Strategic Management Report on Toyota

Strategic Management Report on Toyota Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota) is the largest producer of automobiles in Japan and the worlds second largest automotive manufacturer based on production and sales. In 2010, Toyota sold 7.24 million units (Toyota, 2010). Toyota diversified operations include financial services, telecommunications, prefabricated housing and leisure boats. Besides its 12 plants and a number of manufacturing subsidiaries and affiliates in Japan, Toyota has 52 manufacturing companies in 27 countries that produce Lexus and Toyota brand vehicles and components. Toyota employs approximately 320,590 people worldwide, and markets vehicles in more than 170 countries. The company is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan and had an operating income of approximately 397.05 billion Yen (Toyota, 2011). And the main competitors of Toyota are General Motors, Honda Motors and Ford Motors (Daily Finance, 2011). 3. Analysis of Toyota Strategic Capabilities: 3.1 Company Capabilities Grant (2010) says about Lean production integrates capabilities relating to the manufacture of components and subassemblies, supply chain management, production scheduling, assembly, quality control procedures, systems for managing innovation and continuous improvement and inventory control. 3.1.1 Resources Innovation has always been a Toyota resource. In the 1970s Toyota began to produce smaller, more fuel-efficient cars, which customers desired after oil prices rocketed. Recently, it has used both diesel technology and the electric car. 3.1.2 Organizational Culture However, Toyotas main resource is the Toyota Way, the 14 principles behind the Toyota Production System (Combe, 2011). These originated in the post 1945 environment, when it was imperative to make the maximum use of scarce resources. Challenges, improvement, Kaisen, go and see (genchi genbutsu); respect and teamwork are the main tenets of these principles, which can be outlines as follows. Management decisions should be long term, as opposed to short term, although they should be arrived at consensually. Problems should be highlighted by continuous process, not hidden and resolved immediately so that a quality product is produced immediately. Only existing and trustworthy technology should be used and tasks need to be standardized so that the workload is leveled out and the workers are continually improving. Management should understand all aspects of the companys operations, and pass on their dedication to the companys goals to others. All workers, suppliers and affiliated should always be challenged to improve their performance. The latter means that Toyota becomes a leaning organization with workers being empowered to make changes as they perform their daily tasks. The Toyota Way has given Toyota a comparative advantage in both quality and reliability. 3.1.3 Supply Chain According to Winfield and Hay (1997) part of the strategic capabilities of Toyota includes the strategic capabilities of the supply chain. The pattern and organization of a supply chain is perceptibly a comprehensive topic, concerning inter dependencies between research and development, marketing and production roles, creating considerable courses of goods and technical, market and financial information. 3.2 Core Competencies Toyotas global competitive advantage is to build trust and confidence with customers by delivering outstanding quality products and services that add real value to their business. According to Drejer (2002), However, in recent years there has been a number of recalls of multiple models of Toyota, which are amazingly reliable. How could this possibly happen to the car company that was the undisputed leader in quality. 4. Evaluation of Possible Future Strategies for the Company: The main strategic issue for Toyota is maintaining its position as the worlds leading car manufacturer after the recent mass vehicle recall. 4.1 Future Strategies for Culture Change Based on the book titled 7 Lessons for Leading in Crisis written by George (2009), Toyota needs a credible leader with a strong, cohesive plan (George, 2010). 4.1.1 Face reality, starting with yourself Toyota blamed the problems on stuck floor mats and panicky drivers. Instead, Toyota should acknowledge that its vaunted quality system failed. CEO Toyoda should take personal responsibility by saying that he pushed too hard for growth and neglected quality. 4.1.2 Dont be Atlas; Get the world off your shoulders Toyoda needs a crisis team reporting directly to him, working 24/7 to get problems fixed permanently. He should add the worlds top quality experts to his fix it team and listen carefully to their advice. 4.1.3 Dig deep for the root cause Management should have required its best engineers to get to the root cause of this problem and every other quality problem being reported. 4.1.4 Get ready for the long haul These problems wont just fade away. In fact, they are likely to get worst before getting better. Toyota must invest heavily in corrective actions while its sales shrink and profits implode, requiring major cash resources until its reputation can be restored. 4.1.5 Never waste a good crisis For all the pain Toyota is experiencing, this crisis provides a unique opportunity to make fundamental changes required to restore Toyota quality. Employees are ready for new direction, and they are willing to make radical changes to renew the company. With Toyodas leadership, Toyota automobiles can be restored to the worlds highest quality. 4.1.6 Youre in the spotlight: Follow True North Toyoda must come out of hiding, take personal responsibility, and subject himself to intense questioning by regulators and the media. Then he should make a personal commitment to every Toyota customer to repair the damage, including buying back defective cars. 4.1.7 Go on offense; focus on winning now Coming out of this crisis, the market will never look the same. Toyota cannot wait until all its quality problems are resolved. It must play defense and offense simultaneously. To win, Toyota has to offer advanced features and superior quality, better value for consumers, greater safety, and improved fuel efficiency. 4.2 Future Strategies for Innovation Like Volkswagen, Toyota could design cars for specific markets (Welch, 2010). Penetration of the price sensitive Indian market could be achieved by producing its low cost car soon (The Economic Times, 2010). Toyota needs to pay more attention to the Chinese market, which is the largest and fastest growing. As Chinese families are smaller than their Western equivalents, this could be an opportunity for increased sales of the smaller Camry model (Xinhua, 2010). Retracting in Europe could fund expansion into these blossoming Asian markets. Specific markets could also be entered by joint ventures with local manufacturers. Volkswagen is aiming to do this in India, by acquiring a stake in Suzuki, which is a market leader there through its subsidiary Maruti (Ran Kim and Hetzner, 2009). Another possible strategy for Toyota is to restore its benchmark for quality and reliability, which has been severely impaired with the second recall of 4.2 million vehicles in 2009 (Bunkley, 2010). Crucial to this strategy, is the introduction of twenty dedicated technology facilities to highlight defects as quickly as possible (Guardian, 2010). In addition, the new regional quality subcommittees have the power to make improvements without head office approval. This would eradicate defects quickly, and, in turn reassure customers. 5. Implementation of the Strategic Change: Recently, public criticism focuses on complaints of too much computerization, problems with global sourcing, and the effects of Toyotas single-minded pursuit of becoming the worlds largest automaker. In fact, the recent criticism of Toyota in these areas demonstrated how leadership holds the keys to success and failure to organizational transformation. New Technology and Leadership Toyotas recent strategy to become the worlds number one automaker has been underpinned by using new know-how, new technology and new materials to improve, perfect and break through auto design and manufacturing. However, the strategy also required that Toyota shifted its focus form manufacturing engineering and built-in-quality toward research and development product design. When a company shifts its focus form lean production to technology innovation, there is an embedded obstacle culture change. On one hand, the essence of lean production dictates the elimination of waste. On the other hand, the uncertainties in new product development require that the manufacturer build in redundancy to manage the risks of the unknown and unsure a high level of safety. Trying to balance lean production with the need for redundancy is a difficult act that requires the leadership to be instrumental in making key decisions as well as leading and managing the change. Global Sourcing and Leadership Toyotas decisions on strategic positioning impacts its cooperation with suppliers. The suppliers original alignment of competitive advantages, core capabilities and value propositions needs to change along with that of Toyotas. such changes, unavoidably, will be reflected in vehicle quality, customer satisfaction and even customer safety. Some would view this as a by-product of the vehicle makers strategic move directed by its leadership. Others think the leadership should consider such impact as part of the change management alongside strategic planning shifts. Whatever it is, the key is the alignment, especially with corporate culture, people capabilities, acceptance of stress and pressure, and the ability to coordinate and change. World No. 1 and Leadership The new leadership certainly has felt the pressure. It is the responsibility of the leaders to sort out the alignment and coordination between strategic direction and operating model. Hopefully, the recall crisis will be treated once more as an opportunity to align its lean production culture and its operation excellence capabilities with its desire to leverage new technology, to continue sourcing from the globe while continuing to stay on the No. 1 pedestal. A transformation already is apparent. Toyota has become less defensive and has responded quickly to new complaints of defects. Leadership is no longer absent and now appears to be leading from the front. In consideration of the various issues, Toyotas growth strategy for the continued realization of Genchi Genbutsu and high quality at affordable prices will centre on a thorough customer first perspective (Toyota, 2010). Specifically, Toyota will review their product lineups to match customer needs in each region and create a production system that responds to changes in market structure while optimally allocating resources in areas where Toyota want to advance. 6. Conclusion Recommendations: Toyota seems to have abandoned one of its core competencies quality. Toyota is suffering from trying to get too big, too fast. Toyota sensed weakness from its auto rivals in the American market, and also noted opportunity in emerging markets such as China and India. So, it started enormous expansion around the world. In doing so, Toyota abandoned one of its core values, which is to never build a new product in a new factory with a new workforce. Toyota may have won the rights to brag as the worlds biggest car company, however, that appears to have come at a heavy cost to its reputation for quality and in turn customer dissatisfaction. Management needs to make sure that their projects and their goals are aligned with organizational values and core competencies. Understanding the importance of competencies and core values, and how they need to work in conjunction, is profoundly important for management success. Management should give thought and efforts towards developing both of these sets of attributes and remain focused on business goals. This is a challenging menu, and this crisis is the true test of Akio Toyodas leadership. Believe this is a great company that will resurrect its reputation and restore its leadership.

Jesus Dual Nature Are Divine And Human At Once Religion Essay

Jesus Dual Nature Are Divine And Human At Once Religion Essay Being one of the enigmatic figures in history and in the Bible, the person of Jesus Christ is the Second Person of the Most Holy Trinity, the Son or the Word of the Father. More importantly, he is characterised by his dual nature which are divine and human at same time. Despite the trend of a new quest for the historical Jesus by Kasemann in 1950-1980s, this paper will mainly focus on the biblical interpretation of Jesus as Christ of Faith. Hence, this paper will concentrate on how Jesus was portrayed in the Bible and in Christology (from Greek christos) and who Jesus Christ is from a theological perspective. At the end of this essay, I will deal with the implications of the Christian doctrine on the person of Jesus. Jesus himself suggests his pre-existence in a number of texts in the New Testament. He said he had glory with the father before the world was (John 17:5), which implied his existence prior to all things.  [1]  The prophecies on Christ in the Old Testament encompass his birth place, the fact that he would be born of a Virgin Mother, death and resurrection. It must be noted at the first place that Jesus is not half God and half man; instead, he is fully divine and fully man at the same time, i.e. he has a dual nature. He is not merely a human being who neither had God within him nor is he God who manifested his principle through a physical person, rather, the two distinct natures co-exist and unit in the person of Jesus, which is also called the hypostatic union.  [2]   Jesus is represented as the seed of the woman, the son of David and the prince of pastors. The following features demonstrate Jesus inherent humanity: he was called man (Mark 15:39; John 19:5), has a body of flesh and bones (Luke 24:39) and was tempted (Matt. 4:1). He had human emotions such as distress and sorrow; he was equally subject to hunger. More significantly, he had a human soul (Luke 23:46) and died. I shall leave the issue of the son of man and resurrection of Jesus later in this paper. For the present, it seems self-evident that Jesus identified himself with men and was truly man. He was explicitly named the servant who offered himself for the sins of the entire world, suffered and sacrificed himself as the One representing all human beings. This fully human aspect of Jesus received support from arianism and ebionitism, which viewed Christ as a man born naturally, but was rejected by docetism arguing that the human features of Christ were mere appearances.  [3]  The G nostics also denied to Jesus a true human nature. Nonetheless, the above views were both rejected at Church Councils and the idea of the union of the two separate natures in one person was upheld. Besides this emphasis on Jesus true humanity, there has always been stressed that he was sinless. In this sense, he was distinguished from other human beings and he could not be simply said to be the wisest or greatest man at his time, as he was fundamentally different from his fellows (1 John 1:9). The deity of Christ: the divine and transcendent aspect of Jesus Despite the emphasis on Jesus true humanity, there is little doubt about the divinity of Christ. It was clearly taught in the Bible that Jesus was regarded as more than human: he was called God (John 20:28) and Son of God (Mark 1:1), was worshiped (Matt. 2:2) and honored the same as the Father (John 5:23), was omniscient (John 21:17) and resurrects (John 5:39). Son of God, Son of Man Being called the Son of God and Son of Man in the New Testament, Jesus seemed to receive these titles so as to fulfil a messianic purpose. Jesus does not refer to himself as the Son of God, rather, he was named so by the heavenly voice at his baptism.  [4]  The term was also frequently used in the Pauline gospels. This title is clearly connected to a messianic purpose: whilst accepting it, Jesus assumed to be the Son of the Father become One with the Father both in activity and will (i.e. the rightful Son in nature, whereas men can only become sons of God by adoption). Hence, he assumed his roles of saving and judging. More interestingly, in the gospels of John, he equally referred to himself as the Son of Man. It seems that this enigmatic title was mainly used in three different contexts: 1) to address the prophet Ezekiel (e.g. Ezekiel 2)1 to refer to humanity in general and his humility (Psalm 8:14) to refer to a figure representing the end of history.  [5]  Hence, it seems that he used this title when he emphasised his authority and power of judging. Lord The statement Jesus Christ is Lord (Greek kyrios, Hebrew adonai) is frequently used in the New Testament: Thomas called the resurrected Jesus My Lord and my God! (John 20:28), so does the Father: Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever. (Hebrews 1:8).  [6]  Interestingly, McGarth noted in her Christian Theology that in Torah readings, Lord had become synonymous with God in Jewish thinking by the time of Jesus, which might justify Jews refusal to address the Roman emperor as Lord.  [7]  Thereby, Jesus is more than a charismatic figure but the saviour of the world (Luke 2:1); people could pray to him as they would pray to God and worship God. More importantly, Jesus received honor and glory from the Father and reveals the Father: Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. (John 14:9) (329-330) Word In the expectations of classical wisdom, Jesus is not only considered as fulfilment of the Law, but also as the logos (word), i.e. the mediator between the seen and unseen worlds.  [8]  In the gospels of John, Jesus is described as the Word who was God and was with God and was made flesh, (The Word became flesh (John 1:14), which confirms again the intrinsic dual nature in the person of Jesus. The incarnation and three offices of Christ The threefold office of Christ was first formulated by John Calvin as (1) Prophet; (2) Priest, and (3) King.  [9]  Different from the prophet in the traditional sense, Jesus is both gave revelation from God and was himself revelation from God  [10]  , and this may explain why the title of prophet is absent in the epistles. As an unconventional priest, Jesus fulfilled his office by offering himself as sacrifice for peoples sin. In his role of King, he reveals God to men (John 1:18); saves sinners (Gal 1:4) and judges men (Acts 17:31), accomplishes Gods work including saving (Matt 1:23), raising the dead (John 5:25) and building his church (Matt 16:18). He rules over the entire universe with wisdom and justice, and shall return as the King of Kings (Rev 19:16). Resurrection The resurrection which was recorded in all four gospels remains as a debatable topic in Christology: how to understand that Jesus rose from the dead, physically in the same body in which he had died? Should we interpret the word resurrection in a physical sense or a spiritual one? Despite the earlier doctrine of soteriology which consists in regeneration of individuals, it now seems appropriate to say that the testimony of Jesus resurrection by the disciples (Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have. Cf: Luke: 24:36-43) only confirms a faith in Jesus resurrection that had its origins in independent acts of divine revelation.  [11]  Scholars such as R. Bultmann argue that the disciples experience is too supernatural to be ascertainable, whereas K. Barth and S. Kierkegaard argued that the resurrection was merely literal in the Bible and could not be experienced by ordinary human beings and can only be accepted by faith alone.  [12]   Although it is difficult to reconcile the interpretation of Christs resurrection as a bodily one in the early Christian doctrine, it must be recognised that this interpretation is core to Christian ethical life and reflects the hope that Jesus as the Son of God and the King of Kings will return with great glory to rule over the cosmos, judge the dead and establish his kingdom (Rev 19:11).  [13]   Implications of the doctrine It appears that the interpretation and understanding of Jesus in the Bible and Christology have various ethical ramifications. As what you believe affects what you do, the life of Jesus and his self-sacrificial love provides the reader with ethical teaching and affects his whole life. As H. R. Mackintosh rightly pointed out: When we come to know God in the face of Jesus Christ, we know that we have not seen that Face elsewhere, and could not see it elsehow. Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life, and there is no door, nor way, leading to the Father but by him.  [14]   (Word count: 1655 words)

Essay --

The concept of Social Darwinism was initially perceived in European culture in 1877 as a concept used by sociologists with Charles Darwin’s evolutionary theories providing justification for exploitation. Darwin’s theories provided that animals and plants evolved into different species undergoing a process of natural selection, and animals included humans that undergo the same natural selection process as animals. Darwin’s theories were applied to human society in the attempts to answer issues on why there are rich people and poor people, or why there are people who are dark-skinned and others lighter. Social Darwinism became the new tool of the 1800s to give justification for imperial conquest around the world. Christianity was the strong armor used by Europeans to justify their activities of territorial expansion wherein sacred missions such as the Crusades against Islam as well as the efforts to unify Germany, and the colonization of the New World were use d to cover the political and economic motivations of European imperialists. However, in the early part of the 19th century, the sacred mission of religion was no longer accepted as appropriate cover for Imperialism with the increased literacy in Europe through the Enlightenment movement which promoted the widespread use of reason. European imperialism made Great Britain to have control over great world regions dominating over the conquered peoples of their territories. The Europeans believed that the people of its colonies must be controlled over by the more intelligent Europeans and justified their control until Charles Darwin’s work of On the Origin of Species. This published work was highly opposed to by the church and the bible and was further perceived as an urge... ...oor, less successful, or to the disadvantaged minorities in society as such assistance would unnaturally promote the survival of these weaker groups of people and only allow them to reproduce and spread this defective genetics. Justifications for business practices supported by theories of laissez-faire systems were manifested in workers being overworked and underpaid. Practices of social Darwinism created a great gap between wealth and poverty. Social Darwinism as employed by the Europeans negatively affected natural processes of human social structures in social, political, and economic components to justify imperialism, racism, and capitalism. Charles Darwin may not have primarily extended his theories to human society, but European imperialists took advantage of his concept and for generations have unfortunately succeeded in today’s constant racism issues.

The Singing School: An American Tradition :: essays research papers

The Singing School: An American Tradition   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Singing School was an institution that was uniquely American. it was established to serve a dual purpose: the desire to create music and the need for sociability. Generations were taught to read and sing music by itinerant singing masters, who developed characteristic methods and materials of instruction, and distinctive performance practices. Through this institution, many people were given the opportunity to participate in music, either as a singer, a teacher, or as a composer. The Singing School foreshadowed the development of church choirs and musical societies.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Early settlers in this country brought with them their native English music, both sacred and secular. They made use of various Psalters compiled in Europe. It was not until 1640, however, that the Puritan ministers in America made their own translation of the psalms. The Bay Psalm Book was the first book printed in British North America and was widely used. The most distinguishing feature of this book was its rhymed and metered English poetry. This allowed a few tunes, having the same rhythms as the poetry, to be used as melodies for many psalms. In addition, the text employed the vernacular, and consequently promoted memorization. The ninth edition of the Bay Psalm Book, published in 1698, was the first edition published with tunes. This edition had printed the letters F-S-L-M, representing the solmization syllables fa, sol, la, and mi, under the notes. This indicates that there was a familiarity with and an interest in music instruction as applied to psalmody.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It was not until the early 18th century, however, that as a direct result of agitation by ministers for a reformation in congregational singing, arguments were advanced promoting regular singing and the eventual establishment of singing schools.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The singing school grew out of the employment by the churches in New England of regular singing. Records indicate that the first singing school was probably established in Boston, the most advanced town in New England, around 1720.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The singing school gradually spread throughout New England during the next twenty-five years. Throughout the eighteenth century, the scope and span of the singing schools continued to grow. The advent of the 19th century saw singing schools established from Maine to Pennsylvania.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first singing schools were church-oriented, due to the face that the original purpose of the schools was to improve congregational singing. After selecting a date (usually two to four weeks during the winter or between planting and harvesting of crops), a teacher was secured (in most cases, the local school master or an itinerant singing teacher), and location was established (either in the local school house or some other public building).

High School Internet Censorship Essays -- Argumentative Persuasive Top

High School Internet Censorship       The common image that comes to mind on the topic of censorship is that of book burning. Dating back to ancient times, the easiest way to deal with unwanted writings has been to get rid of them, usually by heaping them into a blazing pyre. In his most famous science fiction novel, Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury warns of a futuristic society where all literature is destroyed under a kerosene flame and the citizens' freedoms are kept in check by the lack of written information. In fear of this kind of totalitarianism, many bibliophiles have fought against all manners of censorship, wielding the first amendment and the rights recognized by our fore-fathers. But with the technological advances of this the last decade of the twentieth century and the up welling of a new informational medium comes a new twist to the struggle for freedom of expression.    The inherent educational value of the Internet is being realized in schools across the country. The vast web of information is easily accessible and is quickly taking the place of traditional library resources, because of its current events and diverse views. Understanding the importance of this new technology, the Clinton administration is pushing for school Internet connection with the goal of "more than 97 percent of public schools connected by the year 2000 (Hoffman 15)." However, serious problems arise due to the very nature of the Net. Alongside the educational and commercial resources are sites with pornography, criminal advocacy, and illegal drug manufacturing information. According to Syllabus magazine, "a keystone question becomes how to deal with this richness and diversity of information and interchanges while providing a safe e... ...ndividuals is a far better educational goal than developing 'regulated' individuals (Grinnell)." While high school students are learning other skills to prepare them for the rest of their lives, they can also learn, through a powerful medium like the Internet, responsibility. In this way students can also realize the dimensions of their freedom of expression and inalienable rights, that are so very often taken for granted.    Bibliography Bruce, Marty (1999). Censorship on the Internet. [Online] Available: http://www.purplenet.net/~marty/ip.htm Grinnel, Curt. Internet Issues: Hotchkiss High School Internet Policy Hoffman, Ellen. "The Dark Side of the Internet: Controls on Student Access." Syllabus High School Edition. September, 1999. pp14-17. Net Censorship Crisis. [Online] Hotwired. Available: http://www.hotwired.com/special/indecent/dcpc.html High School Internet Censorship Essays -- Argumentative Persuasive Top High School Internet Censorship       The common image that comes to mind on the topic of censorship is that of book burning. Dating back to ancient times, the easiest way to deal with unwanted writings has been to get rid of them, usually by heaping them into a blazing pyre. In his most famous science fiction novel, Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury warns of a futuristic society where all literature is destroyed under a kerosene flame and the citizens' freedoms are kept in check by the lack of written information. In fear of this kind of totalitarianism, many bibliophiles have fought against all manners of censorship, wielding the first amendment and the rights recognized by our fore-fathers. But with the technological advances of this the last decade of the twentieth century and the up welling of a new informational medium comes a new twist to the struggle for freedom of expression.    The inherent educational value of the Internet is being realized in schools across the country. The vast web of information is easily accessible and is quickly taking the place of traditional library resources, because of its current events and diverse views. Understanding the importance of this new technology, the Clinton administration is pushing for school Internet connection with the goal of "more than 97 percent of public schools connected by the year 2000 (Hoffman 15)." However, serious problems arise due to the very nature of the Net. Alongside the educational and commercial resources are sites with pornography, criminal advocacy, and illegal drug manufacturing information. According to Syllabus magazine, "a keystone question becomes how to deal with this richness and diversity of information and interchanges while providing a safe e... ...ndividuals is a far better educational goal than developing 'regulated' individuals (Grinnell)." While high school students are learning other skills to prepare them for the rest of their lives, they can also learn, through a powerful medium like the Internet, responsibility. In this way students can also realize the dimensions of their freedom of expression and inalienable rights, that are so very often taken for granted.    Bibliography Bruce, Marty (1999). Censorship on the Internet. [Online] Available: http://www.purplenet.net/~marty/ip.htm Grinnel, Curt. Internet Issues: Hotchkiss High School Internet Policy Hoffman, Ellen. "The Dark Side of the Internet: Controls on Student Access." Syllabus High School Edition. September, 1999. pp14-17. Net Censorship Crisis. [Online] Hotwired. Available: http://www.hotwired.com/special/indecent/dcpc.html

The Return: Shadow Souls Chapter 22

The afternoon after Elena's â€Å"discipline,† Damon took out a room in the same complex where Dr. Meggar lived. Lady Ulma stayed in the doctor's office until between them, Sage, Damon, and Dr. Meggar had healed her completely. She never talked about sad things now. She told them so many stories about her childhood estate that they felt they could walk around it and recognize every room, vast though it was. â€Å"I suppose it's home to rats and mice now,† she said wistfully at the conclusion of one story. â€Å"And spiders and moths.† â€Å"But why?† Bonnie said, failing to see the signals that both Meredith and Elena were giving her not to ask. Lady Ulma tipped her head back to look at the ceiling. â€Å"Because†¦of General Verantz. The middle-aged demon who saw me when I was only fourteen. When he had the army attack my home, they slaughtered every living thing they found inside – except me and my canary. My parents, my grandparents, my aunts and uncles†¦my younger brothers and sisters. Even my cat sleeping on the window seat. General Verantz had me brought in front of him, just as I was, in my nightgown and bare feet, with my hair unbrushed and coming out of its braid, and beside him was my canary with the nighttime cloth off its cage. It was still alive and hopping about as cheerful as ever. And that made everything else that happened seem worse somehow – and yet more like a dream, too. It's difficult to explain. â€Å"Two of the general's men were holding me when they brought me before him. They were really propping me up more than keeping me from running, though. I was so young, you see, and everything kept fading in and out. But I remember exactly what the general said to me. He said, ‘I told this bird to sing and it sang. I told your parents I wanted to give you the honor of being my wife and they refused. Now look over there. Will you be like the canary or your parents, I wonder?' And he pointed to a dim corner of the room – of course it was all torchlight then, and the torches had been put out for the night. But there was enough light for me to see that there was a heap of round objects, with thatch or grass at one side of them. At least that is what I first thought – truly. I was that innocent, and I believe shock had done something to my mind.† â€Å"Please,† Elena said, stroking Lady Ulma's hand gently. â€Å"You don't have to keep on with this. We understand – â€Å" But Lady Ulma didn't seem to hear the words. She said, â€Å"And then one of the general's men held up a sort of coconut with very long thatch at the top, braided. He swung it casually – and all of a sudden I saw it for what it really was. It was my mother's head.† Elena choked involuntarily. Lady Ulma looked around at the three girls with steady, dry eyes. â€Å"I suppose you think me very callous for being able to talk about such things without breaking down.† â€Å"No, no – † Elena began hastily. She herself was shaking, even after tuning down her psychic senses to their least extent. She hoped Bonnie wouldn't faint. Lady Ulma was speaking again. â€Å"War, casual violence, and tyranny are all I have known since my childhood innocence was crushed in that moment. It is kindness now that astounds me, that makes my eyes sting with tears.† â€Å"Oh, don't cry,† begged Bonnie, throwing her arms around the woman impulsively. â€Å"Please don't. We're here for you.† Meanwhile Elena and Meredith were regarding each other with knitted eyebrows and quick shrugs. â€Å"Yes, please don't cry,† Elena put in, feeling faintly guilty, but determined to try Plan A. â€Å"But tell us, why did your family estate end up in such bad condition?† â€Å"It was the fault of the general. He was sent to faraway lands to fight foolish, meaningless wars. When he left he would take most of his retinue with him – including slaves who were in favor at the moment. When he left once, three years after he had attacked our home, I was not in favor, and I was not chosen to be with him. I was lucky. His entire battalion was wiped out; the household members who went with him were taken captive or slaughtered. He had no heir and his property here reverted to the Crown, which had no use for it. It has lain unoccupied for all these many years – looted many times, no doubt, but with its true secret, the secret of the jewels, undiscovered†¦as far as I know.† â€Å"The Secret of the Jewels,† Bonnie whispered, clearly putting it all in capital letters, as if it were a mystery novel. She still had an arm around Lady Ulma. â€Å"What secret of the jewels?† Meredith said more calmly. Elena couldn't speak for the delicious shivers that were running through her. This was like being part of some magical play. â€Å"In my parents' day, it was common to hide your wealth somewhere on your estate – and to keep the knowledge of its hiding place strictly to the owners. Of course, my father, as a designer and trader in jewels, had more to hide than most people knew of. He had a wonderful room that seemed to me something like Aladdin's cave. It was his workshop, where he kept his raw gems as well as finished pieces that had been commissioned or that he designed for my mother or out of his imagination.† â€Å"And no one ever found that?† Meredith said. There was just the slightest tinge of skepticism in her voice. â€Å"If anyone did, I never heard about it. Of course, they could have gotten the knowledge out of my father or mother, in time – but the general was not a meticulous and patient vampire or kitsune, but a rough and impatient demon. He killed my parents as he stormed through the house. It never occurred to him that I, a child of fourteen, might share the knowledge.† â€Å"But you did†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Bonnie whispered, fascinated, taking the story where it had to go. â€Å"But I did. And I do now.† Elena gulped. She was still trying to stay calm, to be more like Meredith, to maintain a cool head. But just as she opened her mouth to be coolheaded, Meredith said, â€Å"What are we waiting for?† and jumped to her feet. Lady Ulma seemed to be the most tranquil person there. She also seemed slightly bewildered and almost timid. â€Å"You mean that we should ask our master for an audience?† â€Å"I mean that we should go out there and get those jewels!† Elena exclaimed. â€Å"Although, yes, Damon would be a big asset if there's anything that takes strength to lift. Sage, too.† She couldn't understand why Lady Ulma wasn't more excited. â€Å"Don't you see?† Elena said, her mind racing. â€Å"You can have your household back again! We can do our best to fix it up the way it was when you were a child. I mean, if that's what you want to do with the money. But I'd love, at least, to see the Aladdin's cave!† â€Å"But – well,† Lady Ulma seemed suddenly distressed. â€Å"I had meant to ask Master Damon for another favor – although the money from the jewels might help with that.† â€Å"What is it that you want?† Elena said as gently as she could. â€Å"And you don't need to call him Master Damon. He freed you days ago, remember?† â€Å"But surely that was just a – a celebration of the moment?† Lady Ulma still looked puzzled. â€Å"He didn't make it official at the Servile Offices or anything, did he?† â€Å"If he didn't it's because he didn't know!† Bonnie cried out at the same time as Meredith said, â€Å"We don't really understand the protocol. Is that what you need to do?† Lady Ulma seemed able only to nod her head. Elena felt humble. She guessed that this woman, a slave for more than twenty-two years, must find true freedom difficult to believe in. â€Å"Damon meant it when he said we were all free,† she said, kneeling by Lady Ulma's chair. â€Å"He just didn't know all the things he had to do. If you tell us, we can tell him, and then we can all go to your old estate.† She was about to get up again, when Bonnie said, â€Å"Something's wrong. She isn't as happy as she was before. We have to find out what it is.† By opening her psychic perceptions a bit, Elena could tell that Bonnie was right. She stayed where she was, kneeling by Lady Ulma's chair. â€Å"What is it?† she said, because the woman seemed to bare her soul most when she, Elena, asked the questions. â€Å"I had hoped,† Lady Ulma said slowly, â€Å"that Master Damon might buy†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She flushed, but struggled on. â€Å"Might find it in his heart to buy one more slave. The†¦the father of my child.† There was a moment of perfect silence, and then all three girls were talking, all three, Elena guessed, trying frantically to do what she herself was working at, which was not mentioning that she had assumed Old Drohzne was the father. But of course he couldn't be, Elena scolded herself. She's happy about this pregnancy – and who could be happy to have a child by a disgusting monster like Old Drohzne? Besides, he didn't have a clue that she might be pregnant – and didn't care. â€Å"It might be easier said than done,† Lady Ulma said, when the babble of reassurances and questions had died down a little. â€Å"Lucen is a jeweler, a renowned man who creates pieces that†¦that remind me of my father's. He will be expensive.† â€Å"But we've got Aladdin's cave to explore!† Bonnie said gleefully. â€Å"I mean, you'll have enough if you sell off the jewelry, right? Or do you need more?† â€Å"But that is Master Damon's jewelry,† Lady Ulma said, seeming horrified. â€Å"Even if he did not realize it when he inherited all of Old Drohzne's property, he became my owner, and the owner of all my property†¦.† â€Å"Let's go get you freed and then we'll take things one step at a time,† Meredith said in her firmest and most rational voice. Dear Diary, Well, I am writing to you still as a slave. Today we freed Lady Ulma, but decided that Meredith and Bonnie and I should remain â€Å"personal assistants.† This is because Lady Ulma said Damon would seem odd and unfashionable if he didn't have several beautiful girls as courtesans. There is actually an upside to this, which is that as courtesans we need to have beautiful clothes and jewelry all the time. Since I've been wearing the same pair of jeans ever since that b*st*rd Old Drohzne sliced up the pair I wore into this place, you can imagine that I'm excited. But, truly, it's not just because of pretty clothes I'm excited. Everything that happened since we freed Lady Ulma and then went to her old estate has been a wonderful dream. The house was run down, and obviously the home of wild animals who used it as a lavatory as well as a bedroom. We even found the tracks of wolves and other animals upstairs, which led to the question of whether werewolves live in this world. Apparently they do, and some in very high positions under various feudal lords. Maybe Caroline would like to try a vacation here to learn about the real werewolves though – they're said to hate humans so much that they won't even have human or vampire (once human) slaves. But back to Lady Ulma's house. Its foundation is of stone and it's paneled inside with hardwood, so the basic structure is fine. The curtains and tapestries are all hanging in shreds, of course, so it's sort of spooky to go inside with torches and see them dangling above and around you. Not to mention the giant spiderwebs. I hate spiders more than anything. But we went inside, with our torches seeming like smaller versions of that giant crimson sun that always sits on the horizon, staining everything outside the color of blood, and we shut the doors and lit a fire in a giant fireplace in what Lady Ulma calls the Great Hall. (I think it's where you eat or have parties – it has an enormous table on a dais at one side, and a room for minstrels above what must be the dance floor. Lady Ulma said that this is where the servants all sleep at night, too (the Great Hall, not the minstrel gallery). Then we went upstairs, where we saw – I swear – several dozen bedrooms with very large four-poster beds that are going to need new mattresses and sheets and coverlets and hangings, but we didn't stay to look around. There were bats hanging from the ceiling. We headed for Lady Ulma's mother's workroom. It was a very large room where at least forty people could sit and sew the clothes that Lady Ulma's mother designed. But here's the exciting part! Lady Ulma went to one of the wardrobes in the room and moved away all the tattered, moth-eaten clothes that were in it. And she pressed some different places at the back of the cupboard and the whole back of the cupboard slid out! Inside it was a very narrow stairway going straight down! I kept thinking about Honoria Fell's crypt and wondering if some homeless vampire might have taken up residence in the room downstairs, but I knew that was silly because there were spiderwebs just inside the door. Damon still insisted that he go down first because he has the best eyesight in the dark, but I think the truth is that he was just curious to see what was down there. We each followed him one at a time, trying to be careful with the torches, and†¦well, I can't find the right words for what we discovered. For just a few minutes I was disappointed because everything on the big table down there was dusty rather than sparkly, but then Lady Ulma began to gently brush jewels off with a special cloth and Bonnie found sacks and packages and she poured them out – and it was like pouring out a rainbow! Damon found a cabinet where there were drawers and drawers of necklaces, bracelets, rings, armlets, anklets, earrings, nose rings, and hairpins and ornaments, too! I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I poured out a pouch and found that I had a huge handful of glorious white diamonds dripping through my fingers, some of them as big as my thumbnail. I saw white pearls and black pearls, both smaller and perfectly matched, and huge and in marvelous shapes: almost as big as apricots with pink or golden or gray sheens to them. I saw sapphires the size of quarters, with stars you could see almost from across the room. I held handfuls of emeralds and peridots and opals and rubies and tourmalines and amethysts – and a lot of lapis lazuli, for the discriminating vampire, of course. And the jewelry that was already made up was so beautiful it made my throat ache. I know Lady Ulma had a quiet little cry, but I think it was partly from happiness as we all kept complimenting her on her jewels. In days she has gone from being a slave who owned nothing to an incredibly rich woman who owns a house and all the means she would ever need to keep it up in style. We decided that even though she is going to marry her lover, it was best at first for Damon to buy him quietly and free him quietly, but to play â€Å"Head of the Household† for as long as we are here. During that time we will treat Lady Ulma as family, and will put the jeweler Lucen back to work until we leave, when he and Lady Ulma can quietly take Damon's place. The feudal lords around here are not demons anymore, but vampires, and they have less objection to humans owning property. Have I told you about Lucen? He's a wonderful artist with jewels! He has a burning need to create – in his early days as a slave he would create with mud and weeds, imagining that he was making jewelry. Then he got lucky and was apprenticed to a jeweler. He's felt sorry for Lady Ulma for so long, and loved her for so long, that it's like a little miracle that they are truly able to get together – and most importantly, as free citizens. We were afraid that Lucen might not like the idea of us buying him as a slave and not freeing him until we leave, but he never thought he'd be free – because of his talent. He's a slow, gentle, kind man, with a neat little beard and gray eyes that remind me of Meredith's. And he's so amazed at being treated decently and not worked around the clock that he would have accepted anything, just to be allowed to be near Lady Ulma. I guess he was an apprentice when her father was a jeweler, and he fell in love with her all those years ago, but he thought he would never, never ever be able to be with her, because she was a young lady of quality and he was a slave. They're so happy together! Every day Lady Ulma looks more beautiful, and younger. She asked permission from Damon to dye her hair all black, and he told her she could dye it pink if she liked, and now she just looks incredibly beautiful. I can't believe I ever thought of her as an old hag, but that's what agony and fear and hopelessness do to you. Every one of those gray hairs was from being a slave, with no property, no say in her future, no safety, no ability even to keep her children, if she had them. I forgot to tell you the other upside of Meredith, Bonnie, and I being â€Å"personal assistants† for a while. It's that we can employ a lot of poor women who make their living by sewing, and Lady Ulma actually wants to design and show them how to make our finest clothes. We told her that she could just relax, but she says all her life she's fantasized about being a designer like her mother and now she's dying to do it – with three completely different types of girl to dress. I'm dying to see what she'll come up with: she's already started sketching and tomorrow the man who sells fabric will come and she'll pick the materials. Meanwhile Damon has hired about two hundred people (really!) to clean out Lady Ulma's estate, put up new wall hangings and curtains, refurbish the plumbing system, polish up the furniture that has kept nicely, and to get new furniture where things have fallen apart. Oh, and to plant ready-grown flowers and trees in the gardens and put in fountains and all kinds of stuff. With that many people working, we ought to be able to move in in just a matter of days. All this has just one purpose, aside from making Lady Ulma happy. It's so that Damon and his â€Å"personal assistants† will be accepted by high society as the season of parties begins this year. Because I've kept the best for last. Both Lady Ulma and Sage could immediately identify the people in the riddles that Misao gave to us! It just goes to prove what I thought before, that Misao never imagined that we'd actually make it here, or that we could get entrance to the places where they've hidden the two halves of the fox key. But there's a very easy way to get invited into the houses we need to get into. If we're the newest, splashiest nouveau riche (sp?) around, and if we circulate the story that Lady Ulma has been restored to her rightful place, and if everyone wants to know about her – we'll get invited to parties! And that's how we get into the two estates we need to visit to look for the halves of the key that we need to free Stefan! And we're incredibly lucky, because this is the time of year when everyone begins to give parties, and both households we want to visit are having early celebrations: one is a gala, and one is a spring soiree to celebrate the first flowers. I know my writing is shaky now. I'm shaky myself at the thought that we are actually going to look for the two halves of the fox key that will let us break Stefan out of his prison. Oh, diary, it's late – and I can't – I can't write about Stefan. To be here in the same city with him, to know the direction to his prison†¦and yet to not be able to get to see him. My eyes are so blurred I can't see what I'm writing. I wanted to get some sleep to be ready for another day of running around, supervising, and watching Lady Ulma's estate blossom like a rose – but now I'm afraid I'll just have nightmares about Stefan's hand slowly slipping out of mine.

English Legal System vs Inequalities between Individuals and Groups Essay

English Legal System vs Inequalities between Individuals and Groups Introduction Does The English Legal System Do Enough To Address Inequalities Between Individuals And Groups?            Addressing inequalities are a vital aspect of any government legal system, not only for the economic growth and for the development of the goals such as the millennium goals, but also for security and peace perspective. The legal system of English has not been left aside in the fight against inequalities among its citizens. This is the system of law that has developed in England. Horizontal inequalities have developed and increased among people globally and England has been affected. The inequalities are taken as increasing factor to the risk of violence, conflict, which can in turn worsen the inequalities among people or groups (Haskel & Slaugther, 1999).            This paper looks into how and what the English Legal System is undertaking in the fight against inequalities among groups of people or individuals. There are increasing concerns about persistent and often rising inequalities. These inequalities includes aspects such as age, pregnancy and maternity, disability; race, gender reassignment; marriage and civil partnership, religion or sexual orientation among other grounds where discrimination can occur. All these grounds of inequalities are applicable to both individuals and groups people. However, each and every legal system in different countries is tasked with the fight against any form of inequality among individuals or groups of people in the society. The English Legal system has been as well on the forefront in the fight against the inequality menace among its people (Pontusson, 2005).            The law has been and continues to be a tool through which essential democratic ideals have been expressed not only in the English legal system but also in other legal systems around the globe. The egalitarian ideals expressed include the same employment chances, equal right of entry into schooling among many other aspects. Simultaneously, the legal system is on its own a site of unusual discrimination, as discovered in different degree of access of first-class legal aid, discrepancy in arrest rates, or disparity in sentencing. The researches within this field attend show how good has the English legal system done to address the issues of inequalities between individuals and groups of people. Hence, law can be used as a mechanism for equalization and in turn can produce or express inequality as well (International Labor Office, 2007).            Disparity in the legal system, the main question behind the issue of inequality is whether the law is applied fairly to all members of any group? Courts appointed attorneys providing a sufficient protection for their needy clients? Is the death judgment more likely to be forced on African Americans than on whites? Who bears the brunt of the notable increase in the detention rate? When the prisoners re released from the jails, do their potential employers discriminate against them this creating an even larger underclass? In addition, how has the increase in the number of privatized prisons affected how captives are handled? How has it altered the political process (e.g. Entrance by the prison industry) that manages how large our imprisoned residents will be? Discrimination could be integrated as a concern into goals and targets on different sectoral/thematic issues such as (politics, security, justice, poverty, education and health), through speech stressing additio n, fairness, accountability and responsiveness to all social groups throughout the framework is essential in the English legal system (Witte & Green, 2012).            There is numerous discrimination by type that is experienced amongst people in the United Kingdom. These include: age, disability, equal pay or compensation, religion, retaliation, sex and sexual harassment, genetic information, harassment, national origin, pregnancy, race/color,. One of the major areas of concern in the English legal system is the issue of inequality among the disabled people in the community. Not only in the United Kingdom, there has been a unison call from all the corners of the world from the people and groups of people for the disabled people to be respected in the society just like the normal individuals in the community. There have been campaigns all over the globe fighting for the rights of the disabled people. This has been dubbed as disability discrimination, which has resulted in inequality between different people in the society. According to Equality Act 2010, disability discrimination is when a disabled person is treated less favorabl y than a non-disabled person, and is treated in this way for a reason arising from their disability, and the treatment cannot be justified (Keister et all, 2012).            The fight against disability discrimination, in the United Kingdom has been defined by numerous acts in the English legal system. These include ‘The Equality Act 2010’ this provides disabled people with protection from discrimination in the workplace. England and Wales have had laws against, against discrimination since the 1960’s. For example, the Race Relations Acts of 1965, 1968 as well as that of 1976, all of which outlawed race inequity among groups of people or individually. In addition, there is also the 1970 Equal Pay Act and the ‘Sex Discrimination Act’ of 1975 which themselves proscribed discrimination in the line of gender. Moreover, there was the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 which outlawed disability discrimination. Putting all of these acts together, in the year 2010, all, the anti-discrimination laws were confined together under one Act, namely the Equality Act 2010 (Chant, 2010).            The English Legal System comprises one of the greatest tools for people with disabilities, in order to ensure and also protect their fundamental rights. According to the ‘Equality Act 2010’ section 6 disability is defined as a ‘person who have an impairment either physically or mentally, however, the impairment should have substantial adverse as well as the lasting effects on their capability to perform their normal daily activities’. Under the act, there is direct disability discrimination as well as indirect form of discrimination. Section 15 of the Equality Act forbids the  unfavorable treatment  of a disabled person where the reason for the unfavorable treatment is not the disability itself, but something that comes up as a result of the disability (Partington, 2014).            Despite the wide and all inclusive act in the fight against disability inequality in the United Kingdom, there have been numerous cases reported of disability inequality among people, more so in the private sector of employment. The government has, however, embarked on the massive implementation of disability discrimination laws. Some of the achievements that have been beneficial to the fight against disability inequality in the United Kingdom are the implementation of the required facilities for the disabled in order for them to access services. This includes laws in building and constructions, whereby public buildings should be accessible to the disabled; this is through revision of the relevant facilities and services such as no stairs, washrooms for the disables among others. In addition, an important issue for some disabled people is the provision of adaptations of dwellings to improve safety, mobility and quality of life. Effective adaptations can lead to red uced pain and enhanced well being, self-esteem and control. Hence it can be said that the English legal system has done quite a lot in the fight against inequality among the disabled people or groups and in turn more should be implemented in terms law, implementation for the complete acceptance of the disabled people. The most affected sector where inequality is most felt is through employment (Fafinski & Finch, 2008).            Another aspect that has given rise to inequality is the United Kingdom is the religious identification or differing peoples beliefs. According to human rights and anti-discrimination legislation in the UK, every person has the right to hold their own beliefs as well as any other philosophical beliefs that are similar to religion or beliefs. Under the Equality Act 2006, it is or prohibited or illegal for someone to differentiate or discriminate against another person or a group of people because of their religion or belief or else for the reason that, they have no religion or belief (Elliott, 2012).            There has been a case of religious discrimination in the United Kingdom, especially the issue of Britain’s divided schools that has been a disturbing portrait of inequality. With the increased differences between the Middle East countries and the western especially between the Muslims and other religions groups. In many cases, there has been a correlation between the increasing trend in terrorism and the Muslim religion. This has resulted in the inequality between the Arabs/Muslims in the UK and other people especially whites. Advance in achieving liberty of religion or belief and thwarting inequity based on religion or belief in the place of work and in public services has been widely advocated in the United Kingdom. Equally, the capability to draw conclusion continues to be stalled by Government’s reluctance to distinguish between the various Christian denominations, when recording people’s religious profession, either in the population censu s or the Labor Force Survey (Boaler, 2011).            Generally, the act on equality, human rights and religion or belief has been interpreted watchfully in domestic tribunals and courts as according to section 5.3 of the equality act. While some indirect inequity claims relating to dress codes and working hours have been successful, most claims based on religion have failed. This is largely because courts have mostly found that intrusion with the autonomy of belief or religion under Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) is not easily recognized. Over the years, religious conviction has played a less leading role in public culture. Temporarily, the rival status hierarchies have fallen away. The meritocratic ladder of specialized success is pretty much the only one left standing. We can see a correlation between inequality and religious faith (Warren, 2006).            The presence of religious diversity in today’s times in the United Kingdom has resulted in increased contact between religious, which has sometimes revealed deep-rooted stereotyping and prejudice, which in turn leads to tension and sometimes conflict between individuals or groups of people in the community. Indeed, religion is an indispensable component in the identity of some of the groups that make up our society, however, it has also been connected with stereotypes or depressing preconception, including the assumption of a so-called ‘clash of civilizations. Political events and popular discourse have repeatedly been revealed in the media and have negatively linked terrorism and Islam. This has in turn prejudiced social attitudes and led to a Renaissance of religious and racial discrimination in the community and most public places. A latest information on the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC) found that Muslims are often fat alities of inequity, negative stereotyping and of manifestations of prejudice and hatred. These take the form of verbal threats and physical attacks on people and property and racial and mostly religion affiliation profiling (Oliva, 2008).            The growing visibility of religious and belief variety in Europe and especially United Kingdom has been depicted by an increase in unfairness, inequity, and prejudice against religious and ethnic minorities. While a great deal of development has been achieved, biasness on grounds of racial or ethnic origin and religion is still a problem for many people in our societies, even though this is tricky to accurately measure due to short of data on the religious composition of the inhabitants of the UK, mainly in regard to minority religions. The English Legal system has created a structure of legal tools, policies, and initiatives for fighting religious and racial unfairness and in turn promoting fairness. Nevertheless, it could be argued that the principles of equality and non-discrimination and the respect for the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion have not been fully implemented in all Member States (Lansley, 2012).            Despite the tremendous effort by the government and the vast established English legal law, there are still cases of religion inequality and discrimination within individuals and the UK citizens towards either an individual or a specific group or community. People affiliated to religious minorities, especially migrants; also, experiences disproportionately lower incomes and higher rates of unemployment, as they face problems accessing housing and in turn living in poor environs. They suffer from prejudice and experience exclusion or marginalization in social, political, and economic activity and from unfair treatment in public or social services (Blanden & Machin, 2013).            The enactment of the Equality act 2010 in United Kingdom has redefined people’s rights regardless of their religion affiliation. The introduction of the law has targeted all people in the country, and in turn offering the right protection to people. In addition, the human rights movements have been active in fight for the people’s rights and in turn bringing along equality among the countries populace. English Legal system has been deemed as one of the all-inclusive legal system and has been a positive aspect in the fight for equality among the United Kingdom citizens. The ‘Equality Act 2010’ has been drawn-up to deal with inequality and also prevent prejudice against all sorts of people on the basis of ‘protected characteristics’. It brings together several presented laws and aims to make understanding the law simpler. It also introduces a new single public sector equality duty, which requires public bodies to actively advan ce equality. This has enabled the UK government to be able to handle the numerous issues of inequality in the society. In accordance to the question posed ‘whether the ‘English Legal System’ is doing enough to address Inequalities between Individuals and Groups, the answer is YES. Although there has been numerous handles in the full achievement of equality, the government has been able to implement laws that has been effective in curbing inequality. Moreover, the legal system has developed an effective criminal justice system which has enabled in the fight against inequality (Keister et al, 2012).            In conclusion, there are many experiences that remain invisible and ignored within the wider agendas in the fight against inequalities within the English legal system. While the inequalities are widespread and all-encompassing, the legal systems have tried to be all inclusive in solving all forms of inequalities that are experienced within the individuals, and groups in the society. It is clear that there can be an experience of far-reaching inequality, prejudice, favoritism and racism from politicians, the media, and the public. However, numerous recommendations have been made in different chapters for the introduction of ethnic monitoring, for example in health, social work, substance use services and criminal justice. In many of these domains, existing equality and human rights law provides the framework for addressing these injustices, but it needs to be proactively and effectively implemented. References Haskel, J., & Slaugther, M. J. (1999).  Trade, technology and U.K. wage inequality. Cambridge, Mass.: National Bureau of Economic Research. Pontusson, J. (2005).  Inequality and prosperity: Social Europe vs. liberal America. 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Unravelling Equality: The Impact of the United Kingdom’s Spending Cuts on Women.Political Quarterly,  82(4), 645-650. doi:10.1111/j.1467-923X.2011.02256.x Boaler, J. (2011). Mathematics and science inequalities in the United Kingdom: when elitism, sexism and culture collide.  Oxford Review Of Education,  37(4), 457-484. Warren, T. (2006). Moving beyond the gender wealth gap: On gender, class, ethnicity, and wealth inequalities in the United Kingdom.  Feminist Economics,  12(1/2), 195-219. doi:10.1080/13545700500508502 Oliva, J. (2008). Religious Symbols in the Classroom: A Controversial Issue in the United Kingdom.  Brigham Young University Law Review,  2008(3), 877-896. Lansley, S. (2012). Inequality, the Crash and the Ongoing Crisis.  Political Quarterly,  83(4), 754- 761. doi:10.1111/j.1467-923X.2012.02357.x Blanden, J., & Machin, S. (2013). Educational Inequality and The Expansion of United Kingdom Higher Education.  Scottish Journal Of Political Economy,  60(5), 597-598. doi:10.1111/sjpe.12031 Source document