Long Hours, Hundred of Emails, and No Sleep Does This Sound Like a Satisfying Job Essay Example

Long Hours, Hundred of Emails, and No Sleep: Does This Sound Like a Satisfying Job? Paper Group 1 Case Assignment Case Incident Long Hours, Hundreds of E-Mails, and No Sleep: Does This Sound like a Satisfying Job? Although the 40-hour workweek is now the exception rather than the norm, some individuals are taking things to the extreme. †¢ John Bishop, 31, is an investment banker who works for Citigroup’s global energy team in New York. A recent workday for Bishop consisted of heading to the office for a conference call at 6:00 P. M. He left the office at 1:30 A. M. and had to be on a plane that same morning for a 9:00 A. M. presentation in Houston. Following the presentation, Bishop returned to New York the same day, and by 7:00 P. M. , he was back in his office to work an additional three hours. Says Bishop, â€Å"I might be a little skewed to the workaholic, but realistically, expecting 90 to 100 hours a week is not at all unusual. † †¢ Irene Tse, 34, heads the government bond-trading division at Goldman Sachs. For ten years, she has seen the stock market go from all-time highs to recession levels. Such fluctuations can mean millions of dollars in either profits or losses. â€Å"There are days when you can make a lot, and other days where you lose so much you’re just stunned by what you’ve done,† says Tse. We will write a custom essay sample on Long Hours, Hundred of Emails, and No Sleep: Does This Sound Like a Satisfying Job? specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Long Hours, Hundred of Emails, and No Sleep: Does This Sound Like a Satisfying Job? specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Long Hours, Hundred of Emails, and No Sleep: Does This Sound Like a Satisfying Job? specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer She also states that she hasn’t slept completely through the night in years and frequently wakes up several times during the night to check the global market status. Her average workweek? Eighty hours. â€Å"I’ve done this for 10 years, and I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of days in my career when I didn’t want to come to work. Every day I wake up and I can’t wait to get here. † †¢ Tony Kurz, 33, is a managing director at Capital Alliance Partners and raises funds for real-estate investments. However, these are not your average properties. He often travels to exotic locations like Costa Rica and Hawaii, wooing prospective clients. He travels more than 300,000 miles a year, often sleeping on planes and dealing with jet lag. Kurz is not the only one he knows with such a hectic work schedule. His girlfriend, Avery Baker, logs around 400,000 miles a year, working as the senior vice president of marketing for Tommy Hilfiger. â€Å"It’s not easy to maintain a relationship like this,† says Kurz. But do Kurz and Baker like their jobs? You bet. †¢ David Clark, 35, is the vice president of global marketing for MTV. His job often consists of traveling around the globe to promote the channel, as well as to keep up with the global music scene. If he is not traveling (Clark typically logs 200,000 miles a year), a typical day consists of waking at 6:30 A. M. and immediately responding to numerous messages that have accumulated over the course of the night. He then goes to his office, where throughout the day he will respond to another 500 messages or so from clients around the world. If he’s lucky, he gets to spend an hour a day with his son, but then it’s back to work until he finally goes to bed around midnight. Says Clark, â€Å"There are plenty of people who would love to have this job. They’re knocking on the door all the time. So that’s motivating. † Many individuals would balk at the prospect of a 60-hour or more workweek with constant traveling and little time for anything else. However, some individuals are exhilarated by such professions. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2004, about 17 percent of managers worked more than 60 hours per week. But the demands of such jobs are clearly not for everyone. Many quit, with turnover levels at 55 percent for consultants and 30 percent for investment bankers, according to Vault. om. However, it is clear that such jobs, which are time consuming and often stressful, can be satisfying to some individuals. Questions 1. Do you think that only certain individuals are attracted to these types of jobs, or is it the characteristics of the jobs themselves that are satisfying? 2. What characteristics of these jobs might contribute to increased levels of job satisfaction? 3. Given that the four individuals we just read about tend to be satisfied with their jobs, how might this satisfaction relate to their job performance, citizenship behavior, and turnover? 4. Recall David Clark’s statement, â€Å"There are plenty of people who would love to have this job. They’re knocking on the door all the time. † How might Clark’s perceptions of having a job that many others desire contribute to his job satisfaction? Source: Based on L. Tischler; â€Å"Extreme Jobs (And the People Who Love Them),† Fast Company, April 2005, pp. 55–60. http://www. glo-jobs. com/article. php? article_no=87. Group 2 Case Assignment Case Incident The Upside of Anger? A researcher doing a case study on emotions in organizations interviewed Laura, a 22-year-old customer service representative in Australia. Below is a summary of the interview (with some paraphrasing of the interviewer questions): Interviewer: How would you describe your workplace? Laura: Very cold, unproductive, [a] very, umm, cold environment, atmosphere. Interviewer: What kinds of emotions are prevalent in your organization? Laura: Anger, hatred towards other people, other staff members. Interviewer: So it seems that managers keep employees in line using fear tactics? Laura: Yeah. [The General Manager’s] favorite saying is, â€Å"Nobody’s indispensable. † So, it’s like, â€Å"I can’t do that because I’ll get sacked! Interviewer: How do you survive in this situation? Laura: You have to cater your emotions to the sort of situation, the specific situation . . . because it’s just such a hostile environment, this is sort of the only way you can survive. Interviewer: Are there emotions you have to hide? Laura: Managers don’t like you to show your emotions . . . They d on’t like to show that there is anything wrong or anything emotional in the working environment. Interviewer: Why do you go along? Laura: I feel I have to put on an act because . . . o show your true emotions, especially towards my managers [Laura names two of her senior managers], it would be hatred sometimes. So, you just can’t afford to do that because it’s your job and you need the money. Interviewer: Do you ever rebel against this system? Laura: You sort of put on a happy face just so you can annoy [the managers]. I find that they don’t like people being happy, so you just annoy them by being happy. So, yeah. It just makes you laugh. You just â€Å"’put it on† just because you know it annoys [management]. It’s pretty vindictive and manipulative but you just need to do that. Interviewer: Do you ever find that this gets to you? Laura: I did care in the beginning and I think it just got me into more trouble. So now I just tell myself, â€Å"I don’t care. † If you tell yourself something for long enough, eventually you believe it. Yeah, so now I just go â€Å"’Oh well. † Interviewer: Do you intend to keep working here? Laura: It’s a means to an end now. So every time I go [to work] and every week I just go, â€Å"Well, one week down, one week less until I go away. † But if I knew that I didn’t have this goal, I don’t know if I could handle it, or if I would even be there now. Interviewer: Is there an upside to working here? Laura: I’m so much better at telling people off now than I ever used to be. I can put people in place in about three sentences. Like, instead of, before I would walk away from it. But now I just stand there and fight . . . I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. Teaching Note: Break up the class in groups of three or four students each. Ask them to discuss the questions and share their answers later as a class.  ¦ Questions 1. Do you think Laura is justified in her responses to her organization’s culture? Why or why not? . Do you think Laura’s strategic use and display of emotions serve to protect her? 3. Assuming Laura’s description is accurate, how would you react to the organization’s culture? 4. Research shows that acts of coworkers (37 percent) and management (22 percent) cause more negative emotions for employees than do acts of customers (7percent). What can Lauraâ⠂¬â„¢s company do to change its emotional climate? Source: J. Perrone and M. H. Vickers, â€Å"Emotions as Strategic Game in a Hostile Workplace: An Exemplar Case,† Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal 16, no. 3 (2004), pp. 167–78. Group 3 Case Assignment Case Incident Reaching Out, Literally â€Å"Why are people at work always touching me? † asked  Elizabeth Bernstein. It’s a problem not everyone has, but  it makes you wonder why people like Bernstein are  touched a lot at work. It also makes you wonder who does  the touching. Though there is no literature on this, the part of the  Ã¢â‚¬Å"toucher† is perhaps easier to analyze. We know that extraverts  are more expressive, demonstrative, and physically  affectionate than are introverts. So one might well conjecture  that extraverted people are doing more of the touching  at work. As for the â€Å"touchee,† that’s harder to figure. Some evidence  suggests that women are more likely recipients of  touches than are men. One study of Japanese women suggested  that agreeable women are more likely to be  touched than less agreeable women. Elizabeth Bernstein is not sure what causes her to be the  target of so many touches. â€Å"I get bear hugs from men and  unsolicited kisses on the cheek from women,† Bernstein  wrote. â€Å"Co-workers of both sexes grip my elbows, tap my  knees, and pat my back. . . . One friend hugs me every time  she sees me in the elevator. † There also may be personality differences in the degree  to which someone likes to be touched. Greg Farrall, a 39-year-old financial advisor, has the  worst of both worlds: he receives touches all the time and  hates getting them. He has repeatedly asked people not to  touch him, to no avail. â€Å"If you’re looking over me at my  computer screen, you don’t need to put your hand on my  shoulder. You can easily put it somewhere else. † Farrall is not alone in his dislike of workplace touching. One employee commented, â€Å"Few things are more annoying  than employees who put their creepy-crawlies on  co-workers. As for when touching is inappropriate, obviously, touching  someone in an inappropriate place, or continuing to  touch someone when the recipient lets you know it’s unwelcome,  constitutes sexual harassment. But many touches  fall into neither of these categories. â€Å"There aren’t standards  about what touching i s nonsexual other than handshakes,†Ã‚  said Larry Stybel, a Boston-area management  consultant. Of course, some people like being touched at work. Todd Adler, a Florida equities trader, recently started working  from home. He says, â€Å"I work with myself and can only  touch myself hich has its pluses and minuses. † Questions 1. What causes others to want to touch others at work? 2. How would you feel if a teacher in one of your classes  put his or her arm on your shoulder? Can you imagine  a situation in which that would be acceptable? Do  you think your answers say something about your  personality? 3. Some experts advise that employees should avoid all  physical contact with coworkers at all times. Do you  think that’s a wise policy? Why or why not? 4. Do you think the social mores against are distinctly  American? If so, why? Group 4 Case Assignment Case Incident Predictions Consider the following: †¢ Prediction: â€Å"A very powerful and durable rally is in the  works. †Ã¢â‚¬â€Richard Band, editor, Profitable Investing Letter  (March 27, 2008)   o Status: At that time, the Dow average was trading at  12,300; one year later, it was at 6,626. †¢ Prediction: AIG â€Å"could have huge gains in the second  quarter. †Ã¢â‚¬â€Bijan Moazami, analyst, Friedman, Billings,  Ramsey (May 9, 2008)   o Status: AIG lost $5 billion that quarter, $25 billion the  next, and $62 billion the quarter after that, before being  given a $90 billion credit by the U. S. government in  2008–2009. †¢ Prediction: â€Å"Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae are fundamentally  sound . . . in good shape moving forward. †Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã‚  Barnie Frank, House Financial Services Chairman  (July 14, 2008)   o Status: By August 2008, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac  were downgraded to the lowest credit ratings; on  September 7, 2008, they were placed in conservatorship  in â€Å"one of the most sweeping government interventions  in private financial markets† in history. †¢ Prediction: â€Å"I think Bob Steel’s the one guy I trust to  turn this bank around, which is why I’ve told you . . buy  Wachovia. †Ã¢â‚¬â€Jim Cramer, CNBC (September 15, 2008)   o Status: Wachovia shares lost half their value from  September 15 to December 29, and Wachovia was taken  over by Wells Fargo. †¢ Prediction: â€Å"I think you’ll see $150 a barrel [oil] by the  end of the year. †Ã¢â‚¬â€T. Boone Picke ns, investor (June 20,  2008)   o Status: By December of 2008, oil was trading at $40 per  barrel. †¢ Prediction: â€Å"In today’s regulatory environment, it’s virtually  impossible to violate rules . . . your money is safe  with me. —Bernie Madoff (October 20, 2007)   o Status: In 2009 Judge Denny Chin handed Madoff a  150-year sentence for his â€Å"extraordinarily evil† Ponzi  scheme, defrauding investors in the biggest financial  swindle in history. †¢ Prediction: â€Å"Smart investors should buy [Merrill  Lynch] stock before everyone else comes to their  senses. †Ã¢â‚¬â€Jon Birger, senior writer, Fortune’s Investors  Guide 2008 o Status: Merrill agreed to be acquired by Bank of  America to avoid insolvency; the takeover nearly cost  Bank of America its own solvency. Source: Based on P. Coy, â€Å"Worst Predictions about 2008,† Business Week ( January 12, 2009), pp. 15–16; D. Ng, â€Å"How Wrong They Were! †Ã‚  The World I Know (January 4, 2009), danielngsh. blogspot. com; and R. Frank and A. Efrati, â€Å"‘Evil’ Madoff Gets 150 Years in Epic Fraud,†Ã‚  Wall Street Journal ( June 30, 2009), pp. A1, A12. Questions 1. Do you think these examples paint a misleading or  unfair picture of financial market predictions? Why  or why not? 2. What perceptual or decision-making errors can you  identify in these predictions? 3. Why do we like making predictions so much? 4. Why do you think predictions seem so hard to make?

Pierre Elliott Trudeau essays

Pierre Elliott Trudeau essays Trudeau dominated the scene as no other prime minister did. He was the first prime mister of the electronic age. He advocated a strong and united Canada. According to one of his supporters Trudeau came into politics to entrench minority right- and he did. Pierre Elliott Trudeau was born on October 18, 1919 to a bilingual family. His mother was Scottish and his father was French Canadian. He came from a wealthy family. Trudeau was very educated and attended many schools. In 1938 he completed his bachelors degree at College Jean-de-Brebeuf. In 1943 he studied law at the University of Montreal and became a lawyer. He then went on to Harvard to earn a masters degree in arts. In 1946-47 he went to do his postgraduate work in political science, law and economics at University of Paris. After that in 1947-48 he went to the London school of Economics. Trudeau then took off a year to travel to Europe and Asia. In 1971 he was married to Margaret Sinclair, who was 30 years younger than him. He had three sons with her: Justin, Alexander (Sacha) and Michel (who later died in a avalanche accident). In 1992 he had a daughter with Deborah Coyne, named Sarah Coyne. His marriage ended in a separation with Margaret Sinclair and then divorced her in 1984. After returning to Canada, Trudeau became well known for supporting the labor unions in the Asbestos Strike of Quebec and also fought against the regime of Premier Maurice Duplessis of Quebec, against social and political change. In 1950, Trudeau was the founder of the review magazine, Cite Libre. The Cite Libre published concerns for individuals and held economic opportunities that should be equal for each person. It defended the freedom of thought, speech and religion and advocated nonsectarian schools. In 1961 he was a law professor in University of Montreal. He later dec ...

Bottle Gourd Domestication and History

Bottle Gourd Domestication and History The bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) has had a complex domestication history written for it over the past twenty years. However, recent DNA research suggests that it was domesticated three times: in Asia, at least 10,000 years ago; in Central America, about 10,000 years ago; and in Africa, about 4,000 years ago. In addition, the bottle gourds dispersal throughout Polynesia is a key part of evidence supporting the possible Polynesian discovery of the New World, circa 1000 AD. The bottle gourd is a diploid, monoecious plant of the Cucurbitacea. The plant has thick vines with large white flowers that open only at night. The fruit comes in a large variety of shapes, selected for by their human users. The bottle gourd is primarily grown for its fruit, which when dried forms a woody hollow vessel that is suitable for containing water and food, for fishing floats, for musical instruments and for clothing, among other things. In fact, the fruit itself floats, and bottle gourds with still-viable seeds have been discovered after floating in seawater for more than seven months. Domestication History The bottle gourd is native to Africa: wild populations of the plant have recently been discovered in Zimbabwe. Two subspecies, likely representing two separate domestication events, have been identified: Lagenaria siceraria spp. siceraria (in Africa, domesticated some 4,000 years ago) and L. s. spp. asiatica (Asia, domesticated at least 10,000 years ago0. The likelihood of a third domestication event, in Central America about 10,000 years ago, has been implied from genetic analysis of American bottle gourds (Kistler et al.), Domesticated bottle gourds have been recovered in the Americas at sites such as Guila Naquitz in Mexico by ~10,000 years ago. Bottle Gourd Dispersals The earliest dispersal of the bottle gourd into the Americas was long believed by scholars to have occurred from the floating of domesticated fruits across the Atlantic. In 2005, researchers David Erickson and colleagues (among others) argued that bottle gourds, like dogs, had been brought into the Americas with the arrival of Paleoindian hunter-gatherers, at least 10,000 years ago. If true, then the Asian form of the bottle gourd was domesticated at least a couple of thousand years before that. Evidence of that has not been discovered, although domestic bottle gourds from several Jomon period sites on Japan have early dates. In 2014, researchers Kistler et al. disputed that theory, in part because it would have required the tropical and subtropical bottle gourd to have been planted at the crossing place into the Americas in the Bering Land Bridge region, an area far too cold to support that; and evidence for its presence in the likely entryway into the Americas has yet to be found. Instead, Kistlers team looked at DNA from samples in several locales in the Americas between 8,000 BC and 1925 AD (included Guila Naquitz and Quebrada Jaguay) and concluded that Africa is the clear source region of the bottle gourd in the Americas. Kistler et al. suggest that the African bottle gourds were domesticated in the American Neotropics, derived from seeds out of gourds which had drifted across the Atlantic. Later dispersals throughout eastern Polynesia, Hawaii, New Zealand and the western South American coastal region may have been driven by Polynesian seafaring. New Zealand bottle gourds exhibit features of both subspecies. The Kistler study identified the Polynesia bottle gourds as L. siceria ssp. asiatica, more closely related to Asian examples, but the puzzle was not addressed in that study. Important Bottle Gourd Sites AMS radiocarbon dates on bottle gourd rinds are reported after the site name unless otherwise noted. Note: dates in the literature are recorded as they appear, but are listed in roughly chronological order from oldest to youngest. Spirit Cave (Thailand), 10000-6000 BC (seeds)Azazu (Japan), 9000-8500 BC (seeds)Little Salt Spring (Florida, US), 8241-7832 cal BCGuila Naquitz (Mexico) 10,000-9000 BP 7043-6679 cal BCTorihama (Japan), 8000-6000 cal BP (a rind may be dated ~15,000 bp)Awatsu-kotei (Japan), associated date 9600 BPQuebrada Jaguay (Peru), 6594-6431 cal BCWindover Bog (Florida, US) 8100 BPCoxcatlan Cave (Mexico) 7200 BP (5248-5200 cal BC)Paloma (Peru) 6500 BPTorihama (Japan), associated date 6000 BPShimo-yakebe (Japan), 5300 cal BPSannai Maruyama (Japan), associated date 2500 BCTe Niu (Easter Island), pollen, AD 1450 Â   Sources Thanks to Hiroo Nasu of the Japanese Association of Historical Botany for the latest information about Jomon sites in Japan. This glossary entry is a part of the About.com guide to Plant Domestication and the Dictionary of Archaeology. Clarke AC, Burtenshaw MK, McLenachan PA, Erickson DL, and Penny D. 2006. Reconstructing the Origins and Dispersal of the Polynesian Bottle Gourd (Lagenaria siceraria). Molecular Biology and Evolution 23(5):893-900. Duncan NA, Pearsall DM, and Benfer J, Robert A. 2009. Gourd and squash artifacts yield starch grains of feasting foods from preceramic Peru. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 106(32):13202-13206. Erickson DL, Smith BD, Clarke AC, Sandweiss DH, and Tuross N. 2005. An Asian origin for a 10,000-year-old domesticated plant in the Americas. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 102(51):18315–18320. Fuller DQ, Hosoya LA, Zheng Y, and Qin L. 2010. A Contribution to the Prehistory of Domesticated Bottle Gourds in Asia: Rind Measurements from Jomon Japan and Neolithic Zhejiang, China. Economic Botany 64(3):260-265. Horrocks M, Shane PA, Barber IG, D’Costa DM, and Nichol SL. 2004. Microbotanical remains reveal Polynesian agriculture and mixed cropping in early New Zealand. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 131:147-157. doi:10.1016/j.revpalbo.2004.03.003 Horrocks M, and Wozniak JA. 2008. Plant microfossil analysis reveals disturbed forest and a mixed-crop, dryland production system at Te Niu, Easter Island. Journal of Archaeological Science 35(1):126-142.doi: 10.1016/j.jas.2007.02.014 Kistler L, Montenegro , Smith BD, Gifford JA, Green RE, Newsom LA, and Shapiro B. 2014. Transoceanic drift and the domestication of African bottle gourds in the Americas. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 111(8):2937-2941. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1318678111 Kudo Y, and Sasaki Y. 2010. Characterization of Plant Remains on Jomon Potteries Excavated from the Shimo-yakebe Site, Tokyo, Japan. Bulletin of the National Museum of Japanese History 158:1-26. (in Japanese) Pearsall DM. 2008. Plant domestication. In: Pearsall DM, editor. Encyclopedia of Archaeology. London: Elsevier Inc. p 1822-1842. doi:10.1016/B978-012373962-9.00081-9 Schaffer AA, and Paris HS. 2003. Melons, squashes and gourds. In: Caballero B, editor. Encyclopedia of Food Sciences and Nutrition. second ed. London: Elsevier. p 3817-3826. doi: 10.1016/B0-12-227055-X/00760-4 Smith BD. 2005. Reassessing Coxcatlan Cave and the early history of domesticated plants in Mesoamerica. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 102(27):9438-9445. Zeder MA, Emshwiller E, Smith BD, and Bradley DG. 2006. Documenting domestication: the intersection of genetics and archaeology. Trends in Genetics 22(3):139-155. doi:10.1016/j.tig.2006.01.007

Ikea Global Sourcing Challenges Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Ikea Global Sourcing Challenges - Case Study Example As the discussion stresses if the child labor evidence being utilized at Rangan Exports is precise, the supplier is in direct infringement of IKEA's clause of no child labor. Barner has two clear option decisions in managing this circumstance. In the first place, she can end the contract with the supplier in light of their rupture of the no child labor procurement. This option is legitimate and reliable with. The potential disservice of this option is that it may deny IKEA of a lucrative supplier relationship, and it might briefly slice off access to Indian floor covering sources. In that capacity, it might antagonistically effect IKEA's main concern. Barner's other alternative is to give the supplier a "notice" however look after relations, with the admonition that the supplier quit utilizing child laborers. This would have the upside of keeping up a conceivably lucrative supplier relationship.This paper highlights that  it would likewise give IKEA the chance to "instruct" supplie rs about the perils of child labor. On the drawback, this activity would be in spite of IKEA's set up policies. It could make an impression on different suppliers that IKEA may furtively excuse child labor while straightforwardly censoring it.  Neglecting to do as such would send the wrong message to different suppliers, expanding their dealing power, and damages IKEA's particular policies. Besides, it leaves IKEA open to charges of exploitative conduct.

Physician Credentialing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Physician Credentialing - Assignment Example Information submitted by any applicant should be thoroughly examined and cross-checked to ascertain honesty and experience of such an applicant. The education background should be verified by checking all certificates presented. It should be ensured that the resume is consistent with the age of the applicant since some applicants could try to fake their resumes hoping not to be noted. This is important as it helps to ensure that applicants will have gone through formal education and qualified in whatever fields they applied. This information will be got through certificates and also through contacting the education institutions stated on the resumes.  History of the practice of applicants is also important. This is the period that an applicant has been in practice. The medical field is not one whereby applicants work on probability but based on being sure of what they are doing. Hence, every hospital that an applicant claims to have practiced should be contacted and letters or reco mmendation reviewed. Conduct history is one other thing that thing that will not be overlooked (Matzka, 2007). An applicant needs to come with a certificate of good conduct showing that he/she has maintained integrity throughout the period of practice. Any penalty that an applicant has suffered in the course of practice is reviewed and the reason behind ascertained.  At Rural Outreach Community Hospital, any applicant is taken through a thorough scrutiny that ensures that they meet all the laid down procedures of approval. As the one in charge, I would ensure that there is a procedural interview process through which all applicants are taken through. There would be a practical exam where a hand on experience is checked by a qualified professional.  After this, the applicants who qualify are not hired on permanent basis but are first hired as interns. During this internship period, their performance is

Gender roles Essay Example for Free

Gender roles Essay Well, the topic of gender roles is a ripe one. While there is no specific outline providing benchmarks to use in classifying a person’s gender, a number of factors come into play in helping define one’s gender. One of the factors is cultural prescription as provided for by a person’s social group. A man is a man or a woman a woman depending on how the social group they belong to label or socializes them. But one should remember here that genitalia alone do not determine a person’s gender. While one’s sex is determined by one’s biology, both biology and culture (nature and nurture) determine their gender. There are different roles for different genders. Gender is more of culturally than biologically determined. In fact, a person could be born with male genitalia but be of female gender or vice versa. Differences exist between the male and female genders for instance; men are braver than women and women more emotional than men. Women like being protected while men like to protect. Also, men want to pursue a woman for relationship while women want to be pursued. The differences between the genders emanate from differences in sexes culture, religion among others. Some of the similarities include: both are jealous, self-centered and want to mend the other to live up to their own standards. Again, both genders converge in their need for recognition and love. These among other differences and similarities together with other factors such as legal have succeeded in being constant obstacles on the road to equality. Most social groups, our parents and the media have socialized us to believe that the male gender is superior to the female gender. One can ask, does sex determine one’s abilities? Pursuing such a question may elicit an endless debate but a sex-based approach in determining gender roles is bias and oppressive to women and perpetuates inequalities and patriarchy. No wonder women have to fight for equality. Kyra Sedgwick says that, â€Å"†¦we are still not really supposed to want it as much as guy does. † But I think women should be able to make their own choices. I would want to socialize my children in a manner that they will see both genders as equal and worth as much respect despite the differences. I will also want to allow them freedom to choose what they want to be in life. I will not deny them opportunities on the basis of their gender. I will also encourage them to follow their passion provided they are within the range of acceptable careers and I will endeavor to support them. A number of questions puzzle me. They include; In agitating for equality, do women become more women or less? Is a woman more woman because she enjoys same rights as a man? Is it possible to invent a universally acceptable modality of determining gender roles so as to eschew the controversy? What provisions do our societies make for those individuals who do not qualify as average male/female? These questions leave me lost in the labyrinths. The first and second questions demand that women be careful when agitating for equality lest they lose their identity. Anyway what is so serious about losing one’s identity? If forgoing one’s identity will make one have a happier life then isn’t it better to forgo it. What should be pursued, identity or happiness? Addressing the third question will save us unnecessary debates while the fourth question rises out of my worry that there are some persons that are left out in the classification of genders and this could be unfair- a more inclusive definition needs to be adopted for a fair discussion. In doing away with the dual classification such terms as feminism and others that are so ‘poisoned’ will be avoided and may be a less controversial nomenclature adopted. Andrea Wong is a brave woman. From her early age she tried her leg in leadership, a field that was erroneously perceived as a reserve for men. Also unlike most women, Andrea Wong knows how, after falling, to get up, dust herself off and keep going. Unlike Wong, most women get resigned after their first failure. If women were like her, they would also be leaders like she is today and would be doing great exploits. Rachel Roy is another woman who impresses me. She goes for what she wants and she wants nothing but the best, â€Å" If I couldn’t work at Contempo, I didn’t want to work anywhere. † This shows a resolve that most women lack. She knows what she wants that is to be a designer, â€Å"her passion started in childhood and she has never wavered†. She is final in her decision. These two women not only set good example for me but also are good role models for women. From the pieces, it is clearly depicted that success for women is dependent on their attitude and not their gender. If women changed their attitude then they would favorably compete against men and it would be easier for them and tougher for men. Works cited Newsweek, October 15, 2007.

Zeynep Tons A Minimum Wage Essay -- elastic supply, demand, employees

The article that I am studying is Zeynep Ton's A minimum wage hike could help employers, too, in the Harvard Business Review. This article is a speculative piece about the effects of proposed minimum wage increases at the federal level. The author takes a look at companies that superior wages and benefits for their industry. The underlying theme is that this is juxtaposed against a common argument that raising the minimum wage will be universally harmful. The common argument takes beginner's level supply and demand graphs and uses them as the basis for the claim. The basic elastic supply and demand graph shows that as the cost of a good increases, demand for that good declines. Thus, if the minimum wage increases, businesses will face higher costs, will pass those costs onto consumers, will suffer lower profits or will reduce employment, or some combination of these negative outcomes. The author here is pointing out that the world is a heck of a lot more complex than that. Microeconomics does not end with the study of rudimentary supply and demand graphs, but incorporates a broader range of considerations into its arguments. The author highlights a couple of those arguments. The first is the "good jobs strategy". The second is the efficiency concept. The two are at times related. First, microeconomic principles can be used to examine the good jobs strategy. The author cites four firms in particular – Trader Joe's, Costco, Spanish supermarket chain Mercadona and convenience store chain QuikTrip. The author acknowledges that these companies do not have too many similarities, perhaps except for the nature of the goods they sell – they are all in convenience and food retailing. This industry is characterized by a st... ...vers. Better people won't work for minimum wage, but better people make for stronger companies. And what of customers? There are price elasticities of demand to consider in this argument. They are not relevant at Costco, and Trader Joe's is good value for its competitive niche, but many Americans are perfectly willing to pay a higher price for better quality. Yes, there are other considerations not mentioned here – the effect of minimum wage on overall inflation and things like that – but the article is a great starting point for understanding the complexity of microeconomic analysis that goes beyond the superficial analysis we often see in the media. Works Cited Ton, Z. (2014). A minimum wage hike could help employers, too. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved February 2, 2014 from http://blogs.hbr.org/2014/01/a-minimum-wage-hike-would-help-employers-too/

Discrimination and Human Rights Act Essay

Introduction You have been asked by your Head Teacher to produce a document that promotes the importance of promoting equality and diversity in work with children and young people. This is aimed for new members of staff and volunteers. Legislation and codes of practice 2.4 – 1.1 Identify at least two current legislation and codes of practice relevant to the promotion of equality and valuing of diversity. You must include the correct title and date (where appropriate) and then provide a summary of each piece of legislation or code of practice that is identified. This could include: Equality Act, Human Rights Act, Inclusion policy. The Equalities Act (2010) This act is a combination of many old acts (race relations, sex discrimination and disability discrimination etc.) its two main purposes – to harmonise discrimination law and to strengthen the law to support the progress on equality. It is the most significant development in equality and discrimination for years. It sets out that everyone regardless of race, sex, religion or disability is entitled to fair treatment. The Human Rights Act (1998) This act sets out the rights and fundamental freedoms of each and every human being. All public bodies (courts, schools etc.) have to comply with the act. The act has a principal that everyone should have protection from discrimination; this has a wide range of grounds including sex, race, colour, language, religion and political or other opinions. Inclusion policy (our lady mother of the saviour catholic primary school 2011) This policy sets out that the school its self aims to be inclusive and remove barriers to learning and participation that could discriminate pupils or groups of pupils.it states in the policy that the achievements, attitudes and well-being of all children matter. Equal opportunities policy (our lady mother of the saviour catholic primary school 2011) This policy is set out in accordance with the Equalities Act 2010. It is there to promote anti-discrimination and the principle of fairness and justice for all through the education that is provided from the school. The policy also recognises that by doing this it may from time to time have to treat some pupils differently (a child with a disability will be treated as fair as possible but in situations cannot be treated the same as other pupils) 2.4 – 1.2, 1.3 Describe the importance of supporting the rights of all children and young people to participation and equality of access. Unfortunately studies have shown that children from poorer backgrounds attain less in school than children from higher professional families, this in its self supports the importance of supporting children in school to participation and equality of access. Ignoring these rights could lead to children having low self-esteem, a feeling of inferiority and lower levels at school. Supported in the right way children could all have a greater chance of attaining a higher level at school and a greater chance of becoming more â€Å"all rounded† as adults. Describe the importance and benefits of valuing and promoting cultural diversity in work with children and young people. By promoting cultural diversity and valuing any type of difference in work this will reflect on the children so that they themselves will pick up these attitudes and behaviours. The importance of this is that failure to promote diversity through your own actions could result in discrimination within the children and young people. The advantages of valuing and promoting diversity are that it opens the children up to learn about new things, such as cultures and improves their knowledge and understanding. By doing this it will lead to them being more tolerant and creative adults and therefore less likely to discriminate later in life.

Living with My Parents vs. Living Independently

Living With My Parents vs. Living Independently I always thought that moving out of my parents’ house would be an exciting new start to life. Apparently nobody thought to explain to me how stressful and cost-consuming life really is outside the comfort of mommy and daddy’s embrace. Living with my parents and living independently differ exponentially, but living with my parents isn’t nearly as dreadful as I thought it to be as a teenager. The first upsetting difference between living alone rather than with my parents is the food.When I lived with my parents, it was easy to eat a healthy, home cooked meal and not have to worry about preparing it. It usually just appeared on the table as an alluring plate of deliciousness without having to lift a finger. On the other hand, trying to make a meal is much more complicated when living alone. The freezer is normally stocked full of microwavable foods that taste like plastic and the refrigerator maybe has some five-day-ol d milk.Gaining weight is easier than ever when the only cuisine available is fatty and nutritionally deficient. The second depressing part of living alone is the money, or more precisely, the lack thereof. When residing at my mom and dad’s house, wasting money on luxuries was the most exciting part. Not to mention my parents’ seemingly endless amount of money to help pay for anything and everything was always a plus. Saving money was even possible at the time. But now, living independently definitely has its drawbacks.How many bills can possibly come in one month? With barely enough money to pay the bills, how is a girl supposed to shop for anything other than frozen goodies and Ramen? And forget about trying to save any cash, rummaging through my coin jar has become my favorite new hobby. Furthermore, who knew that cleaning didn’t just magically happen? Coming home from work and school to a clean house was definitely a convenience, though it went unnoticed at t he time. I was previously unaware that so many things in the house could get dirty.The cleaning never stops! Piles of laundry lay scattered across the floor of the house because apparently not every house comes equipped with a washer and dryer! Living with my parents might have been intolerable at times, but it made life so much easier. Not having to worry about food, money, and cleaning probably doesn’t seem like a big deal to most people, but it’s definitely a luxury. I appreciate how easy and carefree life was while living with my parents because I now realize how arduous life can really be.

Ptang, yang, kipperbang Essays

Ptang, yang, kipperbang Essays Ptang, yang, kipperbang Paper Ptang, yang, kipperbang Paper Ptang, yang, kipperbang is a play written for television which focuses around the life of a teenage boy, named Alan Duckworth. Set after the war, the play gives the viewer or reader a well documented insight into teenage life at this point in time. The main character, Alan is not only a keen cricket fan like most boys his age, but has developed an infatuation for an attractive girl in his school. Although at first glance Alan seems to be like any other teenager, beneath this image is a boy who is healthily in touch with his feminine side. This leads to a play which not only adopts a successful comedy routine between Alan and his friends, but in the end, turns Alan into the unlikely hero of the play. The writer of the play, Jack Rosenthal ensures Ptang, yang, kipperbang sets itself from the crowd. He achieves this by using a certain dramatic device, which can only be labelled as genius. Rosenthal employs John Arlott, a famous sports commentator to provide play-by-play of the test cricket match, England against Australia to coincide with the events in Alans life. Its this commentary along with Rosenthals thought and preparation into the characters, which makes Ptang, yang, kipperbang such a joy to read and even more so to watch. The stage directions can not be ignored when reading the play, but naturally they go without acknowledgement. When watching the play, however they obtain a high degree of importance throughout the production, from Alans jerk in pain when he receives his punishment from the headmaster to Anns kiss on the cheek towards the end of the play, they all serve a purpose, some more than others. Its these stage directions which highlight the fact that Ptang, yang, kipperbang is in fact a play written for television and not for the stage. For one, the majority of the stage directions required for the play to be acted out to full effect demands a physically larger area than a stage. For example, Alans daily chores for his father, which were in fact an excuse for Alan to indulge himself in Anns presence. The scenarios used in the play also demonstrate that the play was written for television. This is evident in that there are so many scenarios in the play, I dont know where to start. From the school grounds where Alan talks to the caretaker, Tommy about cricket and life in general, to Anns house where as soon as Alans love object is out of view, he U-turns to arrive home. Upon review of the play, my favourite scene was undecided. There were so many that stuck out in my mind as memorable, such as the cross country P. E lesson, a classic example of the chemistry between Alan and his friends along with their comical antics. Alan is shocked and insulted when he discovers prostitutes refuse to kiss; (stops dead) They wont kiss? His friends reply by crudely remarking that its a price theyre willing to pay to employ a prostitute. Another scene which I find to be one of my favourites is one of the many Tommy and Miss Land conversations, the particular one I have in mind however is that of when Tommy is enlightened by Miss Land that she had a relationship with an American during the war. Miss Lands addition of virtually to the end of every sentence, along with Tommys irony makes the scene an asset to the play; One! One American! Virtually.. Old men and Yanks! Bloody old two-faced fogeys and randy Yanks! While me and my oppos are spilling blood and guts all over Africa and France and the sodding Rhineland! Both Tommy and Miss Land are lying to themselves in this scene. Miss Lands self deceit is visually obvious as her virtually spree suggests. Later in the play, Tommys claims of fighting valiantly in the war turn out to be false, he mentions in spite of Miss Land that he was fighting for Queen and country whilst she meddled with old men and foreigners. These two scenes, however entertaining, come in at a close fourth and third in my opinion. One of the two scenes that I have decided are joint for first place is Alans scene with the Headmaster, the comments between thrashes and the Headmasters demeanour throughout is what makes this scene primarily so entertaining. Alans physical response to his punishment, him avoiding contact with a seat for some time after, also adds to the value of this scene. I think Jack Rosenthal achieves such a level of humour from a place with the opposite emotional atmosphere (being the dreaded Headmasters office) by using this feeling of dread to his advantage. Instead of portraying the Headmaster as a stern and cold man, he shows that not only has he the strictness to be a Headmaster, but the unique blend of a sense of humour as well. Its this combination that makes the scene such joy to read. The other scene that makes up my personal top spot double is yet another example of the rib-tickling chemistry between Alan and his friends which explained earlier, is just one of several wild-cards Rosenthal uses to make Ptang, yang, kipperbang what it is, a successful comedy play written for television. The scene in question is the brilliant pontoon game parody staged in the boys lavatory. Alans half participation in the game, explaining the days earlier events, whilst his friends play with a trance-like attitude is entertaining on its own. As the scene goes on, Alan grows more impatient with his unimpressed companions. The game continues and his friends, still oblivious to Alans dilemmas and more to the game at hand, and in an ironic twist reveal they have lost patience with him. Sod off Quack-Quack. Youre getting on my nerves! (Turns his cards over) Pontoon. Match null and void. Ungentlemanly play from Quack-Quack. I had bloody pontoon! As Quack-Quack or Alan detaches from his friends, there are no signs of Alan even being present. Pontoon seems to be the popular topic of choice. In my opinion, Ptang, yang, kipperbang offers much more than meets the eye. One of the things I picked up from the play was its employment of comedy to put across certain points, for example, the daily after school pressing sessions. This demonstrates adolescent behaviour in a humorous and nai ve manner. This is a frequent occurrence throughout the play, which proves to be a success. The point made at the end by two workmen on Alans street, which primarily left me in a state of confusion as well as no doubt many others came in the form of the following; Hell be starting shaving next. Then spend the rest of his life trying to stop the bleeding. Although vague, I interpret the comments to be a forecast for later on in Alans life where as the workmen believe, despite his current desire to grow up will lead Alan to long for his days as a schoolboy again. This may be Jack Rosenthals way of presenting the stereotypical old mans clichi. The time you spend in school are the best days of your life.

Bilingual Education

In this peer reviewed journal article â€Å"A Speech Community Model of Bilingual Education: Educating Latino Newcomers in the USA† written by Ofelia Garcia and Lesley Bartlett the authors find a way to address the current problem of bilingual education in the US. They do so by conducting a qualitative case study at a segregated bilingual high school for Latino newcomers. They base their study off of a community high school in New York by the name of Gregorio Luperon High School. This specific school has a majority of Dominican students in a city with one of the highest drug and crime rates, however they were able to find success with their Speech Community Model of bilingual education for immigrant youth. The main key to this success was to â€Å"view second language acquisition as a social process building on the speech community itself, and not just as the primary individual process. † (Par. 1) Gregorio Luperon High School is a community high school located in Washington Heights, New York. The school opened back in 1991 when a group of Dominican immigrants joined together to find a way to make acquiring English an easier process for latino immigrant youth. They wanted a solution to the extremely high failure rates of latino youth in the New York City School systems. This school began as just a couple month program before students were put into main stream schools but eventually in 1999 turned into an actually high school. This school comes from a neighborhood that has a majority of Dominicans, as well as one of the highest city crime rates, right behind Harlem. This Schools instructors are also all highly qualified immigrant Dominicans who can relate and connect to their students on a whole different level. Bilingual Education is a topic that has never fully been supported across the US. According to the most recent numbers available from the U. S. Department of Education There were about 5 million students classified as â€Å"English language learners† in the 2009-2010 school year. These English learners are at a distinct disadvantage and are thrown into main stream schools without qualified 2 teachers to instruct them. There is very little consistency in these programs used to educate these students as well as many disagreements with states who favor the â€Å"English-only approach. † Gregorio Luperon High School in Washington Heights wanted better for their immigrant youth and found a better alternative method to acquire the language. This specific High School used a method which they chose to call the speech community model of bilingual education. They focus on macroacquisition; which is learning language on a larger scale. The three factors they choose to focus on that have shown to be the most important in acquiring a second language were; identifying with identity and culture, power structure influencing language and the roles the communities play in learning a language. In this study they conducted they focused on specific research questions The Research conducted by Garcia and Bartlett was taken from a qualitative case study where they introduced an alternative method to meet the needs of latino immigrant youth. In this research these specific questions were addressed; â€Å"How does the model of this school differ from and how is it similar to other models now offered for latino adolescents in the US? †,† What are the characteristics of this model that support newcomer latino youths education as well as their English learning language? † And â€Å"What are the limitations of this model This article written by Garcia and Bartlett point out the important aspects of this alternative model for bilingual education used and show how and why these unique methods are successful for these latino newcomers. In this speech community model used by the school they focused on seven main factors. They believed that these factors would be successful and would be able to make youth more comfortable speaking freely, help them identify and feel more comfortable with their identity as well as equalizing the power relations between English and Spanish. They believe these seven factors are responsible for their students passing the Regents Exam and graduating High School. These successful factors used are ; the absence of students who are native speakers of English, presence of native Spanish-speaking 3 latino teachers as the students models. Also the high status this school gives spanish and specific English language acquisition targets. They use bilingualism as their teaching strategy and use Spanish to educate rigorously and Spanish to connect deeply to each individual student. They conducted this study by observing and gathering data and used an analytic inductive approach. They wrote fieldnotes after each observation and interview and began to find connections to their hypothesis. The authors met together every three weeks to review the data collected and to discuss. From there they were able to form the seven characteristics mentioned earlier that they believed would make Luperon school successful in their mission of helping latino immigrants pass the Regents exam and graduate high school. Garcia and Bartlett did a very thorough job in providing enough information in their article for future professors, bilingual educators and linguists to comprehend. This article not only found a successful alternative method to acquiring english for latino newcomers but it also provided a in depth background of bilingual education being a issue as a whole. Bilingual Education is a hot topic today and many immigrants are being thrown into mainstream schools expecting to pick up English without the proper tools and guidance. Luperon however wanted better for their students. Luperon residing in an Latino community with many latino immigrants formed a program that allowed their students to not only feel comfortable with their culture and in their school settings but receive the skills to pass the Regents Exam and graduate high school. Regardless of the undeniable success that Luperon received in this program, I do believe their were limitations to this study conducted by Garcia and Bartlett. The first limitation of this study being the segregation of these students. Placing these students into this segregated high school may allow them to acquire what they need to graduate high school but what about after that? Passing the Regents Exam and graduating high school is just one small stepping stone they have reached compared to the 4 long journey they have ahead of them. Also by segregating these students the English they acquire is still limited and from what they gain being in this program they lose by not being around english native speakers. Is this english they acquired from this model enough to get them a job? Do any of these students continue their education and go to College? If they do get a job and continue their education is their English strong enough that they will succeed not only academically but in Society and in their Community? These are all questions I would have liked to see answered in this article written by Garcia and Bartlett. Some sort of paragraph where they addressed the â€Å"Aftermath† of this study. They did a great job focusing on the model and why and how it was successful and even what the success rates were but I wish they could have followed up a year or so later on students and found where they were at in life. Doing this I believe would have given the study more credibility, allowing me and other readers to see that this program did not just help the students over this school year but continued to carry on and help them succeed academically and in Society as well. Garcia and Bartlett provide the readers with a successful and alternative method into bilingual education. There is such little consistency in all the bilingual education programs provided all over the US, knowledge of a successful program like this can potentially be a huge step in a positive direction for this controversial topic. Just Simply incorporating some of the ideas that the authors suggested and used in their article can be beneficial for future teachers, linguists and policy makers. They believed that the main key to the success of this model was to view second language acquisition as more of a social process building on the speech community itself , and not just the primary individual process. They did this by choosing to focus on three important factors that seem to be ignored in all other bilingual programs around the US; identifying with identity and culture, power structure influencing language and the roles the communities play in learning a language. â€Å"This speech community model of the school provides the oxygen in the safe island these students need to learn and succeed socially and 5 academically. † This is a program that hopefully can be adapted by schools all around the US, to give the immigrants a chance to succeed not only academically but socially as well.

Proof read Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Proof read - Essay Example As a businessman, my father is always busy together with my mother who assists him in the details of his transactions. Despite their busy schedules though, our parents always make time for the family and include me and my sister in their travels every December. Therefore, I have come to love the month of December because I am not only able to be with my parents but I also get the chance of visiting other places. I have already been to different parts of the world such as France, Singapore, Germany, China, Seoul, Japan, Korea, England, USA, and Canada. The interesting places often make family vacations extra special and wonderful because I get to visit beautiful places and taste different delicious foods. Travelling around the world has therefore become my dream because I am very interested in exploring other cultures and meeting people from different backgrounds. As an afterthought, I think my father intentionally instilled in me the importance of travel to a businessman. Looking bac k, I could see how he has guided and molded to becoming a good businessman through the education that was given to me which I believe would really be very beneficial. I graduated from Gandhi Memorial International School in my hometown. As an Indonesian, I fluently speak my native language which is Bahasa Indonesia. Coming from Chinese descent as well, I am able to speak Mandarin because I am forced to speak the language with my grandparents. In addition, the school I attended also taught us the language. As an international school, Gandhi Memorial taught most of our subjects using the English language. This enabled me to use the language well. As an aspiring businessman, I consider my communication skills as an advantage because I know I could communicate well with other people. Knowing the benefits of education, I entered Pasadena City College on the Fall of 2013 to pursue higher education. My travels proved to be helpful as I lived