What arguments can be given for and against the desirability of the Essay

What arguments can be given for and against the desirability of the existence of interest groups or (as Madison called them) factions in a democracy Which position do you think is correct - Essay Example The desirability of the existence of interest groups is quite high in the United States of America, because due to their existence, the civilians or the public are able to communicate their issues and concerns to those who are in various positions in the government. There are various interest groups in the US, and the civilians can find one according to their concerns at any point in time. One of the main purposes of any interest group is to influence policy-makers and the way American public system is shaped; interest groups have enough say in the policy-making process. Interest groups have been really effective mainly due to the power imbalance of the parties that are in the government; this imbalance has been created due to difference in power structure of the two branches of the US government. The desirability of interest groups has increased because of several reasons. The same government decisions may be hurtful for one group or community and fruitful for others; thus, those hurt by government policies use interest groups to lobby to make these policies more favourable for them. Sometimes, when a political party representing one side of population is elected, it may be prone to work for the interest of that particular side, so other sides feel neglected; therefore, such people create interest groups to make sure that their interests are not harmed. As an individual, one might not have the power, resources and voice to influence public policies; therefore, interest groups are seen as a means to achieve power and resources for certain individuals who want to safeguard their interests. Several interest groups are in existence in the US, and they are there for different purposes. Another important function of interest groups is to ensure that the members of the government do not devise policies for their own interests and attach equal importance to different individuals within the US; this ability of interest groups is regarded as oversight power. For

Six Sigmas Concept Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Six Sigmas Concept - Research Paper Example 27). The paper argues that Six Sigma is all these but not limited to the above-mentioned elements. Concisely put, Six Sigma is a business process that allows the companies to design their operations in such a way that helps in improving their bottom line profitability by decreasing the waste, increasing the quality. Six Sigma is the business philosophy that urges companies to create mechanisms, which to do fewer mistakes in everything that they do, from writing a checkbook to designing a aircraft, from sweeping the floor to refining petroleum (Carreira & Trudell, pp. 98-99). Despite the fact that Six Sigma could be placed in the life of quality management programs but it also has some striking differences from other quality management programs. First, when other quality programs focus on finding, detecting and understanding the defects to fix them in the early stages of production, Six Sigma urges specifically to create mechanism, systems, and operations, which are defect free (Pande & Holpp, pp. 14-15). Six Sigma believes that products which show defects during production are more likely to do the same when used by the customers; therefore, the focus should be recreating these processes in such a way that defects do not arise in the first place. Second, the way Six Sigma defines quality is much different from other quality programs. During the 1980s, when the prevalent definition of quality was about conformance to certain standards regardless of how these standards were being met. Under the umbrella of Six Sigma, quality is defined as â€Å"a state in which value entitlement is realized for the customer and provider in every aspect of the business relationship† (Summers, pp. 27). In the past, when companies focused solely to conform to standards and produce products according to customer requirements they always found themselves trapped. This was because the companies had little or no focus on the process itself. The company producing the product after finding several defects in it during production, and the company producing it defect free in the first attempt, both were standing in the same line because both had the same â€Å"quality† (Carreira & Trudell, pp. 98-99). Despite working hard on those products, profit margins of these companies remain stagnant or they even kept shrinking. They could not increase the price because of the competition but their costs were sky rocketing because of extensive reworking, reprocessing, warranties, inspection, lost sales, buffer inventory, return and allowances, testing costs, overtime, complaint handlings and others (Zinkgraf, pp. 38). Furthermore, Six Sigma is also a business strategy and management philosophy, which cannot be implemented in the absence of support from the top management and the front line employees. Unlike other quality programs, implementation of Six Sigma requires motivation and support from all employees of the day. It is about asking tough questions about the everyday operations in order to improve them (Carreira & Trudell, pp. 98-99). It is about asking tough questions and leaving comfort zone in order to become more effective in achieving the results. Moreover, Six Sigma believes