Welfare For Children of Illegal Immigrants Essay - 4110 Words

Welfare For Children of Illegal Immigrants The United States is in the midst of a major debate over immigrants and their place in our economic and political life. As during other times in our history, immigrants, are being blamed for causing or contributing to the social, economic and political ills of our society. Politicians from both major parties, at both the national and state levels, are promoting a range of punitive legislative proposals that single out immigrants for adverse treatment by the government. Many violate basic civil liberties principles. Based on The Bill of Rights, foreigners do not have the right to enter the United States, but once here, immigrants are entitled to certain broad constitutional†¦show more content†¦On the contrary, this boy with the complete understanding of what welfare means will take a completely different approach. Typically, liberals would dismiss this finding, arguing that families who receive a lot of welfare payments have lower total incomes than other families in society, and that it is low overall family income, not welfare, which has a negative effect on the young boys. But the Borcoran and Gordon study compares families whose average non-welfare incomes were identical. In such cases, each extra dollar in welfare represents a net increase in overall financial resources available to the family. This extra income, according to conventional liberal welfare theory should have positive effects on the well-being of the children. But the study shows that the extra welfare income, even though it produced a net increase in resources available to the family, the lower the earnings obtained by the boys upon reaching adulthood. Other studies have confirmed the negative effects of welfare on the development of children. For example, young women who are raised in families dependent on welfare are two to three times more likely to drop out and fail to graduate from high school than are young women of similar race and socioeconomic background not raised on welfare. Similarly, single mothers who were raised as children in familiesShow MoreRelatedIllegal Immigration Is The Land Of Freedom And Opportunity1208 Words   |  5 Pagesfreedom and opportunity. There has been an increasing number of illegal immigrants entering the country over the years. â€Å"It is estimated that more than 12 million undocumented immigrants currently reside within the United States, with this number projected to increase into the foreseeable future (Muschek 2015). The majority of illegal immigrants are Mexicans, â€Å"75% of all illegal immigrants come from Mexico† (Krogstad 2016). Illegal immigration can be defined as someone staying in a country withoutRead MoreIllegal Immigration and the Welfare State1725 Words   |  7 PagesComposition and Rhetoric 23 April 2010 Illegal Immigration and the Welfare State â€Å"We must end welfare state subsidies for illegal immigrants. Some illegal immigrants—certainly not all—receive housing subsidies, food stamps, free medical care, and other forms of welfare.† In this statement by Ron Paul, a Texas congressman, it is obvious that this subject needs a serious look into modifying our current guidelines. He also states, â€Å"Illegal immigrants place a tremendous strain on social entitlementRead MoreEssay on Law Breakers: The Cost of Illegal Immigrants1461 Words   |  6 Pagesthe strong work ethic and perseverance of immigrants it has become the country we see today. But in this vast amount of time between the immigrants of 21st century and those of the past what has changed the effects people see immigrants as having. The Native Americans in the 1800s saw people immigrating to their lands as unnecessary pest and not people who would one day help the country grow and thrive. Just as today many Americans view illegal immigrants, people who come into a country illegallyRead MoreIllegal Immigrants Should Be Illegal1456 Words   |  6 Pagesmillion illegal immigrants live in America† (Watkins). According to the recent study, â€Å"The Percentage of immigrants living in the U.S.A. is almost fourteen percent†(Wooldridge). This problem is an issue to the U.S. and will be an issue to all of the nations including europe, asia, etcetera. if it is not fixed. Reason is that the immigrants get more government help or welfare some may call it, than the registered citizens of America. Studies show that 51 percent of homes led by immigrants are gettingRead MoreEssay on Cause and Effect of Illegal Immigration 1344 Words   |  6 PagesIllegal immigration still remains as one of the major problems on the U.S-Mexico border in our country. The effect of having illegal immigrants in our country puts the U.S in a dire situation. Many people are even starting to question the authority of the U.S. Cust oms and U.S. Border Patrol agents. Even though Homeland Security is always consistently hiring for U.S customs and border patrol agents to watch over the southern border to make sure no illegal immigrants sneak into the U.S. Many peopleRead MoreArgument Against Birthright Citizenship : Chain Migration1485 Words   |  6 PagesMigration One major point policymakers argue against birthright citizenship is the fact that it incentivizes illegal immigration and can lead to a never ending series of chain migration. Chain migration occurs when the child can sponsor their parents and apply for their legal citizenship in the United States. Once the child turns 18, they can sponsor a foreign spouse and unmarried children of his own. When they turn 21, they can sponsor their parents and any siblings. From there, the sponsored spouse/siblings/parentsRead MoreEssay on The Negative Effects of Mass Immigration1545 Words   |  7 PagesEffects of Mass Immigration For decades immigrants to America were sure of two things. They came for the opportunity to build a better life for their families and they would not seek nor would they accept a handout. The drive and attitude of immigrants who came to America during the nineteen twenties through the nineteen sixties built strong work ethics that created our now famous American melting pot. But for the past thirty years a runaway welfare state has poisoned our good intentions. WellRead MoreThe Impact Of Immigration On The United States1415 Words   |  6 Pagesorigin of US immigrants also changed sharply over the past fifty years. Before 1960, the vast majority came from European countries or Canada. Even as late as the 1950s, more than two-thirds of all arrivals were from these countries. During 1960s, however, when family reunification criteria rather than national origin quotas became the basis for allocating entry visas, the composition changed rapidly. According to US Immigration and Natur alization Service in 2014, only 12% of legal immigrants had originatedRead MoreThe Effect of Illegal Immigration on the US Economy Essay895 Words   |  4 PagesThe United States of America, being a country founded by immigrants, is known all over the world as the land of great opportunities. People from all walks of life travelled across the globe, taking a chance to find a better life for them and their family. Over the years, the population of immigrants has grown immensely, resulting in the currently controversial issue of illegal immigration. Illegal immigrants are the people who have overstayed the time granted on their US, visa or those who have brokenRead MoreBaby Dangers : U.s. Taxpayers Fund Billions855 Words   |  4 Pages hoping he will eat you last  ­but eat you he will.†Ã¢â‚¬â€Ronald Reagan. Illegal immigration continues to disrespect this nation’s immigration laws completely, illegal aliens are criminals, nonetheless. There must soon be a solution t o this problem because the U.S. born babies of these aliens are weighing down taxpayers with overbearing free benefits. Taxpayers toil to pay the billion dollar taxes of anchor baby benefits while illegal aliens generally do not pay any form of tax—making taxpayers alone compensate

Aestheticism In Oscar Wildes The Picture Of Dorian Gray

INTRODUCTION Aestheticism, which found its footing in Europe in the early nineteenth century, proposed that art ‘need not serve moral, political, or otherwise didactic ends.’ Irish poet and playwright Oscar Wilde was a dramatic leader in promoting the movement near the end of the nineteenth century. The English essayist Walter Pater, an advocate of art for arts sake, helped to form society’s aesthetics in which they was more concerned with the self, than with popular movements like Industrialism or Capitalism. His views, especially those presented in a collection of essays called The Renaissance, had a profound impact on the English poets of the 1890s, most notably Wilde himself. In Wilde’s only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray,†¦show more content†¦Ascetism is a lifestyle characterised by abstinence from sensual pleasures, which was adopted by much of the world-weary middle class. In this decade, many people in continental Europe felt a sense of discontent. The morals that once seemed to control life and give it meaning were lost to an age of enlightenment. The two main reasons for this disillusionment were connected to the public functions of morality and art, which, in Victorian England, were directly linked. It was thought that art should function as a moral barometer, and for many people, this dictum left room for only the most restrictive values and uninspired art. The term â€Å"fin de sià ¨cle† therefore came to describe a branch of thinking that sought to restore beauty and meaning to art and to broaden it’s public appeal. Thus, the concept of aestheticism was born. In this climate, an artist could assert himself as a rarefied being, one leading the search for beauty in an age marked by social hypocrisy, shameful class inequality and illiberal complacency. No-one adopted this attitude more boldly, or with more shameless flair, than Oscar Wilde. His dedication to living a life of beauty and to transform his life into a work of art is reflected in the beliefs and actions of many characters in his onlyShow MoreRelatedAbstract Aestheticism in Oscar Wildes The Picture of Dorian Gray2148 Words   |  9 Pagesexpression, but also one of social advancement. With this idea at its forefront, art suddenly inundated places where art was never previously found, such as social education and morality. In contrast, Oscar Wilde was a key advocate of an idea known aestheticism, a concept that relied on art simply being art. Oscar Wilde played a major role in Victorian England, having a major influence through his writing. At its peak the movement had a disdain for any traditional, natural, political, or moral ideals; ratherRead MoreThe Picture of Dorian Grey, by Oscar Wilde771 Words   |  4 Pagesheld without losing the other, due to their conflicting natures. While the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray brings out the central question â€Å"Is it better to pursue Aesthetics or Morality?† it describes the life of Dorian Gray, who constantly sought to maintain his appearance at the cost of his morals, and answers the question by revealing the consequences of living Mr. Gray’s â€Å"beautiful† lifestyle. In the novel, Oscar Wilde depicts the explosion of aesthetic philosophy in higher English society duringRead MoreThe Picture of Dorian Gray: Corruption Through Aestheticism1464 Words   |  6 PagesThe Picture of Dorian Gray: Corruption Through Aestheticism The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde is the story of moral corruption by the means of aestheticism. In the novel, the well meaning artist Basil Hallward presets young Dorian Gray with a portrait of himself. After conversing with cynical Lord Henry Wotton, Dorian makes a wish which dreadfully affects his life forever. If it were I who was to be always young, and the picture that was to grow old! For that I would give everythingRead MoreOscar Wilde s The Picture Of Dorian Gray1544 Words   |  7 Pagescelebrity I find that it is inevitable to avoid being a part of some sort of controversy. At the height of Oscar Wilde’s career is where he found himself in just that. Although Wilde’s novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray is praised today, in the late 1800s it was seen by others as a negative shift in society and literature. In the film â€Å"Wilde†, after the release of The Picture of Dorian Gray, Wilde’s wife Constance and his mother Jane have a conversation in regards to the novel that gives insight to howRead MoreThe Picture Of Dorian Gray Essay1871 Words   |  8 Pagestheir muse. Oscar Wilde was no exception. In creating the story of The Picture of Dorian Gray, Wilde used his experience of sitting in on a painting session, done by a Basil Ward. He then proceeded to comment on how it would be amazing if the painting aged while the subject of the painting did not. Throughout the novel, we notice this kind of lifestyle being lived out by Dorian and Lord Henry, but we also see how Dorian handles his conscience based on his actions. The Picture of Dorian Gray is a novelRead MoreThe Picture Of Dorian Gray Aestheticism Analysis1585 Words   |  7 Pagesby Oscar Wilde in the preface to his only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray (3). Along with the rest of Wilde’s preface, this sentence rebukes literary realism in favor of aestheticism. This is unsurprising to anyone who is familiar with the playwright’s other plays and lectures; Wilde was an avid opponent of realism and a firm believer in the concept of â€Å"art for art’s sake.† Critic Elizabeth Prettejohn claims that aestheticism includes a focus on the visual elements of a piece of art. Oscar WildeRead MoreThe Picture Of Dorian Gray1564 Words   |  7 PagesTheories and Ideas in The Picture of Dorian Gray Oscar Wilde’s novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray was published in 1891. The novel reflects the authors carelessness and hastiness. The plot of the story is simple, however, the issues that come about are very complex. The novel is about three characters: Basil Hallward, Lord Henry, and Dorian Gray. In the beginning of the story, Basil paints a portrait of Dorian and gives it to him as a present. Lord Henry talks about the importance of being young andRead MoreOscar Wilde: A Brief Biography660 Words   |  3 PagesBackground Information: Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde, son of William and Jane Wilde, was born October 16, 1854 in Dublin, Ireland. Wilde was born into a well educated and literate family, as his father was an ear and eye surgeon who had written multiple books during his practice. His mother was also a writer; she wrote articles relating to Irish nationalism, the rights of women along with multiple poems, essays, and stories (Shuman). Oscar excelled in school and received multiple recognitionsRead MoreThe Theme of Decadence in the Picture of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde1553 Words   |  7 PagesThe theme of decadence in The Picture of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde Staring from the definition found in the dictionary, the decadence is a literary movement especially of late 19th-century France and England characterized by refined aestheticism, artifice, and the quest for new sensations. [1] In decadence, important is not necessarily what is seen, but the hermeneutics: what man feels when he sees the creative result of this feeling. It is the current that requires a co-operationRead More Essay on Picture of Dorian Gray: Discovering Wilde900 Words   |  4 PagesDiscovering Wilde in The Picture of Dorian Gray  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚   The Picture of Dorian Gray can be defined as a symbolic representation of a dialectic between two aspects of Wildes personality. Dorian is an archetypal image by which both aspects are fascinated. This suggests that his behaviour symbolizes Wildes unconscious (i.e. unacknowledged) attitudes. Dorian is characterized by his evasiveness and his obsession with objets dart. For example, when Basil comes to console him about Sibyls death

Drug Debate Essay Example For Students

Drug Debate Essay Drugs DebateJunk yields a basic formula of evil virus: *The Algebra of Need*. The face of evil is always the face of total need. A dope fiend is a man in total need of dope. Beyond a certain frequency need knows absolutely no limit or control. In the words of total need: *Wouldnt you*? Yes you would. You would lie, cheat, inform on your friends, steal, do *anything* to satisfy total need. Because you would be in a state of total sickness, total possession, and not in a position to act in any other way. Dope fiends are sick people who cannot act other than they do. A rabid dog cannot choose but bite. There is a large variety of recreational drugs available today and it is evident that they do not all have only detrimental effects. There are essentially two categories of drugs: mind expanding drugs and mind constricting drugs. It might also be useful to consider a category of drugs which are neither mind expanding or mind constricting, though, it would be difficult to find any recreati onal drugs which would fit in this category. The division of categories should be based on how the drug affects intellectual stimulation. The drugs in the mind expanding category should broaden the scope of perception and knowledge for the user. The drug should educate the user and expand the users mind. The drugs in the mind constricting category should deter the user from learning, and even if one did claim to gain some sort of knowledge from the high, the knowledge, in the end, would amount to meaningless, confused thought. The rare drugs which stimulate violence, such as angel dust, must definitely be considered mind-constricting because not only does the user not gain knowledge from the experience, but the user destroys self-control and liberty and triggers desires to act immorally. This division of drugs into categories does seem to be of the nature of platonic perfectionism but the ideology is not entirely based on this ethical theory and some arguments might seem to conflict with its philosophy. Using mind constricting drugs leads to immoral outcomes and therefore, mind constricting drugs must be illegal in order to at least minimize the amount of such outcomes. Making mind constricting drugs illegal prevents people from using substances which can only lessen ones quality of life and inevitably, destroy many societies. The use of mind expanding drugs cannot produce direct or indirect immoral outcomes and in fact educates the user. Drugs that are mind expanding or neither mind expanding or mind constricting must be legal. To make these drugs illegal would only unnecessarily infringe on peoples liberty. Forming laws against the use of mind constricting drugs is actually necessary for providing liberty to citizens. It is generally the case that in retrospect, a previous user of a mind constricting drug, when sober, or even in some cases, when high, regrets consuming the drug. The opening quote of this essay describes William Burroughs view on opiates and he was in fact using them at the time when the passage was written. It is evident in his words that he realizes the immoral outcomes of using opiates and the sickness which it produces. Most users simply couldnt resist the temptation of using the drugs because of either the desire to consume the fobidden fruit or the temptation of possible euphoria or relief from emotional or physical pain: weakness of will. In this case, a public policy preventing this possibility forces people to act upon their true desires, even when considering subjective values. The problem lies in the fact that the realization of this true desire might arise on ly after seeing the consequences or only in inchoate form. In an ideal world, effective police forces could eliminate any mind constricting drugs and this would unarguably be an ideal situation. Since an ideal world doesnt exist, reducing the amount of mind constricting drugs available and creating troublesome consequences for dealing or using them, leans closer to an ideal world than allowing its use. From a utilitarian prospective, the use of mind constricting drugs is immoral since it, if not immediately, eventually, diminishes collective total happiness. For example, if a country were in a recession and mind constricting drugs were legal, many people would turn to them to forget their problems and distress. People who would ordinarily not use these drugs may turn to them since they are readily available and legal difficulties would not exist. If there was an increase in addicts of mind constricting drugs, productivity would decrease. Even when considering that some people, such as Bill Nelles, a senior manager in Britains National Health Service, are addicted to opiates and lead functional lives, the majority do not and productivity would therefore decrease. If productivity were to decrease further during a recession, the society would collapse. They would have to turn to loans and if they wanted to treat their drug-addicted population, they would need extra money and they would find themselves falling deeper and deeper into debt and recession. This may seem like a rare case for affluent countries such as Switzerland, but nevertheless, a possibility. Some people may think that the consequences previously mentioned of legalizing mind constricting drugs would be similar to the consequences of legalizing mind expanding drugs. There is a clear difference between the consequences though. For example, mind expanding drugs have affected some of the most influential literature and fine art of the twentieth century. Artists such as Pablo Picasso, Ernest Hemingway, Oscar Wilde, Edgar Degas and Vincent Van Gogh were regular absinthe users for example. Their works are inspirational, influential and they broke societal boundaries. Without absinthe, the works of art created by these revolutionaries would not exist as they are. If a substance can have such an extraordinary affect on people and help to bring into this world exquisite masterpieces, then it would be devastating to prohibit its use. Mind constricting drugs do not have this effect. Although many significant writers of the Beat Generation used mind constricting drugs, they all concluded that its use led to horrible circumstances. In most cases, mind constricting drugs have the opposite effect on the mind as mind expanding drugs do. To put both of these discernible categories together would be ignorant. To prevent people from choosing to consume substances which, although might increase risks of bad health and communication problems, do not lead to unacceptable consequences and furthermor e, stimulate creativity and thoughts which would otherwise not exist, is to infringe on rights of choosing ones own values. If a person values perceiving the world through different eyes, for example, over being able to communicate efficiently with friends and family, that is a personal choice which should not be made by a government. There are far more injuries from sports than from the use of mind-expanding drugs, yet competing in sports is encouraged. On the other hand, if one wishes to consume a substance which affects ones morality, rationality and ability to learn, such as mind constricting drugs, the consequences are that one infringes on the rights of oneself and others and in this case, the government must interfere. The argument that drug use is a victimless crime and therefore should not be illegal is one of the stronger ones for legalizing all drugs, including mind constricting drugs. John Stuart Mill said that users who commit crimes should be punished for real crimes s uch as stealing or murdering, and not for using drugs. But what about the fact that, as Burroughs said, an addict will do anything to satisfy their need? It is not the users fault that s/he is committing the crime, it is the drugs fault and had the user not consumed the drug, s/he wouldnt have committed the crime. Furthermore, drug use is not a victimless crime except in the extreme case when a person consumes the drug in complete privacy and even then, the persons personality might be altered and this could victimize the persons friends, family and co-workers. In cases such as using angel dust, where the user becomes violent, the victim is obvious. In cases where a pregnant women uses mind constricting drugs, such as crack, she gives birth to crack babies (30,00-50,000 crack babies are born every year) and is statistically more likely to abuse her infants than mothers not using crack. Anyone using certain mind constricting drugs is more likely to abuse their children and less likel y to fulfill their familial and social obligations . Mill said that if he refrains from molesting others in what concerns them he should be allowed, without molestation, to carry his opinions into practice at his own cost. Evidently, he, the user, is not refraining from molesting others in what concerns them in most cases. Furthermore, mind constricting drugs in themselves victimize users and therefore should not be legal. A relativist view is that drugs are part of our culture and therefore, drug use should not be prohibited. Genital mutilation is part of some African cultures and as people are becoming more aware of this practice, people are fighting against it. Female genital mutilation or circumcision is usually performed without anesthesia on female infants, young children, or adolescents and involves the use of crude instruments in unsanitary conditions most of the time. It often causes lifetime discomfort, and it leaves women unable to function sexually in a normal manner and highly vulnerable to infection. There are less and less people who are dismissing this practice as part of their culture and therefore acceptable. Discrimination against women in countries such as Afghanistan is part of their culture yet it is found unacceptable to most. Relativism would never work in todays world because the world is trying to become more unified. A practice being part of a culture is not grounds for allowing it. Furthermore, relativism leads to a contradiction because it states that there are no universal laws yet everyone is supposed to tolerate other cultures: that is a universal law. Another argument advocating the legality of mind constricting drugs is that legalization would cut crime and there would be less people over crowding prisons. It is true that short-time crime rates would fall but big-time crime rates simply would not. There are far too many possibilities for making money in the criminal world to stop gangs and Mafioso groups from making money in o ther areas. They would, as the executive director of the U.N. Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention, Pino Arlacchi said, quickly regroup and find other sources of profits as they are already doing by expanding into corruption, extortion and trafficking in human beings. There are drug users who do not commit crimes, they take drugs recreationally, like alcohol, and go to clubs or parties or concerts during their free time. These users are feeling persecuted and discriminated against with the severe laws that exist in many countries today regarding drugs. They argue that the health risks of using many drugs are much lower than the risks of competitive and extreme sports. Legalizing mind expanding drugs would eliminate many of these pleads because most of the people who are taking drugs before they go out dancing and such are not taking mind constricting drugs. In the cases where they are though, it is fair to say that in most cases, their lack of contribution to society is ine vitably going to cause criticism and it may not be so out of line. It is not the governments duty to take care of people who made themselves sick by using substances which are illegal and if it has been decided that mind constricting drugs should be illegal then that is a warning not to take it. If they dont like the consequences, then they shouldnt use drugs. There are more and more organizations being created to inform and educate people on drugs, especially in Europe. Users are not being ignored any longer. At Berlins annual technofest, Love Parade, Eve ; Rave staff tended dancers who had bad trips, and social workers dispensed legal advice and kits to check ecstasy tablets and amphetamines for purity. The German Health Ministry has even asked Eve ; Rave to design a plan for pill-testing at parties. More and more of these types of organizations are springing up everywhere and hopefully, every country will eventually have groups like this. Another ground for making all drugs legal is John Stuart Mills opinion regarding liberty. He said that everyone knows what the best plan for his/her life is so the government shouldnt interfere in decisions which only involve the decision maker. It would follow then that since the choice of taking drugs only involves the drug user and the drug, drug use should not be illegal. This assumes that firstly, individuals have privileged information with respect to their own desires. It may not necessarily be true that one knows what is best for oneself. Many times it is ones friends and family or outsiders such as psychiatrists who can see the big picture better than oneself. Many people have attempted suicide and been saved by friends or family and then thanked them a million times over for not letting them kill themselves. They have said that they didnt know what they wanted, they were confused. Shouldnt one help someone who clearly is taking a wrong step, such as someone who decides to start smoking heroin? The argument also a ssumes that autonomy is to be valued in itself but that is not necessarily true for all people in all cases. Art And Anatomy EssayIf one were to believe that free will exists no matter what the circumstances are, one might object to making any drugs illegal. If, no matter how addicted one is, one still has the power of free will and a conscious decision is made to commit a crime, it is the person and that persons morals which are unacceptable and this is not due to the consumption of a drug or the power of addiction. But, even if we assumed that free will is never jeopardized and that person who committed the crime might have done so even if drugs werent involved, mind constricting drugs still hinder the person from learning and detracts rationality and morality. This alone is unacceptable and even if statistics didnt show that many crimes are committed by people using drugs, and if hardly any drug users committed crimes, the fact that it deteriorates the mind is enough of a dilemma to make it illegal. Mind constricting drugs transform the person and though the person might still have fre e will, the persons will might be different when on drugs. The case on the legalization of drugs demands the exploration of liberty. Governments must restrict liberty in order to insure that people do not infringe on other peoples rights. In an ideal world, it would be possible to give everyone their total liberty and trust that they will be moral and judge situations with a clear, unbiased point of view, but the world as it is, and humans as they are, the outcome would not be so flawless. There must be sacrifices in order to strive for equal rights. One of these many sacrifices involves luxuries. I would love to throw a party at my neighbors house while theyre gone for the week but I cant. Even if I cleaned up every mess and even if nothing was out of place, it would still be wrong because I infringed on their rights of privacy. It is the same type of situation with mind constricting drugs. By taking the drug, theres a chance that since I am not myself completely, I will infringe o n other peoples rights and most of all, I will infringe on my own rights. The drug will take away my freedom if it is addictive and it will take away my ability to be rational, moral and it will take away my time and my ability to be able to learn and be productive in society. Platonic virtue ethics may be an ethical theory which is nearly impossible to totally follow but the theory in itself is one which, when applied, leads to living a meaningful and precious life. Mind constricting drugs would only detract from this final goal whereas mind expanding drugs might help achieve this goal and if not, at least it would not divert the users path. Bibliography1. Arlacchi, Pino. The Case Against Legalization. Newsweek Nov. 1, 1999, 28. 2. Burroughs, William. Naked Lunch. Paris: Olympia Press, 1959. 3. Gill, Alexandra. Absinthe Minded. The Globe and Mail Nov. 20, 1999, R14. 4. Lafollette, H. Drugs. Reprinted in H. LaFollette. Ethics in Practice: An Anthology. (Oxford: Blackwell, 1997). 5. MacDonald, Paul. The Morality of Drug Use. The Philosophers Magazine (Summer 1999), 21-24. 6. Mill, John Stuart. Freedom of Action. Reprinted in H. LaFollette. Ethics in Practice: An Anthology. (Oxford: Blackwell, 1997). 7. Power, Carla. Europe Just Says Maybe. Newsweek Nov. 1, 1999, 25-30. 8. Southwell, Matt. Human Rights for the Worlds Drug Users. Newsweek Nov. 1, 1999, 29. 9. Wilson, James Q. Against the Legalization of Drugs. Reprinted in H. LaFollette. Ethics in Practice: An Anthology. (Oxford: Blackwell, 1997).

Issues in Human Resource Strategies That Improve Organizational Performance free essay sample

A rapidly changing economic environment, characterized by such phenomena as the globalization, and deregulation of markets, changing customer and investor demands, and ever increasing product market competition, has become the norm for most organization. To compete, they must continually improve their performance by reducing costs; innovating products and processes; improving quality, productivity, and speed to market; and more importantly by improving their individual performance within the organization. In order to do this, a set of distinctive human resource strategies, defined as internally consistent bundles of human resource practices (Dyer Reeves, 1995), is clearly essential. Sparrow and Marchington (1998) suggested that HR practices are the most advanced, the most sophisticated, and the most efficient basis for organizing and for obtaining high performance from employees since it seeks to strategically integrate the interests of an organization and its employees. In addition, a number of studies have also indicated that there is a positive relationship between effective HR strategies and organizational performance. We will write a custom essay sample on Issues in Human Resource Strategies That Improve Organizational Performance or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Specifically, it is suggested that HR practices can improve organizational and operational performance when matched with quality manufacturing strategies (Stone, 2002). Nevertheless, despite the positive relationship found between HR practices and firm performance, there are a number of issues and questions surrounding them. One problem in relating HRM and performance is the lack of theoretical background; resulting in both terms remain ambiguous concepts. Other questions arise in relation with the link between HR strategies and performance are the inconsistent findings in regards to what constitutes a high performance HR strategy (Becker Gerhart, 1996; Cooke, 2001) and the problems with HRM and performance measurements (Guest et al. , 2003). The aim of this essay is to outline and explain the issues in developing human resource strategies that improve organizational performance. Specifically, the essay shall begin with presenting the issue of theoretical background of the concept of HRM and organizational performance. Subsequently, it shall discuss the issue about diversified strategies used to improve performance, and the problems in measuring HRM and performance. ?HRM and Organizational Performance: The Lack of Theoretical Background Guest (1997) pointed out that to improve our understanding of the impact of HRM on performance; we need a theory about HRM, a theory about performance, and a theory about how they are linked. Unfortunately, there has been a great deal of debates amongst leading researchers and practitioners about the concept and contributions of HRM practice in managing employees in overall organizational objectives (Loosemore, Dainty Lingard, 2003; Analoui, 1998; Sparrow Marchington, 1998). McCarthy and Stone (1986) argued that the concept of HRM is ambiguous and that its contribution to organizational performance remains unclear and is not well understood. In addition, Sparrow and Marchington (1998) pointed out that rather than adding value to the business through its strategic integration with managerial objectives, HRM can remain a disappointingly mechanistic function. Similarly, there is no universal theory about performance (Guest, 1997). It was proposed that the meaning of performance involves two dimensions; the types of criteria and the weight of each. Organizations have different interpretations of performance according to the sector of their industries. Service providers, for example, might consider customer satisfaction as their top performance indicator, while manufacturers might view inventory level as an important criterion to measure their performance level. In addition, some organizations put financial results on top of their performance indicator list and employee’s job satisfaction at the bottom, but others may view this in the opposite position. As a result, it is hard, if not impossible, to define the concept of performance that applicable for all organizations. The impact of HR practices on firm performance is without a doubt an important topic in the fields of human resource management, industrial relations, and industrial and organizational psychology (Huselid, 1995; Jones Wright, 1992). This literature, although largely conceptual, concludes that HR practices can help to create a source of sustained competitive advantage, especially when they are aligned with a firm’s competitive strategy (Jackson Schuler, 1995; Wright McMahan, 1992, both as cited in Huselid, 1995). Specifically, a large majority of published studies found an association between HR practices and firm performance, regardless of whether they are cross-sectional or longitudinal, whether conducted at establishment or company level, whether based on strong performance data or subjective estimates, whatever sector they are based on, whatever operational definition of HRM is used, and wherever they are conducted (Guest et al. , 2003). Nevertheless, despite the positive thrust of most empirical findings, Wood and de Menezes (1998, as cited in Guest et al. 2003) failed to find consistent associations between HRM and performance. Furthermore, Wood (1999) has also argued that the relationship between HRM and performance is relatively weak. One possible explanation lies in the various contingency factors, other than HR activities, that might contribute to organizational performance such as organizational culture (Kotter Heskett, 1992; Van der Post et al. , 1998), business strategy (Richard Brown Johnson, 1999), and political considerations (Ferris et al. 1998). ?Improvement Strategies: Is There One Best Way? Much of the research on the link between HRM and firm performance has looked at single HR practice such as compensation or selection, while others attempted to look on the impact of combining different HR practices to improve firm performance (Becker Gerhart, 1996). Pfeffer (1998, as cited in Tyson, 1997), for instance, put forward a seven-principle best practice which he believed is universally applicable. The seven best practice HRM elements include; employment security, selective hiring, self managed teams, high compensation contingent on organizational performance, extensive training, reduction of status difference, and information sharing. Theoretically, bundling several HR practices should produce greater performance effects than any of the individual human practices (Dyer Reeves, 1995). However, in reality, there is no single standardized bundle of HR strategies that is universally applicable for all organizations. Each firm might require different bundles of HR strategies to improve its organizational performance.