Operation Management Essay

To be able produce specialized managers capable of fulfilling strategic tasks within business and government enterprises the need for the practice of operations management cannot be forgone. Operations management is very significant in business operations since it forms the heart of the organisation by controlling the system of operation. Operations management deals with the design, operation, and enhancement of the systems that generate and deliver a firm’s primary products and services. Like marketing and finance, operations management is a well-designed field of business with clear management responsibilities. Panasonic Corp. is a company in which produces various electronic components such as Audio, Video, Televisions, Information and Communication, Semi-conductors and other Electronic Components. In a business entity like Panasonic Corp. the use of operations management is very essential in every framework of the company’s activities. Panasonic Corp. uses operations management to ensure and maintain competence and effectiveness in the organisation. Efficiency in Panasonic Corp. s concerned with how well resources such as individual expertise and inputs are put in use irrespective of the reason for which they were deployed in the organization. The company through its performance ensures that the main objective for its establishment to generate profits and maximize shareholders value is realized. The company reduces its cost of production by ensuring that tangible and intangible possessions are not over stretched or wasted in the organisation. This is a situation where the company carries out effectively its goals to be the market leader using minimum resources to attain maximum output. The methods of effectiveness and competence in Panasonic Corp. leads to labour efficiency, yield, and capability fill working capital utilization and the efficiency of production systems. Panasonic Corp. also makes fine use of its products and services management through operations management. Product (or service) management includes a broad range of management activities, ranging from the time that there’s a new idea for a product to ultimately provide ongoing support to consumers who have purchased the fresh and innovative product. Every organization conducts product supervision, whether it’s done deliberately or not deliberately. Panasonic Corp. through this module provides a wide idea of considerations in producing and managing its goods. Panasonic Corp. uses it hub competences in the areas of manufacturing, branding, promoting through wholesale and retail outlets to achieve competitive benefits in the market place. Quality management is also a very essential aspect of operations management in every organisation. Panasonic Corp. s very crucial about its products developed for the consumer in the market place. Quality management is vital to effective operations management, particularly ongoing perfection to match the consumers taste and preference at all times. Management Control and Coordinating Function cannot be forgone in operations management particularly in a company like Panasonic Corp. Management control and coordination includes a wide series of activities to make certain that the company’s objectives are consistently being met in an effective and efficient style. Key approaches to the company’s organizational control and coordination contain product assessment, product allocation, marketing and promotion, sales and service and product advancement. The company also uses advertisements as a major tool to reach the customer. In this increasingly expanding and competitive marketplace, the company make sure its products and services are notably in the minds of their customers and clients. This occurs as a consequence of ongoing promotion and advertising by the company. Facilities management is also an essential task and its importance on operations management for Panasonic Corp. s required. Effective operations management in the company’s activities depends on a big deal of effective management of facilities, such as buildings, computer system, plants and machinery etc. Facilities management in Panasonic corp. is very important since the company may be busy in a batch or mass production depending on the demand conditions on the market. In this case facilities need to be managed in producing large quantities of products which must be consistent to meet the market demand at definite period. Well managed facilities help in production speed, lower per unit cost, manage and control the efficiency in the company’s production process. Inventory control and management is one important factor of operations management that Panasonic Corp. uses in its operations. Managing and controlling the inventory of the company is very critical and essential. Innovative methods, such as Just-in-Time inventory control, are some of the most important instruments used by the company to cut costs and move products and services to consumers more rapidly. Generally the significance of operations management on business is urrounded in every aspect of the organizations activities and therefore has vital role to play in ensuring that organizations attain their objectives and goals. Every organization, whether it produces goods or provides services furnishes customers with worthy products. Thus, to compete with other organizations, a company must transform resources (materials, labour, money, information) into goods or services as efficiently as possible. The upper-level manager who directs this transformation process is called an operations manager. The job of operations management (OM) is to transform resources into products which consist of all the activities involved in transforming a product idea into finished and final products. In other words, operations managers manage the process that transforms inputs into outputs. Like Panasonic Corp. all manufacturers set out to execute the same basic roles: to transform resources into finished goods. To perform this function in today’s business surroundings, manufacturers must constantly struggle to improve operational effectiveness. They must focus on quality, the costs of materials and labour and all costs that add no value to the finished product. Making the decisions in the effort to achieve these objectives is the job of the operations manager. That person’s responsibilities can be grouped as follows: * Production planning. During production planning, managers determine how goods will be produced, where production will be carried out, and how manufacturing facilities will be done. * Production control. Once the production process is started, managers must repetitively schedule and monitor the activities that make up that process. They must respond to feedback and make adjustments where required. At this stage, they also supervise the purchasing of raw materials and the usage of inventories. * Quality control. Finally, the operations manager is directly concerned in efforts to make sure that goods are produced according to terms and that quality values are maintained. Planning the Production Process Managers in Panasonic Corp. believe that the decisions made in the planning phase have long-range implications and are vital to a firm’s achievement. Before making decisions about the operations process, managers must consider the goals set by marketing managers. Does the company aim to be a low-cost producer and to struggle on the basis of price? Or does it plan to focus on quality and go after the high end of the market? Perhaps it wants to build a standard of consistency. What if it intends to offer a wide range of products? To make things even more complicated, all these decisions involve trade-offs. Upholding a reputation for reliability isn’t necessarily compatible with offering a wide range of products. Low cost doesn’t normally go hand in hand with high quality. With these factors in mind, let’s look at the specific types of decisions that have to be made in the production planning process. We’ve divided these decisions into those dealing with production methods, site selection, facility layout, and components and materials management. Production-Method Decisions The first step in production planning is deciding which type of production process is best for making the goods that your company intends to manufacture. In reaching this decision, you should answer such questions as the following: * How much input do I receive from a particular customer before producing my goods? * Am I making a one-of-a-kind good based solely on customer specifications, or am I producing high-volume standardized goods to be sold later? * Do I offer customers the option of â€Å"customizing† an otherwise standardized good to meet their specific needs? One way to appreciate the nature of this decision is by comparing three basic types of processes or methods: make-to-order, mass production, and mass customization. The task of the operations manager is to work with other managers, particularly marketers, to select the process that best serves the needs of the company’s customers. Make-to-Order At one time, most consumer goods, such as furniture and clothing, were made by individuals practicing various crafts. By their very nature, products were customized to meet the needs of the buyers who ordered them. This process, which is called a make-to-order strategymake-to-order strategyProduction method in which products are made to customer specification. is still commonly used by such businesses as print or sign shops that produce low-volume, high-variety goods according to customer specifications. Mass Production Automakers produce a high volume of cars in anticipation of future demand. By the early twentieth century, however, a new concept of producing goods had been introduced: mass production (or make-to-stock strategy)mass production (or make-to-stock strategy)Production method in which high volumes of products are made at low cost and held in inventory in anticipation of future demand. s the practice of producing high volumes of identical goods at a cost low enough to price them for large numbers of customers. Goods are made in anticipation of future demand (based on forecasts) and kept in inventory for later sale. This approach is particularly appropriate for standardized goods ranging from processed foods to electronic appliances. Mass Customization But there’s a disadvantage to mass production: customers, as one contemporary advertising slogan puts it, can’t â€Å"have it their way. They have to accept standardized products as they come off assembly lines. Increasingly, however, customers are looking for products that are designed to accommodate individual tastes or needs but can still be bought at reasonable prices. To meet the demands of these consumers, many companies have turned to an approach called mass customizationmass customizationProduction method in which fairly high volumes of customized products are made at fairly low prices. , which (as the term suggests) combines the advantages of customized products with those of mass production. This approach requires that a company interact with the customer to find out exactly what the customer wants and then manufacture the good, using efficient production methods to hold down costs. One efficient method is to mass-produce a product up to a certain cut-off point and then to customize it to satisfy different customers. The list of companies devoting at least a portion of their operations to mass customization is growing steadily. Perhaps the best-known mass customizer is Dell, which has achieved phenomenal success by allowing customers to configure their own personal computers. The Web has a lot to do with the growth of mass customization. Nike, for instance, now lets customers design their own athletic shoes on the firm’s Web site. Procter & Gamble offers made-to-order, personal-care products, such as shampoos and fragrances, while Mars, Inc. can make M&M’s in any color the customer wants (say, school colors). Naturally, mass customization doesn’t work for all types of goods. Most people don’t care about customized detergents or paper products. And while many of us like the idea of customized clothes from Levi’s or Lands’ End, we often aren’t willing to pay the higher prices they command.

Cadbury and Kraft

The acquisition of Cadbury faced widespread disapproval from the British public, as well as groups and organisations including trade union Unite,[29] who fought against the acquisition of the company which, according to Prime Minister Gordon Brown, was very important to the British economy. [30] Unite estimated that a takeover by Kraft could put 30,000 jobs â€Å"at risk†,[24][31][32] and UK shareholders protested over the Mergers and Acquisitions advisory fees charged by banks. Cadbury's M;A advisers were UBS, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. 33][34][35] Controversially, RBS, a bank 84% owned by the United Kingdom Government, funded the Kraft takeover. [36][37] http://www. publications. parliament. uk/pa/cm200910/cmselect/cmbis/234/23405. htm High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut ; paste the article. See our Ts;Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Email ftsales. [email  protected] com to buy additional rights. http://cachef. ft. com/cms/s/a153ff94-595f-11df-99ba-00144feab49a. html#ixzz1dKyAgSEK Cadbury helps Kraft to 26% rise in revenuesBy Greg Farrell in New York and Elizabeth Rigby in London Published: May 6 2010 23:54 | Last updated: May 6 2010 23:54 Kraft Foods reported net revenues of $11. 3bn for the first quarter 2010, a 26 per cent gain over the comparable period in 2009, much of it fuelled by the US food company’s acquisition of Cadbury, completed in February, and aided by favourable currency exchange rates. Organic revenues for Kraft grew 3. 3 per cent for the quarter, while Cadbury’s organic revenue growth was 8. 2 per cent. Net earnings for the company were $1. 9bn, largely from a $1. 6bn gain on the divestiture of Kraft’s pizza business.

The ethical and moral concerns ignored by the three Tobacco companies Essay

The ethical and moral concerns ignored by the three Tobacco companies - Essay Example The researcher states that companies that are operative all over the world have to follow certain ethical standards in order to protect their consumers from any health related negative consequences. There are certain codes of ethics that the business companies should accept and implement in their working setups. It is really essential for all the organizations whether they are working globally or nationally. By following ethical and moral concerns, the companies can benefit not only the consumers, but in the long run, themselves by making strong relationships with the consumers. Philip Morris, Reynolds and Liggett, the three renowned tobacco companies are accused of deceiving the public with incorrect information about their products. U.S Department of Justice held responsible the three companies of forming Tobacco Industry Research Committee (TIRC), which ensured that smoking is not injurious to health, which is wrong. The Tobacco companies denied addictive capacity of nicotine and cigarette being the cause of lung cancer. The companies are also accused of targeting children as users of their products. According to the charge, the companies were ethically responsible for testing their products and providing the tested information to their consumers. Tobacco being enough risky and dangerous should be fully informed to the consumers. In place of informing the current and potential consumers, the companies concealed the harmful effects of their products, which were addictive, risky and eventually killing. Last, but not the least, the companies’ targeting of children as potential consumers of tobacco products cannot be approved as negligible issue. Objectives of the Assignment To evaluate the ethical and moral concerns ignored by the three Tobacco companies. To apply various ethical theories to evaluate organizations’ duties to consumers. To implement the ethical theories on the case of Tobacco companies. Critical Discussion of Organization’s Duties to Consumers Theories on Duties to Consumers Social Contract Theory Study of the cited theory indicates it as a classical example, which addresses the individual’s ethical and political responsibilities, which is implied or comes out through an agreement with the other individual of the society. It can be in the form of laws, written and unwritten agreement, social norms and customs of the society (Binmore 1998, p. 57). However, the essential moral duty of a company is to own its customers and to provide its products that live up with the dreams of customers’ expectations so that they may enter into agreement with them for a multiple choice. It may be expressed or implied that a seller should identify the quality of its products to its purchasers (Binmore 1998, p. 57). It is the moral duty of a seller when he enters into contract with any customer, he should disclose what he or she intends to buy and what the terms of sales are (Lessnoff 1990, p. 79). The seller is duty bound to intimate the customer of any characteristic of the product (good or bad), which could be instrumental in deciding about the product’s precise value. He should also inform the customer about ingredients, operational cost, its rating besides other applicable standards. Nonetheless, misrepresentation about the product may cause confusion for the customer in selecting the right product as per his needs (Lessnoff 1990, p. 79). Due Care Theory The Due Care theory is in favour of manufacturer’

Bargaining Power And Strategic Management In Business Case Study

Bargaining Power And Strategic Management In Business - Case Study Example Suppliers would have low bargaining power as they risk losing the account of one of their largest customers if the client is not satisfied by the terms offered. With many suppliers being present in the industry, it would be very easy for asos.com to switch suppliers thus weakening the position of suppliers in the market. Bargaining Power of Customers Asos.com is heavily reliant on the internet as its main channel of distribution. It does not have a presence as a traditional brick-and-mortar store and thus needs to target a young, fashion-conscious market segment and provide them with an interactive, pleasurable online shopping experience in order to drive sales. Secondly, the number of internet buyers in the UK has increased tremendously and with internet access spreading and the number of retailers offering online services also increasing at a fast pace, customers have more options to seek out the bet prices and switch firms, thus providing them with significant buying power over fi rms and minimizing the risk of exploitation. Fashion retailing being very concentrated in nature and the fact that asos.com does not have any differential advantage over its rivals suggests that the industry is highly competitive and customers exert a lot of influence over firms in the industry and dictate buying patterns. The threat of New Entrants A quick look at the group profits tells us that the industry is a highly attractive one and opportunity seekers will find it quite a lucrative industry to enter into. Thus profitability might eventually decrease if the number of players operating in the market increases further. However, it must be noted that customer loyalty, access to distribution, achieving economies of scale and capital requirements might present significant barriers to entry.

How ABM Should Change Its Business in Order to Enter UK Case Study

How ABM Should Change Its Business in Order to Enter UK - Case Study Example On-demand/call center is used as alternative strategies to deal with the service delivery of the company. In this case, sites that have daily maintenance needs such as groceries are catered for on-demand basis. However, these ways of doing business may not be appropriate for the UK. This is because multinational business involves a shift from one geographical, cultural and political environment to another. One way in which this company needs to change the way it conducts its business is by avoiding the use of on-site service delivery mechanism in conducting its business. It should rather establish its subsidiaries in the UK near its target customers and offer customized services; offering services in line with the needs, desires, and preferences of its customers in the UK. This is due to the fact that the issue of distance matters in international business. In order for the company to prosper in the UK, given the issue of geographical distance, it may not be feasible for the company to establish the onsite business in the UK as the business operates from the US. The costs and barriers associated with distance make the company make potential losses. The company should also avoid the use of mobile maintenance because the UK is mainly characterized by industrial clustering. In this case, industries with similar industrial activities or within the same industry are located close to each other (Porter 20). Therefore, it is important for the company to avoid mobile maintenance and use other mechanisms that may enable it to offer to many customers within industrial clusters, e.g. many clusters located close to each other. If the company makes these changes in its business activities, it will still be able to make profits because it will be able to adapt to changes in international business. These changes will enable the company to maintain its business line while entering into new markets where new gaps and opportunities exist. As a result, the company will enjoy the benefits of expansion and economies of scale in international business. This includes the acquisition of the new and wider range of customers. In other words, the company will increase its market share. As long as the issue of change in international involvement is adapted to, profits are feasible. After all, international involvement requires a change in ways of business and if this is done appropriately then the business will definitely still make profits. 2. First Solar’s Multinational Business Context First solar company is a company that offers solar cells as its primary products. Its technology is characterized by CdTe thin-film technology which exhibits low-cost and moderate efficiency (Hallmon, Siegel and Burgelman 9). This technology is used in photovoltaic’s research and activities. The conversion rate of this technology is currently at approximately 11% which is expected to rise even more in the future. The good conversion efficiency of this technology has e nabled the company to increase the cost-effectiveness of its electricity production. This technology is also simple, and this has enabled the company to enjoy lower costs than its competitors. In terms of its market, the company has been involved in offering its products to markets which offer subsidies.

Fashion trends Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Fashion trends - Essay Example The research "Fashion trends" identifies and analyzes the basic scopes of their targeted customers. The research design drew from the theme of the products the students intended to sell. Before the commencement of the research, the students analyzed the theme context of the prospective products. The analysis encompassed several dimensions. Firstly, there was an identification of the types of products to sellable to the target customers. The second dimension encompassed the designation criterion of the product to suit the customer’s taste. The third dimension encompasses identification of the price standards for the designs. Finally, there is the dimension of presumed product’s lifecycle within the supply chain. Therefore, in setting the product’s theme, identification, analysis and description of the target customers is critical for the business before initiating the intervention. Having established the study theme for the product, and with sufficient literature reviewed on the fashion trends in the entire country with special emphasis on the city of London, the students the researchable question becomes known. From the foregoing sequences of events in the fashion and apparel industry, the researchable problem statement becomes: How can there be an enhanced reach-up among the youths bracket customers with fashion and design trends in London? The research employed a wide range of methods in data collection. The methods differed according to convenience, region and information required.

AUDITOR INDEPENDENCE AND AUDITOR SCEPTICISM Essay

AUDITOR INDEPENDENCE AND AUDITOR SCEPTICISM - Essay Example To justify these responsibilities an auditor must possess certain personal qualities such as honesty and ethicality. To be precise, the auditor whether internal or external, has his responsibilities towards the governance of an organisation and its quality (The Institute of Internal Auditors, 2005). However, in the realistic phenomenon auditors have been constantly judged on their personal qualities, which directly indicate to the appropriateness of the concept of auditor independence and scepticism. The concept of auditor independence and scepticism were both raised with the focus on the nature of responsibilities which a professional needs to abide while ensuring the quality of the financial statements of a company (Kleinman & Et. Al., 2001). Nature of Auditor Independence and Auditor Scepticism The Nature of the Auditor Independence To define the term ‘Auditor Independence’, authors have referred it as the foundation of auditing in a realistic behaviour. Relying on th e nature of auditing, auditors need to identify, control and eradicate the inefficiency of the financial statements produced by the accountants of a firm in order to ensure the accurate status of the financial health of the organisation. Auditor independence, in this scenario assists the auditor to render value-added services to the client and the community at large. Auditor independence is strongly influenced by the audit process. The process instigates from the selection procedure and ends by reporting the findings and opinion of the auditor. Therefore, the concept of audit independence emerges to be crucial with due consideration to its importance and nature. It is in this context, that audit independence is implemented based on three basic principles, i.e. the auditors must belong to the external environment of the organisation and therefore are prohibited to be a part of the client organisation, the auditors are also proscribed to audit their own workings and cannot play any ad vocacy role to support the organisation if found guilty (Rezaee, 2007). Nature of Auditor Scepticism Auditor Scepticism is another concept introduced in the auditing practices, which refers to the personal skill of the auditors to challenge the management’s statements in order to critically evaluate the accuracy of the financial statements of an organisation. However, scepticism needs to be controlled due to the fact that challenging almost any and every assertion of a well established company will in turn affect the willingness to publish the financial statements (Peursem, 1989). The factors which play a crucial role in determining the appropriateness of scepticism are the regulations prescribed in relation to auditing and the financial practise of the company and the nature of the corporate. To be precise, the nature of auditor scepticism indicates to be an attitude of questioning the management and identifying and eliminating the probable chances of producing misstatements related to error or deception. It is of vital importance due to the fact that it not only ensures the auditing to be confirmed with extra professional efficacy but also proves supportive in performing the task rigorously. However, the level of

When Budget Cuts Threaten Public Safety Assignment

When Budget Cuts Threaten Public Safety - Assignment Example Almost nobody within the corrections and law enforcement community sees the early release program as a good option. It has been characterized as everything from "not good public policy" by Vacaville Police Chief Richard Ward to "an act of insanity" by Kern County District Attorney Edward Jagels (Thompson, 2008). While the author reports on research that indicates the program will not increase the crime rate, most crime experts feel otherwise. Most people interviewed for the article expressed the opinion that if the criminal community knows that they will not be sent to prison, they will have no deterrent to committing a property crime. California is in desperate need of prison reform. The article stated that there are currently 172,000 prisoners being housed in a system that was designed for 100,000 (Thompson, 2008). Releasing just 22,000 of these inmates would allow the state to make changes in the prison and jail building program and save additional money (Thompson, 2008). While this number would not ease the current overcrowding, it may relieve what Schwarzenegger calls "the federal courts breathing down our neck" (Thompson, 2008). Thompson Thompson related the opinions of law enforcement personnel that believed there would be a marked increase in property crime if the program is enacted. Since local jails are already overcrowded, many criminals will be more willing to take their chances. Even one of the program's supporters Barry Krisberg, President of the National Council on Crime and Delinquency, expressed some reservation about turning these criminals back out on the street with no rehabilitation and no support systems (Thompson, 2008). The article pointed out that just about everyone has at least some reservations about the early release program.

Lenin's Cultural Policy and the Persecution of the Arts Essay

Lenin's Cultural Policy and the Persecution of the Arts - Essay Example However, things were not the same as shown to the world. The growing experimentation in the arts and cultural aspects of Russia forced Lenin to embrace more conservative and traditional ways and it was because of this reason that since his early days, Lenin started to control cultural institutions of the country. This control of culture in the country further worsened as the Lenin’s Communist party started to target those musicians and artisans who were relatively against the Communist thought. Lunacharsky- Lenin’s main person behind controlling the Cultural Revolution in the country put forward his own aesthetic theories which largely redefined the socialist art, however; this was often criticized by the later scholars for the reasons of curtailing the artistic creativity. â€Å"In the late 1920s, the term was taken up and transformed by young communist cultural militants who sought the party leaders' approval for an assault on "bourgeois hegemony" in culture; that is, on the cultural establishment, including Anatoly Lunacharsky and other leaders of the People's Commissariat of Enlightenment, and the values of the old Russian intelligentsia. For the militants, the essence of Cultural Revolution was "class war" - an assault against the "bourgeois" intelligentsia in the name of the proletariat - and they meant the "revolution" part of the term literally. In the years 1928 through 1931, the militants succeeded in gaining the party leaders' support, but lost it again in 1932 when the Central Committee dissolved the main militant organization, the Russian Association of Proletarian Writers (RAPP), and promoted reconciliation with the intelligentsia.† (Encylopedia).

Library Automation Essay Example for Free

Library Automation Essay An OPAC (Online Public Access Catalog) is an online bibliography of a library collection that is available in certain libraries for the use of the public. With the aid of the Internet, most libraries have made the OPAC accessible from a server to users all over the world. The OPAC is an online database of materials used by a library or group of libraries. Users search the library catalog mainly to locate books and other materials physically located at a library. The concept of OPAC has changed the previous system used in most libraries and how the people have gained access for information and materials. OPAC is also the key to finding books and other materials in the library. When you are looking for a book you will find that knowing to use OPAC properly will help you find the materials that you need. There are a lot of advantages of OPAC. To use the OPAC system is very easy. A person does not have to be a skilled computer user to use the system. What the person need is just to know what a computer mouse is, can use it to point and click, is just all the computer skill a person needs. The access points or search capabilities are by using keyword, subject, author or title to find the materials. It is easy to use since the users just need to enter access point in order to locate any materials in the library. So, students can find books and materials needed easily. It will also save their time. By using this system, the materials that we want to find will become instant information. Moreover, by using the OPAC, the students can find more detailed information about the materials that they need. As such, if the students find the books by typing the author’s name in the OPAC system, the information that possibly will appear on the screen are how many volume the books have or how many number of that books the library have. Besides that, the students can learn something new about technology and modern invention.

Theories Relating To Gender Inequality

Theories Relating To Gender Inequality There have been a number of theories put forward by various Institutions, Organizations, Authors, Scholars, Researchers, and Development practitioners, somehow to explain the problem why the issue of gender varies from region to region and why implementing gender equality, and female empowerment is lower than expected in SSA. Amongst these theories are the Inequality and the Modernization theory used in this project to explain the wide gender problems existing in SSA. Borrowing from the words of John Martenussen, most of these theories have been propounded by Western and North American authors and have been termed growth and development theories. (Martenussen, 1997; p.51) As far as this project is concern, I am going to use the parts of the theories that are relevant to the project. The Inequality Theory: The origin of gender inequality between men and women has been one of the most intellectual debates after the rise of modern feminism. Great thinkers in the history of ideas such as Aristotle and Thomas Quinas suggested speculative interpretation of gender differences. Continuously, nineteenth century evolutionary theorist such as Bachofen and Karl Marx consider various possible evolutionary sequences in organization kinship and gender relations. Some early efforts aimed at justifying existing institutions and others to question them sound like contemporary standard. The argument behind the origin of feminist analyses is the ideological implication of female subordination over the centuries. Also, there have been a high superior prevalence of male status across time, space and social circumstances that are beyond denial especially in SSA. Therefore the pervasiveness of male dominance is the absolute aim of analyzing gender differences. The question that arises is that how can the app arent universal subordination of female be reconciled with equality in SSA with it strong traditional background? (Robert Marx Johnson 2005 p; 30). Assumptions of the Inequality Theory: Firstly, Inequality theory explains the biological difference between men and women which is inescapable, amongst race, class, culture and tradition irrespective of being developed or underdeveloped. According to Linsey 2007, sex is the biological difference between men and women while gender is the social construction of sexes considering race, politics, social, economic, culture and traditional background. This cultures and traditions vary from place to place and from culture to culture. These cultures that are learned change with time within and between cultures. (Linsey 2007, P; 97) Following this sex distinction between male and female, some advanced societies (Western and North American societies) have tried to narrow down the gender gap by empowering females, by redefining laws and ignoring others to enhance development. That notwithstanding, the distinction still persists and would always be there because no matter all the feminist analyses on sex and gender, humans would never revert nature on this perspective. Research have proven that no amount of theorist thinking can subtle the simple fact of biological distinction, therefore inequality would persistently exist no matter what. The question that ponders my mind is, why Sub-Saharan Africa is still lacking behind to comprehend culture and tradition to reduce the wide gender gap, thereby empowering females to enhance development?. Secondly, content and expression of this biological difference is exaggerated in the situation in SSA. Tracing back from history until date, most of the hardest and most commanding jobs are carried out by men therefore inequality is bound to exist between sexes. The fact that men are a stronger sex to resist extreme hash conditions makes them dominant irrespective of sex division. Complex cultural societies are build up by institution that keeps men at a dominant position. This make the female sex constantly relegated at the background. The norms and values that govern these complex societies (SSA) procure men at the forefront. By respecting this norms and values women would be hardly seen in the public spheres. (Sushama Sahay, in king and Hill Anne. p; 89) Thirdly, Inequality theory try to make some kind of biological differences that are sufficient and necessary to persistently cause inequality between sexes and puts men at a commanding and dominant position. There are three imputed biological differences that have received much attention by the inequality view, such as reproduction by females, physical capacity and predisposition toward violence. Anthropologists largely agree that women have hardly occupied position of higher status or political power than men in any society anywhere, anytime (Buthler 2006) Some feminist theorist argue that, reproduction everywhere is done by females that subordinates their position to men, others say that men are physically dominant in their actions and activities and set rules that are of their own advantage. Some theorist argue that men are very aggressive than women, that put them at a dominant position thereby creating inequality between the both sexes. (Buthler 2006 P; 78) Lastly, apart from huge gender inequality and female empowerment sluggishness in SSA, inequality can also be traced amongst races and class. There have been and there are still traces of inequality amongst the white race and black race as well as amongst the upper and lower class group. There are two different kinds of historical inequality, example that can illustrate this point. First of all, I will want to look back at the history of colonialism and neocolonialism in SSA by the west that alone speak volumes of inequality and domination over a continent and makes a particular race dominant over the other. The history of racial inequality amongst the blacks and whites in the United States of America also illustrate an example of inequality amongst races. On the other hand, there have been inequalities within races and cultures. The upper and noble classes in SSA have been dominant over the lower and powerless group. This means that a superior culture is imposed and forced on to the weaker group that makes them not equal. Just like the history of European nobility over the commoners in Europe. Yet the nobility have remained a powerful and privileged class in most European nations. From biological and racial distinction on the inequality theory, inequality is a fact amongst genders, cultures, class and race, although times have changed and things must change, this pushes us to criticize the inequality theory with changing times. Critique of the Inequality Theory: There have been a lot of theorists to critique speculative accounts on gender differences and female empowerment in SSA which creates inequality, but very little progress have been made to prove one theory over the other in their speculative analyses on gender issues. To a large degree, inequality theories have not gained grounds because societies have distinctively evolved and disproved the speculative ideas of inequality theorist. In SSA today, traditional institutional arrangement have distinctively changed in respect of both genders not too much subordinating women like in the past. Looking at a typical traditional African society, where farming is the only source of income, the man do the clearing of the farm while the woman do the planting and if harvest is good the subsistent crops are sold to maintain the family and educate their kids, both live in complementary way without gender distinction. Although traditional institution still exist and persist today in SSA, but most if not all operate in the interest of both genders. Scholars argue that theories sometimes formulate persuasive speculative accounts which might fit what we already perceive or know. Therefore we must depend on the biological evidence provided by the inequality theory based on the reconstruction of inferences in well known societies to argue the inequality theory. Critics of Inequality theory also argue that, professional speculations of postmodern feminist by generalizing theories and with the political confusion by giving equal weight to every woman irrespective of race, class, sex orientation, culture and historical background makes origin of inequality theory to lost it attraction. The biological distinction of sex and gender roles as ascribed by the origin of the inequality theory is almost becoming baseless in SSA societies today. My argument is that inequality theory relies on female reproduction, the strength of men and the predisposition of men in violence situation as a prerequisite of being unequal. This was true to an extent tracing the origin of the theory, but today societies have evolved with changing times, no society in the history of mankind is static. Reproduction have just become a female experience and also a sex difference which has little impact on gender roles today. In the other hand, today in SSA men are only dominant in specific jobs as that they are specialized in, not that specific jobs are ascribed for men although the both sexes co-exist in a traditional way, but there is rational distribution of resources and labor so that girls and women can be empowered in this communities and families. The problems that arise sometimes are how to comprehend this inconsistent inequality that continues to persist with changing times. Theoretical efforts must be accepted to a certain degree and also the theory can only predict the future and to a larger extent crudely reconstruct the origin of inequality. There is evident that the system of inequality like any other social institution is becoming self sustainable today in most SSA societies. Individuals are born sexed but not gendered; they have to be taught to be masculine or feminine. One is not born; but rather becomes a womanà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦, it is civilization as a whole that produces this creatureà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦, which is described as feminine (Simone de Beauvoir 1952 p; 267) The idea of inequality between men and women is created in the gender process following the way cultural institutions are arranged. Therefore inequality in itself does not exist between sexes but created in the act or reaction in each society. Butler 1990, argues that gender as a process creates the social difference that defines man and woman in social interaction through their live, individuals learn what is expected, see what is expected, act and react in expected ways, thus simultaneously construct and maintain the gender order in each society (Butler 1990 p; 145) In a typical African society, though still primitive and traditional the inequality do not actually exist but it is the gender roles that differ from family to family and from community to community. Take for example within the Muslim religion or culture in SSA; women are actually distinctive in their socially constructed roles ascribed by the religious laws. This does not mean that they do not live in a complementally as opposed by the inequality differences basing on sex division. I therefore argue that the issue of gender is a matter of understanding within families and communities, who should do what at a given time irrespective of the sex backed by norms and laws of that community. West and Zimmermann, holds that in humans there is no essential femaleness or maleness, femininity or masculinity, womanhood or manhood, but once gender is ascribed, the social order constructs and holds individuals to strongly gender norms and expectations. (West and Zimmaman 1989, P; 146) The origin of the inequality theory have been attacked by it critics seriously in recent times. Recent studies also indicate that inequality would eventually lose it content as time evolves. The debate is centered on race and class subordination of inequality that existed in the past, but is currently loosing it value. It is clearly evident that racial inequality is gradually disappearing between and within races and class. I will like to illustrate this point on the colonial history of SSA. Africa have longed been colonized by Europeans to maintain a superior race and keep the African race subordinated under their control just like gender and sex. But because inequality is gradually loosing it originality in history, racial inequality have gradually faded away with changing times. Although some traces of racial inequality persistently exist between races. (Gramsci 1971, P; 165) Another example that has made inequality lose it originality have been between whites and black Americans as well as European nobility. Whites and blacks have faced a long history of racial segregation in the United States, but because of time factor and new institutional arrangement the racial differences have almost disappeared. In the other hand, European nobility class use to be a more armed, politically and economically powerful class to the commoners in Europe but with the coming of decentralization of leadership and democracy this superior class have gradually disappeared thereby melting away the idea of inequality and subordination of commoners since everybody have an equal opportunity. Well as much as SSA is concern there have been inequality in class division irrespective of the gender differences. Inequality have been gradually disapproved since the old traditional institutions are disappearing and new wants sees everybody the same. In SSA, apart from gender inequality, there have been upper and lower class inequality as well as people from the royal fondoms, are always seen differently with high esteem. The upper class have been people who generally enjoy high social amenities in the big cities of SSA, they have little or no gender differences between their families since almost everybody have a good education as compared to the rural poor who cannot even provide for a daily meal. They are not much educated so definitely they believe in traditional laws that puts the men at the forefront. But with changing times and the fight for global poverty reduction, development in these local areas in SSA is gradually improving making gender inequality to extensively disap pear. On the other hand, Fondomites in SSA have maintain an extensively unequal powers in every aspect in SSA, this is because most traditional laws do respect and give special consideration to everyone from the fondom. But with the coming of democracy and the respect for human right and dignity, this traditional superiority is extensively disappearing there by making the class values to loss it weight. Today whether from the fondom or not, everybody is the same because of democracy. Though there have been a mixture of traditional laws to democratic values to combat the aspect of inequality amongst fondomites and common citizen. (Foucault 1972, P; 223) Importance of the Inequality Theory to the project: To begin with, inequality theory is essential in this project because it explains the origin, history and persistent pre-domination and domination of males in almost all aspects of life in SSA. Through this theory, I understand that socialization, tradition and biology are interwoven to explain the persistent male domination in most SSA societies. To better understand the importance of the theory to this project, I will like to examine each role played by each of these concepts to understand the role of inequality theory to the project. Men and women yesterday and today think and act differently and achieve differently in the varying regions in SSA (Banque and Waren 1990, P; 90) Connecting inequality theory to socialization, it helps me to distinguish between the upper and lower class socialization in SSA. To understand the importance of socialization in this project, it has to be treated differently with divergent identities and expectations. Socialization has helped me to understand why there is little or no gender inequality and more female empowerment in the urban than rural families in SSA. I have used socialization to compare inequality in urban and rural areas, which further makes me to understand class division in the two areas. It is certain that gender equality and female empowerment is higher in urban than rural milieus, because in the urban areas, generally, individuals and families are exposed to high social amenities and high standard of living. Social interaction is generally more modern than in the local interior in SSA. The upper wealthy class is found in urban areas while the lower poor and primitive class is found in the local areas. There fore, as a result of this social division, inequality theory through socialization has helped me to distinguish and understand this phenomenon in details and further explains why there is persistent inequality in class and socialization in SSA. Connecting inequality theory through tradition, it has helped me to understand why there is still a wide gender gap and low female empowerment in typical traditional SSA societies today. People honor traditional established ideas and teach them to their children. But what is the source of the gender traditions by which women are made everywhere subordinate. (Drage 2003, P; 23) From the origin and history of inequality theory, men have established ideas and institutions that have always kept them dominant letting females at a subordinated position. The theory is therefore important in this project because it lets me understand why some primitive ideas are still led down from generation to generation in sub-Saharan Africa. Take for example, in most local communities in SSA, male inheritance have been a long established traditional belief and have been passed down to generations for centuries. These practices have become stronger so much so that even a male unborn child is celebrated be fore delivery. Women are regarded as properties and sold out for marriages, since bride price is been paid on them. Females have also been considered as products because they are forced into early marriages to reduce poverty since they are been bought by paying a bride price to their parents. Tradition is held at high esteem and has been a led down idea and still exists today in most of the local communities in SSA. By believing that only a male child can inherit property, has placed male sex dominant over females. This established idea have retarded development because resources are not rationally distributed by both sexes thereby making the female sex subordinated. As a result of this established believes, inequality persistently exists in this primitive areas that are reluctant to accept new changes because of illiteracy and poverty. Inequality theory is therefore important in this project because it has deepened my understanding of the continuous male domination because of these established ideas that have been passed down to generations. Inequality theory is also relevant because it explains these beliefs in such ideas and goes a long way to increase gender inequality and reduce female empowerment in SSA. Although there have been some changes in this traditional beliefs, but these changes mostly affects exposed families that is families that have acquired good education and have been exposed to more valuable cultures. Inheritance in these situations goes with responsibility and how you can manage the resources irrespective of being a male or female, though most often it ends up with problems from males since it has always been like that in most of the societies in SSA. Giving authority or property to a female is just like depriving a male from his traditional right. But with continuous realization on how these have been affecting the societal development, I personally think it is going to disappear with changing time. Thanks to the inequality theory that I am able to explain this primitive belief in most of SSA families and societies. Connecting inequality theory through biology, it is relevant in this project because it has made me understand male domination in biological distinction of both sexes. This is because women and men are physically different in ways that make men to feel dominant. Through biological distinction in inequality, I came to understand why there is inequality in labor division. This is so because the theory persistently insist on the physical strength of men to occupy certain jobs. That is why there has been persistent gender discrimination in organizations and job opportunities because men think that some jobs can be physically carried out by them. For instance in SSA, it is hard to hear that a woman is a military general, bus driver, engineer, carpenter, technicians and or family head. Biological explanation also emphasize on the predisposition of men in extreme dangerous situation so to speak. In SSA men have always been involved in warfare and critical traditional decisions that involves sacrifices are carried out by men. Therefore, as a result of this, inequality is bound to exist and that is why I have employed it in my project to understand this in greater details. However, with the advent of feminist theorist, and changing time, biological arguments for inequality in gender is gradually fading away. Technological improvement have made most jobs to be operated by machines and intellectual based not physical fitness. Therefore, both males and females can be trained to manipulate these machines to have a gender balance in job markets. However, since traditional African societies are still very backward and have not yet attained some level of technology, most jobs are still based on physical strength to acquire them. That is why biological explanation of the origin of inequality in gender is still very visible in SSA. Inequality theory is therefore useful to this project to understand the biological explanation of persistent inequality in physical strength, predisposition of men in dangerous situations and the reproduction of females that have made them subjugated and subordinated position since the beginning of time immemorial. The modernization Theory: According to (Deutsch 1961; Rostow 1960; Ruttan 1959), modernization theory evolved from two ideas about social change developed in the nineteenth century: the conception of traditional vs. modern societies, that viewed development as societal evolution in progressive stages of growth (Deutch 1961, Rostow 1960, Ruttan 1959) Following a modernization tradition, problems that have held back the development and empowerment of females in SSA have been irrational allocation of resources. Modernization theorist believe that for traditional African societies to become developed, there should be a rational distribution of resources for both sexes and the elimination of traditional, institutional and organizational roadblocks that have made Sub-Saharan African societies underdeveloped. Therefore, the society must pass through transformational stages to become modern. General Assumptions of the theory: Following Rostows modernization assumption, there have been five circular stages a society must pass through to become modern such as traditional society, precondition for take-off, take-off, the drive toward maturity and the age of high mass consumption (Rostow 1963, p; 127) The stage of traditional society is characterized by primitive technology, pre-Newtonian science and spiritual behaviors in the material world. There is traditional gender inequality and no idea of female empowerment since the society is too primitive and recognizes male superiority. The traditional economy depends soly on primitive methods of farming and limited productivity. There is limited mobility in the traditional society and most agricultural lands are owned by men limiting the female powerless and have absolutely no say in land ownership. That is why development is still imbalance today in SSA because resources are irrationally distributed and there is no female inheritance of property. Since it is a linear pattern, for a society to move to a pre-takeoff stage it has to do away with some ideas in the traditional stage so that there should be a regular growth. (Peet and Hartwick 1999, P; 81) The pre-take off society stage is characterized by development of modern technology and it application to agriculture and industry. Gender inequality is very high and there is little or no female empowerment because most machines were believed to be operated only by men. The idea of modernity was seen to develop sectors like educations, banking, commence, manufacturing and investment. This means that there was still very high gender discrimination in education and labor in SSA. Traditional African women could not own accounts according to traditional institutions and cannot be exposed to the public spheres. This was injected in a society that was still is primitive. (Ibid) The take-off stage as assumed by the modernization view as the stage for technological expansion, socio-political structures of society including gender rules in the distribution of labor in most urban areas in SSA. There is a little economic growth and a period to begin industrialization. In this stage, the discourse on gender and empowerment to modernize and enhance development increases in the urban and still very dormant in the rural sectors of SSA. (Ibid) The drive toward maturity stage is characterized by the spreading of technological expansion on economic activities and also there is sufficient entrepreneurship to practically fabricate heavy machines and equipment resulting from heavy industry. In this stage, the discourse on gender and participation have somehow gained grounds in most advanced societies and some prominent African cities. Women get more and more involved, the fight for economic growth and political dialogues and participation increases. (Ibid) The stage of mass consumption is characterized by the production of durable consumer goods and services. The rate of production of goods and services surpasses the need of consumption and employment is very high at the urban milieu in SSA. At this level there is little gender gap and female empowerment is high in most urban centers. This means that most families are exposed to western education and enjoy high standard of social amenities in the big cities. There is capability to invest in social welfare and social security on both genders, therefore cultural values comprehend modernity. (Ibid) Research have proven that most traditional African societies are at the take-off stage and at this level of development gender inequality is still very high at the rural sector and the society is very reluctant to any social and developmental changes. This means that the society is still very traditional, primitive and reluctant to social and development changes due to strong traditional and cultural beliefs. Also the theory explains why development has not made any significant progress in SSA especially in the rural communities where there is still a very wide gap between gender and female empowerment in SSA. Modernization theory can be seen as the legacy of the ideas of progress developed in Europe in the eighteen century. This means that progress and evolution was viewed as an irreversible, natural and systematic path toward modernity. The idea of traditional vs. modern society propped up in the different stages of growth and development in each society. This evolutionary progress of society was seen as a transformational stage from the simple to the complex. Therefore SSA being in the third stage according to the modernization vision, female empowerment and gender equality is very low, since the society is somehow very primitive and pre-occupied by male domination. Traditional beliefs which support female subordination is very high at this stage of development. (Latham 2000, p; 37) According to Nick Cullather, the idea of natural pattern of progress and development, as assumed by the modernization theory is a set of ideas and discourse used as a strategy by US to try to differentiate the US from former colonizers in their actions toward third world countries. (SSA). It was in the interest of the US as they also think that it was in the interest of the third world countries (SSA) to elevate third world countries to engage in the transformational steps toward modernity, this means that both sexes were to be involved in the stages of development thereby reducing the gender gap and empowering women in the process of development. The American idea could help assist third world countries avoid wasted steps in transition. This was seen as the Americanization and westernization of third world countries which was not more or less than the policy of assimilation by the French. (Black girls could eat and dress like French girls in French colonies to be assimilated and mod ern) (Nick Cullather, 1997; 94) The modernization theory advocates two fundamental concepts universalism and linear process. Both concept had and have huge impact on gender and female empowerment in SSA. This means that girls and women in Sub-Saharan Africa have the same cultural and identical background to move from a traditional stage to a modern stage in universal and linear order of development. (Redfield quoted in Cullarther) Supported by the same vision, all societies in SSA were seen as taking the same pattern toward modernity through recognizable stages, without considering other historical background, origin and geographical conditions. In the same light, following a modernization vision, all cultures were seen in a trajectory way. Therefore the theory never considered cultural institution, tradition, and customs and viewed as obstacles to female empowerment and gender equality. (Cullarther). By classifying the society in a one pattern way of development, the theory was therefore criticized by other promin ent development theories such as the dependency theory, power theory and the rise of feminist thinking in SSA. Critique of the theory: Modernization theory has received criticism in recent years from political scientists and political economists since it neglected cultural, historic, and socio-structural factors in it analysis (Chirot,1986; Black, 1991; Wallerstein, 1980) The modernization theory has witnessed a lot of critiques from varying development theories to scholars, researchers, institutions and other development practitioners. Most prominent development critique of the modernization theory hold that cultural values would still continue despite the shift from a traditional to a modern society. Therefore the argument is that despite the modern values of the modernization theory to transform traditional African societies to become modern by reducing the wide gender gap and encouraging female empowerment, African values still persist despite the values of modernity to enhance development in SSA. There is evidence that the broad cultural heritage of a society leaves imprints on values that endure despite the fo rces of modernization in other words cultural change depends on a society ´s cultural heritage. (Inglehart 2000c) Sub-Saharan Africa is made up of diverse cultural backgrounds, origin and history of migration. Though jointly colonized by the West, the fact that the society is culturally divided in origin and history, the values of modernization cannot hold at the same pace in the African societies respectively. This means that linear and universalism of the modernization theory could not work effectively in SSA and considering the fact that societies give different respects to their cultural heritage as considered by the modernization theory as an obstacle for development. Take for example the Islam religion, practices and beliefs is very strong in the Muslim society in SSA, therefore the issue of gender and empowerment of Muslim women can be a serious disorganization of religious rights since the later is very stiff in it traditional religious claims. The modernization theory had never taken traditional religious beliefs into consideration as ascertain by many of it critics.

E. M. Forster :: essays research papers

Many aspects of writing catch a reader's attention and keep one interested in a book. E. M. Forster put many of these aspects in his books making them well written and quite interesting. He combined great characters, a decent story line, and his prolific knowledge of writing to make his books readable and enjoyable. E. M. Forster was born on January 1, 1879, in London, England. After an education at Tonbridge School and King's College, Cambridge, he spent a year traveling in Europe. On his return, he taught at the Working Men's College and established the Independent Review, a journal that supported the progressive wing of the Liberal Party. Forster later became a member of the Bloomsbury Group that discussed literary and artistic issues. He published his first novel, Where Angels Fear to Trend, in 1905. He wrote many other novels including Longest Journey, Howard's End, and A Room with a View. As a pacifist Forster wouldn't fight in the First World War, instead he worked for the International Red Cross. Two years later Forster moved to India where he worked as a personal secretary for Mahaharajah of Dewas. This resulted in his novel, A Passage to India. When he returned to England he wrote many critiques and articles but never wrote any more novels. E. M. Forster died on June 7, 1970. Many critics are split on E. M. Forster's writings, although most things written are positive and they all seem to agree on the same things. His use of characters and their development and his story lines all seem to be the same and have the same theme. All the characters in his books seem to contain the same elements. They are exempt from poverty, hunger, lust, and hate. They seem to have almost perfect characteristics and are never poor. None of his characters are portrayed in a relation to society; and all must choose between good and evil. ( XXXXX, #2). These characters seem less significant in themselves and more in an allegorical aspect that varies in complexity. XXXXX says, A fascination exerted by characters who grip our minds; a wit and beauty present in an always limped style; a passionate involvement with life in all its variety; a view of existence alive to its comic incongruities and to it's tragic implications; and a steady adherence to human values which compel administration... such are leading aspects of Forster's work that continually line up.

Societies Case for Censorship. :: essays research papers

Pornography and obscenity is all we see and hear about today in the news, with no exception to most movies and even TV. As of 12 years old this issue strikes a bigger interest than in the past. When I flip through the channels and see the news or watch a TV show there is something always on that a younger child should not be watching or learning about unless they are older. When the world censorship is thrown around it is a very controversial issue with the rights of the people and the way the company’s want to present their product.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When Irving Kristol wrote his article â€Å"Pornography, obscenity and the case for Censorship† he was putting down his views and his opinions the topic of censorship and all the other obscenities in the world. Kristol is proposing a very conservative and clean way to view American literature with all its freedoms to publish what ever is wanted. When reading his article it brings up many different points such as her main point of; â€Å"for the plain fact is that we all believe that there is a point at which the public authorities ought to step in to limit the ‘self-expression’ of an individual or a group†(604), this is exactly the way I feel on the topic.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When reading this article you have to look at the central claim that the author is making and agree with him or disagree. when going through this reading there where areas of its claims that have you thinking about our society and culture as a whole, that we are a species that loves its different types of uncensored media as well as its pornography and violence in their sports and everyday lives, â€Å"no society can be utterly different to the ways that its citizens publicly entertain themselves. Bearbaiting and cockfighting are prohibited only in part out of compassion for the animals; the main reason is that such spectacles were felt to debase and brutalize the citizenry who flocked to witness them† (604).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   When Kristol speaks about his ideas of censorship; his claim that one day, not now but someday soon that the government is going to have to take this issue of censorship within a society and place in their hands. In essence Kristol is saying that this issue of censorship is not being carried out forcefully enough and it is hurting our society in the long run.

Importance of Communication.in the Workplace Essay -- essays research

Importance of Communication.in the Workplace â€Å"Did you hear the latest rumor?† Jeff said to Sally. â€Å"No, what’s going around now?† said Sally. â€Å"Remember all the big wigs that were here last week from out of town? Well, I heard from Jack on third shift that they were here to seal the deal on buying the company. He heard that they’re from some big company down south and their real big on bringing in their own people. You know what the means.† â€Å"Yeah,† said Sally, â€Å"but I heard from Helen in Human Relations that one of the reasons they’re even thinking about merging with this other company is because we’re not doing so well. If this doesn’t go through, our benefits may get cut and lay-offs are pretty much guaranteed. She also said that she heard the benefits this other company has aren’t as good as what we have now. So, either way it looks like we’ll lose.† â€Å"Sounds like you may be right,† sighed Jeff, â€Å"I guess it’s time to start looking for another job. Hey, maybe I’ll find one where the company actually lets you know what’s going on.† The â€Å"grapevine† or â€Å"rumor mill† is a part of any company’s communication structure. As demonstrated here, it enables employees to share information about things relative to the company where they work. However, also demonstrated here is how it contributes to the morale of the work environment. Communication is a very important element of the work environment. Though it is important for employees to be able to communicate with each other, it is more important that the employer effectively communicates with its employees. Without effective communication, an employer risks letting the rumor mill run rampant which could jeopardize its employees moral and overall performance. The effects of good and bad communication are discussed to providing us with further information regarding the importance of commu nication. We also discuss how a work environment can create good and bad morale. First we will be discussing good communication and what good communication skills are. Also, we need to know how they can be used effectively. Good communication is defined as a process of creating, sending, receiving, and interrupting signals between people. Communication is a process that consists of two or more people and through this process you have a sender and a receiver. For communication to be effective everyone in this process must try to be open m... ...any picnic †¢ Morale building †¢ Open house †¢ Retirement program †¢ Birthday program †¢ Credit union †¢ Company store (employees can purchase shirts, jackets, caps and many other logo products. †¢ Quality circles †¢ Holiday gifts (Thanksgiving turkeys, a set of cutlery a serving tray and a clock all about equal in price †¢ Celebrate success (when people work hard on a project make sure they are Acknowledged). †¢ Be fair and honest with everyone Website page http://www.printalbepromotions.com/Articles/Morale.htm. Hopefully after reading this paper everyone appreciates how important communication is to a successful business. Good communication can be considered one of the most important elements of successful business dealings. Whether you are talking about good communication between the company and its customers or between the employer and employees success cannot be had unless the communication lines are open and understood by all involved. Without proper communication in the workplace there become road blocks so to speak which leads to poor employee morale, rumors, and basically the breakdown of the company. So as you can see good communication is the foundation of a successful company.

Fires on the Plain: a Reflection

Fires on The Plain: A Reflection Fires on the Plain is truly the most depressing, haunting, and sad story I have ever endured reading. The complete abandonment of the Japanese soldiers on the island of Leyte by the Japanese Army is revolting, as well as the complete disregard for each others well being among them. It becomes a battle between one another for survival. The lack of comradery among the Japanese soldiers is dumbfounding, and leads me to believe that it may very well have been there demise.The weaknesses we see in Tamura and the other soldiers not only have a great impact on their unfortunate outcome, but are also a result of a weakness within the Japanese Army itself. The awful fate of these soldiers, at the hands of their own command, is infuriating. Shohei's story holds powerful, and several dangerous implications of what war is like and what it's effects can be on those who fight in them. I would like to start by talking about comradery. Comradery can be defined as the spirit of friendship and community in a group, like a group of soldiers.Tamura's story shows zero evidence of any sort of comradeship, he even describes the way in which it he saw it disappear on Leyte, â€Å"Before long any comradeship that we once felt for each other had virtually disappeared. †(pg. 9). I could also see this in the way they treated each other. Initially, Yasuda and Nagamatsus' relationship could be mistaken for comradeship, but I realized that they were only using each other and did not care at all about the others well being. Which becomes quite clear at the end of the book.I have no doubt that this complete lack of comradery was mostly a result of their horrific situation, but I also believe that it could have existed before it. The way in which Tamura laughed while watching his fellow soldiers run around like â€Å"insects†(pg. 59), and the fact that Nagamatsu would hunt, kill, and eat his fellow soldiers are disturbing examples of the complete d isregard they had for one another. These instances serve as proof to me that there couldn't possibly have been much of a comradeship between these men at any point. One dangerous implication that this story holds expressed directly byShohei, â€Å"For people like us, living day and night on the brink of danger, the normal instinct of survival seems to strike inward, like a disease, distorting the personality and removing all motives other than those of sheer self-interest. †(pg. 9). While this certainly seems true for the Japanese soldiers in this story, I refuse to believe it to be true for all men. My personal experiences from being a Marine and doing two tours in Afghanistan have showed me what true comradery is. My fellow Marines and I would have gladly died for one another, and some did.In class, we discussed how the way in which these Japanese soldiers turned on one another when torn down to their most animalistic nature, could be true of all men or soldiers when under the same circumstances. The fact that somebody could believe that to be true is not only offensive, but scary. It is scary to me that examples from a book written by someone who is clearly insane, could be generalized to all men or all soldiers of every kind. What really irks me about this is that Shohei, portrayed through Tamura, shows absolutely no characteristics of a soldier.I think his most accurate depiction was when he said they resembled domestic animals â€Å"helplessly uprooted and perplexed†(pg. 35). I believe that he portrays someone with certain mental weakness. He wonders about the island countryside, it seams, waiting for his death to come. He has no plan but death. I understand that his circumstances are beyond my understanding, but they way in which he so easily abandons any hope of surviving, and doesn't put up any real fight for his survival, doesn't sit with me.It makes me realize that this weakness is most likely due to reasons beyond his control, such as the way in which, and the culture in which, he was brought up. As well as the poor military training and/or lack there of, did not properly prepare him for the nightmare of a situation he was put in. Which forces me to re-evaluate my initial reaction to write him off as a pathetic, weak individual who should have shot himself right then and there after he murdered the Filipino women.I am sympathetic for poor Tamura, who was drafted into the army and clearly given incredibly insufficient training. Tamura did not belong there and, I feel, none of them belonged there. The infuriating part of this story is the way in which these men were sent to what any person with intellect could tell was a certain, horrific death. Not only were they ordered to go that island, to that shit hole of a situation, it seams as if the people who ordered them there just left them for dead. Even his commanding officer told him that the best thing he could for his country was kill himself.They were given abso lutely no support against an enemy whose support was rivaled by none. Which resulted in them fighting each other for survival. Fires on the Plain is a very disturbing story from a war that resulted in many awful things. It has many implications of what war can be like, but I want to emphasize that not all wars are the same, and the men and women who fight in these wars certainly are not either. I would hope that those who read this understand that they shouldn't generalize the behavior of these poor Japanese soldiers to all soldiers or fighting men.I believe that the circumstances surrounding this horrific example of what war can be like are incredible and the ingredients that went into making this shit sandwich are hard to come by all at the same time. My final thoughts of this story are wrapped around Shohei's idea that life is nothing more than â€Å"a mere succession of chances†(p. 233). I have been debating over this idea with myself ever since I came back from my last t our in Afghanistan, and I can't say that Shohei's story has helped me in making a decision.

Technology and Crime

Criminal Law Research Paper Whenever a new technology is found, like a double-edged sword, it often brings both more convenient life and possibility of danger in which potential exploitation of gap that might occur in its initial developing stage. For the past 20 years, computer related technologies and industry have been continuously advancing at radical speeds that greatly changed our way of life. The introduction of internet and digitalization of data has saved us enormous time and work required otherwise would have been wasted. On the other hand, however, it aided whole new types of property offences that are distinct from traditional ones to arise which posses’ difficulties in dealing with them by traditional way of approaching property offences. The main difficulties are, first, ‘Offences that were traditionally committed as interpersonal offences can now be committed at extreme distances and without the personal involvement of any victim. Second, the object of such offences may not amount to larcenable property or, indeed, property at all. [1] Examples of these crimes include, electronic funds transfer crime, electronic money laundering, [2]counterfeiting, and software piracy. [3] Contrary to traditional property offences, computers coupled with telecommunications technology enables offenders not to leave any traces of usual biological evidence in interpersonal offences such as finger prints or hair that could lead to the offender through forensic tests. Even if the police traced back the co mputer that the fund transfer crime was originated, the actual offender would be uncertain if it’s located in internet cafe which is used by numerous customers. This anonymity is considered the major attraction for offenders with advanced computer skills to commit such crimes. This paper will discuss the effectiveness of the current law in protecting the people from the new treats and possible policies or methods that could be implemented by authorities to combat this matter. ::The Current Doctrine and issues:: It is obvious to find that property rights have been the most important feature in our society since the beginning of the civilisation as the oldest written law, the Code of Hammurabi[4] which dates back to 1750 BC, contains codes that protected individual property. Protection of ownership encourages people to work at their full potential in return for increase in their wealth and power that gives satisfaction and security. If such protection was absent, stealing and damaging personal possessions to satisfy the needs and wants would have been occasional and we might not have been able to achieve the standard of living and the social security we enjoy now. Under the current common law system, properties are protected by both case law and statutes. Obviously regarding the history of development, there are countless case laws relating to property matter. Statutes are also implemented in order to provide protection of the rights for aiding the courts if the kind of the offence is the new one and there are no relevant authorities available for judges to rely on. Those protections have been building onto one and another from strong foundations and nowadays physical property protection by the law seems quite drastic. However the dawn of the digital age introduced a whole new range of offences that cannot be categorised by traditional methods. ::Absence of Specific victim or damage:: What would be the damage to the bank if their internet banking facility has been used for electronic money laundering? There is no person harmed or any physical property damage done to the bank. When a personal computer which happens to belong to a CEO is hacked and confidential information about a report that is not intended for releasing to the public that predicts a shape rise in share prices caused by exceptional performance is retrieved by the hacker and he/she and his/her friends make millions of dollars based on that information, is it possible to measure the damage? Or does it even exist? As exampled, some new types of illegal acts do not create specific victim or damage or the both. In order to regulate these treats, the definition of property has been extended to ones that take forms of electronic data and even to intellectual ones. By recognising such properties it is now possible to identify the damage incurred and the victim which enables us to enforce the traditional doctrine of property offences approach. To reward the victims for the damages they suffered under the civil law and to prosecute the offender and enforce penalties under the criminal law. :Types of new offences:: Hacking and intrusion into a computer system is the most common form of computer based crime, hackers usually commit this offence in order to gain confidential information or to inspect the level of security measures in place for preparation of other offence[5]. Rarely, some hackers attempt to break into a system that’s guarded by strong security system and dam age the system itself just to demonstrate the ability of him or her self. This kind of act is also known as electronic vandalism[6]. The next most common offence is the intellectual property offences such as breaching copy rights by making illegal duplicate of intellectual property, for example, books, movies, music and games. This type of offence is becoming more and more ordinary as the fast broadband internet access’s being available to most of the households enabling such illegally copied materials to be circulated and distributed at fast rate even crossing borders without any obstruction. Electronic funds transfer crime and electronic money laundering are also major crimes that are becoming increasingly difficult to regulate with traditional counter measures. :Traditional Countermeasures:: Most common methods often chosen by the government is to take legislative and administrative action to deal with the problem before it gets out of hand. Russell emphasises in his journal ‘This method to criminalise has, however, a number of dangers. First, is the difficulty, noted by Dunning (1982, pp. 293-4), of over-codifying behaviour: one does not want to enact a new provision every time a new permutation of criminal behaviour arises. Ideally, the elasticity of a common law system will supply the omissions of the legislature but there are limits to which our judiciary will, and indeed can, go. ’[7], that there are limits in legislative and administrative approach that the society can take as legitimate. There is also the fundamental problem of difficulty when trying to battle the new offences with the traditional approach in quantifying the offences[8] since the nature and characteristics of the offences often leave no trace at all and also authorities might not disclose the information because of embarrassment or commercial inconvenience. Deceptive quantifying which makes the policy makers to take distorted view of the seriousness of the issue is also the problem. For example, ‘a pursuit of a US$0. 75 accounting error in a computer account led to the unravelling of an international espionage ring. ’[9] Event like this confuses the decision makers in deciding the level or degree of regulation should be imposed. Originality of the crime also creates great challenge to the authorities, globalization of networks and widespread of the internet permits offenders to stay in their own country and commit crime in the systems of foreign country. This poses exorbitant difficulties in determining the place of the occurrence of the crime in order to decide which prosecution authority should be handing the matter and where to collect and present evidence to. ::Possible Alternative methods of Prevention:: There are several proposed ways for the government to deal with the problem. Restricting the availability of new technologies themselves, or restricting certain people from possessing and using new technologies and so on†¦ Probably the most fundamental solution of all, considering the possibility of misuse of the technology, the researchers and developers in the initial stage of the process should apply crime prevention measures that prevents misuse of such vulnerable technologies and if the cost is too high to carry out the modification the government should always consider to subsidise the process because the cost of exploitation of the weakness of the technology might be even greater. But there is also possibility that those precautions implemented could be compromised and the additional development costs vaporised. The break of the DVD movie title encryption and area code protection by hackers and crackers which introduced Dvix is the good example of it. The next best cost effective way is commercial solution[10]. Various needs to protect one’s electronic assets from possible attackers would generate considerable market demand for electronic and informational security. Companies with expertise of those matters would grow and it would provide professional advices, helps and protection with reasonable fee that would be far more less than it would cost for individual demanders to develop such systems. Also from the demand for assuring the compensation for the damages caused electronically, new insurance policies would emerge and protect the losses incurred. When dealing with technologies that are developed for military or investigative use, it is best for the government to take action that prevents possession and use of those technologies by possible offenders. Such as code breaker program designed for military operations should be restricted for the use of the purposes intended only, to achieve that, it is best to isolate the program in selected systems that are not connected to the internet. However if the technology developed found to be viable for use by the public to improve their standard of life, it should be considered that more benefit would be realised by making it public depending on specific technology. A super fast speed satellite communication intended for space crafts would be viable to use for the faster internet connection than conventional technology. But it might also make it possible for hackers to get into the satellite’s control system and disable it causing extravagant disaster thus making the technologies availability restrictive is important. Those alternatives and traditional methods may stop offenders from commission of crime but it may also encourage imitating one as well. A news report that the government is banning all child pornography sites may attract people’s attention and they might try search that kind of sites since the anonymity of access which increases the demand for viewing such material that results growth of pornography sites. :Conclusion:: Implementing the traditional approaches to deal with new emerging types of crime involving new technologies does seem to work when the new type of crime shows some fundamental similarities with already existing crimes such as causing harm whether electronic or physical or financial. Since such offences are opposed by the society and could easily be crimina lised by legislation or administrative means without difficulty. Nevertheless, quantifying and implementing the right policy or legislation is too difficult because of exterritorial issues and lack of statistics. However, as the technologies used for commission of crime advances, so does the technologies used to investigate, exam, and share information with the public and the rest of the world which aids authorities in combating using traditional approaches. Mechanisms for surveillance and detection, blocking devices, and technologies of restraint and incapacitation could also be adopted to backup the weak points of the traditional approach. Yet, while implementing those mechanisms the authority should consider possibilities of infringe of privacy right. The use of â€Å"high-tech† means of restraint might well lead to fundamental changes in police practice. Easily available technological fixes may tempt reliance to the extent that traditional law enforcement skills become neglected due to their inconvenience and community relations will be overlooked and discarded. There would also be other social impacts of crime prevention technologies. It may include disproportionate use of restraint technologies against disadvantaged groups, such as people who are unable to afford security technologies. And a shift in the burden of crime to those prospective victims may occur. Nonetheless, it would look like a miscalculation if we are to back off from developing and researching new technologies for crime prevention and control simply because they may be used inappropriately. â€Å"The telephones, indeed, the wheel, have criminal applications, technologies in the hands of responsible, accountable professionals can enhance liberty, rather than threaten it,† Dr Grabosky said. Technology and Crime Control insists on that the direction of ultimate benefits of new crime prevention technologies to the public, their development and use should be based on thorough consultation and extensive testing, and those who use them should be appropriately trained and supervised. The authors of the journals conclude that there is not one fit-to-all overall solution to these new kinds of emerging crime due to the varied nature of computer-related criminal conducts. They suggest, however, that technological and market solutions will be just as, if not more, important as law enforcement. With the invisible hands of the market the authorities should be able to find the optimal way of combating the new crimes sided by new technology. Bibliography 1. Brown et al, Criminal Laws, The Federation Press 2. P Grabosky & R Smith, Crime in the Digital Age: Controlling Telecommunications and Cyberspace Illegalities, the Federation Press (1998) 3. Russell Smith, Criminal Exploitation of New Technologies AIC Trends and Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice No93 (July 1998) 4. New millennium Doosan English Encyclopaedia No11 Doosan cooperation (2000) 5. Australian Bureau of Statistics 1997, Recorded Crime, Australia 1996, ABS Catalogue No. 4510. 0, AGPS, Canberra (1998), Yearbook Australia, ABS Catalogue No. 1301. 0, AGPS, Canberra. 6. P. N. Grabosky, Russell G. Smith, Paul Wright, Crime and Telecommunications AIC Trends and Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice No 59 (August 1996) 7. Russell G. Smith, Stealing Telecommunications Services AIC Trends and Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice No 54 (April 1996) 8. Peter Grabosky, Technology & Crime Control, AIC Trends and Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice No 78 (January 1998) ———————– 1] Brown et al, Criminal Laws, The Federation Press pg 1058 [2] P Grabosky & R Smith, Crime in the Digital Age: Controlling Telecommunications and Cyberspace Illegalities (1998) The Federation Press chapter 1 [3] Russell Smith, Criminal Exploitation of New Technologies AIC Trends and Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice No93 (July 1998) pg 3 [4] Fo und in 1901 by French explorers in the Old Persian Capital of Shush (Susa), contains 282 codes consisting of criminal commercial, individual property laws – New millennium Doosan English Encyclopaedia No11 Doosan cooperation (2000) pg. 54 [5] Australian Bureau of Statistics 1997, Recorded Crime, Australia 1996, ABS Catalogue No. 4510. 0, AGPS, Canberra (1998), Yearbook Australia, ABS Catalogue No. 1301. 0, AGPS, Canberra. [6] P. N. Grabosky, Russell G. Smith, Paul Wright, Crime and Telecommunications AIC Trends and Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice No 59 (August 1996) pg 2 to 3 [7] Russell G. Smith, Stealing Telecommunications Services AIC Trends and Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice No 54 (April 1996) pg 3 [8] [9] P. N. Grabosky, Russell G. Smith, Paul Wright, Crime and Telecommunications AIC Trends and Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice No 59 (August 1996) pg 3 [10] P. N. Grabosky, Russell G. Smith, Paul Wright, Crime and Telecommunications AIC Trends and Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice No 59 (August 1996) pg 5

Maya Angelou Essay

In Maya Angelou autobiography ‘I know why the caged bird sings’ many themes and issues are looked at. This autobiography shows the difficulty of a black woman growing up surrounded by discrimination and poverty, but also shows her determination, joy and hope. Maya Angelou describes her relationship with many character, this in it self is a theme of her writing, the way she sees people in her own light. Some characters that may be seen to be good people are changed by Maya’s opinion. A good example of this is the contrast between Maya’s mother and Maya’s father’s girlfriend. If both these characters were described, the father’s girlfriend maybe considers the better person. This is not the case after reading this book, as Maya has a way of making the reader see these characters as she sees them. After the separation of Maya Angelou’s parents she and her brother Bailey were sent away to live with her grandmother when Maya was only three. This must have been a terrible experience for a young child to go through, which some may think would have left Maya with resentment towards her mother. In fact this was quite the opposite. When Maya meet her mother again after she left her, Maya discarded the fact that she sent her away. She describes how as soon as she saw her mother, the nights she spent crying for her was forgotten. ‘I knew immediately why she had sent me away. She was too beautiful to have children. ‘(Maya Angelou, 1984, P58) This was Maya’s way of justifying her mother actions. Even if it maybe considered a bad thing what her mother did, Maya still thought she was wonderful. Later on in this book Maya’s mother did another bad thing. She shot someone twice, which again maybe considered a bad thing to do. ‘Since she had intended to shoot him (notice: shoot, not kill) she had no reason to run away, so she shot him a second time. – He had been shot, true, but in her fairness she had warned him. ‘(Maya Angelou, 1984, pages 202 and 203) The language used when Maya describes this event show she thinks that this is not a major or bad thing that has happened. Maya again shows her mother as not a bad person even though what she has done is wrong. Maya’s mother was also believed to be a prostitute; Maya believes this too but again discards the idea because she knew that if that were true then she wouldn’t be able to live with her, which she wanted to. Even though Maya’s mother could be considered a bad mother, Maya thinks extremely highly of her. This can be seen from the choice of lexis, Maya uses to describe her mother. Maya always used nice words such as ‘beautiful’, ‘warm’, ‘glorious’. Maya is also enthusiastic when talking about her mother. At one point Maya goes to stay with her father and his girlfriend. Maya believed that being her mother was so beautiful, any woman her father was with after her mother would have been just as beautiful if not more. This was the start of Maya’s disappointment when meeting her stepmother. Maya disliked Dolores (her stepmother); you could tell this from the contrast in tones, from the happy tone when see talks about her mother to the dull and spiteful tone used when describing Dolores. ‘If Dolores had been a little less aloof, a little more earthy†¦ – She was mean and petty and full of pretense. ‘(Maya Angelou, 1984, pages 222 and 223) Dolores theoretically was a good, honest person. She was a good, hardworking wife; she took Maya into her home and treated her well. Even though this, she is still seen as the bad one by the end of this part, from the way Maya talks about her. Maya uses mean words to describe Dolores, and is also sarcastic towards her when talking about her and their home. ‘She was on close terms with her washing machine and ironing board. ‘(Maya Angelou, 1984, P221) This shows one of the sarcastic phases used by Maya Angelou. It also shows that Maya was not the innocent party in her conflict with her stepmother. Maya went out of her way to irritate Dolores and to make her jealous of Maya relationship with her father. Dolores still comes of as the bad one at the end, after an argument with Maya. Maya tries to be nice to Dolores, but Dolores ends up calling Maya’s mother a ‘whore’. Even though this is possibly true and Maya questions this, she still defends her mother. It is Maya that makes the first attack on Dolores; Maya justifies her behaviour, which leaves her looking the better person. ‘What did she expect if she called my mother a whore? ‘ (Maya Angelou, 1984, P239) Another character who has an unexpected outcome is the dentist, Dr Lincoln. At one stage Maya, as a child was in a lot of pain with toothache. At the Maya was living with her grandmother in Stamps. The nearest Negro dentist to them was twenty-five miles away, which was too far for Maya to travel in such pain. As a result Maya’s grandmother took her to a dentist near by that owed her a favour. Many would believe a dentist to be a respectable, good, reliable person. This was not the case of Dr Lincoln. He refused to help a child in pain, even though Maya’s grandmother stopped him losing his business by lending him money. When speaking to Maya’s grandmother, Dr Lincoln was very abrupt and rude to her. He did not even acknowledge Maya, or the fact her face was swollen and she was in pain. ‘I’d rather stick my hand in a dog’s mouth than in a nigger’s'(Maya Angelou, 1984, P184) This was the harsh phase that Dr Lincoln used. This also shows discrimination and racism, another major theme in Maya Angelou’s autobiography. After Dr Lincoln refuses to help, Maya’s grandmother follows him in his office. When she later describes what happened she says that Dr Lincoln and the nurse were as ‘thick as thieves’. This is a simile used to accentuate Dr Lincoln characteristics. From the way Maya Angelou has written her autobiography ‘I know why the caged bird sings’ she has managed to successfully express peoples true characters. People that may be considered to have a good character such as Dr Lincoln have been shown for who they really are. This has been done by the choice of lexis and the tones that she has used to create different atmospheres when describing certain characters.