Expatriates and the problems associated with international diemensions Essay

Expatriates and the problems associated with international diemensions - Essay Example The interpersonal relationships with the host country staff and cultural differences in the working environment in the foreign location also pose a problem for the expatriates to function at their best. Thus the consideration of several critical contextual, situational, cultural and economic factors relating to expatriation both from the perspective of the host country as well as the parent country is of vital importance to ensure an efficient expatriate performance. On the basis of the feedbacks for the Emaill Survey received from the current and previous expatriate employees of Officecomm, this paper presents a detailed report on the HR problems and issues concerning the expatriate employees. The paper also makes certain recommendations for the improvement of the expatriate employee performance based by reducing the impact of these issues on the analysis of the feedbacks. Black (1988) opines that "International assignments create significant demands that often exceed the knowledge, skills, and abilities of the expatriate" The expatriate's assumptions regarding the social interactions both in the workplace as well as with outsiders do not hold any real ground as he/she is completely alien in the host country. This gives rise to specific challenges in fulfilling his/her assignment successfully. Such challenges may relate to discharging the functions of leading, communicating and imparting technical knowledge to the host country employees.(Tsang, 2001; Wang, Tong, & Koh, 2004). Apart from the social issues there are other contextual and cultural issues the host country may pose to the expatriates. Differences in Languages, communication and feedback methods, other behavioural issues and differences in the management styles as compared to those in the parent country may hinder the performance of the expatriate in the host country. 3.0 Issues Concerning the Expatriate Employees of Officecomm: Apart from the above general issues which affect the expatriate executive performance in Officecomm there are other firm-specific issues which are detailed below: 3.1 Gloomy Future on Repatriation: One of the important but unexpected issues in the global business environment is the repatriation. Repatriation is the reverse process of expatriation. It may be noted that the same characteristic features that made an employee becomes an expatriate make the returning back for them complicated due to the cultural shock they face on the reverse direction (Frazee, 1997; Allard, 1996). Harris et al. (2004) note that despite the importance of international assignments, organisations are not yet able to fully evaluate the benefits associated with their use. Clague and Krupp (1978) suggested that international assignments should be perceived not just as a means to solve specific job crises overseas, but as an integrated part of the employees' careers. Quite naturally the employee before becoming an expatriat

Change Along The Production Possibility Curve Economics Essay

Change Along The Production Possibility Curve Economics Essay According to McTaggard D et al. (1999), production possibility curve shows all the possible combinations of two goods that a firm can produce within a particular time period with all its resources fully and efficiently employed. What is more, droughts and extreme climate conditions could shift the frontier to the left. However, technological improvement, the capital stock rise and grow in the amount of employees, in their skills and educational levels bring movement to the right. Moreover, increase or decrease in quantity of one goods leads to change along the PPF. When human capital in protest, there will be decrease in workforce. Therefore (→ production possibility curve will shift to within frontier. During the event of protest or strike, there will be drop in human capital. Furthermore PPF shifts to the left. In order to produce more of one goods, we have to give up the other goods because of scarcity. That is why, movement occurs along the PPF (from point A to B). As a mentioned in case c, if we want to increase one goods we have to decrease number of other goods. In that case, we face movement along the PPF(from point C to D) In this situation, female and male both prohibited from entering some occupations. Therefore they have less ability to access which means drop in number of workforce then PPF will shift to the left. Spending less on defence and more on education means they are giving up one good and service in order to increase other one. At a moment change occurs along the PPF (from point E to F). But supporting education level may bring economic growth in the future economy. When government giving higher rate of unemployment benefit, it discourages school-leavers from work. On the other hand, people seem to be preferred being unemployment. As consequence, in the economy there will be decrease in workforce. Therefore, it leads PPF shift to the left. Section 2 To define what is happening in France and Australias economy first lets examine what is supply, demand, and equilibrium and why they do change. Demand According to Begg D et al. (2003) demand refers the maximum amount of a product that consumers are willing and able to buy during a particular period at various prices, holding all other relevant factors constant. What is more, holding all other relevant factors constant as price grows quantity demanded drops and as price declines quantity demanded rises. In addition, demand curve shifts when its relevant factors change such as the price of other products, income, population, preferences and future price expectations. A shift of demand curve is change in demand. The shift to outward represent rise in demand and shift to inward is a decline in demand. Furthermore, when price of good and service change, we face movement along the demand curve. Supply Supply is the quantity of a good and service that manufacturers are willing and able to produce in the market at various prices, all other relevant factors being held constant. The relationship between price and quantity are positive. If price of good and service is high manufacturers are happy to produce more and more. On the other hand, if the price of good and service set low, they will supply fewer. Change in price does not shift supply curve but it leads to movement along the supply curve. Moreover, supply curve may shift because of change in substitutes and complements in production, price of factors of production, technology, future price expectations, effects of the weather and number of producers. Equilibrium According to Sloman and Hinde (2007) supply and demand both together describe market equilibrium. Equilibrium price and quantity exists where the quantity supplied exactly equal quantity demanded for the good and service. Therefore, when demand and supply curves change, equilibrium price and quantity change too. Because of the poor grape harvest the supply of French wine decreased which is supply curve shifted to the left. As a result of supplying fewer quantity of French wine in the market, its price increased. Therefore, equilibrium quantity and price both change as well. The graph below shows decrease in quantity supply leads to increase in products price. As consequence, decrease in quantity demanded new equilibrium price and quantity take place in the market.(E1-E2). Decrease in supply of French wine leads to increase its price. As result, there will more demand for Australian wine (Australian wine demand will shift to the right). Moreover, when demand increases products price and quantity will increase. Also, change in equilibrium price and quantity too.(E0 -E1) Section 3 1. C 2. D 3. A 4. A 5. B 6. C 7. D 8. B 9. A 10. D

Essay --

Until the mid 1900’s the knowledge that the world had of chimpanzees was so little. People thought chimpanzees were simple mammals that were not unique in anyways. Researchers were only able to study the chimpanzees in laboratory environments. This type of research led to little information. Scientists realized the best way to learn more was to go live with them. Finally a young lady, Jane Goodall, spent more than 30 years in Africa living with these animals. On April 3, 1934 Jane was born and still continues to live today. Jane grew up in London, England, but then spent more than 30 years in Africa studying chimpanzees. One toy that Jane received one Christmas had changed her life forever. One Christmas she had received a stuffed animal, a chimpanzee, and immediately fell in love with chimpanzees. Jane would do research on chimpanzees every day for a long time until she was twelve. At age twelve she invented a society that helped animals and she would let anyone join in to help. She got through grade school and graduated high school in 1952. Jane and her family could not afford for her to go to college. Instead of Jane going to college she got a job as a waitress and worked as a secretary at Oxford University. In 1956 Jane was invited by a friend to come to Kenya and stay on their farm with them. She had lived with them for about five years and then got asked to go to the Gombe forest to study the chimpanzees. Jane had started her research in the Gombe forest in the 1960’s. The people that had sent Jane said she was not allowed to go by herself, so Jane brought her mother. They had started at the top of a mountain and slowly moved down to observe the chimpanzees from every point of view. Jane would put bananas out o... ...e to know about the chimpanzees and her experience. If Jane had never spent more than thirty years in Africa doing all this hard work for chimpanzees, chimpanzees would be extinct or endangered. Little information would be known, and people would still think chimpanzees were just simple mammals. Instead, Jane did this all for the world and environment. She found out plenty of information and brought that knowledge back to share with the world. Jane found out that these animals were so unique and so very humanlike. She is a very hard worker and puts in so much effort in all she does. She has a great experience with animals and can work great with them. This is why researchers chose Jane to study chimpanzees and do all this hard work for the people. Jane encourages everyone that they can change the world in anyway and wants people to follow in her footsteps.

Barriers Can Limit Access to Opportunity

Barriers can limit access to opportunity (Health and Culture diversity) When it comes to achieving opportunity, many people have to face barriers or challenges. For example, a child from a poor family background might have a goal of going to medical school and graduating with a medical degree. But in this case, the barrier could be financial. Likewise, a person moved from his country to another country for work. He found difficulty in understanding his colleagues who speak a strong regional or national accent.This could be a communication barrier and might be challenging to him. These barriers can limit access to opportunity. Nurses work with patients from a range of ethnic, cultural and religious groups and a people from diverse social backgrounds. So nurses need to know enough about diverse groups to develop an awareness that enhances planning and caring for patients. According to the nursing code of ethics, her primary commitment is to the patient whether an individual, family, gr oup, or community.She is responsible and accountable for individual nursing practice and determines the appropriate delegation of tasks consistent with the nurse’s obligation to provide optimum patient care. For example, a language barrier can be a challenge while provide quality care to patient. According to the nursing code of ethics, a patient has right of appropriate care, hence the nurse can confront with this barrier by assigning an interpreter who can work as a communicator between the nurse and the patient. It helps the patient to explore the real problem that is he facing.And a nurse can apply an appropriate method for his promotive, preventive and curative services which are the basic right of the patient. A Patient can also be from a different culture than that of the nurse. Hence, this could also act as a challenge while providing quality care. So she has to confront this situation by gaining more knowledge about the culture of the patient and respecting the patie nt’s morals and values. Failure to understand and manage social and cultural differences may have significant health consequences for people of diverse backgrounds.

Unme Jeans Case Analysis

1. What problem confronts UNMe? The brand manager was trying to make a decision whether to advertise her brand in emerging social media. She has to consider the benefits and risks, how the new channel will work with the original media plan and what results she can expect. 2. What are the positives and negatives of UNMe’s current media plan? Current media plan: * 30-second TV ad on most popular programs for teenage girls * Full-page magazine print ad in beauty & fashion magazines * 60-second radio on Top 40 A corporate website * Online banner and display ad on the most popular websites for teenage girls * â€Å"key word† Google Positive: multiple ways can make UNMe reach maximum targeted market of women 12 to 24. The media she chooses are consistent with the style of UNMe, like Gossip Girl, American Idol, Top 40 radio and other online banner ad on girls’ favorite websites. She spends most money on TV ad, on which people spend most time on ad. Negative: audiences watching TV are declining. Consumer’s media habits were rapidly changing.They are turning from traditional media, such as TV, magazines and radio to new media choices. Consumers were devoting much more time to online channels. Since there is advertising clutter, the percentage of advertising that consumers remember was as low as 1% to 3%. So having more channels may lead to more costs than revenue.3. What are some potential benefits and risks to utilizing Web 2. 0 media tactics for UNMe? Benefits:   consumer co-creation, social affiliation, digital self-expression, sharing.Consumers can directly contribute to the online conversation. Women of 12 to 24 can create their own design of UNMe jeans on Facebook and share their designs. Web 2. 0 makes consumers more like participants with other people than being individual. They can also comment on other people’s design and forward it to more people, which increase the influence of UNMe. It’s an easy way to connect with their friends and family. MySpace and Facebook allow people to create their own profile online so that they can have social network and link with other friends.Young women have an enthusiasm in expressing their identities online. Web 2. 0 makes people to â€Å"be online † rather than â€Å"go online†. We can see from the exhibit 6, visitors of Facebook, YouTube are increasing quickly each year. 47% of teenagers and 69% of young adults have a profile and contact users and the majority of them visit social websites everyday. (Exhibit 7) The typical members of Facebook are high school and college students, highly matches the targeted market of UNMe.Risks: investment in new advertising channel is risky. Foley has to be sure that the money she spends on social media will make higher or comparable revenues as traditional TV, magazines and radio. There might be a lack of control over the content online. Some information on Facebook, youtube, Zwinktopia is inappropriate for UNMe and may have a negative influence on consumers.4. How specifically should Foley integrate social media into her media plan (if at all)? Why?

Essay Sample on Ancient Athenian Politics and Its Effects on Ancient Greek Civilization

Essay Sample on Ancient Athenian Politics and Its Effects on Ancient Greek Civilization Current essay deals with important and at the same time very problematic issue of ancient Athenian politics and its effect on the stability of Ancient Greek Civilization. There is no denying the importance of the fact that Ancient society produced the dominant patterns of modern politics and democratic rule in the first place. Athenian democracy was one of the main factors that created the patterns of polity, politics, law and society in Ancient World and strongly influenced political traditions of Ancient Greece. Athenian democracy was a historical formation which developed in close link with other existing forms of governance such as tyranny, oligopoly etc. prevailing in Sparta and other Greek city-states (Hasebroek). Besides this as this essay will try to show Athenian democracy and political mechanism existed in difficult conditions of permanent assault of tyranny waves as in the case of 30 tyranny and Pissistratus rule. Furthermore, one should remember that external threats to Athenian society and its intrinsically aristocratic nature were those factors which significantly hindered the development of genuine democracy and made it unstable and non-inclusive. Athens was a leading city-state which formed larger Ancient Greek civilization and engaged in external political relations with other states such as Persia, Sparta, Egypt etc. Hence, deep difference between Athenian internal and external politics were in place and it makes necessary to examine these controversies in detail. Athenian politics are to be analyzed historically by integrating culture, traditions, and main events in the wider fabric of analysis. As a result we hope to produce genuine research addressing the role of Athenian politics and Athenian democracy in shaping the contours of Ancient Greek Civilization and affecting political stability in this particular region. Ancient Greece and the formation of Athenian politics The formation of Athenian political system and the mechanism of internal and external politics were deeply affected by two opposite trends which were characteristic of Ancient Greece civilization: the opposition between democracy and tyranny (Stanton). The social structure of Athenian society was very complex and differentiated which created significant instability affecting Athenian and other city-states politics. Therefore the problems of stability/instability should be discussed through the prism of Athens state formation, its political ties with other city-states and civilizations. But before analyzing these issues it is necessary to outline the basic developments in Athenian political and social realms which resulted in the creation of classic Athenian society. There is no denying the importance of the fact that dominant position of Athenian state in Greek politics affected relatively independent development of Athenian civilization which was characterized by permanent struggle between tyranny and democracy. Opposition between aristocratic clans represented by rich strategists, rich people and statesmen and demos was particularly bitter contributing to the instability not only in Athenian society but also in other Greek city-states (Kaloudis 239). As Plato’s dialogue Euthydem suggests Athenian aristocracy was among the most aggressive elements in Athenian society whose lust for power and wealth pushed them to wage wars and conquer other states and peoples (Plato 123-156). These aristocratic wars were one of the main factors of instability in Ancient Greece but notwithstanding this fact they should be regarded as a crucial element of Ancient Greece stabilization under the reign of Athenian state. Here, as Wood claims we have a dialect ical unity of stability and instability in Ancient Greece which are not to be analyzed separately (Wood 145). The formation of Athenian democracy was not a linear process but it followed several important stages connected with the policies of Solon, Cleisthenes and Ephialtes who one of the greatest Athenian politicians (Hignett). During Solon times before his reforms Athenian state was controlled by tyrannoi (tyrants), the representatives of noble people who fought for power against each other and neglected the interests of ordinary people. Theagenes in Megara for instance usurped power on behalf of Ionian minority and Cleisthenes the Athenian noblemen tried to seize the power in 632BC but failed (Stanton 67). Before Solon the political relations in Athenian society were controlled by aristocratic organ Areopagus which was formed on the basis of nobility, social status and wealth. It chose nine archons who ruled the country on its behalf. There was no way for archons to be hold accountable for their actions, hence using Aristotle classification this model of governance can be described as oligopoly (Barnes). Solon thus tried to redress situation and pursued constitutional reforms seeking to install stable system of aristocratic democracy (Hignett). Solon created the Council of Four Hundred which significantly enhanced the political representation of lower class people in Athenian society. He divided society in four distinct groups depending on the level of their social status and ascribed different political and social rights to them. Solon released all Athenians citizens who were enslaved and provided them with some civil and political rights. Besides this Solon placed the order on political practices and procedures and introduced economic legislation which provided premises for transformation of Athens into one of the leading city-states and becoming Ancient Greece hegemony along with Sparta and Corinth. It goes without saying that Solon’s reforms were directed by large on combating sectarian rivalries among aristocracy which hindered the effective development of Athenian state. Hence it may be claimed that stabilization though temporal was important in terms of Athens enhancing their political positions visvis other Ancient Greece states (Ober and Hendrick 45). The democratic consolidation continued with Ephialtes weakening of Areopagus powers by putting its influential leaders to trial. His political reforms created preconditions for considerable limitation of Aristocratic power in Athens. For instance, Areopagus before Ephialtes had authorities to process crime trials without jury but new reforms allowed citizens to be represented in jury and influence its decisions through the mechanism of voting and discussion (Stanton). These democratic achievements considerably affected political and social relations within Athenian society and spread far beyond the territory of Athenian states. These reforms became the triggers of mass upheavals and clashes between aristocracy and demos in other city-states such as Sparta (where helots fought against repressive tyranny) and Corinth (Pomeroy, Burstein, Donlan, and Tolbert). All these once again prove the fact that the political situation in Athenian society affected other political units of Ancient Greece and this was even without any significant channels of communication that we have nowadays (Hasebroek). Though these reforms were cancelled by thirty tyrants they resulted in a significant political progress and formation of Athenian political and Ancient Greece political culture. Pericles rule is very important since he introduced some important political innovations which significantly affected the stability of Athenian democracy. Under his rule the aristocratic privileges were sufficiently reduced through the reform of citizen status. He prohibited aristocracy from making marriages outside Athens if they wanted to stay Athenian citizens. This move was designed to equalize the political status of all Athenian citizens. Besides this one of his most important innovations was paying members of jury for the time spent performing civil responsibilities. This also helped encourage more people to engage in the judicial system of Athens. Pericles was a proponent of populist policy by defending political and social rights of poor classes. Pericles started his political career with allowing poor people to watch theatrical performances (Hignett 145-167). Later he abolished discriminative laws prohibiting low-income citizens from taking public office positions and considerably widened the scope of humble people privileges. There is no denying the importance of the fact that these decisions were politically motivated by Athenian external politics. As Samons notes, Pericles connected widening democratic rights of demos with Athenian political dominance in Ancient Greece since he regarded demos as a crucial element of Athens military strength (for instance Athenian fleet was formed from low-class people) (156). Hence, these democratic reforms shouldnt be regarded as a one-folded phenomenon. In contrast political developments in Athenian society were deeply connected with Athens political ambitions of controlling all Ancient Greece and even projecting its dominance to other nations. The motivation of low-class people was one of the main factors contributing to forming well-equipped army which took part in Greece-Persia and Peloponnesian wars. To sum it up, political development of Athens influenced much the development of Ancient Greece and its stabilization under Athens rule. Through political and economic instruments such as trade and commerce Athens projected their political and cultural patterns to other city-states and formed different alliances that served their political interests. Later as the current essay will show the deterioration of Athenian democracy and losing its military strength will result in entire Ancient Greece destabilization and its successive demise as a constellation of independent states. Political system of Athens perished with the invasion of Macedonians in 322 BC. Problems of Athenian democracy as the source of political instability Political developments within Athens were often affected by situation in Ancient Greece. The failures of Athenian democracy such as the rule of 30 tyrants should be regarded as a consequence of Peloponnesian war between Sparta and Athens which increased political weight of Athenian aristocracy using difficult political conditions to neglect democratic rights of ordinary people. The aristocratic group named 400 hundred usurped power in 411 BC and considerably reduced the size of electorate and introduced property census on the franchise (Hasebroek). These representatives of aristocracy claimed that democracy is ruining for Athenian political preeminence in Athenian world since only aristocracy has sufficient knowledge and skills to take necessary and reasonable decisions. The absence of meritocracy was regarded as the main cause of the Athens power decline but in fact this aristocratic discourse was nothing else than the desire to reassert the power of nobility (Ober). Further deter ioration of Athenian democracy continued even after it was reinstalled. Furthermore, there is no denying the importance of the fact that Athenian democracy was aristocratic in essence though some major democratic reforms were made by Solon and Pericles (Pomeroy, Burstein, Donlan, and Tolbert 67). It is connected with Athenian imperial status in Ancient Greece which prohibited low-class citizens from participating in ‘big politics’. Elites controlled political agenda being dominant in decision-making on economy, strategic matters and distribution of imperial wealth. Besides this they dominated numerically in legislative organs and judicial system. Athenian democracy was considerably flawed in terms of peoples representation. Only adult Athenian men were eligible in participating in political matters and had a right to vote (Pomeroy, Burstein, Donlan, and Tolbert 57). Thereby the majority of Athenian population was excluded from the political process. Those excluded were children, metics (resident foreigners), slaves, and those who didnâ€⠄¢t possess enough money to pay debts to the Athenian state. To sum it up it should be said that Athenian democracy was considerably flawed from the start and its further deterioration was connected with reducing regional stability as a result of wars between Greek cities and other states. Athens political positions in Ancient Greece and its implications for stability The dominance of Athens and other influential city states such as Sparta, Thebes and Corinth were important consolidation and stabilization factor in the development of Ancient Greece civilization and was destabilizing at the same time. Athens united many small tribes, cities and villages under its rule making them more safe visvis Persian and other invaders. This dominance resulted in a creation of strong, centralized state which projected military strength to defend the borders of other allied Ancient Greek city-states which in its turn rose the influence of Athens among them and alien cultures. Besides this the political dominance of Athens was one of the main reasons for the flourishing economy and trade in Ancient Greece since Athens required various goods for the development which in its turn stimulated the economic development of other Greek city-states (Powell 56-78). Among the basic sources of instability in Ancient Greece connected with Athens were their permanent rivalry with Sparta which was a dual militaristic monarchy controlled by landed aristocracy. It dominated other cities of Peloponnesus. In 510 Spartan troops took active part in overthrowing Athenian king and installing their own oligarchs which became one of the triggers of further Ancient Greece instability resulting in Peloponnesian wars between Sparta and Greece (Powell). Political influence of Athens was exerted through the Delian League which in fact constituted Athenian empire (a number of satellite states serving Athenians interests). The growth of domination in this League after the end of Greco-Persian war resulted in worsening political relations with Sparta and entire Peloponnesian League which finally led to Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC). This war resulted in greater instability and the growth of authoritarian trends in Athenian society. Its naval supremacy was challenged by Sparta and it faced up with the threat of bankruptcy as its trade relations with the outside world were halted. As a result of Sparta’s ultimatum Athens have lost all their overseas territories and fleet. The decline of Athenian power led to the invasion of Macedonians which installed there rule in Balkans. The dispossessions of Athens resulted in recession of its economy, agriculture and state infrastructure. Moreover, Athens lost all their overseas possessions which was particularly destructive if we remember that Athens were an imperial state. Finally, with the decline of Athens came the end of Ancient Greece political status as it was invaded by Romans in 145BC. Conclusion Current essay showed that Athens political system was an important factor in its longstanding preeminence in Ancient Greece. It transformed this region into the centre of military, cultural and economic development. But the relations among city-states were very difficult which caused permanent wars and instability used by alien states as a precondition for conquering Ancient Greece. Hence, it may be said that historical logic of this period shows that Athens were an important factor in Greek politics and their decline resulted in the demise of Ancient Greece civilization.

Comparative Criminal Justice Essays (Varied)

Comparative Criminal Justice Essays (Varied) Free Online Research Papers Our world is no longer defined by its borders; financial transactions, business meetings, and personal communications between people half the globe away can all be done within milliseconds thanks to the technology we have, literally, at our fingertips. The advent of this technology has also yielded another by-product, other than the ability to communicate at speeds Edison and Einstein only theorized about: the need to study and understand the systems of justice that exist in the many corners of our world. Since modern technology allows for nations to interact considerably more freely than they did even 10 years ago, the ability to understand and compare the many justice systems of the world is paramount. One reason why the need to study the various justice systems of the world is paramount to students, is that the status quo should never be allowed to exist unchecked. For example, a student of the American criminal justice systems does themselves a disservice if the only system of law they study and find acceptable is their own criminal justice system. â€Å"A comparative view of legal systems allows us to understand better the dimensions of our own system† (Reichel, 2008, p.4-5). Another reason to study the justice system of other countries is that it allows the student the benefit of understanding how other societies deal with various crimes and social ills. For instance, a student who only has been exposed to a legal system who imprisons those found guilty of drug offenses, should not believe themselves to be well-rounded on the subject if they do not expose themselves to other legal systems where these types of crimes are handled differently, and include alternate forms of punishment outside of their own model of criminal justice. Lastly, by studying the justice systems of other countries allows for a student to create ways in which the legal system of their own country may possibly be modified to function more effectively and efficiently. â€Å"A technique used in one country to combat crime might be successfully adapted for use in another country† (Reichel, 2008, p.5). For example, can the conflict resolution techniques for the crime of theft by the Aboriginal people of Australia be adapted into the restorative justice practices used in Houston, Chicago, or Seattle (Reichel, 2008)? It seems our world becomes smaller and smaller each passing day. However, as much as modern technology has allowed us to communicate and execute business transactions between countries as never before, it has yet to familiarize the various criminal justice systems of the world in quite the same manner as technology has allowed people in California to share computer files with people in Finland. 2. The legal traditions recognized throughout the modern world are mostly creatures of the alpha-male societies of the ancient world. As the ancient world was claimed and re-claimed by various civilizations, one lasting impression that was left, even after some civilizations changed roles from conquerors to those who became conquered, was their respective system of law. Although the maps of the world have changed, scholars recognize that four legal traditions exist in our world today. One of these traditions is the common legal tradition. Rooted in ancient Roman society, the common legal tradition is centered on three tenets: feudal practices, customs, and equity. Even after the Romans hold over the ancient world became untenable, this one facet of their legal system remained, especially in the lands of their northwest conquests, such as present day England and Wales. During the Middle Ages in Western Europe, society was clearly demarcated into three realms: the king, nobles, and peasants. The king ruled supreme over a designated country or large geographical area, the nobles were charged with ensuring that the king’s lands were governed as the king saw fit, and that taxes were also collected. The peasants’ role was that of laborers and to maintain the king’s lands. As time progressed, this class system came to include more and more layers. â€Å"By the 1200s, when feudalism was on decline, several layers of feudal relations existed, f or example, the vassals of an important baron (the vassals’ lord) were in turn the lord of their own vassals† (Reichel, 2008, p. 107.) Since the crops and the land still had to be maintained, peasants remained a constant. However, as disagreements between lords and lords, and lords and their underlings began to occur, some measure had to be in place so that each layer of the feudal world had a form of legal remedy. Borrowing from Anglo-Saxon customs, William the Conqueror (1066-1087) introduced a system by which royal courts were created where barons presided over disputes between lesser nobles, and disputes among peasants were heard by the lord of their manor rather than in a royal court (Reichel, 2008). The use of custom is also rooted in the Anglo-Saxon and English feudal epochs. During these periods there emerged a reliance on the previous decisions a court had made in deciding a case that was presently before a court. This became a practice that was more frequently used and accepted, and laid the groundwork for the current practice of allowing precedent to govern how a court decides a case, or stare decisis. Lastly, the use of equity (or fairness) also defines common law. For too long those at the bottom of the social strata, seeking a legal remedy, found that those in power either provided too little punishment or an excessive amount of it. This became most prevalent during the mid-1350s, when â€Å"the people turned to the king and asked him to add fairness to the law† (Reichel, 2008, p. 110.) With the addition of equity as a free standing and permanent facet of the common law, this legal tradition has remained viable to the present day in such countries as the United States and Australia. Another legal tradition is called the civil legal tradition. Historically, this tradition is attributed most to the ancient Romans. The Romans delineated their justice system into three bodies. These legislative bodies enacted statutes for the nobility, senators, and the common people to follow. â€Å"The earliest form of written Roman law dates to 451 and 450 BCE, when a council of 10 men inscribed 12 bronze tablets with specifics concerning the rights of Roman citizens† (Reichel, 2008, p. 112). Another ingredient of civil law is canon law. Roman civil law was the universal law of the worldly empire, and canon law was the universal law of the spiritual realm (Merryman, 1985). Whereas civil courts administered Roman civil law, ecclesiastical courts managed the canon law (Reichel, 2008). Since Roman civil law and canon law were centered on existing via statutes, the codification of each provided for the final ingredient to this type of legal tradition. â€Å"Roman law and canon law provided a tradition of codification that, in turn, emphasized a revolutionary nature of law and stressed its written form† (Reichel, 2008, p. 114-115). The polar opposite of law driven by custom, codification gives civil law a revolutionary character and written format that adds to its separate identity among legal families (Reichel, 2008). Today, civil law is used by such countries as Italy, Colombia, and Holland. A third type of legal tradition is the socialist legal tradition. This legal tradition, created by the Roman Empire being split into an Eastern and Western Empire, distinguished itself from the Roman civil legal tradition in the west mainly because of geography. â€Å"Russian legal history borrows from the Eastern or Byzantine Empire, primarily because Russia’s contact with the eastern Romans did not occur until the 10th century† (Reichel, 2008, p. 117). Prior to Russia falling under Mongol rule in the 13th century, the main source of law came from the Russian Code of Laws which was written by Grand Prince Iaroslav the Wise (Reichel, 2008). During the Mongol control of Russia, Russian princes still retained their positions as judges, since keeping them in such positions allowed the Mongols to keep control and maintain law and order of a very vast and diverse country. â€Å"Control by Mongols essentially ended by 1490, and in 1497 the Grand Prince of Moscow issued a new Code of Laws for all territories subject to Moscow† (Reichel, 2008, p. 118). These laws echoed those of the Russian Code of Laws, but they also formed the foundation of Russia’s monarchical regime, which gave the power of interpreting the law to the grand prince who, in time, became known as the czar. Another hallmark of the socialist legal tradition is the belief of law as being artificial. This mindset was cultivated by many years of the common people witnessing the law benefitting the Bourgeoisie (the nobility) while alienating the Proletariat (common people). This manner of thinking existed for a long time, so long that by the time Marxism-Leninism took over Russian society one of its main teachings was that the need for law, any law, would cease to exist. After Marxism-Leninism became the focal point of post-revolution Russia, â€Å"the primary principle directing the new Soviet law was the idea that law is subordinate to policy† (Reichel, 2008, p. 120). The thought process here was that if the concept of law is artificial, it can be applied or disregarded as policy dictates. ‘The policy to which law is subordinate places the rights of the collectivized economy and the socialist state above the idea of law or the rights of an individual† (Reichel, 2008, p.120). With the demise of the Soviet Union and the independence of many former Soviet controlled countries, the socialist legal tradition appears to be the one tradition most likely to fade away. Today, this legal tradition is used only by a few of countries (Cuba, North Korea, China, and Vietnam). The final legal tradition centers on religion, more specifically the Islamic religion. Although this tradition can encompass other religions, such as Hinduism and Judism, with more than 1.3 billion followers Muslims represent about 20% of the world’s population, and as such deserve to be selected over other religions (Reichel, 2008). Islam is based on the teachings of their recognized god Allah and his messenger named Muhammad. Whereas Catholics, Protestants, Christians, and Lutherans are all religions that in some form govern the way a person should act towards themselves and others, none of these religions are as all encompassing of a person’s life the way Islam is. â€Å"Islam recognizes no distinction between a legal system and other controls on a person’s behavior, in fact Islam is said to provide all answers to questions about appropriate behavior in any sphere of life† (Reichel, 2008, p. 123). The Islamic faith has two sources of Islamic law (referred to as Shari’a). The primary source is the Qur’an. According to Reichel (2008), â€Å"The Qur’an contains rules for the religious, personal, social, economic, and all other aspects of Muslims’ lives†. The second source is called the Sunna. It is from this source that Muslims learn of the teachings of Muhammad. This is done via statements (or hadith) Muhammad made that have been handed down through the millennia from one trusted source to another. â€Å"A hadith contains three important parts: the statement itself; an indication of its authority by reference to the chain of reporters (i.e., A heard it from B who heard it from C who heard it from a companion of Muhammad); and a comment regarding the report as being something Muhammad did, said, or approved â€Å" (Reichel, 2008, p. 125). Islamic law is divided into five schools (or madhahib) of law: the Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi’I, Hanbali, and Fa’afari. Each of these schools of Islamic law recognizes the four basic sources of Islamic law (the Qur’an, the Sunna, qiyas, and ijma). â€Å"Cases not seemingly answered by the Qur’an or Sunna were to be handled through a consensus of legal authorities (the ijma) and by a process of reasoning by analogy, or qiyas† (Reichel, 2008, p. 126). However, the five schools are differentiated in the manner in which they interpret the teachings of Muhammad. Today, only Afghanistan and the Maldives practice strict Islamic law, while countries such as Egypt, Iraq, Qatar, India, and Saudi Arabia practice a combination of Islamic law and other traditions. Research Papers on Comparative Criminal Justice Essays (Varied)Capital PunishmentThe Relationship Between Delinquency and Drug UseThe Effects of Illegal ImmigrationPETSTEL analysis of IndiaBionic Assembly System: A New Concept of SelfAssess the importance of Nationalism 1815-1850 EuropeNever Been Kicked Out of a Place This NiceAnalysis Of A Cosmetics AdvertisementCanaanite Influence on the Early Israelite ReligionOpen Architechture a white paper