Software-Effect of Cultural Differences

Effect of Cultural Differences on Software Development A culture could be defined as the predominating attitudes and behaviour that characterizes the functioning of a group or organization. Through this paper we would like to address the effect of culture in the field of software development and one of the most commonly used model for development of a software Rapid Action Development (RAD). No matter what culture you are a part of; to develop software, a development model has to be followed. There are two different types of culture which affect the software development. 1.Culture difference between countries – People from different geographies think, act and react differently. There is no scientific relation between how two different individuals think or act on a given situation or scenario. It requires careful planning and judgement when working with an individual from a different culture. Some things might be normal for us but may be offending to someone else. With the adve nt of IT, the world is fast turning into a global village, the distances are diminishing. In such a scenario it’s expected that our colleagues can be from any part of the world.Hence it becomes all the more important to behave in a culturally sensitive manner. Negotiations with potential clients are more likely to succeed when concerned parties understand the reason for difference in view points. Fifty years ago, majority of the population lived in the same region they were born and employed in a single profession throughout their lives. The reality of working in a global company is almost the exact opposite. Employees of TCS interact and coordinate with colleagues in different time zones, in a foreign language and in global workgroups with members in distant countries.In order to make cross-cultural global cooperation work, cross-cultural competencies must be strengthened. Cultural differences, which can be seen, tasted, felt, smelled or heard, are not the ones that cause di fficulties. It is the invisible cultural differences that create misunderstandings – different value systems, attitudes, beliefs and expectations. To adopt a more customer centric approach, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is training all its employees to speak and understand at least one foreign language in a bid to become a global player in the knowledge sector.The move is not only limited to learn a language but also to make them conversant with other soft skills like culture and etiquette of at least one foreign country. Considering the diversity in cultures, our own experience with a North American based bank can be taken as an example here. This North American bank and Tata Consultancy Services have matured processes. Though a model driven approach is followed in both the companies, certain cultural factors are observed during the Software Development Life Cycle.Working in a multi-cultural environment for this North American bank has forced us to think about the cultural differences in software development. This bank is globalised in a true sense. We, Indians are currently working with colleagues from Greece, Sri Lanka, Russia, Romania and China. Where else would you get people of such diversity working towards one common goal of driving the business of the bank? 2. Culture of the organisation – Organisational culture lays out the values, beliefs, attitude and experience of a company. It may have been created unconsciously to align with the beliefs of the founder or top management personnel.The organisational culture we would like to describe here is of Closed Source and Open Source software development companies. Both these streams have their own beliefs and end goals. Main objective of a Closed Source organisation is profit and that precisely is the motive that drives these organisations. There strategy revolves around expanding their customer base and increasing the value of there stocks on the contrary Open Source organisations are non c ommercial in nature and the developers who participate do more for creative satisfaction than anything else.It’s just that the path they have chosen to conduct there business. Both the approaches have their own pros and cons. ? Model for Software Development The Rapid Application Development methodology was developed to respond to the need of delivering systems very quickly. Rapid Application Development, or RAD, began as a software development process developed in the 1980s. It is a methodology that involves iterative design, prototypes, and the use of CASE tools. RAD was designed as a response to previously limiting models, such as the waterfall method.The culture of an organization is a critical success factor in its process improvement efforts. â€Å"Culture† includes a set of shared values and principles that guide the behaviors, activities, priorities, and decisions. Due to RAD’s focus on quick delivery, certain project characteristics need to exist to fac ilitate the RAD processes: 1. Scope – focused scope with well-defined business objectives 2. Data – data already exists and focus is on analyzing and reporting that data 3. Team Size – very small, 6 or less 4. Technical Architecture – in place and tested 5.Technical Requirements – reasonable and within capabilities of technology being used Further, RAD requires management approval acceptance of certain tools, such as prototyping, iteration, and time boxing. Key Features of RAD RAD is composed of elements that are not new but are proven strategies. RAD differentiates itself from other systems analysis tools through its use of synergistic approaches based on the theory that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. A. JAD – RAD utilizes facilitated workgroup sessions known as Joint Application Development sessions.JAD sessions are crucial in that they allow impartial facilitators to become part of the design process without becoming invo lved in the design decisions. Further, the use of JAD sessions, within RAD atmosphere, has been shown to dramatically reduce development costs and development time JAD facilitates the ultimate communication sessions and results in increased development success. We expect that professional software developers know how to do the â€Å"thing† right. Doing the right thing, though, requires an unambiguous understanding of what your customer expects. Proficiency of the English language becomes a key for all part of the project.Traditionally Business has been driven by market leaders like US and UK, by investing large sums of money in new ideas and emerging markets. Among India’s huge population of 1. 1 billion people, Hindi is the dominant and official language. Yet it’s important to note that, as a result of Britain’s long colonial involvement in India, an estimated 4% of the populace speaks English. This might not sound like much, but when you do the math, it turns out that you’re actually talking about 40+ million people, which makes India one of the largest English speaking countries in the world.This is one of the major reasons for the growth of IT and the ability of software companies from India to deliver consistently on time and with acceptable quality. B. Incremental Development – Like JAD, incremental development is nothing new and was developed in the mid 1980's. It’s believed that anything that passed 90 days of development missed the business opportunity window. The idea was to take the overall project and break it down into smaller pieces that can be analyzed, designed, and delivered incredibly faster than the original approach.RAD uses the 80/20 rule, which says that 80% of the value can be delivered with 20% of the application. By focusing on the required 20% of the application they are able to deliver the product with lighting speed. Systems analysts take advantage of constant feedback with the use of incremental development. The incremental delivery of prototypes allows the user to easily communicate what they actually want to the analyst. Through the use of incremental development, the user and the analyst approach a level playing field in terms of system requirements.With the growth of economies of the world, customers are aware about the complexities and with markets being opened up to globalization, the customer is able to convey his requirements to the analyst and this is translated to a solution C. Case Technology – Case technology is the third RAD element. Case has added new impetus to the JAD movement. With its emphasis on planning, analysis and design documentation capabilities, and a graphics language understood by both user and developer, Case both demands clearer communications and provides the idiom for it D. Small Teams-The last key element of RAD is the use of small teams of highly skilled and motivated people. Common sense tells us that bright, motivated people are likely to be highly productive. The only problem is finding those people! RAD seems to be applicable to most IS environments. It is especially appropriate when requirements are not well understood or easily pre-specified, as with many so-called â€Å"front office† departmental computing applications. In contrast, applications that depend on algorithmic complexity or require significant pre-specification, such as aerospace and defence systems, probably lend themselves less well to RAD methods.Management of RAD teams is by motivation towards achieving the optimum business solution. Those who see RAD as â€Å"seat-of-the-pants† development have missed its most critical aspects and will find themselves creating bad applications rapidly (or creating good applications without infrastructure, leading to bad systems and high maintenance overhead). RAD only makes sense after Case methods, JAD techniques and disciplined software processes have been established. 1. Eff ect of National Culture on Software development A. High Context Vs Low Context culture –Tasks are broken down to a detailed level, within each project, with dependencies identified and risk associated with each of the task, Stakeholders and reviewers would come to a common platform to evaluate the tasks, the time assigned to each task, the perceived risk and the mitigation strategy to be adopted. Though this being one of the crucial aspects of the project lifecycle, the team has noticed that the discussion tends to be prolonged with some meeting attendees trying to digress the topic in hand to more trivial issues.This is dependent on the project manager assigned to the project in guiding the team to delve into the more the tasks in hand and arriving at a logical decision point. A detailed discussion is carried out to implement any change in a truly low-context fashion. For we as Indians have a habit of assuming some things in a high context manner. This approach of targeting any issue in a detailed manner was the biggest difference in the initial days. All the stakeholders in a meeting narrate out their requirements and clearing out confusing details and finding out the real facts about something.The first and foremost difference observed during our day to day life is the detail and model driven approach implemented in this bank. This detail driven approach tends to increase the timelines of software delivery but improves the quality a little. Quality is of utmost importance when it comes to building software’s for banking solutions, aviation, nuclear plant etc. At the start of a project itself the cost of quality should be determined as to much effort would be sufficient. An optimum level of quality if sufficient would reduce the timelines as well as save the cost of resources which could be utilised later for another initiative.B. Personal Vs Professional life North American way of life tends to support a lifestyle to accommodate personal inter ests of an individual. Expanding ones hobbies, participating in cultural and outdoor activities apart from professional work. Life in the BRIC countries is more tuned to professional growth of an individual with respect to the socio-economic fabric in the society. Boom in the software and its ancillary divisions is contributing to the growth in the per capita income and has lessened the gap from the haves and the have-nots.Job security in the BRIC countries is growing and is helping the individuals to build a life beyond their workstations. BRIC countries are now opening their market to the world, has brought in influx of capital, work culture from Multi national software companies. All said and done the economic structure of BRIC countries are still not mature enough to allow individual to look far beyond their professional boundaries. It is happening but will take some time before it becomes a part of life.Being more inclined towards their professional life rather than personal th e work force of BRIC countries delivers the same product as offered by Western country at a much reduced timeline as well as at a throw away price. This dedication though is having its toll on the work force which tend to be more unsatisfied with there job than there western counterparts. C. Income and Demographics Demography is observed to be playing an important role in the way the world is shifting work. The large impact of this change is observed on Information Systems. The average age of a professional is much more in western countries than in the BRIC countries.Young work force in BRIC countries tend to pick up things faster, readily adapt to different situations and work environment and importantly are available at a relatively lower cost than those in developed countries The decline in working-age population and unavailability of resources on emerging technologies in developed countries is leading to a large shift of the work to the BRIC countries. A young resource in India can learn under the guided training programs and implement the emerging technologies with ease whereas the learning curve of an individual in a western country is much longer span of time.Apart from this due to difference in the economic value of the currency of the western and BRIC countries, the companies in BRIC countries are able to provide same software solutions at a much lower cost as compared to the companies in developed countries. This is a win-win situation for both the client and the vendor, client is able to get solution at a cheaper cost and the vendor generates more revenues. D. Innovative approach The people in developed countries tend to be more innovative than the one’s in the BRIC countries. Being Innovative is encouraged and is a part of life.With their stable economic background and sufficient fund to promote any aspiring talent they encourage a lot of research and development activities. Most of the new path breaking companies and softwares are developed by western countries. The work force of BRIC countries do not lack the talent but the problem lies in the economy of the country which still require international funds to cater to the needs of its growing population. The software companies in these countries tend to pick up service oriented assignments, as they can be easily executed and it brings in much required funds to develop the economy of the country.Any innovation is these countries are mainly due to an inspired individual alone with little or no support from the government. We can take the example of a country like Israel which being so small in size still has a high innovation quotient. The North American bank for which we work has only two employees working in the performance test lab but still they have sanctioned a few million dollars to buy a quality centre tool. There were no long meetings or debate to discuss the viability of the adventure. Top management thought that the tool may be handy and hence they approved.T hey could have done that only because they were backed by a department worth billions of dollars. 2. Organisational culture differences Since inception, Organisations have a culture where a hierarchical line of authority is maintained. These hierarchies have in fact ensured that work is done where the collective abilities the companies’ employees are harnessed and a finished product is thus deployed. Compare this against a massive online community in a virtual organization where the employees are spread across the globe, exploiting the power of communication and collaboration in a gigantic manner.Millions of employees of a virtual organisations use blogs, wikis, chat rooms and personal broadcasting mediums to add their voice to a constructive medium of dialogue. Thanks to Internet, masses of people outside the boundaries of traditional hierarchies can innovate to produce content, goods and services. This paradigm shift in the culture of an organisation, vanishing of the hiera rchies is having enormous impact on Software development as well. They contribute to this organisation thereby prepare a finished product – including cars, airplanes – which are perceived to be some of the most complex products.Software majors in India including Tata Consultancy Services are handling the outsourced work of major aircraft manufactures. TCS has a blogosphere for its employees where more than a hundred thousand of its employees share their thoughts on various topics to guide the company to the next generation of software Development. This is a cultural shift started by the Open Source movement to challenge the monopoly of some players in the development and deployment of software. Thousands of employees of TCS collaborate in real time, exchange ideas with the CTO of the company reading and commenting on some of them.One of the writers of this paper has more than 100 videos on the internet with three hundred thousand views so far and the number is growing day by day. Thanks to Internet, masses of people outside the boundaries of traditional hierarchies can innovate to produce content, goods and services. This paradigm shift in the culture of an organisation, vanishing of the hierarchies is having enormous impact on Software development as well. They contribute to this organisation thereby prepare a finished product – including cars, airplanes – which are perceived to be some of the most complex products.Below we compare some of the features of an Open Source vs. Closed Source culture. A. Open Source projects TCS using Open Source Culture to its full potential The firm of the future needs to be a people-intensive firm. In the new Open Source culture, managers need to give due consideration to future threats and depend more than ever on human imagination, creativity and initiative. Twenty First Century Software majors in India including Tata Consultancy Services are handling the outsourced work of major aircraft manufactu res.This aircraft manufacturing major has taken the collaboration to a new level by engaging its peer in a real time manner. Firm of the Future The organisation that will excel in the next generation will be the one that recognises information as a major resource and knowledge as an important structure in and of itself. This organisation will use information and knowledge as efficiently as it does its other resources and assets. The difference between success and failure in an Open Culture will be about sharing enough of the right information about designs and methods.The intellectual and knowledge management will be the toughest challenges for the firms in the coming years. Information is a resource like money and material. It has a cost and value. It is less understood because it is less tangible. The unique character of information is that its supply is useless. The future firms need to fathom this fact that information becomes more valuable with use and when properly applied can greatly enhance the use of other resources. A big chunk of the workforce for these companies will come from Generation Y (Born between 1980 and 1995).The Gen Y associate on an average would have better exposure to emerging trends and would have a global outlook. As the Global Delivery Model for the software firms matures, the employees of such companies would increasingly find themselves working in culturally diverse distributed teams. While this is an exception today, soon this can become the norm. Collaborative Software Development platforms can become a norm and accelerate this trend. Thus the firm of the future and in particular the software firm needs to inculcate the open source culture as it is here to stay.The changing demographics, advent of internet, the collaborative features of Web2. 0 will give way to new ways of working and collaborating. The cultural inertia has to fade off to stay in the competition. We won’t be surprised if TCS employees start introducing th emselves as â€Å"I am a TCSer working in project XYZ and member of the TCS Java and oracle blogging community†. These informal affiliations can gain enterprise wide legitimacy. Advantages of the mass collaboration culture ?Reduction of Cost: One of the foremost advantages of adopting the Open culture is its monetary benefits.The sole and whole purpose of driving this cultural change, fading off the cultural inertia and adopting new ways of developing the same thing is that it reduces cost for companies who are adopting and driving this change. For IBM alone who along with Red Hat was one of the few companies to join the Open source bandwagon, the cost reduction is $900 million annually. Self-organised Operating System like Linux marshals the efforts of thousands of scattered individuals, sometimes in miraculous ways. ?More user involvement: Let us take an example of user involvement from the Mozilla Firefox Internet browser.After the elimination of Netscape, Microsoft has no t experienced any real competition in the web browser market. But now, the introduction of Mozilla Firefox, an open source Web browser that allows users to alter the code and create plug-ins and customized extensions that the users can download. We put on our thinking hats on for the TCS web mail which we use extensively. Some of the major disadvantages observed in the web mail are that †¢The user interface is clunky in that it is poorly designed from a user perspective. †¢The UI has several unused features.So the TCS innovation lab came up with a script which quickly put together a script that runs this into this as illustrated in the screen prints below. ? ? Not to mention this is only applicable to an Open source browser like Mozilla firefox which hinges on the user creativity and imagination. This might act as a starting point where many of the internal One might be tempted to question the whole deal behind this small example given above. The big deal is that the futur e of software development lies in delivering Service Oriented, semantically correct systems that allow end users to tweak their user experience.So what else is possible for TCS like Software Development companies in the future? †¢Project Leader specific customizations and generation of reports. †¢Bringing the timesheet page on the front page of the internal website on Fridays only. †¢Right click Employee Number and be presented with a palette of information such as â€Å"Lowest/Highest rating received by the employee†, â€Å"Employee basic information†. This shows that if one does not stay current with the users, they invent around you, creating opportunities for competitors. ?More power to the end userIn the software industry, publishing code on the internet has enabled companies to focus the shift to applications, integration and services. By using peer production to involve way more people who are external to the organisations, a futuristic firm can d evelop customer solutions in a smart way. Without the Open source culture, we would just have a set of monopolies, creating what can be termed as â€Å"Feudalism in Softwareâ€Å". Understanding and applying this new culture to competitiveness means dispelling the cultural inertia. Collectively, these examples suggest a range of ways in which peer production creates value and competitive advantage.Challenges to the Open Source culture: Critics of Open Source culture have always argued that it will no longer be clear who owns what or how individuals and companies will profit from their creations. The challenge lies how does a company manage its information sensitive resources in a way it does give enough freedom to the user to expand his horizons. But also keeps the essential features with the company itself so as to benefit from it. The pioneer of the Apache web server – which currently powers 70 percent of all Web sites – Brian Behlendorf did not make a dime off it! But truly speaking, the inventors never intended to make money out of it. Thus embracing this new culture of Open Source means new ways of wealth creation, new ways to innovate and developing software at an accelerated rate. B. Proprietary or Closed Source System: Another approach for providing software solution is Closed source or proprietary system. It could be defined as â€Å"a system in which the specifications are kept proprietary or closed to prevent third party hardware of software to be used. It has a restriction on copying and modification. Restriction could be either legal or technical.Legal restriction is like software licensing, copyrights etc. Technical restrictions are usually implemented by releasing only machine readable format instead of complete source code. â€Å" The following below listed points lists down its various features which in turn affects software development. †¢Innovation driven by motivation – As opposed to an open source project a clo sed source initiative generates more revenues due to licensing, patents of software etc. Over a long term higher revenue implies having a dedicated team of developers motivated which otherwise becomes difficult in open source as it’s not a money spinner. Mission critical projects – Traditionally open source software are considered to be more secure as the source code is reviewed by thousands of tech savvy developers. Though this holds true in many cases but still mission and time critical projects prefer a closed source. Any tweak in that code can cost severe damage to the society and country. For example software of a jet liner or a nuclear reactor has to be a closed source. It simply cannot be risked to use an open source for them. †¢Stable development environment – Closed source projects are usually developed in a stable environment. It has enough potential in it o take all the variables into consideration and tie it all together so that it just acts as a piece of hardware. A closed source initiative iphone has had only one release till now whereas linux has had hundreds of upgrades. The environment is turbulent for open source initiatives to focus on its criteria †¢Contractual agreement – Before opting for a closed source solution a potential client has to make a decision about the money to be spent and the amount of transparency they require. A closed source will tie them with an agreement; they won’t have any access to the source code as well. Vendor support – Proprietary software provides proper vendor support, they generally have a dedicated helpdesk assigned to address public queries and issues. Proprietary solution also comes along with proper documentation as well which helps the customers to do some debugging themselves and also makes them aware of the different features and configuration of the system. The vendor is bound by contractual agreement to provide adequate documentation and support â₠¬ ¢Better life cycle – Closed source projects usually have a better development life cycle. It has a dedicated team of developers working towards a common goal.They also have a separate test labs to ensure performance and functionality of the application. This difference becomes more glaring when the code grows to millions of lines; it becomes difficult for naked eye to identify and fix a problem and adjudicate the effect of that fix on other portions of code. It requires proper automated debugging tool. This kind of a setup is difficult for an open source company to acquire. †¢Security – Being transparent causes open source system to be more secured as it is reviewed by thousands of developers but being obscure provides a different kind of a security to closed source system.It protects the codes from potential hackers. They are not able to read the code and figure out the loop holes. Take the example of an anti virus software. If the source code of that is releas ed for everyone to review the hackers and virus programs will just paralyse the entire computer industry. †¢User interface requirement – A project which requires a good and intuitive interface should go for a proprietary product. Especially if the users are not that well versed with the computer culture. We can take the example of Windows or MAC OS which automatically creates a wow from the user just because of their user friendliness.Even for a novice user they are not that hard to figure out. Now compare this to a KDE or Gnome shell which might make a new user scratch their head off. Precisely because of this UNIX is more used at the back end. †¢Driven by an end target – A project developed in closed source is usually with a end goal in mind. They align all there activities towards achieving the end result. For open source products there is a tendency of the developers to code keeping themselves in mind. They don’t consider that whatever is intuitive to them may not be to others. Budget constraint – A closed source initiative have a finite amount of budget, depending upon the intermediate milestones achieved, political acumen of the project lead that can vary whereas an open source initiative depends on how much time its developers can dedicate. For long running projects with no real monetary benefit it becomes difficult to keep the developers interested. †¢Scheduling – Closed source projects have predefined schedules which may be altered according to market conditions or to coincide with any event. Strategic marketing – A proprietary software has a separate marketing team looking in to build the hype and increasing the curiosity of the potential customers. It gives sort of a head start to such projects. †¢Organisational limitations – A proprietary product can suffer from organisational limitations. In a corporate environment there are a lot of senior management level people making decision s on the behalf of the developers. The framework to use, the language to code in, data base to use, architecture to be followed. The developers are stuck with the choice that has been made on their behalf. Quality of resource – A developer working on a closed source project might have been chosen for reasons other than technical skills. The reason maybe the seniority of the resource, their relationship with a top management official etc. This problem is usually not observed in a resource working on an open source project as most of the resources themselves have self volunteered for work. It mostly consists of motivated workforce who works for fame rather than money. †¢User limitations – Commercial or closed source products tends to balance the demand of its user base with the goal of increasing shareholders value.They tend to view things from the profit perspective. Their end motive is to generate revenue for the company whereas open source developers are free fro m this restriction and can concentrate on satisfying the needs of its user base. Their approach is non-commercial in nature. †¢Market limitations – Being profit minded; closed source organisations tend to include a lot of features on their product just to attract potential client. With time, the point of interest can shift towards those additional features which may not necessarily be part of original requirement. This may incur additional time and money. External factors affecting the end goal – There maybe other external factors apart from the user requirement which may change the features or the way a product is supposed to work. There might be constraint to be backward compatible or to be compatible from other applications from the same stable or a top management thinks otherwise of the way the software is supposed to work. ? 3. References 1. Wikinomics – Dan Tapscott and Anthony Williams 2. The IT Revolution in India – F. C. Kohli 3. The World i s Flat – Thomas L. Friedman 4. Dreaming with BRICs: The path to 2050. A Global Economics paper by Roopa Purushottam and Dominic Wilson

Negative Economic Impacts of Tourism Essay

There are many hidden costs to tourism, which can have unfavorable economic effects on the host community. Often rich countries are better able to profit from tourism than poor ones. Whereas the least developed countries have the most urgent need for income, employment and general rise of the standard of living by means of tourism, they are least able to realize these benefits. Among the reasons for this are large-scale transfer of tourism revenues out of the host country and exclusion of local businesses and products. Leakage The direct income for an area is the amount of tourist expenditure that remains locally after taxes, profits, and wages are paid outside the area and after imports are purchased; these subtracted amounts are called leakage. In most all-inclusive package tours, about 80% of travelers’ expenditures go to the airlines, hotels and other international companies (who often have their headquarters in the travelers’ home countries), and not to local businesses or workers. In addition, significant amounts of income actually retained at destination level can leave again through leakage. A study of tourism ‘leakage’ in Thailand estimated that 70% of all money spent by tourists ended up leaving Thailand (via foreign-owned tour operators, airlines, hotels, imported drinks and food, etc.). Estimates for other Third World countries range from 80% in the Caribbean to 40% in India. Of each US$ 100 spent on a vacation tour by a tourist from a developed country, only around US$ 5 actually stays in a developing-country destination’s economy. The figure below shows how the leakage happens. There are two main ways that leakage occurs: Import leakage This commonly occurs when tourists demand standards of equipment, food, and other products that the host country cannot supply. Especially in less-developed countries, food and drinks must often be imported, since local products are not up to the hotel’s (i.e. tourist’s) standards or the country simply doesn’t have a supplying industry. Much of the income from tourism expenditures leaves the country again to pay for these imports. The  average import-related leakage for most developing countries today is between 40% and 50% of gross tourism earnings for small economies and between 10% and 20% for most advanced and diversified economies, according to UNCTAD. Export leakage Multinational corporations and large foreign businesses have a substantial share in the import leakage. Often, especially in poor developing destinations, they are the only ones that possess the necessary capital to invest in the construction of tourism infrastructure and facilities. As a consequence of this, an export leakage arises when overseas investors who finance the resorts and hotels take their profits back to their country of origin. A 1996 UN report evaluating the contribution of tourism to national income, gross levels of incomes or gross foreign exchange, found that net earnings of tourism, after deductions were made for all necessary foreign exchange expenditures, were much more significant for the industry. This report found significant leakage associated with: (a) imports of materials and equipment for construction; (b) imports of consumer goods, particularly food and drinks; (c) repatriation of profits earned by foreign investors; (d) overseas promotional expenditures and (e) amortization of external debt incurred in the development of hotels and resorts. The impact of the leakage varied greatly across countries, depending on the structure of the economy and the tourism industry. From the data presented in this study on the Caribbean, St. Lucia had a foreign exchange leakage rate of 56% from its gross tourism receipts, Aruba had 41%, Antigua and Barbuda 25% and Jamaica 40%. Source: Caribbean Voice Enclave tourism Local businesses often see their chances to earn income from tourists severely reduced by the creation of â€Å"all-inclusive† vacation packages. When tourists remain for their entire stay at the same cruise ship or resort, which provides everything they need and where they will make all their expenditures, not much opportunity is left for local people to profit from tourism. The Organization of American States (OAS) carried out a survey of Jamaica’s tourist industry that looked at the role of the all-inclusives  compared to other types of accommodation. It found that ‘All-inclusive hotels generate the largest amount of revenue but their impact on the economy is smaller per dollar of revenue than other accommodation subsectors.’ It also concluded that all-inclusives imported more, and employed fewer people per dollar of revenue than other hotels. This information confirms the concern of those who have argued that all-inclusives have a smaller trickle-down effect on local economies The cruise ship industry provides another example of economic enclave tourism. Non-river cruises carried some 8.7 million international passengers in 1999. On many ships, especially in the Caribbean (the world’s most popular cruise destination with 44.5% of cruise passengers), guests are encouraged to spend most of their time and money on board, and opportunities to spend in some ports are closely managed and restricted. Other negative impacts Infrastructure cost Tourism development can cost the local government and local taxpayers a great deal of money. Developers may want the government to improve the airport, roads and other infrastructure, and possibly to provide tax breaks and other financial advantages, which are costly activities for the government. Public resources spent on subsidized infrastructure or tax breaks may reduce government investment in other critical areas such as education and health. Increase in prices Increasing demand for basic services and goods from tourists will often cause price hikes that negatively affect local residents whose income does not increase proportionately. A San Francisco State University study of Belize found that, as a consequence of tourism development, the prices for locals increased by 8%. Tourism development and the related rise in real estate demand may dramatically increase building costs and land values. Not only does this make it more difficult for local people, especially in developing countries, to meet their basic daily needs, it can also result in a dominance by outsiders in land markets and in-migration that erodes economic opportunities for the locals, eventually disempowering residents. In Costa Rica, close to 65% of the hotels belong to foreigners. Long-term tourists living in second homes, and the so-called amenity migrants (wealthy  or retired people and liberal professionals moving to attractive destinations in order to enjoy the atmospher e and peaceful rhythms of life) cause price hikes in their new homes if their numbers attain a certain critical mass. Economic dependence of the local community on tourism Diversification in an economy is a sign of health, however if a country or region becomes dependent for its economic survival upon one industry, it can put major stress upon this industry as well as the people involved to perform well. Many countries, especially developing countries with little ability to explore other resources, have embraced tourism as a way to boost the economy. In The Gambia, for instance, 30% of the workforce depends directly or indirectly on tourism. In small island developing states, percentages can range from 83% in the Maldives to 21% in the Seychelles and 34% in Jamaica, according to the WTO. Over-reliance on tourism, especially mass tourism, carries significant risks to tourism-dependent economies. Economic recession and the impacts of natural disasters such as tropical storms and cyclones as well as changing tourism patterns can have a devastating effect on the local tourism sector. Seasonal character of jobs The seasonal character of the tourism industry creates economic problems for destinations that are heavily dependent on it. Problems that seasonal workers face include job (and therefore income) insecurity, usually with no guarantee of employment from one season to the next, difficulties in getting training, employment-related medical benefits, and recognition of their experience, and unsatisfactory housing and working conditions. Other industry impacts affecting tourism Economic crises, like the Asian crisis that hit Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia a few years ago, can be devastating to inbound tourism flows. The financial turmoil triggered a sharp fall in tourism flows to affected countries during 1997 and 1998. In the Philippines, the crisis and the temporary closure of Philippine Airlines affected inbound arrivals significantly as there was a decline of almost 3.3% in 1998. Economic Effects — Positive Tourism creates jobs, both through direct employment within the tourism industry and indirectly in sectors such as retail and transportation. When these people spend their wages on goods and services, it leads to what is known as the â€Å"multiplier effect,† creating more jobs. The tourism industry also provides opportunities for small-scale business enterprises, which is especially important in rural communities, and generates extra tax revenues, such as airport and hotel taxes, which can be used for schools, housing and hospitals. Economic Effects — Negative Successful tourism relies on establishing a basic infrastructure, such as roads, visitor centers and hotels. The cost of this usually falls on the government, so it has to come out of tax revenues. Jobs created by tourism are often seasonal and poorly paid, yet tourism can push up local property prices and the cost of goods and services. Money generated by tourism does not always benefit the local community, as some of it leaks out to huge international companies, such as hotel chains. Destinations dependent on tourism can be adversely affected by events such as terrorism, natural disasters and economic recession. Social Effects — Positive The improvements to infrastructure and new leisure amenities that result from tourism also benefit the local community. Tourism encourages the preservation of traditional customs, handicrafts and festivals that might otherwise have been allowed to wane, and it creates civic pride. Interchanges between hosts and guests create a better cultural understanding and can also help raise global awareness of issues such as poverty and human rights abuses. Social Effects — Negative Visitor behavior can have a detrimental effect on the quality of life of the host community. For example, crowding and congestion, drugs and alcohol problems, prostitution and increased crime levels can occur. Tourism can even infringe on human rights, with locals being displaced from their land to make way for new hotels or barred from beaches. Interaction with tourists can also lead to an erosion of traditional cultures and values. Environmental Effects — Positive Tourism — particularly nature and ecotourism — helps promote conservation of wildlife and natural resources such as rain forests, as these are now regarded as tourism assets. It also helps generate funding for maintaining animal preserves and marine parks through entrance charges and guide fees. By creating alternative sources of employment, tourism reduces problems such as over-fishing and deforestation in developing nations. Environmental Effects — Negative Tourism poses a threat to a region’s natural and cultural resources, such as water supply, beaches, coral reefs and heritage sites, through overuse. It also causes increased pollution through traffic emissions, littering, increased sewage production and noise. Tourism and Travel 1. Define the following terms: Hospitality Tourism Leisure Travel Attractions (20mks) 2. In your own opinion, what will make you choose to travel to Country A than to Country B during your holiday? (20mks) 3. What are the positive economic impacts of Tourism in Kenya? (20mks) 4. People do travel for a particular purpose; therefore what are the different types of tourism? (20mks) 5. The no. of tourist in a destination varies over time, what are the different reasons for that to happen? (20mks)

Case Analysis of Rogers Chocolates Essay

There are multiple issues facing Rogers’ Chocolates. Rogers’ has a dated value proposition. In order to expand they need to compromise the history behind the brand. The service tactics and packaging is old fashioned. The need for a different look was further backed by a consultant hired by Rogers’. Their current traditions may be well received in Victoria but they aren’t working to fully expand markets. Rogers’ brand image was tarnished due to the import of raw materials from West Africa. West Africa was faced with issues of forced labor and child labor used in the production of cocoa beans. In Victoria, matters concerning the social and community environment were important to consumers. This poor brand image had forced some consumers to switch brands. Although one cannot make every consumer happy, it is best to keep an appealing imagine in the media. The company had issues keeping track of demand, supply and the production of chocolate on an annual basis. This created issues with inventory. Production was also slowed, due to the daily setup and equipment. Production was one shift daily and it was very labor intensive. Rogers’ also had issues with demand forecasting as it was difficult to track due to seasonality of sales. Rogers’ product had a shelf life of 6 months but smaller wholesalers were selling expired products, another area where the supply to wholesalers should be tracked. Another key issue with Rogers’ was the market they served. Since Rogers’ relied on serving a niche affluent segment of the market who sought luxury and supreme quality, they lost consumers. Their premium price point scared consumers and wholesale accounts away. The consumers of Rogers’ were also tourists who were steadily declining. Rogers’ Chocolates was also experiencing the decline in its foreign consumer base, as the ratio of tourists visiting Victoria had declined over the years. Recommendations Rogers’ Chocolates has to target the younger market and update the design of its packaging, for some of the items. They should use flashier tins and wrappers to gear to those consumers outside of Victoria. However, they should maintain what works for consumers in Victoria. They should take advantage of social media which is less costly as compared to other means of  advertising to lure in new consumers. This will boost sales and revenue. They need to increase brand awareness and reach out to a greater number of consumers through electronic or print advertisement. Television advertisement should also be used in a larger scope. They need to communicate to consumers about what they are doing to play their part in the community. Rogers’ should go public on what are they doing to promote themselves in the realm of social responsibility. Rogers’ should tie the community into charity events to create brand awareness. They need to improve consumers’ thoughts about their brand due to the issues in West Africa. They need to adopt effective public relations avenues as a means of promoting the positive image of the brand. Sam’s Deli needs a clearer vision, better management and more recruitment. They need to decide whether franchising would be a viable and profitable option. Rogers’ should also add a section of Rogers’ chocolates at Sam’s Deli so that the visitors to the restaurant may also purchase the assortment, which could secure new loyal consumers. They should provide free chocolate samples at Sam’s as a marketing ploy. Rogers’ production needs improvement. They need to establish effective tools to forecast changes in the consumer’s demand of chocolate in the local market, and match the production accordingly to avoid extra expenses and excessive waste. They should consider adding more shifts. This will put further stress on recruiting better workers, however it will make them more efficient. Rogers’ should adopt better opening, closing and cleaning procedures. They should look into the costs behind mechanical production vs hand made. This can potentially make them more efficient as well. All this should be done without compromising quality. They should consider offering a more price friendly product vs high price point to open the market up to those who aren’t affluent but still will pay for quality chocolates. In their retail stores they should continue creating a positive image of the brand in the mind of the visitors. They should also continue to create strong brand loyalty and continue to market themselves as a unique gift item which can be given to others. Porters Model Threat of New Entrants The growth rate in the chocolate industry is falling, which makes the threat of new entrants low. However, the traditional manufacturers are moving toward premium chocolate in an effort to maintain significant profit margins. This makes a moderate threat of entrants. They are doing this through market acquisitions or up marketing. There is also a greater profit margin in case of premium chocolate which makes it a more attractive tactic for the new entrants. Bargaining Power of Consumers Consumers have a moderate level of bargaining power. The loyal Rogers’ consumers dictate the packaging and store experience. Rogers’ has held onto this traditional view for their consumers. Consumers will pay the higher price because they value Rogers’ and will not switch brands. Bargaining Power of Suppliers The suppliers have moderate level of bargaining power. Consumers wanted healthier options but Rogers couldn’t gain any support from suppliers to be a part of its organic or fair trade plan of action. Threat of Substitute products and services The substitute products can be any other non-premium chocolate bar, chocolate products or candy. There are many different chocolate products available and most are an easy to find. There are about 20 options at close reach in the checkout line at the grocery store. Chocolate is readily available and this is a large threat. Most will take advantage of that availability. There are also other services available; there may be smaller private chocolatier companies that play a role in substitute products. Intensity of Rivalry among competitors in an industry The chocolate industry has a high level of competitive rivalry. There were many organizations manufacturing and selling high quality premium chocolate including Godiva, Bernard, Callebert, Lindt and Purdy’s. The competitors were making efforts to gain a larger market share through offering high quality products, but they had more affordable prices in comparison to Rogers’. SWOT Analysis Rogers’ Strengths †¢High pre-Christmas sales. †¢Premium ice cream. †¢Loyal consumers. †¢High quality, luxurious brand image. †¢Market penetration through various outlets retail, wholesale, online mail and phone orders. Sam’s Deli playing a significant role in the sales and profitability of the chocolate sold by the company. †¢The retail store run by the company was capable of creating a positive image of the brand. †¢Viral marketing more effectively. †¢Internet as a source of marketing, with high quality websites that were easy to use. Rogers’ Weaknesses †¢The company had issues in case of keeping a record of demand, supply and production of chocolate on an annual basis, which inevitably resulted in inventory issues. †¢Poor community outreach. †¢Inefficient daily processes. Opportunities Rogers’ has the option to penetrate more locations outside of Victoria with better media coverage and advertising. †¢The can produce more if they streamline their production process, which will avoid inventory shortages. †¢Rogers’ can look into acquisitions or up marketing also to better position themselves in the market. Threats †¢Godiva, Bernard, Callebert, Lindt and Purdy’s. †¢Competitors were making efforts to gain a larger market share through offering high quality products, but they had more affordable prices. †¢Substitute products †¢Multiple chocolate manufacturers not listed, ie Nestle, Hershey etc.

Cultural geography has changed my view of the world Essay

Cultural geography has changed my view of the world - Essay Example nd that the main reason for the growth of the international business in the global economy from the 20th century is due to transport and communication improvements brought about by globalization. This explains the increased business relations of between various countries across the globe. The economic and cultural interdependence seen in the world is also because of globalization. It has also enabled me to understand the aspect of westernized world and why it has been influential across the globe. It has helped me understand that the process of westernization joins the western influences and interests with parts of those countries that are affected. These affected countries or communities are often trying their best to understand and change towards the westernized society in search of the western life or some of its aspects. Cultural geography has also helped me understand that there are three categories of landscapes ranging from those built by humans, others that have evolved organically, and others that are associative or valued due to religion, art, or cultural dimensions. Initially, I thought globalization had done the world more harm than good due to the economic hardships witnessed in some countries. These economic hardships resulted into increased difference between the rich and the poor. However, globalization, according to cultural geography has enhanced increased the levels of communication and transportation thus increasing the levels of international business in the global economy (Ritzer, 2010). Moreover, I had the notion that western countries are less affected in the aspect of westernization of non-western countries. However, such western countries adopt various changes either cultural or psychological in the event of establishing contacts with various other groups in non-western groups in the globe. They adopt changes, which are in line with their lifestyles, physical appearances and other aspects and shifts in the cultural patterns. Moreover, I

Sustainability Indicators Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Sustainability Indicators - Essay Example There are two types of indicators used, sustainability indicator and a typical urban indicator. Sustainability indicators are much more precise, detailed and extensive. They give us a broader view of the economic, social and environmental situation as if each and every element of the society is interlinked with each other. Not only does it provide us with a view of these elements, but it also gives us prompt solutions to it. Urban indicators measure changes in each part of the community as if they were completely independent. However sustainability indicators demonstrate the reality that each and every segment of the community is tightly interconnected with each other ("What are urban indicators? | Information | Livable urban environments | MFE"). The main objective of this type of an indicator is to inform and publicize the policy making authorities by providing them information and values on any relative term while keeping every activity interlinked with the other. A demonstration to this statement can be made by giving an example of the social-economic activities, as to whether it is an improvement or not. Unemployment is measured by collecting data related to diversity and vitality of local jobs, number and size of companies and the variability of skill levels. In this given situation a number of different elements are considered and evaluated. It is not just focused on a single type of activity but takes a number of different activities in consideration, collects data and gives result. This helps the state take better decisions to improve sustainability. The decision-making authorities find solutions to different problems such as to the situation that stands, whether the targets are being met, is improvement being made and as to where they stand generally compared to other states. This brings about various positive impacts bringing about a change in the environmental and societal improvement. The chosen sustainability indicator measures and evaluates the c ommunity progress in relevance to environmental, economic and social sustainability. This identifies the state of the community and how to resolve the issue. It interprets data and defines how to preserve and improve the quality of living for the present and future generation. The indicators used are related to society, environment and health. Values related to good health are measured by estimates of healthy infants, teen pregnancy and HIV patients. Conditions of environmental issues are measured by collecting data of the change in environment, air quality, waste reduction and bicycling. Social improvement is measured by elements such as the graduation rate, crimes and employment rate. These indicators used are of high value to any society or community. They determine the future conditions, the development and proper functioning of any state. The city council that chose this particular sustainability indicator approved a 10 year target for each indicator and set a numerical goal of what is to be achieved. The indicators are divided into 3 main parts that are further divided into 26 sub indicators. Each indicator gives view of the target, data, and analysis of each element of the community as mentioned above. Through this website the community is tracking the improvements and progress made in the society. As to how much work is done and what work remains in order to attain high quality life standards. This is done keeping

Women in the US Military Speech or Presentation

Women in the US Military - Speech or Presentation Example Ever since, women have assumed powerful positions in the defense system of America. Women as nurses in military During the Spanish-American war conducted in 1898, thousands of American soldiers had yellow fever, typhoid, and malaria (â€Å"Highlights in the†). The Army Medical Department had to deal with too much with limited resources. Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) were assigned the task of selecting qualified and professional nurses to serve the US Army upon the suggestion of Dr. Anita Newcomb McGee to the Army Surgeon General. Army hospitals appointed 1500 civilian contract nurses before the end of the war in different regions including Hawaii, the US, Guam, Puerto Rico, Philippines, Cuba, and the Hospital Ship Relief. Dr. McGee was made the Acting Assistant Surgeon General who was asked to write legislation for the establishment of a permanent nurses’ corpse in the US Army. Deployment of women in the combat zone The number of American women that partici pated in the First World War was over 35000 (â€Å"Early Women Soldiers†). As a result of war, American military forces saw a shortage of male recruits. That was when the US Navy and Marine Corps actively solicited women to serve in the combat troops in an attempt to fill up the gap. Thousands of women applied for the positions as Marine Corps Yeoman whereas the call of Navy to become Yeomanettes was responded to by over 11000 women (â€Å"Early Women Soldiers†). In 2013, long-stayed ban on the inclusion of women in the combat positions was lifted. Lifting of this ban can be attributed to the fact that women today are an integral part of the US military and have been showing their interest in undertaking physically demanding roles in military as tough as performance in the combat zone. Women in the American army have found themselves increasingly in the combat’s reality during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. â€Å"It's clear to all of us that women are contri buting in unprecedented ways to the military's mission of defending the nation†¦The fact is that American women are already serving in harm's way today all over the world and in every branch of our armed forces†¦Many have made the ultimate sacrifice, and our nation owes them a deep debt of gratitude† (Panetta cited in â€Å"Military leaders lift†). Timeline of women in military (â€Å"Timeline: Women in†) in DoSomething.org provides a detailed account of women in military through a timeline as shown below. 1846-1848 Elizabeth Newcom, a woman got enlisted in the Mexican-American war posing as a man. She covered a distance of 600 miles with the infantry before getting identified as a woman and being discharged for that. 1861-1865 Women nursed the soldiers that were wounded in the American Civil War, but still did not have military status. 1901 America established the Army Nurse Corps whereas the Navy Nurse Corps was established eight years after that. 191 7-1918 Armed forces started to consider assignment of administrative roles to the women like the roles of stenographers and operators. In addition to that, two women became members of the Coast Guard for the first time. 1941-1945 During the Second World War, armed forces finally enlisted and included women in almost every job which was not combat support or combat. June 12, 1948 The Women’s Armed Services Integration Act was signed by President Truman. This Act established a permanent place for women in every branch of the military. As a result of this Act, military was made one of the first organizations to provide women with pay equal to the pay of men in all tasks assigned to the women employees. However, there was an upper limit to which women could be promoted in the military; lieutenant colonel was the

Marriage and Sexuality by Saint Paul Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Marriage and Sexuality by Saint Paul - Essay Example Somehow, St. Paul, in his Epistle, appears to be arguing against people’s entering into marital union, as marriage and sex, according to him, push humans away from spiritual uplift. It is therefore St. Paul supports the idea of refraining from sexual activities, including marriage, to remain committed to religious activities and the service of church only. Since hunger and sex serve as two basic human instincts, and it is hard for humans to completely avoid any of the two, the Lord has taught the manners to satisfy both the instincts according to His holy commandments. â€Å"The Bible presents marriage as a divine institution. If marriage were of human origin, then human beings would have a right to decide the kind of marital relationships to choose. Marriage, however, began with God. It was established by God at the beginning of human history when He "created the heavens and the earth†. It is therefore the Scripture declares marriage as a sacred association between man and woman due to the very reality that it not only satisfies the carnal desires of the humans in an adequate manner, but also gives birth to the concept of family and blood relationship in its wake. Marriage is actually a sacred way to carry on nature’s system of sending new generations to replace the old ones that has been the order of the day as well as law of nature since man’s arrival on the face of the earth. Further, marriage keeps the souls pious and save the individuals from going astray by getting indulged into lustful activities including adultery, fornication, sodomy, rape and other forms of immorality and indecency; as the Bible states that â€Å"having one’s own husband or wife should keep one from doing something immoral.† ... adultery, fornication, sodomy, rape and other forms of immorality and indecency; as the Bible states that â€Å"having one’s own husband or wife should keep one from doing something immoral.† (Corinthians, 7:2) Additionally, the children produced out of the wedlock also enjoy the status of legitimate offspring, where they maintain social position and respect, and share in the inheritance of their parents. Besides, children also carry on the mission and talent of their parents, which is equally beneficial for the humanity at large. Moreover, children are also recognized as belonging to some particular caste, clan, tribe, ethnicity, religion and family. Consequently, they are the responsibility of their parents, and society can force them to feed, clothe and protect them according to their income and resources. Somehow, St. Paul, through Corinthians 7, considers celibacy and maintenance of virginity as the most admirable thing. The Epistle views marriage as a burden on th e very back of the individuals, which drifts them far away from their spiritual duties and obligations. Hence, married people get involved into worldly pursuits and run amuck after pelf, property, power and possessions in order to feed their family and brought up the young ones in a better way. Since materialism and spirituality are absolutely two contradictory issues, pursuit of one creates and increases distance from the other. Corinthians 7:25-27 vehemently suggest the men and women to avoid marriage and sex, as it is superior to getting involved into sexual activity. Although, according to St. Paul, the Lord has not forbidden it, yet he himself recommends celibacy as it is (spiritually) better than marriage. Control of carnal desires is certainly more blissful than displaying them to one’s

Things Fall Apart Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Things Fall Apart - Essay Example The fact that he has three wives in and of itself illustrates his misogynistic nature and attitude. He is terribly cruel to his son Nwoye, as he feels that Nwoye is not masculine enough and that he is feminine and weak. Nwoye begins to behave in more masculine ways to please his father Okonkwo, as anything less is simply unacceptable and can lead to a beating from his father. Okonkwo is a portrait of dominant male ideology as he causes his family a great deal of pain and suffering because of this ideology. Okonkwo is rarely able to display emotion and is depicted as first and foremost, seeking to be masculine and in control. He is depicted however, at one point in the story, as a concerned parent, when he ventures out looking for Ezinma, after she is taken by Chielo. The reader also sees throughout the piece, Okonkwo’s difficulty in dealing with change in his environment, especially from a racial point of view. White men are coming to his village and living among his clan, only to cause Okonkwo to feel threatened and then to finally feel defeated. This is understandable as the white settlers only seek to change the ways and beliefs of the natives of Nigeria. These expressions of anti-colonialism seem to reflect the ideas of Achebe as well, as a prevailing theme surrounding the colonists seems to be their inability to speak the language of the tribe. This is ultimately what prevents them from understanding the ways of the tribe. Interestingly, as much as Okonkwo opposes the whit e man and his religion (Christianity), his son Nwoye converts to this very religion. Certainly, this is an illustration on the conflicts that arose during colonization. The white men brought their religion and beliefs to the Igbo people, and certainly Okonkwo represented the institution of tradition and culture. Further evidence of this is the fact that Okonkwo participates in the death of Ikemefuna, the sacrificial boy from a neighboring village

Microbiology Exam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Microbiology Exam - Essay Example Some viruses (animal viruses and bacteriophages) have the capsid encased in an envelope. In addition they are non-membraneous and cannot yield energy. They are also devoid of metabolic enzymes and ribosomes that form the sites for protein biosynthesis.Moreover, they need host cells to replicate. Viruses are transmitted via salivary drops, respiratory fluids, sexual contact, fecal-oral especially in case of contaminated food, animal vectors and via blood. Viroids- Comprise of single-stranded and circular RNA which is noncoding and infect plants. As compared to viruses their genome is much smaller, are protein non-coding, and unlike viruses some possess ribozyme activity. They initiate infection in plants via chloroplast or nuclear replication and they are conveyed in cells via plasmodesmata. Prions- Infectious agents that solely comprise of a protein whose form is misfolded. This is a distinguishing feature as they lack nucleic acids i.e. RNA/DNA. These potent agents means of propagat ion is via inducing folded proteins in healthy organisms to change (misfold) and assume the form of the prion; these have the ability to cause disease. The resultant stable structure causes cell death and tissue damage (Tortora, Funke & Case, 2010). 2. How can viruses lead to cancer? Be sure to use specific examples (e.g. virus name and the cancer it causes) to illustrate your points. Viral transformation mediated via viral genes results to uncontrolled cell growth with contact inhibition loss, tumor formation as well as chromosomal aberrations. In addition viral oncogenes that transform normal cells into malignant cells are transmitted by viruses. Viruses also inactivate the tumor suppressor proteins. The human papilloma virus (HPV) is the causative agent for cervical cancer and it integrates in the host’s genome and suppresses the expression E2 viral gene which represses the expression of viral oncoproteins E7 and E6. E6 has a high binding affinity for p53(tumor suppressor gene) and triggers its degradation and E7 binds to retinoblastoma(Rb). Rb and p53 are tumor suppressor proteins. This results to apoptosis inhibition and dysregulation of cell growth. E6 possesses the ability to trigger telomerase activity as well as immortalizing cells. E7 also triggers abnormal centriole biosynthesis as well as aneuploidy during the initial oncogenic process. Hence, E7 and E6 are synergistic in transforming normal cells to a state of malignancy. However, there is a genetic predisposition to the progression of cervical cancer. Moreover, acute immunosuppression heightens the propensity of cervical dysplasia and subsequent cancer progression (Damania, 2006). 3. You are growing Bacillus subtilis in nine 16,000-liter fermenters to produce enzymes for industrial use. The Bacillus cultures had been growing for 2 days when the cells in one of the fermenters lysed. Explain what happened in this fermenter. This is likely to be a case of bacteriophage contamination. Bacterio phages are a class of viruses that infect bacteria. Upon infecting bacterial cultures, they cause serious problems and this entails complete loss of bioproducts; in this respect enzymes and their subsequent proliferation in the plant (to other fermentors). This results to culture lysis and unless it is contained, the problem is bound to reoccur even after stringent sterilization of equipment. Decontamination is much difficult in such a large scale fermentor. It is has been proven that phage propagation in such a bioreactor can easily spread

Operations Management Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Operations Management - Research Paper Example However, the bigger part of the research regarding Japanese management practices has emphasized on practices in Japan and the system in which these were diverged from practice of American firms. Moreover, the essential significance of HRM practices for the success of Japanese organizations has been discussed widely. Specifically, generating fortified employee cohesiveness, company commitment, and life time employment attended significant considerations. Furthermore, seniority-based pay systems along with extensive job rotation in different functions and slow promotion have been extensively discussed. Many facts revealed about Japanese HRM practices; however, very small number of them testified on their practicality, on the other hand a large part of our information is based on assumptions and past stories. There are eight rules which must be followed in practice of HRM. These eight rules are come into existence after practice and classification. These are fairness, frame of reference , scope, formality, time horizon, participation, individualism and explicitness. These eight aspects of HRM are being applied in all the countries of the world (Bird and Beechler, 1995). The model of lifetime employment has not been successful in all Japanese organizations. Definitely some practices were limited to only to established Japanese organizations. Long-term employment and seniority-based pay was only applicable to the limited numbers of workers in several organizations. Furthermore, their success was dependent on different dimensions. For instance, the requirement of organizational enhancement made possible the hiring of several young and comparatively cheap working forces and thus minimizes the expenses. Moreover, it also helped the companies to encourage the workers by developing fresh positions regarding promotions. Comparatively, the growth of the organizations was not probable without enhancing the efficiency of workers. Clearly, these skills were significant for the rising innovations that made able the firms of Japan to outclass their other counterparts of the world. However, these changes were not appropriate regarding knowledge-intensive and rapidly changing technologies. In the current economy, specific knowledge or fresh concepts, which are not related to the measurement of in-house training, are the initial motivators of the reasonable power of organizations. Thus, the aspects of long-term skill development were obstacles to a rapid and adjustable response to fresh chances. Furthermore Japanese companies have a larger scope, and their focal point is a broader set of targets and achievements. For instance, the bonuses of Japanese employees are attached to the wider performance of the firms as well as the employees have the advantage to take a large portion of bonuses to take home. This practice has also been observed in job rotation and training activities and this is the place where the emphasis is on the development of generalists not o n the specialists. Japanese firms are known for their search of excellence instead of equity. For instance, these firms reward the employees regularly. Moreover the pay is based on seniority basis and not on individual performance. This exhibits that these companies have been working to develop the society. It has been revealed that the

Residential car Essay Example for Free

Residential car Essay In this assignment we will discuss Residential care as a system of care provision in the Ireland. We will also discuss how the intervention may be of support to clients and the different theoretical approaches used. We will list the pros and cons of residential care and discuss the differences between the Private, Public and Voluntary sectors. Although it is generally in the best interest of the child for him or her to be brought up by their own family, it is not always possible as a child’s welfare and safety is paramount to their wellbeing. Residential care is described as care for children who can no longer be cared for by their family in their own home. This may also happen in the case of a child who has been abandoned or orphaned. Where parents are unable to cope due to illness or other problems they may agree to their children being taken into the care of the Health Service Executive (HSE.ie). Residential care refers to care that can be provided in a home (for children in the care of the HSE) staffed by Care Staff. The home or centre is referred to as a children’s residential centre. Residential care may be provided in a HSE run children’s residential centres. Care may also be provided by voluntary organizations on a not for profit basis. In recent years, organizations also provide residential care for young people on a for profit basis. Under the Child Care Act 1991 residential centres have to be registered and inspected by health boards. Centre’s managed directly by the HSE are inspected by the Social Services Inspectorate (SSI) and those centres in the voluntary sector and contracted to the HSE are inspected by nominated appropriate personal. The recent development of the private sector provision of residential centres follows the similar registration and inspection requirements of the voluntary sector. (Lecture notes) The purpose of residential care is to provide a safe, nurturing environment for individual children and young people who cannot live at home or in an alternative family environment. It aims to meet in a planned way the physical, educational, emotional, spiritual, health and social needs of each child. This may include ; working with a young person’s Social Worker and other professionals to prepare a young person for a successful return home, working with a young person’s Social Worker and other professionals to prepare a young person for a successful transition to an agreed placement of choice, working with a young person’s Social Worker and other professionals to prepare a young person for a  successful transition to independent / supported living (Institute of Child Protection Studies) There are many different ways in which residential care can support a child in care. Keyworking is the provision of individualised care for each young person through a named member of the centres staff team. While a keyworker is not solely responsible for the care of the young person it is their responsibility to co-ordinate and ensure that the team focus is on progressing the young persons care plan and the young person’s life in the centre. It is also crucial that the welfare and best interests of resident young people are of paramount consideration in all aspects of the care provided and that the young people in care are provided with an opportunity to feel safe, secure and protected from harm in an environment where they can be sure their primary needs will be met. Childcare act 1991 offers many approaches to meeting the needs of children and their families. Examples of these approaches include emergency care, assessment, short and long term care, respite care also to provide families in difficulty (Child Care Regulations 1996). There are several different theoretical approaches used in residential care.’ A therapeutic intervention is an intentional interaction(s) or event(s) which is expected to contribute to a positive outcome for a child or young person, which is selected on the basis of his/her identiï ¬ ed needs, and which is underpinned by an informed understanding of the potential impact and value of the interaction/event involved’ (Best Practice Guidelines) Attachment theory is an extremely important example. Where children who are placed in the child welfare system have not experienced a secure base with their primary carers it is essential that social care practitioners aim to form this quality of relationship with them which is what is meant by the provision of a ‘second chance secure base’. A secure base is a relationship within which a child or youth feels safe, nourished both physically and emotionally, where s/he is comforted when distressed, reassured when frightened. Aristotle argued that happiness for humans is not possible in the absence of reciprocal, affective relationships or friendships (Sherman 1991). Such relationships for children are only possible in the context of satisfactory attachments which provide for them a secure base from which to explore their environment (Bowlby 1988). Attachment theory emphasises that continuity and sensitive responses to youth in care are key features of the environment of care-giving (Rutter   O’ Connor 1999). Due to persistent relationship problems and patterns, care staff offering a good relationship may not be enough. There may be a need to actively identify abusive relating and encourage and model alternatives. Important principles are: modelling; rewards rather than punishments; and natural consequences and consistently applied limits (Morton et al., 1999, p. 57). Social learning theory together with trauma and non-violence theory can form the basis of models which see the whole environment as a therapeutic agent (Abramovitz Bloom, 2003). A social care worker needs to have a variety of skills and qualities when working in a residential home with vulnerable clients. The care worker needs to be open minded and non-judgemental, a good listener, patient, be able to work as part of a team, be understanding and must be flexible and be able to work under pressure or adapt to any changes quickly. Like every situation or care setting there are always pros and cons. The pros of residential care include: Residential Care is seen as a secure environment. Children get to build relationships with others Regulated by HSE to ensure the best possible care and services are given Activities are arranged The child’s needs are met and there is consistent care givenThe Cons of a residential care setting include: The child may feel neglected or unwanted and see themselves as being institutionalised. Often required to do things at set times May not always have a choice who they share rooms with and may not be compatible Limited living space and private space  A good care provider may not be good at property management and maintenance and vice versa (housingoptions.org.uk) Residential homes are operational under the three sectors which are public, private and voluntary. The public sector is defined as the whole of the activities, organisations, institutions or services, for which the state or its representatives can be regarded as the employer, and whereby the organisation, the goals and the operation thereof are determined by public authorities and underpinned by public funding.( www.eurofound.europa.eu) The Private Sector is the part of the economy that is not fully state controlled  and is run by individuals or groups of people. In the case of residential homes an example of a private run care home is Daffodil Care services. Although this is a private run service it is still monitored by the Health Service Executive. The final sector is the voluntary sector, which has ‘pioneered the provision of services, with the state becoming involved in a supportive role at a later stage’. In many instances voluntary organisations supplement the b asic services provided by the state. Depending on the type of activity engaged in, there are different sources of funding for voluntary organisations. These include the European Social Fund and Lottery Funding. The main sources of recurrent funds for the majority of voluntary organisations providing welfare services are health boards. Section 65 of the Health Act, 1953 provides that health authorities may support organisations providing services similar to those of the health authority. (Curry 2003) Conclusion In conclusion to this assignment we have discussed Residential Care as a whole and shows how theoretical approaches are used and also gives us a clear understanding of the three different sectors. Residential care will always be needed in society to ensure the care for children who may not have any other options or resources available. Reference List: Curry, J (2003). Irish Social Services, 4th ed. Dublin : British Library Best practice guidelines(2009)best practice guidelines for the use and implementation of therapeutic interventions for children and young people in out of home care [online] available:http://www.caab.ie/Publications/PDFsPublications/Guidance-Documents/CAAB-Best-Prac-Guide-hteraputice-Inter.aspx[6th December 2011]. Evergreenconsultantsinhumanbehaviour[online]http://attachmenttherapy.com/adult.htm[6th December 2011].

Gambling and Pathological Problem Essay Example for Free

Gambling and Pathological Problem Essay Prior to the case studies and research reports by known psychologist of our time, gambling is see as an act of passing away the time in a friendly atmosphere of playing for money. When gambling is becoming a habit for someone, gambling started to connote as an act that is bad, especially when the person involved in gambling bets his money allocated for the need of his family for food and rent. This connotation would only come in such cases that are already of the extreme. But basically gambling is seen then, as it is right now, as a way of diversion from the strain of necessity of daily living. This is one the reasons why governments allowed the buildings of casinos and the existence of other forms of gambling wherein people can bet and probably win huge sum of money. On the other hand, when is the time when one could say one is pathological gambler? This question has been an issue that has been asked and a subject of inquiry of many psychologists and scientists. Or is there really such a thing as a pathological gambler? When can we assume that a person is already suffering from a pathological disease called gambling? Gambling as a Pathology: History It is only during the advent of twentieth century when there rose an interest from the part of psychoanalysts on the act of gambling (Rosenthal, 2003). Starting in 1914, these scientists contributed enormous case studies, research reports, and speculative essays by which patients marked as gamblers were identified as gabling addicts. The most prominent of these psychoanalysts was Freud who displayed a particular interest in to why people would consciously seek for themselves a way to repeatedly engage in a self-destructive gambling behavior. He believed that these gamblers are not really for the money per se when they participate in a gambling game but they gamble for the sake of gambling itself, which psychologists term now as â€Å"the action. † It was Freud who labeled gambling as an addiction, forming a triad along with alcohol and illegal drugs (Freud, 2002). On a cursory look at the state by which gamblers go on with their habit, we can thus say that gamblers, one way or another, is a participant in the process by which they abuse themselves by going to casino everyday to lose huge money, which include probably money allocated for their rent and food. As the years went on, concern about gambling tended to give more focus on the gambler’s â€Å"personal attributes† rather on the economic and social consequences of the act. Those who are involved with gambling began to be considered as problem gamblers. If the gambler’s problem with his habit becomes chronic, the â€Å"problem gambler† was seen already as a â€Å"compulsive gambler†. This term â€Å"compulsive gambler† is the early term used to describe pathological gambler according to National Research Council (U. S. ). Committee on the Social and Economic Impact of Pathological Gambling (1999). Gambling Pathology: Effects The best definition concerning the problem of gambling that has reached wide acceptance in the world, particularly Australia, as mentioned by Hsu (2005): â€Å"the situation when a person’s gambling activity gives rise to harm to the individual player, and/or to his or her family, and may extend into community. † In Australia for example as reported by Productivity Commission (1999) there is an estimated 1% of the Australian population who has a severe problem with gambling. An additional 1. 1% have moderate problem; thus creating a 2. 1% of problem gamblers in the whole Australia. Basing from the definition cited above, the pathology of gambling can be widespread and creates a great impact on the individual. The personal consequences of having a problem with gambling according to Leseiur (1996 cited in Hsu, 2005) can be depression, insomnia, anxiety attacks, cardiac problem, intestinal disorders, high blood pressure, migraine and suicidal tendencies. He mentioned that the family of the problem gambler can also bear the cost of, in particular the financial burden. When the problem gambler gets into debt because of his/her unmitigated habit or addiction to gambling, this would mean less family expenditures, overdue bills, utilities being cut off, personal or family belongings being sold or repossessed, or on an extreme case the family is left homeless (Hsu, 2005). Gambling Pathology: Psychology Over the past several years there has been a collective effort to understand the psychology of problem gamblers. The focus of these case studies and researches focus on the role of negative effect, personality factors, concurrent disorders, sex differences and role of cognitions. The relationship of pathological gambling with the depressive mood state of the person is probably one of the most seen predispositions as to becoming a problem gambler. The studies in this area have produced somewhat conflicting results. The reason for his is because some of the case studies failed to find any connection with depression to gambling. Yet, at the same time, there are research reports that stated otherwise. These reports found that there is a co-occurrence of depression to the problem of gambling. At the same time, there are studies that discovered that there is a link between gambling and anxiety or obsessive-compulsiveness. This involves the psychological process of the person wherein he gives a lot of time developing gambling strategies and gaming behavior. Blaszczynski (2005 cited in Toneatto and Millar, 2004) discovered that problem gamblers get a high score significantly on measures concerning obsessive-compulsiveness. People with obsessive-compulsive behavior have excessive preoccupation with gambling-related thoughts. In the case of Frost et al. (2001 cited in Toneatto and Millar, 2004) they experimented with obsessive-compulsive factors in lottery and resulted to the confirmation of Blaszczynski (2005 cited in Toneatto and Millar, 2004) findings: that pathological gamblers display more symptoms of being obsessive-compulsiveness. Meanwhile, there is concluding evidence that there is a relationship between gambling behavior and one’s desire for excitement arousal. This psychological aspect of problem gamblers has received an equivocal empirical support according to Toneatto and Millar (2004). Nevertheless, there are still results that come up with contrary findings regarding the aspect of desire for an aroused state. The explanation to these conflicting results is that sensation seeking level of every gambler differs across gambling activities. One more thing is that since gambling is not a homogeneous activity, the desire for an arousal of sensation may be more prominent or greater in some types of gambling activities than others. Moreover, sensation seeking on the part of the gamblers may be a state rather than a trait. On the other hand, the hypothesis of there is an association between impulsivity and disordered gambling follows with natural ease from being included in the list of pathological gambling among the list of impulse disorder as stated by Toneatto and Millar (2004). There are research reports that demonstrated that pathological gamblers get higher score on indices of impulsivity as compared with research control subjects. Petry (2001 cited in Toneatto and Millar, 2004) stated that impulsivity could be conceptualized and measured as a multi-faceted construct that take into account the such behaviors as orientation to the present, decreased in the ability to delay gratification, behavioral disinhibition, too much risk and sensation seeking, proneness to boredom, and lastly poor planning abilities by the problem gambler. There are also results from other significant research reports that identify relationships between gambling pathology and mental health disorders, particularly those of substance use disorders, mood disorders, personality disorders and ADHD. Petry (2001 cited in Toneatto and Millar, 2004) discovered that subjects who have a history or background of substance abuse and had gambling problem reported increased levels of somatization, obsessive-compulsiveness, paranoia and interpersonal sensitivity. In the meantime, according to a more recent case study performed by Ladd and Perry (2003 cited in Toneatto and Millar, 2004) stated that problem gamblers with history of undergoing treatment for substance abuse has reported to be suffering from depression, hallucinations, suicidal ideation and attempts. They also have difficulty controlling violent behavior as compared with pathological gamblers who had no previous history of being treated for substance abuse. Conclusion The study on the issue of a problem gambler just started during the advent of the 20th Century and this subject has been the favorite subject of psychoanalyst. Freud (2003) labeled it as a form of addiction and part of the triad which includes alcohol and illicit drugs. This addiction would later be termed as compulsive gambling which will later on evolved into a more specific kind of behavior called pathological gambling. The are case studies that tried to explain the psychology of a pathological gambler and experts discovered that these individuals exhibit certain degree of obsessive-compulsiveness and other personality behavior. Another point that must be understood is that these person are usually seeking sensation arousal when they commit themselves to gamble. References: Freud, S. (2002). The Psychopathology of Everyday Life. Penguin Group, New York Hsu, C. (2005). Casino Industry in Asia Pacific: Development, Operation, and Impact. Haworth Press, Binghampton National Research Council (U. S. ). Committee on the Social and Economic Impact of Pathological Gambling (1999). Pathological Gambling: A Critical Review. National Academy Press, Washington, D. C. Productivity Commission (1999). Australia’s Gambling Industries. Vol. 1-3 Rosenthal, R. (2003). Dual Dianosis. Brunner-Routledge, New York Toneatto, T. and Millar, G. (2004). Assessing and Treating Problem Gambling: Empirical Status and Promising Trends. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry. Vol 49 (8), 417-525

Rights To Equal Pay Sociology Essay

Rights To Equal Pay Sociology Essay It used to be very common for employers to pay men more than women even when they do exactly the same job. Before the 1950s, most Canadians accepted that men should be paid more than women for doing the same work because men were supposed to be responsible for supporting their families and women were not. Men were the breadwinners and women were responsible for running the home. But times changed. After the Second World War, many countries agreed that it was very important to create an international agreement that people, regardless of what country they live in, should be protected from discrimination and should have the same basic human rights. The United Nations created the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, and Canada was one of the many countries that signed it. One of the rights in the Declaration was: Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work. During the 1950s, the federal government and the provinces passed equal pay laws to create this right in Canada. The federal government passed An Act to Promote Equal Pay for Female Employees in 1956. This law also applied in the Northwest Territories. Most of these laws prohibited employers from paying women less than men for doing the same work, and most were part of employment or labour standards legislation. Because of the large number of AmRameshn women taking jobs in the war industries during World War II, the National War Labor Board urged employers in 1942 to voluntarily make adjustments which equalize wage or salary rates paid to females with the rates paid to males for comparable quality and quantity of work on the same or similar operations. Until the early 1960s, newspapers published separate job listings for men and women. Jobs were categorized according to sex, with the higher level jobs listed almost exclusively under Help Wanted-Male. In some cases the ads ran identical jobs under male and female listings-but with separate pay scales. Separate, of course, meant unequal: between 1950 and 1960, women with full time jobs earned on average between 59-64 cents for every dollar their male counterparts earned in the same job. It wasnt until the passage of the Equal Pay Act on June 10, 1963 (effective June 11, 1964) that it became illegal to pay women lower rates for the same job strictly on the basis of their sex. Demonstrable differences in seniority, merit, the quality or quantity of work, or other considerations might merit different pay, but gender could no longer be viewed as a drawback on ones resumà ©. Unfortunately, this right was not very helpful. It was very hard for women to use this right to make sure that they actually got paid as much as men for doing essentially the same work. Sometimes, the difference in pay was not in wages, but in benefits or bonuses, and employers could hide a difference in pay by calling it a benefit or a bonus. Sometimes, the work performed by a female employee was not completely the same as the work performed by a male employee. For example, often male jobs had different job titles than female jobs. Employers could argue that the difference in job title meant that the work was not the same. Or the male job might have slightly different duties. Any small difference in the work could allow an employer to pay men and women very differently. By the 1970s, people were talking about a different idea of equal pay. Women were still earning a lot less than men. More and more single mothers were trying to support their children on their own, and more and more women and mothers were living in poverty. In response to these problems, some people said that the problem was not so much that women and men were being paid differently for doing similar work, but that men and women do not do similar work at all. They work in entirely different occupations. For example, more women than men work in nursing, more men than women work as mechanics. They said that problem is that womens work is just not considered as valuable as mens work simply because it is done by women and that leads to low pay. Cases: Two landmark court cases served to strengthen and further define the Equal Pay Act: Schultz v. Wheaton Glass Co. (1970), U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit Ruled that jobs need to be substantially equal but not identical to fall under the protection of the Equal Pay Act. An employer cannot, for example, change the job titles of women workers in order to pay them less than men. Corning Glass Works v. Brennan (1974), U.S. Supreme Court Ruled that employers cannot justify paying women lower wages because that is what they traditionally received under the going market rate. A wage differential occurring simply because men would not work at the low rates paid women was unacceptable. The blatant discrimination apparent in these court cases seems archaic today, as does the practice of sex-segregated job listings. The workplace has changed radically in the decades since the passage of the Equal Pay Act. The right to equal pay for work of equal value is a response to this concern. It prevents employers from paying work done by men differently than work done by women, even when the work is dissimilar, if the work is of equal value to the employer. This right is much more complicated than the right to equal pay for the same or substantially similar work because it requires a way of figuring out when dissimilar jobs have the same value to the employer. Others, like Ontario and Quebec, have enacted special laws, called pay equity laws that require all employers to take positive steps to make sure that they pay male and female employees equally for work of equal value, even if no one makes a complaint. Still other jurisdictions, like Saskatchewan and Manitoba, have pay equity or equal laws or policies that apply only to public sector employers and employees. This reflects a belief that public sector employers are better able than private sector employers (especially small private sector employers) to take on the complicated task of figuring out what work in the organization is equal in value. But what has not changed radically, however, is womens pay. The wage gap has narrowed, but it is still significant. Women earned 59% of the wages men earned in 1963; in 2012 they earned 80.9% of mens wages-an improvement of about half a penny per dollar earned every year. Why is there still such a disparity? Articles supporting this clause: Article 39(d) in the Constitution of India 1949: 39.Certain principles of policy to be followed by the State: The State shall, in particular, direct its policy towards securing (a) that the citizens, men and women equally, have the right to an adequate means to livelihood; (b) that the ownership and control of the material resources of the community are so distributed as best to subserve the common good; (c) that the operation of the economic system does not result in the concentration of wealth and means of production to the common detriment; (d) that there is equal pay for equal work for both men and women; (e) that the health and strength of workers, men and women, and the tender age of children are not abused and that citizens are not forced by economic necessity to enter avocations unsuited to their age or strength; (f) that children are given opportunities and facilities to develop in a healthy manner and in conditions of freedom and dignity and that childhood and youth are protected against exploitation and against moral and material abandonment Article 15 in The Constitution Of India 1949: 15. Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth (1) The State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them (2) No citizen shall, on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them, be subject to any disability, liability, restriction or condition with regard to (a) access to shops, public restaurants, hotels and palaces of public entertainment; or (b) the use of wells, tanks, bathing ghats, roads and places of public resort maintained wholly or partly out of State funds or dedicated to the use of the general public (3) Nothing in this article shall prevent the State from making any special provision for women and children (4) Nothing in this article or in clause ( 2 ) of Article 29 shall prevent the State from making any special provision for the advancement of any socially and educationally backward classes of citizens or for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes Issues: The issues regarding not equally paying men and women for equal work are- It is a human rights issue- If the work of a woman is valued less simply because she is a woman, her individual dignity is injured. It is an economic development issue- To promote equal treatment is equivalent to promote the nations productive potential. It is a human resources issue- Increasing salaries of undervalued workers can be more profitable as it increases morale and productivity, as well as reduces turnover and attracts talent. Concept of Equal Pay: 1. Equal pay for equal work This implies that men and women receive equal pay for the same or similar work. 2.Equal pay for work of equal value This implies that men and women receive equal pay for different jobs Discrimination based on sex: 1. Stereotypes and prejudices with regard to womens work; 2. Occupational segregation by gender; 3. Traditional undervaluing of womens job; 4. Traditional job evaluation methods designed on the basis of requirements of male-dominated jobs; 5.Weaker bargaining power on the part of female workers. When is unequal pay justified: Suppose there are two employees working for the same organization-Ramesh and Suresh. 1-If Ramesh had more experience or a higher educational degree than Suresh, their employer would not have to give them equal wages. Their jobs would not be considered substantially equal because they have different levels of education or experience. 2-Their employer could pay Suresh a higher wage if Ramesh works in Gomti Nagar, North Carolina and Suresh works in New York City. Employee must generally work in the same establishment for them to be considered to have substantially equal jobs. 3-If Ramesh supervises other employees but Suresh does not, their employer could pay Ramesh at a higher rate of pay. Ramesh has significantly more responsibility than Suresh does and therefore their jobs can not be considered substantially equal. 4-If Suresh must travel from job site to job site everyday, while Rameshs job allows her to work in the home office everyday, their jobs differ substantially and Suresh may receive a higher salary. Gender Pay Gap in Numbers: In most countries, womens wages for work of equal value represent on average between 70-90% of mens. In 2010, the OECD reported a gender wage gap in the medium full-time earnings of 17.6% across its members. In the EU, women earn on average 17.5% less than men during their lifetimes. In 2009 in the US, the womens to mens earnings ratio for 25-34 yr olds was 89% and for 45-54 yr olds was 74%. In case you thought the gender gap is restricted to the lower levels of workers, a survey done by the World Economic Forum (WEF) last year showed that there is a yawning gender gap in the corporate sector too. The average annual income of a woman is $1,185, less than a third of a mans $3,698 in corporate India. Articles Published Regarding Such Discrimination: Traditionally, women have not enjoyed equal access to basic human rights, protections, resources, and services. Unfortunately, gender inequality is still present in every society and remains as a huge barrier for the world. There are also two terms which explain different types of discrimination and give us courage to further push for womens rights. First, sexism is a form of discrimination and stereotyping that oppresses women. Second, patriarchy is a system where males are dominant. It is so common in many societies and also within families. Consequently, some violence against women is seen mostly in these types of communities and families. Recent acts of violence pertaining to womens rights are: violence within family, rape, sexual abuse, torture, etc. Some of the other issues commonly asked to be recognized as part of womens rights are: bodily integrity and autonomy, the right to vote (universal suffrage), hold public office, work, fair salary or equal pay, own property and to enter into legal contracts, education, serve in the military, to have marital, parental and religious rights. Efforts done and progress all over the world: In India, the Constitution recognized the principle of Equal Pay for Equal Work for both men and women, and Right to Work through Article 39(d) and 41. As far back as 1976 the Equal Remuneration Act came into effect and yet unequal pay dogs working women in India. From small businesses to large organisations to the unorganized sector, women are paid lesser wages than men for the same work. There have been major international efforts focused at eradicating these inequalities. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) is the main international human rights treaty for women adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1979. In The Convention CEDAW, it is often described as an international bill of rights for women. The detailed document defines what constitutes discrimination against women and sets up an agenda for international action to end such discrimination. In 2010, more than four decades after the US had enacted a law in 1963 to end wage discrimination on the basis of sex, President Barack Obama had to bring in yet another legislation to give women the right to seek remedy against wage discrimination since, in the US women earn only 77 cents per dollar earned by men. In 1963 women were paid 59 cents per every dollar earned by men. Obviously, the progress from 59 cents to 77 cents has been a slow crawl to say the least. Advantages of implementing such a clause: More effective use of skills. Positive impact on female workers. Better human resource management throughout the organization. Better working relationships among employees. Positive effects on the reputation and attractiveness of the business. Success Stories Due To This Clause: To prohibit discrimination on account of sex in the payment of wages by employers engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce. [S. 1409] (Avalon Project, 2006) Prior to the Equal Pay Act, men and women were not treated fairly within regards to wages. It was not unheard of for a man to make twice the salary for doing the same job a woman was capable of doing. With the passing of the Equal Pay Act, women are now a driving force in some of the biggest and most successful companies in the world. Anne Mulcahy, the CEO of the Xerox Corporation, led her company to over $15 million in revenue for 2005 with a 13% profit increase since 2004. Xerox ranks number 4 in the list of Fortune 500 computer and office equipment companies, surpassing powerhouses such as Apple, Pitney Bowes, and Gateway, companies all with men at the helm. (Fortune 500, 2006) Without the enactment of the Equal Pay Act, Anne Mulcahy may never have gotten the chance to advance to her current position. Talent Tree, a staffing company based out of Houston, Texas, is run by a woman by the name of Brenda Harris. Brenda began as CEO of Talent Tree in 2004 after working for the company for 21 years, beginning as a Staffing Manager. Since Brenda has been at the helm of Talent Tree, the company has seen its first profit in several years and was able to afford a company paid trip to Mexico to reward the branches of Talent Tree who contributed to the success of the company in 2005. Brenda has brought back a sense of family and teamwork to Talent Tree with strong but fair leadership, and because of her, the company is on the road to a success it has not seen in some time. (Talent Tree Names New President, 2004) Brenda has also made Talent Tree an excellent company to work for where diversity is strong and women are treated as equal to men, with compensation decided based on skill and experience, not based on gender, race, or any other minority factor. Although the Equal Pay Act of 1963 has allowed women such as Brenda Harris and Anne Mulcahy to become successful in what has been known as a mans world, there is still discrimination against women and many other minorities when it comes to wages. The Equal Pay Act has, in recent years, been the influence for other similar laws such as The Fair Pay Act (S. 840) and the Paycheck Fairness Act (S. 841) to help combat this discrimination. The Paycheck Fairness Act holds penalties for violations of compensation laws. Unfortunately, some employers do not take these laws seriously as the penalties are not that severe. Changing the penalties to have a more detrimental affect on employers who violate compensation laws will hopefully help to decrease the violations. (Federal Legislation, n.d.). Conclusion: Laws are meant to protect society from unjust and unfair behavior, and the passing of such clauses as Equal Pay for Equal Work for Both Men and Women has done an outstanding job of protecting women and other minorities from being treated unfairly in the workplace with regard to wages and other compensation. Women are just as capable as men of making successful contributions to companies and therefore have every right to receive equal compensation. This law ensures that compensation is fair and equal to everyone. Although there have been a number of violations over the years, the violations are few and far between and will only decrease as more and more companies are realizing that it takes talent and skill, not gender, to be a success. POWER TO WOMEN, POWER TO ALL OF US!