Difference between Efficient managers and Effective managers

Difference between Efficient managers and Effective managers Efficient and Effectiveness as stated by Peter Drucker Efficiency is doing things right; Effectiveness is doing the right thing. An organization survives based on the efficiency and effectiveness of a manager/management. Efficiency is the use of financial, human, physical and information resources such that output is maximised for any given set of resource inputs, or input is minimised for any given quantity and quality of output. An efficient manager might be doing the right job but not the job right. Doing the right job does not require much time or resource. A job can be done very quickly and efficiently within time. In this case, the managers main aim is to get the job done within the allocated time using the given resources. But doing a job effectively involves time and planning the right strategy. In this case the manager concentrates more on the outcome rather than just the input. Both efficiency and effectiveness are an integral part of a successful management. Management is almost entirely concerned with getting things done and determining how to get things accomplished. In each managers mind there is a debate over whether more concern should go into low-cost production or to disregard production costs and go after complete satisfaction of goals and objectives. These two paths are known as the decisions which separate Effectiveness and Efficiency. Effectiveness means that the job was done correctly and was accomplished but with no regard to whether the job was done inexpensively or on time. Whereas, efficiency means that the job was accomplished cheaply and on time yet may not be a very thorough and impressive accomplishment. To illustrate this idea with a simple example, let s take an organization that wants to create an ad for its service/product. Creating the ad within the budget and in time is efficient. But the main things to be considered are the current market trend and environment. It would take more than just time and money to create an ad that would call out to the customers. Creativeness and efficiency alone is not enough to create the perfect ad. A detailed analysis of what the customer wants and expressing it in a way that would appeal to the ethos of the customer is what is required to create the ad. Though this example is not a direct example to management, it is a simple way to highlight the difference between efficiency and effectiveness. In an organization, a leader is different from a manager. A good leader is not essentially a good manager though a good manager should have ideal leadership qualities. A manager is someone who maintains the balance of effectiveness and efficiency in the organization. It is essential that the difference between efficiency and effectiveness is made distinctively clear, as the two are nearly inseparable in business strategy, but they command two distinct points of view. This importance between the two is crucial when it comes to managing an organization. It is also necessary to understand that the two are mutually exclusive and that it is not possible for an organization to survive with just efficiency alone and not effectiveness. Organizational Behaviour Organizational Behaviour (OB) is the study and application of knowledge about how people, individuals, and groups act in organizations. It does this by taking a system approach. That is, it interprets people-organization relationships in terms of the whole person, whole group, whole organization, and whole social system. Its purpose is to build better relationships by achieving human objectives, organizational objectives, and social objectives. The organizations base rests on managements philosophy, values, vision and goals. This in turn drives the organizational culture which is composed of the formal organization, informal organization, and the social environment. The culture determines the type of leadership, communication, and group dynamics within the organization. The workers perceive this as the quality of work life which directs their degree of motivation. The final outcome is performance, individual satisfaction, and personal growth and development. All these elements combine to build the model or framework that the organization operates from. Difference between Leaders and Managers: Leadership is the process of influencing others to work willingly towards an organisation s goals, and to the best of their capabilities. It is considered the foundation of the management function known as leading. As stated in module 10, Leadership in Contemporary Organizations . John Kotter feels that management is about coping with complexity. Good management brings about order and consistency by drawing up formal plans, designing rigid organization structures, and monitoring results against the plans. Leadership is about coping with change. Leaders establish direction by developing a vision of the future; then they align people by communicating this vision and inspiring them to overcome hurdles. According to Robert House of Wharton, Managers use the authority inherent in their designated formal rank to obtain compliance. Ideally, all managers should have leadership qualities in them although it is not necessary that all leaders should have managing skills. The fact that an individual can influence others does not tell whether he or she can also plan, organise, and control. Effectiveness and Efficiency in an Organization Effectiveness and efficiency are mutually exclusive things. For a manager, they are both fundamental preconditions. Being effective is to be able to properly analyze the evolving environment and choosing the right things and strategy to concentrate on for the enterprise. On the other hand, being efficient requires a carefully planned cultural and operational framework which helps the manager to achieve a particular degree of success, given the level of resources applied to a particular objective. In any business, an efficient manager is one who uses limited resources available viz., time, material and men to get the job done in a more professional manner. This includes securing productive and profitable results in a short span, using funds allotted for a business more legibly yet smartly, and appraising employee performance etc., In other words, an efficient manager would keep the business running even in dire circumstances. An effective manager, on the other hand, is slightly different from the efficient one. The effective manager focuses on productivity rather than increased/balanced profitability. Effective management has various layers in its setup such as motivation, teamwork, communication and objectives. An effective manager is someone who leads, coordinates and filters various activities of the sub-ordinates and decides an appropriate mechanism to work upon. An effective manager usually works without any constraints such as funds, manpower etc. The focus always implies on better management practices and in turn, better output. Effectiveness is a precondition for the success of any manager; however that depends more upon the uncontrollable variables dictated to the manager by the operational environment and his ability to come up with the right choices that would suit his resources built over time. It may be appreciated that a firms resources in terms of manpower and technology as well as capital would have been built up over time and they have a great degree of rigidity. Once you become effective, efficiency can be an easier thing to bring into operation. The two things are in fact complimentary. Efficiency in fact depends upon the lower level managerial abilities and culture while effectiveness is almost always a top management variable. Management Strategies In management, operating in efficient and in effective ways is a key to good performance and to successfully reaching the goals set for the business. While efficiency and effectiveness are similarly desirable characteristics of business behavior, either one is often seen as attainable only at the expense of the other. Looking at the interplay of the two characteristics can give a clear insight into the ideal behavior for a manager when faced with tasks which must be completed quickly, but also completed in such a way that the key goals are attained. Luther Gulick advocates seven elements which make up common management in any organization. He calls it the POSDCORB. Planning a strategy to accomplish the objectives set for an enterprise. Organizing a formal structure of authority, arranged and defined for specific jobs. Staffing / Recruiting and training personnel. Directing/ Decision making and embodying rules, instructions etc., Co-ordinating various parts of work. Reporting through records, research and inspection. Budgeting in form of fiscal planning, accounting and control. These make up the common administrative tasks managers perform in an organization. The effectiveness of each element makes up both an efficient and effective management system. The following make up management behavior. Management of human resources is a social phenomenon. An effective communication channel is always imperative in any kind of an organization. James Pfiffner calls it the heart of management . Chester Barnard remarks it as the foundation of co-operative group activity. For an effective communication, the information passed on must be clear, consistent, adequate, timely, uniform, flexible and acceptable. A manager must make sure that a proper communication channel is present in an organization. This includes avoiding semantic and ideological barriers, two-valued thinking (Halo effect), stereotyping and dogmatism among the employees. Decision-making is a vital part of an efficient management system. Robert Tannenbaum says decision-making involves a conscious choice or selection of one behavior alternative from a group of two or more behavior alternative. A behavior alternative may simply be known as a decision. Decision-making, in more ways or the other, is a singular function of the manager. It is thus very important in an organization. Herbert Simon came up with the fact that every decision has two basic premises a factual premise and a value premise. A fact is a statement of reality while a value is an expression of preference. A manager would go by decisions based on these only. An effective manager goes in for the factual premise because it can be measured empirically, while the value premise, which may determine efficient factors such as profit, loss, employee satisfaction, cost-cutting etc., would be more preferred by efficient managers. Rensis Likert calls motivation as the core of management . Motivation is a psychological process which energizes and activates an individual to achieve formulated objectives. A manager thus plays a vital role as a driving force behind motivation. On this part, both effective and efficient managers must be good motivators, so as to bring about the best in the employees. Classical and modern management thinkers have listed money and a variety of socio-psychological factors as a source of motivation. Motivation also helps to build teams and perform better. Teamwork is another essential part of management. A manager is the undisputed leader of a team. He delegates work to his sub-ordinates, assigns tasks, creates plans and makes decisions. An autocratic manager would do all the above functions by himself. It is not desirable in an effective organizational system. On the other hand, an efficient manager would tend to be a little autocratic in his functions, because of the limited resources available and some other constraints. It is however better for an organization to be more democratic for proper functioning. Being efficient does not necessarily mean effective. A person can be very efficient at what they are doing but still not get to where they want to be because they arent doing the right things. Thats where effective comes in. Effective means having the desired result. Once the desired overall result is defined, the tasks leading to the result can be isolated and these tasks can then be completed efficiently. If a business wants to grow, one way is to attract more customers. To attract more customers, potential customers must be informed of the advantages of doing business with the company. This requires the step of identifying potential customers and identifying why they would want to become customers. Since the business already has customers, the easiest way to identify new potential customers is to identify people like the existing customers; the reasons these new customers would buy from the business are the same reasons the existing customers do. The steps which will be effective in attracting new customers are now clear: 1. Identify groups of existing customers and find out why they are customers; 2. Identify similar groups outside the existing customer base; 3. Contact these potential customers and let them know the advantages of becoming customers, giving them the reasons existing customers gave. These steps will be effective and they can now be performed efficiently. On the other hand, sending out mass mailings to general mailing lists can also be performed very efficiently, but it wont be as effective and probably will not let the business reach its goals. Importance Managing effectively and efficiently is the way to go about in business. Efficient business tactics would help to know how to deal with finance and personnel in a more productive way. Most successful businesses in the world today are rather efficient than effective. Efficient management practices provide increased sustainability and stability in an organization. It involves novelty in management practices and output. An effective management system takes a long time to fully materialize. It has more to do with the long-term vision of an organization than its present objectives. Effective management also involves setting time benchmarks within the organization, so that a given objective gets completed within a set time. Traditional management practices are usually followed, and the manager sets up an instructional framework within which the sub-ordinates are expected to follow. An effective management system, summarily can be defined as, one which Raises productivity Increases work output from sub-ordinates Functions within a set of rules and regulations Works in a more democratic manner Builds teamwork and effective communication channels A good manager therefore is one who works both efficiently and effectively simultaneously. It is imperative that he does work in a more systematic manner and adapts himself depending on the organizational situation and environment. What an organization / business would need is an effective mechanism and an efficient output. The primary difference: Efficiency productivity metric and Effectiveness quality metric. The thorough understanding of the difference between Effective and Efficient is imperative in the understanding of the importance of that difference. The basic job of a manager is to make decisions, allocate resources, direct activities of other employee to attain goals etc. It is essential that a manager has good relationship with his colleagues and his employee. Communication skills are also very crucial to the role of a manager. This difference between effective and efficient managers is what defines the lines between Average, successful, effective and efficient managers. A person who has the talent to maintain the balance between efficiency and effectiveness is a successful manager. An average manager is someone who fails to maintain the perfect balance but still survives. An efficient manager is someone who does his job right and an effective manager is someone who does the right job and produces the result. According to Peter Drucker setting objectives, organizing the group, motivating and communicating, measuring performance, developing people are the five main essential functions of a manager. But the difference lies in whether the person chooses to do the right job or to do the job right. Drucker was a highly pragmatic man. The first question that must be asked of any requisition is whether it requires a focus on efficiency or effectiveness. These two metrics are often mutually exclusive: You can either get it fast or get it right, but you can rarely get both at the same time. Efficiency is a measure of speed and cost. Efficiency says Getting someone in here right away is more important than getting the right person later. Effectiveness is a measure of quality and goodness. Effectiveness says the opposite: Hiring the right person is more important than hiring someone right away. This subtle difference between doing the right thing and doing things right is what determines success. But just knowing the difference alone does not make one successful. The implementation of this distinctive managing strategy is key to being a successful manager. In any case an efficient manager can also be successful in that he completes the job allocated to him with or without attaining the desired results. Conclusion and Case Study A study at NAMB(National Association of Mortgage Brokers), McLean, Virginia, shows that the planning process at NAMB was sketchy, at best, and was essentially staff-driven. However, as a result of attending ASAEs CEO Symposium (a two-day event for the chief executive officer and chief elected officer to explore priorities for the year and determine how best to work together) the National Association of Mortgage Brokers incoming president (the chief elected officer) decided to transform the board into a true governance board to ensure the implementation of NAMBs strategic plan, which was subsequently adopted by the organization in October of that year. During a strategic planning retreat designed to address organizational planning in a more formal way, an external facilitator led a group of volunteer stakeholders in a two-day process that resulted in the preliminary draft of that plan. Participants included key board leadership and several volunteer leaders from NAMBs affiliated state s. At this stage, the work was volunteer-intensive and focused on major long-term strategic and visionary outcomes. The facilitator, who was familiar with the industry, limited the plan to four or five basic goals with broader objectives and strategies. As a result of this commitment to planning and governance, NAMBs national board meetings are now focused on key outcome areas of the strategic plan and have greatly delineated the boards role of being effective (achieving strategic outcomes) from the staffs more operational role of being efficient. However, this does not mean that the dedicated staffs of NAMB work solely on maintenance items (maintaining and sustaining growth). The planning process and the clearer delineation of responsibilities have created a stronger partnership in the organization, especially through the process that now separates growth from maintenance targets. This occurred during the development of committee action plans and individual performance targets. Being effective and efficient are not just words. They are identifiable actions that are integrated into a plan that ultimately elevates the performance of individuals and organizations concludes NAMB s chief executive officer. Another example to illustrate the difference between efficient and effective management: Consider an organization, a car accessories company, wants to introduce a new range of audio and video systems. As the company is already specialized in automobile accessories, it would not take much time to introduce a new improved product. Getting the work done would take considerable time but it is possible. An efficient management knows very well the general demand in the society and would get the work done efficiently. But an effective organization, though aware of the general demand of the society, would analyze the market and would put in the time and effort to get the work done to satisfy the needs and wants in the market. The difference here is, an efficient management would produce a product that is in demand at that particular time, which would bring sufficient profit to the organization but not the desired success, but may not be in much demand later on. On the other hand an effective organization, after analyzing and planning strategically, would produce a product which is not only in demand but in need which means the product would last in the market longer which is a success for the organization. Efficiency is about producing the end result in an economical, time saving and cost efficient way but Effectiveness is about producing something that would last, no matter what the cost. Efficiency alone will lead an organization to bankruptcy. Effectiveness (efficacy) alone may allow the organization to survive. However the organization will not reach its maximum potential if it is inefficient. Effectiveness and efficiency together will almost guarantee success. An effective organization is at least going in the right direction, even if it is not getting there very fast. An efficient organization is taking the fast track to wherever it is going, be that a good or bad direction. The organization that is efficacious and efficient will grow and take business away from companies that do only one or the other. Knowing and handling the difference between efficiency and effectiveness will eventually lead an organization to success.

Summary of The Spire

Jocelin, Dean of a medieval cathedral, has had a vision which he believes reveals that he must add a four hundred foot spire to the cathedral. The decision is a controversial one, especially as the work proves disruptive and the master builder, Roger Mason, discovers that the building lacks the requisite foundations to support the spire. Jocelin is insistent that faith will be sufficient and accuses the master builder of being timid, and of playing for time in order to keep himself and his men in employment. Jocelin is maintained in his belief that the spire will stand by the news that his bishop is sending a Holy Nail (from the crucifixion) from Rome to protect the spire. The cathedral's caretaker, Pangall, hates the disruption and the workmen's mockery which he suffers. There are early hints that he is impotent. Jocelin is horrified when he notices that Roger and Goody, Pangall's wife, are sexually attracted to each other. However, he realises that, if he does not intervene, their adultery will prevent Roger from leaving. Roger's wife Rachel reveals that she and her husband are childless because she finds sex makes her laugh. Jocelin climbs to the roof to inspect the work and finds it exhilarating. However, he has what is eventually revealed to be tuberculosis of the spine, and this illness gradually becomes worse. He is also increasingly troubled by sexual dreams relating to his own attraction to Goody. A pit has been dug in order for the master builder to look for foundations, and there is a crisis when the earth in it is seen to be creeping. The stones start to make a high-pitched whine and to splinter. Roger wants to stop work, but Jocelin forces him to continue. The result is that the anxious workmen become a mob and – as only later becomes apparent – they pursue and murder Pangall, burying his body beneath the cathedral pavement as a pagan charm to keep the spire from falling. Jocelin becomes increasingly obsessed with the spire, shutting out all other concerns. However, he feels guilty about Goody and tries to speak to her. When she sobbingly rejects his approaches, he climbs the spire to seek solace. It is revealed that Goody is pregnant. Roger becomes increasingly sullen and unpopular and the singing of the stones becomes worse, so that the master builder again begs Jocelin to halt the work. He paints a persuasive picture of the spire's collapse, but Jocelin resists and makes him continue. Shortly after this, Jocelin climbs the spire and witnesses Roger and Goody having sex. A steel brace is made and fitted to the spire. While this is going on, Jocelin secures a place for Goody in a local convent. But when Rachel discovers Roger's infidelity, she attacks first Goody, then Roger, and Goody dies in childbirth. Jocelin becomes more unwell and is tormented by remorse and sexual feelings, although he is relatively happy when helping the workmen. Roger becomes an alcoholic and has a breakdown. At midsummer, Jocelin realises that the workmen have left their work to attend pagan festivities. More Summary of Devil at My Heels The spire nears completion as the Holy Nail approaches. Jehan, Roger's second-in-command, now in charge of the work, miscalculates and damages the spire. An official from Rome, referred to only as the Visitor, interviews Jocelin and relieves him of his authority. In a raging storm, Jocelin climbs the spire and hammers the Nail in place, after which he has two mystical visions of Goody. Jocelin's aunt, Lady Alison, visits him and reveals that he was only appointed Dean thanks to her. The dumb sculptor, Gilbert, shows Jocelin that the pillars supporting the cathedral roof are not solid but filled with rubble. Father Adam reads aloud Jocelin's sermon describing his original vision of the spire. The process of Jocelin's disillusionment continues when Anselm – Jocelin's former teacher but now his junior as the Sacrist of the cathedral – denies that they were ever really friends. Jocelin goes to seek Roger's forgiveness, on the way having two mystical revelations inspired by an appletree and a kingfisher. He is briefly reconciled to Roger before the master builder becomes angry and throws him out. On the street, Jocelin is set upon by a mob. Nearing death, Jocelin has his effigy sculpted, and finally has several intimations which seem to explain his past experiences, and perhaps the whole of life itself. His dying thought is of the appletree, but the priest attending him, Father Adam, chooses to believe that Jocelin was in his dying breath murmuring the name of God. On one level this is a novel about the building of a spire upon a cathedral, the foundations of which are nothing but marsh and brushwood. It is about the resilience of those foundations against all odds; they hold a spire some four hundred feet high when, by rights, this shouldn't be possible. It follows the lives of a range of people involved in the building project, from the anonymous army of labourers who do the actual work at one extreme to the man who believes that God has chosen him to bring this work to a conclusion at the other. The spire stands at the end of the novel but it has destroyed the lives of Dean Jocelin, whose vision was the inspiration for its building; of Roger Mason, the master builder; of Roger's wife, Rachel; of Pangall's wife, Goody and the child she bears to Roger Mason. The reader is never confident whether the spire is the work of God or the work of the devil; what is clear is it is built upon human misery, upon argument and dissension within the cathedral's community, and upon the deceit of Dean Jocelin who holds high office in the church. As the spire reaches upwards the Dean feels its weight upon his back until he ends bent double; though he isn't aware of it, Jocelin suffers a crippling spinal disease – tuberculosis of the spine – which eventually kills him. Throughout the building of the spire he believes that the early physical manifestations of his condition are the visitations of his own guardian angel. The novel is also concerned with sexuality. It is about two men's desire for a simple woman who remains unaware of her own attractions; one, the Dean, suppresses his desires and suffers because of it, the other, Roger Mason, fulfils his desires, gets her pregnant and also suffers by it. Goody Pangall dies in childbirth; her husband is bullied mercilessly by Roger's men and finally driven cruelly to his death; Roger tries to kill himself and ends his day in madness; Rachel is left desolate, tending to her husband as if he were the baby they never had; Jocelin dies in both physical and spiritual agony. Finally the spire is left, a symbol but a very ambiguous one. Of the power of God to work miracles? Of a bargain with the devil? Or of the skill and endurance of man? Golding doesn't tell us.

Analyse the Pricipal Causes of the Spanish Civil War

Analyse the principal causes of the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) Many historians have said that the Spanish Civil war was fuelled by political, economical, international ambitions and social conditions. The combat which was happening between socialism and fascism that dominated Europe, around the time of the war, only made matters worse. Spain was a monarchy in 1920 when King Alphonso XIII was in reign. The monarchy collapsed during 1931 due to the fact that the Spanish people detested the King and the dictatorial regimes which he supported.The monarchy was overthrown by the republicans once the downfall of General Miguel Primo de Rivera’s government came on the 29th January 1930. The Wall Street Crash is what led Rivera and his dictatorial regime to downfall it was only normal for King Alphonso XIII and the monarchy, which were in support of Rivera’s regime, to be targeted and overthrown. Where Spain stood politically, economically and socially reveals the prime cause s of the Spanish Civil War.Throughout this essay I will be analysing the principal causes of the Spanish Civil War by looking at the political, economical and social causes which contributed towards the war. After the monarchy was overthrown, the 2nd republic was created. The 2nd republic consisted of liberals and communists, also known as the left wing. This caused tension between the left and right wing due to the fact that the right wing mostly consisted of fascists and conservatives. The left wing however, realised that they did not possess all the power by simply leading the 2nd republic.The right wing consisted of the army and the Catholic party CEDA. The army was used to being in power especially when they were under the reign of King Alphonso XIII (because of his dictatorial means) so when the new government (led by Manuel Azana) decreased the army’s political importance and their costs were cut it only angered the right wing even further causing more of a tension bet ween both wings. CEDA, the right wing party, dedicated to protecting the authority of the Roman Catholic Church and landlords, was led by Gil Robles and had the support of many Spaniards from the upper classes.The government started addressing and attacking churches and land owners claiming that they had too much privileges in the society, the government only did this once they realised the power CEDA possessed and the influence and support that it has. The attack was seen as a means to alter and redeem some of the power which CEDA possessed, however this was a fail. This is when the fight between fascism and socialism began to take place; building up, along with other causes, to the Spanish Civil War.Spain’s economy was very poor and the Wall Street Crash only made it worse for Spain. Spain had an underdeveloped industrial sector that made them suffer economically. Industrial workers could not get jobs and the threat of inflation only made matters worse. The government wasnà ¢â‚¬â„¢t in support of peasants or landlords and this widened the gap between the poor and the rich. It became evident to the poor that the government were not supporting them resulting in the government losing support. All these issues were making Spain more and unstable both socially and economically.Spain suffered from agricultural poverty, land was owned by the wealthy and the wealthy preferred to benefit from their own wealth rather than grant land to peasants. The government introduced the Agrarian law of 1932 which was the distribution of land among peasant, this process however was failure and the government then introduced the Cases Viejas revolt during 1933, this however led to the suppression of members of the right wing by the government and this suppression lost them a great deal of support.Due to the great deal of support which the government lost, over the accusations of government troops killing 25 people in search of anarchists, Azana resigned from Prime Minister an d the elections which were called in November 1933 were won by CEDA. The most vital issue which caused social unrest was the independence which Basque and the province Catalonia region were demanding. These regions were culturally and ethically different from the rest of the country hence why they wanted to separate themselves and constitute their own government.This did not go down well with the army, who were in the right wing, due to the fact that they preferred the idea of unity instead of the idea of autonomy. The army’s state of thinking almost reflects Spain’s old-fashion social structure where the rich had the â€Å"bread† and left the peasants with â€Å"crumbs†. Wealthy landlords and ‘aristocracy’ had extensive political influence and used it in favour of themselves.The right wing, specifically CEDA and the army were representing the upper class as well as defending the Roman Catholic Church; the army played more of a role in taking full advantage of its power rather than defending the Roman Catholic Church or representing the upper class. The left wing, however, were willing to give Basque and Catalonia their independence. They were following in the footsteps of the British government in the sense they wanted everyone to be equal in the eyes of the law.The right wing did not accept any changes made after the monarchy was abolished as they were clear representatives of the privileged and the rich; this difference in interest between the two parties caused some social instability. To make matters worse the radical left wing had carried out and displayed many acts of violence, weakening the already feeble country. Overall, the difference of interest within the left, right wing and the radical left contributed to the arrival of the Spanish Civil war.The society was unsure and had little faith in Spain due to its poor and failing economy. The social tension which arose from Basque and Catalonia’s demand for independence, only added to the many other problems that Spain was already struggling to handle. The social, economical and political causes of the Spanish Civil war has been analysed in the essay and it can be summed up that the main causes was the social instability and the difference of interest between the political parties. BIBLIOGRAPHY http://ibhistory. wikidot. com/4

Human Trafficking as a Societal Issue - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 2 Words: 594 Downloads: 8 Date added: 2019/05/07 Category Society Essay Level High school Tags: Human Trafficking Essay Did you like this example? 8,759 cases of human trafficking were reported to the National Human Trafficking Hotline last year. Despite popular belief, modern slavery is an extreme social issue in todays society. Each year, human traffickers acquire billions of dollars by forcing people to provide labor or partake in commercial sex against their own will. As a resident of a city through which a major interstate runs, human trafficking is more prevalent to my life than I ever imagined it may be. As a young woman in a time in which human trafficking is more prevalent than ever, I have become passionate about pouring more time into learning the signs of human trafficking, strategies that can be used to reduce or even completely stop human trafficking, and how we as a country can unite to help the victims of human trafficking. In order to prevent human trafficking, it is imperative that we know the signs and remain constantly aware of our surroundings. According to Polaris, some of the most common red fl ags include poor mental health/abnormal behavior, poor physical health, and lack of control. Common living and work conditions of those plagued by human trafficking include working excessively long or unusual work hours, being under 18 years of age and partaking in commercial sex acts, or owing a large debt that he or she is unable to pay off. Although these are not all the indicators, these are a few of the most important signs to look for when human trafficking is suspected. As an advocate for the extinction of human trafficking, the most important step one can take is to be informed and know the signs of this crime. According to the U.S. Department of State, one of the most significant ways we can fight human trafficking is by being informed of ones slavery footprint. Consumers should be knowledgeable of whom actually made the clothes or shoes they are purchasing by checking the Department of Labors List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor. In addition to being a knowledgeable consumer, one can also support anti-trafficking organizations, know the signs of human trafficking, and encourage local schools to involve ways school-aged children are targeted in their curriculum. According to the International Labor Organization, an estimated 40.3 million victims are affected by human trafficking globally. As mentioned previously, 8,759 cases of human trafficking and 10,615 individual victims were reported in the United States in 2017 according to Polaris; this shocking statistic only includes REPORTED cases. A multitude of cases remain unreported, so it is critical that we advocate for awareness of human trafficking and aid victims. Therefore, to identify a potential victim and provide proper care, it is essential that one knows the signs of human trafficking. Each victim of human trafficking has different needs in his or her treatment, so it is important that when one comes in contact with a victim of human trafficking, he or she is aware of th e services provided in the community and can direct the victim in the appropriate direction of help. Ultimately, the most important aspect is that victims feel safe, supported, and respected in their treatment. Overall, human trafficking has been and will remain a momentous societal issue, but it is the responsibility of advocates against this crime to stand up and fight against it. While human trafficking may never be completely eliminated, united efforts can be made to significantly reduce its existence in our country and ultimately our world. The end of human trafficking is only one step toward making our world a safe and prosperous place for future generations. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Human Trafficking as a Societal Issue" essay for you Create order