The Effectiveness of Project Team Development

The Effectiveness of Project Team Development There is no doubt that project teams is playing increasingly important role in most of the successful project. To achieve this, building an effective team is basically start from the first day of the teams existence. Project manager plays important task that carries responsibilities to manage and develop commitment of every team members. It is important for project manager to have adequate knowledge to manage teams as it is a complex mix of human resources management, people skills, technical understanding and process facilitation. It is crucial for every project management to have dynamic project teams which are not static and unchanging. There are also several barriers exist in building a project teams that need to be concerned as this will affect the results of the project and the effectiveness of team development. This paper is critically emphasizes on the team building with project team development stage model, characteristic of effective team members and case study in regard to project adaption and success. The structure of the paper will begin with the introduction, terminologies section, characteristics of effective team members, team development stage, case study and review if the case studies as well as conclusion as the summarization of the whole topic. Keywords: project team, team building, project manager, team development stage model, effectiveness 1.0 INTRODUCTION Initially, a team is highly necessary to run a project. Without an effective project team, it is hardly to achieve projects goals. In fact, one of the hardest aspects of project management is managing the individuals on the project. There are various formal and informal roles that team members play in creating successful projects and also the potential for a single person to play more than one simultaneously on smaller projects (Cooke and Tate, 2005). In short, every team in project has their own responsibilities that carry both formal and informal task and sometimes they are also assigned to run in big or small project concurrently based on the project requirements to achieve project successfulness. Besides, to manage a project team, it is highly necessary to have a good leadership or a project manager to control project by leading, inspiring and motivating all project team to greater heights for project success. As stated by Bubshait and Farooq (1999), successful project managers recognize the importance of people because they know that without people, no project would exist in the first place. They also indicated that people or team are the initiators, developers and users of project. It shows here, team is plays an important role in completing quality and innovative project in order to produce a good result within the budget and on time. 2.0 DEFINITION OF KEY TERMS: TEAM, PROJECT TEAM AND TEAM BUILDING Numerous case studies and articles have been written about team and team building in the project management. There are various definitions of team from many authors with different point of views. According to Harodyski (1995), team is a group of people that cooperate and work together to achieve a given set of objectives or goals. As suggested by Bennett (1994) that written by Ingram et al., (1997), team is special types of group that voluntarily ties the members towards held objectives. For Baca (2007), the people who will create the product of the project is called team member. While Bushait and Farooq (1999), defined team as a collection of individuals with different needs, backgrounds and expertise. Both of these authors also stated that team is cross functional which is a matrix and project management organizations characteristic. Based on Eskerod and Blichfeldt (2005) article as taken from Katzenbach and Smith (1993), team is a small number of individuals that have complementar y skills and they are committed to a common purpose, performance goals as well as approach for which they hold themselves accountable. Based on the above definitions, basically team term brought similar concept, where it carry out defined, a group of people with specific skills and knowledge and is assigned to run a specific task in achieving goals and objectives. Every author has their own point of views to describe it based on their different areas of expertise and experiences. Project teams are essential in performing for both big and small project. The definition of project teams as pointed by Zwikael and Unger-Aviram (2010) are unique type of teams. Project teams are now seen as a popular organizational form under environments where coordinated actions directed towards a non-routine goal are needed (Rikards and Moger, 2000). Project teams who work well together are able to contribute and focus on the work and also lead to the production of work on time, meet a budget and of course achieve projects goals. In addition, project team is a group of people that is responsible and assigned to perform task and producing deliverables based on the project strategy. Team building is acceptable by the belief that there is a family life bond within working groups that can be used for the companys benefit (Beyer and Trice, 1987). In addition, team building is the process of identifying members in project. This process is significant to select appropriate people to handle and perform the project plan. In a certain circumstances, sometimes the team building process will starts before project approval, however full team only can be developed after the project is formally approved and organizational and contractual pattern are identified (Diwan, 1999). For Johns (1995) team building is the action taken by project manager, team members and line management to enables a group of people to perform a good job, to think and act together. 3.0 CHARACTERISTIC OF EFFECTIVE TEAM MEMBERS The people side of project management is very important for project success and in order for project to be successful, every individual including team leader or project personnel need to be properly managed. This aspect is crucial because it will lead them to contribute towards the achievement of the project goals. In the other hand, with good team members, it brings benefits including increased involvement, development and empowerment of employees, expand the use of employee skills and capabilities, helps in decision making process, growing in creativity and work processes and performance may improve. Creating effective team members is crucial. They are several characteristics of the effective members that are normally contributes to the successful of project. Have ultimate goals and plans A clear defined mission and goals encourage the team members to share purpose and common goals and willing and strive to achieve the goals and plans. Besides, team members are willing to put on their head the teams goal with their goal are basically same. Listen to everyone in the team Be an active listening, attempt to understand and concentrate to other teams point of views. Think and make a best option before making a decision. This criteria help team to identify and clarify the alternative ay to overcome problem arises. For team leader this criteria is very crucial because it is the aspect where the project can be perform without any unsatisfied matter occurs. Have positive relationship among team members By having good relationship with other team mates, the team will easier to perform their job as this can assist them in contributing ideas such as brainstorming process and run the project together with easily and effectively. This characteristic is applied for both team project and project manager or team leader. Overcome problems and make decision on time To be an effective team member, he or she is required to solve a problem and make a decision on time. With the knowledge and skills, they should have a capability to identify the best solution for any problem arises and able to rectify the problem and also faster make decision to prevent any project delays and cost overrun. Able to manage conflict An effective team is able to identify and resolve to any problems exist in timely during the project running. They also are capable to minimize conflicts as much as can to ensure the project will be completed on time. To achieve this criteria, the organization is suggested to provide a training program to all the teams. This will assist them in managing conflict effectively and efficiently. Facilitate productive meeting Team leader is efficiently, productively and has the skill in well managed meetings that efficiently use team members time. The productive meeting is important in identifying any potential risk and problems that may occurs during the implementation project. Besides by having meeting, all the team members may share and contribute ideas pertaining to achieve successful project. In addition through meeting, team members can develop plan and generate recommendations to stay on project track or schedule. Know roles of team members An effective team member also understands the roles of every team members in the project. By understanding every responsibility of every team members, it will assist the team to clarify other team members job and assist them to search a respective team according to a specific skills and knowledge if any problems occur that required other teams skills and knowledge. Operate in productive manner This criteria means, team members have the resources and skills to success and they are able to complete their works on time and facilitate quality and quantity measures to evaluate overall efficiency and effectiveness as well. 4.0 TEAM DEVELOPMENT STAGES There are number of models that describe the stages that teams go through on the way to be productive. One of the most famous ones has self-explanatory tittles for the stages. This team development stages model was developed by Bruce Tuckman in the 1970s. This model can be as levels of guideline for every project manager in managing their project team effectively. Other than that, by understanding and applying this practice into project management, it assist the team leader or project manager to have a better preparation to detect any changes or problem and take appropriate action to help the team. This model can be applied in order to see how teams are emerging and explain how behaviours and feelings of each team members at any given time. At first the Tuckmans model in 1965 consists of four (4) important stages, there are, forming, storming, norming and performing. After subsequent review by Tuckman and Jensen (1977), the stages have added to another important element known as adjourning as represented in Figure 1. C:UsersIJAPicturesTuckmans model diagram_0.JPG Figure 1: The stage model of team development by Tuckman and Jensen (1977) Source: Joanne Leith. The importance of team. Retrieved on 9 August, 2010 from http://www.teamworkspacific.com.au/article/importance_of_teams 4.1 Forming Stage Forming is the stage where all the team members meet and begin to work with each other for the first time. In this stage, teams are concerned to study the boundaries of acceptable team behaviour. This is a platform where the team come together with a sense of anticipation and commitment (Bubshait and Farooq (1999). In the other hand, this is a stage of transition from individual to become project member status and they look to the leader or other individual that are responsible to give them some clear picture in order to assist them get started (Lewis, 2007). This can be considered as a one way communication which is from leader to team member. Forming stage is quite stressful since everyone is new in the project and sometimes they even did not know each other. Due to this fact, team effectiveness is actually moderate and their motivation is high because they are being selected to be part of the team (Bubshait and Farooq, 1999). This will become more stressful if the project manager is not suitable with the project teams and this will automatically impact the process in performing and producing efficient work. Forming stage consist of several feelings and behaviours as represented in the Table 1. Table 1: Feelings and behaviours in forming stage Feelings Behaviours Excitement, anticipation and optimism Pride in being chosen for the project Initial, tentative attachment to the team Suspicion, fear and anxiety about the job or if they will be accepted by others Attempts to define the task and decide how it will be accomplished Attempts to determine acceptable group behaviour and how to deal with group problems Decision on what information need to be gathered Lofty, abstract discussions of concepts and issues; or for some members, impatience with these discussions Discussion of symptoms or problems not relevant to the task; difficulty in identifying relevant problems Complaints about the organization and barriers to the task Posturing, external and internal behaviours Source: Tuckmans stages of team development. Retrieved on 12 August, 2010 from http://jhartleyconsulting.com/files/Stages_of_Team_Development.pdf 4.2 Storming Stage Storming stage is challenging compare with the forming stage where this stage involves views and disagreement from team members instead of listening only to the instruction from the team leader. Based on Mackintosh (2007), storming stage sometimes will cause conflicts or problems among the team members even the forming stage was run and planned well. While for Rickards and Moger (2000), storming is the stage that involves personal conflicts. During this stage, team leader is holding heavy task where their leadership quality is tested (Mackintosh, 2007). As point of view by Bubshait and Farooq (1999), this stage involves various views by team members and they are dispute each other and this factor causes fail to the motivation and effectiveness of the team. However, even the arguing among team members emerges through this stage; it is also a beginning for them to know each other. Table 2 shows the feelings and behaviours occur during the storming stage. Table 2: Feelings and behaviours in storming stage Feelings Behaviours Resistance to the task and to suggested approaches different from what they know Sharp fluctuations in attitude about the team Powerlessness. Arguing among members even when they agree on the real issue. Defensiveness and competition; factions and choosing sides. Questioning the wisdom of those who selected the project and appointed the other members of the team. Establishing unrealistic goals; concern about excessive work. A perceived pecking order, disunity, increased tension, and jealousy. Source: Tuckmans stages of team development. Retrieved on 12 August, 2010 from http://jhartleyconsulting.com/files/Stages_of_Team_Development.pdf 4.3 Norming Stage This stage where the team is starting to work well together and the goals, roles, strength and weaknesses are identified. The team members are unite and agree on the principles cooperation, even though there are several opinions from many team members. During this stage the level of motivation and effectiveness start to increase (Bubshait and Farooq, 1999). According to Mackintosh (2007), norming stage is the stage that covers rules and regulations where through this stage, all team members are aware each other and it produce strong relationship among them. Besides, conflicts on emotion are also reduced and team members become more cooperative instead of having competitive relationship. As shown in Table 3, it listed the feelings and behaviours that might be occurred during norming stage. Table 3: Feelings and behaviours in norming stage Feelings Behaviours A new ability to express criticism constructively Acceptance of membership in the team Relief that it seems everything is going to work out. An attempt to achieve harmony by avoiding conflict. More friendliness, confiding in each other, and sharing of A sense of team cohesion, a common sprit and goals. Establishing and maintaining team ground rules and boundaries (the norms). Source: Tuckmans stages of team development. Retrieved on 12 August, 2010 from http://jhartleyconsulting.com/files/Stages_of_Team_Development.pdf 4.4 Performing Stage The fourth stage is performing, which all team members are focus on the team goals and they are begin to create strong relationship and built trust each other. Due to this fact, they may reach a high level of motivation and effectiveness (Bubshait and Farooq, 1999). Through this stage, all team members are aware and concern on the strength and weaknesses of the project and they are also work towards on that as they know rewards will be given after completion of project. According to Mackintosh (1997), the team members are comfortable in this stage compared with the storming stage where this stage is a platform that leads for the personal growth among the team members. During performing stage, project managers role become easier because the team members understand what their roles are and they are complete self-directed. The table 4 shows, the feelings and behaviours in performing stage. Table 4: Feelings and behaviours in performing stage Feelings Behaviours Members having insights into personal and group processes, and better understanding of each others strengths and weaknesses Satisfaction at the teams progress Close attachment to the team The team is now working effectively as a cohesive unit. You can tell when your team has reached this stage because you start getting a lot of work done Source: Tuckmans stages of team development. Retrieved on 12 August, 2010 from http://jhartleyconsulting.com/files/Stages_of_Team_Development.pdf 4.5 Adjourning Stage In other different team development model, adjourning term is also known as mourning. Adjourning is final stage where team reaches some kind of termination level which is through accomplishment or membership disruption (Rickards and Morger, 2000). In this stage, team members are brief and share the improved process and successful project as well. They also may feel a sense of loss. In a certain circumstances, if a new team is join the project team, the whole team will regress from the beginning and they have to act faster to get back on track. 5.0 CASE STUDIES This section will be presented two cases studies about project team members with adaption of team development stages model in regard to project success. 5.1 Case study 1 Team moving through five stages: A case study This case study is about the project to improve the performance of company in managing and supporting their client base. The project was leaded and guided by a leader from Chicago office that has 15 years experience as a project manager or team lead managing process improvement projects. This case study was performed by five individuals with different skills, abilities and experiences from various of large service organization. The project was conducted in virtually by using SharePoint site as a medium to interact each other. However, the team leader also has preferred to meet face to face initially. This case study was used the Tuckmans model (1977) as a guideline for the team leader to understand how to build an effective team and also to continue to manage and motivate them in order to achieve project goals. The findings of the case study will be discussed further. The project was begun with the initial meeting as a first stage in Tuckmans model known as forming stage. In this stage, all the team members were assembled and the meetings covered all essential aspects before the project get started. Based on first stage, it was found out that all team members were excited and ready to get work together. They were agreed to every task which has been assigned to them. Overall the first stage was in charged successfully by the team leader. The project work were begins in the storming stage. During this stage, arguments and conflicts between team members were emerged. This was happened due to unsatisfied of job assigned and issues of seniority or experiences for particular job aspect. For this reason, the team leader was initially taken a side role to overcome these conflicts. She managed to solve the problems with a win win situation for every of her team members by selecting the best options. During the norming stage, everything was going smoothly. There were still have some arguments and disagreements but they were managed to overcome it without relying on the team leader to make decision for them. They were also become a teamwork and enjoy working with each other. After the completion of norming stage the fourth stage was taken place, which is performing stage. By this stage, the team has reached high performing team. It was discovered some of the team members have developed their skills and leadership roles with the support of others. The project was completed on time within the budget. Besides, the team leader was rewarded by the team because of her good performance in managing the project. Finally the project was achieved it goals where their internal customer was pleased and there is improvements in how the company supports its clients. The team has united together to do some evaluation on the project done that including documenting best practices and way to improve any mistakes done during the implementation of project. 5.2 Case Study 2 Diamonds in the rough: A case study of team development across disciplines, distances and institutions The purpose of this case study is to explore team building strategies by describing reactions of every respective faculty to their participation in a multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional team project which performed via distance. The team members of this project consist of five different universities and from various agriculture disciplines. The teams were gathered to develop online educational resources. The results of the case study that adapted into team development stages are presented in Figure 2. C:UsersIJAPicturesteam development stages.jpg Figure 2: Integration of Tuckmans (1965) Small Group Development Model into One Teams Experience Source: Susan Fritz et al., Diamonds in the rough: A case study of team development across disciplines, distances and institutions. Retrieved on 9 August, 2010 from http://www.joe.org/joe/2005october/a4.php From the findings also, they have pointed out several important elements that engaged during the execution of project. There are motivation for collaboration, timeline, evaluation and rewards, team leader, cohesion, interaction, trust and some miscellaneous findings. In the forming stage, it was discovered that two of team members were inspired to sharpen their skills and motivated to further their knowledge in Web-based instructions. While there were some questioning of team objectives occurs during the storming stage due to the progressed and deadline of project were frequently unmet. There were also an issue pertaining to the evaluation and rewards where they were concern over little support from their team mates and administrators as well. During this stage, the team leader was strict to ensure the team members keep on track. In the norming and performing stages, the trust and friendship were built. It was found out that there were distances separating them in running the project but the team grew from a mere work group into a synergistic individual. Finally the website containing lesson was completed. As overall, the teams were satisfied with their job as well as the supervisory of their team leader. However the lack of supporting from home departments was still remain major issue. 6.0 REVIEW OF TWO CASE STUDIES The findings for both case studies almost the same where the results appear the same meaning. In case study 1, Tuckmans model (1977) was used while for case study 2, Tuckmans model (1965) without adjourning stage was applied. Basically, team leader is plays important role in developing an effective team member through team development stages. Table 5 presents comparison with several key elements that engaged in both case studies. Table 5: Key elements KEY ELEMENTS CASE STUDY 1 CASE STUDY 2 Motivation level The project motivated the team members and the team members were developed their skills and applied a leadership roles during the implementation of project. The team members were inspired and motivated to collaborate with each other. Timeline pressures Project schedule issue was emerged due to the decision made by only two team members. Timeline of the project was questioned by the team members due to the project progressed and deadlines were seldom unmet. Evaluation and rewards The team were acknowledged by project sponsor and other executives. The team felt little support from their colleagues and administrator. Leadership style Team leader has encouraged and brought the team together for a face to face meetings on monthly basis Team leader has created a working environment conducive to collaboration. Cohesion and interaction The team members communicate each other via communicating on email, via instant messaging, on Twitter or over the telephone. Many team members still missed the interaction of face to face meetings. However, the scenario changed slowly as team reached the norming and performing stages. Trust The team share knowledge with other team members The team members felt comfortable with others to be honest about their opinions and ideas 7.0 CONCLUSIONS It can be concluded that effective team members only can be developed through considerable structure (Lewis, 2007). This structure known as team development stages, where these stages represents the team members are working together, strengths and weaknesses of each team are tested, compliant to the rules and behaviours of the team, working as a unit while working independently and shifting onto other teams (Ruppert, 2009). While developing an effective project team members, the team leader also need to have multiple skills in managing those people in the project management. According to Tan (2004), due to multi-disciplinary and multi-dimensional of project management, a good manager is an individual that can wear multiple hats and work in any discipline of development to plug up any shortcomings. For team members, it is necessary for them to fulfil the effective team member characteristic in order to achieve project goals on time and within the budget besides preventing a conflict w ith others in the same project.

Forensic Evidence is Vital to Criminal Investigations Essay -- Forensi

At every crime scene there is evidence and evidence is the vital part of crime scene investigation. From the time an officer arrives on the scene until a conviction of the perpetrator evidence is the key element in determining the guilt or innocence of those accused. A poorly conducted crime scene investigation can sometimes either destroy evidence or render it useless. The possibility of tainted evidence, miss-handled evidence, or lack of evidence, the guilty can go free or the wrongful convicted. When someone is convicted or acquitted wrongly it has an adverse effect on the entire criminal justice system. Evidence can range from body fluids, to weapons, to witnesses and DNA. Understanding and implementing the proper logistics of crime evidence and the proper use of forensic technology is the key. Evidence can not only establish the facts of an offense and identify the offender; it may even lead to a conviction. A Crime Scene Investigator must first approach the crime scene as if it is their only opportunity to protect and retrieve physical evidence. There are special technics and tools that crime scene investigators use to retrieve, preserve, and label all types of evidence (for lists of Crime Scene Equipment see Appendix A). The general protocol for crime scene investigation, processing, and analysis involves five basic steps: interview, examine, photograph, sketch and process (Berg, 2008). When looking at the crime scene it needs to be looked at with fresh eyes and without a prejudiced opinion of what happened, how it happened, or who might have done it. A conclusion may be based solely on the evidence and so an investigators integrity and judgment, gathering the evidence, maybe what stands between a conviction and a dis... ... National Institute of Justice. (2007, October). Forensic Databases: Paint, Shoe Prints and Beyond. Retrieved March 3, 2012, from NIJ Journal No. 258: http://www.nij.gov/journals/258/forensic-databases.html North Carolina General Assembly. (n.d.). Admissibility of Forensic Evidence. Retrieved March 5, 2012, from Article 7 C .8 58.20: http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_8/GS_8-58.20.html North Carolina General Assembly. (n.d.). Evidence Code Article 1. Retrieved March 5, 2012, from Chapter 8c-1.: http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/PDF/ByChapter/Chapter_8C.pdf North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation. (2010, January). Evidence Guide. Retrieved March 9, 2012, from http://www.iape.org/manuals/No%20Carolina%20Evidence%20Guide%20(2010).pdf Siegel, L. J. (2011). Criminal Justice. Belmont: Wadsworth.

Marx and Freud: Comparing Their Views Of Human Nature Essay

In The Communist Manifesto, Karl Marx and Frederick Engels present their view of human nature and the effect that the economic system and economic factors have on it. Marx and Engels discuss human nature in the context of the economic factors which they see as driving history. Freud, in Civilization and Its Discontents, explores human nature through his psychological view of the human mind. Marx states that history ‘†¦is the history of class struggles’ (9). Marx views history as being determined by economics, which for him is the source of class differences. History is described in The Communist Manifesto as a series of conflicts between oppressing classes and oppressed classes. According to this view of history, massive changes occur in a society when new technological capabilities allow a portion of the oppressed class to destroy the power of the oppressing class. Marx briefly traces the development of this through different periods, mentioning some of the various oppressed and oppressing classes, but points out that in earlier societies there were many gradations of social classes. He also states that this class conflict sometimes leads to ‘†¦the common ruin of the contending classes’ (Marx 9). Marx sees the modern age as being distinguished from earlier periods by the simplification and intensification of the class conflict. He states that ‘Society as a whole is more and more splitting up into two great hostile camps†¦ bourgeoisie and proletariat’ (Marx 9). The bourgeoisie, as the dominant class of capitalists, subjugates the proletariat by using it as an object for the expansion of capital. As capitalism progresses, this subjugation reduces a larger portion of the population to the proletariat and society becomes more polarized. According to Marx, the polarization of society and the intense oppression of the proletariat will eventually lead to a revolution by the proletariat, in which the control of the bourgeoisie will be destroyed. The proletariat will then gain control of the means of production. This revolution will result in the creation of a socialist state, which the proletariat will use to institute socialist reforms and eventually communism. The reforms which Marx outlines as occurring in the socialist state have the common goal of disimpowering the bourgeoisie and increasing economic equality. He sees this socialist stage as necessary for but inevitably leading to the establishment of communism. Human beings, which are competitive under capitalism and other prior economic systems, will become cooperative under socialism and communism. Marx, in his view of human nature, sees economic factors as being the primary motivator for human thought and action. He asks the rhetorical question, ‘What else does the history of ideas prove, than that intellectual production changes its character in proportion as material production is changed?’ (Marx 29). For Marx, the economic status of human beings determines their consciousness. Philosophy, religion and other cultural aspects are a reflection of economics and the dominant class which controls the economic system. This view of human nature as being primarily determined by economics may seem to be a base view of humanity. However, from Marx’s point of view, the human condition reaches its full potential under communism. Under communism, the cycle of class conflict and oppression will end, because all members of society will have their basic material needs met, rather than most being exploited for their labor by a dominant class. In this sense the Marxian vie w of human nature can be seen as hopeful. Although human beings are motivated by economics, they will ultimately be able to establish a society which is not based on economic oppression. Freud, in Civilization and Its Discontents, presents a conception of human nature that differs greatly from that of Marx. His view of human nature is more complex than Marx’s. Freud is critical of the Marxist view of human nature, stating that ‘†¦I am able to recognize that the psychological premises on which the [communist] system is based are an untenable illusion. In abolishing private property we deprive the human love of aggression of one of its instruments†¦but we have in no way altered the differences in power and influence which are misused by aggressiveness, nor have we altered anything in its nature’ (Freud 71). Freud does not believe that removal of economic differences will remove the human instinct to dominate others. For Freud, aggression is an innate component of human nature and will exist regardless of how society is formulated. He sees human beings as having both a life instinct (Eros) and an instinct for destruction. In Freud’s view of human reality, the source of conflict, oppression, and destruction in human society is man’s own psychological makeup. Because of Freud’s view of human nature as inherently having a destructive component, he does not believe that a ‘transformation’ of humans to communist men and women will be possible. Marx’s belief that the current capitalist society will evolve into a communist society is not supportable under Freud’s conception of human nature because the desires of human beings are too much in conflict with the demands of any civilized society. This conflict does not exist because of economic inequalities, according to Freud, but rather because it is in human nature to have aggressive desires which are destructive to society. Freud’s approach to the possibility of reducing conflict among humanity focuses on understanding the human mind, the aggressive qualities of human nature, and how human beings’ desires can come into conflict with the demands of human society. He does not believe that the problems of human conflict, aggression, and destruction can be solved by a radical reordering of society as the philosophy of Marx suggests. Instead, Freud looks inside ourselves to explore these problems. At the close of his work, Freud states, ‘The fatef ul question for the human species seems to me to be whether and to what extent their cultural development will succeed in mastering the disturbance of their communal life by the human instinct of aggression and self-destruction’ (Freud 111). Freud does not offer any radical solutions to human aggressiveness, but rather sees it as something that humans must continually strive to overcome. He states ‘†¦I have not the courage to rise up before my fellow-men as a prophet, and I bow to their reproach that I can offer them no consolation†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (Freud 111). Freud can not offer some vision of a human utopia, but can only suggest that there is some possibility for the improvement of the human condition and society, but also warns that our success at overcoming destructive instincts may be limited. Marx offers a radical philosophy which also sees conflict as one of the constants of prior human existence. Unlike Freud, Marx believes that the aggressive and conflict-oriented aspects of human nature will disappear under the communist society which he sees as the inevitable product of capitalism. This is the hopeful element of Marx’s philosophy. However, if communism is not seen as inevitable or the possibil ities for reducing human conflict before a socialist revolution are considered, then Marx’s view of human nature locks humanity into constant conflict. If the future is to be like Marx’s version of history, then there is little hopefulness in this view of human nature. Works Cited Freud, Sigmund. Civilization and Its Discontents. Ed. James Strachey. New York: W.W. Norton, 1961. Marx, Karl and Frederick Engels. The Communist Manifesto. New York: International Publishers, 1994.

Should Corporal Punishment Be Allowed - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 6 Words: 1916 Downloads: 3 Date added: 2019/07/30 Category Society Essay Level High school Tags: Corporal Punishment Essay Did you like this example? The existence of corporal punishment has been traced back to the early beginnings of time, dating back to some of the first civilizations using it for military aspects and also parenting on children, according to the biblical verses dating back to the 6th century B.C. such as Proverbs 23:13-14, Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you strike him with a rod, he will not die. If you strike him with the rod, you will save his soul from Sheol, and Proverbs 13:24, Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Should Corporal Punishment Be Allowed?" essay for you Create order Even since ancient times, corporal punishment or physical punishment towards children has been in place in various nationals society and culture, whether it be from parents, clergy members, or schoolteachers. However more recently, many have argued that the use of corporal punishment merely uses fear and power to instill better behaviour by children, and that it has more negative aspects than positive. The question, Should corporal punishment be allowed in schools? still remains highly controversial. One proposed solution is to outlaw the use of corporal punishment in schools, through increasing legislation and repealing former laws that allowed it. Supporters of this solution may feel that the children are in an unsafe learning environment and will fear more about punishment than their education, and in turn will create a more difficult atmosphere for students to succeed. Those opposing this view will often argue that corporal punishment teaches children right from wrong and establishes a clear line not to cross. These contrasting views create the controversy surrounding schools as many parents will often have differing viewpoints while their children are attending the same school, and a dministrators attempt to find and implement the best system for students. The negative effects of corporal punishment cited by critics are based off of research relating to prolonged and excessive use of the punishment. Studies have shown that occasional use for serious behavioral issues sets clear boundaries that will keep the student in line in the future, and will understand the accountability for their actions and decisions. Corporal punishment offers an alternative to traditional suspension, detention or another form of disciplinary action. The childs education is not interrupted and make-up work is not required for missed class instruction one of the most commonly used argument against corporal punishment is that it is unethical, however in 2014, 94% of parents with children three to four years old reported that they had spanked their child within the past year, and 76% of men and 65% of women agreed with the statement, a child sometimes needs a good spanking.(Should). Just because someones morals dont align with yours doesnt make them wrong or uneth ical, according to Child Trends. Often when given the chice many students will choose corporal punishment over the traditional disciplinary action. Allison Collins, a high school senior at Robbinsville High School in North Carolina USA, stated she chose corporal punishment over in-school suspension when her phone rang in class. Robbinsville High Schools policy allows students to request a paddling in place of in-school-suspension, or ISS. Last year, 22 students attending Robbinsville chose paddling over suspension, according their principal David Matheson. Many of the schools that do offer corporal punishment have very direct and strict guidelines to follow, such as Central Parish in Louisiana. Central Parish states that three swats with a paddle approximately 20 inches long, 4 inches wide, and not exceeding inch in thickness is the appropriate punishment when being used. In the United States, the use of corporal punishment is not prohibited, as there are no federal bans or laws regulating it. However it is not permitted in the head start program, a publicly funded pre-school often used in lower income areas. In 1977, the US Supreme Court decision in Ingraham v. Wright found that corporal punishment was not cruel and unusual punishment and therefore is allowed in schools. However there have been no recent court rulings on this topic, to coincide with a differently opinionated time with different values and research. Different countries have differing values, such as India compared to the United States. According to Paulo Pinheiro of the UN General Assembly, 2 out of 3 children in India receive corporal punishment in the classroom, with boys receiving punishment more often (73%) compared to the girls in the same grade (65%). Physical punishment is widely used and ingrained in both the government funded and private schools of India, many will attribute this to the large class sizes as the population is so great. Many will argue that this punishment is necessary to control a class of this size as students can quickly get out of hand. The use physical punishment provides a clear boundary they will know not to cross again and in turn will assure more self control for the students in the classroom, and thus create a better learning environment for the students. Corporal punishment can inflict long-lasting physical and mental harm on students, as a study in 2016 found that children who were physically punished were in turn, more likely to have problems with aggression and attention, also studies have linked the frequent result of physical punishment to higher risks for anxiety, depression, substance abuse, stress, and other mental health concerns. Not only is mental health affected, but students or children that experience corporal punishment are more likely to relate violence with power, and in turn are more likely to have violent outbursts later in life, such as abusing a spouse. Certain studies have corporal punishment can create an unsafe environment for students preventing higher levels of education and thought,which is pushed for more and more in everyday society.However the opposing side argues that this form of physical punishment is beneficial to the student as it will develop a stronger value of morals, and deciding what is right a nd wrong, will increase the productivity of the classroom and may provide a higher authority for those teachers or professors in charge. In the United States, 29 states ban the use of corporal punishment while one recent study found that in states where corporal punishment is frequently used, schools have performed worse academically than those in states that prohibit corporal punishment. Internationally, 54 countries ban corporal punishment in all instances, including at home. Only nine countries do not bancorporal punishment in any instances: Botswana, Guyana, Malaysia, Mauritania, Nigeria, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, and United Republic of Tanzania.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Multiple studies as of recent have shown a direct link between corporal punishment as a child and mental health issues, especially with aggression and attention. Children who experience corporal punishment are more likely to relate forms of violence with power, and are, therefore, more likely to be a bully or abuse a partner (Cuddy). Based off these studies, using corporal punishment does more harm to students than good. Rather than keeping the students in line, it is creating an unsafe and violent school environment, corporal punishment signals to the child that a way to settle personal conflicts is to use physical force and inflict pain. Such children may in turn resort to such behavior themselves (American). In the United States, at least 59% of the 185 public mass shootings that took place from 1900 through 2017 were carried out by people who had either been diagnosed with a mental disorder or demonstrated signs of serious mental illness prior to the attack (Actually), which only exemplifies that using violence in schools can develop into a larger problem. Many argue that if corporal punishment is illegal in military training and prisons, in the U.S., then it should have no place in the classroom on minors. In the United States alone, corporal punishment has been banned in 29 states, whereas only 15 states legally permit it.   Many use the argument that corporal punishment keeps students focused in their academics and in return will help them to succeed, however studies have shown that, Students who experience corporal punishment in kindergarten are more likely to have lower vocabulary scores in fourth grade and lower fifth grade math scores( Cuddy). Often corporal punishment is difficult to regulate as the pain inflicted can vary, and administrators or teachers administering the punishment can be subjective with the force in which they strike the student, or how they determine the amount of strikes for the offense committed. Corporal punishment is categorized into a four tier system, with the harshest punishments at the top in count ries such as Saudi Arabia, as countries punishment becomes less severe they travel down the gradient. The United States, is in the third tier but appears to be approaching the second, containing countries such as Canada, Russia, Japan, China, South Africa and most of Europe   including the United Kingdom. There is often a direct link with more economically developed countries being lower on the tier system, possibly due to the more researched effects of this form of punishment. However even in a drop of just one tier literacy rates of the country improved by 26% (Nation). These statistics provide the evidence many use to validate their arguments that physical punishment doesnt work in the classroom but rather hurts the students overall performance, and sets up a vast range of problems in the future such as mental health. Mental health appears to be one of the largest problems with the not only the youth but across all age groups today, and the prevention of it could very well stem from this large contributor in the formative years of the persons life. After considering both sides of this issue, I feel that ban of corporal punishment in schools is the more optimal solution to the problem. The primary reasons for corporal punishment being in place now is to maintain students accountable by using authority and force to strike fear into them. Based on my research I have found that this sort of physical punishment to developing minds and can cause more harm than good, such as varying mental illnesses, and makes the students feel in such a way that when faced with a problem violence or aggression is the proper response. Also with the series of school shootings taking place in the United states such as the Parkland shooting, students that faced physical violence in schools are more likely to retaliate at the place that harmed them. Although some students will not respond to regular disciplinary action, I feel the better solution is to remove them from the learning environment to keep from distracting fellow peers, or taking away from the teachers lesson while still giving them the opportunity to do the work assigned and return to class when it appears they have either calmed down or understand why they were being punished. I believe this is a viable solution, as it is relatively easy and inexpensive for the administration to enact and creates a more productive learning environment. Also grade school has proven to be one of the most insecure times for many people, and using fear and playing off of that by those that are viewed as figures of authority should have no place in schools. If I continued my research, I would learn more about the effects of violence on students in their formative years and how it affects the brains ability to function, and the possible mental issues that could come with it. The problem of mental health is a worldwide issue, and if research was more heavily conducted in this field I believe it could possibly be a large factor contributing to mental health, violent crimes, and low levels of education.