same goal having a global presence, having a broad product range and technology leadership. However, these goals did not result in synergy, a mutually successful bond. The merger plan was to combine two very different brand portfolios. Daimler-Benz targets the upscale market while the Chrysler targets the low end/sub-compact market. Lack of demand also hindered the success of the DaimlerChrysler merger. Customer demand for Chryslers gas guzzling SUV’s and Daimlers expensive luxury vehicles was down due to the state of the economy. In May of 2007 DaimlerChrysler demerged. The merger was a failure and as a result Daimler lost big. How could this failure have been avoided? One could reason that clashing of the two cultures is something that is without solution. However, as we have seen with the Renault-Nissan alliance, two cultures that clash and on paper look impossible can be very successful. Negotiations were formal. Less formal, more personal negotiations between the German and American executives with an impartial mediator could have offered better solutions to issues before the actual merger took place. It appears to me that the merger went through rather prematurely without actual solutions to problems that they may actually face once combining the two companies. Issues such as how to properly merge the two brands, how to foster compliance in learning each other’s best practices. I believe that a successful alliance begins with leadership. A more effective leadership that is non-biased or without prejudice would be more successful. The resentment of Chrysler by Daimler should have been addressed. All employees not on board for the common good of the two companies should have been let go or moved to a different position. Lastly, the auto economy was suffering, and the consumer demand for luxury or gas guzzling vehicles was low. There was a lack of innovation during the post merger period. Innovation was not even discussed during the premerger negotiations. New vehicles aimed at what the customers were actually demanding may have allowed this union to have been a successful one.

Absent Joining Chain Effect on Immune Response

Absent Joining Chain Effect on Immune Response Critical Review of a Journal Kallberg, E. and Leanderson, T., 2006. Joining-chain (J-chain) negative mice are B cell memory deficient. European Journal of Immunology, 36, 1398-1403. Overview The journal article falls under the main subject area of cellular immune response, where the effect of the absence of joining chain locus on T- cell dependent immune responses on mice was explored. While the authors’ previous study establishes the production of impaired IgM secretion from mice with inactivated joining chain locus, (Erlandsson, et.al., 20010), this particular study further investigated such findings in detail by determining the exact genetic background of the mice. Thus, this particular study aimed to further validate the authors’ previous findings on early crosses of mice with absent joining chain and its concomitant effect on T-cell dependent immune response. The T- cell dependent B cell responses were analyzed using four experiments, namely: the immune response t o the hapten 4-hydroxy-3-nitrophenyl and chicken gamma globulin (NP-CGG); analysis of the ratio between NP-specific ÃŽÅ¡ and ÃŽ » antibodies; analysis of somatic mutations, and carrier priming experiment. It was found that mice with absent joining chain loci are deficient in â€Å"T helper cell activation during T cell –dependent B cell immune responses†, (Kallberg and Leanderson, 2006). This study was aptly technically described and appeals to an audience in the medical field such as immunologists, physicians, laboratory and clinical directors, etc. It consists of the following format: abstract, introduction, results, discussion, materials and methods, acknowledgements and references. Introduction The title appropriately indicates the effect of J-chain deficiency on B memory, which is the focal point of this study. Its well structured abstract completely and vividly presented the major points and the conclusion of the study. The objective, which can be found in the la tter part of the introduction, however, was not clearly identified in the abstract and the text, but needs to be carefully ascertained by the reader. Results The experimental results of the four experiments produced findings that correlate to and support the hypothesis of the study, i.e., J -/- mice have compromised T-cell dependent immune response. The specific findings are as follows: Joining- chain deficient mice have compromised secondary immune response to 4-hydroxy-3nitrophenyl. Although J -/- mice responded in the same way with the control group during the analysis of serum IgG anti-NP at all time points, there was a wide difference observed on after the 14 th day point, which was clearly supported and plotted in the graph (Figure1). After the secondary response to NP-CGG, it was found that the recall response in mice without joining chain loci are lower than the control animals, which was further correlated to a lower number of B memory cells. All raw data of the resu lts pertaining to these findings were well supported by graphs (figures1-3). Mice without joining-chain have inefficient repertoire switch Results showed that only 30% of the NP-binding antibodies in J -/- mice were expressed, while 90% of the antibodies of the control animals were expressed, confirming the negative effect of the joining chain on the efficiency of T-cell immune responses. This was supported by a bar graph of the results and a graphical illustration of the NP expression on splenic B memory cells.

Summary essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Summary - Essay Example In short, he says that Second World War was everything that war is: uncertain, costly, violent, and also an arena for the best and worst of the human behavior. In the first chapter, â€Å"myth making and the war†, Dr. Michael sets out the myth, as defined by government propaganda, Hollywood dramatization, advertisement agencies as well as those who took part and fought in the war. Adams described the war as America’s golden age, a point in life of society when everything worked out perfectly, and people got prosperous endings. The World War II era came to serve as a bygone age that America once was. The Americans believe that the Second World War proved one rule above all the others, i.e. It is usually better to fight than to talk (Adams, 4). The war myth is altered not much in what it mentions as in what it does not mention. This applies both to the war itself and also to the home front (Adams, 7). In the second chapter, â€Å"no easy answers,† starts the process of breaking down the myth and indicating that the circumstances that led up to the Second World War began way long before Versailles’ treaty, and the divisions of the war will last longer than the era that fought it. Michael puts down the frame of the complex economical, cultural and political histories of each nation that would become involved in the World War II and shows no point one decision would prevent the war from taking place. He further argues that no substantial effect could have happened in Europe as well as Asia; hence indeed there were no easy answers (Adams, 12). The third Chapter, â€Å"the war patterns, 1939-1945† puts down the way in which each country fought the war with new speeds and technologies and made possible by the remoteness of the enemies (Adams, 45). The forth chapter, â€Å"American war machine,† indicates how the tools and machines were made and sent into the battles. In this chapter, Adams demonstrates how the

Minimum Wage in WA Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Minimum Wage in WA - Coursework Example The Supreme Court in the U.S. ruled out various attempts brought forth by labor unions in the view of establishing a minimum wage that would be mandatory for all employers. The court insisted that such a move would restrict the right of the worker to create a price value for his or her own labor. As a result, the workers continued to face exploitation from their employees throughout the 1930s when the Great Depression was at its peak. The employee wages dropped lower during the same period in response to the increased demand for jobs (Rayback, 2008). Due to the increase in national poverty, President Roosevelt vowed to offer protection to the workers through the constitution during his 1936 campaigns (Rayback, 2008). The president kept his promise when he went into office by assenting to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and signing it into law in 1938. The minimum wage had been instituted by the congress in 1938 as a component of the Fair Labour Standards Act (FLSA) with the minimum wage set at 25 cents for every hour. The last change in the national minimum wage occurred in 2007, where it was increased in steps by the congress from $5.15 to $7.25 per hour in 2009. However, different states, including Washington, have established their own local systems of minimum wage, which is higher than the rate established by the federal government. Case in point, Washington offers the highest rate of the minimum wage at $9.47 per hour. The table below shows the changes in the Washington State minimum wage since 1961 (Washington Sate Dep artment of Labor and Industries, 2015). In terms of inflation based buying power, there have been considerable variations in the minimum wage for the last over sixty years. In 2013, it averaged at $6.60 per hour in terms of purchasing power in dollars (Sherk, 2013). Nevertheless, it had ranged between $3.09 per hour as exhibited in