Political Science

National constitutions allover the world are regarded as the supreme law of the land. In the United States, the Federal constitution is the most superior point of reference when it comes to the legal and issues of governance. The US constitution was adopted in 1787 by the Constitution Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and consequently ratified by the respective states. The constitution has been subjected to various amendments ever since to accommodate specific aspects that were left out during its adoption. The Constitution is regarded as the foundation and reference point of all the legal inquiries that are to be found in the US. The constitution explains the very existence of the United States of America and the Federal Government of the US (Smith, 1987). The constitution provides for the organization of the federal government, defining the relationship between the Federal government and the States, citizens and all the individuals found within the boundaries of the United States (The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, 2010). The constitution has also elaborated on several issues including granting permission to the congress to adopt changes in form of amendments to the primary document to make the constitution to be reflective of the prevailing situation (Smith, 1987).

Introduction
The United States Constitution is the supreme law of the land which was adopted in the year 1787 by the Constitution Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and consequently ratified by the respective states. The constitution has been subjected to various amendments ever since to accommodate specific aspects that were left out during its adoption. The Constitution is regarded as the foundation and reference point of all the legal inquiries that are to be found in the US. The constitution explains the very existence of the United States of America and the Federal Government of the US (Smith, 1987). The constitution provides for the organization of the federal government, defining the relationship between the Federal government and the States, citizens and all the individuals found within the boundaries of the United States. The constitution gives definition to the three arms of the government which includes the Legislature, the Executive, and the Judiciary. It specifically defines the powers and duties of each branch. The US constitution also gives some powers to the respective States and the people thereby establishing a Federal system of government in the United States (The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, 2010). This paper is going to give an analysis of the criminal law, crime, and crime against the state as provided for in the constitution.

Crime
In general terms a crime can be viewed as a breach of law and rules that have been established by the governing authority and therefore punishable. A crime can be described as any act or omission of the act that is in violation of public law forbidding or commanding it (Cornell University Law School, 2010, Para 2). In the United States, there are some common-law crimes however, most of the crimes are established by the local, state, and Federal governments (Cornell University Law School, 2010). In general sense, crime is a terminology used to include all offences but is most limited to felonies. The term offence may be viewed as having similar meaning to crime it is more often understood as a crime that is not liable for indictment and but for punishment either summarily or by forfeiture of a penalty (Lectric Law Library, 2010). Crimes are usually defined and penalized by statutes and common law.

Most common law offenses are precisely known ascertained and well known more like those defined by the statutes. However, owing to the difficulty of exact definition and description of every act which has to be punished, the principle of vitality and preservation has been adopted. This principle holds that all the immoral acts that tend to the prejudice of the society are to be punished by the courts of justice. Crimes have been described as mala in se meaning that they are bad in themselves. They include all offences that contravene the moral law or are mala prohibita meaning bad because they are prohibited (Lectric Law Library, 2010).

Types of Crimes
There is an array of criminal activities being committed by the offenders but they can all be classified into the following categories felonies and misdemeanors, infractions, traffic offences. A felony may be considered as a serious criminal activity that may carry a minimum incarceration of one year. Examples of crimes that are regarded as felonies include rape, robbery, and kidnapping.

Misdemeanors on the other hand are the less serious offences that may be a simplified version of the felonies. The level of participation and the situation of the individual will determine whether the crime is a felony or a misdemeanor. For instance, a drug lord might be guilty of committing a felony whereas the individual who bought the drug will have committed a misdemeanor. Felonies are usually punished by imprisonment with more serious felonies like murder and espionage carrying a death penalty. A part from this, there could be seizure of property as well as prohibition from running for an elective public office and also from the general participation in the voting exercise (LACriminalLawyer.net, (2008).

Infraction is also considered as another form of crime which is lower than a misdemeanor. In general, infractions are petty offences that may be considered as civil cases as opposed to criminal case. The most prevalent infraction cases include littering, speeding, and causing disturbances. Also, misdemeanors such as petty theft, possession of marijuana, and trespassing may also be considered as infractions for first time offenders (LACriminalLawyer.net, 2008, Para 7). An individual who is guilty of infraction is rarely sentenced to a prison term. Infractions do not usually result in loss of any rights by the offenders like the right to participate in voting and the right to run for an elective public office. Infraction punishments are in most cases known to result in payment of fine and suspension of licenses (LACriminalLawyer.net, 2008).

Traffic offences are the most committed offences in the United States. There are usually two categories of the traffic offences. The first category consists of minor traffic offences which includes simple speeding and improper altering of the lane. The other category comprises of more serious traffic offences including reckless driving and driving under the influence of intoxication. Individuals found guilty of the traffic offences are usually fined and in some instances, their driving licenses are suspended. The individuals may also be put in prison and their auto insurance premium may also be increased (LACriminalLawyer.net, 2008).

Information on the types of crimes in not enough, what is more important is the ability to follow the established rules in an effort to avoid crime. Everything should not be left to chance and this calls for the crime prevention strategies in an effort to reduce the possibility of being a victim of the criminal activity. It is therefore important to remove all the potential opportunities the criminals might use in advancing their actions towards you andor your property in a process referred to as target hardening. There is also what is called the crime triangle of which includes the risk, opportunity, and desire. In this regard, crime prevention happens when we reduce the risk of victimization at the same time increasing the risk of catching the offender. The opportunities for victimization are reduced whereas those for legitimate fitting in the society are increased. Finally, the desire for committing crimes is reduced when the desire to contribute to the improvement of society is increased. With successful crime prevention strategies, there will be a safer society with an enhanced perception of safety as well as attitudes and behaviors that a feeling of safety in individuals (Board of Trustees, Southern Illinois University, 2010).

Criminal law
In the US, criminal law may vary from state to another. Crimes include both felonies and misdemeanors. Felonies include serious criminal activities such as rape and murder and are punishable by incarceration for a year or more. On the other hand, misdemeanors are less crimes including petty thievery punishable by incarceration of less than a year. It is important to note that no act can be regarded as criminal if it is not defined as such by either statute or common law. In recent times, there has been an increase in the list federal crime that deal with the activities which extends past state boundaries or have a special effect on the Federal undertakings (Cornell University Law School, 2010). Criminal law has become codified and the US has what is known as Model Penal Code which has been adopted and amended by the various states to meet their own local preferences. The Model Penal Code forms the basic structure of understanding criminal law in United States (Fletcher, 1998).

Statutes describing criminal behavior can be narrowed down into their specific elements. Most of the criminal activities consists of two main elements namely an act also known as actus reus, and a mental state also known as mens rea. This does not however apply to the strict-liability crimes. Prosecutors have the duty to prove each and every aspect of the criminal activity in an effort to yield a conviction. The prosecutor has to persuade the jury beyond reasonable doubt regarding all the facts necessary in the constitution of the crime being charged (Cornell University Law School, 2010).

Criminal law can be described as a branch of law concerned with the crimes that are committed in violation of public authority (Smith, 2009). Criminal law is quite different from the civil law and involves crimes that are committed between individuals and not necessarily against the public in general. Murder for instance is addressed as a criminal case since even though it involves a specific victim it generally goes against the interests of the public. On the other hand, failure to honor a contract is regarded as a civil case. Criminal law is oftenly referred to as penal law and involves the trial by the government of an individual for committing an act that has been categorized as a crime. In general, criminal law entails the body of statutory and common law dealing with crime and legal castigation of the criminal activities.

According to the Law Society, criminal law is the principle means by which the government identifies and criminalizes behavior that is considered wrong, damaging to individuals or to society as a whole or is otherwise unacceptable (Law Society, 2010 Para 1). Criminal justice system is specifically developed as a mechanism designed to deal with those suspected of committing the criminal offences (Law Society, 2010). The criminal law encompasses two main categories which include the misdemeanors and felonies. Misdemeanors are the minor crimes under criminal law attracting a sentence of less than a year. On the other hand, felonies are much more serious crimes accompanied by a much more severe punishment of usually more than one year in incarceration (Standler, 1998).

Comparing criminal Law to civil law
Criminal law differs from the civil law in many aspects. Through definition, criminal law is the prosecution of an individual by the state when a criminal act has been committed by the individual. Civil law on the contrary, involves individuals and organizations that seek to resolve legal disputes. In matters involving a criminal case, the state, through the prosecutor is responsible for the initiation of the legal suit whereas in a civil suit, the victims are responsible for bringing up the suit. In a criminal case, the individuals found guilty may be punished through incarceration, fines, or both whereas in civil litigations, the offender may be required to surrender the property or refund the money, and there is no incarceration (Standler, 1998).

Crimes against the State
Generally speaking, all the criminal activities can be regarded as going against the state or the government so long as they public order and tranquility is disturbed (Braham, 2004). However, there are three crimes that are directly in contravention with the existence of the state itself. These are specifically referred to as crimes against the state and include treason, sedition, and rebellion. Treason involves criminal activities betraying a nation and is dangerous to its security.  Treason is the only crime to have been defined in the constitution as defined under Article III section 3
Treason against the United States shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them aid and Comfort. No person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court. The Congress shall have power to declare the Punishment of Treason, but no attainder of Treason shall work corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life of the Person attained (Vega, 1981).

The congress has however enacted several related statutes relating to offenses that aim at undermining the government and the security of the nation in general. These acts include the 1798 Alien and Sedition Acts and the Espionage Act of 1917 (Archiving Early America, 2010). Sedition can be defined as any form of conduct andor language that is directed at inciting rebellion activity against the authority of a given state (Dictionary.com, LLC, 2010). Rebellion on he other hand is rising against the state in disobedience. Rebellion may result in a mutiny, revolt, uprising, or a revolution (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, 2010). Crimes against the state carry a very heavy punishment including death penalty and life imprisonment. Since most of these crimes include dissent, sabotage, subversion, sedition, treason, and espionage, repressive governments are prone to calling any kind of opposition as crime against the state (Martin, 2010 Para 3).

Conclusion
The United States Constitution has covered a broad spectrum of issues regarding the political, social, economic, and any other aspect that affects the citizens of the federation. It can simply be argued that the constitution has been all inclusive on issues affecting the American citizen. Congress has been on duty, making amendments where necessary to ensure that adequacy prevails in addressing the emergent issues that might have not been comprehensively covered in the original draft of the constitution. Issues regarding crimes, criminal law, and crimes against the state are comprehensively addressed by the constitution which gives a clear definition of the concept and the subsequent interpretation of the same. The US constitution therefore provides a clear guideline on several issues and remains a critical reference when it comes to legal matters andor court cases.

0. Abstract
The question on whether the European Union (EU) is democratically deficit has led to huge debates among many scholars. European Union is the most developed international organization that provides a laboratory for observing the development of the democratic structures both within and without its member states. It is therefore imperative to note that the democratic deficit has wider implications that reach beyond the European Union and affects the critical issues of future developments within the democratic theory. This paper seeks to understand the basis of the arguments about the European Unions democratic deficit and the effects of the European integration process. It distinguishes between three types of legitimacy, and the authors are discussed according to which type of legitimacy that underlines their analysis of the democratic deficit. It concludes that, in order to further the debate, Scholars on the democratic deficit and legitimacy debates in the EU must be able to transcend old barriers and should be able to fully develop proper models of supranational democracy and legitimacy within the EU.

1.  Introduction
Democratic deficit can be considered as occurring when a democratic organization or institutions or even the government is deemed as falling short of fulfilling the principles of the parliamentary democracy in their day to day operations (Barry, 1991). European Union is the most developed international organization that provides a laboratory for observing the development of the democratic structures both within and without its member states. It is therefore imperative to note that the democratic deficit has wider implications that reach beyond the European Union and affects the critical issues of future developments within the democratic theory (Elster, 1998).

The question whether the European Union is democratically deficit has been debated a lot by a number of scholars, however, due to the nature of the definition of democracy, in relation to democratic countries, the European Union can be said to be democratically deficit (Thomas, 2009). The democratic character and the effectiveness of the European Union has been questioned by a number of scholars including politicians, researchers and even journalists who have always characterized the European Union as suffering from democratic deficit or lack of democratic accountability. A number of claims have been made that the European Union have diverted a lot from the ideals of democracy.

In relation to this, it is essential to give due attention and importance in studying the various arguments about the democratic deficit of the European Union because the practice of democracy within this international organization has a huge influence in the lives of the people within the European continent. In addition, the way democracy is practiced and applied in the European Union also has an effect with other countries in the world, especially for those states wherein this international organization has established diplomatic relations with. Moreover, since the European Union is one of the most successful international organizations in the world, it is pivotal to identify whether there is indeed a democratic deficit in its processes. It cannot be prevented that other international organizations will use the European Union as a model, especially when it comes to governance that involves supranational characteristics. As such, it is important to identify whether there is democratic deficit in the European Union in order for other international organizations to properly address this issue. Lastly, the situation of democracy in the European Union is an important issue of study because the concept of democratic governance is vital in the lives of people, especially in terms of ensuring that their rights are being protected.

The objective of this paper is to understand the basis of the arguments about the European Unions democratic deficit and the effects of the European integration process. The assumptions and arguments on the economic integration could have led to the political integrations which have a tendency to apply to the European institutions standards of legitimacy and democracy. This has been derived from the theory and practices of parliamentary democracies.

2.  The Democratic Deficit
Democratic deficit has been defined as the gap between the powers transferred to the community level and the control of the elected parliament over them (Williams, 1991162). On an abstract level, democratic deficit is reflected on the scientific models of democracy that has been considered to be appropriate for the international organization, i.e. European Union, United Nation NATO, etc (Hix, 1999). Therefore, if an international organization diverges from these specific models of democracy, the international organization, in this case specifically the European Union is considered to be democratically deficit.

Democratic deficit has been a popular term among the critics of the European Union, the lack of functioning democracy reflects largely on the failings of the European parliament to give the Europeans people their rightful say in the Unions affairs (Beetham,  Lord, 1998). The failure of the European parliament to give European Union citizens their right say in the Unions affair has been considered to be deficiency of democracy in the European Union. More often, as the size of the polity increases, there could be a decrease in the effective citizen participation therefore increasing democratic deficit within the organization. In large organizations like the European Union, delegation of authorities is almost inevitable and this has brought forth a bargain among the political and bureaucratic elites (Thomas, 2009). The need for the delegation of authorities and responsibilities within the European Union has become more pronounced as a result of the increase in scale from the individual nation-state to international organization. Though delegation in large scale organizations like the European Union is of dire importance, it has caused a diminishing effect on the effectiveness of citizen participation. According to the ideals of democracy within the European Union, maximum participation of entities from all quarters is of high significance as it promotes democracy (Thomas, 2009). However, this has not been the case in the European Union. Due to its large scale representative structures, the European Union has fallen short of the ideals especially in comparison with those of smaller counterparts and those of democratic countries (Elster, 1998).

A number of scholars have debated greatly on the way the European Union is democratically deficit. According to Dahl, it is claimed that the international organizations more specifically the European Union, should be subject to popular control for it to claim to be having democracy within itself. However, with regards to the European Union, Dahl claims that the organization is only subject to unlimited control among the few political and bureaucratic entities and this has led to the democratic deficit in the European Union. On comparing the European Union with democratic countries, it clearly indicates that the international organization requires the development of the institutions within itself in order for it to be able to provide opportunities from the political participation, influence and control that is equal to the effectiveness of the democratic countries. Dahl argued that the democratic deficit within the European Union might lead to the possibility of the emergence of guardianship by the European Union. It is therefore clear that the democratic structures at the nation level have not been properly implemented at the supranational level (Dahl, 1999).

In order for an international organization to be democratic, first, it has to consider the output of the political process. It entails the consideration of getting to know what the people want, the policies that constitute the democratic reflection of the voters preference and the certainty of the legislative process to lead to the implementations of these policies. All these issues lie at the heart of democracy.

3. Legitimacy Problem within the European Union
There is a large overlap between the literature dealing with democratic deficit and problems of legitimacy within the European Union. A number of scholars have agreed on the democratic deficit, others have gone beyond and claimed that the models of pluralism have failed to address the issues of democratic legitimacy in the European Union (Beetham,  Lord, 1998). The legitimacy problems have been attributed to the asymmetric relationship between the constitutional and the popular element of democratic ideals (Kartz, 2001). Katz (2001) argued that the compositional element of the European Union has become dominant at the European Union level and therefore the democratic deficit is in essence a democratic overload that has been caused by the insufficient of the possibilities for the majority to actually exercise their constitutional powers. The legitimacy problems in the European Union can therefore be categorized into three procedural, efficiency and social legitimacy (Hix, 1999).

3.1 Procedural legitimacy
The procedural legitimacy within the European Union can be further subdivided into two the electoral approach and the governance approach. According to the electoral approach, scholars have claimed that the legitimacy problems lies on the fact that there is a fundamental lack of proper electoral institution at the European level and hence the European Union can be considered as having legitimacy issues with regards to the electoral realms (Barry, 1991). According to scholar, the international institution has led to the hollowing of the national democracies because it has deviated from the ideal of promoting democracies in all the member states and instead, due to lack of the proper electoral approach, it has diminished national democracies (Hix, 1999). Other scholars like Decker (1990) have also attributed the democratic deficit and legitimacy problems to the institutional deficiencies of the electoral, party system and the lack of European demonstration. Due to the transfer of competence to the European level, the European Union supranational characteristic have found less response at its social base among the parties and the voters therefore producing democratic deficits and problems relating to legitimacy (Barry, 1991). Hix (1999) also argued that the lack of European wide party system and the absence of a clearly recognizable parliamentary opposition have been a major hindrance to the development of the democracy and legitimacy in the European Union.

The governance issues also affect the procedural legitimacy with regards to networks and deliberation of authorities and responsibilities (Beetham,  Lord, 1998). The presence of the strong entities and personalities within the European Union has also provided legitimacy problems within the organization. In contrast with the general public, the strong publics within the EU has been considered to be a sphere of institutionalized deliberation of responsibilities and the process of decision making within the  European Union (Barry, 1991).

3.2 Efficiency legitimacy
The output or efficiency legitimacy as view by scholars focuses on the normative issues of proving that there is no democratic deficit that is considered to be specific to the EU but rather focuses on the question of the quality of the democracy in the European Union (Thomas, 2009). The EU has been viewed by scholars as a polity that is concerned with handling the issues of the European Unions member states. However, it has been argued by scholars that the European Union as the polity that handles these issues  have not been able to handle them properly therefore producing legitimacy issues relating to its efficiency. According to Katz (2001), the complicated system of checks and balances within the European Union has led to the conception of legitimacy problems and being a pluralist model that is coupled with the protection of minorities at the expense of the majoritys ideals.

3.3 Social legitimacy
According to Shapiro and Hacker-Cordon (1997), a more fundamental issue is the possibility of democratizing the European Union with regards to the citizens of the member states. The lack of democratization at the European level depicts that there is limited participation of the citizens of the European Unions member states. The lack of effective citizen participation depicts that there is poor relationship between the European Union and the citizens and therefore leading to the problems of social legitimacy (Thomas, 2009).

3.4 Multiple Points of Legitimacy
Different kinds of legitimacy entails that they may either reinforce or exclude each other. According to Lord and Magnette (2004), there are four vectors of legitimacy that coincides with the Heretiers five elements. The five elements of Heretier are indirect, parliamentary, technocratic and procedural legitimacy. First, the indirect legitimacy pertains to the principle of the European Union, which states that the legitimacy of this international organization is grounded on its member states legitimacy as well as its respect to their sovereignty. Second, the parliamentary legitimacy vector describes the perspective that the European Union is the main source of legitimacy because it is a combination of directly elected parliamentary body and representatives coming from the member states. Third, technocratic legitimacy is based on the regulatory approach, which is proposed by Majone. Lastly, procedural legitimacy pertains to transparency, proportionality, legal certainty and the consultation of stakeholders in the decision-making process (Jensen, 2009, p. 6)

4.  Reasons for democratic deficit in the European Union
The European integration has led to the increase in the powers of the executive and a decrease in the national parliamentary control (Follesdal,  Hix, 2006). At the national level in Europe, the central structure of the representative governments in all the member states of the European Union is the fact that the government is accountable to the voters through the parliaments and therefore the parliament can hire or fire the cabinet. The parliaments also scrutinize the behavior of the of the governments ministers.  Fundamentally, scholars have argued that there seems to be an exchange in the democratic system between giving the majority its way and protecting the rights of the minorities, at the European Union level it have been seen to be dominated by executive actors, national ministers and the government appointees in the commission (Barry, 1991). This is not the reason for the democratic deficit in the European Union but rather the actions of these executives agents at the European level have gone beyond the control of the national parliaments. Despite the establishment of the European Affairs Committees in all the parliaments, the policies of the European Union have been depicted as being isolated from the national parliamentary domestic policy-making process. The European integration on the other hand has led to a decrease in power of the national parliaments and an increase in power of the executives (Thomas, 2009).

4.1 Arguments Proving the Democratic Deficit in the European Union
According to Schimitter, an issue that has led to the democratic deficit in the European Union has been attributed by the permissive consensus and more specifically the disappearance of this consensus. His claims is based on the fact that there has been some compelling evidence that the citizens in the European Union member states have become increasingly aware of the impacts of the European Union legislation on their day to day lives (Dahl, 1999). Therefore, these citizens have considered the European Union as a secretive, remote, unintelligible and unaccountable. Most scholars and analysts of the democratic deficit within the European Union have argued that there is a weakness in the European parliaments. There has been a tradeoff between the powers of the European parliaments and that of the national parliaments. The increase in the powers of the European parliament have led to the decrease in the powers of the national parliaments therefore leaving more powers within the European Union which has led to the democratic deficit and problems of democratic legitimacy (Follesdal,  Hix, 2006). The other factor that has led to the democratic deficit in the European Union is the successive reforms of the European Union treaties in the mid 1980s. These treaties led to the dramatic increase in the powers of the European parliament though other scholars claimed that the governments in the Council within the European Union have more powers than the European parliament. Though under the co-decision procedure, the European parliament has equal legislative powers with the council the European Union legislation is still passed under the consultation procedure and this means that the parliament has limited power of delay therefore causing democratic deficit and problems of legitimacy within the European Union (Follesdal,  Hix, 2006).

Another factor that has increased the democratic deficit and problems of legitimacy in the European Union is the fact that there are no elections (Follesdal,  Hix, 2006). The citizens of the European Union member states elect their governments these governments sits in the council and nominate the commissioners of the European Union. Therefore, the facts that the commissioners are nominated have deviated from the ideals of democracy.  On the other hand, the European Union citizen elects the European parliament (Follesdal,  Hix, 2006). However, both the national elections and the European parliamentary elections do not focus on the entire Europeans elections. This is because the election at the European level is not about personalities or parties or the direction of the European policy agenda. This therefore depicts that the national elections are fought on the basis of domestic level rather than the European issues. According to Hix (2008), the parties within the integrated Europe collude to keep the issues of Europe off their political domestic agenda and therefore a number of citizens have not been represented by the European Union. This has led to the increase in democratic deficit and problems of legitimacy within the European Union (Garry, et al., 2004). Moreover, the European parliamentary elections are not about the entire Europe because the parties and even the media within the European national level consider these elections as the mid-term national contests. This has led to a huge decline in the participation of the citizens in the issues of European Union (Follesdal,  Hix, 2006). Due to the attitude of the individual citizens towards the European Union, effective participation has declined dramatically as most citizens in the European level considers themselves as not part of the international organization. According to Hix, the absence of the European element in both the national and European elections depicts that the preference of the European Union citizen does not have a direct influence on the outcomes of the European Union policy agenda (Garry, et al 2004).

Shapiro and Hacker-Cordon (1997) argued that even if the power of the European parliaments was increased and genuine European elections were held, there could still be another problem of the proximity of the parliament and the voters. The European Union could still be too distant from the voters and that the European Union is too different from the domestic democratic institutions that the individual citizen within the national level is used to. This has led to the citizens not being able to understand the European Union and therefore they will not be able to assess or even regard it as a democratic institution identifying with it notwithstanding. Another factor that has led to the democratic deficit within the European Union is the fact that the citizens, scholars and even the media see the commission as neither a government nor a bureaucracy (Katz, 2001). This is because the commissioners are appointed through an obscure procedure rather than elections by an electorate directly or indirectly. The secrecy of the council in the European Union has also been seen as a reason from the democratic deficit with in the international organization (Shapiro,  Hacker-Cordon 1997). The council is part legislature and partly executive. According to Katz (2001), the European Union is acting as a legislature it makes its decision in secret therefore undermining the ideals of democratic process of decision making. Blondel, et al (1998) considered the European parliament as not a properly deliberative assembly due to the multi-lingual nature of the debates between the committees and the plenary of the absence of the political back drop culture and the policy process has become fundamentally technocratic rather than political (Blondel, et al 1998).

The European integration has also become a contributing factor to the democratic deficit in the European Union as well. This is because it has drifted from the ideals of the voters policy preference. As a result of these reasons, the European Union has been adopting policies that are not supported by the majority of the individual citizens in the European national level and most member states (Decker, 1990). The governments therefore can be able to undertake policies at the European level that they cannot pursue in the domestic level and hence producing the problems of democratic legitimacy (Katz, 2001).

5.   Defense of the European Union democracy
Though many scholars like Hix, Scharpf, Bartollini, Decker, Katz, and Cultrap Cultrap argued that there is a democratic deficit in the EU, other scholars like Majone and Moravcsik have totally disagreed with their position. The two have being the most prominent scholars disapproving other scholars argument that EU suffered from democratic deficit.

5.1 Arguments that Disapprove Democratic Deficit in the European Union
According to Giandomenico Majone (2005), there is tendency to use the wrong ideal model (normative principle) for what the EU should be. Majones argument is essentially attributed to his claims that the European Union is a regulatory body (Majone, 1996). According to him, regulation is about addressing the market issues within the European level therefore, by the definition the regulatory function of the European Union is concerned with the production of policies that are Pareto-efficient but not re-distributive or value allocative (Follesdal,  Hix, 2006). Majone argued that the European Union government has delegated regulatory policy competence to the European level. This can be seen in the creation of a single market for the member states, harmonization of products standards, health and safety rules. This can also be seen in the introduction of the monitory policy by the European Central Bank. Therefore, these regulatory standards directly isolate these policies from the domestic and majoritarian governments. From these reasons therefore, the European Union is a glorified regulatory body, as argued by Majone. From this interpretation, it can therefore be asserted that the European Union policy making should not be democratized and therefore, the arguments that the international organization, i.e. European Union is democratically deficient does not hold (Follesdal,  Hix, 2006).  Majone further claimed that if the European Union is dominated by the European parliament or directly elected commissioners, there would be politicization of the regulatory policy making and therefore undermining the entire process of decision making rather than legitimizing the processes of the European Union. This politicization would eventually lead to redistribution rather than efficient outcomes. Majone claim is that the European Union does not suffer from democratic deficit (Eijk,  Franklin, 1996). According to Majone (2005), the problem in the European Union is not the process of democratizing but rather the credibility crisis within the organization. He further argue what the European Union needs is a more transparent decision making process, greater professionalism, technical expertise and rights that protect the rights of both the minority and the majority. He further added that a better scrutiny by private actors like the media and scholars would be of dire importance.

Andrew Moravcsik (2002) agreed with Majone but further went beyond in his criticism. He presented an extensive argument of a number of democratic deficit claims. He argued that there is no democratic deficit problem in the EU and the reason people claimed that there is a democratic deficit is because there is a tendency to compare how the EU is working   not with how national democratic systems actually work, but with an ideal model of democracy. Moravcsik disagree with the argument of the shift in power and points out that national governments should be the most directly accountable in the entire Europe. He further argued that if European elections were the only way of democratic accountability to which the European Union was the subject, then skepticism would surely be warranted. A more significant issue also lies in the democratically elected governments of the European Union member states which largely dominate the intergovernmental structures of the European Union (Garry, et al 2004).

Moravcsiks second argument was against the critique that the executive have gone beyond the control of the representative institutions and therefore the European parliaments needs to be strengthened. He points out that the most significant institutional development in the European Union has been the increased powers of the European parliament in the legislative processes and the process appointing the commissioners. On the issues of proximity of the European Union to the citizens of the member states, he argued that the policy making processes have become more transparent than most domestic systems of government (Moravcsik, 2002).

According to Moravcsik, the growing paranoia within the European Union institutions regarding the isolation from the citizens of the member states and the implementation of the internal rules have improved the democratic processes and legitimacy issues within the European Union . This has made it easier and possible for the interest groups, media and even citizens to access information about the European Union policy making processes, therefore arguing that the decision making process within the European Union is done secretly does not hold and therefore the international organization is neither democratic deficit nor having legitimacy problems Moreover, he further argued that the European Union policies are not systematically biased against the maiden voter. He claimed that the European Union systems of checks and balances ensure that an overwhelming consensus is required for any policies to be agreed and there for the social legitimacy problem within the European Union does not hold. On the other hand, the process of having an overwhelming consensus clearly depicts that the European Union is not democratically deficit (Moravcsik, 2002).

6.  Solution to the Issue of Democratic Deficit in the European Union
On the previous section, the issue with regards to the democracy is laid. The problems of democracy seem to be very subjective in the interpretation of different authors as well as the various types of theories which they had utilized. Upon viewing the situation, it was mentioned that the issue at hand states that Europe is having a democratic deficit which was caused by the vague and modern perspective of governance. The European Union as mentioned in the earlier paragraphs that it is one of the most important organizations for it handles almost the whole part of Europe. Further, the problem of as mentioned is due to the issue of the new ruling of European Union which hinders the relationship of an individual to its state.

On the other hand, other authors mentioned that democratic deficit is not an issue for all these reactions from the people is not caused by democratic deficit. Hence, the results of the actions which had been taken were all interpreted as a positive aspect of life. Therefore the problem is still not addressed.

In order to address the concern, it is important to remember that the European Union is an organization which is promoting the wellness and development of the people within the area. Through the European Union, the success of one state is assured due to the oneness of the whole continent. Based on the arguments provided, the much clearer argument is presented by different authors who proclaim that there is an issue of democratic deficit in the continent.

In reflection people in the European Union are given all the needs that they have. The organization is addressing all the peoples needs and also opening itself to various individualities that have the capability to understand the actions of the government through check and balance. Therefore, the argument which had been posted by Moravcsik is simply shadowing the reality. The reality is that issue of democracy is an issue towards the people. Thus, the people must be able to respond, in anyway, through various types of activities such as check and balance.

To provide a solution to the problem, check and balances must be very published and full fronted in the media. The modernity of times is one of the most beneficial aspects of growth. Thus, the government must use such in order to connect with people and their daily lives. As an organization, the European Union must act according to the needs of the people in different parts of the continent while also nourishing the development of the country. Through different programs, people are able to enhance their connection with their government. Hence, through these, the needs of the people are addressed and heard equally and accordingly. Further, another solution to the problem is lessening the direct activity of the parliament to a much individualistic methodology.  Therefore, people will exercise their right directly towards the government will also addressing the democratic deficit which is currently happening Europe

7.  Conclusion and Summary
The European Union suffers from a severe democracy deficit because the cumbersome twenty seven members Council and Commission and their presidents only imperfectly control the 24,000 or so civil servants of the European Union (Hix, et al, 200726 29). More important, the people of Europe do not get to vote directly either for the members of the Council or for the President of the Commission, so they rightly feel that they have little saying in EU policymaking. This leads to low turnout in elections to the EU Parliament, and the splintering effects of proportional representation and a closed ballot further delegitimize that body.

However, literature on the European Unions democratic deficit has been multifaceted as well as engaging (Thomas, 2009). The  ongoing debates between the various positions  depicts that there seems to be some locked in stalemates that determines the scholars perception of the competing sources of democracy and legitimacy issues. Moravscik and Majone think there are no democratic deficit and legitimacy problems (see Moravscik, 2002  Majone, 2005). Other scholars admit that there is a problem of democracy and legitimacy within the European Union and should be solved (See Follesdal,  Hix, 2006 Hix 2008), it has become increasingly clear that there is no obvious solution to these issues (Scharpf, 2009a  Bartolini, 2006). Nevertheless, the literature on the democratic deficit and legitimacy must be able to transcend old barriers and should be able to fully develop proper models of supranational democracy and legitimacy (Thomas, 2009). The new debate (see Follesdal, 2004 Lord,  Magnette, 2004184 Bellamy,  Castiglione 200328-29), emphasizing multiple points and vectors of legitimacy is a refreshing in this regard. It opens up the possibility of advanced normative models of democratic legitimacy not taking their points of departure in democracy as we know it in contemporary nation-states, but in the combination of different sources of legitimacy in the EUs institutional setup. Whether these possibilities will ultimately bear fruit, remains to be seen but these are right steps in the right direction.

On March 5, 2004, television host Martha Stewart was sentenced to five months of imprisonment and two years of supervised release for obstruction of justice, lying to federal investigators and conspiracy with broker Peter Bacanovic in connection with the alleged insider trading of ImClone shares on December 27, 2001.  However, the jury acquitted Stewart of insider trading as the prosecution team failed to negate that the stock sale was something agreed upon by her and Bacanovic long before the Waksals, the controlling shareholders of ImClone, sold their shares ahead of an unfavorable FDA ruling.  Stewarts actions may loosely amount to insider trading, but not beyond reasonable doubt. The seemingly contradictory verdicts of the jury underscore the incongruous operations of criminal law and ethics.  Had the defense team failed to provide the dubious document stipulating the stock price at which Steward had purportedly ordered ImClone shares to be sold, she would have been convicted of insider trading.

Apparently, the ethical issues surrounding the stock sale are bound to the verdict on the case. There is an overwhelming amount of evidence that Bacanovic relayed nonpublic information to Stewart on December 27.  However, if the debate is to focus on ethical issues, it would be wrong to cite insider trading as the defining theme, since the defense lawyers have raised a counter-evidence that prevented a guilty verdict beyond reasonable doubt (Heminway, 2005).  Ethical questions should rather focus on Stewarts attempts to hide her knowledge of Waksals transactions, not on her selling of ImClone stocks for this issue has been settled already in favor of her.  She may not be guilty of insider trading owing to her pre-existing sale order, but her attempt to hide her knowledge of Waksals transactions is a separate legal and ethical issue.  She was basically imprisoned not because of securities fraud but because of such misrepresentation during federal investigations.

Table1. Particular Issue at hand Management Summary
In the world of international business, people are all assumed to be different with one another. In the international business community different cultures and perspectives are available which provides the assumption that conflicts shall arise. In this paper, the researcher is providing the individualism-collectivism to explain and address the needs of the people in the given case. Hence, this paper shall be give recommendations and analysis of the cross cultural communication of different people from the countries of Switzerland, Germany and Italy in one scenario.


Introduction
Die Sprache ist aber durchaus kein bloes Verstndigungsmittel, sondern der Abdruck des Geistes und der Weltansicht des Redenden (...).5
- (Humbold, 1903, p.22)

Globality - competing with everyone from everywhere for everything (Sirkin, Hemerling, Bhattacharya, 2008), the fully integrated philosophy of doing business in a global village, means that multi-national corporations are not only sourcing and selling goods and services across the globe under total competition but also allocating their dispersing of multi-disciplined competences and talents around the world. Particularly in engineering and technological based industries, like construction, telecommunication, IT, transportation, power and automation, this has a significant impact of the way projects are managed. The realization of larger, more complex and people-intensive projects can hardly be carried out by local teams alone. Instead the formation of internally dispersed project teams across organizations and nations is indicated as are consequence.

The first factor that distinguishes complete local teams from cross-national dispersed ones is the geographical distance. This means that the direct personal contact tends be limited to occasional physical encounters or relies utterly on IT-supported communication. The second point by how international teams differ from their local counterparts is the difference in culture. Culture in the world of business can be patterned into three categories National, organizational and professional culture (Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner, 1997). While the geographical distance obviously constitutes a challenge for a dispersed team, the various cultural backgrounds with their different views to problems can encourage creativity of thinking and signifies a broader range of knowledge, skills and experiences. This enables the team to solve problems better and faster resulting in potential competitive advantage (Gordon, 1999 Van Lieshout and Steurenthaler, 2006). In contrast cross-cultural differences can also create a potential for conflicts due to diverse values, patterns of thinking, communication and behavior. These problems of communication and culture might outweigh the advantages of the cross-cultural team and can be the root cause for a lower project team performance.

Cultural differences of nations have been researched widely since the middle of the last twentieth century (e.g. from Hall, Hofstede, Trompenaars, Hampden-Turner) and their findings have been applied in various cross-cultural management theories. Culture and communication are regarded as adjunctive and inseparable main elements in cross-cultural relationships. Culture can be considered as the core element that determines ones values and thought-patterns, while communication acts like its agent to transmit the idea and message (Maugain, 2003 Hofstede 2005). Therefore the term cross-cultural communication can be regarded as the major key in overcoming differences in culture and communication of interacting people from different nations. Project management has been established as various-function-integrative management role for managing the projects constraints of scope, costs, time and quality. By globally dispersed project teams the kills of effective cross-cultural communication in international project management has become of significant importance (Harris, Kumra, 2000).

The practical issue
The influence of globalization on the way projects are organized could be experienced in two practical cases in my company, specifically in the operation of the intralogistics industry. The company is responsible for the automation competence in the European region, which is spread over three sites in Germany, Italy and Switzerland. The headquarters is located in Switzerland. In the past, each site operated autonomously and had the abilities and competences to execute projects under their own control and responsibility. The arrival of two other huge projects in terms of scope and complexity within the last two years, draw the necessity of building cross-national teams to master the requirement of the project schedule. In project A with a German customer, the automation engineering project team was made up by engineers from Switzerland and Germany, both German speaking, though the Swiss speak Swiss-German dialect. The project B with a Norwegian customer, the automation engineering project group was built by engineers located in Germany and Italy, with both project using English as the team language. Both dispersed project teams were managed by project managers and local coordinators, although at alternative organizational levels. Although all team members in both cross-national teams were working hard and made a good job to master the projects scope, the outcome of the project in terms of the measurable constraints of schedule and budget was less successful. An overspent of tremendous hours in engineering and the project management effort could not be addressed due to changes in the project scope or other objective matters. Instead, the distance that inhibited effective communication as well as conflicts, could be mainly attributed to the cultural differences in the teams, and have also been regarded as the root cause during lessons learnt sessions. Moreover, the involvement of the line management with the intention to solve conflicts might have led to additional uncertainty within the team members. Therefore, it resulted in lower motivation and consequently in less efficiency. Since worldwide competition is tough the project budget can not be increased in further projects. Therefore, the performance of cross-national teams is supposed to be increased by means of a productive cross-cultural project management approach.

Purpose of this work
The purpose of this paper is to analyze this practical problem under the aspect of cross-cultural communication, since this constitutes the main determinant of intercultural interactions and is supposed to be also a key factor on team performance.

A literature review is provided to identify and analyze the relevant terms of the current theoretical knowledge. The findings will be summarized and a common framework is created out of it. The theoretical findings and the practical case will be compared and analyzed, followed by a conclusion which suggests the answers to the research questions. Finally, recommendations for the practical case will also be derived from the research findings.

Research Question
The purpose of this paper is clarifying the questions related to cross-national dispersed project teams
Are there correlations between differences of cross-cultural communication styles and the performance in internationally dispersed project teams in Germany, Italy and Switzerland
What patterns or models of cross-cultural communication can be applied to raise the team performance (in general and specific for Germany, Italy, Switzerland)
What skills and competencies does those patterns or models imply for the team members and the project manager
How can those skills and competencies be obtained

Limitations
The primary goal of this study is to explore and investigate cross-national dispersed project teams by means of answering the research questions of this study. In this research, there are four specific questions that address the different areas which are related to cross-national dispersed project teams. Cross-cultural communication styles and its corresponding patterns or models will be given importance in the study as well as its corresponding effects to the skills and competencies of the members of the project teams.

This is a scientific research that uses a practical case in order to exemplify the problem of the research study. The practical case involves a company that is responsible for the automation competence in the European Region. The specific name of the company is not stated in this research in order to protect the interest of the organization through confidentiality. The company used to operate autonomously but it established cross-national teams in order to deal with the demands of the two huge projects of the organization. In line with this, the main focus of the study is with the cross-national dispersed teams, specifically project A with a German customer and project B with a Norwegian customer. Any other cross-national dispersed projects that had been or will be created in the organization are not part of the research study. In addition, any project of the organization that does not involve the two specified projects, especially those that do not involve cross-national dispersed project teams because they are done autonomously are not included in the research.

The research only involves studying the problems that emerged out of the cultural differences of the members in the cross-national dispersed project teams. Since there are numerous issues that could be brought about by the cultural differences of the people in the project teams, the researcher narrows down the study by only investigating the effects of cultural differences in the communication among members of the team as well as other important people in the organization, who are also involved in the operations of the projects. In relation to this, the communication among the members of the cross-national dispersed project teams is studied in order to see whether it has any relation and effects to the performance of the project teams. As a result, the skills and competencies of the team members are also be given due attention and importance in line with its relation to the communication of these people in the culturally diverse teams.  

In line with the methodology of the study, the research that is conducted only uses secondary resources in order to gather the necessary data for the study. The researcher only makes use of previous studies, journals, books, and other secondary references, which are the main means in answering the research questions of the study. Due to this, there is no empirical research that is done in this investigation of the cross-nationally dispersed project teams. Being the case, the researcher only implements the document analysis as the method in this study, which relies on the critical analysis of various types of documents.

Furthermore, due to the fact that the research does not involve any empirical study, the answers to the research questions are solely based upon the analysis of related studies and other documents that the researcher has gathered. The relevant and credible data that are obtained from the research are used in assessing and analyzing the practical case of the specific company that is studied by the researcher. The gathered data is only used in relation to the specific case and it does not include other possible problems that arise in a different scenario or organization. Nevertheless, the results of the research takes into consideration the universality concept of a research, which is why the researcher gives corresponding recommendations that shows the relevance of the findings of the study with other companies or organizations.

Methodology
The current research which deals with cross-national dispersed project teams in relation to the way cultural differences affects the communication, skills, and competencies of its members is studied in this research. In the process of gathering and analyzing the necessary data for this research, the methodology of this study uses the qualitative type of research. More specifically, it applies the document analysis method that is regarded as part of the qualitative type of research. The researcher uses the aforementioned methodology in collecting the data for the study because the research does not employ empirical research. Being the case, the qualitative type of research and the document analysis method is the most appropriate methodology for this research study.

Qualitative Research
Qualitative research is recognized as one of the soundest ways in order to understand the complexities of social science. This type of research is usually associated with the field of social sciences because it enables the study of data that could not be quantified into numbers such as experiences, opinions, perspectives, and other similar elements. In relation to this, qualitative research gives due emphasis in the everyday life of individuals, especially the social interactions that they have together with the corresponding meanings of these social interactions. A researcher could better understand the social interactions among individuals through the use of the qualitative type of research (Marshall  Rossman, 2006).

One of the main advantages of the qualitative type of research is its important characteristic of having a naturalistic approach. The naturalistic approach entails the use of different methods that provide essential attention to the humanity of the participants in a research study. In relation to this, qualitative research is also fundamentally interpretative in a sense that it enables the researcher to have an easy time in explaining the possible reasons to the occurrence of a phenomenon. In this sense, the qualitative type of research explores the natural settings of where a phenomenon rather than analyzing it in a controlled setting like laboratory studies. As a result, qualitative research provides a broad approach to the study of social situations and interactions (Marshall  Rossman, 2006). Furthermore, the pivotal role of qualitative research in the field of social science is further elaborated by Bozinovski when he said, qualitative research seeks to understand the multifaceted and complex nature of human experience from the perspective of the subjects (Bozinovski, 1998, p. 67).

Qualitative research is the most appropriate and feasible type of research that is used in studying the cross-national dispersed project teams. Since the main area of emphasis in this research is the way by which cultural diversity affects the efficient communication among members of the team and other important people in the organization, qualitative type of research should be used because cultural differences and communications styles cannot easily be quantified. In addition to this, communication patterns or models and its corresponding effects to the skills and competencies of the team members and also to the results of the project as a whole can be better understand through a qualitative research approach as compared with a quantitative type of research. Communication among the members of the team and other personnel in the organizations is regarded as a means of social interaction, which is an important area that qualitative research gives importance to. Moreover, the effects of the communication styles to the skills and competencies of the team members can also be better assess through the qualitative approach. Being the case, qualitative research indeed has its valid justifications that make it an appropriate type of research to be used in this study.

Document Analysis
Document analysis is the specific method that is used in this research because the process of data collection involves gathering various kinds of documents, which are important in answering the research questions for this study. The critical analysis of the gathered documents has an important role in the research, as a valuable element in the collection and interpretation of data.

Document analysis is recognized as a type of qualitative research, which aims to establish relevant categories among different documents (Altheide, 1996). As a method, document analysis is used in studying different kinds of documents, which allows the delineation of the messages and facts that are stressed in policy papers, research studies, newspapers, reports, and other documents. Document analysis is composed of several parts, which are searching and obtaining access to the needed documents, gathering the necessary data from documents, managing and organizing the data, and analyzing the data. In addition, document analysis also has five stages, which are essential in the critical assessment of the documents. The five stages of document analysis include (1) documents, (2) protocol development and data collection, (3) data coding and organization, (4) data analysis, and (5) report (Altheide, 1996, p. 23).

Document analysis is a method of analyzing and examining data by means of assessing the relevance of specific documents with the issue that is being investigated through the analysis of the way the documents represent reality and contributes to social management. In line with this, the way and the kind of contribution that a certain document gives to the subject matter being studied is also part of the analysis. Document analysis provides the researcher with the opportunity to determine the relation of various statements and information within a document. In the same manner, document analysis also enables the researcher to establish a connection among different documents wherein it substantially helps in further exploring and understanding the subject being studied. The identification of the relation or linkages among documents also includes giving due importance to the social actors involved in these documents as well as their corresponding practices. In addition, document analysis also critical analyze the meanings and messages within documents by means of also assessing the messages that are not explicitly stated in the documents or simply put reading between the lines. Furthermore, the credibility and validity of the documents and its corresponding message and information are also given utmost importance in a document analysis because the data that will be obtained from it will only be useful in the research if its validity is proven (Humphries, 2000).

The descriptions and characteristics of document analysis as a method of gathering and assessing data is most appropriate and feasible in the research of cross-national dispersed project teams. In connection to this, the limitations of the study that includes the lack of empirical research allows the researcher to still answer the research questions by means of using secondary resources. Collecting and analyzing secondary resources can be properly done by means of using the document analysis method. The way of collecting the necessary data for this research involves the reliance on secondary sources such as books, journals, previous studies, and other documents. Being the case, the research questions for this study is addressed through secondary sources, which is assessed through the use of document analysis in order to see its relevance and contribution to the topic that is being investigated in this research.

Literature Review
In the course of the study, it is important that the literature review would be provided in order to clarify and well acknowledge the aspects that are needed to be addressed in the research questions. Thus, this section of the literature review would address the concerns with regards to cultural communication in different countries such as Italy, Switzerland and Germany. Moreover, the literature review further emphasizes different countries through their cultural background and norms in order to view the concept of cross cultural communication.

Switzerland
In Switzerland culture is one of the most difficult aspects of the society. Due to the high regard to regionalism, Switzerland makes it very difficult for its people and foreigners to distinguish the main culture of the state. Furthermore, in the eastern mountains of Switzerland, there is a strong influence of the Rhaeto-Romanic Culture. Hence, although Switzerland is a strong nation and capabilities, its culture is very scattered in a sense that regionalism prevents oneness of Switzerland. (Simonis, Johnstone  Williams, 2006)

Germany
Germany is a rich country. In the past, the culture of Germany had already been established by even before the rise of the current nation state of Germany. In the beginning of the enlightenment and the rise of philosophy, many great thinkers had risen from the country. Therefore, Germany is culturally aligned through the historical background which had been provided by different theorist in the past. In addition to this, Germany is very rich in arts which relates to the personal perspective and expression of different individuals. (Schulte-Peevers, 2007)

Italy
Similar to Germany, Italy also has a rich culture which every one in the world appreciates. For many years, Italy had made changes within the international community. Furthermore, Italy had been largely known based on its culture, philosophy, literature, music, cinema, fashion culture, cuisine, opera, archeology and the likes. In addition to this, the society of Italy is one of the most diverse given that different foreign individuals are able to work in the country. Thus, the social culture of Italy is flowing from different types of influences may it be from its historical context as well as the current influences available. (Simonis, 2004)

Cross Cultural Communication Theory
Based on the written work of Carmen Lee and William Gudykunst (2003), there are variety of ways in which culture could be incorporated with communication theories. Culture could be seen as a part of the process of communication in the theoretical point of view. Also, communication could also be linked in to the creation of another form or culture. Furthermore, theories which had been made are all incorporated with one culture and later on generalize to other forms of cultures. Otherwise, culture could also be seen as a boundary condition for other proposed theories. Moreover, communication is responsible in explaining the communication process between different cultures. Hence, different theories do explain the process of communicationwhich varies in different cultures.

Individualism-Collectivism
The view point of individualism and collectivism lies largely on the major measurement of the concept of cultural variability which is utilized to explain the various similarities with different cultures. Moreover, the individualism-collectivism is proven to be existing in the level of culture as well as in the individual level. Thus, both levels shall be discussed.

Cultural Level (Individualism-Collectivism)
Individuals are much easier to attain. In addition to this, the emphasis of these types of goals is much faster and accessible compared to the goals of groups. On the other hand, a groups goal is much difficult to be attained. In order for a groups goal to be realized some of the individual desires and values must be compromised. Hence, sacrifices are needed to be made in order to address the needs of the group. As stated, people are supposed to look after themselves and their immediate family only while the collective perspective stated often views such, people belong to ingroups or collectivities which are supposed to look after them in exchange for loyalty (Gudynkunst, 2003).

In the discussion provided by the authors, the concept of importance of ingroups had been discussed. Therefore, there is an argument that the importance of the concept of ingroups is one of the major factors that distinguish the difference of collectivism and individualism.

In the individualistic perspective, it is already assumed that people have various ingroups families, religion, social clubs and the likes. All these ingroups do influence other people such that of their decision and actions. Although this is the case, the many ingroups which is present in the lives of individuals also creates limitation upon the individual. Due to the different ingroups the individual stays true to themselves. On the other hand, collective groups have much probability in attaining much influence with other people or other groups due to the low number of ingroups. In other situations, it is noted that individualistic perspective utilizes a much universal point of view. Thus, these types of individuals only apply the same values with everyone while the collective group is usually particular in addressing different individuals. (Gudynkunst, 2003)

Furthermore, the individualism-collectivism perspectives provide the perfect background of what types of actions is done by different individuals depending on situations. Therefore, upon seeing individualism-collectivism perspective the application on the current research question must be provided in order to attain the answers to the research questions provided.

SHAPE   MERGEFORMAT
Figure 1. Individualism-Collectivism
Correlations Between Different of Cross-Cultural Communication
 Cross Cultural relationship is very important in the case provided in this study. Given that Italy, Switzerland, and Germany are very different states with different culture and language, it is also significant to pay attention with the differences which are able to enhance the performance of different entities present in the situation.

In the provided situation, there are three various entities of culture such as Italy, Switzerland and Germany. In such cases, there is an immediate difference which is seen with the different societies involved. Given the situation that every individual is doing the best work they could possibly accomplish, it is only proper to note that the concept of work is all the same with all the entities involved. Although they are all of different cultures and languages, they still strive to attain the best possible customer relationship and end product of every project. Provided this case, it is also notable to include that the concept of culture is a very significant matter which should address the issues regarding productivity.

Upon reading the scenario, the projects could have been more successful if the communication process which had been utilized is much faster and easily to relay. In accordance to the first project, the client was Germany and had Germany-Swiss speaking engineers to handle the issues. Given that both the client and the representatives of the company have the same language it is very obvious that the process of communication is much faster and understandable. Through the factors provided by the individualism-collectivism it is mentioned that the ability of a person to understand one another is through the individual perspective that they have. Through the beliefs that they have gained through time by, these individuals are already well known to different kinds of factors relating to the socializing with people. More importantly, through the individualism-collectivism perspective any individual that socializes with different people relates to them in a much generalist point of view. Therefore, individuals provide a much general relations with other people.

On the other hand, different people with the perspective of collectivism provide a much detailed relationship with other people. Due to the lessened number of the ingroups, the concept of application of socializing is much more realized. Furthermore, collectivism is much related to how groups are able to interact with other groups. Given that project B had made a much difficult work relations with its clients due to communication barriers. It is already assumed that people will have conflicts due to the differences that they have. Although English was the general language utilized, it is important to take note that application of words often comes from the cultural background of the person or the group. Reflecting that words, actions and decisions come from the experience of a person as well as his or her cultural norm translation of words does not perfectly fit a general language. Moreover, understanding could only come from a sameness of culture or a great understanding of the individual.

In order to address the issues, it is significant for the group needs to incorporate a team member which is able to relate to the client. Provided that there are able employees possible to interact with clients, the company must be able to provide for the needs of the clients based on a cultural perspective. Therefore, the company together with its employees must be able to address the needs of their clients. The willingness of the company to invest in providing customer satisfaction is direly needed to increase the performance of the company and its members (Mulholland, 1991).

The skills which are needed in these types of situations are understanding and ability to be flexible with different clients. Provided that that different people are present in such industry the flexibility of people are significant the progress of each transaction and process. It must be noted that in order for different individuals to relate with each other is to highlight the specific differences which clients and the company has. Given that language is one of the barriers, the company must hire different employees with variety of skills more importantly the ability to speak different languages. Moreover, the company must also provide lessons for their team members to enhance their skills in language and cross-cultural understanding. Seminars relating to cultural understanding and process of communication with other people would be of great help for the companys performance and customer satisfaction. It must be understood changes in the business industry is very important. As mentioned by Thomas Friedman (2008) that the current era does not only requires the skills which are taught in school. There must also be learning of the basic knowledge such as different languages. It is not enough that people are used to utilizing their own native tongue. People must be knowledgeable in other languages which are often used in the world. Furthermore, the company together with their team members must acknowledge that changes in the business industry is moving fast. Hence, the company must be flexible in various requirements of clients to create a much progressive business.

Analysis
The practical case that this research is studying involves the problems that a company, which specializes in automation competence, is experiencing. Previously, the company worked autonomously despite the fact that its operations are spread in three different countries namely Germany, Italy, and Switzerland. The site of the company in each of these countries has people that are responsible in controlling and managing the respective projects that they have. However, the operations of the organization started to change when the company has to deal with two huge projects, which have challenging scope and complexity. As a result, the company needs to build cross-national teams in order to address the requirements of the projects within the specified deadlines. Two cross-national dispersed teams were created. The first team is responsible for project A, which has to cater to the needs and specifications of a German customer. The automation engineering team for project A is from Germany and Switzerland and speaks German although the Swiss speaks Swiss-German dialect. On the other hand, team B has to provide services for a Norwegian customer. The automation engineering team for project B came from Germany and Italy and speaks English. However, the outcome of the projects is not successful, especially in terms of the measurable constraints of schedule and budget. Cultural differences is recognized as the root cause of the problem that adversely affected the efficient communication of the members of the team and other people in the organization as well as create conflicts in the teams. Moreover, the involvement of the line management further worsens the situation because it resulted to more uncertainty among the team members. As a result, lower motivation and less efficiency have been observable among the members of the teams.

Problem Assessment
 In order to better understand the issues in the company, it is essential that every situation is carefully assessed to see the reasons behind the emergence of the organizations problems. Initially, the company was used to operating autonomously in its respective sites in three different countries. Due to this, the organization was not used to having projects that are done by cross-national project teams. As such, it can be said that the organization lacks the necessary preparedness in conducting projects through cross-national dispersed teams, which is why dealing with the two huge projects that requires outsourcing the operations of the organizations is rather difficult for the company.

The decision of the management of the company in the establishment of the cross-national dispersed project teams is also not properly organized and also shows the lack of efficient knowledge of the company when it comes to cultural factors in the creation of the team with culturally diverse members. In project A, the customer of the company has a German nationality while the engineers of the team are composed of people with German and Swiss background. The company made a right decision in including German engineers in the team in order to better communicate with the customer. However, it failed to realize that the Swiss engineers could feel marginalized as they might not have the same role and importance with the German engineers, especially in establishing a relationship with the client. In relation to this, it is important to point out that the culture of the Swiss is usually characterized by their strong sense of regionalism. Due to this, Swiss have a strong attachment with the culture of their regions, which makes it difficult for Switzerland to establish cohesion in the country (___).

Being the case, it is even more difficult for the Swiss to relate with foreigners. In the same manner, the Germans also have a history of exhibiting superiority complex, which became most observable during the time of Hitler. Nevertheless, Germans have already changed a lot from those times but it cannot be prevented that they might still have a tendency of being hesitant in interacting with other nationalities, which further creates difficulties in the communication of the team. Moreover, despite the fact that all engineers can talk in German, the Swiss still have their accent which can also be a barrier in effective communication.

In the case of project B, the customer of the company is Norwegian. The engineers of the team came from Germany and Italy, which uses the English language as their primary medium of communication. In this situation, the members of the team have to make an extra effort in establishing good lines of communication with the client because of the differences of their culture. The German and Italian engineers have to make the extra effort in efficiently communicating with the client. In addition to this, the members also have to deal with the cultural differences among each other. The important cultural considerations in this situation are the norms and attitude of the Italians and the Germans. Most Italians are used to interacting with people from different nationalities because there are many foreigners that are working in their country. However, the Germans might not be as comfortable in interacting with people that have a different culture as compared to them.
The cultural differences that exist among the members of the project teams are regarded as the main reasons for the inefficient communication among the members as well as the unsuccessful outcomes of the projects. Unfortunately, matters even worsen because the involvement of the line management, which has the purpose of addressing the conflicts in the project teams, was not able to effectively resolve the problems. The team members were not comfortable with the idea that the line management will meddle with their affairs. In this scenario, despite the good intentions of the line management, it did not yield good results because to start with the members of the team are already having conflicts because of the cultural differences that they have. Involving other people in the conflict did not sit well with the teams because they perceived the line management as another group of people that they have to deal with.

The inefficient lines of communication among the members of the cross-national dispersed teams are brought about by the cultural differences of the people involved in the projects. The team members fail to work toward the achievement of a cohesive goal because they are having difficulties in establishing a common ground, which they could work for together. Despite the fact that each member is working hard in accomplishing their task in the team projects, their efforts became futile because they are not working towards a cohesive objective. As a result, the outcome was not successful.

Addressing the Problem
The main problem of the lack of efficient forms of communication in the project teams can be attributed to the individual cultural differences of the team members. In line with this, it is important to point out that there is a difference between individual culture and organizational culture. In individual culture, people are mostly affected by ingroups, which are the family, religion, social groups, and other similar affiliations. These ingroups have a large effect in the decisions and actions of an individual as well as the goal that he or she wants to attain. Due to the fact that there are various ingroups that affect an individual, it is inevitable that influences of every individual can be different and even conflict with other people. However, in the case of organizational culture, there is only a limited number of ingroups that affects the goals and operations of the organization. In addition to this, an organization establishes a coherent goal, which the employees and other stakeholders of the company will follow and work for its attainment.

In the case of the conflicts that are observable with the company, specifically with its cross-national dispersed project teams, the theory of individualism-collectivism greatly exemplifies the necessary concept that can understand and address the problems in the organization. The root cause of the conflicts and inefficient communication in the project teams is the individual cultural differences of the members of the teams, which are largely influence by the ingroups by its respective members. In order to address this problem, it is necessary for the management of the organization to make its members focus more on the organizational culture of the company rather than their individual cultural differences.

The individual cultural differences among the members of the team are something that cannot be prevented because they have different nationalities. Nevertheless, these cultural differences can still be addressed by properly managing the people and allowing them to see the importance of organizational goals and culture. In organizational culture, the concept of collectivism is greatly emphasized wherein despite individual differences, people still have to work together in order to achieve a common goal that is beneficial not only for the company but also to its employees and stakeholders. The individual differences in a collectivist perspective is not really taken for granted but rather it is use in a positive manner wherein the cultural diversity of the people is used in a creative sense in order to create more ideas and ways, which can help in the attainment of the organizational objective.

By establishing a common goal among the members of the teams, a common language is established in a sense that despite the differences in their cultural norms they could still effectively communicate with each other because they have the same objective in mind. Nevertheless, having the same objective is not enough because conflict might still arise due to various ways that the members of the teams will do in order to achieve it. As such, it is important for the management of the organization to conduct the necessary meetings, seminars, conference, and other similar activities that will enhance the communication of the employees. In line with this, the aforementioned activities can also substantially help in providing the opportunity for employees of the company with different cultures to understand each other and to be able to accept each others differences. In doing so, members of the project teams can effectively work together and also collaborate their efforts in the successful outcome of the projects. Furthermore, the skills and competencies of the members of the teams can be further develop because working in an environment wherein people can easily and effectively communicate with each other allows people to further excel in their respective field of profession.

Conclusion
In a business industry, people must learn that individuals should realize that the world is already globalized and is continuously globalizing.  Therefore changes are constantly present and could not be hindered. In the situation provided in the earlier part of the paper, it could be noted that changes is definitely one of the challenges that is present. Moreover, the barrier of cross-cultural communication with team members and clients plays a big role in providing progress to the company. Given that the company is expanding to a larger market more difficulties will come at hand.

In order to address all the issues concerning such difficulties, it is proposed that individualism-collectivism must be used in order to properly answer the problem. Through the better understanding and assumptions of the actions of individuals and groups, people are able to be attaining a better relationship. Through understanding and skills which is present with the members of the team, the company shall be able to adapt with different clients and situations. Through individualism-collectivism perspective the team performance would be of much positive outcome. Hence, this will bring change and progressive outlook for the company.

The patterns if well applied shall bring change to the team members and project managers. Although those changes would be difficult for them all to comply, there would be different types of aspects which will make their negotiations with clients faster and easier. Therefore, this implies that the company should also be supportive with the members of the company. Furthermore after complying and applying the various aspects of individualism-collectivism, there would be progress in the company.

In order to attain different skills, the company must support the whole company. Changes are not an easy task yet it must be done. There must be special seminars and guides to promote cultural understanding together with the different kinds of skills such as language. Therefore, long trainings and close supervision must be done to comply with the possible changes in the company.

Recommendations
In this study, only one theory had been utilized in providing a logical explanation. Therefore, the researcher recommends that other forms of theories must be utilized in order to explain and address the situation at hand. There are other forms of theory which addresses the needs of the people. As mentioned in the earlier part of the paper, each theory of communication is highly dependent on one culture.

Also, the researcher recommends that other forms of studies must be used in the subject of globalization in the international business. A study which focuses on international business and communication is deeply needed in the globalizing world. There must be other forms of suggestions pertaining to how the changes in the business world must be addressed as well as the strategies which will be best applicable in the European context.

A country with heterogeneous population in terms of social, political and religious maps poses a major challenge for new governments. All the factional groups have got different ideologies and interests and they therefore require an administration that clearly understands the internal dynamics so as to eliminate emergence of rivalry. New political government should study the different religious factions of their political interests and determine which groups must be included in and which must be excluded in the new government. Recruitment into core government institutions such as security, civil service and public administration needs to be all-inclusive. Creating mechanisms of good governance, for instance self-governance, may be the best form of adoption. Thus, the new political system will foster reconciliation among the different religious factions and ensure that the government in generally acceptable countrywide (Rhodes, 1996).

With such a system, fundamental issues economic empowerment and autonomy- which are critical and divisive among the religious groups will be effectively addressed. However, this will be dependent upon the distribution of the religions scattered or confined in specific regions. Factions that are distinctly confined in specific regions, have specific political-base commands compared to uniformly spread religions and hence a challenge. In case of the former arrangement, the religion-faiths will tend to strongly demand specific socio-economic facilities and involvement in government. In such a case, federalism becomes a requirement if not a necessity. The various factions will in such be acknowledged, autonomous, and have equal opportunities (such as voting rights) to participate in the new political government (Marina and Yaphe, 2003).

  I. Background of the Policy
The US society shows contradictory attitudes and opinions towards any proposed climate policy. Oftentimes, this disparity is due to the possible impacts of the policy on commerce. Some argue against the implementation of the policy on the grounds that doing so would eventually upset the balance of economy. These are the same polarities which the most recent US climate policy, the Waxman- Markey Bill, is left to deal with.

The Waxman- Markey Bill is in response to the call of the scientific community and many environmentalist groups to tackle the issue of climate change on a national level. According to website of the 111th House of Congress, the proposal was introduced in the House of Congress on May 21, 2009. In June 2, 2009, it passed the House of Congress by a roll call vote, with 219 Ayes, 216 Nays, 3 Present Not Voting. (111th Congress, 2009-2010). Furthermore, the site states that the bill has four objectives (1) to create clean energy jobs, (2) achieve energy independence, (3) reduce global warming pollution, and (4) transition to a clean energy economy (111th Congress, 2009-2010).  
 The proposed climate policy (chiefly authored by Reps. Henry A. Waxman, D-California, and Edward J. Markey, D-Massachusetts) has been receiving a great deal of support from the Obama administration. According to a New York Times report written by Kirkland, Obama thanked the House for passing a bill in June, sponsored by Reps. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and Edward Markey (D-Mass.). At its core, that bill would create an economy wide cap-and-trade program that ratchets down industrial carbon dioxide emissions over time by distributing a declining number of pollution permits to electric utilities and factories (Kirkland, 2010). The website of the 111th Congress states some of the proposals other names including American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, GREEN Act of 2009, Green Resources for Energy Efficient Neighborhoods Act of 2009, and Safe Climate Act (111th Congress, 2009-2010). Furthermore, the website maintains that it received reviews from committees in congress such as the House Energy and Commerce, Foreign Affairs, House Financial Services, Education and Labor, Education and Labor (Subcommittee on Higher Education, Lifelong Learning and Competitiveness), Science and Technology, Transportation and Infrastructure (and its subcommittees on Aviation , Highways and Transit, Railroads Pipelines and Hazardous Materials, Water Resources and Environment and Economic), Development (Public Buildings and Emergency Management), Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Ways and Means (111th Congress, 2009-2010).  

Evidence of the Problem Why Does the US Need a Climate Policy
While there is yet to be a consensus towards the understanding of global warming, extensive research and tests have been made by state-run agencies and non-government organizations and they all have one conclusion  the amount of carbon dioxide emission accelerates the warming of the earth and contributes significantly to the drastic changes in climates and weathers as we experience it today.

The Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (CDIAC), an organization under the United States Department of Energy, released records in 2007 showing that the U.S. ranks in a number two position, second to China, among the top ten countries with the highest load of carbon emission. The data were based on measured carbon emissions from human activity, specifically from the burning of fossil fuels. These did not take into account other pollutant gases like methane. According to CDAIC reports, Since 1751 approximately 329 billion tons of carbon have been released to the atmosphere from the consumption of fossil fuels and cement production (Boden, et. al., 2009).

The degree of carbon emission in the US is affected by four factors- consumption of electricity, consumption of coal, consumption of liquid fuels and consumption of natural gas. The behaviors of consumption may be graphed with slight curvature figure that is projected to move downwards after 2008 and in years 2010 and 2011, yet the amount of consumption remains to be high as observed from the carbon dioxide emissions amount data collected by the CDAIC based on per country consumption statistics in 2006. EIA reports that the carbon emissions trends in the U.S. have achieved a lower level in 2009. US Energy Information Administrations records attributed an estimated 6.3 decrease to carbon emissions from fossil fuels and an 11 fall in the emission due to the lowered degree of coal consumption (EIA, 2009, p.1). EIA maintains that despite the projected increase in carbon emission in 2010 and 2011 in the US, 2010 and 2011 carbon emission levels are lower than emissions in the years 1999 to 2008 (EIA, 2009, p.1). However, EIA cites that projected improvements in the US economy may fuel carbon emissions increase of 1.5 by 2010 and another 1.3 increase in 2011 due to increase in coal consumption, expansion of travel programs, and economic development (EIA, 2009).    

II. Recent Developments
Some Policy Alternatives in the Past
In 2002, the US initiated the Clean Air Act policy that seeks to reduce the emissions of toxic gases in the air (i.e., methane, carbon dioxide, etc.). A JS Online report made by McIlheran states that Governor Doyle in Wisconsin required every resident within the state to buy a full quarter of all electricity from renewable sources by 2025 (McIlheran, 2010). Furthermore, another report, written by The Orlando Sentinel, of the same online newspaper states that there is a policy recently initiated by President Obama called the cash for clunkers- with the objective of replacing clunkers with more energy- efficient cars (The Orlando Sentinel, 2009).  According to the report, the clunker policy awards the amount of 4,500 to every individual takes on initiatives to follow the policy. Another report, written by The Associated Press, fort he same online newspaper states that the House voted for a release of another 2B after the initial 1B has been consumed quickly (The Associated Press, 2009). Furthermore, according to Clemmitt, the US Environmental Protection Agency has been implementing policies to reduce the greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions as a response to the scientists theory that the GHG contribute to global warming (Clemmitt, 2009).

According to Clemmitt, the Waxman- Markey Bill has been amended resulting to the reduction of carbon permits auction from 100 percent to 85 percent give-away, as its sponsors made compromises in the efforts of getting votes (Clemmitt, 2009). The 111th Congress website says that currently, the bill is being discussed in the Senate (111th Congress, 2009-2010). According to official Cantwell website, Senator Maria Cantwell introduced in a US senate session in December 2009 the so-called Carbon Limits and Energy for American Renewal Act (CLEARA) (Cantwell, 2009), a proposal that drafted after the proposed Waxman- Markey policy. CLEARA is co-authored by Senator Maria Cantwell and Senator Susan Collins, along with support of three other republican senators from Ohio, Mississippi, and Missouri. It was introduced by Senator Maria Cantwell. According to Senator Cantwell, the specific issues that this policy is meant to address include the reductions in the entry of carbon in US products, give incentives to individuals who would adopt greener lifestyle, reduce carbon emissions, and allows for a degree of US independence from highly consumed imported products like the oil from Iraq and toy-batteries from China (Cantwell, 2009). The policy is supported by different civic and non-government organizations such as the World Resources Institute, Architecture 2030, Post Carbon Institute, and many others. These groups show support through information dissemination campaigns to educate readers about the policy.  As stated in the official website of the CLEARA policy, Beginning in 2012, the President sets the initial target amount of carbon from fossil fuels that can be emitted to the atmosphere without disrupting the economy, using a gradually declining cap. The concept is to gradually accelerate emission reductions. The level of carbon emissions remains at the level set by the President for the first three years. After that, the carbon cap increases by a quarter of a percentage point each year, from the previous year Carbon permit prices will be determined by the bidding process To minimize price volatility for consumers, fuel producers and investors in new energy technologies, a price collar governs carbon permit. (Cantwell, 2009)  

III. Insights
The carbon emissions trends in the U.S. have achieved a lower level in 2009. According to the US Energy Information Administration, there is an estimated 6.3 decrease to carbon emissions from fossil fuels and an 11 fall in the emission due to the lowered degree of coal consumption (EIA, 2009, p.1). EIA also states that despite the projected increase in carbon emission in 2010 and 2011 in the US, as projected by EIA, 2010 and 2011 carbon emission levels are still lower than emissions in the years 1999 to 2008 (EIA, 2009). According to JS Online report, A California-Massachusetts team of legislators is pushing expensive regulations on carbon emissions that would be paid for by the industries and consumers of the Midwest Cap-and-tax isnt yet the law of the land, but carbon emissions fell 6 this year (Sensenbrenner, 2009). Based on the data provided by the EIA, it seems rather hard to say to what extent does the policy has influenced the leveling down of carbon emissions in the country since other factors exist that also played significant role in the reduction of carbon emissions. Nevertheless, I share with the view that the climate policy is better than nothing at all. It is good that it reinforces strict policies that would surely cut down on carbon emissions. It is just needs to clarify the vagueness and ambiguities inherent in the policy itself to avoid economic risks and other consequences that could happen as its side impacts. T must be noted that the issue on climate policy is not exclusive from other major issues such as sustainability and development, which are not necessarily confined within the sphere of environmental science. Any climate policy that attempts to provide both short-term and long-term solutions need to have the holistic approach to address such other issues as well.  
 
Secondly, one of the anticipated outcomes of the climate policy is that it would generate jobs once developments of renewable sources of energy are started. According to Clemmitt, some critics say that this would be very expensive (Clemmitt, 2009). Yet arguably, it is something that we can try especially if in the end we can recoup the financial investments that we make. It may not be directly in financial terms but consider how much we can do for the environment as well, and these are all worth pursuing the policy.

According to Clemmitt, the policy necessarily controls the products that enter the US markets in the course of monitoring the amounts of carbon dioxide that enters the US markets (Clemmitt, 2009) and this I believe is what is striking about the policy. According to the Cantwell website, the CLEARA imposes a definite floor price as far as securing a carbon permit is concerned. In my view, this policy will affect the US economy because it reinforces strict controls on some of the mostly needed commodities in present-day US. The authors of the policy have, of course, anticipated this issue and thus, have incorporated certain conditions wherein lifting of this control is justifiable. For instance, there is a provision that justifies the lift of control in the event that the world position as a powerful nation is undermined. To this, we can argue that while the policy provides for conditions that will allow the lifting of control on acceptable grounds, it will be very hard to define whether a particular situation validly qualifies. The criteria that set for the validations have yet to be defined.

Thirdly, the Cantwell website states that the policy advances the idea of auctioning carbon permits to producers and importers of coal, natural gas and oil (Cantwell, 2009). Cantwell maintains that the revenues to be collected are from producers and importers of the three commodities and never from the power plants that handle the actual coal burning process (Cantwell, 2009). While we cannot deny the fact that this provision of the bill can control the production amount of carbon-based products, the policy seems to lack measures that would ensure realization of objective on the level of manufacture despite that a substantial amount of emissions actually comes from them. The plants that burn the coal will be provided much of a leeway as far as the law is concerned. It would be better if the policy will also cover for these firms to ensure total control of emission amount and to ensure that they would follow strictly to environmental policies.

Another aspect that we need to look at is the conjecture, according to Clemmitt, that giant carbon-manufacturing firms may end up controlling the prices, giving mush of the price burden to the low-income class (Clemitt, 2009). To prevent this, we need to set definite parameters within the policy that will prevent the firms from doing so.  

Lastly, according to Larsen and Bradburry, the policy also increases the amount of household disposable income because it distributes 75 of the carbon permits revenues to qualifying household equally (qualifying means being residents of the US), while the other 25 of the revenues goes to CLEARA Trust Fund that will provide the funding for additional greenhouse gas emissions reductions, low-carbon energy investment, climate change adaptation, and related regional economic adjustment projects, (Larsen and Bradburry, 2010). There is an important economic issue on this, that is, the idea that the increase in household disposable income may risk national savings in the long run as, just like what Auerbach states, increase in national savings can encourage additional spending (Auerbach, 2002).

The huge debates in climate change have left the US, and practically people everywhere in the world, wondering what to do next to prevent or offset the negative impacts of climate change in our present-day environmental scenario. I believe that I can influence the policy-making process by initiating or joining information campaigns and to be vigilant with whatever decisions the senate or the government may have on the issue.

Wiki
The issue of climate change, specifically, its felt direct impact manifested by the phenomenon of global warming, is a very complex issue. I chose this research topic because of it high relevance to the issues that we need to urgently deal with today. Opinions towards any climate policy are always divided. For one, environmentalists display a rather vigilant attitude towards the possibility of a climate policy being cloaked as environment-friendly whereas it actually benefits businesses more than it does the environment. On the other hand, a negative reaction is often displayed by businessmen towards a policy they consider would necessarily implicate negative impacts on the conduct of business and thus, possibly disrupt and lead to an eventual regression of the economy.
The climate policy in the Waxman- Markey Bill and now embedded in the CLEARA sounds like a good solution to resolve climate issues as it is also supposed to benefit spheres outside of the parameters of the environmental such as economic and socio-political. But as we can see now, there are huge changes from the original drafts of the bill such as in the reduction of carbon permits to be auctioned, from 100 to mere 15 as stated by Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN) Director Mike Tidwell (Clemmitt, 2009).

The question is, Are the inclusions in the proposed policy clear and fool-proof enough to handle the economic and socio-political consequences of the policy.