Body Image Essays

Body Image Essays Body Image Paper Body Image Paper Essay Topic: A Hunger Artist People today are being fed by images that depict an â€Å"ideal† physical form. Men are portrayed with perfect, sculpted, six-pack abs, enormous muscles, and broad, hairless chests, while the women are nothing more than dresses supported by small bony frames. Apparently, these images are making people sick. Unsatisfied men and women, even early teens, are punishing themselves just so they can have that perfect body they see on TV or a magazine. If they do not succeed, their self-esteem, which is already low as it is, drops even more, consequently increasing their tendency to commit suicide. Although the media highly contribute to society’s concept of an ideal body, I do not blame them for the problems this concept brings to people. It is not their fault that these people are ungrateful for what they already have. Yes, that is what I call them: ungrateful, discontented whiners. It sounds harsh, but that is how I feel, especially for women who starve themselves to death just so they can fit into their brand new skinny jeans. People are dying from hunger for crying out loud! There are people who would do anything just so they can eat a fraction of what an average healthy human eats in a day. Why can’t they just be happy with their weight and the way they look? I do not think they would turn into whales if they would just eat enough food that is required for an average human to get enough nourishment a day. Men, on the other hand, do not strive to be skinny, but they do not try to be fat either. Men want the Abercrombie and Fitch model body, and in some cases, they want the Abercrombie and Fitch body on steroids. I am talking about those body building folks that spend most of their time in the gym lifting weights, flexing their muscles, and in particular, those in the â€Å"professional† wrestling business. I know they work out a lot, but some of those wrestlers’ bodies have attained a body that is naturally impossible to achieve by working out alone. Anabolic steroids- the common name for synthetic testosterone- have led to the most dramatic changes in the male form in modern history (Cloud). Steroids are known to reduce sperm production and literally shrink the testicles. I guess they do not care about siring children since they care more about getting or maintaining their perfect built than involving themselves in intimate situations. According to some surveys, men would rather go to the gym than be with their significant others (Cloud). Frankly, however, I do not care if women starve themselves to death or if men juice their manhood into oblivion. As long as these anorexic women and steroids-driven people are not hurting anyone else other than themselves, I guess there is nothing wrong with what they are doing. Still, I would rather see them give food to people who are really starving and spend money on real medication. Imagine the lives they would save instead of the lives they would ruin. I admire Liz Jones, the author of â€Å"What I Think About the Fashion World. † She is an editor of a big fashion magazine, but she does not want to work in a company that she believes to be portraying unrealistic images of women. She has no business helping others who do not want to help themselves. Like Liz Jones, I would not want to work either in the same environment if the company stands against my beliefs. I am irritated by people who think their image is so important. Perhaps, it is because body image has never been an issue for me. I do not have a body like those seen in TV and magazines, but I do not care. I am just happy that I am a healthy person, that I am fortunate enough to eat whenever I feel hungry, and that I have enough self-respect that I do not allow myself to be bullied by other people. It does not matter how fat or how wimpy you look. If you have any sort of respect for yourself, you would not allow others push your around. A great image is just a person loving his or herself no matter how fat or skinny he or she looks. The only reason I can think of why people see the images projected by media as ideal or real is they have psychological problems. A mentally healthy individual would clearly see that billboards and commercials are not real. Especially with today’s technology, editing programs can do almost everything. Rarely would anyone see pictures on magazines that have not been tainted by the hands of a graphics artist. Waist lines are reduced, blemishes are removed, and unwanted hairs are plucked; anything that might be considered horrendous in the fashion world is edited. Psychologists say that people with such conditions should immediately recognize that what they see on printed ads and TV are not real and just the product of extensive editing. But of course, that’s them being idealistic(Keim). The media’s responsibility now, even if it is not directly their fault, is to try to minimize these portrayals of unrealistic bodies of models. The media does not intend for anyone to indulge themselves in self-destructing behavior. All they really want is to make their magazine or commercial to look as presentable as possible. Hence, maybe they could place disclaimers on their ads that say that models may appear more beautiful in TV than in real life, much like the warning on side mirror of cars that objects appear closer than they actually are. Companies might not agree with this proposal, but anything they can do to help the depressed population would help. Again, it boils down to contentment and a positive outlook on life. Image is not everything; there are far more important things to worry about other than looking like America’s next top model or a Versace endorser, such as how we could help others or how we could help lessen climate change. Cloud, John. â€Å"Never Too Buff. † Time. 24 April 2000. 4 September 2008 time. com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,996688-2,00. html Keim, Brandon. â€Å"The Media Assault on Male Body Image. † Seedmagazine. com. 15 September 2006. 4 September 2008. http://seedmagazine. com/news/2006/09/the_media_assault_on_male_body. php? page=1

Writing tips for nurses, Nursing Standard - Emphasis

Writing tips for nurses, Nursing Standard Writing tips for nurses, Nursing Standard Being a capable wordsmith may not be what you signed up for. But clinical nurses are spending more and more of their working day on writing tasks. Rob Ashton of Emphasis gives six tips on how nurses can become better writers. A well-presented document, a clear and succinct email, a precise and persuasive report all go a long way to ensure nursing maintains professional standards. This makes sense, as good writing skills equal good communication a prerequisite for effective nursing. Just as nursing requires dedication and practice, so too do effective writing techniques within the clinical setting. One Identify your target audience. To write effectively, you have to understand the needs of the people you are writing for. Think of the variety of audiences you have to communicate with as a practitioner such as patients, other nursing professionals, physicians. Then think about how you communicate differently to each. If its a report for a healthcare organisation, find out the ethos of that organisation. If its for a nursing manager, do they need to be informed or persuaded or both? Two Overcome the fear of the blank page. Break through writers block by: establishing the purpose of your writing and what you hope to achieve using mind maps or spider-grams to get ideas flowing creating a defined timeframe with deadlines and milestones writing in incremental bursts if youre faced with a lengthy document Focusing on your readers needs but (crucially) forgetting about their possible judgements of the work. If youre really stuck, set an alarm for five minutes hence, then tell yourself you only need to write until it goes off. After all, how bad can five minutes be? What youll probably find is that you speed up as the time starts to run out, giving you the energy to burst through the block. But if that doesnt happen, stop at five minutes, give yourself a ten minute break, then set the alarm for another five-minute session. Two or three short sessions like this are usually enough to cure the block. These apply to most writing tasks, including proposals for improvement projects, reports, patient records, staff references, memos and even emails. Three Keep going until you have a complete working draft. Forget about perfection for now. Organise the relevant information on separate piece of paper (such as with a mind map see above), then write. Only when youve finished should you revise and edit. Even the greatest writers work from a rough, first draft. Make sure you plan first though, as a stream of consciousness can be very difficult to disentangle once youve written it. To help with the final edit, ask yourself if youve addressed all your pertinent issues, especially problems, action and results. Four Dont dress it up. Florid language and great swathes of rhetoric wont impress a busy board member, nursing manager or worried patient who wants to read only the salient facts. Time is of the essence in a clinical workplace, so clear, direct communication is key. Present your message clearly from the start in a straightforward style that will keep your audience interested. Five Dont be lax in your report writing. Computerised report templates may have made the task easier but they are no replacement for courtesy and good grammar. Never make shortcuts in punctuation and spelling, and make sure the facts are correct. Get someone else to look over the document if youre unsure of its accuracy. Six Be honest. If you dont understand the subject matter, the chances are those reading it wont either. Dont mask your lack of understanding with unnecessary jargon. If youre working collaboratively on a report or proposal, for example ask for help. With written communication now so much a part of clinical nursing, these tips and a little practice should give you the confidence to handle any writing task. A little time spent perfecting the process now will leave you more time for other pressing responsibilities in the future. Rob Ashton is Chief Executive of Emphasis, the specialist business-writing trainers.

Article response paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 6

Response paper - Article Example According to Philip, men experience varied struggles through a patriarchal approach system that mandates their gender identity thus engage in violent acts against women. In the end, Voice Male proves the possibility of using a system that promotes the consumption of popular culture to its advantage. 2. Comments and deep discussion of the article with clear indication to outside sources peer reviewed articles, According to Philip’s article, he indicates that men’s violence against women is majorly due to patriarchal systems, which exhibit cultural circumstances promoting violence against women (Philips, n.d). For instance, from ancient times, men in the society were not to show any signs of vulnerability because one would have faced severe punishment. His study concurs with that of Feder, Levant, & Dean’s whose findings Just like philip’s allege traditional masculine aspects of men estranges and isolates them from their genuine inner self as well as having cordial relations to others (Feder, Levant, & Dean, 2010). To them, this theory increases chances of men engaging in violent acts against women in the society. ... However, based on Brent and Eric’s study, men’s violence against diverse parties like children, women and their peers mainly emanates from their aggressive response towards stress or provocation (Brent &Eric, 2006). They claim men are prone to react violently towards stress factors like threat delusions unlike women who approach such issues in a peaceful manner. Their study also supports Philip’s point of view because they also put out men as prone to violence beings. I concur with these studies since I believe men in the society conform to norms that place them over women. Society advocates men should not confess any sort of weakness to the female gender thus making them react violently to women in their quest to prove their masculinity. I also believe it is an act of nature among men to react violently from the slightest provocation directed towards them. Therefore, I believe the only way to help men refrain from violent acts is via making them understand the r easons behind their violent deeds’ 3. Outstandingly concise excerpts taking from the article By positioning men’s violence against women bas a culturally supported act created through large systems of power and oppression, we can begin to see the fallacy in addressing violence solely on a case-by-case basis. The excerpt shows if we should succeed in eradicating the vice of gender violence against women in the society, then the starting point is by addressing forces compelling certain acts. Therefore, this excerpt offers a strong basis of addressing the menace whereby it is fundamental for necessary stakeholders to follow it while addressing the vice (Philips, 261). Here I would note that men who have been socialized in

Immigrant Employee Impact on Native Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Immigrant Employee Impact on Native - Essay Example However, everyone who is in the labor force is going to be affected by any change to the work environment. Therefore, immigrant workers should be treated as equal member of the labor force, and we should acknowledge immigrant workers in the work environment. The rise and fall of the economy causes a lot of finger pointing between native workers accusing immigrant workers. Even though natives blame immigrants for losing their jobs and salary, they still help the economy. According to Marron the total gain from immigration is 0.28% of the GDP or approximately $37 billion per year (Marron et al 3). Furthermore, the immigrants’ affect could go both ways, either good or bad, so it depends on the way we take the situation. We could watch and not do anything or we could help the labor force in activities such as job searches and work support. According to the editor, Viqi Wagner, in the introduction to her book Labor Unions for the second chapter, in 2000 the population of immigrants in the United States was estimated to be seven million. Since the immigrant population has been rising by a half-million each year, if we calculate the number for 2010, it would be estimated 12 million immigrants (59). Taking into consideration the populati on of United States alone, which is 309 million, according to the United States pop clock website (US & World Population Clock). And also Donald Marron, one the White House website shows that in 2006 15% of the labor force in United States was foreign-born workers, and now this constitutes half of the growth in the labor force (Marron 1). So all of kinds of people are immigrating to the United States, and we cannot ask them to go home so easily. Equal treatment in the labor force should be established between workers no matter what their race and where they are from. Just by watching TV news, we know some of the immigrant force gets

The Education Systems Essay Example for Free

The Education Systems Essay Pre-school and pre-primary education in Lithuania, in the United Kingdom and in the USA have several things in common.. First, both education systems are available in three countries and also pre-school education is not compulsory. There are public and private pre-schools in three countries. Public pre-schools are those which are run by the government. Private pre-schools are those which are run by private organizations, for which parents have to pay fees. Many private pre-schools have a high reputation and parents send their children there so that they will have advantages later in life. There are nursery schools for children from the age of 1 to 3 years in Lithuania. Children from the age of 3 till 6 attend a kindergarten. The number of children in nursery schools is approximately 10 children and approximately 15 children in a kindergarten, whereas the number of children in the USA and in Great Britain is approximately 2-3 little children or 4-5 bigger children plus nursery-governor’s help. Another difference is about security in pre-school institutions. People who come in a kindergarten or nursery school are not registered. By contrast, people who come in a nursery school or a kindergarten are strictly registered in the USA and in Great Britain. Your driving licence or passport is taken and you get permission to be in a pre-school institution. The kindergartens and nursery schools in Lithuania also differs in their cost compared to cost of these pre-schools institutions in the United Kingdom and in the Usa because it is cheaper to let your children to Lithuanian kindergarten than to American or English kindergarten. Differently from Lithuania children under 5 receive pre-school education in Great Britain. Some go to playgroups several times a week and take part in structured play (play with some educational purpose) with other children of the same age. Others go to a nursery school or to the nursery department or kindergarten of a school. Children attend day nurseries until they are 6 months old the same as in Lithuania. Day nurseries take care of children activity, self-expression, security. Nursery-governors take care of children education and upbringing. The emphasis is on group work, creative activity and guided play. Day nurseries are divided into private and community. Fees in the communities are not so big as in the day nurseries. Some of the community nurseries give parents discounts according to their financial position. The working time is very different in day nurseries of Great Britain, for example, local authority pre-schools work until 15 a. m. The other pre-school institutions work from 7 till 19. All kindergartens work all year except public holidays in Great Britain meanwhile not all kindergartens work all year in Lithuania. In the same way, children attend nursery schools, day care or pre-school from an early age in the USA. Children are taught, trained in the nursery schools and in the kindergartens. Nursery-governors play with children. There are some requirements in order that your child would be inducted to kindergarten, for example, it is required children to be toilet trained and your child is not ready for the potty, they may not let him or her attend a kindergarten, but children are not required to be toilet trained in Lithuania. In the USA parents may also have to pay high fees for late pickups and end up having to stay home with their child if the pre-school says she or he is too sick to be there. Another difference is that parents can freely choose which nursery school or kindergarten their child is going to attend in Lithuania, but in the USA all children should go to nursery school or kindergarten according to their living place because there are brought under districts. All children go according to district which he or she belongs to. If parents think that their district’s nursery school or kindergarten is not as good as it should be, parents must change the living place in order that their children could go to a better pre-school institution. Pre-primary education content is similar in three countries. There a wide variety of fun activities – including singing, dancing, arts and crafts, storytelling, free play, and both indoor and outdoor games and projects – designed to teach children different skills. Cildren may also learn some academic basics such as counting and the alphabet. Children in Lithuania start to attend pre-primary institution at the age of 6, but if parents want and their child is grown enough pre-primary institution can be attend at the age of 5, while the majority of children start to attend pre-primary preparation lessons at the age of 2-5 in the United Kingdom. Also the government’s programme which is named â€Å"sureStart† gives the possibility to all children from the age of 3 to 4 to get pre-primary lessons free of charge in a kindergarten. Differently from Lithuania children at the age of 6 start to attend a school in the USA. Taking everything into account, I can note that pre-school and pre-primary education has several things in common in The United Kingdom, in the USA, and in the Lithuania, but on the other hand there are a lot of differencies.

Essays - More Capital Punishment and Less Taxes :: Argumentative Persuasive Essays

Essays - More Capital Punishment and Less Taxes More than 13,000 people have been legally executed since colonial times, most of them in the early 20th Century. By the 1930s, as many as 150 people were executed each year. However, public outrage and legal challenges caused the practice to come to a halt. By 1967, capital punishment had virtually halted in the United States, pending the outcome of several court challenges. Since our nation's founding, the government, colonial, federal and state, has punished murder and, until recent years, rape with the ultimate sanction: death. I think that the nation should still actively use this form of punishment when necessary. More than 2,000 people are on "death row" today. Virtually all are poor, a significant number are mentally retarded or otherwise mentally disabled, more than 40 percent are African American, and a inappropriate number are Native American, Latino and Asian. Does the Death Penalty deter crime, especially murder? No, there is no credible evidence that the death penalty deters crime. States that have death penalty laws do not have lower crime rates or murder rates than states without such laws. And states that have abolished capital punishment, or instituted it, show no significant changes in either crime or murder rates. Don't murderers deserve to die? Certainly, in general, the punishment should fit the crime. But in civilized society, we reject the "eye for an eye" principle of literally doing to criminals what they do to their victims: The penalty for rape cannot be rape, or for arson, the burning down of the arsonist's house. We should, therefore, punish the murderer with death along with all other heinous crimes. If execution is unacceptable, what is the alternative? Incapacitation. Convicted murderers can be sentenced to lengthy prison terms, including life, as they are in countries and states that have abolished the death penalty. Most state laws allow life sentences for murder that severely limit or eliminate the e possibility of parole. At least ten states have life sentences without the possibility of parole for 20, 25, 30 or 40 years, and at least 18 states have life sentences with no possibility of parole. A recent U. S. Justice Department study of public attitudes about crime and punishment found that a majority of Americans support alternatives to capital punishment: When people were presented the facts about several crimes for which death was a possible punishment, a majority chose lengthy prison sentences as alternatives to the death penalty. Maybe it used to happen that innocent people were mistakenly executed, but hasn't that possibility been eliminated?

Revenue Recognition Convergence

Holzmann, Oscar J. â€Å"Revenue recognition convergence: The contract-based model. † Journal Of Corporate Accounting & Finance (Wiley) 22, no. 6 (2011): 87-92. The article â€Å"Revenue Recognition Convergence: The Contract-Based Model† is all about revenue recognition. It begins by explaining the conceptual background information to give you an overview of what revenue recognition is both in the US and internationally. Part of this section also discusses what problems have been found with revenue recognition. Because of these problems, the international and US boards have proposed an adoption of the â€Å"contract-based revenue recognition model. This standard would apply to all contacts between companies and their customers, with some exceptions. There are five steps to this revenue recognition model. These steps are discussed individually within the article. The steps are (1) identify the contract, (2) identify the performance obligation(s), (3) determine the trans action price, (4) allocate the transaction price to separate performance obligations, and (5) recognize revenue. After the descriptions of each step, the article goes on to explain onerous performance obligations, contract cost, presentation, and disclosure.Each of these are important topics and will be on the re-exposure of the exposure draft in the coming years. The book for this class begins talking about revenue recognition in chapter five on page 197. The section of the book that more closely relates to this article starts on pages 203 and its called IASB-FASB Revenue Recognition Project. This explains a little about the joint exposure draft from the IASB and FASB. Also, like the article it discusses the five steps in recognizing revenue. These steps are listed in the above paragraph.It explains each of the steps just enough to understand what it is without confusing you. The section finishes by giving a little more information on the exposure draft. I was in the class group th at did our presentation over revenue recognition, so a lot of this information looked very familiar. It is good to see the same information in different reliable sources. Overall I find this article to be very informative and easy to read and understand. If I didn’t do the group project over the same topic, I would have still been able to understand and comprehend the information in the article.

Nike Hrm Issues and Solutions

Sarawak Campus School of Business & Design HBH225N Human Resource Management Semester 02/2012 Individual Assignment Nike – Human Resource Management Issues and Solutions Due Date: Friday, 30. November 2012 By Katharina Pilgrim, ID: 4310187 Executive Summary In 1964 a company known back then as Blue Ribbon Sports was founded by Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight. 14 years later the US American multinational corporation officially became Nike, Inc. , which is up to today engaged in the development, design and international marketing and selling of sport footwear, apparel, equipment, accessories and services.The company’s headquarters are located in Washington County, Oregon, near Beaverton in the United States of America. Nike’s revenue reached 24. 1 billion USD in 2012 with an operating income of 3. 04 billion USD and employing worldwide more than 44. 000 people. The company is leading in supplying athletic apparel and shoes as well as manufacturing sports equipment an d other athletic and recreational products. Just the brand alone is worth 10. 7 billion USD, which makes Nike the most valuable brand among sport businesses. Its president and CEO is Mark Parker and founder Phil Knight still remains chairman of the board.The company’s name Nike goes back to the Greek goddess of victory, Nike [ni? k ]. In 1971 the graphic-design student Carolyn Davidson drafted the company logo for 35 USD, the international trademark and better known today as the Swoosh. Nike owns a number of subsidiaries, including the four most important ones, the upscale footwear company Cole Haan, the surf apparel company Hurley International, Converse Inc. , makers of the iconic Chuck Taylor All Stars sneakers and sports apparel supplier Umbro (About Nike Inc, 2012). Table of Contents 1. Introduction 04 2. Analysis of HRM Issues 04 . 1 Employee Compensation 04 2. 2 employee Motivation 05 2. 3 Occupational Health and Safety 06 2. 4 Quality of Work Life 07 2. 5 Managing Div ersity 08 3. Implication of Issues 08 3. 1 Employee Compensation 08 3. 2 employee Motivation 09 3. 3 Occupational Health and Safety 10 3. 4 Quality of Work Life 10 3. 5 Managing Diversity 11 4. Recommendations 12 4. 1 Employee Compensation 12 4. 2 employee Motivation 13 4. 3 Occupational Health and Safety 13 4. 4 Quality of Work Life 14 4. 5 Managing Diversity 15 5. Conclusion 16 6. References 16 . Introduction The following report will analyse five major human resource management issues that occurred at Nike Inc. over the past years, relating them to human resource management models and theories, followed by an implication of those issues, which means elaborating on the outcomes or better, what happened to employees or management after the issues occurred and how they impacted the entire company. This will be followed by giving recommendations for those issues by finding solutions using human resource information systems and the theory of change management.In the end an overall con clusion will be drawn, summarizing the major points and solutions found. 2. 0 Analysis of HRM Issues 2. 1 Employee Compensation In 1998 the issue of unfair employee compensation in Nike’s factories in the South East Asian region arose and made its way to the public. Nike ‘s management was accused to use child labour in first place and pay Indonesian kids just 19 US cents per hour (Werner-Lobo 2008, p. 40). Workers complained that their basic monthly salary is not high enough in order to meet their cost of living.There were also complaints concerning unpaid wages and disputed overtime payments. Nike was accused to exploit their workers and use methods of compensation along with the overall treatment that are against human rights (Werner-Lobo 2008, p. 41). Base payment is considered a direct financial reward. Next to the indirect financial rewards and the non-financial ones regarding the job itself and the job environment it comes together as the overall employee compensa tion, which is the most important human resource management function (Kolbe, Burkart & Zundel 2010, p. 2). It can help in order to reinforce the culture of an organisation and its key values. Compensation also facilitates the achievement of the organisation’s business objects and therefore a significant mismatch between the compensation and the organisational strategy can create major barriers (Kolbe, Burkart & Zundel 2010, p. 22). In a compensation program with the employee as the objective, there are four points to take in mind. First, all employees must receive equitable treatment; second, the employee’s performance needs to me measured accurately and rewarded ppropriately. Also an appropriate compensation change needs to be provided as well as performance and compensation reviews on a regular basis (Kolbe, Burkart & Zundel 2010, p. 24). Nike does not see to apply this or any compensation program to their workers in South East Asia, especially in Indonesia and Vietn am. Nike also does not care to pay for performance. Merit pay exists in order to develop a productive, efficient and effective organisation that enhances their employee’s motivation and performance (Kolbe, Burkart & Zundel 2010, p. 25).Nike instead just pays and average minimum wage which neither reflects an employee’s performance nor is enough to survive in some cases (Werner-Lobo 2008, p. 45). 2. 2 Employee Motivation Another issue that arose at Nike Inc. also in factories in South East Asia was that workers experienced a great lack of motivation, because they were highly dissatisfied with the attitude of their direct supervisor. Again, human rights were violated. In 2007 workers in factories in Vietnam claimed that the treatment of their direct supervisors was inhuman and makes them not want to go to work anymore at all (Harte Arbeit, wenig Geld 2009).Employees for example were just allowed to use the bathroom once a day in a twelve hour shift and drinking water was limited to two glasses per day as well. Supervisors would treat employees like second class people, talk in a rude tone and threaten them as well. As a result of this misbehaviour employees didn’t feel valued as human beings at all and started to loose motivation (Harte Arbeit, wenig Geld 2009). Considering the existing theories of motivation, you can say that Nike’s supervisors practice the X theory, which makes manager’s assumptions directive, narrow and control oriented in their treatment of employees.Theory X is an early theory of motivation and in modern society should not be practiced anymore (Kolbe, Burkart & Zundel 2010, p. 41). Also the little pay workers receive can’t be the only motivational factor, since there is little trust between management and employees and money is viewed just as the sole motivator. The thought process of workers in affected factories looked like this; after they get treated poorly and have to face a difficult workplace environment, they put little effort in their work, so their performance is just acceptable, they receive a low wage with no opportunity in sight for a raise nyways, so they just do the minimum required in order to not get fired (Kolbe, Burkart & Zundel 2010, p. 42). This is not beneficial for the worker himself, since mentally he is also suffering if he has to go to a job every day he is not satisfied with and also not beneficial for Nike, since the worker’s performance will be on a very low level, raising chances for products to be not manufactured in a way the company desires.Taking a brief look at Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, you can see that the physiological need that includes water, food and air is the fundamental of all needs every job has to provide for an employee, since if the base already experiences cracks, everything build on top will be crocked and not function in the way desired (Kolbe, Burkart & Zundel 2010, p. 43). 2. 3 Occupational Health and SafetyI n 2010, Nike had to face another issue besides the lack of employee motivation and the general public denouncing Nike due to their general treatment of their workforce in South East Asia, this time considering the topic of occupational health and safety. In factories in South China, after providing surveys prior to training, 60 to 90% of the employees stated that procedures to obtain permission for sick leave or access to medical care are very difficult. The death of two workers was alleged to be directly linked to the denial of sick leave and access to medical attention (Trouble discovered in Nike’s Indonesian factories 2010).In general you can say, that Nike’s poor OH&S performance equates with poor human resource management and poor legal and social responsibility. Nike needs to establish its organisational health and safety objectives in order for the management to demonstrate commitment and support. Nike needs to be aware of the benefits of a safe work environment such as the improvement of personal safety, the reduction of uninsured losses as well as re-work (Kolbe, Burkart & Zundel 2010, p. 66).Since the key elements of workplace improvement are culture, systems and hardware you can say that Nike’s culture does not value the wellbeing of the entire staff, they do not seem to have a solid system underpinning OH&S as well as their hardware does not include OH&S considerations (Kolbe, Burkart & Zundel 2010, p. 67). 2. 4 Quality of Work Life Vice president of global human resource at Nike’s headquarters near Beaverton, David Ayre, stated in 2011, that growth is the biggest challenge for the company.The challenges for the management are continuously growing as rising global salaries dissipate the easy cost gains from offshore outsourcing (How Nike’s HR pros help the giant company stay competitive 2011). Considering that Nike’s highest concern is their profit, the management tends to forget about the employees and the quality of their workplace. The latest issue with Nike's labour practice that again occurred in factories in Vietnam, are a violation of overtime rules and an excess level of toxic fumes in the workplace.The quality of work life was rated poorly by questioned workers, claiming that there is no safe and healthy environment, no growth and security, no social integration and too little life space in general (Harte Arbeit, wenig Geld 2009). A questioned worker, Miss B. , 32 years old stated, that she is suffering from a constant head and stomach ache, since she is working in the gluing section of the factory. The glue smells, sticks to skin and clothes and pain killers are not even working anymore (Harte Arbeit, wenig Geld 2009).Nike is known for making its equipment in countries which are in the developing phase, having very cheap labour, authoritarian government, a lack of human rights appeal and union movement (How Nike’s HR pros help the giant company stay competitive 2011). It does not seem that Nike has introduced quality of work life programs which incorporate principles of job enrichment and sociotechnical enrichment in a comprehensive effort in order to improve the quality of the work environment. The company does not seek to integrate employee needs with higher productivity (Kolbe, Burkart ; Zundel 2010, p. 50).Instead spokesman like David Ayre make excuses in public to justify the poor quality of work life in Nike’s South East Asian factories. If quality circles would exist, work-related issues could be identified and solved, but this would require training, commitment, support and relevance to a range of organisational members (Kolbe, Burkart ; Zundel 2010, p. 51). Besides the toxic fumes, tables and chairs were not appropriate in order to sit on them for twelve hours and even longer, plus the entire work atmosphere was not rated as comfortable as stated in the paragraphs above (Case Study for Nike 2009). . 5 Managing Diversity Nowadays managing diversity is highly important in any company. Unfortunately Nike also experienced problems in this field. 2001 female workers at factories in Indonesia reported incidents of sexual harassment and abuse. After the initial incident, when women reported that they were just allowed to go to the toilet with a supervisor watching, further investigations were undertaken. The outcome was that 30% of all respondents had personally experienced at least verbal abuse; nearly 8% of total workers reported unwanted sexual comments.At two factories, there were reports of ‘deeply disturbing’ incidents of sexual favours demanded in return for employment (Reaktion auf Ausbeutungs-Vorwuerfe 2001). Discrimination against women in companies is a great problem human resource management has to deal with. Discrimination can occur when unreasonable condition ore requirements are set, just as it happened with the female workers using the bathroom. Harassment is a particular form of discr imination, where the behaviour is designed to make a person feel unwelcome, offended, humiliated and intimidated.These entire factors apply to Nike’s supervisors and male managers who are involved in those accusations. Sexual harassment is considered physical, visual, verbal and non-verbal behaviour of a sexual nature that is uninvited and unwelcome (Kolbe, Burkart ; Zundel 2010, p. 103). All of the above has happened in Nike factories involving male supervisors and female workers, which should be a great concern for Nike. 3. Implication of Issues 3. 1 Employee CompensationOver the years Nike has become very skilled at showing its own side of the story, when it comes to accusations regarding their employee compensation and overall labour practices. A direct implementation of the discovered low wages in Indonesia in 2008 and additionally employees expressing their inability to live of their current salary, Nike published a section called ‘Transparency 101’ on thei r website www. nike. com, with all details of their remediation plan, as well as a link to the full report at the Global Alliance site.The Global Alliance is a union of companies and public groups, which includes Nike, The Gap, and The World Bank amongst their members (Menschenrechte in Asien 2009). The Centre for societal Development Studies at the Atma Jaya Catholic University in Jakarta carefully produced and conducted the report on behalf of the Global Alliance. Researchers conducted one-on-one interviews, surveys and focus groups that involved more than 4,450 workers in nine factories in order to show an effort to solve the problems considered child labour and unsatisfying wages (Werner-Lobo 2008, p. 8). Another outcome of this discovery was raising public awareness of Nike’s methods and damaging their image in the long run. Human rights organisations raised their voices for the employees in Indonesia and Vietnam that could not do so themselves and made the issue spread world-wide on public media in order to put Nike under pressure to make a change (Menschenrechte in Asien 2009). Also in order to show an effort Nike fired several managers in affected factories.The employees itself remained silent, means there were no strikes or a high number of resignations to be found. Further independent audits have been commissioned to ensure that all factories are paying the new minimum wage and that workers understand the wage and overtime calculations (Werner-Lobo 2008, p. 98). 3. 2 Employee Motivation Considering the issue Nike has with motivating their employees in the right way, which means not with rules that touch their human rights or inacceptable punishment, there are several implications to be found.Nike’s answer to their dissatisfied and unmotivated workers is a new system of training they introduced. In eight factories in Vietnam and eight factories in Southern China since 2008, Nike offers workshops in order to strengthen contract manufactur ers' HRM systems and support lean manufacturing implementation (Workers and Factories 2011). Before the actual workshops take place, in each factory employee satisfaction surveys were completed in order to understand the top issues workers are facing and also to measure mutual trust and respect in the factories.In every factory action plans were developed individually in order to address core HRM areas, including supervisory skills, employee turnover, incentive structures, and employee satisfaction (Workers and Factories 2011). Another outcome from employees raising their voices and speaking up about the inhuman rules and treatments in their factories, is greater supervision of Nike from the government and human rights organisations, to make sure, Nike is on the right path (Fair Labor at Nike 2012).Other than that, Nike had to face a lot of complaints from retailers, since a large amount of manufactured jerseys were poorly stitched and had manufacturing mistakes, since employees did not put a lot of effort in their work anymore and started to glue, stich and sew inaccurately. This cost the concern a lot of money which they rather should have invested in training or the recruiting process in order to employ managers and supervisors with better human resource management skills and behaviour (Nike sorgt sich um den Heimatmarkt 2008). 3. 3 Occupational Health and SafetyAfter the death of two workers and the entire workforce in South China showing their dissatisfaction with Nike’s care for their employee’s health and safety, Nike again, responded very quickly after the incidents occurred. The company promised to upgrade their sanitation and to implement food service standards in all factories in order to ensure a healthy and hygienic environment (Trouble discovered in Nike’s Indonesian factories 2010). Also supervisors in affected factories were replaced and a special officer just dealing with occupational health and safety issues was introduce d.The two deaths were further investigated and Nike didn’t get pressed with legal charges since a direct link could not be made out 100% (Trouble discovered in Nike’s Indonesian factories 2010). Furthermore Nike changed its policies when it comes to sick leave and allows their employees to leave their work place, go home and see a doctor after talking to the OH&S officer and getting his approval, which is an improvement considering no leave at all was permitted (Trouble discovered in Nike’s Indonesian factories 2010). . 4 Quality of Work Life Since Nike has a lot of human resource management issues to deal with, they became professional over time how to deal with them. So the first outcome of the issue, that in factories in South East Asia working quality is very poor and on the lower edge, Nike has constructed an elaborate program to deal with labour issues in the 900-odd supplier factories (none owned by Nike) that churn out its products in some 50 countries ( Nike 2010). By developing several initiatives, Nike landed at the No. spot in 2012 on Fortune magazine’s â€Å"Most Admired Companies for HR† list, which is an HR-specific recalibration of Fortune’s â€Å"Most Admired Companies† list (Case Study for Nike 2009). Because of the poor working environment and work life in general the turnover rate in factories in China was dramatically higher than in factories of competitors and a significant number of workers would not show up in the morning without excuses, which created a major problem for Nike since production slowed down (Nike sorgt sich um den Heimatmarkt 2008).Also in the specific case of Miss B, she received a bonus of five dollars monthly and protective clothing, but she will suffer from lifelong breathing difficulties, skin irritation and sterility (Harte Arbeit, wenig Geld 2009). 3. 5 Managing Diversity The immediate implication of Nike’s issue of harassment when it comes to managing diversit y and having few women under just male supervision, Nike implemented an harassment training for managers and workers using local resource people, and initiated a grievance system for workers to bring forth issues without fear of retribution.The women who were sexually harassed were helped by providing psychotherapy (Reaktion auf Ausbeutungs-Vorwuerfe 2001). Other than that, cameras were installed at bathroom entrances to monitor people going in and coming out, trying to give employees a feeling of security. No legal charges were pressed against supervisors or Nike itself (again), although an employer can be held vicariously liable for the discriminatory acts of his employees against others. Nike also created an employee council, workers can speak to anonymously when problems occur so a solution can be found together (Reaktion auf Ausbeutungs-Vorwuerfe 2001). 4.Recommendations 4. 1 Employee Compensation Considering that Nike does not have a real compensation system in their productio n factories in South East Asia as stated earlier on, my first recommendation for the human resource manager would be to implement a human resource information system in order to collect and store data about the employee’s productivity and therefore what type of compensation and especially salary they deserve individually. Since Nike employs a large number of workers the implementation of payroll is necessary, since it is an accounting system that is capable of processing a large number of transactions.It is relatively easy to collect the data of how much time a worker spend at the actual work place, how many items he produced and how accurate his outcomes are with a scanner or by taking samples. Storing all this data for each employee is manually almost impossible, therefore is the use of a HRIMS beneficial because it increases the communication on all levels and includes data on employees, jobs and work condition as well as position, leave and the management in order to also make sure that child labour can be outruled. Another recommendation for Nike would be the consideration of the general change and how to manage it. 0 years ago, Nike might already let their employees work under the same or worse condition as they do today, but back then the general interest in this subject was relatively small and countries in South East Asia were not as highly developed as Western countries or as they are today. In order for an organisation to succeed they must respond to the pace of change, that means the human resource manager especially need to take the role of an change agent and needs to be aware of external factors and how the companies culture needs to adapt.The change in government regulations, which today are more concerned about child labour and correct payment and treatment of employees, is a force Nike can’t walk away from, but has to adapt to and change its mentality and treatment of employees. Basically the corporate culture, which means the v alues, beliefs, assumptions and symbols that define the way in which Nike conducts its business need to be renewed in order to meet human rights standards. 4. 2 Employee MotivationIn order to avoid dissatisfied and unmotivated employees as well as poorly skilled supervisors and managers the usage of human resource information system in the future would be a great help. With HRIMS the company will experience enhanced communication across all levels of the organisation, which gives the employees in a factory in Vietnam the chance to communicate their feelings as well as reporting incidents that occurred with their supervisors directly to the headquarters in Oregon. With HRIMS next to individual data and previous experience you can store and manage the ondition of service of every employee and supervisor. Working hours can be recorded with a digital scanning card as well as break times in order to make sure, an employee gets enough breaks. The fact, that HRIMS provides transparency, wh ich means informs those who are monitored, will be helpful in letting supervisors know immediately, when they are acting wrong. Also the surveys Nike conducts before providing training, can easily be made, stored and evaluated with a HRIMS. Other than that the development of performance management systems can be a great help in order to solve Nike’s problem of employee’s motivation.The company has to be aware, that over time many factors, internal and external, will change and they have to adapt to this. Perhaps 30 years ago, employees accepted such behaviour of their supervisors, but not today anymore, since the country itself developed over the years as well as its people’s self-confidence. Nike needs to understand how important human resource management in general is in today’s work life and managers need to promote trust among their workforce. They need to ensure that human resource policies and practices are fair and equitable since the employee†™s voice is critical to performance improvement and innovation. . 3 Occupational Health and Safety Considering Nike’s issues with their health and safety policies I would recommend them to implement this section in their HRIMS. The newly introduced officer for occupational health and safety can create a policy catalogue via HRIMS all employees and supervisors as well as managers have access to. It can keep a record of what illnesses a worker had or what medicine he is required to take on a daily bases so Nike can make sure to provide those needed, since HRIMS increases flexibility by adapting to present and future requirements.The costs these implementations bring along would definitely be outweighed by the benefits Nike will gain from them. Other than that Nike has to adapt to the incremental change which involves gradual modifications to existing activities. This means that the change is evolutionary and Nike has to adapt to a certain health and safety standard that is re quired today and got developed over the years. The organisation initially needs to be unfreezed, which means it needs to be prepared for the change with the implementation of new OH&S rules in the HRMIS, the exchange of existing supervisors or an intense training for the existing ones.This is followed by taking action so that the change actually occurs. They need to practice and follow those rules so employees feel and see a difference. In the end this state needs to be refreezed by continuously reinforcing the desired outcomes, which are employees who trust the company and feel safe and taken care of. 4. 4 Quality of Work Life Considering a general improvement in the work life of every employee, the management has to make sure, that there is autonomy, the degree to which the job provides freedom, independence and discretion to the individual as a safe and healthy environment amongst others.Human capabilities need to be developed and a social integration needs to take place. Using t he HRMIS for this purpose it again can be very beneficial since the system can easily create routine reports, exception reports, on-demand reports and forecasts which all will work together as a whole in order to help the management in improving the work environment and an employee’s satisfaction by increasing the work life quality. It is a strategic and competitive tool which has to be customized for Nike and contain data of an employee’s satisfaction level, of legal advice and regulations, feedback and survey outcomes.Other than that again, change has to be taken into consideration, since the workforce has changed its character and is dominated by change, as well as the needs employees crave nowadays for and what work environment is acceptable to do the required work. Globalisation, technological change and changes in government regulations are external forces Nike has to deal with. Since a high quality of work life should be a great priority for Nike they need to ad apt to the transformational change, since it produces revolutionary shifts in Nike’s strategies, culture and structure.A general problem Nike has is that they still manufacture their products in low-cost countries with very low standards for their workers. As an American corporation they should not downgrade the standards that would exist in a factory in the US to the countries general standards, but change the way of thinking. Their business strategy is, to produce at factories not owned by Nike itself, at the cheapest price possible in order to increase the profit. Maybe it is time for a change and taking a worker’s life and soul more into consideration than just thinking about the revenue. 4. 5 Managing DiversityWhen it comes to Nike’s problem of managing diversity and discriminating minor groups such as women, HRIMS can also be helpful and beneficial. Since it is enhancing communication across all levels, problems can be communicated faster and actions can b e taken. The cameras can be linked to the HRIMS in order for the footage to be accessible easily and not just within the factory itself. Workers can use HRIMS to report incidents anonymously so solutions can be found. Nike also needs to take its strategic human resource objectives into account, since they affect all aspects of the workplace relations.Nike’s workforce should experience open communication, procedural justice and organisational support when problems occur. The corporate cultures, which means the values, beliefs, assumptions and symbols that define the way in which Nike conduct its business, needs to focus more on fighting discriminatory behaviour and how to fully integrate minorities. With training they need to raise awareness of what has happened and through communication, participation, counselling and certainty the issues need to be solved so they do not repeat themselves. 5.Conclusion After learning about the variety of human resource management issues that can occur in a company and actually did happen at Nike Inc. , you can see that managing your employees is a sensitive field, where mistakes easily occur if you do not pay enough attention to your employee’s wants and needs. Today it is really important for every company to have a human resource management department, with a human resource manager who in first place and most importantly has the role of the employee champion as well as the one of a change agent.Nike showed an effort by reaching out to their workforce immediately after every incident occurred and tried to improve where mistakes were found. Further improvements can also be made by implementing a HRMIS and considering the power of change. The winning companies of the future will be those most adapt at leveraging global talent to transform themselves, their industries, and creating better jobs for everyone. 6. References About Nike Inc, 2012, Nike Inc. , viewed 20 November 2012, . Case Study for Nike 2009, viewed 2 0 November 2012, . Fair Labor at Nike 2012, viewed 15 November 2012, . Harte Arbeit, wenig Geld 2009, Stiftung Warentest, viewed 17 November 2012, . How Nike’s HR pros help the giant company stay competitive 2011, HR Communication, viewed 20 November 2012, .Kolbe, M , Burkart, B & Zundel, F 2010, Personalmanagement: Grundlagen und Praxis des Human Resources Managements, 2nd edn, Gabler, Deutschland. Menschenrechte in Asien 2009, Forum, viewed 18 November 2012, . Nike 2010, viewed 18 November 2012, . Nike sorgt sich um den Heimatmarkt 2008, Financial Times Deutschland, viewed 15 November 2012, .

Black Panthers and essays

Black Panthers and essays The Black Panthers and the Political Process Theory "We want land, bread, housing, education, clothing, justice, and peace." This statement was the rallying call for Blacks across the nation to stand up and take what was owed to them. Armed with sincerity, the knowledge of such greats as Mao Tse-Tung and Malcolm X, law books, and rifles, the Black Panther Party fed the hungry, protected the weak from racist police, and presented a new theoretical perspective of Black political and social activism. Through this new perspective we gain knowledge of a group which rose out of the classical theoretical explanation of the political process theory. Throughout this paper the political process theory will be used to explain the goals, emergence, and tactics of the Black Panther Party. Founded in October of 1966 by Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton in Oakland, Ca., the Black Panther Party was formed in response to the growing problem of police brutality towards blacks. The Black Panthers originally felt that violent revolution was the only means of achieving black liberation. In order to achieve liberation, the party called on all blacks to arm themselves for the struggle. The Black Panther Party was formed in order to free all people, from all forms of slavery, so that every man may be his own master. For the vast majority of the white public and the white power structure, the Panthers represented only anti-governmental militancy. The B.P.'s viewpoint led to intense scrupulation by the authorities. In the end, it also led to several deaths at the hands of police and the FBI. For those who were not killed, the threat of incarceration was ever present. For some affiliated blacks, like Panther Minister of Information, Eldridge Cleaver, they would be arrested on what often seemed to be made up charges. Despite the government's hostility, the organization flourished throughout the early 1070's. It swept across Black America and attracte...

The 3 biggest reasons you might not be reaching your full potential at work

The 3 biggest reasons you might not be reaching your full potential at work Most of us have ideas about how we’d like our career paths to unfold, including where we’d ultimately like to end up before we hit retirement and the steps we need to take along the way. If you’re being realistic with your vision, you’re also aware that reaching your goals and achieving your preconceived target milestones along the way will take some hard work, dedication, and probably even a little good luck. Like most things in life, it takes real effort to reach the desired results you want in your career- it’s not simply a matter of â€Å"showing up† and waiting for your turn to be successful. If you’re like most of us and are eager to achieve your career goals, then reaching your full potential is an important step to success. Now ask yourself the following question: Are you reaching your full potential at work? If not, it may be holding you back from moving forward in your career journey and keeping you from achieving your target professional milestones- and preventing you from feeling happy and satisfied.If you’re concerned that you may not be reaching your full work potential, consider if any of the following 3 reasons might be standing in your way- and then take active steps to move past them.It’s just a bad fitWhen it comes to your current job, are you a square peg in a company full of round holes? If so, then it might be affecting your ability to reach your full potential. The truth is, fit is an extremely important variable when it comes to gauging your happiness and satisfaction at work, as well as your opportunities for long-term success. Not all corporate cultures are created equal, and finding a company whose mission, brand positioning, and approach to nurturing and developing its employees can mean the difference between a job that brings out the very best in you and one that simply offers a steady paycheck.If you feel there is a fundamental misaligned fit between you and your compa ny place of employment, it may be worth your time to diagnose the problem and see if there’s any hope for successful resolution.Something toxic is in playIs there a specific element at your current job that’s always standing in the way between you and your full potential? This can play out in the form of a toxic person (often a superior or a key decision maker, but maybe even a teammate or colleague) who’s standing in the way of you progressing, taking on new roles and responsibilities, being recognized for your hard work and contributions, and developing your skills and abilities further.It can also be a toxic environment, one in which healthy risk, forward-thinking, and efforts to evolve are frowned upon. In these situations, a low ceiling for growth sits above everyone. Regardless of the toxic source, the outcome is typically the same: you’re kept from evolving as an employee and are unable to fully challenge yourself and discover what you’re tr uly capable of accomplishing.The issue is externalThe truth is, sometimes the reasons for you not reaching your full potential at work have nothing to do with your company or colleagues. Life happens, even while you’re at work, and sometimes you’re dealing with external factors that prevent you from giving your complete and undivided 100% focus and effort to your career. Things like health issues, family stress, a second job, and other life obligations can all compete for your energy and time and make it challenging for you to fully commit to professional growth and development.Don’t feel like this is your fault- even the most talented employees are susceptible to the effects of life on their work. It’s what you do to manage the stresses that come outside of the job that will make all the difference. Employees who can find an appropriate balance- whether by finding a job that fits better into their life or making a plan with a manager to work through a pa rticularly hard time- are best positioned to reaching their full professional potential.Are you reaching your full potential at work? If so, then congratulations! If not, or you’re unsure, then use the information provided here to help you diagnose your situation and figure out a better path forward.

Project Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 5

Project - Assignment Example I want to become the next Conrad Nicholson Hilton. Although there are already many hotel companies which are doing quite successfully these days, I believe I can be in the competition and come out successful in the end as Hilton did during the great depression. I am confident that project management will prepare me for the humungous task before me. I know that this course will develop my planning skills which are very important for efficiency in the things that I need to do in the business. Planning is necessary in determining the crucial actions and to avoid frivolous ideas. Moreover, my organizational skills will also be reinforced as I study about theories and their applications which may have been successfully practiced by earlier businessmen or which could be developed even further to adapt to the changing demands of the modern world. Lastly, I believe this course will teach me to be wise in making decisions so that I will avoid common mistakes in doing business and will develop better ways to