Personal Explorations Paper Essay Example for Free

Personal Explorations Paper Essay Over the course of 7 modules, different personality aspects of mine have been tested and evaluated and have even revealed things about myself that I was not aware of. The surveys and questions that I answered dug deep into decisions and choice I make, how I think and how I feel to reveal certain characteristics about myself, some of which I was aware of and others that I was not. Things such as my expression of sexuality, different levels and aspects of my psychology, my personal reactions to certain social situations, and the way I pursue and value my career were all evaluated by answering questionnaires. In the end a lot was revealed about the way I handle and look at things and even my overall personality. My expression of sexuality was not really a huge surprise to me. My values and my religious beliefs I believe played a huge part of expression of sexuality. I believe that sex is something that was designed by God exclusively for marriage. Although that has not always been what I valued or walked by in my life, it is now my beliefs since I am not married. My intermediate and low scores concerning sexual esteem, sexual depression, and sexual preoccupation didnt surprise me, but I do feel that because of my beliefs and how I now view sex that my responses automatically made it seemed as if I struggled with the sexual esteem, depression and preoccupation which is not the case. I view sex as a temptation that I cannot indulge into until Im married. If I were surprised by anything it would be that my scores were not lower. Positive psychology was another aspect of my personality that I was  questioned and evaluated on. The questions yielded 4 scores, my orientation to pleasure, to engagement, meaning and to victory. My highest score amongst the 4 orientations scores was orientation to meaning. This I feel was very reflective on to how I feel and how I view my life. Meaning embodies all the feelings, hopes, joys and outlooks I have on life, my life and the meaning attached to it. I believe every person is born into this world with a God given purpose. Everyones life has meaning although not everyone during his or her lifetime accept, recognize or fulfill his or her meaning. What I do with my life should be a direct reflection of the love of Jesus within me. All of those things contribute greatly to how I view my life and the meaning attached to it. My lowest score was victory and I believe that is also an accurate depiction of my personality. I am not a person who values or lives to compete with others, be better than others or outdo what others have done or gotten. Doing so, in my eyes, takes away from the meaning of ones life. I see it as the lower the victory score the more the person is in tune with the meaning of their lives. My person reactions to social situations is an area I believe that I have certain seen personal growth and development in for myself. I found myself tested by 2 different questionnaires, The Self, and Friendship and Love. I believe if I would have answered some of these questions earlier this summer my responses would have been a tad different and I would have probably scored a number that reflected how badly I handled and felt in social situations. I was surprised to see myself get a low score on the Friendship and Love assessment because I believed that is one area I have definitely seen myself grow in. I believe gaining confidence in myself allowed me to handle social situation differently then before. I believe that this year has been the year of tremendous personal growth and the development of a stronger and wiser person that I have stepped into an embraced. The way I have handled situations has definitely improved from the way I used to handle and approach things. The assessment on Careers and Work, I saw myself score an 89, which is considered low. I contribute that low score from a lack of wisdom, knowledge and experience. I have been in the Air Force since June 2009, so since then  I have yet to transition back into the civilian world and workforce. My need to job hunt and my techniques on how I do so are pretty much non-existent but this is definitely an area I am currently seeking to grow and become more knowledge in because I do not plan on making the military a career after my contract ends. Growing in this area will set me up to have a successful transition into the civilian world. I have definitely seen areas of personal growth and developments reflected in most of the scores and believe they are direct reflections of how I feel inside. A few scores I believe did not accurately paint the picture of myself that I thought it should paint and that made me reflect on my characteristics and personality traits. These past 7 seven weeks, I have evaluated my life and observed my reactions to various situations and I believe personal growth can be found in the midst of that.

Affirmative Action - Public Opinion vs. Policy :: Affirmative Action Racism Discrimination Essays

Affirmative Action - Public Opinion vs. Policy When Justin Ketcham, a white college student from the suburbs, thinks about affirmative action, he thinks about what happened when he sent out letters seeking scholarships so he could attend Stanford University after being accepted during his senior year of high school.The organizations that wrote back told him their money was reserved for women or minorities. To Americans like Ketcham, it's a matter of fairness. The average white male will claim that it's not fair to attempt to rebalance scales by balancing them the other way. Students like Ketcham are also more likely to claim that affirmative action is a program geared towards curtailing workplace prejudices that really don't exist anymore.But when Hillary Williams, a black insurance company manager from the inner-city, thinks about affirmative action, she thinks about the time she had to train three consecutive white male bosses for a job that no one even approached her about filling. To her, it's also a question of fairness. African-Americans like Hillary feel that there is just no other was besides affirmative action to level the playing field in certain businesses.And so the disparity in public opinion begins. A racially-divided America creates separate groups, which "Affirmative Action issue taps a fundamental cleavage in American Society" (Gamson and Modigliani 170)--each with their own view of affirmative action on different sides of the line. Government attempts to create policy based upon the voice of the people but affirmative action seems to present an almost un-solvable dilemma. Traditionally, it had been a policy that was greatly scrutinized for its quotas and alleged unfairness towards Blacks, but at the same time it had also been praised for its inherent ability to help minorities gets jobs they deserve but could not obtain otherwise. So how do we reach a "happy medium" so-to-speak? In American political culture, it appears as though individualism and egalitarianism are values that find themselves on opposite ends of the political battlefield. In a complex world of political ideology and political culture are sets of values and principles that are widely endorsed by politicians, educators, the media and other opinion leaders that make up the definition of what is to be American (Feldman and Zaller). Some favor the values of individual freedom, especially individual economic freedom, over other values, especially equality and popular sovereignty (egalitarianism). These people are labeled Conservatives. The other side of the spectrum consider themselves as Liberals (Feldman and Zaller).Because we live in a meritocracy created by the strong forces of capitalism, there is a tendency for people to fall behind either in the economy or in the academic community.

One Nation under Wal-Mart Essay

82% of American households purchase at least one item from Wal-Mart every year. Wal-Mart controls about 30% of the market in household staples. Sells 15% of all magazines and 15%-20% of all CDs, videos and DVDs. It is expected to control over 35% of U.S. food sales. When comparing other companies that sell consumer products, Wal-Mart represents a big chunk of their total business: 20% for Dial, 24% for Del Monte, and 23% for Revlon. Wal-Mart is responsible for 10% of all goods imported to the United States from China. Wal-Mart offers the lowest prices in all of their products, because of the cost efficiency it has achieved. Wal-Mart’s buying power and cost-saving efficiencies force local rivals out of business, thus costing jobs, disrupting communities, and injuring established business districts. Within 5 years after one Wal-Mart opening, two local supermarkets close. Because of Wal-Mart tax breaks, it causes the local tax revenue to decrease and not increase. Wal-Mart is staunchly anti-union and pays low wages. Its labor cost are 20% lower than those of unionized supermarkets; its clerks earns only $8.23 an hour, and most of its 1.4 million employees must survive without company health insurance. Employee turnover is 44%. Because of its size, it exerts a downward pressure on retail wages and  benefits throughout the country. Because of its hard line on costs, it has forced many factories to move overseas, which sacrifices American jobs and holds wages down. Government welfare programs subsidize Wal-Mart’s poverty-level wages. 200 employee store costs the government $42k a year in housing assistance, $108k in children’s healthcare, and $125k in tax credits and deductions for low-income families. 46% of the children of Wal-Mart’s 1.33 million workers are uninsured or on Medicaid. Wal-Mart hires mores part-time employees and discourages unhealthy people from working at the store by requiring all jobs to include some physical labor in order to reduce spending on health care and other benefits. Wal-Mart does not carry music or computer games with mature ratings, forcing big music companies to supply them with sanitized versions of the CDs. Wal-Mart offers fire arms in many locations but has declined to sell Preven, a morning after pill. Wal-Mart has declined to sell some magazines and has put binder to obscure the covers of other magazines. Wal-Mart is considered â€Å"the biggest barrier to growth†. Wal-Mart decide to respond to all the criticism by improving employee health insurance coverage and adopting greener business practices. Wal-Mart was one of the first responders to Hurricane Katrina by sending truckloads of water and food reaching the residents before federal supplies did. Wal-Mart sales growth has slipped as the internet has changed people’s shopping habits and as other discounters have done a better job of attracting affluent consumer and providing higher quality and better service. 2. Ethical Issues Is it ethical and moral for Wal-Mart to make profit maximizing and cost effectiveness their number one goal? Is it moral to only hire part-time employees to decrease their health care spending? Is it moral or ethical to sell firearms but decline to sell the morning after pill? Is it moral for Wal-Mart not to provide fair wages to the employees? Is it moral for Wal-Mart to take advantage of government welfare program for subsidization? Should there be a requirement for large companies to employ a certain percentage of full-time employees? Does Wal-Mart have a moral responsibility of helping the communities grow? Is it moral or ethical for Wal-Mart to not  provide adequate health care to its employees? Is it moral for Wal-Mart to insist on tax breaks at the expense of the local community tax revenues decreasing? Should we as citizens enable these large companies by accepting jobs that pay poorly and offer no health insurance? Is it moral for Wal-Mart not to value the life and well-being of their employees and families? Is it ethical for Wal-Mart to be customer-oriented and not employee-oriented? Is it ethical for corporation like Wal-Mart to be held to higher standards to provide a better living standard to the employees and the community? Should a company of a certain size be required to offer health insurance? Should large companies that get tax breaks be forced to contribute to the community in other ways? 3. Primary Stakeholders Wal-Mart itself U.S. economy Consumers across U.S. Employees Shareholders Other companies and its employees Local communities Government Suppliers Other countries 4. Alternative Actions Wal-Mart should either pay their employees higher wages or provide health care regardless of the hours worked. Wal-Mart should maximize profits and at the same time look out for the well-being of the employee. Require a company the size of Wal-Mart to give back to the community if it wants to open a store. Try to establish a bill requiring large companies to maintain the majority of its employees as full-time where benefits can be offered. Cities or counties should not offer tax cuts to businesses that could  ³disrupt the community. Wal-Mart needs to establish a more competitive pay and better benefits program for their employees. Wal-Mart should keep doing what they are doing. It has been effective so far in becoming the largest company in  the world, why change it? 5. Ethics of the Alternatives Alternative 1 Wal-Mart should keep doing what they are doing. It has been effective so far in becoming the largest company in the world and among the most profitable ones, why change it? Utilitarian Perspective Utilitarian perspective would not support this idea. This idea seeks out to produce the greatest good for the company itself and not everyone person or business affected. Wal-Mart is seeking out the best for the company and one else. In order to be supported it would have to be the greatest good for Wal-Mart and everyone affected by this decision and or actions of the business. Deontological or Rights Perspective Deontological perspective would not support this alternative in any way. This is an alternative that treats people as a means to an end. It does not recognize the value and importance of the employees, and only values the company itself and the profits that can make. This is not a good way of conducting business and would never be accepted as a universal rule. Egoism Egoism perspective would support this alternative. Wal-Mart is basically doing what is best for the company and the shareholders, which is their primary duty. They are the largest company in the world and immensely profitable. Even with all the opposition it faces it is still one of the prefer companies for many consumers to their one stop shop. They offer the best and lower prices and customers are able to find everything they need for their households in just one stop. Wal-Mart is here to make profit and stay in business, this is their goal. Alternative 2 Wal-Mart should either pay their employees higher wages or provide health care regardless of the hours worked. Utilitarian Perspective Utilitarian perspective could support this alternative. It would have to be seen as being the greatest good for both Wal-Mart and the employees. If Wal-Mart raises the wages or offer the employees’ healthcare benefits, this will have benefits for both. The employee will be happy and will feel valued and appreciated by the employer. In turn the employees will have job satisfaction and their job performance will be good. This will help to the growth and success of the company. With happy employees helping potential customers, it can ensure good sales and thus increase their profit. Deontological or Rights Perspective Deontological perspective would support this alternative. This alternative seeks out the benefits of the employees. It takes into consideration their value as a human and show respect. By Wal-Mart implementing such policy in the company they are saying to the employees that we value and want to right by you. Every employee is a valuable asset to the company and key to its success. This alternative treats the employees as ends and not as the means to end. Egoism This alternative would not be supported by egoism. With this alternative Wal-Mart seeks to offer the best solution possible to their employees. They can either increase their wages so the employees are able to have a better standard of living or offer healthcare regardless of hours worked. This would ensure the well-being of each employee. 6. Practical Constrains Finding the right piece of property to build the store Government regulations The company’s responsibilities to the shareholders and to make profit Ability to offer the lowest prices American products too expensive to sell in the store Cost of being in business 7. Actions to be taken Wal-Mart should change their current employee benefits program and offer a  better and more competitive pay. This would allow for employees and their families to have a better standard of life It would help by possibly increasing the retail wages among other businesses Wal-Mart should participate in community events and give back to community Wal-Mart should hold meetings in communities where they are looking to build and hear the citizen concerns and find solutions so it is of benefit for both.

Capital Punishment Should Be Illegal - 1563 Words

Why Capital Punishment should be illegal The Constitution that governs our laws in America is there to protect all of its people and that include the criminals that are on death row. The death penalty materially violates the constitutional ban against cruel and unusual punishment, the guarantees of due process of law, and of equal protection under the law. This is the reason why capital punishment should be illegal in all fifty states. We believe that the states should not give itself the right to kill any human beings. Capital punishment is an inexcusable denial of civil rights and is inconsistent with the basic values of our democratic system. The death penalty is uncivilized in theory and unfair in practice. The death penalty system in the US is applied in an unfair and unjust manner against people, largely dependent on how much money they have, the skills of their attorneys, race of the victim and where the crime took place. Through litigations, legislation, and encouragement aga inst this vicious and brutal way, we strive to prevent executions and seek to abolishment of capital punishment. We would like to think that the death penalty is more cost effective. It seems like the accused is seen in court for their horrendous crime, sentenced for Capital Punishment, and the next day they face execution. Easy, cheap for us taxpayers. That is far from the truth. The death penalty is a waste of taxpayers’ funds. It boggles the time and energy of courts, prosecuting attorneys,Show MoreRelatedCapital Punishment Should Be Illegal1536 Words   |  7 PagesCapital punishment is the planned taking of a legally convicted persons life. Convicted persons are put to death under certain guidelines; such as age, and the crime that was committed. Certain laws such as the â€Å"Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996† (Supreme Court Rulings), â€Å"New Terrorism Crimes and Penalties† (Death Penalty Statutes), and Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act (D eath Penalty Laws) ensure that only those who are convicted of either acts of terror, homicides, and other lifeRead MoreCapital Punishment Should Be Illegal1613 Words   |  7 Pages Why Capital Punishment should be illegal? The Constitution that governs our laws in America is there to protect all of the people and that includes the criminals that are on death row. The death penalty materially violates the constitutional ban against cruel and unusual punishment, the guarantees of due process of law, and of equal protection under the law. (Bedau, Hugo Adam, The Case Against the Death Penalty) This is the reason why capital punishment should be illegal in all fifty statesRead MoreWhy Capital Punishment Should Be Illegal1282 Words   |  6 PagesCapital Punishment: Why it should be Illegal People may think capital punishment is a good thing that the criminals deserve to die for the horrible crime they have committed. But the truth is that capital punishment is expensive, it violates the U.S Constitution, sentencing someone to jail for life is a worse punishment than being sentenced to death, and the death penalty goes against God and several religious beliefs. There are also innocent people on death row and that the death penalty is notRead MoreShould Capital Punishment Stay Illegal in Canada?636 Words   |  2 PagesThe criminal justice system is innately flawed; since 1900 twenty three innocent people have been executed in the United States that has been documented (citation needed). Which is one of the reasons why I think it should remain illegal in Canada. The sentence doesn’t deter crime, (citation needed) and in some cases it only exasperates the crime which it was supposed to deter. Also, in order to keep an inmate on death row it costs on average nine ty thousand dollars more than keeping an inmate forRead MoreCapital Punishment Should be Abolished883 Words   |  4 Pages Capital punishment is the punishment of death for a crime given by the state. It is used for a variety of crimes such as murder, drug trafficking and treason. Many countries also have the death penalty for sexual crimes such as rape, incest and adultery. The lethal injection, the electric chair, hanging and stoning are all methods of execution used throughout the world. Capital punishment has been around since ancient times; it was used in ancient Rome, and one of the most famous people to be crucifiedRead MoreCapital Punishment Should Be Abolished Essay672 Words   |  3 PagesCapital Punishment Should Be Abolished Capital punishment is a brutal antiquated concept that must be abolished in the name of civilised society. Each year in just America, the land of freedom + the just, 650 people r added 2 the death row + 105 r executed. The death penalty is the harshest form of punishment in the world today. Once the jury has proved a criminal guilty theyRead MoreThe Illegalization Of Capital Punishment1441 Words   |  6 PagesBrianna Pulido Ms. Ingram American Literature 14 April, 2015 The Illegalization of Capital Punishment The Death Penalty, also termed capital punishment, is the legal process in which a person is put to death by the federal or state government based on having committed one of 43 capital crimes, such as first-degree murder, espionage or treason. The death penalty is enforced based upon the idea that law abiding members of society will no longer have to worry about convicted criminals being ableRead MoreCapital Punishment : Lethal Injection824 Words   |  4 PagesCapital Punishment The death penalty is the punishment by lethal injection for committing serious criminal offenses. There are 32 states, including California, which has the death penalty and 18 states where the death penalty is illegal. The jury convicts when the death penalty is going to be used. The New York Times board, 19 expertise journalists, wrote an editorial titled â€Å"The Humane Death Penalty Charade†, discussing that people should be against capital punishment because it is torture andRead More Against Capital Punishment Essay1273 Words   |  6 PagesAgainst Capital Punishment What is the true value of a human life and how can one trade it for another? Isn’t it said repetitively in religion and government that each life should be treated equally? Then, how are we allowed to condemn a person to death? How can we make abortion illegal but capital punishment legal in certain circumstances? No matter what way you look at it capital punishment is murder. If each year there is about 250 people added to death row and 35 executed imagine how manyRead MoreShould The Death Penalty Be Illegal Through The Nation?1623 Words   |  7 Pages Why should the death penalty be illegal through the nation? Murder is wrong we all know and come to the understanding of that. Ask yourself, then, what is capital punishment? Capital punishment is defined as the legally authorized killing of someone as punishment for a crime. The death penalty also known as capital punishment is an issue that have the United States quite divided. While there are many supporters of it, there is also a large amount of disapproval