The Level of Effectiveness of Crisis Management Team in Dealing

I. INTRODUCTION The Manila hostage crisis, officially known as the Rizal Park hostage-taking incident, occurred when a dismissed Philippine National Police officer took over a tourist bus in Rizal Park, Manila, Philippines on August 23, 2010. Disgruntled former senior inspector Rolando Mendoza of the Manila Police District (MPD) hijacked a tourist bus carrying 25 people (20 tourists and a tour guide from Hong Kong, and four Filipinos) in an attempt to get his job back.He said that he had been summarily and unfairly dismissed, and that all he wanted was a fair hearing and the opportunity to defend himself. Negotiations broke down dramatically about ten hours into the stand-off, when the police arrested Mendoza's brother and thus incited him to open fire. As the shooting began, the bus driver managed to escape, and was shown on television saying â€Å"Everyone is dead† before being whisked away by policemen. Mendoza and eight of the hostages were killed and a number of others in jured.The MPD's failed rescue attempt and gun-battle with the hijacker, which took around 90 minutes, were watched by millions on live television and the internet. The Philippine and Hong Kong governments conducted separate investigations into the incident. Both inquiries judged that the victims had been unlawfully killed, and identified the Philippine officials' poor handling of the incident as the cause of the eight hostages' deaths. The assault mounted by the MPD, and the resulting shoot-out, have been widely criticized by pundits as â€Å"bungled† and â€Å"incompetent†, and the Hong Kong Government has

Management and organizational behaviour

Management and organizational behaviour Free Online Research Papers I was working for the Head Office of a south region subsidiary of JSC â€Å"BTA Bank† (BTA) for 5 years. BTA is one of the leading banks in Kazakhstan, which has 22 subsidiaries and 230 branches all over the country. Our subsidiary had 130 employees, the main realm being retail banking, which consisted of mortgage loans, credit line, auto loans, express credit and credit card departments. During that time, â€Å"Raya† held the position of â€Å"Supervisor† in the mortgage department, where supervised 10 people. Due to the primitive size of the group, a friendly and cohesive working atmosphere within the group was established, which continued even after work hours. Even though the group received the same remuneration, the group worked in harmony and peace. Hence, the group consistently met sales targets and achieved performance efficiency, ranking higher than varying departments selling different banking products. The status within the group began undergoing changes during the peak of economic development, in which the demand for mortgage loans increased sharply, causing the volume of work and working hours to increase without the provision of overtime pay. Complaints arose within the group regarding the disparity between the high volume of work and additional unpaid working hours. After discussing staff complains with management, group size was expanded to 15 people, and last an extra member was added to Raya’s group; Klara. At the age of 22, the latter had previously worked as Head of the â€Å"Express Credit† department, but was demoted due to low sales and dissatisfaction experienced by her subordinates. In her previous position, Klara was known to be an active and sociable person, prone to giving orders to people. A close relative of the management, Klara took the position of the main specialist, however, keeping her old remuneration. According to Raya’s numerous resp onsibilities, all training responsibilities were delegated to an experienced manager named â€Å"Indi†. After Klara’s probationary period, her performance was found to be extremely weak; weaker than expected. The latter’s unwillingness to learn was also taken into account. Consequently, Raya extended her training period by adding Klara to her existing group of agents, collectively learning the basics of mortgage products and the selling process. In addition, Klara was late almost every day without informing her supervisor. The former was given warnings on several occasions which proved to be ineffective. This pattern of behaviour affected her entire department negatively. A number of her group members subsequently began to imitate her unpunctuality. On a particular occasion, Klara was absent for half a day. This behaviour was discussed between her and Raya in the deputy director’s cabinet, with reference to previous offences. Unable to ignore this and adamant not to wait until the scheduled staff meeting, Raya called an emergency meeting immediately for the purpose of reminding staff of the conditions of their employment, with emphasis placed on punctuality. Unadvised delay in BTA is punishable by a 5-15% salary deduction, whilst an excess of three separate occasions of absenteeism results in the termination of one’s contract. Thus, the problem of absenteeism was seemingly solved; Raya and the staff apparently arriving at a mutual agreement. Certain mannerisms and attitudinal elements which usurped the company code of ethics were manifest in Klara, such as laughing loudly inappropriately in front of clients, distracting others from their work, the usage of the company line for personal use and so on. In conclusion, the combination of these factors affected the group and group dynamics drastically. The mortgage department suffered from low job satisfaction, low productivity and low motivation, both before and after her departure from the company. Another affect was made clear in company profits; our department in particular making experiencing a reduction in sales of 40%, which was accompanied by depreciation in the value of customer service provided by the group. Impact of Events on Attitudes and Perceptions Attitudes and perception at work are important simply because, directly or indirectly, they affect work behavior (Nelson Quick 2007). It has been revealed that attitudes are evaluative statements – either favorable or unfavorable – about objects, people or events, which reflect how we feel about something (Robbins et.al 2009). Other author disputes this statement as an attitude is a predisposition to respond in positive or negative way to someone or something in our environment (Wood et.al 2010). In the case of Klara, one may observe the negative attitude towards her job such as her unpunctuality, unwillingness to learn, talking on the phone, distraction of colleagues from their daily tasks and the like. One of the reasons of her misbehavior may be derived from her dissatisfaction with â€Å"psychological contract†. In various research findings of Bloisi, Cook Hunsaker (2007) when people enter to organizations and jobs they bring their own expectations about what they will have to contribute and what they will receive in response, a set of called expectations called a â€Å"psychological contract†. In turn, individuals provide such qualities as their skills, effort, time, loyalty and commitment to an organization. In exchange, the organization offers such things as pay, security, opportunities and benefits to satisfy such motives as need for achievement, power, status and affiliation (Bloisi, CookHunsaker 2007). As shown in the scenario, Klara in her previous p osition as supervisor of the express credit department was strongly disposed to giving orders. Hence, a need for power and status developed. In the process of her demotion, Klara was under the supervision of Raya. It is obvious that Klara harbored dissatisfaction with her newfound position. The findings of David Guest and Neil Conway (2001) state that both the individual and organization feel satisfied if they perceive the psychological contract to be fair. Stated below is the definition of â€Å"perception†: According to Nelson and Quick (2008), perception involves the way we view the world around us and it is the primary vehicle through which we understand ourselves and surroundings. Robbins (2009) comments perception is a process by which individuals organize, and interpret their sensory impressions in order to give meaning to environment. What one perceives can be substantially different from objective reality. The differences in perceptions in organizations have impact on an organizational outcome (Schyns, B Wolfram, HJ 2008). Figure1. The perceptual process: from stimuli to behavior Source: Wendy Bloisi, Curtis W. Cook, Philip L.Hunsaker, Management Organizational Behaviour, 2nd edition, Mc Graw Hill Education, UK. To summarize, understanding the perception process (Fig1) provides managers with a better understanding of why people perceive things in certain ways and why perceptions differ. This enables managers to deal better with such differences and minimize some of the â€Å"distortions† that occur. The second reason may be derived from dissatisfaction of her current job, and in general, satisfied workers are more regular in attendance and are less likely to be absent for unexpected reasons (Wood et.el 2010). And Robbins (2009) says that a person with a high level of job satisfaction holds positive feeling about his or her job, while a dissatisfied person holds negative feelings (Robbins, 2009). Klara showed unfavorable attitude towards her job, maybe she didn’t see any perspectives from her current position, due to she feel not satisfied with her work. The job satisfaction is important factor in workplace, because job satisfaction influences absenteeism (Wood et.el 2010). Absenteeism is a huge cost and disruption for employers and it is obviously difficult for an organization to operate smoothly and attain its objectives if employees fail to report to their jobs. The work flow is disrupted, and often important decisions must be delayed and absenteeism can be considerably more than disruption, it can result a drastic reduction in the quality of output in organization (Robbins, 2009). Two Relevant Motivational Theories and impact of events in scenario upon the motivation of staff Motivation is the process of satisfying internal needs through actions and behaviours and concerned with a composite of mental and physical drives, combined with the environment that makes people behave the way they do. Its presence or absence can be recognized by observing employee behaviour (Ronald R.Sims 2002). The following two motivational theories will be considered: Hertzberg’s Two Factor Theory and Vroom’s Expectancy Theory. Content Theory – Hertzberg’s Two Factor Theory According to the Two Factor theory of Frederick Herzberg individual is influenced by two factors, which are: satisfaction and psychological growth was a factor of â€Å"motivational factors† and dissatisfaction was a result of â€Å"hygiene factors† as shown in figure 2. Figure2. Two factor Theory Herzberg Source: valuebasedmanagement.net/methods_herzberg_two_factor_theory.html According to Two factor Theory – Herzberg (fig2) Klara was on first stage, she was dissatisfied and unmotivated, because after demotion from position she lost motivation factors or motivators how it called by Herzberg. Herzberg says that motivation factors are needed in order to motivate an employee into higher performance and these factors result from generators in employees, and as shown in fig3 typical motivation factors include: achievement, recognition for achievement, responsibility for task, interest in job, advancement to higher level tasks and growth (Kreitner Kinicki, 2008). Motivators No satisfaction Satisfaction Job that do not offer achievement, recognition, stimulating work, responsibility and advancement. Job offering achievement, recognition, stimulating work, responsibility and advancement. Hygiene factors Dissatisfaction No dissatisfaction Job with poor company policies and administration, technical supervision, salary, interpersonal relationships with supervisors, and working conditions. Job with good company policies and administration, technical supervision, salary, interpersonal relationships with supervisors, and working conditions. Figure3. Herzberg’s Motivator-Hygiene Model Source: Kreitner Kinicki, Organizational Behaviour, 8th edition, 2008, The McGraw-Hill Companies, New York. Furthermore, Biswajeet (Biswajeet Pattanayak 2006) says that true motivators motivate people to superior performance, accept challenging tasks, growth and development. And Herlsberg suggested job enrichment to provide true motivation. Job can be enriched by increasing skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy and feedback. According to (Biswajeet Pattanayak 2006) hygiene factors are essential for people to work but true motivators play an important role in helping people to work more and better. Process Theory – Victor Vroom’s Expectancy Theory Victor Vroom’s expectancy theory is one of the most widely accepted descriptions of motivation. Vroom first applied the theory of individuals in the workplace (Moorhead Griffin 1995). The basis of the theory is the degree of motivation for an individual depends on the power of expectation that his act will be followed by an outcome i.e. a good performance appraisal and the outcome will yield something attractive i.e. salary increase or promotion (Robbins 2009). Figure4: Vroom’s expectancy theory Source: arrod.co.uk/archive/concept_vroom.php Klara as employee was unmotivated as a good performance method currently did not exist. A good appraisal programme will serve as a benchmark for the employees to upgrade and evaluate themselves with their superiors. The main components of the theory are effort, performance and outcome (Robbins 2009). The components are linked by these relationships which are (Fig4) effort-performance relationship which describes an individual’s perceived probability that effort will lead to performance. Performance-outcome relationship which describes an individual’s perceived probability that performance will lead to certain outcomes. Outcome or rewards are divided into intrinsic rewards such as growth opportunities, challenges in the job and autonomy and extrinsic rewards such as position and benefits (Gordon 1999). Critically discuss Group Dynamics and Teamwork Group is defined as two or more individuals interacting and interdependent, who come together to achieve particular objective. (Robbins 2009) Group dynamics are the forces that function in groups to influence upon group accomplishment and member contentment in the group. In BTA the group is formal groups that are created by organization, intentionally designed to direct its members toward some organizational goal (Jerald Greenberg Robert A.Baron, 2006). Working group had number of recognized dysfunctions inside; one of them is social loafing. This problem occurs when members reduce their effort and performance levels when acting as group and primary causes include lack of performance feedback within the group, tasks are not intrinsically motivating, situations in which the performance of others will cover for the reduced effort given by some members, and the â€Å"sucker effect† of not wanting to do more than the perception effort being given by others (Fred Luthans 2008). Required behaviours are those contributions the organization formally requested from group members as a basis for continued affiliation and support, which are may include work-related behaviours such as being punctual, treating customers with respect and helping coworkers (Wood et.el.2010). But as it may seen these norms are not followed by group, because of existed absenteeism and decreased quality service. Due to not spending time together like before, BTA group become differ in cohesiveness, a degree to which group members are attracted to each other and motivated to stay together in group (Emmerick et al.2005). Because of the size of organization become quite large the staffs seldom spend time together and are low in interaction which lowers productivity. The most effective teams have fewer than 10 members. Expert recommends via smaller number of people, the assignment can be done. Unfortunately a pervasive inclination for managers to err on the side of creating teams too large as happening in BTA, results in coordination problem (Greenberg Baron 2008). When teams have excess members, cohesiveness and mutual accountability declines, social loafing increases, where by more people do things that are not related to them. Studies shown relationship of cohesiveness and production depends on performance related norms in a company. (Robbins 2009). Groups have life cycles similar to people and group’s effectiveness is influenced by its stage of development which are forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning (Wendy Bloisi et.al 2003). Group in scenario is having period of high emotion and tension among the group members which called â€Å"forming stage† (Wood et.al 2010). One serious phenomenon that occurs in groups in this stage of development is groupthink which the norm for consensus overrides the sensible evaluation of alternative courses of action. (Robbins 2009). The BTA staff usually won’t contribute much as senior management tends to play major role in their idea and puts less weigh in their subordinates views and opinions. Isolation usually takes place as the staffs usually comes for the meeting just to fulfil the quota as an attendee for the group meeting and discussion. Recommendations: Managing Attitudes and Perceptions Rationale Reward power Wishes and directive of another make people comply, by doing so it produces positive benefits. Rewards can be both financial such as controlling pay rates, raises and bonuses or non financial including recognition, promotions and interesting work assignments. (Robbins 2009). BTA can include this reward power into their system, awarding people for all the effort put by them. This will change staff perception towards work and remove negativity in them. Training, seminars and workshops Giving employees these special learning opportunities, both within and outside organization, encourages personal and professional development – and often increases motivation as well. It tell employees that company value their performance and wants to give them more opportunities (Bruce Pepitone 1999) Attitude surveys Attitude surveys identify the missing links between staff ‘attitudes’ and ‘behaviours’ and aid in creating goals and objectives to move an organisation forward, hence feedback and action planning should follow any survey implementation (Carey Warner 2002). Additionally, 360 º feedback tools that rate performance via peer to peer, manager to peer etc, can be used to identify gaps to develop employees, hence contributing to personal satisfaction and empowerment (Cawley et al. in Tovey Uren 2006) Leadership learning Leadership learning is required from the Supervisor to drive change, navigate strategic direction, retain talent, enhance relationships and build stamina for sustained developmental learning (Harris Hartman 2002). Actions to improve motivation Rationale Reward-based system The practical idea of this idea begins with remuneration, company adopts a reward-based system, with staff encouraged to establish key performance indicators (KPIs) (Wood et.al 2010). This method is suitable for BTA, it can increase productivity, because if staff achieve KPIs level, they can earn extra money on top of their base salary. Job rotation Some of BTA employees suffer from over routine of their work. Job rotation can be used changing an employee from one task to another. Rotation can be done into similar skill requirement after the staffs spends time in the same activity.(Emmerick et al,2005) Motivation is produced in changing employee daily routine; it also gives strength and diversifying effect in them. (Robbins 2009) Actions to improve Group and Team Dynamics Rationale Recognition program Recognition is crucial at all levels in the company, and there is a annual award day with prizes, entertainment and awards for team leaders, sales agents, service agents and project managers who have excelled in the workplace (Wood et.al, 2010). This recognition program will help to BTA build staff motivation levels based on strong internal communication and recognition measures. Reflection The task given in this assignment made me understand clearly all the aspect that is involved in the scenario that I was facing in my working environment. The in depth study of the element that I went through in my real life has given a clear answer to most of the question I have been asking all this while. The scenario revisited thought me to analyse the situation more thoroughly rather than using intuition knowledge. The theory for motivation clearly suggested an organization requires positive motivation. The theory of motivation is not about self-interest in rewards but about the association people make towards expected outcomes and the contribution they can make towards those outcomes. Groups as defined earlier are process of working together in achieving common objective or fulfilling accorded tasks. It was reflected clearly how important different types of groups such as formal group, informal group, command group, task group, interest group and friendship group that enhance people security, status, self esteem, affiliation, power in goal achievement. What is required now in BTA now, are how each group work and create an effective team in any organization we are in. In my scenario, attitudes tap positive and negative evaluation the employees hold about aspects of their environment which mainly involves job satisfaction that BTA were lacking, job involvement and organizational commitment. People’s perception influenced by factors in perceiver (attitudes, motives, interest, experience, expectations), factors in the situation (time, work setting, social setting) and factors in the target (novelty, motion, sounds, size, background, proximity and similarity) operate and sometimes distort perception. My view on BTA is based on their perception of what reality is, not on reality itself (Robbins 2009). Overall the scenario gave a clear set up of all the things that need to be done to analyse improve, set up and change in an individual or organisation for better achievement. Changing the corporate culture can be difficult, as is deeper attitudinal change. Criticality in understanding employee behaviour is the key to brand success requiring critical consistency and congruency between brand, culture and values. A holistic approach to brand management is required by empowering all employees into the change process. List of References Biswajeet Pattanayak, Human Resource Management, 3rd edition, 2006, published by Asoke K. Ghosh, Prentice-Hall of India Private Limited, New Delhi. Bruce A., James S. Pepitone, Motivating employees, Copyright@1999, The McGraw Hill companies, USA. Cawley, B, Keeping, L Levy, P 1998, ‘Participation in the performance appraisal process and employee reactions: a meta-analytic review of field investigations’, ‘Journal of Applied Psychology’, vol. 83, no. 4, pp. 615-633, in MD Tovey ML Uren (eds), 2006, Managing Performance Improvement’, 2nd edn, Pearson Education, Australia. Carey, B 2005, ‘Have you heard? Gossip turns out to serve a purpose’, The New York Times, 16 August, vol. 154, no. 53308, cited in R Wiesner (ed.) 2008, MGT5000 Management and Organisational Behaviour: study book, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba. David Guest, Neil Conway, Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, Employer perceptions of the psychological contract, 2001, 1st edition, printed in Great Britain by Short Run Press. Debra L.Nelson James Campbell Quick, Understanding Organizational Behaviour, 2008, Transcontinental Louisville, QC, Canada. Emmerick, H.I.J., Sanders, K 2005, ‘Mismatch in working hours and affective commitment: Differential relationships for distinct employee groups’ Journal of Managerial Psychology, vol. 20, no. 8, pp. 712-724, viewed 28 April 2010, Emerald Group Publishing Limited. Fred Luthans, Organizational Behavior, 2008, published by McGraw – Hill Education (Asia). Gordon, J 1999, Organizational Behavior : A Diagnostic Approach, 6th edition, Prentice-Hill Inc, New Jersey. Jack Wood, Rachid Zeffane, Michele Fromholtz, Retha Wiesner, Andrew Creed, John Schermerhorn, James Hunt, Richard Osborn, Organizational Behaviour: Core concepts and applications, 2010, by John Wiley Sons Australia, Ltd. Jennifer M. George, Gareth R. Jones, Understanding and Managing Organizational Behavior, 1999, by Addison-Wesley Publishing company, Inc. Jerald Greenberg Robert A.Baron, Behaviour in organization, 8th edition, 2006, Eastern Economy edition, New Delphi. Moorhead, G Griffin, R 1995, Organizational Behaviour: Managing People and Organizations, 4th edn, Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston. Kreitner Kinicki, Organizational Behaviour, 8th edition,2008, The McGraw-Hill Companies, New York. Rae Andre, Organizational Behavior, An Introduction to Your Life in Organizations, 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. Ronald R. Sims, Managing organizational behavior, 2002, an imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. O.Jeff Harris, Phd Sandra J. Hartman, Phd, Organizational behaviour, 2nd edition, 2002, West Publishing Company. Stephen P. Robbins, Timothy A. Judge, Organizational Behavior, 13th edition, 2009, by Pearson Education Inc, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. Schyns, B Wolfram, HJ 2008, ‘The relationship between leader-member exchange and outcomes as rated by leaders and followers’ Leadership and Organization Development Journal, vol. 29, no. 7, pp. 631-635, viewed 3 December 2008, Emerald Group Publishing Limited database. Wendy Bloisi, Curtis W. Cook, Philip L.Hunsaker, Management Organizational Behaviour, 2nd edition, 2007, Mc Graw Hill Education, UK. www.valuebasedmanagement.net/methods_herzberg_two_factor_theory.html, viewed at 29.04.2010 www.arrod.co.uk/archive/concept_vroom.php, viewed at 27.04.2010 Research Papers on Management and organizational behaviourRiordan Manufacturing Production PlanThe Relationship Between Delinquency and Drug UseTwilight of the UAWLifes What IfsMoral and Ethical Issues in Hiring New EmployeesEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenDefinition of Export QuotasWhere Wild and West MeetResearch Process Part OneThe Project Managment Office System

Athenian Democracy Essay Cutrone Essays

Athenian Democracy Essay Cutrone Essays Athenian Democracy Essay Cutrone Essay Athenian Democracy Essay Cutrone Essay Before Perils came, the Athenian leaders Solon, (59459 3 BCC) Postscripts, (546 BCC) and Calisthenics (507 BCC) laid the groundwork that serve d as the foundation for Perils well known democracy. However, Postscripts does not truly deserve the title Father of Democracy due to some of his actions; or better yet, lack of AC actions as leader. (Couture) What qualifies one to be called the Father of Democracy? A father is usually considered the head of a family and the main leader, which in some cases, m sakes Perils the father. However, the entire reason that makes a man a father, is his family. Wi thou the family, a man wouldnt be deserving of the title Father. The family in this case, is the p revises Athenian adders Solon and Calisthenics. This is why all three leaders: Solon, Clementine s and Perils are deserving of the title Father of Democracy. Because without one another the re would have been no democracy. (Couture) First and foremost, the starting point of Athenian Democracy was Solon. During Eng his reign, Solon rewrote Dorado Law Code and turned it into the constitution. The constitution created set laws which any stable democracy needs. Solon also created four CLC asses based on wealth as opposed to heredity. This was fundamental to the creation Of demo Cray because it eave the Athenian citizens the opportunity to move up in society and create a better life. Even though classes arent technically considered democratic, it was one step in the e right direction. In addition, Solon created a Jury system, as well as the council of 400. Although t he council of 400 only gave the three highest classes the option to participate, it still provided sic tizzies with a voice in decision making which created more of a democratic environment, because e one main goal of a democracy is providing every citizen the power to express their opinions in a f IR, equal and just manor. (Couture) Next, Calisthenics built upon Solons earlier administration . Unlike Postscripts who just continued Solons policies, Calisthenics reformed them. One of Calisthenics grog tastes reforms was changing the Council of 400 to the Council of 500. He also tried to make it fair by selecting the Council randomly. Just by the sheer act of changing the number of people allow wed in the council, and random selection, opened the council to more citizens, therefore moving the community one step closer to a fair democracy. However, Calisthenics overlooked one flaw in is plan to make the Council more equal. Although it was chosen randomly, the wealthy citizen s wound up obtaining almost all of the spots. The less fortunate citizens could not afford t o quit their jobs in order to join a Council that offered no pay and required all their time. Despite this, Calisthenics did set a platform for an equal council that succeeding leaders could use as a foundation for later democracies. Calisthenics also made sure there was a representative from each h county that was elected by the people A representative selected by the people, for the people, gave even the sweet classes a sense of participation in the new democracy which was sup used to involve everyone. In addition, Calisthenics eventually came around to establishing a did erect democracy. The direct democracy allowed citizens to have hands on involvement in the go Vermont by voting and expressing opinions. The direct democracy was a pure form of De Majorca because it gave everyone the option to participate. Under his rule, Calisthenics initiated o ostracism. Even though ostracism is not considered fair nor democratic, Calisthenics made sure e that before anyone as banished, the citizens of the cityscape would vote on whether to banish the e accused or not. Which ironically, is actually democratic. Calisthenics also initiated the organize Zion of the previous cityscape into towns and counties. This was one way he made tat ens more organized and communal, which are traits of any well run democratic society. (Couture) Perils, was a fundamental aspect for uniting all accomplishments from past leaders, and creating what today is known as the Athenian democracy the first true democratic society. The main idea of a democracy involves giving equal power to he citizens. One crucial reform Perils made was lessening the power of all aristocrats, and by doing so, ma De the classes more proportional. He proceeded to do this by allowing all juries, assemblies, and c nuncio members positions to be open to all male citizens. He revised Calisthenics plans for the council by now paying everyone to be a member. As a result of this, it no longer made a coins durable difference if one was dirt poor or filthy rich. Now even the most traditional resident, had the right, and ability to make a change in their society. Thus by executing these changes, Per clues truly made Athens a democracy. (Couture) Furthermore, when a person is to look at any countries leader, whether past or present, there will always be flaws within their leadership. It is inevitable. Therefore who en one is to view a leader it is more important to view what the leader has accomplished to bet term his (or her) society. Which is why when looking at Postscripts, along with his accomplish nets, he does not qualify to be a Father of Democracy. Postscripts continued Solons previous policies. His one main economic change was reforming the economy. Instead of focusing on the e government and people, Postscripts spent his time and power to beautify the city and create nee w festivals. No well known atrocities occurred during his reign. Which is why it is surprising he did not accomplish more. Considering the fact that other leaders in history have had to deal with events such as war and an economic downfall, and still, monumentally improve their nation. (Cut Rene) Athens is known as the first true form of democracy. But like all great nations, it was not built in one day.

Assassination of Robert Kennedy

Assassination of Robert Kennedy Shortly after midnight on June 5, 1968, presidential candidate, Robert F. Kennedy was shot three times after giving a speech at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, California. Robert Kennedy died of his wounds 26 hours later. Robert Kennedys assassination later led to Secret Service protection for all future major presidential candidates. The Assassination On June 4, 1968, popular Democratic Party presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy waited all day for the election results to come in from the Democratic primary in California. At 11:30 p.m., Kennedy, his wife Ethel, and the rest of his entourage left the Royal Suite of the Ambassador Hotel and headed downstairs to the ballroom, where approximately 1,800 supporters waited for him to give his victory speech. After giving his speech and ending with, Now on to Chicago, and lets win there! Kennedy turned and exited the ballroom through a side door that led to a kitchen pantry. Kennedy was using this pantry as a shortcut to reach the Colonial Room, where the press was waiting for him. As Kennedy traveled down this pantry corridor, which was filled with people trying to catch a glimpse of the potential future president, 24-year-old, Palestinian-born Sirhan Sirhan stepped up to Robert Kennedy and opened fire with his .22 pistol. While Sirhan was still firing, bodyguards and others tried to contain the gunman; however, Sirhan managed to fire all eight bullets before being subdued. Six people were hit. Robert Kennedy fell to the floor bleeding. Speechwriter Paul Shrade had been hit in the forehead. Seventeen-year-old Irwin Stroll was hit in the left leg. ABC director William Weisel was hit in the stomach. Reporter Ira Goldsteins hip was shattered. Artist Elizabeth Evans was also grazed on her forehead. However, most of the focus was on Kennedy. As he lay bleeding, Ethel rushed to his side and cradled his head. Busboy Juan Romero brought over some rosary beads and placed them in Kennedys hand. Kennedy, who had been seriously hurt and looked in pain, whispered, Is everybody all right? Dr. Stanley Abo quickly examined Kennedy at the scene and discovered a hole just below his right ear. Robert Kennedy Rushed to the Hospital An ambulance first took Robert Kennedy to the Central Receiving Hospital, which was located just 18 blocks away from the hotel. However, since Kennedy needed brain surgery, he was quickly transferred to Good Samaritan Hospital, arriving around 1 a.m. It was here that doctors discovered two additional bullet wounds, one under his right armpit and another just one-and-a-half inches lower. Kennedy underwent three-hour brain surgery, in which doctors removed bone and metal fragments. Over the next few hours, however, Kennedys condition continued to worsen. At 1:44 a.m. on June 6, 1968, Robert Kennedy died from his wounds at age 42. The nation was severely shocked at the news of yet another assassination of a major public figure. Robert Kennedy was the third major assassination of the decade, following the murders of Roberts brother, John F. Kennedy, five years earlier and of the great civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. just two months earlier. Robert Kennedy was buried near his brother, President John F. Kennedy, in Arlington Cemetery. What Happened to Sirhan Sirhan? Once police arrived at the Ambassador Hotel, Sirhan was escorted to police headquarters and questioned. At the time, his identity was unknown since he was carrying no identifying papers and refused to give his name. It wasnt until Sirhans brothers saw a picture of him on TV that the connection was made. It turned out that Sirhan Bishara Sirhan was born in Jerusalem in 1944 and emigrated to the U.S. with his parents and siblings when he was 12 years old. Sirhan eventually dropped out of community college and worked a number of odd jobs, including as a groom at the Santa Anita Racetrack. Once the police had identified their captive, they searched his house and found handwritten notebooks. Much of what they found written inside was incoherent, but amidst the rambling, they found RFK must die and My determination to eliminate RFK is becoming more [and] more of an unshakable obsession...[He] must be sacrificed for the cause of the poor exploited people. Sirhan was given a trial, in which he was tried for murder (of Kennedy) and assault with a deadly weapon (for the others that were shot). Although he pleaded not guilty, Sirhan Sirhan was found guilty on all counts and sentenced to death on April 23, 1969. Sirhan was never executed, however, because in 1972 California abolished the death penalty and commuted all death sentences to life in prison. Sirhan Sirhan remains imprisoned in Valley State Prison in Coalinga, California. Conspiracy Theories Just as in the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr., many people believe there was also a conspiracy involved in the murder of Robert Kennedy. For Robert Kennedys assassination, there seem to be three main conspiracy theories that are based on inconsistencies found in the evidence against Sirhan Sirhan. Second Shooter- The first conspiracy involves the location of the fatal shot. Los Angeles Coroner Thomas Noguchi conducted the autopsy on Robert Kennedys body and discovered that not only had Kennedy died from the shot that entered just below and behind his right ear but that there were scorch marks around the entry wound.This meant that the shot must have come from behind Kennedy and that the muzzle of the gun must have been within an inch or so of Kennedys head when it was fired. By nearly all accounts, Sirhan had been in front of Kennedy and had never gotten closer than several feet. Could there have been a second shooter?The woman in a Polka-Dot Skirt- The second piece of evidence that easily lends itself to conspiracy theories is the multiple witnesses who saw a young woman wearing a polka-dot skirt running from the hotel with another man, exuberantly exclaiming, We shot Kennedy!Other witnesses say they saw a man who looked like Sirhan talking to a woman in a polka-dot skirt ear lier in the day. The police reports bypassed this evidence, believing that in the chaos that followed the shooting, it was more likely the couple was crying out, They shot Kennedy! Hypno-Programming- The third takes a bit more of a stretch of the imagination but is one advocated by Sirhans lawyers during pleas for parole. This theory claims that Sirhan was hypno-programmed (i.e. hypnotized and then told what to do by others). If so, this would explain why Sirhan asserts that he cant remember any of the events from that night.

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