Challenges Facing Canadian Organizations Essay

Canada. They are the world’s largest producer of newsprint, nickel, and asbestos. Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver are rated some of the best cities in the world. There is also Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), which bring us Canadians radio and television broadcasts the news, music, and entertainment. (Schwind, 2010, p. 3) Even though Canada is a leader and a top competitor around the world in regards to business, resources, talent, and innovation, there are still many challenges facing Canadian organizations. In this paper I will discuss the many ways that Canada, from a business stand point and as whole, faces challenges and what we as a country are doing to rise and succeed through these challenges. There are five major challenges that are facing Canadian businesses; Economic, Technological, Demographic, Cultural, and Legal. Economic challenges are broken down into three separate categories; surviving a recessionary cycle, facing the global trade challenge, and meeting the challenge of productivity improvement. All three of these are interrelated and I will briefly describe each section of the challenges. Surviving the recessionary cycle is a tough challenge especially for the Human Resource Managers, who are tasked with planning, coordinating and ultimately implementing layoffs. Recessions are a misfortune that affects everyone and every company, big or small. Job security and overall high morale of employees at a company are troubled as well in these hard times. The global trade industry is another issue that Canadians are facing. International trade has been critical to Canada’s prosperity and growth. (Schwind, 2010, p. 5) Canada is ranked number nine in the world for exporting internationally, (Metcalfe, 2008), but per capita we export more than the United States or Japan. To face this challenge Canadian organizations are expanding abroad by opening new plants and increasing activity rates in foreign countries. This is to be closer to the customers and also for the lower labour costs. Being a multicultural nation has given Canada a competitive advantage in regards to trading with other countries. However, other countries have a lower-cost based trading system due to factors such as lower labour costs, has caused Canada to lose our market share in some industries such as pulp and paper, cotton yarn, and steel manufacturing. (Schwind, 2010, p. 6) Productivity is the third aspect of economic challenges we face. Technically, productivity is the ratio of output to input. It is a measure of how efficiently and effectively a business or an economy uses inputs such as labour and capital to produce outputs such as goods and services. Alan Greenspan, an ex-chairman of the Federal Reserve of the United States, was quoted as saying â€Å"Productivity – the goods and services produced from each hour of work – is the magic elixir of economic progress. It’s why we live better than our grandparents did, without working longer hours.† (Demos, 2011) Canada’s largest trading partner, the United States, has been improving their productivity faster than we have. We have to increase our productivity as a nation in order to continue to thrive and grow. A report conducted in 2000 stated that if the productivity gap between Canada and the U.S. were to continue, it would reduce Canada’s living standards from 61 percent of U.S. levels in 1999 to 52 percent in 2010. (McCallum, 2000) In order to maintain and improve its productivity, Canada must update its technology to increase its levels. There are two technological changes and challenges face the Canadian businesses today, computerization and automation. Computers and their technology are rapidly growing and they affect all aspects of work. They produce large amounts of information in a timely matter, and have the ability to massively store and transfer the information. There is an increase in flexibility, such as being able to work at home, or even while on vacation, if need be, due to the internet, emails and data transfers. Telecommunicating is also a factor in helping with productivity, morale and cost reduction. Not only is there internet, many companies also have intranet, which are a private information network within the company. The mix of telecommunicating and intranet increase communication and information knowledge between members of an organization to also increase productivity. Automation is the automatically controlled operation of a process, system, or equipment by mechanical or electronic devices. The two major reasons for automation is speed and better service. In some capital equipment items, Canada takes six to twelve months to make, where Japan takes six to twelve weeks. (Schwind, 2010, p. 10) This is a major challenge that Canada must face. The service factor is continuous. A machine is programed to do the same exact operation over and over to ensure quality and effectiveness, where as a human might make an error on one or more areas of the operation. Another challenge with technology and automation is cost. Machines are expensive and not all companies can afford the high-tech equipment, and therefore must rely on manual labour. Demographic challenges include the changes associated with the labour force, such as education levels, age, and participation levels which occur slowly and are usually known in advance. The number of female workers in the workforce has greatly increased over the last three decades, and with that so has the way organizations are ran. In the past the men worked and the women stayed home and took care of the house and home. Now, more and more women are out in the workforce and companies have had to change the way to operate, in order to accommodate. Also, more and more workers are getting higher educations and becoming more knowledgeable in many areas of the field. Canada’s challenge with these issues are to be able to find, keep in home country, and continually train and increase the overall knowledge to promote further success in Canadian organizations in the future. Age is a key factor that has started in will continue to affect Canadian operations. The term â€Å"baby-boomer† is defined as any one born between the years 1946-1966. (Krotki, 2012), and the majority of that population is already, or getting ready for retirement. This is social (health care) and organizational challenge facing the workforce is termed as the â€Å"old age crisis†. (McLean’s, 1983) The challenge facing Canada now is the vast amount of workers that will be retiring, and the knowledge that they take with them. The largest sector that this â€Å"crisis† will affect is the trades department. According to Statistics Canada, in 2007, the ratio for non-trades was 0.7, indicating significantly more workers nearing retirement than in the early stages of their careers. This was substantially lower than the ratio of 1.6 in 1987 and illustrates the well-known phenomenon of the baby boom generation—now approaching retirement—and the subsequent significantly smaller generation beginning their careers. When this ratio is below one, meaning fewer people in the early stages of their careers than will be retiring soon, it points to a potential net out-flow of workers (Pyper, 2008) So as the baby-boomers retire, there will be a shortage of skilled workers to fill their shoes. The last factor of the demographic challenge is that of the part-time workers and contractors or contingent workers. There is a disadvantage as well as an advantage to this line of work. For the employee it means less benefits and lower pay than that of a full-time worker. But on the other hand, the employer will in turn pay less labour cost, and benefit payouts, to part-time workers, as well as contractors, who are not on the pay roll, thus reducing long-term costs. The cultural challenges facing Canada today are crucial due to the multicultural nation that we are. The main areas are work-related attitudes and ethnic diversity. People now are requesting more vacations and holidays than before and a varied workweek. Instead of the typical two week vacation a year, and Monday to Friday 9-5, they expect more and want more flexibility. There is also a major attitude difference between the baby-boomer generation, Generation X, and Generation Y workers. Canadian organizations have to accept these differences and find ways to accommodate each group. Society as a whole are also more ethically orientated now. Business can run like they used to two decades ago. People and employees are more aware of the ethics and expect to be treated fairer and with respect. Canada’s society and workforce is a cultural mosaic. Hosting and employing a variety of ethnics, races, cultures and social groups. Having this vast array of differences poses opportunities as well as challenges for Canadian organizations. They prosper by gaining knowledge of each different group, but they must also take into consideration that they are all different and have different views, beliefs, and backgrounds than other people. The final factor is that of legal matters, which are categorized into five sections; employment equity, human rights laws, charter of rights, minimum wage acts, and safety-related legislation. Employment equity is an act that was amended in 1996 and is a federal law that states one must remove employment barriers and promote equality. It was set to ensure equal opportunities for four different groups; women, persons with disability, Aboriginal people, and people of a visible minority. The Canadian Human Rights Act, in effect March 1978, proclaims that all people regardless of; age, sex, race, ethnic origin, colour, religion, sexual orientation, marital status, family status, disability, or conviction for which a pardon has been granted, shall not be discriminated upon, and should have equal opportunity to make for themselves a life which they choose. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is a federal law enacted in 1982, guaranteeing individuals equal rights before the law. Federal government passed the Minimum Wage Act in 1935, but minimum wage jurisdiction falls under provincial legislation. So each province has their own set of wages and rules to follow. The safety-related legislation is an area concerned with the safety and well-being of individuals in the workforce. These above mentioned legal matters are a definite challenge facing Canada’s organizations. More than ever people know their rights and freedoms, and expect safety in the workplace. The challenge for organizations is to uphold the law, and ensure safety and wellbeing for not only themselves but to the employees, their families and everyone involved whether it’s internally or externally. References Demos, D. (2011, Feburary). The New Formula for Branch Productivity. Retrieved Janurary 27, 2013, from Novantas: http://www.novantas.com/article.php?id=303 Krotki, K. J. (2012). â€Å"Baby Boom†. Retrieved Janurary 28, 2013, from The Canadian Encyclopedia: http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/baby-boom McCallum, J. (2000, May). â€Å"Will Canada Matter in 2020?†. Royal Bank Current Analysis, Royal Bank of Canada Economics Department, p. 5. McLean’s. (1983, Janurary 17). â€Å"Our Coming Old Age Crisis†. MacLean’s, p. 24. Metcalfe, L. (2008, March 2011). Economic Statistics. Retrieved Janurary 27, 2013, from Nation Master.com: http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/eco_exp-economy-exports Pyper, W. (2008, October). Skilled Trades Employment. Perspectives on Labour and Income, 9(10). Schwind, H. F. (2010). Canadian Human Resource Managment (9th ed.). (J. Cotton, Ed.) Whitby, Ontario, Canada: McGraw-Hill Ryerson.

Revisiting The Golden Era Of Hindi Cinema

A country of 1.2 billion people, the ancient civilisation of India is a melting pot of cultures and juxtapositions. It is a land that will assault your senses all around. The vibrant colours, exotic aromas, cacophony of sounds, and the amalgamation of flavours will both enchant and offend. Within it more than 20 native dialects are spoken. But in this diversity there is unity found in the common language of their movies. Such is the power and hold over audiences of Indian films. In the space of a darkened cinema, everyone is equal momentarily.The social and economic divides that separate rickshaw driver from the IT engineer are broken and ignored. It provides an escape from reality, the ultimate dream factory where for those three hours, you can be whoever you want to be. The restraints of status, social standing, wealth, religion, education are for a moment forgotten as the audience are compelled to lose themselves in the world playing out before them on the large screen.As the larg est producer of films, the Indian film industry beats both Hollywood and China in terms of the number of films churned out each year. Having accrued such a status through the production of more than 2000 films in India’s various languages, it is no wonder that the magical spell cast upon Indian cinema goers is a hard one to break.The Golden Era Of Films : 1940s to 1960sThe Indian film industry is one of the most well-known film industries in the world today. Indian films are regularly being featured in the top film festivals and Indian actors/actresses are being flooded with offers from Hollywood. Much of the credit for this popularity goes to the film makers of the 1940s to the 1960s who made some evergreen classics that made the world sit up and take notice of Indian films. This era marked the beginning of evolution of Indian Cinema though various genres. We had mainstream film makers like Raj Kapoor who, in the most conservative and formulaic era, made some of the most inv entive, personal and entertaining films such as Awara  (1951) and Shree 420 (1955).Mother India, which many consider the greatest movie of Indian cinema, was made in 1957. The film got India its first nomination to the Oscars as the best foreign film. Some of the other must-watch movies of this era are Mahal (1949), Do Aankhein Barah Haath (1957), Madhumati (1958) and Mughal-e-Aazam (1960). Movies of various genres, including romance, drama, comedy and tragedy, were made, each with great depth in storyline, memorable characters and heart-touching narration. Another acclaimed director and writer of this era was Mr. Kamal Amrohi. His movies had an expressionist direction with a firm structure and poetic style throughout, that is missing from the modern Bollywood movies. He only made four movies altogether and seeing Mahal it’s clear that his main career was as a poet.The film is full of lyrical images, depth of distance and contour and characterisations that inter-relate on s everal levels at once — the logical, the psychological, the emotional and the metaphysical. The Golden Age of Hindi cinema that blossomed with the studio era of the 1950s and ebbed by the early 1970s is one of India’s greatest artistic achievements. A lot of Hindi films made during that time, could hardly be called Hindi films.Rather, Hindustani, a mixture of Urdu and Hindi, was the lingua franca of the silver-screen—a reflection of a country unified by a fascinatingly diverse heritage with linguistic influences from Sanskrit, Farsi, Bengali, Arabic, Panjabi, and a myriad of others. Urdu in films was remarkably accessible—holding a place for any viewer in every genre. True, it is unlikely the entire audience understood each word in those songs. However, in this manner, film and music could be educational for those who did not–a unique way of preserving the culture they reflected back on. As parallel cinema diva Shabana Azmi aptly quipped,â€Å"If you compare today’s songs with the songs of the 1960s and 1970s, then definitely today’s songs are according to the demand. But if you see, Hindi films used to protect the Urdu language as they used it, but it is slowly dying and I feel bad for it.† The legacy of Urdu will continue to add to the allure and nostalgia of old films for generations to come. For the loss of Urdu is more than the mere loss of vocabulary. Without Urdu in Hindi films, we have lost our own andaaz –the manner with which we once communicated our thoughts and feelings, our decorum, and a rich, meaningful ornamentation in  expressing ourselves that can never be replaced. Famous movies of this era being Mughal-e-Aazam, Pakeeza etc.Some of the most critically acclaimed Hindi films of all time were produced during this period. While commercial Hindi cinema was thriving, the 1950s also saw the emergence of a new Parallel Cinema movement. Though the movement was mainly led by Bengali cine ma, it also began gaining prominence in Hindi cinema. Early examples of Hindi films in this movement include Chetan Anand’s Neecha Nagar (1946) and Bimal Roy’s – Do Bigha Zameen -Two Acres of Land (1953).Some of the internationally acclaimed Hindi filmmakers involved in the movement included Mani Kaul, Kumar Shahani, Ketan Mehta, Govind Nihalani, Shyam Benegal and Vijaya Mehta. These films won several awards nationally and internationally and Their critical acclaim, as well as the commercial success, paved the way for Indian neorealism and the Indian New Wave. Subrata Mitra, who debuted as a cinematographer with this film, has been a great influence on India and the world in the field of cinematography.Ray is considered as one of the greatest directors of all-time. Satyajit Ray and Ritwik Ghatak went on to make many other great art films, and other talented directors such as Mrinal Sen, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Mani Kaul and Buddhadeb Dasgupta followed suit. In the 1960’s, Indira Gandhi, as the Information and Broadcasting Minster, further promoted offbeat cinema with the official Film Finance Corporation supporting such movies. The films received great commercial success as well as critical acclaim. Guru Dutt’s Pyaasa (1957) and Kagaz Ke Phool (1959) are among the finest movies ever made.This era was a golden age for Indian music as well, giving us melodious music that continues to inspire music directors till date. Playback singers such as Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhonsle, Kishore Kumar, Mohd Rafi and Manna Dey reached the zenith of their careers during this era. We had some of the most amazing and charismatic actors like Dilip Kumar, Raj Kapoor and Dev Anand who cast a spell on the Indian audiences with their fresh style and acting talent. The most beautiful women ever seen on celluloid, such as Madhu Bala, Vyjayanthi Mala, Meena Kumari and Waheeda Rahman, graced the screen during this period. They had not just beauty but great acting  talent, which helped them play the most challenging roles with utmost ease and perfection.Overall, the 1940s – 60s was a period that revolutionized Indian cinema. Prior to this period, most movies centered around mythological, historical or family related themes. Romance was portrayed in the most beautiful and sensitive manner during this period, and in a society where almost everyone had arranged marriages, it brought about a fresh wave of thought among the youth. The films depicted everyday lives as well as larger social issues in a subtle, yet highly impactful manner, and remain as inspiration for generations of film makers to come.Parallel Cinema : Rise and Fall What is Parallel Cinema?The Indian New Wave, commonly known in India as Art Cinema or Parallel Cinema as an alternative to the mainstream commercial cinema, is a specific movement in Indian cinema, known for its serious content, realism and naturalism, with a keen eye on the socio-political climate of th e times. This movement is distinct from main stream Bollywood cinema. The term â€Å"parallel cinema† has started being applied to off-beat films produced in Bollywood, where art films have begun experiencing resurgence. This led to the emergence of a distinct genre known as Mumbai noir, urban films reflecting social problems in the city of Mumbai. In contemporary cinema, the term â€Å"parallel cinema† is being used to describe any out of the box movie.Parallel cinema essentially is made up of the non-mainstream films that are not made for commercial successes or garnering profits. These are usually low-budget movies, and focus on the social or political issues prevalent in our nation. The tradition of parallel cinema can be dated long back into the 1920s and 1930s. The history of Indian Cinema cannot be told without the mention of India’s biggest director ever, Guru Dutt. He has been time and again accredited with ushering the golden era of Indian cinema. His work was purely artistic and lyrical in terms of content and enjoyed commercial success. He was loved by the audience despite the fact that his work was based on subjects that were considered taboo at that time.Fall Of Parallel Cinema : Some Hindi filmmakers such as Shyam Benegal continued to produce realistic Parallel Cinema throughout the 1970s, alongside Mani Kaul, Kumar Shahani, Ketan Mehta, Govind Nihalani and Vijaya Mehta. However, the ‘art film’ bent of the Film Finance Corporation came under criticism during a Committee on Public Undertakings investigation in 1976, which accused the body of not doing enough to encourage commercial cinema. The 1970s thus saw the rise of commercial cinema or the so called â€Å"popular cinema†. Many movies from â€Å"popular cinema† never actually become popular; then why such movies are called popular? They are out of mind as soon as they are out of sight.Cinema critics have euphemistically termed such movies, which are primarily intended to entertain and make big bucks, though commercial, as â€Å"popular†. â€Å"Popular† cinema, the term used for cinema which is â€Å"less† thought provoking but is more leisurely and mellow-dramatic. Popular cinema emerged in the ‘60s and ‘70s and since then has been successful. Popular may be less in intellectual content, but enjoys more commercial success than parallel cinema. It has always been loved by the masses for the escape it offers from the gruelling daily life. There have been fewer times when parallel cinema has enjoyed the kind of success and acceptance popular cinema does and gets. Parallel cinema has always been liked by a particular kind of audience, a trend that fortunately seems to be changing now.â€Å"Parallel† cinema, a category of cinema very advantageously crafted for the inclusion of realistic movie; a kind of realism that doesn’t get mass acceptance because of how hard hitting it can be. Parallel cinema has been in existence since the emergence of Indian cinema. It all started when no specific category existed and all kinds of movies were given equal importance. Unapologetically, the audience showed preference to a certain category which had elements of fantasy and mushiness. As a result, a new class of cinema emerged which promised to be real and thought provoking; a cinema that was proud of being â€Å"artsy†.The reason why parallel cinema is not an equally blessed child might lie in the fact that it is â€Å"real†. It shows the reality and truth behind things. Cinema is considered a means to escape from reality and paying money to see that same reality in a more vivid manner doesn’t appeal to many. In today’s Bollywood scenario, quantity (of moolah) finds precedence over quality (of scripts) and slapstick, verging-towards-obscene  comedies and typical love stories with the boo-hoos and item songs are the super-mega-blockbusters.The films nowadays cater to multiplex audience and they are bound to make a film which sells, no matter even if it is rubbish. The advent of numerous channels, the consumerist culture and the expansion of urban India has given birth to urban-centric audiences. The cinema which once portrayed class struggles and protests against hypocrisy, has given way to more ‘entertaining’ cinema. The situation is rather bleak for the lover of serious and meaningful cinema. The filmmakers who make serious films have failed to make the cut in today’s times and the classics are lost.The Changing Times : In these 100 years of cinema, one can see how society has developed because cinema in some way or another reflects society. Cinema is seen like any other industry now. The acceptance of different film genres surely doesn’t seem like a big thing now as it was in its early years. Even the mindset of the audience is changing with the evolution of cinema. Film makers thus have the courage to make such movies now, and people are more than willing to see and appreciate these films for their intriguing content.There are now a number of directors which enjoy â€Å"popular† success with films that are high on â€Å"intellectual† content too, like Vishal Bhardwaj, Anurag Kashyap and Dibakar Banerjee to name a few. Actors are more than willing to take the risk and be a part of the kind of cinema that has a number of constraints involved. It’s not going to be long when the lines will be blurred between what is â€Å"popular† and what is â€Å"parallel† cinema. . Both commercial and parallel cinema can co-exist, but only if we want!Today’s Need : We need a platform for both these cinemas i.e Commercial or parallel cinema to co-exist. Both these genres need equal recognition. A lot of people are not aware of the less popular, art or parallel cinema. We need to educate people about the existence/history and idea of such cinema. The common masses need to be educated about the various aspects that go behind the making of a film. To encourage and promote young talent to make more meaningful cinema : more and more youths are taking up a career in films.They do not have a common platform to showcase their talents or get enough  credit or recognition for their films. We need a common platform for an exchange of ideas to take place. We need to promote today’s generation and encourage them to watch and learn from the film legends of the past, who were the pioneers of various genres of Indian cinema and brought international fame to the Indian film industry. Preserve, Promote, showcase and educate the common masses today, about the golden era of classic cinema , that brought India, international recognition back in the day.Aim : To design a mixed use public space showcasing, preserving and promoting the cinematic heritage of the Golden Era Of Hindi film industry i.e from 1940’s- 1970’s.Object ive : To design a unique tourist attraction for all visitors coming to Mumbai to experience various aspects of Hindi cinema and understand the process of film making in an entertaining way. To bridge the gap between the film industry and the general audiences and to promote young artists and talent by creating a common platform for the exchange of thoughts and ideas and educating them about the rich Cinematic heritage of Hindi cinema.To develop a Hindi Cine-museum to Preserve, Promote, showcase and educate the common masses today, about the Golden Era of classic cinema along with the parallel cinema that co-existed during that time, through exhibition, articles, posters, sets etc. To create platforms to showcase both Commercial and parallel cinema and their co-existence. We need to educate people about the existence/history and idea behind such cinema.

Analysis of the Possible Effects of the Caste System

However, there are still countries that seem to lag behind because of their internal problems in regards to inequalities. India with regards to its present global profile is seen to be one of the rising economic powers in the world. In spite of its vast supply of labor especially the skilled workers, this country still remain a low-income one and poverty is still a big issue. This said problem is considered a result of its caste system. The Caste system divides people of India into four groups. This system decides for Indian people what they should do for living for their entire life. The Caste system did help the Indian society to be structured and organized. However, the system in the modern days was only an obstacle for India. It is considered as one of the most dehumanizing systems the world. The caste system is making a big gap between the rich and the poor. The extent of and trends in inequalities and poverty in India affects global trends because of its large population size and majority of its population fall under the poverty line. Due to globalization with the mass improvement of transportation and communication, nations are competing against other nations of the entire world. In a modern society, where time and resource are truly valued, the Caste system has held back India by wasting some incredibly talented individuals of lower caste. This system has made the poor suffer most. They were stripped of an opportunity to learn and be employed on bigger companies. This said situation has further led to the marginalization of the already marginalized people. With the growth of India’s gross national product, still the labor force in agriculture remains too high while those in the manufacturing sector are low. There is no doubt that a striking feature of India’s growth performance in the past years has been the growth of the services sector like IT, software and BPO industries. There is no doubt that India has employed millions of people for this industry but as impressive as the figure seems, it is too small if they are seen against the overall size of the country’s labor force. Employment is the service sector still lags behind. Additionally, employment is only concentrated in a few large cities and very few people from the rural and poor area find jobs in this sector because they lack the required skills. In other countries, the service sector tends to gain a larger share of employment. The rising of globalization has made people move from one place to another easily. Also education has also helped people disregard gender and social inequalities. If India would remain strict on recognizing the caste system, it will pose a threat for them in the future. The world is one, and how a nation deals with its immigrants is really important for the future of the nation. Many people now are intolerant to inequalities and discrimination. Therefore, India may be losing investors or possible capitalists just because of the system. The Caste system cannot make India a stable country anymore, since there is no spot in the system for immigrants to India. India should not lose what it was built for and based on. However, they should be really careful. The caste system may give birth to possible social unrest that may dismay or discourage other people to go to their country. This social blindness can be cured only when there is the realization that all people are created equal and have equal intrinsic value and worth. Analysis of the Possible Effects of the Caste System However, there are still countries that seem to lag behind because of their internal problems in regards to inequalities. India with regards to its present global profile is seen to be one of the rising economic powers in the world. In spite of its vast supply of labor especially the skilled workers, this country still remain a low-income one and poverty is still a big issue. This said problem is considered a result of its caste system. The Caste system divides people of India into four groups. This system decides for Indian people what they should do for living for their entire life. The Caste system did help the Indian society to be structured and organized. However, the system in the modern days was only an obstacle for India. It is considered as one of the most dehumanizing systems the world. The caste system is making a big gap between the rich and the poor. The extent of and trends in inequalities and poverty in India affects global trends because of its large population size and majority of its population fall under the poverty line. Due to globalization with the mass improvement of transportation and communication, nations are competing against other nations of the entire world. In a modern society, where time and resource are truly valued, the Caste system has held back India by wasting some incredibly talented individuals of lower caste. This system has made the poor suffer most. They were stripped of an opportunity to learn and be employed on bigger companies. This said situation has further led to the marginalization of the already marginalized people. With the growth of India’s gross national product, still the labor force in agriculture remains too high while those in the manufacturing sector are low. There is no doubt that a striking feature of India’s growth performance in the past years has been the growth of the services sector like IT, software and BPO industries. There is no doubt that India has employed millions of people for this industry but as impressive as the figure seems, it is too small if they are seen against the overall size of the country’s labor force. Employment is the service sector still lags behind. Additionally, employment is only concentrated in a few large cities and very few people from the rural and poor area find jobs in this sector because they lack the required skills. In other countries, the service sector tends to gain a larger share of employment. The rising of globalization has made people move from one place to another easily. Also education has also helped people disregard gender and social inequalities. If India would remain strict on recognizing the caste system, it will pose a threat for them in the future. The world is one, and how a nation deals with its immigrants is really important for the future of the nation. Many people now are intolerant to inequalities and discrimination. Therefore, India may be losing investors or possible capitalists just because of the system. The Caste system cannot make India a stable country anymore, since there is no spot in the system for immigrants to India. India should not lose what it was built for and based on. However, they should be really careful. The caste system may give birth to possible social unrest that may dismay or discourage other people to go to their country. This social blindness can be cured only when there is the realization that all people are created equal and have equal intrinsic value and worth.

Speaker Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Speaker - Essay Example Vanchiere would give a speech that would be largely similar to nearly all the other speeches that I have heard over the years, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the speech was quite interesting and could easily be analyzed using the five cannons of rhetoric. Rhetoric is mainly seen to be divided into five key categories that mainly include arrangement, style, invention, delivery and memory, it is these five categories that essentially comprise of the five canons of rhetoric. An analysis of the speech given by Dr. Vanchiere reveals that that he used the five cannons of rhetoric as follows. Invention: This cannon is defined as being the art through which the speaker is able to successfully find a number of appropriate rhetorical arguments that can be presented in a given rhetorical situation. In using this cannon of rhetoric, Dr. Vanchiere started off the lecture by pointing out that the HPV vaccine is one of the most successful vaccines that is currently being administered. Dr. Vanchiere then went on to compare the successes of the HPV vaccine as compared to other vaccines such as the flu vaccine. By using the flu vaccine as a comparison against the HPV vaccine, the doctor was able to successfully create a reference point that resonated with his audience as most members of the audience could easily relate with the flu vaccine as nearly all of them had been given the vaccine at some point in their lives. Arrangement: The rhetorical cannon of arrangement is seen to be concerned with the arrangement of a speech in a manner that will enable the speech to have the maximum level of persuasion that it can possibly have. In this regard, after Dr. Vanchiere had commenced his speech by arguing that the HPV is actually the most successful vaccine to have ever been created. He went on to validate his claims by providing empirical data on some of its successes such as the fact that an estimated 80 million doses of the vaccine have already

Project- Administrative Agencies Research Paper

Project- Administrative Agencies - Research Paper Example The paper will also present a personal critique of the agency and make recommendations for the agency’s future. Purpose for creation of Environmental Protection Agency The Environmental Protection Agency was created with the aim of merging related roles that were formerly administrated by different agencies and organizations. Its overall purpose was however the protection of â€Å"human health and the environment† from activities whose unregulated operations pollutes the environment (National Research Council, p. 8). The agency’s specific purposes are however diverse and includes ensuring measures for good quality of the atmosphere, ensuring that water and water bodies are free from pollutants, promoting hygiene among the society and implementing laws for safeguarding the environment. Its purpose therefore majorly concerns environmental safety for healthy lives (National Research Council, p. 8). The agency’s parent act The Environmental Protection Agency w as a creation of the â€Å"National Environmental policy Act†1 that was legislated in the year 1969 and signed in the year 1970 (National Research Council, p. 7). Under the acts provisions, the government declared intentions to ensure favorable living conditions that would forester human social, economic, and political developments. The agency was then formed to implement the legislation with Congress’ approval under the name of ‘Environmental Protection Agency’ (National Research Council, p. 7) Historical background leading to the agency’s formation Environmental Protection Agency was a culmination of an already developed concern over the environment. Trends into its formation can be traced back to the industrial revolution error. Before the revolution, there existed few pollutants and the environment was considerably safe. However, invention of motor vehicles and further additive to the locomotives’ fuels identified grounds for regulatory m easures. As a result, the â€Å"Clean Air Act†2 was approved to regulate environmental concerns that had been created by smog. This was followed by another environmental legislation in the year 1965, â€Å"Motor Vehicle Pollution Act†3 that aimed at regulating motor vehicles emissions and the ‘Air Quality Act’4 was then formulated in the year 1967 to further control emissions. Consequently, the Environmental Protection Agency, under the National Environmental Policy Act was created in the year 1970 to further the objectives of regulating environmental pollution. The agency was therefore created with the idea of facilitating a healthy environment through regulating pollution agents (Biggs, p. 377). Functions of the agency Functions of the agency majorly entail implementation of its objectives and extend to roles of implementing the objectives. One of the agency’s functions is therefore to ensure that air pollutants are eliminated for a quality enviro nment. Other functions include controlling chemical pollution and other forms of pollution as well as implementing rules that are set under its jurisdiction. The agency, through its statutory powers also formulates regulations to govern mass sources of pollutants such as agricultural and industrial sectors. It also issues license for operations and revokes licenses of operators who defy regulatory measures. The agency’s functions also include promoting awareness of its programs to the public and other stakeholders and

Campaign Critique Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Campaign Critique - Essay Example It also aims to demonstrate the world’s commitment to this priority area of health care† (WHO, 2013). Background problem: the spread and increase of life threatening healthcare associated infections Geographical location (which are the countries where the campaign is implemented?) Global (48 countries have participated in this campaign) Target audience(s) Health care workers Approach (advocacy, social marketing, participatory, multi-pronged) Encouragement of health workers using the following tools: 1. System change tool: Alcohol-based handrub planning & costing tool (WHO, 2013) 2. Training/education tool: Hand hygiene - why, how and when brochure (WHO, 2013) 3. Evaluation and feedback tool: Observation form (WHO, 2013) 4. Reminders in the workplace tool: Your five moments for hand hygiene poster (WHO, 2013) 5. Institutional safety climate tool: Sustaining improvement-additional activities for consideration by health-care facilities (WHO, 2013) Dissemination channels (pl ease list the channels or materials) Government health agencies for each participating country. Critique: SAVE LIVES: Clean your hands The WHO campaign SAVE LIVES: Clean your hands targets basic health practices which seek to prevent the transfer of bacteria and of infection from patient to patient and from health worker to patient and vice versa (WHO, 2013). Health workers are always exposed to bacteria, viruses, and other contaminants which in some cases may be infectious and transferrable to other patients, to themselves, and to other health workers (Groll and Grimshaw, 2003). Washing hands has long been part of the health care process, however, there are times when health workers fail to adhere to its appropriate practice. Barriers to hand washing including limited and/contaminated water supply, especially in developing countries can prevent the health workers from actually carrying out their hand washing procedures before and after managing their patients (Mani, 2010). The lack of opportunity to carry out hand washing procedures also interferes with hand washing, especially where there are inadequate facilities for hand washing and where there are numerous patients requiring attention from the health workers (Kampf, 2004). Issues in the inadequate observation of hand washing techniques are seen mostly in developing countries where their health resources and facilities are inadequate, and where the number of patients often overwhelms health worker population (Kampf, 2004). The goals of the WHO campaign on highlighting the importance of hand washing for health workers is an important goal, as it helps energize a health care practice which can potentially bring about significant benefits for the patients and health workers (Larson, et.al., 2007). The goals of the project are also clearly linked to the WHO’s First Global Patient Safety Challenge, referring to clean care and safety care (WHO, 2009). Through the campaign, the WHO has provided a necessary first step towards ensuring patient safety and welfare. Health care associated infections can easily transfer from one patient to another through the contaminated hands of healthcare workers. Improving the hand hygiene practices of health workers decreases infection in various settings (Curtis and Cairnscross, 2003). Public concerns on the increased levels of meticillin resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA), as well as Clostridium difficile infection (CDR Weekly, 2003) are just some of the reasons why hand hygiene measures

How Would You Value a Firm That You Were Trying To Purchase Research Paper

How Would You Value a Firm That You Were Trying To Purchase - Research Paper Example Holton and Bates 2009, elucidates that there are a number of methods through which a potential purchaser of a particular firm may apply in an effort to realize the value of that firm. The methods may include: Free Cash Flow Methods, Asset-Based Methods, Option-Based Valuation method, and the method of using Comparables, These tools or methods of valuations would in return assist the potential purchaser of the firm to analyze and make an informed purchasing choice. Discussion To begin with, the asset-based method can be efficiently used be an intending purchaser to value a give firm. This method reveals the book value of a firm’s equity. In simpler terms, the asset based method shows the asset value of a firm or a company, less the debts of the firm. According to Strauss, 2011, a potential purchaser of a firm may find this method of valuation helpful since a company’s equity is all that a firm can be left with in an instance where it suddenly halt its selling its product s or making money. This equity may be current assets, shareholders equity, and cash as tangible things, as well as brand name and management as intangible qualities. The shortcomings of this method however is that there are some hidden assets that cannot be revealed. This may happen in instances where a piece of a firm land was purchased years ago and the value of that land has been kept as it was despite the appreciation that has dramatically taken place. Another method may be used to value a firm is by using comparables. This method is one of the most common means through which a company valuation is done by simply using the earnings that a company gets. The earnings of a firm sometimes referred to as the net profit or net income can be said to be the amount of money that a firm is left with after it has paid all its bills or debts. In most cases, earning of a firm is measured according to the earnings per share. Earnings per share can be calculated by dividing the amount of earni ng a firm reports by the outstanding number of shares the firm has. Even though this method may be helpful to an individual intending to purchase a given firm, it falls short of other aspects of valuing a firm such as the firm assets which are an importance aspect of valuation in any business (Mayo 2010) Further, free cash flow method may be used in an attempt to value the worth of a given firm. Even though most of the individual investors are not conversant with cash flow, this method is commonly used for valuation of both private and public firms especially by the bankers. Cash flow can be described as the company’s earnings before taxes, interest amortization and depreciation. This method may however be ineffective in valuing a firm worth and the actual business earnings since the taxes and other costs are not subtracted from the general earning. Taxes payable by a given firm may vary depending on the laws governing taxation in a particular financial year and even though t he earnings of a given firm may be hefty the amount of taxes may be large thus the secondary costs or company’s profits may be uncertain. Finally, a person may opt to use the option based method to value the worth of a firm before purchasing that firm. There are several other techniques of firm valuation as aforementioned

W3HIAEffective project management in an organizational context Assignment

W3HIAEffective project management in an organizational context - Assignment Example 4. Outline Methods That You Would Consider In Building an Effective Project Team 6 References 7 Q.1. Evaluate How the Different Project Interface (I.E., With Rest of the Organisation and With the Outside World) Are Different When Managing A Virtual Project Team Compared To Managing A ‘Collocated’ Project Team Project management is regarded as one of the crucial activities of an organisation which tends to plan, organize and execute available resources towards the attainment of organisational targets. This particular approach can also be seen in Starbucks Corporation wherein the company develops both virtual and collocated teams for ensuring smooth conduct of effective project management related practices within the organisation. However, the organisation has the need to develop different strategies in order to maintain the two aforementioned teams. In managing virtual project team, the organisation needs to manage goals, build effectual communication and keep people moti vated in a diverse way. Setting clear goals is important in managing virtual teams for the purpose of facilitating the teams to clarify any sort of doubt. Additionally, proper communication is also a key variable which can be used in managing virtual teams in the context of project management. ... The company manages these teams through analyzing their daily activities (Trautsch, 2003). Q. 2. Synthesize Views from Your Wider Academic Reading on How You Might Best Communicate and Coordinate Your Virtual Project Team As mentioned in the above discussion, proper communication is one of the vital variables which is quite useful in managing a virtual project team effectively. It can be affirmed in this similar concern that proper communication can be possible with the adherence of certain useful approaches in dealing with virtual project team. One of the approaches is the implementation of electronic communication which includes e-mail and telecommunication among others. Through this approach, the organisation needs to interact periodically with virtual team members which will ensure building proper communication. Furthermore, the approach of communication will also include building greater relationship of trust with the virtual team members along with clearly stating them about th e expectations of the organisation. Apart from this, the organisation will also need to adopt effective communication techniques that involve less time. Coordination is a problem in virtual project team as the team is not located close to the organisation on a regular basis. In order to strengthen this aspect, the organisation needs to design its project clearly and precisely. It is also important that virtual team understands what the actual needs of the project and how to proceed for the same. This will ensure forming greater coordination amid every member of the virtual project teams (Witthaus & et. al., 2008). Q.3. Comment in Your Paper on the Relevance of the Problems and Suggestions Shown On Page 232. Show How Your Wider

Supply chain Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Supply chain - Essay Example As one of the global leaders in automobile manufacturing, Tata Motors has been active in exporting both private passenger cars and commercial vehicles such as buses, coaches, trucks, and vans throughout Argentina, Europe, Thailand, Russia, South Africa, South America, South Asia, South Korea, and the United Kingdom (Tata Motors, 2014a, 2014b). Likewise, it is also surpising to know that Tata Motors is also manufacturing vehicles for military purposes (Tata Motors, 2014c). Today, the leading competitors of Tata Motors include the following automobile brands: (1) Ashok Leyland; (2) Chevrolet; (3) Honda; (4) Hyundai; and (5) Maruti Suzuki among others. As one of its business strategy, Tata Motors was able to successfully establish several assembly plants in six (6) different geographical areas throughout India (i.e. Dharward, Jamshedpur, Lucknow, Pantnagar, Pune, and Sanand) (Tata Motors, 2014d). Across the world, Tata Motors operate and maintains several assembly plants in Argentina, Thailand, South Africa, South Korea, and the United Kingdom (Tata Motors, 2014a). (See Appendix I – Tata Motors’ Assembly Plants in India on page 12; Appendix II – Global Locations of Tata International on page 13) As a strategic alliance, joint venture is all about allowing two (2) different companies to share profits, business losses and liabilities, and management control (ABA Publishing, 2010, p. 1). In the process of entering into joint venture agreement, a manufacturing firm can easily expand the size of its global network (Carnovale and Yeniyurt, 2013; Idris and Tey, 2011), increase its sales and profit (Idris and Tey, 2011), and further improve the quality of its existing products and services through technology sharing (Idris and Tey, 2011; Nam, For instance, back in 1954, Tata Motors purposely entered a joint venture agreement with Daimler-Benz in Germany so as to penetrate the markets of commercial vehicles (The Conomic Times,

The International Expansion of Design Practices Essay Example for Free

The International Expansion of Design Practices Essay Designing world-class structures is now made easier with software that any architect in the globe may use in the privacy of his home.   3D modeling, rendering and animation software is but an example of such specialized software, making it easier for architects around the world to compete in designing architectural marvels (Advanced Micro Systems, Inc.).   As a matter of fact, architects are already competing to create the world’s best designs.   By their interaction alone, the world of design must be raising its levels of competence to build finer, safer and more beautiful buildings (Coduto).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Kalo Opera Festiva and Danske Arkitekters Landsforbund (the federation of Danish Architects), together with investors were expected to initiate an international architectural competition around the end of the year 2003 (â€Å"International Architectural Competition†).   In the year 2004, the Friends of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights Inc. announced that there were three architectural firms selected by the Architectural Review Committee in one of the stages of the International Architectural Design Competition (ArcSpace.com).   Then there are international competitions that encompass only a specified region.   In Asia, ten architectural companies from Thailand were chosen for an international reward in the year 2005 (Asia Africa Intelligence Wire).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Unsurprisingly, such international competitions urge today’s architect to not only improve his designs by learning from global talents that he competes with, but also to work on becoming the very best in the global field of design practices.   Twenty four design firms from all over the globe submitted proposals to compete for the position of Master Designer of the Orange County Great Park (PR Newswire).   Undoubtedly, all of the proposals submitted were excellent, and world-class!   However, only one architect was to become a true model for the rest of the architectural community to follow.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As mentioned before, architects are getting together at the regional level as well.   This practice is also very healthy for their profession.   The city of the angels regularly lists its top architectural firms, each inspiring the others (Kissock).   The American Institute of Architects claims that â€Å"good design makes a difference.†Ã‚   This association of architects describes itself thus: â€Å"For almost 150 years, members of The American Institute of Architects have worked with each other and their communities to create more valuable, healthy, secure, and sustainable buildings and cityscapes.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The architectural community in Australia is said to have received many international awards for its designs (Johnston).   What is more, the entire international community of architects has its own list of top international design firms (KEO International Consultants)!   The competition is stiff, and absolutely healthy.   Under the watchful guiding eye of the top-notch international community of architects, it is difficult for an architectural firm to make an inferior design and thereby endanger the safety of the people who would be occupying the building thus designed.   The world of architectural design is expecting improved output at all levels and at all times.   This international expansion of design practices makes for a safer and more beautiful world.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Given the above facts, we hypothesize that the international expansion of design practices is good for the architectural profession.   With the advent of the Internet and the glories of globalization and technology, it is expected that architects around the world must have seen massive improvements in their designs, seeing that they now have access to superior designs from around the world that serve as models in their work.   In this case, as in most others, global heads are better than one! Bibliography Advanced Micro Systems, Inc. (2007). Available at http://www.amsystems.com. (25 January 2007). ArcSpace.com. (24 May 2004). â€Å"International Architectural Design Competition.† Available at http://www.arcspace.com/architects/Predock/canada_museum. (25 January 2007). Asia Africa Intelligence Wire. (4 March 2005). â€Å"Thai Architectural Firms Receive International Award.† Available at http://www.accessmylibrary.com/comsite5/bin/pdinventory.pl?pdlanding=1referid=2930purchase_type=ITMitem_id=0286-18970560. (25 January 2007). Coduto, Donald. (2005). Foundation Design: Principles and Practices. USA: Prentice Hall. International Architectural Competition. Available at http://www.operafest.dk/uk/?Kalo+Opera+Festival/International+Architectural+Competition. (25 January 2007). Johnston, Lindsey. â€Å"The Sun Shines on Architectural Education in Australia.† The International Education Site. Available at http://www.intstudy.com/articles/twearch.htm. (25 January 2007). Keo International Consultants. (2006). Available at http://www.keoic.com/. (25 January 2007). Kissock, Nancy. (12 March 2001). â€Å"Architectural Firms.† Los Angeles Business Journal. Available at http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m5072/is_11_23/ai_71841058. (25 January 2007). PR Newswire. â€Å"International Architectural Firms Compete to Design Orange County Great Park.† Available at http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=109STORY=/www/story/06-03-2005/0003775011EDATE. (25 January 2007). The American Institute of Architects. (2007). Available at http://www.aia.org/about_default. (25 January 2007).

Gandhi: Charasmatic Leadership In Termoil

Gandhi: Charasmatic Leadership In Termoil INTRODUCTION Charismatic leader with high ethics and objective have the strength to inspire and transform the followers they lead. The Country or Nation runs successfully when the leader is skilful and influent. Charismatic leader have magical ability that attract followers and motivate them but without showing their authority or external power, it is not the only thing that leaders can do. A great leader can structure the country in the way he wants and they know how to achieve their goal. Most of the leaders use ample range of strategy to manage their image but Gandhi ji was a charismatic leader people follow them because they have charm, dint of personality and self-confidence. Max Weber classifies leader as a charismatic leader and in 1978 James Macgregor Burns define yet another categories of leadership: Transactional and Transformational leaders. Charismatic leadership is similar to Transformational leadership style. WHAT IS LEADERSHIP? John Garden describe that the leadership is the process of persuasion or example by which an individual (or a leadership team) induces a group to pursue objectives held by the leader or shared by the leader and his or her followers (Philip Sadler, 2003). WHAT IS CHARISMATIC LEADERSHIP? The term Charisma will be applied to a certain quality of an individual personality by virtue of which he is set apart from ordinary men and treated as endowed with supernatural, superhuman, or at least specifically exceptional powers or qualities. These are such as are not accessible to the ordinary person, but are regarded as of divine origin or as exemplary, and on the basis of them the individual concerned is treated as a leader. (Roe, Kavins Notices weak 7) According to Weber charismatic leaders have some unique qualities which give him the ability in leading and convince the people by his judgement and prepared them follow him. The charismatic leader did not learn these characteristics from his social, economic, or from political status and from his education but from his personal traits. The main aim of the charismatic leader is to help either people or his country or anyone around him. But in negative way some of the leader who misguides the people for their own interest by convincing them with illusory or fake promises. Most of the countries got freedom when a charismatic person leads the people of their country. There are lots of charismatic leader who fought for their country and for their followers such as Mahatma Gandhi, Jesus Christ, Z.A Bhutto. All those charismatic persons use their charisma to collect the people around them to gain the independence for their country. According to Weber Mahatma Gandhi ji was a charismatic lea der because charismatic can not taught or learned so it could not be the symbol of bureaucratic managerial system because charisma is not bureaucracy it is totally different charismatic leaders do not order the peoples to follow them so that why Gandhi ji was a charismatic leader he did not force people to follow them. People follow them because they like the way of Gandhi ji life by using nationality clothes. One of the principles of the Weber also shoes that charismatic leader do not have governmental powers or weapons but they defined that he is the biggest power in the country; they can fight with the army without any weapons and could win. METHODS OF CHARISMATIC LEADERSHIP The process of Charismatic leadership is seen as a mixed product of three factors such as the leader and his characteristics, the circumstances which wants for such a leader and the communication between leader and the lead. The Four steps of the charismatic leadership process and indentify Mahatma Gandhi ji with his leadership in Indias non-violent freedom movement: 1) RECOGNITION In recognition the aspiring leader is on the social prospect; the followers of that leader are suffering and they want someone who will resolve their problems and one who recognize themselves. At this level the social situation getting worsened gradually. The social situation is gradually getting worsened at this level. This is the time when the leader recognized their strength, their power and their ability. Before returning to India from South Africa in 1915 Gandhi jihad started a movement for public rights in South Africa, because once he was travelling in the first class compartment of the train which was reserved for whites only was thrown out from train because he was not white. The movement was successful and that incidence was also famous in India and when he returned to India, Indian peoples welcomed him as a hero and then he became a leader of Indian national congress at that time Gandhi ji realise their ability and the charismatic quality was just started showing its colou rs. 2) ACTIVITY STIMULATION In this stage followers become the part of revolution because the leader provokes them. In this situation the people who are just follower and just admire the leader now they become supporter of the leader. The longer this period ends the longer is duration of the charismatic leadership. In the case of Gandhi ji this step ended from 1920 till 1930. In 1921 the non-cooperation movement by Gandhi ji was a clear example of activity stimulation period, in this period whole country was awakened and was against the British rule. 3) COMMITMENT In this stage the charismatic leader is confident about their decision and they make lots of commitment with their followers. Charismatic leadership is on peak at this stage and they also can start losing his charisma at this level because this is the time when the leader make lots of commitment with there followers but in the end some of them achieve their desire goal and some are not, those who achieve success they become more famous but who failed they loose their followers. The charismatic leader make commitment with followers to achieve their goal and the followers do the same commitment with them. In this stage the charismatic leader have to sacrifice for their commitment or some time that commitments should become dangerous for the leader but this sacrifice and danger creates the good image of the leader in the eyes of their followers as the leader is dedicated to their goal and he have courage also to face the problems easily. There are many leaders who make a fallacy commitm ent with the followers for their own benefits such kind of leaders kwon as pompous and hypocrite. The leader is divided in two categories personalized and social leadership. The personalized leaders are authoritarian and exploitative like Hitler was a dictator he was authoritarian. The second type socialized leaders are more democratic and they believe in sharing power and responsibility with others such as Mahatma Gandhi. In 1930 to 1935 the commitment stage for Gandhi ji. The salt Satyagraha can be consider as the high level of Gandhi ji charisma and the conference of round table was a symbol of disappointment because that conference was a political failure. 4) DISAPPOINTMENT This stage is unavoidable on the part of the leader. The social structure carries the disenchantment stage many times. Routinisation creates the fear in the mind of the followers and some time they feel of loss of goal. This stage loses some of the important followers of the leader. Some time leader seems to be failing in this stage because of the situation. From 1933 to 9138 is the period of disenchantment for Gandhi ji because he lost his strongest followers like Subhas Chandra Bose. This is the phrase where disappointment seemed to have taken place clearly. ATTRIBUTES OF CHRISMATIC LEADERS It is clear from the above discussion that what is charismatic leadership and the attributes that a charismatic leader posses. Now this section will describe the trait that make a person a potential leader. There are some characteristic which are shown by a person from his childhood or adolescence which create a person potential charismatic leader. At their adolescence charismatic leaders do show some specific type of behaviour. TRAIT OF CHARISMATIC LEADER 1) SELF-MOTIVATION It is a vital part of charismatic leadership. The social scenario motivates the leaders without being prompted about it. The charismatic leader can talk to his followers energetically when he is self-motivated. The leaders who are self-motivated they have the capacity to transform this self-actualisation to their followers as well. They actually raise the level of their followers. 2) SELF-MONITORING In self-monitoring the leader watch them because they know that the followers are watching them so it is import ant for the leader to make a good picture of themselves for their followers. The charismatic leader are born out for the need of the followers and social situations, it become crucial for the leaders to continually recognize themselves with the need of the followers and social scenario. 3) MOTVE TO ACHIEVE POWER The charismatic leader does not want any conventional power. They are not looking for any official post or position, they want only social power. They want respect from their followers and see them as their rescuer. They want to make a special place in the hearts of their followers. With the values and beliefs of their followers the leader can identify themselves. They can convince their followers because that leader is high rated on their social skills and appeal them to their hearts. With this power the leader is popular for long time. 4) SELF-ENHANCEMENT The charismatic leaders having self-correcting nature and they are well known for that. They try to improve themselves and judge themselves. The superiority of the leaders makes them different from their followers. Eventually when the charismatic leader will bring their followers to their level of superiority and they believe that if the follower achieves that level then the leader should have gone one step above and remain their leader. 5) OPENNESS TO CHANGE The charismatic leader represents change and only charismatic leader prove many time that they are the only one who bring changes. Charismatic leaders are most powerful in the situation which demands the changes and they are open to changes. Gandhi ji bring the change, when the Indians were slave under British people and they dont have complete freedom and rights like British people have, so Gandhi ji fought for their rights, after long struggle they got same rights like British people have, with this change Indians become more liberal and democratic. OUTCOMES OF CHARISMATIC LEADERSHIP We discussed the process of charismatic leader and their attributes of the leader in which they posses and the outcome are unavoidable of charismatic leadership. Most of the researchers show that the charismatic leader as positive force which yields desirable results and some scholar focused on negative aspect of the leader but we will see negative as well as positive aspect of the charismatic leadership. Charismatic leaders motivate their followers and inspire them to give extra output and the leaders help their followers to achieve self-actualisation in themselves. Gandhi ji motivate their followers to fight for their freedom and with that motivation they achieve their desirable goal. CONCLUSION To conclude charismatic leadership Gandhi ji was a charismatic leader they have the quality to lead followers in the right direction. As we known that the charismatic leader has a magnetic quality which attracts the followers, the followers listen to them and obeys what the charismatic leader said. The charismatic leader has to recognise them selves that they have the potential to lead, when Gandhi ji started movement in South Africa then they come to know they have the charismatic quality. Above discussion show that with charismatic quality of Gandhi ji India got freedom from the British People and without using any weapon they fought with them, only charismatic leader will fight without weapons. Over all we can say that Gandhi ji was a heroic charisma and he was a great man.

Responsibility for Childhood Obesity Essay -- Obesity in Children

Childhood Obesity- Whose Responsibility Is It? Daniel Weintraub wrote an article in The Sacramento Bee exclaiming his concern for childhood obesity, criticizing the â€Å"blame game†, and whom he believes is not taking enough responsibility for this horrendous epidemic that is sweeping our nation. Weintraub states that, â€Å"Parents -- not the fast food companies, not the government-- are in the best position to fight the epidemic of overweight children.† I agree that parents play a vital role in establishing healthy eating choices and exercise habits. However, I also strongly believe that fast food companies and the government should share the responsibility of keeping our nations children healthy. I suggest that a system should be created which implements and reinforces responsibility amongst all three parties. All three parties have played a role in getting our children in this unfortunate situation, and all three should help our children to become healthy, active, productive members of society. With billions of dollars spent annually on advertising to children, I believe that the government should limit the amount of airtime available to purchase for companies that sell â€Å"unhealthy food/beverage products†. The growing epidemic of childhood obesity has brought attention to the role that food/beverage advertising and marketing play in negatively influencing the eating habits of children. Children are being exposed to increasing amounts of advertising and marketing. Parents should take an initiative and limit the amount of time their children spend watching television being exposed to such advertising and marketing. Parents also should reduce the amount of trips they take to fast food restaurants and reserve such trips as a treat ... ...lic schools and advocates healthy alternatives, regardless of the extra income it provides to the schools and the popularity of the students. There are many external factors which affect and influence children into making everyday choices. Parents are ultimately responsible for their children and the consequences of the choices that they make. Nevertheless, the â€Å"blame game† needs to end and responsibility needs to be distributed across the board. Our nation, as a whole, should be proactive in ridding ourselves of the name â€Å"Junk Food Nation† and help prevent the many ailments and risk factors of childhood obesity, such as diabetes and stroke. To put it simply, our children are our future. Providing and encouraging our children with a healthy, active, productive lifestyle ensures that we have healthy, active, productive members of society and leaders of tomorrow.

Why I Hunt: A Predator’s Mediation by Rick Bass :: Hunting Women rick Bass Essays

Why I Hunt: A Predator’s Mediation by Rick Bass Five years ago you could have found me hiding under my covers, praying to a god that I no longer believe in with my eyes shut tightly—but not anymore. These nights I offer up a two minute thanksgiving for the sake of karma; I look out into the darkness and I recognize the shadows as objects in my house rather than the faces of my dead grandfathers. It feels good to open my eyes, but I’ve traded in that old ignorant twinkle for a steady calmness. I still duck and cover when an insect the size of my pupil is within five feet of me, but from a distance I know that I am not so different from the tiny creature. If I am a predator, I am not the kind of predator who hunts but rather the one who kills out of fear. I prefer the role of the prey— it suits me well. I avoid conflict: I prefer spending time at home with my wife, I weigh less than 100lbs, and I have been notorious for becoming paralyzed with laughter upon being attacked by testosterone-laden family membe rs. If a human or other animal my size or larger were to want me for dinner, I would be an easy target though my meat wouldn’t feed a family of four. As a member and supporter of the earth’s weak little peacekeepers (small humans with loud voices), I can say that despite Rick Bass’s honorable honesty, I found â€Å"Why I Hunt: A Predator’s Mediation† to be a threat to womankind. Not all women are vulnerable, but with weapons the hunter can make most anyone his prey. There are predators in the United States who hunt women the way Bass hunts elk. If Bass’s non-human targets are replaced with women and children, the essay has quite a different effect on the reader, though the arguments don’t change. When Bass describes his love of â€Å"sitting in some leaves, completely hidden and motionless—waiting, and waiting† (63), I picture him waiting in a park for an unattended child or an unaccompanied woman. My concerns about Bass’s instincts aren’t neurotic. I’m a loving woman who occasionally hugs trees and wants to feel safe in the world—not a card carrying member of PITA.

Steroids :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Steroids were first developed in the 1930's. The Germans first experimented on dogs and then on their own soldiers in the World War II, as well as used them on their prisoners to help them stay healthy because they suffered from significant malnutrition. Then in the 1950's many Russian and European athletes began to find that steroids were very beneficial to their goals and soon after began dominating the sport of power lifting, crushing previous world records. In the mid 1950's it was proven that testosterone was the reason behind the improved athletic ability by Dr. Ziegler. Soon after he and his labs were producing Dianabol or Methandrostenolone. A few years later, steroids were available on the market. At that time both athletes and doctors were using them alike on a regular basis. On March 1st 1991, the Federal Anabolic Control Act was in effect. This put anabolic steroids on the schedule III of the Controlled Substance Act, making them an illegal substance without a prescription. Today, there are clinics that will prescribe testosterone and HGH to qualified patients. HGH is also known as Human Growth Hormone. Because of this act, the only other way to get steroids is on the black market.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are many reasons why people take steroids. Before you look at the side effects of steroids, they seem as a great advancement in medicine. Steroids increase muscle mass, strength, endurance, and recovery rates. They also heighten aggression, improve performance in sports and on the job, increase muscle definition and leanness, and they maintain your appearance while aging. Although steroids help you greatly in muscular development, it has terrible side effects. The major side effects from abusing steroids can include liver tumors and cancer, yellowish pigmentation of skin, tissues, and body fluids, fluid retention, high blood pressure, increases in the bad cholesterol, and decreases in the good cholesterol. Other side effects include kidney tumors, severe acne, and trembling. In addition, there are some gender and age specific side effects.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Men may experience the shrinking of the testicles, reduced sperm count, infertility, baldness, development of breasts, and increased risk for prostate cancer. However woman may experience growth of facial hair, male-pattern baldness, changes in or killing of the menstrual cycle, enlargement of the clitoris, and a deepened voice. Adolescents who use steroids may have their growth halted prematurely through premature skeletal maturation and accelerated puberty changes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There have been many reports of steroid users demonstrating violent behavior.

Gender and subject choice Essay

To carry out these interviews, I would take a sample of 20 sixth-formers, preferably within my own sixth-form to allow easier, speedier access and consisting equally of both males and females. In order to do this I would use quota sampling, this is a way in which variables can be controlled and the participants with similar characteristics are chosen, hence the overall sample can reflect the characteristics of the population as a whole. These samples would also preferably include students that had chosen to study any of the sciences, however particularly focusing on Biology. This sample would also take into account ethnic and class differences in order to allow me to differentiate between males and females according to different variables, providing sufficient extra data to measure gender against class roles and the intersections. Whilst this will provide qualitative clues as to subject choices by gender it will be limited in illustrating the impact of the learning environment and gender roles, as this would demand more ‘qualitative analysis’ such as that of Anne Colleys’. However, I would expect the results to be generalisable to a wider population. I will anchor these questions in previous research such as that of Anne Colley. Within the interviews, I am going to focus on Biology in particular when asking about the science/favourite subjects, etc. My reasons for doing this arise from the evidence that Science at GCSE level is more popular with males whereas at A-level it is more commonly chosen by females. I would begin the interviews with a number of open-ended questions, so as to give the participant a chance to provide me with worthy feedback, eg. â€Å"Why did you choose Biology? â€Å", and â€Å"What did you think of it ?(in comparison to GCSE level), etc. I would record the answers to these open questions as it would be time-consuming to write down many long answers, etc. This would enable me to extract a varied viewpoint on many different students perspectives of subject choice and preference. Then I would ask a series of closed-ended questions which will generally be more appropriate to achieve a table of results for clear comparisons to be made. These closed-ended questions would include similar questions to: â€Å"Do you think Biology is a girls subject?† and â€Å"Do you think Physics is a boys subject? â€Å", etc. Questions would be piloted on a small group of males and females to ensure its adequacy. This is in fact a small-scale preliminary study which will allow me to check that things will run smoothly during the interviews and also allow improvements to be made to the design of the research, should there be any faults. (471 words) Potential Problems As this is a such a small piece of research, it would a problem to generalise from it, especially to schools and pupils different from the sample, eg.ethnic minorities, private education, etc. It would give an idea of the reasons in which a particular small group of students chose their ‘A’ level subjects and their own individual reasons for doing so. However it could give a fair impression of reasons for subject choice in other cases, eg. similar circumstances to other pupils studying the same subjects etc. The usage of quota sampling does have both theoretical and practical drawbacks in some circumstances. It isn’t truly random as each person within the population doesn’t have an equal chance of being chosen. The lack of this genuine randomness may have a significant effect on the results. For example, the quota sample within my study would be only those illustrated on the biology class register, however the results may have more of an impact if a quota sample had been taken from all those who achieved a high grade at GCSE biology and were in fact considering going on to study it at a higher level, etc. There is of course, with my research an interviewer bias. As my opinions on the topic are set by doing the research, participants may be influenced by my asking of the questions and will therefore respond by giving a respectable answer as they may find the real truth embarrassing, eg. â€Å"I fancied a lad who was taking the course†. However I am similar in status to my chosen sample group, therefore they may wish to impress or please me by giving me answers that they think I ‘want’ to hear. Another problem may be the reliability of the interviewees memory, they aren’t currently making their choice and might not remember their thoughts on it at the time. Also during interviews, a crucial factor as a way of achieving a reliable outcome of the research is to not put ideas into the students head before having asked open-ended questions. For example, closed-ended questions especially may put forward ideas that weren’t there before and therefore mislead me about ‘their’ thoughts on the matter, etc.

School Adjustment of Children from Divorced Families

The family is the basic unit of society where human beings are brought to life. It is considered a small society where children learn basic virtues. Therefore, the relationship between parents and children is very important for their growth and development. Through this relationship, children gain the virtues of trust, autonomy and initiative. Children also learn about socio-emotional relationships, self-respect and self-control. Thus, family environment and parent behaviour are crucial for children to grow as healthy, happy, and responsible people.Yet, despite the importance of parent support, there are still many children devoid of proper care from their parents resulting from the increasing number of divorces, or separations. In spite of the negative effects caused by divorce on children, the society seems to think divorce is something that can be easily done. Since the early 1990’s, divorce rate in Korea has risen rapidly not withstanding the fact that Korean society has a negative view on the divorce as compared to those in western countries. The influence of Confucianism is still deeply imbedded in Korean culture where family and marriage are supreme for most Koreans.Hence, many children from divorced families encounter deep-seated prejudice as if they have psychological defects. Although this may not be true for every child with divorced parents, some studies have shown that because they are exposed to a series of changes and are more disadvantaged than those who grow up in intact families, their school performance may be poor and they may exhibit antisocial behaviour. For example, children living in single parent families are less likely to have as many economic resources as children living in intact families.Other problems relating to aspects like parenting, education, housework, psychological issues will, as well, rise. Further, children of divorced families have to deal with sorrows from the absence of either their father or mother and that th ey will have to adapt to the change in family system. A study shows that children from divorced parents often become a laughingstock, and develop wrath towards their mother or father. Moreover, some children may find it difficult to focus during class, hence, receive poor academic grades. Childhood experience can have large impact in determining how they might turn out in the future.Parent-child relationship can largely influence children’s personality formation or intellectual development due to the account that children learn by imitating adults. Divorced parents may find more financial responsibility when it comes to parenting thus they may suffer from depression. Kurdek and Hetherrington also mention that single parent tend to raise their children with more rules and restrictions and less attention. Unfortunately, these single parents’ mental, emotional and family disorder difficulties will influence growing children and society at large. Parents’ divorce is a crisis which stirs up the ordinary life of children.For this reason, studies on divorce and its effects on children should be taken seriously. Divorce does not appear to have consistent effects across all children and ages as observed in two children, ages 10 and 11, from divorced families. Thus, this study is limited to elementary school age. It hopes to aid in understanding the behaviour of children from divorced families in school environment by illustrating researcher’s own experience with such children in class. It is related to theories which support their behaviour and possibly suggest ways for parents and educators to contribute to children’s well-being.The structure of this essay is as follows: ? the effects of divorce on children ? the differences between the children of intact and divorced families ? gender differences in the effects of divorce ? school adjustment of children from divorced families ? personal experience with children from divorced familie s The Effects of Divorce on Children Children’s reactions towards divorce can vary. Not only can the fact that the absence of one of the parents influences children but the change of environment after divorce settlement also affects children.They can suffer from psychological, behavioural and social problems. Psychological problems Study shows that children from divorced families have difficulties in adapting to new family environment. They are also likely to develop wrath towards one parent and some of them may even blame themselves for the divorce and show constant nervousness and incompetence. These effects may only be negative for a period of time or for children who have been exposed to parental conflict for a long time and recover rapidly in consequence of the stress released by their family environment.The most influenced psychological part of children of divorced families is that of depression and nervousness. Twenty-five percent of these children suffer from depressi on and fifty percent of them experience emotional turmoil or often appeared to be in despair. Social and behavioural problems Other influences on children from divorced families are external evidence like performance disorder, lack of sense of responsibility and understanding. They develop antisocial behaviour problems, aggressiveness, antagonizing manner and attention deficit in school settings.According to Lee’s research, during two years of their parents’ divorce children show antisocial behaviour and their social ability tend to decline. Children living with mothers exhibit impulsive behaviour, more oppositional and aggressiveness after two months of parents divorce. They also have difficulties in peer relationship and become troublesome at school, and perform lower academic achievement. Some children may seem to have overcome their parents divorce however even these children may have possibility of becoming troublesome when they are confronted with a new challenge and advancement task in school.As different studies have shown, divorce can have negative influence on children’s psychological, social and behavioural problems. Comparison between Children of Divorced and Intact Families Several researchers mention in their findings that children from divorced families differ significantly from children from intact families. Amato and Keith studied 13,000 children from preschool to young adulthood to find out if there are any significant behaviour differences between children of divorce and intact families.Their research indicates that children from divorced families have more problems in school, delinquency in the community, mental health problems and negative self-concepts. Besides differences in their behaviour problems, there is also a difference in economical stature. Children from divorced families are more likely to suffer from economic difficulty. Weitzman reported that woman’s standard of living after divorce falls by 29% th an previous household. And this can lead children to be more distressed in school from constant comparison with other children and receive lower academic achievement.This is because single parents may not have enough time to spend with their children because of their work and a decrease in income can increase frequent residential mobility. Hammaond compared the behaviour of children of divorced families and intact families and he found that boys of divorced families exhibit more behavioural problems than boys from intact families whereas girls show no significant differences. Boys from divorced families seem more distracted in class and exhibit acting out behaviour than boys from intact families do.This implies that in school setting, boys respond more negatively to their parent divorce than girls. The reason could be that in many countries including Korea, children live with their mothers after their parent divorce hence boys react more to absence of their father than girls do. Thi s means losing father’s monitoring homework or playing sports with them and sometimes there are issues they would want to share with their fathers only. From observing a student in class, I notice that sudden loss of affection from a father after divorce can influence school achievement.This is because children suffer from constant distress and tension and they become emotionally unstable. Therefore in comparison with children from intact families, their school grade naturally drops. However, recent studies show that nowadays there is less difference in the behaviour of children from divorced and intact families. This is probably due to the fact that divorce rate is increasing rapidly. Even though the difference is statistically significant, differences are becoming small.In Hetherington’s findings, she found differences between children of divorce and intact families, but she also found that children from intact families exhibit behavioural problems because of constan t parent conflict. She reports that over 90% of children including both genders from intact families are supposedly experiencing average range of problems. Remaining 10% suffer from severe family problem which would require professional help. In terms of children from divorced families, there are 74% of the boys and 66% of the girls in the normal range and remaining boys and girls are considered to have severe behavioural problems.Forty percent of adolescent boys and girls from divorced families have less behavioural problems than those from intact families. More recent studies show that the behaviour of children from divorced families are not much different from children of intact families. Based on experience, children still seem to experience considerable distress about the breakup of their parents and these feelings remain and affect them in some ways. Most of illustrated studies are carried in the West but Korea’s situation is also taken at hand to see if there are any b ehavioural differences in this area. Although H.Kim suggests that divorce is still viewed negatively in Korea, nevertheless her findings in the behaviour of children of divorce in school ages 8 to 13 shows similar effects of divorce on children’s school behaviour, which appear to be similar to that experienced by Western children studied in Amato & Keith’s research in 1991. Korean children from divorced families also exhibit aggressiveness, seek more attention and disobey in school. Gender Differences in the Effects of Divorce Besides behaviour differences among children of divorced and intact families, there are also gender differences to consider.Hyatt suggests that boys and girls react differently to parental divorce. Boys tend to create more behavioural problems in school than girls do. Boys’ self-esteem tends to decline as a result of divorce and they seek constant attention from the teacher and disturb class with irrelevant talks. Their effort in school wo rk also decline. Hyatt mentions that boys are more prone to difficulty of losing contact to their father hence regular communication with the father can help these adjustment problems.Girls’ behaviour in school after parental divorce is not as noticeable as boys because they do not manifest their difficulties by acting out in class. Rather, they tend to become more anxious or unhappy or showing over controlled good behaviour. Another findings concerning gender difference in the effects of divorce is that girls do accept help from their teachers unlike boys. This is because girls see their school as a place where they can be supported during divorce while boys conduct socially unacceptable behaviour.School Behaviour of Children of Divorced Families Human beings grow by constantly adapting to new environment therefore adapting to an environment is part of life cycle. Children’s educational place can be divided into home, school and the society. The child and environment continuously interact and the school takes over large part of a child’s life. Therefore as well as having a settled family life, school period is also important in determining how children might turn out in the future.School is a place where children enjoy, and gain sense of satisfaction by experiencing various activities and maintain harmonized relationships with the teachers and other students. Similarly, school adjustment is defines as taking interest in school environment and feel comfortable being in school with other children. This adjustment reflects on their school achievement and development. For instance, children who enjoy being in school and participate in school activities are likely to gain more educational experiences than those who have adjustment disorder.Liebman defines school adjustment disorder as excessive reaction where individuals are unable to harmonize with the school environment and other students which will prohibit individual development. Children of divorced families are likely to have more difficulties in school adjustment than those of children from intact families. Berbe suggests that children with adjustment disorder tend to attract teacher’s attention by inappropriate questions in class, distract other children and find it hard to pay attention in class. They also refuse teacher’s request and are often disobedient.And if they continue to show irresponsible academic behaviour, it leads to serious adjustment disorder. Heck’s idea is also similar to Berbe’s suggestion that children with adjustment disorder problems are frequently absent and tend to be oppositional in class. However, it is difficult to judge the cause of maladjustment solely on divorce. How children respond to above stress can vary from a child to child. It can differ according to their age, gender or disposition and the environment includes economic stature of parents, social approval rating of parents and family conflict.Variab les are categorized as they may affect children’s school adjustment into demographic differences and family variables. Demographic differences include race, gender, and parental socioeconomic status and family variables include relationships, organisation, control, social support, mother rejection and father rejection. Behaviour of children of divorced in school As mentioned earlier, children from divorced families appear to have difficulty in academic achievement and relationship with other children at school than children from intact families.The cause of this should not be looked at solely on the primary factor which is divorce. Secondary factors are to be considered as well, such as the change in socioeconomic structure and resources after divorce. For example, as mentioned earlier, economic loss, poor parental adjustment, lack of parental competence and parental loss can cause behavioural problems. As mentioned in the section of ‘Comparison between children of divo rce and intact families’, women’s standard of living is reduced by 29 % after divorce and absence of father can have negative influence on children more on boys than girls.Regarding studies on children’s maladjustment behaviour, Liner categorizes disorder behaviour as: ? action-out behaviour like hitting someone and being aggressive ? withdrawing behaviour: very quiet, sucking fingers, restricted behaviour ? defensive behaviour: lying, ignoring ? disorganised behaviour: escaping from reality Similarly, Wickman describes behaviour of children with adjustment disorder as: ? immoral, dishonest, in resistance to authority, stealer, cheater, disobedient, rude and rebellious ? often violates regulation of class, careless, loses interest in study, negligent and trustless? exaggerated and offensive personality ? unsociable, overly sensitive, and liar Based on experience, as a teacher of young children, those from divorced families have lower academic achievement, are so cially isolated, overly sensitive, either humiliate themselves or boast and show negative behaviour in class. Specifically, their academic grade is poorer than it used to be and they do not try to socialize with others in class. Further, they often seem absent-minded and tend to change their mood easily.If they are scolded for not doing their homework or asked to answer something they do not know, they use violent language in response. They also suffer from headache and easily get tired. This behaviour of children can also be explained by Rotter’s theory of locus of control. Locus of control refers to how individuals attribute the cause of their behaviour to internal or external forces. In applying to children of divorced families, children who have internal locus of control believe that if their parents are divorced, it is their fate.Therefore these children are able to handle any difficulties and feel less psychological distress. In contrast, children who have external locu s of control believe that if they do not perform well in school, they tend to blame external factors such as parental divorce rather than blame themselves. Hence, these children are likely to suffer from severe distress than those who have internal locus of control. When elementary school children experience parents’ divorce, they can become aggressive and develop sense fear and sorrow.Some children also imagine reunion of their parents. And they also explain that children’s school behaviour depend on how they are treated at home. As per experience, the relationship between custodial parent and the child seem to have a large impact. Prior research says that the relationship between the behaviour of custodial parents and children’s school adjustment illustrate that the attitude of custodial parents has large influence on children’s school achievement. Mothers’ affection can influence enormously on developing children’s social skills.From moth er-child relationship, children learn responsibility, self-control and social skills, hence, hostile attitude towards children can act as hindrance in developing social skills. Therefore one can learn that the attitude of custodial parent becomes important factor which influence children’s school adjustment. Personal Experience with Children from Divorced Families Case study 1 Two years ago, I was teaching young Korean children ages 8 to 11. Before I started teaching, I was briefly explained about the behaviour of several children by their tutors.A couple of them were from divorced families. I had a difficulty in handling one particular child called J, who was 11 years old at that time. According to his tutor, his parents were divorced recently and as a result, he enrolled in this school. I did not know the reason of his parents’ divorce but his mother was diagnosed with cancer. The tutor was the custodial parent of J. My first impression on J in class was that he was very loud and also it became a routine for him not to do his homework and turn up late in class.He became aggressive and tried to embarrass me by making ridiculous comments when scolded about his behaviour. On one occasion, J had a fight with another boy in class. J actually stabbed this boy with a pencil during break time. Although it was a minor injury, parents of both boys had to be called in and J’s tutor tried to make both boys talk about why it happened. But they did not say a word. Since J’s mother was sick, his grandmother came instead, apologizing for her grandson’s action. Nonetheless, explanation of J’s grandmother helped me to understand his behaviour.J became difficult to control since his parents’ divorce. He was furious with the fact that his father left his sick mother for another woman. His grade from previous school was average but with the change of family environment, he was achieving lower grade. However, considering he was fai rly new to the school, he seemed to socialize with other boys easily and seemed to lead them as well. I have also noticed that when he was not being loud or seeking attention in my class, he would sit absent-minded and continuously shake his leg. Besides being aggressive he was probably feeling insecure as well.In the period immediately following the divorce, J’s mother’s ability to be a good parent probably declined and became more inconsistent in disciplining her son due to her illness. J’s reaction towards his parent’s divorce is all mentioned in past studies by Anthony (1974), Hoyt et al. (1990), Kurdekrikberg (1987), Liner (1976), Wickman (1987) where action-out behaviour was most apparent in his behaviour when he had stabbed a boy with a pencil and his reaction also showed that he was very aggressive, as Lee (1993) suggested that children of divorce can become aggressive.J’s behaviour of making comments in class also shares Hyatt (1999)â€⠄¢s findings of making irrelevant comments in class. J had also developed anger towards his father because he had left his mother when she was sick and Kurdekriberg (1987) mentioned that some children may develop wrath towards one parent after divorce. As illustrated in Lee (1993), Kurdekriberg (1987) and Weitzman (1985)’s study, J’s academic grade declined and exhibited withdrawing behaviour (1976) such as shaking his leg in class.He was also spotted lost in thoughts in class sitting completely absent-minded and this can refer to what Liner (1976) called disorganized behaviour that J probably wanted to escape from this painful reality of his. Case study 2 Another child called B, age 10, in my class, also experienced parents divorce. I got to know B’s background through a homework I assigned in class. Unlike J, her parents were divorced when B had just turned 5 and at that time, none of her parents were willing to look after her. Therefore she was left under the care of her grandparents in her mother’s side for a few years.And then, she joined her mother at the age of 9 who was by then re-married and had children of their own. Being with her mother’s also meant moving to another school, hence everything was new to her. Despite the change of the environment, she seemed to have adjusted herself well in school life. She had her own circle of friends and she was also active and lively during class and there was not much change in her school grade. I also noticed her suck fingers during class. One day, I assigned the whole class to write about their parents because it was soon to be Parents’ Day in Korea.Surprisingly, B did not do her home. To be exact, she actually refused to do it because she said there was nothing to talk about and as she was saying this, she was almost in tears. Then she explained her family background and she was ashamed of it. She mentioned that her mother and stepfather hardly gave her any affection and treated her as a burden, hence in order to avoid them, B spent most of her time in her room when she was home. For B, the school was some kind of a safe zone and because of her positive attitude in class, I never thought that she was unhappy at home.In my opinion, B was putting all her energy into school life to forget about troubles at home. It was obvious that B had the most difficulty in adapting to step-parenting and remarriage and what made it worse was that she hardly knew her mother either. So confronting her mother and step father was a great distress for B. Unlike J, B’s behaviour was not very noticeable in school. It seems that in B’s case, her difficult situation acted as a driving force to concentrate in her school life.This is because she had hardly any affection from her mother that she probably had with her teachers and friends, whom she can trust and rely on as it is mentioned in Goldman, Rosenzweig & Lutter (1980) that girls from divorced families tend to see school as a supporting place. Both J and B suffered from painful memories and feelings of helplessness but how they reacted to the situation differed extremely although they both showed what Liner (1976) called sign of withdrawing behaviour: shaking leg and sucking fingers.There could be many factors which caused these differences. For example, J and B’s age difference, their gender and economic stature of their parents. Since J’s mother had an illness, they probably suffered severely from economic loss in comparison with B’s situation. And the fact that B’s parents were divorced years before J’s parents, could be another reason which caused adjustment difference in school. Last but not the least, attitude of custodial parent could be another reason.Although J’s behaviour problem seemed more serious than B’s, J probably had more attention from his mother where as in B’s case, she was not suffering from the fact that her parents were divorced but suffered from trying to adapt herself to step-parenting and remarriage. From J’s and B’s cases, it is evident that their behaviours were strongly influenced by family variables. Although J received much affection from his mother, he probably felt rejected from his father and B felt rejected from his mother. Although they were both influenced by family variables, J’s reaction was much more noticeable than B.Boys create more behavioural problems than girls, hence the influence of gender differences is also apparent in this study which is known as a demographic difference. It is clear that both J and B need support from educators. Although B is able to cope with this new challenge of living with a mother who she does not know well and adapting to step-parenting by herself, without professional help, it may trigger problems in her adolescence. It is the same for J’s case. If he does not receive appropriate help form educators, h e is likely to continue with delinquent behaviour or associate with antisocial friends in the future.Therefore it is vital that they are supported with affection so that they grow into a reasonably competent person. Conclusions This paper studies the behaviour of children from divorced families by studying the prospective relationship demonstrated and certain family experiences and school adjustment of two children I taught in Korea. Although past studies show that children from divorced families are in danger for developing negative behaviour and experience academic decline, due to increasing rate of divorce, the differences in the behaviour of children of divorced and children from intact families are getting smaller.It may be that children from divorced families are having difficulties, these are not as important as the factors that cause these differences. What I learn from these two children is that being a party to their parents’ divorce is a very difficult transition f or their age. There are many factors which may cause children’s school adjustment disorder and student J and B responded differently, owing to gender differences and new family situations. Therefore, children from divorced families, including J & B, should receive appropriate support both from parents and educators until they adjust to their new living arrangements.This will help them develop intellectually and socially in the same way as their peers from intact families do. Not only the support of parents is needed but teachers need to become more aware of children’s feelings in class. I, for one, am being considerate to children from divorced families in assigning homework such as writing letter to parents. Discussing different family situations, including single parenting and remarriage, will help children of intact families develop more awareness and respect towards children of divorced.Teachers can also spend more time with children from divorced families to under stand their feelings and perhaps suggest advice if necessary. This personal attention can help children to reduce any negative behaviour which children may exhibit as a result of parent divorce. In summary, on the basis of the findings of this study, it is suggested that educators should consider any factor that may influence children’s behaviour and conduct appropriate program in order to help them.