Plea-bargaining Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Plea-bargaining - Essay Example The advantage of this system is that there is no need for a trial, a right that the defendant waives losing the chance for acquittal. However, the defendant â€Å"escapes† with a lesser charge than would have been the case had trial been done. The state saves on the cost of conducting a trial (Grossman & Katz, 1983). For the system to be operational, there are issues that are pre-negotiated including the reduction of charges, recommendations regarding the sentence itself or the guarantee that the prosecution would not oppose a request for probation. The process of plea-bargaining after the crime is committed and the accused person is arrested. The accused pleads guilty in exchange of an agreed sentence recommended by the judge. There are three types of pleas bargains. These are charge bargaining, count bargaining and sentence bargaining. The first type of bargain is where the defendant agrees to plead to a charge that is lesser than the one he is charged with. The second is wh ere the defendant will have the number of charges that he faces reduced in number and the third is where the defendant simply pleads guilty with prior knowledge of what the sentence will be. The process of plea bargaining is a private matter where only the accused, the defendant counsel, the prosecutor and in some cases the judge may be in attendance. The offer of plea bargain is used to locate stolen goods, to help arrest other culprits or to know the location of a kidnapped victim or a killed individual. A plea bargain does not undermine the system of law. Although the facts indicate that the practice usually leads to reduced sentences to guilty parties without the process of trial, there are benefits that aid in offsetting the negative sentiments expressed in relation to the practice. There are many advantages to plea bargaining as there are disadvantages. Considering the success rates of plea bargaining compared to that of trials, the practice inadvertently aids in the reduction of criminals on the streets as well as guarantee speedy dispensation of justice (Goldstein, 1997). In exchange, the prosecution gets information that might be valuable to the conviction of more serious crimes or may get information that might be the missing link towards the conclusion of a case in a court or an investigation. There are instances where plea bargaining has been considered as lacking. The prisoner?s dilemma scenario plays out during plea bargains (Schulhofer, 1992). Consider two people who have been accused. The prosecution will attempt to unearth the facts of the case by offering a plea bargain to one party so that he can testify against the other party. Regardless of whether both parties are guilty or not, the person who confesses will give false information incriminating even those who may not be guilty in an attempt to get himself out of the larger sentence. Another scenario is when the defendant cannot raise bail. Such a defendant will plead guilty to the charges leveled against him regardless of whether he is guilty or not. Such a person considers the length of time that trials usually take and chooses to plead to a plea bargain that might present a lesser time than that which he would have faced awaiting trial. Some critics argue that plea bargaining does not always result in saving on costs (Kipnis, 1979). They consider that a prosecutor who has a remote chance of getting a conviction may enter a plea bargain with the aim of getting reduced time for the defendant. If such a defendant accepts the deal, he will increase the cost to the state as he will be catered for in a jail. On the contrary, if the trial had dragged on until the end, the defendant would have been acquitted and that would have carried no extra cost to the state. There are

The Effects of High Gas Prices Essay Example for Free

The Effects of High Gas Prices Essay Gas is an important productive resource in the world. Driving cars, heating buildings, producing electricity, people all need gas. Therefore, gas is directly related to peoples normal life and the global economy. Recently, due to the fights between Israel and the Hezbollah guerrilla, the Middle East political and economic situation has been deteriorating, which has led to the continuous hikes of gas prices. Since gas plays an important role in our economy, people should understand that the high gas price does not only mean people need to pay more for driving their cars, but it also leads the pervasive inflation, the change of peoples consumption habits, and more seriously, the recession of the global economy. First of all, the rising prices of gas, a critical input in almost all production processes, will trigger the price hikes of most consumer and industry products: the inflation. For example, after the gas price increases, the costs of transportations also increase. Raw materials need to be transported into factories before they become final products; all final products need to be transported to retail stores where consumers can buy them. Therefore, the increasing costs of transportation will directly be added in the prices of consumer products. Moreover, the high gas prices generally are led by the high crude oil prices, and the crude oil is the raw material of most important chemical products such as nylon and synthetic polymers, which are inputs of most industry products. Consequently, the hike of the crude oil price also leads the rises of the industry product prices. The pervasive inflation is inevitable. Influenced by the inflation caused by the high gas prices, peoples consumption habits will gradually change. With the rising gas prices, people will reduce the times of long-distance travel by driving their cars, and they will more rely on public transportation systems such as the metro and the bus to commute between their working sites and their homes. If the hikes of gas prices continue, people will stop buying luxurious and gas-consuming Sport Utilities Vehicles: a type of passenger vehicle which combines the load-hauling and versatility of a pickup truck with the passenger-carrying space of a van or station wagon, and they will even buy more compact and economical cars to retire their SUVs already owned. Moreover, facing more  expensive hydro bills at homes, people will change their electrical appliances to more energy-efficient ones and renew their insulation of their house to keep their house warm in the winter. More dramatically, people will opt to live in urban areas which are near their working places to reduce their commute distances to save gas. The most serious impact of high gas prices is the global recession, which was proved by the history in 1970s. The hikes of gas prices will lead chain effects and vicious economic cycles. First, the high gas prices will lead the pervasive inflation in the global economy. Facing the continuous rising prices of consumer products, people will consume less and demand high salaries. However, due to the rising prices of raw materials and workers salaries, entrepreneurs will reduce their production capacities and even layoff their employees. With more people unemployed, demands will decrease even more, so will the supplies. Finally, the global economy will step down unhealthy cycles. The political and economic situation in the world will become turbulent. This is what exactly happened in 1970s after OPEC increased the crude oil price artificially. In general, the skyrocketing of gas prices is not an isolated event. It will directly influence peoples normal life and global economy in ways of inducing inflation, altering peoples consumption habits, and making the global economy slipping into deep recession. For the interests of human beings, the international communities should immediately intervene in the conflict between Israel and the Hezbollah guerrilla and force them to reach a peace treaty. The peace of Middle East will eventually lead the cool down of gas prices.

Mughal Emperor Akbar Essay -- Emperors Akbar India Essays

Mughal Emperor Akbar Topic: What were the contribution of the Mughal emperor Akbar to the creation of an Indian national Identity? What were the greatest obstacles to his achievement in this? The greatest of the Mughal’s emperors, Akbar, attempted the creation of a national identity for India by his numerous reforms, literal and cultural development, and policies of integration and organization. His reforms included a liberal policy toward the non-Muslims, religious innovations, the land revenue system and the famous Mansabdari system. His policy of religious toleration became the most significant aspect during his reign. Akbar established a new religion, the Din-i-Ilahi. But Akbar’s attempt to create a national identity and a social equilibrium through his religious and political innovations was met with many obstacles and much opposition. Akbar’s approach to the problem of effectively governing a vast empire, made up of various ethnic groups, was to identify his interests with those of the country and set himself to unite all his subjects. Akbar introduced a policy of reconciliation and assimilation of Hindus, who represented the majority of the population. Akbar understood the importance of tolerance, which was paramount to his dynasty’s long-term viability. The Hindus could only be reconciled by equality of treatment and respect for their institutions. Their employment was beneficial to the empire, as many were better businessmen than the Muslim invaders who were uneducated. Having defeated the Rajputs, the most militant of the Hindu rulers, he allied himself with them, by recruiting many capable Hindu chiefs with the highest ranks in government and by conferring honours upon them. To further build alliance with the Rajputs, he encouraged intermarriages between Mughal and Rajput aristocracy, setting himself as an example by marrying daughters of three leading Rajput chiefs. Akbar’s acts of tolerance were aimed at the Hindu community as a whole and not just at the Rajputs, who became one of the pillars of the empire. His efforts to win over the Hindu population included reforms like, allowing all Hindus to practice their own religion without disturbance, and Akbar further flattered them by personally participating in the ... ...letely destroyed by his great-grandson, Emperor Aurangzeb . - 2000 words - Assessment 84% - Has never been submitted anywhere except to the university for assessment. BIBLIOGRAPHY SECONDARY SOURCES Allan J. & Dodwell H.H., The Cambridge Shorter History of India, London, Cambridge University Press, 1934. De Riencourt, Amaury., The Soul of India, Revised edn., Great Britain, Honeyglen Publishing, 1986. Lamb, Beatrice Pitney., India: A World in Transition, New York, Frederick A. Praeger, 1963. Ratman, T., Report on India, London, Oxford University Press, 1943. Rawlinson, H.G., India: A Short Cultural History, New York, Frederick A. Praeger, 1952. Thapar, Romila., A History of India, vol. 1, London, Penguin Books, 1990. Watson, Francis., A Concise History of India, Great Britain, Thames and Hudson, 1974. accessed 5 August, 2004. accessed 5 August, 2004. accessed 4 August, 2004. accessed 5 August, 2004. accessed 4 August, 2004. accessed 2 August, 2004. accessed 27 July, 2004 accessed 25 July, 2004. accessed 25 July, 2004. accessed 28 July, 2004. accessed 2 August, 2004

Penfolds Grange Brand Prism

It was released in 1951 and kept it position for more than 50 years. But in 2009, Pinfold's launched a special bottle, it was considered as a wrong action of it because that reduced the value of Grange. That is the reason our marketing plan is revitalization Grange, which will be launched in 2014. Before making a detail MIMIC plan, I will create the brand identity for Pinfold's Grange relying on the brand identity prism of Seafarer (2008). ‘Brand identity prism' is a diagrammatically analysis to identify one brand which is presented by a hexagonal prism.It illustrates that brand identify has six facets which are Physique, Personality, Culture, Relationship, Reflection and Self-image. Fanfold Grange is a vintage wine which is recognizable with a strong, distinctive, individual style record for cellaring performance. It is seen as an authentic voice of Australian fine wine and the strength of Pinfold's winemaking culture and heritage. A brand has physique, according Keller, combi nes of either salient objective features (brand awareness) or emerging ones. Physique is not only backbone of brand but also its tangible added value.It may include product features, brand attributes and benefits. Simply, brand physique are basic things relying on it, customer can recognize and aware of the brand. The Pinfold's Grange displays unique character and style and reflects the essence of Pinfold's winemaking philosophy and provenance. It utilizes fully-ripe, intensely-favored and textured Shirrs grapes. It has an interesting history, an unbroken line of production since the very first vintage, consistent quality in each vintage, worldwide claim, longevity and limited production.Pinfold's Grange is still loyal with the dark color, the design is quite simple and original but elegant with the sign of Pinfold's which is the red Pinfold's signature. Two main colors are white and red of the label which is not only for Grange but also or all lines of Pinfold's and the early Grang e label looked like a postage stamp – an attractive one. Although Pinfold's is famous with many kinds of wine lines, Grange is still Australia's most famous red wine regarded as Australia icon which most people have heard of or at least in passing. It was released in 1951 and kept it position for more than 50 years.This is a wonderfully opulent and a magic vintage. The Grange style is the original and most powerful expression of Pinfold's multinational, multi- district, blending philosophy. Pinfold's are the masters at understanding the power f an iconic sub-brand delivering a positive halo over the full brand range. Every year when the new vintage is released it becomes a media event of significant proportions. Pinfold's Grange once again graced the prestigious Top 100 list of the US magazine ‘Wine Spectator', having already been named in their Millennium edition as one of the ‘Top 100 wines' of the 20th century.Granges have won 111 gold medals in shows, 63 silve rs and 33 bronzes, 26 trophies and six championship awards, maybe seven or eight now. There are three Jimmy Watson trophies, in 1964, 1966 and 1968. All of these things make Grange's reputation that every people can recall about it whenever they heard about it and it will be long lasting over the years. A brand has a personality. Personality is about what kind of person Grange would be if it were human including character and attitude. The human personality traits that are relevant for Pinfold's Grange which are sophisticated, classic, elegant and reliable.Pinfold's Grange is truly a unique brand from the first day it was released until now. A brand is a culture which takes a holistic view of the organization, its origins and the value it stands for. Every brand should have its own culture which is not only a concrete representation but also a means of communication and it is no doubt that Pinfold's Grange really did it. Grange is the product of Australian culture regarded as the pr ide of Australian about one of the most famous wine in the world.If Frenchman is proud of their Champagne, to Australians, that is Grange-the Australia's icon. Grange is not Just a symbol of luxury red wine in Australia, it is Australian image in the international wine market. Pinfold's and Grange in particular is always representative of Australia now and in the future. Limited production and Just lease in a period of time also make the culture of Grange. The Grange fruit is from particular area, here is the grapes from Grange vineyard at Magical, South Australia. This is also a factor that makes Grange become special and have its own culture.Because Pinfold's Grange is known as a luxury red wine line, the cultural facet is more meaningful in differentiating its brand which refers to its fundamental ideals and to its sets of values. A brand is a relationship: the strength of the relationship between the brand and customer. The Wall Street Journal has even published a DOD Jones Gran ge Index; the accompanying text was, ‘Wine lovers remember their first Grange the way they remember their first kiss! ‘. Pinfold's' advertisements carry the slogan â€Å"To those who do things for love not money' and it's also adapted to Grange.The relationship between Pinfold's Grange and its customers are trust, consistent, dependability and exclusiveness. This is reflected by the loyalty of customers to their favorite wine brand. Grange was first released in 1951, but until now it is still the most famous wine and attract amount of number wine lovers who are willing wait for its new line ear by year despite the price rises and supply tensions, even promote this brand among others. It means that Fanfold Grange has built the trust and strong consistent in its customers' mind by its quality and reputation themselves.Although Grange was launched in the market for more than five decades, it still has strong sales. The relationship between Pinfold's Grange and its customer s is also stronger because Pinfold's always envelop its users with the image they want to signal to their social surroundings. A brand is a customer reflection. When mentioning about brand reflection, it is about he customer should be reflected as he or she wishes to be seen as a result of using a brand. Pinfold's Grange is the sort of wine language for people who have deep pockets need to hear.Target segment of Pinfold's is the customers who fall in medium and high disposable income, general from business background, have an average age of 35 plus, and are very loyal to a brand and aware of the wines in the market. In addition, these customers demand high quality wines with taste and texture. That is the reason why prestige, discerning and high social status are the thoughts of others to Grange lovers when they drink this wine. In addition, person who drinks Pinfold's wine seems to be successful and looks like enjoying her/his successful life.A brand speaks to our self-image. Diffe rent from reflection which is how others see the brand's users, self-image is the feeling of users themselves when they use the brand. Pinfold's lovers in general and Grange in particular, feel confident and sophisticated when they drink this wine due to they are enjoying one of the most luxury and the highest quality in the world. Moreover, they feel special because we all know that with its luxurious and high-cost wine label, Pinfold's Grange would push their grandmothers over for.And â€Å"it's clearly cemented itself as a gift worthy of someone who's Just been elected premier of Australia's most populous state†. A customer might see himself fabulous and capable of drinking Pinfold's Grange. Customers wish to display themselves that they are a part of community in which people have social approval, they are elegant, sophisticated and successful when they choose Pinfold's Grange. In conclusion, this brand identity prism is a helpful tool in positioning Pinfold's Grange in t he wine market at the current time which help our group come up with a MIMIC plan for the release event of Grange in next October.

Business Ethics – 3 – Ethical and Unethical

An event or decision that could be judged as clearly unethical could be any situation where information discovered in a private business environment could be used for a personal financial gain by the person finding the information. A scenario such as the following is a good example of an ethical issue that may occur frequently in business. The scenario is as follows: a strategic management consultant is hired by a firm to analyze and improve the company’s performance and help amend the procedure for evaluating employee performance.During the course of this analysis they interview several supervisors and employees individually to gather information about the current evaluation process, and understand how employee performance can be improved, as well as investigate whether there are any issues that staff feel they cannot convey to management. During the corporate analysis, the employees mention that they feel they have not been given sufficient credit for developing a new produc t that the company expects will double its profits when it is introduced in the near future.The level of dissatisfaction amongst the staff is at a high level, and they disclose some corporate information to the strategic consultant about potential future earnings and profitability. The general discontent with this situation, and the fact that the employees all feel that the share price will rise, and the profitability of the company will increase, through the sales of this new product, the consultant is left to wonder whether he should buy some of the company’s stock to take advantage of the anticipated boost in earnings.This situation is an example of insider trading, where an individual may be able to make money on a stock transaction by using information gained through some illicit means. This situation has ethical issues due to the fact that the consultant has been hired by the company to perform a duty, and during this process has found some information which may enable them to make extra money.There are not many circumstances where this kind of situation would be ethical, and if this was a situation I found myself in, then I would try to be ethical and to not use the information gained for my personal financial benefit. This scenario does not just have ethical issues to consider, it has legal issues as well, because the act of insider trading is a criminal act of fraud therefore people caught doing this ethically unsound business practice are liable for prosecution for fraud.2. This situation is ethically dubious, due to some of the reasons outlined in part one of this paper, the similarities between the two situations mean that it is not appropriate to act on this information, due to the extra knowledge about whether or not the company is financially and fundamentally strong. However because of a couple of issues in this scenario it may be ethical to purchase stock or to have a conversation about buying stock with friends and family members.The i nformation has come through conversations in the hallways, not from primary sources, and therefore nothing is confirmed as being true, it is mere speculation. The second issue is whether it is ethically sound to discuss business operations with friends and family. Again, because the information has come from a secondary source, which may be classed as gossip, and not hard business facts, mean that a speculative conversation about the business, with friends and family may be ethical. It does not matter if one hundred or one thousand shares are purchased, because the ethical situation is the same.However looking at the facts and the differences between the first scenario and the second, it is possible to say that under the first scenario it is definitely unethical for a third party contractor to discuss or use information for their own personal benefit, but the second scenario may be ethical, due to the issues of reliability of information and the fact that it is an employee of the co mpany acting on speculation and not business facts. However the one crucial element in these two scenarios, is that of human morality, and there are clearly some people in the world who would act on both scenarios, and there are some who wouldn’t.