BUREAU of ALCOHOL TOBACCO and FIREARMS essays

BUREAU of ALCOHOL TOBACCO and FIREARMS essays BUREAU of ALCOHOL, TOBACCO, and FIREARMS The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms is one of the most important Federal Agencies we have. It is dedicated to reducing violent crime, collecting revenue and protecting the public. The ATF, for short, has many different programs for alcohol, firearms, arson and explosives, and tobacco. The ATF has a long background starting in 1789. It serves a huge function to keeping illegal alcohol and guns off the streets. The ATF is in the news a lot for different reasons. It is a large agency with tremendous power. The ATF roots have been around for hundreds of years. It all started in 1789, when the first congress imposed a tax on alcohol to pay for a war debt. Congressional lawmakers were impressed with the job that Alexander Hamilton had done with the administrative duties on this tax. By 1862, Congress created an Office of Internal Revenue within the Treasury Department. It was responsible for charging the commissioner with collection, among others, of taxes on distilled spirits and tobacco products that continue today. In 1963 they started hiring agents to investigate and punish people who tried to get away with tax evasion. The Bureau of Internal Revenue did many things related with alcohol and tobacco; it became a burden. So when Prohibition came around they created the Treasurys Bureau of Prohibition. When Prohibition ended they created the Federal Alcohol Control Administration, the FACA. This was short lived so the came up with the FAA, Federal Alcohol Administration. In 19 34 the Alcohol Tax Unit, ATU, was created. At the same time, the FAA, functioning independently within Treasury, collecting data, to establish license and permit requirements, and define the regulations that ensure a fair marketplace for the alcohol industry and the consumer. In 1940 the FAA as and merged with the ATU. In 1952 the Bureau of Internal Revenue was dismantled. All of its alcohol ...

Concepts of Organizational Theory and Behavior

Concepts of Organizational Theory and Behavior The success of any business unit or organization primarily relies on the nature of work force, and management systems it adopts. It is important for all managers to note that, currently the economic world is undergoing very many transformations not only monetary wise, but also in terms of work patterns and employees behavior. Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Concepts of Organizational Theory and Behavior specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In this regard, it is important for organizations management teams to adopt measures, which will ensure organizations maintain competent workers. This is primarily possible through adoption of policies that will ensure an organization takes care of its workers needs as they arise; hence, avoid unrests that may arise in workplaces. It is important to note here that, adoption of policies only cannot help a management team succeed, but rather these management teams must coin their under standing of an organizations assets, resources, and tools in management practices for them to succeed. This paper will discuss concepts of employee reinforcement, evolution of job design, main differences between job stress and burnout as they relate to organizational theory and behavior. Job Reinforcement It is never an easy task for organizations to meet all its employees needs; psychologically human needs are unending, hence making it impossible for organization to satisfy their employees needs. Although this is the case, an organization can adopt a variety of mechanisms, which will ensure its employees remain motivated and goal oriented. It is important to note here that, monetary remuneration contributes very little to job satisfaction. This is to say; although external motivators have a role to play when it comes to employees motivation, their contribution to performance is little. This therefore calls for adoption management mechanisms that will ensure employees always remain intrinsically motivated towards work (Moorhead and Griffin pp. 103-109). Generally, reinforcements are stimulus that makes individuals to act or behave in a certain ways, hence strengthening the re-occurrence or repetition of a certain acts. Many organizations have adopted a variety of reinforcement strategies, but there exist great variations in terms their effects as concerns work output. Reinforcement can be in form of a positive or a negative incentive; depending on the behavior exhibited by individuals. The four basic forms of reinforcement are positive and negative reinforcement, extinction and punishment (Villere and Hartman pp. 27-26).Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Positive reinforcement involves the use of pleasing incentives as means of appreciating good deeds. Positive reinforcement can be in form of monetary rewards or appraisals, which will encoura ge repetition of specific behaviors. Managers use this reinforcement measure for two reasons. Firstly, they use it as a way of appreciating good performance, and secondly, as a way of showing what kind of behavior an organization desires from its employees. Positive reinforcement is one of the main strategies that organizations use to ensure its employees always remain productive. On the other hand, this strategy is an important tool for discouraging some unwanted behavior such as absenteeism or lateness. For example, in a chemical industry, for managements to reduce accidents occurring daily, they can use buffets as incentives on top of employees monthly salary. Although this method works, it is important for managers to study and understand reasons behind repetition of certain behaviors. This is because; in most cases, workers may repeat some behaviors because they know there are rewards. Verbal forms of positive reinforcement include the use of words such work well done, .congr atulation, keep up the good work (Moorhead and Griffin pp.149-156). Contrary to positive reinforcement, negative reinforcements are never desirable; hence, individuals always avoid negative them. Negative reinforcement is the act of escaping negative incentives. It is important to understand here that, negative reinforcements are means of encouraging certain behaviors considered desirable, by application of incentives that discourage undesired behavior. This mode of reinforcement works on the principle that; once individuals experience negative conditions of specific reinforcement measures they are likely to change their behaviors. For example, an employer can use this mechanism when employees’ quality of work goes down by explaining to them that customers are dissatisfied with their quality of work, hence the organization’s reputation is at stake. This like a case can make an employee to fill insecure; hence, they will avoid laziness and strive to ensure their work meets required standards. Although a good strategy, it is important for managers to include other mechanisms of ensuring this method works. In addition to negative and positive reinforcement, punishment is another common method that managers use to ensure workers stay put and goal oriented. Managers use punishment when employees exhibit certain unwanted behaviors. Generally, punishment is the use of unpleasant outcomes to ensure employees follow set standards. Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Concepts of Organizational Theory and Behavior specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More For example, in situations of poor work performance, managers can use suspensions as a means of reprimanding or warning employees. Although a good way of showing the degree of a mistake, in most business scenarios it never achieves desired outcomes. The last form of reinforcement is extinction; which operates on the principle that removal of certain positive stimulus can help to eliminate undesired behaviors. Common examples used by organizations include benefit withdraws, bonuses, and other positive verbal incentives such praises. This strategy in most cases works best as compared to punishment, because employees will always feel guilty when managements appraise their fellow employees (Marcic and Daft pp. pp. 461-462). Evolution of Job Design Although incentives play a central role of ensuring workers remain in focus as pertains achievement of organizational goals, there is need to organize duties to fit employees’ competencies. This is because correct allocation of such duties is not only motivating, but also ensures there is job satisfaction among employees. Job design is the endeavor to make required changes in working conditions aimed at making work more pleasant and motivating. Noting the current changes in employees’ working patterns, it is important for managements to consider varied factors that influen ce the motivational level of employees. Job design has undergone many transformations from the traditional approaches where talent and social motives had little significance (Moorhead and Griffin pp.164-174). The earliest structure of job design was Taylor’s scientific management method, which emphasized adoption of mechanisms of making work more pleasant. In addition, scientific management emphasized the use of trainings to reduce the number of employees who could perform certain duties. Some aspects of this method for example specialization find wide application in current job scenarios, although the approach is a little bit different. For example, in the past managers could achieve job specialization through using repetition of duties, which presently has taken a different approach where talent and competence plays a role in specialization. Another common form of specialization that has undergone many transformations is job rotation. This form of job specialization helps managers to reduce stress and boredom associated with one station. In addition, when job rotation occurs in managerial position it helps managers to learn new management tricks, hence innovation.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Other forms of job design techniques that organizations have adopted currently include job enlargement and enrichment. Job enlargement involves provision of a variety of activities to employees; a strategy important for expanding employees potentials while reducing monotony and boredom. This strategy is very motivating because it helps employees build self-esteem and worthiness, which translates to increased revenues. In addition to provision of a variety of working activities, currently many organizations have adopted other management policies that have granted employees more freedom in terms of task performance and control. In the past managers could always follow keenly on how employees perform their duties, but presently many organizations accord employees’ personal freedoms, which has contributed greatly to increased responsibility among employees. Another common current approach to job design is the job characteristics theory. This theory uses five main characteristics: skill variety, feedback, task significance, autonomy, and task identity. Task variety involves the nature of skills that a specific job requires; autonomy determines specific levels of freedoms a job gives an individual, and feedback is concerned with a job’s reaction mechanisms on performance levels. On the other hand, task identity is concerned with the level of a job’s tangible outcome, which depends on commencement and ending of a task, whereas, task significance is primarily concerned with effects that a job has on the overall running of an organization, individual lives and immediate surrounding environments. Considering the nature of these design strategies, it is important for managers to combine them for organization to realize maximized outcomes from employees’ efforts (Moorhead and Griffin pp. 173- 192). Job Stress and Burnout Owing to the fact that everything done in business follows set time schedules, sometimes there are likelihoods of work over loads and strain. It is important to note that, most activities engaged in during normal working schedules needs a lot of physical coordination, minutiae, concentration, speed and time hence, compounding all this facts makes work tedious and strenuous leading to stress. In addition to stress associated with real work, sometimes balancing between job duties, other employees’ demands, and social life is another major cause of stress to employees. This is because at one point an organization has goals it wants its employees to fulfill, while on the other hand social life has its demands that individuals must fulfill. In this regard, stress is an adaptive mechanism used by individuals in reaction to pressing psychological and natural demands. Two main differences connected to stress are hardiness and hopefulness. Primarily, the former is concerned with individuals’ ability to manage stress, where by this group of individuals have the ability to deal with stress, hence a lways goal oriented and focused. Optimism is characteristic in individuals who see an opportunity in everything, to this group of individuals the positive aspects of life matter more that negative discouragements, hence are too always focused and goal oriented (Moorhead and Griffin pp. 221-237). Although optimism and hardiness are common adaptive mechanisms used by individuals to cope up with stress, sometimes due to many other job factors for example role demands, ambiguity, conflict can cause exhaustion, leading to a condition called burnout. Burnout is a consequence of build up stress, resulting from excessive demands to perform and deliver results. Burnout primarily results when organizational demands makes individuals to forego their social demands, hence dedicate most of their time to these demands. Because of this, most individuals in the end get fatigued, strained and aggravated, hence causing a feeling of helplessness. Although both stress and burnout are manageable, burno ut has more adverse effects on individuals than stress. This is because it is easy to notice an individual suffering from burnout than normal stress, owing to the fact that burnout has more withdrawal symptoms. In addition, although the two are related, they have clear differences in that, stress results from excessive work demands where as burnout in most cases results because individuals feel their jobs are of no significance to them. To most individuals, their lives are more crucial, hence the need to respect life demands; whose suppression leads to burnout. Another common difference is that, although individuals can sustain stress by embracing adaptive mechanisms, burnout is never adaptive, hence inmost cases it results to resignation and loss of job interest. On the other hand, it is important to note that primarily burnout is a motivational predicament, a characteristic differentiating it from stress, because stress’s main cause is work overload and not lack of motivat ion. In conclusion, for organizations to be successful in all their endeavors there is need of adopting measures that will balance organizational and employees’ demands. Villere, Maurice and Hartman, Sandra. Reinforcement theory: a practical tool. Leadership Development journal, 12(2) (1991): pp.27-33. Print. Moorhead, Gregory and Griffin, Ricky. Organizational behavior: managing people. 6th ed. London: Houghton and Mifflin Company, 2000. Print.

Combating Compassion Fatigue Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Combating Compassion Fatigue - Essay Example Burnout is one of the major concepts of compassion fatigue. The signs of burnout, according to Espeland (2006), includes that the nurses are always exhausted, they are cynical and feel detached, and they feel that they are ineffective. They also exhibit signs that include anger, depression, paralysis, feeling stuck, irritability, cynicism, bitterness and negativity towards others, the self, and the world (Espeland, 2006). Job stress is another concept of compassion fatigue, according to Chen et al. (2009). They state that signs of job stress include job absences, conflicts with staff members, depression, staff turnover, and inferior caregiving. The difference between job stress and burnout is that burnout is the result of unrelenting job stress, over a period of time, therefore job stress is a lessor version of burnout. Compassion fatigue itself is an expanded version of burnout. As stated below, compassion fatigue is really burnout plus the fact that the nurses have to deal with very sick and dying patients, much of the time, as with oncology nurses, who exhibit high levels of compassion fatigue. According to Bush (2009), the signs of compassion fatigue are that the nurse identifies and integrates the grief, emotions and fears of their patients, and this means that their own stress and emotional pain are exacerbated. The nurses experience a kind of vicarious trauma in these situations, as they absorb the emotions of their patient, and this affects the nurse’s perceptions of trust, safety, self-esteem, control, and intimacy (Bush, 2009). Nature of the Problems and their Causes The nature of the problem of burnout is that it results in severe mental fatigue and is an energy drain, according to Espeland (2006). Espeland (2006) states that burnout also results in depersonalization and a reduced feeling of accomplishment. Espeland (2006) further states that there are five work situations which might contribute to job burnout. One is that there is ambiguity on the job, as there is a lack of goals and information. No-win situations represent another type of employment issue which contributes to burnout, and this means that the manager is always dissatisfied, no matter how well the nurses perform. Role overload is the third situation, and this means that the nurses have too many responsibilities. Role conflict is the fourth situation, which means that there are conflicting responsibilities and the nurses feel pulled in different directions. The fifth situation is when the nurses are underpaid, despite the fact that they work hard. Compassion fatigue is slightly different from burnout, but described by Bush (2009) as being an expanded form of burnout. In this case, it is distinguished from burnout, according to Bush (2009) by the fact that, in addition to there being stressors in the workplace, like between

Holy Wear Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Holy Wear - Essay Example ated places that the believers in the faith consider as sacred, such as Gaya in Buddhism, Kasi in Hindu religion, Mecca and Medina in Islam and Jerusalem in Christianity. Conventional philosophy believes that sacred or holy things exude â€Å"potent meanings and significances† to believers and the presence of such things offers some â€Å"inherent benefits† (23). On the other hand, the postmodern view on the sacred deviate drastically from the traditional view, which contends that the meanings to the holy are not inherent but attributed by the believers as an outcome of their â€Å"cultural practice† (23). It, therefore, transpires that illogical or irrational notions such as sacred derive from communal and social practices of certain dominant cultures like Greek civilization as well as the customs being followed within various religions. My photographic project called â€Å"Holy Wear† incorporates the philosophy of Roland Barthes, which identifies culture as the â€Å"contract arrived at† between the creators of art and its consumers (Barthes 1981:27). In this context, the photograph of the monk illustrates the Lama culture and imbibes in the viewers a sense of holyness in his attire, which represents sacredness for the believers in Buddhist religion. Thus, irrespective of logic or rationality, the audience of the photo associate holynesss to the clothes worn by the monk because the cultural practices have informed them that the attire of the monk is a â€Å"Holy Wear.† Similarly, the attire and appearance of the Hindu saint will inspire awe and a sense of holiness in people practicing Hindu religion or those who understand various cultural nuances relating to that religion. Therefore, it can be construed that the emotions and sensations that these photographs emulate derive not from any logic o r rational appreciation of the meaning of sacred or holy but due to the association of the images to various cultural practices. The photographs also validate Barthes’

English 102 College Poetry assignment Scholarship Essay

English 102 College Poetry assignment - Scholarship Essay Example The poet recognized the suffering and wasted potential, and the threat of violence in Harlem, as the peoples' dreams were deferred. With the last line, he is issuing a warning that injustice and deprivation could result in that explosion. Question 2. "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night" Dylan Thomas: I have chosen this because it is full of a passion for life and refuses to accept that death is inevitable. The speaker wants to keep his father alive (it was written when Thomas' father was dying), so it is his voice. His repetition of "Do not go gentle into that good night" and "Rage, rage against the dying of the light" at the end of alternate stanzas, is full of urgent, vibrant vitality; he is willing his father and all who are old, to remember the wonder of life and stay to accomplish more. He includes all kinds of men, "wise men", "good men", "wild men" and "grave men", all qualities his father may have had. I like the way opposites emphasize power and differences: "Light" and "dark", "see" and "blind", "gentle" and "rage" and the auditory and physical imagery in words like ""forked" and "danced", "sang" and "grieved" make the poem pulsate with movement and feeling. The themes of death and loss make the poet angry, and the images are like prizes offered to tempt his father to stay. He would accept anything from his father ""curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears I pray", if only he would stay alive. Thomas rages against death as a waste of the great potential for life in everyone. Question 3. Poet v Speaker: The speaker in "Incident" is a little black boy, recalling a childhood memory, telling it from a child's point of view, with simplicity. The poet was taken to live in Baltimore as a child, so his adult voice recalls the event in the present. In "Those Winter Sundays" the speaker is a grown man, reminiscing on his childhood. He takes us back to memories of his father, expresses the emotions felt then and brings us to the present as an adult. Hayden lived in a situation where his father and mother fought and he was beaten, so he too is the speaker. Theme: The theme of "Incident" is racism, stretching across the years from 1925 Baltimore to the time the poem was written. There is disillusionment and irony too, for at the end, although it is all he can remember, there is something there of having overcome the experience. "Those Winter Sundays" is on the theme of family, and father/son relationships in particular. The speaker/poet looks back at how his father cared for his family, on his one day of rest and how this went unappreciated. Tone: "Incident", despite the simple childish rhyme, is ironic and the beginning and end of the poem add to this. It begins with "glee", then the "Baltimorean" reacting with childish and adult prejudiced response, dispels that joy, and the ending that tells how this has had a lasting impact, "but hey, I am still here to tell the tale" almost, is the ironic twist in the stark racist reality. Hayden's tone is one of regret for failing to understand or appreciate his father's love. He talked about "speaking indifferently to him", but there are signs of danger too, "fearing the chronic angers of that house." The regret is expressed in the final two lines, about "love's austere and lonely offices." Parody on "Poem" by

The thoughts of King Corn Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The thoughts of King Corn - Essay Example The argument is supported by other biologist in the movie. These biologists cover the several issues that have been highlighted in the movie. Actually, the major challenge of obesity in the American population is control of overconsumption of beef and corn products. This challenge can be addressed effectively by researching on the impact of genetically modified corn on the health of humans and animals especially cattle (Cheney and Ellis). Overconsumption of corn in the movie and the inclusion of corn in the diet of both animals and humans are illustrated effectively using the resultant health effects of the action. Genetically modified foods are an issue of great concern for the society today due to the increasing obesity and animal deaths. The movie captures the problem effectively through the agricultural journey of the two friends. In addition, the inclusion of the different perspectives of the interviewed biologist illustrates the impact of corn agriculture in America. Consequently, the increase in obesity among the American population has been linked with the excessive consumption of corn by humans and cattle. Both the direct and indirect overconsumption of the corn is considered the main threat to positive and good

Summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 56

Summary - Essay Example He argued that population cannot grow rapidly due to several forces that hinder growth such as war, famine and various diseases. Additionally, he pointed out that most people control birth rates, while others engage in marriage at old ages. Disease, war and famine raise the death rates leading to the decrease of population while low birth rate and late marriages discourages population growth. According to Malthus population does not require to run out of food supply due to late marriages and birth control. He further explains that if these practices were not practiced, population would rapidly grow. Malthus claims that food is mainly necessary to support life thus encouraging population growth. He also explains that earth cannot produce food on its in great quantities unless labor and skills are exercised upon the earth’s surface. Malthus explained that God is capable of rising up plants of all kinds for his creation’s use without the assistance of labor or man’s attention. Â  Land preparation activities such as ploughing, and clearing of the land, sowing of seeds and other practices done by man for production are mainly necessary for enjoyment of life’s blessings. The practices arouse man in action and ensure that he reasons appropriately. Furthermore, Malthus claimed that due to the excitement of the blessing of life, and ability of man to provide food through cultivation of the earth, rapid population growth is being witnessed than food increase. According to the principle of population, man is considered slow, sluggish, inert and reluctant from labor. Generally, Malthus tries to enlighten people that population cannot increase exponentially due to low rates of food supply. He therefore elaborates that checks on population growth in most societies are preventive and others are positive. The positive checks raise death rates while preventive checks decrease population increase by lowering birth