Social Media and Web 2.0 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Social Media and Web 2.0 - Assignment Example I haven’t tried using Google plus principally because most of my friends have also not made the shift to that sites. Google plus has slim chances if any in competing with Facebook due to a number of reasons. The key reason is that its orientation is not aimed at social networking customers but business sector customers (Risen, 2014, Bosker, 2011). In terms of numbers, this means that fewer visits are made to the site compared to Facebook translating to lower revenues. Charlotte Fire Department fired Crystal Eschert over comments she made on her Facebook page which were deemed to be against the company’s policy of treating all people with dignity and respect. In According to Worf (2014), Chrystal Eschert was incensed by reports that the handling of Michael Brown killing was in fact making the white police officer the victim. I think the termination was not justified because she had not identified herself as the department’s employees in her Facebook account. Besides, the action was taken after a complaint by only one person who wrote to the company to complain. The company could have prevented this from happening ha it had in place a clear social media policy indicating the dos and don’ts. In this instance, Eschert was operating in a grey area. The article can be found in the link below: Highlights First Amendment Debate. American Renaissance. Retrieved December 24, 2014 from

Letter of explanation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Letter of explanation - Essay Example Coming from a family with such strong feelings about learning about languages, my chosen ESOL classes encompassed aspects related to reading, writing, grammar and speech. These classes were attended from basic to advanced levels to achieve a good command over the language. The field of study that has always attained my attention is business administration. I have always found myself inclined towards the study of interesting modes and processes of businesses that make only few of them different than the rest. This interest has evolved into a dream of acquiring a bachelor degree in the field of business administration. Upon my arrival in this country, I was aware of the fact that I would not be able to fulfill my dream of attaining the above stated degree in the absence of fluency in English. Therefore, the fulfillment of my dream to have a bachelor degree also provoked me to attend multiple ESOL classes in the beginning of my college career. After attending ESOL classes, I have sensed a great difference in my academic performance since I am able to comprehend the on-going lectures and class discussions in a better manner. My questions do not remain unanswered since I can frame my queries in a correct manner. Class discussions have gotten more interesting and make me learn many things that cannot be comprehended in isolation. I believe that my time spent in ESOL classes have proved to be an important factor in helping me attain good academic results and experience of a productive college career. Learning a new language does not only facilitate the effective acquisition of education in another country, it also helps the individual in mingling with the prevailing culture and norms of the society. Fluency in the language of the region tends to remove the communication barriers and helps in getting one comfortable with his new surroundings. This kind of psychological aspect has also been facilitated from

Knowledge of An Organisation Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Knowledge of An Organisation - Research Proposal Example nt position in this as they are the real â€Å"knowledge producers† and hence any new knowledge that a company looks for is produced courtesy through these people. (Rocca, 1992) Competitive success is basically commanded by the companys capability to harness and indeed develop new forms of knowledge, gained either by observation or by experience attained, which can be called as assets that in turn create the required â€Å"core competencies† of the said organization. While these competencies do exist in many forms, learning on the part of a particular company plays a pivotal role, which eventually ventures into other resources of knowledge to generate high-class and exceptional showing from the company’s employees. (Dunn, 2001) Core competencies, which usually flow out of a company, provide characteristic benefits to both the customers as well as any other individuals attached with it. These are generally espied as being the foundation of forming a competitive advantage within the said company. It is quite true that there is a host of ways in which new knowledge within a company is facilitated within its ranks. The need here is to classify the m with respect to their importance, which include the cultural infrastructure can be changed within a company so as to gather some proportion to the fact of the actual remains that have to be taken care of in the company and in its employees’ minds. It demands idealization and disclosure of everlasting knowledge that is created over a certain period of time. This usually requires basic changes to already set cultural notions in companies and more so in the minds of their employees. (Fahy, 1996) Also operational infrastructure is changed through human resources organizational practices that are managed and received by the employees and other people in a different way altogether. A basic revamp of a knowledge-centered company is required here, which would involve the job ladders, compensations, work locales and command and

(When I saw a lady in a ballgown....I was frankly terrified.... and I Essay

(When I saw a lady in a ballgown....I was frankly terrified.... and I wanted to call a policeman) Are woman represented as the agents or the victims of sexual - Essay Example (eNotes, 2009.) Leo Tolstoy was born at Yasnaya Polyana, in Tula Province. He was the fourth in five children. His parents died when he was a child, and he was brought up by relatives. In 1844 Tolstoy started his studies of law and oriental languages at Kazan University, but he never took a degree. Dissatisfied with the standard of education, he returned in the middle of his studies back to Yasnaya Polyana, and then spent much of his time in Moscow and St. Petersburg. In 1847 Tolstoy was treated for venereal disease. After contracting heavy gambling debts, Tolstoy accompanied in 1851 his elder brother Nikolay to the Caucasus, and joined an artillery regiment. In the 1850s Tolstoy also began his literary career. The title of Count had been conferred on his ancestor in the early 18th century by Peter the Great. The Kreutzer Sonata is a tale of sexual obsession and jealousy. A provincial businessman (Posdnicheff) becomes obsessed with his wifes relationship with a violinist, with whom she plays duos. The climax of his jealousy comes during a performance by his wife and her violinist partner of Beethovens Violin Sonata no.9 in A major, known as the Kreutzer sonata, after which Posdnicheff murders his wife. The idea for The Kreutzer Sonata was given to Tolstoy by the actor V.N. Andreev-Burlak during his visit at Yasnaya Polyana in June 1887. In the spring of 1888 an amateur performance of Beethovens Kreutzer Sonata took place in Tolstoys home and it made the author return to an idea he had had in the 1860s. The novel is written in the form of a frame-story and set on a train. The conversations among the passengers develop into a discussion of the institution of marriage. Posdnicheff, the chief character, tells of his youth and his subsequent remorse and self-disgust. Posdnicheff believes that his wife is having an affair with a musician and he tries to strangle her, and then

INTERCULTURAL Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

INTERCULTURAL - Essay Example on the positive altitude of her friends and parents, where they did not allow the intimidation of the civil rights movement to inflict fear on their children, rice was trained to remain positive in every aspect of live (The right scoop, 2010). During her interview with Kate Couric, Rice sounds positive concerning their hard task of facing their two enemies that threatened their national security. She accepts the fact that both Iraq and North Korea were dangerous in their own way but she assured her that they were going to deal with both of them separately (Schneider, 2010). The parents to Condoleezza tried their best to protect their little gal from the areas that would bring her face to face with discrimination, but though she was young, she was so much responsive to the civil rights struggle and the concerns that pertained to Birmingham. She is also seen to be actively involved in settling the disputes that existed between U.S and North Korea together with Iran. As witnessed in her childhood experiences, it is clear that Rice was an intelligent child, where her intelligence is also exhibited in the manner she handles the insecurity concerns brought about by North Korea and Iran. She believes in negotiations between rivalry communities, and dialogue with your own enemies (Schneider, 2010). After being asked by Kate on whether her government has ever taken the initiative to conduct negotiations with their enemies, she says that, they have made an effort to engage North Korea in the framework of six party talks. Having grew in a terrorism atmosphere, Rice in her interview with Kate is seen to revolve around the aspect of maintaining peace with his rivalry communities, where she is even going to the extent of involving the neighbouring communities to assist the US in convincing the North Korea and Iran to abandon their intentions of embarking on using weapons of mass destruction (The right scoop, 2010). Having seen what rivalry could bring during her early days of

Differences Between Capitalism and Socialism Assignment

Differences Between Capitalism and Socialism - Assignment Example Remarkable progress was achieved in the fields of infrastructure development and industrialization and the capitalist maximized their profits, but the state of affairs of the labor class of the society remained the same. As the standard of living of the elite class and the capitalists increased with the increased productivity, the disparity and discrepancy between different social classes went on to increase and the lower classes started to protest about their miserable status of living. This led to the development of another socioeconomic ideology which was later called socialism. Socialist thinkers such as Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels declared that state is responsible for safeguarding the basic rights of each and every individual of the society and the ultimate objective of the states should be to provide better services all the classes of the society, irrespective of their financial status (Balcerowicz, 1995). Capitalism Capitalism is a system of economics in which the producti on and the distribution is the ownership of individuals or corporations and the development is proportional to the accumulation and the reinvestment of the profits generated in a free market economy. In simple words the person or the group of persons who have invested its capital, and thus put their money on risk, are entitled to enjoy absolute authority over production and distribution and also the profits generated through the investment of capital. The industrial revolution compelled a considerable number of people living in rural areas to move to the cities in order to enjoy the advantages of industrial revolution. This led to the concept of buying the services of people in return of wages and thus a working class was created in the society, but in contrast to the aspirations of the common people, the working class could not improve their working conditions because they were considered as a means of maximizing profit by the capitalists and were exploited bitterly (Davis & Scase, 1987). The pioneers of capitalism advocate increase in productivity as the greatest advantage of this economic system which results in the economic growth of the society and thus the living standard of each and every individual is improved because resources are utilized to their fullest. Moreover the competition in a free market economy improves the quality of the product which is being produced. However, in the early days with the absence of labor laws and human rights protection agencies capitalism resulted in the exploitation of the labor class by the elite and the promises of better living conditions and improved quality could not be realized. The desire of the capitalists to maximize profits makes the economy money-oriented which promotes a materialistic approach of running the economy. This approach made capitalism very unpopular among the lower classes of the society in the 19th and 20th centuries and thus the new systems of economics like socialism and communism were adopte d as new social ideologies. During the later part of the 20th century, labor laws were formulated and made strong and human rights charters were adopted which greatly improved the state of affairs of the working class in capitalism. The development of these laws and some other laws related to trade and free market economy has helped capitalism to emerge as the strongest and the most-practiced system of economy and a new

The Proliferation of Corruption through Transnational Crime Essay Example for Free

The Proliferation of Corruption through Transnational Crime Essay The international struggle against terrorism has caused policy analysts globally to review the repercussions of such policies on the preponderance of corruption. Corruption has been acknowledged as a perennial, global phenomenon; however, it is only in contemporary times that the gravity of its impact on peace and security have been scrutinized (Thachuk, 2005). Transnational organized crime groups have effectively corrupted those in authority to â€Å"selling their sovereignty so as to create states of convenience from which to conduct international operations.† Thus, in carrying this our, they have caused grave disturbance of financial market movements, destructions of aspiring democratic governments and have engaged in callous practices just to achieve their villainous ends (Beare, 1997). The Transparency International Newsletter has stated that these global perpetrators have established implicit agreements with corrupt government officials who virtually steal from their own citizens. The vastness and profundity of the corruption of transnational crime groups ceases to just being bothersome for commerce; nor is it a simple mechanism for fast tracking requests from government authority, or of being a financier for elections. This global problem represents a significant threat to state sovereignty, destroying both local and global transactions. Of more crucial importance is the fact that official corruption of transnational crime groups â€Å"threaten international stability and security with relative impunity† (Transparency International Newsletter, 2001 in Thachuk, 2005). Acknowledging the grave nature of the use of official corruption, this paper proceeds with the following objectives: 1) In the context of the relationship between officialdom and transnational organized crime groups what is a satisfactory definition of official corruption that suits the purposes of research into what corrupt practices actually facilitate the activities of such groups; 2) identify which branches or units of government are most susceptible to corruption in this context (for example: police, customs, immigration departments) and why; and 3) through an extensive review of related literature, cite concrete examples from a global scale of the corrupt practices that facilitate the activities of organized crime groups. International Response to Organized Crime and Corruption International operations such as the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) have provided a means for scrutinizing various aspects of organized crime regulation through the study of specific factors in organized crime operations like money laundering. By ensuring that such processes are carried out while still respecting the sovereignty of involved countries, the knowledge regarding organized crime has immensely benefited (Beare, 1997). At present, most international efforts against organized crime have highlighted the importance of examining organized crime with respect to the location of its operations. Illegal markets initiate the proliferation of criminal activities. These are influenced by the presence of risk factors as well as the level of demand. The current approach being utilized is a joint international effort, instead of the traditional ranking systems (Beare, 1997; Thachuk, 2005). This collaborative method which is a recent development differs widely from the other approaches being utilized for the reduction of corruption. Similar to the 1960’s view on organized crime, the dominant outlook is that corruption is a threat located in foreign shores which can be remedied by identifying those nations which are the top violators (Transparency International Global Report, 2001). With such a set-up, people may fail to see that some corrupt and legitimate practices may be inextricably intertwined. Also the nature of corruption from this viewpoint would be explained without the needed historical, political and social contexts. Lastly, such an approach works on an assumption that there is a uniform definition of corruption, which may not be the same across boundaries (Transparency International Global Report, 2001). â€Å"Corruption† is currently being viewed as if its definition was the same across nations. In a similar sense, â€Å"organized crime† had previously been used as an umbrella term for all types of criminal activities. However, the issue of corruption across different jurisdictions would inevitably involve encountering different definitions and other factors. Although the usual analyses of corruption would readily acknowledge historical factors behind the development of corrupt behavior, they would still fail in recognizing that the definition of corruption varies from place to place. Some forms of behavior may be more widely accepted as corrupt when compared to others depending on the locality. Four arbitrary categories from a western perspective may be used to demonstrate the wide scope of this concept (Beare, 1997): Bribes/kick-backs. Payments are demanded or expected in return for being allowed to do legitimate business. The payment becomes the license to do business. Those who make the payments are allowed to compete or to win contracts; Election/Campaign Corruption. Illegal payments are made at the time of elections to secure continuing influence; Protection. Officials accept payments (or privilege) from criminal organizations in exchange for permitted them to engage in illegitimate businesses; Systemic top-down corruption. A nations wealth is systematically syphoned off or exploited by the ruling elites (Beare, 1997, p. 157). The aforementioned categories are neither complete nor exclusionary. They are only listed for the purpose of comparing the differences between the ill effects arising from each. Bribes or Kick-backs Bribes or kick-backs are the small or large payments which are made to facilitate the acquisition of permits, licenses and contracts. Businesses which are legal participate in this transaction in order to hasten processes or to gain an advantage over other competitors. According to Ernesto Savona (1995), being â€Å"sly† (furbo) in this case utilizing bribery would mean that a person is simply taking advantage of opportunities. However, this should still be within acceptable limits, as those charged and eventually convicted with corruption in Italy had exceeded the acceptable boundaries (Savona, 1995). There seems to be a culture of acceptance in some areas such as Latin America, where individuals in power are still expected to patronize and support people with whom they have relationships with such as their family and party (Savona, 1995). This can be seen with police demand â€Å"bites† (mordidas) instead of issuing tickets for violations, undisclosed donations being accepted by political parties, bidding for out-of-court â€Å"settlements† and the use of â€Å"speed money† to steer clear of bureaucracy (Savona, 1995). Although a uniform definition is yet to be agreed upon for this form of corruption, it nevertheless receives the most media attention. The past few years have seen how countries are openly ranked in this form of corruption based on their â€Å"reputation† in engaging in this sort of act. One organization engaging in the elimination of corruption in business practices is Transparency International (TI) (e.g. Hong Kong Independent Commission Against Corruption sponsored 1983 in Wash. DC., 1985 NY City, 1987 Hong Kong, 1989 Sydney Australia, 1992 Amsterdam, the Netherlands, 1993 Cancun Mexico, 1995 Beijing, China). This organization had sponsored several surveys which rated the â€Å"perceived level† of corruption in different countries. The 1995 TI Corruption Index tried to assess just how much corruption has affected businesses. In a similar study, Huberts (1996) interviewed delegates from different countries regarding public corruption, service and ethics. He goes on to say how his study is not well received among academicians, but aside from the sensitive nature of the data, this reception of the study may simply be due to the wide range or types of corruption. These surveys are limited to the fact that they may very well just be measuring corruption in its most blatant forms (Criminal Justice International, 1996; Companies and their Consciences, 1996). Election Corruption Providing the needed funding as well as â€Å"other forms† of support during the election period is part of this form of corruption. This is accomplished to obtain needed â€Å"influence†.   Even with international observers, many voters in countries such as Thailand and India continue to expect that their votes would be bought. Corruption continues to be an issue even after elections as the heads of state of Venezuela, Brazil, Spain and Italy serve as specific cases (Beare, 1997; Wright, 1997). In the United States, the issue of campaign costs which can run up to the hundreds of millions of dollars for candidates cannot be overlooked. MacArthur (1997) did not want to place the blame solely on the backers and businessmen alone. He cited how politicians would tend to sell different items such including an intangible commodity called â€Å"access†, which is occasionally translate to a vote for a certain bill (MacArthur, 1997). The public was exposed to stories which involved White House bedrooms being rented out for sleepovers and of Clinton being associated with Indonesian campaign funds. The purchasing of â€Å"access† and influence in political Action Committees was also readily seen. MacArthur (1997) continues to say that a candidate clamoring for reforms backed by three billionaires is no more bought than a party hack that has spent his career in obtaining money from millionaires in several occasions. Sometimes, cultural factors may affect how society would react to this form of corruption. Savona (1995) cited how a focus on corruption enabled Italy to discredit or oust old ruling class and expedited the change towards a new political system. He continued to state his fear on how new corrupters could be produced who would be able to escape the eyes of law enforcers, having learned their lesson from those who had been caught earlier. Those politicians who appear to be greatly opposed towards corruption in Latin America at times may very well have been the primary violators themselves.   The Wall Street Journal (1996) continues by citing a particular news-weekly which stated how everyone is â€Å"an accuser and accused†. Protection Another type of corruption involves allowing criminal acts to pervade in exchange for money, which is an activity aided by the presence of corrupt officials. Activities which involve the importation and exportation of goods such as drug trafficking and smuggling operations as well as illegal gambling are some probable activities (Beare, 1997). Aside from an environment provided by government which may be conducive, organized crime continues to persist because of corrupt relations existing between violators and regulatory or enforcement agencies. Through the use of violent and intimidating acts, criminal organizations may be able to influence any dispute settlement activities that are raised to control agencies. Thus, these very control agencies may be the same ones allowing the criminal operations (MacArthur, 1997). Within formerly communist and dictator-led countries, newly-granted freedoms have resulted in varying forms of social disorganization. The existence of illegal activities such as black markets under former regimes coupled with new freedoms has ensured that corruption would be rampant (MacArthur, 1997).  Ã‚  Ã‚   New laws and regulations may have the same effect as changes in government and political alignments. Approximately 800 million pounds was lost through fraudulent means in the 1996 European Union budget. Some transnational operations involve complicit government officials. Various opportunities for corruption are presented during the determination of when taxes are applicable and reimbursable. Corruption has also been traced in countries receiving aid for their transition governments or which has experienced an environmental disaster (Leiken, 1996). One case has at its center two professors from Harvard embezzling a government funds amounting to 57 million dollars for a project in Russia. One journalist stated: â€Å"The case is certain to run and run, doubtless spawning lawsuits as it goes. But for the Russians it is, at the very least, a reminder that all is not always as rosy as it sounds either in the cradle of democracy or in the stratosphere of its academia† (Harvard Caught Up in Moscow Row, 1997). Another incident in 1996 involved the arrest of a United States immigration agent by Hong Kongs Independent Commission Against Corruption. The very same agent who had cracked down on smuggling operations realized that the profits to be made were too tempting. By negotiating with various Honduran and Hong Kong officials, he was able to organize a smuggling operation for himself (Beare, 1997). Corrupt individuals may also be found in the implementation of environmental laws. Bonanno and Constance (1996) have cited how corporations, specifically those involved in the tuna-dolphin issue, are constantly in search of countries with more lenient environmental laws as well as cheaper labor and taxes. They had delved on how purse-seine tuna fishing yielded greater catches of tuna while also capturing dolphins at the same time. Prohibitions were implemented by the United States against this particular from of fishing (Bonanno Constance, 1996). Some strategies which have been employed by corporations involve changing the flags of fishing boats into those of foreign nations as well as the shipment of tuna from third-party countries. In a similar case, there is believed to be an underground garlic smuggling operation resulting from the protective tariffs on garlic in the state of California. Corrupt officials have become the beneficiaries of these illegal activities (Myers in Beare, 1997). Corruption in the ranks of police officials has also been an issue of concern for many countries such as Canada. Although these cases may be uncommon, police corruption cases tend to be highly-publicized (Myers in Beare, 1997). One possible explanation could be the development of legislation which benefits those individuals participating in money laundering investigations and sting operations. Coupled with the confiscation of huge volumes of money and drugs, the police can become especially prone to taking part in corruption (Mollen Commission Report, 1994). Different places have earned their own notorious reputations for corruption in their respective police organizations. However, the task of making approximate comparisons regarding the corruption among these different areas would prove to be seemingly impossible. This is because corruption that has not yet been caught or identified in some districts would never be accounted for (Mollen Commission Report, 1994). Systemic Corruption In 1992, an ironic sequence of events had unfolded in Brazil starting from the impeachment of then President Fernando Collor de Mello for graft and influence peddling after he had won the election through an anti-corruption platform. Following this, many of those who had accused him in Congress were also charged with embezzlement involving the committees which they had headed. A poll in 1993 had cited corruption and a weak government as the reason behind the dwindling support for democracy (Beare, 1997). This systemic category of corruption has been the most highly publicized and is characterized by the vulnerability of the whole society to different forms of corruption. At times this may even involve the illegal transfer of wealth from the country to its leadership. An illegal activity of this nature would usually be accomplished over a lengthy period of time before the voluntary exit or forced ouster of the leader. Corruption of this type is a combination of the first three types of corruption and usually implicates the elite (Beare, 1997). Countering Corruption Following the September 11, 2001 terrorism attack in New York and Washington, the chief of Interpol, Ronald Noble (2001) expressed that the struggle to combat terrorism cannot be won over through the military’s efforts alone. He further cites, [the most sophisticated security systems, the best structures, or trained and dedicated security personnel are useless, if they are undermined from the inside by a single act of corruption (Noble, 2001). The fight against transnational crime groups’ corrupt and terroristic activities is effectively staged through the democracy strongly practiced within the states they use.   While this is being said, many of the states involved are experiencing the grave repercussions of corruption by transnational crime groups. An outcome is more stringent efforts towards its resolution, including conferences, agreements and pledges made by global and regional entities collaborating to solve the issue (Noble, 2001). The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have established a partnership aiming to control if not totally eradicate bribery, especially among foreign officers. These parties concur that by addressing corruption as a mere crime may not adequate; it may be more practical to delve into the root causes of the problem and its role in the promotion of transnational crime.   Other entities which have pledged their commitment in combating corruption is the African Union and the Organization of American States (Introductory Proceedings ADB/OECD Conference on Combating Corruption in Asian and Pacific Economies, 1999).   An overarching strategy for the encouragement of effective governance is by implementing â€Å"structural, legal, and administrative† foolproof policy changes that will discourage corrupt activities among citizens as well as those in authority. In addition, being able to develop a country economically and strengthening its institutions will weaken the hold of transnational crime groups over these nations. Other measures to counter corruption practices is to beef up the military and security agencies of the country. For instance, the provision of financial assistance of the International Monetary Fund of the World Bank partly anchors its lending decision to the country’s initiatives to counter corruption. They have put exceptional premium on the practice of effective governance spelled out in terms of fiscal responsibility and the honesty and morality with which they undertake their transactions within the government, as attested to by the statutes stated in the IMF Code of Good Practices on Fiscal Transparency (2001). The IMF Code of Good Practices on Fiscal Transparency (2001) specifies goals for principles and practices, culled from the IMP’s prescription of good governance among its affiliate nations. Transparency International is a non-governmental organization that offers comprehensive hand-holding to those nations which aim to counter corruption and financial maneuvering of transnational crime groups (Transparency International Global Report, 2001). To carry this out, it disseminates a bulletin on â€Å"corruption-in essence using publicity and peer pressure† to encourage administrations into supporting similar programs intended to battle corruption. The group has emphasized the revelation of terrorism-related money laundering acts (Transparency International Global Report, 2001). Such a profound perspective on battling corruption is better than superficial initiatives. Numerous agreements which have been drafted since time immemorial have not made a difference in resolving this issue while transnational crime groups continue to steal â€Å"officially† from these nations (Transparency International Global Corruption Report, 2001). Instead, the most effective vehicle for countering prevalent corruption in any number of nations is the media. The â€Å"name and shame† lobbying of the media has had the most potent impact, and has made the public keenly informed about corruption. The pubilcity has emphasized the accusations wrought on the corrupt political leaders, including Guilio Andreotti, Noboru Takeshita, Alberto Fujimori, and Carlos Salinas, to mention a few (Tranparency International Global Corruption Report, 2001). More alarming is the fact that politicians use information on corrupt acitivities to launch smear campaigns against their adversaries. These have worked effectively in nations including Italy, France, Mexico, Costa Rica, Thailand, Japan, and Nigeria, among others. This strongly signifies the negativity raised among the public on corrupt officials, and those that benefit from breaching the trust of the voting public (Transparency International Global Corruption Report, 2001). Once they have been legally appointed as government officials, the honesty which they have once professed gives out and they are eaten by the corrupt system. I There have been global agreements put in place to resolve various human rights issues that have been inflicted by transnational crime groups. The metrics against   transnational crime ought to be taken in on the national, regional and global scales to attain authentic effectiveness. A handful of these initiatives have been established; for instance, in 1988 the UN Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances or the UN Drug Convention, it has been necessary to ask for the legal help of all nations participating in the conference (Savona Defeo, year). Another initiative at the regional level is the formation of the Financial Action Task Force at the Economic Summit of Industrialized Countries in 1989. The group aims to draft a global perspective in the resolution of money laundering. In the latter part of 1988, the Group of Ten countries established the Basel Committee on Banking Regulations and Supervisory Practices, and the Council of Europe has a draft convention on money laundering (Savona Defeo, year). Two years after in 1990, the European Plan to Fight Drugs has been instituted by the Europeran Community. The program has been further developed in 1992 (Labrouse Wallon, year). These initiatives at all levels will contribute significantly to the resolution of the corruption traced from transnational crime which have inflicted harm to global governments and their economies.The cooperation among law enforcement forces must also be encouraged to allow the sharing of information related to the movements of these crime groups.   There has been a conference among law enforcement agencies from more than 100 countries – this Naples confrence intended to share data on transnational crime. Global protocol for such information exchange must also be crafted (National legislation and its adequacy to deal with the various forms of organized transnational crime: Appropriate guidelines for legislative and other measures to be taken on the national level, 1994). However, the constraints of such initiatives are apparent at both national and global levels. For instance, in the US, they are presently very gullible to transnational crime since â€Å"federal law prohibits the CIA from sharing with the FBI intelligence that it collects abroad.† Numerous legal protections of its citizens, specifically addressing the rights of the accused, have been taken advtantaged of by high level criminals. The other loopholes between information and law enforcement are also leveraged on by these crime groups and ought to be addressed in global crime conferences (National legislation and its adequacy to deal with the various forms of organized transnational crime: Appropriate guidelines for legislative and other measures to be taken on the national level, 1994). The UN has indicated that the struggle against corruption inflicted by transnational crime groups could be imporoved if there is greater collaboration among countries in taking on laws that criminalize participation or engagement with such group activities, conspiracy, laundering and asset forfeiture. This was specified in their policy proposals for the 1994 Ministerial Conference on Organized Transnational Crime (National legislation and its adequacy to deal with the various forms of organized transnational crime: Appropriate guidelines for legislative and other measures to be taken on the national level, 1994). Moreover, these documents have also uphled the implementation of measures for addressing transnational crime (The feasibility of elaborating international instruments, including conventions, against organized transnational crime, 1994). The participation of more countries has been encouraging; however, there will remain nations whose officials have been hopelessly corrupted and whose legal systems are too backward or obsolete – precluding participation into such collaboration. There will still be loopholes in these countries, and official corruption shall surely take its toll in their law enforcement capabilities. International Response to Organized Crime and Corruption International operations such as the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) have provided a means for scrutinizing various aspects of organized crime regulation through the study of specific factors in organized crime operations like money laundering. By ensuring that such processes are carried out while still respecting the sovereignty of involved countries, the knowledge regarding organized crime has immensely benefited (Beare, 1997). At present, most international efforts against organized crime have highlighted the importance of examining organized crime with respect to the location of its operations. Illegal markets initiate the proliferation of criminal activities. These are influenced by the presence of risk factors as well as the level of demand. The current approach being utilized is a joint international effort, instead of the traditional ranking systems (Beare, 1997; Thachuk, 2005). This collaborative method which is a recent development differs widely from the other approaches being utilized for the reduction of corruption. Similar to the 1960’s view on organized crime, the dominant outlook is that corruption is a threat located in foreign shores which can be remedied by identifying those nations which are the top violators (Transparency International Global Report, 2001). With such a set-up, people may fail to see that some corrupt and legitimate practices may be inextricably intertwined. Also the nature of corruption from this viewpoint would be explained without the needed historical, political and social contexts. Lastly, such an approach works on an assumption that there is a uniform definition of corruption, which may not be the same across boundaries (Transparency International Global Report, 2001). Conclusion From the review of related literature, it may be clearly gleaned that transnational crime groups aim for states which have implicit acceptance of corruption. Upon establishment in these havens, they seek corrupt officials and security personnel who will expedite their financial dealings and routine. Among the benefits they yield from this network is access to plans of the government and eventual protection of their illegal activities (Thachuk, 2005). In cleverly setting up their operations this way, they effectively allow individuals to run governments – with the latter ceasing to be an acknowledged institution. Moreover, they disrespect the law and rid it of any legitimacy. Because of their corrupt activities, these nations are deprived of opportunities to participate in international agenda. On a more encompassing scale, the use of official corruption of transnational crime groups ceases to be a problem of the concerned republics but more of a global security issue (Beare, 1997; Thachuk, 2005). The alarmingly quick development of transnational crime is an international occurrence that merits attention. The phenomenon has successfully been integrated into political channels, corrupting them to gain legitimacy for their illegal transactions. The grave outcomes of this include the deterrment of economic growth, disrespect and threat against democracy, corruption for the law and   for some nations, ethnic violations. The loopholes posed by weakness of the states, including Africa, Latin America, and Asia make them incapable of controlling their own boundaries or to form apt internal legal groups.These borders have become webs of netting through whose holes passes the business of organized crime through corruption. The impending danger posed on countries by corruption of transnational crime groups is not caused by a single criminal entity. Instead, this is composed of a vast criminal network that has potent political and economic networks. They have effectively used corruption to deter law enforcement institutions to undertake what is just to curb criminal activity. In various countries, organized crime have substituted for the various roles of the state, serving as an obstacle to economic growth and to the development of budding democracies. Corruption as a social phenomenon and problem is not constrained by geographic borders. Each nation does have its own share of clientelism, patronage and selfish government officials. While certain nations only have a handful of common denominators in the historical, political and economic spheres, this does not imply they may not share the same corruption issues (Thachuk, 1995). While this may be the daunting case, majority of these nations have expressed their willingness to participate, share their competence, undertake training and work collaboratively with non-government organizations to solve the problem. These NGOs are hopeful that there may be mechanisms ingrained in government structure that may be utilized for detecting corrupt activities, reprimanding those involved and to attempt to foolproof the system (well nearly). In the long haul, countries are bound to feel the tension exerted on them to comply with anti-corruption measures. Democracy shall cease to be a faà §ade in promoting corrupt activities of transnational crime groups, conspiring with government officials, security and police personnel, and customs officers. Simultaneously, the pressure for governments to increase honesty and integrity in their dealings will also be focused on. The driver for these changes shall be sourced from â€Å"grassroots movements† fueled by media support. The documentation and critique of the corrupt activities of public officials is a crucial obstacle to curb immoral use of power (Thachuk, 2005). Some strategies being employed for reducing corruption may actually yield adverse results. Focus on business-related corruption is primarily motivated by Western interests which are usually detrimental to the less developed countries. An undesirable consequence arising from the labeling of nations as corrupt includes the realization of such labels through self-fulfilling prophecy. By garnering high ratings for corruption in Huberts or TI surveys, corrupt practices may actually become normalized or socially accepted in those communities (Beare, 1997). The Council of Europe utilizes a FATF-type evaluation procedure which allows member states to evaluate each other in terms of their anti-money laundering and corruption conventions. Through the meticulous review of anti-corruption legislation and policies from the different countries, corruption could then be placed in its proper context and positive results might then be achieved. However, the characteristic of corruption being deeply ingrained within the culture of different societies and thus taking various forms, may prove to be quite a hindrance (Beare, 1997). Corruption can be quite enticing for certain governments, high-ranking officials, corporations and sectors of the public. Then, it would not be advisable to think along the line that one can corruption-proof an area. On the other hand, a system should be put in place which constantly strives to create and maintain a culture of intolerance towards corruption. A possible means for combating corruption would be through changes in the personnel or other conditions such as the economic and social climate. By focusing on certain aspects of corruption, these can then be specifically identified and consequently addressed. References Beare, M. (1997). Corruption and organized crime: Lessons from history. Crime, Law Social Change, 28, 155-172. Beare, M.E. (1996). 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