Examples

• Criminal Law Book Review: Kramer vs. Kramer

  The Facts

  Academy award winning Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) tells the story of Mr. & Mrs. Kramer’s break-up and their subsequent custody battle over their son. Ted Kramer (Dustin Hoffman) is a workaholic; he is an advertising executive who has just won the largest account of his entire career. Joanna Kramer (Meryl Streep) feels like a neglected wife and leaves her husband and son, Billy, to “find” herself. Ted and Billy are left alone and develop a closer relationship as Ted raises his son as a single parent. In Hoffman’s words, he had no choice but to “bring home the bacon and cook it, too” and he did it with love. Joanna returns eighteen months later and alleges that

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  she always loved Billy and that, as his mother, he belongs with her. Two legal issues present concern the areas of divorce and child custody.

  Legal Issue: Child Custody

  When a married couple, i.e. husband and wife, get an annulment, legal separation or divorce, the court determines which parent will have custody of any minor children that the couple may have. It may be decided by the court that custody be shared between both parents, i.e. joint custody, or that only one parent has custody, i.e. sole custody.

  Physical custody of a minor refers to a parent’s right to care for their child on a daily basis. If the child’s parents live in close proximity to each other, physical custody may be shared on a weekday / weekend basis. However, if the parents do not live nearby each other, either the couple or the court must provide another arrangement. For example, one parent may have physical custody of the child only on holidays. Alternatively, physical custody may become the sole right of one parent.

  Another type of custody is legal custody which involves the right of a parent to make the major decisions concerning the raising of a child, including decisions regarding medical treatment and schooling. If legal custody is shared by both parents, then each parent must consult with the other in order to make these major decisions. However, if one parent has sole legal custody, then that parent has the right to make all major life decisions for the child.

  Exceptions regarding child custody rights refer to parents that are unfit or abusive to their children. For example, a court that may otherwise award joint custody may award sole custody to one parent instead if the other parent is physically or mentally incapable of caring for the child.

  The general rule of law regarding child custody is fair and just as it puts the child’s interest above all else. At the end of Kramer vs. Kramer, Joanna is awarded full custody and admits to Ted that their son would be better off with his father. However, generally, the courts alongside both parents will be able to come up with joint custody arrangements that suit both parents instead of just one. In accordance with the law, mothers should not be automatically awarded sole custody of their children. It is in a child’s best interest that the law does not favour one gender over the other with regards to child custody.

  Contrary to Kramer vs. Kramer, the courts do not award custody solely to mothers and instead tend to favour joint custody. The law also protects children from parents who are incapable of taking care of them or who are abusive. Child custody is an important legal and emotional issue that every parent should understand.

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• Developing Ethical Leadership
  and its Importance for a Successful Businessman

  An Introduction to Ethical Leadership

  Ethical leadership is about more than just having a good character. Ethical leaders symbolize and transmit the objectives, vision and values of the organization to its key followers and stakeholders always with consideration of ethical principles. Leadership of an ethical nature ensures not only the success, but also the sustainability, of any business or business person.

  Developing Ethical Leadership

  By viewing business and ethical considerations simultaneously, it sends the important

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  message that ethics is an integral part of the organization and is the first step in developing ethical leadership. Conversations need to be had at all levels which include discussions about how decisions that are made align with the organization’s values. Leadership programs with an ethical leadership element are also an excellent way to emphasize the importance of ethical principles within the company. Importantly, the business needs to develop an open culture so that employees at all levels feel comfortable questioning or challenging whether or not the actions of the company are aligned with its values.

  The Importance of Ethical Leadership for Business Success

  Ethical leaders are important for any business because they are the essential ink between the objectives of the organization and its external and internal stakeholders, including employees. Without this type of leadership, the organization will not receive the proper direction it needs to achieve its goals. A businessman will only be successful if his decisions are guided by the values of the company.

  It is understood by ethical leaders that their personal ego does not have a place within the organization. Instead the focus has to be on the success of the business. In this way, there will be no instances of executive greed leading to negative results for the organization.

  For any business, the most important and essential element is human resources. Ethical leadership involves attracting the best people for the necessary positions within the company and then developing them for the role. Businessmen will be successful within this framework, because they will be most likely to employ skilled persons with high levels of integrity who can become the future ethical leaders of the company.

  When there is ethical leadership in place, these principles are supposed to be transmitted to all levels of staff and be incorporated in the everyday activities, as well as long-term strategies, of the organization. Once employees throughout the company are living and working with consideration of these values, success for any business owner is guaranteed.

  In practical terms, if a salesperson internalizes the values of the company as embodied by the ethical leadership of the company, he is less likely to be dishonest or deceitful in his dealings with the company or with customers. For instance, sales should not be a duping mechanism with the main goal being solely to sell a specified number of products or make a certain amount of profit. A product should be sold to a person who can get utility from it. Once this approach is recognized and accepted, the business owner will find himself at the helm of a profitable company with a reputation for excellent customer service.

  Ethical leadership is an essential part of any successful company. It is important to develop this type of leadership so that the company can become and remain successful. Businessmen will find that the performance of their organizations will be enhanced once all of the decisions and activities of employees at all levels are guided by the company’s values.

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• The Truth about Global Warming:
  Humans are Responsible

  There have been countless scholarly articles focusing on global warming. The debates have been numerous with regards to the causes of this environmental phenomenon. However, it seems to be clear that global warming is not the result of natural causes; humans are responsible for the destruction of our environment.

  The atmosphere is warmed by a greenhouse gas known as carbon dioxide (CO2). The levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions have been unprecedented in the last 650,000 years (Wang and Chameides, 2007). It has also been independently

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  confirmed, as advised by Wang and Chameides (2007) that increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is a result of the burning of fossil fuels and forests.

  The significance of global warming can be seen in the projected findings of scientists. It is believed that temperatures worldwide will rise by up to 11.5 degrees Fahrenheit and sea levels will increase by as much as 23 inches by the end of the current century. It is also expected that extreme temperatures, heat waves and heavy rainfall will increase in frequency.

  The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) states categorically that global warming is caused by humans (Roach, 2007). They provide evidence that links the activity of humans to increasing temperatures, rising sea levels, greater intensities of natural disasters, such as hurricanes, as well as many other environmental calamities. Achim Steiner, the United Nations Environment Programme’s Executive Director, advises that “fossil fuel use, agriculture, and land-use change are fundamentally affecting the systems on our planet”. (Roach, 2007)

  Hundreds of scientists from around the globe unanimously agree that all the evidence points to increased levels of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions being 90% likely the cause of the increase in average global temperatures since the middle of the 20th century. These greenhouse gas concentrations are caused by human activities. Their opinion on the significance of the human contribution could not be more explicit.

  Although natural processes and animals emit large quantities of carbon dioxide, scientists have confirmed that the majority of carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere are caused by the burning of fossil fuels (Wang and Chameides, 2007). The carbon dioxide emissions from natural processes are also removed by these same processes at rates that are almost identical.

  Natural processes simply cannot explain the current warming of the Earth. There are some that argue that the earlier climate change during the Medieval Warming Period (MWP) was as a result of natural causes and so this current period must be as a result of similar causes. However, scientific evidence provides a link between human-caused greenhouse gases and the current warming of the Earth.

  Over time, scientists have gone from believing that it is possible for global warming to be caused by humans, to being reasonable sure and finally to now being almost 100% certain. These progressive findings are understandable and do not discredit current arguments. Scientific studies on global warming have increased in aptitude and intensity over time and it is just in recent years that scientists have been able to provide conclusive evidence of human-caused global warming.

  Now that scientists have confirmed that humans are the cause of global warming, it is up to governments to make policy changes to address this growing concern. The humans who have caused this environmental malady need to put policies in place to mitigate the effects and think of creative solutions for the future. The lives of future generations rest in their hands.

  Bibliography

  • — Roach, John. 2007. Global Warming “Very Likely” Caused by Humans, World Climate Experts Say. National Geographic News. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/02/070202-global-warming.html

  • — Wang, J. and Chameides, B. 2007. Are Humans Responsible for Global Warming? https://www.edf.org/sites/default/files/5279_GlobalwarmingAttributuion.pdf

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