Night of Terror

Denise Cummens Greg Aamot English 122 3 March 2013 Allen W Taylor- The Night the Sirens Blew Everyone experiences at least one terrifying event in his or her lifetime. How we assimilate the event shapes our attitudes, or maybe vice-versa. It can become the catalyst that lead, to phobias; sometimes it even earns itself a fancy title with â€Å"syndrome† attached to the end of it. So many of us just call it a memory, but one can share with eight other people.People need to always remember that, tornadoes are not simply violent forces of nature; consequently, they are threats of weather that turns into tornadoes as, it forces change for those who live in its path of destruction. If we go and look back at that historical day through the readings of, â€Å"The Night the Sirens Blew. † We get the recap of the worse tornado outbreak in the Twin Cities, which was in 1965 and worse of six strong tornadoes that occurred around Minneapolis and St. Paul Minnesota on May 6, 1965. Th is was nicknamed â€Å"The Longest Night† and is the most often remembered for the two F4 tornadoes that hit Fridley, Minnesota.Where thirteen people were killed in the six tornadoes that touched down in the Twin Cities area on that historical day. People that lived through that day recall what happened to the author, first it was famous WCCO radio personality Dick â€Å"Chappy† Chapman, who was the main broadcaster the night of the outbreak. He remembers that night began shortly after 6p. m when the first funnel cloud was spotted neat Norwood Young America, just west of the Twin Cities. Chappy, recalls that was the beginning of a long night and he left the microphone on until 1a. m the next morning.Chappy recalls his conversation with Joe Strub from the Weather Bureau. Joe was an outstanding guy who really knew a lot about storms. At the time of the historical outbreak, he was working on tornado research and found that these storms would â€Å"pulse†. In anothe r words, the storm would build-drop-build-drop. This is how he explained this storm was so massive that is literally â€Å"chewed† up debris and flung it all over the place. Joe also recalls being a pioneer in lobbying for safer trailer park tornado prevention measures. He wanted â€Å"cement tie-downs† and reinforced storm shelters in every trailer park.The many people that Allen Taylor talked to about this historical day, also talked about the things that lead up to this massive night of tornadoes, like the St. Patrick’s day blizzard aftermath of March 17, 1965 and many bad flooding and so we were used to all the interruption in the news due to all the bad weather, until the night of the tornadoes. So after all the blizzards and flooding the Weather Bureau hooked in a â€Å"tie-line† between WCCO and their offices, so when bad weather hit all they had to do is pick up the phone and report right then and there.All the people that talked to Allen about th e night the sirens blew all recall the many tornadoes that swept across the Western and Northern portions of the 7 county regions and that they ranged from F2 to F4, which killed thirteen people and injured 683 people. If it was not for the National Weather Bureau, local officials, and the outstanding communications by local radio and television stations. Most of the credit needed to go to the annoucers of WCCO with saving countless lives. It was also the first time in twin Cities history that civil defense sirens were used for severe weather.The Weather Bureau said â€Å"we didn’t hesitate a bit† to sound the sirens. It was the first time that the air raid alarm was used as a tornado warning since the system was instituted in May of 1959. So with all the things that happened on that night and it is not hard to believe that everyone will experience at least one terrifying event in his or her lifetime. How we assimilate the event shapes our attitudes, or maybe vice-vers a. It can become catalyst that lead, to phobias, and sometimes it even earns itself as just a memory to recall sharing with others.So the author who recalls, the events in our childhood shape our world and our perceptions. He says even though he was only five when this historical night took place he can recall the colored lighting and the once-in-a-generation power associated with these storms left an impact on him and all the people who lived through that night. The two main reasons he said he wrote this book, was because he has always been interested in storms and wanted to recall that night, and he had a great joy of being able to talk with the people who lived through those tornadoes that night.Those tornadoes wiped everything out! In today’s dollar the damage was 1. 2 billion dollars, making it the swarm of tornadoes and one of the costliest outbreaks in US history. That night was the main storm surges which spawned 24 tornadoes in one evening. It is his hope by reading this book you feel the emotions of the people who survived that night. Allen hope is that you enjoy the most researched documented book ever written on the worst tornado out break ever to hit the Twin Cities.

1930s America-Feminist Void ? Essay

The 1920s have long been touted as an age of female enlightenment, as women set a course of equality and cracked the foundations of women’s sphere. Portraits were drawn of stereotypical ’20s femmes; crimson-lipped, bob-haired and befringed flappers peering down their ivory cigarette holders at restrictive Victorian mores; stalwart, placard-toting suffragettes proclaiming the need for female political activism; fresh-faced college coeds donning crisp shirtwaists to tap out office memos on shiny modern typewriters. American women contested traditional views of the female as moral guardian and domestic servant and challenged the nation to accept their egalitarian beliefs. But after the initial surge of support for women’s rights with the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920, feminist fervor diminished throughout the latter ’20s and all but disappeared during the Depression. And with that reduced support for women’s rights came a renewed promotion of the traditional belief that women belonged in the home — not in the workplace. Although the Equal Rights Amendment, which was first introduced to Congress in December, 1923, continued to be bandied about in Congressional committees, opinion magazines rarely gave the issue a positive mention, and it seemed far removed from public concern. The 1930s brought apple-sellers to city street corners and breadlines to urban charity houses. In a depressed economy, unemployment figures escalated and federal forces concentrated on bringing Americans back to work. Or, more accurately, bringing American men back to work. For society viewed working women as un-American money grubbers, stealing jobs from men who needed them to support their families. Those who were concerned with feminist issues were further divided on how to concentrate their efforts. Many believed that garnering the right to vote was all the legislative support they needed, so they turned their attention to other concerns, such as the peace and welfare improvement movements. Some demanded protective work legislation, while others remained adamant in pushing for equal treatment in the job market. And still others were swayed by the not-so-subtle proddings of government forces to forget the issue of feminist rights until economic hardship had ended. Gone were the â€Å"new women† of the ’20s: the ’30s women floundered in a decade devoid of significant gains in the struggle for sexual equality. The League of Women Voters exemplified the notion that the fight for women’s rights ended with the passage of the 19th Amendment. In 1931, the league’s president went so far as to claim that â€Å"nearly all discriminations have been removed. But others noted that women failed to vote in a bloc, and that many failed to even consider women’s issues when casting their ballots. Therefore, many issues concerning women or issues promoted by women reformers simply failed from lack of support. Ironically, the 1930s began with the tenth anniversary of woman’s suffrage, but any attention to the matter revealed that in those ten years, women had ha d little effect on the political world. Josephine McGowan writes in the Commonweal: The 19th Amendment has wrought no miracle in politics. It has neither brought about dire consequences foretold by the anti-suffragist nor yet produced the millennium of which the pioneers dreamed. McGowan noted that while women gained the right to vote, many were indifferent to their new privilege and remained uninformed on current issues. Politics was still considered a man’s concern, and most women did not have the motivation to challenge this view. Lacking now the central issue of suffrage to rally around, many feminists turned from lobbying for women’s rights to promote other reform efforts. Becoming locked into the â€Å"paradigm of morality† role, many women became staunch promoters of the peace movement. Others turned their attention to welfare issues, spurred by the same drive that encouraged prohibitionists of the past. While these efforts were laudable, this divergence had the effect of leading women away from the concept of equal rights into separate channels that would rival each other and diminish any chance of a unified woman’s movement. Such disparity did not bode well for the Equal Rights Amendment. Discussion passed through Senate and House committees, until 1936, when the House Subcommittee favored the ERA for the first time and endorsed the amendment. In 1938, the Senate judiciary Committee reported it onto the floor. During the 1940 presidential race, the ERA became an election issue for the first time when the Republican party offered its support to the cause. But opposition to the idea of equal rights far outweighed the meager support it received. Even among supporters, differing ideologies clashed. Senate hearings in 1931 revealed that the Women’s Party supported the amendment as a protection from the current discrimination against women in salary, hiring and education. Listing approximately 1,000 discriminatory state laws — including laws in 11 states which gave a husband control over his wife’s wages the party argued against those who the ERA would weaken protective legislation. Such legislation often restricted the number of hours a woman could work, or the type of labor she could perform, making her less competitive in the industrial workforce. Indeed, the split of female opinion on this issue would be divisive, as clear cut† feminists refused protective legislation on the principle that it impeded equal rights for men and women, while other women – perhaps recalling the exploitation of women workers in 19th century sweatshops asked for special legislation to protect women from unscrupulous employers. Support for male and female differentiation strengthened during the ’30s after a decade of decline. Even those women who did manage to break into the political spectrum failed to unite women in a common struggle for equal rights. Caroline O’Day, elected to Congress in 1932, opposed the ERA because of its feared impact on protective legislation. As a social worker and member of the Consumer League, she believed women needed a governmental shield from labor evils. Hattie Caraway of Arkansas became the first woman senator popularly elected to her seat and won re-election in 1938, but though â€Å"she broke an important barrier . . . she accomplished little else. † President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, praised for seeking the advice of women in his administration, named Frances Perkins as the first woman cabinet member. But she herself asserted that married women ought not shirk their responsibilities to their families by seeking outside employment. McGowan further commented: In ten years, we have seen the political potentialities of women voters recognized by farseeing politicians who have rather grudgingly in many instances taken them into the councils of their parties, making them vice-chair of this or that local or state national committee; for the time has not yet arrived when men will voluntarily entrust to women the actual dispensation of party authority or patronage. Feminists who did manage to retain a sense of urgency in stirring enthusiasm and public support for equal rights had to face an antagonistic majority of their society, who felt that a woman put her talents to their best use in the domestic environs of her family. In the Atlantic, Albert Jay Nock pandered to feminine pride in agreeing that women could perform as well as their male counterparts and had demonstrated that fact for centuries. He then fell into the same tired truisms of emphasizing woman’s sphere, implying that the female must stand firm in her role as moral model. He stated, â€Å"Women can civilize a society and men cannot. † Nock’s article remains an interesting mirror of the popular opinion of the day. He upheld the stereotyping of men as children, unburdened by the responsibility of civilization. He expressed the stereotypical view that women needed to concentrate on applying their civilizing skills and avoid centering on the â€Å"over-stressed,† predominantly â€Å"male-oriented† instinct of workmanship. When women expended their energies demanding equal rights in the workplace, Nock argued, they allowed their more spiritual and artistic instincts to deteriorate. He seemed to look upon women in the workforce as acceptable, though unnecessary, additions. â€Å"One may easily see how our society, if it had to, might get on without women lawyers, physicians, stockbrokers, aviators, preachers, telephone operators, hijackers, buyers, cooks, dressmakers, bus conductors, architects. † He went on to assert that society could not survive, however, without women serving as a civilizing force. Nock, and the majority of the U. S. population, believed that women could civilize† not through roles as legislators, educators, administrators or preachers, but through the comforting domain of their immediate households. Only in molding their young ones and prodding their husbands toward responsible action could women serve their natural purpose. He stated: Our society cannot be civilized through women’s attainment of the ends that feminism has hitherto set before them, laudable and excellent as those are. It can be civilized by giving an intelligent direction to the interest and purchasing power of women. His feminine ideal of woman as intelligent consumer, while insulting to the many who found themselves struggling to produce as well, was well received in 1931. The key cause of this readiness to accept any excuse to remove women from their quest for equal rights stemmed from the increasing competition in the job market. Economic hardship forced many women into the working world, but the scarcity of jobs made men resent the added number of individuals struggling for positions. Throughout the 1930s, the sexist request that women refrain from entering the realm of the employed to solve the men’s unemployment problem came from labor unions, state and federal governments, and employers alike. Efforts were made to remove married women from the workforce. A 1932 American anti-nepotism law for government workers stated that only one spouse could work. While the law did not specifically state that the wife should be the one discharged, three out of every four who were dismissed under the law were female. Once again, prominent women only enforced these sexist tendencies. Mrs. Samuel Gompers proclaimed, â€Å"A home, no matter how small, is large enough to occupy [a wife’s] mind and time. She called women working outside the home â€Å"unnatural† and chided them (or taking jobs from men who needed them. The Women’s Bureau asserted that wives who held outside jobs were destroying the integrity of their families. Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins supported the concept of family wages. Mary Dewson, who organized the Women’s Division of the Democratic Party in 1932, believed women possessed specific qualities best suited for the â€Å"sanctity and sec urity† of the home. Protective legislation further carried out such female restriction. Under the guise of looking out for the needs of women, these laws counteracted every effort made toward equal economic rights for men and women. It was almost always assumed that women had different needs arising from their actual or indeed, and this was even more harmful, their potential role as mother, which made the search for equality not only irrelevant but possibly dangerous. Alma Lutz addressed this problem in her Atlantic article, indicating that the very laws which initially seemed to benefit women were actually menaces. In â€Å"protecting† women, they regulated their work and questioned their right to work. She argued that women had proven themselves capable, competent workers, and should therefore enjoy legislation insuring equal pay for equal work, instead of laws that placed them in special classes. What the Lutz article addressed — and what few men and women were willing to admit -was the discriminatory nature of protective legislation. In accepting special privileges, Lutz maintained, women were forced to accept lower wages to remain competitive with men. The alternative was unemployment. Men, who viewed the flood of women in the marketplace with alarm, were the greatest advocates of special legislation for women, hoping that it would curb the hiring of women. Lutz pointed out, however, that such laws would eventually hurt men as well, as they in turn would be forced to accept reduced pay to compete with the women who worked for less. Because women were paid lower wages than men for the same work, employers tended to keep them when cutting down the payrolls. During the 1930s, the percentage of master’s degrees and doctorates earned by women dropped significantly. While female university education increased substantially, those who attended college found the formerly high quality comprehensive education replaced by classes that emphasized training for women’s roles in the household. Women’s magazines promoted the virtues of motherhood and homemaking, condemning those who became involved in areas outside women’s sphere. Without training or public support, the ’30s working woman faced numerous obstacles in fighting for a suitable job. The public failed to admit that women composed a large sector of the working class and could not be dismissed with the passage of a few laws. Most were not working for the thrill of a career, but to keep their families sheltered and fed. Lutz encouraged society to accept women in the workplace. Men’s wages in industrial sections frequently could not support a modern-sized family, and the increasing percentage of employed married women reflected that problem. Lutz reiterated that many women were no longer supported by their husbands and needed to work to survive the Depression. In some households, in fact, the wife left her husband in charge of caring for the home and children while she worked an outside job. But while the number of married women in the work force actually increased by 50 percent between 1930 and 1940 – despite the Depression -women found enormous obstacles blocking their entry into certain fields. Most women found work in factory and clerical jobs, as traditional barriers against women in professional fields loomed higher. Instead of â€Å"glamorous† professions, 36 percent of working wives entered domestic and personal services, while another 20 percent were in apparel and canning factories. Those who were in lower-level professions, such as elementary and high school teaching, found men displacing them for higher pay. In 1939, the median salary of a male teacher was $1,953 a year, while female teachers received only $1,394. So while large numbers of women worked during the Depression, their status actually decreased. The non-unionization of women was one cause. The American Federation of Labor was established for organized, skilled, craft workers, and most women still held unskilled factory jobs. In addition, most unions continued to view women as temporary workers. But most prevalent were sexist attitudes that blocked women from entering unions and allowing women workers to organize. Samuel Gompers claimed that the AFL was not prejudiced, â€Å"it just wouldn’t accept ‘any nonassimilable race. ‘† Lutz encouraged men to recognize the benefits of allowing women to join unions: If . . . en will encourage women to organize, if together they will work for equal pay for equal work, for an adequate wage for both, they will be able to maintain a higher wage standard.. It is strange that the American Federation of Labor does not see this. But the AFL did not see a need to include women, and neither did the broad majority of the U. S. population. Suffragists failed to inspire a new generation of women to use the 19th Amendm ent as a springboard to gaining equal rights. Most seemed to ignore the advances made by the ’20s modern women, as attention drifted to reviving the flagging economy. Instead of employment and benefits to male and female alike, women were shuttled back into the home, to be protected and sentimentalized over once again. Albert Jay Nock expressed the popular view: Hence feminism can no longer get up an argument on the thesis that women can do anything that men can do. All interest in that contention has died out; everybody has stopped thinking in those terms, and our militant feminists are reduced to pushing minor issues, to smoothing out relatively petty inequalities of legal status, and the like. Interest in feminist thought had waned, and few gave proper attention to those â€Å"petty inequalities of legal status† that needed to be ironed out. The ’30s, then, proved to be a decade devoid of equal rights support. After the 1920s fervor of change, the struggle for egalitarian ideals faltered. Some were satisfied with the effects of the 19th Amendment, some turned their attention to other matters of social justice, some felt women could be better aided by protective legislation, but most still believed that women belonged at home. Without making a concentrated push for equal rights, women were forced to accept specialized roles in the domestic sphere or reduced status in the â€Å"man’s world. † Lulled by messages of women’s sphere, the American women of the ’30s returned to their homes or accepted their low-status jobs with the unsettling notion that they were abandoning their proper responsibilities. Progressive ideals of equality, fine for contemplation during economic boom times, failed to proliferate during a period of economic turmoil.

Can The Genocide Be Explained Sociologically Criminology Essay

Can The Genocide Be Explained Sociologically Criminology Essay provide intellectually responsible explanations of these events, social scientists are therefore capable of producing explanations that can both interpret and create understanding. Their work allows further reflection on the problem of explanations in sociological work (Brown, 1963). This essay will focus on whether or not social scientists provide an explanation for genocide, in other words whether or not genocide can be explained sociologically. The beginning and emergence of genocide is unknown but it is assumed that the first genocide took place during the hunting and gathering period (Chalk and Jonassohn, 1990). After agriculture had been discovered there was a division within the world and it consisted of settlers and nomads. The settlers were good at gathering food and a conflict resulted between the two groups as the nomads would raid the settlers of their food, however they would not kill the settlers when doing so as they were still needed because the nomads planned to con tinue and raid the settlers in the coming years. The settlers could not defend themselves due to lack of resources (Chalk and Jonassohn, 1990). As time progressed the settler’s learnt how to improve their agriculture skills and their produce grew so well that they could support cities, rulers and armies. They became successful and wealthy and started to associate with trade and began to build empires and city states. As a result of this, conflict then grew over wealth, trade and trade routes. Wars were fought over this, and it was through these wars that people realised their victories were temporary. It became clear that the only way to have a guaranteed secure future was to eliminate those who were defeated completely. Thus the first reason for the first genocide appears to be elimination of any future threats (Chalk and Jonassohn, 1990). Genocide then grew and progressed from this. Genocide as defined by Lemkin (1944) who states that it is â€Å"the criminal intent to des troy or to cripple permanently a human group. The acts are directed against groups as such, and individuals are selected for distraction only because they belong to these groups† (Lemkin, 1944 p. 147). This is the definition that the UN (United Nations) Convention on the prevention and punishment of the crime of genocide relied upon (Andreopoulos, 1994). Following this, social scientists have redefined the term genocide to suite their theoretical perspectives. The definition of the UN convention however, remains the most popular and widely used. This is due to it being a legally accepted and a workable definition. Under the definition of the UN Convention, Genocide remains an international crime whether committed in peace or war this shows that genocide is a uniform phenomenon (Andreopoulos, 1994). Variations within genocide do exist, through its context and processes, for example, the distinction between domestic genocide and genocide done in international war. With domestic genocide, people have differences and conflicts within their own societies based on religious views, ethnicity and their race, while, with international war genocide, mass killings are committed due to conflict between two separate states (Andreopoulos, 1994). Through the UN Genocide Convention, genocide was deemed the most horrendous crime of all time and individuals would then use it as the defence to any form of discrimination, oppression and injustice (Martin, 2006). This resulted in disadvantaged groups trying to get sympathy by dramatizing their situations. For example, due to one of the articles of the convention, which claimed genocide included an intention to prevent any birth, led to claims that abortion clinics were a form of genocide. In more general terms if an individual’s rights were violated, this would also be taken as genocide. The concept was clearly being abused, and the UN became more and more resistant to charges of genocide. This may have contributed to the need of re-definition of genocide. It is therefore important to reach a generic definition of genocide which should be consistent with the everyday use of the word so that when people see a mass murder the only word available to them to describe such an event should be genocide (Chalk and Jonassohn, 1990).

Administration Decisions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Administration Decisions - Essay Example A school can function to the fullest if the families and the community it is established are involved. One type of school, a community school is unique in that it includes in its program an integrated model that considers stakeholders in the community such as partners, administrators, teachers, parents and students (Jacobson, Hodges, and Martin 18). A community school does not only uphold the academics and youth development, but also support for the family, grant of social services and development of the community as a whole (18). In working with partners, a school community recognizes the different needs of students both in academic and non-academic spheres (20). Thus, the school site team works toward the alignment of activities with the vision of the school. The partners in turn work in congruence with the total improvement plan of the school (20). The role of the principal in the school and the community cannot be overemphasized. The principal must be aware that the community sch ool belongs to the community and should interact with the latter for total success (20). In connection with this, the principal should welcome the resources offered by the stakeholders and partners of the school (20). ... The School of Cooperative Technical Education (under the NYC Department of Education), on the other hand, provides career training for skills development to grades 11 and 12 students. The CAS Bronx Family Center also provides holistic physical, dental and mental health diagnosis to both students and parents of Fannie Lou. The health educators of CAS advise students on health and preventing pregnancy. The social workers based in the school provide mental health advises and intervention services during crisis. The school gives emergency relief to the family of a student who is evicted from home. The Oyler Elementary School (in Cincinnati, Ohio) was converted into a community school that includes high school offering. This was made possible through the partnering of families and members of the community with the Cincinnati Public Schools (20). The transformation of the school into a community school that allowed it to offer a K-12 program enabled students to enroll in high school for th e first time. Previously, no student in the neighborhood was able to avail of high school education. The Cincinnati Health Department has a clinic inside the school so that students can avail of health, dental and vision care services (21). Mentoring and tutorial services are given by more than 400 volunteers who visit the school weekly to students on an individual basis. The school also partnered with the Cincinnati Early Learning Centers and other partners to provide support to infants, children and their parents. In Glencliff High School, transforming it into a community school set up has allowed it sponsor numerous programs together with its partners, such as the

Assessment of a Fictional Family Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Assessment of a Fictional Family - Essay Example The child, on the other hand, has his share in influencing the family as well. In the family, when a member, usually a child or adolescent, has a (psychiatric) disorder, this influence is magnified. And for diagnostic purposes, the effect of the family on the child and the child’s effect on the family must be assessed to prepare for optimal treatment, according to Allan M. Josephson, M.D. A comprehensive family assessment is the process of identifying, gathering, and weighing information to understand the significant factors affecting a child’s safety, permanency and well-being, parental protective capacity, and the family’s ability to assure the safety of their children (Johnson et al, 2006, p.1). There are several sequential functions included in family assessment, which are (1) screening and general disposition, which usually takes place during intake; (2) definition of the problem, which may include diagnostic assessments (or quantification of problem severity) that takes place during intake and investigation procedures; (3) planning, selecting, and matching services with identified problems; and (4) monitoring progress and evaluating service outcomes (Hawkins, 1979). In short, the family plays a major role in this context, and the role it will play in the treatment process should be based on a balanced case formulation which can be realized through a complete, systematic, and detailed family assessment. A good family assessment doesn’t only gather information to be able to formulate a well-made treatment plan for the patient, rather it is also relationship building. It involves everyone in the family to take part, exploring goals, values, and strengths to help build mutual trust and respect among them. This relationship can be built when problems arise -- a slice of truth in the saying that problems do create opportunities for a brighter tomorrow. In short, the family assessment identifies areas for intervention and engages the family

Do labor unions increase the wages of workers Essay

Do labor unions increase the wages of workers - Essay Example It is due to this rift that Unions have to come in and provide with a compromising solution to such issue. The activities of Labor unions vary in accordance with the needs of the workers and the activity whereby the Labor Unions negotiate terms and conditions with the employers on matters regarding wage and working condition is referred to as Collective bargaining (Taylor et al, 2010). Labor Unions gained massive popularity during the initial 19th century but after mid 19th century, Labor Unions started losing their grip and popularity and it was in 1980 that union membership fell down drastically within Europe (Wilenius, 2004). The fall in Union membership did not put an end to the Union’s ability to influence wages for employees. There are many ways in which Unions may be able to influence the pay rate of employees working in an organization. The most common ways include: The unions may halt production by advising employees to go on a strike, strike or lock-downs may cause s evere problems for organizations that would be running on strict production-runs. Unions may increase the demand for labor services by providing reduced workers from the union. Unions may force governments to disallow foreign import of skilled or unskilled employees. Unions may restrict supply of competitive inputs. If a Labor Union would not restrict the supply of labor and workforce, the market position would be at an equilibrium position i.e. the supply and the demand would be in a balanced position but if the Labor Union restricts the supply of labor, there would be excessive demand that would have to be met because of the low level of employment. This reduction in the labor would cause the wage rates to rise. All of this would happen because of the supply restrictions. This can be showed graphically as follows: This wage increase is also achieved by Labor Unions by using other techniques such as collective bargaining. Labor Unions use threatening techniques such as strikes and lock-downs in order to achieve wage increases. This can be further represented graphically as follows: In both the scenarios, the end result of achieving a rise in the wage rate is achieved by the Labor Unions but the ways of achieving the wage rate is relatively different from each other. Labor Unions tend to be more powerful when there is no substitute for human work force but where the option of machinery and automated techniques exist; Labor Unions become ineffective in forcing a wage increase of higher employment rate for their workers. With the inception of more advanced technology and increased use of automated techniques during the course of production, Labor Unions effect has been reduced heavily as machinery has worked as a strong substitute for human in the production-runs. Although automated techniques have reduced the impact of the Unions, research has shown that union members are able to get better wages than non union members. This is primarily because of the extra fo rce and pressure applied by the Unions on behalf of all their member workers. A research conducted by the AFL-CIO (America’s Union Movement) clearly suggested that collective bargaining raises wages for union members rather than the non-union ones. Source: AFL-CIO (America’s Union Movement), 2011 Labor Unions are usually called upon as monopolistic, this is because of their forceful nature of dictating terms upon employers by prescribing a wage rate but this monopolistic nature cannot be

The Chinese Store Giordano Case Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Chinese Store Giordano Case Study - Essay Example In 1985, Giordano opened its first retail shop in Singapore. It was the beginning for expansion for Giordano. In 1987, the competitive market forced Lai to redefine its corporate strategy and introduce unisex casuals that were attractive and affordable for men, women and children. It was highly innovative and firm used unit sales of value-for-money merchandize as against profit margin to maximize its revenue. The strategy was a huge success helped it to maintain its competitive advantage within the market. Giordano’s expansion also resulted in differentiating its product line into well defined categories and specialized outlets that catered to more trendy casuals and semi formals for men, women and children through its brands like Giordano, Giordano Ladies, Giordano Junior and Blue Star Exchange. Giordano’s corporate strategy is aligned with its corporate vision. It relies on exceptional customer service, quality, knowledge, innovation and simplicity. It judiciously app lies FSA (feasibility, sustainability and acceptability) tools on its strategic options to optimize its productive outcome. It meets the needs of the customers by implementing the desired changes within its operations and production. Its sales team is highly skilled and equipped with socio-psychological tools to deliver exemplary service to its customers. Performance is evaluated not only by the firm’s supervisor and auditors but also by the customers. It believed in limited variety within its core items so it can maintain quality. Knowledge management was critical aspect of its operational success. Giordano continuously strives to learn from its past errors and uses technology extensively to improve and improvise its processes vis-a-vis inventory management, supply chain, analyzing changing trend in customers’ preferences etc. With low inventory and effective supply chain, it is able to provide customers with the latest trend fashion wear. At the same time, using cent ralized distribution system, low store inventory also enables it to exploit store space innovatively that attracts customers. The real time production, based on current sales greatly facilitates in meeting the changing demands of the customers. Moreover, the short cycle of its products save expenses of dead inventory or slow moving inventory, thus making its operations cost effective. Answer 2 According to Kotler and Keller (2012), position is critical element of market that helps create an image that is preferred by customer. The major aim is to ensure that the consumer identifies with the brand when product or service is required. As such, repositioning becomes highly desirable strategy for firms that deal in consumer goods and constantly need to meet the challenges of changing customers’ requirements. Repositioning strategy provides the businesses with great leverage to introduce new products or add value to existing processes or products to meet fast changing dynamics of the markets. In 1987, it had to reposition its strategy of exclusive men’s casuals with unisex clothing to target women’s segment also. With the changing external environment, firms need to adapt new strategies to compete and maintain their niche market position (Kotler et al., 2010). While Giordano’s core competency has always been its customer service, its value-for-money was hugely successful strategic option. In the highly competitive environment of global business, especially when Giordano needs to expand beyond its traditional market of

TESCO PLC Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

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Accounting assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

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Poverty and Income Inequality in South Korea Essay Example for Free

Poverty and Income Inequality in South Korea Essay South Korea is counted among the world’s leading economies alongside giants such as United States and Germany (Wiseman Nishiwaki, 2006). Before the financial crisis hit Asia in 1997, South Korea was among the fastest growing economies of the world with a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate exceeding 5 percent (Kakwani, Khandker, Son). Kwack Lee (2007) report that income inequality had been reduced across the country before the financial crisis. Moreover, between the years 1965 and 2005, income inequality had not significantly increased. All the same, between the years 1998 and 2005, South Korea experienced a rise in income inequality seeing that the Asian financial crisis was massive in its scope (Kwack Lee, p. 20). Also, between the years 1990 and 1997, the percentage of South Korean people classified as poor had steadily decreased from 39. 6 percent to 8. 6 percent (Kakwani, Khandker, Son). South Korea was coming to be known as an â€Å"economy with relatively equal distribution of income and with full employment† (Kakwani, Khandker, Son). But, the Asian financial crisis naturally increased the number of poor people in the country. In fact, the percentage of poor increased to 19 percent in 1998; it was 13. 4 percent a year later (Kakwani, Khandker, Son). According to a study conducted by Kakwani, Khandker, Son, the poor of South Korea were disproportionately affected by the Asian financial crisis of 1997. Even though the South Korean economy started to grow again immediately after the crisis, the benefits of growth did not reach the poor as they did the rich. Then again, the government of South Korea introduced new welfare programs for the very poor during that time. The poor people of the country did not benefit from these programs, however. It was only the very poor that were positively impacted (Kakwani, Khandker, Son). What is more, contrary to the interpretation of income inequality statistics as presented by Kwack Lee, the International Monetary Fund has expressed great concern over this problem in South Korea during the present era of globalization (â€Å"Widening Inequality: IMF Acknowledges Downsides of Globalization,† 2007). A report published in Korea Times in October 2007 reads: †¦Many South Koreans believe the nation has no other choice but to pursue the international trend in a bid to survive fiercer competition with other countries. Policymakers are trying to open the local market wider to foreign products, while promoting sales of Korea, Inc. , under the spirit of freer trade. They go all-out to attract foreign investment by setting up free economic zones and international business towns. Businesses are also expanding their overseas networks for production, sales and investment under the motto of globalization. †¦In this regard, a recent IMF report caught the attention of economic policymakers, company executives, citizens and anti-globalization activists. Last week, the international body published its semiannual economic review, the World Economic Outlook, before the IMF and the World Bank meeting scheduled for Oct. 20-21. The IMF said in the report that technology and foreign investment are making income inequality worse around the world. The review tries to figure out why income inequality has widened in both rich and poor countries in the past two decades. It is the first time that the IMF has come up with such a report admitting to the negative effects of globalization. Over the past two decades, income inequality has risen in most regions and countries,’’ the report said. We can learn much from the report. We have to admit that South Korea has experienced widening income inequality, especially following the Asian financial woes. The income brackets have already been divided into 20 percent rich and 80 percent poor. That is the nation’s middle class has crumbled because the gap between the rich and poor widened. The 20-80 ratio is on the verge of moving to a 10-90 ratio, further worsening the income gap. In addition, businesses have exploited non-regular workers and migrant laborers from foreign countries who suffer from low wages, poor working conditions and other discrimination. A law protecting non-regular workers took effect in July, but little progress has been made to guarantee their equal rights. Policymakers will have to take bolder measures to narrow income inequality and tackle other negative effects of globalization. (â€Å"Widening Inequality: IMF Acknowledges Downsides of Globalization†) It is oft stated that globalization is accompanied by a widening gap between the haves and have-nots of the world. When a Korean farmer suddenly appeared during a meeting of World Trade Organization and committed suicide, the problems facing the global political economy were highlighted – that, in fact, the interests of the poor must be heeded, better than before. The farmer was wearing a shirt that read, â€Å"WTO KILLS FARMERS† (Cho, 2008, pp. x). After all, it is not uncommon for experts and non-experts alike to claim that the World Trade Organization does not represent the interests of the rich and the poor equally. Nevertheless, there is a limit to how much the World Trade Organization can do for the poorest people of the world. It is, in fact, for the government of South Korea to bear greater responsibility for poor Koreans. According to another news report published in South Korea in the year 2007, The wage disparity of the lower 10 percent of earners versus upper 10 percent rose to a factor of 5. 4 in 2006 from 4. 8 in 2001, meaning that wages for the top decile of earners were nearly five-and-a-half times greater than those of the lowest decile of earners†¦ (â€Å"A Look at South Korean Society, 20 Years after Democracy,† 2007) It is for the South Korean government not only to improve income distribution in the country but also to implement policies to end abuse as well as discrimination of the poorest workers. Individual income in South Korea rose fivefold between the years 1987 and 2007. But, South Korea has not made progress to end income inequality. The Gini coefficient is typically the statistical measure of choice to assess income distribution. A Gini coefficient of zero indicates perfectly equal income distribution, while a coefficient of 1 indicates perfectly inequality. In 1987, the year that South Korea became a democratic country, its Gini coefficient was 0. 31. By the year 1997, South Korea’s Gini coefficient had been reduced to 0. 28 as the country had made strides in reducing the gap between the haves and the have-nots. But then the Asian financial crisis ensued. By 2006, South Korea’s Gini coefficient was back to 0. 31. Although the size of the economy had grown from $500 billion to $800 billion, income distribution had been reduced between 1997 and 2006. Unsurprisingly, the poorest people of South Korea are confronting discrimination and abuse. After all, the rich are getting richer at the expense of the poor. As a matter of fact, exploitation of labor is reality in South Korea (â€Å"A Look at South Korean Society, 20 Years after Democracy†). Robert J. Barro, a professor of economics at Harvard University, explains that living standards across South Korea were raised with its dramatic rise in GDP. As examples, the infant mortality rate fell from 8 percent to 0. 8 percent and life expectancy rose from 54 years to 73 years. Additionally, income distribution in South Korea has been more equitable as compared to the United States and Japan. When individual income rose in South Korea, low-income groups were beneficiaries, too, and poverty was reduced (Barro, 2003). Then again, as we have already discussed, the Gini coefficient of South Korea in 2006 was the same as in 1987. This reveals that although the poor people of South Korea have higher wages now than before, the gap between the haves and the have-nots has not been narrowed. So, Professor Barro suggests that South Korea must work on improving its education system. If the poor people of South Korea have access to good quality education, it would be easier to improve income distribution. Moreover, the country needs to enhance corporate governance (Barro). These changes are sure to enhance working conditions and living standards of poor workers. Then again, South Korea may not be able to support half of its â€Å"elderly households† living â€Å"in a state of ‘relative poverty’† with these improvements (â€Å"Korea Highest in Elderly Poverty,† 2008). In fact, the income of these households is lower than 50 percent of average household income in the country. Although South Korea has a pension scheme for the elderly, the percentage of the poor that may benefit from the scheme is small. Because the traditions of South Korea demanded of children to take care of their parents upon reaching adulthood, the country does not have a developed social insurance system for the elderly. What is more, South Korea is aging fast. At least 7 percent of its poor are over 65 today (â€Å"Korea Highest in Elderly Poverty,† 2008). At the same time as social welfare programs remained underdeveloped, South Korea generated 3100 more people owning at least U. S. $1 million worth liquid assets between the years 2000 and 2001 (â€Å"Asian Millionaires: A Tough Bunch,† 2002). According to Australian Banking Finance, among the reasons for this rapid production of millionaires is increasing income inequality (â€Å"Asian Millionaires: A Tough Bunch,† 2002). To put it another way, corporate leaders are raising their organizational revenues, thanks in part to globalization, even as the poorest workers of their organizations continue to be paid low wages. In the year 2007, South Korea experienced the widest gap between the haves and the have-nots since the Asian financial crisis. In fact, the annual income of 20 percent of South Koreans earning the highest incomes was 5. 44 times greater than the annual income of the 20 percent that earned the lowest incomes. In 2006, the rich were earning 5. 38 times more than those that earn the least (â€Å"Income Gap at its Widest Point since 1999 Financial Crisis,† 2008). Analyzing the statistics, The Hankyoreh reports that income and wage gaps between 20 percent of the highest earners and 20 percent of the lowest earners had actually widened by 7. 9 percent and 11. 7 percent respectively between the years 2002 and 2007. What is more, statistics on income distribution in South Korea reveal that the richest people of the nation are earning more than the people of developed countries, while the poorest South Korean households have incomes that are equivalent to those of households in less developed countries. Even the World Bank has confirmed that poor South Koreans have the same living standards as those of the citizens of El Salvador or Gabon. Rich South Koreans, on the contrary, have the same living standards as New Zealanders and Australians (â€Å"Income Gap at its Widest Point since 1999 Financial Crisis†). Professor Barro’s analysis of income disparity in South Korea must be considered incomplete for the reason that there is no â€Å"decline in the burden of consumption on low-income households† (â€Å"Income Gap at its Widest Point since 1999 Financial Crisis†). These households pay their cellular phone and Internet bills with twice as much of their incomes as do rich households. Despite the fact that wages have increased – according to Barro – income disparity continues to widen. Son Tae-jeong, one of the researchers at the LG Economic Research Institute in South Korea, stated that salaries increased between the years 2006 and 2007 to boot. However, the poorest workers do not seem to have availed the benefits of the rise in salaries across the country (â€Å"Income Gap at its Widest Point since 1999 Financial Crisis†). South Korea has introduced necessary legislations to strengthen its social welfare programs. There are social security schemes which are insurance based and applicable only to certain occupational groups. These schemes cover pensions and healthcare among other things. The government of South Korea also offers subsidies for housing on a limited basis. But, most social security programs in the country only offer benefits related to earnings. Furthermore, these social security schemes are structured in a way that limits income redistribution from high-income to low-income groups (â€Å"Social Welfare in East Asia: Low Public Spending but Low Income Inequality,† 2008). Even though there are organizations across the country that continue to retain their unproductive workers, there is no way for them to cure the plague of poverty afflicting the elderly poor of South Korea (â€Å"Social Welfare in East Asia: Low Public Spending but Low Income Inequality†). The poor elderly South Koreans cannot be financially supported by their grown up kids because even though labor productivity and GDP have risen together, real wages have lagged behind (Chung, 2007, p. 228). Poor workers have low standards of living in any case, seeing that corporate leaders must focus on raising their own living standards even if they offer support to unproductive workers. Of course, as Barro has stated, education and corporate governance may work wonders in eradicating the problem of poverty facing the worker and his or her elderly parents in South Korea. Uneducated people usually have low living standards (Savada Shaw, 1990). Moreover, in the workplaces of South Korea, these people are â€Å"treated with open contempt by university graduate managers† (Savada Shaw). Increasing numbers of South Korean workers have migrated from agricultural farms to industrial establishments in recent years. Nevertheless, poverty has not been eradicated (Savada Shaw). Rather, the differences between the haves and the have-nots have remained. The Asian financial crisis had negatively impacted both the rich and the poor of South Korea. But, as mentioned before, the poor were disproportionately affected. Poor South Koreans had to reduce their spending by 9. 8 percent in the year 1998. The rich only reduced their spending by 0. 6 percent. Additionally, as soon as the Korean economy was back on its growth track, the rich are known to have greatly increased their spending. In point of fact, the consumption of luxury goods rose to the extent that sales of golf equipment were increased by 357. 6 percent between 1998 and 1999 (Yim, p. 32). The poor South Koreans, on the other hand, were left to their living standards resembling those of people in underdeveloped countries. Of a certainty, the government of South Korea must be formulating and implementing the kinds of policies required to resolve these structural economic issues once and for all. The country possesses the capacity to grow beyond expectations. But, at the same time, income inequality and poverty create such a burden that a South Korean farmer came to commit suicide at a meeting of the World Trade Organization. The rich capitalists of South Korea pay low wages to workers who go on increasing their productivity nevertheless. Furthermore, poor, uneducated workers are abused and exploited in the South Korean workplace. By instituting good corporate governance programs, the government of South Korea may very well correct this problem. After all, it is because of the poor workers’ motivation to increase productivity that has made South Korea one of the most important economies in the world today. The country would not be able to sustain its economic position if it fails to heed its workers’ needs. References A Look at South Korean Society, 20 Years after Democracy. (2007, Jun 8). The Hankyoreh. Retrieved Mar 20, 2009, from http://www. hani. co. kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/214664. html. Asian Millionaires: A Tough Bunch. (2002, Oct 15). Australian Banking Finance. Retrieved Mar 20, 2009, from http://findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_hb4849/is_18_11/ai_n28954879. Barrow, R. J. (2003, Jun 9). South Korea: How to Keep the Miracle Going. Business Week. Retrieved Mar 20, 2009, from http://www. businessweek. com/magazine/content/03_23/b3836031_mz007. htm. Cho, Y. (2008, Oct 10). Participatory Democracy in the Global Public Sphere: Scale, Media Events, and the Body. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the International Communication Association, Sheraton New York, New York City, NY Online. Retrieved Mar 20, 2009, from http://www. allacademic. com/one/www/www/index. php? cmd=www_searchoffset=0limit=5multi_search_search_mode=publicationmulti_search_publication_fulltext_mod=fulltexttextfield_submit=truesearch_module=multi_searchsearch=Searchsearch_field=title_idxfulltext_search=Participatory+Democracy+in+the+Global+Public+Sphere%3A+Scale%2C+Media+Events%2C+and+the+Body. Chung, Y. (2007). South Korea in the Fast Lane: Economic Development and Capital Formation. New York: Oxford University Press. Income Gap at its Widest Point since 1999 Financial Crisis. (2008, Feb 15). The Hankyoreh. Retrieved Mar 20, 2009, from http://english. hani. co. kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/269809. html. Kakwani, N. , Khandker, S. , Son, H. H. Poverty Equivalent Growth Rate: With Applications to Korea and Thailand. Retrieved Mar 20, 2009, from http://siteresources. worldbank. org/INTPGI/Resources/13984_Hyun_Sons_paper_pro-poor-final. doc. Korea Highest in Elderly Poverty. (2008, Nov 8). The Korea Times. Retrieved Mar 20, 2009, from http://www. koreatimes. co. kr/www/news/nation/2008/11/113_34066. html. Kwack, S. Y. , Lee, Y. S. (2007, Dec 31). Income Distribution in Korea in Historical and International Prospects. Retrieved Mar 20, 2009, from http://www. kdi. re. kr/kdi/report/report_read05. jsp? 1=1pub_no=10341. Savada, A. M. , Shaw, W. , eds. (1990). Social Classes in Contemporary Society. In South Korea: A Country Study. Washington: GPO Library of Congress. Retrieved Mar 20, 2009, from http://countrystudies. us:80/south-korea/. Social Welfare in East Asia: Low Public Spending but Low Income Inequality. (2008, Jul). Center for Analysis of Social Exclusion. Retrieved Mar 20, 2009, from http://sticerd. lse. ac.uk/dps/case/cb/CASEbrief7. pdf. Widening Inequality: IMF Acknowledges Downsides of Globalization. (2007, Oct 19). The Korea Times. Retrieved Mar 20, 2009, from http://www. bilaterals. org/article. php3? id_article=10033. Wiseman, P. , Nishiwaki, N. (2006, Jul 23). Income Inequality Shrinks Japan’s Middle Class. USA Today. Retrieved Mar 20, 2009, from http://www. usatoday. com/money/world/2006-07-23-japan-usat_x. htm. Yim, S. Geographical Features of Social Polarization in Seoul, South Korea. Retrieved Mar 20, 2009, from http://www. lit. osaka-cu. ac. jp/geo/pdf/frombelow/0308_frombelow_yim. pdf.

How MNEs Budget in a Global Context

How MNEs Budget in a Global Context Ashokkumar Murugesan Discuss how Multi National Enterprises carry out capital budgeting in a global context, and explain aspects which are unique to foreign project assessment. In this chapter, discussion on how Multinational Enterprises carry out budgeting globally is discussed. Various factors that are influenced by these MNCs are demonstrated. Capital budgeting and why it’s implemented is discussed. Companies that decide in doing business abroad and those which are already dealing in abroad have a multiple sources through which they can learn the cultures of foreign countries. Some sources are general talk with employees who worked abroad, managers who travelled abroad, training programmers and consulting with other firms as well. Gaspar, J., et al., (2013). The volume of international transactions has grown rapidly over the past 60 years. National capital markets have changed to unified capital markets followed by international securities. Therefore investors are realizing the huge ability of international portfolio type of investment. The risk found here is more than domestic budgeting as the company’s stock is affected by the riskiness o f capital budgeting and the level of earnings stream. Kim, S., Kim, S. (2009). Multinational companies depend on capital budgeting methods for the evaluation of foreign investment projects. Capital budgeting is a method or issue for adopting stockholders and increasing the wealth as an objective action. There are confusions and complicated situations for capital budgeting in a multinational corporation. Multinational capital budgeting is an issue of foreign direct investment agreements. Foreign investment aims include-Strategic aims, behavioral aims and economic aims. Strategic aims include, Market seekers who produce in foreign and just meet local demands and exports to markets, Raw material seekers who are responsible to collect sources from available places, Production skill seekers who produce goods at countries that are low of manufacturing costs, Knowledge seekers who pay handsome money to developed countries inorder to get their technologies and Political safety seekers who invest in interfering countries related to their business. Behavioral aims are de veloping a market for goods and other products, bringing into usage of old machinery, research spreading and expansion, reinvesting on countries that has lost its link in a particular territory. Economic motives are based on the theory of imperfection on products, financial properties and factors of production. Riahi-Belkaoui, A. (2001). There are four elements of major importance which can be said as the managerial conclusion for capital budgeting as they help in the critical positioning of the Multi National Enterprises compared to that of domestic companies. Firstly investment Oppurtunities are present at a larger scale in MNEs. Secondly they are provided with good information on the input and output benefits of a specific investment strategy. Thirdly risks are reduced due to international changes. Fourthly exploiting international differences in market defects or imperfections are present. In Rugman’s view the capital budgeting process in MNEs characterizes the increasing importance of firm specific action management considerations. This replaces the traditional financing or portal capital elements, specifically in cases of multinational global competition. Capital budgeting in functionally organized MNEs results in less efficiency due to various reasons. A functional structure would encourage opportunisti c behavior by functional managers, even by corporate levels. This would cause difficult situations to separate strategic plans such as operational decisions and capital budgeting. Focusing on the much higher complexity of capital budgeting effective control and sanctioned systems designed a monitoring outcome of the investments that has been undergone. Rugman, A. M. (1996). Global companies with compact operations are at best in being able to design and manufacture regulated products in a few high volume facilities inorder to take advantage of economies of scale. These products are adaptable to the local markets and are sold around the world. The approaches of multinational enterprises are in a decentralized manner where in different regions were held responsible for both production and marketing. The development of a business plan and finalizing its capital expenses are placed in the hands of local managers as they are aware of the global expenditures and expectations. Feist, W. R. (Ed.). (1999). Multinational companies are constantly achieving and showing their assets globally in the course of business. The investments that are made by the company determines their competitiveness in the marketplace and their long-run survival. Capital budgeting for foreign projects focuses on the cash flow of expected long-term investment projects and on constructing retail stores in other countries. There are complexities in multinational capital budgeting such as foreign currency fluctuations, Long-term inflation rates. The parent money invested flows globally to other countries and their value is obtained by the fluctuations in the currency rate within a given period of time. So it is necessary to estimate the future exchange rates under various scenarios. Long term inflation rates affect the competitiveness of the enterprise globally. It affects the cash flow both in terms of prices of inputs and outputs. It will affect the finance between domestic and foreign sources. Saudagaran, S. M. (2009). Foreign investments are unique to domestic investments as they require many formalities to take place before the investment. Foreign investors must prepare an application to the Foreign Investment Committee that contains all the details of the foreign investor. This Foreign Investment Committee has the advocate in favor of the foreign investors. They also give a period of six months to the foreign investors for the approval of the application and executing the contract. Here the income tax rate has a time limit of 10 years and a maximum up to 20 years in case of large projects. Campbell, C. (2007) Capital expenditures decisions regarding permanent and irreversible commitment of funds to projects whose benefits are to be obtained over a long period of time than that of the current year is the most important financial agreement as it affects directly the value of the firm. A distinguish between the present cash flow and the investment expenditures of the projects gives an idea to the firm of what decision is to be made about the project. Capital budgeting for foreign projects is same as that of domestic projects where in the view of the parent firm should be undertaken when the cash flow values exceeds the initial expenditure spent. However there are other situations that make the foreign projects more complicated. Several surveys have suggested that Multi National Enterprises tend to consider foreign projects on both the parent and project viewpoints. These MNCs should forecast a projects true profitability which regulates the minimum revenue and minimum cost associated with th e project. Incremental cash flows to the parent can be confirmed only when subtracting worldwide parent company cash flows without considering the post-investment done by the parent cash flows. The tax issue for the multinational capital budgeting reasons is complicated due to the fact that they have to pay both the home country as well as host country including other factors as well. First the tax is applied in the host country and then when getting the profits it is again taxed in the home country. Thus investments on foreign projects fall under the tax net. Shapiro, A. C. (2008). MNCs use a major principle behind each method they use is to increase their information sources and use them effectively when while reducing inconsistent cash flow and the cost of capital alterations. Generally in practice, the methods used are usually involving the adjustments of cash flows rather than the cost of the capital. This is because the risks are mainly involved in the regular cash flows than the cost of capital. There is nothing in increasing the capital cost of the project and showing its incremental risks as there is a constant change in the cash flows. Stonehill, A. I., et al., (1993). Thus the discussion of Multinational Budgeting is successfully discussed. The reason for investing a huge sum of capital investment in foreign projects has been illustrated. There exist various political, global issues that are all responsible for the MNCs success and failure. By proper analyzing of these above discussed theories in financial markets, financial price developments can be made. Globally many MNCs struggle in the beginning to capitalize them as there would be more of direct investments without any cash flow till a period of time. References: Campbell, C. (2007). â€Å"Legal Aspects of Doing Business in Latin America†. Available at: https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=RwAtZJ4SZYICpg=PA83dq=unique+aspects+to+foreign+project+investmentshl=ensa=Xei=VhCtVPetK4b_UMKogYgN#v=onepageq=unique%20aspects%20to%20foreign%20project%20investmentsf=false Feist, W. R. (Ed.). (1999).â€Å"Managing a global enterprise: a concise guide to international operations†. Gaspar, J., Arreola-Risa, A., Bierman, L., Hise, R., Kolari, J. (2013). â€Å"Introduction to Global Business: Understanding the International Environment Global Business Functions†. Kim, S., Kim, S. (2009).â€Å"Global corporate finance: text and cases†. Riahi-Belkaoui, A. (2001).â€Å"Evaluating capital projects†. Rugman, A. M. (1996).â€Å"The theory of multinational enterprises: The selected scientific papers of Alan M. Rugman†. Vol. (1) Saudagaran, S. M. (2009).â€Å"International accounting: A user perspective†. Shapiro, A. C. (2008).â€Å"Multinational financial management†. Stonehill, A. I., Dunning, J. H., Moffett, M. H. (Eds.)., (1993).â€Å"International financial management†. Vol. (5) Evaluate the UK government response to the budget deficit and the post-2008 recession. This chapter deals about the UK government response to the budget deficit in the 2008 recession. List of factors that had caused this failure are discussed.The United Kingdom’s great recession refers to the period of economic decline between 2008 and 2013. The recession started after the 2007/2008 credit crisis globally and has led to a long-term period of minimum growth and less employment. There were reasons for the bankruptcy of Britain and they were, Export failures due to the global bankruptcy, sudden fall of housing markets which led to unfavorable wealth effects, fall in bank lending’s and credit crisis, due to financial helplessness the confidentiality had been lost, single currency in Europe created extra problems because of higher exchange rates and high bong earnings. The causes of the credit crisis were that in the period of 2000-2007 was a time of good economic growth, less expansion and reduction of unemployment. Even Central Banks were successful in follo wing low expansion and ensuring economic standard. But however under the big economic standard there were lot of problems which became transparent later. Pettinger, T., (2013). The UKs deficit in trade of goods was found to be six quarter per cent of GDP in 2007. The goods trade deficit was a bit changed as there was a small decline in the loss of manufactured goods. These goods were offset by increase in oil and fuel pricings. Overall the United Kingdom’s deficit was about three fourth more than three percent of GDP in the year 2007. It then temporarily reduced to one and a half percent in the beginning of 2008 and again increased to three percent in the second quarter. Great Britain, Treasury. (2008). The key economic developments that has shaped the public finances are, the weakness of simple GDP, high consumer price inflation firmly, productivity puzzle, weak interest rates and asset markets, down turn of real wages, an excessive hit to the financial sector. The economical cash size (nominal GDP) fell far below the expectations in between 2007-2008 and 2009-2010. This simple GDP kept increasing even when the actual GDP i.e., the quantity of the goods and services produced in the economy fell. Consumer price kept raising rapidly more than expected. The earnings were incremented very slowly due to the weakness of productivity. High consume price inflation had also been a cause for the incremental of wages. Fair pricings fell apart and short term policy rates along with government financing costs fell badly and remained in a low position. Riley, J and Chote, R.,(2014). Capitalist system of UK has suffered a great crisis in 2008. A great depression has been threatening the whole of economy as there was pressure in the political justice and ideal shift in political economy. It was totally finance driven and was considered as the end of the age of greed. In politics a majority of people thought that by shifting the politics to the left-wing side and by redistribution was acceptable. They thought that new ideas and policies were intelligent approach by dealing them in a new way and implementing them. The government had then realized it was not just the failure of the financial system but also the way it had been regulated by a set of economic theories. It was then decided that the simplicities of illiberal and ill economics as well as an overall mathematical economical view should be rejected. The intuition of the past was to be looked upon inorder to get the clear view of the problem. Recovery had been very slow and new financial pressures have arose which had lead to future setbacks. Political economy had become complicated. The left-wing parties have not yet advanced from the crisis of capitalism. It was then in 2010, an alliance of balanced marketing people took over from a binding party on the left which had a grasp of the market ideology and language. Turner, A. (2012). It was suggested by some evidence that the Treasury’s budget remained up-most even though there were downward revisions. In an average, individual economists forecasted that the GDP growth was 1.6% in 2008 and 1.8% in 2009 which were much lower than the lower border of the Treasury’s forecast. The Treasury’s confidence in the capacity of UK economy in weathering the market flows from accessing the flexibility of the economy. According to the 2008 budget, the growth of underlying gains had been â€Å"rigid† and â€Å"subdued†, although there was crisis and crisis expectations. England’s bank in their 2008 inflation report stated that, â€Å"the pay growth of private sector was muted in late 2007† which rose by 4.2% comparing with a year before. McFall, J. (2008). The macroeconomic adjustments had become more difficult after august 2007. The United Kingdom was struck by two new shocks, the interruptions to global financing markets and high increase in the pieces of food and fuel in recent months. These shocks had heightened the uncertainties about export marketing and output growth plan, disturbed money markets, fused the ongoing correction in the domestic housing market and had increased the rise of risks on both sides. The policies that were implemented then had faced several new challenges. The estimation of the correct posture was very complicated, the communication mechanism had kept demonstrating repeated shocks as the financial markets confusion had played out. Fiscal side had become increasingly difficult to resolve total usage of automatic stabilizers with attachment to the fiscal rules. Due to the confusions, current account rates have been lowered. In prospect of output weakness the bank rate reductions have been started and advance d. They had lowered 75bp and markets had been reducing further rate cuts over 2008. Although there were divided payments by the U.K. banks in 2007, the discharge of value from foreign banks were rejected as their market status was currently low in the global aspects. This had added to the current account loss. International Monetary fund. (2008). There had been deficit of goods and services not only from 2008 but had started ever since 1987. The shortfall had a reached a peak of  £50 billion in the year 2007. These deficits were caused because they remained constant, formed a huge share of GDP, Central bank had less number of resources, the economy had a poor record of repaying debt and no compensating inward flow of investment income or the flow of inward capital account. In UK there was a strong bond between the growing economy and trade deficits. When the economy went into bankruptcy in 1990, the trade loss began to fall quickly. This bankruptcy was overcome in 1993 but the trade deficit had begun to rise quickly and had carried out over the next 15 years. The recent collapse however that took over in 2008 had caused the loss to be reduced in between 2008-2009. The main factors that lead to recession include, excessive growth, high export rates, less productivity, low levels of investment in human and real capital. The U K economy had grown too quickly than the trend rate around 2.5% which as discussed led to failure. Higson, G. (2011). UK had developed its economical, political and market forces shaping its business environment in a successive way since the 2008 recession. Although there had been crisis and trade deficit since 1987, it started to recover only when the deficit had reached its peak. The factors that had led to recession have been discussed above. Reference: Great Britain, Treasury. (2008).â€Å"Pre-budget Report 2008: Facing Global Challenges, Supporting People Through Difficult Times†. Vol.(7484). Available at: https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=2BS11cCcrnwCpg=PA174dq=britain+deficit+in+2008hl=ensa=Xei=iXqtVN2tLcj6UIe4gaAMredir_esc=y#v=onepageq=britain%20deficit%20in%202008f=false Higson, G. (2011). â€Å"The National Economy: an introduction to macroeconomics†. Available at: https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=64OWJY-XnDMCpg=PA80dq=deficit+of+UK+in+2008hl=ensa=Xei=L36uVKeSKsWsUfOEgfgHved=0CDwQ6AEwBQ#v=onepageq=deficit%20of%20UK%20in%202008f=false International Monetary fund, (2008). â€Å"United Kingdom: 2008 Article IV Consultation Staff Supplement; Staff report; public information report on the executive board discussion; and statement by the executive director for the United Kingdom†. Available at: https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=ThMMPslQJKoCpg=PA10dq=UK+market+deficit++in+2008hl=ensa=Xei=b2yuVPzOAYT_UvK1gugEved=0CDQQ6AEwAg#v=onepageq=UK%20market%20deficit%20%20in%202008f=false McFall, J. (2008).â€Å"The 2008 Budget: Ninth Report of Session 2007-08: Report, Together with Formal Minutes, Oral and Written Evidence†. Vol.(430). Pettinger, T., (2013). â€Å"The great recession 2008-13†. Available at: http://www.economicshelp.org/blog/7501/economics/the-great-recession/ Riley, J and Chote, R. (2014). â€Å"Crisis and consolidation in the public finances†. Turner, A. (2012).â€Å"Economics after the crisis: objectives and means†.

Analysing Negative Attitudes Towards Mental Illness

Analysing Negative Attitudes Towards Mental Illness This chapter will examine the term stigma and discuss the negative attitudes that the public hold towards mental health and mental illness and suggest why they may have adopted these views and attitudes. It will also address the medias role in portraying these views and sustaining these attitudes towards mental illness. An enormous number of individuals are affected by mental illness worldwide: the World Health Organization (WHO) (2001) has estimated that 1 in 5 persons will suffer from a mental illness each year. A question that could be asked if mental illness is a dominant and prevalent issue within society today why do people still hold these negative views and attitudes within society? Finally the chapter will conclude by making some recommendations for practice, ways that stigma can be reduced and how mental health and mental illness can be portrayed in a more positive light. To fully appreciate the views and attitudes towards mental illness it is important to understand the concept of stigma. Stigma is derived from the Greek for a mark branded on a slave or criminal (White, 1998). Goffmans (1963) seminal work on stigmatization has, over the years, stimulated a great variety of educational discussion on the nature, sources, and effects of stigma (Link and Phelan, 2001). According to Goffman (1963) stigma is a physical or psychological mark of disgrace that makes an individual stand out from society. Three types of stigmatizing marks identified by Goffman include, Abominations of the body, tribal stigma, and blemishes of individual character (Goffman, 1963, pg 14). People who encompass these physical or psychological marks are often devalued and dehumanised which consequently leads to their position within society being corrupted by the distressing effects of stigmatization (Goffman, 1963). A definition that can be seen to encompass all aspects alongside Goffman is offered by Miles (1981) cited in Brunton (1997) who says, Societal reaction which singles out certain attributes evaluates them as an undesirable and devalues the persons who possess them. (p. 892) The suffering and loss of opportunities that seems to always come hand in hand with a diagnosis of mental illness can be seen to be connected to the psychiatric symptoms that can be observed e.g. talking to voices, the decrease in daily functioning, and the dip in a persons social functioning in society (Corrigan and Wassel, 2008). However, the loss of opportunities and the person with a mental illness devaluing their own self worth take place for the reason of the stigma that surrounds mental illness (Corrigan and Kleinlein, 2005). For the purposes of this dissertation negative attitudes refers to discriminatory attitudes that are based on prejudice, stereotypes or inaccurate information. Stereotypes are firmly set judgements that are learnt throughout life and held firmly in our mind (Stier and Hinshaw, 2007). They are discriminating views or images related to members of particular groups (Corrigan and Wassel, 2008). Prejudice effects individuals in an emotional manner (Stier and Hinshaw, 2007) and occurs when people within society have the same opinion about a particular stereotype and affix this to a group of people making negative connotations towards that particular group (Corrigan and Wassel, 2008). Then again, Corrigan and Wassel (2008) state that discriminative behaviour can be seen as a direct result of prejudice. This involves a specific group being treated in a dissimilar way leading to that group not being able to access opportunities available to them or their rights being restricted (Stier and Hin shaw, 2007). Negative attitudes towards people with mental distress may be manifested by physical and verbal abuse, problems in the workplace or discrimination from people who provide services to people with a mental illness (Mind, 2010). Negative attitudes are partly constructed in the language we use to describe mental illness. People with mental distress are often being described in derogatory terms. For example, perpetrators of acts of violence are often described as Lunatics, mad person (Tudor, 1996), schizos, nutters, psychos, fiends, monsters and maniacs (Twomley, 2007). This makes a clear link between violence and mental distress, it must be acknowledged though that not everyone who is violent necessarily has a mental illness. Angermeyer and Schulze (2001) suggest the general public view people with mental illness as bizarre, fear-provoking, impulsive, violent and lack self-discipline. From this, therefore, it could be suggested that people who have a mental illness are deviants or have deviant behaviour. Becker (1963) defines deviance as any trait or behaviour that was abnormal when compared to the average population (pg. ). If mental illness is classed as deviant then how bad does someone have to act or behave to be classed as deviant. This demonstrates that social rules that are made allow people to judge others as different or in this case deviant (Becker, 1963). This is further supported by Baumann (2007) who suggest that the individuals picture of the world is created by comparatively constant norms, principles and expectations. Angermeyer and Matschinger (2005) suggests a diagnosis of schizophrenia has, particularly, been found to be stigmatizing and linked with negative stereotypes such as violence and dangerousness. This shows that by mental health being medicalised it is profoundly unhelpful due to the diagnostic terms such as psychosis which can shackle people to the mental health system (Watkins, 2007). In contrast Shepherd et al (2008) describe the recovery model as taking ownership and responsibility for an illness and what can and cant be done, focusing on the strengths and issues rather than a diagnosis. This is a reliable source provided by the Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health. The recovery model will be discussed more in-depth in chapter three. There is no doubt that the media plays a part in reinforcing the attitudes towards mental health and mental illness. In everyday life the public come into contact with the media by newspapers, TV and radio on a daily basis. The way people with a mental illness are viewed as dangerous can be seen to be fuelled by tabloid media publicity about psycho-killers (Tudor, 1996). Examples of this are included in the appendix. The report, Screening for madness, by Byrne (2009) reveals that films representations of people with experience of mental health problems have become more harmful, he suggests that, Mental health stereotypes have not changed over a century of cinema. If anything, the comedy is crueler and the deranged psycho killer even more demonic. (pg. 4) One flew over the Cuckoos Nest can be seen as the film most remembered for depicting someone with a mental illness acting strangely or violently (reference). Even though this was released 35 years ago it shows the influence of movie stereotypes on attitudes and how these can last generations. This is also demonstrated with the recent film Batman-the Dark Knight depicting mental illness with violence which more or less is based around the mental illness schizophrenia (Byrne, 2009). This would suggest that ignorance and lack of understanding of mental illness are still very prominent in society today. It must be acknowledged there are some exceptions to this, of more recent films that have portrayed a less sensational and more insightful picture of mental illness. For instance, A Beautiful Mind, in 2002, depicted the true story of a maths genius who had a diagnosis of schizophrenia, while Shine, in 1996, was the story of a brilliant pianist who had a diagnosis of bipolar disorder. Nevertheless, the more positive portrayals can represent mental distress as exotic, dramatic or romantic in ways that bear little resemblance to real-life experiences (Lott, 2006). Likewise, media portrayals of mental health have been far from flattering and largely sensationalized. A survey undertaken in 2000 by MIND found that 73% of people with mental health problems felt that the reporting of mental health issues were unjust, biased and pessimistic (MIND, 2000 cited in Rethink, 2006). In addition a study by Chopra and Doody (1997) looked at 98 newspaper articles and found there was no significant difference in the portrayal of schizophrenia. They did find overall that 36.1% of articles were negative in tone, 56.7% were neutral and 7.2% were positive. The word schizophrenic is often used in tabloid stories in conjunction with violent events, somehow suggesting that the diagnosis can justify why the violence happened in the first place (Twomey, 2007). In reality, the person who happens to have a diagnosis of schizophrenia may have acted in such a way due to taking illegal drugs or may have a violent personality, we need to look at all aspect of what led to a violent situation happening and not just that someone was mentally ill. The media can often be seen to be responsible for stigmatizing stereotypes of mental illness (Byrne, 1997),however, if the media was used to its potential it can challenge prejudice, enlighten and instigate discussions, helping to reduce the stigma that is so often experienced by people with a mental illness (Salter and Byrne, 2000). It is still evident through reporting on mental health that a diagnosis of a mental illness is linked to violence. There is however, some evidence of positive change where The Sun newspaper was made to remove a headline of Bonkers Bruno locked up which was reporting on the sectioning of the boxer frank Bruno under the Mental Health Act (MIND, 2010). In 2006, the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) published a code of practice, which banned the use of stigmatising language around mental illness which reduced the use of the terms such as schizo and nutter (PCC, 2006). This gives an example of just how much the media has moved on over the years and that there are some strategies to prevent harm being done to people with mental health problems. Becker (1963) concludes that people who are mentally ill are blamed for things that happen in society therefore you would think they would be punished or persecuted. It must be acknowledged that there are extensive resources devoted to the benevolent care and support of those with an enduring mental illness. Even though this is an old source it is relevant even today and apparent how services are developing for people with mental health problems. Nevertheless, people suffering from a mental illness are still feared and excluded from society (Becker, 1963 and Watkins, 2007). When people have acute mental health problems they can appear to the public to be frightening and exhibit odd behaviours which can often lead to police involvement (Taylor, 2008). At such times they can commit criminal acts, often escaping prosecution due to their mental illness at the time (Bowers, 1998; Taylor, 2008). Therefore, it could be argued that the public hold these views due to such examples where peopl e are excused from their actions on the basis of some supposed illness. It could be suggested that they should be held accountable for their actions as anyone else would be (Bowers, 1998). It can be argued that these attitudes towards mental illness can be seen in a direct parallel to racism (Bowers, 1998). So why do people continue showing negative attitudes and views towards mental health as much work has been done in helping to combat racism, can the same not be done for people with mental illness. Negative attitudes towards individuals with mental illness is widespread and can be capable of creating a significant barrier to treatment (Piner and Kahle, 1984). It has been established that negative attitudes can be individually the most significant obstruction to integration of people with a mental illness in to society (Piner and Kahle, 1984). Negative attitudes towards mental health can influence the path and result of their mental illness (Bowers, 1998). This can also lead to self-stigma which occurs when an individual with a mental health illness internalizes the stigma and believes they are of less value (Halter, 2004; Corrigan, 2007). This may result in low self-worth, loss of dignity, and lead to feelings of hopelessness (Campbell and Deacon, 2006). People who experience a mental illness often see no potential for them to undertake full time employment due to internalizing these negative attitudes that are held about the psychiatric system (Watkins, 2007). If we dont help people recover from mental illnesses it is inevitable that it may become an enduring illness. An analogy given compares it to having a broken leg; if you dont rest it then it wont heal properly, the same could be said for the mind. Maybe if people were more positive towards mental health and mental illness then people with mental health problems would be encouraged to flourish in the community and not be seen as deviant. This is supported by Sayce (2000) who suggests that being part of the social foundations of the community is necessary for our psychological well being. Generally most people would like to think they are compassionate and have inclusive attitudes towards people who experience a breakdown in their mental health (Ross and Read, 2004). Except, discrimination is still communicated in everyday social situations in subtly distancing, condescending exchanges, flippant outlooks or obvious hostility leaving people feeling socially isolated (Watkins, 2007). This could be due to the fact that mental illness shows how fragile human nature is therefore peoples/societies anxieties and fears about mental health may be due to seeing the potential that any one of us could develop a mental health disorder (Becker, 1963). From my practice to date the following example really brought home to me the level of stigma and negative attitudes people have towards mental illness. When listening to an account from a service user it made me realise how public attitudes towards people with mental health difficulties is still a big issue and a real challenge for health care professionals. Mary explained that when taking a taxi to give a talk to students about living with mental illness she got talking to the taxi driver. At first he thought she was a lecturer but when she explained what she was going to do he became very quiet and stopped conversation with her. She found this a very ignorant and closed way of dealing with the situation and became quite upset about it. Having examined the concepts of stigma, discussed the negative attitudes that the public hold towards mental health and mental illness, suggested why they may have adopted these views and attitudes and addressed the medias role in portraying these views and sustaining these attitudes towards mental illness. It is now important to draw some recommendations and challenges that can help reduce the stigma of mental illness and promote a more positive picture to members of the public. These recommendations include education and public contact. Firstly, education of the public both at school and after (Murphy et al 1993; Penn et al 1994) about mental health and its prevalence among every one of us is really important. Education is widely approved for influencing prejudice and discrimination (Corrigan and Wassel, 2008). Corrigan and Wassel (2008) ask the important question, If people had the correct knowledge or effective problem solving skills, would they be able to give up public stigma and handle associated concerns more directly? (pg. 45) Education can generate small effects on attitudes; unfortunately, this kind of change in attitude is seen to not be maintained over time (Corrigan et al, 2001). This demonstrates the need to continually re-educate people to reinforce the message. Challenging the public is most effective when it targets people who frequently interact with individuals with mental illness: landlords, employers, GPs, police officers etc (Corrigan and Wassel, 2008). Secondly, most importantly the media needs to comply with their code of practice (2006). If something does appear in the media that appears stigmatising people should protest against it not accept it and reiterate that it wont be tolerated. As nurses we need to encourage that positive things surrounding mental health of mental health are promoted in the media. Lastly, the public need more contact with people who are experiencing mental health difficulties. This type of contact can provide the most healthy and positive findings toward changing public stigma (Penn et al,1994; Pettigrew and Tropp, 2000). It can be something as small as someone speaking about their mental illness in a group situation to co-workers learning of someone coping with a mental illness. The effectiveness of utilising contact can be improved when the person with a mental illness is seen by society as in the same social class as them (Gaertner et al, 1996). In Link and Cullens (1986) study they found people who had contact with someone who had a mental illness showed much lower anxiety around danger compared to those who had no contact. Murphy et als (1993) study contradicted this as they found having contact with someone with a mental illness did not impact on their attitude. However, they did establish that people who spoke of having knowledge of mental illness showe d a reduced anxiety and fear of mental illness. Finally, the prevalence of mental illness in society cannot be underestimated. As previously alluded to with 1 in 5 people suffering from a mental illness (WHO, 2001) we cannot afford to ignore the impact of stigma, all health care professionals especially nurses need to advocate for clients and work with others to promote and protect the health and wellbeing of those in their care, their families and carers, and the wider community (Nursing and Midwifery Council, 2008). Having discussed the views and attitudes that the public hold towards mental illness and those experiencing mental health difficulties it is now important, in the next chapter, to examine the views and attitudes of general nurses. Many will come into contact with people with mental health problems particularly in accident and emergency (a and e) and a medical setting.