Social Problem Theories Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Social Problem Theories - Essay Example The aim of Symbolic interactionism is to encourage people to help one another in social matters. A critical focus will be put on the subjective meaning among small groups of people including the popular and non-popular viewpoints. This aids in the understanding and acceptance of the problem. Functionalists will explain the problem of suicide or homicide by looking at the social behavior of an individual in the larger society. This entails the collection of information from the members of the society who may be familiar with the individual in terms of social status (Mooney, Knox, & Schacht, 2012). Since the main focus of the theory is the steady patterns of social relations or structures of the victim, for instance the consequence of social cohesion patterns on the rates of suicide or homicide. In explaining the issue of suicide or homicide, the Functionalist theorists demonstrate how social structures uphold or challenge social stability (Mooney, Knox, & Schacht, 2012. Functionalists will offer a proper analysis on the effects of some members of the society on an individual’s behavior. Basing on the theory therefore, it will be argued that in order to address the problem of suicide or homicide, societal issues must be addressed for instance poverty, unemployment, and relationships. Conflict theorists will explain the problem of suicide or homicide basing on the differences in the societal, political, or material status of the members of the social group (Zetterberg, 2002). The analysis of the socio-political structure differentiates the theory from the functionalism. Conflict theory, will address the issue of differences in power. In most cases, the privileged members of the community always try to uphold their benefits while the poor groups continue to suffer. According to the theory, under special circumstances, steady discrimination patterns in the society might lead to social stability (Zetterberg,

Tthe Supernatural story Essay Example for Free

Tthe Supernatural story Essay Now that Scrooge has seen those children that are poor and need help he can see how much he could help. It is a shock to him to hear those words and to really see where the money could have donated would have helped. Scrooge is then left alone by the spirit of Christmas present. The bell strokes twelve and the Spirit of Christmas yet to come enters. This spirit is the one that looks the most frightening. This ghost looks like the Grim Reaper without his sickle. Scrooge is scared of this spirit the most. His face is never seen and it never speaks. It was shrouded in a deep black garment, which concealed its head, its face, its form and left nothing of it visible save one outstretched hand. This spirit takes Scrooge round London in the future on Christmas day. They first see some business men that Scrooge knows. They are talking about the death of Old Scratch the business men talk of him as though he was quite rich: What has he done with his money? asked a red faced gentleman with a pendulous excrescence on the end of his nose, that shook like the gills of a turkey cock Left it to the company perhaps. He hasnt left it to me thats all I know its likely to be a cheap funeral. I dont mind going if lunch is provided But I must be fed if I make one. Scrooge is then taken to the pawn brokers shop where he sees four people in the shop. Three of them have brought things with them to pay off their debt. These people have taken these things from Old Scratch and couldnt care less that they were his belongings. The first person was a man who did not have much but he did have a seal or two, a pencil case, a brooch and some sleeve buttons. The next person was a woman called Mrs. Dilber. She had some sheets and towels, some teaspoons, sugar tongues and some boots but not much. The third and final person was the laundress who was obviously a ruthless woman. She had taken the bed curtains of the dead person and even the very shirt he was wearing at the time she was there. She had also taken his blankets. These people remarked that if they hadnt have taken his things someone else would have done because he had no real family and he did not need them any longer. This is Dickenss way of showing that poor people will do anything to stay out of the workhouses and prisons. These people will do anything to stop there families and there lives been as badly affected as Dickenss was. This is almost an autobiographical part of this book because like these people Dickenss family would have done and did do anything they could to stay out of Debters prison and the workhouses. Scrooge asked the spirit to take him to a place where there are some people that are affected by this death and show some emotion. The spirit takes him to see a young couple who are in debt and are both happy and sad that he has died. They are happy because on the one hand their debt could now be erased due to his death and on the other hand the debt could have been passed on to someone else. Scrooge is taken to see the dead man but darent look at his face in case it is Scrooge. This also upsets Scrooge. The spirit then takes him to the Cratchitt house. The family are upset coping with a death but not the death of Old Scratch, Tiny Tim has died. The children take Tiny Tims death better than his parents. Mrs. Cratchitt is very upset and is crying when Scrooge sees her. The colour hurts my eyes, she said. The colour? Ah poor Tiny Tim! Theyre better now, said Cratchitts wife. It makes them weak by candlelight; and I wouldnt want to show weak eyes to your father when he comes home, for the world. Bob walks slower without Tiny Tim on his shoulders and he misses Tim the most. I have known him walk with Tiny Tim upon his shoulder, very fast indeed. But he was very light to carry. We know Tim is dead because of the past tense verbs used in these sentences. Tiny Tim is still in his bed and Bob who misses him the most often goes to see him. He left the room, and went upstairs into the room above, which was lighted cheerfully and hung with Christmas. There was a chair set close behind the child, and there were signs of someone having been there lately. Poor Bob sat down if and when he had thought a little and composed himself, he kissed the little face. This upsets Scrooge who then listens to them talk of Bob meeting his nephew Fred earlier on and saying that if they needed any help he would help them. Scrooge is then taken away by the spirit. Scrooge questions the spirit and asks him if these shadows can be changed. The spirit, as ever, does not reply. Scrooge is taken to a cemetery and is shown a grave stone that has his name on it Ebenezer Scrooge. Scrooge clings to the spirit and starts begging. The spirit, all of a sudden, turns into one of Scrooges bed posts. The final stave sums up the story. Scrooge asks a boy in the street what the day is to which scrooge is told that it is Christmas. He tells the boy to go and buy the biggest Turkey from the grocers and then sends it to Bob Cratchitts house. Scrooge takes up his invitation and goes for Christmas dinner at his nephews house. The next day Bob is late to work. Scrooge plays with Bob and gets angry but then tells him that he is getting a raise. Bob does not know how to react but then sees that Scrooge is serious and he is happy. The men who were asking for money for the poor house are given enough money for this year and back payments as well by Scrooge. And . of course, Tiny Tim lives. A Christmas Carol is a social problem novel wrapped up in the supernatural style. Of course it works very well as a supernatural story as it has all the criteria needed for one. Dickens has written this book very well and gets the message across that the image of the poor is completely wrong. The books true moral is a hidden one that is picked up sub consciously by the reader. You may think that the moral of this story is that if you share your love and fortune you will be happier than if you keep them locked away for no one to see. The true moral of this story is that the poor need help by those that can afford to help. It does not matter whether your next door neighbour thinks that it is their own fault that they are poor. You should always help. Although not as autobiographical as his other novels this one still mirrors some part of his life. This novel is not the only one of Dickenss that has a social view wrapped up into a different genre but it is one of his most memorable novels. Because of this novel you hear people calling their family and friends Scrooges because they try to save their money up rather than spending it. The word Scrooge is even in the dictionary. In the Oxford English dictionary the word Scrooge is defined as A mean or miserly person This obviously means that A Christmas Carol is a very memorable piece and that the character of Scrooge is quite a significant one. I do feel, however, that A Christmas Carol is not a great Social Problem novel. A Christmas Carol does have the elements of social problem novels but not as strongly as others. In conclusion I do agree that Dickens does use A Christmas Carol as a vehicle for his own social views. Many other people would have written a similar novel but not included the severe poverty of the Cratchitt family, for instance. I believe that A Christmas Carol fits into the supernatural genre completely. This is because it has all of the classic ingredients of supernatural tales. A Christmas Carol has a setting, which is the big dark building in London that Scrooge is alone in all through the dead of night and his past, present and future. Atmosphere, the atmosphere is built up by the entry of the spirits. And a plot, the plot of A Christmas Carol is about Scrooge changing from a man who is clearly immoral to a humane person. This happens because of a visit from the three spirits. A Christmas Carol also has the main types of Supernatural characters. These are something from the paranormal world, in this case Jacob Marley, The spirit of Christmas past, present and Christmas future. Also there needs to be a person, usually the protagonist, who does not believe in the paranormal. In A Christmas Carol not only does the protagonist, Scrooge, not believe in the paranormal but he does not believe in anything but being rich. This is why he is visited by the paranormal world. The language that Dickens has used seems to be the language of the period although some language from this particular genre can also be found. Many of the sentences in the book have a feel for the supernatural and of his own views, especially when talking about the poor: The spirit smiled, and stopped to bless Bob Cratchitts dwelling with a sprinkling from his torch. Think of that! Bob had but fifteen Bob a-week himself; he pocketed on Saturdays but fifteen copies of his Christian name; and yet the Ghost of Christmas Present blessed his four-roomed house! That sentence has mainly the language of the period but it also has a little bit of supernatural language. This just goes to show Dickens views once again. He is writing as though it is shocking for some one to bless a poor persons little four-roomed house. Therefore A Christmas Carol is a perfect supernatural story and acts as a vehicle for Dickens views, but rather than it being a large vehicle of his views, like a social problem novel, it is a small vehicle which only has room for a small amount of his social views whereas other Dickens novels such as Great Expectations, Oliver Twist, Nicholas Nickleby and Hard Times fit into the social problem genre better than A Christmas Carol does. Having said that A Christmas Carol still gets the message across about the Victorian peoples anti-social and idiotic views about the poor and how they need to be changed. A Christmas Carol also gets the message across to a wider audience which means that more people realise that their views about the poor are wrong and that it really isnt their own fault if they are poor. This is where A Christmas Carol really becomes a vehicle for Dickens social views because it transports the views to people that wouldnt normally read a social problem novel.

Teenage Illegal Drug Use

Teenage Illegal Drug Use THESIS OUTLINE Young people using illegal drugs. Reasons for why teens use drugs. Enhance pleasure. Instant gratification. Lack of confidence. Common risk factors associated with drugs. Family history. Mental or behavioral disorder. Impulse control problems. Risk of accidents and deaths due to drug overdose. Poison deaths. Statistics about drug misuse. Increase in road accidents. Drug affects family relationships. How drugs affect parents and siblings. Destructive behavior of parents. Effects of drugs on Academics. Statistics and facts of teen use drugs and alcohol in colleges. Drop out from schools. Maintain gangs. Peer pressure. Prevention tips. Build emotional ties. Confront problems quickly. TEENAGE ILLEGAL DRUG USE THESIS STATEMENT: Teenage illegal drug use is a problem in the world today, using drugs increases risk of accidents, ruin family relationships, job prospects and academic failure. TEENS USE ILLEGAL DRUGS: Teenage illegal drug use is common in today’s world. Not every teen uses drugs; there are several risks by using drugs, which include an increase in accidents, ruining family relationships and academic failure. Drug addiction or use is highest among teens and late 20’s, according to the national survey by national survey on drug use and health NSDUH (2013), the drug usage among teenagers varied in people aged between 12-18, most of them are using illegal drugs. Teens are addicted to drugs to enhance pleasure, fun, self-medication, lack of confidence, to vary their conscious experience, relive pain, to promote and enhance social collaboration by Larsen, (n.d). From the book, drug abuse sourcebook (2013), teens take drugs to maintain gang, to escape or relax, to relive boredom, rebel and peer pressure. Illegal drugs are very hazardous used by teens (p.100). According to Dasha (2014), 60% of Canada teenagers use illegal drugs between ages 15 to 24. Teenagers also use drugs on an occasional basis and used as a part of a social life that can include parties and dating. In India, teenagers few teenagers are addicted to drugs, in villages most of them use marijuana. Europe has less number of teenagers compared with American teenagers. Drugs can affect very quickly and without knowing them, the length of time that it effects varies, it depends on how much quantity of drug taken, some drugs are legal when lawfully used for medical purposes. However, that does not mean drugs are safe. As per the survey UNODC in 2014 countries like Australia, United States of America, Spain, Urban Afghanistan and Pakistan, the illicit use of drugs is more common among the men and women. The most common risk factors associated with drugs in teenage are family history, mental or behavioral disorders and impulse control problems. Mostly, the problem starts from family history. Especially when teen parents are having drug problem, this affects the child has or teen behavior and can increase the risk to try drugs (NIDA, 2012). Depression and anxiety or deficit hyperactivity disorders in teenage can increase more risk with the use of drugs. Those who are addicted to drugs would likely going to have mental disorder problems; they suffer often from mood and anxiety disorder. This may cause physical illness or disability, brain damage. The most common factor that teens affected by impulse control disorders, this involves chronic problems in one’s ability his or her emotions and behaviors. Due to lack of self-control, teens suffer from these disorders and experience disruptions in social, personal, family and academic aspects. Using drugs, exposure to violence, family history are most common risk factors faced by teens. Parents should take care of the children’s health and behavioral problems; they should be vigilant on drug use. In the article â€Å"Young people and illegal drugs† the Australian government (2013), parents can make children healthy and safe role model, teach them how to make good decisions-get the facts, find out the risks and plan family events they can take part in. they have to keep eye on behavior and feelings. Sometimes young people who are depressed or have mental illness use drugs to help them cope with feeling bad, as per south Australian government (2013). Teens might be unusual behavior, silence, anger towards, change of friends and change in physical appearance in teens who use drugs by Australian government in the article young people and illegal drugs (2013). RISK OF ACCIDENTS AND DEATHS DUE TO DRUG OVERDOSE: The majority of the accidents and deaths in teenage are caused due to drug overdose. From the book drug abuse Larsen, (n.d.), explained about the risk of accidents and deaths are due to drug over dose. Every drug is a poison; a large amount of drug can kill the person due to accidents and poison. The legal and illegal drugs root the vast majority of poisoning deaths; According to the 2013, national survey on drug and health (NSDUH) and NIDA (2014), an approximate 9.9 million-teenager aged 12 or older are driving under the influence of illicit drugs during the year prior. This is the lower compared with 2012 by National Highway Traffic Safety and Administration (NHTSA). Vehicle accidents are lead to cause poisoning deaths from injuries among the young people between ages 16 to 19 statement by (NIDA) Drug driving; nearly 9 out of 10 deaths caused by illegal drug usage; in past four decades the motor vehicle traffic deaths increased due to poisoning by drug uses that are unintentional, suicides, undetermined intent. The comparison between boys and girls, the ratio is 2:3 compared from 1999. According to international statistics in 2005, over 4.4 million teenagers in the US admitted taking prescription painkillers and almost 50% of teens believe that prescription drugs are much safer than illegal street drugs. Up to 60 percent to 70 percent of prescription drugs used as source of drug for teenagers by drug free world by Goldberg, C. (2013, April 22). According to the World drug report (2013), few countries as Iran, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are the mostly affected in Asia related deaths using illicit drugs. In Africa, around 17,500 numbers of people including teenagers are drug related deaths (WHO, 2012). Overall, drugs can increase to accidents risk regardless of the presence of alcohol; the contribution of drugs was significantly higher than that produced by alcohol. Use of drugs while driving tends to fatal and serious injuries. DRUG AFFECTS FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS: When a child gets addicted to drugs, the entire family unit suffers of physical and mental health (Beth Covelli, 2014). According to American government survey, one in 10 teenagers between 12 and 17 years of age are illicit drugs (2009). Parents and siblings have a key role in modeling and the reinforcement of drug use by teens. Most of the Drug abuse has a lot of stress on parents and siblings declined in their health related to stress of living with the child’s drug problem by Laura (n.d). Drug use can compact parent-child relationships to prevent drug use and the family conflicts might increase, when teen take drugs they may forget because their focus is on getting and taking drugs and they may lie or steal money to purchase drugs by Nefer, B. (2005). The teen drug user might do anything that upsets neighbors and friends and make the family ashamed. Some teens who are addicted are out of control and do not see about the problems causing by themselves in drug facts by NIDA. Younger siblings of drug users can identified as at increased risk of drug exposure and intention. If the parents or brothers who addicted to drugs they may spoil the relationships in family. Most of the siblings exposed to drugs because they share the same room or house (Larsen, n.d). Drug use has a major impact on relationships; it effects the emotional, financial and psychological of the entire family and friends. The drug use tends to blame on others in families, the situations may cause negative effects on younger siblings. EFFECTS OF DRUGS USE ON ACADEMICS: Drug use on campuses is universal. According to Health study, 90% of teens have used drugs and many of their classmates are using illegal drugs stated by co-students in the schools and colleges. Students usually dropout from schools or colleges due to illegal drugs, about 17 percent of students, 2.8 million are abusing drugs in school days in United States of America. Most of the schools are like hubs for drug activity with 44 percent of high school students who sells and use drugs by Reinberg, S. (2011, November 7). Private school students reported 54 percent of drugs available in schools and 61 percent of students are drug infected in public schools. In the article, â€Å"Effects of drugs and alcohol on Academic life†, 95% of the college campus violence related to drugs, over 60 percent of all college women intoxicated using drugs. Teenagers feel pressured to use drugs at parties and social gathering; they use drugs to get relieved from work related stress, financial worries or relationship problems and for feeling of shyness. Illicit drug use among dropouts was higher than for those in school (31.4 percent vs. 18.2 percent). Teenagers who use drug are more likely than non-users to drop out of school and less likely than non-users to graduate from high school. According to research at Colorado State University, teen drug abuse increases the risk of failure at schools. Poor academic performance can lead to increase truancy and dropout rates. The drugs are the main factor for teen violence; students with violent tendencies are likely to resist authority by (university of Illinois). Drug use can cause teenagers more vulnerable to depression and suicidal behavior. The symptoms of depression can manifest themselves in the form of being late to class and unable to complete assignments and other activities (Turner, 2009). Most of the teenagers maintain gangs to protect themselves (Lares, n.d). Some youth attend schools where violence is all too familiar and physical fighting is frequent relied upon to settle disputes (OSWALT, 2011) in Exposure to Violence. The influence of social media and electronic media can be negatively affecting the young people in many ways like exposing them to violence, reinforcing the importance of money. A staggering three quarters of teens between ages of 12 and 17 years old admitted that seeing photos of fellow classmates using drugs on social media encouraged them to do the same from the article â€Å"The influence of social media and teen drug use†. They are exposing them to extreme violence, which can desensitize them to reality, reinforcing the importance if money, consumerism and status symbol in Australia (2015). The main reason for the gang violence are the use and sale of drugs in campus, disputes over gang territory, gang rivalries and fights among members of the other gang. PREVENTION TIPS: The best know fact about prevention about the illegal drug use is â€Å"Not to take drugs†. To live a healthy life and drug free life there are few prevention tips for parents, faculty and teenagers: Parents have to keep time for kids to know about the kid’s schedule of the day. They should be vigilant about their children’s, make family dinner as often, spend time, and share the views, know about the friends. This can build emotional ties between parents and children’s (Phoenix house, 2012). Students will experience freedom and this may result with drug use, the use of illegal drugs is always dangerous. Faculty and university should change behavior of the student even he refuse your help and they should interact with students to avoid the drug culture. CONCLUSION: To conclude, illegal drug use will be impact on the teenagers and increase the risk factors including accidents, crimes, academic failure. All of these issues are very significant to the individual teen, the family and society. Teenagers should know the facts and knowledge about the drug use and its effects and they can live drug free life. REFERENCE: (AMERICAN PSYCOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION) BARNARD, M. (2005, April 27). Drugs in the family: The impact on parents and siblings | Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Retrieved May 3, 2015, from http://www.jrf.org.uk/publications/drugs-family-impact-parents-and-siblings DrugFacts: Drugged Driving. (2014, December 1). Retrieved April 26, 2015, from http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/drugged-driving Drugs teenagers Better Health Channel. (n.d.). Retrieved May 3, 2015, from http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.Nsf/pages/Drugs_teenagers?open Goldberg, C. (2013, April 22). National Study: Teen Misuse and Abuse of Prescription Drugs Up 33 Percent Since 2008, Stimulants Contributing to Sustained Rx Epidemic Partnership for Drug-Free Kids. Retrieved May 3, 2015, from http://www.drugfree.org/newsroom/national-study-teen-misuse-and-abuse-of-prescription-drugs-up-33-percent-since-2008-stimulants-contributing-to-sustained-rx-epidemic/ Larsen, L. (2014). Drug abuse sourcebook: Basic consumer health information about the abuse of cocaine, club drugs, marijuana, inhalants, heroin, hallucinogens, and other illicit substances and the misuse of prescription and over-the-counter medications; along with facts and statistics about drug use and addiction, treatment and recovery, drug testing, drug abuse prevention and intervention, glossaries of related terms, and directories of resources for additional help and information (4th ed.). OMNIGRAPHICS. MANAGING YOUR HEALTH. (2011, November 7). Retrieved April 27, 2015, from http://health.usnews.com/health-news/managing-your-healthcare/articles/2011/11/07/more-than-a-third-of-teens-turning-to-alcohol-drugs-study. National Institute on Drug Abuse. Drugged Driving Retrieved from http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/drugged-driving on April 22, 2015 Nefer, B. (2005). Drug abuse and relationships. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH. Retrieved January 7, 2015, from http://www.livestrong.com/article/195062-drug-abuse-relationships/ Parenting and Child Health Health Topics -. (2013, October 10). Retrieved May 3, 2015, from http://www.cyh.com/HealthTopics/HealthTopicDetails.aspx?p=114np=141id=1747. Simple Methods to Prevent Your Teen from Using Drugs or Alcohol. (2012, September 19). Retrieved April 30, 2015, from http://www.phoenixhouse.org/news-and-views/news-and-events/simple-methods-to-prevent-your-teen-from-using-drugs-or-alcohol/ THE EFFECT OF DRUG AND alcohol on academic life. (n.d.). Retrieved April 25, 2015, from https://www.fit.edu/caps/documents/effects of drugs.pdf The Effects of Drugs and Alcohol on Academic Life. (2011, September 21). Retrieved May 2, 2015, from http://sobercollege.com/2011/the-effects-of-drugs-and-alcohol-on-academic-life/ WORLD DRUG REPORT 2014. (2014, June 1). Retrieved May 5, 2015, from http://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/WDR2014/World_Drug_Report_2014_web.pdf

Are Prisons Effective? Essay -- Papers Criminal System Jail Prison Cri

Are Prisons Effective? Imprisonment; is it beneficial or non-beneficial? This argument is presented from the viewpoint of both sides of this issue. One group, "The Council on Crime in America", is pro-incarceration; while on the other side of this issue, " The National Criminal Justice Commission", is con-incarceration. Both sides have presented their viewpoints clearly and factually. Those who are for incarceration present their opinions in such a way as to sway the reader toward accepting what they say as the only answer to fight back against the growing crime rate. If the prisoners are locked up in prisons, then they cannot commit crimes. Moreover, they feel that the criminals can be rehabilitated behind bars. Also, they view imprisonment as a deterrent against future crimes. For example, if a law-breaker sees his friend imprisoned for a crime he committed, then the other party will be less willing to break the law and end up in prison as well. Furthermore, punishment itself would satisfy most of society when the criminal is imprisoned. Prison offers law-breakers a chance to receive drug treatment, educational benefits, and as stated before, a chance at rehabilitation. Also, incarceration costs less than leaving criminals out of prisons because the cost of housing inmates is less than the cost of their crimes incur. Plus, those in favor of imprisonment state that most inmates are repeat offenders that have probably committed many crimes that they have not even been caught committing. For example, some people feel that "low level drug dealers" should not be imprisoned, but these so called "low level drug dealers" usually can be credited with other crimes. Pro-incarceration feels that putting these crimi... ...obbers must be incarcerated, but the balance of non-violent criminals does not treat every criminal the same. More minorities and poor whites end up behind bars than those who can afford a high priced lawyer. Moreover, only the strong survive in prison while the weak or new prisoners are subject to rape, robbery and beatings. Thus, inmates must resort to survival tactics just to get by from day to day. This makes a non-violent offender worse than before he or she arrived at prison. Prisoners who have committed the same exact crimes do not always get the same time serve. Prisoners get humiliated besides being punished. When these prisoners are released, they must rebuild their self-esteem and families. Plus, if imprisonment was meant to be a deterrent against crime, why are there so many other criminals ready to take over for the criminal who is incarcerated.

How Important Are Ethics and Social Responsibility?

The research register for this journal is available at http://www. mcbup. com/research_registers The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at http://www. emerald-library. com/ft How important are ethics and social responsibility? A multinational study of marketing professionals Anusorn Singhapakdi and Kiran Karande College of Business and Public Administration, Old Dominion University, Virginia, USA How important are ethics? 133 Received September 1998 Revised March 1999 June 1999 September 1999 College of Administrative Sciences, Kuwait University, Safat, Kuwait, and School of Business Administration, University of Mississippi, USA Keywords International marketing, Ethics, Social responsibility, National cultures, Consumer behaviour Abstract States that in the present era of global marketing, as more companies enter international markets, ethical problems are likely to increase. As companies and their managers deal with their counterparts in different countries, there is a need to understand the latter's ethical decision-making processes. Divergence in ethical behavior and attitudes of marketing professionals across cultures can be explained by, among other variables, differences in perceptions regarding the importance of ethics and social responsibility in achieving organizational effectiveness. This study investigates the variation in those perceptions among marketing professionals from Australia, Malaysia, South Africa, and the USA. The variation is explained by country differences (cultural differences, differences in the economic environment, and differences in legal/political environment), organizational ethical climate, and selected demographic characteristics of the marketer (gender and age). C. P. Rao Scott J. Vitell Introduction The study of ethics has become increasingly important with global business expansion, because of an increase in ethical and social responsibility  ± concerns that businesses face in different country environments. There exists, however, a wide divergence in the level of importance attached to these two issues in different countries (Czinkota and Ronkainen, 1998). Moreover, vast differences exist from country to country in the economic development, cultural standards, legal/political systems, and expectations regarding business conduct (Wotruba, 1997). In addition, there is great divergence in the enforcement of policies (Mittelstaedt and Mittelstaedt, 1997). The authors would like to thank Mohd. Rashid Ahmed, Universiti Pertanian Malaysia, Malaysia; Nicola Higgs-Kleyn, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa; and Muris Cicic, University of Wollongong, NSW, Australia for their assistance in the data collection for this study. The authors would also like to thank Janet Marta for her comments on the earlier versions of the manuscript. European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 35 No. 1/2, 2001, pp. 133-152. # MCB University Press, 0309-0566 European Journal of Marketing 35,1/2 134 In the business ethics literature, ethical variations among marketers/ managers from different nations are documented in many empirical studies on various types of ethical issues (e. g. Armstrong et al. , 1990; Graham, 1985; Becker and Fritzsche, 1987). Variation in ethics across cultures was evidenced in a cross-national study of industrial salespeople by Dubinsky et al. (1991) where some significant differences in ethical perceptions were found among marketing managers from Japan, Korea, and the USA. A study by Singhapakdi et al. 1994) also revealed that American and Thai marketers differ on various components of their ethical decision-making process. However, international researchers have not investigated differences in the extent to which marketers from different countries believe that ethics and social responsibility are important for organizational effectiveness. An individual's perception about whether ethics and social responsibility contribute to organizational effectivenes s is likely to be a critical antecedent of whether he/she even perceives an ethical problem in a given situation (Singhapakdi et al. 1995). This is a pragmatic view based on an argument that managers must first perceive ethics and social responsibility to be vital to organizational effectiveness before their behaviors will become more ethical and reflect greater social responsibility. This view is consistent with Hunt and Vitell's (1986) depiction of ethical judgment as including a teleological evaluation, when an individual evaluates alternative actions by weighing the perceived probability and desirability of consequences. Essentially, a manager's choice of behavior in a situation that has problematic ethical content will be based on his/her perception of the likelihood that the actions will bring about a desired outcome. This view is also consistent with Jones' (1991) issue-contingent model where it is postulated that the â€Å"probability of effect† which is defined as â€Å"the probability that the act in question will actually take place and the act in question will actually cause the harm (benefit)† (Jones, 1991, p. 75) will affect an individual's ethical decision making. Intuitively, ethics and social responsibility should have a positive impact on the success of an organization, because consumers make ethical judgments that are likely to influence their purchases. As Laczniak and Murphy (1993, p. 5) put it: Consumers over time will normally recognize the organizations that attempt to be responsive to various ethical and social factors in the marketplace. Accordingly, it is vital for marketers to incorporate ethical and social considerations in their work. Thus, the aim of this study is to investigate whether marketers from Australia, Malaysia, South Africa, and the USA differ in the extent to which they believe that ethical and socially responsible practices are important in relation to various aspects of organizational effectiveness such as quality, communication, profits, competitiveness, survival, efficiency, and stakeholder satisfaction. Based on past literature that emphasizes cultural factors, corporate culture, and individual characteristics (e. g. Hunt and Vitell, 1986; Ferrell and Gresham, 1985), the cross-cultural variation in marketers' perceived importance of ethics and social responsibility in achieving organizational effectiveness is explained by country differences (including cultural differences and differences in the economic environment), organizational ethical climate, and selected demographic characteristics of individual marketers. The four countries included were judged appropriate because they are geographically separated and exhibit differences in terms of Hofstede's (1980) five cultural dimensions and the level of economic development, which are used to support the hypothesis about country differences. Theoretical foundation and hypotheses In this section it is proposed that the variations in the perceived importance of ethics and social responsibility as determinants of organizational effectiveness is explained by country differences (including cultural differences and differences in the economic environment), organizational ethical climate, and individual characteristics of gender and age. Figure 1 summarizes the proposed framework. Country differences Cultural differences. Hofstede (1980) and Hofstede and Bond (1988) proposed a typology for classifying cultures based on five dimensions: (1) individualism; (2) uncertainty avoidance; How important are ethics? 135 Figure 1. Theoretical framework European Journal of Marketing 35,1/2 136 (3) power distance; (4) masculinity; and (5) Confucian dynamism. It is hypothesized that these cultural dimensions contribute to differences in the perceived importance of ethics and social responsibility. For example, marketers in collectivistic countries (such as Malaysia) would be expected to be more loyal to their organizations because of greater dependence (Hofstede, 1983), and therefore, concerned for their organization's well-being when making decisions that enhance organizational effectiveness. Consequently, collectivistic cultures would attach more importance to achieving superior organizational performance than to ethics and socially responsibility. Masculine societies encourage individuals to be ambitious and competitive, and to strive for material success (Hofstede, 1980), which may tempt marketers from countries ranking high on masculinity to achieve greater efficiency, at all costs. Therefore, they would attach less importance to ethics and social responsibility than to efficiency, competitiveness, and long-term survival. Individuals from cultures with high power distance (such as Malaysia) usually accept the inequality of power, perceive differences between superiors and subordinates, are reluctant to disagree with superiors and believe that superiors are entitled to privileges (Hofstede, 1983). Consequently, marketers from high power distance countries are likely to perceive a need to minimize disagreement with superiors and satisfy superiors through improved performance. In other words, organizational performance is likely to be relatively more important to them relative to the extent to which a decision is ethical and socially responsible. The risk-taking orientation of marketers from low uncertainty avoiding countries would lead them to believe that it might be worth taking the risk of unethical actions in order to improve efficiency and competitiveness. Therefore, marketers from low uncertainty avoidance countries are likely to attach less importance to ethics and social responsibility in achieving organizational effectiveness. Individuals in countries ranking high on Confucian dynamism tend to adhere to the more future-oriented teachings of Confucius; those from countries ranking low on Confucian dynamism tend to be more present- and past-oriented (Hofstede and Bond, 1988). From the perspective of this study, marketers from cultures ranking high on Confucian dynamism have a strong sense of shame and are likely to be wary of actions that are improper or disgraceful. Marketers from high Confucian dynamism countries (such as Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, and Korea) would, therefore, believe that any actions bringing disrepute and shame to the company would be detrimental to organizational performance. This is also consistent with the greater future-orientation of individuals from these countries. Alternatively, it is also possible that marketers from high Confucian dynamism countries might be sensitive to the shame arising out of inferior performance and might therefore believe that greater efficiency and profits are important at the cost of ethics and social responsibility. In other words, the effects of Confucian dynamism might be expected in both directions. Table I summarizes Hofstede's ranking of the four countries on five dimensions of culture (Hofstede, 1980; Hofstede and Bond, 1988). It is apparent that, in general, Australians, Americans, and South Africans are higher on individualism and masculinity and lower on uncertainty avoidance and power distance than Malaysians. On Confucian dynamism, the USA and Australia rank very close. Although there is no ranking available for South Africa and Malaysia, Malaysians can be expected to rank higher because of a strong Chinese influence, especially in the business sector (Hong Kong and Taiwan rank first and second on Confucian dynamism). Based on individualism, power distance, and uncertainty avoidance, Malaysian marketers would be expected to have lower perceived importance of ethics and social responsibility than marketers from Australia, South Africa, and the USA. Based on masculinity, it would be expected that Malaysian managers will have greater perceived importance of ethics and social responsibility in achieving organizational effectiveness than those from the other three countries, whereas based on Confucian dynamism it is only possible to hypothesize differences. Therefore, based on the cultural differences outlined above, we would expect Australian, Malaysian, US, and South African marketers to attach different levels of importance to ethics and social responsibility in achieving organizational effectiveness. Economic environment differences. Countries also have different economic and business environments, including the legal environment and societal expectations about business ethics in a given country. In developed countries (such as the USA and Australia), the business environment is typically characterized by powerful business enterprises, a legal environment aimed at eliciting ethical behaviors on the part of businesses, and societal expectations that businesses should be more ethical and socially responsible. These environmental forces may make the marketers in developed countries attach greater importance to the ethical and social responsibilities of their respective businesses. In developing countries, on the other hand (e. . Malaysia and South Africa), the business and economic environmental forces are still evolving and hence the marketers' perceived importance of business ethics and social responsibility may be lower relative to their counterparts in developed Country Australia Malaysia South Africa USA Power distance Individualism 36 104 49 40 (41) (1) (36-37) (38) 90 26 65 91 (2) (36) (16) (1) Masculinity 61 50 63 62 (16) (25-26) (13-14) (15) Uncertainty avoidance 51 36 49 46 (37) (46) (39-40) (43) Confucian dynamism 31 (11-12) n/a n/a 29 (14) How important are ethics? 137 Note: a Ranks range from 1-53 for all dimensions except Confucian dynamism 1-20 Source: Hofstede (1980) and Hofstede and Bond (1988) Table I. Scores (and ranks) for the four countries on Hofstede's dimensionsa European Journal of Marketing 35,1/2 138 countries. From another perspective, in developed countries the markets are likely to be more competitive, and therefore, issues of customer service and satisfaction might be relatively more important. Therefore, in making decisions, marketers from developed countries are less likely to take actions that are detrimental to the reputation of the company, fearing regulation as well as consumer dissatisfaction. In the context of this study, marketers from the USA and Australia should place greater importance on ethics and social responsibility as determinants of organizational effectiveness than marketers from South Africa and Malaysia. Differences in legal/political environment. In the Hunt and Vitell (1993) model, legal/political environment is depicted as a variable influencing ethical decision making. The relationship between the legal environment and ethics has been recognized by many business ethics scholars. For example, Beauchamp and Bowie (1993, p. 4) noted that: Law is the public's agency for translating morality into explicit social guidelines and practices and stipulating offenses. DeGeorge (1990, p. 14) noted that: Business is a social enterprise. Its mandate and limits are set by society. The limits are often moral, but they are also frequently written into law. Dunfee (1996, p. 18) stated that the legal system is sometimes required to nurture or implement the moral preferences of society, particularly with reference to universal moral prohibitions against physical harm. He also argued that where moral views have not converged toward a sufficiently broad consensus, the law may help to bring about a change in attitude. In the context of our study, these discussions imply that the legal/political framework within a country can be expected to impact a manager's perceptions about ethics and social responsibility. Business ethics scholars have also noted that the legal/political systems vary across countries (e. g. Vogel, 1992). In his analysis of the USA, Western Europe, and Japan, Vogel (1992) noted that in spite of globalization, the norms of business (as well as business and academic interest) in ethics were substantially higher in the USA than in other advanced capitalist countries. He attributed this to the distinctive institutional, legal, social, and cultural environment in the USA. In the context of this study, differences can be expected in the legal/political environments in the USA, Australia, Malaysia, and South Africa. While in the USA the legal/political systems are relatively well developed (and in Australia to a certain degree), the regulatory environments in Malaysia and South Africa are evolving, and therefore, the existence as well as the specificity of laws may vary across the four countries. The importance of ethics is also influenced by the degree of law enforcement, where we also can expect differences across the four countries. While elaborate legal/political systems prevail for enforcement in the USA, they are relatively less prevalent (and to varying degrees) in Australia, Malaysia, and South Africa. Vogel (1992, p. 32) pointed out that even compared to other advanced countries, the enforcement of law in the USA is more stringent, and gave the following example, In America each new disclosure of business misconduct prompts a new wave of public indignation, accompanied by numerous articles n the business and popular press which bemoan the general decline in the ethical conduct of managers and seek to explain â€Å"what went wrong† in the most recent case. This is frequently followed by Congressional hearings featuring politicians demanding more vigilant prosecution of white-collar criminals; shortly thereafter, regulatory standards are tightened, penalties are increased, and enforcement efforts are strengthened. How important are ethics? 139 It should be recognized that the potential influences of the legal/political environment are more complex than discussed here, because of the range of issues involved as well as the aspects of environment that cannot be measured directly, such as the enforcement of regulatory systems. However, differences exist between the four countries in the legal/political environment, which can be expected to influence managers' perceived importance of ethics and social responsibility relative to organizational effectiveness. In the preceding paragraphs, country differences were analyzed based on three aspects: (1) culture; (2) economic development; and (3) legal/political environment. Overall, based on cultural differences, we expect Australian, Malaysian, US, and South African marketers to attach different levels of importance to ethics and social responsibility in achieving organizational effectiveness. Based on economic environment differences, we expect that marketers from the USA and Australia will place greater importance on ethics and social responsibility than marketers from South Africa and Malaysia. Given that legal and political environments tend to vary between the four countries, we also expect the managers from these four diverse countries to attach different levels of importance to ethics and social responsibility in achieving organizational effectiveness. Thus, the following hypothesis was formulated: H1: Due to differences in culture, economic development, and legal/political environment, there are differences in the perceived importance of ethics and social responsibility among marketers in Malaysia, Australia, South Africa, and the USA. In analyzing country differences, it is evident that multiple aspects of country differences influence marketers' perceived importance of ethics and social responsibility, at times in conflicting ways (as in the effects of masculinity and individualism). Also, since this is the first attempt at investigating crosscultural variation in the perceived importance of ethics and social responsibility as determinants of organizational effectiveness, there is a lack of knowledge regarding the relative importance of differences in cultural European Journal of Marketing 35,1/2 140 dimensions. Consequently, it is not possible to hypothesize the direction of differences, only their existence. Organizational ethical climate In the Hunt and Vitell (1986; 1993) models, organizational ethical climate is included as a background variable that affects a marketer's ethical decision making. Organizational ethical climate refers to the shared understanding regarding what is correct behavior and how ethical issues will be handled (DeConinck, 1992). It helps establish and maintain the standards that delineate the â€Å"right† things to do and the things â€Å"worth doing† (Jansen and Von Glinow, 1985). The ethical climate in an organization affects ethical attitudes and standards of individuals. An organization that seeks to foster an ethical environment will not only have a code of ethics, but also the willingness and commitment to enforce it. Managers consider modifying the morality of their actions not just because of stated organizational concern, but only when specific sanctions are attached for misconduct (e. g. Laczniak and Inderrieden, 1987). The contention that organizational pressures, and not individual moral deficiencies, account for unethical standards is held by several authors (e. . Ford and Richardson, 1994). Weeks and Nantel (1992) found that wellcommunicated codes of ethics led to higher ethical standards and superior job performance of salespeople in the USA. Consequently, marketers in companies with an ethical climate that encourages ethical and socially responsible behavior and that punishes unethical behavior would perceive ethics to be more important for orga nizational effectiveness. Research has shown that when ethical standards of an organization are widely shared, organizational success will be enhanced (Hunt et al. 1989). Relevant to this study, in a recent study of US marketers, Singhapakdi et al. (1995) revealed that marketers in organizations with high levels of corporate ethical values tended to assign a higher level of importance to certain elements of corporate ethics and social responsibility. Therefore, we hypothesize that H2: Irrespective of country, organizational ethical climate is positively related to managers' perceived importance of ethics and social responsibility relative to different aspects of organizational effectiveness. Gender Gender is generally recognized as an important personal characteristic influencing an individual's ethical decisions. For example, Gilligan (1982) argued that men and women differ in their moral reasoning. In particular, men are more likely to adhere to the â€Å"ethic of justice† by emphasizing rules and individual rights. Women, however, are more likely to adhere to the â€Å"ethic of care† by emphasizing relationships and compassion. In a recent meta-analysis, Franke et al. (1997) used data from more than 20,000 respondents in 66 samples nd revealed that women are more likely than men to perceive business practices as unethical. Although there has been no research directly investigating the effects of gender on perceived important of ethics and social responsibility, it has been incorporated in numerous marketing ethics studies. Based on the work of Gilligan (1982) and Franke et al. (1997), it can be argued that â€Å"the ethic of caring† exhibited by w omen would lead them to believe that taking actions in the interest of the customer would enhance company performance and would contribute to a perception of greater importance of ethics in organizational effectiveness. Thus, we would expect women to attach greater importance to ethics and social responsibility as determinants of organizational effectiveness. H3: Irrespective of country, women perceive ethics and social responsibility to be more important relative to different aspects of organizational effectiveness than men. Age Marketing ethics theories generally recognize personal characteristics as determinants of various aspects of a marketer's ethical decision-making process (e. g. Ferrell and Gresham, 1985; Hunt and Vitell, 1986). Age could also directly influence an individual's ethical decision. According to Kohlberg's (1981) cognitive moral development theory, an individual's cognition, emotion, and judgment may change as he/she moves through stages of moral development. Given that an individual moves through stages of moral development and the changes are essentially due to life experiences, intuitively one would expect a positive relationship between age and ethical behavior. In fact, Terpstra et al. (1993) have argued that people tend to become more ethical as they grow older. A good explanation is that as people age they tend to become less concerned with wealth and advancement and more interested in personal growth (Hall, 1976). In other words, older marketers are likely to appreciate the long-term benefits (to organizational performance) of acting in an ethical and socially responsible manner. Accordingly, we would generally expect a positive relationship between a marketer's age and his or her perception about the importance of ethics and social responsibility. H4: Irrespective of country, a marketer's age is positively related to his/her perception of the importance of ethics and social responsibility relative to different aspects of organizational effectiveness. Methodology Sample A self-administered questionnaire was used as the data collection technique for all four groups of marketing practitioners. For the US and South African groups, national mailing lists of professional members of the American Marketing Association (AMA) and the South African Institute of Marketing How important are ethics? 141 European Journal of Marketing 35,1/2 142 Management were used as sampling frames. For the Australian sample, a mailing list of recipients of the Australian Marketing Institute magazine was used. For the Malaysian group, the sampling frame consisted of managers responsible for making marketing decisions for companies listed on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange. The questionnaire was administered in English for all four samples. Because Malaysia and South Africa are members of the British Commonwealth, English is a well-understood language, particularly in the business setting. The numbers of respondents were: 500 from Australia, 446 from the USA, 256 from South Africa, and 159 from Malaysia[1]. The response rates were 22. 7 percent (USA), 13 percent (South Africa), and 45 percent (Malaysia). Since questionnaires were not directly mailed to the sample in Australia, the response rate could not be assessed. The non-response bias for the USA and South African samples was assessed with an analysis of variance between the early and late respondent groups (Armstrong and Overton, 1977). There were no statistical differences among the two groups for either country[2]. The profiles of the respondents are summarized in Table II. They represent a range of age groups, gender, job titles, industry, and years of experience, with minor differences between the four sets of respondents. Age and gender were included in the analyses. Other variables (such as job title, education, and industry) were not included as control variables because educational systems, industry classifications, and job titles and functions vary from country to country. Measures Singhapakdi et al. (1995) developed a scale for measuring managers' perceptions about the importance of ethics and social responsibility (PRESOR) in organizational effectiveness. Seven of the 14 items from that scale were used, relating to specific aspects of organizational effectiveness such as output quality, efficiency, profitability, communication, long-term survival, competitiveness, and stakeholder satisfaction. Excluded items were statements such as â€Å"Good ethics is good business† and â€Å"Corporate strategy should include ethics and social responsibility†, which do not address specific aspects of organizational effectiveness. The scale items used in the analyses are shown in Table III. The factor structures were found to be similar across the four countries and the reliabilities were generally high[3]. It may be noted that the PRESOR scale has previously performed satisfactorily in terms of reliability, as well as content and predictive validity (Singhapakdi et al. , 1995, 1996). Organizational ethical climate, gender and age. The corporate ethical values (CEV) scale developed by Hunt et al. (1989) was used in this study to measure organizational ethical climate. The scale was designed to reflect â€Å"a composite of the individual ethical values of managers and both the formal and informal policies on ethics of the organization† (Hunt et al. , 1989). The five-item CEV scale[4] was developed to three broad-based perceptions: Characteristics of respondents Gender Male Female Age group Under 30 30 to 39 40 to 49 50 and over 50 Education High school or less Some college Bachelor's degree Master's degree Doctorate Othera Job title CEO/president/MD/director Marketing managers Others Industry USA Wholesale or retail Manufacturer or construction Services Communications Advertising or public relations Marketing consulting Other Malaysiab Consumer products Diversified Construction Trading services Finance Properties Plantation Mining and primary resources Notes: sample; a b Australia (%) Malaysia (%) South Africa (%) USA (%) How important are ethics? 73. 0 27. 0 20. 0 35. 0 29. 0 17. 0 11. 0 15. 0 58. 0 15. 0 1. 0  ± 37. 0 52. 0 11. 0 84. 0 16. 0 11. 0 39. 0 40. 0 10. 0 6. 0 10. 0 43. 0 24. 0 1. 0 16. 0 39. 0 30. 0 31. 0 80. 0 20. 0 4. 0 29. 0 40. 0 27. 0 6. 0 15. 0 30. 0 30. 0 19. 0 2. 0 44. 0 37. 0 19. 0 51. 0 49. 0 17. 0 37. 0 29. 0 17. 0 1. 0 6. 0 43. 0 43. 0 6. 0  ± 47. 0 43. 0 10. 0 143 3. 0 10. 0 20. 0 33. 0 7. 0 17. 0 6. 0  ±  ±  ±  ±  ±  ±  ±  ±  ±  ±  ±  ±  ±  ±  ± 37. 0 4. 0 3. 0 28. 0 11. 0 13. 0 3. 0 1. 0 7. 0 20. 0 25. 0 7. 0 1. 0 5. 0 35. 0  ±  ±  ±  ±  ±  ±  ±  ± 12. 0 17. 0 35. 0 9. 0 7. 0 18. 0 2. 0  ±  ±  ±  ±  ±  ±  ±  ± Other educational qualifications include professional education in the Malaysian This categorization of industries was appropriate in the Malaysian context Table II. Profiles of respondents in Australia, Malaysia, South Africa and USA 144 European Journal of Marketing 35,1/2 Organizational effectiveness dimension Univariate tests Quality: while output quality is essential for corporate success, ethics and social responsibility are not NS Communication: communication is more important to the overall effectiveness of an organization than whether or not it is concerned with ethics and social responsibility 5. 1 0. 0001 Profits: The most important concern for a firm is making profits, even if it means bending or breaking rules 5. 45 0. 0001 Competitiveness: To remain competitive in a global environment, business firms will have to disregard ethics and social responsibility NS Survival: If survival of a business enterprise is at stake, then you must forget about ethics and social responsi bility 21. 25 0. 0001 Efficiency: Efficiency is much more important to the firm than whether or not the firm is seen as ethical or socially responsible 14. 1 0. 0001 Stakeholder satisfaction: If stakeholders are unhappy, nothing else matters 11. 19 0. 0001 Multivariate tests  ± F based on Wilk's lambda (21, 3,673 df) 5. 38 0. 0001 66. 43 28. 62 74. 24 49. 95 39. 79 29. 46 27. 17 0. 0001 0. 0001 0. 0001 0. 0001 0. 0001 0. 0001 0. 0001 Table III. Multivariate and univariate results Country Organizational culture Gender Age 17. 88 0. 0001 3. 68 0. 0552 8. 97 0. 0028 6. 46 0. 0112 17. 63 0. 00001 NS NS 2. 56 NS 0. 0535 NS NS NS NS NS 1) the extent to which employees perceive their managers are acting ethically in their organization (item 1); (2) the extent to which employees perceive that managers are concerned about the issues of ethics in their organization (item 3); and (3) the extent to which employees perceive that ethical (unethical) behavior is rewarded (punished) in their orga nization (items 2, 4, and 5) (Hunt et al. , 1989). The CEV was measured using a nine-point Likert scale with 1= â€Å"completely disagree†and 9= â€Å"completely agree†. For each respondent, the CEV score was obtained by summing all CEV items (with items 1 and 2 reverse-coded). A high CEV score means that the manager works in an organization with higher corporate ethical values. The similarity of factor structures of the CEV scale between the four countries was assessed to be moderate and the reliabilities of the scale were high[5]. The CEV measure has been used in the past (e. g. Hunt et al. , 1989; Singhapakdi et al. , 1995). Gender was measured as a dichotomous variable and age was measured in four categories. Results Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was performed using the seven PRESOR items as dependent variables, and the country of residence, organizational ethical climate, gender, and age as independent variables[6]. MANOVA results show that overall country of residence, organizational ethical climate, gender, and age significantly explain differences between marketers from the four countries in their perception of the importance of ethics and social responsibility in achieving organizational effectiveness (F = 5. 38 based on Wilks' Lambda, p < 0. 001). H1 states that there are country differences in the perceived importance of ethics and social responsibility in achieving organizational effectiveness. Univariate analysis of variance (ANOVA) identified significant cross-country differences between marketers on all PRESOR items except output quality and competitiveness. For example, there are differences in the extent to which marketers from the four countries believe that â⠂¬Å"the most important concern for a firm is making profits, even if it means bending or breaking rules† (F = 5. 45, p < . 001). Also, there are differences in the extent to which they agree with statements such as â€Å"if survival of a business enterprise is at stake, then you must forget about ethics and social responsibility† (F = 21. 25, p < 0. 0001), â€Å"efficiency is much more important to the firm than whether or not the firm is seen as ethical or socially responsible† (F = 14. 91, p < . 0001), and â€Å"communication is much more important to the overall effectiveness of an organization than whether or not it is concerned with ethics and social responsibility† (F = 5. 1, p < 0. 0001). Therefore, there is support for H1 (average scores for marketers from the four countries on each of the seven items are given in Table IV). How important are ethics? 145 European Journal of Marketing 35,1/2 146 H2 states that the organizational ethical climate posi tively influences managers' perceived importance of ethics and social responsibility. In fact, results indicate it has a strong influence on all seven dimensions of PRESOR with F statistics ranging from 27. 17 to 74. 24 (with all p ; 0. 0001). Therefore, H2 is supported. Results also indicate gender differences in managers' perceived importance of ethics and social responsibility in achieving organizational effectiveness on the quality, communication, profits, competitiveness, and survival dimensions, but not on the efficiency and stakeholder satisfaction dimensions (F statistics ranging from 3. 68 to 17. 88). Therefore, H3 is generally supported. Also, results related to H4 indicate that, in general, there are no age differences in the perceived importance of ethics and social responsibility in achieving organizational effectiveness. Therefore, H4 is not supported. The lack of significance of age in influencing PRESOR is probably a reflection of the greater impact of environmental factors such as greater societal expectations and awareness about ethical issues. Discussion and implications The current investigation into cross-country variation in perceptions of marketing professionals regarding the importance of ethics and social responsibility as determinants of business success has potential implications for international companies. In the international marketing context, cultural, economic, and other gaps between international buyers and sellers create the potential for conflicts of values, which in turn hinder smooth business interactions between the parties. Whether a marketing organization engages in exporting, importing, joint ventures, licensing agreements or fully owns an overseas operation, the scope exists for conflict of values, especially in the areas of marketing ethics and social responsibility. For example, in recent years, companies in the USA have faced public disapproval of the unethical practices of their overseas suppliers. As businesses all over the world progressively globalize their operations, it becomes necessary that they understand whether there are significant gaps between their ethical and social responsibility perceptions and their overseas partners. Such perceptual gaps need to be systematically investigated and measures taken to reduce or, preferably, eliminate them in the interest of establishing enduring international business Organizational effectiveness dimension Australia 7. 67 6. 16 6. 93 7. 56 7. 22 6. 44 6. 82 Malaysia 7. 61 5. 27 6. 61 7. 27 5. 76 5. 12 5. 79 South Africa 7. 96 6. 40 7. 01 7. 71 7. 05 6. 26 6. 6 USA 7. 82 6. 23 7. 46 7. 69 7. 64 6. 72 7. 08 Table IV. Output quality Mean perceived Communication importance of ethics Profits and social responsibility scores on Competitiveness different dimensions of Survival Efficiency organizational Stakeholder satisfaction effectiveness relationships. This study identified three sources of gaps that can exist between marketers from d ifferent countries in terms of the perceived importance of ethics and social responsibility as determinants of organizational effectiveness. They are: (1) Country differences in culture, economic development, and legal/ political environment. 2) Differences in organizational ethical climate. (3) Gender differences. Similarities and differences were found between countries in terms of the extent to which they find ethics and social responsibility to be important relative to some dimensions of organizational effectiveness. On two dimensions, output quality and competitiveness, there were no significant inter-country differences. It seems that output quality and competitiveness are universal business orientations exhibited by marketing executives, which is consistent with globalization of markets and the accompanying intensification of competition. International companies, therefore, may assume that their counterparts in different parts of the world will be as concerned with output quality and competitiveness (relative to ethical and social responsibility concerns). Hence, these two core business values can provide common bases for successful international negotiations and establishing long-term relationships, which are critical for success in the international business arena. While there are inter-country similarities on these two dimensions, significant inter-country differences were found with regard to other organizational effectiveness dimensions: communications, efficiency, profits, survival, and stakeholder satisfaction. Based on the findings of our study, multi-national companies who transfer employees between these four countries can help them anticipate differences in perceptions about the importance of ethics and social responsibility relative to different aspects of organizational effectiveness. For example, Malaysian companies posting managers in Australia (or South Africa or the USA) might want to educate them about the environmental differences that lead to Australian managers placing greater importance on ethics and social responsibility relative to profitability, efficiency, communication, survival, and stakeholder satisfaction. These perceptual differences can impact ethical attitudes and actions, and therefore, managerial expectations about overseas employees should be altered accordingly. Corporate managers should also give a thought to what can be done to overcome these differences in perceived importance of ethics and social responsibility. The content of ethics training programs can incorporate the findings of this study by developing scenarios and cases highlighting the tradeoffs between ethics and social responsibility, and specific aspects of organizational effectiveness, such as efficiency and stakeholder satisfaction. These scenarios can be extended by including cross-national differences in How important are ethics? 47 European Journal of Marketing 35,1/2 148 culture, economic development, and legal/political environment, as well as differences in perceptions about ethics and social responsibility across countries. Organizational ethical climate positively influenced the perceived importance of ethics and social responsibility across all four countries. Irrespective of the country, organizational ethical climate had a strong influence on all seven dimensions of organizational effectiveness vis-a-vis ethics A and social responsibility. Therefore, we can conclude that organizations from different countries with similar organizational ethical climates can find common ground on issues of ethics and social responsibility. Hence, international companies, when scouting for suitable partners in foreign markets, may look for overseas partners with similar organizational ethical values. This would ensure smoother business relations and interactions especially in the areas of ethics and social responsibility. Also, it is useful for international marketers to know that, in general, women perceive ethics and social responsibility to be more important in achieving organizational effectiveness than men, though there are no differences across age groups. This is particularly relevant given the increase in employment of women in the workplace. Limitations This study has some potential limitations. One concerns the limited number of factors investigated in our study. Ethical decision making is a very complex phenomenon, and exploring cross-cultural differences is even more difficult. For example, in addition to the variables we studied, marketing ethics theories have also specified moral philosophies, personal values, religion, professional environment, and organizational and industrial characteristics as important background factors underlying the ethical decision making of managers (e. g. Ferrell and Gresham, 1985; Hunt and Vitell, 1986). However, the scope of this study is limited to cultural dimensions, economic environment, organizational ethical climate, and selected demographic variables as explanatory factors. It should be pointed out that in this study, some important demographic variables, such as education, were not included because of a lack of conceptual equivalence, as explained in the next section. Another limitation concerns the samples analyzed in this study. Although four relatively diverse countries were studied, the findings can not be generalized to other countries with different cultural characteristics and levels of economic development. Future research avenues This research can be extended in many ways. As a first step, a non-directional hypothesis for country differences was presented. This was necessitated by the fact that this was the first study dealing with the investigation of cross-cultural variation in the perceived importance of ethics and social responsibility as determinants of organizational effectiveness. Future research should investigate the direction of expected differences. A comprehensive framework modeling antecedents and consequences of the perceived importance of ethics and social responsibility can be developed and tested. This will add another dimension to our understanding of ethical decision making. As pointed out earlier, one limitation of this study concerns its limited samples and, consequently, its limited generalizability. Therefore, there is a need to replicate this study using managerial samples from other countries with different cultural characteristics and/or levels of economic development. Given the complexity of the phenomenon under study, future research should investigate other determinants specified in marketing ethics models, such as moral philosophies, personal values, religion, professional environment, and organizational and industrial characteristics. Among demographic variables, education could be an important determinant but was not included because of a lack of conceptual equivalence. In cross-cultural research, conceptual equivalence in terms of the meaning of research concepts, stimuli, and materials must first be established before any meaningful comparisons are made (Malhotra et al. , 1996). In our study, the US sample is predominantly business-educated, which might not be the case with the other three samples. In addition to differences in the educational background of the managers, the lack of conceptual equivalence can also be attributed to: . The educational systems and curricula in the four countries being different. . Differences in the extent to which ethics is required to be emphasized in the curriculum content across different countries (for example, accredited business schools in the USA are required to incorporate business ethics into their curricula, and such requirements might exist to a greater or lesser degree in other countries). . Variation in the extent to which ethics is actually incorporated and emphasized in the curricula. Thus, it is not education per se, but the incorporation of ethics into educational curricula, the actual implementation, and its impact on the managers that is likely to influence their perceived importance of ethics and social responsibility. In the future, the cross-country differences in educational background of the respondents as well as the extent to which ethics is emphasized in education should be measured, and analyzed as a potential factor influencing a manager's perceived importance of ethics and social responsibility. Conclusion To summarize, this research investigated whether marketers from Australia, Malaysia, South Africa, and the USA differ in their beliefs regarding the importance of ethics and social responsibility as determinants of organizational effectiveness. The study was based on an alternative approach to studying perceptions about ethical issues and problems in business. Traditionally cross- How important are ethics? 149 European Journal of Marketing 35,1/2 150 cultural researchers have evaluated ethical perceptions, attitudes, and intentions with regard to specific business/marketing practices involving ethical problems. Here, we investigate differences in the perceived importance of ethics and social responsibility in relation to various aspects of organizational effectiveness such as quality, communication, profits, competitiveness, survival, efficiency, and stakeholder satisfaction. The results of this study are important because perceived importance of ethics and social responsibility has been shown to influence ethical intention, when managers are faced with an ethical situation (Singhapakdi, 1999). Results indicate that differences in the perceived importance of ethics and social responsibility among marketers from the four countries exist because of: . ountry differences in culture, economic development, and legal/political environment; . differences in organizational ethical climate; and . gender differences. There are not any differences due to age. Overall similarities and differences among the four countries emerged on specific dimensions of business effectiveness. On the dimensions of out put quality and competitiveness, there were no differences among the four countries. Inter-country differences were found on the dimensions of communication, efficiency, profits, survival, and stakeholder satisfaction. These findings regarding cross-cultural similarities and differences are useful in furthering our understanding and management of ethics and social responsibility in the international context. Notes 1. For subsequent analysis using LISREL, a sample size of 159 was judged adequate because it is close to the recommended level of ten observations for every parameter estimated (Haire et al. , 1998). 2. For the Australian and Malaysian sample, the non-response bias based on early and late respondents could not be assessed as this information (i. e. dates when the questionnaires were received) was not recorded at the time of data collection. . The similarity of factor structures of the seven-item scale for individual countries was assessed with confirmatory factor analysis. Fit measures for individual countries, including chi-square per degree of freedom (range 1. 87-3. 32), GFI (0. 94-0. 97), AGFI (0. 890. 95), and CFI (range 0. 91-0. 96), for the four countries were high. The reliability of the seven-item scale ranged from 0. 73-0. 76 for the four countries. 4. The five items in the corporate ethical values scale were: . Managers in my company often engage in behavior that I consider to be unethical. . In order to succeed in my company, if is often necessary to compromise one's ethics. Top management in my company has let it be known in no uncertain terms that unethical behaviors will not be tolerated. If a manager in my company is discovered to have engaged in unethical behavior that results in personal gain (rather than corporate gain), he/she will be promptly reprimanded. . If a manager in my company is discovered to have engaged in unethical behavior that results in corporate gain (rather than personal gain), he/she will be promptly reprimanded. 5. The similarity of factor structures of the five-item CEV scale for individual countries was assessed with confirmatory factor analysis. Fit measures for individual countries, including chi-square per degree of freedom (range 2. 00-35. 23), GFI (0. 88-0. 99), AGFI (0. 63-0. 99), and CFI (range 0. 74-0. 99), for the four countries were moderate. The reliability of the five-item scale ranged from 0. 69-0. 87 for the four countries. 6. Since a requirement of MANOVA is that the dependent variables be correlated, the appropriateness of the multivariate technique was tested by Bartlett's test of sphericity (Hair et al. 1998). The test (Bartlett's chi-square = 123. 7 with six degrees of freedom, p = 0. 001) indicated that MANOVA is appropriate for analyzing the data. . 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An Introduction To Social Work Practice Social Work Essay Essays

An Introduction To Social Work Practice Social Work Essay Essays An Introduction To Social Work Practice Social Work Essay Paper An Introduction To Social Work Practice Social Work Essay Paper You are working as a Social Worker in a Gateway Team. A referral is received from the PSNI that they attended an incident of domestic abuse the old Saturday eventide. The referral is being made because there are two kids in the family aged 4 old ages and 18 months. Discuss the Main Roles and Responsibilities of the Social Work profession, including Law and Policy, Service User perspectives, the Social Work procedure, and professional moralss and values. Social work involves working with some of the most vulnerable people who have been oppressed or disadvantaged in Society. The function of the Social Worker is to dispute these subjugations to assist service users help themselves. It is about advancing alteration, and is underpinned by Torahs, theories, policies and processs. Social Work as a profession has neer experienced so many alterations in policy and pattern ( Iwaniec and Hill 20099 ) Theory is far from benign and practicians need to guarantee that their apprehension of theory has non stopped, slowed or go misplaced ( Helm 2010 ) although they can non stand for an absolute truth they can assist understand, explicate and convey approximately alteration. ( Howe 1990 ) For the intent of this assignment the premise is that this is a heterosexual married twosome where the hubby is perpetrating domestic force against his married woman. The Gateway squad is the first point of contact when kids are involved, when the referral is made, their input ; although may be short term has a important impact in guaranting the safety of the kids. It is their responsibility to look into, the Social Worker must see this household within twenty four hours or the grounds why this can non be achieved must be clearly recorded ( Crippling, 2003, Recommendation 53 ) It is the Social Workers responsibility to do contact with this household every bit shortly as possible. It may be good to look at the four chief parts of the assisting rhythm which are Assessment, Care Planning, Implementation and Review. ( Taylor and Devine 1993 ) Although Gateway does nt be given to put to death attention programs, except perchance on a short term footing, this rhythm can supply a house foundation for the Social Work procedure. On reception of this referral the Social Work procedure Begins, Social work is neer mechanistic or predictable and any brush is seen as alone, Social Workers need to be decently prepared to guarantee effectual pattern. One of the most of import methods of readying for Social workers is that of Tuning in which should get down when the referral has been received. Shulman ( 1992 ) has described this as affecting attempt from the workers to acquire in touch with possible feelings and concerns the Service User may convey to the assisting brush. This should assist the Social Worker prepare for set abouting the referral with a more nonsubjective attack ; they may fit themselves with information to be provided as a agency of authorising the household such as bureaus they can link with. Social work has been described as a practical moral activity. ( Parrott 2010 3 ) Before go toing any referral it is of import the Social Worker takes into account their ain values, we all have a set of beliefs that influence our actions they relate to what we believe others should make or what we should be making ( Parrott 2010 ) Valuess are influenced by things such as civilization, household, and life experience. As a Social Work practician there is a professional set of values that must be reflected in pattern. It is of import to be cognizant of our ain values and understand that there will be occasions when our personal and professional values will conflict. The Cornerstone of a high quality appraisal is a sound value base, which challenges subjugation and respects single s rights. Middleton ( 1997 ) believes the procedure of appraisal is steadfastly rooted in the context of Social Work values and single difference is cardinal if the procedure is non traveling to disempower the person. Several possible booby traps in doing opinion are identified by Milner and OByrne ( 2009 ) such as, pigeonholing, labelling people and imputing certain features to people because how we perceive they are likely to act, as a Social Worker it is of import to be able to recognize these ruins and seek to avoid them, to guarantee effectual pattern. Our values and positions of childhood can play a portion in the appraisal procedure. ( Helm 2010162 ) Due to the possible hazard to the kids it may be hard to experience regard for the male parent ; he is allegedly transporting out domestic force in the household place, seting both his married woman and kids at hazard from injury. It is of import as a Social Worker to be clear that, although the actions may non be respected it is a professional responsibility to esteem the individuals as an person in their ain right. Recognizing possible value struggles can lend to effectual pattern. Milner and Byrne ( 2009 ) argue appraisal is a cardinal undertaking in societal work pattern. It is an on-going procedure affecting Service User engagement, with the intent of understanding people in relation to their environment. ( Coulshed and Orme, 2006 ) Assessment demands the ability to organize, systemise and rationalise cognition gathered, the Social Worker needs to be sensitive and show the ability to value the singularity of each person assessed. ( Parker and Bradley 200716 ) . Practitioners require the accomplishment and finding to happen methods of communicating to show their competency. ( Thomas and OKane 2000819 ) One of the most controversial and complex countries of Social Work is the appraisal of a kid and their household when there are concerns about the public assistance of the kid. ( Holland 2004 ) So it is of import that all cognition is kept up to day of the month. It is of import that the appraisal ensures full engagement of the household and any important others, portraying regard and consideration, working in partnership with the household will be good. The Social Worker needs to be unfastened and honest and give the household a clear apprehension of the appraisal procedure and their functions within it. In this peculiar instance the exchange theoretical account could be applied, where it is seen that the service user is their ain best expert, the interview should be collaborative, the household will cognize what jobs they are confronting, they will be able to supply their positions on what is go oning. Part of the appraisal procedure would be to garner information, through observation, oppugning and the interview procedure. The Social Worker will necessitate to be cognizant what they are looking to happen out and make up ones mind who they need to talk with, the parents, the kids and any important other that could supply an penetration into the household scene. As Part of the tuning in procedure it is of import that the Social Worker works in partnership with other bureaus as this might assist to acquire a clearer apprehension of the state of affairs, they must intercede with the constabulary as they were the 1s that made the referral and it may besides be good to talk to the household s GP and the wellness visitant, as there is an eighteenth month old kid in the house the wellness visitant may hold made regular visits and could give a good penetration into the household and the kids s development. Observation is a critical component of appraisal ( Holland 2004 ) Detecting the household is a major portion of the appraisal procedure, visualizing how they interact with each-other and how the kids interact with both parents, it is of import to look for marks of break and perchance fear on the portion of the kids. Observation can let the practician to see how the kids s day-to-day life expressions like with peculiar mention to emotional maltreatment and disregard ( Helm 2010 ) as both kids are still immature the usage of observation with mention to the fond regard theory could supply critical information as the fond regard theory focuses on how the kids interact with their parents. The kid s development can be affected by deficiency of fond regard with parents. ( Hirschy and Wilkinson 2009 ) What is being said and what is being done may non be easy to picture, the usage of observation allows the practician to formalize what is being said or it may supply contradictory grounds that needs to be addressed. ( Helm 201057 ) Another important country of the appraisal is the interview procedure. The parents, the kids and any important others, will necessitate to be interviewed in relation to this instance, to supply a holistic position of what is go oning and the consequence it may be holding on the kids. Interviewing others outside the household may do controvsersy with the parents as the Human Rights act ( 1998 ) states people have the right to a private and household life, ( www.legislation.gov.uk ) if there is a possibility the kids are at hazard all avenues need to be assessed. When questioning the parents it is of import that their rights are promoted. Questions need to be suitably structured to guarantee that the household are non oppressed in anyhow. Ethical motives are an of import portion of Social Work ( Banks 2006 ) Harmonizing to the Northern Ireland Social Care Council ( NISCC www.niscc.info ) Social Workers should advance the independency of the Service Users while seeking to guarantee that their behavior does non harm themselves or other people. It is of import to see the female parents position of the state of affairs, although the intent of the Gateway squad is chiefly to look after the public assistance of the kid, they must besides be cognizant of the subjugation being faced by the other members in the household and advance their rights. As the female parent is enduring from domestic force, it may be good to supply her with advice and with information on Women s assistance who provide support for anyone who suffers from domestic force ; it may assist to authorise her and give her a sense of ego finding. She may non wish to go forth for several grounds but she should be cognizant that it is non merely her that is enduring, her kids are every bit good. OLoughlin and OLoughlin ( 2008 ) believe that some female parents sing domestic force may emotionally distance themselves from their kids, ensuing in emotional disregard. Information on certain Torahs could be provided ; one chief order would be The Family Homes and Domestic Violence ( NI ) Order ( 1998 ) which includes two orders, the non-molestation order and the business order. It is utile to supply the household with this information because if the job still persists this jurisprudence gives the authorization for the maltreater to be removed from the place where kids are involved. ( White 2007 ) Supplying this information can authorise the female parent. Women s Aid believes all signifiers of domestic force come from the maltreater s desire for power and control over household members or intimate spouses. ( www.womensaid.org.uk ) . When questioning the male parent it is important the practician is non-judgemental and shows regard, he may see himself as the dominant figure in the household, the thought of male patriarchate may play a portion here therefore it may turn out valuable speaking with the male parent to give advice and supply information on possible choler direction classes that he could go to, which may be of benefit to him and his household. When transporting out appraisal with Children the Social Worker with utilize UNOCINI, which provides the model for measuring and supplying services to kids and their households, by guaranting seasonably high quality appraisals with a focal point on accomplishing good results for kids. It is of import to explicate to the household the intent of UNOCINI. Using the UNOCINI model provides the Social Worker with in-depth cognition of the fortunes at manus and can help the Social Workers function of protagonism, stand foring the positions of the kids. It can assist the Social Worker assess countries such as the kids s development, the household relationships, emotional heat and instruction and acquisition. UNOCINI emphasises the importance of multidisciplinary parts to the holistic appraisal of the kid s demands ( Boginsky 2008 ) such as work with GP and wellness visitant and equal degrees of communicating between Social Work squads and can supply grounds of the degree of aid required. The chief intent of the appraisal is to place possible risked posed to the kids. The Children s ( NI ) Order 1995 is put in topographic point to protect the kid. When measuring a instance like this it is highly of import to understand the Torahs that are important, as Social Work Torahs unpin pattern. The Paramouncy Principle provinces that when a kid s upbringing is being considered, the kid s public assistance will be the paramount consideration. ( White 2007 ) The Social Worker is required to work with and on behalf of the service users. When questioning the kids it is of import that the Social Worker uses appropriate linguistic communication that the kids understand, explain to them why your there and what the state of affairs is. The Children s ( NI ) order ( 1995 ) which states children should be kept informed. ( www.dsspsni.gov.uk ) it is the duty of the Social Worker to guarantee that both the kid s public assistance is protected and their voice is heard. ( Brandon et al 1998 ) The demands of the kids must be recognised. Peoples First NI ( 1995 ) believes that needs led appraisals are the basis of community attention. Children have rights and needs merely similar grownups, to hold their positions and experiencing heard and to be treated with regard they need to be able to speak to grownups they trust. ( Brandon et al 1998 ) By inquiring kids to pass on in ways that suit grownups, such as speaking, reading and authorship, we play to a dult competences and non to those of kids. ( Helm 2010170 ) Social Workers need to be accountable for the quality of their work and should systematically be keeping and bettering their accomplishments ( NISCC www.niscc.info ) In order to guarantee effectual communicating the Social Worker must seek to construct a resonance with the kids ; this could be done through seeking to prosecute their attending, to assist develop a relationship that will assist the Social Worker to larn from the kid. There are possible ways this can be done ; the usage of a basic kit bag may turn out good, incorporating points such as drama people, soft animate beings or soft balls. ( Brandon et al 1998 ) It is critical to seek to understand what is go oning from the kids s positions to assist measure the degree of hazard they face ; kids need to be listened excessively. Domestic force can hold a immense impact on kids of all ages, age can act upon the manner in which kids make sense of their experiences and how they demonstrate certain anxiousnesss. The kids in this household are an baby and a kid of preschool age. Oloughlin and Oloughlin ( 2008 ) believe in state of affairss of domestic force an baby s demands may non be met, such as personal hygiene, cognitive development may be delayed through inconsistent disregard, and they become insecurely affiliated which could set the baby at hazard. Younger kids do non hold the ability to show themselves verbally and research has shown that kids of preschool age tend to be the group to show the most behavioral perturbations ( Hughes 1988 ; Cited by Humphreys and Stanley 2006 20 ) they may go withdrawn and show hapless concentration, which may perchance be identified through observation of the kids. The Social Worker is required to transport out a hazard appraisal in relation to the kids. As this is an alleged instance of domestic force the kids may be at hazard. Brearley s theoretical account of hazard appraisal is a good focal point point as it can assist find the degree of hazard. The four phases of Brearley s theoretical account are predisposing jeopardies ; situational jeopardies ; dangers and strengths, making so may assist inform the Social Worker of the degree of support the household require. Safeguarding the kid is indispensable so it is imperative that a elaborate, good informed appraisal is completed. It is critical to bring out what the kids have seen or heard and if they have of all time been abused themselves, due to the age of the younger kid this may be hard to determine. However the affair with the wellness visitant could supply more information on the kids s well-being and besides their phases of development. Bronfenbrenner s ( 1979 ) theory of ecological development would be a good theory to be cognizant of when detecting the kids. This theory looks at a kid s development within the context of the system of relationships that form his or her environment. He believes that if the relationships in the place interruption down, the kid will non hold the tools to research other parts of their environment. ( Crawford and Walker 2010 ) All kids witnessing domestic force are being emotionally abused ( Women s Aid ) and may be at hazard of injury. Harm is defined in the Children Order as ill-treatment or the damage of wellness or development and from the above statements we can see inauspicious consequence that domestic force within the place can hold on kids. ( Probation Board for Northern Ireland 2006 ) Throughout the appraisal it is critical that the involvements of the kid are ever at the head. Frequent exposure to domestic force can predispose kids to societal, emotional and physical jobs and through this they may larn unhealthy ways of showing choler learning them that it is okay to hit others and to acquire away with it. ( Newman and Newman 20084 ) When the appraisal is completed the Social Worker must enter all inside informations accurately. The practician needs to be unfastened and honest with the household about the information and findings. Review and rating is cardinal to good pattern ( Parker and Bradley 2007 ) The Social Worker must reexamine their appraisal to find the degree of support and protection the kids and the household require. Reflection is required so the Social Worker can find if their pattern could be improved and if they have carried out the appraisal in the best involvements of the kids and the household. If Care planning is required, it is of import that a program is constructed that meets the demands of the household and precautions the well being of the kids. If the appraisal high spots that the kids are in demand ; in concurrence with Hardikers thresholds of intercession, it is possible for the gateway squad to set in a short term program which would put purposes and aims within the household ; to back up them with partnership from other bureaus involved. Gateway merely work on short term footing, if this household necessitate more support a referral will be made to the household intercession squad so they can supply the appropriate support to enable the household to remain together where possible. However if it is a kid protection nature, a instance conference may be required to make up ones mind if the kids should be placed on the kid protection registry. Information should be passed within an appropriate timescale to guarantee that the demands of the household are decently met. Communication between the bureaus is critical to guarantee the correct attention is provided. The Children s ( NI ) Order ( 1995 ) highlight that Parents with kids in demand should be helped to convey up their kids themselves and such aid should be provided in partnership with parents. ( www.dhsspsni.gov.uk ) A societal worker being present at an of import point in another individual s life can do a large difference. ( Parker and Bradley 200790 ) . Although the household can be a beginning of danger to a kid, back uping the household in most instances can be the most productive manner to protect the kid. ( Brandon et al 1998 ) The rules associated with the statute law require practicians to work in partnership with kids and households, ( Helm 2010 ) to heighten the well being of the kids. The cardinal facets of Social Work are the practicians intercessions orientated towards heightening kids s well-being ; guaranting that they grow up in healthy and safe environments ; and developing their full potency. ( Dominelli 200925 ) Owen and Pritchard ( 1993 ) high spot, it is of import that the rights of the parents, the kid and the legal system are balanced and the function of professionals in protecting the rights of kids will be promoted if we actively listen to the voices of kids and take their ideas into consideration when doing determinations can move in the best involvements of the kid. Social Work is complex and diverse and the functions and undertakings allotted to it are every bit varied. ( Parker and Bradley 2007117 ) One of import point to retrieve is that every instance is alone ; everyone should be treated with regard as an person, Social Workers should hold the cognition to cover with the different demands of different state of affairss to guarantee efficient, effectual pattern.