Single Families: the Struggle to Survive

There are roughly around 6 billion people in the world or there were as of 2009 and for every 1000 people about 5 are divorced, over 13 million american women alone are widowed, and many people are just single. So me by choice others by circumstance but the truth of the matter is that over 20% of families worldwide are single parent run homes. How do these people live? Many in poverty and a grand majority of them live in the middle to low class ranks of society.Many of us believe the economy sucks, our lives suck, we think we've got it bad but we should see how some of these people live. How does one get by surviving in a paycheck by paycheck manner? How do you pay bills and eat? Many of these questions do have answers, lets start with a question: How do we deal with educating the children of single parents? 1. Education In the past, if someone had a child that was it, their main focus was raising and providing for that child regardless of the kind education that they had.Those paren ts didn’t have much of a choice but to join the workforce immediately to put food on the table and continuing an education was more of a luxury. Many in society viewed this issue to be more of a personal matter rather than a social concern. Views about this have changed with the rapid increase of single parent households growing to a staggering 13. 7 million in the United States. (Grall) One place where we can see evidence of people becoming more aware of the importance of single parents is in education.It is not a little known fact that a quality education can improve conditions for those who seek it and single parents are not an exception to that rule. That is one of the reasons why we have seen more local, state and national governments and organizations offer financial assistance to those single parents who wish to continue their education. In a joint study conducted by the University of Illinois and Washington University that examined the effects of postsecondary educati on on the economic well being of single parents, the results were not surprising.The study found through a series of analysis that â€Å"single parents with postsecondary education, especially those with 4-year college degrees, had significantly higher labor income and house values and were less likely to live in poverty than those with a high school degree or less than a high school degree. † (Zhan, and Pandey 661-673) Unfortunately, the study did find that only 31% of mothers and 41% of fathers had any type of college education. Even more astounding was that of those single parents with a college education only 8% of mothers and 17% of fathers had college degrees(Zhan, and Pandey 661-673).This study shows the magnitude that investing an education has on single parents to empower themselves, increase their financial earning power and to dedicate resources to promote educational opportunities for single parents. Of course because the single parent’s case is more unique than that of the common student, the need for financial assistance such as scholarships and grants are necessary. With the costs of college tuition continuing to soar, scholarships for single parents are extremely important.Scholarships are designed to pay for higher education such as college, graduate school or some type of professional school. Obtaining a scholarship is the best way to avoid some if not all of the tuition fees and unlike loans, (which will be discussed later) scholarships do not require the recipient to pay those funds back. Scholarships are not normally meant to provide any income beyond a student's higher education expenses. While there are thousands of scholarships offered, they are mainly split into two types, school sponsored scholarships that award funds based on academic performance or private scholarships.Private scholarships can be granted to support a student pursuing a certain field of study or can even be given because the student is a member of a cer tain race, gender or religion. In the case of single parents, there are special organizations such as Raise the Nation that awards scholarships to single mothers. What makes Raise the Nation so unique is that not only does it provide scholarship money to the parents to use for their education; it also provides funds for daycare for their children. Of course, certain criteria such as GPA and community involvement are necessary to receive support. Raise the Nation) Some communities have begun to offer scholarships to qualifying single parents as well. One state that has really stepped up is Arkansas. In 1990, Arkansas established the Arkansas Single Parent Scholarship Fund The success rate of Arkansas’ program is astounding; of the 1,150 beneficiaries in 2006 75% are continuing their education or used the scholarship money to complete their degree. Even better news is that looking back on the previous six years, the graduation rate of single mothers that benefited from the Arka nsas Single Parent Scholarship Fund was around 75%. ASPSF 2006 Annual Report). This type of model that Arkansas has laid down can especially be beneficial to single parents in other states. The idea of a community based scholarship fund designed to encourage single parents who yearn for a higher education is something that many people would welcome. Unfortunately, a scholarship program similar to that of Arkansas could not be found at the federal level. However, single parents can take advantage of federal grants, one grant being the Pell Grant.While the Pell Grant is not exclusive to single parents, the program is arranged to help out students with low incomes. Whether or not a student will receive the Pell Grants depends on the Expected Family Contribution , or EFC. The EFC is based on the information that is entered by the student in their Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, form. (Federal Pell Grant Program 90) Generally speaking, the lower the EFC score the high er amount that the student will receive in financial aid and the Pell Grant.Some of the factors that help a single parent get more aid include, low income, fewer assets and also because many single parents claim Head of Household on their income taxes. Like scholarships, grants do not need to be paid back. With that being said it is the sole responsibility of the student to use these funds wisely. The 1992 Reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (HEA-92) was a great step forward for all students who sought financial aid. This act made it easier for students who were turned down before to obtain funds for their schooling.The HEA-92 has been heralded as a monumental moment in the history of federal financial aid because it really was focused on supporting postsecondary education. While many groups were willing and able to take advantage of this act, one group’s numbers declined, that group was single parents. In a study that was conducted by The US Department of Education, Single parents who received financial aid declined from 94% in 1990 to a grim 79% by 2000. One theory as to why the big plunge is being blamed on the fact that the EFC for single parents had increased from $800 to $1,300 even though it decreased for almost everyone else. Hartle 19-21) What this meant was that more single parents now had to join the workforce to not only provide for their families, but to pay for their education. With the HEA 92 in place, single parents who really wanted to continue their education had to seek other methods to get money which came in the form of Stafford Loans. Stafford Loans are available directly from the US Department of Education. There are two types of loans that are popular among students, subsidized and unsubsidized loans. The difference between the two has to do the interest that is being charged on the loan.The interest on the subsidized loan is paid by the federal government while the student is attending school. Also during the students en rollment, the do not have to make payments on the loan until the student graduates. Unsubsidized loans begin to accrue interest from the time that the loan is paid out to the school and the student is responsible for that interest. To obtain both of these loans, the student must be enrolled at least half time. (Stafford Loan) These types of loans can be beneficial to single parents who must work to make ends meet at home and want to go to school also.Even after the single parent has finished their studies and are on their way to a rewarding career, they can still qualify for loan forgiveness. Loan forgiveness programs are being offered from an employer and other organizations. For instance, if you are a teacher, you might agree to teach in an impoverished area in exchange for loan deferment. If you teach for the agreed period of time, your loan is then forgiven. With the availability of scholarships, loans and grants, single parents can improve their educational prospects for themse lves and their families.While our society is not necessarily exactly where we would all want it to be, one can be hopeful that future social policies that promote educational opportunities for single parents will increase. Education is important for single parents and their children. There are many educational programs for this reason. To assist single parents in their parenting, places like school districts, churches and non-profits provide classes to educate them on parenting skills such as meal preparation, food budgeting, emergencies, etc. These classes not only help educate, but they also help with emotional needs.The website ericdigests. org describes programs that aid parents in literacy, counseling, job placement and college education. There are also programs for the children of single parents. Some organizations have programs that involve education and scholarships where children can take month long courses that vary from the areas of arts to computers to sports. Some of th e most significant programs for single parents are college programs. It is often necessary for single parents to have college education in order to obtain jobs that will support their family.Endicott College has a program called Keys to Degrees which is for single men and women between the ages of 18 and 24 who have young children. This program enables them to take advantage of the opportunity to attain undergraduate degrees while being provided with campus housing and other support coinciding with their specific needs. Wilson College has a program called Women with Children that provides yearly housing to mothers with children any age over 20 months. This allows the women to pursue a fulltime education. Other colleges have similar Women with Children programs, but have different requirements.Misericordia University’s Women with Children program has less requirements and offers their programs to women of all ages with no restrictions on the age or amount of children the woman has. Saint Paul’s College has a Single Parent Support System program. Parents desiring to be a part of this program must have two or less children between the ages of 2 months and 9 years and must maintain a GPA of 2. 5. If they are able to fulfill the requirements they are provided with yearly housing allowing them to pursue a fulltime education and obtain a degree within three to four years.Most colleges have online programs that allow single parents to get their college education at home where they can still care for their children. These are just a few of the college programs available to single parents, there are a plethora of others. These programs have high value to single parents. Along the lines of education, it is a common belief that the grades of most children of single parents are not as high as those of children with two parents. This has been proven. Research has shown that children of single parents are likely to have lower IQs than those who have two parents .Research has also shown that single parent children are more likely to drop out of school, three times more likely. It is possible that one of the reasons for lower academic achievements in children of single parents is that the parents spend less time with their children, discipline in a less consistent manor and have less control over their children than two parents together. Single parents are often working more than two parents to support their children which results in less time spent with children and less involvement in their life.It has been proven that children with parents who are less involved in their life and education are more likely to have lower academic achievement. Income is another risk factor and because single parents don’t have the support of another person, it is possible for them to make less money. Research shows when single parent families receive child support, the children are more likely to have higher academic achievement than children of famili es that don’t receive child support. An interesting fact is that children in mother absent homes get lower science grades than those in father absent homes.Overall single parent children find it more difficult to connect with school. Since single parents have less time to spend with their children, care for their children while they work is necessary. Some day care programs are educational and run through the schools of the children. Programs like Kids Club are after school programs that can assist single parents. Some Kids Club programs are free while others charge five dollars per day. They are open every day and some schools keep the programs running through summer.Children can go right after school since the program is on campus and parents can pick their children up around six at night. Though these programs are not specifically for single parents, they are extremely useful for single parents. They allow the parent to complete their work day without having to worry about their child and the child can participate in activities, some of which are learning experiences. 2. US Government In 1996 Congress proposed a new policy titled â€Å"Temporary Assistance to Needy Families† in response to the failed AFDC program by implementing work requirements and time limits for recipients.Bill Clinton signed the new law hoping it would move more people off the welfare rolls and into the work force to alleviate both the burden of government spending on welfare and to bolster the economy. Many people opposed the new legislation out of fear that it would wreak havoc in our nation’s cities, and many innocent children would suffer and ultimately be exploited. Opponents were quoted saying â€Å"it would liken our streets to those of Brazil†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The effects of the TANF policy have been hard to determine. In a study conducted 10 years after the 1996 reform policy, shows a stark contrast to the years of the AFDC.Caseloads declined and a majority o f recipients have gone on and have been removed off the welfare rolls, though they still receive subsidy care such as housing, child care, food assistance and health insurance. Many are actively engaged in the workforce and what was predicted by welfare reform opponents never came to pass. Teen pregnancy, a huger predictor of welfare dependency has slowly begun to decline. Critics agree that though case load decline is impressive it is not an accurate indicator of welfare reform success.They feel success would be measured by the amount of people getting off welfare rolls, into the work place and no longer in need of government subsidy programs including housing, food, and medical assistance. But the reality is a majority of the recipients leaving the welfare rolls are still reliant on those programs to stay just above the poverty line. In the end we find it hard to determine whether or not the welfare program has helped people stay above the poverty level or has actually kept them f rom moving forward.Living in America can be a great blessing to almost anyone that is either naturally born American or migrates to the states for better life. In foreign countries, many people wish they lived the â€Å"American Dream† life that is so well spoken of. Although the media portrays it to be easily achievable, it is not. It can be obvious to some that living any type of â€Å"good life† can take a lot of hard work and commitment to achieve it. Unfortunately, many American families break on their journey to achieve the infamous dream. For whatever reason the family might break, it usually is left with some types of dilemmas.The most popular dilemma of them all is the financial problems it gets left with, especially for the single parent who is left in charge of the children. Now a days it’s not only the women who are left in charge of the children after a divorce, statistics show more and more fathers are left with the care of their broken family. And the majority is left stuck in a financial nightmare that leaves them with no choice but to seek some type of help, and typically the number one choice is government aid. Government programs tend to give families a bad reputation.It singles the family out into the helpless status, working class part of society. Although America insists that we are a classless society, it can be proven false. Society tends to consciously and subconsciously label every person, every family into some sort of class. Some of the American society has been known to believe that government help is the best thing America has; yet, a lot of people think vice versa. Bottom line is that thanks to all the different types of aid there is out there, it has definitely helped out all types of families struggling to make everyday ends meet.Just like all things, there will be people out there who do make a good living, yet some tend to lie their way into getting the aid they say they need. These types of programs were not created with any intention to make a family dependant on it. They were made to help. People who abuse the help is never right, but it shouldn’t affect the people who are seeking the help they need for the right reason in a negative way that society portrays it to be. There is a long list of government programs. On example is the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) or the TANF Bureau.According to â€Å"http://ezinearticles. com/? Government-Grants-For-Single-Parents&id=2673848†, it is a program that offers government grants for single parents so that their children can be properly taken care of in a home environment. Plus it assists single parents' in developing job skills and building strong family units. Another form of single parent government grant is the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF). The CCDF is a nationwide assistance program that is administrated by state governments.Each state has their own unique eligibility requirement, so a singl e parent must apply through their local town or county social service department. Both of these are popular choices single families tend to seek for, and according to their personal experiences, it has helped them out immensely. At the end of the day, there are families who regrettably cannot support their family the way they wish they could. Some of them have extenuating circumstances that leaves them with no choice but to ask for the help. Again, no program is perfect anywhere one looks.It does not matter whether it is in a well-developed country or not. There will always be something or someone who will unwillingly turn something positive into a negative. 3. International The united states has its share of hardships but how are situations like this dealt with in different countries. we researched two countries other than the united states, one a third world country the other a more middle class civilized country. Italy has always been a coun try of my interest since it is my coun try of origin, so that is the one I chose to research.Italy is known for their romance not they're high rate of single parent families in fact italy has one of the lowest rates in Europe. In fact the amount of single parent households in italy has remained unchanged . the families counted might even be the ones counted the first time around. SInce 1971 there have been repot of 467,000 single parent households in italy. The european government has established a few programs to help single parents overcome the financial burden of raising a child. One of which is called REMO(reciprocal enforcement of maintenance orders).This is used only in situations where the partner lives outside whichever country one lives in. They too have child support and programs such as the ESA(employment and support agency) in case of a disability these people help you stay on track. They also have job grants an tax free money that they give to parents receiving benefits for one or ore children. Italy as well as other european countries are far more advanced than places such as Africa. They have the same benefits or almost the same help for single parents as we do here. Being a single parent is hard for anybody; however, living on virtually othing in a country with hardly any income can cause some seriously detrimental issues. South Africa has some of the highest rates of divorce, single parenthood, and poverty in the world. These horrendous hardships combined create a nationwide epidemic that contagiously affects generation after generation. Although there are single fathers as well as mothers in South Africa, the percentage of single mothers is significantly higher than fathers. There are a plethora of causes for single parenthood in South Africa. Some of which are larger factors than others.There is of course the universal causes that result in a single parent, which include: separation or divorce, death and pregnancy out of wedlock. However, some of the larger causes that are more p revalent in South Africa, and third world countries in general, involve the ever rising epidemic of AIDS/HIV that affects countless families throughout South Africa. AIDS/HIV is rapidly killing people aged, 19-45 in South Africa and is increasing everyday. There are approximately more than 10 million children in South Africa who have died from AIDS.According to Professor Clifford Odimgegwu, Professor of the University of Witwatersrand in Southern Africa, â€Å"the grandparents are currently taking care of the orphans from parents who have died of this disease†. This creates a massive burden on the elderly who are even more so unable to provide for a child. The ever-present family destroyer, â€Å"divorce† has been splitting families in South Africa at an alarming rate. â€Å"Increased numbers of divorced in South Africa have also created more single-parent families†(Agarwal) than ever seen before.Statistics show that â€Å"(2009) seven million children are grow ing up with single mothers outnumbering the 6. 2 million-about 34% of the country’s children-who live with both parents†¦which shows that divorce is responsible for most of the estimated 40% of South Africa’s 18 million children being raised by single mothers†(261, Bojuwoye). Due to ongoing never-ending civil and foreign wars throughout South Africa, fathers being called to war create a heavy amount of women left to take care of the children and even at times extended family.As well as taking the father and the income away from the family, war leads unfortunately to many cases of rape that results in pregnancy. With such high rates of fertility in South Africa and such a deficit in contraceptives, it is not surprising that this creates women who have unwanted children who they are unable to care for. According to family counselor and single parenting expert Abhishek Agarwal, â€Å"a 2000 report on the ‘State of South Africa’s Population’ showed that the need for contraception for adult women and teenagers in rural areas fat outstrips the availability of contraceptive education and supplies†.A third reason for the absence of the father is the high rates of unemployment and inability to find work in rural areas. In some cases, fathers have been forced to leave the family home to find work across the country’s borders. This leaves the mother to fend for herself and her dependants. This can lead to extreme poverty, which can force single parents to abandon their children. Many South African mothers’ reasoning for abandonment is the fact that foster parents receive more financial support than do single parents.To the parent, this may seem like the most logical choice, to gamble their child’s survival on the small chance they’re put into a well-financed foster family. Regrettably, there are almost no government-funded programs designed to assist single-parent families in South Africa. Th e closest form of financial aid towards single-families is the State Maintenance Grant, which is directed towards 4 categories of state: the elderly, persons with disabilities, social relief, and child and family care.Towards mothers, she will be eligible only â€Å"if she has applied for financial support from her partner or the father of her children through a magistrate’s court, and has been unable to get it; or if she was widowed, deserted or under certain other conditions†(â€Å"The Report of the Lund Committee on Child and Family Support†). The government is currently working on new bills that would call for less restricted protocols, higher amounts, and a wider distribution of help towards these women.There are however, other non-government programs worldwide that target single-parent families in South Africa. There is a program that is run by the non-government organization SOS Children. This organization supplies vocational training courses (including b eadwork and dressmaking) to single parents. They are taught trades where they can make and sell products. They also give some single parents grants to start businesses of their own. There is also the FAMSA, an organization in South Africa, which helps out in counseling of individuals regardless of financial status.Lastly, there is an organization that originated in Rwanda and became it’s first non-government organization supporting parents without partners. Tabara Africa’s main objectives are to 1) set up single parent networks, 2) increase child welfare by increasing accerss to health care, education and other basic rights which low-9ncome families often go without, 3) assist single parent emplyment by supporting vocational training and single-parent work cooperatives without compromising child welfare, and 4) lobbying to make this a government issue and influencing policies which affect the welfare of single-parent families.Hopefully these and many other organization s out there can come together to make a difference for the tragic conditions which single-parents live in South America (Woolley). 4. Emotions With that said its probably acceptable to say parenting is never easy. There is no â€Å"on the job training†, when you walk into parenthood. It’s with basic information shared by friends or family. Children don’t come with instructions. When being a single parent all the responsibilities fall on one set of shoulders. Parenting is hard and painful. Singles have to be strong play the role of the mom and dad.Dealing with money as a single parent can be very stressful. One income and one parent as head of a household and to pay for the cost of supporting a family is hard. Dealing with the ex- spouse, with added stress for the children, bills, and work can pull on your emotions. As a single parent you are also isolated. Emotional distress can also affect a single parent; this can easily be conquered by allowing yourself go th rough an emotional process aided by a professional. The emotional process is management of emotion from denial, anger, depression, bargaining, and until you reach acceptance.In our modern society a single mother’s value is often overlooked and worse taken for granted. Usually children are raised in two parent’s homes. Most single mothers live the treadmill existence. They work at least one full- time job and often part time job in order to satisfy the financial needs of the family. Single moms rarely get a full night of sleep much less time for relaxation or enjoying the social side of life. As singles mothers we can’t give in to feelings of guilt or shame. There are many advantages in being a single parent and there are support groups that help single parents.There are many emotional stages when being a single parent. You feel angry, depressed, betrayed, happy and anxious. In being a single parent you are the mother and the father. To be a successful parent you need to take care of yourself, be healthy, be confident, save money, and attend support groups, and balance work and parenting. Not only do single parents suffer emotionally but the children do as well. When parents split up children usually become aggressive or badly behaved. Their behavior was linked to living in a broken home.There are different situations as of being a single parent (divorce, adoption, artificial insemination, surrogate motherhood, death, child abuse, or abandonment). In being a single parent as for me there are lots of programs that can assist you. It is hard emotional in being a single parent from my experience but I attend support groups to help me emotionally and I recommend it to other singles as well. 5. Statistics Single parents can vary in terms of not only being a single mother, or a single father, but also varies within race and age. According to Custodial Mothers and Fathers and Their Child Support, there are about 13. million single parents in the U nited States today. These parents are responsible for raising 21. 8 million children and approximately 26% of children in the United States today, is under the age of 21. Throughout the years, many people believed that mothers are more likely to be a single parent. Around 84% of custodial parents are mothers, and 16% of custodial parents are fathers. Of the mothers who are custodial parents, 45% are currently divorced or separated, 34. 2% have never been married, 19% are married, including women who have been remarried, and 1. 7% were widowed.In the father‘s case, 57. 8% are divorced or separated, 20. 9% have never married, 20% are currently married, again including those who have been remarried, and fewer than 1% were widowed. Although it’s difficult to raise their children as a single parent, both single mothers and single fathers need to be employed in order to efficiently raise their kids. 79. 5% of custodial single mothers are employed, of that percentage, 49. 8% w ork full time year round, and 29. 7% work part-time or part-year. 90% of custodial single fathers are employed, 71. 7% work full time, year round and the remaining 18. % work part-time or part-year. Men's income tend to rise by an average of 31% after separation. Women and children's income on the other hand, falls by an average of 12% after separation. Just because an individual is a single parent, does not mean that they will be struggling and in poverty. About 27% of custodial single mothers and their children live in poverty whereas 12. 9% of custodial single fathers and their children live in poverty. Those that are struggling can refer to government help in order to â€Å"get by† with their troubles. Among single mothers, 22% receive Medicaid, 23. % receive food stamps, 12% receive some form of public housing or rent subsidy, and 5% receive Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, also known as TANF. Each ethnicity and race differs as well. Certain races have more singl e mothers than the other, and single fathers seem to be smaller in general. 50% of African American children live in single parent families, which tend to be with the mother, 25% of Hispanic children live with a single mother, 16% of non-Hispanic white children live with a single mother, 10% of Asian children live with a single mother, and 4-5% of children of all races live with a single father.Another factor would be age, 74% of single parents are women that are aged 30 years and older. The average age would be around 36 years of age. 24% of single mothers are under 30 years, 13% of single mothers are under 25 years, and 2% are under 20 years. 39. 1% of custodial single mothers are 40 years old or older. Among females, 54% of custodial mothers are raising one child from the absent parent and 46% have two or more children living with them. Children will be without a doubt affected by the separation of their parents.Whether they are born into a family of just one parent or if they se parate after the child is in the picture already. 1 in 3 is born to unmarried parents and 1 in 4 lives with only one parent. Unfortunately, 1 in 2 children will live in a single parent family at some point in childhood. Due to the fact that so many teenagers are getting pregnant and having kids at such a young age, 1 in 8 is born to a teenage mother. The majority of teenage pregnancy are unplanned and resort to the child being born into a â€Å"broken family† with just one parent being present. in 25 lives with neither parent, sorry to say that some kids don’t live with neither of their parents, but just because this happens, it does not mean that it is a bad thing. Adoption can always be a good thing, especially if the biological parents are not stable enough to take care of their child. The emotional, financial, and mental stability of children are in jeopardy in these non-nuclear family homes. since the great majority of homes are non-traditional we never help but w onder how the single parents do it. they manage to be mom and dad in one.A little insight is always good because you never know what’s set for you're future. Sometimes its good to walk a mile in someone else's shoes.

Life Imitates Art, Movies Imitate Life Essay

Imagine a world where clothes were non-existent, and it did not matter if your outfit was the current flair, or if your shoes were the latest style. Our culture would halfway cease to exist. The western culture puts so much emphasis on fashion, our lives begin to move and mold themselves around it. Fashion is like art on the body, and making a masterpiece out of what you wear. â€Å"From the materials employed in clothing manufacture to the process by which our garments are made to the social values that dictate what we â€Å"should† look like, fashion has surrounded us and consumed us for generations. (Shmoop Editorial Team 2008) A perfect example of popular culture can be revealed in American Fashion. This is impeccably displayed in the motion picture, based on the novel written by Lauren Weisberger, produced by Wendy Finerman, The Devil Wears Prada. The basic plot of the movie and novel is about a plain jane, just out of college, smart, not fashion savvy, woman (Andrea Sachs) who applies for a job as junior assistant to the editor-in-chief (Miranda Priestly), at a fashion icon magazine â€Å"Runway†, in New York and gets it. She is told repeatedly â€Å"a million girls would die for [her] job† (Finerman, 2006) and if she lasts a year, she will be able to get a job at any magazine. Andrea, in her own way is a counterculture of the people at Runway magazine in the movie. She deviates from the norm of the fashion and mainstream subculture. She tolerates their demanding ways, and demeaning comments of her diet and style, until she breaks and gives in and asks for help. She is given a makeover, by the art director, Nigel, and her new style and job begin to strain her relationship with her boyfriend and her friends. The few scenes that depict her break down and her makeover, is when people begin to notice her, and treat her better once she is wearing the latest fashion. Her hair was cut and styled, she started to watch what she ate, and shaped herself into a fashionista. She began to adapt to their standards, and dressing. She sticks with the job and increasingly spends more time working, whilst climbing the career ladder. This is set perfectly with our commercial culture and the ideology of humans and how our world works. Andrea was a non-conformist in the beginning and frowned upon because she did not wear the latest fall fashion. Once she started to wear the clothes, and shoes, she became well liked. She ultimately conformed to the fashion world. While at a benefit, Andrea ends up being Miranda’s saving grace and is offered to take the other assistants (Emily) spot to Paris. Andrea refused at first, in fear of hurting Emily’s feelings, and is forced to give in because if she does not go, Miranda will terminate her. Before leaving for Paris she takes a break from the relationship with her boyfriend. During her trip to Paris, she has relations with another writer she had met through her work and finds out about a plot to ruin her editor-in-chief. She tries to warn her and ends up finding out Miranda knew the whole time. Miranda ends up fixing her situation by double-crossing her art director, Nigel, and giving a job promised to him to someone else to save her job. Andrea is floored and cannot believe Miranda would do that to her friend. Miranda points out to Andrea that she already did, she did it to Emily. Right there Andrea quits, and leaves it all behind. Once Andrea returned to New York, she reunites with her boyfriend. In the conclusion, she is at a job interview when she is told her previous employer stated â€Å"she was by far her biggest disappointment, but that he would be an idiot not to hire her. † (Finerman, 2006) Throughout the entire movie Andrea is immersed in the fashion world. In the beginning of the movie there is a scene where the art director, Nigel, gives Andrea a pair of black, sling back stilettos. She at first refuses and says â€Å"I don’t think I need these. Miranda hired me, she knows what I look like. He responds â€Å"Do you? † (Finerman, 2006) This one scene indicates a perfect example of ideology. Nigel is setting the social order, because it is the norm of which the people in their occupation wear. I believe it is best stated by Shmoop University, â€Å"From our underwear to our Levi’s to our sneakers, what we wear has, for centuries, spoken volumes about who we are, what we do, and what we want. Whether Americans have dressed to make a political statement, to assert their class status, or simply to be irreverent, every style has carried a certain social meaning. (Shmoop Editorial Team 2008) The entire movie is immersed in popular culture and culturalism. In every scene there is examples of mass culture, commercial culture. It can even be said that ethical egoism is also expressed in the film. Ethical egoism, in short, is the view that perhaps not all persons seek their own self-interest but all should do so (Lee Archie and John G Archie, 2003). This is best represented when Miranda betrays Nigel in the end, in order to retain her job. She may not have had ill intentions and most likely did not want to make that decision, but in the end for her own self-interest, she made someone else sacrifice for her. The film reflects attitudes of our American Society. It depicts how simple a dress can make and transform a woman. Another movie and television series that is popular and uses fashion to influence, is â€Å"Sex in the City. † The show would emphasize certain brands, names, and styles and it caused a massive explosion of commercial paraphernalia. It clearly articulates how fashion matters in our day to day lives. Some people would like to disagree, but we even base our terms and language on fashion. â€Å"Terms like â€Å"white collar† and â€Å"blue collar† connote not just a line of work but a person’s class status, and remind us that we tend to make assumptions about a person’s income, line of work, and social position based on the way he or she dresses. † (Shmoop Editorial Team 2008) Regardless of your gender, sexuality, race, religion, pop culture exists in your life more than you know.

International Relations - Critical Report Essay

International Relations - Critical Report - Essay Example Those changes are a consequence of the emission and accumulation of greenhouse gases on the atmosphere. These greenhouse gases are the major air pollutants which are not only polluting the air, but also causing the atmospheric temperature to rise.  If emissions continue to grow at the present levels, the concentration of carbon dioxide will double those from pre-industrial levels during this century. Hence, to save this planet, the time has come to take appropriate measures for controlling air pollution. (United Nations Environment Programme, 2009)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Under such increasing problem of air pollution, the time has come to seriously think of this issue and take some vital steps to solve the problem of air pollution and its negative impacts. However, the major problem that arises while planning any solution measure of this problem is that the issue of air pollution is not a problem of any individual country. It’s a global problem as in this industrial age all the countries are suffering from this problem. Hence, this environmental problem can not be solved by any single country. Every country needs to be involved in the measures of controlling air pollution. Several international agencies, like United Nation, European Union, etc. have been making several efforts to control air pollution. Realizing the extent of potential dangers from air pollution lying in near future if the issue is left unaddressed; almost all the countries across the world have become quite conscious regarding the issue of air pollution and have agreed to cooperate with each other in the process of controlling it. (United Nations Environment Programme, 2009)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In an effort to obtain a global solution to the problem of air pollution, a multilateral agreement was signed by a huge number of countries in the year of 1997, at meeting conducted by UNFCCC in Kyoto. This environmental treaty is well-known as Kyoto Protocol. In recent time measures of co ntrolling air pollution included in Kyoto Protocol has become one of the most controversial environmental issues.   (United Nations Environment Programme, 2009) A brief overview of the Kyoto Protocol   A significantly large number of industrialized countries across the world, in the meeting organized by UNFCCC in Kyoto, Japan, on December, 1997, had decided to cut down the level of greenhouse gas emissions by such an extent that the level of emission would become lower than 1990 levels. All the participating countries had agreed to achieve the targeted level of emission by 2008-2012. The target is to reduce overall emissions of six major hazardous greenhouse gases - carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, sulfur hexafluoride, HFCs, and PFCs. (United Nations Environment Programme, 2009; Oberthur. and Ott, 1999) According to this multilateral agreement, participating nations should meet the emission targets mainly through national measures. However, the treaty also offers these co untries three market-based mechanisms to meet the targets. These mechanisms are emission trading that is known to be as the carbon market, Clean development mechanism (CDM) and Joint implementation (JI). All these three mechanisms help in stimulating green investment and meeting their emission targets. Another crucial feature about these mechanisms is that they are cost. (UNFCC, 2010) In order to monitor the emission level, the Protocol has implemented certain steps. All the transactions by the involved parties re

App that Rates Fitness Apps Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

App that Rates Fitness Apps - Dissertation Example Methodology The process will begin by a feasibility study of the requirements to carry out the process of developing the application. It includes designing specifications of the application, coming up with the right platform and language. The website and links that will be integrated with the app evaluated and collected. The app will be a collection center for all other fitness app by giving rates according to likes and dislikes. The algorithm for incrementing and rating the app will be designed. Upon gathering all the materials, tools and specifications, the coding process will be started. Artificial intelligence ideas concerning app likes and rating will be made an inherent feature in the design. System will be significantly tested and maintained routinely. Stability will be checked against time, varying platforms and processor speeds. A fully developed system will be rolled out and launched into the market. Literature Review There are many applications and websites that use the same concept to make recommendations to their customers. The concept regarded here is a ranking system that makes content and collaborative predictions (Gedikli, 2013). An example is Goodreads. It is a huge site for readers and makes suggestions to its readers based on what they had done previously. The proposed application will borrow a lot from the way these applications were implemented. Smart Phones are always with among humans thus it can be monitored for progress and advance in the course of action.

Health Administarion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 9

Health Administarion - Essay Example Identifying ones intentions in a way to ensure â€Å"what one has to say goes along with what one wants to accomplish in the communication plan† (Booher, 2007; p.11). After this, one should identify the message addressees. When the audience is known, it becomes a little easier when planning a communication plan this is because different audiences require different messages. The next thing to consider is the message, where one should check on the content in regard to the audience, the ambiance one wants to create for the audience, the language which should match that of the audience and lastly the channel to be used in the communication which should be placed where the audience is likely to come across it (Booher, 2007; p.19). A good communication plan will take into consideration the resources to be used which should be reasonable. If one is going to spend money or any other form of resource, one should ensure that the plan will be worth the expense. The fifth thing is that one must always be ready for any mistake that should occur which could cost in plan for effective communication (Booher 31). What follows is the creation of media representatives to help in conveying the messages. Of importance is also preparation of a plan of action that entails spreading of the message. The last thing to do is to gauge the plan so that one can make changes as they arise. In this way miscommunication will be

School budget shortfall Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

School budget shortfall - Essay Example The numbers, specifically the percentages of each source relative to the entire fund has indeed changed through time. In the year 2009, the federal government had a contribution amounting to $340,728,694 or 49% of the entire source. It is still the major source, but is it 12% lesser than its original share. The not-for-profit source hardly grew in 2009 in terms of percentage share, posting at 16.6%. Indeed, the industry percentage has grown to 8% from 4% in 2000 and 2% in 2005. However, these changes are not significant as the government still dominates followed by not-for-profit. Indeed, the school needs support from the private sector as well and this is actually a welcomed development. This however does not in any way say that the university is becoming increasingly corporate. b. There is something ironic about the claim of increasing corporate influence. As seen in the table, the figure for the Haas School of Business is the lowest. The total amount was recorded at $203,807 or only 07% of the over-all expenditure. This means that the business department of the school actually has the least budget among the other departments. This is clearly in contrast to the claim that the university is increasingly becoming corporate. c. There is a great divide in the distribution of funds.

Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Development - Essay Example In 2002, the World Health Organization encouraged the international communities to conduct studies on disasters and their impact on the genders, male and female. A pattern about the vulnerability was observed but needed evidence, further studies, and analysis in terms of â€Å"exposure to risk, risk perception, preparedness, response, physical impact, psychological impact, recovery and reconstruction†(WHO [a] 2002, p.1). As early as that time, WHO had reported that 2 billion people had been affected by a combination of natural and man-made calamities from 1990 to 1999,wherein nearly 30% died. And there seemed to be a trend of increasing disasters. . [Source: Zakour, M.J. and Gillespie,D.F. (2013). Community Disaster Vulnerability. p.12 ] II.Random Sample of Disasters Worldwide This research compiled a random set of disasters arranged in chronological order to verify such a report of increasing trend reported by the World Health Organization. ... Catalina Floods & Mudslides 128 1/2/2010 Haiti Earthquate 316,000 died. 2010 Russia Heat Wave 56,000 2010 Japan Heat Wave 1,718 2011 Brazil Rio de Janeiro Floods & Mudslides 1,000 It should be noted that according to the World Health Organization statistics for 2010 (Kaiser, H. 2012, p.1), the vulnerable sector of society affected by malaria epidemic is the pregnant women and children. Of the 216,000,000 cases in 2010 alone, 665,000 died of which most were children. Because the children were attended to by the female gender, they too were very vulnerable to the epidemic. As a result of such findings, one of the policies of WHO effective 2012 is the â€Å"intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in pregnancy. . .† (WHO [b] 2012, p.2). Hurricanes and storms worldwide also killed thousands from 1990 to 2011. In just this classification of a natural disaster, it can be seen how the female gender would actually be at a disadvantage by virtue of the fact that she is a weaker sex . Their trauma is aggravated by their being emotional to people and things they value and have lost. It would be but natural for women to feel the great damage when their homes are blown away or destroyed by the powerful twisters which could have carried every person who does not hide. Statistics are shown as follows: [Source: Weather Underground Inc. Hurricane Archive. Viewed February 16, 2013 @ http://www.wunderground.com/hurricane/hurrarchive.asp] It was discovered that natural disasters had lowered the life expectancy among women more than it does to men. In terms of total impact on the total population, women are more damaged in terms of living shorter lives compared to men whenever a disaster takes place.

Aerodynamic Drag Reduction in Modern Consumer Automobiles Dissertation

Aerodynamic Drag Reduction in Modern Consumer Automobiles - Dissertation Example Within the course of their experiments, they uncovered many different types of aerodynamic drag on vehicles. In addressing these disparities, they came up with various modern designs to also help to reduce drag. Moreover, it can be seen that dissimilarities existed in the differences between racing car design and road car design, which had led them to explore the reasons why road vehicles did not look like racing cars. This paper will investigate other factors, such as European legislation, that influences the appearance of road vehicles. In addition, it will discuss how and why the appearance of modern cars changed in recent years through the use of texts, pictures, graphs, equations and diagrams. Moreover, the role of Bernoulli relationship on the flow around an object will be explored as well as an explanation of boundary layer properties. Finally, it will analyze flow control using passive methods like vortex generators. Clearly, researchers in their investigations had devised in novative ways to reduce the aerodynamic drag of modern road vehicles. Bettes (1982) defined aerodynamic drag as occurring when a car moved through air and the energy that opposed its direction and slowed down its movement. Another more comprehensive definition of aerodynamic drag was: †The resistance of the air to forward movement, sometimes called "aerodynamic drag". This is a factor of the shape of the vehicle, the objects which stick out (i.e., mirrors, mufflers, bumpers), the amount of turbulence at the rear of the vehicle, the nature of the vehicle's skin surface, and the amount of air going through the vehicle for cooling and ventilation. The faster you go, the greater the air friction (proportional to velocity ²). At the same time, the power to overcome such friction is proportional to velocity ³.† (www.f1technical.net/glossary/). ... Moreover, the role of Bernoulli relationship on the flow around an object will be explored as well as an explanation of boundary layer properties. Finally, it will analyze flow control using passive methods like vortex generators. Clearly, researchers in their investigations had devised innovative ways to reduce the aerodynamic drag of modern road vehicles. II. Aerodynamic Drag of Vehicles a. Drag and the Different Types of Aerodynamic Drag on Vehicles Bettes (1982) defined aerodynamic drag as occurring when a car moved through air and the energy that opposed its direction and slowed down its movement. Another more comprehensive definition of aerodynamic drag was: †The resistance of the air to forward movement, sometimes called "aerodynamic drag". This is a factor of the shape of the vehicle, the objects which stick out (i.e., mirrors, mufflers, bumpers), the amount of turbulence at the rear of the vehicle, the nature of the vehicle's skin surface, and the amount of air going t hrough the vehicle for cooling and ventilation. The faster you go, the greater the air friction (proportional to velocity?). At the same time, the power to overcome such friction is proportional to velocity?.† (www.f1technical.net/glossary/). Bettes (1982) examined the fuel use required to offset the aerodynamic drag of road vehicles, but it served as one of many factors affecting cars. Lift force and the side force comprised other factors as well, which were referred to in non dimensional coefficients used in a broad speed array. Moreover, these forces and their associations with their axes (pitching, yawing, and rolling) relied upon the square of the speed of the

The decine and recovery of the US Steel industry Essay

The decine and recovery of the US Steel industry - Essay Example with foreign steel. However, this had significant, lingering after-effects that did not produce nearly the results expected or hoped for. Additionally, the power of labor unions added significantly to the decline of this industry during the same period, something that is currently being redeveloped by the U.S. political system. The steel industry has been plagued with lowered demand for steel products in construction and in automotive due to a variety of global economic factors being felt across the globe. This report highlights all of the factors behind the decline and the current slow recovery of the steel industry, including the aforementioned tariff and labor union influence, the existence of increasing pension payouts for Baby Boomer retirees, changing consumer and industrial customer buying behaviors, changing construction patterns globally, as well as the influence of Wall Street on this industry. Decline Factors – Tariffs and Labor Impacts In the early 2000s, the U.S. steel industry was plagued with considerable problems that were causing significant disruptions to profitability. First, there were many bubbles occurring in the stock market during this period that were eroding consumer confidence and reducing construction for materials requiring steel in their construction, such as automotive products and various consumer appliances. In an effort to help companies that were on the verge of bankruptcy during this period, President Bush imposed import tariffs as an effort to slow illegal dumping of foreign-made steel and also to boost profitability for these struggling industries. These tariffs consisted of a 15 to 30 percent commission by early 2002, however the end results of this effort were the production of internal disputes with domestic steel industry ownership who felt that this limited competitive edge and also made foreign buyers seek new market opportunities for the export of their own domestically-made steel (Blecker, 2002). Therefore, e ven though it represented more opportunities for domestic production to increase, it limited the scope of steel-related partnerships with disgruntled foreign steel producers and limited their expansion potential across the globe. Further, the backlash of various trade disputes did, indeed, force steel manufacturers outside of the United States to begin the process of looking for new export opportunities, thus eroding even more opportunities for this industry in the process. Additionally, during this time period, less regulatory presence in the steel industry gave considerable authority to various labor unions, such as the United Steelworkers of America (USWA), which began demanding higher wage increases for workers and therefore eroding profitability in an already struggling industry (Ikenson, 2002). What was occurring was that steel industries were already experiencing lowered demand for products both domestically and abroad and were on the verge of bankruptcy at the time. The powe r of these unions was exerted in an effort to prevent, at any cost, plant closings in an effort to save American jobs with the USWA. These efforts were ultimately successful, in conjunction with the new tariffs imposed, and forced steel industry owners to continue production and operate, essentially, in the red for a period of years until new regulatory powers began to erode the power of these labor unions. Today, there

Exercis 5 Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Exercis 5 - Personal Statement Example I selected this article because I am interested in how engineering and similar professions apply knowledge management practices in their particular professions. It appealed to me because it shows knowledge management strategies in real applications. Reading about managing knowledge can be quite vague, even when tools and guidelines are provided in books. Hallowell helps me understand how the theory of knowledge management is applied in construction organizations. In particular, I learned from this article that organizations that proactively manage knowledge about safety have better safety levels than those that do not. Furthermore, these organizations combine hard and soft approaches to collecting and managing knowledge, such as using data-entry systems for gathering reactions to safety situations and conducting interviews with workers. The article emphasized that the best source of knowledge is the people who are involved in the processes being analyzed and improved, and that an eff ective strategy of managing knowledge is designing systems, policies, and practices that efficiently and effectively capture, store, and share knowledge to users and

National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing Essay Example for Free

National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing Essay The case analyses the dynamics of high performance teams using the example of Jeff Gordon’s racing team, a member of National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). Jeff Gordon was often described as a racing sensation, winning 40 individual races in a four year period. While Gordon was a star and a brand, few spectators knew that his outstanding performance should have been to a large extent attributed to his team consisting of more than a hundred of committed individuals, Rainbow Warriors pit crew, and supervised by visionary team leader, Ray Evernham. According to expert opinion, there are three key ingredients that provide for success in car racing, namely people, equipment and money. While cars and equipment are made approximately even in performance in order to make racing more competitive and spectacular, it is up to pilot and his crew to gain an advantage over the opponents. Effectiveness of Rainbow Warriors pit crew gave Gordon on average a one-second advantage with each pit stop. Ray Evernham managed to gather and develop such an outstanding crew by applying several important principles of group work management. He fostered group cohesion by a variety of methods and believed that sound preparation, ego less teamwork, and original strategizing are the inherent components of success in car racing. In his view, the emphasis should have been on team performance rather than individual performance. In case of a victory, prize money were distributed among all members of the crew; more importantly, the money earned by Evernham through speaking tours and autograph signings were also shared. In 1999, Ray Evernham resigned to start his own organization. Brian Whitesell took over as the crew leader on an interim basis; despite his academic qualifications, he was unable to lead the crew in the way Ray Evernham was. Robbie Loomis became the permanent crew chief, and during six months of the turbulent transition period Gordon haven’t won a single race. However, Loomis was able to deliver a strategic turnaround and ensure Gordon’s continuous success. Answers to Review Questions As concerns the philosophy behind high performance teams, Ray Evernham’s three principles (preparation, ego less teamwork, and innovations in strategizing) are universally applicable in any organization. Evernham was successful in implementing these principles in practice by encouraging teamwork, recognizing that ‘team IQ’ was greater than IQ of any individual member, and promoting cohesion through such practices as a ‘circle of strength’ when all team members sit in a circle facing each other as a symbol of their collective strength. People, management, and psychology came together under his leadership to ensure superiority over the opponents’ performance. The emphasis on continuous learning made it possible to stay ahead for many seasons in a row. However, Evernham also warned against excessive perfectionism that might have been unproductive. Honest acknowledgement of strength and weaknesses and strive for improvement were sufficient to secure a place on top. This is interrelated to yet another principle used by Evernham, namely keeping the egos in check and not boasting any technical or strategic privileges in front of the opponents. The time when a successful leader is replaced by somebody else is a test of group’s cohesiveness and commitment. The downside of the transition period is reduced efficiency and increased entropy. However, the advantage is associated with the fact that such a situation allows the team to reinvent itself to become even stronger and more cohesive, especially if a transformational leader arrives to manage the team. Summary for Managers There are several important implications for managers that stem from the analysis of this case. First of all, the principles which are applied to boost team performance are more or less universal. Focus on teamwork and organizational learning is crucial. The case study clearly states that high performance teams do not emerge by themselves – they require an effective recruiting strategy and attention to learning every detail of the work process. Attributing success and failure to the entire group rather than individual members has proven to increase the group’s performance and motivation. The second important implication has to do with group cohesiveness. When skills and knowledge of all group members combine in a way that exceeds the sum of knowledge of all individual members, the synergy effect can be observed, i. e. the system as a whole has certain qualities its elements do not have. Therefore, it is of paramount importance to pay attentive to group cohesion so that exceptional results can be achieved with limited human resources available in each organization. The third implication concerns team performance in the times of change. The case clearly demonstrates that both leadership and teamwork are equally important for success. With no strong leadership, Gordon’s team was not able to deliver outstanding results. However, the speed at which it was able to regain its position suggests that there were certain qualities of a team that made it possible to succeed even after a change of leadership style. A cohesive team can function efficiently under any talented leader due to close ties between team members and unique group culture that promotes continuous learning and shared responsibility.

Internet Small Computer System Interface Essay Example for Free

Internet Small Computer System Interface Essay A heterogeneous network of both IP-based SAN’s and FCP-based SAN’s should be setup based on a standard naming convention in order to facilitate communication between the client applications and the SAN which stores information. The network architecture should ideally be setup using a naming convention which is simple and precise, whilst facilitating communication between all of the network resources. This technique is based on having a convention which links a variety of technologies together as well as other resources seen on a network. A heterogeneous network consists of various network nodes with various protocols and operating systems in operation together. In the case of a Storage Area Network (SAN), the various operating systems in use on the network need to be able to see the remote storage volumes as if they are locally attached, therefore speed is essential to the successful working of a SAN. The use of a descriptive naming convention is also important as it means problem identification can be made easier and helps to minimize operator errors on the network. There are a number of protocols in operation on every network, and the need for an efficient protocol for SAN use is paramount. The current options for running a SAN are to use standard TCP/IP protocols namely the Internet Small Computer System Interface (iSCSI) protocol, or to use a specific protocol called FCP which usually operates over bespoke fiber infrastructure. These protocols are different in the way they operate, however can in fact be used together to improve the performance of a SAN. A naming convention suitable for a TCP/IP based network is very different to a naming convention for an FCP based network. TCP/IP is a network protocol which is used for communication between resources on a standard LAN, however FCP is a protocol which sends SCSI commands via a fiber optic cable to remote storage devices. The iSCSI protocol allows various network storage resources to be identified and used over standard network protocols, which requires compliance with the standard network naming policy, yet which enables the specific nature of their operation to be identified. Naming conventions for the LAN and SCSI storage devices should comply with standard network naming conventions. The servers and iSCSI devices which operate on a network should be been named in compliance with a standard policy and should be unique on the switch fabric of the network. Standard SAN naming conventions should be created with a few factors in mind, each component should be named based on its physical location, what it connects to, which database it is used by, and another unique field of identification. Naming conventions are important because they can save administrators time and effort, and must be created whilst considering many factors. Initially there must be a system whereby network names are created centrally and uniquely so that duplicate records are not made. This naming approach must be consistent throughout the network, and it must be applied across the entire organization regardless of location or operation. This element of the naming convention helps to prevent the duplicity or confusion of network names and is required to enable a high performance network to operate. This issue is not so important when dealing with an FCP-based SAN, because the devices are connected by a separate network of fiber which cannot usually be accessed by resources on the standard network which do not use specific applications or databases. In conclusion the operation of a storage area network relies on speed and an efficient and effective naming system which is able to be managed, diagnosed and repaired where necessary in the simplest and most cost effective way possible. This must be done consistently when using the standard TCP/IP protocol, however specific FCP SAN protocol allows for a much simpler convention.

Assessing Human Resource Management Within The Hotel Industry Tourism Essay

Assessing Human Resource Management Within The Hotel Industry Tourism Essay An important part of all the organizations is Human Resource Management. Human resources can be counted in one of the most valuable assets for a company. It is very necessary that human resource management runs smoothly for the benefit of the organization. In order to gain competitive power for the hotel, human resource management is an elementary issue. Human resource management can be regarded as the foundation for the hotel to acquire competitive advantage. Honoring the employees through effective communication, training programs for the employees and benefit programs is what effective hospitality management is all about. Human resource management and effective hospitality management is the corner stone of successful business in hospitality industry. The Human Resources Management (HRM) function includes a variety of activities, and key among them is deciding what staffing needs you have and whether to use independent contractors or hire employees to fill these needs, recruiting and training the best employees, ensuring they are high performers, dealing with performance issues, and ensuring your personnel and management practices conform to various regulations. Activities also include managing your approach to employee benefits and compensation, employee records and personnel policies. In todays quality-driven, empowered, hospitality workplace, practices that encourage greater employee performance must become integrated into the way a hotel, restaurant, resort, or any other form of hospitality service organization does business. Getting it right the first time (one of the sacred tenets of total quality management) can only be achieved in the hospitality industry through a motivated, empowered, and trained team. At times guest problems are not foreseen; therefore, employees have to feel empowered to correct a problem on the spot. In a service business, you cant have a rigid set of rules. It is possible to have guidelines, but people must be allowed the freedom to make different interpretations. A mature, well-trained hospitality team is capable of making better quality decisions than a single individual. The use of a team approach improves the overall quality of decision making, and the level of commitment to the team becomes much higher. When team members share the process of problem solving and decision making, they are more likely to become owners of the organizations plans, and to do everything possible to transform the plans into reality. Collective wisdom is virtually always superior to individual wisdom. what are the staffing issues for hotels ? i m writing u the case study which is have it. please give me a solution about staffing issues. The Courthouse Hotel is a large, privately owned establishment located in the centre of a large city. Once the major hotel in the city, it has in recent years struggled to maintain profit margins in the face of competition from three new hotels operated by well-known national and international chains. The Courthouse maintains a three-star standard of service, competing primarily on the basis of cost. Its prices are therefore kept considerably lower than those charged in the newer hotels, while the range and quality of food and accommodation are also of a lower standard. The hotel has 150 bedrooms, a bar, a carvery style restaurant, and a function room which is used for private dinners and business meetings. There are no large-scale banqueting facilities, no porters and no room service. While there are one or two part-time members of staff, 95% are employed on full-time permanent contracts. With the exception of a few senior managers, administrators and night workers, the staff work either early or late shifts (ie 6.30-3.30 or 3.00-11.00). Because the vast majority of the hotels guests are business people staying on week-nights, staff are required to work only one weekend in every four. Three months ago a well-known businessman purchased the hotel with a number of interests in the city. He has decided to change the business strategy by moving the hotel up-market to a four star standard and offering a wider range of services. A major refurbishment is planned, together with the opening of a new banqueting suite, an à   la carte restaurant, a leisure club, a full portering service and extensive lounge / room service operation. In staffing terms there is a need to improve the interpersonal skills of staff and to raise general standards of customer service by a substantial margin. The rationale for these developments is the impending opening of a new convention center a short walk away from the hotel. From January next year it is expected that the volume of trade will increase by 60 per cent, provided the Courthouse can raise its standards to those expected of a wealthier and more international clientele. The problem, from a people management perspective, is the likely erratic nature of business patterns once the convention centre opens. Periods of several weeks will go by with relatively little occurring in the centre, punctuated by shorter periods of frenetic activity when major conferences, exhibitions, concerts and sporting events take place. A more specific opportunity presents itself next summer, when as part of a bid to publicise the citys new convention centre, the government has announced that it will be hosting a major intergovernmental conference in the city. For the duration of this event each hotel will house a particular delegation, with the Courthouse being allocated to the Germans. This means that the entire hotel will be taken over by the German Chancellor, other senior German politicians, advisers, civil servants and 75 accredited journalists for a week next summer. During that period there will be a heavy security operation in the hotel. It will also have to host several press conferences and a series of breakfast meetings at which the Chancellor will meet other world leaders. In addition, it will have to maintain a far higher standard of cuisine and service than it is accustomed to providing. If successful, a large amount of positive publicity can be guaranteed. If, on the other hand, the hotel conspicuous ly fails to provide the standard of service expected by a Government delegation, the ensuing negative publicity way will undermine the whole refurbishment strategy planned by the new owner. One of the most important departments of any hotel staff is human resources management. Proper human resources management can be the difference between a really well run hotel and a poorly one hotel. The human resources manager can control almost the whole feeling and presence of the entire hotel. This makes the importance of human resources management for hotels very evident. There are several different areas in which human resources management is very important. One of these areas is for newly hired employees. The employees that are hired in a hotel can really alter the quality of service and the whole atmosphere of the hotel. This means that it is very important to pick upbeat, dedicated workers for each position. It is the job of the human resources manager to make sure that good people are chosen to work in the hotel. In many cases many hotel workers are only participating in hotel work because they can find nothing else to do. Not very many people have a dream of running or serving in a hotel environment. However, there are some people who do want to work in that capacity, and it is the job of the human resources manager to find those people. Retention of employees is another large problem in the hotel service business. Since so many of the employees do not have hotel work as their ending career goals, many of them only work in a hotel for a short amount of time. Other employees may have to be let go because of poor work ethics or other issues. However, there are ways that a hotel human resources manager can curb some of the desire and likelihood that employees will move to other jobs quickly. The importance of human resources management for hotels is very large in this area. Managers can provide good training and incentive programs that will cause employees to stay longer at the hotel. Having a clear progression plan to advance to higher levels of service will also cause employees to stick around much longer. The issue of employee progression and promotion is also another large issue for the hotel industry. The importance of human resources management for hotels is proven in this area. Hotels which provide ways for employees to advance in position, or that provide training for employees so that they can gain skills necessary for an advanced position are very important to the retention rate of employees. It is easy to implement services of this nature and the expense is negligible compared to the expense and time necessary to constantly find new employees to replace the ones that always leave shortly after being hired. One of the easiest things to implement is English lessons. Many hotel employees do not speak English very well, and so it is a great incentive for them to stay working at a hotel if they are offered English lessons. The importance of human resources management for hotels is also important in the area of employee services. If the employees know they can come to the human resources manager whenever they have a problem or issue then it is easier for them to work in good conscience. Many human resources departments implement different games and activities to make the work environment more interesting and fun for employees. There are many different services that a human resources manager can think of to help employee morale. Maybe the hotel could implement a babysitting service, or have a park day every year. These little services go a long way towards making happy employees. Happy employees make happy companies and happy customers. As you can see, the importance of human resources management for hotels is very great. There are thousands of ways that a human resources manager can make a hotel run more smoothly and more efficiently. There are many different areas that can benefit from the experience and guidance of a human resources manager. Therefore it is very important to not undermine the managers importance. Without the human resources manager a hotel is not the same or as pleasing to customers and employees. A STUDY ON EMPLOYEE MOTIVATION The project work entitled a STUDY ON EMPLOYEE MOTIVATION with special reference to Hyderabad Industries Ltd; Thrissur is mainly conducted to identify the factors which will motivate the employees and the organizational functions in Hyderabad Industries Ltd, Thrissur. Managements basic job is the effective utilization of human resources for achievements of organizational objectives. The personnel management is concerned with organizing human resources in such a way to get maximum output to the enterprise and to develop the talent of people at work to the fullest satisfaction. Motivation implies that one person, in organization context a manager, includes another, say an employee, to engage in action by ensuring that a channel to satisfy those needs and aspirations becomes available to the person. In addition to this, the strong needs in a direction that is satisfying to the latent needs in employees and harness them in a manner that would be functional for the organization. Employee m otivation is one of the major issues faced by every organization. It is the major task of every manager to motivate his subordinates or to create the will to work among the subordinates. It should also be remembered that a worker may be immensely capable of doing some work; nothing can be achieved if he is not willing to work. A manager has to make appropriate use of motivation to enthuse the employees to follow them. Hence this studies also focusing on the employee motivation among the employees of Hyderabad Industries Ltd. The data needed for the study has been collected from the employees through questionnaires and through direct interviews. Analysis and interpretation has been done by using the statistical tools and datas are presented through tables and charts. 2. What is a Motivation? Robbins and Judge (2007) explain that motivation is the process that account for an individuals intensity, direction and persistence of effort toward attaining a goal (Robbins and Judge, 2007 p.186). However, this process has to be worked between the managers or supervisor of the business and its employees as the manager or supervisor is in charge of studying methods of encouraging employees to work hard and efficiently on a constant basis (Cited on: Guerrier, 1999 p. 100). In addition, many motivation theories were developed during the 1950s; such as Maslows Hierarchy of Needs, Theories X and Y and the two factor theory    but those would not be examined here as their validity has been questionable (Cited on: Robbins and Judge, 2007 p.186). On the other hand, the Expectancy theory will be carefully studied in order to understand why managers should focus more on providing to its employees reasons for putting effort into their work and therefore generate good work performance that could lead to rewards that are Employee motivation in the workplace The job of a manager in the workplace is to get things done through employees. To do this the manager should be able to motivate employees. But thats easier said than done! Motivation practice and theory are difficult subjects, touching on several disciplines. In spite of enormous research, basic as well as applied, the subject of motivation is not clearly understood and more often than not poorly practiced. To understand motivation one must understand human nature itself. And there lies the problem! Human nature can be very simple, yet very complex too. An understanding and appreciation of this is a prerequisite to effective employee motivation in the workplace and therefore effective management and leadership. What Does it Mean to Lead? Leadership, as defined by most dictionaries, means to go before, or with, to show the way; to induce. Every organization needs a leader (and preferably several leaders) to show the way to others as the organization strives to define and achieve its goals. Whether these goals are entrepreneurial or humanitarian or both the leaders work is to instill a sense of purpose and passion to the work that the organization undertakes. Identifying, developing and sustaining leadership in your organization must be one of your strategic objectives. Without leaders at every level of your organization, your organization may well under-perform. It may miss strategic opportunities, stifle innovation, underutilize your employees, and fall short of its goals in customer service, quality, productivity, and profitability. Russell Consulting, Inc. can guide your organization in identifying and developing your leaders. We can help you develop the key competencies that will help develop and sustain leadership, but also sustain your companys long-term success. Leadership at every level make all of the difference as to whether your company will be around for the long haul. Invest in leadership today to sustain your success for tomorrow and beyond. The Core Competencies of Leadership RCI has been developing leaders in its client organizations since 1987. We have designed and developed leadership programs that help define an ambitious role for leaders at every level and then build the competencies to fulfill this role. Some of the competencies that we have defined as core to the role of leaders include: Defining and Assessing Leadership Competencies We can help your organization define what it seeks to develop in its leaders and then design a customized leadership development program for you. Once we guide you in defining what leadership means in your company, we then conduct a 360 ° leadership assessment (of these core competencies) to provide a baseline measure of each leaders effectiveness. Developing leadership at every level of your organization helps sustain your long-term success. When you work with us to develop your leadership, we help you grow your leadership at every level through customized training programs and guide your leaders in applying what they are learning to real issues and challenges facing your organization.

Abortion Essay -- essays research papers

Partial-Birth Abortion Act During the Clinton administration the Partial-Birth Abortion Act, a bill that would make it illegal in all of the United States for a partial-birth abortion to be performed, caused major debate throughout the House of Representatives and the Senate; recently different versions of the bill had been passed through the both the House of Representatives and the Senate. In prior years Clinton had vetoed similar bills to ban partial-birth abortions. The House and Senate have passed somewhat different versions of the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act (S-1692), sponsored by Congressman Charles Canady (R-Fl.) and Senator Rick Santorum (R-Pa.). This bill would place a national ban on partial-birth abortions. President Clinton successfully vetoed similar bills in 1996 and 1998. When the Senate approved S.1692 last October, it was by a margin two votes short of the two-thirds majority needed to override a veto. The congressional bills are similar to a Nebraska law that was struck down by a five-justice majority of the U.S. Supreme Court on June 28 in the case of Stenberg v. carhart. After carefully examining that ruling, the leading sponsors of the bill decided that it would be more productive to focus on other pro-life bills for the remainder of this congressional session. (National Right to Life News, August 2000) Partial-Birth Abortion is used after twenty weeks of pregnancy. The doctor pulls the baby out of the mother with forceps feet first and stops when the only thing remaining inside the mother is the baby’s head. The doctor then takes a pair of scissors and inserts them into the back of the neck of the child, spreads them apart and then proceeds to suction the brain of the child out of it’s head. The child is now no longer living and can be disposed of. Under current legislation the only factor that separates partial-birth abortion from homicide is the fact that the child’s head remains inside the mother while the procedure is performed. The Partial-Birth Abortion Act is not a bill to make abortion illegal just partial-birth abortions. Those who support this bill in the Senate are pro-life, whil... ...ter, June 2001) The laws were overturned by the United States Court of Appeals in Illinois and Wisconsin following the Supreme Court’s lead. United States District Judge Arthur Tarnow overturned the ban in Michigan. Planned Parenthood had challenged the laws in all three states and was said to be gratified by the decisions. â€Å"We are pleased with these rulings because they protect women’s health from being sacrificed to a dishonest campaign to demonize a safe and medically necessary procedure.† Planned Parenthood continued," And we are reminded again, as all Americans should be, of the importance of a fair-minded and independent federal judiciary.† Another problem with the ban on partial-birth abortions is what to do in the case of a health threat involving the mother. If a pregnant women faces death through the birth of her child do we save the mother or the child? Another problematic example is if the mother already has children, and partial-birth abortions are illegal, the child could potentially be born and the mother could pass leaving all of her children to grow up without a mother.

Essays on Movies (Films) - Stephen Spielbergs Schindlers List :: Movie Film Essays

Essays on Movies (Films) - Stephen Spielberg's Schindler's List    "I know that the great tragedies of history often fascinate men with approaching horror.   Paralyzed, they cannot make up their minds to do anything but wait.   So they wait, and one day the Gorgon devours them,   But I should like to convince you that the spell can be broken, that there is an illusion of impotence, that strength of heart, intelligence and courage are enough to stop fate and sometimes reverse it." Albert Camus.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Albert Camus believes that the greatest tragedies of history are so horrific that people stand in awe, and consequently, nobody even attempts to do anything in response of the tragedies.   Many are under â€Å"an illusion of impotence† , and eventually, Camus states, â€Å"The Gorgon devours them†.   Also, in order for this â€Å"spell to be broken†, people must   have â€Å"strength of heart, intelligence and courage.†Ã‚   I believe that Albert Camus is correct, people are under a vale of impotence when it comes to the tragedies of the world, and that people can easily overcome this inability and reverse their fate, or let the â€Å"Gorgon† devour them.   Camus's beliefs can be proved through the use of examples from the movie Schindler's List.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Oscar Schindler, the movie's main character, is, in the beginning of the movie, not actually aware of the full extent of the killing of Jews and the powerful anti-Semitic outlook of his comrades.   His ties relating to the affairs of the Nazi party and his loyalty to his country shield him from this knowledge. Thus, it can be concluded that in the beginning of the movie Schindler does not fully grasp the tragedy at hand, and consequently does nothing attempt to aid the Jews.   Shindler's realizations of the horrors of the holocaust begin in one scene near the middle of the film.   During this infamous turning point of the movie, Schindler, on top of a barren hill, traces the path of a young and helpless Jewish girl who wanders haphazardly through the streets of a devastated camp.   In a red trench-coat-coat, nowhere to go, desperately searching for her two parents, the little girl finally wanders into an abandoned building where she is safe from the chaotic world outside.   Her safety is only temporary, for later she will be hunted down and cold heartily murdered, forgotten to the world, destroyed by her own people, asking in wonderment, why do I deserve such punishment?      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This scene is the point at which Schindler becomes infuriated, and he asks himself why, and most importantly, what he could do to stop the massacre.