The Essence Of Empowerment Essay -- essays research papers

The Essence of Empowerment Empowerment is certainly not a new idea within the business arena. In fact, its concept has been around since the 1960's when American car manufactures suddenly realized that they were losing their butts to the Japanese producers. An extensive and extremely well-funded investigation for answers to the recurrent question, how do I get more out of my employees while simultaneously lowering my costs, did produce some implementable and constructive results. The topic I have chosen to investigate is the application of employee empowerment and how to get the most out of this HR "buzzword." Within my scope of discussions are topics which include effective implementation, the role of the organization, and incentives to achieve and sustain actuation. Employee empowerment, in its most basic definition, is effective delegation. The new twist that upper management has been trying desperately to achieve, is to involve the lowest level of employees in the decision-making process while making them responsible for the results of their decisions. There have been many documented examples of anxiety, mistrust and complacency in employees when this wave of "new-and-improved, successful management strategies" have been suddenly thrown upon them. Change of any kind will usually inspire resistance, especially when you are talking about extracting power from management to place in the hands of "subordinates." There are obvious methods to achieving the results that the stakeholders of an organization demand through empowerment. Increases in profitability, productivity, creativity, and a shorter time-to-market are all feasible results of empowerment. In fact, "empowerment is an extremely cost-effective means of bringing about desired changes in performance and operational effectiveness." It takes only a stout devotion of the entire organization, from the top levels downward. That's all. There are, however, key factors to its success. One of the most important key elements to take into account is the need for extensive organizational preparation to achieve effective implementation. By preparation, I mean an organizational-wide commitment to preparing both management and its staff for the changes... ...n to the company. While global change is driving companies to empowerment, and similar philosophies like self- managed team-based arrangements, total quality management, it is important to note that no one philosophy is entirely correct, or incorrect. By combining the best of what these philosophies have to offer and adjusting, to the best of your ability, you corporate culture to facilitate them, you are able to reap the rewards of currently suggested management ideologies. To expect them to work over night is ludicrous, however. These things do take time, because remember, you dealing with human beings here who don't like change. Be patient, persevere; it will be worth the effort. In sum, through cooperation, perseverance, and much patience, you might be able to develop an empowered atmosphere at your company. Change dictates that old philosophies are no longer valid. Through thorough preparation, education, communication, and absolute commitment you might be able to develop empowerment techniques, but to truly reap empowerment's rewards, you must remember that employee motivation is the product of your reward system.

Learning via observation

Abravanel and Gingold (1985) conducted a study on learning specifically on deferred imitation and immediate imitation. Its review of previous studies conducted on learning revealed that a child at the second year of life shows evidence of deferred imitation, which is imitation of modeled behavior after an interval where other events have intervened between modeling and reproduction of behavior. Classes of object/action combinations used in the current study were taken from the study by McCall, Parke and Kavanaugh (as qtd by Abravanel & Gingold, 1985). The current study however further classified these classes of actions with objects into three: simple/single actions, reiterative actions and sequentially coordinated actions.Simple/single actions required demonstration of one behavior. Tasks measuring this were the Barrels where the child had to reveal contents of the large barrel by separating it into halves, and the Doll and crown, where the child has to put the crown on the bald-hea ded wooden doll. Reiterative actions were simple actions that had to be repeated several times. Tasks for this include the Spacemen, where the child is expected to produce vertical column of five spacemen toys in a feet-to-head order, the Blocks, where the child had to stack the cube block, disc block and pyramid block in that order, and Screwtoy, where the child had to turn the screwnut counterclockwise until it is free of the screw. Sequentially coordinated action tasks require two or more actions that differ from each other but have to be performed in some specific order.Tasks for this include the Cylinder and doll, where the child has to insert a drumstick into a cylinder and push the doll out to let it fall into the table, and the Xylophone, where the child was expected to lose one tube from the base of the xylophone and strike each of the other two metallic pieces.The study was conducted to children aged 12 months (12 ~ 13 months), and 18 months (18 ~ 19 months). There were 42 girls and 40 boys aged 12 months and 45 girls and 40 boys aged 18 months. These children were randomly grouped into two: the treatment group, where children were able to see a model perform a task, and the control group, where the children did not have models to imitate from. Having a control group was hoped to take into account the children’s familiarity to the materials, task and examiner.Both groups follow four phases in every task: 1) Pre-test, where the child was presented with all of the materials for the task and allowed to handle them for 60 seconds. 2) Modeling followed where the treatment groups saw the target actions modeled twice, while the control group did not see any models but allowed to handle the materials for another 10 seconds. Each child had to accumulate four tasks from the seven possible tasks. The child then had an interpolated interval of 10 minutes, where he/she was free to do anything. This time gap was necessary to emphasize on the deferred imitat ion. 3) Post-test followed, where the child was presented with the materials of a task he/she had taken previously and targeted or expected actions had to be demonstrated within 60 seconds.Responses were recorded and the next materials of second, third and fourth tasks were presented separately. 4) Immediate imitation follows right after post-test when it is clear that the child have not achieved the targeted actions of a particular task. The experimenter models again the targeted action and the child was given 60 seconds to reproduce the action. The third step looked into the deferred imitation while the fourth step looked into immediate imitation.Scores were ranged from zero, where the child did nothing but look at the materials, to six, where the child successfully reproduced the targeted actions. However, scoring was reclassified were score zero to four was rescored as zero and score five to six were rescored as one. Data was analyzed using three-factor analyses of variance (Age X Sex X Treatment Condition). The study seeks to answer whether performance of the three classes of actions (i.e., simple/singe, reiterative and sequential coordinated) in deferential imitation and immediate imitation were the same for 12-month old and 18-month old children and treatment and control groups. The researcher hypothesizes that the 12-months old children would succeed in deferred imitation of simple/single actions and the 18-months old children would succeed in both reiterative and sequentially coordinated tasks.Analysis on the deferred imitation found that in performing simple/single action and reiterative action tasks, the 18-months old produced the targeted actions significantly higher than the 12-month olds. In performing sequentially coordinated tasks, the 18-months old had greater number of targeted actions over the 12-months old on Cylinder and doll task, but equally on the Xylophone task. The treatment group had greater number of targeted actions over the contro l group in performing simple/single action tasks, in performing the two of the reiterative action tasks: Spacemen and Screwtoy   (but not the Blocks), as well as the Cylinder and doll tasks (but not the xylophone task) of the sequentially coordinated tasks. Interaction effect of age and treatment condition in performing the three classes of action tasks showed that the 18-months old had greater modeling effect. Further, there was no difference between girls and boys in the number of actions tasks successfully performed.Immediate imitation was done for children who have not successfully accomplished the tasks on the third phase. More children from the control group were subjected to this analysis understandably because they had no models to imitate and learn from on how to achieve successfully the tasks subjected to them. Immediate imitation and deferred imitation were not analyzed as scoring for both sets were different. Analysis of immediate imitation data revealed that 18-year o ld had greater number of targeted actions over the 12-months old children. Less than 50% of the 12-month old children passed the tasks compared to more than 50% of the 18-month olds passed the tasks. More than 50% of the 18-month olds however find Spacemen and screwtoy tasks difficult to perform in immediate imitation.Approximate deferred imitation was further done where the reiterative and sequentially coordinated actions considered lower forms of imitations and where such forms somehow were equivalent to simple/single action level. The 18-month old children significantly had higher performance in post-tests reiterative tasks and Cylinder and doll task of the sequentially coordinated actions. Interaction between age and treatment conditions showed that at 18-months, treatment group achieved the Spaceman task, screwtoy task, Cylinder and doll task, but not on block task and xylophone tasks. At 12 months, treatment group achieved Spacemen task and Xylophone task but not the Screwtoy, Blocks, Cylinder and doll tasks.The study concluded that there are developmental differences achieved in learning between ages 12-months and 18-months, through imitation, whether through immediate or delayed information. The hypotheses of the research were not supported by the results as only few of the 12-month olds demonstrated complete deferred imitation on simple/single actions and less than 50% of the 18-month olds were fully successful with the three action tasks. It further concluded that the children’s performance in both deferred imitation and immediate imitation were the same by comparing treatment and control groups for immediate imitation analysis. The research further confirmed the study conducted by McCall et all. that 18-months old have internalized action sequences and means-ends relations although the current research acknowledged that spatial and serial properties of actions were difficult for these children. The researcher explained about the children†™s possible difficulty of recalling order for the Blocks task. It finally concludes that imitative ability is a developmental phase by the start of the second year of a child and fluency to make observational learning and deferred imitation during the second year.Analysis on the ArticleThe use of a control group in the study was not necessary. McCall et al, whom the researchers referred to in their study, did not employ control group. The researchers themselves have recognized that imitation and observation learning were facts of human functioning. Thus, learning the tasks as demonstrated by reproducing the targeted actions were better when somebody models how the task was to be accomplished than when children were left to find out for themselves how to accomplish the task.The analysis done on deferred imitation for the control group was subjecting the children in a problem-solving task by their own rather than learning via observation. The employ of control group sidetracked the researcher from the objective of establishing learning through observation in this group, precisely because the subjects in this group did not use observation in learning the tasks. All the control group did was to establish that indeed the use of models significantly facilitated accomplishment of the tasks. This was rather not necessary as previous researches have already established this.The use of control group in the analysis has rather made confusing interpretations and conclusions on the study. Such was done when the researcher made a conclusion on the immediate imitation by comparing the control and the treatment group that deferred imitation had no particular advantage over immediate imitation (p. 621, paragraph 2). This was rather an erroneous conclusion since control group cannot represent immediate imitation nor deferred imitation in any way. The researchers themselves have acknowledged that immediate imitation and deferred imitation cannot be analyzed because of the diff erential scoring used by the two sets of data but a conclusions made was to infer on this.The representational materials used in this study were carefully selected so that the objects give the platform by which actions (i.e, simple/single, reiterative, sequential coordinated) can be elicited. When disparity in the results existed for reiterative tasks (i.e., Spacemen, blocks and screwtoy) and sequential coordinated tasks (Cylinder and doll, and xylophone), the researchers have attributed this to difficulty in recall (p. 621, paragraph 1) for the Block task and spontaneous performance (p. 620, paragraph 1) for Xylophone task.The Block task was a measure for reiterative action and which was to be accomplished by the child by stacking the cube block, disc block and pyramid block on each other on that specific order. The child, in this task, was not however required only to do a simple action repeated more than once (i.e., reiterative) but also required to demonstrate memory recall on h ow the order of the blocks should be. This requirement was different from the other reiterative tasks (i.e., Spacemen and Screwtoy) where the targeted action was essentially repetitive ones and did not require some recall of order of how things should be arranged, which was the case for the Block task.This additional requirement for Block task made it in disparity of results with the other reiterative tasks. Block task, in order to elicit only one requirement, which is to demonstrate singular repetitive action, should have used same-shaped blocks. This takes away the requirement for a recall of certain order of blocks, which was rather not a concern of this particular study. It is therefore suggested that the Block task be modified by using the same-shaped blocks or this is taken out all together as there were already two reiterative actions tasks, which were Spacemen and Screwtoy tasks.The disparity in the results of sequential coordinated action tasks, which are the Cylinder and d oll task and Xylophone task, was attributed to spontaneous performance. The Xylophone task involved removing one tube loosely attached to the base of the xylophone and striking each of the other two metallic pieces. The researcher’s explanation on spontaneous performance of the Xylophone task implies on the novelty of the task. Making the task as novel as possible was necessary in order to seclude memory recall on possible actions done outside the experiment. If the child have already played xylophone, his/her demonstration of the task may have been a direct recall of how he played a similar toy.A recall on actions outside the experiment would mean lack of control of extraneous variable. To keep extraneous variable to enter into the experiment, the tasks formulated should be novel as possible for the children. Spontaneous performance on Xylophone task as demonstrated by the control group was evidence to this (p. 620, paragraph 1). This explanation by the researcher was rather acceptable, but it should have been suggested that Xylophone task was removed as a measure for sequential coordinated action task in the future study, and suggested to be replaced by another task.Analysis on approximate deferred imitation was not necessary nor called for in the study. The study implied only on differential imitation and immediate imitation to answer the research question. Analysis done on this only confused interpretations and results relative to this were not incorporated nor integrated in the discussions or in the conclusions. The results derived from this analysis were like a free agent that was left to float, without particular beginning, that is, it was not part of the research question, or an end, since it was not integrated in the conclusions. Such kind of analysis should have been left out.Essentially, the research has done well in proving that the children in the second year of their life were advancing in their learning through imitation, whether deferred or immediate. It contributed to the theoretical base for developmental psychology by establishing that imitative ability starts at the second year of a child’s life and continues to develop as the child advances in age towards the end of its second year. The finding that modeling contributes to learning was not novel but was rather reiteratively established from previous studies and researches (p. 614, paragraph 1).If a replicate of the study has to be done, the use of control group, which is not to employ models, is suggested to be deleted. The use of Block task should utilize same-shaped blocks (i.e., three cubes or three discs or three pyramids). The Xylophone task should also be replaced by another sequential coordinated action that requires a novel task or introduces a novel material. Suggested tasks would be: Doll and little umbrella, where the targeted action is for the child to place the plastic doll in a sitting position on a table, to open a little umbrella and to place the umbrella beside the doll.This task required three sequential actions: placing doll  ® opening umbrella  ® placing umbrella. Doll on bucket, where the targeted action is for the child to position the bucket upside down and to put a plastic doll on a sitting position on the bucket. This task required three sequential actions: positioning the bucket  ® placing the doll. The principle is therefore clear, that the task should be novel as possible and requiring at least two different actions done in some particular order.ReferencesAbravanel, E. & Gingold, H. (1985). Learning via observation during the second year of life. Developmental Psychology, 21 (4), 614-623.

School Attendance

â€Å"How was your day at school? † â€Å"Did you have fun? † â€Å"Who did you play with? † When we hear these questions, many of us flashback to our childhood; when we were excited for school. As we grow up, we lose interest in school. Some are bored with classes, have bullying issues, or have problems with school work. Whatever your reason for not attending school, you must remember that school attendance is crucial for being successful. Good attendance shows potential employers that you are reliable. Consider reading: Why Boarding Schools Should Be AbolishedEmployers are in search of employees that are punctual and who will be effective members of their company. If you do not attend school, then you will miss out on many opportunities of gaining qualifications that are needed. Without a job or career, you will not be an active member of society. You will not have an income and life will be hard. Not attending school sets a bad example for younger students. Younger pupils often look up to older students as role models and want to follow in their footsteps.Your attendance rate is important because you are more likely to excel in academics when you attend school consistently. It's difficult for the teacher and the class to build their skills and progress if a large number of students are frequently absent. In addition to falling behind in academics, students who are not in school on a regular basis are more likely to get into trouble with the law and cause problems in their communit ies. If you do not attend school, you miss the opportunity to engage in extracurricular activities.Extracurricular activities create a positive impact not only on a student’s life, but their peers, and the community. Students become involved in extracurricular activities not only for entertainment, social, and enjoyment purposes, but most important, to gain and improve skills. Extracurricular activities provide a setting to become involved and to interact with other students, thus leading to increased learning and enhanced development. A wide range of extracurricular activities exist at our schools, meeting a variety of student interests.A few extracurricular activities that I participate in are: National Honors Society, Upward Bound, and the 4H Teen Club. School budgets may suffer when students do not attend school. In many states, school budgets are based on the average daily attendance at a school. If many students enrolled at a school fail to consistently attend, the scho ol has less money to pay for essential classroom needs. This puts a hold on advance learning. There are many ways of increasing school attendance.One way is parents, school, and faculty working together to focus of reducing absences and keeping kids in school. Another effective way of increasing school attendance is by making school a place where students feel welcome. Friendly teachers and faculty help to create a positive environment. Schools can also create an environment that enables students to feel successful in something–no matter how small it may seem. To promote attendance, schools can award academic and attendance â€Å"letters,† as they do for athletics.The most effective method I believe is when parents have a talk with their child, explaining the importance of school and discussing why they missed. This creates an awareness that your parent truly cares about you and your future. School prepares you for the real world by creating a responsibility for comple ting homework, attending consistently, being punctual, etc. It helps to form good habits that should follow you throughout life. Regular attendance enables effective learning, develops habits of commitment and dependability and opens doorways to future success.

To What Extent was the USA a Free and Fair Society in the 1920s?

I don't agree that the USA was a free and fair society in the ‘Roaring Twenties'. Not everyone had the rights to get a good job and earn money. Blacks and immigrants were just some of these minority groups that were prejudiced against. Although this was true, the , of Americans could purchase things they never could before, they could watch â€Å"Nickelodeons†, they could listen to the radio. In this essay I will explain who didn't benefit, who did and to what extent the U. S. Was a free and fair society and explain who was caught in the middle of these groups. There were a number of groups who weren't being treated with liberty and fairness in the 1920s. Many Americans were experiencing this freedom, many others were facing racism and prejudice. A huge majority of Americans were immigrants or descendants of immigrants. It was the more recent immigrants that got the abuse. There was a hierarchy of these new citizens in the big American cities. At the top, and competing for the best jobs and highest salaries, were the bigger and better established groups of Irish-Americans, German-Americans and French Canadians. These groups scorned the newer Eastern Europeans and Italian immigrants, who in turn held contempt for the Mexicans and blacks, who were at the bottom of this scale. The Russian revolution of 1917, sparked communist ideas in Russia and Eastern Europe. The new Russian government had usurped the Tsar Nicholas and killed him and his family. With all the communist ideas floating around the countries below Russia, some were bound to come to America via the immigrants. And they did. The period when the U. S. overnment thought communist ideas were spread around America by anarchists and extremists was known as the Red Scare. Evidence was added to these fears and superstitions in 1919. 400,000 workers went on strike, and then the Boston Police Department striked and all hell broke loose in the city, as theives and looters had free reign over the city. Most people today believed the strikes were not to do with communists, but an economic difficulty. Because the government did not know any better, they thought communists would take over America. These fears weren't untrue, as some immigrants did feel the need to overthrow the government, and so leaflets were published in the city, calling for the abolishment of the current system. Bombs were planted against important figures, and one almost killed the Attorney General, Mitchell Palmer. He asked a man named Hoover to round up people with extremist beliefs. Hoover was a controversial man in history, and he built up 60,000 thousand files and deported 10,000 immigrants because of these extremist ideas. Only 556 of these had hard evidence. Mr Palmer, however, found these purges of communists popular, and used their popularity to run for president. As a result of this, Jews, blacks and even Catholics were accused of being communists. In fact, Palmer accused most minority groups in America. Palmer, though, caused his own undoing. He predicted a Red Revolution and when nothing happened he was ridiculed and lost his popularity. Black people had life very bad in the teens and 20s. The Ku Klux Klan had been revived after a film, and they were originally formed in America's Deep South, to keep the slave descendents in order. However, the clan had much support and managed to get some of its members into high positions of power, such as State Governors. The Klan, however, fell out of favour when its leader, Grand Wizard David Stevenson was accused of sexually motivated murder. The corruption of the Klan then became known to many, and that they were not to be trusted. Not everyone had it bad in the 20s. They were known as the ‘Roaring Twenties' because the equivalent of a revolution was taking place. America was quickly becoming known as the most technologically advanced country in the world, and one with an ever increasing economy. It easily overtook Britain, France and Germany, as these countries had taken sever financial losses in the First World War. The 1920s were described as â€Å"one never-ending party†. Sex was no longer taboo, as it had been in the 1800s and early 20th century. Women were seen as less subservient, and there was certainly a huge decrease in prejudice against them. They had decent jobs although still earned less money for the same job. The motor car had been ingeniously redesigned and reproduced by Henry Ford, founder of the world's largest motor company today. Radios and other luxuries were being mass-produced, and so music was becoming increasingly popular, especially Jazz. Wages were raised and so people could spend more money on what they wanted to spend it on. The film industry was being developed and Hollywood had been discovered. It is still the place today where the majority of films are made. The cinema was the most popular pastime of the American population. Films were silent until 1927, but were still incredibly popular, and more cinema tickets were being sold in a week than in a year in Britain today. Films about the former taboo subject of sex were being watched by millions of people. Women had major roles in these films and one of the most successful film stars of the 20s was a woman, Gloria Swanson. Because sex was no longer frowned upon, it was increasing outside marriage. The majority of the American population was incredibly happy. There is an extent to which the freedom and fairness goes in the U. S.. Women for example had it two ways. They were certainly less controlled by men, but they still couldn't work the top jobs or earn as much money in the same job as men. They didn't have the same rights still, although they were greatly improved. Black Americans could work a wider range of jobs, but were still prejudiced against and earned little money. This is why I do not think that the USA was a completely free and fair society in the 1920s, because not everyone had equal rights. Blacks are still treated awfully in the Deep South of America today, so the society is still not free or fair. Using this evidence, I don't think any society could be completely free and fair, as racism, prejudice and chauvinism has gone on for centuries.

Financial strategy Course -case on Mergers & Acquisitions- Essay

Financial strategy Course -case on Mergers & Acquisitions- - Essay Example The kind of acquisition opted for Capita plc is reverse merger which will provide the benefits of public company thus acquired by it. The expectation of Capita related to the increase in the revenue of Capita plc has well been met. The valuation of iSoft at the point of dealing was AUD 28.5 million from the proceeds of the sale of assets. These earnings of the company were mainly to repay the financial dues of the company. As iSoft Business solutions was considered a non-core part of the iSoft group, so the company took the decision to sell it off as thing wing of the company was yielding negative returns. Moreover, further investment in this particular wing of the company may not have been useful. Thus the decision of selling off the company was taken by the management of the company. However, the major success that Capita plc obtained by acquiring iSoft Business solutions was unthinkable. This led to the company to further acquisition of companies expanding its market in varied fie lds. Thus from the study it can be inferred that acquisition is a better option than a merger. Probable decline in the revenue and the rise in the cost of iSoft Business solutions led to the acquisition of the company by Capita plc. Appreciation of the Australian dollar against the Euro was one of the main reasons behind the decline in earnings of iSoft Business solutions. This eroded the revenue of the company by $108 million in comparison to the previous year. In fiscal year 2010, over 70% of the revenues of iSoft’s revenue were denominated in GBP and Euro. Even the other regions in which iSoft Business solutions operated had more or less flat revenue. Thus the company anticipated a large portion of cost towards the revival of the company but the growth in revenues did not materialize. The major portion of the iSoft’s cost being fixed in nature resulted in the decline in the flow of

Peer Pressure on Teenagers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Peer Pressure on Teenagers - Essay Example Indeed, peer pressure is closely linked to human behavior that tries to rationalize the factors that have significant impact on the human psyche which promotes the process of rational or irrational thinking. The impact of peer pressure is critical to the overall development of an adolescent and the paper would be discussing its pros and con. Peer pressure can broadly be defined as the influence of friends, acquaintances, elders and other on the behavioral pattern of the people, especially adolescent children and teenagers. Peer pressure is a specific instance of social influence, which typically produces conformity to a particular way of acting or thinking (Csikszentmihalyi & Larson, 1984). It tends to change the attitude, behavior and moral actions of the person as per the diktats of the peer group. Peer pressure is a common factor amongst the people in general and everyone, at some time or other is influenced to some extent by the people or group to which he or she may belong. Indeed, construction of social identities is often influenced by hordes of issues, which are defined by individual ideology, group representation, professional competencies, intercultural compulsions etc. They facilitate better understanding and access to networking with organizations and groups in order to avail the emerging opportunities for t heir vested interests and boosting of self esteem. Peer pressure in the recent times has catapulted into serious concern for the parents as it adversely impacts the personality traits and behavior of children. It often adversely influences the psyche of the adolescents when they fail to see the long term consequences of their actions and behavior. It may also become detrimental to the overall development of the children and make them irresponsible. Their foray into drug abuse, smoking, sex, violence etc. are few of the areas which are highly damaging and therefore, require careful guidance and intervention during growing up period of

The Pocatello Prison Siting Story Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

The Pocatello Prison Siting Story - Essay Example There are certain challenges attached to building a new prison. While there are economic issues to consider, there are political complications that also may cause hindrance in selecting an area as a potential site for a prison. One major problem that has taken severe shape in the United States is overcrowding in state’s prisons. That excessive number of prisoners incarcerated every year is reflected in the fact that although America consists of only 5 percent of the global population, the country’s total number of prisoners is about 25 percent of prisoners around the world (The Challenges of â€Å"realignment†, 2012). This results in huge demand for building more prisons which leads to greedy bargaining of prison-guards union. Therefore, it is not surprising that state prisons have been exerting an enormous pressure on the state budget. Moreover, growing number of prisons in rural areas or small towns has also become a matter of humanitarian concern. Since most prisons in the United States are overcrowded, heath issues have taken a serious form. However, misery of the prisoners is always a subtle issue for the mainstream population in America as majority of state prisons is situated in remote locations from cities, often in deserts area inland which are dusty. Even till a few years back, one acute problem occurred in the manner that double the number of prisoners were housed in a prison than is actually permitted, especially in the city of California. To deal with this crisis, in 2011 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that prisons should hold only that number of prisoners which will allow to sufficiently maintain humane conditions (The Challenges of â€Å"realignment†, 2012). The case study of the siting of the Pocatello Prison is one example that reflects the many ramifications (both political and rational) that arose from the decision of building a new women’s prison by the state of Idaho. For many