Wednesday, July 31, 2019
Novel using Frankenstein as an Example Essay
However the horror itself needs to be complimented with one of the most important part your gothic novel, this being some form of a supernatural event or otherwise inexplicable event. This could include ghosts or giants walking, or inanimate objects such as a suit of armour or painting as recognised in Castle of Otranto â⬠it fell crushing his limbsâ⬠. In the case of Frankenstein it can be explained but it still a supernatural event. ââ¬Å"I had worked hard for nearly two years, for the sole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body. ââ¬Å", Shelley not only uses this as a main plot point to drive much of the issuing events, with in this case speaking in a sterile scientific manor, but also to shine light on some of the ethical issues of her time, mainly advancements in science and issues such as bring life back to ââ¬Å"inanimateâ⬠tissues. It symbolises for her the fact that science could be taken to extremes, and the events after indicate this. These events are often preceded by a vision. You may want to use this before some form of death. In chapter 5 there are no real disturbing dream visions, a better example can be seen in other gothic novels, and I will used The Castle of Otranto, this includes the omen that ââ¬Å"That the castle and lordship of Otranto should pass from the present family, whenever the real owner should be grown too large to inhabit it. â⬠or any phenomenon that may be seen as a portent of coming events other than in some way or Victorââ¬â¢s dream of Elizabeth death. , an omen that it is soon to be his time to die while at every turn the women are put into distress and a epitomising the feel that all will happen in an almost omnipotent fashion will come to its end. This should be included into your novel in some shape or form to give it a more gothic feel overall and in many cases it relates to the supernatural events to come. Women should partake in two main forms to extenuate the gothic; firstly they should at some point during your novel be in some form of distress. It should contain an appeal to the pathos and sympathy of the reader, the female characters should face events that leave them fainting, terrified, screaming, or sobbing. A lonely, pensive, and oppressed heroine is often the central figure of a gothic novel, so her sufferings are even more pronounced and the focus of attention. This can be seen by the threat made to Elizabethââ¬â¢s life through the dream in chapter 5. You could increase this more because the women are often abandoned, left alone (either on purpose or by accident), and have no protector at times. Elizabeth is left in Geneva alone with the monster (even if only in victors mind) wanting to hunt her down and kill her. You could use this to great effect and continue it to a degree that that the women should be threatened by or with the presence of a tyrannical male, this could range in your novel from a king, lord of the manor, father, or guardian, to demand that one or more of the female characters do something intolerable. The Monster howls in rage and utters the ominous words: ââ¬Å"I shall be with you on your wedding night. â⬠All the while it s rain outside with another choice to creating horror and suspense with metonym in the case referring to the darkness of the situation. Using threading tones and the fact that he ââ¬Å"shallâ⬠implying that the wedding day will be in no way pleasant. The woman may be commanded to marry someone she does not love (it may even be the powerful male himself), or commit a crime. This bring about examples of the next gothic case in point with most of the book contain much overwrought and tense emotions which often are highly sentimental. This tool should be used to create various emotion ties with your protagonist and the reader, often in the case of gothic novels the sensation of impending doom and gloom, however it can also be used for exultant situations as well, as in Frankenstein chapter 5 with ââ¬Å"I had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation; but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart. ââ¬Å", Shelley uses specific language such as ââ¬Å"breathless horrorâ⬠to symbolise the overwrought sense of disgust he felt, filling his heart suggesting that it not only hurt his senses but was a major blow to his spirit. However all of this means very little if you fail to adhere to one element that must be true if you aim is to create a truly gothic novel and the is vocabulary and syntax of the gothic writing; this is of the utmost importance The constant use of the appropriate vocabulary to set creates the atmosphere of the gothic. This includes ââ¬Å"I took refuge in the courtyard belonging to the house which I inhabited; where I remained during the rest of the night, walking up and down in the greatest agitation, listening attentively, catching and fearing each sound as if it were to announce the approach of the demoniacal corpse to which I had so miserably given life. â⬠With settings and places more suited to the time such as a courtyard, however using less common words such as greatest agitation to denote more of a tone of authenticity and demonical corpse (never referring the victors creation as a human or even some form of humanoid) standing for deeper emotions than just a monster. However that is not all that it requires for gothic writing, include the way that questions are presented ââ¬Å"with infinite pains and care I had endeavoured to form? â⬠which could be translated as I had work hard to form. I recommend therefore that you must really acquaint yourself with the general genre if you have not already and I recommend both Frankenstein and The Castle of Otranto which both brilliant representations of not only language but the points that I have already mentioned. Finally I would sat that in order for you book to match that of Shelleyââ¬â¢s you may want to include some issues surrounding ethical issues at the time, and as an example think of the issues surrounding the other title of Shelleyââ¬â¢s novel being ââ¬Å"The Modern Prometheusâ⬠this in the case of Frankenstein is the issues surrounding playing god. This brought about by greater scientific and medical advances in her time. You may use this to make your story to bring about a deeper meaning than that just of a ghost story. To conclude, I hope that the guidelines that I have provided will help you succeed in you overall goal of creating a true gothic novel. This can be easily achieved by following the simple process of metonymy of gloom, tragic females, tyrannical males, supernatural events, overwrought emotion and an ominous dream. It may seem like a daunting task however I will always offer more support and advice if you feel that you need it and I hope to read your novel and give my opinion on it, which I am sure will be great. Yours Sincerely Dr M. Yellehsà Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Mary Shelley section.
Tuesday, July 30, 2019
Indian Institutes of Management and Interview Essay
With academic internships on Internshala (likes of CERN, JNCASR, EPFL etc.) ruling the roost, we have been inundated with requests for tips on how to write an impressive Statement of Purpose (SOP). The kind which grabs selection committeeââ¬â¢s attention and forces them to accept you in one go. We present, a been there and done that, expert telling you the finer nuances of how to write an effective SOP. About the author: ââ¬â Nirmal Jayaram graduated from IIT Madras in 2006 post which he did his M.S & Ph.D from Stanford University. Whether Nirmal is synonymous with the term Academic Brilliance or coined it; I am not sure. Sample this ââ¬â he graduated with a CGPA of 9.54 from IIT Madras (last 4 sem GPA being 10/10), he had calls from all 6 IIMs and attended interviews of only 2 and converted both including IIM Ahmedabad. But of course he did not join it. He had admits with full scholarships from Stanford, MIT, Berkley, Cornell, UTA, & Purdue. Rumors has it that MIT admissi on committee stalked him for weeks to swing his decision in their favor and sulked for months when he went to Stanford instead. With these credentials, if I were you I would pay VERY close attention to what he has to say on SOP writing. Happy readingâ⬠¦ 1. Understand what a statement of purpose means: Youââ¬â¢ve probably been in situations where you have to choose one among several exciting alternatives. Recruiters face the same scenario while dealing with several good resumes intended at the same job opening. The statement of purpose gives you an opportunity to connect all your application materials together and express to the recruiter why you fit the role the best. To understand what goes into a good statement of purpose, you need to put yourselves in the recruiterââ¬â¢s shoes, and try to get a feel for the two burning questions a recruiter has: 1.Why are you interested in the opening? Sometimes the answer to this might be obvious. You current area of study/ work could well be closely related to the job opening, but it still canââ¬â¢t hurt to clearly enunciate your interest in this area of work and how that helps you move further in your intended career path. Naturally this is much more important whe n the job opening is in an area unrelated to your current area of work, although you might believe that the new area is really your calling. The end goal is that the recruiter needs to believe that you are very serious about this opening and you would give it your all once you actually get the job. More on this later. 2.What do you bring to the table? So, you have shown the recruiter that no one could be any more serious about the opening than you are. Youââ¬â¢ve won half the battle, but you still need to prove that you are not all bluster and you are capable of performing the work at a very high level. Your resume does this for you partly, but the statement of purpose gives you an opportunity to highlight some of your major achievements and skill sets that are closely related to the job of interest. 2. Tell a story, your story! Letââ¬â¢s talk about structuring your statement of purpose for a bit. Your statement of purpose needs to tell your story in such a way that the recruiter clearly understands your background, your capabilities and your suitableness for the job. There are many ways to structure a statement of purpose, and this would be one: â⬠¢Who are you and what do you do currently? Start out with your current education background and what got you there. Maybe you were inspired by pure science as a kid and ended up as a physicist. Maybe you were excited by the world of algorithms in high school that inspired you to pursue the field of computer science. Or maybe you even wanted to build the next Eiffel tower and decided to become a Civil Engineer! â⬠¢What are your current academic credentials? Dedicate some part of your statement of purpose to explain your academic achievements and credentials in your current education program. If you did great in your college entrance exam or in your college exams, state it here and explain how this reflects your dedication to your current field and the hard work you are ready to put in. If you won scholarships through, for example, the National Talent Search Examination, make sure the recruiter kn ows that. â⬠¢What is your current state of knowledge? Most disciplines are very broad and diverse, and it is imperative that you explain your specialization in more detail. Discuss your coursework and explain why you chose to specialize in the area that you did. Suppose that the job opening requires an intern that pursues research in the analyses of large data sets. You could be a mathematician and might have pursued a diverse set of courses, but you need to explain why the field of data mining excites you the most. You need to specifically identify your data mining-related coursework that clearly illustrates that you have the theoretical background to succeed at this new job. â⬠¢Discuss your past projects: This is particularly critical for research based jobs that require that you be creative, comfortable working in open-ended problems, good at communicating orally and in written, and will not get easily frustrated by occasional difficulties in furthering the project due to research complexities. Some jobs also require that you be capable of working without much guidance or work as part of a large team. The most obvious way to communicate that you possess the above-mentioned skills is to provide a brief description of all your past proj ects and the skill sets you demonstrated along the way. Any journal or conference papers that you published as part of your projects will go a long way in helping you get a research-oriented job! â⬠¢Discuss your non-technical skills: A lot of successful people are technically sound but also charismatic and possess excellent interpersonal skills. These are almost essential qualities in modern work places and activities that youââ¬â¢ve been part of where you have demonstrated these skills should help you big. Such activities include playing a leadership role in a department or college level association, being part of NSS, or maybe even running your own small startup! â⬠¢Identify yourself with the company/ university: It is of utmost importance that your statement of purpose does not look generic, rather seems well crafted to the specific job opening. It would be wise to discuss briefly about your interest in the specific workplace and not just the nature of work, and in particular detail the attempts youââ¬â¢ve made to learn m ore about the workplace. 3. Ensure that the statement of purpose is written in a professional manner: A poorly worded statement of purpose with spelling or grammatical errors is a big turn off that would certainly hurt your cause. Request help from friends and colleagues regarding possible wording changes that would make the essay look more professional. Avoid terminology and wording that arenââ¬â¢t obvious to the reader, and remember that different countries may use different terminologies to refer to the same word. Keeping these sensitivities in mind will help. 4. Be brief: Recruiters do not have the time or energy to read through a rambling 4 page essay. The statement of purpose shouldnââ¬â¢t exceed a couple of pages and should be to the point. We are not trying to author the next Lord of the Rings here! Statement of Purpose (SOP) is a document containing oneââ¬â¢s personal and professional details which makes the task of knowing a candidate for the MBA school much easier. It is a concise essay about oneââ¬â¢s career goals, identified means to achieve them, and accomplishments so far in reaching towards those goals. An SOP often acts as the yardstick for assessing the capabilities of a prospective student of the MBA School. What should your SOP contain? According to top experts the answers to the following queries must be there in your SOP: ââ¬â You, your background and personality ââ¬â The reason or reasons for making a particular career choice ââ¬â Your hobbies ââ¬â Your short-term and long-term career goals ââ¬â Social initiatives taken by you, if any ââ¬â Leadership qualities demonstrated by you ââ¬â How you have dealt with failure ââ¬â Example of teamwork at the workplace ââ¬â Strengths and weaknesses ââ¬â Ethical dilemmas faced by you Preparing for writing the SOP Some suggestions on how to prepare for writing the SOP: ââ¬â Think deeply about matters concerning you, your choices and aspects of personality. ââ¬â Adopt pre-writing strategies and jot down thoughts as they occur ââ¬â Prepare a rough draft and proofread it to remove any errors. ââ¬â Start well in advance. While writing the SOP SOP is an extremely important document that you will have to prepare before you will be accepted into any MBA School. You must ensure that your SOP lacks any kind of spelling or grammatical error. Your ability to write at an acceptable level will tell a great deal about you as an overall student, so do not neglect to proofread your document before submitting it. The SOP must make an interesting read; otherwise it wonââ¬â¢t leave any impact on the readersââ¬â¢ minds. Integrate your knowledge about the B-school with your career goals, as this will make it seem as though there is really no other school that you are thinking of attending. Some important points to keep in mind while writing the SOP: Originality The answers have to reflect the distinctive ââ¬Ëyouââ¬â¢ all the way. So, be original. Copy ââ¬âPaste exercises will do more harm than good as one shoe size does not fit all, especially in terms of personality. Relevance Read the question very carefully before you start framing your essay. Consider the question: ââ¬Å"Please detail your long-term career goals. Why have you classified them as long term? Do you foresee any change in these goals in the future?â⬠Now, you must be careful in crafting a reply to each question in a convincing manner. Concentrating only on the first segment will make the statement lopsided and put off the admissions panel. Conciseness Every word, every sentence should be present in the essay for a purpose. Rambling and undirected thoughts are a no-no as your essay will be given a couple of minutes within which the panel member has to locate something memorable and distinctive. Imagery Imagery means using words that enable pictures to form in the minds of the reader. For example, the phrase ââ¬Ëturning pointââ¬â¢ is better than writing ââ¬ËThe course of my life changed decisively at that point because it succeeds in giving rise to a picture in the mind of the reader. Avoiding jargon Using too much jargon clichà ©s or long-winded sentences obscure the point you want to convey. Professional tone and elements of standard usage There is a world of difference in the way we speak and the way we write. You should avoid informal style or slang while penning the academic essay. Keeping the standard elements of usage in mind will go a long way in ensuring admittance in the MBA School. It takes a lot of time and engages your mind to undergo lot of thinking before you come up with the perfect SOP. So you should start much before. All this takes time, so begin writing the SOP well in advance. Stay tuned to MBAUniverse.com for more on MBA admission tips! CAT Toppers share their GD, PI & WAT experiences When a student is selected by a top B School, it is ensured that he has not just scored well in CAT but has also performed well in the Group Discussion, Personal Interview and or Written Ability Test (WAT) or Essay Writing rounds. This page will give you the GD, PI & WAT experiences of the CAT 2011 toppers who are now students of the academic year 2013-15 of the top B schools. I had an enjoyable WAT & PI experience of IIM Ahmedabad B Sekhar Anand IIM Ahmedabad Tricky WAT by IIM Indore Vishal Vyas IIM Indore My interview at XLRI lasted for 15 minutes Arjun Gupta XLRI Jamshedpur I had a grilling interview session at Common Admission Process of new IIMs Siddhant Gupta IIM Raipur WAT & PI experiences of top 3 IIMs Anusha Subramanian IIM Bangalore If you are a fresher, be thorough with your subjects for PI Parag Poddar IIM Indore My WAT topic was on foreign coaches at Indian sports Aditya Agar IIM Bangalore My interview experience was different in the top four IIMs Mohit Srivastava IIM Bangalore There was no stress at my interview; it was a candid conversation with learned men Tanishq Goyal IIM Ahmedabad I had an enjoyable WAT & PI experience of IIM Ahmedabad, B Sekhar Anand IIM Ahmedabad Q: Please share your WAT/PI experience in detail. A: My WAT/PI experience was very enjoyable. The topic for WAT was on corruptionââ¬â¢s affects- a topic that I was comfortable with. The PI on the other hand was skewed towards my academics. A lot of preparation beforehand helped me answer most of the questions. Though I could not answer a few, the interviewer was fairly satisfied with my approach to those questions. Tricky WAT by IIM Indore, Vishal Vyas IIM Indore Q: Please share your WAT/PI experience in detail. A: WAT and PI were the two vital stages of IIM Indore selection process. WAT was somewhat tricky with a question on prà ©cis writing and another asking about my opinion in a given situation where a choice was to be made between a family managed business and a professionally run organization. PI probably was the most challenging part, with the interviewers asked extensively about by job profile and nature of work apart from a good amount of general knowledge. Work experience was somehow a difficult part to tackle with questions ranging from basic programming concepts to industry quality standards and their constituents. Overall, it was a mixed kind of interview which had its own high points and lows. I was hoping to convert with a good performance on almost all the measures which I later did. My interview at XLRI lasted for 15 minutes, Arjun Gupta XLRI Jamshedpur Q: How many GDPI rounds have you had? Please share your experiences in detail. A: I attended the GDPI rounds for the following institutes: â⬠¢ NMIMS, Core â⬠¢ XIMB, PGDM & PGDM(HRM) â⬠¢ SPJIMR(FIN) â⬠¢ XLRI (BM & HRM) SPJIMRââ¬â¢s admission process is unique in the sense that they call you on the basis of your profiles. In the group interview rounds also, the emphasis is on ethics and values. They question you comprehensively on your work-experience, if any. XLRI has a single PI round for the BM program. The interview covers all the important points, viz., work-experience, Graduation subjects (Math, especially for Engineers), current affairs and ethics. Highly unpredictable stuff, I must say. The HRM program has both GD & PI components. My interview went on for around 15 minutes in which I was questioned a lot about cultures, economies and technologies. I was asked to relate the factors citing suitable instances. Some questions on work experience and mathematics were also there. GD topic was related to IT sector. It was pretty basic hence I did not face any problem during the GD. XIMB had a single GDPI round for its BM and HRM programmes. The GD was related to Income disparity and was manageable. The interview again revolved around my work-experience. We had a very candid discussion instead of an interview. I could easily answer all their queries related to work. NMIMSââ¬â¢s GD was related to the airline sector. The interview was about Petrol/Diesel pricing, Basic Share Markets term and history about my parent company. For all the above GDPIs, I brushed up my Graduation Subjects well. Read about the major issues which are plaguing the nations, basic indices to measure economic health & society, knowledge about the parent company, its product profile, job role, etc. I had a grilling interview session at Common Admission Process of new IIMs Siddhant Gupta IIM Raipur Q: Please share your WAT/PI experience in detail A: I had my WAT/PI in Delhi. I was given a topic on financial crisis in Europe. I was asked to speak on any topic from current affairs during the interview. I chose to talk on KFA bailout. I explained the problem and was asked for possible solutions. I suggested some solutions and a few cross questions were fired. Then I was asked a few questions on chemistry (I am a chemical engineer). Towards the end, I was grilled on ââ¬Å"Which IIM will I choose if I happen to get multiple convertsâ⬠. I linked it to the question related to the meaning of name and the panel seemed impressed. WAT & PI experiences of top 3 IIMs, Anusha Subramanian IIM Bangalore Q: Please share your WAT/PI experience in detail. A: Let me share my experiences of attending IIM Calcutta, IIM Ahmedabad and IIM Bangalore. IIM Calcutta ââ¬â I had a good WAT and GD. My interview was mostly about events doing the rounds, a few maths questions, logic puzzles and some general questions about my future plans, etc. IIM Ahmedabad ââ¬â The WAT was tricky as we were given only 10 minutes to complete the essay. I was questioned on a wide range of topics ranging from work, recent happenings in the software industry and academics. IIM Bangalore ââ¬â My interview with IIM Bangalore was almost entirely based on the statement of purpose submitted earlier. I was quizzed in great detail about specific points in my SOP, regarding my work experience and future plans. If you are a fresher, be thorough with your subjects for PI, Parag Poddar IIM Indore Q: Please share your WAT/PI experience in detail. A: The WAT process for IIM Indore involved summarizing an article in one-third word limit and was followed by essay writing. I had been practicing essays during my GD/WAT preparations and this helped me perform well in the WAT section. This was followed by PI. Being a fresher, I was questioned thoroughly on my subjects. Professors checked every aspect of my personality through questions on general awareness, GK, current affairs and my background. The interview was a great learning experience and helped me gauge myself better and identify areas of improvement. My WAT topic was on foreign coaches at Indian sports, Aditya Agar IIM Bangalore Q: Please share your WAT/PI experience in detail. A: At IIM Bangaloreââ¬â¢s WAT/PI process, I was asked to first write an essay on ââ¬ËForeign coaches are a waste of money in Indian sports.ââ¬â¢ My interview was centered on my experience at work and I was asked a lot of questions on the contributions I made to the organization. All in all, the interview was a big test of finding out what I gave to the organization I worked for and to the college I came from, which, trust me is very difficult to comprehend. My interview experience was different in the top four IIMs, Mohit Srivastava IIM Bangalore Q: How was your WAT/PI experience? A: The interview experience was very different at all the four IIMs. IIM Lucknow was focussed more on general affairs. IIM Bangalore was mostly academics and SOP based (they actually asked me an algorithm) IIM Calcutta was purely quant based in terms that the first five questions were based on Permutations and Combinations. After I satisfactorily answered them the interviews started asking me questions on Seattle and where all I had been in Seattle. IIM Ahmedabad was very unpredictable in terms that most of the questions were not from my strength. It was somewhat less academic. There was no stress at my interview; it was a candid conversation with learned men, Tanishq Goyal IIM Ahmedabad Q: Please share your WAT/PI experience in detail. A: I got calls from all 13 IIMs, but I gave interviews for the top four only. In IIM Ahmedabad, the WAT topic was In todayââ¬â¢s world, business and ethics donââ¬â¢t go hand in hand. The questions ranged from my work experience, solving math problem, my hobby tennis to politics. The entire interview was like a candid conversation with learned men on some random topics. There was no stress at all. Personal Interview A personal interview is aimed at knowing a candidate more intimately ââ¬â assessing the clarity of thinking process, future goals and the ââ¬Ëfitââ¬â¢ with the B-school. A personal interview is aimed at knowing a candidate more intimately ââ¬â assessing the clarity of thinking process, future goals and the ââ¬Ëfitââ¬â¢ with the B-school. Personal Interview ââ¬â What does it test? Analytical Skills â⬠¢ During the personal interview, Interviewer will check the analytical skills of the candidate in ways that cannot be done with a written test. Certain questions during the personal interview are devised to see how the candidate can analyze a situation and create a solution. For example, an employer may ask a candidate to explain a time when the candidate had to work quickly against a pending deadline. In the personal interview, the employer can ask follow-up questions to dig deeper into the candidateââ¬â¢s critical thinking process, to see if he/she fits to be a part of the Institute/organization Goal Clarity â⬠¢ Why do want to do an MBA? How does it fit into your career goals? What do you wish to do after your MBA? These are some hard questions that you will have to answer almost invariably in all Interviews. These questions search the ââ¬Ëinner motivationsââ¬â¢ of a candidate, and there are no ââ¬Ëright answersââ¬â¢. The only way to answer these questions is to introspect: what excites and motivates you; what makes you perform your best; what would you really like to do in your life, and how do you genuinely see an MBA helping. Tough questions, but answering them honestly is critical for your success! ââ¬ËWhy MBA?ââ¬â¢ is the most important question that MBA aspirants need to answer. There is no ââ¬Å"good answerâ⬠for this. The answer needs to be your answer. In other words, you need to think deeply, introspect and find out what it is that really drives you. So put on your thinking cap, do some soul searching and then jot down the answers to ââ¬Ëwhatâ⬠â¢s your goalââ¬â¢ questions. Communication â⬠¢ When an employer is engaged in a personal interview with a candidate, he will listen to hear how the candidate gives answers to questions, watch for body language that can indicate the candidate is not being truthful or is uncomfortable; determine confidence by gauging eye contact. Is the student is able to effectively communicate using his entire body, etc and these skills can only be judged during a personal interview. Domain Knowledge â⬠¢ Given that a good MBA is a demanding programme, B-schools would like to know how you will be able to cope up with the academics and the extra-curricular 24 x 7 demands of your new campus. They are also keen to assess how you have utilized the earlier learning opportunities. Be prepared to discuss different specialty areas in business and their responsibilities. Interviewers will also expect you to discuss current issues in business, including the economy, taxation, foreign competition, the role of technology and ethical challenges in the field. So be careful about the gates you open, and be very sure you have in-depth knowledge about whatever you mention. For e.g. if you say you have an avid interest in Badminton, be ready for questions pertaining to Prakash Padukone, Deepika Padukone, plastic shuttles v/s feather shuttles, Saina Nehwal etc. It is advisable to brush up 2-3 subjects from your graduation thoroughly if you are a student fresh out of college. Also, contextual knowledge of the environment around you as well as ââ¬Å"general knowledgeâ⬠comes quite handy. Presentation â⬠¢ Candidates who do not take the time to create a professional presentation for a personal interview can hurt their chances for getting the job. A personal interview gives the employer the opportunity to see what the candidate considers to be professional grooming, professional attire and a professional attitude. A candidateââ¬â¢s resume may be impressive, but if he shows up to the interview 30 minutes late and is not dressed in professional interview attire, then he may not be the candidate you are looking for. Attitude â⬠¢ In a personal interview it is not always the answer you give to a question that is important, but how you give that answer. An interviewer is well aware of the corporate culture within his institute and a personal interview gives the interviewer a chance to gauge the candidateââ¬â¢s attitude to see if there is a match with the institute. Importance of an Interview: Who Conducts MBA Interviews? Every business school has different policies when it comes to MBA interviews. Typically, an MBA interview is conducted by one or more members of the admissions committee. However, it is not unusual to be interviewed by current students or alumni. Professors do not normally conduct admissions interviews, but there are a few schools who do assign faculty members to the task. No matter who interviews you, expect a lot of questions and an evaluation. Most admissions committees have a form that they work off. They will ask you specific questions from the form. If you are being interviewed by other students or alumni, donââ¬â¢t expect anything different. They have probably been trained by the admissions committee to use the form or ask specific questions. Read more about the different types of MBA interviews. Personal Interview can also turn out to be an opportunity to ââ¬Ësellââ¬â¢ yourself. While intimidating for some MBA-hopefuls, the personal interview represents a prime opportunity. Interviews allow you the chance to not only put a face and personality to the name and credentials on your application file, but also to express your academic, personal, and professional accomplishments, experiences, and intentions.
Monday, July 29, 2019
Business Models And Its Managerial Implications Business Essay
Business Models And Its Managerial Implications Business Essay A business model describes the rationale of how an organization creates, delivers, and captures value ââ¬â economic, social, or other forms. The process of framing the right business model design is an integral part of the companyââ¬â¢s business strategy. In theory and practice the term business model is used for a broad range of informal and formal descriptions to highlight its basic objectives like its vision, core competencies, strategies, infrastructure, organizational structures, trading principles, and operational processes and policies.( Changing Business Models: Surveying the Landscape, J. Linder and S. Cantrell) The essence of a business model is that it defines the ways by which the business enterprise delivers value to customers, entices customers to pay for value, and converts those payments to profit: it thus reflects managementââ¬â¢s intention of what customers want, how they want it, and how an enterprise can organize to best meet those needs, get paid for d oing so, and make a profit. After all the future of any company lies in the value that they deliver (David Teece 2010). Business models are used to describe and classify businesses (especially in an entrepreneurial scenario), but they are also used by managers inside companies to explore possibilities for future development, and finally well known business models operate as recipes for creative managers. 2. Role and Importance Nowadays, the business models used depends on the technology levels in the organization. Top level managers have created entirely new models that depend fully on existing or emergent technology. Using technology, businesses can reach a large number of customers with minimal costs. Such is its importance in todayââ¬â¢s world that a properly framed business model provides clarity to any business. To identify and create value from an innovation, a start-up needs a well structured business model. Business models transform latest technology into outputs at the e conomic level. For emerging firms in industry, established business models cannot be followed, therefore there is a need to frame a new business model. Not only is the business model important, in some situations, innovation lies not in the product or service offered but in the business model itself. Taking into account the complexities of products, markets, and the environment in which the firm operates, very few individuals fully understand the organizationââ¬â¢s tasks and objectives in their entirety. The technical experts and the business experts know each of their domains clearly. 3. The Domains of Business Model The conversion process that a business does is shown in the following diagram: Technical Inputs Business Model Economic Outputs A business model covers a plethora of business subjects, which includes financial, marketing, operational and entrepreneurial strategies. The business model itself is an important determinant of the firmââ¬â¢s revenues to be made from an idea. A well framed business model can outshadow even a weak innovation but a weakly framed business model will hide off a good innovation. 4. Components Following are the six major elements in business models: Value proposition ââ¬â a clear description of the root cause for customer need, the product that will satisfy the need, and the delivered value of the product from customerââ¬â¢s view.
Sunday, July 28, 2019
Operations Management (Flow Charts) Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words
Operations Management (Flow Charts) - Case Study Example The surgeon uses staples to dissect the stomach into upper and bottom section. The upper section is usually smaller while the bottom section is larger (Klein 86). The smaller upper section is where the food flows after eating. The smaller upper section, also called the pouch, is compared to the size of a walnut. This section holds about a single ounce of food. The second procedure for this surgery is called the bypass. During this step, the surgeon connects jejuna to a small hole in a patientââ¬â¢s pouch. The eaten food will flow from the pouch to the small intestines. This will enable the patient to absorb fewer calories. Bypass surgery can be carried out in two ways. In open surgery the surgeon makes a surgical cut to open the belly. Bypass will be done by working on the patients small intestines, stomach, and other parts. Consequently, the surgeon might use the tiny camera referred as laparoscope (Apple, Lock, and Peebles 76). This process is termed as the laparoscopy; camera i s put in the patient's body. In laparoscopy, the surgeon makes small cuts in the patient's belly. Then he passes the camera through one of the cuts. The process is linked to the monitor of the video in the operating room. The surgeon will keep track of the belly at the screen. The surgeon then uses surgical instruments to carry out the bypass. The process can be represented in the form of a flow chart as shown below. 2. The minimum time the patient takes in the hospital before being discharged after paying cash is four days. The average time for those using insurance is about two weeks. Subsequently, the patient undergoing a laparoscopic surgery takes only two days. When the patient pays cash for the bariatric surgery, it will save the patient that stress of going through counseling, and various tests. Paying cash will also save the patient the agony of proving to the surgeon that he has tried other means of weight loss. Consequently, it reduces the patient stress of waiting for hal f a year before the procedure. Therefore, paying cash is something that the patient needs to consider (Apple, Lock, and Peebles 76). When surgery is paid in cash, they give the patient an option of choosing the surgeon to carry out the surgery. It does not involve longer procedures like the insurance. When the patient pays by cash, he normally spends one to three days in the hospital. When a patient undergoes laparoscopy, he stays in the hospital for two to three days. When he patients undergo this procedure, they recover faster and return to normal in two weeks time (McGowan and Chopra 89). The hernias rate in open surgery is reduced significantly. Therefore, the patients who pay cash are better off based on the procedural types to select from. Paying cash enables the patient to choose his location for the surgery and the kind of surgeon to be attended to. Dealing with insurance is always frustrating, but most insurance companies have realized that to cover procedures of bariatric makes financial sense (Apple, Lock, and Peebles 54). Paying cash enables the patient to have surgery almost immediately and also discharging is soon. The patient does not undergo the risk of being turned down due to coverage issues. There are reported cases of turn down from insurance companies at the last minutes of the surgery. 6. Assuming the patients get treatment by an insurance cover and go for open surgery. The Bariatric center will make 945,000 Dollars: Number of
Decline of Sales of Regular Beer Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words
Decline of Sales of Regular Beer - Essay Example The topic tries to analyze why the sale of beer has dropped and tries to design alternative strategies to power growth once again. Discussion of the product in relation to its current TARGET market demographics USING US CENSUS DATA Beer is one of the products that saw a sales decline in developed country but showed growth and development in the emerging economies. An overview of the beer growth trend shows North America and Western Europe trailing behind the emerging countries and Africa leading in terms of sales volume. Fig. 1 at left demonstrates the strength of beer sales by region. ` Fig. 1 Forecast five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) by region 2012-16 Source: Canadean cited in SABMiller's According to an independent industry analyst cited in SABMiller's report, China is considered as the biggest market for beer followed by other emerging markets. However, same report shows that although China is a big market, profit is so slim because of its very low beer pricing. In co ntrast, beer sales in South America remain profitable and show both growth and profitability. As indicated, there is a greater opportunity in beer sales in Brazil, Peru, and Argentina. According to a study done by the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service on July 23, 2010, China has imported 17,433 liters of beer from the United States. U.S comes only as the number eight beer supplier to China. Meanwhile, according to same USDA report Germany is the beer exporter to China. (see Fig 2). According to this report the annual per capita consumption of beer in China is estimated at 36.8 kg, per year and supply does not match consumption. This equation is a clear opportunity for beer manufacturers or SABMiller's to intensify their exports to China. Fig. 2 Chinaââ¬â¢s beer imports 2007-2009 Why is the product declining? Volume of beer sales declined in USA because of change of taste preferences, unemployment of drinking men, and change of consumer tastes. Stockdale, Charles and Sauter, Micha el in an article published in Wall St. (April 19, 2012) said that beer is one of the products that the Facebook generation is not buying. As it is, this is an argument for the change of drinking preferences of the young generation that has to be considered by beer manufacturers. Accordingly, the young generation prefers light beer than regular beers which was the choice of beer drinkers before. Very few among the young drinkers have tasted regular beers, and those young drinkers today is considered as the heavy market for light beers, source stated. In UK, decline, according to Akwagiram, Alexis, a writer of BBC News who gathered opinion of experts, was due to many causes, health consciousness of people is but one of them. Beer to them has an image problem because of the notion that it adds to weight problem. Another thing is the change of preference to wine particularly ordered as part of food entrees in restaurants.Ã
Saturday, July 27, 2019
Exit Zero Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words
Exit Zero - Essay Example only means for most people to achieve social mobility and overcome the traditional class divides that characterized America after the downfall of the steel mills in South East Chicago where it did not only transformed the affected families of the steel mills, but also the socio-economic society of America in general. America is no longer a socially mobile society it once pride itself to be but rather a socially stratified society where the economically deprived people can only aspire to better their lot but could no longer break the social and economic barrier. Moreso in 21st century economy where it is knowledge based and more and more jobs now requires a college education. The new glass ceiling in work are the educational certifications which now solwoly becoming exclusive to those who can afford it making it more difficult for people to transcend class barriers. The situation is now aggravated by the fact that college education is becoming economically prohibitive due to its high cost. It is no longer accessible nor affordable to those families whose source of income are based on factories and mills such as depicted in Christine J. Walleyââ¬â¢s ââ¬Å"Exit Zero: Family and Class in Postindustrial Chicagoâ⬠. Along with the closure of those mills is also the figurative closure of opportunity to those people whose source of income comes from blue collar jobs such as those in the factories of South Eastern Chicago. They are unable to go to college and as a result, the only jobs available to them are those menial jobs that do not pay well. So they are stuck in the lower economic strata without any hope for social mobility and thus, the vicious cycle begun. The poor remains poor because they no longer have access to means that would improve their economic and social status. Nice paying jobs are shut to them because they do not have colleg e education. College education is inaccessible to them because of its high cost. So the 21st century economy became
Friday, July 26, 2019
The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) - The Assignment
The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) - The International Corporate Reporting Issues - Assignment Example Wood and Sangster (2008) highlights that the IASC was initially founded by an Accountantââ¬â¢s International Study Group particularly in 1973. The IASB is an international but independent accounting setting body. Soon after becoming the international accounting standards setting body, the members of IASB finalized and decided to discuss, develop, in the global public interest, a single set of high quality international accounting standards. (About Us, n.d.). However, as IASB is UK-based and its standards are mostly applied to the UK based corporations, the U.S. corporations follow the accounting standards by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). The globalization and increase in cross border transactions necessited both boards to work closely and issue collective international accounting standards. This process begins the convergence between the IASB and the FASB particularly in 2002 Norfolk agreement, where both regulatory bodies developed a consensus to develop and is sues a set of high quality compatible standards (Carmona and Trombetta, 2010). However, there exist various challenges that make it substantially difficult for the both bodies to ensure the global but uniform application of the international accounting standards. ... Since the IASB possesses no legal backing to implement its own developed international accounting standards, it would be substantially difficult for the IASB to ensure and monitor the global recognition and uniform application of the IFRS. Ironically, soon after the establishment of the IASC in the United Kingdom, the foundation of the FASB took place in the U.S. it would not be incorrect to say that the creation of the FASB was a counter measure to the existence and function of the IASC. Moreover, in the same year 1973, the FASB developed and drafted its own accounting standards and issued within the United States. Consistently, the FASB has been developing the Generally Accepted Accounting Practices (GAAP) as a counter measures for the IASs being produced by the IASB till the year of 2002. Furthermore, the FASB works as a competitor to the IASB. Both have agreed to the IFRS would be implemented in the United States of America by the end of 2015. This is an endeavour to introduce th e global uniform application and practice of the IFRS and this would bring a forward step toward the attainment of the global application and practice of the international accounting frameworks and standards. However, this global and uniform application received a severe blow when the FASB independently and separately outlined, developed and published its own vision on how to carry out the process of reforms in the accounting of financial instruments (Veron, 2010). Also, the IASC Foundation has been widely criticized on its approach towards entertaining its mission. In this regard, the European banking sector highlights its reservations over the certain announcements of the IASC. Consequently, it has heightened hostitlity between the two; the hostility becomes
Thursday, July 25, 2019
R Sennett The Corrosion of Character. The personal consequences of Essay
R Sennett The Corrosion of Character. The personal consequences of work in the new capitalism. Norton 1999 - Essay Example There is no argument that change is sometimes good although often it disrupts peopleââ¬â¢s lives and may be traumatic. The bone of contention with sociologist Richard Sennett is that change and especially technological advances is the root cause of workerââ¬â¢s woes and the source of injuries to and corrosion of character. It has transformed the capitalist economy into a new form of ââ¬Å"flexible capitalismâ⬠or what Sennett calls ââ¬Å"New Economyâ⬠which is less concerned about interpersonal relationships. In Sennetts words it is ââ¬Å"a regime which provides human beings no deep reasons to care about one anotherâ⬠(1999, 148). It has brought about new ways or working such as flexibility whereby jobs are replaced with projects and also involves reengineering, de-layering, downsizing; teamwork, decentralization and control; flextime; illegible work; disposablw workers and new work ethic not based on hard work like the earlier protestant ethic promoted by Max Weber. This in turn according to Sennett has brought injuries to employees as well as corroded their character as now they are unable to make a coherent narrative of their lives or build their identity around work. This essay will explore Sennettââ¬â¢s work The Corrosion of Character: The personal Consequences of Work in the New Capitalism to gain an insight as to how new ways of working injures and corrodes character and, whether it has made employees disposable and precarious workers and causes and consequences of such work in the modern corporation. The world of work is characterised by change. Sociologists like Jean Jacques Rousseau, Thomas Hobbes and John Locke give detailed accounts of how modern states and institutions emerged from state of nature to civilisation. In the state of nature, men hunted and gathered fruits for their sustenance. They then developed crude tools to skin animals and also for farming. With bountiful harvest and domestication of
Wednesday, July 24, 2019
Value and Risk Management in Construction Essay
Value and Risk Management in Construction - Essay Example The value management exercises are basically carried out first in order to determine an exact cause which is responsible for constituting the values to the business mainly from delivery of any project. A preferred option is also identified and together with all other risks, there is a great chance of it to occur if any particular option is implemented. (Office of government commerce, 2003) Risk management mainly includes all the activities that are required for the identification and control of the risks that are related to the option of the preferred project. Successful risk management also requires a senior management commitment along with ownership and a thorough understanding of the whole process and also an active risk management regime that is reviewed on daily basis in a much constructive culture. Attitudes to the risk are known to have a significant effect on the overall success of the projects being carried. For instance, the main objective related to ââ¬Ënot failingâ⬠⢠will surely have a low tolerance for the risks of all kinds. Conversely speaking, the objective of ââ¬Ësucceedingââ¬â¢ will also encourage the participants to become more innovative and to take more risks where necessary and to make an effort for monitoring along with management of the recognized risks. (Office of government commerce, 2003) If the talk in detail about the risk management mainly in the construction projects of my country, USA, it mainly involves: a proper identification and assessment of the risks mainly in terms of its impact along with probability, proper establishment, and maintenance of the joint risk register, it should have the concept and assurance of agreement by all the integrated project team members, establishment of the procedures that are required for active management and monitoring of the risks throughout the on-going project and the during occupation on the completion, to make sure that the members of the team are having a proper opportunity for engaging in a dialogue that is eventually going to promote an agreement of the appropriate and accurate allocation of the risk, proper updating of the risk information throughout the project which would surely ensure the control of the risks by proper planning of how the risks will be managed through the on-going project so that it could have an acceptable limit and lastly efficient allocation of the responsibility for proper management of each of the risks with the suitable party that will best their job. (Office of government commerce, 2003) Now talking about value in detail particularly in much broadest sense then its main is to benefit the client or in simpler words the project that is worth doing and which could also quantify in the main business terms, for example, this can be done by creating a better and an efficient working environment or even by improving the overall experience of the associated people during their workings. In this respect, value basically means to e nsure that the correct choices and decisions are being made mainly to obtain the optimum and the best possible balance of the benefit mainly in its relation to the overall cost and its risk.
Tuesday, July 23, 2019
Exam Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 4
Exam - Assignment Example The qualities include transparency, honesty, and trustworthiness. These traits make the teacher and studentââ¬â¢s relationship even stronger. The teacherââ¬â¢s reliability and dependability further makes him an all-round leader. The reality that the teacher can judge when wrong stays true to what he utters, is never a disappointment, and tries to understand other people make the teachers an exceptional leader (Hershey 2015). Normative leadership theories control the act of leaders by building the moral principles or norms unlike the general ethical perspective addressing the leaderââ¬â¢s behavior. Type of normative leadership theory they most commonly identify with is the transformation leadership called the transactional compared to a more form of leadership called transforming. The transactional lower level needs followers to focus on terminal values like liberty, equality, and justice. The Transformational leaders become more of role models to their followers who admire, respect, and trust them. The inspirational motivation-transforming leader uplifts the team morale by encouraging followers stimulating innovation and creativity. The transformational leaders are a bit more successful than the transactional leaders making other companies prosper extremely. These are the most common normative leadership theories that leaders who are keen on ethical issues live by. Since ethical leadership is based on understanding and positive relations, it is important to that it is included in most organizations thus improving the quality of performance in such organization and the quality of leadership in the organization is also improved. Leaders need to conform to ethical leadership attributes for them to establish to perfect relationships characterized by mutual respect and trust. The ethical leader should develop the type of relationship that arises from basic and vital
African American and American Society Essay Example for Free
African American and American Society Essay Is Racism a Permanent feature of American Society? Derrick Bell argues in this issue that the prospects for achieving racial equality in the United States are ââ¬Å"illusory for Blacks. Bell reminds us despite the fact of the progress of blacks in United States; the legacy of slavery has left a portion of the race ââ¬Å"with life-long poverty and soul devastating despairâ⬠. Bell believes that race consciousness is so imbedded in whites that it is virtually impossible to rise above it. He also argues that ââ¬Å"few whites are able to identify with blacks as a groupâ⬠and tend to view blacks through ââ¬Å"comforting racial stereotypesâ⬠. Bell feels strongly that critical and proper examination of the history of black-white relations supports his conclusion that racism is a permanent feature of American Society. Bell makes some good point about racism in the American society today. The fact that the psychical part of racism is gone does not mean that racism as permanently left American Society. The fact that racism still ââ¬Å"existâ⬠is does not reflect on blacksââ¬â¢ success any longer. Majority of whites had a head start because their generation of success goes so many years back, were as for blacks success was not allowed at a point in time. Blacks have come a long ways over the years but there is still racial discrimination that ââ¬Å"affectsâ⬠the black population. Dinesh Dââ¬â¢Souza does not agree with Bell, he believes that racism is not a permanent Strain of fabric in the American Society. Dââ¬â¢Souza distinguishes between racial discrimination that is ââ¬Å"irrational, motivated by bigotryâ⬠and which is ââ¬Å"rational from the point of view of the discriminator. â⬠Dââ¬â¢Souza admits that such discrimination may be harmful to individual blacks but he rejects any casual linkage between the lagging indicators of blacksââ¬â¢ overall progress with racial discrimination. He believes race is a diminishing force within American society, Dââ¬â¢Souza argues that factors other than racial discrimination are the sources of lagging process toward the American Dream. Dââ¬â¢Souza reasoning for blacks not achieving more in America is because blacks fail to observe and embrace certain cultural norms of the dominant American Society. He implies that those who are successful exhibit cultural values that promote success. He states blacks need to place a much greater emphasis on overcoming cultural barriers rather than continuing to assert that race is being held by a persistent racism that afflicts America. Blackââ¬â¢s generation has come a long way in American Society. Racism shouldnââ¬â¢t be the excuse for the failure in African American success when in 1919- current we have African American first. Slavery started around 1808 and ended in 1865 due to Lincoln Emancipation Proclamation. Racism was still in effect because the fact that blacks had rights was new. Still in all there were blacks who succeed shortly after that time. Madame C. J. Walker was the first African American female who was a self-made millionaire. In 1893 Dr. Daniel Hale Williams was the first black to perform open heart surgery. In 1908 Jack Johnson was the First African-American world heavyweight Champion. In 1993 Toni Morrison was the first African-American to win the Nobel Prize for literature. In 2009 Barack Obama was the first black president of the United States, with the support of some whites. Racism still is ââ¬Å"permanentâ⬠due to history but it is not an excuse for Blacks not becoming successful. Derrick bell major argument is that blacks are faced at the bottom of the well. Bell exclaims despite undeniable progress for many, no African American is insulated from incidents of racial discrimination. He states because of our color we are threaten through our lives, careers. Dinesh Dââ¬â¢Souza states racism undoubtedly exists, but it no longer has the power to thwart blacks or any other group in achieving their economic, political, and social aspirations. The arguments relates to the overall theme because yes, racism still occurs but it should not pun Blacks from achieving their aspiration. Bell major point is as a Black he experiences the racism. Blacks can work in a white community and experience racism because whites fear the superiority of blacks. Dââ¬â¢Souza points out in his argument that racism is the least bit worries blacks should have, when there are black on black crime occurring. Racism should not be such an excuse for ââ¬Å"underclassâ⬠blacks not achieving their goals. Dââ¬â¢Souza points out the facts where African Americans now live in a country where black man, Colin Powell, who three decades ago could not be served in restaurants, is now a Joint chief staff. Also a white man who supported the nomination of Clarence Thomas, a black man married to a white, for the Supreme Court. Dââ¬â¢Souza question is if white racism controls the density of blacks today, how one segment of black community has prospered so much over the past generation. Some unsupported claims in bells argument was he says, ââ¬Å"Modern discrimination is, moreover, not practiced indiscriminately. â⬠Bell implies whites idolize black athletes and entertainers but refuse to hire and work with blacks. Bell also states whites who number individuals blacks among their closest friends approve, or do not oppose, practices that bar selling or renting homes or apartments in their neighborhood to blacks they do not know. Then in his argument he also states that most hotels and restaurants, who offer black patrons courteous treatment, uniformly reject black job applicants. Bell defense for this was ââ¬Å"When did you last see black waiter in a really good restaurantâ⬠. These are unsupported claims because this may be true but there are no proven facts that racist is the cause of these arguments. In Dââ¬â¢Souza arguments there were not any unsupported claims really found. Dââ¬â¢Souza stated his arguments and had accurate information to support his defense. Dââ¬â¢Souza makes great points and has a lot of validity in his arguments. He states if blacks are going to reform their community, they have a right to expect that they will be treated equally under law. Hypothetically speaking Dââ¬â¢Souza implies if blacks were refused hire on every baseball team in America, blacks would suffer most because they would be denied the chance to play professional baseball. Fans would also suffer because the quality of games would diminish. He says ââ¬Å"But what if a few team-say the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers- refused to hire blacks? â⬠African Americans has a group would hardly suffer at all, because they would offer there service to other teams. Dââ¬â¢Souza saying the Yankees and the Dodgers would suffer a great deal, because they would be deprived of the chance to hire talented blacksââ¬â¢ players. Eventually the competitive pressure would force those teams to either hire blacks or suffer losses in games and revue. Then he makes another valid point he referenced from Gary Becker pointed out, in free market, selective discrimination imposes the heaviest cost on the discriminator where it should be. Some whites will undoubtedly discriminate against blacks but with deal with them because of the law and taste for profit. *Dinesh Dââ¬â¢Souza is an Indian American conservative political commentator, public intellectual and current president of the Kingââ¬â¢s College in New York City. He graduated from Dartmouth College, where he graduated with a B. A. in English. Dââ¬â¢Souza also published a book in 2007 called The Enemy at home: the cultural left and its responsibility for 9/11. In his argument Dââ¬â¢Souza used government documents, books, articles and oral very frequently. Dââ¬â¢Souza would state his opinion and have facts and documents to support his defense. No, the reading did not significantly add to my knowledge because these are issues that has been discussed for many years. In the article I did learn some new ways of thinking of Racism. This article did broaden my thoughts with the factual evidence the authors used to support their defense. I would recommend this article to be read to those who do not have a clear understanding of the term racism. The subject that was focus on in this case study is racism a permanent feature of American Society? The case study focused on political, social and economic issues. Bell argued blacks will never gain full equality in American and Dââ¬â¢Souza argued that blacks have equality and racism is not important issue blacks should be worried about in today society.
Monday, July 22, 2019
Night by Elie Wiesel Essay Example for Free
Night by Elie Wiesel Essay Night, the time God Disappeared Night, the time when God broke promises to Jews and the Nazis kept the ones they made. Elie Wiesel wrote a heart breaking, mind boggling book that goes by the name of Night. Night tells the story of Elie Wiesel during the Holocaust. During that time the Jewish people were mistreated, betrayed, and dehumanized. The theme of a story describes the central messages of the story. There are many themes of Night. One that will be discussed has the horrid name of in humanity. During the Holocaust the Jews were treated very inhumane. They were beaten, dehumanized, and also killed. At the labor camps, the people were feed very little, had to work many hours and mistreated. They symbol of silence affects the story when the Jewish people had their rights taken from them, when they found out that they were going to be deported also, when the Jewish nation never said anything about the slaughtering of their people. The theme of this paper comes across as Silence. It shows how the Jewish people thought that nothing bad could come of this situation. Elie Wiesel states, ââ¬Å"The first step: Jews would not be allowed to leave their houses for three days- on pain of death. â⬠(Wiesel, 8). When the Jewish people had their rights taken from them, they adapted to the rules and didnââ¬â¢t speak out. This event showed silence because no one asked why? Or how come? It seemed like the Jewish people were not worried of afraid, as if they did not find this alarming or questionable in anyway. This event in the story makes it seem like even though these rights were taken away, anything else wouldnââ¬â¢t matter that much either. It would be like not being permitted to drink soda, then juice, then water, then anything. The Jews thought that they could live without going outside, like it was a luxury for them. This milestone in the story shows the theme of silence by saying that the restrictions would not kill them (meaning that everything that happens would not have any damage). When the Jewish people were deported, they did not say a word or did they ask why they should move or listen to the Nazis.
Sunday, July 21, 2019
Communication in nursing and a clinical example
Communication in nursing and a clinical example This assignment is a reflective account of my relationship and communication with a certain patient during my first clinical placement in a nursing home. All names in this text have been changed, to respect the confidentiality of the patient and other healthcare professionals (NMC 2002). Introduction Most people have felt anger and helplessness at not being listened to when saying something important. Also the intense frustration of being misunderstood Ellis, RB. (2003). Defining Communication. In: Ellis, RB, Gates, B, Kenworthy, N Interpersonal Communication in Nursing. 2nd ed. London: Churchill Livingstone. p3. I have recently been on 7 week placement in a nursing home for the elderly. It was a residential home but also had a small dementia unit in which patients with mental health problems were taken care of. This experience has taught me that communicating with elderly patients both with and without dementia can be extremely difficult. In certain circumstances I found it hard to understand what some residents wanted due to these communication barriers. In my essay I will be describing to the reader, what dementia is, what communication is and how important verbal and non verbal communication is to sufferers of dementia. What is Dementia? Dementia is a common condition. In England alone, there are currently 570,000 people living with dementia. That number is expected to double over the next 30 years. Dementia. Available://www.nhs.uk/conditions/dementia/Pages/Introduction.aspx. Last accessed 20 Dec 2009. Dementia is a condition that is connected with an ongoing decline of the brain and its abilities. It is generally caused by damage to the structure of the brain and is most common in people over the age of 65. Thinking, language, memory, understanding, and judgement are all affected in someone who has Dementia. Sufferers may also have problems in controlling their emotions and behaviour when in social situations. Due to this their personalities may appear to change. There are 4 kinds of dementia. Alzheimers disease, Vascular dementia, Dementia with Lewy bodies, where and Frontotemporal dementia. These 4 kinds were all present in patients in the dementia unit, where I spent 7 weeks; however I will be concentrating on Alzheimers. ALZHEIMERS IS What is communication? Communication is essential for human interaction; it is the process of passing on information form one person to another. Both verbal and non verbal communication is used by a healthcare worker however for a dementia sufferer non verbal communication is essential. (Argyle, 1978) believes that non verbal communication can have five times as much effect on a persons understanding of a message compared to the verbal communication at the time. Chomsky calls the act of speech (verbal communication) performance and the knowledge of the language competence. People perform the complexity of speech daily but have no real knowledge of why or how they came to be able to. Speech allows us to hold conversations, ask question, give instructions, hide the truth, build routines and most importantly talk about interactions in which we are involved (Argyle, 1978). Why is communication important? Communication is extremely important in the healthcare industry. In order (as a healthcare worker) to understand your patient and vice versa, there must be good, clear communication. This will help the patient receive better care. If a patient cannot be understood properly it would be very hard to give appropriate care. If there is good communication between a patient and healthcare worker, it will ease the patients anxiety Patients are at risk for high Levels of anxiety and frustration if communicative attempts are unsuccessful. (Finkee, Erin HMS 2008). Communication helps the carer and patient get to know each other better, it helps them to bond and learn what makes the patient happy or upset, what foods they like and more importantly when theres a problem the patient is more likely to turn to the carer if there is a good bond there. A good bond can be hard to achieve with a patient with dementia as short term memory is often lacking so previous conv ersations can be forgotten. Approach towards patients with dementia is very important, facial expressions, tone of voice, uniform and how we present ourselves can say a lot about us. When communicating with the elderly residents if I were to raise my voice in an aggressive way they may feel threatened and scared by me, but if I speak to them in a pleasant tone of voice the then the resident is more likely to feel at ease around me. I can then start gaining trust and understanding between myself and the resident. When a patient has dementia they cant speak by the final stage. Closed questions must be used by this stage. There are 2 types of questions, open and closed. Open questions leave the answer open to respond with alot of information or a little. Closed questions are those that a patient has nod or shake their head to or use other body parts such as thumbs up or down. This style of questioning is appropriate to use on someone in the final stage of dementia. Closed questions are such like Are you okay?, Are you hungry?. This allows the patient to communicate with us without actually saying anything. These types of closed questions are a type of non verbal com munication. As I have mentioned earlier there are two types of communication, verbal and non-verbal. Verbal Communication talking to the patient and them responding with speech. It can really be very difficult to use verbal communication with Alzheimers patients because there short term memory is limited to they forget easily whats been said. According to Argyle (1990) in a conversation, words make up only 7% of a message; tone, tempo and syntax make up to 38% and body language makes up to 35%. Non verbal communication can be expressed by our facial movements, gaze and eye contact, gesture and body movement, body posture and body contact, use of space and time and how we dress. (Henley 1977) states that how powerful we feel in an interaction can be expressed non- verbally. Our unspoken communication can be shown through our body language. Touching patients can be an essential tool for a nurse. It can offer support and understanding, comfort and security. It adds extra meaning to the spoken word. Macleod and Clark (1991) suggest that most touch between nurses and elderly patients is related to practical procedures, fulfilling a practical rather than an emotional purpose. Facial expressions and tone of voice can match what youre trying to say. If youre frowning or looking sad, this can cause patients to get angry and upset, but if youre smiling at patients, this can raise their mood. Listening and attending are both also very important aspects of communication. Patients who can speak freely about their ideas and feelings need a little encouragement so that they can explore these ideas a little further, such as saying Mmà ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã or Ahaà ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã . In the mental health hospital that I was on placement at, most of the clients had Alzheimers disease, so it was very difficult to communicate with all of them as the majority of them couldnt found it difficult to communicate certain issues at some times. It was hard for me to know their needs as they couldnt tell me what they wanted, the only way I could help them was if I asked them closed questions like Do you want something to eat?â⠬à , or do you need to go to the toilet?à . This gave the patients the opportunity to give me a yes or no nod or use their eyes to tell me what they wanted. Another way I noticed if patients were agitated was if they were walking around fiddling with everything and trying to get out of the hospital , I knew something was wrong, usually it was because they were constipated or needed the toilet, other times was because they were thirsty and needed a drink. If I was feeding the patients and they wouldnt open their mouth to eat the food or push against the spoon I would know that they werent hungry. Sometimes patients would spit their tea out, this was usually because it was too hot. Barriers to communicating and how to overcome them the biggest barrier to communicating with a patient with Alzheimers disease is the fact that some of them cannot speak. But when we speak to them, there can be barriers so that patients cant hear or understand us, these include: à ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã ¢ Background noises, e.g. the radio playing loudly, or the television too loud, people around talking as well as us, this can confuse patients even more. Turning the television down whilst having a conversation with a patient can help. à ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã ¢ The way we speak, if we are mumbling they wont be able to understand us, or if we have an unfamiliar accent that they dont recognise or understand they wont be able to respond to us. Speaking clearly and giving simple instructions helps patients understand us better. à ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã ¢ If we are feeding patients and talking to them at the same time, clients will get all confused and frustrated. Or if we are eating or chewing something ourselves whilst talking to a patient, this can affect our speech and make it difficult for the patient to understand what were saying. Taking time to concentrate on one task at a time avoids confusion. Calling clients by their name can draw their attention better rather than just talking to them right away, because otherwise they might ignore us because they dont know that were talking to them. Providing the patients with the words they might want to say can help us meet their needs because perhaps they might begin something but then start mumbling, listening carefully to them will make things much easier for us to respond and help them. Conclusion Before going on placement, I felt very nervous and anxious on what it was going to be like working with patients who I knew couldnt communicate with me. I kept thinking about how hard it was going to be to know how to take care of them and try to reach their needs in the best possible way, the only thing that helped me through the experience was the fact that I had a great deal of empathy and patience which helped me communicate better with the patients so I didnt get frustrated or angry when they couldnt respond to me . Before I went to work on the ward, I had read up and researched Alzheimers disease, to have a greater understanding on what to expect, and to be able to deal with the environment in a more professional manner. I used verbal and non-verbal communication and body language e.g. touching, feeling, smiling and speaking clearly. This helped me communicate much better with the patients as a majority of them couldnt reply to me verbally, so they used eye contact and touch to help me know what they wanted or needed, e.g. if a patient took my hand and lead me to the direction of the toilets, I knew they needed the toilet. Mr. Jones was brought to the nursing home in the Flintshire area by his son. He is 88 and has suffered from dementia for a number of years but in the past year Alzheimers has progressed fairly quickly leaving his son unable to care for him. Mr Joness symptoms include major confusion, withdrawn from society, delusions and extreme mood swings, he often gets extremely angry. He needs carers for certain normal activities essential for daily living such as finding the toilet, helping him on with his clothes and generally watching over his throughout the day. Some of his needs may also be due to his age; he has problems with his mobility so needs a carer for that not just due to the Alzheimers. My mentor asked me to spend some time with Mr Jones, talk to him and build up a rapport with him. The day before my mentor had given me some leaflets on the subject of dementia and Alzheimers to prepare me and give me a better understanding. When I first sat down with Mr Jones he just seemed like a normal elderly gentleman of fine health for his age, however as I began speaking to him I found quickly how advanced his Alzheimers was. It was quite upsetting for me as I had never been in that situation before. Within the first 20 minutes of speaking to Mr. Jones he had asked me the same question and we had the same conversation around 5 times. I found this rather awkward as I was unsure whether to continue with the repetitive conversation, create a new one or whether if I did so it would end in the same way. Mr Jones also mentioned to me that he was the homes Gardener. Confused by this I went to my mentor who assured me that this was a delusion he had thought was real since his son moved him into the home and to just leave him to it. I found that after the first week of me working there Mr Jones recognised my face, he still continued to ask me the same questions such as where do you live?, do you know my son? and tell me about his gardening job but he would remember by name. So knowing my name had clearly gone into his long term memory. The thing that worried me the most however was that Mr Jones would ask me when he was going to get his pay cheque. The other staff told me to tell him next week. I found this shocking and an insufficient answer. I felt that if I did as the other staff told me this would just reinforce the delusion and so I when he asked me the next time I told him the truth. This however made him very distressed and upset. The NMC (2002) outlines that we must not add extra stress or discomfort to a patient by our actions. This has proved to be a hard role to follow as either choice would have added discomfort to him. This experience left me feeling very uncomfortable and inadequate in my role. I tried to understand why he had manifested this delusion and came to the answer that perhaps it was a coping technique at the thought of being put into a home. I felt anger and frustration and helplessness that there was nothing I could think to do to help this delusion fade away. Although this experience was very frustrating for me and probably the patient, it has highlighted the need for me to improve my communication skills. It appeared to me that Mr. Jones delusion was not only a psychological disorder caused by his condition, but a way for him to put his mind at ease. Critical analysis of this experience has pointed to the fact that I have inadequacies in my skills; I had focussed too much on my morals and worry that I was being untruthful with him when perhaps reinforcing his view would have caused him less displeasure. I had not considered his other needs like his wishes or desires and I had not gathered enough personal information about him beforehand to know this maybe he liked gardening. I had been unsure about what to say or do to ease Mr. . apparent anxieties and had adopted what Watson Wilkinson (2001) describe as the blocking technique. By continuing my actions to carry on with the meal, I was cutting short the patients need to communicate a problem. I was influenced in this decision because I felt obliged to be seen to reduce his anxieties, knowing my actions would be judged by an audience of other care workers and patients on the ward. I did not respond efficiently to reduce his distress and this pressure led me to deal with the situation inadequately and for that I felt guilty (Nichols 1993). I should have allowed more time to understand what Mr. Jones was thinking and feeling by maybe asking him calm questions such as do you know where you are, how long have you been here? And perhaps he would have come to a gradual realisation by himself. I could have shown more empathy in the form of my own body language to promote active listening (Egan 2002) instead of just worrying about his mind wandering to an untruth. Gould (1990) cited by Chatham Long (2000) have suggested that à ¿Ã ½many of the non verbal behaviours we use to reassure patients, such as close proximity, prolonged eye contact, clarification, validation, touch, a calm and soothing voice, the effective use of questions, paraphrasing and reflecting thoughts and feelings and summarising are all sub skills with the totality of empathyà ¿Ã ½. There is an abundance of information about communication, especially for nurses because it is considered by many as the core component to all nursing actions and interventions. Lack of effective communication is a problem that still exists because the learning process that leads to a skilled level of ability may take years of experience to develop (Watson and Wilkinson 2001). It has been quite difficult for me to admit my inadequacies in communication, but Rowe (1999) explains that a person must identify their weaknesses as an initiative for becoming self-aware. Only with acceptance of ones self, can a person begin to acknowledge another persons uniqueness and build upon this to provide holistic care. I know the knowledge I have gained through reflection of my experience will not always ensure that I will treat patients with unconditional positive regard, simply because of the diversity in the nature of us as individual human beings and the environment surrounding us. I have gained a new perspective on my practice which is to set myself personal goals in facilitating effective communication between the patient and myself, should the situation present itself again. BERLOS MODEL!
Saturday, July 20, 2019
Boston forced busing :: essays research papers
ââ¬Å"Boston Against Busing: Race, Class and Ethnicity in the 1960s and 1970sâ⬠The book ââ¬Å"Boston Against Busing: Race, Class and Ethnicity in the 1960s and 1970sâ⬠written by Ronald P. Formisano examines the opposition of court-ordered desegregation through forced busing. The author comes to the conclusion that the issue surrounding integration is a far more complex issue than just racism that enveloped the southern half of the country during this time period. Formisano argues that there were broader elements including a class struggle, white backlash and ââ¬Å"reactionary populismâ⬠that contributed to the emotions of those involved. à à à à à Formisano is persuasive in his arguments that the Boston anti-busing movement was a led by ââ¬Å"grass-root insurgentsâ⬠from the dominate Irish-Catholic working-class neighborhoods in South Boston. These protesters felt that their tight knit existence was being threatened by the rich, suburban liberals whose children were not effected by the enforcement of the busing. The author points out that it was an issue of ââ¬Å"white resistanceâ⬠rather than racism that played a role in the violence of the protests. I believe that this is a contradictory statement. What Formisano calls ââ¬Å"white resistanceâ⬠is the violent reaction to the Page 2 movement of African American students into predominantly white neighborhood schools and the mixing of two separate but legally equal peoples. Is the rock throwing at buses carrying elementary age children, stabbings at South Boston High School and riots on the streets outside the schools affected by the integration any different from the U.S. Army escorting nine African American students into school in Little Rock, Arkansas? à à à à à The author skirts around the central issue of racism by calling it a ââ¬Å"class struggleâ⬠within the white population of Boston during the 1960s and 1970s. Formisano discuses the phenomenon known as ââ¬Å"white flightâ⬠, where great numbers of white families left the cities for the suburbs. This was not only for a better lifestyle, but a way to distance themselves from the African Americans, who settled in northern urban areas following the second Great Migration. à à à à à Throughout the text Formisano ignores the voices of who I believe play a key role in the forced busing era: the students involved and the African Americans from West Roxbury. His primary focus is on the Irish of South Boston, the school committee members including the most vocal opponent Louise Day Hicks and the white politicians and judges who enforced the busing. This leaves the work a bit unbalanced and does not give first hand accounts of what the students felt.
Sexual Healthcare on Campus :: Medicine Medical College Essays
Sexual Healthcare on Campus missing works cited Forking over $40 for a consultation plus another $20 for the Plan B pill at Planned Parenthood was a small price to pay for the peace of mind it afforded her once the whole ordeal was behind her. ââ¬Å"After a night of bad decision making, I knew it was time to make some good ones,â⬠Lisa said. ââ¬Å"I knew I had to get tested for STDââ¬â¢s and HIV, and I also wanted to take emergency contraception, just in case. I knew it would make me feel better and as they say ââ¬Ëbetter safe than sorry.ââ¬â¢Ã¢â¬ After the trek to the closest Planned Parenthood facility for the emergency contraception pill, Lisa, an undergrad at Northeastern University, then made her way cross town to Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) for the walk-in hours of the Sexually Transmitted Disease Unit. This is the free infectious diseases clinic MGH offers to the public. There, she was able to get tested for all STDs plus HIV for free. Had she chosen to get tested at Planned Parenthood, she would have to pay about $20 for each test. What Lisa did not know was that she could have gotten all of these services for free from the health center at her university. Most college students know they are among the highest sexually active age group in the nation. What they may not know is that this age range (18-24) also has the highest rates of sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies. They also, like Lisa, may not know exactly where to go for sexual health care. Universities, colleges and clinics around Boston have a wide, yet differing range of sexual health care options available to students. ââ¬Å"There is so much misinformation, it just boggles the mind,â⬠said Pamela Harris, public relations spokesperson for Northeastern Universityââ¬â¢s Lane Health Center. ââ¬Å"It is so important that students know what is available to them.â⬠Planned Parenthood, located at 1055 Commonwealth Ave., near the Boston University campus, is perhaps the biggest sexual health care provider in the area. However, their services do not come cheap and for college students on a budget, other options need to be explored. Many students must rely on their collegeââ¬â¢s health center for sexual health care services, and depending on which university you attend, health center services vary. ââ¬Å"I would imagine that my school, one of the most expensive in the country, would provide everything I needed, from sexually transmitted disease testing to abortive pills in case of pregnancy,â⬠said Alexis Eskenazi, communications major at Boston University.
Friday, July 19, 2019
Chapters 1- 6 of To Kill A Mockingbird :: To Kill a Mockingbird Essays
The first five chapters of To Kill a Mockingbird introduce the setting, atmosphere, theme, and many different characters, who have unique characteristics. The theme of prejudice is also developed in this introductory section. The Finch family and some of their neighbours are introduced as well, along with important elements such as the Radley house. à à à à à The Radley house is an important element of mystery in the beginning chapters. As Scout was describing the setting, she described the mysterious house by saying, ââ¬Å"The Radley Place was inhabited by an unknown entity the mere description of whom was enough to make us behave for days on end,â⬠(Lee 6). Dill, who was from Meridian, Mississippi, was fascinated with the Radley house, and would stare at it for long periods of time. The house had darkened to the colour of the slate-gray yard around it. Johnson grass and rabbit-tobacco grew in abundance on the front yard. Inside of the house, people said there lived a ââ¬Å"malevolent phantomâ⬠named Boo Radley (Lee 8). He supposedly went out at night and peeped into other peopleââ¬â¢s windows. Scout also mentions, ââ¬Å"When peopleââ¬â¢s azaleas froze in a cold snap, it was because he had breathed on them.â⬠(Lee 9) Tall pecan trees shook their fruit into the schoolyard, from the Radley chicke nyard. However, the nuts would lay untouched by the children, as it was said that Radley pecans would kill anyone who ate them (Lee 9). à à à à à Different types of prejudice are evident in this chapter. For instance, Scout refers to Walter as a ââ¬Å"Cunninghamâ⬠, and this automatically places him in the poor class (Lee 20). Miss Caroline displays prejudice towards Scout because she can read. Scout is singled out after she reads to the class, and Miss Caroline accuses her of her father teaching her how to read (Lee 17). It seems as though more serious types and instances of prejudice will develop as the story progresses. à à à à à Atticus Finch is a respectable man and an example of his nature can be seen when Walter Cunningham is invited over to eat dinner. Atticus treated him with the same respect he would treat anyone else, even though Walter is poor (Lee 24). Another notable characteristic of Atticus is shown when he says to Scout, ââ¬Å"We couldnââ¬â¢t operate a single day without Cal, have you ever thought of that? You think about how much Cal does for you, and you mind her, you hear?
Thursday, July 18, 2019
The athletic apparel industry of Nike
The athletic apparel industry in which Nike is involved is a major money maker in the United States, but the fact that none of the factories are located in North America has brought some heat to the company. Nike controls more than 40 percent of the U.S. Market for sports related goods, but doesnâ⬠t have a single sneaker factory in this country (Miller 1). Nike continues to make millions of dollars yet exploits workers overseas by paying them very little, while requiring long hours without overtime pay in factories that are not up to ââ¬Å"Americanâ⬠standard. Nike subcontractors employ nearly 500,000 workers in plants in Indonesia, China and Vietnam (Saporito 1). The exploitation of workers in Third World counties, where the majority of Nikeâ⬠s labor is done sparks a controversial issue. People question why is it that Nike continues these practices. According to ââ¬Å"Just do it, Nike,â⬠Nike seems especially fond of doing business in undemocratic countries like China and Indonesia, where the military can be relied upon to ââ¬Å"crack headsâ⬠if workers get out of line (Miller 2). The military monitoring has been a large controversy due to the fact that these are often Chinese working against other Chinese workers, or Vietnamese against their own people also. For Nike there are two benefits: it itâ⬠s a cheap way to monitor in an overseas factory and it creates a sheaper labor workforce. In turn making the labor cheaper for Nike. This makes it possible for Nike workers from the states to work on other things and only tour the factories when nessecary. While still assuming a stable workforce without good pay. The critics of Nikes labor practices have taken tours and witnessed the mistreatment firsthand. Time magazine reported saying,â⬠The plants were found to be modern and clean, well lighted and ventilated and paying a decent wage by local standards-although by no means are they trouble free. Make no mistake: these are factories not amusement parks, and even in developing Asia, where jobs are scarce and getting scarcer, this is not the job of choice.â⬠(Saporito 1) The wages that the workers overseas are paid is nothing when compared to how much we pay for a pair of shoes or the profit that CEO Phil Knight is making off his sportswear giant he once operated out of the back of his car as a college student. ââ¬Å"A big issue that surrounds sweatshops is wage. The minimum wage often does not reflect the cost of living.â⬠(Hepner Online) Is the wage fair? There are many people who feel the wage is fair and the cost of living is taken into account when the wage is looked at, but studies show otherwise in many factories. Just recently, CNN reported a raise to entry level workers in Indonesia, Nike officials said ââ¬Å"the increase will raise the minimum monthly compensation package-which includes bonuses, housing, healthcare, transportation and meal allowances to approximately $37.14 a month.â⬠(Nike Establishes Laborâ⬠Online) To many people living in the U.S., that package may sound good however the compensation package doesnâ⬠t do away with the long hours, the poor conditions or the low rate of pay. Many of these workers are young children working to help support their families. The benefits do not make up for the low pay rates that keep them in the work force. The pay is only enough to get by where these children want to be saving in order to leave the factories and return home. In ââ¬Å"Taking a Look inside Nikeâ⬠s Factoriesâ⬠, part of Bill Saporitoâ⬠s, ââ¬Å"Can Nike Get Unstuck?â⬠this is what was found. ââ¬Å"Americans pay $100 for a pair of shoes that a worker gets less than $3 a day to make. They pay Michael Jordan $40 million to endorse them. Canâ⬠t they find more money to pay the workers? The short answer is no, because corporations pay the going rate for labor whereever they are.â⬠(Saporito 1) If this statement is true Nike pays the wage for the country the factory is in, then what is the controversy about? Much of it stems from the overtime that these workers are forced to work without over time compensation. Here in the United States there are regulations placed on businesses that require then to compensate their workers with a higher wage for over time hours. So since Nike is an U.S. based company should Nike have to pay overtime? The answer is no. Nike doesnâ⬠t have to pay overtime like here in the U.S. so they donâ⬠t. In Vietnam ââ¬Å"Workers so want a reduction in overtime, the length of annual leave for the Indonesian workers making Nike shoes is more than 30 days though dozens of workers interviewed in November, said the actual amount is 10 days.â⬠(Ballinger 2) There has been evidence of Nike breaking at least nine labor laws in China according to AMRC; a Hong Kong based human rights group that has been monitoring the abuse of human rights in China for the last 20 years. ââ¬Å"Children as young as 13, were found employed in Nike factories, working from 144-192 overtime hours per month to make ends meet.â⬠(Designer 1) Ernest and Young, an accounting firm, hired by Nike, to do research and the issue reported conditions in Vietnam ââ¬Å"where young women toil sixty-five hour weeks for $10, in air so bad that 78 percent of the employees have respiratory problems.â⬠(Miller1) Factory workers endure abuse on the job lacking a voice or ablility to do anything about it. Since Nike contracts out for their factory managers, it has been hard for Nike to regulate what goes on when they are not on their tour or walk through. ââ¬Å"A Korean supervisor in a Vietnam factory was found guilty of beating 15 Vietnamese about the head with a shoe ââ¬Å"upperâ⬠, and another Korean supervisor was charged with sexual molestation.â⬠(Saporito 3) In this instance it was not an U.S. supervisor, nor was it a military officer but someone of a different nationality. The hard part is that there are no independent unions and meaningful corporate codes of conduct to discipline management. So workers must turn to the courts for help which is a long fought battle that no one wants to attempt. In one case that made it to, a Vietnamese court recently found a Korean supervisor guilty of beating workers and extradition may be sought for the accused sexual molester who fled. In Indonesia 24 discharged Nike workers are challenging the legality of their dismissal before the countryâ⬠s Supreme Court (Saporito 3). These are major breakthroughs in the court systems to have someone tried and convicted in these distant countries whose courts are often corrupted. Factory conditions are consistently getting press here in the U.S., as many are angry with Nike for not providing for their overseas employees. The following account is of the conditions in a Chiniese factory: Twelve hour shifts several days a week; wages as low as 16 cents and hour; 16 workers to a dorm room; pregnant women fired. Workers are not allowed to talk. There is constant pressure to produce-workers are yelled at. If you donâ⬠t meet your high production quota you must stay until you do-without pay. The factory is noisy, filled with dust and fumes. Workers have fainted, overcome by the long hours and the glue fumes. One worker died; another lost an arm; other has had their fingers broken by the equipment. Most workers have never heard of the Nike code of conduct. There is no union and workers are afraid that if they complain, they will be fired. When a group of workers stopped working in March to protest had not been paid, they were fired. The supervisor warns workers in advance of any inspection, the factory is cleaned and if workers are interviewed it is in the presence of factory management. (ââ¬Å"The Neediest and the Greediestâ⬠4) This is only one description of the factory conditions and the requirements that are put on the workers of these factories, on contract with Nike. In order to deal with the criticism Nike gets about working conditions and pay, ââ¬Å"Nike Inc recently established a new department with a mandate to continue to evolve itâ⬠s monitoring of subcontracted manufacturing facilities and to continue to upgrade conditions for workers in subcontracted facilities around the world.â⬠(ââ¬Å"Nike establishesâ⬠1) This department will monitor, compensation issues, benefits, the work environments, recruiting and hiring policies, overtime policies, worker management, environmental issues and supervision of independent monitoring systems. All these are large steps by Nike to improve itâ⬠s factories and to repair the relations with people here in the U.S. who are appalled by the reports of poor work environment workers are forced to endure. ââ¬Å"The company has been tarred by an image as a sweatshop operator that exploits Asian workers who make shoes and apparel for Nike subcontractors. Nikeâ⬠s efforts to be a good corporate citizen, and they have been considerable, have yet to sway the public forum. Basically, our culture, and our style, is to be a rebel, and we sort of enjoy doing that,â⬠says Knight, who created a jock empire based on hero worship backed up with good product and great advertising. ââ¬Å"Now that we reached a certain size thereâ⬠s a fine line between being rebel and being a bully, and yeah, we have to walk that line.â⬠â⬠(Saporito 6) According to Knight he will continue to make the sport-wear giant successful any way he can. ââ¬Å"The estimated net worth of co founder and current CEO Phil Knight is $5.4 billion, one of the wealthiest people in America.â⬠(Miller 1) The issue remains whether the sports wear giant, Nike, will continue to do work in other countries, where labor is cheap and regulations are few, and not monitored on a normal basis. Nike will continue to exploit workers in these countries as long as America continues to buy the products. Nike, who recently spent $978 million in one year on advertising worldwide, depends upon Americans and their children to purchase its sneakers. Yet it locates 150 factories and some 350,000 jobs in Asia. Knight recently made the absurd and arrogant statement that, ââ¬Å"Americans donâ⬠t want to make shoes.â⬠â⬠(Sanders 2) Is CEO Phil Knight right? Are American workers not willing to make the shoes that are so popular in stores and classrooms across the nation. If so, the exploitation will continue and Nike workers will remain underpaid and over worked in poor working conditions.
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