Do News Channels Inspire Or Stimulate Terrorism Media Essay

Do News Channels Inspire Or Stimulate Terrorism Media Essay News media and the News channels are a very important part of society. Their role is to inform the mass about what is happening around the world. But the scenario has changed drastically in last few years. Sensationalism of news elements has become more important than reporting within the ethical boundary specially while in case of crisis for example terrorist activity. What is terrorism?  [1]  Terrorism is a repulsive act of human killing and destructions, and it is often being prioritized by the news channels. Thus news channels are accused with the charge of being terrorists best friend  [2]  (Almagor, 2005:385). They need publicity and the news channels to provide it to them. News channels are responsible behind the success of terrorism (Almagor, 2005). Nowadays the news channel owners are much concerned about their profit, so terrorism has become a good business policy for these channels, for example when 9/11 happened for almost a week all the news channels around the w orld were busy covering the event to get more TRP  [3]  . On the other hand news channels glamorize terrorists, thus media often called as the provider of oxygen of terrorism (Carruthers, 2000). This article illustrates about the news channel coverage of terrorist activity and how media helps terrorists by providing huge publicity concerning about the nightmare for the people of Mumbai, those three days when every Indian cried with the black tear, those three days when the citizens of Mumbai were terrified with the sound of the blast and the firing of the guns, those three days when many people lost their loved ones and finally when the media proved them the worst, the 26/11 Mumbai siege in 2008, in which media proved to be the best friend of terrorist by helping them, though it was unintentional, but just to be exclusive and gain more viewership they put lot of people in danger.  [4]  In this article I would also describe the question raised in my mind, Is this ethical journalism? Theoretical Review A news media has extreme responsibility on them, they are powerful; they are the people who focus the reality of the world in the common peoples eye. But in recent years news channel broadcasting has dramatically changed, in Philip Taylors word the news media which was previously known as the informer, educator and entertainers has changed in the last ten years, their environment has now changed, it is full of competition, with the use of modern technologies, plus they are in the global market  [5]  . Nowadays they are facing competition from internet, and also with the help of portable camcorders the rise of citizen journalists is also very important (2003). As the ownership has also changed, the reporters are now always with the pressure of accuracy, thus the news value may sometimes become less important. Day by day the news channels are becoming overaggressive in terms of presenting breaking news just to keep the Television Rating Point (TRP) high, in order to gain more money , especially while reporting terrorist activity. Picard, in his essay described four types of tradition used in news while reporting terrorism, information tradition, sensationalism, feature story tradition and didactic tradition (1991). The author implied that within all four traditions sensationalistic tradition creates anger, fear, emotions and increase in the viewership of television (Picard,1991). Sensationalism is mostly used while reporting the terrorist activities. Terrorism is dangerous but the media makes the picture more terrified, the terrorist events could be understood by watching the news frame and the priority has given to that news, and the structure of the narrative or story telling method of the event (Norris et al, 2003). Terroristic news stories comes under different packaging styles, for example in the style of bulletins or as breaking news or sometimes with the graphical presentations or talk shows, and sometime comes with the follow-up stories (Picard, 1991). Walter Laqueur pointed out in his essay, There is a tendency to magnify the importance of terrorism in modern society : society is vulnerable to attack, but it is also astonishingly resilient. Terrorism makes a great noise (1986).the media is often working as the medium of the terrorist. Terrorists exists due to the media, as the media sensationalize  [6]  the news stories with the horrible representation of violent terrorists and portrays the victims as actors, creates enormous tensions and anguish, they often become a part of this terrified drama which they represents to report the repulsion of terrorism. There is a subtle bond could be seen within media and terrorist (Almagor, 2005). Media is helping the terrorists by providing huge publicity, for example after 9/11 Osama Bin Laden becomes more famous than any Hollywood star. Terrorists seek publicity to create horror in peoples mind and media helps them to do it. Without the media coverage terrorism would have wiped out, bec ause if they dont get the publicity people would not get horrified about them, wide spread attention alone gives purpose and meaning to terrorist acts (Carruthers, 2000). The media basically glamorizes terrorists, bringing them in the limelight. They provide them such publicity that often it becomes difficult to differentiate between a terrorist and a freedom fighter. Simon Jenkins pointed out that Terrorism is 10 per cent bang and 90 per cent an echo effect composed of media hysteria, political overkill and knee-jerk executive action, usually retribution against some wider group treated as collectively responsible. This response has become 24-hour, seven-day-a-week amplification by the new politico-media complex, especially shrill where the dead are white people (cited in Moorcraft et al, 2007:48-49). Media Ethics What is ethics?  [7]  Ethics in not a set of rules or codes of conduct which should followed, ethics is a bunch of principles regarding the right and wrongs of human behaviour, that have some reasoned theoretical basis which has objective and impartial applications (Belsey and Chadwick, 1992).journalism is tied with a bunch of ethics and all the journalists have to follow the ethics. Specifically a news organization has to follow some ethical news values they have certain ethical codes firstly accuracy, it means a reporter or a journalist should always use the appropriate fact with right words and using it at right place. A journalist should be independent while framing the news stories but at same time they should be careful about the gender, the social class plus they cannot be biased while reporting and the news organisation should trust the journalist neither they will also become a part of the news packaging. Secondly confirmation before reporting news a journalist should re search about it. Thirdly tenacity is the personal and institutional importance of a news story, it also has institutional applications which helps one who malfunctions in the environment of huge resources. Fourthly, dignity it deals with the self-respect to the subject of a story because it increases the news value of a specific story or sometime values individuals. Dignity gives the sense to an individual journalist to help understand the structure of news gathering which is a corporation and everyone plays a role together with the editors, videographers, designers and advertising sales staff. Next is sufficiency which finds out the suitable resources for the important issues. It means thoroughness such as scrutinising the facts before reporting in other words, finding out the suitable resources at the time of news gathering. Later comes equity. It means a journalist should always judge the resources equally in case of controversial stories. Equity develops the journalistic norms f rom telling the both side of story to telling all side of story (Patterson and Wilkins, 2008:36) according to equity a journalist should consider all points of view equally but do not need to frame all of them equally. After that is community, that is, to give value to the social unity, the sense of community in the organisation demands the news organisation owner first to be a citizen than a profit maker. For an individual journalist it means to evaluate the news with the common eye for the social welfare. The next point is diversity. A journalist should cover all the important segments impartially and sufficiently, and a journalist should know how to think with diversity, without any influence of their personal culture or traditions. Finally, reciprocity treats others as the journalist is wishing that person to treat him/herself. Reciprocity defines journalism as benevolent paternalism (Patterson and Wilkins, 2008). These is the primary ethics for the news organisation, violation of these rules could penalise the news organisations. There are some more ethics which is applicable on journalists, first of all a journalist should be honest while news gathering and reporting. Privacy, a journalist should have respect for the right to privacy (Belsey and Chadwick, 1992). A journalist should respect peoples privacy and also protect the privacy of confidential news elements in the time of reporting. Finally a journalist should maintain certain qualities such as fairness, truthfulness, trustworthiness and non-malevolence. Journalists are bound to follow these ethics and for violation of the code of conduct their licence could be cancelled (Belsey and Chadwick, 1992). Though lots of struggling has been done to draw the line of conduct, but it totally depends upon a journalist who actually faces numerous situations where it is not possible to maintain the codes of conduct exactly, then they have to decide depending upon the moral choice. No codes can anticipate every situation (Belsey and Chadwick, 1992). Case study On a very fine evening of 26th November 2008  [8]  , Mumbai the gateway of India suddenly shaded with the reign of fire. More than 10 places were attacked with powerful bombs and many people were killed while the shooting was going on with the heavy machine guns and AK47s by a group of terrorists. The luxurious hotels like Oberoi Trident, Taj Hotel and Nariman House were attacked as they targeted the foreigners to exploit the Indian tourism. Not only that, the Cama hospital was also captured by the terrorists. Firing ensued in Leopold, a renowned cafà © in Mumbai mostly crowded with foreigners, and also at Mumbai V.T station and in Metro cinema were due firing and several people died. According to the report of Times of India 6 foreigners died in this incident. Not only foreigners, they killed 101 innocent people and many people were injured. Many people were killed in the firing at Chatrapati Shibaji Terminus, 5 Police officers were killed  [9]  , 18 commandos died. For 60 hours Mumbai was under the dark shadow of terror. This incident started on 26th and finished on 28th of November after destroying the heritage of the city hotel Taj  [10]  (Times of India,2008).on 28th of November this war came to an end, all the terrorist were neutralized by the NSG commandos. This is the biggest terror attack ever happened (IBN, 2008). During such an incident, Indian news channels did not miss any chance to compete within each other. For every reporter it was a crucial time, which channel would give exclusive news, which cloud engaged more viewers to gain more TRP. But the Indian media has been mostly criticized due to two reasons, first of all while reporting the updated condition of Taj hotel the news channels were providing sensitive information, and they were also fabricating the news elements. Secondly, they were giving more importance to Taj hotel and Oberoi hotel rather than covering other affected area of the city (Mishra, 2008). In such a critical moment when Indian defences were fighting with their life on that moment Indian news channels were too keen to provide the military positions, it could easily help the terrorist operators who were in Pakistan and the terrorists were also carrying mobile phone, so it was quite easy for them to know all the information which the Indian media were publicly disclosing, when the army were trying to enter at the Taj hotel a very renowned news channel NDTV, reported cops trying to enter the Taj hotel (Hit2020, 2008). As every news channel tried to be exclusive they were presenting the incident with different drama. For example India TV famous Indian 24 hour news reported live the telephone conversations between the news channel correspondent and the terrorist group, according to them; they were the only news channel whom the terrorist had chosen for the conversation. On the other hand Ajtak  [11]  another news channel of India presented such a horrible situation very dramatically with the use of computer graphics, they claimed that 9 terrorist were arrested and 2 died, but in reality at the end of 28th November only one terrorist named Ajmal Kasab  [12]  was arrested alive. Headlines today reported the incident as Indias 9/11.They mentioned that the media were attacked by the terrorists at front of the Taj hotel, which were not shown in any other news channels. In such situation the reporters held their mike in front of the hostages who had just been rescued by the Army or by the fire brigade, who were traumatized, shocked or some of them were in grief for the loss of their close ones, for instance Times Now reported live the interview of a hostage who was trapped in Taj hotels old wing by the terrorist and he was rescued later by the securities. He was distressed but the reporters interrogated him again and again to get the exclusive news feed, which could produce more breaking news. Padma Shri, Award receiver journalist Barkha Dutt(Televis ion point,2008) interviewed two women whose husbands were inside during the situation to ask how they were feeling on that moment, what could the mental state of their husband, to ask such silly questions(eyeopner, 2008). While the NSG commandos were running operations in Nariman house  [13]  , they were secretly coming on the roof of the Nariman house from the helicopter with the rope the media covered from every single angle and presented live and exclusive on the television. Every news channel provided different statistics of dead and injured people. While all these dramas appeared in Indian television, Pakistani news channels showed some different dramas. As right after the first attack the NSG and Indian intelligence pointed their finger towards Pakistan after getting an email by a terrorist gang accepting all the charges, which has been sent from Pakistan, which was later proved correct also, but the Pakistani media did not agreed that. During such circumstances some Pakistani channels arranged talk shows rather informing about the condition. A news channel named News 1 invited Zaid Hamid a security consultant of Pakistan for a talk show and in that talk show he was found to accuse India and called the incident a stage groomed play or drama. He claimed that Indian politicians were trying to create another 9/11, and they are fooling around the world with the news. They kept denying about the fact that Pakistan is involved into this. In another talk show where the guests were Dr. Fareed Paracha, Deputy Secretary General, Jamaat e Islami, who were caught while abusing India and their religion, they believe by doing this India is getting sympathy and making the master plan against Pakistan. On 28th of November news 1 again organized a talk called Siyasat aur Pakistan show with Mr Zaid Hamid, on that show they blamed Indian opponent party BJP. They indicated it as an election drama. From their point of view the drama was planned to gain votes for the recent election. They not only blamed Indian media for taking part in the so called drama but also to western media (American media). According to them this event was scripted from very before and they were thinking how to get prepare for the next war. A news channel named Aaj TV hosted by Talat Hussein was caught reporting offensive comments against Indian media on a show called live with Talat  [14]  , and Indian intelligence rejecting the evidences found against pakistan.(AAJ TV,2008). 24 hour News channels due to Globalisation and its effects on the News Channels business This is a media saturated world, with the ever changing sounds, images and words and with the 24/7  [15]  news. The news channel turned 24 hour to give some competition to the entertainment channels. Television should be live and news is the only live show on television, it has the ability to transform the stories in a very less time to the global audience. This is utilized by the broadcasting ecology and the privatized satellites (Thussu, Freedman, 2003). In the year 1980, CNN turned into 24 hour news channel (Moorcraft. Taylor, 2007).It was the first 24 hour news channel. After that many news channels followed CNN. Especially BBC, whose BBC world is a 24 hour news channel, it is called CNNisation  [16]  of television networks (Thussu, Freedman,2003).Today all the news channels are of 24hours and 7days. To run 24 hour news channels needs a bunch of breaking news  [17]  , thus terrorist attacks are so important to them.it often needs Sensationalization and trivialisation which often gives priority to entertainment rather than news value. The audience is also interested in conflicts, because every conflict turned into news. The terrorist stories showed using three dimensional video games; it can give the proper description of the attack without showing blood on screen (Thussu, Freedman, 2003). The contemporary mass is deeply connected with the news stories, people subscribe news channels. Each time the news is faster, slicker an d well defined with information it gains more popularity than the normal ones. However the live news has its own news value, we always give live news a special preference, because we can see whatever is happening in front of our eyes (Thussu, Freedman, 2003). Thus, news coverage of the Mumbai terror attack of 26/11 has become so popular because we were watching the situation live. For this reason 24 hour news channels are becoming so popular. Due to globalisation  [18]  all the news channels are facing more challenges. The audience has become globalised. Many channels have turned global, some of their target audience is diasporic and others are doing international coverage (Thussu, Freedman, 2003). That is why the international news value has increased rather than the local news; the news channels are more interested about the ecstatic news rather than emergency or adventure news. So news channels looks for some big event through which they can create distant suffering  [19]  , for this reason terrorism activities are so necessary or important for the news channels. Globalisation in other words is westernisation of these news channels because still there is a western domination in global information and entertainment industry. Westernisation of those channels fortifies the western hold, specifically United Kingdom and USA companies. In reality television news culture which has globalised in US style has affected t he commercial news culture in other parts of the world. This is why after globalisation the main resource of news footages are Reuters and Associated Press Television News (Thussu, Freedman, 2003). Hence the news value has more influenced with the outcome that means which can make the news channel widespread. Firstly news is a commodity which can be bought and sold and at the same time it is related with profit, it is basically elusive (White, undated) news formulate the bunch of information in the form of a commodity due to three reason, political communication, business and pleasure and directed with the high technologies. There are diverse and competing interests at work, and that what may appear at one level to be globalisation in the sense of homogenisation, may appear at another level as fragmentation and competition (Barrett et.al, 1998, 2). As regarded, there is a huge possibility that the morality of objective journalism such as fairness and impartiality is being compromise d with the ever increasing market shares.as a result of globalisation a relationship has been found between journalistic practice and compassion fatigue  [20]  . Susan D. Moeller argued in his book about the compassion fatigue(cited in Tester,2001), that it is nothing but the short time attention and bore dome produced in media audience in case of news stories. Moeller claimed that compassion fatigue underpins prescribed coverage. . Moeller anticipated on journalist who have a tendency to reject those event which is less melodramatic or the event is being modified by the journalists by choosing sensitive images and languages making it more deadly than the reality. At the same time compassion fatigue allures the journalist to search for more sensationalistic stories to keep in mind of their target audience and also inspires the media to leave the story and set off for the new ones when the coverage possibility is over (cited in Tester, 2001). Television news is now called infotainment  [21]  (Thussu, Freedman, 2003:122). Reporting style has totally changed, especially in the time of crisis the news transformed into melodrama with use of music, special effects, computer graphics, re-enactments etc. is presented by the glitzy anchor, and now the news channels started a new policy for income that is online voting. In the time of a very critical situation or at the moment of reporting catastrophe at the bottom of the screen a column appears where either you are asked to write your opinion about the current incident or you have to answer a question that has been asked and you need to text by using your mobile phone credit, from where they will get their benefits (Garakarajula, 2009).not only that, news channels profit a lot from the advertising revenue, thus they make the news stories colorful, effective that advertisers find profit in that channel and the channel gets the advertisements. Not only that, television earns mo ney by selling news online  [22]  , specifically in the time of crisis people tend to watch the same news again and again or people who live far away from the country watch the program online. Discussion After the 26/11 Mumbai attack the Indian media and the Pakistani media were tremendously criticized by the people of India, Mumbai as well as the people who watched the incident on television. Though the Indian media have done an excellent job, still the media crossed the ethical boundary and all morality levels. First of all they disclosed the Indian security movements at Hotel Taj that was quite dangerous because the terrorist controller was in Pakistan and they were having conversations while the operation was going on, secondly the drama was showed on television that made lot of people angry on some news channels, nowadays there is a trend to sensationalise news stories, to make people feel about the agony, the anger against the terrorists and curiosity about the incident in effect to make more money. Thirdly, they gave all the importance on the two hotels Taj and Oberoi Trident. there were many places in Mumbai where lot of people died and injured due to the same terrorist attac k. chatrapati shivaji terminal  [23]  , where people died in the blast and also many of them were assassinated by the terrorist group, but they were not the perfect news stories for the news channels, instead of that they were focusing on the foreign people to gain international publicity (Mishra,2008). One of the very renowned news channel India TV reported live conversation between their news correspondent and the terrorist group but later they could not show any proof of it (hit2020, 2008). When some of the hostages were freed by the NSG commandos the reporters held the mike before them, who might have just lost someone or shocked. All the news channels sensationalized the situation, and turned it into a news drama. People were glued to their television set, the police and security commandos were trying their best to fight against the terrorist and also they had to manage the news reporters with their flash lights and cameras which was bothering the security. A very important part of the coverage which hugely flashed criticism about media was the live video which showed the military operation of Nariman house, when the NSG commandoes were running their operation they got down on the roof of the Nariman house from the helicopter by using rope, which was a secret mission and it was being aired live on the national television. It made the people angry(Los Angeles Times,2009).In such time of crisis Indian media and Pakistans media were having a cold war between them, both the news channel were cursing even abusing on television. This raised a question in my mind that was that the best time to had such conversation? Do media ethics does not exist in the following list of the news channels? After watching such dreadful dramas people busted in anger. Mutiny, an Indian citizen commented on a blogosphere after watching the news coverage of Indian news channels, Their coverage of the attacks has been completely self-defeating and highly immoral, if nothing else. They are causing as much damage to us right now, just not in terms of lives. Shameful irreverence from such tardy media persons is shocking in such times. They definitely have an agenda of their own, and I can bet my entire fortune on it that the unity of the people or strict action on terrorism is not part of it. They are too happy in their petty world of pointless debates, disuniting and cynical rhetoric and brainless remarks on sensitive issues (Mishra,2008). Chetan Kunte another citizen of India asked question to barkha dutt, an Indian journalist after watching the her coverage on NDTV  [24]  , You do not need to be a journalist to understand the basic premise of ethics, which starts with protecting victims first; and that is done by avoiding key information from being aired publicly (Mishra,2008).an online petition was published asking the Indian media to be mature and commented We dont want your news updates or breaking news. We dont need to see everything live. We dont want sensationalism, we want real journalism. it asked the news media to at least consider rationally about the society and the mass before the transmission. Not only that, Tahmineh Khajotia a Mumbai resident who lives very near to Taj Hotel, has commented on her blog about the publicity freak news channel who before every report said that their channel is the first one to show the images, or they said this exclusive image which was only available on their channel(Khajotia,2008). A website called Faking News anticipated that while the media reported the sensitive issues about the security positions inside Taj hotel the Home Ministry contacted the news channel and told them to stop the transmission of the security move ments because it could be unsafe but the channel owners thought if they stop the transmission that could affect their profits and TRP. Though the people watched the live coverage but the media got the negative publicity (Mishra,2008). On the other hand Pakistani news channels  [25]  were so irresponsible that in spite of covering the incident live they arranged talk shows where they had invited wise renowned guests to just abuse Indian Government as well as NSG. As they were found guilty for the incident, they kept denying on their show and at the same time they termed it a drama scripted by the Indian opponent party Bharatiya Janata Party known as BJP. They dont really bother about those people who are trapped inside. They were too busy to discuss about the religious differences on the same Hindu Muslim issue, the rivalry between two countries. The journalist always has a tendency to take side of their countries; especially in time of crisis (Moorcraft, Taylor,2007). Nonetheless is this ethical? Journalists ethical report demonstrates that the journalist should always maintain equity (Patterson, Wilkins, 2008), as I have mentioned before in this article (see page 6). They should not violate the ethical code o f conduct neither they could be penalised (Belsey and Chadwick, 1992). But do the journalists or the news channel owners really aware of their ethical limitation? And if the answer is yes then do they bother to follow it? Reliability The media has lost their trustworthiness as an instance of quality and for a demonstration of moral character (Tester,2001).the media is a very important part of society and news channels are the core element of the media sector. Media is very powerful, but the power has changed towards dominance as this includes the privileged use of communal capitals and the legalisation of this kind of dissimilarity. As the news media has turned the field of theatre were for 24 hours and 7 days the drama goes on, with the nice labelling of breaking news. Manipulation has become the best tool for the drama; Teun A. van Dijk commented that the media is abusing the power which is given to it by the people in the name of law. Author pointed out that manipulation as a form of media power enactment is usually evaluated in negative terms,

Negotiations and Alternate Dispute Mechanism

Alternative Dispute resolution encompasses distinct forms of dispute resolution through arbitration and mediation. Arbitration is a method of dispute resolution involving one or more neutral third parties who are usually agreed to by disputing parties and whose decision is binding.[1] Arbitration generally proceeds in a similar fashion to that of the court with opening statements, the presentation of witnesses and evidence, cross-examination, and closing arguments. Arbitrators then decide cases based on the evidence, and their decision is final binding on the parties. Mediation on the other hand is an informal dispute process in which the third party – the mediator helps disputing parties to reach an agreement. A mediator, unlike the arbitrator, has no power to impose his decisions on the parties. Therefore, the mediator’s role is to bring the parties closer together through discussions of weaknesses in the case for both sides, in an effort to convince each to settle the dispute. Arbitration and mediation are voluntary mechanisms- that is the parties are only required to mediate or arbitrate if they agree to do so. The absence of such an agreement will see the parties go to the court of law; therefore the parties in contention cannot be hauled into private mediation and arbitration against their will. It is at the disposal of the parties to decide how they will go about to do it. Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanisms have advantageous such that they are cheaper and quicker than court proceeding and permit parties to resolve their differences more efficiently. Studies have shown that arbitration proceedings in the employment discrimination area to take an average of 8.6 months to be resolved, whereas the average court cases involving alleged employment discrimination takes almost two years.[2] This has seen businesses and employees placing mediation and arbitration in the employment contracts or agreements thus discrimination conflicts can be solved amicably without going to the court of law. Arbitration Arbitration proceedings are like informal court proceedings. They take place in conference room and not in the courtrooms at date scheduled by the parties. In African traditional setting arbitration proceedings take place under a tree called a baraza[3]. Generally during the proceedings of the arbitration the parties select a particular rule to apply to the arbitration and are free to modify such rules by agreement. The reason parties prefer arbitrations to court is because they are more streamlined and friendly. Discoveries in arbitrations tend to be less comprehensive and persistent, with arbitrators frequently imposing limits on the number of depositions each party can take. The arbitrators equally understand that the parties select arbitration in part to avoid the cost of court proceeding and issue rulings considering these goals. While arbitrators make evidentiary rulings and can bar evidence and testimony they deem improper, arbitration rules generally shun strict compliance with rules of evidence.[4]   In conforming to the informal nature of the Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanisms, the arbitrators generally make mistake on the side of admitting all the evidence and when they are weight to particular testimony and exhibits. Therefore due to the informal nature the arbitration process give a loophole for some biasness in the process of making decision among the arbitrators. Unless parties’ arbitration provides otherwise, arbitrators generally are chosen with the help of designated arbitration organization. The process entails the organization submitting names of the arbitrators to the parties then the parties will strike the names they consider lowly ranked. The highly ranked names by the parties will be then asked to arbitrate the dispute. Various formats of arbitration can be highlighted in this sense. Most traditional is for a single arbitrator to act as the judge of the case, that is, to preside over trial and then issue a ruling based on the evidence. This varies slightly from the use of panel of arbitrators –rather than a single arbitrator- to hear a dispute. A single arbitrator handles small to medium-sized disputes, with a panel of arbitrators used to solve more complicated disagreements. Sometimes parties can decide the number of arbitrators they want in resolving their dispute. Parties can also select other forms for arbitrating dispute. For instance, parties can use â€Å"baseball-style† of arbitration where the one party, which table its proposal for example of a salary to a panel of arbitrators and the employer for example, tables his/ her proposal too.[5] Then the arbitrators go through each party’s proposal and come up with an amicable figure or solution to the dispute. This is a case where the winner takes it all since the arbitrators do not have the ability to split their decision but to choose one side’s proposal. This kind of scenario is equally done in business settings where each party endeavors to offer the best possible offer, as the more aggressive a party’s submission, the less likely it is to be chosen by the arbitrator. Another variation from traditional arbitration is the so-called â€Å"Party arbitrators†. This is contrary to the traditional arbitrators who are unbiased and must be free of conflict of interest. Parties’ arbitrators are not neutral and instead are appointed by one of the parties. In this case each party appoints its arbitrator to join a third neutral arbitrator who serves as the chairperson of the panel. This can be depicted in sport disputes, which handle players’ grievances, for example. This form of arbitration is also common in boarder labor environment, with a union and management each appointing its own chosen representative to join a neutral chairperson. Party arbitrators complicate the process of reaching an amicable solution to a problem because the representatives of the parties of course support the position of the parties that appointed them. Some even go ahead and act  Ã‚   as advocates by questioning witnesses. In this effect, arbitrations involving party arbitrators tend to hinge on the vote of the lone neutral arbitrator, with the two party arbitrators generally ruling in favor of the party that appointed them. Mediation Mediation, on the other hand, entails the effort of a single and neutral party- the mediator- to act as an intermediary between parties to help them resolve disputes. Most of the mediation proceedings are nonbonding with the mediator having no authority to compel the parties to reach a resolution. In this sense the mediator considers each parties point of view and their reasons in the light of settling the dispute. This therefore is a case where a skillful and a man of high integrity can act as a broker between the parties and help each party to see the case from a neutral perspective. The mediator can save the parties time and money by pushing them to accomplish their resolution in a day what would have taken weeks and months. Mediation comes in various facets. One form of mediation is the facilitative mediation. In this form the mediator uses the best efforts to convince each side the reasons to settle. The mediator does this by highlighting the weakness of its case, the strengths in its adversary’s case, the cost of litigation, the downside risk of not prevailing, and any other factors that the mediator believes the parties should focus on in properly assessing the case. A good mediator- by the fact that he/she is respected by both the parties- can be suited to soften each side’s position. He can ascertain the strongest and weakest points in each side’s case and may be able to advance each side’s position with the opposing party. Facilitative mediation sessions begin in a conference room where the mediator and the all parties are present. Each parties counsel is given an opportunity to make an opening statement in support of its case (the party’s case). After this opening statement, the parties break into different rooms, separately meeting with the mediator who shuttle back and forth to bring the parties closer. The mediator tries to convince the defendant when he is in the defendant’s room and give him the reasons for not pursing further the case. The mediator also brings out the expenses that the two parties will incur in the process of fighting in the case. He shows how difficult it would to prove her case. In facilitative mediation the mediator does not formally evaluate the case or promote any particular settlement. His goal is to find areas of potential compromise between the parties, and creatively search for a resolution acceptable to each party. On the other hand evaluative mediation, the mediator does not only facilitate the discussions between the parties but also evaluates the claims in the issue. The mediator in this examines the case, by looking at the pleadings and damages modes and arrives at specific recommended settlement- based on his assessment of the likely result of the prospective trial. Even if this does not lead to  Ã‚   an immediate settlement, it may focus on the parties on middle ground and form the starting point for negotiations in the ensuing days. As in the case of facilitative mediation the mediator ought to be a person of integrity in the society if not so no party will accept his judgment thus making the whole exercise to be in futility. There is also the kind of mediation referred to as binding mediation. This is where the mediator not only evaluates the parties but also ultimately imposes a settlement on the parties. This method is less prevalent since it the mediator takes the position similar to the judge at the law court. Parties prefer to discuss through their dispute but not to trust third parties. So instead of taking this form of mediation, parties just decide to go for full-blown trial. In preparation of mediation sessions, as an initial matter the selection of the mediator is very important. In most instances it is the parties that select the mediators. It is important to choose a mediator respected not only by one side but the two sides.   The goal of the of mediation is to use the mediator as an instrument to prod the other side to settle on favorable terms, and only a respected mediator   is likely to have that ability. In the preparation of mediation process the parties concerned have to prepare and submit confidential mediation statement in support of their position in the case. The statements are confidential and only accessible to the mediator and not to the other party. They are meant to orient the mediator in the case so that he can be a more effective intermediary.   The mediators’ objective is to reach settlement- and not to reach the result he believes is most equity- and he is mostly likely to succeed if he knows in advance what potholes to avoid. Negotiations In the endeavor to negotiate effectively, negotiators require a thorough knowledge of client’s case. They also have to know their clients priorities with the respect to the item in dispute. Negotiations require tact and skills, the understanding of the personalities and interests at play, and the trust and respect of the other side. The main mistake in negotiating is to be caught in a bluff, threatening to take certain action then not following through. Once this happens, it diminishes the opposing side’s trust in the counsel and makes favorable settlement far more difficult settlement far more difficult to achieve going forward. Negotiations sometimes can be long so synchronizing the negotiations is paramount for the success of the processes.[6] Generally, a claimant will make a demand before ever initiating alternative dispute response mechanism; it is the respondent’s rejection of this demand that leads to arbitration. Most arbitration organizations offer voluntary mediation to the parties and arbitrators. Thus effective counsel advocates never fully  Ã‚   give up on the possibility of settlement, even if a negotiation resolution does not seem realistic in the near term.   Effective negotiations require careful preparation by counsel. The main element of negotiations is to accurately express a client’s view of the case and properly set opposing counsel’s expectations. None of the mechanisms of resolving disputes –arbitration, mediation or private negotiation are exclusive and independent on their own. Therefore none can work without the backing of the other. If for instance a counsel is doing her job properly, she is not just focused on arbitrating or just on negotiating; rather, she is at all time considering the best and most efficient way to get her client form the point of dispute to a satisfactory resolution. If the counsel feels that there is another good mediator who will help to bridge the gap between the parties then she should steer the case toward mediation. Works Cited Lewis, Maltby. Private Justice: Employment Arbitration and Civil Rights, 30 COLUM.HUM.REV.29, 55 (1998) Wax, Robert. Staying Out of Court: Using Alternative Dispute Resolution Can Save Time and Money. Journal (2006) Whittlesey, Dave. Baseball-Style Arbitration: Don’t Strike Out, Broadcasting & Cable (Jan. 30, 2006). [1] See Black’s Law Dictionary [2] See Lewis L. Maltby, Private Justice: Employment Arbitration and Civil Rights, 30 COLUM.HUM.REV.29, 55 (1998) [3] Baraza- a meeting of elders aimed at arbitrating a conflict in East Africa. [4] The parties may offer such evidence as is relevant to the dispute and shall produce such evidence as the arbitrator may deem necessary to an understanding and determination of the dispute. Conformity to legal rules of evidence shall not be necessary. [5] See R. Rabin and D. Whittlesey, Baseball-Style Arbitration: Don’t Strike Out, Broadcasting & Cable (Jan. 30, 2006). [6] See Wax, Robert. staying Out of   Court: using Alternative Dispute Resolution can Save Time and Money (2006)

Cost Club Human Resources Department

Scenario Two: Cost Club Human Resources Department University of Phoenix Carlos Flores HRM/546 Human Resource Law Instructor: Christopher Fletcher February 26, 2010 Abstract The new assistant manager (AM) receives an e-mail from his the HR manager Pat Fletcher requesting downsizing the HR department from eight employees to five. He wants recommendations of the three selected employees to be terminated. An explanation of what principles of employment laws that might apply to the three employees. What action should management take in preparation if any of the three employee file discrimination case and chances of the company win. Recommended Employees Indentified for termination I have identified the employee for termination based on their work experience and job function that could be assimilated by the rest of the five remaining employees in the Human resource (HR) department. The following are: †¢Diane/Ten years of service- records specialist handling the health care issues and compensation matters for the company. Greg/Five years of service- have learned to do complex work however, not trained in real HR work. He has helped in the tech hiring process for the company. †¢Horatio/Six months of service- has been place in the HR department and has learned the basic of health and insurance however, not a full experienced employee in this area. The three employees identified are 2 male and one female. The principle employment law that are relevant to all three employee s is Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964- which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Possible Discrimination case against Cost Club The possible three types of discrimination cases filed from any of the identified employees would be: †¢Race Discrimination-Horatio is Hispanic and the newest member of the HR department. He would have to prove because he is Hispanic and limited English language that the company is terminating him because of this factor. Another fact would be that he was hired based on a settlement with the EEO case and not following up with our commitment. I see this second part would not have any grounds because the company gave him an opportunity and hired him. The company in good faith placed him avoid any conflict among other company employees to place him in an office environment instead learning HR practices. He submitted an application to work in one of the stores. I view both facts non relevant because we did hire him and have placed him in a position which he did not apply for and he accepted the position and training we have given him on site†¦ †¢Gender Discrimination-Diane is female and has been with the company for some time. Diane would have to prove that we are terminating her because she is female. This would be very hard to prove because we have not discriminated based on gender and there are two other employees male and one of them is minority in the process of being terminated. Another fact is that the HR department has two other female employees. Diane is also aware that she had a minor attendance performance where we worked with her and still kept her with the company. The company also has other females working in the stores and this indicates that we do not discriminate against gender. Religious Discrimination-Greg cannot work on weekends due to his religious beliefs. He may try to file discrimination because he cannot work on weekends due to his religious beliefs. This would be difficult to prove because the company has respected and have made provisions to accommodate for him to be off on all weekends compared to the rest of the HR department that has to work on weekends when needed. The company would win in such case because we have provided attention to his needs. Management actions and Incorporating legal references Top management and the HR department should work together and be ready for any discrimination claims that any of the three recommended employee might file claims due to their termination. The HR department should meet with each of them in private in our office to explain the reasons why the company has decided to terminate them. We should explain to each employee the laws that the company follows and that the terminations is based on our economy, cost factors and reduction in workforce. Since each employee can file a different discrimination case by providing the reasons and the company projections they should understand fully of the current company situation. We should explain to them that their position will be eliminated and taken over by the more experience remaining employees in the HR department. The company should give all three each employee’s advance notice of termination so they can make necessary arrangements in seeking employment elsewhere. The HR department should provide all information as to their rights, benefits with documentation to the labor department so they can take advantage of unemployment benefits. Since this termination is beyond our control we should ensure that the process is done in a timely and professional positive manner. The HR department should have in our meeting with the employees documentation signed by all in acknowledgement of the company decision and their acceptance. In the case that one of the employee’s do not agree further explanation and any references of any government agency if needed. Discrimination charge response process The process we should follow in even the one of the employees file a discrimination case would be the following: †¢Listen to the employee and assure them the company understands their thoughts. †¢Prepare all documentation on the employee as to name, date for hire, performance reports etc. being ready in advance of such claim. †¢Consult with our legal team in the event the employee wants to fight the claim in legal battle. †¢We should cooperate fully with any claims from the federal agency on any investigation, documentation if we get notification on any discrimination case files by the employee being terminated. The HR department will retain five of the eight employees due to their years of experience with the company and some of them have already assumed a management role to support the department. The remaining employees can assume the new duties in a very short time with no negative impact toward the company mission and goals. The following employees will be recommended to stay in the HR department: Abigail, Brad, Charles, Edith and Frank. Comparison Table Employee Name Employment YearsCompany Human Resource ExperienceRecommendation to remain in HRRecommendation for termination Abigail – 7 HR Experience / Management roleRemain Brad – 35 HR Experience / Management roleRemain Charles – 20HR Experience / Recruitment roleRemain Edith – 25HR Experience / Employee RetentionRemain Frank – 15HR Experience / Multiple HR rolesRemain Diane – 10HR Experience / Insurance Compensation roleTerminate Employment Greg – 5 LimitedTerminate Employment Horatio – 6 monthsLimitedTerminate Employment References Bennett-Alexander, D. D. & Hartman, P. L. (2007). Employment law for business (5th Ed. ). New York: McGraw–Hill. Retrieved February 26, 2010

The Horror And Thematic Thrill Of The Zombie - 1288 Words

As a public discourse, popular narrative engages with social issues expressing a collective critique encouraging or discouraging social conformity. As Drezner states, â€Å"pop culture can have an â€Å"informing effect† of calling attention to and framing a particular problem. Popular culture can also have an â€Å"enabling effect† of providing shorthand references that trigger awareness of a problem† (Drezner 831). Beneath the horror and thematic thrill of the zombie film franchise, the zombie as a figure in popular culture has an enabling effect in providing awareness to society on a mass level. On the figure of the zombie, Kirk states that, â€Å"in my own case this creature talks a lot about consciousness, which it apparently regards as a deep†¦show more content†¦The narrative of McDonald’s film, Pontypool, displays the power of linguistics and opinion within the public sphere. The vehicle of the illness is unorthodox and unique for the z ombie genre but does not take away from its society commentary expressing the importance of counter-public discourse that challenges the legitimacy of the public opinion. In commonality with the genre, in McDonald’s film, they share a sense of unconsciousness, which as stated by Drezner, â€Å"Both informing and enabling effects highlight the positive ways that the living dead can be expropriated as a metaphor to spark interest in new ideas. The moment zombies are added into the, a dry public policy problem suddenly becomes a rollicking argument accessible to ordinary citizens.† (Drezner 833). Through the representation of the zombie in McDonald’s film, the mind of private opinion masses into the public sphere as radical thought causing the victim to reform their behavior to that of commonality with the social structure of the zombies. The illness of Pontypool is one that affects the linguistic ability of the victim. The power of words is the catalyst that bring s the epidemic into motion, therefore, as the disease progresses they cannot control their minds. The solution to prevent the virus from infecting further is to disassociate meaning from word and redirect it