The Khalsa

Khalsa is an order that was established by Guru Gobind Singh in 1699 during the Baisakhi festival. Khalsa means pure, and the initiation of Sikhs into the order was done in a ceremony that involved taking sweetened water referred to as Amrit. The Sikh men who were initiated into the Khalsa order adopted the name Singh as their surname while women adopted Kaur’s name. The Sikhs who were initiated into the Khalsa were supposed to uphold the highest morality and codes of conduct. Khalsa started with the baptism of five members by Guru in public, which was followed by the initiation of many others in the Khalsa order.

Singh, Nikky-Guninder Kaur. The Birth of the Khalsa: A feminist re-memory of Sikh Identity. SUNY Press, 2005.

Singh explains the origin of the Khalsa that formed the basis of the Sikhism religion. The author also discusses how Guru Gobind Singh established the Khalsa in 1699 during the Baisakhi festivities by preparing the Amrit and the five men’s baptism to join the family of the Khalsa (Singh xi). The author proceeds to discuss how the Khalsa became an integral part of the Sikh, although it is also a minority proportion of the Sikh who are formally baptized into the Khalsa order. According to the author, all Sikh women and men trace their name, personality, prayers, and religious rites, including what they do and the way they wear to the birth of the Khalsa in 1699. The approach taken by the author of this article, Singh Nikky-Guninder Kaur, is a female perspective (Singh xviii). Singh argues that men have only done the recording of the event of the birth of the Khalsa. As a result, the Sikh Khalsa men are perceived as hypermasculine subjects, while Sikh Khalsa women are perceived as silent and passive objects in the birth of the Khalsa. Additionally, this has led to Sikh women being subjected to a cultural burden that is centuries old. The author also argues that the dramatic Baisakhi event in the birth of the Khalsa does not recognize the role of the Sikh women because the society during the times of Guru Gobind Singh was patriarchal.

McLeod, Hew. “The Five Ks of the Khalsa Sikhs.” Journal of the American Oriental Society 128.2 (2008): 325-331.

In this article, Hew Mcleod discusses how Sikh men are recognizable by their uncut beards and hair and the wearing of turbans. The author also indicates that in the United States and many other countries, the wearing of turbans by Sikh men has made many people brand them as Muslims. As a result, the Sikhs in the United States were more vulnerable even than the Muslims following the 9/11 Twin Towers destruction (McLeod 325). This was after a Sikh man was gunned down for being mistaken to be a Muslim who were associated with the terrorism behind the attack. The author proceeds to provide a description of how the Sikh Khalsa men can be identified by describing how the turbans they wear can be identified. However, it is difficult in most instances to differentiate between Sikh Khalsa women from the Punjabi Hindu women.

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Only people who are well informed can recognize the Sikh Khalsa women by associating them with the male Sikh Khalsa. The author of this article explains the origin of the Five Ks in Khalsa or the five Khalsa symbols and how an observer can recognize a Sikh Khalsa since many of those living overseas are no longer wearing turbans and are cutting their beards (McLeod 326). The author indicates that many Sikhs Khalsa do not observe the traditions and the number of Khalsa men who cut their beards and do not wear a turban is larger than those who follow the tradition. According to the author, it has become difficult to recognize a Sikh Khalsa by their appearance since the Five Ks of the Sikh Khalsa established by Guru Gobind Singh concern only the outside appearance (McLeod 328). The author of the article indicates that despite the Five Ks being the major way to identify a Sikh Khalsa, many of the Khalsa do not follow the tradition.

Syan, Hardip Singh. “Debating Revolution: Early eighteenth-century Sikh public philosophy on the formation of the Khalsa.” Modern Asian Studies (2014): 1096-1133.

In this article, Hardip Singh Syan analyzes the public debate that took place among Delhi’s Sikh community after Guru Gobind Singh established the Khalsa. This debate and its details were expressed in a Sikh text referred to as Sri Gur Sobha written in the early eighteenth century (Syan1096). The text explains the division among Delhi’s Sikhs into anti-Khalsa and pro-Khalsa factions. This division created a conflict that led to the persecution of Delhi’s Khalsa Sikhs. The author examines how the conflict occurred and how it reflects wider socioeconomic and political processes in Sikh society and in early modern India (Syan1097). The author also discusses the establishment of the Khalsa order, whereby the first five members to be initiated into Khalsa had the willingness to sacrifice their lives for Guru Gobind Singh. The author takes the approach of examining how the establishment of the Khalsa order did not only add the rich religious landscape in India but also associated with political ambitions that challenged Mughal’s authority in the Punjab region (Syan1098). According to the author, Khalsa Sikhism was associated with the notions of soldierliness and sovereignty that are clear in the Khalsa’s initiation ceremony. Becoming Khalsa was not a process of merely displaying faith in Guru Gobind Singh by wearing a specific dress code. It was a complex process that required devotion to the Guru in forming a militant organization of righteousness that was added to the religious community (Syan 1104).

Robinson, Catherine Anne. “Raj Karega Khalsa (the Khalsa shall reign): the legacy of Tat Khalsa in portrayals of the Khalsa, the impact on Sikh studies and implications for Sikhism in education.” Religions of South Asia 1.1 (2007): 65-80.

In this article, Catherine Anne Robinson explains how Khalsa tends to be a representation of Sikhism. The author provides an explanation of the origin of the Khalsa and the elements that define true Khalsa. The author also indicates the way Tat Khalsa or true Khalsa has influenced teaching and research in Sikhism by examining the history of Sikh studies (Robinson 65). In the article, Catherine Anne Robinson demonstrates how Khalsa’s current form was shaped through activities that campaigned for true Khalsa in the early twentieth and late nineteenth centuries. According to Robinson, the traditionalist Sikh ideology perceived Sikhism as embedded in Hinduism. Additionally, being a member of the Khalsa order was not a privilege over other allegiances and affiliations as an element of the true Sikh Khalsa (Robinson 68). However, Khalsa has been reformed and has profoundly influenced the Sikh ideology to become a significant differentiating element between Sikhism and Hinduism. This author takes an approach of critical reflection of how Khalsa in Sikhism is represented in education. The author examines the origin of the Khalsa ideology and how it has evolved to become the identity of the Sikhs (Robinson 68). The author provides scholarly views on how the standard version of establishing the Khalsa order is featured in Sikhism.

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Pilgrimage, H. A. Y., J. “The Greenhaven Encyclopedia of World Religions.”

In this article, the author explains the topic of Khalsa, whereby it describes Khalsa as the Sikh community in which the members have gone through formal initiation into the Khalsa order (Pilgrimage 176). The author explains the establishment of the Khalsa by Guru Gobind Singh in a ceremony that had the intention of turning the Sikhs into a military organization that was willing and ready to defend their faith and identity. The author describes the ceremony of initiating Sikhs into the Khalsa through baptism using sweetened water. The author also indicates how the Khalsa Sikhs were required to adhere to the stipulated code of behavior, including caring for the needy, maintaining marriage vows, and courage in conflict. The author further discusses how Sikh Khalsa men were recognizable in public by not cutting their beards or hair, wearing donning clothes and a steel bracelet on their right wrists, and crying a small dagger (Pilgrimage 176). This author takes the approach of providing a description of how Khalsa Sikhs were not hiding their faith and how they had to learn how to maintain their pride in public. They had to be ready to defend their identity and religion. Men had to adopt the name Singh in their surname, and women adopted the name Kaur.

Comparing the findings of the article, including their approaches

The findings of the five articles analyzed have various similarities despite the scholars using different approaches. In all the articles, the authors have discussed the establishment of the Khalsa by Guru Gobind Singh. All the scholars of the analyzed articles also discuss the initiation of the Sikhs into the Khalsa. The authors also provide a description of the features that make Sikh Khalsa men recognizable in public. However, the article by Hew McLeod indicates that all Sikh Khalsa men do not observe these observable features like not cutting their hair and beards and wearing turbans. The articles have differences in the approaches used by each scholar. The article by Singh Nikky-Guninder Kaur takes a female perspective by arguing how the event that led to the birth of the Khalsa does not recognize the role of the Sikh women because the society was patriarchal (Singh xix). The approach taken by Hew McLeod is also different from the rest because it explains how the majority of Sikh Khalsa men are no longer recognizable by wearing turbans and not cutting their hair because this tradition is not observed by all Sikh Khalsa (McLeod 326). The article by Hardip Singh Syan also takes a different perspective by analyzing the public debate among Delhi’s Sikh community after Guru Gobind Singh established the Khalsa. This scholar examines how the establishment of the Khalsa order added to the rich religious landscape in India and associated with political ambitions (Robinson 68). The article by Catherine Anne Robinson also takes a different approach to the topic by examining the origin of the Khalsa ideology and how it has evolved to become the true identity of the Sikhs. The article by Pilgrimage provides a summary of the Khalsa order by discussing how formal initiation is carried out and how Sikh Khalsa men are recognizable in public.

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Reflection on What I Have Learned About How Each Scholar Approaches the Topic

There are several lessons that can be derived from how the various scholars approach the topic of the Khalsa. Among the lessons that I learned is that despite the approaches taken by the various scholars, the Khalsa is depicted as a principle that forms the basis of the Sikhism religion (Pilgrimage 176). I also learned that despite the scholars taking different approaches on the topic, the process of initiation into the Khalsa order had been described in the same way. I also learned that it is only a minority of the Sikhs who are initiated in the Khalsa despite the Khalsa being an integral part of the Sikhism religion. From the approach taken by Hew McLeod, I learned that it is not all the Khalsa Sikh men and women follow the traditions provided by the Five Ks of the Khalsa (McLeod 329) This is because McLeod indicates that the majority of Sikh Khalsa men living overseas cut their hair and beards and do not wear a turbine. The scholars also indicate that the Khalsa was established as a military organization aimed at ensuring that the Khalsa Sikhs defend their identity and faith.

References

Singh, Nikky-Guninder Kaur. The Birth of the Khalsa: A feminist re-memory of Sikh Identity. SUNY Press, 2005.

McLeod, Hew. “The Five Ks of the Khalsa Sikhs.” Journal of the American Oriental Society 128.2 (2008): 325-331.

Syan, Hardip Singh. “Debating Revolution: Early eighteenth-century Sikh public philosophy on the formation of the Khalsa.” Modern Asian Studies (2014): 1096-1133.

Robinson, Catherine Anne. “Raj Karega Khalsa (the Khalsa shall reign): the legacy of Tat Khalsa in portrayals of the Khalsa, the impact on Sikh studies and implications for Sikhism in education.” Religions of South Asia 1.1 (2007): 65-80.

Pilgrimage, H. A. Y., J. “The Greenhaven Encyclopedia of World Religions.”

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center

Overview of the Fred Hutchinson Research Center

The Fred Hutchison Cancer Center is one of the most successful and largest bone marrow transplant centers in both the US and worldwide.  The center receives grants from the federal government and other independent US research institutes. The case was presented in the US district court in the Western District of Washington by the patients’ families filed a suit against Fred Hutchinson Research Center. The file occurred after Fred Hutchinson Research Center conducted a series of cancer trials between 1981 and 1993. At this time, the research center conducted clinical trials using T-cell depletion to graft-versus-host-disease (GVHD), which has been the cause of death during the bone marrow transplant process. Several patients who enrolled for the Fred Hutchison Cancer center trial died (Lin, & Liang, 2004). The causes of what transpired during the death of the patients who enrolled for trials gained wider attention after a series of articles published by The Seattle Times. Immediately after the Fred Hutchison research trials publication, the patient family filed a case against the center.  The patients’ families claimed the center did not disclose all information needed by the participants to make informed decisions.  According to the families, the center researchers failed to disclose important details to the patients that the GVHD treatment trial is likely to cause bone marrow treatment failure.  Also, the families claimed that the facility failed reveal the relevant information related to the research to the Institutional Review Board (IRB), and it intimidated its officials, which contravened the federal regulations. They also argued that the investigators had financial interest from the project because they eyed big proceeds if the treatment became successful. The patients’ families argued the investigators had ownership of the stock in the company.

Issues Presented by The Families

Their families argued that they had their constitutional due process rights as illustrated under the 14^th amendment since the center violated IRB procedures by not giving room for adequate research procedures resulting in patient harm. The plaintiff that the research procedures violate the Nuremberg code, declaration of Helsinki, and Belmont Report. Nuremberg Code outlines the special need for the research community to safeguard human experimentation. Also, Helsinki’s (DoH) declaration was first adopted in 1964, which provides guidance in clinical trials and ensures the researchers adhere to informed consent. Its main goal is to protect the research participants. Belmont report describes inadequacy in the medical practice standards and ensures that the researcher adheres to the informed consent guidelines. The families claimed the facility failed to disclose all information needed by the participants to make informed decisions, especially about conflict of interests (COI).

Defendants Presented by the Families

On the other hand, the Fred Hutchison research center held that it did not violate the research’s policies. The facility argued that the trials were objectively reviewed and testified that the research’s disclosure was lengthy, detailed, and documented. The facility presented evidence of the documented discussions with patients and their families. It included discussions on the potential benefits and risks of the clinical trials.  The facility highlighted that it gives the patients and their families a room to asks questions, alternatives, and concerns relating to the trails. The center also indicates that it gave written consent to the patients and their families, which helped them make informed decisions. Also, IRB affirmed that it assessed and approved trials independently without any external influence or intimidation. Also, the center confirmed it did not have intentions to sell the antibodies for the clinical trials. The investigators argued that they did not patent the antibodies for protection or use. The court ruled the case in favor of the Fred Hutchison Research center.  It dismissed the claims of the family claims and affirmed the center followed the due research process.

Conflict of Interests Indicated in The Case Study

According to Kuszler (2001), the conflict of interests comprises a situation where the professional actions of judgments regarding primary interests like the medical researcher’s responsibility are at risk due to unduly influence by secondary interests like career development and financial gain. In this case, individuals in the research use their power for their personal gain, which is not only unethical but illegal. Curzer & Santillanes (2012) highlight that the conflict may involve both institutions and individuals. The conflict of interest in the research is a problem due to the following reasons. First, it is a problem because it can engage in human subjects’ safety. The researchers and companies are driven by profitability pursuits less likely to prioritize the research process’s safety.

Consequently, they may end up not looking at the side effects of the drugs as expected. Also, they disregard all ethical research requirements like informed consent, disclosure of the full scope of the research, and others for self-gain, making the participants make poor personal decisions that end up harming them.  Secondly, it may jeopardize the public faith in the research findings. In such a case, the public may question the credibility and accuracy of the research findings. They end up asking whether the researcher was acting in the best interests of the patients or was the vehicle for advancing the research firms and pharmaceutical companies’ facial interests.  Also, conflict of interest in the clinical trials is more likely to reduce the publics’ willingness to participate in the studies. Indeed, the success of the clinical experimental processes relies significantly on the public willingness to take part. Therefore, the public may not agree to take part in the clinical experiments if they believe that the research community is driven by their own hedonistic motives. Consequently, it may inhibit future discoveries, especially when research support is not available.

In the above case between the patients vs. Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, there are various incidences of conflict of interest highlighted, which has made the whole research process questionable. The organization’s whole research process remains contestable as the patient’s families found a conflict of interest among the trial investigators. To avoid such a scenario, the research centers must ensure the whole research process is credible, fair, and free from any conflict of interests. one of the issues presented in the above case is the financial conflict of interests. As outlined in the above case, some researchers were suspected of having financial interests from bone marrow transplant trials.  According to Kuszler (2001), the family of the patients felt that the information about financial interests by the medical research team was not disclosed to patients who were critical in their process of making informed decisions. They believed that the physicians were required to indicate any actual or potential conflicts of interest in the trials’ outcomes.   The Seattle Times disclosed that the trial was conducted by the physicians who had shares in the company. Therefore, this affirmed that the trial investigators expected to garn proceeds from the trial antibodies. Also, the family argued that the trial investigators interfered with IRB reviewing and approval exercise. They argued that the investigators intimidated IRB officials who were in a position to determine whether the duly process was followed in the clinical trials. The financial gain from the entire exercise was the major barrier to fair and independent exercise.

Make Recommendations for Managing, Eliminating, Or Reducing the Conflicts of Interest

Curzer & Santillanes (2012) highlight that the conflict of research remains the area of concern to the magnitude of effect on the research outcome, quality, and dissemination of the research. Also, it has negative implications on public perception and trust in universities and researchers. With the growing research number of academic medical institutions, the need to ensure the research outcome’s quality, accuracy, and credibility are indispensable. To avoid the risks associated with financial interests in research, the government needs to undertake the following measures.  One of the strategies of managing the conflict of interest in the research process is through the utilization of the prohibition model.  Curzer & Santillanes (2012) elaborate that the implementation of the prohibition model dissuades any activities, arrangement, or motives, especially those pertaining to financial, which in turn results in the conflict of interests unless for those providing the social benefits of equal magnitude. The institutions or jurisdictions that implement this strategy establishes the threshold within which some conflict of interests may be accepted. One of the considerations is that it must present a socially redeeming value. For instance, it must unveil the treatment of some deadly, chronic, and incurable illnesses like cancer and others.  The second threshold is that the redeeming social value must outweigh the risk of underreported, incomplete, and biased research conducted. In case the conflicting interest does not fulfill these two thresholds, then it should be prohibited. Romain, (2015) argues institutions or government needs to minimize the risks of the imbalance between the conflict of interests and punitive benefits through management and disclosure. Some of the social benefits that outweigh the risk of bias include job creation, an improvement of medical innovation to the bedside, advancing economic benefits, and supporting research programs in the universities and private entities. This strategy is mainly utilized to prohibit senior researchers that are perceived to have conflicting interest in clinical trials.

Another strategy that can be applied to manage conflict of interests is the utilization of the disclosure and peer review model.  According to Curzer & Santillanes (2012), the disclosure and peer review help the universities and private entities to capture any motivations or arrangements that may trigger a conflict of interests. Strong peer reviews evaluate secondary data analysis in the research process. Romain, (2015) alludes that public evaluation and journal review by other researchers would help to detect and counteract the unacceptable biases in human trials. It ensures the duly process of the research is followed by the researchers. Some researchers argue that prohibition is not the best approach to eliminating conflict of interests, and the disclosure model allows peer reviewers to detect possible biases and minimize their future occurrence.  According to Romain (2015), this strategy is critical and most effective in addressing the non-financial biases.

Similarly, relevant government agencies and research bodies must ensure that universities or private entities must adhere to public health regulations (PHS).  42 CFR Part 50, Subpart requires the investigators to disclose any significant financial interests that might be affected by the research. It requires the institutions to designate the organizational officials to review and solicit the financial disclosure statements highlighted by the investigators. According to the PHS, significant financial interests comprises of income not exceeding $ 10,000 and equity interest not exceeding the same amount.

Also, institutions should follow the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) COI policy.  They are required to follow policies highlighted in CFR Part 54 Form FDA 3455. Forms for clinical investigators ask for the disclosure of any significant equity held by the clinical investigator or sponsor, payments coupled to results, and propriety interests, and others. Lastly, personal level strategies can help in managing conflict of interest in the research process.  in this strategy, the investigators must attempt to avoid financial conflict at any means possible. They should strengthen their ethical skills to help them overcome any ethical challenges they encounter.

Conclusion

In the research, conflict of interests may present deleterious effects not only to the participants but also to the researching center. Conflict of interests causes the researchers to undertake flawed and partial trials with incomplete evidence, which eventually may cause harm to patients. Conversely, it may taint the image of the research firms as the public comes to uncover the whole truth. Moreover, it may attract legal penalties as the participants will sue the researchers. Kuszler (2001) highlights that the researching institutions can avoid negative consequences associated with COI through establishing strategies to reduce, manage, or eliminate them.

References

Lin, L., & Liang, B. A. (2004). Wright v. Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center: Maintaining Patient    and Public Trust in Clinical Research. AMA Journal of Ethics, 6(11), 501-504.a

Curzer, H. J., & Santillanes, G. (2012). Managing conflict of interest in research: Some   suggestions for investigators. Accountability in research, 19(3), 143-155.

Kuszler, P. C. (2001). Curing conflicts of interest in clinical research: impossible dreams and      harsh   realities. In Widener L. Symp. J. (Vol. 8, p., 115).

Romain, P. L. (2015). Conflicts of interest in research: Looking out for number one means keeping the primary interest front and center. Current reviews in musculoskeletal          medicine, 8(2), 122-127.

Companies that have gained market advantages due to Covid19

Global pandemics have been known to have adverse repercussions on businesses. For instance, the worldwide covid-19 epidemic has caused many small businesses to close their doors due to the high losses incurred. However, some companies continue to flourish during such difficult economic times. One of the critical elements that make businesses benefit more from catastrophic events is the gained economies of scale. An example of companies that have gained market advantages due to the corona pandemic is the Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd. and the UnitedHealth Group.

Recognized as an international e-commerce giant, the Chinese based franchise, Alibaba Group registered a more than double its profit in its first-quarter fiscal report. This number is expected to increase due to the covid-19 pandemic that has left cities and towns on lockdown state. With no access to physical shopping sites, people are left with no other alternative than to shop online. Over the past months, online traffic has upsurged, leading to a growing demand for online services such as the one extended by the Alibaba Group. The economies of scale facilitating Alibaba’s success is it’s the company’s networking advantage (Mourdoukoutas, n.p.). Alibaba offers a platform for buyers and sellers to interact.

Owing to the fact that the UnitedHealth Group is a renowned healthcare facility, this organization is one of the few that has recorded significant profits during the global covid-19 pandemic. This facility continues to offer the best medical services as people seek better healthcare during the epidemic. Due to the growing demand for medical attention, this organization has partnered with the local healthcare facilities to extend affordable services to members of the public (UnitedHealth Group, n.p.). The leading economies of scale that have made the UnitedHealth Group gain its market advantage it’s the additional investments the company has infused within its system to support those affected by the covid-19 pandemic.

Work Cited

Mourdoukoutas, Panos. “Alibaba’s Five Advantages”. Forbes, 2020, https://www.forbes.com/sites/panosmourdoukoutas/2014/04/15/alibabas-five-advantages/?sh=5ec8eb0b70a6.

UnitedHealth Group. “UnitedHealth Group Reports Third Quarter Results.” Unitedhealthgroup.Com, 2020, https://www.unitedhealthgroup.com/newsroom/2020/2020-10-14-third-quarter-results.html.

The US employment law is highly focused on addressing all forms of discrimination by the employer. Discrimination of persons with disabilities is one of the most critical areas of concern in the US discrimination laws. The law is grounded on humanization of the persons with disabilities which involve designing the policies to reflect and expand their human potentials (Mackelprang, Salsgiver, & Salsgiver, 2016). The employment law is the aftermath of other national agendas that include quality education and specialized training programs (Francis, & Silvers, 2015). The Americans with Disabilities Act (1990) provide the guidelines needed to fulfill the agendas by the employers in all the sectors. The law focuses on ensuring that persons with disabilities are given equal opportunities to recruitment for a job if they have the skills needed to complete the task. The law calls for extra responsibility to the employers to include comfortable working conditions for them. The recruitment process, for instance, requires that the interview need to respond to the skills and abilities without reflecting on the disability (Barnes, 2014). The law also gives the employer an initiative to develop policies and workplace etiquette that recognizes and empower the disabled persons. This calls not for treating them as weak personnel’s in the company who require special environments but rather people with special abilities that can only be fulfilled through a highly specialized system. The Americans with Disabilities (Act) is a significant law that was championed by Senator Thomas Richard Harkins and signed into law by President Bush in 1990. The law has undergone other several amendments to enhance its effectiveness in the improvement of the well-being of persons with disabilities in the labor market (Heyer, 2017).  This amendment includes the ADAAA (2008) that helped to clarify the law definition of disabilities distinguishing disabilities from impairments. The law is a set of rules and regulations that govern the response to persons with disabilities in various facilities, both private and public.

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This paper will reflect on the American with Disabilities Act and how this law regulates the relationship between employer and employees with disabilities in the contract period. Although the law has not accomplished all the objectives, it’s a primary management tool for use by the employers. The law also edifies the employees with disabilities of their rights. This law has implications to both the employer and the employee. The paper will first focus on the Americans with Disabilities Act reflecting on its guidelines, achievements, and limitations in reducing discrimination of employees with disabilities by the employers. After this, the paper will present the employment policies and etiquette that arise for managers and other employees following the objectives of the humanization of persons with disabilities (Rothman, 2018). This will be the shortest section of the paper. The third element of the discussion is the employer’s role, or the reasonable accommodation’s that the employer is required to fulfill in compliance with the law. The fourth element is the empowerment of the employees with disability through training to maximize their utility to the employer throughout the contract period.

Like the other employees without disabilities, they have a responsibility to fulfill all the tasks as would be required by the employer. The next elements are the aspects of the law that offer a guarantee to the limitations of the employees’ demands. The last portion of the paper is on the position of the American efforts for the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities in the global context. These include the assessment of the personal impact of the law on the American citizens compared to other citizens. The American with Disability Act is the primary employment law that governs the employer-employee relationship in the private and public sector and hence its objectives highlight the legal guidelines that govern terms of the contract for employees with disabilities and the eligibility of those contracts.

The Americans with Disability Act (ADA or ADAAA)

This is the most significant legal framework defined for the rights of the persons with disabilities for fair and equitable treatment by employers in the recruitment and contractual periods. The law defines clearly that persons with disability have equal employment rights provided they are competent to perform the tasks assigned. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission got the initial mandate to implement employment discrimination provisions, Title I of the Act.  In other words, the law is more focused on the empowerment of persons with disability and as such the employers are the primary target of the law. The EEOC has defined regulations for the employers as a guideline to the implementation of the requiring compliance for all employers. The law provides for equal opportunities to persons with disabilities. In other words, employers are prohibited from discrimination of persons with disabilities during the recruitment process. This means that interview questions and requirements should be fair such that the persons with disabilities will stand an equal chance like other candidates. For instance, employees need not to ask the candidate how they would overcome their situation to perform any task. This guideline is also useful to the employers as they are not subjected to compulsory recruitment of persons with disabilities when other candidate standouts better chances. The role is to demonstrate that the candidate was only ruled out on factors other than those affiliated to disability.

Also See: Rules of Law against Employment Discrimination.

The ADA provides for the employer not to recruit persons with disabilities if such recruitment would impose an undue hardship to the operations of the business. The undue hardship is considered as imposing excessive costs to an employer or would demand the employer to change the operations. In other words, the hiring of persons with disabilities need not change the roles and responsibilities of a given position (Riccucci, 2018). For example, hiring a disabled employee as a machine operator requires that the recruitment mandate the employer to make provisions to the employee to perform their tasks, but the hiring should not lead to the abandonment of the said task. ADA clarifies on the differences between impairments and disabilities defining the positions for ADA impairments. This was best achieved during the 2008 amendment. To the employer’s disability is considered as the inability to perform tasks in what would be considered normal for human beings. For example, blindness is regarded as a disability and as such the employee would only fulfill their obligations through the use of particular structures. The court dismisses a case against an employer if the persons filing the suit fail to meet the ADA disability description. Another consideration will be that an employee would not demand special treatment by being left handed or if they have certain personality traits like quick temper.     The ADA law requires that a condition would be considered in its unmitigated state. In other words for a person with an impairment if mitigation action has been taken to overcome the challenge such an employee would still qualify for ADA disability provision. For example, a person with hearing impairments and who uses hearing aids and it enhances them to hear like the general population is considered to qualify for the ADA disability. This means that the hearing aids do not overwrite the hearing impairment. This provision is a new circumstance and as such employers would be advised to seek counsel before dismissal for ADA applicants since the mitigated impairments previously unconsidered for protection would otherwise qualify for protection.

The ADA law gives guidelines on the need to uphold a high level of confidence in the employee and need to be initiated through the same process. For instance, a new employee is to be offered training in equal measures to disabled employees like employees without disabilities without a call for other employees to show special to the persons. This means an employee needs not to feel humiliated before others based on their condition. The employer needs to be updated on the most recent requirements of the law to ensure plans are based on the existing provisions of the law.

Employment Policy and Etiquette

The implementation of the guidelines by the ADA calls for employers to incur more costs in the hiring and management of employees. The law calls for the employers for change in the attitude focusing on the need to empower the employees with special abilities. An employer needs to hold the primary role to demonstrate that humanization of persons with disabilities is parts of its core agendas. The employer’s policies and regulations are called upon to challenge the limitation of ADA law. The employer has a responsibility to support the employee to exploit their abilities and to enhance the achievement of the company objectives. Even after the establishment of the law, the persons with disabilities have not experienced increased access to employment opportunities as the law intended it. This means that most of the other aspects of the law that would govern the contractual relationship between the disabled employee and the employer have less impact within the job market. The government has increased its policies focusing on bridging the gap between the employment of persons with disabilities with the rest of the population (Blanck, 2016). The employer is required to be updated of such policies since they are of legal significance. The systems require an employer to give considerations as part of its commitment to enhancing economic empowerment for persons with disabilities.

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An employer is advised to have own policies and guidelines for compliance with ADA which are guided by the EEOC rules and regulations. This would mean that in a lawsuit regarding discrimination for persons with disabilities a court judge is mandated to make a judgment based on the company own policy in addressing discrimination against persons with disabilities. The company policies must not contradict the requirements of ADA or the policies by EEOC. This means that the law calls for the organization to take reasonable accommodations to persons with disabilities. The effort needs to be continuous such that an employee is not forced to abandon their current job based on negligence by the employer to make special provisions.

Employers Role/Reasonable Accommodation

This governs the contractual relationship between the employer and the employees with disabilities. A qualified person with disabilities is to be considered as a person who with or without special accommodations can perform their roles in the organization. In this case, the task will be performed without a need to change the business itself. In other words, the employer has a role in making all provisions that would enhance persons with disabilities to perform their roles like other employees. In the review of the performance of an employee the entities that facilitate, this effectiveness need to be put in place. For example, a telephone operator who requires an amplified headset to give equal results is entitled to those provisions before judgments based on poor performance. The employer needs to accommodate a dialogue with the employees to ensure that the correct accommodations are given. For instance, an employee with low vision could request the employer to accommodate large font options in their printed documents. If such documents include Memos, the employer may seek to offer to accommodate the employee through use of soft copies specific for them. Both the employer and the employee need to come into an agreement on the best approach to ensure it’s the most convenient decisions. This consideration would be most effective especially if there are no specifications by ADA or the EEOC on what accommodations to make for the given impairment.

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The employer also needs to follow the five guidelines in the recruitment process to ensure that the employee would demand only reasonable accommodations. The first step is to consider only the essential tasks in the evaluation of whether the person can perform the job. This is important because potential candidates have several limitations for multiple tasks and would most likely be ruled out. Also if accommodations would be considered after hiring, they must also be related to fulfillment of the essential functions (Kaminer, 2016). The second factor is to find all the accommodations which are necessary to the tasks assigned. In other words, once the employer has assigned a contract with the disabled employee, there would be a need for commitment to fulfill all the accommodations that enhance fulfillment of the essential tasks.   The other requirement for the employer is to ensure that employees with disabilities are treated equally to persons without disabilities. Also, the employer can fulfill this obligation by providing that they have the highest qualified personnel in their workforce and the accommodations are not extended to disability non-related interventions. For example, training the employees need to be within the scope of standard employee training or for the use of special facilities that would help improve performance.

Also See: Constitutional Law for Criminal Justice. U 5-2

The scope of the accommodation given to persons with disability is to allow the employee to fulfill their obligations without overreliance on job coaches or other persons. The employer needs to commit to updating the accommodations without an assumption that any of the accommodations would be impossible. This would include integration with other employers to increase the scope of the interventions. The employer also needs to utilize sites like the Job Accommodation Network that provide a wide range of ideas on accommodation of persons with disabilities. The employer also needs to evaluate the effectiveness of the accommodation issued such as to ensure improved performance by the employees. Some of the accommodations are not related directly to the tasks but empower the employee to exploit their potential and to develop their career. Issuance of accommodation is to be extended to the recruits or persons with disabilities arising at the course of their career.

Training Employee’s with Disabilities to Maximize Utility During Contract Period

After hiring and providing accommodation, ADA requires that the employer considers employees who lack proper skills to use some of the facilities. This is most common to persons receiving impairments later after recruitment. For instance, an employee who becomes deaf at the course of fulfillment of their duties may require some basic training for communications like the use of sign language. The employer needs to provide or facilitate such treatment without dismissal of an employee that they cannot fulfill their obligations. Others may include mobility training, and the employer must ensure that the employee is not in grave danger at the course of fulfillment of their responsibilities (Padkapayeva et al., 2017). The facilities and the accommodations would be useless if the employees cannot entirely understand them. In this case, there is a need to see that the employees have more than one tool for training to fulfill a given responsibility effectively. Also, the training mechanisms need to incorporate facilities not available in the organization but can be utilized in other public facilities. There are thus minimal limitations as to the scope of the interventions that would be useful to the employees. An employee with a disability is to stand an equal chance to perform their responsibilities efficiently like other colleagues.

Guarantee Offered to The Employer to Safeguard Effective Contracts

ADA gives a guideline as to what would be termed as a reasonable accommodation to be issued by the employer to the employee. The law protects employers over what would otherwise be termed as unreasonable accommodations. There is a clear guideline on the ADA impairment that qualifies for an accommodation.  The accommodation need to help employees perform their role in the organization. The law is limited to the benefits and privileges of employment. In other words, the employee is not guaranteed to make additional accommodations which are not directly related to the job. An employee may not demand accommodations that involve they are not entitled to perform in the organization. The employee who files a suit must be deemed to have the ADA impairment.  Lawsuits filed by employees fail to meet the minimum requirements for ADA impairments will be dismissed. Although the law is defined to protect the employee over discrimination by the employer, it has the framework within which accommodation would be issued. Also, an employee cannot claim for discrimination on promotions for roles that they are not qualified to perform. In other words, the law does not call for blanket laws that override the needs for an employer to acquire the most qualified personnel to work in the organization.

American Disability Act Effectiveness

The economic well-being of persons with disabilities remains low. Employers consider the ADA guideline as an increase in the cost of hiring. This means that the primary objectives of the law have not been achieved. The numbers of persons with a disability who are hired for any position are relatively lower compared to the persons without disabilities. In other words, the employment of persons with disabilities remains significantly lower compared to the other population. One of the reasons could be that like other employment law there is no provision for sufficient change of attitude on disabled persons as weak in the organization. The law is operational, and the employer must meet all the necessary requirements in their relationship with the employer. Like other laws for discrimination, the impact of the law is well understood when an individual company is a victim of any allegation. One of the areas that the disabled employees would need to be most informed is on the recruitment process. There are many shortcomings reflected by the continuous decline in the employment of persons with disabilities.

Conclusion

This research addresses the employment law on discrimination to persons with disabilities in the United States. The scope of the research is on the employees working in the private sector. The primary law that governs discriminations to persons with disabilities is ADA which advocates for humanization of persons with disabilities. The law gives a guideline to the employer for fair recruitment and management of employees. The objective is to treat employees with disabilities like all the other person providing the necessary accommodation to fulfill the assigned tasks. The law defines the ADA impairments to restrict focus only to fundamental impairments and for reasonable accommodation only (Sundar, 2017). This guarantees employers rights over unreasonable claims. The hiring of persons with disabilities is to be guided to ensure that the company is not exposed to undue risks. In other words, hiring a person with a disability is not to squeeze the organization to change its primary operations to accommodate the limitations of the employee. The discussion also outlines the provision of reasonable accommodation as a critical responsibility for the employer.

References

Barnes, C. (2014). What a difference a decade makes: Reflections on doing ‘emancipatory’disability research. In Ethics and Research in Inclusive Education (pp. 55-      70). Routledge.

Blanck, P. (2016). The first “A” in the ADA: and 25 more “A” s toward equality for Americans with disabilities. Inclusion, 4(1), 46-51.

Francis, L., & Silvers, A. (Eds.). (2015). Americans with disabilities. Routledge.

Heyer, K. C. (2017). The ADA on the road: Disability rights in Germany. In Law and Social Movements (pp. 199-238). Routledge.

Kaminer, D. N. (2016). Mentally ill employees in the workplace: Does the ADA amendments act provide adequate protection. Health Matrix, 26, 205.

Mackelprang, R. W., Salsgiver, R. O., & Salsgiver, R. (2016). Disability: A diversity model approach in human service practice. Oxford University Press

Padkapayeva, K., Posen, A., Yazdani, A., Buettgen, A., Mahood, Q., & Tompa, E. (2017). Workplace accommodations for persons with physical disabilities: evidence synthesis of the peer-reviewed literature. Disability and rehabilitation, 39(21), 2134-2147.

Riccucci, N. (2018). Managing Diversity In Public Sector Workforces: Essentials Of Public Policy And Administration Series. Routledge.

Rothman, J. (2018). Social work practice across disability. Routledge.

Sundar, V. (2017). Operationalizing workplace accommodations for individuals with disabilities:     A scoping review. Work, 56(1), 135-155.

All around the world, more education equates to more opportunities. A lot of knowledge means that an individual can handle more responsibilities. However, is this always the case?

“The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education.” Albert Einstein

Einstein was quite skeptical about our current education system. He, most of the times classified it as a waste of time as the only right learning process to him focused on the experience process.

In our current world, especially economy-wise, education levels and economic levels simultaneously follow one another. The levels of education in the First worlds as compared to those in the Under-developed world portray that the education system plays a significant role in contributing to the economy.

Talent Management

Education is important. As a matter of fact, its importance might not just vanish from existence in the world today. However, experience and real-life situations seem to carry more massive significance in the current times.

Who clearly remembers the first day of college?

A lecturer walked into my first lecture hall and proudly said, “Congratulations! All of you have made the right decision to join college. You will not regret

this decision. College will shape and nurture you while equipping you to meet the real world!” We clapped and gave a standing ovation to the lecturer: only to later find out that the likes of Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates dropped out of college!

Education is quite important. If one considers the literate and numeric perspective presented by school, then its importance cannot be undervalued. It is vital that such traits surrounding education remain relevant. Training teaches more on civilization and the existence of different people in one spherical atmosphere.

However, aspects like geometry confuse the essence of education. Geometry is an important subject, even in higher levels of education. However, how is it applicable in the real world? Or solving problems like hunger or a depression? Languages learned in the education system like French are only relevant in France. What if the person never gets to go to France?

“The only source of knowledge is experience.” Albert Einstein

Imagine going through an education system for over ten years as preparation for the world only to realize that at the very end, everyone begins at zero when venturing to the real-world. The experience that the education system so claims to possess is unachievable any other way than gaining experience itself.

Education is not a waste of time and money at all. At the same time, it actually is! People all around the world are different. There exist those focused on maintaining employment. For them, going through the education system provides an opportunity for great employment opportunities. However, at the same time, different people focus on contributing more to society. To them, education is a waste of time and money!