Tuesday, January 28, 2020

Entrepreneurship And Innovation At The Mcdonalds Commerce Essay

Entrepreneurship And Innovation At The Mcdonalds Commerce Essay Creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship are three essential tools of success for companies in the increasingly challenging business environment. Where, creativity is the ability to develop new ideas and discover new ways of looking at problems and opportunities, Innovation is the key to economic development of any country. Inventions and innovations are the building blocks of the future and Entrepreneurship is the process of creating something new with value by devoting the necessary time and effort assuming the accompanying financial psychic, social risks and receiving the resulting rewards of monetary value and personal satisfaction and independence. All three call for new ideas and there is an element of risk involved in the implementation and the acceptability of the new idea. Where creativity is the ability to generate an idea, innovation is the process of the idea creation and entrepreneur is the person who performs both to become who he is, takes the risk, implements the i dea in the form of a venture. In this fiercely competitive, fast faced global economy creativity is not only an important source of building a competitive advantage but is also a necessity for survival. When developing creative solutions to modern problems, entrepreneurs must go beyond merely using whatever has been used in the past. McDonalds is one such company which has earned its brand image over the years with effective use of entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation all put in right place in the organization allowing the company to achieve massive competitive advantages and an edge at building new ideas and defining new and better means of customer satisfaction. The company serves around 50 million customers in 30,000 destinations worldwide on a daily basis and pulling that off whilst successfully obtaining high revenues is a job that requires continuous innovation and out of the box thinking. McDonalds focus over the years has been nothing less than the customer itself. McDonalds took its strong roots in building a name in innovation during the 1990s and the early 2000ss when the competition first started to grow. McDonalds at that time did not take its brand equity for granted and infused its creative teams minds into the thought process that have and continue to generate innovative products and campaigns like Big Mac and Egg McMuffin (Entrepreneur, 2006 [online]). McDonalds offers an extensive case study of the application of a well thought of and thorough innovation strategy, a product planning and developmental process that effectively reflects the changing industry, its opportunity recognition and analysis to stay on top, and the Mcdonalization culture and leadership embedded with innovation that it follows to successfully practice innovation in all aspects and obtain customer satisfaction that defines industry standards. But even for a company like McDonalds room still exists for improvement. The paper analyses the company on these aspects. The paper after analysis of the corporate entrepreneurship and innovation strategy being following in the company will attempt to establish recommendation for the enhancement of the competitive advantages of the company. Innovation Strategy Think big, start small, scale fast. This is the innovation strategy being followed by McDonalds. This idea was brought together by the managing director of McDonalds Ventures, Mats Lederhausen (Entrepreneur, 2006 [online]). The key players are all of the employees of the company who are well ingrained with the 5PS that form the paradox of the company. These 5 PS are: People, Product, Promotion, Place and Price. The innovation that takes place in the company is all customer-oriented and started with people and ends with people making effective use of company resources, offers and tools. The innovation strategy is built on one concept: Customer is king. The insights and demands of the customers are the main triggers of the entire innovation process. The franchisees are known as owner-operators who are a big part of the innovation chain. Keeping such diversified franchises and their thought processes altogether merged with the company objectives and essence is a big challenge which can not be controlled or centralized. The innovation process is decentralized making the owner-operators feel as much important in the company as those who are part of the core headquarters as well as encouraging them to create competitive advantages for the company. McDonalds seizes every opportunity it can to bring innovation and lead the industry. McDonalds success is also based upon its suppliers that are part of the three-legged stool. For McDonalds, the quality of its products is of absolute importance. It specifies highest standards for suppliers in the food industry. McDonalds focuses on developing close relationships with suppliers. At McDonalds, everything is done on an open accounting, handshake trust basis  (Times100, 2009). McDonalds works closely with the suppliers to develop and improve products and production techniques. This dependency is described as a three-legged stool principle, and involves McDonalds, the franchisees and the suppliers. The growth and success of t he McDonalds, in this way, is shared by the suppliers of the restaurant who are able to meet the quality standards (Times100, 2009). For McDonalds, the relationships between franchisor, franchisee and supplier are of paramount importance to the success of the innovation led business. The Process of Innovation and Creativity The owner operators are small business owners who have the entrepreneurial zeal in them and offer various ideas and creative insights that form success drivers for the company. Thus, they are involved in each of the innovation steps and processes. Each of the franchise of McDonalds is in itself a mini laboratory that has millions of potential ideas stored just waiting to be explored and the owner operators are the main source of their retrieval and practice. Sources of Ideas For McDonalds, following are the main sources of ideas. Consumers are the foremost innovation triggers. These include potential as well as existing ones. They are given great importance and attention to point to new directions. This attention takes the form of informally monitoring potential ideas and needs and formally arranging for consumers to have an opportunity to express their opinions (Bygrave, 2008). Existing products and services in the market are also continuously monitored or evaluated to uncover ways to improve the services. This results in innovative products and services that have more market appeal with better sales and profit potential. Owner-Operators, like mentioned above, are the biggest and most effective source of ideas for McDonalds as they offer insights of local appeals surrounding the franchises, which are then incorporated into new products and services. McDonalds introduction of Apple and Walnut salads is one such example of its catering to the local demands, which were communicated effectively by the owner operators. But there are also many demands, such as Shrimp salads that McDonalds cannot currently cater to, because of lack of resources. Federal Government is also a source of new product ideas in two ways. First, the files of the Patent Office contain numerous new product possibilities. Although the patents themselves may not be feasible, they can frequently suggest other more marketable product ideas. Second, new product ideas can come in response to government regulations (Drucker, 2008) Research and Development is yet another but large source of innovative ideas for McDonalds. McDonalds has its mini-laboratories in each of its franchises as well as large laboratories in its head-quarters in US which are continuously engaged in bringing in new product ideas and ingredients and recipes to win customer satisfaction. The Creative Process Although, creative ideas may appear to strike McDonalds as suddenly as a bolt of lightning but they are actually the result of the creative process, which involves the following steps: Preparation Investigation Transformation Incubation Verification Implementation Preparation involves getting the mind ready for creative thinking. Preparation includes a formal education, on the job training, work experience and taking advantage of other learning opportunities. This training provides a foundation on which to build creativity and innovation. Investigation is where a solid understanding of the problem, situation or the decision at hand is developed. Transformation involves viewing similarities and differences in the information collected. This phase requires two types of thinking: convergent and divergent thinking. Convergent thinking is the ability to see the similarities and the connections among various data and events. Divergent thinking is the ability to see the differences among various data and events. The subconscious needs time to reflect on to the information collected, this is done during the incubation phase. Next comes the illumination phase, where a spontaneous breakthrough causes the light bulb to go on. McDonalds Innovation Council then verifies the ideas where it conducts experimentation to test the success potential in the idea generated. Implementation then follows where the idea is transformed to reality (Entrepreneur, 2006 [online]). Opportunity Recognition and Analysis A business opportunity represents a possibility for the entrepreneur to successfully fill a large enough unsatisfied need that enough sales and profits result. Recognition of an opportunity results from the knowledge and experience of the company and its employees. McDonalds makes effective use of its knowledge base and maintains proper records of its previous industry analysis to point to new directions and market niches to exploit profits out of. Each and every innovative opportunity is carefully assessed through an opportunity analysis plan. This opportunity analysis plan comprises of four sections: A description of the idea and its competition; An assessment of the domestic and international market of the idea; As assessment of the entrepreneur and the team; and A discussion of the steps needed to make the idea the basis for a viable business venture. Product Planning and Development Process Once ideas emerge from idea sources or creative problem solving, they need further development and evaluation. The product planning and development process at McDonalds is divided into five stages: The idea stage The concept stage Product development stage Test marketing stage commercialization Organizational Culture McDonalds has succeeded because it offers consumers, workers, and managers efficiency, calculability, predictability, and control. This constitutes the McDonalds model of work practice and work design, known as McDonalization. McDonalds is a global capitalist organization that transforming the production, consumption and distribution of food more importantly everyday life. McDonalds employs Taylors and Fords methods in its assembly line production. Ritzer discerns four elements of Mcdonalization: Efficiency Calculability Predictability and Control (Haworth, n.d.) McDonalds offers efficiency, which is the optimum method for getting from one point to another. This means that McDonalds offers the best available way to get from being hungry to being full. For working people, quick and easy access to food is a blessing and McDonald offers just that through its efficient work practices. This fast-food model offers people an efficient method for satisfying many needs. (Ritzer, 1996, Pp. 9-11) To achieve this efficiency, workers in McDonaldized systems function efficiently. They are provided with training to work this way by managers, who supervise over them closely to make sure they come up to standards. This is ensured by organizational rules and regulations regarding production of highly efficient work. On the other hand, McDonalds also offers calculability, which is an emphasis on the quantitative aspects of products sold (portion size, cost) and service offered. Quantity has become equivalent to quality; that is something that must be good. The common customers perception of bigger is better, is very successfully satisfied with McDonalds Quarter Pounder, the Big Mac, and the large fries. People quantify these things and realize that they are getting a lot of food for quite less money. For consumers this is the best deal but for the food-food outlets this is the extraordinary profitability. (Ritzer, 1996, Pp. 9-11) Consumers also calculate the time it takes to drive to McDonalds, be served the food, eat it, and return home; and then, they compare that duration to the time required to prepare food at home. They believe that it takes them less time to get it from McDonalds than prepare the whole meal at home. This calculation obviously supports home-delivery franchises such as Mcdonalds, which emphasis on time saving. The McDonaldized institutions combine the emphases on time and money. Workers at McDonaldized systems emphasize the quantitative rather than the qualitative aspects of their work. This causes the workers to focus more on the amount of work they do rather than how well they do it, at times. This is how McDonalds employs Frederick Taylors Scientific management work practices, that related the work directly with pay. (Daft, 1997) The third element of the McDonalization is that McDonalds offers predictability, the assurance that the products and services will be the same every time and in all outlets. For example, the Egg McMuffin in New York is identical to those in Chicago and Los Angeles. To be more precise, those eaten next week or next year will be identical to those eaten today. This provides a great comfort in knowing that McDonalds offers no surprises, its service is predictable. People know that the next Egg McMuffin they eat will taste about the same as the others they have eaten; it will be what is expected and in mind of the consumer. The success of the McDonalds model explains that many people have come to prefer a world in which there are few surprises, because unpredictability can be dangerous too (Ritzer, 1996, Pp. 9-11) . Relating this to the work practices at McDonalds, the workers in McDonaldized systems also behave in predictable ways. They are confined by the corporate rules as well as the dictates of their managers. McDonalds offers extensive training to its employees, which is so standardized that whatever the employees say at customer touch points is scripted by the managers themselves. McDonalds has pioneered in the routinization of interactive service work (Ritzer, 1996, Pp. 9-11). Fourthly, McDonalds practices control, especially through the substitution of nonhuman for human technology. A human technology is controlled by people; a nonhuman technology (controls people. The people who eat in fast-food restaurants are controlled through lines, limited menus, few options, and uncomfortable seats. All of these enable the customers to eat quickly and leave (Ritzer, 1996, Pp. 9-11). The employees in McDonalds working under the McDonaldized organizations are also controlled to a high degree. They are provided trained to do a limited number of tasks in precisely the way they are ordered to do them. The technologies and the way the organization is set up reinforce this control. Managers and supervisors make sure that workers follow the line. (Ritzer, 1996, Pp. 9-11). How does McDonalds makes sure employees follow up to this control? It threatens them to replace them with technology. But employees cannot be controlled from fouling up the systems operation. The manager cannot control a slow worker, who can still make the preparation and delivery of a Big Mac inefficient and worker who refuses to follow the rules might leave the pickles or special sauce off a hamburger, thereby making for unpredictability. And then a distracted worker can put too few fries in the box, making an order of large fries seem skimpy. It is for these reasons, McDonalds has been obliged to steadily replace human beings with non-human technologies, such as the soft-drink dispenser that shuts itself off when the glass is full, the french-fry machine that rings and lifts itself out of the oil when the fries are crisp, the preprogrammed cash register that eliminates the need for the cashier to calculate prices and amounts, and, perhaps at some future time, the robot capable of making hamburgers. Such technologies increase the companys control over workers. And in this way McDonalds can assure customers that their employees and service will be consistent (Ritzer, 1996, Pp. 9-11). Increasing Competitive Advantages Being an innovation leader in the food service industry, McDonalds does not let its creative heads fall asleep. It is always looking for new directions to improve its customer services to pave way for profitable business. Following are the ways in which McDonalds can sustain and increase its competitive advantage in the face of aggressive rivalry in the food service industry. Enhancing Organizational Creativity McDonalds can enhance its organizational creativity by: Embracing diversity one of the best ways to cultivate a culture of creativity is to hire a diverse workforce. When people solve problems or come up with ideas, they do so in the same framework of their experience. Hiring people from different backgrounds, cultural experiences, hobbies, and interests provides the company with crucial raw material needed for creativity. Expecting Creativity employees rend to rise- or fall- to the level of expectations of entrepreneurs have of them. One of the best ways to communicate the expectation of creativity is to give employees permission to be creative (Morris, 2009) Expecting and tolerating failure creative ideas will produce failures as wells as successes. People who never fail are not being creative. Creativity requires taking chances and managers must remove employees fear of failure. The surest way to quash creativity throughout an organization is to punish employees who try something new and fail. Encouraging curiosity McDonalds may keep its managers and employees asking the question what if and take a maybe we could attitude to break out of assumptions that limit creativity. Viewing Problems as Challenges every problem offers an opportunity for innovation. Entrepreneurs who allow employees to dump all of their problems to desk to be fixed do nothing to develop the creativity within those employees. Providing Creative Training almost everyone has the capacity to be creative, but developing creativity requires training. Training accomplished through books, seminars, workshops and professional meeting can help everyone learn to tap their creative capacity. Providing Support the higher level management of McDonalds should give employees the tools and resources they need to be creative. One of the most valuable resources is time. Rewarding creativity they can also encourage creativity by rewarding it when it occurs. Financial rewards can be effective motivation but non-monetary rewards such as praise, recognition, and celebration can be more powerful incentives. Modeling Creative Behavior creativity is caught as much as it is taught. Companies that excel at innovation find that the passion for creativity starts at the top. Entrepreneurs set examples of creative behavior, take chance and challenge the status quo will soon find their employees doing the same (Morris, 2009). Improving the Creative Process Teams of people working together usually can generate more and more creative idea. Three techniques McDonalds can use to improve the quality of creative ideas that follow from its Innovation Council: brainstorming, mind-mapping and rapid prototyping. Brainstorming is a process in which a small group of people interact with very little structure with the goal of producing a large quantity of novel and imaginative ideas. Another useful tool for jump-starting creativity is mind mapping, an extension of brainstorming. The strength of mind mapping is that it reflects the way the brain actually works. Rather than browsing out ideas in a linear fashion, the brain jumps from one idea to another. Generating creative ideas is a critical step in the process of taking an idea for a product or a service successfully to the market. However, entrepreneurs find that most of their ideas wont work and thats where rapid prototyping plays an important part in the creative process. The promise behind rapid prototyping is that transforming an idea into an actual model will point out flaws in the original idea and will lead to improvements in its design (Hisrich, 2009). Conclusion Dick and Mac were the ones who opened the first McDonalds restaurant in 1940 in San Bernardino, California, and at that time they could not have imagined the worldwide phenomial success that McDonalds now enjoys. What got them famous was their winning formula of selling a high quality product cheaply and quickly. The business really began to grow immensely once Ray Kroc, a Chicago based salesman, who was a marketing expert, joined the team (Watson, 2002). He decided to spread McDonalds formula throughout the United States and beyond. McDonalds now has more than 30,000 restaurants all over the world. Its serves 46 million customers everyday, that is equal to a lunch and dinner for every man, woman, and child in the world! McDonalds enjoys sales over $38bn from the entire world, which make it the biggest food service company internationally. McDonalds paradox of success lies with innovation and giving customer satisfaction the priority for its service offerings and operations. It keeps track of industry changes, anticipates consumer preferences and incorporates them into the product. Also, insights and communication with owner operators provides new product ideas and a highly effective and successful innovation process that is dealt by the McDonalds innovation council and together with the organizational culture of McDonalisation, it is practicing innovation in all aspects and providing innovation embedded services all around the world. But even a company like McDonalds has room for improvement, whereby it can enhance the creativity of its organization by infusing the culture of innovation more predominantly than before into each organizational level and improving the overall creative idea generating process. In the face of globalization, innovation offers a highly effective opportunity which companies like McDonald are making effective use of but it is more of a continuous process rather than a one-time thing.

Sunday, January 19, 2020

The Psychology of Robert Frost’s Nature Poetry Essay examples -- Rober

The Psychology of Robert Frost’s Nature Poetry Robert Frost’s nature poetry occupies a significant place in the poetic arts; however, it is likely Frost’s use of nature is the most misunderstood aspect of his poetry. While nature is always present in Frost’s writing, it is primarily used in a â€Å"pastoral sense† (Lynen 1). This makes sense as Frost did consider himself to be a shepherd. Frost uses nature as an image that he wants us to see or a metaphor that he wants us to relate to on a psychological level. To say that Frost is a nature poet is inaccurate. His poetry is in the main psychologically oriented with emphasis on specific recurring themes, which include, but are not limited to, loneliness, retreat, spirituality, darkness, and death. Frost said himself repeatedly, â€Å"I am not a nature poet. There is almost always a person in my poems† (quoted in Thompson). This may be hard for some to grasp, as Frost is world renowned for his alleged nature theme. Contrary to popular opinion, nature is not Frost’s central theme in his poetry; it is the contrast between man and nature as well as the conflicts that arise between the two entities. Frost’s nature poetry interconnects the world of the natural and the world of human beings – Both key elements of his motivation in writing poetry. The harsh reality of nature and the thoughtless expectations in the minds of man scarcely cohere to one another. Frost usually starts with an observation in nature, contemplates it and then connects it to some psychological concern (quoted in Thompson). According to Thompson, â€Å"His poetic impulse starts with some psychological concern and finds its way to a material embodiment which usually includes a natural scene† (quoted in Thompson). According to John F. Lynen, â€Å"Frost sees in nature a symbol of man’s relation to the world. Though he writes about a forest or a wildflower, his real subject is humanity†¦his concept of nature†¦is a paradox and it points toward the greater paradox in man himself† (4,5). Lynen also states that â€Å"the struggle between the human imagination and the meaningless void man confronts is the subject of poem after poem† (6). On speaking of Frost’s nature poetry, Gerber says, â€Å"with equanimity Frost investigates the basic themes of man’s life: the individual’s relationships to himself, to his fellow man, to his world, and to his God† (117). All of these... ...adily yield its meaning to anyone (Bloom 9). From that last statement, one can recognize that indeed Robert Frost’s nature poetry is more than blooming flowers and snowy nights; obviously there is an underlying psychological meaning in most of his poems. Works Cited Bloom, Harold, ed. Modern Critical Views; Robert Frost First Edition, New York et al, Chelsea House Pub., 1986.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Marks, Herbert. â€Å"The Counter-Intelligence of Robert Frost†. Pack, Robert. â€Å"Frost’s Enigmatical Reserve: The Poet as Teacher and Preacher†. Gerber, Phillip L., Robert Frost Revised Edition, ed. Kenneth Eble, New York, Twayne Publishers, 1982. Lynen, John F., The Pastoral Art of Robert Frost New Haven, Yale University Press, 1960. Poirier, Richard and Mark Richardson eds. Robert Frost; Collected Poems, Prose, & Plays 1st Edition, New York, The Library of America, 1995. Kennedy, X.J. and Dana Gioia, eds. Literature; An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry & Drama 7th Edition, New York, et al, Longman, 1999.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Frost, Robert, â€Å"The Road Not Taken†, 910 Thompson, Carol, â€Å"Frost and Nature† Bennington, The Friends of Robert Frost, 2000 http://www.frostfriends.org/tutorial-4.html

Saturday, January 11, 2020

Book Review Of “The Devil In The Shape Of A Woman: Witchcraft In Colonial New England”

The book, â€Å"The Devil in the Shape of a Woman: Witchcraft in Colonial New England,† is a must read considering the huge amount of recent work on early witch lore that is being published. This book takes a critical look at the history in New England between 1620 and 1725 during the Puritan period. It is a feminist perspective and the insight into early New England society during a very troubling period in American history.It differs from many history books including our text on the standard accounts by showing that many of those persecuted were women who for many different types of reasons, threatened the male-dominant social order. The author goes into details with evidence that shows that persecuted and accused witches were usually older married women who had violated the religious or economic Puritan social hierarchy.Many of these women that were called witches were past their childbearing years and sometimes they were the recipients of inheritances, these women threaten ed the male-dominance social order that got resentment from their middle-aged accusers. Karlsen shows that the accused witches were women whose family lives were touched in many ways financially by claiming that most, â€Å"stood to inherit, did inherit or were denied their apparent right to inherit† larger portions than women of families with male heirs (Karlsen, p.101). This was definitely problematic for males of the time and caused problems in families and with relatives within the communities especially if these women were openly demanding or defending their rights. These inheritance conflicts are what Karlsen sees as symptomatic of the larger social and ideological problems, â€Å"for they expose the fear of independent women that lay at the heart of New England’s nightmare† (Karlsen, p. 213).There were also two really good points that give this book very good insight into what happened during that time period in New England. It was that they showed first an analysis of women’s culture in New England during those colonial times. Puritan women were to be good wives, good mothers and helpers to their mates. It showed the popular hatred and discrimination of women as a very common and accepted condition and tradition of that time. This was shown through thoughts and conduct of the settlers.This view shows just how complex relationships between Puritanism and traditional English popular culture really were. These kinds of attitudes when looked at as a whole, show how it was used to suppress the individualistic action among women, and that suppression could have taken the form of witchcraft accusation. The other point made that should be noted is that â€Å"the possessed and their ministers were engaged in a fierce negotiation, initiated by the possessed, about the legitimacy of female discontent, resentment and anger† (Karlsen, p.246). This kind of thought for this statement, I found rather weak, because it’s only so urce of the information came from one extremely well documented case but most was based on hearsay. Overall, I found the book to be very well documented with excellent sources. In my opinion the book was an excellent example on how modern theory can be applied in a useful way to show the character of Puritan thought, changes in the role of women through the ages, and the ultimate end of witchcraft persecution in New England.The description and analyses the author uses help to give the reader an understanding of witch lore and status women had in Early New England. It would be a good book for undergraduate study as well as the general reader of history. It induces the reader to see a different perspective of their views and what was commonly taught on the New England witch hunts. The textbook, â€Å"America Past and Present Volume I, 7th Ed. † By Robert A. Divine (et al. ), really only talked of the standard historical context of what took place during this turbulent time.Accu sations of witchcraft were not uncommon in seventeenth century New England. Puritans believed that many individuals would make a compact with the devil, but during the first decades of settlement, authorities executed only about fifteen alleged witches. Sometimes villagers simply left suspected witches alone. Karlsen would argue that the only women who would fight for their rights were accused and probably there weren’t very many women at that time that would stand up against the standards that were set for women or norms for women of that society.Witchcraft was believed to originate in a bargain between man or woman and the Devil by which they agreed to sell their soul to the Devil. The terror in Salem Village began in late 1691, when several young girls began behaving strangely such as crying out for no reason and falling to the ground twitching. When asked what the problem was, they replied that they were victims of witches that were living in the community. Even with the arrest of several women accused and prayer did not give relief to these girls.It was even reported that one of the accused confessed, no doubt after interrogation that was sometimes very brutal. The textbook notes that â€Å"No one knows exactly what sparked the terror in Salem Village† (Divine, p. 85). But with Karlsen book it helps in giving a possible reason. The text gave the reason to the end of this persecution to a group of Congregational ministers that urged leniency and restraint and something that was especially troubling to the clergymen was the court’s decision to accept dreams and visions in which the accused appeared as the devil’s agent.They worried those individuals that were being convicted on this type of testimony and they stated, â€Å"It were better than ten suspected witches should escape, than that one innocent person should be condemned† (Divine, p. 85). The colonial government accepted the minister’s advice and convened a n ew court, which promptly acquitted, pardoned, or released the remaining suspects. From this point, witchcraft ceased to be a capital offense. The book cites that the terror of the witchcraft scare was probably due to angry factions over the choice of a minister.Another possible reason suggested is that socio-economic conflict, the colony had recently experienced, and a lack of enlightenment contributed to the hysteria. This would follow closely to what Carol F. Karlsen expressed in her book. In my opinion, history textbooks tend to give us just one view, and usually the commonly accepted view of what took place historically. There is so much history to be analyzed and studied that textbooks can only include the fundamentals of all these events.It is up to the authors of books such as Carol F. Karlsen, to help give the true detective of history a broader look at how historical events shaped and created the society of then and today. If we don’t know where we came from, then ho w do we know where we should go? The book gave a very excellent twist to the sociological perspective to witchcraft in the New England Colonies and to me gave a more plausible reason as to just why these witch hunts might have happened.

Friday, January 3, 2020

Donald Trump Executive Orders - List and Details

President Donald Trump signed more than half a dozen executive orders in his first 10 days in the White House including a controversial crackdown on immigration from Muslim countries that he made a central part of his 2016 campaign. Trump even used his authority to issue executive orders on his first day on office, bypassing the legislative process even though he criticized President Barack Obamas use of the power as major power grabs of authority. Trump’s first executive orders blocked some refugees from entering the United States, expedited environmental reviews of major infrastructure projects, prevented executive branch employees from lobbying within five years of leaving their job or working for foreign countries, and began the process of repealing the  Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare. Trumps most controversial executive order, by far, imposed a temporary ban on refugees and citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries - Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Somalia, Syria, Libya and Yemen -  from entering the United States. I hereby proclaim that the entry of more than 50,000 refugees in fiscal year 2017 would be detrimental to the interests of the United States, and thus suspend any such entry until such time as I determine that additional admissions would be in the national interest, Trump wrote.  That executive order, signed on Jan. 27, 2017, was met with protests around the world and legal challenges at home.   Trump also issued a number of executive actions, which are not the same as executive orders. Executive actions are any informal proposals or moves by the president, or anything the president calls on Congress or his administration to do. Executive orders  are legally binding directives from the president to federal administrative agencies. These executive orders are  published in the Federal Register, which tracks and published proposed and final regulations including proclamations by the president. List of Donald Trumps First Executive Orders Heres a list of the executive orders Trump issued soon after he took office. Minimizing the Economic Burden of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Pending Repeal: Trump signed this executive order on Jan. 20, 2017, within hours of moving into the White House. The executive order did not repeal Obamacare, or even ask Congress to repeal Obamas signature legislative accomplishment, even though Trump promised during the campaign that on day one of the Trump administration, we will ask Congress to immediately deliver a full repeal of Obamacare. Trumps executive order on Obamacare only instructed federal agencies to uphold the law while also  working to minimize the unwarranted economic and regulatory burdens on American citizens and companies.Expediting Environmental Reviews and Approvals For High Priority Infrastructure Projects: Trump signed this executive order on Jan. 24, 2017. The order  requires the government streamline and expedite, in a manner consistent with law, environmental reviews and approvals for all infrastructure projects, though T rump is vague on exactly how the order should be carried out. Trumps order does require the chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality to determine whether a project is a  high priority,  and subject to fast-tracking, in  30 days or less.  Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States: Trump signed this executive order on Jan. 25, 2017. It cuts off federal money to so-called sanctuary cities, municipalities that do not enforce immigration laws. Sanctuary jurisdictions across the United States willfully violate Federal law in an attempt to shield aliens from removal from the United States. These jurisdictions have caused immeasurable harm to the American people and to the very fabric of our Republic, Trump wrote. The order also expanded the definition of undocumented immigration the government could deport.Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Improvements: Trump signed this executive order on Jan. 25, 2017, in a first step at fulfilling his campaign pledge to build a wall along the United States border with Mexico.  It is the policy of the executive branch to secure the southern border of the United States through the immediate construction of a physical wall on the southern border, monitored and supported by adequate personnel so as to prevent illegal immigration, drug and human trafficking, and acts of terrorism, Trump wrote. The order did not, however, spell out a mechanism to pay for the wall, although Trump said a tax on imports from Mexico os 20 percent could be among a buffet of options.Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into the United States: Trump signed this executive order, by far his most controversial, on Jan. 27. In order to protect Americans, the United States must ensure that those admitted to this country do not bear hostile attitudes toward it and its founding principles. The United States cannot, and should not, admit those who do not support the Constitution, or those who wou ld place violent ideologies over American law, Trump wrote. The ban on immigrants from seven countries was to last 90 days. The ban on refugees was to last for 120 days.Ethics Commitments by Executive Branch Appointees: Trump signed this order on Jan. 28, 2017. The orders requires executive branch employees to sign an ethic policy that bans them from lobbying their agency for at least five years after leaving the government. It also prohibits them from working on behalf of a  foreign government or foreign political party, and  accepting gifts from registered lobbyists and lobbying organizations.Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs:  Trump signed this order on Jan. 30, 2017. This order requires the federal government to eliminate two regulations  for every one new regulation issued. â€Å"If you have a regulation you want, No. 1, we’re not gonna approve it because it’s already been approved probably in 17 different forms. But if we do, the only way you have a chance is we have to knock out two regulations for every new regulation. So if there’s a new regulation, they have to knock out two,  Trump said while signing the executive order. The order states that the cost of imposing and enforcing new regulations must not add spending to the federal budget, essentially requiring the elimination of older regulations.       Trump Criticism of Executive Orders Trump made use of executive orders even though he criticized Obamas use of them. In July 2012, for example, Trump used Twitter, a favorite social media tool of his, to knock the president: â€Å"Why is BarackObama constantly issuing executive orders that are major power grabs of authority?† But Trump didn’t go so far as to say he would decline the use of executive orders for himself, saying Obama â€Å"led the way.† I wont refuse it. Im going to do a lot of things, Trump said in January 2016, adding that his executive orders would be for the â€Å"right things.† â€Å"I’m going to use them much better and they’re going to serve a much better purpose than he’s done,† he said. Trump actually promised on the campaign trail that he would use his authority to issue executive orders on some issues. In December 2015, Trump promised he would impose the death penalty on anyone convicted of killing a police officer via executive order. One of the first things I do, in terms of executive order if I win, will be to sign a strong, strong statement that will go out to the country - out to the world - that anybody killing a policeman, policewoman, a police officer - anybody killing a police officer, the death penalty. Its going to happen, OK? Trump said at the time.