Kerry James Marshall - Better Homes Better Gardens Free Essay Example, 5750 words

A group tried to start a whites-only bus service. There was also a wave of bombings. The homes of two black leaders, four Baptists churches, the People’s Service Station and Cab Stand, and the home of another black were all bombed. In addition, an unexploded bomb was found on King’s front porch. †2 Although none of these occurrences happened on Marshall’s own front door, they were nevertheless ever-present in the news and at home among the adults while Marshall was in his formative years. That small boys witnessed a part of this violence was captured in a note by Martin Luther King Jr. himself, â€Å"... [O]ne cold night a small Negro boy was seen warming his hands at a burning cross. †3 In the face of this increased violence and blatant segregation in spite of the Brown v. Board of Education decision, Marshall’s family decided to move to Los Angeles when he was only 8 years old, just in time to settle in before the outbreak of the famous Wat ts Riots of 1965. â€Å"In the rioting, which lasted five days, more than 34 people died, at least 1,000 were wounded, and an estimated $200 million in property was destroyed. We will write a custom essay sample on Kerry James Marshall - Better Homes Better Gardens or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now An estimated 35,000 African Americans took part in the riot, which required 16,000 National Guardsmen, county deputies and city police to put down. †4 Studies conducted following the riots revealed that, although officials had been under the impression that the riot had been started by people from outside the immediate area, most of those who had participated in the riot had lived in Watts for most of their lives and were acting out in anger against the all-white community for the segregation of the neighborhood. In discussing these issues, Marshall said, â€Å"You can’t be born in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1955 and grow up in South Central [Los Angeles] near the Black Panthers headquarters, and not feel like you’ve got some kind of social responsibility. You can’t move to Watts in 1963 and not speak about it. That determined a lot of where my work was going to go. †5 Marshall freely admits that he comes from an African-American family that did not greatly encourage him to continue his education following high school, a cultural trait that he sees as being very prevalent among black families such as his. â€Å"I came from a family where going to college was not encouraged, because it was never something that even came up in discussion. I came from a family who thought that you went to school until you got out of high school and then you got a job. I was the first person in my immediate family to go to college.

A Financial Ratio Quarterly Trend Analysis of Exxon

A Financial Ratio Quarterly Trend Analysis of: Exxon Mobil Corporation Stock Symbol: XOM Listed on New York Stock Exchange Prepared for: Dr. Edward Lawrence Department of Finance and Real Estate Florida International University In partial fulfillment of the requirements of Course: FIN 6406 By: Nicole Suarez Panther ID # 1101809 1.0 Introduction ExxonMobil Corporation and its affiliated companies operate in the United States and most other countries. Headquartered in Irvine, TX, ExxonMobil was formed following the merger of Mobil and Exxon. It is the world’s largest publicly traded international Oil and Gas Company. They hold an industry-leading inventory of global oil and gas resources. They are†¦show more content†¦Return on equity is stable throughout the year as well. Both profit margin and basic earnings power are stable. Regarding earnings per share, there is a slight increase in Q2 and then a continual decrease in Q3 and Q4. This is a result of a decrease in the average number of common shares. The following table represents the debt ratios for ExxonMobil for FY 2011: Debt Ratios | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Annual | Total Debt | .51 | .50 | .50 | .51 | .51 | Interest Coverage | 653.31 | 414.76 | 191.61 | 223.25 | 296.08 | Debt/Equity | 1.07 | 1.06 | 1.04 | 1.10 | 1.10 | Total debt ratio remained stable in all periods in 2011 and is below 1:1, which is a good indication of the company maintaining its leverage. Interest coverage ratio shows a downward trend in Q2 and Q3 with a slight increase in Q4. These results are derived from an increase in interest expense. These changes are not very significant to the success of the business as the company’s ratio is well above 1.5, which implies the company is not burdened by its debt expenses. Debt/Equity ratio remained stable in all periods with a slight increase in Q4 as a result of increased liabilities. 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Redesigning Organisation Downsizing

Question: Discuss about the Redesigning Organisation Downsizing. Answer: Introduction Organizational downsizing has been a practice in most of the organizations across the United States since the 1000s. This is evident with over 85% of the current successful companies having engaged in a downsizing activity (Gandolfi, 2007). This practice is also observed in other major companies in various countries as a response to the increase in the global competition and has enabled the organizations to cut on their labor costs as they seek to increase their productivity (Gandolfi Littler, 2012). While organizational downsizing is continually being used as a common practice, it lacks the theoretical backing (Cameron, 1994). Cameron call this phenomenon a common yet understudied phenomenon in the world of business (Cameron, 1994). The generally understood meaning of downsizing is the overall reduction in the size of the work force of a firm, but this term has become almost generic in its meaning (Lee Strang, 2006). This has resulted to several other actions such as restructuring, rightsizing, delaying, resizing, and reengineering being settled under the term downsizing. Despite all these terminologies, downsizing has become prevalent form of change to any organization that seeks to be leaner, more responsive and more flexible (Lee Strang, 2006). This therefore calls for a more research into the field in order to comprehend more on how organizations are able to recruit new employees after the period of recession. The purpose of this assignment is to come up with a proposal on how organizations are able to do recruitment after downsizing. This is in light to unearthing what organizations go through in getting new recruits and whether these recruits can measure up to the tasks that were handled by the previously downsized work force. The assignment is centered more on the businesses that were affected more by the 2008 recession so as to enable other business make worthwhile decisions when it comes to downsizing of their work force. This assignment is organized into sections with each subsection marked by a topic and a sub-topic where necessary. It begins with problem statement, followed by research objectives, justification of the project, the expected outputs from the research, the conceptual framework, research hypothesis and the methodology to be used in carrying out the project. The assignment also has additional sections that comprises of organization of the study, Gantt chart and the budget of the research and finally, the list of references used in the study. Problem Statement Several organizations face recession at one point of their operations. During these periods, most of the organizations are affected economically and hence seek for ways to readjust in order to survive these economic hardships. One of the sure ways in which most companies and organizations settle on to cut on expenditure and other related costs is downsizing (Shama, 1993). However, the methods employed by various organizations to do the downsizing varies from one organization to another. This notwithstanding, the effects of downsizing on the organizations are similar across the organizations and these effects become more adverse with prolonged recession period. The end of recession period signifies a period when the organization picks up and begins to expand. This is the period when the organization seeks to employ more work force and to replace the work force that was laid off during the process of downsizing. However, this has constantly become a problem that most organizations since they cant get a replacement of the laid down staff with similar experience and understanding that is important for the growth of the business. Getting the right employee for the organization and the whole process of recruitment is the most complex and more involving for the organization and determines whether it will be able to pick up after recession or not. In his book on The Paradox of Managerial Downsizing, Littler enumerates how downsizing leads a company to a period of struggle to recover from the effects of downsizing and how difficult it is to do a recruitment of new staff thereafter (Littler, 2004). In this research, the companies that have undergone recession and downsizing of the work are studied in order to determine how the process of downsizing affected their recruitment process after the period of downsizing. This is then used to make recommendations for the organizations that are yet to do downsizing due to recession in order for them to benefit from the process rather than getting the negative effects. Research Objectives In this research project, the overall aim will be to investigate which principles and management methods that organizations employ in recruiting employees after the process of downsizing, and how these principles affect the organization and their overall productivity. The study therefore will seek to answer the following questions: 1. How do organizations recruit employees after the process of downsizing? 2. How productive are the methods of recruiting employees after the process of downsizing by the organization? 3. Is there any other alternative to employee recruitment after the process of downsizing? 4. Are the downsized employees ready and willing to be recruited again by the same organization? This research will seek to answer these questions and in the process, the research will be able to give a recommendation on how to best recruit employees after a downsizing is done by an organization. Justification of the Project Downsizing is a healthy act that every organization must undergo in its guest to try and survive through trying economic times (Lee Strang, 2006). However, the risk is when the downsizing is not done in a proper manner. Several authors and researchers have tried to document ways in which downsizing can be done in a proper manner but what all these researches fail to address is how the aftermath recruitment of the work force can be done by companies that have just undergone a downsizing process. The recession experienced in 2008 was an all-time major hit to several organizations and major businesses were hit by bankruptcy in the process (Sharma, et al., 2011). To ensure that the businesses are well prepared when undertaking downsizing, this proposal will be undertaken based on a wide selection of data from major businesses and other experts taking into account the previous study in the area. This study will therefore be viable and of greater benefit to major organizations and businesses because of the following advantages: It will be beneficial to organizations that wish to understand how recruitment after downsizing affects the organization. The research proposal will enable the interested parties widen their mind on how recruitment after downsizing influences the activities and performance of the business as a whole. The managers of the organizations and the human resource department can make use of the strategies and techniques presented in this research study when recruiting new work force after the organization undergoes downsizing. The results presented from the analysis of data collected in this research will form the basis of future studies and will be of great benefit to business owners, policy makers and other interested stakeholders. The proposal will be of great benefit to new ventures and startups as they are able to gather information on the best practices and what to expect when the organization is on the path of downsizing. Expected Research Output/Outcome This research proposal will result to a framework that will act as a guide to recruiting a new work off as a result of organizational downsizing. This framework will act as a road map for small organizations and startups to follow when experiencing difficulties that might be as a result of recruiting new staff after a massive downsizing in the organization ("Life after downsizing", 2002). Different organizations undertake their recruitments of staff differently and in fact, downsizing is defined in a much different way in various organizations, but this document will act as a general picture that will help the businesses understand the whole picture of recruitment after an organization undergoes downsizing. Small business adjustment and execution all through such circumstances depend upon a few variables simply like the available assets and outside impacts together with item, work and capital economic situations. These elements can have an orientation on the last result of this exami nation. All the investigation destinations/questions as known in the proposition can be addressed construct for the most part with respect to the information accumulations, discoveries and examination that might be administered for consistent. These examination yields are seen as essential instructive work for the matter that has been known for this investigation proposition. Likewise, this examination can benefit future house proprietors of new businesses/new pursuits before they start up their undertaking. Conceptual Framework and Research Hypotheses In this paper we tend to consider 3 key variables that affect the methods downsizing sways advancement: velocity of downsizing, level of downsizing and rationale in downsizing. Beneath we have a tendency to talk about the levelheaded for picking the issues and expect the effect each variable has on advancement. Like most key activities, the effect of downsizing is extensively impacted by the methods it's implemented ("Who Suffers Most after Downsizing", 2008). The methods associations actualize downsizing changes from a stun associate in nursing stunningness or enormous detonation vogue wherever downsizing is authorized in an extremely focused on time allotment to a progressive usage approach wherever downsizing is implemented over a developed sum. Mitchell observed that ninety four of the human asset chiefs had however 2 months to set up and execute downsizing at interims their association and accordingly they were compelled to utilize a tremendous blast vogue (Mitchell, 2004). On Associate in nursing general premise, high chiefs as a rule endeavor for rate in actualizing downsizing to restrain the outcomes of imperviousness to that that may postpone or wreck it. Cameron et al., (1993: 32) depict the gigantic blast technique as "like tossing a bomb into a crouched range, shutting the entryway, and anticipating that the blast should kill an exact offer of the men. Its troublesome to foresee accurately WHO are killed and WHO can remain". Because of the rapid execution, it's modest to contend that administration wouldn't have sufficient energy to expect the procedure through and impart it legitimately to staff. In addition, laden of your time, administrators may choose WHO to cut back in Associate in nursing optional means or utilize an unrefined general guideline like rank, and wage levels ("Why Does Health Decline After Downsizing?", 2008). This could conjointly prompt downsizing the "wrong individuals" like to a great degree rehearsed staff. In qualification to the gigantic blast methodology, once administration require some serious energy to execute downsizing, they will deliberately, impart the clarifications and system of usage to staff and by along these lines doing ensure that workers' positions and feelings square measure dropped at bear on level and procedure of downsizing. Its most likely that understanding would be expanded underneath long run execution since staff feel that some of their issues are self-tended to. Assention among the different gatherings is essential to achieving the degree of common duty, acknowledgment and bolster important for prospering execution of key activities (Sheng Tzeng, 2014). Dooley and Fryxell (1999) reported that once amasses require some investment to determine question all through the execution of vital activities they tend to have higher responsibility to the decision, and positive states of mind to vary subsequently expanding the change of a prospering usage. Probably, the hi gher than said negative ramifications of expedient downsizing would be less once downsizing is authorized over a broadened measure of your time. Furthermore, investigation by Tsai and Shih (2013) found that once downsizing was presented over a broadened measure of your time, staff were prepared to remake their development systems and linkages and had room schedule-wise to repair the system once it lost key players. Subsequently, organizations weren't exclusively prepared to kill the negative impacts of downsizing on development, however were likely to support their advancement capacity (Tsai Shih, 2013). Upheld the higher than, we have a tendency to suggest that downsizing over a brief measure of your time is a great deal of unsafe to advancement yield than that implemented over an expanded measure of your time. Consequently, we tend to place that: 1.Pace of downsizing is adversely identified with development yield. 2. The size of men lessening is adversely identified with development yield. 3. Cut downsizing methodology is adversely identified with development yield. Center downsizing technique is totally identified with development yield. Methodology In order to accomplish all the research aims and questions of the research proposal, a number of methodologies will be employed. These are methodologies that have been proven to deliver consistent and accurate information hence will aid in arriving at viable conclusion. These methodologies are discussed in details below: Review of the literature: it is definite that various studies have been done in this field. To be relevant in the study and research, it is only reasonable enough to consider these studies and previous researches by doing an in-depth literature review. This will be based on books, journals, internet sources and other materials. This will act as a base for the subsequent study and research into the subject. Data collection methods through surveys and questionnaires: The various literature reviewed has several information and data that has been collected before. Other data are available with survey organizations and government agencies. These data will be scrutinized and analyzed for some consistencies and their results used as a base and guideline for the data to be collected. It will also act as a format guideline for the collected data. The above data will act as a base for collection of data for the study through questionnaires and interviews. This data will be seeking to understand how organizations and businesses are recruiting their new work force after they face a period downsizing (Tuazon, 2008). The questionnaires will be designed in such a way that they will be easy to interpret and presents data in a simple manner to ensure that during analysis, less work is involved. Observation of the Key Indicators: Inspecting key information from the National Bureau of Economic investigation that focuses on the study and correspondence of monetary conditions inside the U.S.A. they require laid out beyond any doubt key pointers that encourage live subsidence well heretofore all together that organizations will create cautious strategies to counter the aftereffects of retreat before it at long last hits. (Research, 2015). Data Analysis Methods: two methods of data analysis will be used in this research proposal, Qualitative and Quantitative. Qualitative analysis will utilize online forums and surveys with recruitment advisors, whereas Quantitative analysis uses figures, excel sheets, pie charts, mathematical and statistical analysis modelling which are available online with the help of the scholarly articles. The strategies utilized for dissecting quantitative data can be clear insights (getting the distinct measurements for the mean, middle, change and dispersion of the key variables to see however singular qualities group around the mean) and theory testing that can ponder the possibility of sort I and sort II mistakes (which identify with regardless of whether the information bolsters acceptive or dismissing the speculation). Additionally, multivariate investigation can be utilized to check, say for e.g., "To what degree will economy affect the efficiency of the association?" For investigating qualitative data, thoughts from writing can be utilized as a supply of encourage to set up the discoveries and connections can be inspected upheld the answers from on-line discussions and studies. This study will use a mixture of the above mentioned methodologies so as to ensure that an accurate solution for the problem stated earlier is arrived. This will involve an in-depth review of the literature to get an in-depth understanding, the consideration of the responses that will be obtained from the questionnaires and surveys carried out, which will enable the deduction of relevant findings from the data collected. These data will be arranged and grouped together using various factors as their basis of groupings. Organization of the Study This study will be organized based on the standard organization of any research. This means that the study will be organized in chapters and each chapter will have a particular topic under study. The proposed organization will be as follows: This will comprise the research proposal as outlined in this assignment. This chapter will delve in an in-depth case study that describes the topic under study in details This chapter is made up of the methodology that will be used in the study and specifically describes; literature review, data collection and analysis techniques This chapter will discuss the findings and analysis done in the previous chapter of the proposed research. This chapter will give a summary of the important findings from the research and their implications on the recruitment by the organizations immediately after undergoing the downsizing process. Gantt chart The schedule for this project is as shown in the Gantt chart below. The project will take approximately seven months. Task Name Start Date End Date Duration (Days) Project Proposal 04/03/2016 18/03/2016 14 Literature Review 18/03/2016 03/06/2016 77 Data Collection 03/06/2016 05/08/2016 63 Data Analysis 05/08/2016 02/09/2016 28 Final Report Submission 02/09/2016 30/09/2016 28 Project Budget and Budget Justification For this research proposal to be done to completion, some expenditure is necessary. It is upon the person undertaking it to justify the expenditure of the research in the proposal for its sponsors to buy the idea and accept to finance it. The overall cost of the research is estimated at $6050 and financing is necessary for the project to be completed in the proposed timeline. The justification of the project budget is as follows; The literature review to be undertaken involves the use of materials such as books, journals and online resources which do not come free hence requires some money to acquire them. Collecting data also involves a lot of movement and materials such as questionnaires and surveys requires to be printed which also cost money. The materials have to be taken in person and others posted to remote people and organizations managers for timely response. The analysis of the data can be done using software analysis which requires experts and expensive software are involved, hence money has to be spend also in the same. This expenditure is summarized as; Purpose Estimated Amount Literature Review $1250 Data Collection $2300 Data Analysis $2500 Total Budget Estimate $6050 References Cameron KS, Freeman SJ, Mishra AK. 1993. Downsizing and redesigning organizations, Organisational change and redesign, in Huber G. and Glick W. (eds) Oxford University Press, New York: 19-63. Cameron KS. 1994. Strategies for successful organizational downsizing. Human Resource Management, 33: 477-500. Dooley, R. S. and Fryxell, G. E. 1999. Attaining decision quality and commitment from dissent: The moderating effects of competence and loyalty in strategic decision-making teams. Academy of Management Journal, 42: 372-388. Gandolfi, F. (2007). How do large Australian and Swiss banks implement downsizing?. Journal Of Management Organization, 13(2), 145-159. https://dx.doi.org/10.5172/jmo.2007.13.2.145 Gandolfi, F. Littler, C. (2012). Downsizing is dead; long live the downsizing phenomenon: Conceptualizing the phases of cost-cutting. Journal Of Management Organization, 2244-2267. https://dx.doi.org/10.5172/jmo.2012.2244 Lee, C. Strang, D. (2006). The International Diffusion of Public-Sector Downsizing: Network Emulation and Theory-Driven Learning. International Organization, 60(04). https://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0020818306060292 Life after downsizing. (2002). Human Resource Management International Digest, 10(3), 19-21. https://dx.doi.org/10.1108/096707302760052510 Littler, C. (2004). The Paradox of Managerial Downsizing. Organization Studies, 25(7), 1159-1184. https://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0170840604046314 Mitchell Williams, S. (2004). Downsizing intellectual capital performance anorexia or enhancement?. The Learning Organization, 11(4/5), 368-379. https://dx.doi.org/10.1108/09696470410538260 Research, 2015. Measure a Recession. [Online] Available at: https://m.wikihow.com/Measure-a-Recession [Accessed 1 June 2016]. Shama, A., 1993. Marketing Strategies During Recession: A comparison of small and large firms. Journal of Small Business Management, I (1), pp. 62-72. Sharma, D., Garg, S. K. Sharma, C., 2011. Strategies for SMEs after Global Recession. Global Business and Management Research: An International Journal, III (1), pp. 58-66. Sheng Tzeng, D. (2014). Physical Quality of Life among Military Health Care Workers in Downsizing Organization. Occup Med Health Aff, 02(01). https://dx.doi.org/10.4172/2329-6879.1000144 Tsai, P. Shih, C. (2013). When responsible downsizing strategy meets employee-oriented leadership: Implications for downsizing performance. Journal Of Management Organization, 19(05), 583-597. https://dx.doi.org/10.1017/jmo.2014.1 Tuazon, N. (2008). Survivor guilt after downsizing. Nursing Management (Springhouse), 39(5), 19-20,2223. https://dx.doi.org/10.1097/01.numa.0000318060.48716.49 Who Suffers Most After Downsizing. (2008). The Back Letter, 23(12), 140. https://dx.doi.org/10.1097/01.back.0000343828.23223.3e Why Does Health Decline After Downsizing?. (2008). The Back Letter, 23(12), 141. https://dx.doi.org/10.1097/01.back.0000343829.93580.35

Richard Wright Was Born On September 4, 1908 On A Farm In Mississippi,

Richard Wright was born on September 4, 1908 on a farm in Mississippi, the first of two sons born to Nathan Wright, an illiterate sharecropper, and Ella Wilson Wright, a schoolteacher. When Wright was a small child, his father abandoned the family to live with another woman. After this, Wright's mother was frequently sick, and he and his brother shuffled between various relatives. During one particularly tumultuous time, Wright and his brother spent a month in an orphanage. Wright worked a variety of jobs throughout his childhood and adolescence. His mother's illnesses were a financial drain on his extended family, often forcing Wright to work rather than go to school. Nevertheless, despite his sporadic schooling, Wright became an avid reader. Shortly before the beginning of the Depression, the family moved to Chicago, where Wright began to seriously devote himself to writing. He joined the Federal Writer's Project and started to publish his work. In 1932, Wright became a member of the Communist Party. He wrote for Communist publications and met several famous writers through his affiliation with the Party. Wright later moved to New York to be the editor for The Daily Worker, a Communist publication. Around this time, Wright wrote and published Uncle Tom's Children, a collection of short stories that deals with the social realities faced by American black men. The novel (like its namesake, Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, was banned or censored in parts of the United States. However, it was Wright's novel, Native Son, that stirred up real controversy by shocking the sensibilities of both black and white America. The protagonist, Bigger Thomas, hails from the lowest rung of society, and Wright does not infuse him with any of the romantic elements common to literary heroes. In effect, Bigger is what one might expect him to be given the social conditions in which he lives: he is sullen, frightened, violent, hateful, and resentful. Wright wrote Native Son to draw attention to what he thought was a serious problem in American society. He had witnessed a peculiar social phenomenon--there was a distinct pattern of Biggers in the United States. Wright realized that this did not apply to black men only--that in general many men, when confronted with an impossibly narrow avenue to a human life, become, like Bigger, disasters waiting to happen. Wright believed that the structure of American society itself was the direct cause. Native Son is an urgent warning that the American social structure must change before the needy, oppressed, and restricted masses rise up in fury against those in power. In the late 1940's, Wright moved with his wife and daughter to Paris, where Wright became interested in existentialism. He often socialized with Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir, and began corresponding with Franz Fanon in the 1950s. However, his writing career never again reached the peak it had when he published Native Son and Black Boy, his autobiography. Wright died of a heart attack in 1960.

The Irony of the Jungle free essay sample

This surge in population was largely attributed to immigrants coming from European countries seeking a chance for employment and new freedoms associated with moving to the United States at the time. 1905, in particular, was a historic year when a surge of over 1 million immigrants came to the city. During this time, author Upton Sinclair was working undercover, investigating working conditions in the city’s meatpacking district. Sinclair’s research was integrated into his novel The Jungle, a tragic story about a group of immigrants from Lithuania led by Jurgis, the main character that is set on providing for his family while chasing the American dream. Sinclair narrates the struggles of Jurgis and his family’s encounters as they battle exploitation and the virtual wage slavery that occurs as a result of unregulated capitalist greed. Despite Sinclair’s efforts to expose the flaws he saw in the capitalist system and bring about changes by way of Socialist measures, The Jungle revolted the public with its descriptions of poorly processed meat, concerning them more with their own health than the wellbeing of the workers themselves. We will write a custom essay sample on The Irony of the Jungle or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Sinclair titled his book to showcase the struggles and dangers the working class faced, but his intentions were lost on the public who reacted to the less voluminous details about rancid meat. However, by looking closely at the novel, we can see that The Jungle is in fact aptly titled because the public’s initial reaction to the very elements that Sinclair exposes ironically backup his claims. The novel begins appropriately with an elaborate chapter on the wedding of Jurgis and his bride Ona. Jurgis is known for his strength, a source of pride he carries with him to assure him of his goals when coming to America. Sinclair uses metaphors to describe his characters as if they are in a jungle when describing Jurgis’ wedding nerves: â€Å"Jurgis could take up a two-hundred-and-fifty-pound quarter of beef and carry it into a car without a stagger, or even a thought; and now he stood in a far corner, frightened as a hunted animal†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (p. 44). No sooner, the wedding feast grimly begins to foreshadow the new world Jurgis and his family will face by immigrating to this city. Saloonkeepers who are in the favor of politicians and lawmen erve the party low quality, half drunk alcohol but charge for top quality and fully consumed liquor. Fellow countrymen, unknown to the family, come to these large gatherings and drink the beer, some even stealing from the donations, leaving the debt with the family as they escape. Thus, Sinclair effectively paints this otherwise joyous day as a series of miserable details that give credibility to the title of his novel. In this regard, the title is fitting to Sinclair’s intent by showcasing the selfish traits that the surrounding people display. Set back by unexpected expenses from his wedding, Jurgis know he must â€Å"work harder,† a vow he repeats to himself and his family throughout the book to makeup for the various debts they inescapably accumulate. Along with his wife, Jurgis has brought with him his father Antanas, Ona’s cousin Marija and Ona’s stepmother Elzbieta and vowed to provide for them all. Jurgis finds a job in the city’s meatpacking district, a hub of employment where immigrants wait day and night standing in line in poor weather, waiting for a chance to work in dangerous conditions. Brushing off other’s warnings of the dangers that can befall a man inside the plants, Jurgis arrogantly dismisses them, saying â€Å"â€Å"That is well enough for men like you,† he would say, silpnas, puny fellows – but my back is broad†Ã¢â‚¬  (p. 61). Jurgis’ confidence is more telling about the environment than his own strength, showing his acknowledgement of the dangers to less strong men. These subtle descriptions in attitude give credibility to Sinclair’s choice of title. No sooner after twisting his ankle at work does the once-strong Jurgis realize the forces that he’s indebted himself to have no sympathy for his predicament. Although the injury was caused by leaping out of the way from out-of-control cattle, the company declares Jurgis’ injury to be his own fault. Forced to rest at home with no means to earn money while other strong-bodied men replace him, the bank eventually forecloses on his home, only to resell to another eager family that shared Jurgis’ optimism. Realizing this truth, Jurgis’ father Anatanas is just as resolute to help provide for the family. He takes up a job in a pickling-basement with poor air quality and contact with poisonous chemicals, which ultimately leads to his death. Lack of sympathy is a common theme which helps Sinclair paint the picture of an unforgiving environment, where people come and go, processed much like cattle. Sinclair’s title is appropriate given the ways people are treated when an accident happens. Similar tragic fates befall the rest of Jurgis’ extended family that enter work in the meatpacking district. Realizing their home will be increasingly difficult to afford when deciding to have a child with Jurgis, Ona must work in the meatpacking district. If a strong man like Jurgis can be broken by the working and living conditions, it is no surprise that Ona is also broken by the system, being raped by her boss and unable to do anything about it because of his favor with politicians and lawmen. â€Å"Ona’s account of her rape tells of her realization of the way one is powerless: â€Å"He told me – he would have me turned off. He told he would – we would all of us lose our places. We could never get anything to do – here – again. He – he meant it – he would have ruined us† (181). Ona’s conviction, giving excuse to her own rape to be able to keep working, gives further credibility to the environment that Sinclair chooses as the basis for his title. If Jurgis and his family are put in danger by the jobs and debts they take on to support themselves, it will surprise the reader that those institutions meant to protect the people are absent in their duty. In fact, the labor unions and politics are equally as wild in The Jungle. Jurgis learns that unions are not always in the best interest of the worker when they decide to strike against the employer and form picket lines he must cross to make money his life so depends on. In a foreword written for The Jungle, author Christopher Phelps highlights this point writing â€Å"The union serves Jurgis and his family poorly, leaving the impression that unionization is futile and that the sole option for workers is to join the Socialist Party, distribute socialist literature, and vote Socialist candidates into political office† (p. 16). Although Phelps argues that Sinclair was too quick to dismiss the power of unions at the time, Sinclair’s tales of union encounters are appropriate because he highlights their close relationship with the businesses themselves. Sinclair highlights this connection when writing about Marija’s frustration after joining a union: â€Å"But only ten days after she had joined, Marija’s canning factory closed down, and that blow quite staggered them. They could not understand why the union had not prevented it†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (p. 125). Marija’s disappointment is significant because it highlights her ignorance by relying on an institution that can’t protect workers if business is slow. It is through Jurgis’ and Marija’s misunderstandings about these institutions that Sinclair uses as yet another lement to describe the harsh realities depicted by the title. Throughout his novel, Upton Sinclair tells numerous tragic tales of deceit, sickness, death and other losses that most of the characters never regain. When looking back at the reception the book received Sinclair lamented â€Å"I aimed for the public’s heart, and by accident I hit it in the stomach. † Although The Jungle was a success, the public was more revolted by horrid ways in which their food was being processed. Sinclair’s novel, which called for social reforms to protect the working class from such threats as predatory lending, child exploitation and other downfalls of capitalist greed, was more successful in protecting the public from unsafe food when the Meat Inspection Act and Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 were passed in its wake. Upon initial inspection of the novel, the reader may be left wondering how the tragedies of Jurgis and his family are left ignored but the very themes Sinclair explores explain the unexpected reception he achieved. The instinct to fend for oneself explains the public’s ignorance when privileging their own consumption over the lives of the workers. The readers of Sinclair’s book demonstrated this same instinct by reacting to their own concerns. Thus, Sinclair’s title perfectly suits the premise of the book because whether the reader connects to Sinclair’s intended call for social change or fends for them by caring more about food safety, they have demonstrated their own similarity to the characters in the environment he warns about.

Essay on Baseball, the American Dream

Essay on Baseball, the American Dream Essay on Baseball, the American Dream Essay on Baseball, the American DreamStarting from ancient times people liked sports, along with historical development of human population, various types of sports appeared and the existing were transformed. Nowadays there are numerous types of sports and it is really easy to choose the one, appropriate exactly for concrete individual, taking into consideration his type of character, age, physical form, state of health and so on. For millions of teenagers as well as adult people baseball remains the only beloved sport in their lives. Further we will study the general information about this type of play, some facts from its historical background, cultural and social meaning, it is considered to have for America.Baseball – this is a bat-and-ball game, which is played between two teams, each of them consisting of nine players. â€Å"The offense attempts to score runs by hitting a ball thrown by the pitcher with a bat and moving counter-clockwise around a series of four bases: f irst, second, third, and home plate. A run is scored when a player advances around the bases and returns to home plate† (Block 15). Nowadays baseball is considered to be the integral part of America’s national leisure time. This game is rather old, it appeared around the early 1800s in America. Interesting is the fact, that at that time there were no unified rules, they could have some differences, depending on the concrete locality. Another specific detail was the absence of the commonly accepted type of bats for plating, so people used the variants, which were comfortable for them, sticks of bats. The name of Alexander Joy Cartwright is historically associated with the appearance of the first baseball field in 1845. In the same year, he issued a unified list of rules for baseball, which were further used in all regions. During those years, the players used variety of bats – they were of different size and length, some were heavy, others were lighter and so on. Soon most players came to the conclusion that bats should be with rounded barrels for easier use. â€Å"The bats could be no larger than 2.5 inches in diameter but they could be any length the players wanted. Ten years later in 1869, another rule was added stating the bats could be no longer than 42 inches in length† (Block 22). This length is still actual till nowadays. By the 1890s the concrete rules were issues, which regulated not only the play itself, but also the bats used. Nowadays, there are special uniforms, bats and other equipment for baseball available, as this type of sports really won the hearts of numerous people all over the world and of all ages.Most researches, taking into consideration the fact how wide spread is baseball and how much loved it is by its fans and players for many decades already, started to investigate the problem of cultural connection between baseball and American life. Often baseball game is closely related to the famous notion of America n Dream. Some scientist talk about â€Å"the increasing corporatization, changing material conditions, and technological improvements that have created the same disparities of wealth in the sport as in the society† (Block 48). Others find the reflection of social implications of women in baseball in the culture of the country. According to Elias, one of the scientists, who studied the relations between the vision of American Dream and playing baseball, â€Å"hard work is no guarantee of financial reward, gender and racial equality remain fictions, and injustice, political repression, and limited economic choices are reality for many Americans. Baseball represents the American Dream and reflects both the successes and failures of the American way (Riess 13). Finally the researcher concludes, that baseball has all the chances to contribute seriously to the formation of the egalitarian society and make the notion of American Dream more real.Viewing baseball from the social and cultural points of views helps partially to understand, why so many people adore this game, are fascinated by watching it and playing it. Baseball is considered to be a great combination of team- sports, at the same time integrating some features of non-teams sport activities. Thus it is often compared to tennis in this relation. Tennis players are taking part in duels, standing one opposite of the other, baseball could be considered a duel only for some period of the game, still being not less intense and attention attracting than that of tennis.Some people tend to criticize baseball for the lack of action, but in fact this is a huge mistake. They think that the action itself is when the ball is put into the play by the batter, others think, that action in baseball starts only as soon as one of the players gets a hit. Such conclusions could be made only by those, who are not really interested and involved into the game itself and are not able to realize that the real action in this game is the pitch. As soon as you view and follow each pitch, you will not be able to complain that there is not action in this game or the actions are too slow. In this relations baseball is even quicker than a football. The problem of those, who don’t like the game is that they simply don’t know it sufficiently enough to be able to get pleasure from at least watching it, moreover even playing it. Not all views of baseball are able to single out the differences between a curve ball and a fastball for example. And in reality each pitch – this is a strategy, and baseball is really a metal game along with physical abilities.There are a lot of professional and amazing baseball players nowadays, but my favorite is still Bryce Harper, professional baseball outfielder for Washington Nationals. He earned the Golden Spikes Award in 2010 and later on became the youngest player ever selected to All –Star-Game. Baseball analytics considered him to be the number two corner outfielder in the MLB.Overall, baseball is a great game a great sport activity, it has a long history, to could be without any doubts called one of the most â€Å"American† sports, as it is closely related to the history of our country, to its social development; baseball seems to have wide future perspectives and is absolutely not likely to lose its popularity and be forgotten. The beauty of baseball can not be understood by all usual watchers, there is a need to sink deeper into the rules, into the strategy of the game, into the game itself. The long baseball season is able to bring a lot of tension, a lot of fun, a lot of new discoveries, related to this game.

Quebec before and after the Quiet Revolution Research Paper

Quebec before and after the Quiet Revolution - Research Paper Example The origin of the Quite Revolution years was the Duplessis regime characterized by social conservation, isolation and generally negative autonomist stands3. The hopes and energies unleashed during the period of Quite Revolution shook the very foundation of Canada and the impact is still being felt up to date. In his reign as the Prime Minister of Quebec and the leader behind the Quite Revolution, Lesage introduced a slogan known as "Maitres chez nous" (Masters in our own house) which best represented his years as the leader of Quebec. The fundamental belief in Quebec, during the period of Quite Revolution, was that the French Canadians should not be contented with playing a second class responsibility in political, social and economical matters and that the fundamental aspect of the community development rested in the utilization of the distinct tool which was collectively controlled by the French Canadians: the state of Quebec, and hence in the denunciation of the anti-statism of th e past. In this regard the government of Lesage became the tool and the symbol of a whole people on the road to self-assertion. The Duplessis regime is largely challenged by many social scientists today. However, there is no doubt that the end of Duplessis regime and the succeeding election of Jean Lesage as the leader of Liberal party, introduced a period of massive changes and activities, which later amounted to a Revolution. Quebec Before 1960 Prior to the 1960s, Quebec was governed by Maurice Duplessis. Duplessis was a conservative and the leader of Union National Party. During his tenure as the government controller, election fraud and corruption was eminent and common practices in Quebec. Even though he was not supported Catholic Church as a whole as some Catholic clergies and Unions criticized him, Duplessis enjoyed enormous support from small towns and rural clergies sometimes even quoting the Union dominant Slogan â€Å"Le ciel est bleu† (the sky/ heaven is blue), â €Å"l'enfer est rouge† (hell is red) - which referred to Union National colors (red) and the Liberals (red)4. The liberals were accused of being pro-communist by the Union. The newspaper Le Devoir, Radio Canada and political journal Cite’ Libre were intellectual forum for Duplessis critics5. Prior to the Quite Revolution, Quebec’s natural resources were mainly developed by foreign investors. For example iron mining was done by Iron Company of Canada which was based in U.S. in 1949 a group of asbestos miners engaged in a three month strike. The strike led to the formation of Quebecer miners united which opposes the foreign corporation nationalists system and the Catholic Clergies who backed the American company (l 1998). The voice of the miners did not go unnoticed and they received support from Monsignor Charbonneau, Bishop of Montreal, group of intellectual individuals, Quebecois nationalist newspaper and many other groups and individuals who were mainly oppose d to the Duplessis system of governance. Until the mid 20th century, quite a number of Francophone Quebec workers lived below poverty line and did not have an opportunity to join the executive class of businessmen in their province6. For some reasons, the death of Duplessis in 1959, followed by the death of Paul Sauve, his successor, elicited the start of the Quite Revolut

Knowledge management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Knowledge management - Essay Example cess of KM formation involves creation, capture, storage and distribution of knowledge or information, needed for the organization during appropriate times. KMS will aid the leaders in the overall functioning of the organization and will provide them a good back up to all their strategies. Actually, these ‘systems’ by backing up the leaders will optimize their performance and it will directly show in the optimum performance of the employees. So, this paper will analyze this theme of Knowledge Management using the article titled Knowledge Management featured in the magazine, The Economist, and how that it is vital for the employee and organizational success. The article starts off with the words by renowned management guru, Peter Drucker, who in 1980’s itself hypothesized that that Knowledge Management will be a key process in future for the optimum functioning of the organizations. â€Å"The typical business [of the future] will be knowledge-based, an organisation composed largely of specialists who direct and discipline their own performance through feedback from colleagues, customers and headquarters. For this reason it will be what I call an information-based organisation.† (The Economist).So, Knowledge Management will raise the efficiency level of the leaders, aid them in actualizing an optimal organizational environment and thereby will enrich the knowledge and skill of the employees. Focusing on the importance of employees in the process of Knowledge Management, the article opines that the ‘content’ that is developed and stored in the heads and hearts of the employees need to be optimally used for optim izing organizational functioning. The article further states that the effective knowledge of the workers will become valuable assets or properties for the organization. So they need to be further developed and various forms of that knowledge also need to be preserved through technological means. â€Å"They had become properties whose most valuable asset

Early Intervention Essay Example for Free

Early Intervention Essay Early intervention is essential to achieve the best possible outcome for the child. However multi-agency working is important too, when all the professionals involved with a child share information and co-operate with each other lives can be improved and even saved. Baby P is an example of multi-agencies not working together properly, early intervention and working together will help prevent more unnecessary deaths. Early years practitioners can provide information for local services which may be helpful to disadvantaged or vulnerable families, we can work together with social workers, health professionals and even DHSS by helping to complete forms for additional benefits the family may be entitled to. The best interest of the child is always the priority, policies and guidance must also be followed when a referral is being made to an outside agency. Working together for the benefit of the child. Early intervention is also at the heart of the Governments national strategy on child poverty. They hope to provide support and de-stigmatise services, provide more health visitors for Sure Start Children’s Centres and are providing an Early Intervention Grant for local authorities to invest in addressing their local needs. The impact of all these measures for early intervention, will hopefully be a more stable society with less children in workless homes. Parents will be able to work and support their children, providing better homes, healthier food and a stable home life. Children will appreciate their education and strive to achieve their full potential. They will be safer, healthier and hopefully happier. They will have access to facilities to improve their health and well-being as well as their physical, social emotional development. Services will be in place to provide support to families in need, helping families stay together and become more stable. By 2020 our society will have changed for the better if the Governments strategy works.

Workplace Bullying: Literature Review

Workplace Bullying: Literature Review Workplace Bullying Table of Contents Introduction: Aim of This Study: Background for this Study: The Research Problem 1. Defining the effects of bullying 2. Sensitivity of the subject 3. Categories of bullying behaviour Methodology Literature Review: Does Workplace Violence Encompass Physical as well as Emotional Violence? How Bullied Persons Are Seen: What is a Bully Like? What Does Bullying Do to An Organization? Bullying and Workplace Violence: Fundamental Features and Categories of Bullying: Features of bullies: Types of Bullying: Bullying at Schools: Bullying at Workplaces: Cyberspace: Effects of bullying: Analysis: Negative Behaviors: Nature of Bullying: Causes of Bullying: Workplace Environments: Personality of an Individual in Relation to his or her Workplace: Bullying Negates Productivity at the Workplace: Can A Manager Be A Bully? Dictatorial Management Cannot Achieve the Best Results: Survey Results: Conclusion: References: Appendix: People in this modern world have generally become more aware of their surroundings and the ways that they should be treated. They are generally more aware of their self-esteem and their value in society than they were in the past. One reason for this may be because in recent decades there has been more emphasis on things like human rights and equality of all individuals. With particular emphasis on working conditions, people are generally aware of how they should be treated and what sorts of conditions they should be allowed to work in. From a general viewpoint, one may think that this only refers to working conditions such as the physical environment that should not have any hazards in it. The reason for this thought is due to the fact that there have been several cases in the past in which employees were given hazardous conditions to work under. In contrast to this, people are more aware of these past problems, and probably would not hesitate to object to any hazards in workplaces today. In contrast to having asserted the awareness that people might have regarding workplaces hazards, there are several individuals who may not realize that they are still facing workplace problems and end up not objecting to problems around them. Also, some individuals who are aware may not be able to oppose these forces, and thus, are compelled to work under these conditions. Some working conditions may not necessarily be hazardous in the conventional sense, but they may be considered as inappropriate for employees if they suffer stress because of them. One particular type of workplace hazard is known as ‘bullying’, and may be carried out by superiors as well as colleagues[1]. Statistics reflect more than 2 million people at work feeling bullied (Andrea Adams Trust 2005). One in four people say that they have been bullied at least once in the past 5 years. With these statistics, it is further said that workplace bullying results in a loss of 18.9 million working days and à ‚ £4 billion[2]. This is because those being bullied tend to be absent from work more often. In addition to loss experienced in industries in terms of days and revenue, there is evidence of high levels of stress in individuals being bullied. Yet, it is not easy to evaluate workplace bullying, and this is because of the difficulty in precisely defining what workplace bullying is. There are several definitions of ‘bullying’, but none are agreed on. However, some of these are interesting and do help to gain significant insight to the problem. According to Stale Einarsen (1999), it is suggested that †¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"bullying occurs when someone at work is systematically subjected to aggressive behaviour from one or more colleagues or superiors over a long period of time, in a situation where the targets finds it difficult to defend himself or herself or to escape the situation†¦Ã¢â‚¬ [3] According to the above definition, bullying might be described as a process through which individuals feel intimidated by someone who uses their strength and power to hurt and frighten them. The presence of this person makes them feel vulnerable and uncomfortable to the extent that it stresses or de-motivates people at their work. In other words, it is a systematic approach through which an individual corners another, and there is no escape unless one escapes the system. Recent research in the UK conducted in the form of surveys and UK cases have highlighted the importance of exposing ‘bullying’. This is because there is significant evidence to prove that it causes anxiety that leads people to suffer physical and mental distress. These are believed to be direct results of bullying in the workplace. It is estimated that in the UK, six million working days are lost annually due to stress caused by bullying, job insecurity, shift work and long hours[4]. According to Cary Cooper (2000), people that reported being bullied had the poorest health, the lowest work motivation, the highest absenteeism figures as well as the lowest productivity compared with those who were not bullied. In addition to this, based on research in Sweden, Heinz Leyman (1993,1996) firstly introduced the concept of mobbing (bullying) as a relentless form of harassment in organisations. Theoretically, it could be asserted that bullying is an extreme type of social stressor at work that works in a system. It may be then said that bullying is a long lasting harassment, systematically aimed at a target person.[5] Having acknowledged the tremendous loss that bullying causes an industry, the UK Government believes that employees should have the rights to work in an environment without being bullied and harassed. In order to combat bullying in the workplace, the UK legal framework gives employees the rights, which protect them from any form of unreasonable treatment wit hin the work place. Keeping the above statistics in mind, this project is concerned with the effects of bullying in workplaces on individuals. It will also explore the nature and causes of bullying at work. Most studies regard bullying as a unified phenomenon, in spite of the fact that different kinds of behaviours are involved.[6] It may be asserted here that these behaviours make individuals feel intimidated and occur in different situations and cross gender, age, and race of individuals. The intimidation and anxiety caused by bullying creates stress and stress related illnesses. The aims of the proposed study are outlined below: What type of negative behaviours that makes individuals feel bullied at their workplace? Explore the nature and causes of workplace bullying. Examine the effects of bullying on individuals. According to Andrea Adams in â€Å"Bullying at work† published in 1992 bullying at work is like â€Å"a malignant cancer and the disturbing manifestations of adult bullying†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ (Adams et al 2000, p.9) Andrea Adams, broadcaster and journalist, was the first person to recognise the significance of workplace bullying, and her book â€Å"Bullying at Work†, remains a landmark in this field. Adams suggests that bullying occurs when â€Å"professional abrasiveness becomes tainted with an element of personal vindictiveness† (Adams et al 2000, p32). Bullying is a sustained form of psychological abuse and often radiates from a senior person taking what they feel is strong management. However, bullying may not always come from a senior person in the workplace. It is thought that individuals may be singled out by a number of colleagues for various reasons. Debrah Lee (1998), who has been researching workplace bullying, argues the emergence of workplace bullying as being a problem or whether it should be considered to be an interpretation for an existing problem. She demonstrates that workplace bullying is an interpretation for a range of unfair work practices. She identifies workplace bullying as: †¦Ã¢â‚¬ Persistent, offensive, abusive, intimidating, malicious or insulting behaviours, abuse of power or unfair penal sanctions which makes the recipient feel upset, threatened or humiliated or vulnerable, which undermines their self confidence and which may cause them to suffer stress†¦taking credits for another persons idea, ignoring or excluding an individual by talking only to a third party to isolate another, spreading malicious rumours, persistent criticisms†¦[7]. Therefore, it could be said that bullying encompasses various kinds of negative behaviors. There have been a range of debates around the nature and causes of workplace bullying. Stale Einarsen (1999) suggests that bullying may be used in a joking manner describing good natured horseplay or refer to minor events of aggressive behaviour that tend to be easily accepted and tolerated. In this scientific study, the concept refers to rather specific phenomenon where hostile or aggressive behaviour, whether physical or non-physical, are factors of stigmatisation and victimisation of the recipient.[8] However, Dieter Zapf (1999) categorises five different types of bullying behaviour. They are: Work related bullying which may include changing your work tasks or making them difficult to perform; social isolation personal attacks on your private life by ridicule, insulting remarks, gossip or the like; verbal threats of such violence Physical violence or threats of such violence. (Adopted for use quoted in Zapf 1999; source Stale Einarsen 1999) Zapf (1999) argues theoretically that bullying is an extreme type of social stressor at work. It is a long lasting escalating practice aimed at a target person. There is inadequate research and it is difficult to prove the causes and effect of bullying. It emerges that multiple causes of bullying have to be taken into consideration, and that bullying can be caused for various reasons. 1. Defining the effects of bullying One of the main problems of finding out the effects of bullying is â€Å"stress†. Estimates of the cost of stress and stress related illnesses range from  £5 billion (TUC) to  £7 billion (IPD) to  £12 billion (CBI) each year. Stress can be caused from a variety of reasons. (www.bullyonline.co.uk) (11/11/05) Christine Hudson (2001) defines stress as: †¦Ã¢â‚¬ literally a pressure of force exerted on an object. The emotional state that occurs when an individual believes that they do not have the resources to deal with a situation or series of events†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ (Hodson 2001, p: 144). Beehr Franz (1987) suggest that â€Å"stress† has commonly been defined in three ways: as an environmental stimulus often described as a force applied to the individual, as an individual’s psychological or physical response to such an environmental force (Warr 2002, ch: 8 p: 204). If the cause of stress could actually be pinpointed to an individual’s workplace, it would be convenient to study how s/he may have been bullied. 2. Sensitivity of the subject Bullying is a sensitive topic and people may be in denial or embarrassed because of the fact that they are being bullied. Not everyone will admit that they have a problem and some may not be aware that they are being bullied. Hence, it is a very sensitive area. Precautions must be taken when research is carried out. 3. Categories of bullying behaviour Different theorists have different perceptions of categories of bullying behaviours. Also, individuals have different perceptions of defining what negative behaviour is. The literature review and analysis will help to reveal what authors have to say about different categories of bullying. The method selected for this research paper consists of a quantitative as well as a qualitative approach. Both approaches will help to collect as much data as possible. Qualitative data will be obtained though pertinent journals, books, studies, magazines and newspapers, all presented in a literature review that will be analysed. Quantitative data will be obtained through a survey consisting of 50 participants. A range of questions will be presented to them, and the accumulative answers to these questions will be analysed. In addition to this, the quantitative data will be discussed with regard to the literature review as well. This quantitative method has been selected because a questionnaire will provide the opportunity to seek answers to questions in a larger quantity. Advantages: Questions are designed so that answers from the individuals’ interviews can be added together to produce results, which apply to the whole sample. The research is based on interviews with a representative sample of respondents. The questions are designed to be unbiased Large survey can often be broken down Surveys lend themselves to future replication. Disadvantage: Data becomes the main focus of the research issues. The data provide snapshots of points in time rather than a focus on the underlying process processes and changes. The researcher is often not in a position to check first hand the understandings of the respondents to the questions asked. Issues of truthfulness and accuracy are thereby raised. The survey relies on breadth rather than depth for its validity. This is crucial issue for small-scale researchers.[9] Making use of primary data (Surveys, focus group interviews) and secondary data (journals, databases, case studies, books, newspapers etc.), the clients aim is to find out what types of negative behaviours make people feel bullied at the workplace. This data will also help to reveal the nature and causes of workplace bullying. Analyzing the survey data against the reviewed literature and the analysis will prove interesting. It is through this comparison that one will be able to tell whether the literature reviewed has any similarities shared with the results of the survey. It is expected that there would be similarities, and it is interesting to observe how significant these similarities are. Bullying at a workplace can very easily be likened to bullying in schools. The difference between the two types of bullying is that each of them takes place in different age brackets. Bullying at a workplace is similar to bullying at school because it takes place within an institution that works as an arena within which bullying can be sustained. It is often thought that bullies at schools tend to do the same thing at workplaces when they grow up. This is perhaps because their behaviors may have been ignored by superiors and cheered on by classmates. As a result, the will to dominate continues as they grow up. Some bullies target their victims because they feel the need to control a situation or an environment while others have a natural urge to dominate without any specific reason. Whether bullying takes place at the school level or in a workplace, it has often been noted that insecure individuals exemplify these behaviors. Does Workplace Violence Encompass Physical as well as Emotional Violence? According to the International Labour Organization (ILO) (1999), one of the severest problems being faced at workplaces is physical as well as emotional violence. The ILO defines workplace violence as: â€Å"any incident in which a person is abused, threatened or assaulted in circumstances relating to their work. These behaviors would originate from customers, co-workers at any level of the organization. This definition would include all forms or harassment, bullying, intimidation, physical threats/assaults, robbery and other intrusive behaviors.†[10] This definition is also said to encompass bullying. According to CUPEs National Health and Safety Survey of Aggression Against Staff (1994) a similar definition to the previous one is observed, verbal aggression and harassment in its definition of violence is: â€Å"Any incident in which an employee is abused, threatened or assaulted during the course of his/her employment. This includes the application of force, threats with or without weapons, severe verbal abuse and persistent sexual and racial harassment.†[11] Definitions such as this one may also encompass bullying. In order to establish a connection between these definitions of physical and emotional violence, and bullying, the following case is important. An employee of OC Transpo in Ottawa (April 6 1999) shot 4 employees dead, after which he shot himself. It was said that the employee had suffered from workplace harassment. The definition of workplace violence that had to be included in the coroner’s examination had to include definitions of physical violence as well as psychological violence[12]. Psychological violence or emotional violence includes acts such as bullying, mobbing, teasing, ridicule or any word or deed that could psychologically harm or single out an individual person in the workplace. From the inclusion of emotional violence in the definition of workplace violence, it can be asserted that definition is very broad. Such a definition has helped to encompass several behaviors that are objectionable and are recognized as harmful to employees (Einarsen, 2002, 25-30). How Bullied Persons Are Seen: Usually, those who are bullied are seen as weak individuals or individuals that are different and singled-out. As opposed to the way that bullied person might be seen generally, s/he might well be a capable person, and one that handles his or her work independently. Quite often, such individuals are also well liked by their co-workers. However, bullies may pick on such individuals who may have a non-confrontative interpersonal style. Bullies may see the target as a threat, and set out to cut the target down. A bully of this kind may be a superior or even a co-worker. A co-worker may bully another worker because the target is considered one that is capable of excelling in his or her duties. A superior on the other hand may want to bully an employee in order to keep the target’s personality in check. This may be done in order to create or reinforce an impression of the superior being in control. Some superiors do take pleasure in bullying their employees in order to, in typical terms, show them who is the boss. What is a Bully Like? Bullies are usually insecure individuals, lacking social skills. The have little compassion for individuals in general, but tend to be harsh on individuals whom they decide to target. Bullies generally try to turn their insecurity outwards by targeting others. They take pleasure in knowing that they can throw their weight around. They use their positions to attack fully capable individuals around them by subjecting them to undue criticism. A bully may also tend to humiliate, ignore and isolate a target in front of others[13]. If the bully is in a senior position, s/he may make things difficult for the target or victim to work through. This would include setting up tasks that cannot realistically be achieved[14]. A bully may also take away important tasks from a target and replace them with demeaning ones. No matter what a bully does to intimidate a target, the basic idea is to control situations and environments. What Does Bullying Do to An Organization? Bullied employees tend to waste anywhere between 10 to 52 % of their work time. Many of them spend time preparing themselves against bullies, searching for support, thinking over the situation, and suffering stress and demotivation[15]. Many of them also do not show up for work regularly due to stress and stress-related illnesses caused. A work environment in which employees are bullied is poisoned with lack of morale, anger, fear, depression, and related feelings. All this results in an employer suffering: loss of efficiency, absenteeism, high turnover of staff, and lawsuits[16]. Not only does an employer suffer because of bullying in a workplace, but bullying has an impact on the target’s family and friends as well. The daily stress that an individual suffers is carried to relatives and friends. A target’s marriage is also likely to suffer as well with long-term stress. Friendships too come under strain because a target may become possessive (Badzmierowski Dufresne, 2005). The damages caused by bullying also impact the healthcare system. This is because those who suffer stress through bullying tend to receive medication and counseling for coping with the problem, and these could last for significant periods. Bullying and Workplace Violence: Workplace violence is a practice that might be physical or emotional. This means that the tactics used in the process may be physical or emotional. Bullying is one of the tactics considered under workplace violence. Encompassing the emotional tactics used in workplace violence are: bullying, incivility, disrespect, psychological abuse, and emotional harassment. All these tactics may also be referred to as ‘psycho terror. Whichever way one chooses to define and describe these various aspects of workplace violence, they all have the same impact. This is to say that they all result in work time being lost, demotivated employees, medical claims, legal fees, and ultimately, company decline. Quite obviously, there are tremendous losses experienced in terms of both financial loss and in quality of life (Badzmierowski Dufresne, 2005). Focusing more on bullying as a tactic of emotional workplace violence, it can be asserted that bullying is any form of negative behavior that shows disregard for other workers. It might be asserted here that along with there being several definitions for bullying presented by various scholars, there are also several behaviors that may coincide or overlap bullying behaviors. However, it can also be asserted that bullying and other overlapping practices are emotional workplace violence. Bullying is thought to consist of some of the following negative behaviors: Harassment Incivility Teasing Gossiping Purposely withholding business information Overruling decisions without a rationale Sabotaging team efforts Demeaning others Verbal intimidation (Badzmierowski Dufresne, 2005) In addition to the above types of bullying, there are several more that may be included. The different types of bullying that can occur do so in an organization that tolerates incivility. Though organizations may be aware of the damages that bullying does to an organization, responses to the problem are insufficient. Many managers ignore incivility because they either do not want to get involved or they simply believe that it is too much of a waste of time getting involved. Managers sometimes like to keep their slates as clean as possible. So they would rather avoid getting themselves into any interpersonal conflict. In addition to managers not wanting to get into interpersonal conflicts, many of them may not even hear of any problems in the workplace. This could be for various reasons. Perhaps their co-ordination is insufficient and the opportunity for employees to bring up these kinds of problems does not arise. Some employees might feel that they would be going way beyond expected territory if they were to take complaints forward (Badzmierowski Dufresne, 2005). Another reason why managers may not hear about bullying at the workplace is because employees are afraid to bring these issues up even if the opportunities do arise. Employees may be afraid to bring bullying matters up because there are organizations that would regard these complaints as personal disputes and they may not be seen as the concern of the management. It might be asserted here that this could occur because managers know that employees would not take these matters too far even if they were to get serious. However, targeted employees have been known to bring lawsuits against companies for bullying. In the UK, there is legal support for employees that feel bullied, as the UK suffers a loss of several working days and revenue due to workplace bullying. The matter is a serious one, and so is the legal protection of targeted employees in the UK. Though there is legal protection available for targeted employees, there are organizations that permit or even reward blatant confrontation among employees. This is done in the name of competition within organizations. However, there are lines that need to be drawn and if rude language and negative behaviors are overlooked, an organization can suffer intensely. â€Å"Research shows that when targets believe that someone at work has treated them disrespectfully, half will lose work time worrying about future interactions with the instigator, and half will contemplate changing jobs to avoid a recurrence. One-fourth of research respondents who feel that they have been treated uncivilly will intentionally cut back their work efforts. A few will steal from their instigators or their organizations. Some will sabotage equipment. Most will tell friends, family and colleagues about how badly they have been treated†¦in the worst case, some targets of incivility will exit† (Pearson and Porath 2005). Fundamental Features and Categories of Bullying: According to common terms, bullying is known as a type of harassment, carried out by one child over another who is seen as weaker. With this common view of bullying in mind, there are three common features in this form of behavior: It is aggressive and negative, both The behavior is sustained There is in inequality in power of the bully and the target, with the bully having more power (Einarsen, 2002, 25-30) There are also two main categories into which bullying falls. These are: Direct and Indirect bullying, which may also be called aggression Direct bullying is common among males. Indirect bullying is common among females and children. Indirect bullying usually results in the target becoming socially isolated. There are several ways through which this may be achieved. Some of the ways include: gossip, ignoring the target in public, treating those who mix with the target in the same manner, and finding fault with the target’s style of dressing and various other social belonging that the target may have, such as his or her religion, race, disability, etc. Bullying can take place in almost any type of set up. It is known to commonly take place in schools, colleges, universities, workplaces, in neighborhoods, and even between countries. No matter where bullying takes place, it must be noted that the element of power has an important role to play, and the power structure seems to be of great importance (Einarsen, 2002, 25-30). To observers of a relationship in which bullying takes place, the power a bully has is dependant on the perception a target has of the bully. The target usually is afraid to defend him or herself effectively. In many cases, a target has reason to be intimidated. S/he may fear the bully may carry out threatened actions such as physical/sexual violence, or loss of livelihood. Features of bullies: There are few notable characteristics of bullying, particularly in male bullies. These include the need for a bully to feel in control and be powerful, sadism, which is a situation where a bully gets satisfaction at watching another person suffer, complete lack of consideration for others, and a particular pattern according to which they work in order to blame the target (Einarsen, 2002, 25-30). Quite commonly, an individual’s upbringing is blamed for the way that a bully behaves. It is thought that a bully may have been brought up in an abusive environment where s/he might have been exposed to physical forms of punishment at home, little or no parental concern, and an environment in which violence has been used as a way of sorting out problems. Other research reveals that aggressiveness and forceful behaviors, perceiving other’s behaviors as aggressive, a drive to preserve one’s image, and demonstration of obsessive actions are also observed[17]. Types of Bullying: Bullying, whether a male or a female carries it out, may be considered to be an obsessive and compulsive behavior. This behavior has repeated actions or verbal insults that are used in order to have power over a target (Einarsen, 2002, 25-30). There is also a mixture of intimidation and humiliation used against targets. Some examples of bullying techniques are given below: Name-calling often using the target’s or victim’s names; commonly, the target is accused of being useless in all s/he does Gossiping about the target Stealing items that belong to the victim Unjustly demoting a victim Use of threats to get a victim to do what a bully wants Cyberbullying; this includes making use of various information technologies to bully a victim Physically assaulting a person or his or her property Blackmail Framing a victim before an authority figure Use of insulting remarks against a victims family, about ones home, personal appearance, sexual orientation, religion, race, income level, or nationality Ignoring or Isolating a victim Interfering with a victims personal belongings, and damaging them or using them to mock a victim Dominating a victim by staring Insulting graffiti[18] When bullying occurs in school

Religious Discrimination Essay

Religious discrimination under Title VII as defined by the U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) involves treating a person unfavorably because of his or her religious beliefs. The law protects not only people who belong to traditional, organized religions but also others who have sincerely held religious, ethical or moral beliefs. The law forbids discrimination on the basis of religion in any and all aspects of employment. This includes hiring, firing, pay, job assignments, promotions, layoff, training, and benefits. Title VII also prohibits workplace segregation based on religion, such as assigning an employee to a non-customer contact position because of actual or presumed customer preference. Title VII also addresses reasonable accommodation in relation to religion. The law requires that the employer must reasonably accommodate an employee’s religious beliefs or practices, unless doing so would cause more than a minimal burden on the employers business. For example, if an employee needs to be off work on Sunday mornings to regularly attend church services it would be the responsibility of the employer to reasonably attempt to accommodate this need. An accommodation for this could include paying another employee to cover the Sunday morning shift, even if it requires paying overtime. Or the employer could hire an additional employee to be able to cover the shift. Since Title 7 of the United States Civil Rights Act was passed in 1964 there have been several judicial decisions that have molded the way this law in interpreted and applied. The first such court case that I came across was the case of Welsh V. United States which brought into question what types of beliefs can be used to obtain conscientious objector status when being selected to go to war. In this case the prosecutor was convicted of refusing to accept induction into the armed forces; he did claim conscientious objector status but did not base this decision off religion. He did not claim to believe in a deity that would morally keep him from fighting in a war, he instead asserted his own personal moral opposition to any conflict in which people are being killed. He alleged that the sincerity of his belief should qualify him for exemption from military duty under the Universal Military Training and Service Act. The Act allowed only those people whose opposition to the war was based on religious beliefs to be declared conscientious objectors. However in a 5-3 decision the court allowed Welsh to be declared a conscientious objector even though his opposition was not based on religious convictions. The implication this case has on Human Resources Management is that HR personnel must be aware of the broad scope of beliefs that will be protected under Title 7. Whereas before this case only majorly defined religions such as Judaism and Catholicism would be protected you now see religions such as scientology seeking protection under the law. Another relevant case would be Seshadri v. Kasraian which established that an employee bringing a religious discrimination claim does not need to belong to an established church. Another case that has shaped this law and impacted human resource management was Campos v. City of Blue Springs. In April 1996 Campos was hired as a crisis counselor for the Blue Springs Police Department’s Youth Outreach Program (YOU). At the time she did not have the advanced degree as required by the written job description, but her supervisor told her that she would have until February 1997 to obtain her degree and guarantee her position. She was also guaranteed via verbal contract that she would be paid an extra $10,000 per year for support group work, she would be a team leader within three months, and she would be an assistant director within six months of starting her full-time employment. She began working in October 1996, enjoying her job until she disclosed to her supervisor that she observes tenets of Native American Spirituality, not Christianity. Campos claimed that immediately her supervisor’s behavior towards her changed; she was unfriendly and critical, excluded her from employee meetings, and told her that she may not have been a good fit for the job. After failing to show up to work due to attending a mandatory meeting to obtain her dissertation, which was required by her employer, Campos received so much scrutiny from her supervisor that she resigned. After her resignation, Campos filed suit against the City, alleging that she suffered from employment discrimination based upon her religion, sex, and national origin. The charges of sex and national origin discrimination were eliminated, and the case was submitted to the jury on the theory that Campos was constructively discharged because of her religion. On April 13, 2001, the jury awarded Campos $79,200 for back pay and compensatory damages. The district court denied the City’s Motion for Judgment as a Matter of Law, or in the Alternative, for a New Trial, and awarded Campos’s attorneys 90,556. 20 in fees and $11,825. 41 in expenses. This case has implications on Human Resources Management today because it establishes that employment decisions cannot be made based on whether or not an employee or potential employee agrees or disagrees with the employers religious views. One relevant business that comes to mind is Chik Fil A and their openly Christian beliefs. Even though they include Christian values in the core content of their mission statement and business plan they know that they cannot make any employment decisions based on religious affiliation. In Eatman V.  United Parcel Service in 2002 the company’s policy of requiring its drivers that had unconventional hairstyles to wear hats was called into question. The plaintiff was required by the company to wear a hat while on the clock because his hairstyle of choice was dreadlocks, a hairstyle where sections of hair are hand-rolled together in tight, interwoven spirals. After putting â€Å"a lot of thought† into the decision, Eatman, who is black, began wearing locks in February 1995 as â€Å"an outward expression of an internal commitment to his Protestant faith as well as his Nubian belief system. At this same time he also became enlightened about locked hair and its connection to African identity and heritage. The position that his supervisor at UPS took on his hair was that the company uses common sense to determine which hairstyles are not businesslike; he finds ponytails, Mohawks, green hair, â€Å"carved† shapes, and locked hair—short or long—unacceptable. And there were currently 19 other drivers at this particular UPS that were required to wear hats to cover their unconventional hairstyles, including others that had dreadlocks. Even though Eatman claimed that the policy was discriminatory the jury did not rule in his favor. It was ruled that Eatman’s hairstyle was dictated by a personal choice. Nowhere in his religious texts did it dictate in any way that followers of the faith must wear their hair uncovered in dreadlocks. The implications of this case are actually pro employer and pro Human Resource Manager. It shows that not every claim that an employee makes based off of religious need has to be immediately catered to. There are cases where the request can be frivolous and off topic of religion, in which case the employer does not need to go out of their way to make accommodations. Another very interesting court case that I came across was EEOC v. Union Independiete De La Autoridad De Acueductos y Alcantarillados De Puerto Rico. I found this case to be very interesting because it stipulates that employees cannot pick and choose which parts of their religion they wish to follow and which ones they do not. In this case the issue was whether or not a Seventh – day Adventist’s objection to union membership was the product of a sincerely held belief. Although the religious foundation of the Seventh – day Adventist faith’s opposition to union membership has long been recognized, there was evidence that this employee often acted in a manner inconsistent with his professed religious beliefs. He was divorced, took an oath before a notary upon becoming a public employee, worked five days a week (instead of the six days required by his faith), and there was some evidence that the alleged conflict between his beliefs and union membership was a moving target. This case seemed important because is forces the employee to prove that religion is vital part of their life. It keeps them from claiming that they are Christian for the sole purpose of being off on Christmas, or from claiming that they are Catholic only to be off on Easter. It not only keeps people from faking being religious but it also helps to ensure the sanctity of those who actually are as religious as they claim to be. And the final court case that I found addresses sincerely held beliefs that have not always been there but can conceivably come about. In the case of E. E. O. C. v. Ilona of Hungary, Inc. an employee sincerely believed that she should refrain from working on the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur even though she had not frequently celebrated Jewish holidays in the past. Her rise in faith was brought on by recent family events such as the passing of her mother-in-law and father, the birth of her son, and her husband’s rising faith. The court decided that these were significant enough to have caused a change in lifestyle and that she did believably have a real change of faith. After reviewing all of the cases mentioned above, along with numerous others, I have found that the topic of religion isn’t nearly as â€Å"black and white† as most would assume. There are many grey areas: What constitutes religion, how do you know if someone legitimately believes in their religion, and what aspects of someone’s lifestyle are pertinent to their claimed religion are just a few examples of where courts have to make a decision that will affect the way this topic is viewed for years to come. With the world become more and more diversified every day the topic of religion and all others under title 7 will continue to be tested and pushed to their limits. It is the job of the Human Resources Management team to be on high alert of potential discrimination cases and have all employees properly trained on these matters to ensure it does not happen at their company.