Child Labor-Research Paper Essay

Children are the most important people in this world. Not only are they innocent and premature, but they also provide the future for this world. Every great leader or world changing man or women was once a bay. That baby grew up and became something great. Because that bay was raised the right way they were able to achieve men’s greatest achievements. If people like George Washington were raised differently then where would America be? We could still be under British Rule. We could be one of the governments that keep getting into civil wars because they have no strong leaders to lead them in the right direction. One child can rearrange how the world is today. Children are like a ball of clay. Children must be cared for in order to be shaped into a beautiful masterpiece. What masterpiece can you make with cracked clay? Ask any artist or sculptor you can’t work with cracked clay. It crumbles and falls apart in your hand. How can we make this world a masterpiece if the structure isn’t supportive? Child labor is the harsh dry climate that can dry and crack the future masterpiece that is our world. We need educated, healthy, and able children to run our future world and make it the utopia we wish it could be. Putting Child Labor on the front of Time Magazine can really help with this problem. Having this topic on the front of such a popular magazine can really help with the publicity this topic needs. There can be a lot more done to help this on going problem. We need to educate the world on what is happening to these poor children that this has to happen too. Child labor is a very important problem and needs to be stopped as soon as possible. Child Labor should be on the cover of Time Magazine because it is a growing problem, it can destroy countries, and children are the future for this world. Keeping in mind all this aspects I believe that child labor is completely cowardly act of the cruel people and should be banned. The history of child labor is very extensive. Not only has it been around since the beginning of time it’s also been a technique used in every single country in the world. As a matter of fact Child labor is still around today. It may not be as extensively used as it used to be but it is still around. During the 1700’s child labor was a big part of the industrial revolution. Kids were hired to do tasks that required their attributes. They were ordered to crawl under working machines and check things out. Surprisingly Children were given the most dangerous jobs. Many children died, lost limbs, or were seriously injured. As the problem grew it was introduced to more immature countries. These countries used children for many things including work. They would have them work on farms, factories, or other laboring jobs. Rebel armies in 3rd world countries are especially big fans of Child Labor. They use children for everything for the fact that they are easy to brainwash. They use children to distribute guns, as soldiers, or as servants. The main use of Child Labor now is mostly 3rd world countries. These countries have been depending on these children for many things. They need these children so much because they are very new countries. These countries might have become independent not very long ago and struggle very much to remain stable†(Galbi Douglas). Because these countries are so young thy are way to busy trying to figure out problems like who is in charge and dealing with rebel armies that this problem is almost nothing to them. Believe or not some governments use child labor. These 3rd world countries believe that putting a child to work is fine. As I said before the history of Child Labor is very extensive and there is probably some things that experts don’t even know about this topic. Child Labor has been a growing problem ever since the beginning of time. According to the history of Child Labor not very much has been done to prevent Child Labor. Certain countries have created laws preventing Child Labor but most of the world still has Children working. Most of these countries are 3rd world countries. There are many reasons why 3rd world countries have Child Labor. It provides family’s with one more paycheck to help with bills. You may notice the many 3rd world families have a lot of members. That is because if you have more children you have more paychecks coming in. Another reason is because people believe it might balance out there economy. Politics in these countries might believe that increasing the working class will increase the amount of products able to export therefore increasing trade and wealth. Also the main purpose that countries have Child Labor because it is the cheapest form of labor. Kids are able to work relatively cheap because there are easy to manipulate and convince that certain things are fair. This is an easy way to increase the work effort and increase profit too. These countries believe that Child Labor is a good way to increase their wealth and hopefully get them out of the economic slump they are in. Because these countries are very young they don’t see this as being wrong. Also they don’t see that Child Labor is actually destroying them also. Child Labor does the exact opposite of help. That’s why it is such an important growing problem. We have to figure out some how to convince countries that Child Labor isn’t good. Countries don’t believe anything is wrong because we keep on buying their products. There are several large companies that use Child Labor as a form of cheap labor so they are able to make much more profit. One of these big name product that use Child Labor in their factories is Nike. Nike is one of the biggest companies around in the U. S and they use Children in their factories. This shows how much it actually is around us. It is because of companies like this that are the reason the Child labor is still around. (Why children work) Child Labor is a main reason why 3rd world countries are the way they are today. Child labor devastates countries and families all around the world. Not only does Child Labor include the labor of several children but it also is a main topic in the tragedy of child trafficking. Children are sold as slaves to several people that are involved in Child trafficking. These Children are forced to work and do certain jobs fir no pay and little food. This also usually happens in 3rd world countries. These children are usually kidnapped of the streets then sold. Another reason why Child labor is destroying countries is because these 3rd world countries that need a strong leader now have no educated children that can soon be their leader. To have a good leader he must be well educated. All of the great leaders of the world were once young children. As children they were pushed to get the best education they possibly can get. Now they were able to change the world into a better place. Without educated children, who will be the future leaders of these 3rd world countries? It is because there are no children that are educated that these countries are in such a slump. (Child Labor) Children are the future larders of this world. Name any person that has accomplished so many great things for this world and no matter what that person would always have a child hood. Our President for example, he was once a child. He used to play with toys and play tag. What he had different then Children in labor are the opportunity. That is what we need to provide for these children. We have to give these children an opportunity to help their country, to help their families, to help the world. If we are able to give these children opportunity they can help these countries. They can bring these countries out of the slumps they are in. They can even fix many of our problems that we have today. We should fight to end this struggle. We should fight to win this war against Child Labor. Many people think that child labor only existed in the early twentieth century but that is wrong. Child labor still exists in our world today and even though we do not hear or read about it, it is still prominent in the world today. Many companies based in the United States are also involved in child labor. Many of the companies that are involved in child labor are not involved directly. Just because child labor has a negative connotation does not mean that all the results of child labor are negative. There are many negative outcomes of child labor and people should not encourage child labor but it is still very much alive in our world today. Many people wonder what child labor is, or how many children are actually affected by it, or even where it take place. To define child labor, someone could say it is any work that could harm, abuse, or misuse children. It is also important to know that child labor is a major problem throughout the world. Just about two hundred and fifty million children around the world are considered child laborers. Child laborers are found all over the world. Child labor is not just limited to one or two regions in the world, it is a global problem that must be controlled. Many studies have been conducted in recent times to further understand how prevalent child labor is in our world today. It is known around the world that child laborers are mainly recruited from poor or undeveloped countries. Many child laborers are promised money, a better life style, housing and all the amenities they would ever need, but it is a lie. Employers tell these lies to the parents of children. The parents are hoping that the employer would give a better type of life for their child than they would if they stayed with them. In addition to child labor not being limited to one region of the world not only one age group is limited to being taken as child laborers. Some kids are taken from their homes to become child laborers at the age of four. Many of the children that are taken to be child laborers are tricked and scammed into becoming child laborers. A recent study on child labor showed the Asian continent possessed the most child laborers. The study showed that of all the children laborers in the world Asia had just above sixty percent of all the children laborers. Following Asia with the second most child laborers was the continent of Africa with just above thirty percent of world’s children laborers. Latin America held just below ten percent of the world’s children laborers. The rest of the children laborers are found in the United States, Canada, or prospering nations on the European continent. About one fifth of all the workers in Asia are children. Also in Latin America just about one fifth of all the workers are children. A study conducted by the UNICEF organization concluded that about thirty-three percent of children in Africa were working. The same study showed that twenty percent of children in Latin America were at work. â€Å"Out of the two hundred and fifty million child laborers in the world about eight and a half million child laborers are forced to work in conditions that sexually exploit them or in conditions that force them to use weapons†(Yuban Hilda). Many people also wonder can child labor really exist in the United States of America today. It may be hard to believe but child labor does occur in the United States of America today. In the year 1996 a study showed that just fewer than two hundred thousand child laborers were in the United States of America. In the same study about sixty thousand of the two hundred thousand child laborers in America were under the age of fourteen. With all this knowledge many people wonder what is being done, and what can be done in the future. The government of the United States of America has passed many laws and restrictions to fight child labor but it has not been enforced to a great extent. It is evident that child labor is widely impacting our world; destroying our countries and preventing the children that are the future for this world to do great things. Looking at all of these aspects, it shows how big of a problem this issue is, and putting it on the cover of time magazine would help inform people on such large levels. The only way that people will know about how serious the conditions are for these children is if the word is spread, and Time Magazine will show everyone that they must help. Imagine if the United States provided these types of conditions to our children. Is that the type of society that you would want your children, your children’s children, and the future generations to live in? With that being said, how could the people in countries like America not do anything to help? We must help. We can no longer allow this issue to spread in third world countries. If we want these countries to strive and become stable countries, it must start with the children; they need help and they shouldn’t have to deal with these types of conditions any longer. Child labor should be on the cover of time magazine because it is a rapidly growing problem, is will leave countries in ruins, and children are the future of this planet.

Anthropology-African Religions

The roots of modern day Islam were sown a couple of centuries ago when the once proud Muslim empire began to be overwhelmed by expansionist movements dominated by European colonialists.This has led to a cultural turmoil in Muslim world who once used to live at the pinnacle of glory saw its silent burial with the meek subjugation of the Islamic Caliphate at the hands of mighty British army in early twentieth century. While a sizable section of the Muslims chose to follow the path shown by great statesman like Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, many continued to be festered by the wounds of humiliation.Now Muslims in many countries are looking to reassert themselves after a long period of humiliation and oppression, sometimes at the hands of foreigners and sometimes at the hands of their own leaders. Contrary to popular belief, Muslims are not a monolithic group, nor there is any centralized authority within Islam.The Islamic civilization from its birth has gone through debates and counter debates . Except for the Shahadah (God is one and Mohammad is his messenger) and the five mandatory duties (Hajj, Zakat, Roza, Namaz and Shahadah) everything else in Islam has been subjected to deep scrutiny and analysis with the result that many schools of thoughts kept appearing and disappearing.That is why contradictions are evident to people both inside and outside the Muslim community. The orientalists, the conventional authorities on Islam, have been accused of being essentialist and insensitive to the change, negotiation, development, and diversity that characterizes lived Islam.Some scholars, primarily anthropologists, have responded to the tendency to essentialize by giving up the idea of conceptualizing one â€Å"Islam† and instead have focused their inquiry on what they call various â€Å"local Islams.† Others have focused on sociological or political-economic approaches in explaining the modern forms of political and social activism among Muslims to the exclusion o f â€Å"scriptural† Islam from their analysis. (Anjum O., 2007)Islam was brought to Sub-Saharan Africa in the first place via the trade routes from the Arab countries and North Africa. The African Muslims have always maintained quite close links with the Arab world, from which a number of reformers came.But Islamisation was essentially carried out by Africans themselves, who shared the same life, spoke the same language, lived in the same cultural world entirely. There is no doubt that, for African Muslims,  «Africanicity » and Islam are in no way opposed. For them Islam is not an imported religion.For many, abandoning the Muslim religion is equivalent to the rejection of all their family and tribal traditions, so intermingled are the two socio-religious universes. One must conclude that Islam, in its traditional African form, is entirely a part of the African cultural heritage and thus an African reality. The long cohabitation of Islam with traditional African religion h as also had an effect at the cultural level.The African languages are in general languages with a concrete vocabulary, rather limited in the expression of more abstract realities or more developed reflections. With the Arabic language Islam has been able to fill a gap. Many African peoples, some scarcely touched by Islam, have borrowed a complete abstract, and especially religious, vocabulary from Arabic, with no more than the changes proper to the structure of each language.The relative success of Islam may be related to its compatibility with many aspects of African culture–for example, plural marriage for men, which was opposed by Christian missionaries. Nonetheless, Islam was also embraced because it provided symbolic identification with successful traders and travelers throughout the world, and it was seen as an alternative to European religion.Its agents were black, and it preached on behalf of those who lacked the trappings of Western civilization. These adaptations of local practices by the Islamists is not only unique in Cà ´te d'Ivoire, it has happened world over and plays an important role in shaping the thoughts and mind processes of the Muslims.

Beautiful Happiness In A Meaningless Life Short Story English Literature Essay

Beautiful Happiness In A Meaningless Life Short Story English Literature Essay I intend to write a short story featuring a few of the more potent themes present within the novelette â€Å"The Outsider†. This short story has simply been written to entertain, and explore the central themes and issues that I have chosen. The content of the story is gruesome and described with vivid details in some cases, so the target audience would be fairly mature, and have an orientation towards fanciful fantasy worlds. The story is set in a land where the local entertainment consists of arena type pit fights. These pit fights are similar to a council of the city’s rich and wealthiest, with the lower classes also in attendance. These pit fights are also the place where status is gained and lost among these affluent members of society, with the slaves that compete being used as a means to this end. I have also interpreted the ending of â€Å"The Outsider† differently in my story, with my main character realising that he can make a difference with his life, and that he can live for other people rather than himself only. The content of the story is gruesome and described with vivid details in some cases, so the target audience would be fairly mature, and have an orientation towards fanciful fantasy worlds. The story is set in a land where the local entertainment consists of arena type pit fights. These pit fights are similar to a council of the city’s rich and wealthiest, with the lower classes also in attendance. These pit fights are also the place where status is gained and lost among these affluent members of society, with the slaves that compete being used as a means to this end. I have also interpreted the ending of â€Å"The Outsider† differently in my story, with my main character realising that he can make a difference with his life, and that he can live for other people rather than himself only. The ring of steel on steel resounded around the arena, to join the din of gaudy music and jeering shouts ensuing from th e on looking patrons of this violent event. The ‘Slave Games’ took place every day, from the blaze of the new fire in the sky at its start, to its dying embers at dusk. The games consisted of slaves and a monster entered by the ‘Games Keeper’. Of course to make it more complicated, there were two different types of slaves, the ones entered by their master, and the ones donated. By a slave being entered it was similar to a bet being placed, with a small fee for entry paid to the games master, the fee also gave slaves the privilege of a weapon of choice. At the conclusion of the battle if the monster was the last one standing, the games master would keep the majority of the winnings, otherwise if a slave was the victor; their master was granted higher standing in society and a large sum of gold as their winnings. There was also an unspoken tradition, that the victorious slave was granted freedom for their heroic deeds performed within the arena. The ‘do nated’ slaves on the other hand, were the unwanted outcasts of rich society that the Games Keeper bought for a small fee, to â€Å"liven up the games† as he would call it.

The career corruption by mediation and cronyism Essay

The career corruption by mediation and cronyism - Essay Example Fairness obliges one to be totally objective and unbiased, exercising guidelines and policies fairly, and evaluating or appraising everybody by the same criteria. Almost nothing weakens employee motivation and confidence more rapidly than cronyism. The field of ethics mainly encourages people to be just or fair. As proposed by Aristotle: â€Å"Equals should be treated equally and unequals unequally† (Gertrude, 1987, 256). But the widespread practice of cronyism hinders equality and fairness because it awards too much advantage to a person who does not truly deserve this benefit. Cronyism, whether practiced in the public or private sector, effectively weaken organizations. When a person is hired or promoted because of connections instead of experience, skill, or expertise, the contribution that person provides to the organization could be substandard. Moreover, according to Reilly and colleagues (2012), because cronyism is usually hidden, this practice damages the transparency that is ought to be practiced in the process of hiring and contracting. The Qur’an is clear in its position regarding cronyism, or concerning the enduring conflict between justice or fairness and self-interest (Baig, 2013, para 5): â€Å"Be just, even if it is against your narrowly defined self-interest or of those very close to you. Ignorant people think they are protecting their self-interest by being unjust to others. Their decision to be just or unjust may be based on a cold calculation of self-interest. But real faith in Allah elevates one beyond that narrow-mindedness.† This statement shows that the justice or fairness upheld by the Islamic law allows no cronyism or favoritism in general. Whether cronyism is practiced in the form of giving advantages or favors for certain individuals or conferring preferential treatment, cronyism definitely implies that some individuals are in some way more equal than others. Preventing even the indication of cronyism is particul arly vital in hiring someone or in awarding a promotion. While the person carrying out the selection process may have a personal favorite, s/he will be cautious to base the hiring process on objective standards as professional history, expertise, and experience, building what is at times called â€Å"a level playing field† (Storti, 2004, 56). In several organizations, especially those in the public sector, the names of job candidates are erased from the application during the preliminary assessment phase to facilitate a supposedly ‘blind’ assessment of each candidate’s qualifications (Cascarino, 2012). The ethics of fairness goes beyond employees to accept how people generally are to be handled or approached, such as contractors or clients. The central premise here is that organizations must treat everybody they interact with equally, implementing policies and guidelines objectively, irrespective of an individual’s ‘connections’, social standing, personal affiliation with the employer, or any other conditions that may be considered biased, discriminatory, or subjective. According to Langan-Fox and colleagues (2007), people, who attempt to take advantage of their social status, expecting preferential treatment because of their ‘rank’, are lowly regarded, and employees who yield to such demands will usually not be recognized. Definition of Cronyism in Career Corruption One of the most typical descriptions of corruption is the exploitation of public position for personal interests. In almost all societies,

China diabetes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

China diabetes - Essay Example Some studies indicated an economic standard correlation to the incidence rate of diabetes. The incidence rate in China is 3.21% in 1996 quite higher in developing countries, it significantly increased in the following years. Diabetes study of Singapore is quite revealing. In 1975 the incidence rate of diabetes in Singapore was 1.19%; it gradually increased and reached to 4%, in 1992. In 17 years, the incidence rate of diabetes in Singapore increased to 8 times. The case studies from Singapore and Korea clearly indicate that if the rapid economic and social development of countries is directly related to rate of incidence of diabetes. The more country develops, the higher prevalence of diabetes occurs. In the same way, China is rapidly growing during the past two decades. This rapid growth has resulted in increase in the rate of modernization and urbanization. The incidence of prevalence of diabetes in Chinese adult increased three-fold from approximately 1% in 1980 to 3.2% in 1996. T he incidence of diabetes is increasing equally with increase in economic growth of the country. With increase of prevalence of diabetes in Asian Countries China and India are major contributors because of their large populations and growing economies. China is the second largest prevalence of diabetes in the region as greater urbanization, industrialization, and lifestyle changes, because of economic prosperity and increasing rates of obesity. Growth in economy has resulted in change in the life style and eating habits of Chinese people. Availability of fast foods and a inactive lifestyle, along with lack of physical activities and play, increase in use of television and computers, and mechanization have rapidly changed the behavior patterns of the urbanized young in many of Asia's large cities. Similar situation is prevalent in China. The epidemiological transition can be observed in its most complete form in developed countries and at it is at its earliest stages in developing countries. RESULTS OF VARIOUS SURVEYS/STUDIES First systematic and organized survey was conducted in the late 1970s in China in Shanghai City. It was recorded that incidence of diabetes is 1.07% in 1979 but it was doubled in 1989. Available data shows that the prevalence of diabetes in Shanghai has reached to 2.123% in 1989 while Chengdu was 1.354% in 1992. But in 1982, Chengdu City demonstrated its prevalence of diabetes as 1.29%, which was the highest rate. Another diabetes survey of 14 major cities was conducted by nationwide cooperative group in 1980, it shows the average of prevalence of diabetes was 0.67%. A study conducted in 1993 shows that, the prevalence of diabetes was 2.5% in China but its mortality has become the third largest disease cause death in China after cancer and cardiovascular disease. In 1997, the 11 cities diabetes survey shows the average of prevalence of diabetes was 3.21% that is 3 times double the rate in 1979. A study was carried out in 1996, under the WHO criteria and epidemiology method, a updated 11 major cities survey shows that the prevalence of diabetes was 3.21% in China, which increased almost 5 times compared to the first survey in 1980. It is estimated that the prevalen

Individual Personal Reflection Paper Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Individual Personal Reflection Paper - Assignment Example ve learnt that Critical thinking, among other things, makes one think rationally and with more clarity irrespective of the field one is in; education, law, medicine, finance, or management. Critical thinking is a vital component as it enhances problem solving and proper thinking and can thus be termed as an asset. Secondly, it enables a person to have excellent communication skills. It improves language and comprehension abilities by aiding in the analysis of texts. Furthermore, critical thinking leads to self-reflection since we are able to reflect on our values and make proper decisions. With the changing, economic times which is driven by technology and information one needs to be able to effectively deal with these changes. This requires analysis of information thus pushing for intellectual skills, which we have learnt in this course. Since the start of this course, my critical thinking has vastly improved. It has helped me to think rationally and view things from a different perspective. I can now carefully reflect on my principles of reasoning and internalize them therefore, making me apply it in my day-to-day life. I am now in a position to expose fallacies and avoid faulty reasoning. I am able to come up with solutions to problems in a systematic way and prioritize ideas based on their importance. I have also been able to clearly come up with constructive arguments and evaluate them. More so, I am able to break down information into their constituent parts and logically understand the connections, relevance, and importance of these ideas. In the beginning, I was at the stage of unreflective thinker where I was unaware of significant problems in thinking, but so far I have advanced and I am now in the practicing thinker level. I feel I am at this level since I have recognized the need for regular practice in thinking. I am in a better position to solve problems by using the information that I have. However, limited it may be and to further deduce probable

Inclusion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Inclusion - Essay Example Thus disabled children are intended to be included into the normal group of students in a school, as a part of this concept, supported with the special assistance that they might need (Hall, 2010, pp.11-12). The present study focuses an understanding of the concept of inclusion, the services benefitting disabled students, and the advantages and disadvantages thereof. Services Benefitting Disabled Students: There are certain services that have been found to help the disabled students in schools. Here three of such services shall be discussed that include: Inclusive Service Models, Collaborative teaming or planning, and Family Involvement. Inclusive Service Models: There are several models for inclusion in teaching intended to serve the disabled students. The consultant model involves consultation of a special educator with a general instructor for lessons in areas related to â€Å"curriculum adaptation, instructional accommodations, remediation for struggling students, and assessment accommodations and/or modifications† (Holdheide & Reschly, 2008, p.6). The coaching model reflects on all-purpose and particular educators teaching and coaching students in turns in the subjects of curriculum and instruction. These are the subjects where these educators tend to be more expert and have greater amount of knowledge. A third model of this service is the collaborative teaming model in which the â€Å"special and general educator share equal responsibility for the lesson design, implementation, and assessment of instruction† (Holdheide & Reschly, 2008, p.6). Collaborative Teaming or Planning: Unlike the early times, in the present times, the educators have realized the need for working in teams in order to share their knowledge in an effective manner to their students. Thus, collaborative practices are welcome more in the recent times, even in the inclusive teaching programs. However, such planning has been found to create complexities as well since general educators may not be comfortable with the practices. However this service has been demanded by the bodies of literature and collaborative teaching has been incorporated as the most preferred system of teaching for disabled students as well. When collaborative teaching is applied on inclusive teaching, then disabled students along with normal students are provided with equal lessons and hence the disabled students do not get ignored. â€Å"Graduates of teacher education programs that practice what they preach and provide general and special education teacher candidates opportunities to see and experience collaboration in practice are better equipped to engage in collaborative teaching models† (Holdheide & Reschly, 2008, pp.7-8). Family Involvement: This is one of the most important components of the services to disabled students. It has been observed that when students and their families are supportive in nature and well informed then they tend to become powerful advocates for the inclusive form of teaching for disabled students in classes. This service requires that the parents are well involved in the process and are capable of anticipating the students well otherwise the efforts may be at loss. â€Å"Sharing consistent and frequent information on the purposes and benefits of inclusion and involving the students and families during the development and implementation of inclusion plans facilitates buy-in and secures support†

Choose and plan with skills reflection (x 1000 words) Coursework

Choose and plan with skills reflection (x 1000 words) - Coursework Example Similarly, in the job description of a flagship store manager, it is extremely important that the candidate is smart and speaks well. Like it is mentioned above, the retail sector requires a person with great interpersonal and people skills. I have a command on two languages, Thai and English. This means that I can directly deal with the local customers as well as the one belonging to other nationalities. In addition to this, I can use Microsoft Office proficiently especially Microsoft Excel to compute all data related to the store. This is an advantage because I have an understanding of all computerized data and can link it well to the store’s data (customer’s data). My past experience as an assistant to the marketing manager and my qualification in the field of business has prepared me well to the retail sector and I know how important it is to satisfy the customers. With ‘business studies’ as my basic academic qualification, I know the importance of dressing up professionally for the retail outlet. Moreover, I am aware of the importance of having good interpersonal skills which includ e: fluent communication, listening skills, team work, crisis management, being assertive and empathising. These skills which developed over some time taught me how to keep myself calm and poise in case of disturbing situations like handling customers’ complaints. My past experience of dealing with suppliers for an event taught that time management is the key to success and without planning the event can be completely fail. It developed my time management skills and improved my abilities. Managing a flagship store is not an easy task because it involves the management of various types of people belonging to different socio-economic backgrounds. In addition, people have different educational background followed by different set of skills; therefore, it is a difficult task to bring

Transsexualism Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Transsexualism - Research Paper Example Transsexualism has stigmatized many people across the world; notably, it effects have been enormously experienced in the western culture especially towards mid to late twentieth century. Nonetheless, the current advancement in technology especially in health care provision aims at enhancing sexual revolution in persons with sexuality problems. Sexuality change is often reverted through sex reassignment surgery (Chiland and Alcorn 24). Notably, Victims of transsexualism are often discriminated upon the society usually subjects them to numerous negative attitudes that undermine them from various quarters including cultural values, and religious believes. In fact, some cultures find it difficult to comprehend and integrate transsexualism conditions. The case is often worse if it involves change gender roles. Some cultures hold transsexualism with high regards and sometimes regarded to be holding two spiritual roles. This traditional believe, is often rampant among some Native American t ribes (Chiland 37). Gender is often a linguistic term used across many languages to refer to masculine, natural, or feminine and a fully independent attributes to the words that applied therein. Different cultural groupings have different manifestation of gender or sexuality. Most cultural believes often recognizes only two genders that are female and male. Other cultures recognize the third gender called neuter. However, some cultures recognize none of these genders. Adapting to gender changes often take different dimension and tasks to fulfill (Chiland and Alcorn 70). In some societal settings, gender variation is only indicated by the variation in adjective or noun while other societies require a complex grammar changes. For instance, in English, gender transition often involves the change in the transsexual’s first name that is from either changes he/him to she/her or vice versa. However, in some cases where a person never wants to be referred to either sexes or gender us ually uses â€Å"them† or â€Å"ze† and â€Å"hir† as gender natural pronouns or neutral pronouns (Chiland 52). Different societies treat transsexualism differently; thus, most persons never intend to reveal their sexuality especially concerning the gender complication since they fear the reception that the society may offer towards their complicated sexuality. The term transsexualism falls under the broader category of transgenderism that refers to people who are not often comfortable with the gender roles assigned to them. Most groups that fall under this category include transvestites, cross dressers, and genderqueer persons (Chiland and Alcorn 44). Nonetheless, transsexualism is a specific condition under transgender realm; however, it radically differs with both transsexual and crossdresser. Some people often use transsexualism and transgenderism interchangeably, but these terms are never synonymous (Chiland 84). There are many causes of transsexualism; how ever, many intersex data have revealed that genes never cause this gender variation since genes do not define nor determine gender identity. Additionally, the recent intersex infant surgeries have suggested that the same gender problem is never associated with gender identity since there is an enormous consistency between the genitals and upbringing. However, numerous scientific studies are currently suggesting

Ulcerative colitis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Ulcerative colitis - Essay Example Fever, pain in the joints, weight loss, and GI bleeding may also accompany nausea and vomiting (Board, ADAM & National Center for Biotechnology Information, 2012) Though the exact cause is unknown there are many research studies that have been able to suggest with scientific validation the possibility of many factors, causes and contributions to the disease. One research study conducted in 2006 suggested that there was a significant genetic contribution that factored in those more susceptible to those with an inflammatory bowel disease (Satsangi,2006) Studies at the molecular level have identified and determined genetic susceptibility to ulcerative colitis. Of course this discovery is able to provide new insight into the pathogenicity of the disease and disease process. Risk factors usually include those in poor health and it is a higher risk between the ages of 15-30 and then resurfaces between the ages of 50-70. Family history and Jewish ancestry are also implicated though family history may be linked to genetics and studies in these areas are able to provide stronger links between this family history and the prevalence of the disease. Breastfeeding, appendectomy, and smoking are also associated risks (Head, and Jurenka, 2003). Normal system functions appear to be prohibited by ‘increases in certain inflammatory mediators, oxidative stress signs, deranged colonic milieu, decreased oxidation of short chain fatty acids, increased intestinal permeability, an increase in the production of sulfides, and decreased methylation,’ (Head, and Jurenka, 2003). Certain cytokines along with anti-oxidant levels as well as the presence of bacteria interfere with normal system functions. These systematic functional abnormalities each contribute to symptoms of ulcerative colitis. For example increased oxidative stress is manifested in the intestinal mucosa of patients. Bowel lesions are much more evident when the bacteria

Europe and the Suez Crisis 1956 Essay Example for Free

Europe and the Suez Crisis 1956 Essay To what extent was the military action undertaken by the British and French in the Suez Crisis 1956 really necessary? This historical investigation seeks to evaluate and compare the factors influencing the relationships and discussions between France and Britain during the Suez Crisis and thereby provoked them to commit military force to the region. The mainbody will look at the differences and similarities in Britains and Frances intentions in the Middle East, the internal situation (mainly in Britain), Nasserà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s actions, public opinion in Western Europe as well as American and UN policies on the crisis. In order to carry out his investigation a variety of sources will be consulted primary and secondary, from which relevant information will be selected. Carltonà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s Britain and the Suez Crisis and Thomas The Suez Affair will be of particular use. The sources used reliability (date of publication, author etc) will be discussed. An analysis of the main arguments of the authors as well as an evaluation of different historical interpretations will be carried out. B. Summary of evidence When Britain and France cancelled the loans to the Egyptian president, Nassers hydropower project, the Aswan dam, Nasser responded by nationalizing the Suez Canal Company on the 26th of July 1956. Information given in the book The Suez Affair tells us that the company was largely owned by British and French shareholders.1 Britain and France saw the Nasserà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s nationalization as a violation of international law and feared that this could create a power of vacuum, which could be filled by the Soviets, who were their communist enemy in the Cold War. Along with this, the nationalization of the canal directly threatened British and French influences in the area, which was rich on oilsupplies and secured Britains way to India. In a letter to the US President in September 1958, the British Prime Minister Eden wrote: We ought in the first instance to bring the maximum political pressure to bear on Egypt (but) my colleagues and I are convinced that we must be ready, in the last resort, to use force to bring Nasser to his senses. 2 In Mastering Modern World History it is revealed that a secret Anglo-American plan called Omega suggested to overthrow Nasser by using political and economic pressure3. Despite of this plan, the issue of using military force in Egypt remained a burning issue among the British Conservatives. According to Carlton, the British Cabinet, appeared divided on the matter of straight bash on the Canal issue by early September.4 The public opinion was strongly pro-military actions and called Nasser a new Hitler.5 The French Minister Mollet, did not attempt to keep in good terms with any Arab, whom he felt distrust towards, and was to be a strong supporter of the decision to use military force. They believed that the money of the Algerian rebels, which they fought against, came from Cairo. Both the French and the British associated Nasserà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s nationalization of the Canal with historical analogies, which was not going to be repeated: Hitlerà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s occupation of The Rhineland as well as his take over of Czechoslovakia. The US-president, Eisenhower, strongly expressed his hostility on the matter of forces being used in Egypt. According to Peter L. Hahn, Eisenhower viewed Nasser as a danger of Western threat but believed that force only would facilitate Soviet infiltration in the region.6 So the Americans proposed an association of canal users, the SCUA, when it was revealed that the British and French tried to seek approval in the UN, where their actions could be justified due to the Soviet veto. The British did accept the SCUA, but its impact on Nasser was destined to be negligible. With the end of the SCUA Conference, French and British Ministers, engaged in negotiations with their Egyptian counterpart and agreed to the Six Principles7 (see Appendix). Although this seemed to suggest a peaceful settlement, French and British military preparations to invade Egypt continued. On 24 October the British and the French Foreign Ministers held a secret meeting with the Israeli Prime Minister who was determined to force Egypt to recognize the state of Israel. Five days after this meeting, Israeli forces invaded Egypt. When Egypt refused to withdraw from the Suez Canal, British and French bombed Egyptian airfields and landed troops at Port Said. The British-French attack on Egypt was greeted with angry protests all over the world. According to Keith Robbin, the UN unanimously condemned the Franco-British action on 2nd November8 At last, the UN proclaimed cease-fire on November 6 and British and French forces withdrew. C. Evaluation of sources The Suez Affair was published in 1966 (latest edition published in 1986), and was written by Hugh Thomas who resigned from the British Government after the Suez Crisis. Thomas stated purpose for this book is that It is an interim Report.9 in which he has used materials available and interviewed people, mainly British, involved in the Crisis. The value of this book is that it is a detailed and fascinating description of the British governments handling of the Crisis, professionally narrated by Thomas who himself experienced the Suez Crisis has an insight in the internal situation in Britain during this period of time. However, this may also make the source biased as it is very much written from a British standpoint. This method has certain limitations as memories can alter and are not reliable. David Carlton, who also has written a bibliography about Anthony Eden, published Britain and the Suez Crisis in 1988. The book is aimed at undergraduates; school students and other interested in post war British history. The purpose of the book is to inform people about the recent past, in order to prevent recent political indoctrination. Although it is acknowledged in the preface that there are problems of bias, subjectivity and perspectives in studying the past, the value of reading history outweigh the drawbacks10. Carltonà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s book is far more analytical than Thomasà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ and includes different historical interpretations of the Crisis, which is of usefulness when studying the crisis from a broader perspective. However, Carltonà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s book might be quite biased as it is very much written from a British perspective. Although both Carltonà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s and Thomasà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s books are British, they present a different view of the Suez Crisis, probably due to the different date of publication of the sources first edition. Although Thomas rewrote some parts of the book in his latest edition, the most substantial parts of his book, are based on sources available when the condemnation of the military action after the crisis made the propaganda turn against the British and French. In Carlton case, he has made an extensive use of materials released in the 80s, which seem to be friendlier towards he British and the French. By taking both sources in account they tell us how the history of the Suez Crisis has been reshaped due to political controversy and propaganda. D. Analysis If the Suez problem possibly could have been solved in a more diplomatic way, British and French prestige during the Cold War would doubtlessly have been more favorably after the crisis. According to the American journalist Donald Neff the Suez Crisis was a hinge point in history as it discredited France and Britain as participators in the Cold War: it strained the Anglo-American alliance, intensified Egyptian nationalism and increased Soviet influences in the region. Along with that, the attention was driven away from the Hungary uprising, for the Soviets advantage, as the shadow of Europe fell over the Suez. Hugh Thomas presents a view in his book The Suez Affair that the French and the British initially were determined to use military force in Egypt. He suggests that they acted in an opportunistic way: Nassers nationalization of the Suez Crisis gave them the opportunity to justify the use of military force. He suggests that the British and the French had strong intentions in the Middle East and to weld as many countries of the area as possible into an anticommunist defense pact. This can to some extent be true, as the Suez Crisis was an event in the Cold War, when the British and French democracies tried to, together with America, contain the expanding Communist bloc. However, other possible interpretations of the Crisis and the British and French intentions contradict this view. The historian Lowe presents evidence of the Omega plan, which suggests that Britain intended to get rid of Nasser by more peaceful means. Other evidence also supports this view. For example Eden, as quoted in section B, wanted to use military power as only a last resort. As we can see from the evidence given, the Americans tried to pursue a more peaceful policy in Suez. The Six Principles, as well as the acceptance of the SCUA, showed signs that the British were approaching a peaceful settlement, on Americas initiative which, perhaps, could have saved them from an international defeat. However, one can argue that these diplomatic negotiations can be seen as prolonging the process in order to convince America to accept the use of military force. They were not real but merely a facade, which covered the militant intentions of Britain and France. The more contemporary view suggests different circumstances drew Eden take the fatal decision to use military force. Eden was faced with unprecedented pressures (). 11. According to Carlton, the conspiracy between France and Israel was not really in the hands of Eden. Eden didnt know with certainty that Israel would attack Egypt.12 The role of France in the Suez Crisis must not be underestimated as she actually, in contrast to Britain, wanted to undermine Arab influences in the Middle East. Hahn and Carlton suggests that France and Britain didnt fully understand that the Americans were going to fear that military action would open Egypt and other Middle East states to Soviet influences, undermining the policy of containment. They didnt calculate with the fact that the Americans were going to choose to, in the first place, pursue containment rather than endorse the allys action. One can argue that if the American standpoint had been clearer for the French and the British, perhaps the course wouldnt have taken the militant direction that it took. E. Conclusion Whether the military action undertaken by the French and the British was really necessary is a mere question of speculation. It is difficult to make a valid judgement on the issue as different sources present different information, which is one of the major difficulties in studying contemporary history and finding its truth. Sources published not a very long time after the Crisis, such as Thomas first edition The Suez Affair indicate that the military action undertaken by the British and the French was inevitable: the countries were highly determined to use force against Egypt. More recent materials about the Suez Crisis, presented by historians such as Lowe and Carlton, suggest that Britain and France could have solved the Suez Crisis with more peaceful means. However, it is most likely that the British and French response to the nationalization of the Suez Canal will remain an issue of controversy among the historians for the nearest future. F. List of sources Robbins, Keith, The eclipse of Great power, Modern Britain 1870 1975, Longman, New Work, U.S, 1983 Eden, Anthony, Memoirs: Full Circle, Book three: Suez, Cassell Company Ltd, London, 1960 Carlton, David, Britain and the Suez Crisis, Basil Backwell, Northern Ireland, 1968 Calhoun, Daniel F. , Hungary and Suez, 1956: An exploration of who makes history, University Press of America, United States of America, 1991 Thomas, Hugh, The Suez Affair, Wiedenfeld Nicolson Limited, London, 1967 Hahn, Peter L., The United States, Great Britain and Egypt, 1945-1956 Strategy and Diplomacy in the early Cold War, The University of North Carolina Press, United States of America, 1991 Bowne, Colin and Mooney, Peter J., Cold War to Dà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½tente 1945-85, Second Edition, Heinemann Educational Books, printed by Richard Clay Ltd in Great Britain 198i Calvacocoressi, Peter, World politics since 1945, sixth edition: The Arabs and Israel to the Suez War, Longman, New York, 1991 Cornwell, R.D, World History in the twentieth century, Longman, England, 1984 Lowe, Norman, Mastering Modern World History, Third Edition, Macmillian Master Series, Biddles Ltd, Britain, 1997 Gildea, Robert, France since 194, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1996. Appendix The Six Principles: 1. There should be free and open transit through the Canal without discrimination, overt or covert. 2. The sovereignty of Egypt should be respected. 3. The operation of the Canal should be insulated from the politics of any country. 4. The manner of fixing tolls and charges should be decided by agreements between Egypt and the users. 5. Unresolved disputes between the Suez Canal Company and Egypt should be settles by arbitration. 1 Hugh Thomas, The Suez Affair, page 39 2 Ibid., page 41 3 Norman Lowe, Mastering Modern World History, page 230 4 David Carlton, Britain and the Suez Crisis, page 50 5 Hugh Thomas, The Suez Affair, page 40 6 Peter L. Hahn, The United States, Great Britain, and Egypt, 1945-1956, page 211 7 David Carlton, Britain and the Suez Crisis, page 52 8 Keith Robbins, The Eclipse of a Great Power, page 195 9 Hugh Thomas, The Suez Affair, page 7 10 David Carlton, Britain and The Suez Crisis, General Editors Preface 11 David Carlton, Britain and the Suez Crisis, page 109 12 Ibid., page 63

American Impress credit card Essay Example for Free

American Impress credit card Essay 1. Betty is married to Abel, a successful engineer. They have a joint account which gives them both an American Impress credit card, which they have had for years. They have always made the payments on time and over the years the credit limit has gone up and up. Abel has a skiing accident and dies. A month later, Betty gets a notice that her American Impress card has been cancelled. To make matters worse, the fact that her card has been cancelled is reported to a credit reporting company, which hurts Betty’s credit score and makes it harder for her to get credit. Does the law provide any protections for Betty? What can she do? No, the law does not provide protection for Betty because when a credit card account is a joint account and one spouse dies, the responsibility of handling that account will fall on the surviving party. Betty can protect herself by contacting the credit card company, or pay off the balance on the credit card account and close it, or transfer the account to her name and pay off the remaining balance. If she decides to transfer the account to her name, the credit card company may alter the terms of the original agreement. 2. An elderly lady with poor health and poor eyesight is approached by a door to door salesman. He tells her that if she buys a sectional greenhouse from his company, she can make lots of money raising and selling flowers. She gives him a check for several thousand dollars, way more than she can afford, and signs a contract promising to make monthly payments. He delivers to her house a bunch of greenhouse sections, which have to be assembled. Can she get out of the contract and get her money back? Are there other facts which if known would help you answer this question? No, she cannot get out of the contract if she meets the three main elements that are needed for a contract to be enforceable, they are: Offer: Which must be clearly stated and presented to the offered, this can be in either an oral or written form. Acceptance: Acceptance must be acceptance for the exact offer which was stated, any deviation may count as a counter offer and lead to the contract being unenforceable Consideration: Something of value given by both parties to a contract that induces them to enter into the agreement to exchange mutual performances. There are also other elements to a legally binding contract such as expressed and implied terms of the contract. Implied terms can consist of terms implied by law e. g. The Statute of Frauds requires the sale of land to be in writing etc. , these laws change from jurisdiction to jurisdiction so you would have to contact an attorney in your area to find out more. For a contract to be concluded, performance must be followed down to the letter of what was contracted for, courts give very little leniency in this area. Its also worth checking out the law surrounding Duress, Misrepresentation and Undue Influence to fully cover you in the event of a breach by either party.

Risk Assessments in Child Protection

Risk Assessments in Child Protection Before the introduction of risk assessment methods in child protection in the 1980’s the assessment and prediction of children at risk from abuse was a capricious business: care workers had no theory, or methodology and no strategy by which to determine which children were more at risk than others – they worked almost in the dark. When risk assessment strategies were introduced their enormous advantage was to give some orientation and means of prediction to social workers in their efforts to determine which children were at the highest risk. Moreover, in pre-risk assessment days, decisions about child protection were taken individually by scattered organizations and institutions without any inter-communication. The desperate consequence of this lack of cohesion was often complete confusion about which authority should make the decision about whether to and how to protect a child from abuse. Risk assessment required much closer participation between various agencies and therefore more efficient and individualistic protection care for children. Risk assessment takes into consideration a number of risk factors that affect a child – parental, family, environmental etc., – and analyzes these collectively to produce a total risk overview. Risk assessment has evolved considerably since its introduction in the 1980’s and various methods and theories of risk assessment have been experimented with; this essay looks at several of these methods, analyzing the relative worth of each. It also examines the introduction of schemes such as child protection conferences and child protection plans and evaluates the improvements to child protection brought by these schemes. Finally, this essay will discuss the future or risk assessment and its influence upon government policy and direction. Vulnerable children face five principal types of risk: sexual abuse, emotional abuse, institutional abuse, physical neglect, and non-organic failure to thrive. This essay now details and describes the implications for risk assessment of each of these types of abuse. The NSPCC gives the following definition of sexual abuse: ‘The sexual abuse of children may include sexual touching, masturbation, intercourse, indecent exposure, use of children in or showing children pornographic films or pictures, encouraging or forcing children into prostitution or encouraging or forcing children to witness sexual acts. Children and young people of all ages can be victims of abuse.’ (NSPCC). Children then are at potential risk from all of the types of abuse described in the above quotation; each of which, if undetected and unprevented causes a deep physical and emotional trauma for the child. Physical abuse is defined by the National Centre on Child Abuse and Neglect as The physical injur y or maltreatment of a child under the age of eighteen by a person who is responsible for the childs welfare under circumstances which indicate that the childs health or welfare is harmed or threatened thereby’. Children may also encounter physical abuse by way of domestic violence, and this together with physical abuse is nationally one the most frequently experienced types of abuse against children. The emotional abuse of children is defined by the American National Committee for the Prevention of Child Abuse as ‘†¦ a pattern of behaviour that attacks a childs emotional development and sense of self-worth. Emotional abuse includes excessive, aggressive or unreasonable demands that place expectations on a child beyond his or her capacity. Constant criticizing, belittling, insulting, rejecting and teasing are some of the forms these verbal attacks can take. Emotional abuse also includes failure to provide the psychological nurturing necessary for a childs psycholog ical growth and development providing no love, support or guidance (National Committee for the Prevention of Child Abuse, 1987). This definition then describes the myriad forms of emotional abuse that children can be subjected to – and thus the inherent difficulties of prediction and prevention in child protection. Non-organic failure to thrive is a further possible risk that children are exposed to. It is defined by the Lucy Packard Children’s Hospital as ‘†¦decelerated or arrested physical growth (height and weight measurements fall below the fifth percentile, or a downward change in growth across two major growth percentiles) associated with poor developmental and emotional functioning.’ Non-organic failure to thrive is often difficult to detect, and risk assessment is vital to guarantee this detection. Institutional abuse is also a broad term, but within its scope are included bullying, racial discrimination, disability discrimination and many ot hers. Risk assessment then has to draw together all of these potential risks and must consider factors that influence them. These factors include parenting capacity, child developmental needs, housing, the child’s family and the child’s environment. This essay now discusses each of these factors succinctly before describing the various methods used to assess them. Parenting capacity and the family environment are intimately connected as factors for assessment of possible risks to a child. A healthy relationship between his/her parents and a stable family environment is extremely important for the physical and emotional welfare of a child.   When this healthy environment deteriorates because of domestic violence, parental arguments, parental divorce, change of circumstances etc., the child is put at a higher risk of abuse. The influence of extended family (grandparents, aunts/uncles, cousins etc.,) is likewise very considerable and must be considered as a risk assessment factor. Child developmental needs refer to the needs of a child for access to education and social development, and for children with learning disabilities to get access to professional help and services. If this development is negatively affected in some way, then the risk to a child increases significantly. Poor quality housing is clearly a risk factor for the welfare of a child, particularly those with disabilities. Children with disabilities require special facilities and equipment, and all children require basic amenities and utilities depending upon the age and development of that child. Interior and exterior conditions, hygiene, sleeping environment, and local surroundings can all become risk factors if neglected or abused. This essay now examines the three dominant theories or methods of risk assessment in the past decade of child protection: the actuarial model and the theoretical-empirical approach. (1) Theoretical-Empirical (Consensus-Based) Models. Within the theoretical-empirical model risk is determined according to a decided group of empirically grounded risk factors, and by these the social worker produces a total assessment of risk founded upon witnessed combinations of risk factors (Boer, Webster, 1997). Scientific research has demonstrated that the theoretical-empirical model achieves average predictive success. (Epperson, 1998). The inherent difficulty of this method is that the care worker must equate identified risk factors into a recidivism likelihood. The model can therefore be argued to be undermined   by its lack of integration of risk factors (Wolfe McGee, 1994) so important in child protection. Risk assessment for the theoretical-empirical model is founded upon theories about parental abuse of children. The classic model of this type was the Ecological Model of Maltreatment (Brofenbrenner 1979, Belsky, 1993). The idea within this model is that numerous factors and the identification of risk factors determine the likelihood of abuse. The Ecological Model of Maltreatment considers risks related to children themselves, to caregivers, caregiver and child interaction, the family, and wider social and institutional factors. According to the theoretical-empirical model potential risk is determined in the investigation and influences case-choice at the beginning of the assessment process, during investigations, decisions about beginning cases, service strategy, child placement, and at the closure of cases.  Ã‚   (2)PureActuarial Models. These models supply definite principles for integrating risk factors (identified by retrospective empirically founded case reviews) into certain probability figures. The difference with such models is that they are not tethered to any particular theory of child abuse, or theory of parental abuse of children, but instead make use of all factors that are empirically joined to a risk assessment decision and put these in the assessment scales nonetheless. An advantage of such models is that they give specific weights of scale to individual risk factors and so can be transformed into scales that show the important associations between risk variables and the resolution of interest. Thus these associations imply that a particular variable is present, so too is the concomitant variable – though one should not necessarily infer that one variable produces the other. Such a distinction is vital when evaluating whether the aim of risk assessment should be short te rm or long term prediction and prevention, and intervention. Recent scientific investigation reveals that actuarial scales such as these are better at prediction of risk than clinical judgement usually is (Groove Meehl, 1996). Nonetheless, several authorities and risk assessment theoreticians have implied that this actuarial superiority is based upon inaccurate research (Serin, 1995). Sjosted and Grann (2002) have further questioned the methodology of actuarial models.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   (3)Clinically Adjusted Actuarial Models. The essential difference between pure actuarial models and clinically adjusted actuarial models is that the later use an actuarial method to ascertain risk factors as determined by a risk scale, but a medical or care practitioner can vary the actuarial level plus or minus depending upon the factor of his clinical judgement. Thus clinically adjusted models place are more individualistic since they permit the inclusion of possible individual risk factors that were unable to be documented empirically. There is much debate and argument about the strengths and weaknesses of these various methods. Within the actuarial school of thought there is a separate question as to which of the pure actuarial models or the clinically adjusted actuarial models is superior. It is probably true to say that actuarial models (of both types) are now thought to provide greater accuracy of prediction of child risk than theoretical-empirically based models. Clinically adjusted actuarial models are argued to give the best results, combining the advantages of an integrated risk assessment scale with the experience of a clinician and his ability to spot the individualistic risks in particular case that the model may not have noticed. The future of risk assessment perhaps lies then with a refinement of the clinically adjusted actuarial model. Important issues of methodology to be addressed include poor reliability, validity of measures, dilemmas of terminology, lack of base rate information, incorporation of individualistic risks and sensitivity of investigation.  Ã‚   In pre-risk assessment days a profound flaw of the child protection system was the failure of various independent agencies to pool together their skills and the knowledge they had acquired about the risk to a particular child; inter-agency communication was poor, and as a consequence many children were harmed, or even killed, who might otherwise have been saved. The advent of risk assessment in child protection improved the co-ordination of information between professional care services, and the recent introduction of child protection conferences have led to a far greater and more efficient sharing of information between agencies. Child protection conferences are convened after social services and the police have made initial inquiries about the health of a child and then seek to extend these enquires. A child protection conference brings together all professionals concerned with the welfare of a child, and thus has the enormous advantage of bringing all possible helpful information together at the same time. The purpose of such conferences is to determine the welfare of the child, to evaluate the risk of physical or emotional harm to the child, and to decide whether the child should be transferred onto the Child Protection Register. Conferences also consider whether legal proceedings ought to be brought on behalf of the child, and whether the police are required to investigate a crime against the child. If it is felt necessary to put a child on the Child Protection Register, then the conference must also produce a Child Protection Plan for the future welfare of the child. Such plans are essential because they explicitly stipulate what the responsibilities and duties are of each agency involved in the care of the child. The usefulness and thoroughness of these conferences is enhanced by the practice of a follow-up conferences after three months to determine progress, and then further conferences after six month intervals if necessary. Moreover, the inter-agency dialogue introduced by child conferences greatly improves the chances of these professionals spotting a specific risk to a child that might be missed by individual agencies. Child protection conferences are vital then to ensure and maximise the accuracy of individual risk assessments.   In short, child protection conferences have improved enormously the co-operation and inter-communication of the various agencies involved in the care of a particular child and so reduced considerably the risk posed to that child.   Ã‚   A further area that needs to be investigated by risk assessment is parental capacity to care for children. It is usually assumed that parents have a right to care for their children in all circumstances; an idea influenced by the normal reluctance of British society to tolerate intensive state intervention into private family life. It is believed that the state should remain at a distance, stepping in only in emergencies or cases of dire need. Professional care workers now argue however that this attitude of non-intervention often ignores the actual capacity of some parents to care for their children, particularly those with intensive needs. Thus this attitude can frequently threaten a child’s safety and security. Future risk assessment needs to develop a theoretical and practical model for possible state intervention in cases where parental ability to care for a child is suspect. The British government will be required to play a significant role here; updating existing legislation and creating new strong legislation to allow for intervention by care services in the most high risk cases of child abuse. This demand upon the government is an outcome of the philosophy of risk now prevalent in the United Kingdom, where it is assumed that the government has the ability to foresee and prevent abuse and maltreatment – and so the government is to be held to account when this does not happen. In the final analysis, it must be seen that risk assessment for child protection has had an   enormous success compared with the vacuum and capricious nature of prediction and prevention that existed before its introduction. Care workers and clinicians now have a theoretical, empirical and practical model by which to best determine the various risks that affect vulnerable children. The future progress and evolution of risk assessment seems to lie with an actuarial model – probably a clinically adjusted actuarial model. Such models at present appear to integrate risk factors most successfully and therefore to offer the best rates of prediction. This said, methodology needs to be thoroughly revised to evaluate and consider reliability of data, reliability of measures, integration of clinical opinion, individualistic risks etc., So too risk assessment needs to develop clear concepts and to push for government legislation to produce a model for state intervention into cases wher e parental ability to care for children is insufficient. Risk assessment theory must seek to modify the attitude of the British public that assumes parental right to care is absolute; showing that in certain circumstances this is not the case. BIBLIOGRAPHY Books Journals   Ã‚   Belsky, J. (1993). Etiology of Child Maltreatment: A DevelopmentalEcological Analysis. Psychological Bulletin. Vol 114, No 3, 413-434. Boer, D.P. Webster, C.D. (1997) Manual for the Sexual Violence Risk 20. Vancouver, B.C. The British Colombia Institute Against Family Violence. Brofenbrenner, U. (1979). The Ecology of Human Development. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press. Corby, B. (1990) Risk Assessment in Child Protection Work. International Conference of Risk Assessment in Child Protection. Epperson, D.L. (1998). Final Report on the Development of the Sex Offender Screening Tool: Presentation at the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers. 17th Annual Conference. Groove, W.M. Meehl, P.E. (1996). Comparative Efficiency of Informal and Formal Predictive Procedures: The Clinical-Statistical Controversy. Public Policy and Law, 2. 293-323.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Kemshall, H. (2002). Risk, Social Policy and Welfare. Open University Press, Buckingham. Parsloe, P. (1999) (2001). Risk Assessment in Social Care and Social Work. Jessica Kingsley, London.    Serin, R.C. (1995). Violent Recidivism in Criminal Psychopaths. Law and Human Behaviour, 20, 207-217.    Sjostedt, G, Grann, M. (2002). Risk Assessment: What is Being Predicted by Actuarial Prediction Instruments. International Journal of Forensic Mental Health. Vol 1, No 2, 179-183. Websites National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty Against Children, (NSPCC).   www.nspcc.org.uk    National Centre on Child Abuse and Neglect  Ã‚   www.nccanch.acf.hhs.gov

Treasure Island and Hard Times Essays -- Character Analysis, Stevenson

Treasure Island and Hard Times are novels in which, the effects of human influence are taken to their limit. These novels explore the terrors of two protagonists constantly being bombarded with thoughts and ideas of others. Because of the strong authority placed around them, they are exiled into their own minds. Yet, these characters still demonstrate the willingness to think on their own and express themselves freely. Stevenson and Dickens depict through their characters that the innate human ability to think and act is a product that can be influenced by all individuals one may come across. It is normal for humans to express themselves in any way they please, but for the protagonists in Treasure Island and Hard Times it is something that does not come to them naturally. When someone is being influenced, it is difficult for that person to take a stand and disregard any thoughts that are being thrown at them. They may find it challenging to think for themselves or their ideas may be completely disregarded. Jim Hawkins, the protagonist in Treasure Island is a man who experiences these situations. In the novel Treasure Island, the narrative of the story leads the readers to believe that the protagonist Jim Hawkins is a very knowledgeable boy. On his own he has, â€Å"discovered a map that leads to riches,† [Stevenson 48] and was able to find the most trustworthy men in town to tell this important information to. This proves to the reader, that Jim is wise and not foolish. However Long John Silver, The Squire and Dr. Livesey are three characters who, at times seem to believe otherwise. Long John Silver seems to doubt the competence of Jim Hawkins. He is not confident in the ideas that Jim may have to offer, so instea... ...e to tell her father that she has been, â€Å"tired and [that she has] been tired for a long time.† [Dickens 168] Louisa has developed the strength to tell her father the real emotions she has towards him and the way she felt about his various influences on her. She can explain to her father that she is very sick of his teachings, and that she wants the freedom to explore and discover for her own whim. She is finally able to confess to her father that she has been burdened by her father’s presence and that she does not agree with his ideologies. Jim Hawkins and Louisa Gradgrind have the similar desire to be heard. They are constantly battling the people in their lives who constantly sway them in various directions- not of their own. These characters both go through a cycle of discovering their own thoughts and ideas without the influence of others.

Bad Choices Essay -- essays research papers

Bad Choices Choices, everyone goes through them sometimes you make good ones and sometimes you make bad ones. In my case I’ve mad a lot of bad choices in my Junior year of High School. I’ve learned the hard way about making bad choices, lying, and being disrespectful to my family. In some ways I think learning the hard way was good for me, otherwise I might not have learned at all. After being in trouble and experiencing the worst of my past high school years, I have new motivation to get everything straight with my life. August 28th was the first day I decided to stay home from school and the start of my long and dreadful skipping school experience. I had no logical reason for not going to school, I just didn’t care at the time and needed a reality check. After the first couple days of not going to school it became a â€Å"I don’t care† and â€Å"One more day wont hurt† mentality. I was ditching 2 to 3 days a week in the beginning of the third week of school. On October the first I skipped school once again and surprisingly my mom showed up unexpectedly at home and got a notice from the school about my excessive absences at school. My mom was outraged and disappointed. When I got home, choked up embarrassed and feeling so stupid, I had to look into my moms eyes and tell her that I hadn’t been going to school and that I had lied to her about my grades and absences. I didn’t have a explanation for my mom or a excuse I told her straight out that I had no reason to and that she didn’...

Howard Robard Hughes Essays -- Biography

Howard Robard Hughes (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976), a pilot, movie producer, playboy, and one of the wealthiest people in the world during his lifetime, was well-known for his eccentricity. His eccentric behavior is theorized to have been the result of obsessive-compulsive behavior. The intent of this review is to illustrate Mr. Hughes’s abnormalities, arrive at a clinical diagnosis using all five axes of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV-TR (DSM-IV-TR), explain his behavior from the biological theoretical perspective, and finally to arrive at a hypothetical treatment plan. Behavior: To begin, what constitutes abnormal behavior in Mr. Hughes’s case? As early as the 1930s, Hughes demonstrated signs of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Obsessive compulsive disorder is identified by DSM as having recurrent obsessions (persistent thoughts, ideas, impulses or images that seem to invade a person’s consciousness) or compulsions (repeated and rigid behaviors or mental acts that people feel like they must perform in order to prevent or reduce anxiety) (Cormer, 2008). Close friends reported that Hughes was obsessed with the size of peas, one of his favorite foods, and used a special fork to sort them by size. Those who interacted with him as a director comment of his obsessions. While directing a movie, Hughes became fixated on a minor flaw in an actress’s top, claiming that the fabric bunched up along a seam and gave the appearance of two nipples on each breast. He was reportedly so upset by the matter that he wrote a detailed memorandum to the crew on how to fix the problem (Hack, 2002). An executive producer who worked with Hughes wrote in his autobiography about the difficulty of dealing with the t... ...h has shown that exercise, outdoor activity and socialization lead to increased serotonin levels and overall health (Young, 2007). Although the biological treatment of drug therapy, physical therapy, and nutrition therapy will begin to produce desired results towards a cure, the prognosis for recovery from this disorder would be greatly enhanced by a combination of behavioral, cognitive, and drug therapies. Patients who receive a combination of such therapies yield greater relief from their symptoms than do singular approaches alone (Kordon et al., 2005). It is unfortunate that Mr. Hughes was not able to receive adequate help for his disorder during his lifetime. Given the aforementioned treatment plan, along with the benefit of current research, and Mr. Hughes affluence to receive the best care, his prognosis during current times would have been quite good.

Challenges Faced by Managers in Practicing Organisational Behaviour

FACULTY OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY & MULTIMEDIA COMMUNICATION MEI / 2012 BBGO4103 ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR MATRICULATION NO: 800201085406001 IDENTITY CARD NO. : 800201085406 TELEPHONE NO. : 0127252294 E-MAIL : [email  protected] com LEARNING CENTRE: BANGI LEARNING CENTRE Content Page 1. Introduction and Description of the Selected Organisation2 2. Description of Roles of Managers Based on Mintzberg’s (1973) Model5 3. Challenges Faced By Managers in Practicing Organisational Behaviour12 4. Recommendations On How Managers Can Better Handle The Identified Challenges. 16 5. Summary24 6. Reference 27 7. Bibliography30Introduction and Description of the Selected Organisation Manager, a term that is so ubiquitous that its definition is commonly assumed. But the need to seek a definition rises proportionally to the drive to increase the productivity and efficiency of business in an ever changing marketplace. Armed with the tools yielded by the science of organizational behaviour, a working definition of this common term can be rendered as well as an answer to, â€Å"What do managers do? † This paper will distinguish the managerial roles practice base on the work of Henry Mintzberg and analyses managerial challenges faced by managers.As a sample of case study I have chosen AirAsia Berhad as, one of the most leading airline companies in Malaysia. The company corporate data are as follows: Corporate Data Company Name:AirAsia Berhad Year Founded:1993 Year Incorporated:2001 Registered Office:AirAsia Berhad (Company No. 284669-W) 25-5, Block H, Jalan PJU 1/37 Dataran Prima, 47301 Petaling Jaya, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia Contact: (603) – 78809318 (T) / (603) – 78806318(F) Head office:LCC Terminal, Jalan KLIA S3 Southern Support Zone, KLIA 64000 Sepang, Selangor Darul Ehsan, MalaysiaContact: (603) – 86604333 (T) / (603) – 87751100 (F) Website : www. airasia. com Stock Exchange Listing:Main Market of Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad (Listed since 22 November 2004) (Stock code: 5099) Type of business:Transportation > Airline/Aviation (Provision of air transportation services). Company Overview AirAsia needs no introduction in ASEAN, where it is the leading Malaysian-based low-cost airline. AirAsia is Asia's largest low-fare, no-frills airline and a pioneer of low-cost travel in Asia, connecting people and places across 132 routes, 40 of which are offered by no other airline.Its main hub is the Low-Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). In 2010, the Group, which includes affiliates AirAsia Thailand and AirAsia Indonesia, reinforced its leadership position with two remarkable milestones: flying its 100 millionth guest and breaking the RM1 billion profit barriers. Voted by over 18. 8 million airline passengers from 100 different nationalities, the World Airline Awardsâ„ ¢ are the most prestigious quality recognition of front-line product and service standards for the world airline industry.With 200 airlines featured, the awards measure customer satisfaction levels across 38 different items of airline front-line product and service, AirAsia won the Skytrax World's best low-cost airline award in 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2011. It has the world's lowest operating costs at USD 0. 035/seat-kilometre in 2010. It is also the first airline in the region to implement fully ticketless air travel. Company Vision To be the largest low cost airline in Asia and serving the 3 billion people who are currently underserved with poor connectivity and high fares. Company Mission To be the best company to work for whereby employees are treated as part of a big family * Create a globally recognized ASEAN brand * To attain the lowest cost so that everyone can fly with AirAsia * Maintain the highest quality product, embracing technology to reduce cost and enhance service levels Type of Employees and Size According to the latest annual report (2011), AirAsia employees have reached about 5,137 staff at the year-end of 2011. This employment includes various levels of position which are Board of Directors, Senior Management, Manager, Head, Executive, and Non-Executive.Exhibit 1: Supporting data for employee size retrieved from the Air Asia Annual Report 2011 Description of Roles of Managers Based on Mintzberg’s (1973) Model An appropriate starting point to explore the duties of a manager lies within the function of the management position. The origins of a functional description of management can be found in the works of Henry Fayol. Fayol, originally an engineer that turned to management in late-nineteenth century, he set the foundation for management theory by outlining five primary functions of the manager; planning, organizing, commanding, coordinating and controlling.To fully understand the activities of the manager, it is necessary to delve beyond function to determine how it is expressed. For this, the work of Henry Mintzberg can be applied to illuminate how a manager performs these functions. In The Nature of Managerial Work (1973), Mintzberg proposed that a manager will utilize a combination of ten different roles to achieve their objectives. These roles can be grouped into three broader categories – informational, interpersonal and decisional. Exhibit 2: Mintzberg Managerial Roles Model and Relations Towards Information Handling. Interpersonal rolesInterpersonal roles arise directly from a manager’s formal authority and status, and shape relationships with people within and beyond the organisation. The interpersonal group links together the other groups by establishing and maintaining a framework and environment, both externally and internally, that dictates where and how that information is conveyed and to which objectives is it meant to fulfil. There are three types of interpersonal roles – figurehead, leader and liaison. A manager usually maintains a network of relationships, both inside and outside the organisation.Dealing with people, formally and informally, up and down the hierarchy and sideways within it, is thus a major element of the manager’s role. A manager is often most visible when performing these interpersonal roles. In the figurehead role the managers are the symbol, representing the unit in legal and ceremonial duties such as greeting a visitor, sign legal documents, presenting retirement gifts or receiving a quality award. For example, the AirAsia Berhad Group Chief Executive Officer, Tan Sri Dr.Tony Fernandes responsible in signing the company legal documents such as statement by directors for auditing purposes, receives â€Å"Value Airline of the Year† awards from ATW Annual Airline Industry Achievement Awards on behalf of AirAsia Berhad and spokesperson for press interviews by the Starbiz, The Star newspaper on Friday, June 15, 2012 with the headlines â€Å"Tony Fernandes speaks to StarBiz on AirAsia's future plans†. The evidence of these responsibilities is as follows: Exhibit 3: Signing Legal Documents – retrieved from Airasia Berhad Annual Report 2011Exhibit 4: The Group CEO on behalf of AirAsia receives Awards â€Å"Value Airline of the Year† The leader role defines the manager’s relationship with other people (not just subordinates), including motivating, communicating and developing their skills and confidence. As leaders, managers have to consider the needs of an organisation and those of the individuals they manage and work with. The leadership roles practice by the Group CEO meets the Mintzberg values as some commented: â€Å"(At AirAsia) there’s no such thing as a male of female pilot. Only good or great pilots. It’s thanks to people like Tan Sri Dr.Tony Fernandes who advocate equal rights. † Nadira Ramli, AirAsia Woman Pilot. â€Å"I ask him what is it that makes this company so different, so successful, and so passionate about everything it does, creati ng a culture that shows on the faces of every single person in the company. He says, â€Å"Our corporate culture is it. It’s what makes us. † So what is this corporate culture that changes lives and makes this company one of the most successful airlines in the world? It asks the question, â€Å"Hierarchy, what hierarchy? † Tony is a leader and a manager, but he is one of the team also.So his office is smack at the heart of the company, with no walls and no doors. Everyone sees him and he sees everyone. He is Tony to everyone and he is in his polo shirt and with his famous baseball cap. His only vice is that he gets a special parking slot right next to the door of his building, for his two-door white Peugeot. † Fadi Ghandour, Chairman of Wamda and Founder and CEO of Aramex. The liaison role focuses on contacts with people outside the immediate unit. Managers maintain a network in which they trade information and favours for mutual benefit with clients, gove rnment officials, customers and suppliers.For some managers, particularly chief executives and sales managers, the liaison role takes a high proportion of their time and energy. From my observations, this role also has been practice in this company. For example, its Commercial Public Relations Executive, Ms Linda Foo Yan Yan, one of her job responsibilities is as liaison and point of contact with respective airports organizations, tourism bureaus and internal departments in order to gain support in promotion and marketing activities. Informational rolesManagers must collect, disseminate and transmit information and these activities have three corresponding informational roles: monitor, disseminator and spokesperson. In monitoring what goes on in the organisation, a manager will seek and receive information about both internal and external events and transmit it to others. This process of transmission is the dissemination role, passing on information. A manager has to give informatio n concerning the organisation to staff and to outsiders, taking on the role of spokesperson to both the general public and those in positions of authority.Managers need not collect or disseminate every item themselves, but must retain authority and integrity by ensuring the information they handle is correct. In AirAsia Berhad, this responsibility is hold by Head of Communications, Ms Sherliza Zaharudin. The position is actually similar as company spokesperson and representative. The company image and presentation lies on her hands as she responsible in producing press releases, answering interviews and other corporate affairs. For example, one of her job is writing a press release.First, she must monitor and look up what is goes on in the company by obtaining the true source of the information or verified data from the immediate superior or resources. Then, before she disseminates the information, she needs to analyse and interprets and write up a report in the form of press releas e. Then, the press release will be submitted to media and press as an official document of announcement to be announced to the public. As a spokesperson, she also has to be alert at the company product and updates as she needs to promote and lobbying the entities. 4. 3. 3 Decisional rolesMintzberg argues that making decisions is the most crucial part of any managerial activity. He identifies four roles which are based on different types of decisions; namely, entrepreneur, disturbance handler, resource allocator and negotiator. As entrepreneurs, managers make decisions about changing what is happening in an organisation. They may have to initiate change and take an active part in deciding exactly what is done – they are proactive. The board of directors of AirAsia Berhad have made many decisions towards being a proactive such as initiate new projects, spot opportunities and identify areas of business development.For example, in October 31, 2003, AirAsia announces the setting u p of a new hub in Senai, Johor Bahru, with direct flights to Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, Langkawi and Penang. The full listing of their successful entrepreneurships decision making can be seen in the company annual report 2011, page 5 in the 10 years of achievement section. However, it is very different from their role as disturbance handlers, which requires them to make decisions arising from events that are beyond their control and which are unpredictable.The ability to react to events as well as to plan activities is an important aspect of management. Unfortunately, AirAsia Berhad has been tested in facing such disturbance. It was a first incident that happens to Malaysian aircraft that is most unbearable situation to handle and overcome. The incident was when an AirAsia Airbus A320-216 passenger jets, registered 9M-AHH, sustained substantial damage in a runway excursion accident at Kuching Airport (KCH), Malaysia. Exhibit 5: Cranes are used to remove the plane off the runway Tuesday The airplane operated on flight AK5218 from Kuala Lumpur Subang International Airport (KUL) to Kuching Airport (KCH). The flight landed on Kuching's runway 25 in heavy rain around but skidded to the right and went off the side of the runway. It came to rest in the grass with the nose gear dug in or collapsed. At the moment of the incident, there were 123 guests on board the flight. Four guests were sent for observation as a precautionary measure and were released shortly after. All other guests are safe and have been attended to accordingly.The resource allocation role of a manager is central to much organisational analysis. A manager has to make decisions about the allocation of money, equipment, people, time and other resources. In so doing a manager is actually scheduling time, programming work and authorising actions. This role without a doubt, have been comply by managers in AirAsia Berhad, especially by the Board of Directors as mentioned in the Statement on Corporate Governan ce, Annual Report 2011 under the Roles and Responsibilities of the Board.The negotiation role is important as a manager has to negotiate with others and in the process be able to make decisions about the commitment of organisational resources. Mintzberg found that managers don’t perform equally – or with equal frequency – all the roles he described. There may be a dominant role that will vary from job to job, and from time to time. It is important to note that many non-managers in organisations seem to have these sorts of interpersonal, informational and decisional roles. In contrast, the ituations managers deal with differ in the degree of routine, the size and scope and complexity of the activities in which they are involved, and the responsibilities associated with these activities. Challenges Faced By Managers in Practicing Organisational Behaviour The world is changing and as is the case with companies. Companies are no longer steadfast on the theory of rec ruiting workforce from the same geography for their work to be done. At the end of the day, the businesses especially the ones which have an unconventional business model believe in the work being done, it does not matter who does it.In such a scenario, recruitment of workforce has become a global activity with at least 25-30% of a company's workforce being made up of employees recruited offshore. It is quite natural for companies to boast of employees from a cross section of cultural backgrounds. With that comes the challenge of managing and practicing Organizational Behaviour in such companies Challenge of Globalisation One major challenge facing managers in the early 21st century arises from what many commentators have identified as an increasingly international or global business environment.The following factors are frequently cited as potential explanatory factors underlying this trend: i. Communication – improvements in international communication facilities leading to an increased consciousness of differences in workplace attitudes and behaviour in other societies; ii. International competitive pressure – for example, the emergence of newly industrialised and/or free-market nations (the Far East region and former communist bloc countries are often viewed as examples of this phenomenon); iii.The spread of production methods and other business processes across nations and regions; international business activity, for example: overseas franchising or licensing agreements; outsourcing of business units to other countries (call centres provide a topical example); direct foreign investment and the activities of multinational corporations which, by definition, operate outside national boundaries. In broad terms, globalisation refers to organisations integrating, operating and competing in a worldwide economy. The organisations’ activities are more independent across the world rather than confined nationally.Globalisation will also impact on the nature of social responsibilities and business ethics. With globalisation, strategy and structure are inextricably linked. As organisations, and especially large business organisations, adopt a more global perspective this will have a significant effect on the broader context of management and organisational behaviour. Challenge of Workforce Diversity Workplace diversity exists when companies hire employees from various backgrounds and experiences. Many companies see workplace diversity as an investment toward building a better business.Although workplace diversity provides many benefits, it also poses many challenges to employees and managers. To reap the benefits of workplace diversity, employees and managers must understand the challenges and know how to effectively deal with them. Taking full advantage of the benefits of diversity in the workplace is not without its challenges. Some of those challenges are: i. Communication – Perceptual, cultural and language barri ers need to be overcome for diversity programs to succeed. Ineffective communication of key objectives results in confusion, lack of teamwork, and low morale. i. Resistance to change – There are always employees who will refuse to accept the fact that the social and cultural makeup of their workplace is changing. The â€Å"we've always done it this way† mentality silences new ideas and inhibits progress. iii. Implementation of diversity in the workplace policies – This can be the overriding challenge to all diversity advocates. Armed with the results of employee assessments and research data, they must build and implement a customized strategy to maximize the effects of diversity in the workplace for their particular organization. v. Successful Management of Diversity in the Workplace – Diversity training alone is not sufficient for the organization's diversity management plan. A strategy must be created and implemented to create a culture of diversity th at permeates every department and function of the organization. Challenge of Technology Change The major advances in technology that have emerged over the last several decades have had an impact on virtually every aspect of modern life, and the hospitality industry has also been affected by these changes.While keyboards and microchips are probably among the last things guests want to think about as they dip into a creme brulee or lounge in a penthouse suite, hospitality industry insiders know that modern technology plays a big part in keeping things on track behind the scenes, from the back-of-the-house order management systems that help chefs keep their plates straight to the reservation systems that ensure that a soft bed will be waiting for a weary traveller at the end of a long day on the road. Just like all types of technology, the technology that helps power the hospitality industry is constantly evolving.A brief stroll through the product exhibition hall at any industry confe rence will reveal just a slice of the hundreds of new styles of software, systems, gadgets, programs, and equipment that are released in the hospitality market each year. Sooner or later, it’s likely one organization will be faced with a challenge that can strike fear into the heart of even the most intrepid of managers: implementing new technology in the workplace. Whether it’s a POS program for the cafe or a reservation system for the bed and breakfast, the prospect of managing technology change can be daunting.Challenge of Downsizing/Layoff Many companies are under intense economic pressure. Reorganizations, takeovers, mergers and downsizing are increasingly common as today’s companies try to grow, compete and survive. Downsizing presents new challenges and demands for everyone in the organization, from the CEO to the telephone receptionist. For managers, the challenge is even greater. Not only do managers have to cope with their own fears and frustrations, t hey have to support others who are emotionally distraught, even while remaining positive and productive.There’s no doubt about it—it’s a tough time to be in business. Whether one owns the company, hold a position in senior management or work in human resources, there is a lot of pressure on him/her to ensure that the organization makes it through the recession with the fewest battle scars possible. Laying people off is easily one of the hardest roles that a manager faces, but it is almost inevitable that at some point in the career one will need to do it. Although it may sound odd, laying people off and retaining people actually go hand in hand.How to conduct layoffs and how to deal with those who remain will directly impact the bottom line. Mishandle either of those two things and will be facing productivity and morale problems. Challenge of Managerial Ethics Ethics is difficult to define in a precise way. In a general sense, ethics is the code of moral princip les and values that governs the behaviours of a person or group with respect to what is right or wrong. Ethics sets standards as to what is good or bad in conduct and decision making. An ethical issue is present in a situation when the actions of a person or organization may harm or benefit others.Yet ethical issues can sometimes be exceedingly complex. People in organizations may hold widely divergent views about the most ethically appropriate or inappropriate actions related to a situation. Managers often face situations in which it is difficult to determine what is right. In addition, they might be torn between their misgivings and their sense of duty to their bosses and the organization. Sometimes, managers want to take a stand but don’t have the backbone to go against others, bring unfavourable attention to them, or risk their jobs.Recommendations On How Managers Can Better Handle The Identified Challenges. There are new leadership and management challenges for the 21st Century, to be met against the backdrop of financial uncertainty, technological change and global economic downturn. The world we live and work in is vastly different from that we inhabited just a few decades ago and our approach to leadership and management must adapt to it. Here are the recommendations on how managers can better handle the identified challenges previously discussed: Managing Globalisation i. A cross-cultural approach to managementOne rationale for taking a cross-cultural approach to management lies in the potential benefits to be gained in performance terms. In addition to practically based benefits in considering our own ‘home’ culture, there has been a long tradition of looking to other cultures for examples of ‘successful’ practice which could be transplanted into work organisations in different societies. Different models may be dominant at different times. ii. Managing people from different cultures a. Recognise the variations in wor kplace attitudes and behaviour between individuals and groups in different cultural contexts. b.In examining the centrally important topic of motivation managers must develop organizational systems that are flexible enough to take into account the meaning of work and the relative value of rewards within the range of cultures where they operate. iii. Managing Workforce Diversity Recommended steps in managing workforce diversity in organizations are: a. Assessment of diversity in the workplace – Top companies make assessing and evaluating their diversity process an integral part of their management system. A customizable employee satisfaction survey can accomplish this assessment for the company efficiently and conveniently.It can help the management team determine which challenges and obstacles to diversity are present in the workplace and which policies need to be added or eliminated. Reassessment can then determine the success of diversity in the workplace plan implementatio n. b. Development of diversity in the workplace plan – Choosing a survey provider that provides comprehensive reporting is a key decision. That report will be the beginning structure of the diversity in the workplace plan. The plan must be comprehensive, attainable and measurable. An organization must decide what changes need to be made and a timeline for that change to be attained. . Implementation of diversity in the workplace plan – The personal commitment of executive and managerial teams is a must. Leaders and managers within organizations must incorporate diversity policies into every aspect of the organization's function and purpose. Attitudes toward diversity originate at the top and filter downward. Management cooperation and participation is required to create a culture conducive to the success of the organization's plan. iv. Recommended diversity in the workplace solutions include: a. Ward off change resistance with inclusion. Involve every employee possible in formulating and executing diversity initiatives in the workplace. b. Foster an attitude of openness in the organization. – Encourage employees to express their ideas and opinions and attribute a sense of equal value to all. c. Promote diversity in leadership positions. – This practice provides visibility and realizes the benefits of diversity in the workplace. d. Utilize diversity training. – Use it as a tool to shape the diversity policy. e. Launch a customizable employee satisfaction survey that provides comprehensive reporting. Use the results to build and implement successful diversity in the workplace policies. Managing Technology Change Here are some recommendations on managing the technology change in an organisation: i. Provide as Much Advance Warning as Possible. Human beings are naturally resistant to change, but change that is sudden and unexpected is often most difficult to accept. As soon as one is certain that technology change is in his/her or ganization’s future, announce the news to the staff. This will give them more time to adapt mentally to the prospect of a future change.If possible, begin training sessions that introduce the basic concepts of the new technology well before the actual date of implementation. ii. Recruit A Group of Staff Facilitators. Call on a few ambitious, interested, or tech-savvy employees to act as project leaders for the technology change. They can sit in on the planning and implementation meetings and convey new developments to the other employees in their departments. Also, having a few key â€Å"cheerleaders† who are in favour of the project from the start can help bolster the staff’s morale during the challenge of implementation. iii.Begin System Training in a Low-Pressure Environment. The hospitality industry is famously fast-paced, so booting up a new POS system right before the dinner rush is probably not the best way to boost the team’s confidence in the new technology. If possible, set up the new equipment in a back room for several weeks of training before the full-scale implementation. Remind the staff of the old adage that the only â€Å"stupid† question is the one that remains unasked. iv. Have a Plan B†¦and Maybe Even a Plan C. Remind the self that a few snags and roadblocks are likely to arise during the first few weeks of using new technology.Make sure that one has developed one or more contingency plans that the team can rely on if the new system becomes inoperable. v. Training Shouldn’t Stop after the New Equipment is up and Running. Don’t disband the technology committee after the new system has been installed successfully. Instead, plan on meeting every month or every quarter to discuss issues, concerns, or suggestions for future upgrades. One can task one or more of the staff with the responsibility of keeping up with new products from the manufacturer and new developments in the field.With the ra pid pace of technological change that’s occurring within the hospitality industry today, it’s probably more helpful to think of technology implementation as an on-going process, rather than a one-time project that ends with installation. Although the prospect of change is always unsettling, one can significantly increase the chances that the organization’s shift to a new technology will go smoothly by sticking to these simple strategies. Managing Downsizing/Layoff Here are some suggestions on how one should handle downsizing/layoff: i. Plan layoffs carefully.If one find himself in a position where he need to let people go, don’t act indiscriminately. Take the time to ensure that the layoff plan and the business plan are in sync. Look at the current projects—particularly those that are critical to the business—and don’t forget to plan for the future. Make sure that one has a clear idea of the projects that will get underway once the cr isis is over. The last thing one want is to suddenly realize that a mission-critical project is in jeopardy because of letting the wrong people go and now don’t have the talent and resources to proceed. ii.Be prepared. One will make things easier both for oneself and the people he is laying off if one is well prepared. If one need to, write a script and practice it in front of a mirror until one can do it without sounding forced. Make a list of questions that might be asked and have answers ready. Be confident and get to the point—don’t make small talk. Keep in mind that much of what is said in a layoff meeting will not be retained, so have resources available for affected employees, such as information on benefits, separation terms, and important contacts and other written information.Also, make sure one have fully planned the necessary post-layoff logistics. Will employees be allowed to say goodbye to colleagues? Will they be permitted some time to gather thei r belongings? Will you offer to pack up their things and have the boxes delivered to their home address? iii. Know the law. One thing one really don’t need—in a recession or at any time—is a costly court battle, so make sure one know the responsibilities as an employer. The law stipulates that employees must get either some notice prior to dismissal or be compensated instead, although the particulars vary depending on the province or territory.There are also certain rules that apply when lying off groups of individuals, but again, the laws are different depending on the province. Speak to a lawyer or contact the provincial labour board to make sure that one are meeting the obligations in accordance with the law. iv. Treat people with dignity and respect. It is human nature to shy away from uncomfortable situations, but as a manager one don’t have that luxury. Distancing yourself because you feel bad won’t make anyone feel better. Remember, this is not one fault, and avoiding people will not minimize feelings of guilt or hurt. In fact, it will make them worse.Be kind and compassionate. Losing one job can be a humiliating experience, so give people the respect they need. However, the recession will end eventually, but what one should do between now and then could have a direct impact on whether your business thrives—or nosedives. When the recession is finally over and business starts to return to normal, make sure that one and one’s employees are ready. Managing Ethical Decision Making Most ethical dilemmas involve a conflict between the needs of the part and the whole – the individual versus the organization or the organization versus society as a whole.Sometimes ethical decisions entail a conflict between two groups. Managers faced with these kinds of tough ethical choices often benefit from a normative strategy—one based on norms and values—to guide their decision making. Normative ethics u ses several approaches to describe values for guiding ethical decision making. Four of these approaches that are relevant to managers are the utilitarian approach, individualism approach, moral-rights approach, and justice approach. i. Utilitarian approachUnder this approach, a decision maker is expected to consider the effect of each decision alternative on all parties and select the one that optimizes the benefits for the greatest number of people. In organizations, because actual computations can be complex, simplifying them is considered appropriate. ii. Individualism Approach The individualism approach contends that acts are moral when they promote the individual’s best long-term interests. Individual self-direction is paramount, and external forces that restrict self-direction should be severely limited.Individuals calculate the best long-term advantage to themselves as a measure of a decision’s goodness. The action that is intended to produce a greater ratio of good too bad for the individual compared with other alternatives is the right one to perform. Individualism is believed to lead to honesty and integrity because that works best in the long run. Lying and cheating for immediate self-interest just causes business associates to lie and cheat in return. Thus, individualism ultimately leads to behaviour toward others that fits standards of behaviour people want toward themselves. iii. Moral-Rights ApproachThe moral-rights approach asserts that human beings have fundamental rights and liberties that cannot be taken away by an individual’s decision. Thus, an ethically correct decision is one that best maintains the rights of those affected by it. iv. Justice Approach The justice approach holds that moral decisions must be based on standards of equity, fairness, and impartiality. Three types of justice are of concern to managers which are: a. Distributive justice requires that different treatment of people not be based on arbitrary c haracteristics. Individuals who are similar in ways relevant to a decision should be treated similarly.Thus, men and women should not receive different salaries if they are performing the same job. However, people who differ in a substantive way, such as job skills or job responsibility, can be treated differently in proportion to the differences in skills or responsibility among them. This difference should have a clear relationship to organizational goals and tasks. b. Procedural justice requires that rules be administered fairly. Rules should be clearly stated and consistently and impartially enforced. c. Compensatory justice argues that individuals should be compensated for the cost of their injuries by the party responsible.Moreover, individuals should not be held responsible for matters over which they have no control. Summary Henry Mintzberg concluded that managers perform 10 different roles or behaviours. He classified them into three sets. One set is concerned with interper sonal relationships (figurehead, leader, and liaison). The second set is related to the transfer of information (monitor, disseminator, and spokesperson). The third set deals with decision making (entrepreneur, disturbance handler, resource allocator, and negotiator). This chart summarizes a manager’s ten Mintzberg’s Managerial Roles: Category| Role| Activity|Informational| Monitor| Seek and acquire work-related information| | Disseminator| Communicate/ disseminate information to others within the organization| | Spokesperson| Communicate/transmit information to outsiders| Interpersonal| Figurehead| Perform social and legal duties, act as symbolic leader| | Leader| Direct and motivate subordinates, select and train employees| | Liaison| Establish and maintain contacts within and outside the organization| Decisional| Entrepreneur| Identify new ideas and initiate improvement projects| | Disturbance Handler| Deals with disputes or problems and takes corrective action| | R esource Allocator| Decide where to apply resources| | Negotiator| Defends business interests| Building an internationally competent workforce whose members know the business and are flexible and open-minded can take years. Multinational organizations can no longer rely on just a few managers with multicultural experience or a few experts on a particular country to succeed. In short, all employees must have some minimal level of international expertise and be able to recognize cultural differences that may affect daily business communications and working relationships.As a result of the increasingly global business environment, many companies are building teams that cross-national borders and/or include members from different countries of origin. Although many of these teams are designed to pool resources and increase operational efficiencies, the cultural diversity of team members may create a longer learning curve for establishing effective processes than culturally homogeneous gro ups. This chart summarizes a manager’s challenges and recommendations in managing the challenges: Challenges| Description| Recommendation| Challenge of Globalisation| Organisations integrating, operating and competing in a worldwide economy| i. A cross-cultural approach to management ii.Managing people from different cultures| Challenge of Workforce Diversity| Leading a diverse work force| i. Ward off change resistance with inclusion ii. Foster an attitude of openness in the organization iii. Promote diversity in leadership positions iv. Utilize diversity training v. Launch a customizable employee satisfaction survey that provides comprehensive reporting| Challenge of Technology Change| Advancing and implementing technological innovation in the workspace| i. Provide as Much Advance Warning as Possible. ii. Recruit A Group of Staff Facilitators. iii. Begin System Training in a Low-Pressure Environment. iv. Have a Plan B†¦and Maybe Even a Plan C. v.