Civil Rights Movement in America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Civil Rights Movement in America - Essay Example When it did, he was careful not to lose support from southern politicians by enforcing overly-liberal policies (Patterson, 2001, p. 122-123). This Democratic lack of action was still apparent over thirty years later when President Clinton placed the onus for reform on individual Americans, calling for change in "our minds and our hearts," rather than expending federal funds and energy to bring about change (Klinkner, 1999, p. 27). As a result, government interest in reform has disintegrated while its efforts for populace control have grown "through increased spending on the military, police, prison building, and mechanisms for surveillance" (Giroux, 2004, p. 212). When the government has acted on civil rights, it has often been a pale or nonexistent effort. In the summer of 1997, Clinton formed him Presidential Initiative on Race as a think-tank on how to address race and racial inequality. Steven A. Holmes quoted panel member Thomas Kean in The New York Times as stating, "There is a timidity on this question [of race] We were not encouraged to be bold." (as cited in Klinkner, 1999, p. 26-27). Clinton showed his concern for reform in word, but not in deed. Similarly, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) was formed following the passage of Title VIII to receive housing complaints, but was not given to authority to act on them. This allowed the government to "do something" about unfair housing without any real action (Judd, 1999, p. 136). In fact, according to Giroux, the overall effect of modern conservatism has been to silence "any discussion of race in mainstream national politics by insisting on colorblind public policy" (2 004, p. 179). There are several instances in which the federal government has specifically shirked its responsibility to remedy racial inequalities. This was very apparent during the Reagan administration, when the momentum of the Civil Rights Movement came "to a standstill" (Fairclough, 2001, p. 332). Rather than citing governmental intervention as a possible solution, Regan claimed that it had been a problem, and went on to denounce student busing and attempt to eliminate the Department of Education (Patterson, 2001, p. 171), successfully pulling federal government away from domestic issues that sorely needed attention. His administration further claimed that "big government handouts had corrupted black communities by creating generations of cheats characterized by laziness, drug addiction, sexual excess, and a general taste for criminality and violence" (Giroux, 2004, p. 189). Even the Democratic Clinton administration rolled back government responsibility with its budget compromise of 1997, in which Clinton cut Medicare and Medicaid and endorsed tax cuts that mainly benefited wealthy Americans. In this one act, Clinton had practically undone the reform created by Roosevelt's New Deal (Klinkner, 1999, p. 11). Presidential administrations, however, have not been alone in turning their backs on racial equality; the judicial branch, since its rightward drift beginning with Nixon's presidency, has also negated the government's role in domestic

Team member encouragement Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Team member encouragement - Research Paper Example The two members do not consider handing their reports to me as a matter of priority. Nevertheless, I have a strategy to encourage these team members to contribute to the project on time. It is essential for me to acquire team management skills, conflict resolution, and negotiation skills as a project manager (University of Technology Sydney, 2006). As a result, I seek to attend various workshops, seminars, and training sessions as a well continue practicing such skills with an aim of handling the team members in an effective manner. Specifically, for the sake of streamlining reporting, I will ensure that I negotiate and establish a reporting system with the sponsors and stakeholders at the beginning and throughout the project (University of Technology Sydney, 2006). Nevertheless, I will make sure that the reporting system is flexible and its content and frequency varies through the project running time. This will ensure that all the team members find it relevant and necessary to subm it their weekly reports to the right person and at the right time. I will involve the views of all stakeholders while formulating the reporting system to ensure that the team members value the reporting system and understand the reporting authority structure. Notably, team-involvement in planning a project remains the most important idea that project managers should consider (Spellman, 2011). In my context, this will help me to establish stepwise techniques that will foster the creation, development, and evaluation of relevant project management tools (Portny et al, 2007). This will derive substantial knowledge that will enable me to encourage and deal with the team members without jeopardizing the motivation and performance of the large multidisciplinary product testing team that I manage. At the same time, I will seek to build a strong project team delegation with a view of increasing the probability for a successful performance. To achieve this, I will determine and define the de legated duties, select the right personnel, determine the time of completion, and state the expected outcomes. This will encourage the team members to develop a sense of involvement and make significant and timely contributions to the project. To this effect, I will equally monitor performance by setting up strategic checkpoints to monitor performance that will encourage constant reporting, high performance, and completion of the project according to schedule (Portny et al, 2007). I will equally seek to establish project teams with a high sense of accountability and responsibility to foster timely reporting and successful completion of the project. Consequently, I will develop the project procedures that will promote effective relations among the team members. Moreover, I will define and establish the roles, identities, processes, and practices that will enable the team members to achieve individual and team goals within the stipulated time (Russell, 2011). Notably, team members val ue projects that will enhance their chances of achieving significant professional and personal goals. As such, I will explain the dynamics, sponsors, results, and possible effects of the project on the organization and to the individual members (Portny et al, 2