Staff Roles And Responsibilities In Rfp Process Information Technology Essay

Staff Roles And Responsibilities In Rfp Process Information Technology Essay Best Western International is looking at develop the functionality and the eServices of the European consolidated Best Western website that support the national European IT departments to integrate their functions and maintain-operate this single website portal. As the travel industry is characterised by dynamic changes such as mergers and acquisitions of hotel chains and properties, Best Western International is looking for a partner who is willing to share the responsibilities, benefits and risks. The partner should continually find ways to advance the functionality of the consolidated website portal and advise Best Western on the change management processes for its national IT departments. The vendor is also expected to help and assist the hotel to plan and go through with the required organisational change. The project is to complete within the next six months. This is a huge challenge as Best Western does not have any single IT department to oversee the design and the management of outsourcing requirements and process. This report helps to identify its operational and strategic needs for developing the Request for Proposal (RPF) as well as identifying and selecting an appropriate outsourcing vendor. One of the major requirements of the RFP is not only the technical requirements of the application but also the organisational competencies of the vendor that is required to help Best Western, Europe, manage the organisational transition process. This report advise the client how to write and negotiate the Service Level Agreement (SLA) with the selected vendor in order to ensure the provision of reliable services, how to develop and negotiate a contract with a potential vendor so that Best Western enjoys pricing, technological and organisational flexibility. This report also examines the business operational environment, its culture and propose strategies. This should enable Best Western to effectively manage the knowledge transfers and process collaboration between the internal multi-national IT staff and the IT vendor development staff. The focus areas include knowledge management and transfer issues, management of the transition process and organisational changes that are required to take place within Best Western in Europe. In addition, it helps Identify the staff who should be involved in the transition process and their roles and responsibilities. Major outsourcing risks and recommend practices to overcome them were identified as well. Introduction Best Western International is the worlds largest hotel brand. With its presence in 80 countries, it has over 4,000 hotels all around. Member hotels of Best Western consortia enjoy many benefits. Besides being associated with the international brand name, they receive the benefits of the marketing and operational services of Best Western. This includes access to (electronic) distribution channels, international reservation call centres, training, and centralised e-procurement. While Best Western International has its footprints all over the globe, its local representative offices in each country function independently in more ways than one. They develop and operate their own websites. These websites are not characterised by any standardised design. Each one features different online services and functionalities. Furthermore, there is limited synergy and links amongst these country specific websites. These websites create confusion to international travellers and also act as a major technological and organisational inhibitor to the future development and adoption of sophisticated eServices by the hotel chain. Furthermore, every national Best Western office has an individual IT department. This department is responsible for developing its own eServices based on the departments financial resources and skills. As a result, eServices development efforts are replicated; leading to a waste of resources at a European level despite the fact that other national IT departments may be lacking resources for website development The organisation has recognised the need to develop a consolidated portal providing access to all European Best Western websites. This should feature integrated and holistic new eServices; such as dynamic packaging solutions and an easier interface to the Best Western Reward programme Dynamic packaging solutions provide several benefits and revenue making opportunities to travel companies. It can also help the organisation realise its aims to promote Europe as a single destination. It has envisaged the need to re-organise the IT departments of Best Western in every European country. Other requirements will be to foster and support their cooperation and synergies as well as define their roles and responsibilities related to website design and e-services development. RFP Development RFP is typically drafted at the end of the requirements-gathering phase of a project. It is important that the following prerequisites be completed before embarking on RFP process: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Identify organisational objectives. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Identify stakeholders. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Identify project objectives. Once the prerequisites are completed, we can then accurately capture, interpret, and represent the voice of the client in specifying the IT system requirements. It is important that all stakeholders must achieve a common understanding of what the IT system will be and do. To achieve that, a combination of meetings with user representatives, facilitated workshops with analysts and users, individual customer interviews, prototyping, and user surveys be employed. It is important that Best Western International undergo the following pre-RFP activities before developing its RFP Has it performed any prior feasibility studies or High level design analysis on the new web portal to be developed Has the cost and benefit analysis of the consolidated systems being conducted and documented Was the benefits been quantified and shared with key stakeholders within the organisation to get consensus and endorsement about the new business for developing and consolidating the IT system Was the high level scope been identified including completing the documentation of the business process procedures (BPPs) to be enabled through new IT systems Identifying the sponsor for the new Portal and receiving approval to proceed. For example, a project charter to formally engage the necessary resources for the outsourcing project an Has the timelines for the implementation of new IT system and the estimated budget for the entire programme including TCO(total cost of ownership) for enduring support been finalised Pre-RFP activities are critical for formulating any business case into an RFP. It is recommended to use information gathering or IT requirement gathering methods, tools and techniques in order to capture the requirements for the new IT system. Some of the main tools that would help in elicitation of requirements are Brainstorming, structured questionnaires, case scenario, state transition diagrams and UML model diagram to capture relationship between the real time objects and classes. In other words, the pre-RFP activities are as much critical as the RFP activities. A good RFP address and capture the following: Scope of activities that are clearly defined to be delivered by the vendor. Unless the scope of the engagement is clear, vendors would not be in a position to submit a viable and competitive response for the RFP. Include inputs from the initial study/HLD analysis performed by client organisation with the quantifiable benefits expected out of new IT system. Vendor must understand the sizeable benefits and criticality of the new system to client organisation otherwise it would not be able assess direct financial implications on client organisation for any slippages and understand the criticality of the project to client Include technical requirements including specific technical infrastructure, platform and software. Furthermore, it is important to highlight reasons behind finalising on a particular platform and software including its roadmap in the RFP Include timelines for the vendors response submission and timelines for the project implementation and what impact would have on the client organisation in case of slippages Explicitly mention Vendor characteristics and minimum qualifications expected from vendor for being trusted partner for this engagement Clearly articulate the service level Agreement (SLAs) for the delivery of new IT system and impact of not adhering to SLAs along with financial liabilities (if any) Highlight the expected frequency and details to be incorporated in status reporting Explicitly document the mandate for signing on non-disclosure agreement of vendor with client organisation in order to ensure security and integrity of data Highlight the need for obtaining approval from key client personnel who will be engaged in the programme from vendors team Enforce the business units to highlight the risks, operational constraints and issues that the vendor can foresee on the programme/project. This will help in assessing its impact and its likelihood even before start of the programme and plan for mitigation What infrastructure required from a vendor perspective to deliver the new information system Vendors commercial offer and what factors that vendor thinks that would position them ahead of others Any live case studies whereby vendor had involved in similar engagement with other clients along with contact references from those clients for future enquiry and reference. Articulate clearly responsibility and accountability of activities to be taken by vendor and other parties as part of the engagement through RACIS(R-Responsible A-Accountable C-Consulted I-Informed S-Supported) matrix Include the warranty requirements that is expected from vendor on the new IT system to be developed The acceptance criteria for the new system and the process for obtaining signoff In addition an RFP should request a corporate profile of the responding vendor. Typically this will include risk statements around corporate liquidity, market share, an outline of local operations, number of staff in this country, support models (where support may be with a third party), escalation procedures to parent, local install base (number of customers in this country) etc.. A typical RFP for a website project should include the following components: Introductiona summary of the organization including the mission statement. Project outline Goals and purpose Project scope Website requirements Database development requirements User requirements Design requirements Functional requirements Budget constraints-limited budget Time constraints-when we need the project completed by and when we require responses from vendors Criteria for selecting a vendor Submission of proposal and further information-contact information that encourages vendors to contact the organization for more information Staff roles and responsibilities in RFP process: One of the critical success factors of an outsourcing deal is involving the right stakeholders who will be actively involved in this project whose interest may be positively or negatively affected as a result of the project execution or successful completion. For project outsourcing to succeed, it must be well-planned and carefully implemented. To help ensure the organisation benefit from outsourcing, different teams or roles can be formed or specified: Ideas team This team is involved in identifying processes which can be beneficial to outsource. They should be directly involved in overseeing the companys business strategy to ensure that they have a strategic overview of the companys existing processes and goals. Policy-level team This team is involved in assessing whether outsourcing specific processes is appropriate. For each process, this requires analysing the possible benefits of outsourcing in relation to the companys policies and strategic goals. The team should consist of senior company executives, rather than employees from individual departments. A common perception is that outsourcing a process implies a departments failure to manage it. Using senior executives rather than department members in a policy-level team helps ensure objectivity. It also ensures that the team has the required strategic perspective. Assessment team This team is involved in analysing the likely implications of outsourcing the process for the company. This team should include members from the policy-level team, and should be lead by an executive from the team. This team should include members with different roles and skills. This helps ensure that the team can recognise the likely implications of outsourcing across different areas and form the perspectives of different stakeholders. Members of an assessment should include: Consultants Functional managers Process experts Representative customers Technical experts Implementation and transition team This team is responsible for setting up project outsourcing to address any implication identified. It makes the changes required to pass internal production processes to a service provider. The transition team should be involved in managing the change involved in outsourcing project. This teams focus should be on ensuring that the move from internal production to outsourcing des not impact negatively on the company. Vendor evaluation and assessment criteria Prior to developing the evaluation criteria, it is important to clearly define the company objectives of outsourcing its IT operation in term of functions, performance, quality and costs. We can then define the following outputs expected from the vendors: Operational systems Documentation Management Training Communication Support Reduced costs Expertise Assets When we have the above outputs, we can define the following acceptance criteria: The quality of the service in term of functionality, usability, performance, reliability and availability The implementation and operational plan The quality of the support Capability for future enhancements in line with business expansion Qualification of vendor technical capacity ability to meet objectives financial stability quality system In additional, an evaluation of the following should be performed: Assess the managerial proposal: Desired working relationships Depth and frequency of liaison, meeting, reports Dealing with extraordinary items Location of offices and services Resources/commitment required of client Confidentiality Assess terms and condition: ownership of hardware and software maintenance of customer supplied equipment protection of customers and vendor proprietary information Warranty period Escrow arrangement Assess the technical proposal completeness of proposal demonstration of capabilities or products compliance to requirement (performance and quality) demonstration of degree of understating of problems and applicability of solution technical strategy maturity applicability and compatibility Assess the financial proposal assess method of payment E.g., fixed price, by usage of resource, shared savings, revenue it Identify Total costs Identify cost payment schedule Other factors in assessing proposal The vendor The company industry specification, track record Length of time in business Length of time with local presence Standard qualification (ISO 90000, etc) Size, ownership, financial position / paid up capital etc. Staff assigned CV, security clearance (if appropriate) Experience, is who you see who you will get? Any other commitments References (other customers) Previous experience with contractors Does contractors representative come across as direct or straight forward? interest in your business In addition, we can quantify evaluation criteria of each vendor by aiming to score vendors against each other. For example: Attached weights to each Criteria Weight Proposed Functionality 6 Demonstrated Services 5 Previous Experience 3 Costs 5 We can give each vendor a score of 1-10 for each criterion and determine total weighted score = sum (weighted scores) Criteria Weight Vendor 1 Vendor 2 Score Weighted Score Score Weighted Score Proposed Functionality 6 8 48 7 42 Demonstrated Services 5 4 20 5 25 Previous Experience 4 6 24 4 16 Costs 5 5 25 5 25 Total 117 108 The vendor with the highest score is usually the preferred partner. Service Level Agreement (SLA) development An SLA defines the boundaries of the project in terms of the functions and services that the service provider will provide, the volume of work that will be accepted and delivered, and acceptance criteria for responsiveness and the quality of deliverables. A well-defined and well crafted SLA should set expectations for parties, including the incentives, rewards and penalties applicable to the outsourcing agreement and its results. To ensure the provision of reliable services from the service provider, an SLA should specify client and the providers accountabilities in the outsourcing relationship. These include: Client role The organisation needs to detail its role in the outsourcing relationship. This extends beyond providing its requirements because it details what the provider can expect from the client organisation. For example, the organisation may need to advise the provider about the process, keep them informed about the vision of the project, provide any customise software it needs, or help it acquire and maintain infrastructure The terms of service This should include the cost and duration of the contract, and a time frame for deliverables. The terms should be realistic and measurable, based on the organisations requirements. It need to stipulate any context-sensitive terms, such as a roadmap for release dates, an hourly billing rate, any ceilings on billing rates, and conditions for payments. Delivery measurements This should detail how the providers service is measured, and any performance bonuses payable if metrics are exceeded. The organisation needs to specify who is in charge of completing the metrics, who reviews status reports, and how any conflicts in the measurements are to be mediated or arbitrated. For example, we should set metrics for service reliability, availability and response times for transactions and any service incidents such as server failure. Reliability = Uptime / Downtime The system shall not suffer a downtime greater than 15 minutes during continuous 24 hours operation Downtime = Operational down time + Waiting time + Investigation time + Recovery time Availability = Uptime / (Uptime + Downtime + Maintenance time) The system shall be 99% available during normal working hours (0700 1900) Performance Response time 95% of all online enquiries will be serviced within 5 seconds Average response time to online enquiries shall be 4 seconds No enquiry shall suffer a response time > 10 seconds Throughput The system will handle a maximum of 100,000 transactions per day Storage The system must currently store 1 million customer records and provision must be made for an increase in records of 5% per annum Delivery and Output The following reports will be delivered daily at 0800 Penalty clauses This should include the price and penalties of non-compliance in the SLA. This should clearly define the expectations in the relationship and helps establish remedial processes to resolve any compliance disputes and ensure uninterrupted service. We can dictate a fee reduction, corrective action or payable compensation for any defects or damages to the organisation reputation or service quality due to non-delivery. For example: A Defect is any non-conforming performance that occurs during a day. A Level one defect is any defect that lasts for more than 2 hours but less than 24 hours A Level two defect is any defect that lasts for more than 24 hours A Level three defect is any defect that occurs more than once during any seven-day period A Level four defect is any defect that occurs more than once during any thirty-day period Penalties For each Level one defect, service provider will grant the client a credit of $1000 against the provider fees For each Level two defect, service provider will grant the client a credit of $5000 against the provider fees Exit clause The organisation may need to terminate an outsourcing relationship due to non-performance, violation of the SLA like Termination for cause, or to reintegrate the outsourced processes into its in-house operations due to mergers or acquisition Termination for convenience. These instances and related activities need to be stipulated in an exit clause to ensure both parties understand how and when the outsourcing relationship can end. For example, the organisation stipulates that the contract automatically terminates after six months or if a contact violation occurs. Flexibility SLA should be flexible enough so that any changes or updates either internal or market-related can be easily added to the contract. It is recommended that SLA be reviewed every six month depending on service aspect and its occurrence of poor performance and duration of the contract itself. However, this should not negate the benefits accruing to either party. For example, if a project is scaled upwards to accommodate extra transactions, the metrics for measuring service deliverables need to change. When setting an SLA, we need to consider the organisation and service provider existing infrastructure, including expertise, employees, and technology. It is useless setting up an SLA that details commitments that cannot be fulfilled due to limited infrastructure. A typical SLA should be as long as it must be and as short as it can be. SLA of 10 to 50 pages are not unusual. The longer it is, the more important it is to focus on structure, clarity and readability Contract Development Building flexible in an outsourcing contract is important to ensure the success of an outsourcing arrange. Today market is moving fast and changing fast. Many IS outsourcing deals seem to be obsolete as soon as they are signed. Business strategy changes, market environment changes, technology changes, law, rules and regulatory changes could affect scope of services which means that outsourcing objectives no longer aligned to the business goals to achieve the desired outcomes that they were set to achieve. Flexibilities need to be built during planning stage, contracting stage and post contract management stage to meet any of the above changes. Planning Stage Selecting the right vendor with culture that reflects its business philosophy is important instead of evaluating merely on price and capability. The selection process should involve due diligence regarding the vendors record and attitudes toward rigidity, structure, adaptation, bureaucracy, change and, most importantly, the vendor attitudes toward creating customer value. Choosing the right vendor by forming a strategic alliance promotes the spirit of teams whereby both share relevant risk and rewards would enable contracting parties to be flexible in getting over those bumps along the path. Contracting Stage Contracts are made to allocate risks. Typical contracts allocate known risks and provide some opportunity to each party to obtain a commercially reasonable outcome for risks that are unlikely but nonetheless possible The first is a change in the scope of services. This will likely affect staffing commitments, technology investment, pricing and service level commitments, among other things. In defining the scope of contracted services, the customer should establish a method for integrating the vendors services into the customers other service infrastructures, both internal and external, both current and planned. In the contracting stage, provision for flexibility should be catered for changes in the business environment within organisation. As mentioned, with rapid globalisation, change is a constant to the business. Such change could result in a drastic increase or decline in provider services. The contract should contemplate the impact on pricing and service level commitments in the face of such dramatic changes. The pricing schedules should reflect a band of services at varying, foreseeable levels in order to facilitate financial planning for both parties. At the outer limit, unbundled and transparent pricing, particularly for commodity-type services should be considered. Pricing algorithms and strategies should be studied separately, since pricing flexibility reflects a constellation of business terms. Next are changes in the legal environment. Laws, rules and regulations change, often unpredictably. A contract that did not foresee such changes must be construed to allocate the cost of compliance with such new directives and compliance. Accordingly, contracts should require the vendor to comply with changes in the laws, and costs of compliance should be addressed. Otherwise, the vendor would be exculpated from having to comply by arguing that an act of state, act of God or other force majeure exonerates the vendors non-compliance. The vendor should assume certain predictable risks of technology changes. With rapid technological update and changes, both parties may predict and contractually agree on certain technology refreshment cycles beyond a certain threshold like three to five years where both sides must provide contractual leeway to benefit from such changes without incurring material adverse consequences if those changes should radically alter the contractual balance. Additionally, organisations are moving towards the concepts such as business process management (BPM). BPM allows an organisation to continually make adjustments to its business processes as it evolves and learns. A vendor should embrace this type of concept and allow flexibility into its processes. Furthermore, using best practices such as Service Oriented Architecture could also aid in flexibility. Business operational environment and Culture Staff roles and responsibilities in transition Staff or stakeholders involved in the transition process and knowledge transfer would include Ideas team, Policy-level team, Assessment team, and Implementation and transition team as mentioned Staff roles and responsibilities in RFP process who roles and responsibilities are clearly defined. In addition, the teams should consist of members from both the client and service provider organisation. Culture and resistance to change The culture of each organisation in an outsourcing relationship helps to determine its flexibility. Change typically involves stress because it requires that people adjust to new roles, process and responsibilities. An organisation culture helps to determine the level of stress caused by change, and whether this stress inspires resent or commitment. An organisation culture can help to determine: Its approach to the value of the relationship and to building the relationship over time with the provider Its openness to change The extend to which employees share a common vision and can work together One of the crucial factors to successful outsourcing is a smooth transition. The transition phase involves multiple stakeholders and a number of dynamics paradigms that outsourcing brings to an organisation impacts all clients stakeholders employees, users, and support groups. Many employees will be concerned about the implication of this change to their jobs and to their futures. For some employees, a clear understanding of the required changes and their rationale will foster immediate buy-in and support. Other employees will express their concern by asking questions, challenging rationales, and finding holes in the implementation plan and process. Other employees may resist the change by either avoiding involvement or causing real or potential disruption. Understanding the stages of Resistance A key step in a smooth transition is to understand the three stages of behavioural patterns as it relates to organizational resistance. The three basic stages that have been identified by organizational management professionals are Holding On, Letting Go, and Moving On. Holding On is the initial the resistance to change that occurs when individuals hold on to that with which they are most familiar and comfortable. Many users are used to getting served in a particular way from a team. There is mutual trust as well as fear of the unknown. In the case of outsourcing, their team may now be thousands of miles away instead of just down the floor. This naturally causes concerns such as: How do I know what my team is doing offshore? How do I speak to my team during my workday? Where is everybody? Signs of this stage include forgetting to attend meetings about the change, coming into work late or an increase in employees calling in sick, or when people become irritable or withdrawn from others with whom they have previously had good working relations. Letting Go is the second phase individuals typically experience when confronted with change. You may start hearing people say things like it just might work if management will let it happen. I will do it once I see others do it without any backlash. It might work somewhere else, but I dont know how it would work here. Letting Go is visible when people start attending meetings and either do not contribute or take opposing perspectives or when individuals question the issues associated with the change and start challenging thinking. They begin spending more of their personal time discussing how it might just work if only Moving On is the third phase. At this stage, we can hear comments like: When am I going to learn how to do this? How can I get this going already? This isnt so bad after all. Moving On is visible when individuals spend time planning how to make things wo

Plot Summary Catch Me If You Can Essay

In 1963, teen-aged Frank Abagnale (Leonardo DiCaprio) lives New Rochelle, New York with his father Frank Abagnale, Sr. (Christopher Walken), and French mother Paula (Nathalie Baye). When Frank Sr. is denied a business loan at Chase Manhattan Bank due to unspecified difficulties with the IRS, the family is forced to move from their large home to a small apartment. Paula carries on an affair with Jack (James Brolin), a friend of her husband. Meanwhile, Frank poses as a substitute teacher in his French class. Frank’s parents file for divorce, and Frank runs away. When he runs out of money, he begins to rely on confidence scams to get by. Soon, Frank’s cons grow bolder and he even impersonates an airline pilot. He forges Pan Am payroll checks and succeeds in stealing over $2. 8 million. Meanwhile, Carl Hanratty (Tom Hanks), an FBI bank fraud agent, begins to track down Frank. Carl and Frank meet in a hotel, where Frank convinces Carl his name is Barry Allen of the Secret Service. Frank leaves, Carl angrily realizing his mistake just as it is too late. Later, at Christmas, Carl is still working when Frank calls him, attempting to apologize for duping Carl. Carl rejects his apology and tells him he will soon be caught, but laughs when he realizes Frank actually called him because he has no one else to talk to. Frank hangs up, and Carl continues to investigate, suddenly realizing (thanks to a waiter) that the name â€Å"Barry Allen† is from the Flash comic books and that Frank is just a teenager. Frank, meanwhile, has not only changed to becoming a doctor and a lawyer, but has fallen in love with Brenda (Amy Adams), to whom he eventually admits the truth about himself and asks her to run away with him. Carl tracks him to his engagement party where Frank has left Brenda, asking her to meet him two days later so they can elope. Frank sees her waiting for him two days later, but also sees agents in disguise. He realizes he has been set up and escapes on a flight to Europe. Seven months later, Carl shows his boss that Frank has been forging checks all over western Europe and asks permission to go to Europe to look for him. When his boss says no, Carl brings Frank’s checks to printing professionals who deem that the checks were printed in France. Carl remembers from an interview with Frank’s mother that she was born in Montrichard, France. He goes there and finds Frank, and tells him that the French police will kill him if he does not go with Carl quietly. Frank assumes he is lying at first, but Carl promises Frank he would never lie to him, and Carl takes him outside, where the French police escort him to prison. The scene then flashes forward to a plane returning Frank home from prison, where Carl informs him that his father has died. Consumed with grief, Frank escapes from the plane and goes back to his old house, where he finds his mother with the man she left his father for, as well as a girl who Frank realizes is his half-sister. Frank gives himself up and is sentenced to 12 years in prison, getting visits from time to time from Carl. When Frank points out how one of the checks Carl is carrying as evidence is fake, Carl convinces the FBI to offer Frank a deal by which he can live out the remainder of his sentence working for the bank fraud department of the FBI, which Frank accepts. While working at the FBI, Frank misses the thrill of the chase and even attempts to fly as an airline pilot again. He is cornered by Carl, who insists that Frank will return to the FBI job since no one is chasing him. On the following Monday, Carl is nervous that Frank has not yet appeared at work. However, Frank does show up and they discuss their next case. The ending credits reveal that Frank has been happily married for 26 years, has three sons, lives in the Midwest, is still good friends with Carl, has caught some of the world’s most elusive money forgers, and earns millions of dollars each year because of his work creating unforgeable checks.

12th Amendment Fixing the Electoral College

The 12th Amendment to the  United States Constitution  refined the manner in which the  President  and  Vice President  of the United States are elected by the  Electoral College. Intended to address unforeseen political problems resulting from the presidential elections of 1796 and 1800, the 12th Amendment replaced the procedure originally provided for in Article II, Section 1. The amendment was passed by Congress on December 9, 1803, and ratified by the states on June 15, 1804. Key Takeaways: 12th Amendment The 12th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution modified the way in which the president and vice president are elected under the Electoral College system.The amendment requires that the electors of the Electoral College cast separate votes for president and vice president, rather than two votes for president.It was approved by Congress on December 9, 1803, and ratified by the states, becoming a part of the Constitution on June 15, 1804. Provisions of the 12th Amendment Before the 12th Amendment, the electors of the Electoral College did not cast separate votes for president and vice president. Instead, all of the presidential candidates ran together as a group, with the candidate who got the most electoral votes elected president and the runner-up becoming vice president. There was no such thing as a political party’s president-vice president â€Å"ticket† as there is today. As the influence of politics in government grew, the problems of this system became clear. The 12th Amendment requires that each elector cast one vote specifically for president and one vote specifically for vice president, rather than two votes for president. In addition, the electors may not vote for both candidates of a presidential ticket, thus ensuring that candidates of different political parties would never be elected president and vice president. The amendment also prevents persons who are ineligible to serve as president from serving as vice president. The amendment did not change the way in which  electoral vote ties  or lack of majority are handled: the  House of Representatives  chooses the president, while the  Senate  chooses the vice president. The need for the 12th Amendment is better understood when placed in historical perspective. Historical Setting of the 12th Amendment As the delegates to the  Constitutional Convention of 1787  convened, the  American Revolution’s  spirit of unanimity and shared purpose still filled the air—and influenced the debate. In creating the Electoral College system, the Framers specifically sought to eliminate the potentially divisive influence of partisan politics from the electoral process. As a result, the pre-12th Amendment Electoral College system reflected the Framer’s desire to ensure that the president and vice president would be selected from among a group of the nation’s â€Å"best men† without the influence of political parties. Exactly as the Framers intended, the U.S. Constitution never has and probably never will even mention politics or political parties. Before the 12th Amendment, the Electoral College system worked as follows: Each elector of the Electoral College was allowed to vote for any two candidates, at least one of whom was not a resident of the elector’s home state.When voting, the electors did not designate which of the two candidates they had voted for was to be vice president. Instead, they just voted for the two candidates they believed to be the most qualified to serve as president.The candidate getting more than 50 percent of the votes became president. The candidate getting the second most votes became vice president.If no candidate got more than 50 percent of the votes, the president was to be selected by the House of Representatives, with the delegation of each state getting one vote. While this gave equal power to both the large and small states, it also made it more likely that the candidate ultimately selected to be president would not be the candidate who had won the majority of the popular vote.In the event of a tie among the candidates who got the second-most votes, the  Se nate  selected the vice president, with each Senator getting one vote. Although complicated and broken, this system worked as intended during the nation’s first presidential election in 1788, when  George Washington—who detested the idea of political parties—was unanimously elected to the first of his two terms as president, with  John Adams  serving as the first vice president. In the elections of 1788 and 1792, Washington received 100 percent of both the popular and electoral vote. But, as the end of Washington’s final term drew near in 1796, politics was already creeping back into American hearts and minds. Politics Exposes Electoral College Problems During his second term as Washington’s vice president, John Adams had associated himself with the  Federalist Party, the nation’s first political party. When he was elected president in 1796, Adams did so as a Federalist. However, Adams’ bitter ideological adversary,  Thomas Jefferson—an avowed  Anti-Federalist  and member of the  Democratic-Republican Party, having gotten the second-most electoral votes, was elected vice president under the Electoral College system. As the turn of the century approached, America’s budding love affair with political parties would soon expose the weaknesses of the original Electoral College system. The Election of 1800 One of the most important events in American history, the election of 1800 marked the first time an incumbent president—one of the Founding Fathers at that—actually lost an election. That president, John Adams, a Federalist, was opposed in his bid for a second term by his Democratic-Republican vice president Thomas Jefferson. Also for the first time, both Adams and Jefferson ran with â€Å"running mates† from their respective parties. Federalist Charles Cotesworth Pinckney from South Carolina ran with Adams, while Democratic-Republican Aaron Burr of New York ran with Jefferson. When the votes were counted, the people had clearly preferred Jefferson for president, handing him a 61.4 to 38.6 percent victory in the popular vote. However, when the electors of the Electoral College met to cast their all-important votes, things got very complicated. The Federalist Party electors realized that casting their two votes for Adams and Pinckney would cause a tie, and if they both got a majority, the election would go to the House. With this in mind, they cast 65 votes for Adams and 64 votes for Pinckney. Apparently not so aware of this flaw in the system, the Democratic-Republican electors all dutifully cast both of their votes for Jefferson and Burr, creating a 73-73 majority tie forcing the House to decide whether Jefferson or Burr would be elected president. In the House, each state delegation would cast one vote, with a candidate needing the votes of a majority of delegations to be elected president. On the first 35 ballots, neither Jefferson nor Burr were able to win a majority, with Federalist Congressmen voting for Burr and all Democratic-Republican Congressmen voting for Jefferson. As this â€Å"contingent election† process in the House drug on, the people, thinking they had elected Jefferson, became increasingly unhappy with the Electoral College system. Finally, after some heavy lobbying by  Alexander Hamilton, enough Federalists changed their votes to elect Jefferson president on the 36th ballot. On March 4, 1801, Jefferson was inaugurated as president. While the election of 1801 set the cherished precedent for the  peaceful transfer of power, it also exposed critical problems with the Electoral College system that almost everyone agreed had to be fixed before the next presidential election in 1804. Ratification of the 12th Amendment In March 1801, just weeks after the election of 1800 had been resolved, the state legislature of New York proposed two constitutional amendments similar to what would become the 12th Amendment. While the amendments eventually failed in the New York legislature, U.S. Senator DeWitt Clinton of New York began discussions on a proposed amendment in the U.S. Congress. On December 9, 1803, the 8th Congress approved the 12th Amendment and three days later submitted it to the states for ratification. Since there were seventeen states in the Union at the time, thirteen were needed for ratification. By September 25, 1804, fourteen states had ratified it and James Madison declared that the 12th Amendment had become a part of the Constitution. The states of Delaware, Connecticut, and Massachusetts rejected the amendment, although Massachusetts would eventually ratify it 157 years later, in 1961. The presidential election of 1804 and all elections since have been conducted according to the provisions of the 12th Amendment. Sources â€Å"12th Amendment Text.†Ã‚  Legal Information Institute. Cornell Law SchoolLeip, Dave.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Electoral College – Origin and History.†Ã‚  Atlas of U.S. Presidential ElectionsLevinson, Sanford.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Amendment XII: Election of President and Vice President.†Ã‚  National Constitution Center

A Study Guide for Act 3 of Hamlet

If youve never read Shakespeare, reading Hamlet, the bards longest play, may be a daunting task, but this breakdown of the scenes in Act 3 can help. Use this study guide to familiarize yourself with the major themes and plot points of this pivotal part of the tragedy. It will help you know what to look for as you read Hamlet in class or on your own. If youve already read the drama, use this to review any information you need to better understand or may have overlooked the first time around. Of course, if youre preparing to take a test or write a paper about Hamlet, be mindful of what your teacher has said about the play in class. Act 3, Scene 1 Polonius and Claudius arrange to secretly watch a meeting between Hamlet and Ophelia. When the two meet, Hamlet denies any affection for her, which further confuses Polonius and Claudius. They decide that Hamlet will be sent to England to get over his troubles, but they suggest that perhaps Gertrude can get to the root of his â€Å"madness.† Act 3, Scene 2 Hamlet directs the actors in a play to depict his father’s murder, as he hopes to study Claudius’ reaction to the idea. Claudius and Gertrude leave during the performance. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern inform Hamlet that Gertrude wants to speak to him. Act 3, Scene 3 Polonius arranges to secretly listen to the conversation between Hamlet and Gertrude. When alone, Claudius speaks of his conscience and guilt. Hamlet enters from behind and draws his sword to kill Claudius but decides that it would be wrong to kill a man while praying. Act 3, Scene 4 While meeting with Gertrude, Hamlet is about to  reveal Claudius’ villainy when he hears someone behind the curtain. Hamlet thinks it is Claudius and thrusts his sword through the arras, actually killing Polonius. The ghost reappears and Hamlet speaks to it. Gertrude, who cannot see the apparition, is now convinced of Hamlet’s madness. Further Understanding Now that youve read the guide, review the plot points and ask questions to help you understand what has happened. What did you learn about the characters? What are Hamlets intentions? Did his plan for Claudius work? What does Gertrude now think of Hamlet? Is she right or wrong to have these views? Why does Hamlets relationship with Ophelia appear to be so complicated? As you answer these questions (and perhaps think up a few of your own), jot them down. This will help you remember how the scenes of Act 3 unfolded and help you categorize the information in a way that will make it easier for you to speak on the topic when the time comes. Take the same approach with the other acts in the play and you will have organized the plot developments into a very handy study guide.