Writing to argue Essay Example for Free

Writing to argue Essay Writing to argue is a very popular choice of writing for both exams and coursework. By carefully following the advice below you should be able to improve your grade ARGUMENT OR PERSUASION? Argument and persuasion are very similar styles of writing; indeed many treat them both as writing that seeks to influence. There are some differences, however. An argument is an issue about which reasonable people disagree. An effective argument, therefore, will put forward a well-reasoned point of view, one that recognises but aims to counter other equally valid views; persuasion tends to be far more single-minded in its aim to change minds. A good argument is based, therefore, mainly on reason (even if this is passionately even emotionally conveyed); persuasion tends to be a more one-sided, personal and emotional conviction that only one way is the right way. ARGUMENT AND THE ANCIENT ART OF RHETORIC The art of argument and persuasion has been studied for thousands of years. The ancient Greeks called it rhetoric and its two most famous teachers were the two Greek philosophers, Aristotle and Cicero. CLASSICAL RHETORIC The Greeks believed that the ideal way to persuade someone was through the use of reason alone (which they called logos); however, they recognised that human weakness meant that two further techniques were also useful: the appeal to character (called ethos) and the appeal to emotion (called pathos). LOGOS THE APPEAL TO REASON Most people believe themselves to be reasonable so appealing to a persons sense of reason is the most effective means of convincing them to change their way of thinking. ETHOS THE APPEAL TO CHARACTER We all share common ideas of what is right and wrong; demonstrating your own or appealing your opponents sense of what is right and fair is highly persuasive. PATHOS THE APPEAL TO EMOTION It is said that when emotion comes in through the door, reason departs via the window so use emotional pleas with care; but, persuasion does often succeed by the careful and considered use of emotion especially showing how passionate you feel for your point of v iew. What makes an effective argument? * Arguments should seek to answer the question Why? in full for one side of the argument (some exam questions might ask for both sides to be made clear). * The tone of voice with which you choose to address your reader (e.g. friendly, serious, assertive, etc.) and the register of language you adopt (the complexity of vocabulary and degree of formality or informality, for example) should be appropriate to the task and the audience. 1. Consider your audience * Immediately capture their attention with a lively and interesting opening sentence. * Be tactful and show you respect their point of view (but never agree that it is better than your own!) * Sound authentic, knowledgeable, trustworthy and convincing. * Acknowledge that other views exist but find ways to counter these with your own more reasonable points. * Logic and reason win arguments but be passionate about your views * Interest your audience by using a suitable anecdote to illustrate one of your major points. * Never sound superior, condescending or impolite. Any suggestion that other viewpoints are silly or foolish is the equivalent of calling your reader silly and foolish. The result? Lost argument. Lost marks. Try switching roles how could you be convinced? 2. Know the conventions of the form of your writing * You may be asked to write in the form of an essay, a formal or informal letter, an newspaper or magazine article, a school newsletter, a speech, and so on. Make sure you know the conventions that apply to each of these. 3. Know the most effective argument methods * Remember that because the other sides view is reasonably held, you will only win them over through impassioned reason and logic. * The key to a successful argument is to plan well, making sure you release your various points in a progressively convincing order. Try to show that you have planned or, as the examiners put it: consciously shaped your response. This gains many extra marks. * You need to show that your opponent can trust you so make up a solid and believable reason why you are in a good position to argue over this issue. * An effective way of convincing someone that you are reasonable is to argue from a position of what is called common ground. This is an outcome that is common to both of you an end-point you both desire. Having acknowledged this, you then proceed by showing how your way to this goal is the best way. * A strong way to show how reasonable you are is to acknowledge that other views are well thought out just not quite as well thought out as your own. This is a skilful and subtle approach. * Using a humorous or vivid but entirely reasonable and realistic anecdote to illustrate a point can be an excellent way of countering the opposite point of view, e.g. Let me tell you about a friend of mine. He . * Use rhetorical devices such as rhetorical questions, list of three, repetition, etc. to increase the persuasive power of your argument. The most successful arguments are INTERESTING, ORIGINAL AND APPEALING ORGANISED, PROGRESSIVE AND CONVINCING EASY TO FOLLOW THOUGHTFUL AND CONSIDERATE SUBTLE and SOPHISTICATED IN MORE DETAIL 1. Plan 2. Write 3. Check 1. PLAN * Planning: Put simply, you will probably lose marks if you fail to plan before you write. Each year the examining boards report that this is the case. The mark schedules state that the students argument needs to be consciously shaped and this means well-structured; a plan is essential for this. You have one hour for this question so time is on your side for once. * Decide on what would be a suitable style for your kind of reader. * Brainstorm to create a list of points in favour of your idea. Choose five of the most convincing. Check that each point is truly separate and not a part of a larger, more general point; if it is, use the larger point. Make sure each point is truly convincing switch roles: would these persuade you? * Organise these five points into a progressive and persuasive order. * Create an equivalent list of opposing points that you may need to counter. * Work out a few ways to add interest and authority to your writing: rhetorical questions, an effective anecdote a piece of research, an expert opinion. * Aim to use REASON rather than EMOTION but do show your beliefs are passionately held, also you could use humour or emotion in one of the anecdotes you use. And always remember that if you call the oppositions view silly or foolish, you are effectively calling your reader silly and foolish too. Result: lost argument; lost marks. 2. WRITE OPENING PARAGRAPH * Open strongly and in an original way to capture your readers attention. * State your own point of view but dont be too strident in your tone. * If relevant and useful, give the history and background of the argument. * Find some common ground between you and your reader to generate trust and goodwill in you as a person and as a thinker. Selling yourself will help your reader decide to buy your ideas. BODY (CENTRAL) PARAGRAPHS * Open each paragraph with a topic sentence that introduces the points created from your planning above. * Explain, develop and explore fully each point you make in a logical, sensitive and clear way. * Try to link each paragraph to the next by using a subtle transition or hook sentence at the end of every body paragraph. * Acknowledge opposing views but sensitively refute them and show how your view is best. * Add power to your argument by using rhetorical devices. HERE ARE SOME EXAMPLES OF RHETORICAL DEVICES Rhetorical questions, similes, metaphors, emotive language (use with care!), irony (but never sarcasm!), lists of three, repetition, hyperbole (exaggeration for effect), humour, anecdotes, and so on. * Add fluency to your argument by using discursive markers. HERE ARE SOME EXAMPLES OF DISCURSIVE MARKERS However; although, if so, and so, but, clearly, on the other hand, therefore, supposing that, furthermore, looked at another way, in contrast, on the contrary, etc. * Add authenticity to your argument by sounding sincere, using anecdotes (true accounts) and so on. * Add authority to your argument by writing confidently and using effective support, e.g. expert opinion, statistics, and so on make this up in the exam, but keep it reasonable. CONCLUDING PARAGRAPH * Round up your argument by restating your case and summarising your main points. End as you began in a powerful, interesting and memorable way. 3. CHECK In this part of the exam, you gain marks for writing in an accurate, clear and fluent way. Each year the examiners report mentions that many students failed to achieve a higher grade because they failed to check and correct their work. Always give yourself time to check your writing thoroughly before handing in the exam paper. Read each sentence after you have written it Write using a variety of sentence types and styles but remember especially that shorter sentences are often more interesting because they are crisper and clearer. An occasional ultra-short sentence can add real impact to writing. Never fail to re-read your sentences after writing them to check that they are complete in their sense, accurate in their grammar and spelling and follow on logically and smoothly from the last. Check every paragraph. A paragraph is a written discussion that covers a single topic one topic among the many that are needed to cover the subject matter of the whole piece of writing. One of the sentences in the paragraph, and quite often the first one, is called the topic sentence. This is the sentence that introduces, or tells in a nut shell, what the paragraph is going to be about. The remaining sentences do no more than expand and explore the ideas raised by the topic sentence in more depth. No points that are unrelated to the main topic should be covered in the same paragraph. Each paragraph should flow smoothly from its predecessor. This is achieved by the use of a subtle hook sentence at the end of the paragraph; this is a sentence that hooks into the new topic of the next paragraph. To correct a missed paragraph simply put this mark where you want in to be: // then, in your margin write: // = new paragraph. The examiner will not mark you down for this so long as you have not forgotten all of your paragraphs. Examine each comma Over, or misuse, of commas is a common and important error that can lose many marks. Many of you will occasionally use a comma instead of a full stop to end some of your sentences. You are failing to recognise where the end of the sentence should have been. Too much of this leads to a dreary and difficult-to-read style because it destroys the clarity and crispness that is a necessary part of all good writing. A sentence is a group of words that is about one main idea or thought. It should seem complete to its reader. Sentences that drift into several ideas, or which seem incomplete, are less clear and interesting to read. Ending a sentence with a comma (or even nothing but a space) instead of a full stop will allow it to run on or drift in this way. Try to use commas only to mark off parts of a sentence so that the sentence reads more smoothly or makes clearer sense. Look at every apostrophe. Look at the words you have used that end in s. Are they plurals? If so the chances are they do not need an apostrophe. Apostrophes are used to show when a letter has been missed out (as in: shouldnt) and when two nouns belong to each other (as in: the schools entrance). Also make sure that when you write its you do mean it is (as in its cold) not belonging to it (i.e. as in: its surface).

Integrating Sustainable Agriculture, Ecology, and Environmental Policy. :: Agricultural Ecological Environmental Essays

Integrating Sustainable Agriculture, Ecology, and Environmental Policy Whose business is it to create a sustainable agriculture? How will knowledge systems required to support such an agriculture be developed and implemented? These pragmatic questions are addressed by the 14 contributors to this book. If in fact the agricultural community is beyond the stage of understanding and internalizing the need for the concept of an agriculture that can be sustained, then this book offers concrete suggestions for the types of research objectives and social and political decisions that must be followed in order to make sustainable systems a reality. The book contains the proceedings of a July 1991 conference, sponsored by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), that drew participants from academia and U S. government agencies. The proceedings have also been available since 1992 as volume 2, no. 3, of the Journal of Sustainable Agriculture (JSA). The publisher of this book, Haworth Press, also publishes the JSA, and the decision to make these proceedings available in both formats is understandable, since this book will be of value to an important audience that is larger than the readership of the journal. As the name of both the conference and the book reflects, the contributors represent various disciplinary perspectives and professional experiences, being primarily ecologists (7) and environmental policy makers (5), with the addition of a sociologist and an educator. The chapters cover a range of topics that can be grouped into structural issues (federal policies, EPA program priorities, information and educati on systems) and research issues (participatory research methods, identification and monitoring of indicators of sustainability, and theories and methods for the design of sustainable agricultural systems at the watershed, landscape and soil levels). The authors are authoritative and succinct in exposing, analyzing and integrating the practical issues involved in fulfilling the objectives set forth over the past 15 years by various writers who can only be called "philosophers of agriculture." The thoughts of such individuals as Wendell Berry, Wes Jackson and Robert Rodale can be seen as passionate philosophizing by outsiders aiming to raise the level of consciousness of the scientific agricultural community about the unintended effects of their research paradigms and technologies. Such writing, while constituting a necessary initial component of the developing literature on sustainable agriculture, can be frustrating for those scientists accepting the need to address the environmental and sociological impact of agriculture, but less certain about how to do so.

Research Paper: Crime Prevention Strategies

Contents Page Executive Summary†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 4 Research Question (or hypothesis)†¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 4 Research (including methodology)†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 4 Literature Review†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 4 Findings†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 6 Discussion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 7 Conclusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 8 Reference List†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚ ¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦9 Executive SummaryThe focus of this paper will be based upon different crime prevention strategies implemented by members of the communities, local and government authorities. It will focus mainly on those practices involving community cooperation and portray how they are successful or unsuccessful in reducing criminality in high crime areas. Firstly, the topic of this research report in clearly stated below. The methods used to acquire the information contained in this research report are also described below.The literature review discusses the three main themes found in the allocated articles relating to community crime prevention. These include techniques to reduce juvenile crime; fear of crime between the community members and the social divides that are created by implementing community crime prevention strategies. The findings discuss, in depth, the effects on the three themes mentioned above once these prevent ion strategies were implemented. It gives examples of peoples experiences with crime and crime prevention. Finally the discussion presents the outcomes achieved, that are shown by the various uthors. It also touches on the government’s involvement and how it can be improved. The conclusion sums up all the findings in this report and gives an idea of future hope for less crime. Research Question (or hypothesis) ‘What are the leading practices in the field of community crime prevention? You can choose to either research and discuss a wide range of different community crime prevention strategies, or focus on an example of a particular technique and research its successes, limitations and applications. ’ The topic of this paper discusses community crime prevention.It talks about a range of different types of prevention strategies that are used to reduce or minimise crime targeted areas or fields. The various effects of these strategies are shown throughout the report . Research (including methodologies) Before composing this research report, the methodology exercised for this task was content analysis. Content analysis demands for the reader to read ‘in between the lines'. Its main requirement is to draw conclusions from the information presented and apply it to the point being made.The requirements of this methodology are to research and locate a range of reliable secondary resources, applying them to strengthen the argument of crime prevention. Primary research was not conducted as that would have been a more advanced project and is not part of the academic requirement for an undergraduate level. Many different databases were used such as the internet, university databases, academic libraries and Google scholar. Access to libraries and the internet were vital in achieving this task.The scholarly articles were beneficial to this task as the composers of these articles had conducted detailed research themselves, allowing their information to support the point being made in this task. Literature Review Many areas are now trying to implement community crime prevention in order to get citizens more involved in reducing or preventing crime in their neighbourhoods. The articles discuss the different techniques being used to implement this change. One main strategy is connecting the citizens to the criminals.By doing so the citizens are able to see the results that occur when people become criminals. The three main themes explored in these articles are: 1. Youth/ juvenile violence, 2. Social divide created between communities, and 3. Reducing fear of crime The philosophy of Robert Peel that â€Å"the police are the public and the public are the police†, is one that perfectly sums up the relationship between the police and the rest of the community (Lentz & Chaires 2007). This quote suggests that law enforcement needs approval from citizens and residents of neighbourhoods to perform their duties correctly.Meaning, th is requires the police to maintain an informed relationship with the community. By doing so they are reducing the reoccurrence of the themes in crime prevention mentioned above. Previously, there was not enough knowledge or resources amongst communities to raise awareness or organise crime prevention programs for juveniles. Today, schools together with police and community-based workers are aiming to provide the expertise to help create crime prevention programs for juveniles.It is believed that that one of the most active crime prevention strategies is effective intervention programs. A substantial number of crimes amongst adolescence are detected from anti-social behaviours. Youth need to be more involved in their community activities such as church associated groups, sports clubs, recreation centres (Dodington et al 2012, p. 1026). Other school organisations such as ‘Links to Learning’ helps adolescences engage in activities that will teach worthy skills for future w ork and careers.All these extracurricular activities will give youth less time to consider committing crimes and more time to become involved in the community. The National Crime Prevention 1999 quotes â€Å"an improved understanding of the early childhood origins of juvenile delinquency highlights the opportunities for prevention programs† (Bor et al 2001, p. 5). One of the limitations of creating community based crime prevention and linking the citizens to crime and criminal is that it creates social divisions between citizens.Usually the higher and middle class citizens are involved in community project and the lower class citizens are left out. This makes the lower class citizens inferior and targeted for being the ones who are expected to commit acts of crime. This creates a division of ‘us’ (higher class) and ‘them’ (lower class). Ward (1997, p. 4) suggests â€Å"situational crime prevention approach may displace crime, tends to benefit middle and upper classes at the expense of the poor people, and may increase the fear of crime. It also may create a siege mentality, isolating individuals and families. He then further states that complaints, of disturbances, made to the police are not always filed. Firstly, the police are given the authority to decide whether the complaint is serious enough, secondly if the victim and criminal have met before and finally judging by the victims social class (Ward 1997, p. 5). In order to effectively reduce crime, relationships between communities and local authorities need to be addressed. The presence of police may be quite contradictory to residents, it can be comforting for some but disturbing for others.If residents are not aware of measures being taken by police to help prevent crime, they cannot assume their presence is positive but rather understand that more crime is occurring (Mesko et al 2007, p. 70). This will further increase the fear in residents caused by the occurrence of criminal activity in their neighbourhoods’. One resident of Hyde Park describes her lifestyle to have become based upon fear. Since her home was broken into 3 years ago, a gun is always present beside her through the night; the TV is on the entire time she is at home and an alarm system has been installed.The extreme fear is shown in these extra precautions, â€Å"When I come home late at night, I always blow my horn before I get out of the car, so I make sure that a neighbour is looking out. When I sleep at night, there are at least three lights on. † (Ward 1997, p. 5). Complaints have been made to the police, however not knowing the severity of the case; no serious action has been taken. This, again, clearly shows a lack of communication between authorities and their neighbourhoods. Findings It is very clear from the above review that great measures are being taken to try and reduce or even eliminate crime within communities.Law enforcement authorities originally wou ld address crime; however, today citizens are becoming more active and involved in keeping their own communities safe. The results of the first theme, youth/juvenile violence, found that this violence originated from childhood behaviours and therefore should be addressed at these early stages. In doing so crimes committed by youth should be minimised. The main notion believed to reduce youth violence is ‘diversion’. Creating a distraction or alternative for youth is the only way to keep them from winding up face to face with the criminal justice system.This idea argued that juvenile offenders who are placed before the justice system are done more harm than good and are more likely to reoffend. On the other hand, diversions such as sporting activities or after school programs need to be created. These diversions will keep the minds of these ‘adults in the making’ off negative thoughts to commit crimes (Tilley 2005, p. 356). Detective Sergeant Heslop (1991), agreeing with the notion of diversion, states â€Å"Often there is little point in punishing an offender, as the punishment can be shown to be counterproductive. †¦ ] By charging them we are often condemning them to further and deeper involvement in the juvenile justice system, which is, it is submitted, a failure. † He also goes on to say that diversion is the greatest prevention tool and if used appropriately law enforcement can battle juvenile crime more efficiently. The next discussion was the social divide created within the communities when trying to implement crime prevention. Not all citizens were eager to work side by side with police to manage criminal activity.Studies show that people with higher levels of wealth and quality of life are more likely to cooperate with police as they have more to lose. However the rest of the general public, those classified to have lower levels of wealth and standards of living, were reluctant to become involved as they didnâ₠¬â„¢t have much to lose and were viewed as those more likely to commit crimes (Mesko 2007, p. 84). This divide within the community allowed citizens of the higher class to feel a sense of empowerment through their involvement with the police and once again created isolation for those individuals classified as a part of the lower social class.However the people of the lower social class can also be to blame. It is asserted by Podolefsky (1983) that generally when crimes are committed and no action is taken, liability is placed upon the police. Community members prefer to abuse authorities rather than cooperate and help put criminals away (cited in Ward 1997, p. 5). The final theme discussed is reducing the fear of crime in citizens. Findings show that people are afraid for their safety and do not want to be victims of crime. As a result of this fear, rates of crimes are increasing.In order to relieve this fear people started using different methods to defend themselves such as carryi ng guns, knives and other protective weapons (Mesko 2007, p. 75). Ward (1997, p. 5) also proves this as â€Å"(a)lmost all residents and business owners interviewed either formally or informally owned guns and kept them nearby, ready for use. † Police are given the primary role of fighting crime and are expected to â€Å"eliminate all evil in society so that the ‘good citizen’ can live in freedom without living fear† (Mesko 2007 p. 81).But to give this role to police solely and not have community crime prevention programs will not guarantee reducing crime within communities and furthermore not reduce fear of crime. Discussion The main point for discussion in this research paper is that community development is a necessary approach to addressing crime and promoting justice in our nation (Acosta & Chavis 2007, p. 653). Over the years, police were given the main responsibility to deal with crime; however the development of a community approach will allow memb ers to engage in ddressing socials issues such as crime. This approach also gives member a responsibility to help maintain a safe living location. As pointed out in Acosta and Chavis (2007, p. 654) â€Å"In the community development approach, community members are responsible for solving community problems; to meet this responsibility, community members are given a voice and collective power to influence decisions and social outcomes that will affect their lives. † Some authors argue the effectiveness of an approach involving community crime prevention.The National Crime prevention Framework (Australian Institute of Criminology 2011) believes this approach has proved to be effective, with outcomes such as: †¢Reducing crime and other concerning problems within the community, †¢Increased safety and unity leading to less victimisation, †¢More emotional and psychological support for those who have been victims of crime, and †¢Reducing crimes by those who have previously offended or been engaged in antisocial behaviour. The efficiency of allowing the public to participate in the decision making related to crime, is also shown through the great outcomes achieved in the youth discipline.Partnerships were created with local universities that resulted in service learning programs and continuous student internships which were important in establishing students’ careers by putting them on the right path. Another great accomplishment was that students were achieving better results in school and their behaviours and negative attitudes were definitely improving (Pickens 2011, p. 19-21). An important outcome as clarified by Pickens (2011, p. 20) was â€Å"increasing youth’s awareness about risky behaviour, violence, weapons, drugs, and alcohol†, which was said to be the major motivation for all the other improvements.A topic that has been mentioned by various authors is the amount of government involvement in community crime pr evention. It is suggested by Australian Institute of Criminology (2011) that first and foremost the government can help to minimise crime, â€Å"Governments can address factors that influence the opportunities for crime to occur through its various responsibilities in areas such as managing public space and building design, providing community recreational services and developing policies that affect local businesses and urban development processes. Furthermore, Greenberg and Rohe (1984) indicate â€Å"(t)he physical design and appearance of a community (i. e. , structural assets) affect criminal access†(cited in Acosta & Chavis 2007, p. 654). Consequently, through developing safer public places governments can begin to create safer public environments. The articles and supporting documents used to assemble this research report were generally discussing very similar aspects of community crime prevention.Topics included juvenile crime prevention, the fear of crime that has be en developing in citizens and the community crime prevention strategies that were being used to reduce and prevent crime within neighbourhoods. To increase the effectiveness of these approaches further research should be conducted in the areas of government participation. To take community crime prevention to the next level, local government should consider formalising or enforcing requirements that must be met by all citizens.All citizens should be expected to be involved in creating a safer and combined community. Conclusion Summing up, the involvement of community members in prime prevention is an effective technique. With the help of schools, police, and citizens crime has been reduced in youth, fear of crime has been minimised and social relationships strengthened. More communities should be encouraged to implement more strategies involving their citizens. A final thought is whether governments should consider enforcing community crime prevention in all areas to enable safer li ving environments.

Incentive as a Component of Salesman Compensation Structure

Incentives as a Component of Salesman Compensation Structure By Mohit Pandey 11DM-187 Sales Management-Section D What are Incentives? It is defined as a type of additional remuneration either in cash or kind given to an employee as a means of increasing output or as a motivational influence. Why do we need to give incentives? Firstly incentives work as psychological stimulant for a person to perform better. Incentives act like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Secondly, the turnover rate of a salesperson is very high and also the cost of replacing a salesperson is also quite high, approximately around $40-50k.Thus to retain the best talent in the company we need to provide adequate incentives to the sales force. The salesperson spends most of his time out in the field and this makes it quite difficult to monitor him. Incentives act as an automatic monitor to make sure that the salesperson is working towards achieving his sales targets. What are the types of Incentives given to a Salesman? The salesman compensation structure is divided into two parts: Fixed Salary and Variable Salary. In a totally risk-free situation there would be no fixed salary, the salesman compensation would consist only of 100% Commissions.But since the market is never 100% risk-free and also because of longer order-cycles the compensation plan has some amount as Fixed Salary. The types of Incentives are: * Cash: This is most widely given type of incentive. Everyone knows that the major lure in a salesman’s job is the opportunity to earn a lot of money and cash incentives are a major component. Cash incentives can be segregated into two sub-types: * Commissions: It is directly to the sales volume. Example: 5% commission on every T. V sold. It can either be calculated on the profit margin or on the price of the product.Commission are short-term incentives and lead to increase in the sales effort put in by the salesman. * Bonus: It is given if the salesman achieves a desired no. of sales known as sales target/quota. It is calculated on the base pay. It is a medium/long term incentive depending on whether it is given quarterly or annually. * Non-Cash: These are generally not counted as a part of the compensation plan. They are given to motivate the salesman and based on performance in the long term. Non-cash incentives include: * Gift Cards * Merchandise Travel What parameters are used to determine incentives? Generally the ratio of incentives as a percentage of the total compensation decreases as you go up the hierarchical structure. At a salesman level it can go up to 100% of his base pay while at the manager level it can vary from 40-60%. The parameters generally used to determine incentives are: * Total revenue * New revenue * Gross profit * Price realization * Units sold * Select product sales * New products * Outdated products * New accounts * Retained accounts * Account expansion Customer satisfaction * First order * Order volume * Contract commit ment * Key sales objectives or milestones The parameters used should be aligned with the business strategy of the company. For e. g. If a company is launching a new product into the market through the existing sales force, then it doesn’t make sense for the company to not have the sales nos. of the new product sold as playing a part in deciding the incentive level of the salesman. Normally only few parameters should be selected so as to make the compensation plan clear to the salesman.The compensation plan should be as clear to the salesman as possible so that he can easily calculate how much he can earn in that year. The sales target being set should be realistic and achievable. Ideally sales targets should be set after a discussion between the management and the salesperson both. Ideally incentives should not have an upper-cap, this deters the high performers. Even if a company has to set an upper-cap it should be higher than the maximum realistic possible of a salesperson. A few key points that should be kept in mind while setting the parameters for deciding incentives are: * The current market situation (growth or recession). * The product type (B2C or B2B) * The sales order cycle (long or short) * The business strategy ( Increase market penetration or may increase sales of a high margin product or launch of a new product) How much incentive to offer and to whom? The percentage amount of incentive offered to the sales force should not be equal across the board. The high performers must be rewarded for their performance, while the low performers need to be encouraged to perform better.The better the performance the higher should be the incentive level. Also in case of team selling the incentive has to be distributed proportionately amongst the team. It should not be the case wherein the laggards piggyback on the star performers and get the same level of incentive. Additionally a proper framework has to be devised on a company-to-company basis to decid e the distribution of incentive for a product sold amongst the team members so as to control costs and avoid giving multiple incentives for the same product to multiple persons involved in the sale.The incentives offered should be mix of both short and long term incentives i. e. commissions, bonus, non-cash rewards, etc. This is to ensure that the motivation level of the salesperson is up throughout the year and does not peak at certain periods. The level of incentive payout should be adequate neither too little so as to discourage the salesperson nor too much as it will increase costs and lower profits and also lower the morale of the non-sales staff. Conclusion:Hence we can conclude that incentives as a component of a salesman compensation structure is highly important. Following is a generic framework which can be used to decide an incentive plan: * The plan should be clear and well understood by the sales force. * Decide the level of incentive i. e. the percentage to be given an d how much and to whom, based on the performance level. * Determine criteria for giving incentives based on a proper analysis of the factors stated above in the report. Keep as less parameters as possible. Keep the sales target level competitive yet achievable. * The level of incentive should be adequate i. e. comparable to the competitor but neither too low nor too high. * Determine the periodicity of incentive payout. * The incentive payout should be based at proper intervals during the year. Sales contests and non-cash rewards are a good way to achieve this. * The plan should be flexible. Ideally make multiple plans and offer it to the sales person so that he can choose which one suits him best. Bibliography: Restoring Balance to Sales CompensationHead, Robert G. Sales and Marketing Management144. 9 (Aug 1992): 48. Readers' report: How we use incentives Donath, Bob. Sales and Marketing Management145. 6 (Jun 1993): 34. Talking money Anonymous. Sales and Marketing Management149. 12 (Nov 1997): 64-70. May the Sales Force Be with You Ladd, Scott. HRMagazine55. 9 (Sep 2010): 105-107. Reframing salesforce compensation systems: An agency theory-based performance management perspective Bartol, Kathryn M. The Journal of Personal Selling ; Sales Management19. 3 (Summer 1999): 1-16.

Maslow essays

Maslow essays The success of any organization depends on the ability of managers and supervisors to provide a motivating environment for their employees. Motivation is fundamental to all organizations, and can be defined as the result of an employee's or subordinate's concentration towards a valued goal, through intensity, direction and persistence of effort. There are many theories of motivation that are applied in organizations worldwide on a regular basis. One of these is Maslow's Theory of Needs. It deals with individual motiviation and by understanding employee needs, managers can understand what rewards (either intrinsic or extrinsic) he or she should use to best motivate each individual. Abraham Maslow developed a five-level hierarchical theory of motivation that argues an unsatisfied need has the greatest motivating potential. His hierarchy of needs, starting wtih the most basic and ending with the most complex, are as follows: Physiological: Needs that must be satisfied in order for teh individual to survive, such as food, water, shelter, oxygen, sleep etc. Safety: Needs that include security, stability or certainty, predictability, protection from physical harm, and ordered and structured environment, freeedom from anxiety, etc. These are fundamental survival matters. Belongingness: needs that include feelings of acceptance, opportunities for social interaction, friendship, affection, companionship etc. Esteem: needs that include feelings of adequacy, autonomy, self-respect, competence, achievement, status, recognition or appreciation of these characteristics by others. Self-actualisation: a desire to become everything that one is capable of becoming or to develop one's true potential to the fullest extent possible, the desire to do a good job, etc. Self-actualisation needs are the hardest of the 5 basic needs to define and attain. It is less a need, than a final development stage for an individual. As individuals, we are mot...