Free and Open Elections Are the Cornerstone to Any Democracy Essay

Free and open elections are the cornerstone to any democracy. The citizens of the United States have fought for years to increase this right to everyone, but also keep each vote as strong as the next. However, it has become obvious to many that their voting power is being shortened each election cycle. Money and influence from powerful, wealthy interest groups and corporations have made their way into politicians’ coffers in the form of major campaign contributions. This system has resulted in voters calling for further campaign finance reform including more regulation of election funding and a higher level of transparency. When it comes to financing presidential campaigns, an entirely new playbook is being written. The traditional yardstick, the money raised by individual candidates, may countless this time. Instead hundreds of millions of dollars may come from a relatively new political animal, the Super PAC. This financing vehicle sprang up in the wake of a 2010 Supreme Court decision, Citizens United, which wiped away limits on corporate and labor union campaign spending (1). Super PAC is a term to describe the new independent-expenditure-only committees that form to fund issues and specific canidates. Basically, the Citizens United decision said that labor unions and corporations could spend unlimited amounts of money independently of candidates to convince voters to vote for or against someone. There is a lot of money that can be raised and spent on independent advertising along with other things. A very important point is this can all be done without coordinating with the candidates (1). A candidate’s ability to raise money on his or her own does still count for a lot. Financial reports released this weekend show Texas Gov. Rick Perry outpacing his Republican rivals, hauling in more than $17 million for the third quarter. With $15 million in the bank, he put away half-a-million dollars more than former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who pulled in $14 million during the same period 2). No other major GOP contenders raised as much. Ron Paul was next with more than $8 million, but the rest raised substantially less and also had far less cash on hand 2). As for the man they all hope to replace, President Obama brought in nearly $43 million last quarter. And by the end of September, the incumbent Democrat had $61 million in the bank, more than all the Republicans combined 2). Some of that will likely be spent responding to attack ads from the new super PACs, like this one from the conservative group American Crossroads airing in North Carolina and Virginia (2). In just the last three months, according to the filings, the Obama campaign has spent more on payroll, more than $4 million, than several of the Republican candidates have raised 3). Fundraising in a post Citizen United world is characterized by a system of public secrecy and private disclosure 5). There are no current laws that prohibit any organization from spending large sums of money supporting a candidate and remaining private, while keeping the public in the dark. The most significant innovation is the rise of so-called Super Pacs, which can solicit unlimited contributions. These Super-Pacs would have happened without Citizens United. The organizational entrepreneurs that pioneered the Super Pac form, Speech Now, came up with this idea in 2007 and pursued this strategy long before Citizens United (1). A majority of the candidates campaigning in Iowa for the Republican Party’s presidential nomination are associated with at least one super PAC — one candidate had seven at last count 4). They are expected to pump hundreds of thousands — possibly millions — of dollars into political advertising leading up to Iowa’s Jan. 3 Republican Party caucuses and through other presidential primary contests continuing into next year 4). Fundraising numbers are important because they help generate buzz and excitement, and because in politics, money makes more money. It is unclear what problem, increased corporate disclosure is designed to solve, and given the past track record of campaign finance reform, there is good reason to be skeptical that disclosure will improve the political process at all. Research shows that campaign finance reform typically fails at achieving its intended ends 4). To give just one example, â€Å"clean elections† laws, under which candidates receive government subsidies in exchange for forgoing private contributions, did not change politics in states like Maine and Arizona, and earlier this year the Supreme Court ruled that the most popular version of these laws to be unconstitutional (1). It has been said that to evaluate the political effects of Citizens United (CU) by itself is a fool’s errand. It was the latest (and not the last) in a series of libertarian campaign finance cases from the Roberts Court (1). Much of the alleged consequences of that case are activities (such as unlimited spending by corporations on candidate related ads that shied away from specific messages of endorsement) these ads were also legal the day before the Court decided that case. Though certain activities by corporations may have been allowed even before CU, the extent of the decision has made such activities more likely (1). These ads are now sanctioned as core First Amendment activity. This decision points the definition of corruption away from inconsistent access and toward bribery. This seems to remove the appearance of corruption as a compelling target of campaign finance reform (1). The Court’s post-CU decision in the Arizona Free Enterprise v. Bennett struck down a public campaign funding scheme that also showed the broader implications of this ruling. Those cases have will have consequences beyond campaign finance because they raise important questions as to how and when laws burden on speech (1). The firestorm of public criticism that followed CU was unique. Campaign finance decisions do not usually rise to a level where the public pays attention to such cases (let alone to have a case mentioned in a State of the Union address) (1). One of the effects that the Citizens United decision had on politics worth mentioning is the almost flawless transition of â€Å"good government† groups from advocating for more direct limits on speech (1). Large, publicly traded corporations might be less likely to get involved in election financing than many people tend to assume – particularly if that involvement must be publicly disclosed (1). A recent study concludes that sixty percent of companies in the S & P 100 Index have already responded to CU by prohibiting spending corporate money on politics or disclosing their direct polit ical spending (1). Such spending could alienate potential customers; it could also trigger a shareholder backlash. Privately-held companies or those controlled by a single shareholder, are probably more likely to engage in election spending. On the other side, those who favor the status quo argue that tighter rules on these funds constitute a clear violation of First Amendment rights. The one good thing about this law is Justice Anthony Kennedy, reading from his majority opinion, emphasized that â€Å"Congress may not censor or regulate political speech, whether it is a person doing the talking or a corporation or union.† â€Å"At the core of the First Amendment,† Kennedy said, â€Å"and laws banning speech, infringe those basic constitutional protections.† Kennedy also pointed out that â€Å"under those laws,† â€Å"Congress also could diminish the voice of the media business if it chose.† â€Å"Government,† he said, â€Å"may not suppress political speech based on a speaker’s identity† 7). One group that supports Texas Governor Rick Perry, known as Make Us Great Again Inc., started the flow last week, buying nine days of advertising spots on local television to introduce the governor to Iowa Republicans 4). Des Moines television stations WHO, KCCI and WOI sold advertising slots that began Nov. 2 and ran through Friday for a combined $60,000 4). The Des Moines purchase was part of an overall $200,000 spent to air the 30-second spot in television markets across the stat. Meanwhile, the 9-9-9 Fund, a Super PAC aligned with former Godfather’s Pizza CEO Herman Cain, reported last week to the Federal Elections Commission that it had spent $5,000 for Internet advertising in Iowa and another $20,000 for contact calling to Iowa voters(4). And it isn’t just the Republican presidential candidates getting support from super PACs. Priorities USA Action, a committee formed by supporters of President Barack Obama, raised $3.1 million in its first six months and has spent $1.3 million. That super PAC recently began airing advertising on the Internet that is highly critical of Mitt Romney (4). Super PACs have much more muscle than other types of political action committees they have unlimited money-raising potential. Presidential campaigns can raise no more than $5,000 from an individual donor — $2,500 each for the primary and general elections, under federal election rules (4). Super PACs don’t have such restrictions, allowing them to raise and spend significantly more money. Obama campaign officials say their goal is to raise a combined $60 million in contributions to the campaign and the Democratic National Committee (3).That figure will likely top all of the Republican candidates combined. While they are courting large donors, campaign officials also are hoping to show that Obama has the same kind of broad appeal he did in 2008, when a record four million people donated to his campaign. President Obama is using his early lead in campaign fund-raising to bankroll a grass-roots organization and information technology system that is critical in general election battlegrounds. He is doing so even as the Republican candidates conserve cash and jockey for position in what could become a drawn-out nominating battle(3). Since the beginning of the year, Mr. Obama and the Democratic National Committee, for which the president is helping raise money to finance his party’s grass-roots efforts, have spent close to $87 million in operating costs, according to a New York Times analysis of campaign finance reports filed with the Federal Election Commission (3). That amount is about as much as all the current Republican candidates together have raised so far in this campaign. In recent months, that money has helped open campaign offices in at least 15 states. In contrast, the best-financed Republican candidates, Mitt Romney and Gov. Rick Perry of Texas, have physical presences in just a handful of early primary states like New Hampshire, South Carolina and Florida (5). Mr. Obama has spent millions of dollars investing in social media and information technology, applying a savvy and brute technological force to raising small-dollar donations. This same system is also firing up volunteers and building an infrastructure to sustain his re-election campaign for the next year (5). Mr. Obama brings unmatched financial resources to the campaign trail, and a team that is knowledgeable of where and how to deploy money, people and technology. Though the Republican National Committee has enjoyed strong fund-raising in recent months, it is also still paying down large debts incurred during the 2008 cycle. At the end of September, the committee was still $14.5 million in debt, according to campaign reports (3). Independent spending on negative or positive advertising has proven effective in making some races more competitive. Traditional fundraising by political parties has helped develop the traditional grass-roots organizing essential to winning elections. The United States does not have the kind of disclosure system that would inform the public about exactly who provided for the ads, but existing law do require each sponsor of such ads to disclose how much was spent. The movement for more reform has taken a sudden and drastic turn back due to the recent Citizens United v. Federal Election Committee ruling. This ruling has thrown decades of reform out the window, and opened the door for a flood of election money this country has not yet witnessed. Also, the lack of oversight into nonprofit organizations has hampered the transparency in elections. This decision will ultimately hurt the U.S. economy, allow greater corporate and non-profit political influence, and cause increased political indifference within an already weary general public (6). Because of corporate money funding campaigns, it is nearly impossible for an unknown to run in any major election. With all the money donated to front-runners, someone from the general public doesn’t stand a chance. In addition to the amount of money spent, it has become increasingly difficult to trace its origins due to non-profit organizations not having to disclose who their donors are. It is imperative that we as voters be informed.

Performance Management System Essay

A performance management system is the process in which an organization will involves its employees, as individuals and members of a group, in improving organizational effectiveness in the accomplishment of the organization’s mission and goals. Employee performance management includes: planning work and setting expectations, continually monitoring performance, developing the capacity to perform, periodically rating performance in a summary fashion, and rewarding good performance. Planning Work and other processes are planned out in organizations; one of the best ways the organization knows to ensure that the employees are effective in the organization is by implementing the employees in the planning process. This helps the employees understand the goals, what needs done, why it needs to be done, and how well it should be done within the organization. Monitoring Within effective organizations, projects and other assignments are monitored, positive monitoring is consistently measuring performance as well as providing positive and negative feedback to and from employee’s on their progress toward reaching goals. Requirements for monitoring employees performance is compared against their elements and standards in the organization, monitoring provides the organization opportunity to check the employees performance and the ability to measure the unacceptable performance. Developing Employee development should be evaluated and addressed; this form of developing can increase the capacity to perform through training, give tasks that work on new skills of higher levels of responsibility, improve the work process, and many other methods. When employees are provided with training and developmental opportunity’s, organizations encourage good performance, strengthen job-related skills and competence, and helps employees keep up with changes in the organization such as; new policy, standards, or technology. Rating Organizations will summarize employees performance allowing them to compare  performance over time or amongst a variety of employees, this allows the organization to see who the best performers are as well as the employees that need work. Rating is evaluating employees or a group of employee’s performance against the standards in a performance plan and assigning a summary rating record. There are rating of records assigned according to procedures included in the organizations appraisal program, which is biased on the performance by employees during an entire appraisal period. Rewarding Rewarding is when the organization recognizes the employees, either as individuals or a team for their performance and acknowledging their contributions to the needs of the organization. Positive performance can be recognized without waiting for nominations for awards, recognition can be implemented in all day-to-day operations within the organization. Using a Performance Management System Any organization that uses a performance management system creates positive work practices among the employees, as well it allows the management in the organization to see where the employees performance is at. Organizations need to gather information about employee performance in order to figure out who would be a good fit when it comes to promotions and who would be better equipped to handle more responsibilities. Performance management system helps the organization to determine which employees are best suited to hire from within, not only do they already know the operations of the organization, but the organizations management knows their work ethics and has already been monitoring their progress.

Evolution Psychology Essay

For many years, personality psychology and behavior studies have always viewed individuals as risk indisposed or risk seekers. However, recent studies in the field of evolution psychology are changing these convectional assessments of individuals risk taking. There is evidence that risk taking in individuals is domain specific. This understanding of human behaviors has brought about a better understanding of the inter individual and intra individual variations in the risk taking tendencies. The basic arguments of evolution psychology are that the human brain has the ability to adapt in order to solve the recurrent problems and cannot be as static as a computer. The domain in the adaptation of the mind in this case is the problems, challenges or pressures faced by the individual. The psychological adaptations of human being to the recurrent problems have been compared to the physiological evolution when an adaptation occurs to solve challenges in a specific domain. Consequently, psychological evolution is domain specific. Recent studies have therefore indicated that risks and challenges that individuals are exposed to results into development of mental algorithms that provide a solution to the risks related to the domain (Kruger, 2007). Human beings have faced various problems and challenges in the history or evolution. These challenges are reflected by the risk taking domain. There are several domains that have been studies in evolution psychology. One of the most important domains is group competition. The human race was able to obtain dominance in the universe ecosystem at some during the history of evolution. For many ages, the human race has been hostile to itself with humans rising against other humans. It is believed that the most significant selection pressure that ever existed was competition between groups. These competitions are evident in the modern world for example in business, sports, politics, gang violence, ethic and racial hostility and uprisings between communities and nations. Moreover, the competition is promoted by cooperation between groups (Kruger, 2007). Competition within a certain group is also an important domain in the study of evolution psychology. Competition within the group is aimed at promoting an individuals position in the group rather than eliminating a possible threat. However, psychical threat and the resultant competition are also evident within a group. It is also important to note that competition within a group is more complex and therefore very significant in psychological evolution. This is because it involves both physical and social infighting and competition. In many societies, the fight for higher status in the society is more relevant to the males that females although the competition is evident in both sexes. The relevance of social status to the males has been as a result of cultural values and mating patterns that are evident in all societies. For example, mating success in males is a function of the individual’s social status since females seek males of high social status and they can use their resources to pressurize other males. For this reason, throughout history, social status has always dictated access to mates, mating success and reproductive success in males. Moreover, the economic and social competitiveness of male in the society has been compared to a survival and reproductive advantage presented by peacock’s tail in the Darwin theory of evolution (Kruger, 2007). Sociosexuality or the perception of a sexual relationship requirement varies from one individual to another. Some individuals have unrestricted sociosexuality and have a perception that mating efforts requires more resources sacrificing parental efforts. Consequently, the success of matting in males increases with increase in number of mates provided that reproduction is not limited. On the other hand, female mating success does not increase with the increase in the number of mating partners. However, extra pair mating relationships has been associated with many risks such as desertion of the mate and transmission of infections. They could also lead to violence and hatred between jealous partners. Other that the social and resource allocation challenges that face an individual, there are environmental risks and challenges that are significant in psychological evolution. Studies carried out over the years have indicated that forage strategies that have been evident throughout the history have been an important aspect of human survival (Kruger, 2007). In a research carried out by Kruger et al (2007), student from two universities, university of South Dakota and University of Michigan, reacted to questioners posted online. They were requested to rate thirty risky behaviors and the tendencies in which they would involve themselves in these risky behaviors. In another survey conducted at the University of Michigan, students from diverse ethnic backgrounds completed the same online questioners for partial fulfillment of an academic course in the university. From the two surveys, the results were consistent with the earlier theoretical predictions. The risk taking domains were a clear reflection of the recurrent social and environmental challenges that faced the individuals. Kruger et al (2007) were able to generate behavior trends that matched the specific domains in the modern society. They were also successful in distinguishing between significant domains in the society such as within group and between group competitions. However, it was confirmed that between groups competition was not limited in scope as for the case of ancient competition, while competition within the group was observed to be even more complex. Moreover, the fertility risks which are induced by behaviors were found to be lower than expected or observed in other similar studies. The linkage between fertility risks and other specific domains was observed to be generally lower except in its linkage with mating behaviors and allocation of social and economic resources. The study concluded that that people who have more risk taking behaviors in specific domain do not show similar trends in other domains. The high tendencies of risk taking in males compared to females with exceptional cases in environmental risks were also confirmed to be consistent with the literature. It was also concluded that men benefit more from risky behaviors when compared to females. Moreover, there are some riskier behaviors that are more likely to be observed in females than in males such as risking ones life to save a child because of the limited opportunities of getting another offspring in the future and the psychological investment placed on the child by the mother. This modern approach of development psychology and the current risk scale is an important step in the validation of evolution based psychological assessments of behaviors. The study of the relationship between risk taking behaviors in different individuals in the society and the survival and reproduction challenges faced by individuals is important. Reference Kruger, D. J. , Wang, X. T. & Wilker, A. (2007). â€Å"Towards the development of an evolutionarily valid domain-specific risk-taking scale. † Evolutionary Psychology, 5(3): pp 555-568

Puerto Rican Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Puerto Rican Culture - Essay Example In my naivety, I had thought that Americans were very sophisticated people who lived harmoniously with one another. I never, not for a single second, thought that I would experience some of the worst discriminations in my life. I never thought that I would have to work several times harder to prove myself than other American kids had to. The realization that life in the U.S was not as rosy as I had been made to believe came as a shocker to me. In Colombia I had been grown used to the closeness of the people. Everyone was each other’s keeper, so to speak. I had very many companions back in Colombia because the sociability of the people makes it easy to make new friends almost every day (Waters and Ueda 216). However in America, the situation was quite different. First of all, I did know much English when I fast landed in the US, so communication was a big problem. I did not have to wait for long before I realized what it meant to be a Colombian American living in New York. Discrimination followed me almost everywhere I went. My ethnicity made me a subject of resentment from both white and African Americans (Olson and Olson 116). I did not consider speaking Spanish to be wrong, but to Americans, it was objectionable. Many regarded American Colombians to be illegal immigrants which was sometimes true. However, my mother had ensured that she had all the right papers before coming here. This of course did not stop other people from lumping us together with illegal immigrants. As such it was very hard for us since my mother, who also knew very limited English, could not get a good job. Colombian immigrants could only get casual jobs, and these did not pay well enough (118). It is a well documented fact that America is a highly fragmented society (Flores 19). This identity fragmentation affected me greatly when I was new in the country. I started very slowly in school since I could not communicate very well. In my school everyone was grouped

Consumer behaviour Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Consumer behaviour - Assignment Example According to Hoyer and Macinnis (2009, p. 1), consumer culture that explains consumer behavior includes amongst other things consumer diversity, social class and household influences, psychographics entailing lifestyle, personalities, and values as well as social influences. Businesses and organizations should strive to understand consumer’s behavior in order to tap the positive attitudes and change the negative attitudes to suit their products. Bill is a proud owner of a chain of GYM centers meant for enhancing users’ fitness. These chains of gym centers focus on market (Hoyer & Macinnis, 2010, p 10). Bill is interested in building user loyalty hence be sure of their registration annually. In addition, the business the business would wish to apply the created loyalty into initiating customer relationship marketing. What’s more, this chain of gym centers have been experiencing high number of customers that register but fail to come, those that attend irregularly, as well as those that do not renew their registration (Kardes, Cronley & Cline, 2010, p. 15). ... 3) defines consumer behavior as the holistic decisions that consumer makes regarding acquiring, consuming, and disposing of goods, services, time, as well as ideas over a time. Consumer behavior is an important aspect for Bill and his chain of gym centers to understand thereby providing services that conform to users’ needs and wants. Provision of such services is the only secrete of attracting more users as well as reducing defection and irregularity of attendance. Bill needs to understand reasons as to why there is irregularity in attendance, defections, and the fact that most users do not re-register after the expiry of their sessions (Kardes, Cronley & Cline, 2010, p. 15). There is need also to identify various factors that influence such behaviors as well as the changing factors within the society for instance, increase in lifestyle diseases hence the need to regularly engage in exercises to reduce weight and other bodily aspects attributable to such lifestyle diseases. T he following describes how Bill and his chain of gym centers will improve and change users’ attitudes and perceptions through consumer behavior in order to tap more sales and profitability. 2.1 Improving and Change Gym’s Users through Consumer Behavior Improving and changing of gym users is effectively attainable through consumer behavior. One of the ways of improving and changing users’ of the gym through consumer behavior is by creating and developing marketing mix that satisfies users. Bill’s chain of gym centers is market oriented hence the need to have an effective and efficient marketing mix that provides satisfaction to the users. However, it should be noted that developing a marketing mix that fully provides user satisfaction is cumbersome and challenging. Bill should

English Language and Communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 7000 words

English Language and Communication - Essay Example Unfortuntely, the generl public sometimes ssocites foreign ccents with lower socil sttus. Spekers with foreign ccents my be viewed s less intelligent, less competent, nd even less ttrctive thn ntive English spekers. Other evidence indictes tht people in different countries hve been denied housing or employment simply becuse of their ccents. Negtive stereotyping nd stigmtiztion of English second-lnguge spekers is serious problem tht is excerbted by the frudulent clims of some shdy business people who sy tht they cn eliminte foreign ccents with expensive CDs nd lerning progrms. In fct there is no scientific evidence tht foreign ccent cn routinely be eliminted by ny such progrm. Theory relted to stigmtiztion defines this phenomenon s discrediting ttribute ssigned by society to those who differ in some mnner from society's expecttions, customs, nd mores. It results from socil ctegoriztion process tht llows for the quick identifiction of those who re similr nd those who re different nd cn therefore be considered s "others." It is not simply the ct of ctegoriztion tht results in stigmtiztion of certin groups, but, rther, the coupling of negtive vlue judgments with prticulr chrcteristics tht result in n dverse rection to difference. The dverse rection to ccents tkes the form of discrimintion, or beliefs, ttitudes, nd ctions directed t individuls due to "phenotypic chrcteristics or ethnic group ffilition" tht result in disprte life chnces or unequl outcomes. Disbility nd ethnicity re two such chrcteristics used to ctegorize individuls into stigmtized groups. There re multiple other stigmtizing chrcteristics, including femle gender nd single motherhood. Link nd Pheln (2001, 2001b) developed conceptul frmework for stigm tht ddresses the socil element inherent in the stigmtiztion process. Their frmework is bsed on interrelted components tht look beyond the individul, nd it ddresses the role of power in discrimintion. Within their frmework, lnguge stigm is conceptulized s five-stge process: () Differences re identified nd lbeled; (b) differences re linked to negtive stereotypes; (c) stereotyping llows for ctegoriztion nd plcement of stigmtized individuls into distinct groups, seprte from the dominnt culture; (d) seprtion llows for loss of sttus nd discrimintion; nd (e) power differentil exists between the lbeler nd the lbeled, mking discrimintion possible. Link nd Pheln (2001) identified three sources of discrimintion in reltion to ccent stigmtiztion: () direct or overt, (b) structurl or systemic, nd (c) socil-psychologicl processes operting through the stigmtized individul. The finl source, socil-psychologicl processes, describes sociliztion of stereotypicl perceptions nd the internliztion of such perceptions resulting in behviors tht my led to self-perpetuting discrimintion. With this source of discrimintion, individuls who believe tht they will be discriminted ginst my respond by withdrwing nd voiding socil contct, thereby negtively ffecting their support network nd incresing their levels of stress. Negative effects of accent on people's lives Fer of ccent stigmtiztion nd subsequent discrimintion my influence how individuls interct with others. Concelment of the

Federal Program Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Federal Program - Essay Example In the later years it was additionally expanded with other considerations. For instance, in 1972, it was expanded with the Clean Water act, the safe Drinking water Act in 1974, the Toxic substances control Act in 1976, and the Resource conservation and recovery act in 1976. The main effort was to make an improvement on the environmental protection. However, it also led to the creation of a number of materials. These included the Materials transportation board in 1975. This board currently forms a major part of the research and special programs administration in the DOT. The other creation was the Office of surface mining Reclamation and enforcement that was established in 1977 within the department of the interior. Since the inception of the Environmental protection agency, a particular meaning has been attached to the influence of nature. This means that the nation has been able to celebrate clean air, land, and water (OIRAOMB, 2015). The House of Representatives Subcommittee that is responsible for the oversight of the Environmental Protection agency is the subcommittee on the water resources and the environment. This has been based on the need to oversee the general matters of the issues that are related to the development of water resources, conservation and management, the control of water pollution and water related infrastructure, as well as the cleanup of any hazardous wastes. There are other subcommittees in the senate that have the oversight responsibility of environmental protection. They include the Agriculture, nutrition and forestry that are charged with the mandate to conserve forestry and natural resources. The commerce science and transportation subcommittee is charged with overseeing the ocean atmosphere, fisheries and forest guard. In addition, the energy and natural resources subcommittee deals with the regulation of energy, public lands, forests, water and power (Gibbs, 2015). Since the inception of the environmental protection agency or

Whistleblower Ombudsman Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Whistleblower Ombudsman - Essay Example Whistleblowing is essential to weeding out fraud and abuse in the healthcare industry. The government is particularly keen in promoting whistleblowing because fraud and abuse may reach up to 3% to 10% of actual health care costs (Kesselheim & Studdert, 2008, p.342). Recoveries from the False Claims Act (FCA) since 2009 have reached approximately $9 billion (Kesselheim & Studdert, 2008, p.342). To encourage whistleblowing, the Whistleblower Protection Act bans retaliation. Retaliation refers to threatening or taking action against employees because they have disclosed fraudulent or abusive actions (Office of Inspector General, 2015). These actions may include, but are not limited to, poor performance review, demotion, termination, suspension, or downgrade, loss of, or revocation of security clearance (Office of Inspector General, 2015). The law does not allow retaliation for: (1) filing an appeal, complaint, or grievance; (2) helping another person file the case or to testify for whis tleblowers; (3) cooperating with or giving information to the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) or Office of Inspector General (OIG); or (4) not obeying an unlawful instruction or order (Office of Inspector General, 2015). These conditions that prevent retaliation are important because it helps decrease the fears of other people who want to disclose important information, but are not the direct whistleblowers. For instance, an accountant gives financial documents and memos to the OSC, even when he is not the whistleblower. The law prevents retaliation against him from his company. In other words, he has the same protections as the whistleblowers. Besides these protections, the FCA entitles whistleblowers to up to 30% for the amount recovered during trials or settlements (Golinkin, 2013, p.304). This is a monetary incentive too, but I believe that this is not the main

CSR Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

CSR - Essay Example 2. Company 1: The first company selected for review is Apple Inc., which has been the leading cellular firm since its beginning. 2.1 Apple’s Corporate Social Responsibility The main features of Apple’s corporate social responsibility as stated in the website of the company include a safer supply chain, respect and dignity for employees, and eco-friendly manufacturing processes. All of these features suggest that Apple Inc. takes good care of its adherence to the principles of corporate social responsibility. It is also stated on the website that the company considered and followed the guidelines of Global Reporting Initiative to prepare the information about CSR. Let us now discuss the main aspects of Apple’s Corporate Social Responsibility. 2.1.1 Environment Protection Apple Inc. makes special efforts for greenhouse gas emissions. In 2012, it is estimated that the company’s input in the greenhouse gas emissions was nearly 30.9 million metric tons (Apple I nc. 2013). Apple Inc. has adopted a well-planned approach to ensure environmental friendliness. The company finds ways to reduce the carbon footprint though everything ranging from all types of products to all facilities. Apple Inc. large input in the greenhouse gas emissions represent the way the company manufactures its products and carry out all business processes. The main source of Apple’s greenhouse gas emissions is its products, which include every activity involved in product development from manufacturing to recycling. The other but comparatively very minor source of emissions is its facilities and data centers. The company pays special attention towards bringing reduction in the use of energy to manufacture the products because to be energy efficient is essential for large-scale greenhouse gas emissions. 2.1.1.1 Renewable Energy If we talk about the efforts of Apple inc. towards environmental sustainability, we come to that the company makes use of renewable energy sources to reduce the burden on current sources of energy. The use of renewable energies also reduces the carbon footprint by reducing the impact of data centers and corporate facilities (Apple Inc. 2013). 2.1.1.2 Recycling The company also stresses on the importance of recycling and takes considerable steps to recycle the used products to make them usable once again. The company collects all e-waste through voluntary and regulatory programs and processes it for reuse. 2.1.1.3 Energy Efficiency The company measures the amount of greenhouse has emission released by the products, as well as during production of products through the life cycle approach. The company believes that this is the step that no other company takes to measure the level of energy efficiency (Apple Inc. 2013). 2.1.2 Supplier Responsibility Apple Inc. also takes care of employee rights and provides them with safe workplace so that they can fulfill their responsibilities properly. Not only this, the company also pr ovides educational opportunities to employees in order to for them to improve their knowledge and work potential. Through inspections and improvement plans, the company makes sure that the suppliers adhere to the company’s code of conduct. 2.1.3 Labor and Human Rights Apple Inc. also holds suppliers responsible for upholding the employees’

Abortion Bill of Texas Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Abortion Bill of Texas - Research Paper Example People in Texas remain divided over the bill, as while some are opposed to the bill, others are in support of the bill. According to the Huffington Post, Republicans were in support of the bill, therefore, voted in large numbers in support of the bill, hence leading to the passing of the bill. On the other hand, the Democrats were opposed to the bill, terming it unconstitutional. Nonetheless, the Republicans argued that the bill is meant for the protection of both the mother and the fetus (Web). This bill raises different perceptions by different people. Therefore, the opponents and supporters of this bill have different views or reasons for the side they have taken. There are different arguments raised against the Texas Abortion Bill. First, this bill will deprive the doctors, who solely practiced abortion in their clinics, of a means of earning a living. The Texas Abortion Bill requires all doctors practicing abortion to have admitting privileges from nearby hospitals. These are also required to conduct their abortions in surgical centers only, and regulate the use of pills that induce abortion, by women, as well as not procure abortions for women, who are more than 20 weeks pregnant. ... So far, statistics in Texas have not shown any cases of women dying by taking abortion drugs at home. Although Democrats attempted to provide a provision for rape and incest cases, they did not succeed. Therefore, this bill does not protect the mother, since it also offers no provision for women, who are victims of rape to terminate the pregnancy. Additionally, this bill is considered to infringe on the rights of women in Texas. When there are restrictions on what expectant women should do, and what they should not do, this denies women their right of choice, as they cannot choose what to do with their pregnancy, apart from what is stated in the bill. This might be a reason why the Democrats consider the bill to be unconstitutional. On the other hand, there are different people, who support the Texas Abortion bill. These, including the Republicans, have different reasons for their support of the bill (Tomlinson Web). First, these argue that the bill will protect the mother and the fe tus. Therefore, by banning abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, both the mother and fetus are protected from pain (Hegar, et al Web). The proponents of this bill argue that after 20 weeks, a fetus is capable of feeling pain. In addition, abortion at this stage might be harmful to the health of the mother. Therefore, this bill ensures that the health of the mother and fetus is good. In addition, the core argument for the Texas Abortion Bill is that it promotes human life (Hamilton Web). Abortion is considered by pro-lifers, as termination of life. Therefore, when a mother aborts, it is likened to ending human life. This bill therefore, comes to put an end to most of the cases, where human life is terminated during its early phase, in pregnancies. Hence, the bill promotes and saves human

Construction projects are as much about people as they are about Essay

Construction projects are as much about people as they are about technical undertakings - Essay Example Thus to properly meet the expectations and aspirations of the different stakeholder groups the project contractor must see that the project gets duly completed on a timely basis. Further the contractor must also see that the investment rendered by the different stakeholders for the effective completion of the project activity is duly addressed by generating effective returns. The contractor thereby is required to plan in adequate manner different strategies that would help in reducing the cost of the project side-by-side working to enhance the quality paradigm for the same. Working on the above manner would help the project manager and the contractor in generating adequate revenues for the different stakeholders. The project concerning construction activities also tends to render huge impact on the natural environment in the adjoining areas. Thus the paper in this regard focuses on the formulation of different strategies on behalf of the contractor that would help in gaining required solutions to the aforesaid issues (Chinyio, 2010, p.128-131). Construction Projects and Time Management Effective time management is required to be conducted for the completion of the large scale construction projects in due time. ... This procedure focuses on the estimation and monitoring of the time spent by each of the different persons involved in such project activity. This specific monitoring in regards to the time required for the construction projects thus helps in closing the deviations from the total estimated time made for the total project to complete. However the estimated time required for the completion of the total construction project does not consider the random happening of events natural or otherwise that tend to render obstruction to the ideal completion of the project. Thus an important consideration is held in this case that no abnormal events rise during the project tenure that in turn would tend to enhance the time required for the completion of the project. Uncertainty of occurrences in regards to the construction project can be accounted also in the form of contingencies. The contingencies can thereby be accounted using separate techniques like PERT. Though the technique persists for the accounting of contingencies yet it is found for a number of cases like outbreak of fire or natural calamities the same system of contingency accountability fails to render the correct result. Thus an adjustment is maintained in the form of contingencies wherein the time set is added to the normal time held for the project to get completed. Again especially in cases of construction projects it is found that the entire project activity gets dismantled owing to disturbing weather conditions. Thus the time management and setting of allowances and allocations need to be maintained on that basis. Construction projects carried out in highways become greatly affected owing to such disturbing conditions that in turn enhance the time required for

Sports are Necessary Essay Example for Free

Sports are Necessary Essay Ask yourself, â€Å"Is there something beneficial that numerous local neighborhoods and large nations both commonly share? † Likely, your brain isn’t listing sports as embracing such assets. Rather, you could be assessing sports as surpassing any other activity in regards to contentment or as a social pastime that involves to many injurious consequences to both players and audiences. Although underrated for the several benefits it offers, sports affects your communities regardless of whether you value athletics or not. Nevertheless, associating with sports can lead to a barrel jam-packed with underappreciated yet rewarding outcomes including supporting a healthy lifestyle, learning off-the-field skills, acquiring social connections, and creating happiness amongst unhappy moments. Near the conclusion of this essay, you will learn to see sports as a glass half full instead of half empty. Sport-like activities began since the beginning of mankind, but the longstanding purpose of benefiting civilization has remained the same. In the Roaring 1920’s, America was recognized for its emphasis on the eras social, artistic, and cultural interest. Alongside the national boom came baseball and the beginning of ‘sports culture’ as legendary Babe Ruth joined the New York Yankees. After breaking several records and setting the standard for baseball, Americans saw Ruth â€Å"as the most important and infamous† player in sports history (Buckley 10). Ever since that remarkable season, America bounced back from World War I and now lives in a society reliant on sports for reaching optimum satisfactory levels. To begin with, sports of any sort urge, support, and allow people to be healthy and stay fit. Regardless of whether you prefer surfing, riding a bicycle, playing football, or joining soccer over another sport, physical activity is involved and exercise helps burn calories. Rather than sitting on a laptop or watching television, sports decreases chances of becoming obese. Unfortunately, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention points out obesity in 12- to 19-year-olds rose from 5 percent in 1980 to 18 percent in 2008 (Murphey 22). C. J. Wilson, starting pitcher for the Major League Baseball Texas Rangers, is all about you getting improved and healthier. Its important to get kids healthier and cut down on childhood obesity, he says (Murphey 22). Wilson felt so strongly about young peoples health, he began his own charity to increase assistance against America’s epidemic while urging kids to stay fit. Despite these inspiring efforts, critics of sports claim that obesity increases because sports fans eat unhealthily as they watch the latest intense games on the LCD screen. In advertising and in stereotypes, watching sports undoubtedly appears like a reason to load your liver with beer and sodas and load your stomach with hot dogs, pizza, and assortment of chips and snacks. Although our â€Å"youth are not getting enough exercise to burn off the calories† accumulated from sitting around watching TV, we are probably getting enough exercise if youre into sports (Murphey 23). Although obesity is rising in the United States of America, clearly sports aren’t to blame because that isn’t what sports inspire to teach us, and becoming obese couch potatoes isn’t the lesson to be learned from sports. New Orleans football quarterback Drew Brees also remarks, â€Å"Why not get out and play for 60 minutes a day? † (Murphey 25) Clearly, sports aren’t really part of the problem when another influential athlete like Brees notices the issue of obesity and offers a sincere solution. Moreover, learning skills applicable to real life circumstances are what sports offers, believe it or not. Sport involvement, ranging from light participation to complete absorption or immersion into the game, has had a great impact on our life. Additionally, studies using literature analysis on sports participation have found that â€Å"with the intention, sports do build character† according to The Strategies For Character Building Through Sports Participation, a journal article in the International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences. For instance, researchers at the Josephine Institute Center of Sport Ethics noticed that students athletes have better attendance in school, lower drop-out rates, fewer discipline problems, and less drug use (Soh Kim Geok 50). Negative influences and their subsequent implications brought about outside the classroom are lowered because sports allows for better time management, keeping young adults productive on the field rather than regressing on the streets. Another capability learned in sports is sportsmanship, an aspiration that a sport or activity will be enjoyed for its own sake, with â€Å"apt consideration for fairness, ethics, respect and a sense of fellowship with ones competitors† (Soh Kim Geok 52). Since any job or relationship depends on these attributes, lessons learned across sports can be applied to any social interaction. On the other hand, admonishers of sports are likely to say that sportsmanship isn’t the lesson learned from the playground. In renown pyschologist Sigmund Freud’s analysis of sports, violence, arising from competition, can lead an â€Å"otherwise steadfast moral character, during [battle], to willingly take up arms against their fellow man† (qtd. In Holowchak 713). In other words, Freud is saying that even the utmost principled person is willing to injure another player to better his/her chance at winning. For instance, soccer hooliganism and riots break out as the result of losing or winning. In regards to audience sportsmanship, it is often the loudest annoying fan crowd shown by news networks as opposed to illustrating the bulk of the people who respect opposing team fans. Since it is common knowledge that the news nowadays aims to appeal to interesting storylines, like the small group of unruly sports fans, rather than boring subjects, like respectable sports spectators, cunning broadcasts should not be assumed. But in regards to player sportsmanship, the immense bulk of athletes play for the love of the game despite the substantial aggression involved. Injuring someone in opposing uniform usually occurs as an accident, not from coldblooded intention. A study on the significance for youth attitudes towards physical education and sports illustrated that â€Å"children and adolescents perceived school sport as a physical activity and a social phenomenon rather than a competition area† (Tomik 103). Apart from acquiring useful skills from participating in sports, social benefits can also be achieved by associating yourself with sports. As human beings, we appear to innately need to launch and uphold affiliations among several groups, sport related or not. Likewise, in any social assembly, colleagues aim to jump into the â€Å"cool† crowd and stand accepted by others. There are numerous underlying benefits to these relationships, including the opportunity to â€Å"acquire important social connections and a sense of belonging† that, ultimately, can assist in the supporting of happiness (Wann 189). Because it remains a shared area of interests among conversations, a sport has the ability to change strangers into longtime buddies in a just seconds. According to Amir Abu Dalu, a 19-year-old Arabian Peace Players International coach, you can watch or â€Å"play a game and connect, just like that (qtd.In Wolff). Let’s say Alex, a relatively nerdy, young, yet lonely student, begins his collegiate life at the University of Georgia, an institution that nurtures a respectable business program but also leads the nation by a â€Å"cream of the crop† football team on its shoulders. According to an insightful article on the culture of sports attendance, social needs such as the â€Å"social gratification of being with others who enjoy the same activity and connecting oneself with the need to interact, socialize, and belong are among the fundamental motives for sport consumption† (Armstrong 219). On that note, you will be inclined to become a red and black bleeding UGA fan. Identifying yourself as a bulldog will link you to numerous social connections, â€Å"new relationships with others, and a general sense of connectedness to the campus as a whole† (Wann 189). Now, feelings of alienation are replaced with social connections obtained by being labeled a UGA admirer. As a result, you are jollier than your saddened state of isolation beforehand. Sports are inclined to be able to, for lack of a better term, ‘turn that frown upside down’. Now, let’s suppose that Alex isn’t a Georgia fan or a sports fan at all. Couldn’t he find himself feeling isolated because everyone around him is into sports, and they tend to only bond with people over sports? Surely it is possible, but rationally speaking, it is unlikely that Alex finds himself in complete isolation because there have to be other anti-sporting individuals among the thousands who attend UGA who share common interests in areas besides athletics. A sport allows you to make social connections, but sports aren’t the only approach to linking to new acquaintances. And in a second instance, let’s suppose that Alex isn’t actually a Georgia fan. Let’s say he’s a Tech fan. Wouldn’t he potentially face hostility and isolation as a result of the fact that he’s a fan of UGA’s biggest rival? According to some, rivalries tend to make people reject others and not get along simply because they root for opposing teams. Beforehand, it was assumed that non-sports fan could make friends with other non-sports fans. Likewise, nonlocal sports fans could also make friends with other nonlocal sports fans believe it or not. Many of  these â€Å"fans attempt to maintain a community with other fans of the team via the Internet or by watching their team on television with other fans† (Wann 191). In accordance to making friendship with rival sports fans, friends do not always agree on everything and they shouldn’t become enemies over something silly as sports, no matter how important it is considered. Although these antagonistic relationships are a reality, they shouldnt be since ultimately, a Tech or UGA fan is zealous for the same game and should be able to find common ground based on that fact. Lastly, another advantage for people in sports is that it brings joy and hope in times of unhappiness or sad times. A loss or a losing season can cause temporary sadness, but in unhappy life situations, many of us look at sports as a fantasy leave from reality and the chaos it often brings. According to the International Academy for Suicide Research, it was found that adolescents â€Å"not engaged in physical exercise reported significantly higher hopelessness scores compared to the ones engaged in recreational activity† such as running, bicycling, playing basketball or other sports (Chioqueta 377). By using athletics to tackle the utmost unrelenting issues around the world, visionaries and humanitarians alike are impressively creating optimism and bliss in times of suffering and affliction. Senior writer for Sports Illustrated Alexander Wolff set off on a yearlong journey and noticed remarkable outcomes. In his article, a Brazilian kid avenged his father’s murder positively through boxing, became a light welterweight champion, and a received the opportunity to star in the 2012 London Olympics. Next, Zimbabwean boys learn about the HIV virus through fun and innovative role-playing by running soccer drills. Additionally, basketball facilitated to remove social barriers for Palestinian girls who are not culturally accepted to participate in anything usually done by their male counterparts. Not only do sports serve entertainment purposes, but also games have the effect of relaxing the brain of any ongoing strains. Some athletes use sports to tackle school related issues or concerns. After being asked the range of benefits attained from playing sports, a student reported that athletics can be â€Å"a good stress relief and if you’re like busy with school† (Scherer 494) Although some opponents may say that sports interferes with the learning process because players spend less time on assignments and reading, the same boy also felt â€Å"like [he] worked more efficiently† although sports consumes part of his time (Scherer 494). Lastly, associating with sports can lead to a barrel, jam-packed with underappreciated yet rewarding outcomes including: supporting a healthy lifestyle, learning off-the-field skills, acquiring social connections, and creating happiness amongst unhappy junctures. In all, sports authorize people to use its numerous offered benefits regardless of its limited shortcomings. Bringing both this analogy and the above ideas brought to attention into consideration, you should be able to find a positive stance on sports as it offers significant advantages and useful implications on society. Works Cited (List of References): Armstrong, Ketra L. Consumers Of Color And The Culture Of Sport Attendance: Exploratory Insights. Sport Marketing Quarterly 17. 4 (2008): 218-231. Business Source Complete. Web. 2 April 2013. Buckley, James, and John Walters. Sports In America, 1920-1939. n. p. : Chelsea House, 2010. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 2 April 2013. Chioqueta, Andrea P. , and Tore C. Stiles. Cognitive Factors, Engagement In Sport, And Suicide Risk. Archives Of Suicide Research 11. 4 (2007): 375-390. Academic Search Complete. Web. 2 April 2013. Holowchak, M Andrew. Freud On Play, Games, And Sports Fanaticism. The Journal Of The American Academy Of Psychoanalysis And Dynamic Psychiatry 39. 4 (2011): 695-715. MEDLINE with Full Text. Web. 2 April 2013. Murphey, Paula. Get Fit And Stay Fit. Boys Life 102. 1 (2012): 22. MAS Ultra School Edition. Web. 2 April 2013. Scherer Jay, et al. Benefits And Challenges Associated With Sport Participation By Children And Parents From Low-Income Families. Psychology Of Sport Exercise 12. (n. d. ): 490-499. ScienceDirect. Web. 2 April 2013. Soh Kim Geok, et al. The Strategies For Character Building Through Sports Participation. International Journal Of Academic Research In Business Social Sciences 2. 3 (2012): 48-58. Academic Search Complete. Web. 2 April 2013. Tomik, Rajmund, Dorota Olex-Zarychta, and Waldyslaw Mynarski. Social Values Of Sport Participation And Their Significance For Youth Attitudes Towards Physical Education And Sport. Studies In Physical Culture Tourism 19. 3 (2012): 99-104. SPORTDiscus. Web. 2 April 2013. Wann, Daniel L. , Josh Polk, and Gentzy Franz. Examining The State Social Psychological Health Benefits Of Identifying With A Distant Sport Team. Journal Of Sport Behavior 34. 2 (2011): 188-205. Academic Search Complete. Web. 2 April 2013. Wolff, Alexander. Sports Saves The World. Sports Illustrated 115. 12 (2011): 62. MAS Ultra School Edition. Web. 2 April 2013.

Comparison of American and French Revolutions

Comparison of American and French Revolutions Revolution have different definition, according to the way it been understood by people/society, some people/society see the idea of revolution as less important and unnecessary, while some people/society feel there is need for revolution because revolution bring change for good and progress in a particular society, the French and American revolution is a good example of the advantage of revolution. So let me give a brief definition and explanation of revolution. REVOLUTION Revolution can be defined as the modification of a government from one change to another, because of it tyrannical and corrupt nature. Revolution can also be seen as a change in the way a country is been rule/governed, it usually to a political unit, and lead to violence or war, people forceful overthrow a government that are oppressing, taking advantage of the people, misusing their position as government and take away their freedom and rights as citizens. THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION The American continent was discovered towards the end of 15th century, in the American revolution was a political upheaval that took place between 1775-1783,the American colonies rejected monarchy and aristocracy in a revolutionary move, overthrew the authority of Britain and founded the united states of American, the American were been rule by the Britain for a very long time and were not happy with the way there been treated and needed a change so that lead to their raise for freedom and declaration of independence The American where against the colonial administration because their felt their deserve the right of the Englishmen. When the American Revolution began in 1775 the American colonists were not yet fighting for independence from Britain.instead, they were attempting to preserve their rights as british citizens which had been violated by taxation and military oppression. The complex causes of the revolution ultimately led to the colonists issuing a declaration of independence and fighting a war for freedom from British rule. After winning the French and Indian war, King George II decided that it was time to tighten Britain’s control over the colonies there were several reasons from this, one was because the Indians still posed a threat to the british government and second, the French indian war which lasted seven years had cost Britain a lot of money. The king wanted the colonies to help pay for all those expenses. The first of several laws to accomplish this was the proclamation of 1763 which forbade the colonists to move westward part the Appalachian mountain.in 1764, Britain passed a law that prevented the colonies to print and use their own money. These and several other laws passed to tighten the English reign on the colonies brought out a lot of anger and frustration.But the one law that really angered the colonists was the: STAMP ACTS OF March 22, 1765 Which taxed all kinds of printed paper /documents from wills licences, newspapers, diplomas, even playing cards. There have to pay for any printing, the colonists could not take any more so they started speaking not against the new taxes.in October of 1765, nine of colonies sent their representatives to new york city to discuss what they thought of the stamp act, they decided that the stamp act and all the other taxation laws were illegal since the colonies were not represented in the british parliament. The Declaratory Acts (March 18, 1766) Insisted that parliament retained full power to make laws for the colonies â€Å"in all cases whatever Establish that Britain had the right to tax the colonies†¦Ã¢â‚¬ the said colonies and planations in America have been,are and of right ought to be subordinate unto and dependent upon the imperial crown and parliament of great britains† The Townshend Acts (1787) The parliament passed a new series of taxes called the Townshend acts.american colonists now had to pay taxes on a number of popular british goods that they imported from English, these included items such as tea,paints,glass,ink and dyes so that there can able to pay the salaries of the judges and governors. Though these taxes were actually quite small,the outcry from many American leaders were huge. The taxes were imposed to help make the colonial officials independent of the colonist and induded duties on glass, paper and tea. Smugglers increased their activities to avoid the tax leading to more troops in boston. The Tea Acts (1773) It was a act of the parliament of great britain.its principa overt objective was reduce the massive surplus of tea held by financially troubled British east India company in its London warehouses and help the struggling company survive. A related objective was to undercut the price of illegal tea, smuggled into Britain’s worth American colonies. This was supposed to convince the colonists to purchase company tea to North America and the right to the duty-free export of tea from Britain, although the tax imposed by the Townshend acts and collected in the colonies remained in force, it received the royal assent on may 10, 1773 Colonists in the thirtheen colonies recognised the implications of the act’s provisions, and coalition of merchants,smugglers and artisans similar to that which had opposed the stamp act 1765 mobilized opposition to delivery and distribution of the tea. The company’s authorised consignees were harassed, and in many colonies successful efforts were made to prevent the tea from being landed.in boston, this resistance culminated in the boston tea party on December 16, 1773, when colonists (some disguised as native americans) boarded tea ships anchored in the harbour and dumped their tea cargo overboard.parliamentary reaction to this event included passage of the coercive acts, Coercive acts: designed to punish Massachusetts for its resistance, and the appointment of general Thomas gage as royal governor of Massachusetts.these actions further raised tensions that broke out into the American war of independence in april 1775. The intolerable acts In response to the bosten tea party, the king imposed the intolerable acts The major causes of the American revolution, the intolerable acts were the boston party act, closing the port of boston until the dutch east India company been repaid for the destroyed tea The Massachusetts government act, allowing royal officials to be tried in Britain if the king felt it necessary for fair justice; The quartering act, ordering the colonies to provide lodging for british soldiers The Quà ©bec act, expanding british territory in Canada and guaranteeing the free practice of roman Catholicism The declaration of independence The declaration opens with a preamble describing the document’s necessity in explaining why the colonies have overthrown their place as a separate nation in the world. All men are created equal and there are certain unalienable rights that governments should never violate.these rights include the right to life,liberty and the pursuit of happiness.when a government fails to protect those rights, it is not only the right,but also the duty of the people to ovefrthrow that government.in its place,the people should establish a government that is designed to protect those rights.governenrs are rarely overthrown,and should not be overthrown for trival reasons.in this case,a long history of abuses had led the colonists to overthrow a tyrannical government. The king of great Britain,george111,is guilty of 27 specific abuses.the king interfered with the colonists right to self-government and for a fair judicial system.acting with parliament,the king also instituted legislation that affected the colonies without their consent.this legislation levied taxes on the colonists.it also required hem to quarter british soldiers,removed their right to trail by jury,and prevented them from trading freely,additionally,the king and parliament are guilty of outright destruction of American life and property by their refusal to protect the colonies borders,their confiscation of American ships at sea,and their intent to hire foreign mercenaries to fight against the colonists. The colonial governments tried to reach a peaceful reconciliation of these differences with great Britain,but were continually ignored.colonists who appealed to british citizens were similarly ignored,despite their shared common heritage and their just cause.after many peaceful attempts,the colonists have no choice but to declare independence from great Britain The new nation will be called the united states of America and will have no further connections with great Britain.the new government will reserve the right to levy war,make peace, make alliances with foreign nations ,conduct trade and do anything else that nations do. THE FRENCH REVOLUTION The French revolution was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France from 1789 to 1799 that profoundly affected French, marking the decline of powerful monarchies and the rise of democracy and nationalism. Popular resentment of the privileges enjoyed by the clergy and aristocracy grew during a financial crisis following two expensive wars and years of bad harvests.demands for change were formulated in terms of enlightenment ideals and caused the covocation of the estates-general in may 1789.the first year of the revolution saw members of the third estate taking control,the assault in july,the passage of declaration of the rights of man and citizen in august,and a women’s march on versailes that forced the royal court back to paris in October.a central event of the first stage was the abolition of feudalism and the old rules,taxes,courts and privileges left over from the age of feudalism on 4 August 1789.yhe next stage was dominated by struggles between various liberal assemblies and right-wing supporters of the monarchy intent on thwarting major reforms.a republic was proclaimed in September 1792 in a momentous event that led to international condemnation. The king Louis xiv was executed on 21 january 1793. External threats closely shaped the course of the revolution. The revolutionary wars beginning in 1792 ultimately featured French victories that facilitated the conquest of the Italian peninsula, the low countries and most territories west of rhine –achievements that had eluded previous French governments for centuries.internally,popular agitation radicalized therevolution significantly,culminating in the rise of maximilien Robespierre and the jacobins.the dictatorship imposed by the committee of public safety during the reign of terror,from 1793 until 1794,caused up to 40,000 deaths inside france abolished slavery in the colonies and secured the borders of the new republic from its enemies.the reign of terror ended with the overthrow and executive of Robespierre and the other leading jacobins in the thermidorian reaction,an executive council known as the directory then assumed control of the French state in 1795 and held power until 1799.dogged by charges of corruption,the di rectory collapsed in a coup led by napoleon Bonaparte in 1799,widely seen as the final year of the revolution,napoleon went on to establish the consulate and later the first empire,setting the stage for a wider array of global conflicts in the Napoleonic wars. The modern era has unfolded in the shadow of the French revolution.french society itself underwent a transformation as feudal,aristocratic and religious privileges disappeared and old ideas about tradition and hierarchy were abruptly overthrown under the mantra of literate,egalite,fraternite.globally.the revolution accelerated the rise of republics and democracies,the liberalism,nationalism,socialism and secularism, the development of modern political ideologies and the practice of total war some of its central document. CAUSES OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION (1) International: struggle for hegemony and empire outstrips the fiscal resources of the state (2) political conflict: conflict between the monarchy and the nobility over throw†reforms†of the tax system led to paralysis and bankruptcy. (3) Social antagonisms between two groups the aristocracy and the bourgeoisie (4) Ineffective ruler: Louis xvi, he was a poor leadership that was not performing his function as a king. (5) economic hardship, especially the agrarian crisis of 1788-89 generates generates popular discontent and disorders caused by food shortages. Financial crisis was the major and main problem why the French people raise for a change that lead to revolution. The people were having problem of poor harvest and so many people were going hungry and the king was not even showing any concern, the king was just spending carelessly, while the people of France was starving and surviving. The similarities between the French and American revolution. Both were by a clique of wealthy bourgeois anxious to pay less tax. Both used propaganda to enlist the common people as foot soldiers of the revolt: in one case the rights of man; in the other, the parallel pious platitudes in the declaration of independence Both were equally hypocritical Both were been oppressed and treated badly Both were not impress with their government/rule and wanted a change. The American and French revolution made a lot of impact in the life of people all over the world, it makes us understand that we just don’t sit down and watch when our government are not doing what there supposed to do. Everybody want a change for good.

Frameworks of Entrepreneurship

Frameworks of Entrepreneurship Introduction: In the minds of masses, entrepreneurs are placed as solo heroes who after putting a brave fight against all the odds of business world became successful. Traditionally, all theories touted entrepreneurship as an individual act but problems like scarcity of finances, inadequacy of skill set and competitive market forces gave way to a new era in entrepreneurship more commonly termed as Team Entrepreneurship. Objective: The concept and theoretical foundations in this field are still in the stage of infancy. This paper is an attempt to explore the concept of Team Entrepreneurship, trace the definitions and identify the conceptual framework on the basis of the researches done in the field. Findings: Diverse opinions regarding team-building mechanisms, composition and dynamics of the entrepreneurial teams have been observed from the literature. The study also identified the multiple facets in which the entrepreneurial team exists. A conceptual framework depicting the phenomenon of creation and operation of entrepreneurial teams have been developed. Conclusion: Team based entrepreneurial ventures have proved to be successful provided an effective organizational model is developed for its sustenance. Researches have shown a considerable success rate for team ventures especially undertaken at SME level. Global slowdown has significantly highlighted the importance of risk sharing in business ventures. Team entrepreneurship can be considered as the most viable and effective mode of venturing in the present and future scenario given its benefits of sharing of resources, skills, and above all financial risks. INTRODUCTION Management and its practices in the present era has experienced major paradigm shift and one of the most prominent shift is the change in the philosophy from individual excellence to team excellence. Team players rather than solo stars are what companies look for while recruiting people. Performance is judged more specifically on the criterion laid down for the team as a whole. An innovative project these days may not be the baby of a single individual but the soul child of a team. This swing jump from solo show to the band of performers can also be observed in the case of entrepreneurship. Since the seminal work of Birch (1979), many studies have focused on small firms (as their rate of growth can frequently appear more dramatic than that achieved by larger organizations). For a long time it has been a great myth that entrepreneurship implicitly describes the battle of a lonely hero against economic, governmental and social forces (Cooney Bygrave, 1997). Lot of research work could be found where entrepreneurs were identified as individual business founders(Gartner, 1985; Hofer Sandberg, 1986; Carland, Hoy, Boulton, Carland, 1984; Olson, 1987, but team entrepreneurship as an area of study is a more recent phenomenon (Ensley et al., 1999: Kamm et al., 1990). However, over the past 15 years, team entrepreneurship has received increased attention. Based on research conducted from the inside of a fast-growing firm, Alex Stewart shows that entrepreneurship is both collective, a team-based activity and individual, a leader-made creation. It is arguable that despite the romantic notion of the entrepreneur as a lone hero, the reality is that successful entrepreneurs either built teams about them or were part of a team throughout. For example, when one considers the success of Apple Computers, the name of Steven Jobs immediately springs to mind. However, while Jobs was the charismatic folk hero and visionary, it was Steve Wozniack who invented the first PC model and Mike Markkula who offered the business expertise and access to venture capital (Sculley and Byrne, 1988). DEFINING TEAM ENTREPRENEURSHIP In the early 90s scholars (eg Kamm et al 1990, MÃ ¼ller-BÃ ¶ling and Heil 1994) explored a very important but almost undiscovered field in the entrepreneurship research namely team entrepreneurship.The studies on team ventures are scarce, they often lack a theoretical background or fail to even provide a proper definition of the researched object. Due to this lack of research it has become a real tough proposition to get a comprehensive definition of team entrepreneurship. Some researchers argue that this lack of definition and theoretical framework leads to the contradictory and some times even confusing empirical results in the field of Team Entrepreneurship. Team entrepreneurship does not view the process of entrepreneurship as a preserve of the individuals rather it is seen as a capability and attitudes whereby individual skills are integrated into, group or team, becoming partners in the businesss future evolution.This collective capacity to innovate becomes something greater than the sum of its parts. Ensley, Carland, Carland (1998), combine elements from other definitions found in the literature and establish three conditions which identify an individual as member of an entrepreneurial team: they have either (1) jointly established a firm, (2) a financial interest in, or (3) a direct influence on the strategic alignment of the venture. The most frequently employed definition is that by Kamm et al. (1990), who suggested that an entrepreneurial group is two or more individuals who jointly establish a business in which they have equal financial interest. These individuals are present at the pre-start-up phase of the firm, before it actually begins making goods or services available to the market. However, two substantive elements of this definition are subject to disagreement: (1) the inclusion of the term equal financial interest, where a more open interpretation of financial interest is required instead, and (2) the focus on pre-start-up, because an individual could possibly become a team member at any point in the maturation of the firm. The definition should additionally concentrate on new venture creation rather than on team development within an established organization. An entrepreneurial team be defined as two or more individuals who have a significant financial interest and participate actively in the development of the enterprise. The purpose of significant financial interest is in recognition of the fact that only sporadically would all partners have equal financial interest. However, the question of what constitutes significant remains undefined and should only be considered within a specific context. The intent of the phrase participate actively was designed to eliminate sleeping or silent partners (i.e. those who invest capital but do not involve themselves beyond seeking a return on their investment). Moreover, the definition excludes venture capital firms, banks, and other investment institutions since it is only concerned with individuals. A final point of note to the definition is that it was with regard to the development of the enterprise. This acknowledges the dynamic nature of the enterprise and accedes to the prospect that team membe rs can join (or leave) at any stage of the maturation of the firm. Therefore, the definition is not restricted to pre-start-up but embraces the concept of entrepreneurial teams as fluid and evolutionary. Leon Shjeodt developed another comprehensive definition of entrepreneurial team as a team consisting of two or more persons who have an interest, both financial and otherwise, in and commitment to the ventures future and success; whose work is interdependent in the pursuit of common goals and venture success; who are accountable to the entrepreneurial team and for the venture; who are considered to be at the executive level with executive responsibility in the early phases of the venture, including founding and pre-start up; and who are seen as a social entity by themselves and by others. This definition again brought forward that such team are not necessarily created as pre-start-up rather can be formed at the later stages. Interdependence of the team members for venture performance and accountability are also incorporated alongwith the identity of entrepreneurial teams as a social entity. FORMATION AND COMPOSITION OF ENTREPRENEURIAL TEAMS Research has shown that teams start a significant number of new ventures, or a team is created within the first years of start up (Kamm, Shuman, Seeger, Nurick, 1990; Watson, Ponthieu, Critelli, 1995), the quality and composition of the team is a critical determinant of organizational performance (Glick, Miller, Huber, 1993; Hambrick, 1994). According to Cooper and Daily (1997), an entrepreneurial team is more than a group because it involves a shared commitment to the new venture, but they stop short of defining what shared commitment is. Katzenbach (1997) suggests that what must be shared is the accountability. Eisenhardt and Schoonhovens (1990) contribution in defining entrepreneurial team considered: a group of people holding full-time executive positions at the time of founding. Whereas Leon Schjeodt emphasised that it is not necessary to be in the pre-start up or founding phases of the venture to be a part of the entrepreneurial team. It is possible for a person to be considered a part of the entrepreneurial team if the person is brought into the venture in the early phases to help establish the venture. The composition of the entrepreneurial team refers to the collective characteristics of its members (e.g., Banter Jackson, 1989). Entrepreneurial teams are most effective if they balance their skills, knowledge, and abilities as Cooper and Daily (1997) suggest. Heterogeneity in the entrepreneurial teams composition is needed for the team to achieve a high level of effectiveness and venture performance. TMT functional heterogeneity increases the likelihood of strategic change (Lant, Milliken, Batra, 1992; Wiersema Bantel, 1992), increases strategic consensus (Knight et al., 1999), and enhances performance (Bunderson Sutcliffe, 2002), but it can also create cognitive and affective conflict (Amason, 1996; Kamm Nurick, 1993; Miller, Burke, Glick, 1998). Despite this conflict, research suggests that heterogeneous TMTs perform better because their ability to leverage multiple perspectives improves their decision making (e.g., Miller et al., 1998 Simons, Pelled, Smith, 1999). Demographic diversity does not play a very significant role in team formation and composition. Sanjib Chowdhury(2005) suggests that demographic diversity is not important for entrepreneurial team effectiveness, whereas the team process variables positively influence team effectiveness. He also identified that the diversity in terms of gender, age and functional background does not contribute to the team-level cognitive comprehensiveness and team commitment Another aspect of composition is time and its affect on the team. As mentioned earlier, it was found that effects of diversity, especially for demographic characteristics, within the entrepreneurial team decreased over time as the ET engaged in lengthy discussions and solved disagreements and complex problems (Glicket al., 1993; Harrison, Price, Bell, 1998) Two principles of team formation dominate the strategic management literature on teams, although most research concerns the upper echelons of established firms, rather than startups (Forbes et al., 2006).First, a rational process model of team formation emphasizes selecting members based on pragmatic instrumental criteria, such as complementary skills or work experiences. From this viewpoint, competency should shape team formation so that new ventures possess the capabilities needed to manage complexity and growth. Second, a social psychological model emphasizes the interpersonal fit between team members and the need for smoothly functioning group processes. Many scholars have pointed to the important role that social and emotional support play in affecting human behavior (Thoits, 1984). For example, positive social relations within a team can create a supportive context within which people are encouraged to undertake innovative actions. The two sets of principles are not mutually ex clusive. Within the constraints of interpersonal attraction, teams can still search instrumentally for members. Similarly, within the constraints of resource-based needs, teams can still choose people who are attractive. SUSTAINING TEAM ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN AN ORGANIZATIONAL ENVIRONMENT Setting up of an entrepreneurial venture jointly is one aspect but sustaining entrepreneurial groups poses a big challenge. When educated, skilled and dynamic individuals join hands for a venture in the entrepreneurial capacity then firms must assure that their organizational environment is closely matched to their heterogeneity of mental models (e.g.,diversity of ideas and entrepreneurial skills) at all levels, especially at upper-level management. However, an organization composed of individuals with very similar perceptions of the potential services from firms resources and the competitive environment is likely to have a truncated set of productive opportunities. In team entrepreneurship, the team can be as effective as the creative inputs provided by its members, which can expand and be enriched when members learn from each others diverse ideas, perceptions, and expectations. Also, with the inclusion of complementary skills in the team, the cooperative entrepreneurial team can ty pically overcome the limitations of its individual members (Barnard, 1938). An informal organization culture is required to encourage continuous resource learning through interactions in teams. Under conditions that inhibit creative thinking, entrepreneurial experimentation, and risk taking, human resources are likely to function substantially below their full entrepreneurial capacity. It is of utmost important that an environment be created to avoid stifling of creativity of individuals that mar many firms. Individuals must have freedom and opportunities in order to imagine different services of resources, to deploy individual entrepreneurial capital, to renew the firms unique productive opportunity set, and to mobilize invisible assets (Itami Roehl,1987). Individuals are not only allowed to think creatively, but are also encouraged to voice their creative ideas and visions about new product ideas and novel ways to utilize resources. An entrepreneurially stimulating environment provides individuals with resource flexibility and slack for calculative experimentation (Barry, 1991; Dobrev Barnett, 2005; Mosakowski, 1997), which helps mobilize the cognitive assets of the firm that are in the form of heterogeneous mental models. Resource learning and organizational learning involve taking risks, making mistakes, and experimenting with novel solutions and ideas. Pervasive fear of failure and punishment instilled in employees does not belong to entrepreneurial environments, as it can severely constrict risk- taking and resource learning (McGrath McMillan, 2000). Besides seeking creative thinking, effective entrepreneurship requires investments in ideas and rewarding entrepreneurial thinking and experimentation both at the individual level and at the team level. An effective allocation of inducements to encourage entrepreneurial efforts requires recognition of the diversity of individual needs, as some individuals are more interested in material benefits while others are more motivated by social benefits and entrepreneurial engagement. Furthermore, the element of time as a scarce resource (Mahoney, 2005; Mosakowski,1993) deserves special attention in entrepreneurship research because developing a productive opportunity set for the firm requires personal (tacit) knowledge of the firms material and human resources, which can only be developed over time as entrepreneurs interact and experiment with the firms bundle of resources. Importance of time management is also be attributed to the diverse mental inputs as the entrepreneurs need time and place to think and function together to produce synergistic cognitive outcomes. KEY ATTRIBUTES OF TEAM ENTREPRENEURSHIP Based upon the review of researches done on the definitional and compositional aspects of entrepreneurial teams some of the key factors of team entrepreneurship can be identified as follows: Entrepreneurship is no more a lone action. Team based approach is required to lead to fast growth. One of the major forces that led to the evolution of team entrepreneurship is the entry level barriers that confronted small firms. To overcome the restrictions imposed by large firms on entry, many Small and medium sized firms formed themselves into teams. A jointly established business by a group of individuals as well as any individual joining the firm at a later stage in the entrepreneurial capacity comes under the preview of team entrepreneurship. That would mean a team formed for new venture creation where all members will be founder member/ a person joining the founder team at a later stage/ teams formed within an enterprise for entrepreneurial ventures. Within an organisation, entrepreneurial teams may exist at different levels. Top management teams (TMT), corporate entrepreneurship, shop-floor entrepreneurship etc are such teams that are created within the organization for innovation and creativity. Entrepreneurial groups do not incorporate passive or sleeping members. Active participation in strategic, managerial and operational level is warranted. Only that individual can be considered as a member of entrepreneurial team who bears direct influence on strategic areas of the venture. Need for personal risk taking is reduced as team entrepreneurship marks sharing of financial interests. Sharing may or may not be equal but a significant financial interest in the venture is required by the individual to be a member of entrepreneurial team. Pooling of financial resources and sharing of financial risks are the key drivers for team ventures. A diverse skill set is available in an entrepreneurial team. Individual limitations are overcome and synergic effects can be observed very lucidly. The individual knowledge, capabilities and attributes get integrated into a team hence leading to success of the venture. Issues of group dynamics need to be addressed in team entrepreneurship. Issues related to control, ownership, role; responsibilities etc need to be handled at the very outset to avoid problems at later stage. Too many contributing minds can pose a problem as well. Diversity in terms of demography, culture, skill set, knowledge and experience etc at one hand may be the strength of the team but if not taken care of may lead to dysfunctional conflict among the teams. Informal social interaction, friendship, time for discussions, respect for individual opinion and team opinion being given the highest regard, creative environment are some of the factors that may keep the dysfunctional conflicts at bay and might be helpful in sustaining such teams. Innovation and creativity are the key ingredients of entrepreneurial teams. Innovative thinking and creativity in decision making will keep the individuals with entrepreneurial instincts bound in a team. Brain-storming of new ideas, creative methods of working and creating and innovation of new modes, techniques or project as team provide thrill for such individuals and may be may be instrumental in key the team together and performing. FORMS OF ENTREPRENEURIAL TEAMS The team phenomenon in entrepreneurship is visible in many forms , Johannisson has observed two different perspectives in identifying existence of group entrepreneurship First perspective regards teaming up of individuals as the way of initiating and organizing the entrepreneurial process and second perspective is group entrepreneurship as regards the outcome of entrepreneurial processes. Family Business: Family Businesses are operated by and for families with the intention of keeping the firm within the family after succession. Members of the family run their business collectively hence represent an image of group entrepreneurship. Partnership: Partnership refers to teaming up of individuals for venturing into some common business. In that context partnership gets associated with group entrepreneurship. Co-operatives: Cooperatives offer a formal structure with joint ownership and control and hence visibly represents the group entrepreneurship. TMT: Top management teams can either be the founder teams of new venture or teams created within an organization for leadership role. Virtual organisations: It is a mode of organizing where independent partner firms put in a joint effort to materialize the promises carried by the leading firms products to its customers. The challenge is to make the customer perceive the virtual organisation as a whole.(Johannisson 2002: 18). Extrapreneurship: For Daval (2002), it materializes by the development of a new entity by an employee when he leaves his firm, helped in taking this step by his former employer. Extrapreneurship is now more commonly adopted by a group of employees leaving their respective organisation and joining their skill set to start new venture Shop floor entrepreneurship: Shop floor entrepreneurship refers to the concept of self-organising groups and teams created for entrepreneurial purposes by employees at shop floor level. According to Johannisson (2002: 19), Sweden and other Scandinavian countries have a long tradition of self-organising in groups on the shop floor (in contrast to intrapreneurship that usually focuses middle-management). Corporate entrepreneurship: Johannisson (2002) seems to refer to intrapreneurship here (The intrapreneur, operating a quasi-independent venture within the corporation as an arena for entrepreneurship. Corporate Entrepreneurship (CE) is the process by which individuals inside organisations pursue opportunities without regard to the resources they currently control (Stevenson, Roberts, and Grousbeck, 1999) Intellectual Entrepreneurship Johannisson et al. (1999) have introduced the notion of intellectual entrepreneur to depict those people who mobilise their intellectual capabilities in an entrepreneurial career. Community entrepreneurship: Johannisson and Nilsson (1989) have introduced the notion of community entrepreneur to capture persons who use personal networking to mobilize internal as well as external resources to promote local venturing processes. FACTORS AFFECTING TEAM ENTREPRENEURSHIP To create a conceptual framework of team entrepreneurship on the basis of available inputs on entrepreneurial teams, the factors affecting such teams at different stages of team formation, composition and sustenance dynamics have been identified. Entrepreneurial teams can be formed either at prestart-up stage and/or at post start up stage .New ventures, partnership firms, extrapreneurship specifically fall under the category of pre-start-up teams, corporate entrepreneurship and shop floor entrepreneurship come under the category of post start-up teams and TMTs, family businesses, cooperatives, virtual organizations, intellectual entrepreneurship etc can either be forms as pre start up or post start up teams. Forms of entrepreneurial teams can also be viewed from the aspect of level of management at which such teams operates. For that purpose TMTs are formed at top level, corporate entrepreneurial teams at middle level and shop-floor teams at operational level. Regarding the team comp osition, issues as to why team is required and who can be the part of the team need to be addressed. As is obvious by now, the rationale behind creating a team rather than functioning solo is sharing of resources, skills, risk, knowledge etc an effective entrepreneurial team may be composed of individual with wide knowledge, skills and competencies. Such individuals must not be averse to risk and experimentation. Creativity and innovation should be the drivers of such individuals. Sustenance of such teams require a great deal of managing group dynamics. Diversity in demography and cultural may not be instrumental in enhancing performance but can be a deterrent if not handled well. Variable mental inputs and variable degree of creative and innovation instincts may also give rise to conflicts.Figure 1-1 tabulates all the factors affecting team entrepreneurship FACTORS AFFECTING TEAM ENTREPRENEURSHIP TEAM FORMATION* TEAM COMPOSITION TEAM DYNAMICS As per joining of team members: Resource-sharing Risk-sharing Complementary skill set Enriching knowledge and competency base Experience Experimentation Risk-seeking Innovation Creativity Social interaction Diversity in skills Diverse mental inputs Demographic heterogeneity Interpersonal relations Cultural diversity Time Diverse appetite of creativity Diverse cognitive needs Pre-start-up teams: New venture teams, Extrapreneurship, partnership family business, cooperatives, virtual organisations etc Post-start-up teams: TMTs, Corporate entrepreneurship, Shop-floor entrepreneurship, cooperatives, family business, virtual organisations etc As per levels of Management Strategic level: TMT Tactic level: corporate entrepreneurship Operational level: shop-floor entrepreneurship *forms of teams are not mutually exclusive CONCLUSION As again the notion of entrepreneurship being a solo act, several researchers have proved that the present is the era of teams. No person is equipped enough to build an empire all by himself. No conqueror has won the battle alone, no CEO can run a company without a team. Team based entrepreneurial ventures have proved to be successful provided an effective organizational model is developed for its sustenance. Researches have shown a considerable success rate for team ventures especially undertaken at SME level. Another notion of entrepreneurial team being the team of founder who start a new venture has also been proved lop-sided. Existence of entrepreneurial teams can be traced in various forms and at multiple levels. This paper was an attempt to bring together the knowledge created by many researchers but may suffer from many limitations. The studies considered for the review are not exhaustive and hence the findings may also not be exhaustive. A lot of further research need to be d one on the topic because team entrepreneurship is going to be the buzz-word for the future. Global slowdown has significantly highlighted the importance of risk sharing in business ventures. Team entrepreneurship can be considered as the most viable and effective mode of venturing in the present and future scenario given its benefits of sharing of resources, skills, and above all financial risks. *Assistant professor, GNIMT, Model Town Ludhiana