Warriors Don’t Cry by Melba Patillo Beals

The Novel, Warriors Don’t Cry by Melba Patillo Beals, touch basis on African American teenagers in 1957; being the first ever to be integrated in to an all white high school. Melba the leader of the fight for justice in the school system was twelve years old, the Supreme Court ruled that separate schools for whites was illegal, a ruling called the Brown Vs. Broward of Education of Topeka, Kansas. In the year after the ruling, Melba sees very little change in segregation. Melba is still at an all black high school, but she and sixteen other black students sign up to attend the white school in Little Rock , Central High School. It then narrowed down nine because the others even couldn’t handle the violent threats. Every day they would get dropped off to Central High School it would be a mob of whites standing behind barricades shouting out racist slurs. For instance, â€Å"Niggers go back to Africa† or â€Å"We don’t want your dumb asses here†. Those hatred words meant absolutely nothing because Melba and her friends stood their ground even if it meant getting scolded with steaming water in the locker room showers or getting their books knocked out of their hands. They have changed the way blacks are being treated today in society and now we have better opportunities when it comes down to education. Just from reading this novel made me think back on my life as an African American living in a suburban area whereas whites were the only ones walking the streets. When we rode up in our fancy all black Cadillac Escalade followed by three U-Haul trucks in Sunrise, Fl, I’ll never forget how the whole neighborhood came outside hands over face waiting to see what was going to step out of that tinted SUV. My heart as well my family’s, popped out our chest just because we had got the vibe that the welcome we get won’t be sunny side up. As we pulled up to this beige two story home, picket fence, huge pool with a Jacuzzi, fresh smelling green grass my eyes were in amazement. Back where I came from in Opalocka, Fl, our grass was nowhere near that color and we surely didn’t have pools because most blacks don’t know how to swim so you will rarely see those. Finally, we opened our doors together hoping it goes well and to our amazement, everyone grabbed their kids in terror and ran inside their homes. I couldn’t understand why blacks can’t be welcomed as human versus criminals. Next thing we know, police were racing down the street and our next door neighbor ran outside screaming and pointing our way saying, â€Å"That’s them! Those niggers are intruding! † My older sister, Chaunte and I cried and cried because we thought that once Martin Luther King Jr. made those changes everything would be normal. The police grabbed my mom and dad and asked what’s going on. One fat, smelly, white policeman stepped out of the car with a gun and asked, â€Å"How did you people afford a house here? Are you drug dealers? † Who in God’s name gave whites the permission to determine whether or not blacks have decent jobs; my parents together make a larger salary than they ever will. He then spits on our drive way and exclaimed, â€Å"You niggers better what your backs! † My mom being so religious scooped us up inside the house and we all prayed together. While my dad handles all the household work, my mom took us down to this all white school in Coconut Grove named Carrolton. Where we derived from was an all black community meaning all black schools, so this I knew would be a drastic adjustment. My mom didn’t believe in nothing but the best education for her kids so we were going to attend that school like it or not. The next day we started school and it was nothing dreamy. It seemed like were the game pieces on a board game just getting played with. Once my mom disappeared out of sight, everyone threw their lunches on us and pulled our ponytails, screaming, and â€Å"Go back to the projects! † it hurt my heart because they didn’t even give us a chance, but we did fight back that’s what my mom brought us up to do. The bell rung and everyone scattered to class, leaving my sister and I outside crying while we try to make ourselves presentable again. We finally walked inside going our separate ways and as I walk up Ms. Miller’s second grade class I inhale a deep gulp of air. Tempting to place my hands on the door knob I finally walk in, and looking over at my teacher whom obviously didn’t want me there either because she didn’t even bother to greet me but instead just rolled her eyes and continued writing the assignments on the chalk board. All the white kids giving me this deep hatred stare, following me as I walk to an empty desk of course to the back of the classroom. As I go sit down I noticed that they took out all the screws out the seat and carved in the desk lots of racist words like: Nigger, Kunt, Cotton picker, African, and Nappy head. It was rough but look at where I am today, a predominately white college and doing well. To sum all up, I respect Melba for standing up for what’s right. No young girl/boy should have to be a warrior but able to cling to the innocence that’s been slipping away throughout the year. Having accepted the role of a warrior for integration, Melba finds that she can’t put it aside so easily. She learns that being a warrior means more than just venturing into new and hostile territory. It also means leaving behind friends whom doesn’t believe in fighting for their ethnicity but just settling for whatever the white man says is right. The struggle entails more than one persons desire to go to a better high school or eat at a better diner or ride in the front of the bus. Melba’s struggle is a quest to improve the lives of black people all over the country. Melba’s participation in this quest is why her grandmother calls her one of God’s warriors. Myself as a black female learned a valuable lesson from just reading this novel that it can be changes made of only you take the time to speak up and never back down from it because of the obstacles you are likely to face.

Neil Harbisson’s Eyeborg

Neil Harbisson's Eyeborg Maria Marrero Palm Beach State College Abstract This paper explores the new technological advances for people with Achromatopsia from research conducted mostly online. All of the research conducted explains the device on how it is used and what it is used for. It also shows how the sounds are conducted so the people using the eyeborg can understand it. Neil Harbisson's Eyeborg Barcelona based artist, Neil Harbisson was born with a condition called Achromatopsia which means that he was born color-blind.He has described himself as a cyborgist and colorologist. With the help of a new technological device that is attached to the back of his skull can translate color to sound. Harbisson can hear the color of sound through audible frequencies through this device in which he calls an â€Å"eyeborg†. Harbisson has used the term sonochromatism (or sonochromatopsia) to define his new condition. He explains that â€Å"achromatopsia can no longer define his condi tion because achromatopsics cannot perceive nor distinguish colors.He also explains that synesthesia does not define his condition accurately because the relation between color and sound varies depending on each person, whereas sonochromatopsia is an extra sense that relates color to sound objectively and equally to everyone† (Harbisson, 2012). The idea for the device came about when he was attending Dartmouth College of Arts in England, where Harbisson met Adam Montandon   who was giving a lecture on cybernetics and they [came together] to start developing the eyeborg project (Disaster, 2012).The device, called an eyeborg, comes out of the back of his head and hangs in front of his eyebrow. Jennifer Lee, writing for the New York Times, says: Mr. Harbisson’s current eyeborg is pressed against the base of his head with extremely high pressure, which allows the sounds to reverberate along his skull to his eardrums. But his new eyeborg, to be implanted in September, will be connected to his body through three screws in his head — two to support the antenna and electronic chip, and a third for the sound to be passed into his skull, which will vibrate with the sound.He expects it will take about two months for the bone to heal around the implant. (Lee, 2012) According to Jordan Chittley, he states that a chip that is implanted in Harbisson's skull and then converts the light waves into sounds and he hears it through his bone. â€Å"The eyeborg works with a head mounted camera that picks up the colors directly in front of a person, and converts them in real-time into sound waves† (Neil, 2012). C on the scale represents blue, F represents red, A represents green and so on (Chittley, 2012).Harbisson can see up to a total of 360 colors, which is more than the naked eye can see. The first eyeborg had a computer component [which was] the size of a laptop and Harbisson [carried it] around in a back pack (Molinsky, 2011). â€Å"We are using te chnology constantly. Every single day we wear technology in our pockets, we sleep with technology beside our beds — we never separate from technology. The simple next step is to attach all this to our body† (Molinsky, 2011). Harbisson uses his eyeborg to help him paint in color.Harbisson states that the â€Å"eyeborg looks like an antenna that comes out from my head and goes up to the front of my face. At the back of my head there's a chip which transforms the light waves into sound, and I hear the colors, not through my ears but through my bone† (Harbisson, 2012). The spreading of the cyborg devices are being realized particularly with vision. Earlier this year in Britain, surgeons [have] implanted chips in the eyes of patients with retinitis pigmentosa, [which is] a disease that causes gradual blindness, in order to [stop] and reverse their condition (Lee, 2012).When he spoke with the hospital bioethics committee, Mr. Harbisson argued that this surgical techniq ue could be used on other people (Lee, 2012). He said, in particular, that a more [refined, classier] versions of the sensor could be used for reading, [like for example] the need for Braille (Lee, 2012). According to Eric Molinsky, Harbisson uses [his] eyeborg to help him paint in color. He also states that Harbisson create[d] sound portraits by scanning people's faces and turning the resulting tones into short musical compositions (Molinsky, 2011).Some of his subjects are [his] friends and family, while others are celebrities he had met [previously] (Molinsky, 2011). Harbisson believes that the eyeborg and [other] devices like [itself] should not only be used for people with disabilities. In his opinion, no one should be restricted to the senses that us humans have developed (Molinsky, 2011). Jennifer Lee states that Harbisson wants to see more improvements to his eyeborg, focusing mainly on the electricity source (Lee, 2012).He has to change the antenna through a USB port at the back of his head (Lee, 2012). He does not want to depend on electricity. . References Chittley, J. (2012, February 20). Eyeborg neil harbisson hears colour with head-mounted camera. Retrieved from http://ca. news. yahoo. com/blogs/daily-buzz/eyeborg-neil-harbisson-hears-colour-head-mounted-camera-193727166. html Disaster. (2012, September 19). I listen to color: How sound is bringing neil harbisson one step closer to cyborg status. Retrieved from http://shocklee. om/2012/09/i-listen-to-color-how-sound-is-bringing-neil-harbisson-one-step-closer-to-cyborg-status/ Harbisson, N. (2012, February 12). The man who hears color. BBC News Magazine, Retrieved from http://www. bbc. co. uk/news/magazine-16681630 Harbisson, N. (2012, February 24). Neil harbisson: The eyeborg. Retrieved from http://reset-blog. com/2012/02/24/neil-harbisson-the-eyeborg/ Lee, J. (2012, July 2). A surgical implant for seeing colors through sound. New York Times, Retrieved from

Research Paper on Abortion

The ethics of abortion is one of the most controversial topic that has been continually argued over years and probably many years to come. The main controversy is the question of legalization of abortion, which ties into ethical issues, emotions, and political issues or laws. Before I discuss the many sides to abortion, it is critical to define the term. The Webster’s Dictionary defines abortion as the termination of a pregnancy after, accompanied by, resulting in, or closely followed by the death of the fetus. Despite the liberal attitudes toward abortion, it still remains an important political issue. Even in societies where abortion has been legalized, many actions are being raised by the anti-abortionists. These anti-abortionists believe in â€Å"pro-life† and their religious perspectives are responsible in their arguments against abortion. They believe that â€Å"it is equally as heinous intentionally to kill a human being in existence at fertilization, as to kill a larger pre-born child. † On the other hand, there are reasons for legalization of abortion. Most people agree with the concept of reproductive freedom—the fundamental right of every individual to decide freely and responsibly when and whether to have a child. Human life is defined as â€Å"any living entity that has DNA from the species homo sapiens. This includes an ovum, spermatozoon, zygote, embryo, fetus, newborn. It also includes an infant, child, adult, elder. It also includes a breast cancer cell and a hair follicle and a skin scraping. Some forms of human life have little or no value; others are the most valuable and precious form of life in the known universe†. Because an unborn fetus is considered to have a human life, abortion should not be legalized. It is a definitely a crime to kill a living and breathing fetus even though the embryo may not take the form of a human structure. If abortion is permitted, the dignity of human will be destroyed. In the medical field, the doctors prescribe the baby before 15 days after conception as dividing cells. But after this short period, abortion is prohibited from the principal of identifying. This is because the fertilization process contains many cell divisions by zygote progressing into a human being. Many people assert the right that women do not have a baby because they have the right to choose. But it is neglecting the right of the baby who has his or her own life. Just because an unborn fetus is not capable to express his or her feelings, is it morally right to end its life? Considering moral issues, abortion is definitely equally termed a murder. However, I do understand the other point of view for legalizing abortion. The exception to abortion is considered when the mother bearing the child has illnesses or diseases that can be transmitted to the baby genetically. Also, financial issues are often being raised by the parents whom are not able to support another family in the house. In this case, abortion may be permitted because it is rather better to not be alive than be living under such poor conditions. Furthermore, abortion is considered as a rightful act when the women get pregnant from rape. Some people may generally think that a crippled person is pessimistic about the world. But in fact, they thank their parents who gave life to them. The life as a handicapped person could be better than not experiencing life at all. If it’s not by the force of other one, people must take the responsibility for their behavior. Every action you make comes in consequences and therefore, it is important to choose birth controls if pregnancy is not wanted. If the reason that causing abortion is merely a problem of foster, it is never permitted. We must keep in mind that life is most precious thing in the world. It is estimated that the number of aborted babies is almost 4000 in a month. Vast majority of abortions are done for convenience, by women who simply want to terminate an unwanted pregnancy. But abortion is a murder. So, now is the time for us to think about the abortion again and to search for the best solution. In any circumstances, the life must be admired. Work Cited http://www.religioustolerance.org/abortion.htm http://abortion-alternatives.adoption.com/ http://www.friesian.com/abortion.htm

How to diagnose cervical cancer Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

How to diagnose cervical cancer - Essay Example Its symptoms, diagnosis, and ways in which it can be treated are also discussed (Dunleavey 38). Thus, this text will be very effective especially to those who have little or no insight on issues related to cervical cancer. For those already suffering from cervical cancer or those charged with taking care of cervical cancer patients, the article is aimed at educating them on the disease. What is Cervical Cancer? According to Dunvealey, cervical cancer is the third most common cancer affecting women of different ages (38). Despite the fact that it is not a sexually transmitted disease, its occurrence is linked to a human virus known as the papilloma virus, which is sexually transmitted. When the diagnosis of cervical cancer is conducted early, there are very high chances of survival of the victim and if not, death is inevitable. For example, in the United Kingdom, the national screening has reduced the deaths of the victims of this disease (Dunvealey 38). The most common symptom of cer vical cancer is abnormal bleeding, especially between periods, after having intercourse, or during postmenopause. It is also accompanied by non-appealing vaginal discharge, which is bloody, watery, may be very heavy, and in most cases, has a foul smell. Other signs include lower back pains, dysuria, hematuria, and rectal bleeding (Moini 362). How to Diagnose Cervical Cancer Every cancer has its own methods of diagnosis and treatment. For example, cervical cancer screening is totally different from the screening that happens in cases of breast cancer. The following are different methods used to diagnose cervical cancer: Cervical smear: It is usually performed in order to detect cellular changes. In this method, cells are gathered from the transformation zone using a spatula together with an endocervical brush. A slide acts as the surface on which samples are smeared onto and then sent for lab analysis. Though this method has the advantage of being simple and cheap, it has been found to possess some imperfections (Dunvealey 38). The most common abnormalities observed after cervical smears are high grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSC), low grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (LSC), and abnormal squamous cells of uncertain significance (ASC-US). The last one is the most common Pap smear finding (Dunvealey 39). Liquid-based Cytology: This method is preferred because of the short comings that come with the cervical smear method. The collection of the sample is done in a way similar to sample collection in the cervical smear method. However, in this method, the spatula’s head is cut and preservative liquid is used to rinse it. This is then transported to the lab and processed to remove the irrelevant materials, and the resultant cellular suspension is transferred to a slide and stained (Dunvealey 38-39). Though this method is also advanced, it is also not very complicated; it is very practical and quite inexpensive in diagnosing cervical cancer. As seen earlier, the papilloma virus is a major cause of cervical cancer; it brings about the HSC, LSC and ASC-US. It is thought to infect basal cells within the cervix and gain access via minor trauma or at the squamocolumnar junction. Cervical intraepithelial neoplasia, which is a grading system, is used to grade biopsies in

Performance Incentive Programs in Healthcare Research Paper

Performance Incentive Programs in Healthcare - Research Paper Example In the second report of the Committee on Quality of Health Care in America, the â€Å"quality gap† of the healthcare practice in America was revealed with over 70 studies documenting quality shortcomings.   The quality gap was more prominent in the care that people should receive and the care that they do not receive.   In the second report of the Committee on Quality of Health Care in America, the â€Å"quality gap† of the healthcare practice in America was revealed with over 70 studies documenting quality shortcomings.   The quality gap was more prominent in the care that people should receive and the care that they do not receive.    B. Flaws in the structure of the current health care payment system- fee for service part of the structural flaw that led to quality gaps and the deteriorated state of US healthcare system was partly attributed to the systems of payment to medical providers that do not encourage quality but rather volume.1. Fee for service does not consider quality, efficiency, and cost management quality gaps and deteriorated state of health care that is susceptible to error that accounted for 44,000 to 98,000 deaths per year in the US could have been attributed to the fee for service payment system that does not consider quality, efficiency and cost management (IOM, 2001).   The fee for service payment systems stresses more on quantity and volume rather than the quality of care that a medical provider gives to a patient. 2. Managed Care Organizations differHMOs, PPOs are third-party managed care organizations that also differ in payment to medical providers.   This payment system is not driven to provide quality care but to reduce its cost which could be inimical to the quality of care rendered since the fees are already predetermined.

Issues in International Event Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Issues in International Event Management - Essay Example Corporate sponsorship can also be defined as a part of cause marketing where organsiations try to create and enhance the goodwill along with boosting the overall revenue structure. Corporate sponsorship can be considered as a nice medium through which small and medium organisations increase their visibility and public profile in an effective and efficient manner (Barr, 1993). It needs to be mentioned that corporate sponsorships are meant to enhance the overall appeal and image of organsiations. Corporate sponsorships help in differentiating organsiations from competitors along with developing and enhancing closer relationships with existing and potential customers. It also offers a chance to highlight the products and services of the organsiation along with getting rid of the obsolete inventories through distributing it as a part of the reward and award strategy (Brynes, 1994). There is no denying that advertising enhances the appeal and reach of an organsiation by impacting and infl uencing the buying behaviour of customers. However, corporate sponsorship is an ideal way of competing with large organsiations having larger advertising budgets. In addition to this, tickets for sponsoring events can be used as an incentive for suppliers, customers, employees and other stakeholders that will not only help in enhancing the overall relationship but also earning their loyalty and gratitude that is always beneficial to survive in the competitive business environment. The discussion aims at highlighting the role and importance of corporate sponsorship in the event industry. The idea is to underpin the importance of events in the business and social environment and role of corporate sponsorships in creating mutual value by sponsoring events and programs. There is no denying that a number of events are sponsored by a number of organsiations that help in gaining mass attention along with enhancing the overall appeal and value in the short as well as in the long run. A crit ical and logical discussion over the importance of corporate sponsorship in the event industry will help in understanding the intricacies of events and corporate sponsorships in a clear and logical manner. This will also highlight the emergence of corporate sponsorships in last few years. It is important to mention that there is a close relationship between sponsors and sponsees. A sport brand sponsoring a sport event is evenly matched and linked with the event that not only enhances its image but also helps in extending its reach in a great manner. When the Cricket World Cup was held in Asia, a number of sponsors were sponsoring the event where their logos, danglers and advertisements were shown during the entire event. This created a long lasting image in the mind and hearts of viewers that also helped in strengthening the overall image of organsiations in the competitive business environment. It needs to be understood that corporate sponsorship in the event industry is mainly aim ed at enhancing the overall reach of organsiations along with extracting wide arrays of benefits and advantages. As per the report published by IEG, the sponsorship market is growing at a rate of 5% per annum with countries like the US, Europe and Asia Pacific spending a lot on sponsorship. It can be assumed that with large number of corporate organsiations in these countries and a number of events being held, corporate sponsor

Orientalism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Orientalism - Essay Example The concept of orientalism is known to have initiated the commencement if the different modern throughts such as the post colonial theory. Upon the publication of the book, it had been recognized as one of the most controversial work in the last three decades. It had been considered as an important reference even in the academic institutions that it was translated to 26 different languages. There are two main concepts that are included in the theory of orientalism. These are prejudice and racism towards the people in the middle east such as the Arabic population. Orientalism is synonymous to stereotyping of the western region inclusive of the United States and Europe towards the Middle Eastern population. According to the thesis of Said, orientalism is a highly motivated notion resulting from a preconceived objective (Said â€Å"Orientalism Part One†). There are different points discussed in the interview of Edward Said. These include the repertory of orientalism, the relationship between orientalism and imperialism, American orientalism, the present day orientalist view, effects of orientalism and the relationship with the Palistine question which is another issue explored by the author. In the repertory of orientalism, the main point of discussion is the components of orientalist perspective. Said described the unrealistic representation of the east that is even advocated by the specialists of different fields. The said view even established a representation of the Arabic people outside history such as the mystecism as if the people in the Middle East did not developed through the centuries (Said â€Å"Orientalism Part One†). Another point is the connection between the development of the orientalist thought and the age of imperialist conquest of the western region specifically Britain and France. During the era of the empires in Europe military and ideological conquests were undertaken. An example given is the Napoleon occupation in Egypt where

Describe the types of communication mechanisms that can be adopted by Essay

Describe the types of communication mechanisms that can be adopted by A&S fashions limited to help ensure better understanding a - Essay Example Staff members who will receive the message are the decoder while the channeling could be through word of mouth or a written memo. Once the staff members receive the message, they may relay back some feedback to management. In this paper, the most effective ways Alex and Sons fashion limited could use to help solve structural and coordination problems it is currently facing will be outlined. The paper will identify the exact coordination problem that faces this business. Further, it will formulate a work plan on the best way forward. Alex and sons fashion limited faces a few coordination/communication problems. The marketing department feels that the human resource people are not recruiting the right talent to drive sales upwards. They also feel that the finance department is not allocating enough funds to enable it carry out promotions and marketing operations. Marketing department also has a query with the people in logistics and operations unit (O'rourke, 2009, p.23).  They belie ve that this department is taking too long to deliver inventory such that once it arrives to the trading floor, it is no longer fashionable and customers will not buy. The operation department feels that their suppliers are being lured by more attractive incentives from the competitions and as such are not as responsive to their supplies team. They also feel that the marketing department is not motivating their people with incentive such as bonuses and commissions to help drive sales upwards. Further, they believe that the finance department is not allocating enough resources to recruit better designers. The finance department in turn thinks that if all departments could work together, they could meet the company’s goal that is to maximize profit. The result of this will in turn mean that they have enough funds to disburse to different departments. The staff members also have issues with the management team. As result of remarks made by Alex recently in an interview, the staf f feel threatened and have issued a strike notice and gone ahead to strike. They want their job security and the temporary workers want to be employed on a permanent basis with benefits. To solve this myriad of problems, the following communication techniques can be employed. Bringing in an expert in communication can be a very effective way to solve some of these problems. The expert may organize seminars, training or lectures on communication. Timely advice on the best way forward and detailed action plan would be draw by the expert. The guru could work on a consultancy basis and will be coming in to monitor how effective the techniques suggested are coming through (Fielding, 2005, p.34).  There are several firms involved in communication, most charge a few hundred pounds to several pounds depending on the duration they will be involved with a firm. One of the best ways to improve communication in an organization is to solicit feedback from each member on how effective they thin k each member communicates. A&S fashion limited could organize weekly meetings solely dedicated to this. At these meetings, members would solicit feedback and further ask for suggestion on the best communication techniques they think would apply to them (Coghill & Garson, 2006, p.54).  In addition, weekly status report should be organized. During this meeting, what has been

Chapter 13 & 14 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Chapter 13 & 14 - Assignment Example The company has been developing new product according to taste and preference and food habits of different geographic segment. But the main aim is to standardize its products globally. This is why the company successfully adopted the concept of think global, act local. Quality of the product ensures its shorter supply chain to get fresh raw food and vegetable products. The company currently has more than 24,500 outlets across the globe and high availability of its product through its worldwide presence enforces the demand and also brand recognition (MacDonald, 2009, p.15). Though the company faces completion from regional players in different regional market but it has segmented brand as premium food and service brand. McDonalds adapts ‘glocal’ i.e. an integrated mix of global and local for its global workforce. All restaurants of this brand consist of local workforce who better understand the demand of the local customers. Physical evidence of this brand is represented by its single message in all the restaurants in the world. Structure and environment of the restaurants, processing of foods and the way of service of the employees in the restores are similar in all McDonald restaurants. High focus on customer service along with the product quality has made it a leading food service brand in the world. The Ritz-Carlton is one of the leading hotel brands in the world. It is recognized for its premium quality of service especially the employees try their best to help in anticipated needs or desire. Service quality is the only area where the leading brands compete with each other. Ritz Carlton provides high quality of training program to its employees to provide best quality service to the customers. This brand always tries to provide unique service quality so that it can drive for future retention of the customers. Key differences are employees training programs, importance on customer satisfaction and service values. Mayo Clinic

Team mission statement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Team mission statement - Essay Example The author concludes by saying that â€Å"the mission statement affirms the company’s commitment to responsible action.† Site Relevance. This site provides the knowledge essential in making a good mission statement. In order to formulate one, each of the members of the group what exactly is a mission statement and why it needs to be established. Understanding what comprises a good mission statement is a prerequisite in having one. This site has given me an adequate knowledge on how companies come up with their mission statements which can also be applied in our virtual team. Site Summary. In her article entitled Virtual Teams Need Human Touch, Jane Hawkrigg identifies the challenges commonly faced by virtual teams together with the specific strategies which should be employed in order to maximize the productivity of virtual teams. The author stresses that virtual teams harnesses the diverse talents and potentials of each member which are geographically separated. The following are the identified best practices for virtual teaming as identified by a global research group: virtual teams need special leadership; trust is essential; team building pays off; don’t abandon face to face meetings; performance in consistency; and the use of technology to maximize performance. Site Relevance. This site has been primarily important in giving me an understanding of how to maximize the potentials of our team-members. In order to create a mission statement, these guidelines are important because they are the factors which should be considered for the virtual team to succeed. It should be noted that as a virtual team is different from a typical one, special considerations should be prioritized. Since the mission statement defines the team and its goals, these identified best practices should be emphasized on the

Summary Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

Summary - Assignment Example They have time out. Over the time, Leo discovers and appreciates many aspects of Stargirls personality such as reading newspapers, or observing people, and then helping them in different ways. However, Leo is much embarrassed when Stargirl puts a note on the school bulletin board "STARGIRL LOVES LEO" (94). Moreover, he has to share the full-scale impact of Stargirls shunning at the hands of others for being her boyfriend. He tries to hide his relation with Stargirl. He also begs Stargirl to be "normal" (47), which she does swiftly, and even switches name to Susan (her real name). Leos happiness on this change soon vanishes when the students keep shunning Stargirl and Leo. Stargirls character opens up more when she delivers a speech at a contest in Phoenix. She calls her speech "I Might Have Heard a Moa." Despite winning that contest, Stargirls hopes for acceptance by the students at Mica fritter away. Disillusioned, she resumes her identity as Stargirl. Stargirl feels change in Leos attitude, and mentions it to him by saying, "I know you’re not going to ask me to the Ocotillo Ball" (118). She gives Leo her usual smile and at which Leo hates her. He actually does not invite her to the Ocotillo Ball. She still goes, enchants everybody again, and disappears forever. Leo is unable to find her whereabouts. At the end of the novel, Fifteen years later, Leo visits Archie, a retired teacher, whom Leo used to visit occasionally along with other students during school. Archie tells Leo, "Star people are rare." He also takes Leo to Stargirls workplace, where Leo finds out that Stargirl had been maintaining files on different people. Leo also takes Archie into the foothills, where Archie buries his prize Paleocene rodent along with a slip of paper. Archie does not tell what is on the slip of paper. The ending part of the novel entitled "More Than Stars" tells that Kevin, Leos friend, is an insurance salesman. Mica

The unpredictable course of revenge In the play Essay Example for Free

The unpredictable course of revenge In the play Essay In the play, Hamlet, Shakespeare is depicting revenge as something that is inevitable and starts a chain of reaction that ends in self-destruction. In the process of revenge there are foreign agents that are also trapped as the revenge progresses. This is when the play is at its peak. The eventual result is death of everyone with the exception of minor character, which played key role in the main characters development. In this case it is Horatio, Hamlets life long friend. The one common thing in the play is that the eldest son in each of the three families is avenging the death of their father. see more:theme in hamlet When Hamlet was in the process to take revenge of his father another action occurred, the killing of Polonious by Hamlet who is Laertes father. This shows how one revenge leads to another. Throughout the play Hamlet is slowed by many choices he has to make. One example is when he gets the chance to kill Claudius while he was in prayer he did not act. He did this because he wanted more than revenge that is he wanted Claudius to suffer eternally in hell. As Hamlet says, Now might I do it pat, now he is praying; And now Ill dot. And so he goes to heaven; And so am I revenged. That would be scannd: A villain kills my father; and for that, I, his sole son, do this same villain send To heaven (Act 3, Scene 3) There are many motives behind Hamlets revenge against Claudius. Apparently it seems that Hamlet wants only to kill Claudius but as the quote below describes Hamlet is depressed on the surface but inside him there is more trouble, because of his love of Ophelia. How is it that the clouds still hang on you? Hamlet: Not so, my lord; I am too much Im the sun. (Act 1, Scene 3) Here he is trying to conceal the real reason and is feigning madness. Hamlet wants Claudius to think that he is depressed because of death of his father. Another reason for his slowness is that he has inner conflict that he is unstable about. He is asking himself should he just take what fate has for him or should he try to change it. As Hamlet says in his speech To be, or not to be: that is the question: Whether tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep (Act 3, Scene 1) This is where he is thinking about the reality of life and asking himself should he face it or not. Hamlet determination for the revenge is so intense that he is asking is life worth living. Hamlet says, What is a man, If his chief good and market of his time Is but to sleep and feed? A beast, no more. (Act 4, Scene 4) Here he is asking that man only sleeps and eats that is all he does in a nutshell. He wants to know if this is the kind of life worth living. This shows that to Hamlet life is more than sleep and feed. It should be combination of more than these two things. He seems to be balancing his act of revenge against life. To him it makes sense because at least he will do something in life that is worth it, that is take revenge against his fathers death. In those days people were very religious and they adhere to their religion in every aspect of their life. That is why Hamlet does not kill Claudius right away because he wants to do it justly according to the Christian religion. This leads Hamlet to first prove Claudius guilt by performing a mock play and telling his friend, Horatio, to observe Claudius reactions as if they are guilty or not. Hamlet gets a second chance to kill Claudius but he forfeits the opportunity. Laertes is silent in the sense of what he is doing. He is a very respected in the court of the King because before going to France he asks the King for permission. Laertes also has good morals because of the advice he gives to his sisters. But as time goes by he starts to change because he got trapped in the chain reaction of Hamlet. Laertes life changes dramatically after his father polonius is killed by Hamlet by accident as the quote says, How now! A rat? Dead, for a ducat, dead (Act 3, Scene 4). Hamlet kills Polonius by accident. In the aftermath Ophelia drowns herself. Laertes and polonious have a very good relationship because he gives a fatherly advise to his son Laertes. In a way polonious also cares about his son because he sends Reynaldo to spy on him. This might seemed like a bad idea but it was normal in those days. After the death of Polonius Laertes blames Claudius for his fathers killing but King Claudius tells him that it was Hamlet who was behind the killing. This is when the play takes another turn because Claudius makes a scheme to kill Hamlet by poisoning him. As Laertes puts it: It is here, Hamlet: Hamlet, thou art slain; No medicine in the world can do thee good (Act 5, Scene 2) This is when Laertes is talking to Hamlet and tells him that he will poison him with venom that no medicine will come to his rescue. This shows dramatic change in Laertes attitude, which lead him to the revenge mode. Shakespeares implied message is that revenge is something that has unpredictable course and inevitably leads to involvement of others that are not relevant to the revenge. Hamlet only wanted to take revenge against Claudius but in the process he ends up killing Polonius. He had not in mind to kill him but circumstances lead him to a path that changed his life. This in turn has the domino affect because Ophelia drowns herself because of esoteric reasons presumably because of her fathers death.

Assignment on strategic business management and planning

Assignment on strategic business management and planning These thee views are on the purpose and cooperate social responsibility (CSR) of an organization. What people expect an organization to achieve and what influence people can have over an organizations purpose. It is important to understand their expectations, how these might differ from each other and extend to which they likely to influence the organizations purpose and strategy. Collectively these people are called organizational stakeholders. Stakeholders, are those individuals or groups who depend on the organization to fulfill their own goals and on whom, in turn, the organization depends. Important external stakeholders would usually include shareholders, financial institutions, customers and suppliers. CSR involves a business identifying its stakeholder groups and incorporating their needs and values within the strategic and day-to-day decision-making process. First, Milton Friedman is in the view that the sole purpose of a business is to maximize profit. He believes that the only corporate social responsibility a company has is to increase profit. This is where an organization in the view that the only responsibility of business is the short-term interest of shareholders or private owners of small companies. It dismisses or only just meets the minimum obligations on internal aspects such as employee welfare, working conditions, and job satisfaction and eternal aspects like environment issues, human rights, community activities and markets also that the market will regulate itself without any need for externally induced controls. Purchase or sale of a product will be determined and/or regulated by the market in compliance with the free choice of individuals. Ideally, there would be no need for external ethical controls. This is especially evident in small private companies because they are only answerable to a limited stakeholder groups. The Second, stakeholder view by Charles Handy, is to achieve financials benefits to the shareholders or owners through profits but in contrast to the earlier view profits will not be the sole responsibility of an organization. He would not define business exclusively in terms of individualist self-interest of profit maximization but, rather, in terms of a behavioral efficiency of benefit to both individuals and society that is operates. The justification for social action is that of an organizations reputation is important to its long-term financial growth. An effective CSR policy will infuse all aspects of operations. Its believed that actions businesses take today to incorporate CSR throughout the organization represent a real point of differentiation and competitive market advantage on which future success will be manifested. This takes the view that organizations not only have responsibility to their shareholders but also have a responsibility for well-balanced relationship with other stakeholders both internal and external. As the companies stakeholder interest gets wider organizations social responsibility gets wider. There is a direct relationship between clarity of purpose and integrity of purpose to be fully effective, staff must be happy and confident as well as clear about what they are asked to do. Customers must be happy that they are purchasing good quality products/services from an honest company. The community must be happy that it is supporting a principled and sound organization. (Contemporary Strategic Management- R.Pettinger, page 317) The third view, Society and shareholders are becoming one and the same, Performance of an organization should be measured in a much more pluralistic way than just through its financial bottom line, the attitudes of these companies are more socially progressive than others. If the mangers concentrate on the success of their organization by undertaking unethical activities that damage the society that will not bring into line with the stakeholder expectations. Its in the best interest in the society if all the firms are behaving responsibly which results in success of the economic system as a whole. CSR covers all aspects of a business day-to-day operations. Everything an organization does in some way interacts with one or more of its stakeholder groups, and companies today need to build a sound brand with respect to all stakeholders. Whether as an employer, producer, buyer, supplier, or investment, the attractiveness and success of a company today is directly linked to the strength of its brand. CSR affects all aspects of all operations within a corporation because of the need to consider the needs of all constituent groups. Each area builds on all the others to create a composite of the corporation in the eyes of all stakeholder groups. Companies in this view retain uneconomical production in the aim of preserving jobs. As the stakeholder diversity of expectations get wider companies will adapt this approach. Organizations are often finding themselves in a dilemma where they need to be financially profitable to meet the shareholder demand and trying to protect and improve the interest in the society. They need to balance their own interests with that of their employee and communities. This includes considerations as to how the conflicting demand of different stakeholders will be reconciled. Also, we can view that wider the stakeholder interest expand the social responsibility get much more important to an organization. (Exploring Cooperate Strategy 7th Edition, G.Johnson, K.Scholes R.Whittington page 190) In general, the goal of any economic system should be to further the general social welfare. The purpose of business should extend beyond the maximization of efficiency and profit. Increasingly, society expects businesses to have an obligation to the society in which they are located, to the people they employ, and their customers, beyond their traditional bottom-line and narrow shareh older concerns What are the implications of these differing views for managers development of organizational strategy? Strategy is concerned with the long-term direction, the direction that the organization should be taking and the type of action required to achieve its objectives. Different views given on the Illustration 4.6 can have a fundamental effect on the purpose or the direction of an organization, which will result in a difference in strategies that are pursued. The expectations and the power of the stakeholders will influence the strategic decision-making. Additionally, companies adopting CSR is important to the development of organizations business strategy because, wherever possible, consumers want to buy products from companies they trust; suppliers want to form business partnerships with companies they can rely on; employees want to work for companies they respect; and NGOs, increasingly, want to work together with companies seeking feasible solutions and innovations in areas of common concern. Satisfying each of these stakeholder groups allows companies to maximize their commitment to another important stakeholder group, their investors, who benefit most when the needs of these other stakeholders are meet. Therefore, CSR policy adapted will a key issue in developing company strategy. At the macro environment level, the stakeholder expectation range from laissez-faire organization at one extreme to organizations as shapers of society at the other. The extend to which organization will exceed its minimum obligations to stakeholders and society at large will be a key issue that mangers have to understand in strategy creation. Company may looking at value maximizing by increasing profits will influence the strategic planners in developing its strategies by concentrating on overall cost reduction throughout the value chain, product or service differentiation, or concentrating on a Nish market focus. On the other hand companies following stakeholder theories will develop strategies trying to fulfill obligations to the society at large. At individual level, cultural aspect, behavior and actions of individuals within and organization is clearly important for the management of the organization. With the first view by Milton Friedman, Profit maximization does not accommodate individual beliefs; individual satisfaction who ever does one respond to a situation where there is a conflict between the personal beliefs and the company business decisions has no recourse but to resign. This will affect management that formulating strategy with there, own beliefs and values. Additionally, companies have to consider Internal factors such as the capability of the organization to follow the proposed plan strategy. Each of the above views will attract varied staff to the organization. Operational factors the technological production process and the method of production process will change the strategic decision out come on each of the above views taking to an example which technology will be affected. Is the company looking at only product output or does it look at impact on job loss or environment letdowns. External factors this is about social, community, or outside pressure from interested parties such as employee federations on employee safety measures or trade unions on minimum wage. The result would be different stakeholder interests and there interactions heavily influence the strategic choice, the whole strategy making process is subject to constant review. The end result is ideally an organization strategy that is both effective and acceptable. (Contemporary Strategic Management- R. Pettinger page 317) Stakeholders represent more challenges than opportunities Appraise the conflicting needs, power, and influence of stakeholders. Different stakeholder groups varied expected needs and the power they have over the organizations would affect the purpose and choices that I will seek. Internal Influence is likely to occur only because individuals share expectations with others by being a part of a stakeholder group, which may be departments, geographical locations or different level of hierarchy. Individuals may belong to more than one stakeholder group and stakeholder groups will gather together differently depending on the issue in hand because inside an organization few individuals have sufficient power to determine and make a impact on their alone. External stakeholders from the market environment such as shareholders, suppliers, distributors, sometimes, external stakeholders may seek influence through their link with the internal stakeholders. For example sub-contacted distribution will pressure on the marketing and advertizing strategies. Stakeholders from the social/political environment like policy makers, regulators, government agencies and the stakeholders in the technological environment such as owners of competitive technologies with conflicting expectations, each environment seeking different outcomes in different situations, sometimes different outcomes in one situation. For example new technological advancement that brings in competitor advantage clearly falls inline with the technological group whilst the non-bio degradable waste it generates contradicts to social and political stakeholder expectations resulting in massive outraged environmentalist and political pressure. Additionally, the ability of individuals or stakeholder groups to persuade an organization to follow a certain course of action will have influence over organizations purpose and strategic decisions. The individual or group, who holds the position or the hierarchy, carries the power with in the organization. For example the Managing Director uses his formal powers to participate and sponsor a local tennis tournament for young teenagers tennis players. The type of relationship which organization might establish with the external stakeholders will determine the extent of power over the organization. Is the, organization accountable to one stakeholder, or group? Stakeholders are not usually homogeneous it contain a variety of subdivisions/groups with different level of power, too much subdivision makes decision-making challenging and confusing. The reliance on resources in terms of shareholders, lenders or heavy dependence on one supplier or customer will give them the power over the fi rm. Hence, company will have to prioritize or find a correct match to satisfying the entire stakeholder group. These raise some difficult issues for mangers in deciding and implementing strategic change due to high level of varied expectations and power of diverse stakeholder groups with conflicting thoughts. But usually managers are in a powerful position within organization to influence the expectation of other stakeholders. They have access to information and channels of influence, which are not available to many other stakeholders. Even though stakeholder represents challengers to the manager who work on strategy, the real power behind the throne lies on the managers in constructing strategies to suit their own purpose and managing stakeholder expectations to ensure acceptance by the entire society. How can Organizations manage shareholder conflicts and handle issues of ethics, corporate governance and regulation? Conflicts of interests are more or else likely to arise between different groups in the governance chain (governance chain is where a typical reporting structure giving the flow of reports and actions from the beneficiaries of an organization to the mangers making the decisions) for individual managers or the owners (shareholders) or directors as they seek to balance these various interests. Directors and the managers have an obligation to fulfill their role in their capacity to the organization, but their own self-interests might be in expense of shareholder expectations. This is where the importance of both the role of the board and the disclosure of information to other stakeholders were developed, through corporate governance regulations. Directors responsibility to shareholders is a very important issue. The guiding principle in UK is that boards of directors are responsible to shareholders but must also be responsible for relationship with other stakeholders and take into accou nt their interests. Additionally, the way in which targets, budgets and rewards are structured has an influence the way in which managers and other people perform and, return will decide the extent to which the shareholder best interest being perused. In general governance chain challenges directors and managers to be knowledgeable about the expectations of the shareholders/owners, to constantly work towards achieving their needs and keep them informed, but self-interests of directors and managers might differ from the shareholder expectations, the power between the different players in the governance chain pursuing their own interests make it difficult, not only that very different levels of access to information make it even more difficult, on the contrary self interest need to be encouraged to achieve the interest of the beneficiaries as well. This is where the corporate governing bodies usually come in to play, through initially concerned on the internal financial controls and external disclosure of information later on broadening of internal control requirement beyond simply financial controls and looked at the role and effectiveness of non-executive directors. These implications by the government meant that director and mangers must be more proactive in addressing the interests of the beneficiaries requiring them to change there behavior of following self-interest, where large number of whom have focused in increasing their personal financial rewards often disregarding the consequences of their behavior on the final beneficiaries of the company performance. (Exploring Corporate Strategy 7th Edition-G.Johnson, K.Scholes R.Whittington Page 170-171) Critically analyze the contents and relevance of the mission statement for each of the three different organizations (page 165), with regards to their goals, values and objectives. Mission statement is an image that a business must have of its aims and goals translated into written form. It gives specific sight of the direction and purpose of an organization. For many corporate leaders it is a vital part of their attempt to motivate employees and to set priorities. (The economist Guide to management ideas and gurus- Tim Hindle). A clear, thoughtful mission provides employees with a shared sense of purpose, direction and opportunity. To define its mission, a company should address Druckers classic questions: What is our business? Who is our customer? What is of value to the customers? What will the business be? Successful companies continuously ask them and answer them thoughtfully and thoroughly. (Marketing Management P.Kotler, K.Keller, M.Brady M.Goodman Page 88) Some organizations use the term vision statement some even have both vision and mission statements (Tata Steel). A vision and a mission can be one and the same but the concepts through are not necessarily the same. Broadly vision refers to future intentions and mission delivering present ones. If there is substantial disagreement within the organization or with stakeholders as to its mission vision it may result in real problems in strategic direction of the organization. Mission st atements are at their best when they reflect a vision, which provides a direction for the company. Mission statements help organizations to focus their strategy by defining boundaries within which each organization to operate. Tata Steel, for example, has said it is strive to strengthen Indias industrial base through effective utilization of staff and material by using high technology and productivity. It is not, evidently, going to enter the business with trend setting designs for European market or providing a safer India. The Metropolitan Police, for example needs to nurture and safe guard the sociality the goal should be to achieve A safer London its mission has said working together for a safer London shows the overall goal and the specific outcome it need to achieve. Villeroy Boch, for example, have a different goal a different objective from that of the earlier two, they are in a constantly changing market needing them to be innovative trend setting company which highlighted in there mission statement to be the leading European lifestyle brand with high competence and tren d setting for high end design and living therefore, company mission statement helps to focus their strategy though emphasizing on goals and specific objectives it need to achieve. A recurring problem has been that managers and employees lower down the hierarchys lack of commitment, competencies, continues improvement, and unclear communication as to how day to day work contribute to the overall strategic direction may lead the mission statement to become a bland idealistic blur. Mission statement defines the scope along which an organizations performance is to be measured and judged. Other than, making profit. Tata Steel, for example, said that it considered itself successful through continue to improve the quality of life of there employees and the community they serve, upholding the spirit and values of Tatas towards national building. Organizations often acknowledge their responsibility to other stakeholders as well, mentioning their attitude to employees Villeroy Boch, for example, says in the long run a strong market position can only be achieved by having innovative and committed employees. Our priority task is to motivate them and cultivate their team spirit, encourage them to achieve personal and joint goals or to customers Metropolitan Police, for example, says we will have pride in delivering quality policing. There is no greater priority, we will build trust by listening and responding. Apart from the financial profits objective, others are diffi cult to quantify or express in measurable terms to revitalize the core business for a sustainable future is highly relevant to Tata Steel and todays environment, but it may become absurd if it has to be expressed in some measurable way. Nonetheless its an important goal that Tata need to achieve. It suggests standards for individual ethical behavior. For example, Villeroy Boch had what it called Five values One philosophy. Among them were: Responsibility- we feel obligated not only to our employees, shareholders and customers, but also to the environment and society Metropolitan Police is a non-profit entity in the solely view to be socially responsible. Tata Steel, for example, points out to overall, the company seeks to scale the heights of excellence in all that it does in an atmosphere free from fear, and thereby reaffirms its faith in democratic values it shows that Tata is socially align with the Indian government and pressure groups in creating, developing and maintaining democratic social life style in India. Even though, ethical values are embedded in a organizations mission its not its core expectation or the most essential for the management to focus its attention, except for The Metropolitan Police, this will surface after meeting its number of priority requirem ents, for example, in the event of a choice between making a loss or closing down where people will lose jobs company will prioritize not to loose money. Goals are things companies intend to achieve. Objectives are the steps we take along the way toward achieving Goals. Tactics are elements of going about accomplishing Objectives. Strategy is the overarching plan to use our unique competitive advantages to achieve our stated Goals through the use of specific and measurable Objectives and Tactics in pursuit of mission. Business lays out a set of tactics and objectives to be achieved that move towards the achievement of the strategic goals. The strategic goals guide the choice of objectives and the tactics employed. They provide direction for the business. Evaluate theories for and against systematic development of mission statements, values and objectives and suggest how you would have improved on the mission statement of the three organizations with reference to their purpose, strategy, values and behavioral standards. One or more stakeholders may expect corporate values, vision, mission and objectives of the organizations. But in some instances these statements might be formal requirements of corporate governance. Illustration 4.5 is an example The Metropolitan Police of the Government of London. Regardless of the reason it must be highlighted that these statements may not be accurate reflection of the priorities within the organization. (Exploring Corporate Strategy Johnson, Scholes Whittington 7th Edition page 207-209) Development of mission statement, corporate values and objectives is a carefully articulated process where a managers setting a project team to survey throughout the organization to check validity and usefulness of a such goal, gathering of information from current stakeholders and their perception of the organization, recommendations for improvements and suggestions to amend and update through consultation with workforce and customers and communication throughout the company in a appropriate way. They answer the question What business are we in? or Why we exist? and reflect basic function in a society in terms of products and services (Mintzberg) it creates the core values the principles that guide an organizations actions for example We will build trust by listening and responding The Metropolitan Police, it describes the unique purpose and direction of an organization for example To be the leading European lifestyle brand Villeroy Boch, it helps to differentiate from its compe tition for example the company seeks to scale the heights of excellence in all that it does in an atmosphere free from fear, and thereby reaffirm its faith in democratic values Tata Steel, reflects benefits to customers and state key values to all stakeholders for example to continue to improve the quality of life of our employees and the communities we serve Tata Steel give value to its employees, Earning oriented growth, high and constant rates of return and appropriate dividends Villeroy Boch shows companies direction towards growth and profitability to its shareholders. Although, most companies operate with a wide range of goals and objectives the central goal of most organizations is to maximize shareholder returns, and to extend shareholder returns fully it requires being highly profitable and high growth. However, it is important that top managers not to overemphasize current profitability to detriment of long-term profitability and profit growth. The overzealous pursuit of current profitability to maximize short term performance can encourage much misguide managerial action cutting expenditure judged to be non essential in the short run for example, Research and development expenditure, marketing expenditure. Although cutting current expenditure increases current profit levels, the under investment will result in, lack of innovation and diminishing marketing can jeopardize long term profitability and profit growth. (Essential Strategic Management Hill, Jones Page 31) The organizations mission, and objectives guide this expenditure. The companys mission statement directs the pursuit of long-term goals and sustaining organizations competitive advantage and profitability over time. Therefore, a well thought out mission will identify all stakeholder groups and weight their relative rights and abilities to affect the firms success. (Formulation, implementation and control of competitive strategy Pearce, Robinson page 68-69) As mentioned above both vision and mission is inspirational, it talks about the future and present intentions of an organization. They try to motivate personal employees to seek and achieve the articulated vision. It tries to attract the future investment through its existing shareholders and perspective investors. However, if organizations demonstrably fail to live up or keep the statements to mere showpiece and doesnt put out in practice it will be a de-motivator for the work force as well as it will fail to impress stakeholders. For example if Tata Steel doesnt act to improve the quality of life of its employees what will happen to the workforce? Well it might result in high labor turnover or low productivity that will boil down to company failure. Same way if Villeroy Boch neglects its environmental obligations the long term growth and profitability might be affected. Therefore, organizations need to strike a balance. Additionally, mission statement need to be continuous in tha t they summarize an organizations purpose. The values and objectives need to be evaluated at different level of time and restated as ones are achieved. TATA STEEL Need to create a sense of pride, as employees need to be empowered that they are working for an Indias number one and currently a top global player in the industry. The company wants to effectively utilize its staff but it lacks in emphasizing and focusing its core resource fully. Further, Tata Steel has failed to define an overarching aim like what Valleroy Boch To be the leading European lifestyle brand it sets the company attitude and culture through a clear direction. THE METROPOLITAN PLOICE It describes its main activity, function in society, the unique purpose and scope of its operation for a safer London the mission statement works well for a purpose oriented establishment but I would have included the human rights responsibility to the community. To develop a balanced properly respected society. Further, to depart from racism and discrimination from the officers. As well as try to incorporate the objectives to reduce overall drug and crime rate and the fear of crime. VILLEROY BOCH The company has established clear future intentions with focusing on limited number of goals, excellent future stability, has pointed out companies major policies, value and culture. Villeroy Boch, have define its major competitive spheres by identifying its market segment, industry and competencies. The five values have provided reassurance to its shareholders, confidence to the society and customers, given a knockout punch by sending signals of strengths to its competitors and have created sense of pride and value for its employees. Only thing that I view is it not brief. Ideally a mission statement should be brief and flexible. If its too long and bulky it tends to loose its essence. The key is the prime purpose of a mission statement it is important for organizations to live up to the promises they declare.

Increasing Healthcare Costs Becoming A Concern Economics Essay

Increasing Healthcare Costs Becoming A Concern Economics Essay Rising health care costs has become a concern for many nations, societies and even individuals. The ability to cope with this issue and its implications will be greatly looked into in this report. In order to understand how to tackle this challenge, there is a need to first understand the root causes, in other words, what causes health care costs to rise. After having looked at some of the common beliefs of rising health care costs, the report will then look at the strategies implemented to tackle this challenge. To do so, the report will make use of a few journal articles to critically discuss on the effectiveness of Singapores healthcare financing system and recommend measures that will help solve the issue better. Literature Review A very common and simple reason that people give for the increase in healthcare costs often fall on the fact of aging population and the increased vulnerability of the population to health issues, leading to more medical consultations, both inpatient and outpatient. This in turn, causing healthcare costs to rise. Another common reason that many people give for the increase in healthcare costs is inflation. Inflation causes the prices of goods and services to rise. When such happens, the costs of health care will rise because the salary of the workforce employed in the healthcare industry increases, the costs of medication increases and the costs of health insurance increases, for example. (Cockerham, 2010) The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development noted a significant increase of average ratio of health spending to GDP in its 31 member countries. The report also suggested that while technological advancement brought about improvement in diagnosis and treatment, this also contributed to the increasing of health spending (OECD Health Data 2010, 2010). In another report, rising health care costs was attributed to greater use of innovative medical technologies. However, the report suggested that rising health care costs could also be due to the market power of health care providers. In the report, however, it seemed to suggest that the extent of the increase in rising health care costs in developed countries like the United States in terms of the market power of health care providers are more significant than that in developing countries. (Annals of Internal Medicine, 2005) It is undeniable that no country is able to guarantee accessible healthcare for all. However, the situation in low-income countries is far more critical as some are even unable to ensure access to basic healthcare for its citizens. A few options proposed to tackle this issue include governments increasing their budget allocations on health expenditure, raising additional domestic funds for health or diversifying their funding sources (World Health Organization, 2011). Another interesting cause highlighted for the increase in rising health care costs could be due to our social behaviour in terms of financial prudence when a third party pays our medical bills. It is interesting to note that when our medical bills payment falls on the responsibilities of a third party (i.e. employer, insurance company or government) and we only pay a small and affordable percentage, we are more likely to seek medical consultation, diagnosis and treatment even for the slightest illness. A case study on Singapore health care financing system is done to discuss on how these considerations are managed and how it may be further improved. Case study: Singapore health care system financing According to one of the research studies, Singapores ageing population which is estimated to increase by 12% in 2030 to 19% of its population being made up of older Singaporeans aged 65 and above. This is of a concern in ensuring provision of affordable healthcare especially where responsibility of the healthcare bill often falls on the children of this segment of the society. Singapores health care system focuses on developing independence and interdependence of its people on the nation. In order not to create total reliance and dependence on the nation, Singapores health care system begins with building a healthy population through preventive healthcare programmes and promoting a healthy lifestyle (Ministry of Health, Singapore, 2007). Singapores health care system then ensures affordability of healthcare to its people through offering universal coverage and multiple layers of protection. In this strategy, this is done through (1) heavy government subsidies of up to 80% of the total bill in acute public hospital wards, which all Singaporeans can access, (2) , a compulsory individual medical savings account scheme which allows practically all Singaporeans to pay for their share of medical treatment without financial difficulty, (3) Medishield, a low cost catastrophic medical insurance scheme, which allows Singaporeans to effectively risk-pool the financial risks of major illnesses. Individual responsibility for ones healthcare needs is promoted through the features of deductibles and co-payment in Medishield. Eldershield, a severe disability insurance, is also available for subscription by Singaporeans to risk-pool against financial risks of suffering a severe disability. and (4) Medifund, which is a medical endowme nt fund set up by the Government to act as the ultimate safety net for needy Singaporeans who cannot afford to pay their medical bills despite heavy subsidies, Medisave and Medishield (Ministry of Health, Singapore, 2007). To promote competition and transparency so as to counter further unwarranted rise in healthcare costs, in 2004, the Ministry of Health began to publish hospital bill sizes  to show the variation in costs among our hospitals, with a view to push our hospitals on this effort to do more with less.   There have been some successes since then in spurring improvements, e.g. LASIK prices dropped by more than S$1,000 per eye and the competitive price wars continue to this day, at great benefit to consumers. The Ministry has also progressively published health outcomes on the website to encourage further improvements and help patients make more informed choices. Singapores success was further supported by its statistics on government spending in 2008, when Singapore spent about S$ 10.2 billion or 3.9% of GDP on healthcare. Out of this the Government expended S$2.7 billion or 1.0% of GDP on health services (Ministry of Health, Singapore, 2007). Discussion: Effectiveness of Singapores strategies in managing rising health care costs Singapores focus on the ideology that prevention is better than cure helps managing rising health care costs by encouraging its population to reduce the need of seeking medical attention and thus reducing substantially incurring of such expenditure. Its preventive healthcare programmes such as free or subsidized community health screening programmes and activities aimed at promoting active living and healthy lifestyle makes being healthy a simple way of life which is possible to achieve. Moreover, this ideology will continue to tackle the lasting problem of aging population and the increased vulnerability of the population to health issues, which is said to be a cause for rising health care costs. With stressors of a fast-paced meritocratic society such as stress at school at a very young age, stress of work upon working life and the stress of supporting and maintaining a family, this often causes one to become sick and have to turn to medical attention for relief. As such, Singapore would need to consider strategies on how to tackle such non-health issues that may lead to healthcare expenditure, in order to further assist its population to manage rising health care costs. Next, having discussed the preventive strategy taken by Singapore, the Medisave and Medifund benefits would be discussed. It is important to first understand that only Singapore Citizens and Singapore Permanent Residents contributing to the Central Provident Fund (CPF) as well as his dependents (i.e. spouse, children, parents and grandparents) would be able to benefit from the Medisave. In addition to subsidizing healthcare expenditure, the Medisave can also be used to pay the premiums of MediShield, which covers up to 80% of a large medical bill at the class B2/C level or any appropriate integrated shield plans from approved private insurers (Ministry of Health, Singapore, 2007). This allows the individual and his dependents who are subscribed to the MediShield or the integrated shield plans to have the most, if not all, of the inpatient and outpatient healthcare expenses, including co-insurance and deductible to be taken care and omits the individuals stress of having the need to seek sufficient cash funding for such a purpose. This in turn, helps to minimise the social stressor of healthcare need. While this may prove to be helpful to its population, it is important to note that as the benefits is still fairly limited. Compared to its entire population being able to benefit from such initiatives, there is a burden created on the CPF-contributing individual to look after both his personal and dependents healthcare needs and expenditure, using the Medisave. Should the CPF-contributing individual be the sole breadwinner of the household, this would inevitably create further psychosocial stressor on him which may pose potentially cause health deterioration and create unwarranted expenditure on healthcare needs. Therefore, Singapore would need to relook into providing healthcare financial subsidies to its population who are do not contribute to the CPF, in order for its approach to manage rising healthcare costs to be effective and complete. On top of the Medisave, the Medifund scheme exists to help ensure needy Singapore citizens who are unable to pay for their medical bills, are still provided with the necessary medical care. In order to benefit from the Medifund, a list of basic requirements needs to be met, such as the patient and his family having difficulty affording the medical bill despite heavy government subsidies, MediShield and Medisave (Ministry of Health, Singapore, 2007). While the Medifund scheme shows the government great concern and active efforts to ensuring medical care is catered to the needy of its population, the initiative is still not wholesome and thus need to be relooked into, such as in a situation where a patient meets most of the criteria stated but comes from a broken family and has a family member who is able but refuse to pay for the patients medical bill, he may then be unable to benefit from the Medifund. In such an instance, further implications and repercussions to the patients psycho logical and physical health may worsen his existing medical condition. Not only will his medical bill continue to snowball, his physical health problems may continue to deteriorate as well. Indeed, Singapores strategies in managing rising health care costs through its present healthcare system seem comprehensive and complete. However, there are still some areas that Singapore would need to relook and focus on in order that the strategies would be effective for its population. With the known fact that change is the only constant, a review system would thus need to be in place to improve strategies implemented to manage rising health care costs effectively. A recommended approach for Singapore to review and implement more wholesome, comprehensive and effective strategies to managing rising health care costs may be that of implementing differential healthcare financing schemes that would assist the various socio-economic segments of its population. Secondly, as rising health care costs due to inflation has yet to be tackled by its current strategies, Singapore may need to review its employment assistance and salary compensation strategies to better assist its population in managing rising health care costs, such as ensuring its population who are unemployed to be able to seek employment or reemployment within a short time frame as well as ensuring that the salary compensation for each occupation or profession would be appropriately accorded based on skills, abilities, experience, performance as well as inflation. Conclusion The Singapore government should not micromanage the issue of rising healthcare costs by superficially managing direct influence on rising healthcare costs. The need to prepare its population to accept the change to an ageing population society is crucial in ensuring that every individual is responsible for the

Free Essays - Boys to Men in The Red Badge of Courage :: The Red Badge of Courage

Boys to Men in Red Badge of Courage      The Civil War took more American lives than any other war in history.   It divided the people of the United States, so that in many families brother fought brother.   The four years of bloodshed left a legacy of grief and bitterness that remains in part even today.   The war started on April twelfth, 1861 in Charleston, South Carolina.   It ended four years later on April ninth, 1865.   Many people call this tragic conflict the War Between the States, the War of the Rebellion, the War of the Secession, or the War for southern Independence.   But regardless of what it is called, the war was a great turning point in American history.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   What is so interesting about Crane's Red Badge of Courage?   I found out that war turns boys into mature men, the real dialect and slang used during the war, and what it's like to be a soldier in the Civil War.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The whole novel covers only two days in the life of Henry Flemming, the main character.   In that amount of time, war can turn a boy into a man.   It does not physically turn an individual into a grown man, but it mentally matures them.   War matures boys into a men is by experiencing new, unpredictable environments and adjusting to unfamiliar smells, sounds, and emotions.   Think about it, being there on a battlefield witnessing deaths of friends and comrades would have to have an effect on a human being.   Being in a war and to be around new faces, new personalities, confusion, and trauma would force one to adapt to an environment faster than you usually would.   Just imagine leaving your country home and entering a new and frightening world on a battlefield.   What can make one a hero or a coward?   Fears, emotions, thoughts, and feelings can be the factors that contribute towards the struggle.   As I read this novel I lived not only Henry's actions, but also his individual thoughts and feelings.There was shootin' here an' shootin' there, an' hollerin' here and hollerin' there, in th' damn darkness, until I couldn't tell t' save m' soul which side I was on (p.136, Crane).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   By utilizing the soldiers talking in a dialect that was common during the war and using slang to represent certain words reflected the authors' emphasis on realism and descriptiveness.

View From My Window :: Visual Arts Paintings Art

View From My Window by Camille Pissarro This painting is a landscape and was painted, by Pissarro, from an upstairs window overlooking his back garden. This picture is mainly about farmland as it has a lady with some hens and some cows in the distance. In the foreground of this picture there is a large shrub at the front, to the right there is a grass area with a more similar shrubs and to the left there is another grass area with a lady surrounded by hens. The middleground is all grass area with several trees and several cows you can just see. The background has all trees - the start of a forest and then a sixth of the picture includes the sky. The artist captures your attention by the bright colours and in my opinion the focal point of the picture is the roof of the building as it's red and is the brightest point. I don't think the artist has really used line as such , but he creates line by dabbing the brush to form straight lines. I think the artist has used a wide range of tones from light to dark, the lightest point being the very centre of it which is a light green/yellow colour and the brightest point being the red roof. There are a few dark points too - there is a very dark green shrub and at the left background the sky is a dark grey/blue. I like this because it adds form to the painting and i think it makes it look more realistic. I think the shapes that have been used are regular eg. the sky is a rectangle , the trees are a rounded rectangle shape and circle shaped. In my opinion most of the shapes are formed and look 3D. The main colour of this painting is green and it's used in all different tones and shades. I think the majority of the colours are in harmony although I would say the red contrasts with the green around it. I'm sure a different approach could have changed the picture eg. with warmer colours it would look more of a sunny picture but with darker colours it would look more of a dull picture. I think the texture of the picture looks rough because the artist has created texture by using dabs of paint to make a shape or an object. The building in the foreground is slose up but you can tell it gets further and further away into the distance as the trees get smaller and there's a lot more of them.

Teens, Sex, and Virginity - Teenage Pregnancy Essay -- Exploratory Ess

Teenage Pregnancy      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Teenage pregnancy has always been present in society. There is research stating that about half the women, born between 1900- 1910, who were interviewed were non-virginal at marriage (17 Ravoira). This contradicts some thoughts that premarital sexual behavior is something new. There was another study done in 1953, it found that one fifth of all first births to women were conceived before marriage (17 Ravoira). Even before our modern openness in discussing sexual behavior and acceptance that it does occur, it was quite routine. In earlier society, the incidence of teenage pregnancy was a moral problem. This was because people looked at the child as filius nullius (nobody's child), or illegitimate and the mother as bad, immoral, over- sexed, etc. (18 Ravoira). The child was being blamed for mearly being born, this is unfair to the child who had no fault in the matter (18 Ravoira). The real problem that was seen was the fact that the children were born out-of-wedlock. P eople seemed to have real difficulty accepting that the baby is still a baby no matter what conditions it was born under.    Many women were punished for being pregnant and were regarded as sex offenders or delinquents. During the 1950's, there were homes were unmarried young women were sent, along with their babies. They were made to stay in these uncomfortable, non-nurturing conditions for months, almost like prison, for the crime of bringing a baby into the world . This was thought to be a solution to any financial burdens the woman and her child might cause (18 Ravoira). More commonly, the young women were sent away to the homes of relatives, etc. to have their babies, and then a hasty adoption was secured. This was to prevent... ...rk Ca: Sage Publications, 1993    McCuen, Gary. Children Having Children. Gary McCuen Publications, Hudson. 1988.    Ravoira, LaWanda, and Andrew L. Cherry. Social Bonds and Teen Pregnancy. Westport, CT: Praeger, 1992.       Onilne Sources Consulted: Ez Sound Ideas. Baby Think It Over. [Online] Available http://btio.com/facts.htm, March 5, 1997.    March of Dimes. Teenage Pregnancy: Facts you should know. [Online] Available http://babynet.ddwi.com/tlc/pregnancy/teenfact.html, March 5,1997.    Noah Team. Teenage Pregnancy: Facts You Should Know. [Online] Available http://www.noah.cuny.edu/pregnancy/march_of_dimes/pre_preg.plan/teenfact. html, March 5,1997.    San Francisco Unified School District. San Francisco Schools Granted $2.6 million. [Online] Available http://www.sfusd.k12.ca.us/news/teenpreg.htm, March 5, 1997. Teens, Sex, and Virginity - Teenage Pregnancy Essay -- Exploratory Ess Teenage Pregnancy      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Teenage pregnancy has always been present in society. There is research stating that about half the women, born between 1900- 1910, who were interviewed were non-virginal at marriage (17 Ravoira). This contradicts some thoughts that premarital sexual behavior is something new. There was another study done in 1953, it found that one fifth of all first births to women were conceived before marriage (17 Ravoira). Even before our modern openness in discussing sexual behavior and acceptance that it does occur, it was quite routine. In earlier society, the incidence of teenage pregnancy was a moral problem. This was because people looked at the child as filius nullius (nobody's child), or illegitimate and the mother as bad, immoral, over- sexed, etc. (18 Ravoira). The child was being blamed for mearly being born, this is unfair to the child who had no fault in the matter (18 Ravoira). The real problem that was seen was the fact that the children were born out-of-wedlock. P eople seemed to have real difficulty accepting that the baby is still a baby no matter what conditions it was born under.    Many women were punished for being pregnant and were regarded as sex offenders or delinquents. During the 1950's, there were homes were unmarried young women were sent, along with their babies. They were made to stay in these uncomfortable, non-nurturing conditions for months, almost like prison, for the crime of bringing a baby into the world . This was thought to be a solution to any financial burdens the woman and her child might cause (18 Ravoira). More commonly, the young women were sent away to the homes of relatives, etc. to have their babies, and then a hasty adoption was secured. This was to prevent... ...rk Ca: Sage Publications, 1993    McCuen, Gary. Children Having Children. Gary McCuen Publications, Hudson. 1988.    Ravoira, LaWanda, and Andrew L. Cherry. Social Bonds and Teen Pregnancy. Westport, CT: Praeger, 1992.       Onilne Sources Consulted: Ez Sound Ideas. Baby Think It Over. [Online] Available http://btio.com/facts.htm, March 5, 1997.    March of Dimes. Teenage Pregnancy: Facts you should know. [Online] Available http://babynet.ddwi.com/tlc/pregnancy/teenfact.html, March 5,1997.    Noah Team. Teenage Pregnancy: Facts You Should Know. [Online] Available http://www.noah.cuny.edu/pregnancy/march_of_dimes/pre_preg.plan/teenfact. html, March 5,1997.    San Francisco Unified School District. San Francisco Schools Granted $2.6 million. [Online] Available http://www.sfusd.k12.ca.us/news/teenpreg.htm, March 5, 1997.

Sexism in the Media

What comprises sexism and feminism? Do sexist images in the media have an impact on women and girls? And, what are the broader political issues here? I am hoping that we can reframe the debate around sexism and nudity in the media in a way that makes sense for socialists. We’re all probably aware of sexist representations in the media from newspapers and magazines to the movies, TV and radio. For example, Rolling Stone magazine didn’t used to be a soft porn magazine, but it is so common now for female musicians to be in soft-porn poses on its cover.Howard Stern, the radio DJ, is always asking his female guests and callers what they are wearing. Stern focuses heavily on women’s physical attributes for the titillation of his male listeners. We also see many movies each year where the female characters are there solely to support and gratify the male characters. Magazines often show only pieces of a woman, such as her legs, or torso so that women are seen as pieces of a human being, reduced to only body parts, which are usually hyper sexualized for male stimulation.The currently popular TV show Desperate Housewives has a predominantly female audience, but tends to appeal to male viewers with story lines involving the women in their underwear or locked out of their houses nude. Soft-core pornography is the staple of many mainstream men’s magazines such as Maxim. In the past decade the decline of the mass movement, and the capitalist’s promotion of escapism, has been at the cost of increased degradation of women in the media. Women’s MovementWebster’s Dictionary defines sexism as â€Å"attitudes or behavior based on traditional stereotypes of sexual roles† or â€Å"discrimination or devaluation based on a person’s sex. † According to Webster’s, this word came into usage in the period of 1965-1970 and was modeled after the word racism, which itself came into use in the 1865-1870 period, duri ng the revolutionary days of Reconstruction in the South. The timeline of the creation of the word sexism gives us an idea of the dramatic change in the consciousness of women in the 1960s and 70’s, which was directly influenced by the civil rights movement.However for a word with such a short history, a mere 40 years later, capitalism is trying to make women believe that sexism no longer exists. In my research for this introduction, I came across discussion of something termed â€Å"post-feminism† which argues that the old ideas about what is sexism and who is a feminist no longer apply. That it is not sexist, but merely ironic, that naked women are used in advertising such as the TV ad where Nicolette Sheridan from Desperate Housewives dropped her towel in front of a football player to get more men to watch the NFL.The idea is that women are now in control of their bodies and that to object to the use of a nude woman in an advertisement is actually an attempt to repr ess that individual woman’s sexuality, or an expression of prudishness, and not a comment on the exploitation of women for financial gain. The Repackaging of Sexism & Feminism Feminism is being repackaged and portrayed as a repressive police force telling women what not to wear, how to have sex and not allowing women â€Å"to live their personal lives without the constraints of a rigid ideology,† as one post-feminist writer put it.On the positive side women, and especially young women, are more confident about their sexuality, but for some women this liberation is expressed through the assumption of some of the roles, attitudes and sexual behavior previously more common among men. This is what one so-called feminist writer described as a shift from the old ‘victim feminism’ to the new ‘power feminism. ’ In fact the shift is away from challenging the old male-dominated status quo and toward finding a place within it.Christine Thomas in her arti cle The New Sexism writes about this shift in feminist thinking. She writes about the recent trend of the increased acceptance of strip clubs and lap dancing club; â€Å"Lap dancing, it is argued, is empowering not exploitative because, when ‘dancers’ can earn as much as $800 a night, they’re often earn better money than the men they’re stripping for. As one student told the BBC’s Inside Out program: â€Å"I work when I want to. I make the amount of money I want to, and if I don’t feel like it I can quit.No-one is pushing me to do it. † â€Å"But contrast this with the comment of a regular frequenter of lap dancing clubs: â€Å"It makes me feel like a king to be sitting there with all these women surrounding me, giving me loads of attention. Nothing beats the thrill of calling a woman over, sitting her down and talking to her, knowing that if you give her money she is going to take all her clothes off. It’s great to have that kind of control, that power, and it’s an ego boost to have all girls competing with each other to dance for you. â€Å"However empowered individual dancers might feel (and of course not all dancers are well paid) lap dancing itself promotes the idea that women are not thinking ‘whole’ beings but body parts – objects available for men to control and enjoy. † 1 This new ‘feminism’ also represents a shift from a collective to an individualistic approach to women’s equality. If a given woman feels oppressed, feels exploited, or feels demeaned, it is because something is wrong with her. Perhaps she is not aggressive enough or not motivated enough.She has not figured out how to advance within the current system. When women buy into the basic concepts of capitalist culture, the new â€Å"feminists† imply, as many doors will open for women as for men and they will no longer be victims. The new ‘post-feminism’ also ar gues that the male dominated empire is crumbling and that more women than ever are now in positions of power. However, we know who these powerful women are: Margaret Thatcher, Hilary Clinton, and Condoleeza Rice. They actually represent a step backwards for women’s equality.Condoleeza’s promotion to Secretary of State reinforces the illusion that racial and gender discrimination no longer exists and that failure to succeed is only the failure of individuals to take advantage of their opportunities. Her work for the Bush administration is helping to increase the attacks on all workers, women and men, which in turn especially increases the burden economically on women. Her promotion represents no change whatsoever for the status quo and for the reality of working class women across the United States. How Equal are We? Women today still consistently make less than men for fulltime work in the same jobs.In statistics from 2002, nationally women average 78% of men’s pay for all jobs. Among the highest paid professionals (doctors and lawyers) women only make from 58-76% of men’s average pay and they make up about a third of the workers in these jobs. On the other hand, those jobs that are predominantly occupied by women such as cashiers or child care workers; women make about 95% of men’s wages. But the average weekly wage for men and women is very low at $250-$300 per week. Also, traditionally unionized jobs like nursing and construction have higher average weekly wages and women make about 91% of men’s pay. 2However, the startling fact is that in the Bureau of Labor Statistics information from 2002, out of hundreds of job categories, there is not a single job where women make more money than men do. There are also a radically higher proportion of women than men living in poverty in the U. S. For many American women, violence is also a nasty reminder of the inequality in this society. Estimates of non-fatal domestic violenc e against women range from 1 million to 4 million a year with nearly 1 in 3 women experiencing a physical assault from a partner in adulthood. Women have a 10 times greater likelihood of being victimized by an intimate than men.Also, 33% of all women murdered are murdered by an intimate partner. In fact the leading cause of death among pregnant women is not complications from pregnancy, but murder. 4 The sexist representations of women in the media are a direct reflection of this economic and social inequality. But these images also serve to reinforce the lower status of women not only through showing us as a commodity to be packaged for men’s enjoyment, something to be controlled, but also by directly undermining women’s self-esteem and emphasizing the unattainable ideal of a ‘perfect’ woman. Up to 80% of American women are issatisfied with their appearance. Much of the marketing of the ideal woman is targeted at women directly. Women’s magazines, both in articles and advertisements (and it is often difficult to distinguish the two) carry a lot of ideas about the ideal woman. In addition 1 out of every 3. 8 television commercials carries some sort of â€Å"attractiveness message. †5 Media Images and Girls The American Society of Plastic Surgeons reports that 82% of all cosmetic surgical procedures are performed on women. The most common procedures are liposuction, breast augmentation, nose reshaping and eyelid surgery.In the years from 1992 to 2003 total cosmetic surgical procedures increased by 192% with breast augmentation increasing by 657% and liposuction by 412%. 6 Not only are women reshaping their bodies in record numbers to try and fit some type of female ideal, but girls are influenced by this pressure as well. Some 81% of ten year-old girls are afraid of being fat and 51% of 9 and 10 year-olds feel better about themselves if they are on a diet. Of normal dieters, about 5-6% will progress to partial or full sy ndrome eating disorders. 7Eating disorders often start for women in their teen and pre-teen years, and represent an extreme attempt to control one’s body. It may not seem such a distorted priority to young girls to achieve the perfect body through self-punishing starvation or vomiting when record numbers of adult women are voluntarily subjecting themselves to invasive surgeries. Now this process is being accelerated and normalized through TV shows such as Extreme Makeovers and The Swan. Here, mostly women are shown going through a series of major cosmetic surgeries.In The Swan a prize goes to the best makeover. Capitalism sends mixed messages to women that only create anxiety. Their perfect woman is young, thin, and never has acne. However, the unhealthy food big business pushes at us makes this perfect woman even more unattainable. Not only do they profit from selling us this bad food, but the food itself almost guarantees that we will need to spend more money on cosmetics, dieting, surgery, or antidepressants if we buy into this ideal woman concept. We can’t talk about sexism’s effect on women without also iscussing its effect on men who are also damaged by it. From boyhood, men are sent the message that women are here for their pleasure and that they are primarily commodities for their consumption. If this idea is completely internalized, it makes men unable to connect with women in any but the most superficial way, and cuts them off from a deeper understanding of both themselves and women. Just as the oppression of women has forced women in general to develop a more skillful understanding of human relations, so too male privilege tends to stunt men’s relationship skills.Also, for men that have themselves experienced abusive upbringings, it makes them more likely to be trapped into attempting to control women through physical or emotional abuse. Sexism and Capitalism’s new Moral Divide In the 1984 movie, This is Spinal Tap – the fake documentary about an English heavy metal band, a female record company executive lets the band members know that they have concerns with the band’s album cover. They feel that the image of a naked woman wearing a leash and dog’s collar is sexist. â€Å"Sexy,† one of the band members says, â€Å"what’s wrong with being sexy? †There is enormous confusion today surrounding this difference between what is deemed sexy and what it sexist in the media. The recent media hype around the Janet Jackson breast exposure incident and the uproar over the NFL commercial I previously cited are examples of how this discussion is being spun in the media: as the relentless sex-oriented focus of popular culture verses the purity of family values. In an era where some women are losing access to services that help them control their bodies reproductively, we are now seeing the control of images of women’s bodies as an issue in the media.The new ‘feminists’ would have us believe that the ultimate control of an individual woman’s body belongs to the woman herself and so the images are not discussed in the context of sexism. The liberals argue that a woman’s naked body is no big deal and can’t we be mature and realize that it’s just a woman’s body; failing, like the guy from Spinal Tap, to distinguish between sexy and sexism. The family values coalition argues that it is damaging to children to be exposed to nudity and the subject of sex; making it appear that any outrage is due to prudishness.The argument goes that these are the opposing interests in the discussion – leaving little voice for most people. Is it possible that this divisive construct is promoted by the media itself to obscure the real issue? The real issue is the exploitation of a woman’s body and sexuality for the purpose of selling products: magazines, TV shows, movies, football games. If we unders tand it this way, then we have a way to object to the objectification of women without falling into the trap of prudishness.We can condemn CBS and the NFL not for showing us Janet Jackson’s breast, but for exploiting her desire to further her career and the captive audience of viewers to boost ratings, which in the end makes more advertisement money for them. Capitalism typically creates and exploits divisions for the purpose of undermining working class solidarity. Sexism undermines the solidarity between men and women. By failing to point out capitalism’s role in this issue, we can allow a new threat to class solidarity to take root. This non-class based division, created by the media, the so-called â€Å"moral divide. A New Mass Movement The current trends in the media represent a step backwards for women in the struggle against sexism and exploitation. This is another facet of the global phenomenon, regardless of gender, of working class people being attacked more fiercely by the capitalist class. The current onslaught of sexism, besides undermining class solidarity, also serves capitalism by expanding markets for diet and beauty products and for surgery. It also represents a huge drain on the resources of an individual woman.With her self-image and self worth constantly under attack, it is no surprise that some women have fallen into an individualistic, superficial, self-absorption, spending less time fighting to change the workplace and the community. Especially with the failure of working class and women’s organizations to fight on concrete issues that are important to women. However, just as in the 1960s, a mass movement gave birth to the women’s movement and sexism even started to be talked about, so too a new mass movement of workers that confronts capitalism will also confront sexism. Working class women will be at the fore of such a movement.In fact, women play a key role in many community struggles. LMV has been involv ed in the Campaign for Renters Rights a direct action group in which women took the leading role in fighting off Section 8 housing cuts. 8 In the 70’s we saw how differently women could be treated in the media with real stories about real women. There was a trend toward increased realism in TV and film including the portrayal of women. In the movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore a working class woman who is a single parent stands up against everyday sexism. The central character is a woman who is strong, funny and insightful.The scarcity of movies like this since the 70’s with strong female characters confirms the degeneracy of not only the popular media but of capitalism itself. Socialism, on the contrary, will not only achieve material equality between men and women, but also allow both men and women to better explore their own individuality, and break free of the base superficiality that market capitalism promotes. January 2005References 1 Christine Thomas , The New Sexism, Socialism Today Issue 77 Sept 2003 2 The Bureau of Labor Statistics, Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by detailed occupation and sex, 2002 annual averages. Domestic Violence Statistics, District of Columbia Coalition Against Domestic Violence at www. dccadv. org More stats from National Domestic Violence Hotline at www. ndvh. org. 4 Kim Curtis, Murder: The leading cause of death for pregnant women. Associated Press April 23, 2003 5 National Eating Disorders Association at www. nationaleatingdisorders. org 6 American Society of Plastic Surgeons at www. plasticsurgery . org 7 National Eating Disorders Association 8 For more on this struggle see www. laborsmilitantvoice. com