Four hours with the CSPD Essay Example for Free

Four hours with the CSPD Essay I want to express my gratitude and share my ride-a-long experience. The first thing I had to do was contact the Colorado Springs Stetson Hills Area Command to schedule my ride-along. I read the departments ride-along program policy and I received instructions on what I had to do to fulfill the necessary program requirements. Once the initial paperwork was done, a few signatures, a waiver and a criminal background check, I was ready to go. On the day of my ride-along while in the waiting room I met another person who was on a ride-along for class credit as well. After newly hour of waiting I finally met my officer. The officer that was chosen to allow me to ride-along was a female officer. Following her introduction we headed out to the Charger. I was giving a walkie-talkie with an earpiece so that I could listen to the communication from the dispatch. We entered the vehicle, buckled up and started on our way. In the cruiser the officer had logged into her laptop to check her files and looked at any updates on her calls. I was informed that my experience would vary just as much as the calls that the officers went out on from day to day. Some of my responsibilities were that I had to be self-sufficient, be able to think ahead, have the ability to know where I was and most importantly enjoy myself. Our first call was about an attempted shoplifting at a Safeway store. I had the opportunity to drive around the neighborhood and see homes were suspected criminal activity was believed to be. We also responded to a runaway from home. The last thing we did was make a traffic stop for an expired license plate registration. The great thing about the day was that I was able to ask her questions about how police procedures work and how they operate. My hope after this experience is that more people will carry themselves in the manner I observed during my ride-along and recognize what an asset and a delight our officers are to our city. I am now a huge fan of law enforcement because all the officers I saw or had contact with were kind, helpful and efficient. They often work alone, in remote areas. What was interesting to me was the amount of conservation the Officer engaged in. It was revealed through the ride-a-long that Officers do much more than enforce laws. An Officers job is much more than writing tickets. They conduct ongoing public relations. What a wonderful experience for me to see officers respond to incidents involving citizens and watch them handle situations in the same way I believe I would. I now have a completely different outlook and understanding of what our men and women in law enforcement must do every day to keep us safe. I was very impressed with the way they all conducted themselves while performing their duties. They were professional and tactful in the way he interacted with the people they had contact with throughout my ride-along. Each person was treated with the same level of respect. Watching the officer perform her duties made me feel completely safe as she showed complete competence. I found this experience to be informative and I saw a side of law enforcement that most of us never see. I recommend that others in our community spend time with our officers, as I did. My ride alone ended up after four hours and it was certainly eye-opening experience. I sympathize so much with the police officers now. Also I think that everyone should go do a ride-along program at least once in their lifetime, it will change the way you think about them. By the time we finished, I didnt witness any arrests or have the opportunity to blow through any red lights with blaring sirens but I was still impressed. For me it was a pretty fulfilling shift. I got to participate in the Colorado Springs Police Departments Ride-along program and I got to ride shotgun with one of the Springs finest. She even offered to let me stay on until her shift ended if I wanted to. The officer said that this ride-along was a pretty run-of-the-mill shift. Fortunately, there was no major violence during my ride. My hope, after this experience, is that more people will do a ride-along and recognize what an asset and a delight our officers are to our city.

The success of the novotel hotel chain

The success of the novotel hotel chain Novotel is one of the worlds major hotel chains, occupying a leading place in Europe and with locations globally. Started in 1967 by Paul Dubrule and Gerard Pelisson, they expanded their empire by building new hotels and buying other hotel chains. Novotel merger with Jacques Borel hotel and its restaurant groups in 1983 saw the group renamed Accor. Currently, Accor employs over 145,000 people and operates in 132 countries. Within hospitality industry Accor operates more than 2100 hotels with over 2 million rooms and more than 53,000 employees in this sector (Novotel: p3) This report analyses Novotels change management programme in the early 1990s which was outlined in three major parts:- Firstly, case study has the summary of the actions that managers took in terms of strategy and organisation. Secondly, the consideration of the sequence and timing of events, and how this resulted in rapid transformation in an organisation employing more than 30,000 people. Third, the emphasize in dialogue nature of the change processes, giving an inside stories from those who have taken part in the process. This gives a nice picture of what went right and what went wrong and the action to manage implementation of change. I have outlined the analysis in the following parts, ciritical evaluation of models of innovation and change management, the evaluations of key triggers of change and the likely sources of resistance to change, and then I have outlined a challenges which managers face during change management, and lastly, I have developed conclusions and recommendations to move Novotel forward, these recommendations based on my analysis. 2 Innovation and Change (Hotel business): _ [ evaluation of alterative models of innovation and change management ] Although much has been written about managing change in large private and public companies, very little has been written about managing change in an ever-changing hospitality and hotel industry in particular. The ability to effectively manage and embrace change is so of great benefit to todays hotelier. And, to successfully intact and overcome change, Hotels need to have specific attitudes and set of skills to go about change and planning for that inevitable change. In the case study, Novotel has adopted a competitive strategy that includes reducing costs of operations (Novotel: p.25). That is to say, their business strategy is cost leadership and persuading this business strategy requires being open to ideas and that it responds quickly and flexibly to the ideas that re-present opportunities for potential revenue growth (Blumentritt, 2004). Firms can compete on price or differentiation (Porter, 1980; 1985), Novotel can be non-price attributes include its brand, reputation and service. On the other hand, there are different types of innovations, the first type is Incremental innovation, this modestly improves a firms processes or services or it can be used in fine-tuning its business model, i.e. the way it creates value for its customers. Radical innovation significantly improves existing products and services or completely replaces them with new ones. Radical innovation occurs less frequently than incremental innovation partly because most organisations do not have the technical and human resources required for radical innovation, and because radical innovation happens so quickly organisations are not prepared for the risks and uncertainty which comes with this type of innovation. It should be noted that, Innovation is not a competitive strategy in itself, but it is used to enhance any competitive strategy once the strategy has been designed. If the strategy involves increasing the rate at which new products or services are introduced, then innovation can impact the firm in more than one or different ways. 2.1. The change process and methodologies Over the last 20 years the speed and scale of organisational change have accelerated and there has been a significant increase in the number of approached to change management. There are several forms of change in an organisation, some forces and others deliberate. The Strategic Change Initiative (organisational change process) Fig. 1 A Model of the change process, Boddy 2005 The first type if change is, systematic change is slower, less ruthless, more focused and more carefully constructed and timed. There are different approaches to systematic change such as: quality improvement, work reprogramming, benchmarking, and strategic planning. The nature of these approaches can be overly formalised and so stifle initiative in the organisation (Huy,Q. and Mintzberg, H.2003). Another type is, Organic change, this type of change is done internally in the organisation or other words it seems to ascend from the ranks without being formally managed. The problem with the organic approach is groups within organisation may begin to work at cross-purposes and this will result in scramble over resources, yet its outcome can be dramatic. Planned change is an iterative, recurring, process which involves analysis, action and evaluation, and further action and evaluation. It is an approach which maintains that once change has taken place, it must be self-sustaining to maint ain the momentum. This means that, all change agents or stakeholder i.e organisation, managers and recipients jointly diagnose the organisations problem and jointly plan and design the specific changes (Burnes, B. 2003). Another type is emergent change which is a continuous process of experiment and adaptation aimed at matching organisations capabilities to the needs and dictates of an energetic and uncertain environment. This type of change is achieved through a number of small to medium scale incremental changes. Another type is, dramatic change is frequently initiated in times of crisis or of great opportunity when power is concentrated and there is great stakes to be controlled. Mintzberg (2003) argues that unlike the phoenix of mythology, which could rise from its own ashes but once every 500 years, companies cannot continue to rely solely upon the mythical promise of dramatic re-emergence. 3. NOVOTEL: Change Management Programme From Kurt Lewins work (appendix 1) in the 1940s to the present day, organisational change, as a systematic process, has become the core and part of organisational life. Change in organisations does not have to be dramatic or far reaching, Stickland (1998) notes, sometimes change is incremental and hardly noticed: a new piece of equipment or software is introduced or a person leaves and somebody new joins the organisation. Sometimes change is large and dramatic: a complete re-organisation, a merger or a take-over, and no one and nothing in the organisation is unaffected (Stickland 1998:298). The recent economic crisis has provided a sense of urgency that helped organizations everywhere to successfully implement changes that would have been difficult if otherwise. Various cultural and structural factors have a direct effect on the very success of the organisation. These are highlighted when an organisation attempts to redefine itself, to change their image in an attempt to maintain or enhance their capabilities (Gratton, 1999). In Novotels case, they were forced because of plummeting annual profits and in response they adopted a competitive strategy that includes reducing their operational costs and also reduce service prices in the hope of increasing their hotels occupancy (Novotel: p.23). Being more innovative in this way also requires being open to ideas from previously untapped sources inside and outside of the company, and designing a firm that responds quickly and flexibly to the ideas that represent opportunities for potential revenue growth (Blumentritt, 2004). 3.1 Key triggers of change Reason which can trigger change can be listed as internal Triggers (i.e. New staff, Conflict, Sales /profit drops, De-motivation, Skills gap, Loss of key staff) and External Triggers (i.e. Economy, Supply, Government policies, Competitors, Funders, Customers, Shareholders, Media, Public and technology ) These triggers for change can be are analyzed using various managerial tools which are available in order to gain an essential understanding of the environment, both external and internal: A PESTEL analysis: this tool has five dimensions which are political, economic, social, technological, environmental, legal. It is used to pick up factors in the local or micro, and national or macro contexts that managers need to take account of. Another tool is, STAKEHOLDER analysis this is a cultural or values audit that provides an understanding of some of the people factors over and beyond a resource audit. A Third tools, SWOT analysis this is a simple approach which measures strengths, weakness, opportunities, and threats. It provides a structure in which to lay out the need and the readiness of the organization for change. As previously mentioned, a change in competitive strategy is likely if the firm faces loss of customers, lack of pricing power or shrinking profit margins like in the case of Novotel (Novotel : p.12). Beckhard and Dyer (1983) point out that another important change trigger is simply strategic choice on the part of existing management team. Some ways this may occur through strategic planning, interaction with customers, competitors, etc., and gut instinct that a new market or product is worth pursuing. This type of trigger is much more generative and proactive than reacting to the environment or working to maintain alignment. Regardless of which of these many triggers initiate the change process, there are several key activities that can facilitate a successful change implementation (see appendix 4). Furthermore, I have put together a way to successful implement change from managers perspective in section 3.3. 3.2 Sources of resistance to change Initially after the change has been effected, there is resistance to change, these resistances can be grouped in different categories such as, Individual (i.e. fear of failure, ignorance, status loss, inertia, role loss) or Team (social loafing, pairing, lack of openness), can be organisational, (board members/top management, culture, structure, huge costs, limited resources, contracts or beliefs) or External factors such as (investors, suppliers, regulators, media, politics or collaborators.) As Kotter and Schlesinger (1979) emphasized, despite the risk of resistant behaviours have been acknowledged by many experienced managers, very few of them tend to take time to systematically analyze situations in terms of determining potential individuals who may resist change with different reasons. Firstly, one of the most obvious reasons for people to resist change initiatives has been the feeling that new circumstances will damage staff self interest. Also, , Employees can face increased levels of anxiety or fear from changes or proposed changes in the work environment. The term self interest entails a political meaning which refers to power relations with in the organization. In other words, new ideas about the way employees work usually impacts relations between different individual groups. Salaman (2000) argues that organisational employees actively strive to avoid and divert control; they seek to maximise their own interests which they may or may not see as coincident with the organisations, and they attempt to resist the domination of others while advancing or defending their own area of control and autonomy (Salaman, 2000, p.123). This means that, staff can resist change to maintain their social status in the organization Resistance can become overt i.e. in industrial a ction, including working to rule and strikes (Coram, R, and Burnes, B. 2001). Secondly, the aim of change efforts has been to create a new pattern of working which employees are expected to adopt themselves. From this point of view it is argued that employees do not resist to the idea of change but to its potential outcomes (Dent Galloway-Goldberg, 1999). As shown in the Novotel case study, the re-structuring made the reorganizing of personnel and management structure, roles were re-definite so is the reward systems and payment (Novotel: p14). Third, almost all prescriptions for a successful change implementation emphasize the necessity to make individuals understand meaning of change. Daft (2000), states that employees may tend to resist change when they are not informed about needs, purposes and outcomes of it. This is also vivid in the Novotel change programmes, a testimony from a receptionist in France, described that they didnt understand what the project was all about (Novotel : p.21) In addition to inadequate knowledge about change, if employees are suspicious about real intentions of change initiators, there is a high possibility of resistance. Fourth, change plans aim to move an organization from their existing position to ideal one and as Stapley (1996) states this transition period is kind of a journey that contains a lot of uncertainties. Curtis and White (2002) define uncertainty as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¢lack of information about future events (Curtis White, 2002, p.17). When people lose their personal control, it becomes difficult to make rational decisions which would produce desirable outcomes. As a result, individual who experiences loss of control is likely to resist change because of apprehension brought by uncertainties about change (Novotel : p. 18) . Kotter and Schlesinger (1979) argue that difference in information that groups work often leads to differences in analyses, which in turn can lead to resistance (p.108). Fig 2. Framework for Managing Change 3.3. Managers Role: Overcoming Challenges In order to overcome change, managers face challenges when implementing strategies. The key element in implementing change or change management process is communication. Having effecting communication approach towards employees. Furthermore, employees attitude, perception of managers actions, employees motivation and continuous improvement of the working environment can be other elements a manager responsible for change should take. Below is the list of common challenges posed for managers tasked with implementing change management and they can mitigate any resistance:- Employees Communications: During the change process, take time to interact with employees as not all employees are outspoken or bound to hold their views to themselves and this could result in underground resistance to change. When this happens it could result in delays and will hinder understanding of staffs unfulfilled needs and expectations. This is on Lewins unfreezing stage (Levasser, 2001). Employees Co-operations and Collaborations: Managers in hotel industry ought to understand that different individuals do not the same views or opinions about change, most people tend to be worried about change. In other words, Managers needs to promote cooperation with staff before and during change process. Employees Motivation: This is critical especially during the change implementation stage, Manager ought to make sure that employees are stay motivated and be ready to listen to staffs opinions, and also take time to explain what is happening, this will help staffs morale. Employees Attitude: according to Levasseur (2001), this is also a focus during implementation stage (Lewins stage), a Manager should try his/her best to understand employees attitude. In addition, Conners (1998) lists stability, immobilisation and denial are factors in human cycle of negative response in hospitality, Manager as a leading person should be bare these 3 factors in mind. 4. Conclusion: In summary, resistance to change blocks the end results change was meant to produce, that means innovation is undermined, and whatever change is generated will be a reaction a reaction to the circumstances and part of the process by which those circumstances persist. On the other hand, responding or choosing to pursue change, promotes innovation and will do so naturally and consistently as a function of what is observe to be possible. Change based on this second view is likely to be an improvement on what already exists. It is also important to know how beneficial the change to be enacted is important to the organization and its staff. With high demand of staff in hospitality industry, it is good for leading managers in change management process to pay attention to the attitudes, motivation, cooperation and be receptive to views raised by staff as this will motivate employees and also it will create a conducive environment for and encourage staff. When staff are encouraged, they will be willing to accept change and sustain hotels competitiveness. To successfully meet and overcome change, Novotels Presidents need to have specific attitudes and skills for envisioning; anticipating and once they know the impending change, and planning for that inevitable change. And having known the impending change they need to know how to effectively communicate that change to co-workers, clients and external collaborators and future prospects to stay in charge of the competition. While change may not come easily, hotel operators can be sure that it will indeed come. 5. Recommendations Plan for Change: Because there are multiple countries which change is happening, Huy and Mintzberg (2003) highlights that, the realization that effective organizational change often emerges inadvertently or develops in a more orderly fashion. For the organisational change to succeed, all types of change should be considered (Huy, Q. and Mintzberg, H.2003:79). This means, there at Novotel needs to organise and formulate change management strategy that can look into inducing change from one country to another rather than focusing on their hotels but they should consider different customs in different countries. Eliminating this concern can reduce stresses caused by what is regarded as an unwanted interaction. Change Resistance Management: Change resistance is effectively reduced by decreasing resisting forces rather than increasing driving force. This driving force is the fear of punishment and forcing people to accept change can result in increased resistance. Success will only come by removing the resisting force. For further recommendation on strategies to decrease resistance. (see appendix 5) Keep Staff Updated: though out the change process, make sure to update staff and make it clear to them on what they should expect, also make sure the pass information is on as early as possible even if it is bad news. These updates and information reduces anxiety which is caused by uncertainty. According to Mullins (2005) he makes an emphasis that knowledge removes fear from an individual and gives them confidence to join the course of change. Communicate after change: this refers to the Lewins refreezing stage in Levasseur (2001) book. Manager as a leading person should continue to communicate with staff, about the change which is being implemented,. Through communication, Manager can discover to what extent change has had an impact to staff and take necessary steps to support them.

Nature and Supernatural in Macbeth Essay -- Macbeth essays

Use of Nature and Supernatural in Macbeth      Ã‚  Ã‚   The aura of darkness, deception, and horror present in William Shakespeare's tragedy, Macbeth, envelopes the entire play and is created mainly by the sense of violence and foreboding that is evoked by the imagery.   The dominant images of nature and the supernatural contribute to the atmosphere of this tragedy.   The predictions of the weird sisters, along with natural forces and supernatural images, have lead to chaos in Scotland due to their impact on the characters of the play, which brings about many delusions and deaths.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Nature is an image brought up many times, in both physical and human aspects.   The storms made by the witches, consisting of heavy rains, lightning and thunder, cause darkness to lure over Scotland.   This darkness creates the atmosphere for the horrors that occur in the tragedy, which is seen by Duncan being killed at night and Banquo being killed in darkness, which is represented by he and Fleance entering with a torch.   The famous Romantic essayist, Thomas De Quincey, explains the purpose of this darkness phenomenon by saying that the "'world of darkness'" replaces the "'world of ordinary life'" after Macbeth kills Duncan (Harris and Scott, comp. 166).   Macbeth goes to the witches for a second time in a dark place, in which the darkness coincides with the horror that is yet to come.   The witches create other natural forces, in addition to storms and darkness, which is seen when they cause wind in order to blow a sailor's ship to an island and leave him shipwrecked to suffer and die.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The witches mainly represent the dominant image of the supernatural and are referred to as the "weird sisters", which mea... ...nzen, and Scott, Mark W. ed. "The Tragedy of Macbeth." Shakespearean Criticism, Vol. 3. Detroit: Gale Research Company, 1986. Hugget, Richard. Supernatural on Stage: The Curse of Macbeth: Its Origins, Background, and History. New York: Taplinger Publishing Co, 1975. 153-211. Lewis, William Dodge. Shakespeare Said It. Syracuse: Syracuse University, 1961. Quincey, Thomas De essay from Harris, Laurie Lanzen, and Scott, Mark W. ed. "The Tragedy of Macbeth." Shakespearean Criticism, Vol. 3. Detroit: Gale Research Company, 1986. Traversi, D. A. essay from Harris, Laurie Lanzen, and Scott, Mark W. ed. "The Tragedy of Macbeth." Shakespearean Criticism, Vol. 3. Detroit: Gale Research Company, 1986. Wells, Stanley, and Taylor Gary. ed. The Oxford Shakespeare, The Complete Works: Macbeth. By William Shakespeare. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988. 975-999.

Analysis of The Graduate Essay -- Art FIlm, Analysis

Through the analysis of characteristics present within The Graduate this paper will express how it encompasses not only attributes from classical Hollywood cinema but also those of the Art film. These types of cinema have distinct and obvious styles and patterns that evoke different purposeful reactions independently, for instance the classical film tends to allow its viewer to understand completely what is happening throughout the film; this is archived by forming a logical plot, and applying repetition. In contrast the Art film takes on a very different style, which includes, non-closure, and episodic construction. The Graduate seemingly encompasses characteristics form each of these styles, through its use of an easy to follow plot; and because it has a final conclusion, it follows the stylistic characteristics of the classical film. However, extended shots of Ben floating, running and driving and the repetition of The Sound of Silence by Simon and Garfunkel suggests stylistic the mes of Art film as well. Cinema has been represented in numerous ways, however classical Hollywood cinema truly had an independent grasp since its debut in the 1910’s. The style created by the large producers of the time including Warner Brothers, MGM, RKO, Fox and Paramount shaped the genre not only during its birth but also through its Golden Age and into the present. As a style it has many characteristics that make it unique and poplar among viewers. The most salient of these aspects is the classical films plot structure and construction; unlike other styles including the art film the classical film creates a consistent and coherent plot for its viewers as David Bordwell states in his article, The Art Cinema as a Mode of Film Practice â€Å"The view... ...raduate encompasses both the stylistic characteristics of the Classical Hollywood cinema through its use of a structured plot and use of equilibrium, disequilibrium and a return to equilibrium as well as use of repetition of at some points, however the Art films style is if not dominant, highly present in the creation of this piece. Its use of alienation and ambiguity in portions of the film leaves the viewer at points disoriented and questioning components of the film, extracting from its viewer the psychological response that is intended from that style of film. Made even more visible by the use of sound and specifically the music of Simon and Garfunkel to increase that feeling. Therefore The Graduate utilizes both these styles in a effective manner to achieve a film that while bringing its audience into the character’s life simultaneously alienates them.

Overcoming Problems in The Alchemist Essay -- Paulo Coelho

Have you ever encountered problems while trying to fulfill a goal in your life? In the book The Alchemist, written by Paulo Coelho, a shepherd boy named Santiago overcomes obstacles to reach his personal legend. Throughout the book Santiago encounters many friends to help him fulfill his destiny. Santiago encounters many problems throughout the story. He overcomes them with the help of his friends and his wife-to-be. These problems shape Santiago into a dignified man of many traits. The first two obstacles that Santiago faces are that his father tells him he can not do something that he wants to do and that he wants to pursue his personal legend, but he does not want to hurt those that he loves. For example, Santiago’s father said, â€Å"The people who come here have a lot of money to spend, so they can afford to travel. Amongst us the only ones who can travel are shepherds.† Everyone is told by their parents and friends that everything we want to do is impossible. Since Santiago did not have money to spend to travel his only choice was then to become a shepherd to fulfill his desire. T...

Humorists in Society Essay

Humorists have played a substantial part in any society for as long as everyone can remember. Whether it’s your common, light-hearted comic or the one who’s trying to rebel and prove a certain point with humor, there will always be someone idolizing them. For instance, in his book Status Anxiety, Alain De Botton declared that humorists play an absolute vital role in our society because they are able to avoid otherwise dour consequences. While I believe that Botton’s logic is correct in many examples such as television comics and editorial cartoonists, there are also just as many other examples to prove how humorists are not completely vital. Television comedians do indeed avoid consequences by masking their underlying message with humor. A perfect example is the crew and hosts of Saturday Night Live. They are able to successfully take real life scenarios and manipulate them into their carefully planned skits, whether it’s about Barack Obama, other political figures, or any number of controversial current events; the cast and crew are able to dodge any repercussions because of their humorous effect. Not only do people use shows like Saturday Night Live as meaningless entertainment, but, if I have to guess, a lot of people also end up gaining valuable knowledge about what may be happening around the world. This assumption could be used to support Botton’s vitality point, considering many people don’t watch the news or make an effort to learn about current events, so one could conclude that these comical television shows are vital to society in order to act as a news casting show. While this might make sense initially, it also helps disprove Botton’s opinion. Because these shows use humor to get their point across, it is also skewing what actually may be happening for comical purposes, so while people may be gaining knowledge, they’re actually gaining a biased, misrepresented view to the situation. Among the many types of humorists included with the television comics, editorial cartoonists are yet another prominent group who use humor to represent current events, without being penalized for their controversial views. These cartoonists use visual stimuli to provoke a laugh from their viewers; they distort the appearance of people, recount sensitive issues in a entertaining way, and use subliminal messages to get their opinion out to  the public. Many of these editorial cartoonists aren’t penalized because they submit their work to an online board anonymously or they already have a â€Å"superior† reputation where nobody wants to create a dispute with them, but furthermore, these cartoonists aren’t penalized because the way they depict these events are within a common agreement of their viewers. Now there may be a plethora of types of humorists who don’t receive repercussions, but contrary to Alain de Botton’s reasoning, humorists are not absolutely necessary to our society. They may be able to successfully reach the public in an entertaining way to promote topical situations, however, humorists are not the only type of people who act to spread their opinions. Granted, humorists may be the only ones who don’t receive consequence, but activists, editorial columnists, and certain types of criminals all act in the same way many humorists do: advocating their opinions to the public. Activists create campaigns, go on strikes, and create public awareness to a certain incident; editorial columnists skillfully write a column and post it for anyone on the internet to access; certain criminals even commit their crimes in order to rebel against an unjust law. These examples all disprove Botton’s reasoning, humorists aren’t vital because there will alw ays be other people creating a public awareness to whatever may be inequitable. According to author Alain de Botton, humorists play a vital function in our society because they are able to say things that otherwise may be dangerous or impossible to say directly, as stated in his 2004 book, Status Anxiety. I personally believe his logic has its faults and strengths; while television comics and cartoonists may avoid these dangerous consequences, they are not the only ones to promote current events to the public, such as activists and editorial columnists. But regardless, it is well known by everyone how humorists have made a huge contribution to society for ages.

Constitutional Law of the European Union Essay

The European Court of Justice is the driving force behind European integration. The ECJ had elaborately defined the doctrines of supremacy and direct effect of the EC Law and provided remedies for damages caused by breach of EC Law by a Member State . Despite the initiatives of the ECJ, there have been conflicts between Community law and national law. Moreover, the ECJ made it clear that the EC law had supremacy over national law in the event of conflict as evidenced in the case of Costa v ENEL, wherein it held that a preliminary ruling by the Italian courts based on their national law would be of no significance. In Simmenthal, the ECJ clarified that the Community law was to take precedence over national law and that any provision of the national law that contravened the Community Law would be rescinded by it. Moreover, the ECJ prohibited the implementation of any national law that was in conflict with the Community law. The ECJ further ruled that no fundamental provision of any national law could challenge the supremacy of a directly applicable Community rule . This supremacy of Community law is one of the constitutive principles of the integration of the European Community legal order and it has been well embedded in the Treaty that established a Constitution for the European Union. The doctrine of supremacy of Community law, the principles of direct effect and uniform applicability are the primary ingredients of the Community. They are fundamental to the promotion of an effective Community legal order and form the unseen pillars of the European Constitution. Further, the doctrine of supremacy is the actual concrete personification of this constitutional power . The national constitutional courts of Member States found it very difficult to adopt the doctrine of supremacy and in the initial stages the Italian and German constitutional courts almost refused to adopt this doctrine into their respective national legislations, because they felt that they would be surrendering their power of constitutional review of secondary community law. Subsequently, the enlargement of the European Union provided a new paradigm to this doctrine of supremacy. This doctrine of supremacy was enforced by the ECJ in Costa v ENEL . This doctrine is a jurisprudential creation of the ECJ. Further, the Court clarified that the EEC Treaty had adopted a new legal system, which the Member States had integrated into their national legislation. Accordingly, the national courts were required to apply the Community law without any deviation and this generated a number of debates in the Member States. Ultimately, it was accepted by the Member States. However, total supremacy over the national constitutional provisions has not been achieved . In Frontini the Italian Constitutional Court had opined that the 1957 Act, which had accepted the provisions of the EEC Treaty, did not breach the Constitution. Moreover, the Italian court reserved to itself the right to review the continuing compatibility of the Treaty with the Constitution . In another case the Italian Constitutional Court, while accepting the precedence of Community law, maintained that the court had competence over any aspect of the relationship between Community law and municipal law . These decisions clearly established that the national constitutional courts had not completely accepted the supremacy of Community law. The German Constitutional Courts voiced their concern over the protection of fundamental rights in the decisions given in Solange I and II and introduced the concept of Kompetenz – Kompetenze. Even in the Banana case the German constitutional Court declined to give up its power to review secondary community legislation in order to protect fundamental rights . In the United Kingdom this doctrine created several problems, because the UK constitution bestows absolute power on Parliament. Further, the UK ratified a dualist policy concerning the relationship between international treaties and national law. Although such treaties were signed by the UK, they were not incorporated into the domestic law of the UK. In order to incorporate the treaties into national laws, the Parliament had to ratify them and this resulted in a problem in respect of accepting the doctrine of supremacy of Community law over national law. In the famous Factortame case the concept of the supremacy of Community law was subjected to a vast amount of discussion. In that case Spanish fishermen had argued that the norms for registering vessels under the Merchant Shipping Act 1988 were discriminatory and in conflict with the provisions of the EC Treaty. The House of Lords refused to grant any interim injunction against the Crown. The applicants in this case claimed that this would violate the Community law and the result was that a reference was made to the ECJ, which ruled in favour of these applicants. The ECJ further held that any piece of legislation in the national law that prevented a court from issuing interim relief would be tantamount to the violation of the Community law . The EOC case dealt with the suitability of the UK statute regarding unfair dismissal and redundancy pay in the broader context of the EC law . The UK law provided different benefits to employees working in full –time and part – time jobs. The appellant in the case, the Equal Opportunities Commission, opined that the statute was discriminating against female employees, which was in contravention of Article 141 of the EC Treaty and to other Community directives. The House of Lords held that the national legislation had violated the EC law and upheld the contention of the EOC. The approach of the European Court of Justice is at variance with the customary doctrine of precedent that is entrenched in domestic law. The objective of the ECJ is to bring about a European Union that follows the same law throughout its Member States and to this end it constantly endeavours to promote the EC Treaty. This could result in a change in the interpretation of legal principle over a period of time. Moreover, the ECJ bases its decisions on the extant circumstances and not on precedent. National courts of Member States in the European Union can obtain a preliminary ruling regarding the interpretation of European Union Law from the ECJ on the basis of the provisions inherent in Article 234 of the EC Treaty. However, it is not the primary objective of the ECJ to take decisions regarding the compatibility between the domestic and European laws. Further, it is also not the primary aim of the ECJ to apply the European Union Law to some specific facts of a case . The ECJ indicates the principle to be applied in a particular case and the case will have to be decided in the originating court, however, the ECJ ruling will have to be implemented by such a court. In the absence of an appeal from a national court, a reference will have to be made by the originating court, in case it is of the opinion that a clarification in respect of European Union Law is required. Nevertheless, there are instances where an ET, EAT or Appellate Court has to make a reference to the ECJ in order to pronounce judgement that is in accordance with the EU law. The function of the advocates general is to aid the judges in their judicial work. They do this by submitting analyses and recommendations regarding the issues raised in a particular case . In addition to the rights conferred on the nationals of the EU Member States by their respective national constitutions, the EU law comprises of another source that grants rights to them. As such the European Union law constitutes a legal system that in addition to being independent also, perhaps more importantly, takes precedence over the national laws of the Member States of the European Union. This European Union law comprises of treaties, which constitute primary legislation and regulations and directives that constitute secondary legislation. The importance of regulations is that they directly require compliance from the Member States without having to be codified into the national laws. However, in respect of the Directives, which are also legally binding, the onus of implementing them rests squarely with the Member States and these Member States have to do so by resorting to the relevant national law legislation on or before the final date set by the EU for such implementation. Accordingly, Article 189 of the European Economic Treaty states that â€Å"A Directive shall be binding, as to the result to be achieved, upon each Member State to which it is addressed, but shall leave to the national authorities the choice of form and methods. † The European Court of Justice, subsequent to taking cognizance of the fact that Directives have to be implemented by the Member States, declared that individuals were well within their rights to ensure the implementation of Directives even in the event of failure by the Member States to meet the deadline set by the EU. In addition, individuals were permitted to enforce such rights in the national courts. The Van Gend en Loos decision unequivocally established the fact that in addition to creating obligations for the Member States to implement the Directives it also creates rights for the individual citizens of these Member States . The right of the Member States and the European Commission to proceed against other Member States before the European Court of Justice does not prohibit the lodging of complaints by individuals against the Member State to which they belong in their national courts. In this context, the European Court of Justice ruled that Article 12 of the EEC results in direct effect, which in turn result in the creation of rights for individuals and that these rights had to perforce protected by the national courts. Consequently, individuals have been empowered to ensure that rights granted by the Directives are enforced in the national courts . The offshoot of this is that individuals can ensure the implementation of human rights by resorting to legal action. In the Becker case it was clarified that if there is unconditionality and adequate precision in the provisions of a Directive that bestows individual rights, then individuals can resort to such provisions to contest the relevant national law . Furthermore, in the Francovich case the European Court of Justice established a test in three parts, which was to be utilized in order to ascertain whether the provisions that were inherent in a Directive, were sufficiently precise and unconditional in creating a right that was applicable to individuals. The ECJ has to consider the identity of the persons who are supported by the guarantee and the content of the guarantee. The identity of the person in breach and who is liable to pay the guarantee has also to be ascertained. Private persons and institutes cannot be subjected to the provisions of the Directives, because it is only the state that is subject to the Directives. The decision in the case of Francovich served to establish that damages could be claimed by an individual in a national court, in the event of a Member State’s failure to implement a Directive properly. The ECJ clarified that the spirit of the European law and the protection of rights would become ineffective if an individual failed to secure compensation. Moreover, the States are required to implement Directives wholly and properly. The ECJ decided in Brasserie du Pecheur v. Germany that there must be a sufficiently serious breach by the State in order to determine its liability. This dictum applies to situations where national legislation is implemented improperly and inconsistently with a Directive. In order to determine whether Community law was breached with sufficient seriousness, it is sufficient to demonstrate that the Member State or Community institution had seriously and knowingly ignored the limits to its discretionary power. Some of the factors that the court has to consider are the exactitude and clarity of the rule that was breached, the amount of discretion allowed to the national or Community authorities, whether the damage caused was intentional or not and whether there had been any adoption or rejection of measures that were in violation of the Community law . Member States for whom the Directives are specifically issued should be bound by them. Sometimes Directives can be addressed to one Member State or a group of them, but in general Directives are addressed to all the Member States. The exception to this practice is in respect of Directives that pertain to Common Agricultural Policy. The European Commission initiates a binding legal action in situations where a Member State fails to incorporate the provisions of a Directive into their national legislation or if the national legislation fails to properly fulfill the requirements of the Directive. Previously, the Directives were not adequately binding upon the Member States in their implementation. To address this problem, the ECJ promoted the doctrine of direct effect. Thus even if a Member States fails implement the Directives there is legal initiation under the principle of direct effect. This was clearly established in the case of Francovich v Italy. In that case, the ECJ attributed liability to Italy for its failure to implement a Directive. The Easytalk was a private limited company that had been formed with help from the UK government. It was established in order to encourage students in the EU to come to the UK in order to learn English. This company advertised all over the EU universities by means of pamphlets, in which it was stated that the course instructors would be highly qualified scholars in English with a great deal of teaching experience. A Directive was issued by the EU that prohibited the issuance of advertisements that misled and imparted false information. This Directive was to be implemented by January 2007. However, the UK government failed to implement this Directive by this deadline and in effect this Directive had been ignored by the UK government, because the latter was of the opinion that this Directive was unlawful. Subsequently, a French student, Antoine came to the UK and registered for a course that taught English. However, once the classes commenced, Antoine realized that the faculty comprised of students who were not qualified teachers of English as a foreign language. On being approached, the institute where he had enrolled refused to refund the fees paid by him. The direct effect of directives has been restrained by the concepts of vertical and horizontal effect. Van Duyn and Ratti affirmed that directives only have vertical effect so that an individual who is affected by the states’ failure to implement a directive properly or not at all only has rights against the state and not against a non-state entity or other individuals, as the directive imposes the obligation of implementation upon the state. Therefore a horizontal limitation was placed upon the scope of the direct effect of directives. This principle was addressed in Marshall v Southampton and South West Hampshire Health Authority , in which the applicant who was employed by the Health authority, was required to retire at the age of sixty – two years, while men doing the same work did not have to retire until the age of sixty – five years. Although under national law, by virtue of the Sex Discrimination Act, this was not discriminatory, she succeeded in her claim for unfair dismissal by relying on the Equal Treatment directive, which had not been implemented in the UK. This directive was sufficiently clear to have direct effect but the courts took the opportunity to confirm that a directive may not of itself impose obligations on an individual and that a provision may not be relied upon as such against such a person. Therefore since the health authority was an organ of the state, the directive had vertical direct effect. Since the respondent in this problem is a private limited company, the claimant cannot approach the Commission under the vertical direct effect. However, he can seek justice under the EU law by resorting to the procedure of indirect effect. Since, the UK government had not implemented the Directive; the claimant can approach the national courts of the UK to compel the government to apply the Directive. In respect of damages, the ECJ further held in R v H. M. Treasury, ex parte British Telecommunications plc that parties who had sustained loss as a result of incorrect implementation of a directive by a state, could claim damages for the loss sustained on such an account. In contrast to this, if a state has failed to fulfill its obligations regarding Directives, whether by non-implementation or incorrect implementation, an individual cannot request invocation of the horizontal direct effect of a directive against another individual. Similarly the effectiveness of non-implemented or incorrectly-implemented directives that do not have direct effect through the horizontal limitation has been enhanced through the doctrine of indirect effect, which emerged from Von Colson . In this case the ECJ held that national courts are required to interpret their national law in light of the wording and the purpose of the directive so that the directive is given some effect despite the absence of proper domestic implementation. This principle may be used under two circumstances; first, where the defendant is a state entity but a directive is not vertically directly effective as its provisions are insufficiently precise, conditional and require further state action for their implementation. Second, the provisions of a directive could be indirectly enforced against a non-state entity i. e. it could be applied horizontally as between individuals. The court was confronted with a ‘horizontal’ situation in Marleasing , in which this position was confirmed. Therefore, if national law was in existence that could be read in conformity with a non-implemented directive, then an individual could enforce a legal remedy against another individual through the interpretative route without seeking to enforce the directive directly and encountering the barrier to horizontal effect. In respect of the Easytalk institute the claimant can file a case for breach of contract and false representation in the UK courts in order to obtain redressal for the loss, damage and frustration caused to him. The question arises as to whether the aggrieved individuals can claim damages against the state in the national courts. The ECJ clarified that the state had to pay compensation for the damages caused due to non – implementation of a Directive and that the conditions laid down for such claim of damages must not be less reasonable than what was specified for a domestic claim. Furthermore, the Member State should not unduly complicate the claim process.