Co -Education

Co –education is considered to be best system of education- The most important parameter of countries progress is education . so, it is not whether the school is all of girls or the school is all of all boys the school, so it should be the guiding forces where the schools are built to impart knowledge to the children. Gone are the days when the girls were not allowed to go out by themselves and talking to boys was considered to be orthodox. Today can you imagine a workplace without a women . ell times have changed girls today are keeping pace with men and they have to be groomed to face competition & challenges in their carrier. Ones this is there any point of segregating the girls and the boys and sending them to different school . co-education provides the right base for child’s education ,beside attaining college and understanding and respect for opposite sex it is also important . it lays foundation for a balanced individual . Co-education helps the boys and gir ls to intermingle and understand each other well.They become more broad-minded and tolerant towards the opposite gender. They interact freely with one another, thereby overcoming hesitation and shyness. Thus, co-education leads to a healthy and harmonious relationship between boys and girls. Co-education moves out discrimination against boys and girls. Co-education also gives equality to both the sex. In fact boys become more conscious about their habits and behaviour attitude and dressing sense. This not only disciplines the boys but also girls. This also helps in their future life. Co -Education Co –education is considered to be best system of education- The most important parameter of countries progress is education . so, it is not whether the school is all of girls or the school is all of all boys the school, so it should be the guiding forces where the schools are built to impart knowledge to the children. Gone are the days when the girls were not allowed to go out by themselves and talking to boys was considered to be orthodox. Today can you imagine a workplace without a women . ell times have changed girls today are keeping pace with men and they have to be groomed to face competition & challenges in their carrier. Ones this is there any point of segregating the girls and the boys and sending them to different school . co-education provides the right base for child’s education ,beside attaining college and understanding and respect for opposite sex it is also important . it lays foundation for a balanced individual . Co-education helps the boys and gir ls to intermingle and understand each other well.They become more broad-minded and tolerant towards the opposite gender. They interact freely with one another, thereby overcoming hesitation and shyness. Thus, co-education leads to a healthy and harmonious relationship between boys and girls. Co-education moves out discrimination against boys and girls. Co-education also gives equality to both the sex. In fact boys become more conscious about their habits and behaviour attitude and dressing sense. This not only disciplines the boys but also girls. This also helps in their future life.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Being the Only Child Essay

What are the pros and cons of being the only child? There are some options in this subject. Some children feel well withouth siblings but others dream about a brother or a sister. One of the main advantages of being the only child is that your parents pay attention only to you. You are the most important person in their lives. Parents do everything for you. For example, if you want a new toy or some clothes they go to a shop and just buy it for you. Moreover, you have everything for yourself. You do not have to share the room, the computer and any other things. What is more you get more presents or more money. In addition to that, there is no person to quarrel with. You are alone and no one can take your things and do something wrong with them. No one disturbs you. You are a family ‘pet’ and you get all parential love. On the other hand there are also some disadvantages. First of all, the only children are very spoiled and selfish. They are used to thinking that they are the most important people so they must have everything only for themselves. When something is not going according to the way they planned it, they get angry. But it is not all. Being the only child means that parents put preassure on you. You have to still prove that you are the best. You have to het a A for every classroom test otherwise your parents will be disappointed with you. Last but not least, the only child may sometimes feel lonely. Other children can go out with siblings – for example to a disco, to friends or even to school. The only child must go solitary or with friends, although it is not the same. They have nobody who can borrow them some clothes or other things. To sum up, being the only child has many advantages but also a lot of disadvantages. Being such a child can be good, although in my opinion these people feel lonely and sad. Personally, I do not want to be the only child.

Digital marketing presents opportunities and challenges to Essay - 2

Digital marketing presents opportunities and challenges to organisations - Essay Example 198). Yet, to obtain the advantages of digital marketing, organisations should add interactive media into their current marketing and business strategies, which is not easy to accomplish. Many companies are having difficulties developing their digital marketing strategies. Studies are being carried out to identify new marketing tools that will contribute to the development and implementation of digital marketing tools. The intention of this discussion is to describe the opportunities and challenges presented by digital marketing to today’s companies by using two concrete examples, Amazon and American Airlines’s SABRE. Various scholars and researchers have identified and described the opportunities and challenges of digital marketing. Digital marketing has created new means or outlets for advertising, selling, and buying. It allows the customer to access an incredible amount of information in an accessible and convenient way. Customers have the chance to look at products and/or services based on their wanted features, such as price, quality, functionality, and others. Customers can use it to get product reviews, or to know about the experiences, opinions, and/or ideas of other users (Urban 2004, 18). Digital marketing has given the end user some control, bringing about an enormous change in marketing processes. By using digital marketing companies can gain competitive advantage through greater customer satisfaction. In addition, digital marketing could be a simple tool for companies since the ‘digital’ feature of marketing allows further technology advances. Because the Internet facil itates two-way communication directly and quickly, implementing digital marketing strategy can occur faster than earlier marketing tools and are at times less costly. The best feature of digital marketing is its ‘instantaneousness’, hence allowing quick response from customers (Morris 2002, p. 205). On the

Topic and apa review of literture narctics Essay

Topic and apa review of literture narctics - Essay Example Also, massive corruption and inadequate legislation on drug trafficking have perpetrated drug smuggling in the country. With improving law enactment in regions of operation of the cartels, the immense power, which the cartels had in 1990s, is slowly diminishing. However, Mexico still remains a den for drug barons and most of the drug cartels are still in operation despite incarcerations and killings of their founders. Mexican Drug Cartels Introduction The drug cartels have been in constant pursuit of regional control against forces of the Mexican government. The government focus has been to exterminate the gruel murders that result from powerful drug cartels duels. The Mexican government has for long focused on ending the fight between drug moguls rather than stopping drug trafficking, particularly into the U.S. The Mexican Drug Cartels can be traced back to several decades ago. However, they have been increasingly gaining power since the demise of Colombia’s Cali and Medellin cartels during 1990s (The National, 2011). Currently, the Mexican Drug Cartels dominate illicit drug market and control about 90 percent of illegal drugs smuggled into the U.S. this paper explores The Mexican Drug cartels and the reasons for their existence. Drug Production and Trafficking Marijuana, heroine, cocaine and methamphetamine, are the main drugs that drug barons smuggle across the border between the U.S. and Mexico (Shanty & Mishra, 2008). Marijuana and opium are grown in Mexico in plenty. According to Shanty and Mishra (2008), the quantity of marijuana supplied to the U.S. at one time from Mexico was approximately 95 percent of the overall marijuana consumed in the U.S. Presently, Mexico smuggles less than half the marijuana supplied to the United States. However, almost all cocaine that is smuggled into the United States first goes through Mexico before reaching the U.S. Most of the cocaine transported to the U.S. are airlifted or shipped from Colombia into Mexico befo re being smuggled across the U.S.-Mexico border (Shanty & Mishra, 2008). â€Å"About one-third of all heroine that enters the United States is developed from opium poppy plants grown in Mexico† (Shanty & Mishra, 2008, p.332). Mexico also established an attractive market for methamphetamine manufactured from precursor chemicals, which the Mexican government does not strictly regulate their importation. The chemicals are imported from countries like India, China and the U.S. The vast number of individuals, who cross the border into the U.S. daily, complicates the extent to which the government can control the flow of illegal drugs into the country (Grillo, 2012). For instance, approximately 295 million people, 88 million automobiles and 4.5 million trucks cross the U.S-Mexico boundary each year. Out of this estimation, just 10 vehicles are stopped and less this number is checked (Shanty & Mishra, 2008). Also, massive corruption among government officials encourage drug traffick ing in the country (Grillo, 2012; Klabin, 2013). In 1980s, drug smuggling was facilitated by drug consortiums that offered services to Colombian cartels for a fee of about $1,000-$2,000 for every kilogram of cocaine (Shanty & Mishra, 2008). Owing to the high level of risks in the trade, the syndicates demanded for a large chunk of profit share. Within a short span, the Mexican drug cartels were getting up to more than half the profits generated from cocaine trade. This lucrative gain enabled the Mexican drug cartels to take over as chief suppliers of cocaine. They also

Helvetica and Objectified Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Helvetica and Objectified - Essay Example Design of objects has some of the same factors as document design. It is aimed at a particular audience. If text is also displayed the two together, object and text, carry a meaning made from the combination. There are wonderful ideal of design to which many designers adhere, but ultimately, those designers who must earn must design for production, with the needs of the target audience and the process of its use taking a secondary role. Good design needs no marketing. Marketed design is fashion. Therefore, design for production is aimed at marketing the final product with the highest profit margin possible. Good design should have lower prices, but fashion pushes the price up. Therefore, designs which can be mass produced in factories manned by untrained labor and sold as fashionable gets the most attention of many companies. Apple computers capitalized upon the hunger for fashion (status symbol) in the western public for years, designing first for the look and second for function. This resulted in products that have an avid following and are useful to most. However, they are proprietary, more expensive and they sometimes miss the mark by a mile, as in the first Apple Air, several small desktops and some of the music players. Consumers see Apple as exclusive and somehow better, but most do not realize that this â€Å"better† is bought at the price of variety. Anyone designing for Apple must do it their way and be licensed by Apple. Designing for PCs or Android devices only requires complying with the system requirements. This produces better Apple products, since all must pass their rigorous tests, but more variety for other systems with a number of flaws in many products, but lower prices and more availability over all. One point was made very clearly in the documentary, Objectified (2009): that designing for mass production and fashion and designing

Service Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Service Management - Assignment Example The factor that is driving the change in strategy is the maturity and experience they have gained as solicitors over a long time they have as an independent firm. Furthermore, the fact that the number of clients they have is not growing, hence, they plan to find ways of increasing the number of customers. Another fact is that Smith and Jones want to be more visible in the market, and expand their business by employing another solicitor, who will assist them (Johnston, Clark & Shulver, 2012). John Smith differentiated his firm from the competition by noting that other solicitors believe that the business grows on its own, and they should just sit back and watch. Conversely, his firm is different since they work hard to maintain a client by ensuring that they come back and refer them to their friends (Krajewski, Ritzman & Malhotra, 2007). Their firm does not just wait, but treat their clients well by excellent communication, and providing good services to both the personal and commercial clients (Greasley, 2008). John Smith differentiates his firm from the competition by stating that their firm does not abuse their clients, and do believe that all customers are not happy with their solicitors. With this concept, John knows that their firm operates differently from her competitors and is more careful when it comes to handling their clients (Metters, King-Metters & Pullman, 2003). The changes John Smith will need to make to the operation include making efforts in selling their services. This can be achieved by putting a brochure together and list the extra services they provide including the steps they can take in order to receive the services. The change John Smith would need to make is to find good services that are related to their initial job. The services might include offering guiding and counseling, and teaching ethics, morals and ways of running their business

Fashion Marketing and Advertising. Marks & Spencer Essay

Fashion Marketing and Advertising. Marks & Spencer - Essay Example The essay "Fashion Marketing and Advertising" examines the strategies of marketing in fashion. Limited Collection brand is the fashion-forward brand of M&S created last 2004. The new face of Limited Collection is aimed to attract the young generation of women below -35. According to M&S, â€Å"it is the latest contemporary cut straight from the catwalk and brings a whole new attitude to style.† Though M&S had established its name over years, Limited Collection brand being new to the industry will be open to possibilities of threats from the simplest to the most complicated one that should not be overlooked. Generally, M&S makes the use of certain management strategies to anticipate threats like competition in the current retail environment. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to systematically gathered data, record and analysis of information concerning Limited Collection brand in the external marketing environment. Without this marketing research it would be impossible to deal with the competitors by making use of different marketing strategies. A marketing and advertising plan about the Limited Collection brand will be given focus as well as the analysis on how M&S manage to undertake the competition in the current retail environment that would make the brand successful. The success of the business lies entirely to the customers. Once the companies have them, customer should be satisfied by meeting their needs and demands. M&S is doing the same way, to prioritize its 21 million weekly customers.

Media Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Media - Research Paper Example Despite the conventional assumption that social media suited the Millennial Generation, it is evident that Baby boomers have adopted social media as the contemporary form of communication. The question relating to the means in which social media has shaped an individual’s life shares almost similar answers from everyone who utilizes social media. As such, it is evident that social media has shortened communication channels, making it easier to reach out to people at low costs regardless of the physical distance. For instance, communicating abroad through mobile networks require additional charges unlike social media whereby all that is needed is a reliable internet connection. The reduced costs of communication that accompany social media have enhanced social interaction among peers. As such, social media has removed some of the inherent barriers to effective communication among individuals who could not afford the extra costs of communicating with people abroad. Social media has been embraced in the business world to enhance the process of establishing a global market. As such, various social media play different role in ensuring that the intended message is communicated as desired. For instance, Facebook and Twitter allow users to communicate in short messages also termed as â€Å"Micro blogs.† On the other hand, Instagram allows users to communicate in form of picture messages. LinkedIn takes a different approach and creates a platform for work professionals to share their profiles. As such, every aspect of social media is differentiated to ensure that the user needs are met without overlapping. The functions of different social media ensure that the services offered are all round, making it a comprehensive communication platform. Social media, being a comprehensive communication platform, has myriad drawbacks besides boasting of numerous benefits. The most evident benefit of social media is

Calculating Full Time Equivalents (FTE) Assignment

Calculating Full Time Equivalents (FTE) - Assignment Example However, it is important to note that fringe benefits and risk time have to be considered during the calculations. This ensures that the healthcare facility avoids instances when the nurse is not curved for during a time of emergency. These will however mean that all these will have to reflect on the total salaries to be given out. The salaries therefore, need to be increased a little. Nurse Managers have the responsibility of ensuring that nurses are covered for during the times when they are not on duty officially. After a word with the manager, he agreed with my analysis emphasizing that non productive time was a very important factor to consider when allocating tasks to employees and determining the total number of employees needed in a given unit. He stated that in a practical situation, it is important to have nurses on standby especially non permanent employees who will cover for the non productive time of the other

Initial writing assessment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Initial writing assessment - Essay Example quipped for the increasingly interconnected contemporary world, compared to their counterparts who solely learn in their respective countries’ institutions. Despite the numerous opportunities, international students encounter distinctive challenges, which would potentially impede their level of fulfillment and satisfaction. This paper explores opportunities availed by international scholarship, potential challenges encountered by partisan students, and how the scholars can overcome the problems, in order to reap maximum benefits. One of the principal opportunities for international students is the chance to broaden their cosmopolitan experience and to reinforce their cultural sensitivity. This chance stems from the fact that, within an international context, students interact with others from diverse social, national and cultural backgrounds in settings to which they are not accustomed (Ruiz, 2010, p.45). The other vital prospect of international education is that it allows students to explore a wide range of career options that apply to the global job market. International scholars often get prior consideration for exclusive job vacancies, since they are usually associated with attributes like adaptability and global experience. Language proficiency acquired in the global education context cannot be overlooked, as a unique opportunity for involved students. Such linguistic expertise is ascribable to learning globally acknowledged languages such as English and French, which enhance one’s communication ability and increases chances of a student working in equally diverse work environs. Most importantly, international students get a chance to broaden their social and professional networks while growing at a personal level (Ruiz, 2010, p. 45). Even though international education affords students numerous growth opportunities at a personal and professional level, it is not devoid of challenges. A significant challenge faced by scholars that pursue this form of

Starbucks Marketing Strategy Essay Example for Free

Starbucks Marketing Strategy Essay If there is one company that should have failed in China, it would be Starbucks. China has thousands of years of history drinking tea and a strong culture associated with it. No one could have guessed that Chinese would ever drink coffee instead of tea. Yet, Starbucks has successfully opened more than 570 stores in 48 cities since it first entered China twelve years ago. Building on this momentum, it plans to open 1,500 stores by 2015. What did the Seattle-based coffee company do right in China? Here are five lessons from Starbucks’s success. A)Think Different When Starbucks entered China in 1999, many were sceptical that Starbucks had a chance. Given the fact that Chinese people have traditionally favoured tea, it seemed impossible that Starbucks would be able to break into this market. However, Starbucks did not let this scepticism stop it. A careful market study revealed that as the Chinese middle class emerged, there existed an opportunity for Starbucks to introduce a Western coffee experience, where people could meet with their friends while drinking their favourite beverages. Starbucks literally created that demand. Now you can find a Starbucks almost on every major street of the coastal cities in China. Even my 90-year old father in China began to tell me how he drank coffee after meals, rather than tea, to help his digestion. Starbucks has revolutionized how Chinese view and drink coffee. B)Position Smart Once Starbucks decided to enter China, it implemented a smart market entry strategy. It did not use any advertising and promotions that could be perceived by the Chinese as a threat to their tea-drinking culture. Instead, it focused on selecting high-visibility and high-traffic locations to project its brand image. The next thing Starbucks did was to capitalize on the tea-drinking culture of Chinese consumers by introducing beverages using popular local ingredients such as green tea. This strategy has effectively turned potential obstacles into Starbucks’ favour. Chinese consumers quickly developed a taste for Starbucks’ coffee, which was essential to Starbucks’ success in China. One of Starbucks’ key marketing strategies is to provide customers with an exceptional experience. The chic interior, comfortable lounge chairs, and upbeat music are not only differentiators that set Starbucks apart from the competition, but also have strong appeal to younger generations who fantasize about Western coffee culture as a symbol of modern lifestyle. Many go to Starbucks not just for a cup of Frappuccino, but also for the â€Å"Starbucks Experience† that makes them feel cool and trendy. Thus, Starbucks has established itself as an aspiration brand and is able to charge premium prices. C)Brand Global Starbucks understands the value of its global brand and has taken steps to maintain brand integrity. One of Starbucks’ best practices is to send their best baristas from established markets to new markets and train new employees. These baristas act as brand ambassadors to help establish the Starbucks culture in new locations and ensure that service at each local store meets their global standards. Western brands in general have a reputation for quality products and services. They have a competitive advantage over Chinese companies in establishing themselves as premium brands. However, as Shaun Rein, founder and managing director of China Market Research Group, pointed out, too many Western brands push for market share by cutting prices, which is a losing strategy because they can never â€Å"out-cut† local Chinese competitors. Global brand does not mean â€Å"global products,† or â€Å"global platform† as eBay mistakenly tried. Starbucks has highly localized menu of beverages that is particularly tailored to Chinese consumers. It has done an extensive consumer taste profile analysis to create a unique â€Å"East meets West† blend. It even gives each store the flexibility to choose from a wide variety of its beverage portfolio that fits the customers at its particular location. It is critical for global brands to adapt their businesses to local markets in order to succeed in China, and Starbucks has done just that. D)Partner Local China is not one homogeneous market. There are many Chinas. The culture from northern China is very different from that of the east. Consumer spending power inland is not on par with that in coastal cities. To address this complexity of the Chinese market, Starbucks partnered with three regional partners as part of its expansion plans. In the north, Starbucks entered a joint-venture with Beijing Mei Da coffee company. In the east, Starbucks partnered with the Taiwan-based Uni-President. In the south, Starbucks worked with Hong Kong-based Maxim’s Caterers. Each partner brings different strengths and local expertise that helped Starbucks gain insights into the tastes and preferences of local Chinese consumers. Working with right partners can be an effective way to reach local customers and expand quickly without going through a significant learning curve. E)Commit Long Term China is not an easy market to crack. It requires a long term commitment. An important strategy is to invest in employees. When I visited a Starbucks store in Shanghai back in 2007, I was impressed by the cheerful greetings of Chinese baristas, which set Starbucks apart from copycats. Starbucks has done an excellent job in recruiting and training its employees. This is a win-win strategy because employees are at the heart of delivering the â€Å"Starbucks Experience† to customers. They are the best marketing ambassadors for the company. Long term commitment also means patience. It takes time to educate the market and gain customer loyalty. The companies that invest in long term plans can be sure to reap handsome rewards. If Starbucks can succeed in a most unlikely-to-succeed market, there is no reason that any other company, large or small, cannot succeed in China. The ability to think differently, do your homework, implement right strategies, adapt to local markets, and commit long term are all important steps to achieve that goal.

Local Labour In The Construction Industry

Local Labour In The Construction Industry Chapter 1 1.0 Introduction Malaysia is now experiencing a new era of prosperity. The government invented and implemented a series of five year development plans and laid the foundation for the development in the country. Since the 60s, Malaysias economy grew rapidly and many jobs were created in the construction industry. In the early of 90s, Malaysia is facing lack of labour and there was a shortage of labour in the manufacturing industries. The labour shortage then expanded to the construction industry. The economic growth in the past two decade has led to a higher standard of living which also contributed to the locals objection to the 3D (dirty, demeaning and dangerous) sectors, which were eventually filled up by unskilled foreign workers. Malaysia is too depend on foreign workers, especially in our services industry or 3D industry. This doesnt contribute much to our economy as most of the income received by these workers are channelled back to their home countries but not use in Malaysia. This also mean there are high cash outflow. The government consider foreign workers as a cheap source of labour that could enhance the countrys export competitiveness had been encouraging the deployment of foreign labour in the 1990s. Prof Datuk Dr Mohamed Ariff of the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research believes that if Malaysia had not allowed the massive influx of foreign workers, local manufacturers would have been forced to innovate and automate to boost productivity to maintain their competitiveness. (Kok, 2011) The governments effort in reducing the countrys dependence on low-skilled foreign workers has been ongoing, as evidenced in the gradual reduction in the number of registered foreign workers over the last two years. The target is to reduce the number of foreign workers to 1.5 million by 2015. Many economists feel that what Malaysia needs is skilled or highly skilled workers, not cheap, unskilled foreign workers. (Alan Ting, 2008) 1.1 Problem Statement Many foreign workers site nowadays getting more and more, as they have a big group, they starting to cause a lot of problem, especially social and security problems. Recently from The Star News (20th June 2007), happened that a group of foreigner involved in fights, widespread break-ins and drug pushing have become a common sight at Klang. According to Ahmad, 1996. To avoid these problem happened, Contractor should hire local workers, but local workers are not interested to undertake the construction works. Contractors argue that they no longer could find local workers willing to work in construction industry because the salaries are low. Besides, construction industry is viewed by local as 3Ds job which mean Dirty, Dangerous and Difficult job. Local youth nowadays has less interest to work in the construction industry. This can affect the speed of development in construction industry. The reason that local workforce is not interested on this sector is they think that the job is dirty, dangerous and difficult to face. Therefore it results the industry are forced to hire foreign workers to keep the industry develop. (Shiadri Binti Saleh, 2008) Secondly, the group of foreign workers hired by the industry basically unskilled, so contractor or his assistant need to teach and advice the foreign workers while constructing building.(P. Larcher, 2001) Besides, the unskilled and problematic workers will not only cause delay in project completion but also cause poor quality of works which is not meeting the industrys skill standard. (Bachan Singh, 2011) Nowadays, construction companies are learning to pay low wages often results in poor workmanship, which effects both the quality of the products being produced, as well as the companys overall reputation. Low-cost labour can translate into unskilled labour, and in order to remain competitive in todays global market, companies must keep pace with the continuous advances in technology. (Amber Keefer, 2012) Poor workmanship of foreign labour can cause defects. According to Kurt Arnold, defects are from poor workmanship devalue property and can lead to additional damage to structures and materials. Poor workmanship is frequently the root cause of construction defects. Even quality building products, if installed or used incorrectly, it may fail to effectively serve their intended purposes or last as long as they are designed to last. Due to Local young have less interest on construction industry, CIDB is working hard to attract more local skilled workers. The implementation of accredit skilled workers system was to maintain a high standard workforce. These workers will get higher salaries than normal labourers. 1.3 Aim To study the factor that led to the poor participation of local labour in the construction industry. 1.4 Objectives To identify the advantage and disadvantage of poor participation of local labour in the construction industry. To determine the factors that led to the poor participation of local labour in the construction industry. To find out the strategies to improve the participation of local labour in the construction industry. 1.5 Scope of Study Firstly, the questionnaire will be set out with about 30 questions and target to send out 100 sets. Then, the respondents that I am aiming is Contractor of Malaysia. To get a contractor which is easier to consult and can give more information, it would be Class A contractors . Class A contractors are chosen because the job scope of them are very wide (such as mostly on infrastructure) and the worker or labour require by them are a lot. So we can get information about what kind of labour he is using( local or foreign) and the reason they choose the type of workers. I will find contractor class A at KL area, because mostly the infrastructure project will be having there. Such as MRT project. Kuala Lumpur is a high developing area. So, there are much more infrastructure need to be completed by contractor class A. After collecting the data, then data will be analyzed by using statistical method to ease us compare and conclude the result. Finally, conclusion and recommendation can be make from the overall data collected and questionnaire. 1.6 The methodology flow chart Selected Topic of Study Statement of Problems Determine the Critical Factors Determine the Advantage and Disadvantage of Local Labour Conclusion Recommendation / suggestion Data Analysis Questionnaire Determine the strategy of Improvement Data Collection Literature Review Define Objectives 1.7 Significant of Study The study of the topic is mainly to identify the factor that lead to poor participation of local worker in construction industry, follow by the causes and the solution to attract more local people to the construction industry. This is important because factor can tell us that the problem and why the young today are not interested on construction industry. Next, we can know causes of the lack of participation of local people in construction industry. Such as, it can cause the industry over depending on foreign worker. Thus over hire foreign worker can cause a lot of thing to happen, such as, cultural pollution, social problem and even outflow of Malaysias money. After all of these are identified, then we can find some solutions to prevent or reduce happening of these. Besides, from this study, it enable me to learn more about Construction industry of Malaysia and the important of the support from local workforce. CHAPTER 2 2.1 Introduction In this chapter, we are discussing factors of influence the local labour less interested to work in construction industry. The thing to be discuss is related to image of a person, economy of country , outsourcing of labour through sub-contractor system, lack of training and skill formation, large number of foreign workers, poor site accommodations and services and change in education. 2.1.1 Skilled Labour According to Investopedia, skilled labour is defined as a segment of the workforce with a high skill level that creates significant economic value through the work performed (humad capital). Skilled labour is generally characterised by high education or expertise levels and high wages. Skilled labour involves complicated tasks that require specific skill sets, education, training and experience, and may involve abstract thinking. 2.1.2 Semi-Skilled Labour Based on the explanation from World English Dictionary, it says that semi-skilled labour is party skilled or trained but not sufficiently to perform specialized work. Semi-skilled worker need some skills to do work but does not require doing the complex work. 2.1.3 Unskilled Labour Investopedia explained that a segment of the work force associated with a low skill level or a limited economic value for the work performed (human capital). Unskilled labour is generally characterised by low education levels and low wages. Work that requires no specific education or experience is often available to workers who fail into the unskilled labour. 2.2 Construction in the Eyes of Local Workforce. Evidence from different place of the world indicate that construction workers do not view thier employment in a very favorable light. Construction is viewed by almost everywhere as a low status job. In many other countries, either rich or poor, people work in construction out of necessity and not out of choice. Almost universally they wish for better things for their next generation. (ILO,2001) In construction industry, a lot of workers with different level such as skilled labour, semi-skilled and unskilled labour. But most of the people view construction industry as dirty job as well as dangerous jobs. Some even said the construction industry is unattractive job. (Nazib Faizal, 2012) In Malaysia, young workforce would rather unemployed than work in the construction industry. Official estimates put foreign labours at 80% of the entire construction workforce in 1992 (Abdul Aziz, 2001) 2.3 The Factors of Local Workforce Less Interested in Construction 2.3.1 Poor Image in the Eyes of Workforce Local young generation workforce has a poor view to construction industry. They just thought that the nature of work of construction is dirty, difficult and dangerous. But the real reason why construction work is so poorly regarded has much more to do with the term on which labour is recruited than the nature itself. For many construction workers around the world the term of employment have always been poor (ILO,2001) In Malaysia, accidents on construction sites always happened. Such as, sometimes we can hear or saw the news about site accident due to nature disaster(soil erosion) that caused workers seriously injured or even dead. Accidents on Construction sites are too common that everyone has come to accept them as an unavoidable characteristic of the industry. This situation is attribute to the casual terms of employment, the commitment of illegal foreign workers and the non-coverage of workers under nation insurance scheme (Abdul Aziz,1995) Next, reason of Malaysian are not willing to take up this job because it is danger to personal safety by construction work. Statistics from the social Security Organisation (SOCSO) showed that on the average, 5,000 accidents occurred in construction sites annually between 2000 and 2004. This figure stands about 5% to 6.5% of the total number of accident reported over the period. An average of 80 workers was killed in such accidents (Fong Chan Onn, 2006) Based on the inspection which conducted by Department of Safety and Health (DOSH), they found out that the major factor of accidents happened at site is contributed by lack of awareness on safety and health. They rate the safety and health of the construction site is not fulfill the satisfaction. Besides, often, workers are not comply with the rules and regulations of safety and health at the sites. This can cause much more serious injury or even depth happen. During accidents happen at the construction site, the workers are not only the one who injured, but also may cause injured or death to the public. So, all of these accidents had spoiled the image of construction industry. 2.3.2 Lack of Training and Skill Formation In construction industry, young, educated and experience workers are hard to find. This is because nowadays, young workforce has less experience and low skill. This is contributed by when they are in college or university, school provide less practical to them instead of theory. Even though students are provide to industrial training, but they cannot learn so much due to few reasons. Firstly, industrial training period is too short which they cannot manage to learn everything. Secondly is, the senior are unable to thrust trainees work as they are inexperience. Seniors worry that trainees work, so they do not dare to give heavy duty to trainee. Thirdly, Senior workers are too busy with their work which caused they have no time to teach the trainee. All of these are contribute to poor skill of young generation. In Malaysia, the problem that often sighted is the passing of skills through informal apprenticeship is often kept within family, clan or tribe and when circumstances dictate that skills should be transferred to outsiders they may be some dilution, with not all skilled passed on (Abdul Aziz,2001) For Malaysian, they always change company when they are offered with higher salary. So, the company has to hire new workers and re-train them. Training workers are very costly and time consuming. So when contractor is bidding for a project, he might raise the price of their bids which could make the contractor unable to compete with others. 2.3.3 Unattractive Jobs The other reason of local young workforces are not attracted by this job is because there are already a lot of foreign workers doing this job. The image of this job is already spoiled by the foreign because foreigners are normally with low skills and poor educational background. So, local young workforce might think that they were hired as unskilled and low education, therefore, they do not want to be look down by other friends and parents. This caused the local refused to join construction industry. As the result, construction industry need to hire more foreign workers to keep moving forward. In Malaysia, official estimates put foreign labours at 80% of entire construction workforce in 1992 (Abdul Aziz,2001) This situation again will cause the entire construction industry lack of local workers. 2.3.4 Poor Site Accommodations and Services In Malaysias construction industry, contractor has a common practice which is providing temporary accommodation on the site for workers to stay. The temporary accommodation is usually made up from timber and zinc. This type of accommodation was less conducive to most of the Malaysian Workers. This is also one of the reason why Malaysian workers are shying away from the construction sector and consider employment in the construction sector as not dignified enough (CIDB News, 2009) Besides, the services and facilities at sites provided by some contractors are not good enough. 2.3.5 Low Salary In Malaysia, the salary for site labour are consider low. Because in construction industry, they hired too many foreign workers which is pay in very low rate. But Local workforce are requesting higher salary. In this case, contractor would rather hire foreign workers as they accept low salary. As for the demand in high salary, local workers were lured overseas country such as Singapore, Taiwan and Japan. There is where they were paid a much more higher salary based on their skills. This is the reason of our construction industry relied on foreign work force. 2.3.5.1 Factors Influenced The Labour Salary (1) Location Location can influence the salary of labour. For the place such as city area that has more projects especially infrastructure project, the need of labour are higher compared to rural area which have less project. Since the city area has higher living standard, the amount of money used per day also high. So for the city labour, local workforce cannot accept such low salary offered in construction industry in city area. Unlike, rural area labour can accept low salary, because their living standard are lower which do not need high salary. (2) Competition among the contractors Contractors receive a project by tendering, to win a tender, their tender pricing must more reasonable low. Normally, Client would like to have a lower cost project. So, for the contractor to able to compete with others, they will firstly lower their construction cost by reducing labours salary. (3) Risky Project For every project, there is risk in between. For larger project or higher building, the risk will be higher since it face to more technical machinery and higher floor level when workers are doing their work. Such as higher building need higher scaffolding, therefore it is more dangerous when it goes higher. So to prevent contractor from losing more money from accident, contractor therefore buy insurance to cover the workers. Beside, contractor need high skilled workers to handle a much more dangerous situation. High skilled workers are much more expensive compared to unskilled or semi skilled workers. All of these are affecting the cost of labour and cost of construction. (4) Labours Market For most of the local labour cannot fulfill domestic demands such as the working duration, not durable under sunlight, and stamina is not that good. Thus government allow foreign labour to be imported to fulfill the demand of constrcution industry. This is because foreign labour such as Indonesian, they are more durable under the sun and have good stamina and importantly they can accept low wages. In this situation, foreign labour wage is much lower than the local labours, thus many contractor take foreign worker to reduce their wages expenses. 2.4 Advantages and Disadvantages of Poor Participation of Local Labour 2.4.1 Advantages of Poor Participation of Local Labour In recent years, there has been a big problem that the foreign workers have caused economic problems in Malaysia. However, it is not to reject the positive impacts of foreign labour on economic issues. Assuming that there are many problems the evidences, (Chan Moha, 1998) indicated that there are also direct and positive impacts of the foreign workers. The foreign workers have benefited in the income development. Foreign workers were immensely beneficial to the economy. This shows the positive quantitative contribution of foreign workers to Malaysians economic growth. The implications of foreign workers on the Malaysian economy have been immense especially since the late 1980s (Zehadul et al, 1999) Wage structure is one of the significant role in maintaining lower wage levels. This also indicated Sidney (1996), foreign labour offer an endless stream of cheap labour that can keep wages low and growth high. Generally speaking, foreign workers contribute to the economy by supplying a cheaper labour force. As a matter of fact, foreign workers usually receive a lower salary than local workers and the difference can help to maintain the decrease in production cost. As stated by Oleg (2002) that the attracting cheap workforce means cutting production costs, hence the production cost for construction development is kept low which is an advantage in the foreign workers. Malaysia, which have seriously shortages of workforce in construction industry, by importation of foreign workers could minimize the workforce shortage problem. The supply of this additional labour force fulfilled the urgent demand for labour which could not be met so quickly and at a cheaper rate Here, importantly the foreign workers accepted those jobs which are rejected by the local workers especially the construction jobs that known as 3Ds job. Moreover, if we assume that the foreign workers are equally productive as the local workers, one can safely say that foreign workers make net positive contributions. It has already been brought to our notice that the value added of dollar spent on labour in Malaysia is around 5 times in the manufacturing sector (Ghosh, 1998). If this is true, then there are sufficient positive value-added effects of foreign workers in the Malaysia economy. 2.4.2 Disadvantages of Poor Participation of Local Labour 2.4.2.1 Hiring Foreign Labour in Construction Industry and The Impacts Poor participation of local labour can caused the contractor is being forced to hire foreign labour. Generally, local people tend to feel that foreign workers are contributing problems in the country and economy. Malaysia Construction industry firms were experiencing various problems due to foreign labour. Recently, the problem of foreign labour in construction industry is as follow: a) Cultural Pollution Most foreign workers are peaceful. They want to earn money to send homeland for their family. In most cases, concern over foreign labour is linked to anxieties over what some have characterised as cultural pollution and over foreignisation (Weiner, 1990). They may change the cultural and social orders of the normal practice of the locals in construction industry. b) Social Problem Legal and illegal foreign labour also contribute to many social problems and make the impacts on the locals. They create many social problems like spread of diseases, theft, robbery, cheating, killings, illegal settlement and so on. They form syndicates. If there are no syndicates, legal and illegal immigrants cannot arrive in Malaysia. According to Tey (1997), as shown by unpublised police records at the police headquarters in Bukit Aman, between 1985 and 1991, foreign labour accounted for between 14.7% and 18.2% of all murders commited in the country. The figure for gang roberry was between 32.7% to 48.2%. c) Economic Issues The foreign workers have an impact on the wage structure, labour market, competition with locals. Another perceived bad impact is the high remittances sent out by foreign workers to their home countries. Foreign workers also thought to be responsible for the higher rate of inflation because of their increased demand. They enjoy public goods without paying taxes and user fees. As such they become free-riders in the Malaysia economy. They are ensured health and other facilities with free. However it cannot be rejected that the use of temporary foreign labour enables the rapidly growing economics and societies to fulfill manpower needs in dead-end, low status, low wage sectors of the economy such as construction sectors (Zehadulet al, 1999). d) Low Wages for Local Workers and Taking jobs away from Locals Womens Workers Association President Silam Hassan (2004) Claimed the problem of foreign workers stemmed from the Governments open policy which drew large numbers of outsiders to the extent that local workers had compete with them for jobs. As a result of the inflow of foreign workers in the construction industry, the wage rate for local workers has gone down simultaneously. Because of poor participation of local workers, the foreign workers are slowly taking over the work from locals. In construction industry, the foreign worker going into sub-contracting work, where there is a lot of money to be made. Besides, the presence of illegals create problems also since illegals are not limitted by rules and regulations and are free to infiltrate into any jobs so long as the employers are willing to accept them. e) Foreign Labour Caused Works Delay Construction industry is labour intensive industry, but due to poor participation of local labours, construction industry is depending on large number of foreign labour. According to Economic Report 2003/2004, The new Immigration Act 1995/63 (Amendment 2002), which came into effect on 1st August 2002, about 318,300 illegal immigrants were deported in 2002. This has caused construction activities in all stages to slow down. Consequently, there was a labour crunch that cause costly work delays. In a move intended to reduce dependence on foreign labour and increase employment opportunities for locals, the government has shortened the validity period of work permits to 3 years. The policy change will seriously affect human resource planning in construction industry and caused delay of works. f) Low Productivity and quality due time consuming to train new workers In the reduction of the duration of work permits for foreign workers from 6 or 7 years to only 3 years had caused deterioration in the poor quality of workmanship and low productivity. This is because foreign labours that had 3 years experience may be replaced by those do have prior construction experience, thus resulting in low productivity and poor quality of work and time consuming on teaching the inexperience labours. Some of them were not able to cope with new experience of working on large-scale projects. Abdul Rahim (2009) also mentioned that the lack of quality foreign labour that have been hired is one of the main problems in construction industry. The companies that lose workers will need to hire new ones, who are likely to be unskilled and inexperienced. That means the employers have to spend time and resources to train these new workers. As indicated in Master Builder (Abdul Rahim, 2009), upon commencement, the foreign labour would require another 2. to 3 months to go through an orientation or learning curve period before they become productive. Furthermore, on-the-job training will take around seven to eight months then only the foreign workers will begin to contribute to company. To some extent, the training was difficult, as most foreign labour were paid daily wages and were reluctant to undergo training due to loss pay. g) Heavy Expenses in the Recruitment Process and Long Permit Processing Times Malaysia introduced harsh new immigration laws, thus the construction industry is suffering from an acute shortage of foreign workers throughout the nation. As a result, this has caused construction industry activities to be delayed albeit contractors trying to best of their endeavours to recruit new workforce. The central problem now appears to be the long processing time taken by the authorities to grant the foreign work permit (Abdul Rahim, 2009) Contractors securing new jobs have problems mobilizing new workers on time, due to this long work permit or recruitment process. Based on Abdul Rahman, (2009) he also mentioned that base on current experience, it takes about 2-3 months on a best case scenario to go through the entire administrative process, commencing from obtaining a work permit from the ministry of Home Affairs to the foreign workers gaining physical entry into Malaysia to work. Thus, it is not cost effective to send foreign workers home after the permit period (3 years) because of heavy expenses in the recruitment process. Meanwhile, the process to bring in foreign workers is tedious and time consuming. Besides, a lot of cost is involved in medical examinations, transportation and levies. Therefore, there is pressure in the system for employers to employ illegal foreign labour and to dodge the levies and charges which are incurred on the employment of legal foreign labour. 2.5 Strategies to improve the participation of local labour in the construction industry. 2.5.1 Cut Foreign Labour via Minimum Wage System Recently, there was no national minimum wage law applicable to the Malaysia in construction industry. Basic wage rates vary according to location and vay from company to company (MIDA,2009). The government should implement the minimum wage scheme in all job sectors to reduce the intake foreign workers and so that it can attract local labour with the standard wages. The scheme has to be enforced as the increasing the number of foreign workers in the country was only benefiting the employers and agencies that brought the workers in. The employers who took the workers in. The employers who took the workers in were only interested in cheap labour. This phenomenon was expected since the employers were more inclined to hire foreign workers who were prepared to accept low wages. But with the implement of the minimum wage scheme, contractors might have no choice but to employ local labour. Besides, with the wage control system, the local labour will accpet the wage rate. Furthermore, the quality of work will improve since local labour were mostly graduate with at least diploma level. 2.5.2 Industrialised Building Systems (IBS) The government encouragement to all employers to mechanise and move into less labour intensive process has not achieved the desired result. On the contrary, the demand for the foreign labour is increasing by the day. (Rydgren, 2004) The majority of foreign labour brought into the construction industry were wet trade labour involved in concrete, brick, and wood works. To reduce construction industry dependence on such foreign labour, we must change the way we work by reducing wet trade in the construction process. This could be achieved through implementation of the Industrialised Building Systems (IBS) Roadmap 2003-2010. By combining IBS with modern management technologies, the local skilled workers would fill the vacancies. They should adapt high technology to lessen the dependence on foreign manpower. CIDB would give free training to locals so that they can replace the foreign manpower and help the construction sector move towards using new technologies. The IBS Roadmap promises to reduce the number of workers at construction sites, usage of material and wastage. Conventional technology that is being used needs a lot of manpower, causing us to be dependent on foreign workers who are mostly unskilled. As a result, not only is the quality of workmanship being compromised but we also lose out in terms of money flowing out the country. With the IBS, wet trade workers can be reduced and construction world is now beginning to recognise the reduced and construction works focused on the use of the mechanisation and prefabrication. Besides, the construction world is now beginning to recognise the advantages to be gained by integrating fabricated steel and precast concrete with site cast concrete, much less labour is required on building sites. This result in the hidden cost of moving labour around tall or large buildings being lower (Peter, 2004). The Government even stopped offering incentives to labour-intensive firms, tuning its attention instead to developing of strategic high technology industries (Rajah, 2001) 2.6 Summary 2.1.1 Skilled Labour High skill level , high perfomance, high education, expertise, experienced and high wages 2.1.2 Semi-skilled labour Partly skilled or trained, not sufficient to perform specialised work. Do not in

The History Of The Meaning Of Stress Philosophy Essay

The History Of The Meaning Of Stress Philosophy Essay In  psychological terms,  stress  is a feeling of pressure, strain, anxiety, being overwhelmed. It is characterized by overall irritability, feeling of insecurity, nervousness, withdrawal from social activities, loss of appetite, depression, frequent panic attacks, exhaustion, low / high blood pressure, skin problems, inability to sleep, migraine, gastrointestinal problems (constipation or diarrhea) and menstrual problems in case of women. It can lead to more serious problems e.g. heart problems, etc. Stress in small amounts may be desirable, beneficial and even healthy for us in some cases.. Positive stress helps improve our performance and keeps us focused on our targets and also on out toes. It also plays a major role in motivating us, helping us in adapting to the environment and any changes therein and also manages our reaction to the environment. However, excess of anything is bad. This is true in case of stress also. Large amounts of stress can cause many problems in the body that will be harmful to us. Stress could be something external, that is, related to the environment  or it could be something internal, that is, affected by the internal perceptions of an individual that cause him to experience feelings of anxiety / negative emotions in relation to a given situation. Examples of negative emotions are pressure, discomfort, etc., which in excess prove to be harmful for us. For individuals experiencing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), external factors that are not considered to be stressful or threatening to the individual are deemed as such. Examples of some such triggers are Reporting stress on hearing a particular song or a particular tune, seeing something that may remind the individual of prior events that he found threatening to himself. People experience feelings of stress, or perceive things to be threatening to themselves, when they believe that the resources that they have are insufficient for coping with difficulties. It can also be said that people think they do not have the resources that the circumstances demand them to possess. These difficulties may be some stimuli, situations or people. When people believe that the demands being placed upon them are beyond their coping ability, they perceive stress (negative). CAUSES OF STRESS Any stimulus that is perceived to be a threat, may it be a particular situation, circumstance, etc. is called a stressor if it promotes or causes an individual to experience stress. Some of the most common stressors in an individuals life are Personal Circumstances The personal circumstances of the individual are perhaps the most important stressor in an individuals life. These include any financial difficulties ha may be experiencing, any conflicts he may have with his family or friends, etc. These give a lot of stress to the individual. Health Status An individuals health status is also a cause of stress to him. If the individual is going through some health problems e.g. he has a disease like malaria, he will experience a lot of tension. In case the individual is poor, he will worry about the cost of treatment, hospital bills, etc. In case of a student, he will worry about the amount of studies that he will miss, the homework, assignments, etc that he will have to submit when he gets better, etc. In case of an employee, he will worry about the backlog of his work, whether his job in the organization is safe or he will be replaced, etc. Thus, health status is also a major stressor in the individuals life. Ethnicity, Gender, Age or Disability Ethnicity refers to a person belonging to a particular place, culture, etc. Sometimes the individual is subjected to bias on the basis of non ethnicity (in case of Indians working in Norway, the natives of Norway getting preference over Indians even though they may not be as competitive as the Indians), gender (not accepting individual for a particular post in the organization because of gender; this is usually found in the cases of women). Such bias also lead to a lot of frustration arising within the individual and giving him stress. Also, age of the individual is also a stressor for him. When he grows old, he starts worrying about his retirement, whether the company will firm him because of his inability to work productively any longer, how he will support himself, etc. This gives him a lot of stress. Similarly, disability is also a cause of stress for the individual. Personality The personality of the individual also affects the amount of stress that he takes, how much he is affected by the different stressors, etc. e.g. Someone, who has an easygoing, happy go lucky nature will not take a lot of stress or not take any undue stress. On the other hand, a pessimistic person will always be under a lot of stress as he will always think the worst in every situation and take a lot of stress from the same. Thus, personality of the individual can also be said to be one of the factors of stress. Background and Culture The background and culture of a person are a factor in shaping the personality of a person. Thus, background and culture can also be a factor of stress for the individual. Other than the above factors, there are various demands in and outside work which also contribute to giving stress to the individual. WORK RELATED STRESS Work related stress is the tension or stress that an individual experiences when he feels or he actually does not have adequate resources to cope with the various types and combinations of demands of his work. Work related stress usually arises due to lack of planning. In the absence of an organized and well designed plan to accomplish a goal, the individual feels stress while working towards accomplishment of the goal. However, planning or rather lack of it, alone, is not responsible for work related stress. There are various other factors which can be responsible for this stress. Some of them are given below :- Management Standards Management standards give definition to the culture and characteristics of the organization. They lay out the benchmarks for performance of the employees. The employee feels stress from the tension of not being able to achieve the target or not being up to the standard in the organization. He fears this will lead to him losing his job and thus, takes tension. Thus, management standards also cause stress to the organization. However, if this stress is taken positively, it can lead to great personal growth of the employee by serving as a motivator for the employee to perform better. Overworked Underling This scenario usually arises when there is a high demand for the services of the individual but he has very little or no control over how his services are volunteered or used in the organization. This tends to cause a great deal of psychological strain on the individual. The employee is usually overworked, is busy from the time he comes to work to the time he goes home, mostly comes early to work and goes home late. The employee does not get a say in the projects that he will be doing and often finds himself doing someone elses work also in addition to his own. Frustrated Go Getter Every employee, whether he is a hard worker or a smart worker, works with some specific objective in mind. This objective can be a raise in salary, appreciation for a job well done, promotion, etc. However, when this objective is not satisfied, even though the employee has worked fruitfully for the achievement of the same, the employee becomes frustrated. In this, someone else (e.g. the bosses) may take credit for employees work instead of giving him what is due to him. Whatever the reason may be, as the employee does not get any fruit for his efforts, he gets more and more frustrated. As his frustration increases, so does his stress and anxiety level. Thus, employee takes a lot of stress as a frustrated go getter. Castaway In this situation the employee feels like its just him against the world. He feels totally alone and feels that he cannot trust or rely on anyone except himself. His boss does not give him any guidance or help when he faces a problem. He feels that he does not have any friends who he can trust at the workplace. He becomes cynical and cannot find a way to channel all his negative feelings / emotions (frustration at the boss, fear of losing his job, etc.) There is no outlet for all these emotions. He is at a loss of who to turn to and feels totally alienated by everyone else at the workplace. This also gives the employee a lot of stress. Doormat This happens a lot in jobs where the employee has to deal directly with the customer. He is expected to talk politely to the customer irrespective of what or how the customer is talking to him. The same is true for the employees relationship with his seniors / manager(s). The manager may not treat employee with any respect but the employee must always treat the manager respectfully. He is always expected to maintain a faà §ade of professionalism and courtesy. Thus employee feels like he is being treated like a doormat on which anyone and everyone can step without there being any consequence of the same. He feels that he is being taken for granted and no importance is being given to his self respect. This also leads to bottling up of emotions on the employees part, thus giving rise to tension and stress. Tech Prisoner This is one of the adverse effects that technology has one our life. What with laptops, mobiles, Blackberry, etc. the boss can be in touch with the employee 24 X 7 X 365 i.e. all the time. Even at Sunday, which is an off day, the employee is usually working, albeit from home. In case he is sick, the boss tells him he need not come to officeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦..he can work from home instead. Our home, instead of being a sanctuary to return to from work, has now become more like a 2nd workplace. The employee is imprisoned by the very technology that makes his work easier. Thus, the employee does not have any place or time to unwind or relax. He is always working. This gives rise to frustration on the employees part. This frustration, in turn, leads to stress. Bully Target In organizations, the boss is usually the ultimate bully. He holds the power to fire the employee, deduct his salary, etc. The boss knows this. The employee is usually the bully target for the boss. The boss can take out all his anger or frustration on the employee, give him enormous amounts of work to be finished within a very short period, insult the employee or dress him down in front of others as a show of power over the employee, etc. The employee, being under the bosss thumb cannot do anything but go on working and hope to please the boss. Even if this happens to others and not the employee himself, he is always afraid that it will be his turn next. Thus, these feelings of fear, anxiety, etc. give stress to the employee. Burnout Burnout begins with prolonged and excessive levels of job stress. Strain is produced as a result of this stress. The process is completed when employee copes with the job in a defensive manner and becomes cynical or rigid. It usually happens when an employee has been working his tail off continuously for a long period of time. As the term suggests, burnout refers to a state of total exhaustion, both physical and emotional, when the employee feels that he is just about to break down or collapse from overwork. It is usually characterized by a dramatic decrease in the employees productivity and a diminishing of interest on the part of the employee in the work that he has to do. It is caused by working for long hours, taking very little time to relax and a continuous competition with peers, the need to prove oneself to the superiors, etc. All this builds pressure on the employee and causes a lot of stress to him. Wronged Victim The employee feels that he is being wronged at the workplace. He may feel that the boss is playing favorites and being partial towards some employees e.g. the employee may be overburdened with work, while some other team members might have no work at all and may be relaxing. Even at the employees behest, the manager refuses to distribute his work among them. Thus, employee may feel the manager is being partial towards the other employees. Also, if the manager takes credit for work done by employee, he may feel wronged. This leads to employee feeling very frustrated with the manager as well as the organization and thus, feeling very stressed. The main work related stressor is burnout. CAUSES OF BURNOUT Long hours When an employee keeps working long hours continuously for a long period of time, he starts feeling exhausted, both mentally and physically. This also leads to him not being able to concentrate on his work, losing his interest in the same and feeling large amounts of stress. This leads to the employee experiencing burnout. Lack of down time As the saying goes, All work and no play made Jack a dull boy. Similarly, if an employee continues to work for long hours continuously for a long period of time without taking any time to relax or unwind, the exhaustion of the employee becomes two fold. Instead of helping him do the work faster by devoting more time to it (as he believes), the employee is actually slowing himself down by not resting at all. Once he rests, the productivity of employee can once again become high. On the other hand, when an employee keeps working without resting his productivity keeps getting lower until it is nil. This is when the employee is likely to experience a complete physical and mental breakdown. Continuous competition Competition, as long it is taken positively, is good for the employee. It helps in improving performance of the individual and also helps in his personal growth. However, Excess of anything is bad. This holds true in case of competition also. If an employee is always worrying about competition, it is liable to build pressure on him. This pressure, combined with all other pressures, can speed up the process of burnout of the employee. Thus, we can see that everything, may it be competitiveness, work or rest works positively for the employee only when done in moderation. Excess can lead to burnout which only adds to the employees problems rather than reducing them. SYMPTOMS OF BURNOUT Low Job Performance The employees productivity falls and his level of performance decreases. Also, his job satisfaction also goes down. Employee is not happy doing his job and does not give the required level of productivity. Physical exhaustion / Fatigue Due to working for long hours for a prolonged duration, employee feels tired out and in great need of relaxation. He is unable to concentrate and focus on his job, bringing down his performance. He feels totally exhausted physically. Rigidity Employee becomes rigid i.e. inflexible towards change of any kind. Instead of being active and trying to adapt himself to any new changes in the job environment, the employee adopts a rigid attitude and does not want change of any kind. Apathy The employee becomes indifferent towards the activities of the organization. He loses his sense of purpose and becomes listless. Also, the employee does not work towards fulfillment of his objectives and does not really care about their fulfillment. Cynicism -The employee becomes cynical and shows distrust towards everyone. He feels that no one can be trusted and that everyone is motivated by their own selfish reasons only. Emotional exhaustion The employee is so drained that he acts like a zombie with no sense of what is going on or what is happening. He is totally exhausted emotionally as well as physically. He has no energy and is in dire need of relaxation to get back some energy. COPING WITH STRESS Individuals may perceive various threats to themselves. These perceived threats may prove to be stressful to them in various ways. Individuals have different coping mechanisms or defense mechanisms for handling this stress. However, all their variations are based on the same general idea: There are productive / positive and counter productive / negative ways of handling stress. As stress is perceived, the mechanisms given below may not necessarily deal with the actual situation that causes stress to an individual. However, they may be considered coping mechanisms if they give the individual a way to handle the stress in a better way such that the negative feelings / feelings of anxiety that the individual is experiencing due to the perceived threat may be reduced substantially, rather than actually fixing the concrete obstacle causing the stress. This actual fixing is not possible in real life. Given below are some widely accepted mechanisms for coping with stress 1) Highly Active / Problem-Focused / Adaptive Mechanisms These skills are used when the individual wants to face the problem head on, or at the very least, deal with the negative emotions experienced by him due to stress in a positive / constructive manner. This style is generally known as being adaptive in nature. a)  Affiliation   This method involves dealing with stress by involving oneself in social activities, turning to a social network for support, etc. However, the individual just uses these social interactions as a way to unwind or get away from his problems for some time. He does not share his problems with others in order to decrease the burden on himself or transfer the responsibility to someone else. b) Humor As it is said, Laughter is the best medicine. An individual often tries to get some relief in a stressful situation by injecting some humor or comic relief into the same. Besides decreasing the stress on the individual, this method also allows him to step away from the situation. This gives him another way of looking at the problem which can help him in finding a solution to the same. c) Sublimation   This method allows the individual to find an indirect way of resolving the conflict such that there is neither any loss of pleasure on the part of the individual nor any adverse consequences. Most importantly, this mechanism is characterized by the fact that it gives the individual a socially acceptable outlet for channeling his troubling emotions and impulses. d) Positive Reappraisal This method involves redirection of the individuals thoughts or cognitive energy to good events that are either happening or have yet to occur. It leads to introspection or self reflection, personal growth of the individual and awareness of the benefits of ones efforts or of how much the individual can achieve through his efforts.. Other adaptive coping mechanisms include altruism, anticipation and self observation. 2) Disavowal Mechanisms These mechanisms are used by the individual because they give him a diminished or even non existent (in some cases) awareness of his fears, perceived threats, feelings of anxiety, etc. This is because this mechanism causes the individual to become impervious to any perceived threats. Displacement   This is the technique of directing ones attention away from a threatening situation, event, etc. to a somewhat less threatening one. Repression   In this method, the individual tries to totally disconnect himself from the threatening situation by removing all feelings, thoughts, etc. related to the perceived threat from his awareness. This method is usually not advisable because when followed long enough, it is little more than denial of the threats that he faces. He is running away from the threats or hiding from them instead of facing or resolving them. Reaction Formation   This is similar to repression. The only difference is that in this method, in addition to removing all threatening thoughts, feelings, etc. from ones consciousness, the individual substitutes or replaces them with the exact opposite feelings, thoughts, etc. e.g. in case of threatening thoughts, individual will substitute pleasant ones. Other disavowal mechanisms include rationalization, undoing, dissociation, etc. Active Mechanisms In these methods, an individual deals with stress either by withdrawing from the threatening situation or by taking action against the same. Acting Out In this method, the individual, instead of reflecting on the problem and trying to find a way to solve it, starts taking maladaptive action i.e. instead of trying to adapt to the situation, the individual starts fighting against it. Such behavior is counter productive for the individual and is usually characterized as problematic or counter normative behavior. Passive Aggression   In this method, the individual deals with negative thoughts or feelings arising from the stress (anxiety, fear, etc.) by behaving in a resentful or hostile manner towards others. He rejects help from others and also complains about the circumstances and / or the present state of affairs. Depending on the situation, all the coping mechanisms given above may be characterized as being adaptive or counter normative. TO RELIEVE STRESS AMONG EMPLOYEES, A MANAGER CAN Include Employees In Decision Making This gives the employees a feeling of control over the work that they do. It helps in reducing the frustration that they experience with the managers and the organization at the amount of work they have to do. By making them a part of the decision making process, the manager is gaining their voluntary acceptance to do the work allotted to them. Increasing Transparency The manager can make the decision making process more transparent, explaining the reason for a specific decision. This does not mean that manager has to give an explanation to the employees for all his decisions but he may give reasons for those decisions which the employee perceives as having a negative effect on him. This will nip any notions of partiality by manager in the bud only and also make the employee feel more valued. Discuss Employees Problems The manager should have an open door policy and encourage employees to discuss their problems. This will help in clearing any misunderstandings or misconceptions that the employee may harbor and also assure the employee that he can come to the manager for help and guidance. This will reduce the stress on the employee. Giving Employees Time off This means literally giving the employee some time to relax. Just the fact that the employee is at home is not enough. If employee is working from home, he is still working only. Giving time off means not giving employee any work and just allowing him to unwind or relax himself. This will reduce the physical and emotional exhaustion of the employee and allow him to rejuvenate. Also, he will feel less like a tech prisoner. This will also reduce the stress on the employee. Periodic Performance Appraisal Managers should conduct periodic performance appraisals (weekly, monthly, etc.) of the employees so as to analyze their performance, check whether they are performing according to the set standards, find out the causes of deviation, if any exists. The manager can also instruct the employees on how to achieve their goals and where they are going wrong presently. This will reduce any feelings of frustration experienced by employees and also assure them that the manager wants to help them in achieving their goals. BENEFITS OF RELIEVING STRESS TO INDIVIDUALS Higher Job Satisfaction If the individual is not experiencing any stress or too much stress, he will be happy doing his job and thus, will have a high degree of job satisfaction. Easier To Achieve Goals If the individual is not experiencing an excess of stress and he has a high level of job satisfaction, he will also have higher productivity. With this higher productivity, individual will be able to achieve his goals in a shorter time. Harmony If individual does not experience too much stress and has high job satisfaction, he will automatically find a balance between his professional and personal life. Thus, he will find a harmony between both and be able to enjoy both to the fullest extent. Problem free The individual, in the absence of negative stress in his life, will be free of many of the problems relating to stress e.g. listlessness, emotional and physical exhaustion, etc. Thus, his life will be further enriched. TO TEAMS Harmony Between Team Members Due to lack of stress on individuals and reduced tension among the employees, there will be more harmony between the members of the team and team spirit will be significantly greater. Better Performance Due to greater harmony between the members of the team, the team members will perform better and be more productive. Subsequently, the team performance will also be much better. Achievement of Targets As the performance will be higher, the team will also be able to achieve all its targets in a timely manner. Higher Motivation Due to the combination of the above given factors (harmony between team members, better performance and achievement of targets), the team will have a high degree of motivation. TO ORGANIZATIONS Higher Productivity As the individuals will perform better and the teams performance will improve, the productivity of the organization will also increase. Lower Turnover Turnover here refers to the attrition rate or the rate at which employees leave the organization. If employees experience less or no stress, they will have job satisfaction and be happy doing their jobs. If they are happy working in the organization, they will not leave the organization. Thus, there will be lower turnover. Lower Absenteeism If the employees have a high degree of job satisfaction, they will not be absent frequently from the job and thus, there will be lower absenteeism in the organization. Better Reputation As the company will have a lower turnover, lower absenteeism and a higher productivity, its reputation in the market will improve greatly and the value of its goodwill will also increase, Thus, company will get more business and its income will increase.

Othello vs. Iago :: essays research papers

In this thesis I will explain the reasonings behind Iago . Iago is obviously the "bad apple" in this book and I will explain several reasons for this behavior. Iago is the whole reason there is any conflict in Othello. If he never had entered the play Othello would have married Desdemona and they would have lived happily ever after. Right from the beginning of the play to the very end he causes conflicts. He is directly or indirectly responsible for the deaths of: Othello Desdemona, Emilia, Cassio, and Roderigo. In the very beginning of Act 1 Iago displays his hatred for Othello. He is angry at him for making Cassio the lieutenant. He then tells Roderigo that Othello and Desdemona are getting married. The two of them then go tell Desdemona's father, Brabantio, that Othello and his daughter had gotten eloped. This infuriates Brabantio. Soon after Brabantio gets a gang after Othello. Iago's treachery is first displayed hear. Iago was the person who insighted the whole ordeal. As soon as everyone arrives in Cyprus, Iago puts his plan in effect. He gets Roderigo to believe that Cassio and Desdemona are in love. This is a very significant part in showing Iago's evil. He gets Roderigo to develop a hatred for Cassio who just happens to be a victim of circumstance. He gets Cassio drunk then has Roderigo provoke a fight. Soon after Cassio stabs a man named Montano. Othello comes out and dismisses Cassio from lieutenancy. Iago is still not satisfied with his treachery. He still wants to be lieutenant. He convinces Cassio to arrange a meeting to talk with Desdemona about re-instating him as lieutenant. Cassio doesn't really know why Iago wants him to meet with Desdemona. At the end of this act Cassio says: "I never knew a Florentine more kind and honest." This line shows Cassio is not in the wrong, Iago is masterminding all of it. Othello sees Cassio talk with Desdemona and Iago comments on how that is suspicious.

Instant Messenger Changed My Life (For the Better!) :: Internet Essays

Instant Messenger Changed My Life (For the Better!) Since I was in Seventh or Eighth grade I have used AOL Instant Messenger as a way to communicate with my friends and family. I would sit â€Å"online† for hours upon hours talking to my friends. You weren’t cool unless you had AIM (AOL Instant Messenger) at your home. Every since the day I started using it I have become â€Å"addicted† to it. For a couple of months when it first came out it was kind of taking over my life. It would be the first thing I did when I got home from school, take a break for dinner then go straight back to chatting online until my mom forced me to go to bed. I never thought of it as a learning experience until I got a little older. When thinking back on how I learned to do things on the computer and/or some things in everyday life they all connect to AIM in a strange way. AIM had forced me to write and talk like I would type. I would use abbreviations and even spell words shorter on paper so they would be faster to write down just like on AIM when you use shorter spellings to type faster. For example the word because, first became shortened to cause then it became â€Å"cuz† since it was only three letters instead of the original seven. I think it was just around the age of sixteen when I could finally drive, that I stopped being so obsessed with AIM. Although when I left home for college, I quickly became once again obsessed. I found that instead of doing my homework I’d try to talk to my friends that didn’t have away messages up. If they did have a message up I’d check it like five times just in case it changed. Even when I have class or go to work I don’t sign off, I just put an away message up explaining to my friends and family where I am and how to get a hold of me. Now my sister who is thirteen is â€Å"a ddicted† to AIM and following in the same footsteps as myself. She would rather spend her entire summer vacation inside on the computer rather than swimming, rollerblading or riding her bike with friends.

Allegorizations of the Active and Contemplative Lives in Philo, Origen,

Allegorizations of the Active and Contemplative Lives in Philo, Origen, Augustine, and Gregory This paper examines the allegorical interpretations given to several Scriptural pairs as they relate to the idea of the active and contemplative lives in Philo, Origen, Augustine, and Gregory. As will be shown, Augustine combines elements found in the two previous writers to form his allegory of the two wives of Jacob as representative of the active and contemplative lives. In Philo, most of the essential elements of later Christian thought on the active and contemplative lives are already present. The superiority of the contemplative life is given at the beginning of his treatise on it: "I have discussed the Essenes, who persistently pursued the active life and excelled in all or, to put it more moderately, in most of its departments. I will now proceed at once in accordance with the sequence required by the subject to say what is needed about those who embraced the life of contemplation" (De Vita Cont. 1 [471]). The idea that the contemplative life follows upon the active is also present here, and is elaborated elsewhere: "... infants have one place and full grown men another. The one is named ascetic training and the other is called wisdom... For what life is better than a contemplative life, or more appropriate to a rational being?" (De Migr. Abr. 9 [443]). Both the active and contemplative lives are virtuous, but the contemplative is the more matur e and fuller expression of the life of wisdom; it should, however, only be practiced once the former has been used as a training ground. Philo allegorizes Leah and Rachel in several related ways in his works (cf. Sly, 163-74). At one point he identifies Rachel with bodily beauty, ... ... moves away. She loves to contemplate her lovely eyes; I love to use my hands to adorn myself: her joy is in reflection, mine in act." (Purgatorio xxvii, 101-08, [Musa trans.]) What has been called "the breadth of [Augustine's] vision and the lyrical exaltation of his language" (Mason, 45) has cast a long shadow indeed. Works Cited * Butler, D. C. Western Mysticism: The Teaching of Augustine, Gregory and Bernard on Contemplation and the Contemplative Life. 2nd ed. New York: Harper & Row, 1966. * Mason, M. E. Active Life and Contemplative Life: A Study of the Concepts from Plato to the Present. Milwaukee: Marquette University Press, 1961. * Runia, D. T. Philo in Early Christian Literature: A Survey. Assen: Van Gorcum/Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1993. * Sly, D. Philo's Perception of Women. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1990.

Effective Speech Writing Essay

Physical appearance affects delivery very much. It shapes first impressions when a person sees you. When it comes to dressing for public speaking, the clothes chosen must not be flashy, so as to turn off the audience from you. You want to dress simply but elegantly. The way in which a person presents their physical appearance tells people a little about that person’s character and personality. Sometimes the item a person carries says a lot about them; for example if the person is always carrying a suitcase, they can be viewed as very serious minded. I remember attending a conference, and the guest speaker was pastors from a well known church. On first glance he was very relaxed; his clothes were very well put together, stylish and very appropriate for the audience. He had a smile on his face and did not even have a paper or pen in his hand, when he got up to speak, but when he began to speak, everyone was listening, no one moved, no one spoke in hushed tones, it as if he held the audience in a trance. Because of his laid back attitude and his casual way of dressing and the fact that he knew what he was talking about enhanced his effective delivery. His personality was warm and very inviting. I believed if he had dressed any differently in addressing the audience who were all teens; the effectiveness of his delivery would not have been effective at all. Question 4 Movement enhances delivery by keeping the audience interest. Movement in public speaking emphasizes what the speaker is trying to say. When hand gestures are used, it conveys to the audience the speaker’s enthusiasm and the audience is able to image what Effective Speech Writing 4 the speaker is talking about. Hand gestures tend to excite the speaker and help to keep the audience interested in what the speaker is saying. Emphatic gestures also help to stress key points within the person’s speech. Eye contact reveals a lot about a person and helps to maintain a connection with the audience that you are presenting to. Not making eye contact can be seen on the part of the speaker as a failure to connect with the audience and in some cases makes the speaker seem unsure of the subject matter that they are talking about. Eye contact keeps the audience interested and makes the audience feel as is you are connecting with them, giving the sense that you are very knowledgeable about your subject matter. Keeping and maintaining eye contact with your audience is very important as you receive instantaneous feedback as to how effective you are. You are able with eye contact to immediately see if a point is lost on your audience, if they are bored or becoming restless. This helps you to know when it is time to stop your speech, to use a little humor or take a break in between. Once the skill of maintaining visual contact is achieved, it will help in keeping your audience interested in what you are saying. Question 5 Bill Cosby’s delivery can be seen as a very effective. This is a celebrity who is very good at public speaking. His ability to keep the audience entertained, while being serious is pure genius. His delivery was flawless. He exuded self-confidence and poise. As he mentioned in the speech, this is not his first time speaking at a college campus. His delivery showed knowledge and skill about the various subject matters that he touched Effective Speech Writing 5 upon. The pitch of his voice was very pleasant, he paused in between speaking, which seemed to be very effective, it was as if he was building anticipation, while at the same time keeping his audience interested in what he was saying. He made eye contact a number of times and his humor came through in his speech and you are able to glimpse his personality. His physical appearance was very appropriate. It was as if he was identifying with the graduating class, by donning a graduating gown too. This was a very effective way of capturing the audience’s attention and keeping it. He did not move around a lot during the speech, but there was a lot of hand movement and you could see the facial expression on his face and hear the enthusiasm in his speech. The kind of speech he did was an impromptu speech which most people dread doing. But he was prepared and gave a very good and interesting speech. Question 6 I would evaluate my delivery strength in that I make eye contact, I use a lot of hand gestures and I try to connect with my audience. I find that I am better at impromptu speech versus manuscript speech. I tend not to do well at the latter. One of my weaknesses is that I tend to gesticulate a lot, which can be very distracting to people and takes away the focus of what I am saying. Sometimes I get very nervous and tend to hold a pencil in my hand and fiddle with it while I talk, which can be very distracting for people. I can improve my weaknesses by practicing before I give a speech, so that I can improve my delivery. Also I can try to focus on my speech and practice gesticulating at the appropriate parts instead of Effective Speech Writing 6 gesticulating throughout my speech. But the most effective way to gain strength in my weak areas is to practice as much as I can, in front of friends and family. I can also overcome my weaknesses by becoming more knowledgeable, about the subject matter, which will help me during my speech. Also if I follow the instructions and deliver my speeches extemporaneously, I will become better, and will be better able to connect with my audience, as this kind of speech delivery. Source: Effective Public Speaking – Let Your Body do the Talking retrieved April 2, 2008 fromhttp://ezinearticles. com/? Effective-Public-Speaking—Let-Your-Body-Do-The-Talking&id=482746

Minorities Leaders

How Do Various Minorities Leaders Differ In Their Leadership Approaches? To me, there are no differences between the leadership approaches of minorities and majorities leaders. The minorities’ leaders also have their own leadership style depending on their traits and circumstances like all other leaders in the world. Leaders perform their roles in a wide multiplicity of styles, such as autocratic, democratic, participatory, laissez-faire (hands off), etc. Frequently the leadership style depends on the state of affairs, together with the life cycle of the association. There are circumstances where the Laissez-Faire leadership style can be successful. The Laissez-Faire technique is generally only suitable when leading a team of greatly aggravated and accomplished people, who have created outstanding performance in the past. Once leader either from minorities or majorities has recognized that one’s team is convinced, competent and provoked, it is frequently most excellent to step back and let them get on with the assignment, since interference can cause bitterness and detract from their success. (Dessler, 2001) By handing over possession, a leader can authorize one’s group to attain their objectives. The autocratic leader controls team-members, using unilateralism to attain a singular goal. This approach to leadership in general results in submissive confrontation from team members and requires persistent force and route from the leader in order to get assignments finished. Commonly, an authoritarian leadership style is not a superior way to get the paramount performance from a group of people. (Bridges, 2000) There are, though, a few illustrations where an autocratic style of leadership may not be unsuitable. Some circumstances may call for imperative action, and in these situations an autocratic style of leadership may be finest. Additionally, most people are proverbial with autocratic leadership and consequently have fewer troubles accepting this style. The democratic leader either from minorities or majorities finalizes decisions by discussing with the team, despite the fact that still sustaining authority on the group. The democratic leader permits his team to make a decision how the assignment will be handled and who will carry out which assignment. In conclusion, there are no differences between the leadership approaches of minorities and majorities leaders, References Bridges, William, and Susan Mitchell Bridges, (Spring 2000), â€Å"Leading Transition: A New Model for Change† Leader to Leader. 16: 30-36. Dessler, Gary. (2001), Management, Leading People and Organizations in the 21st Century, (2nd ed.), New Jersey: Prentice Hall, Inc.