Racial Prejudice

Racial Prejudice It Is human nature to want to feel accepted. Prejudice In the United States, specifically with Immigration has been a major Issue. Julie Toasts describes this prejudice in â€Å"Evacuation Order #1 9† which is about a Japanese-American family and the internment camps that affect them during World War II. However, prejudice is not only found in the United States. Marine Satraps writes about her experience as an Iranian during the Iranian Revolution of 1979 and her refuge in Austria to finish high school In the graphic novel â€Å"The Vegetable†.While â€Å"Evacuation Order #19† Is about exclusion and â€Å"The Vegetable† Is about acceptance, they both deal with the pre]delude associated with Immigration. It Is hard to compare apples and oranges, just as it is hard to compare a short story and a graphic novel. Regardless of the style of writing, the point of writing is to convey a message to the reader. Both do a pretty good job of showing t he difficulties of living in a foreign country, but Toasts describes the exclusion associated with immigration in a more powerful way.Evacuation Order #19†³ by Julie Toasts is about a Japanese-American family living In California In the spring of 1942. After the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor In December of 1 941 , rumors began spreading around the united States that Japanese- Americans were going to sabotage military efforts. President Roosevelt issued an order that would imprison nearly 120,000 people with Japanese ancestry. The characters in â€Å"Evacuation Order #19† are being affected by this order. The family had assimilated into the community before President Roosevelt issued the order.We understand that the mother has a friendly relationship with the store owner Joe Lund. Melee Glasses,' Joe Lund said the moment she walked through the door† (Toasts 381 This shows that the family assimilated Into the local society because the shop owner comments on something new he sees with her. Joe Lund even offers that the mother does not have to pay for the items she purchased from the store. The reader is led to infer that the family has been a part of the community for a long time and they are nice people that wouldn't do anything to harm the country.As the story concludes, we see that the family is being taken to â€Å"wherever It was they had to SGF' because of their race and the family cannot do anything about It. The exclusion that is imminent on the family is a direct result of racial prejudice. â€Å"The Vegetable† by Mar]Anne Satraps takes place in the late asses or early 1 sass in Vienna, Austria and is about her own life. Marine Is Iranian and living without her parents as she attends school in Austria. During the late ass, Iran was going through a large scale political and social revolution.The revolution became violent in many tuitions, In fact in January of 1978 students began to protest and many students died during the protes t. As a reader of â€Å"The Vegetable† we don't know the nationality of Marine until page 482 when she sees stories about Iran on the TV and she talks about her attempts to â€Å"make her past disappear† (Satraps 482). We do not really see her being excluded or treated differently because of her nationality by the other students. It seems that she does not accept herself as she is constantly changing the way she looks and that she smokes marijuana with some of the other students.As and makes the comment about trying to disappear. In the end when she proclaims she finally relinquished the prejudice that she put on herself. The exclusion Marine feels is because of her race but also because she put herself into a situation where she feels excluded. Both stories show that the characters are capable of assimilating into the new culture and by the end the stories, racial prejudice has an effect on their lives. Evacuation Order #19†³ shows very clearly that the character s are being excluded based on racial prejudice where The Vegetable† implies that part of the exclusion is because of other factors, and not necessarily her race. The reader develops a stronger emotional feel for Tossup's characters because you feel bad for the situation they are in. To truly understand how a character is feeling, one would have to look at the choices or decisions that the character makes. The characters in these two stories both feel excluded, and the actions that they decide to take, show the extent of the racial prejudice.Julie Toasts writes about a mother who spends the entire day caking her house before her family and she are taken away. The degree of racial prejudice that she felt caused her to have a very emotional day. Not only did she pack away all of her belongings, she had to put down their dog, release their bird and hide sentimental objects and after hiding her emotions as to not scare her children, she finally has one last moment in her home to re flect on her emotions. â€Å"†¦ And began to laugh – quietly at first, but soon her shoulders were heaving and she was gasping for breath.She put down the bottle and waited for the laughter to stop but it would to, it kept on coming until finally the tears were running down her cheeks† (Toasts 386). Her emotions took over and she lost control because of the racial prejudice and what it made her do. Marine in â€Å"The Vegetable† felt such a strong exclusion from her racial prejudice that she decides to lie about her nationality to a stranger at a party. She wanted to disappear from her past because she was tired of being Judged based on where she is from. After Marine proclaims that she is proud to be Iranian, she starts crying. But really, I had nothing to cry about. I had Just redeemed myself. For the first time in years, I felt proud† (Satraps 485). She felt so relieved that the weight of racial prejudice was no longer affecting her and she began t o feel more comfortable. The actions that the characters perform in these stories show the power that racial prejudice put on them. The mother's actions in â€Å"Evacuation Order #19† are a bit more extreme than Manner's actions in â€Å"The Vegetable† and because the actions are more extreme, the reader can't help but feel more empowered by Tossup's story.While both Julie Tossup's â€Å"Evacuation Order #19† and Marine Satrap's â€Å"The Vegetable† have powerful effects on the reader, Toasts writes a more powerful story. She effectively shows the exclusion caused by racial prejudice and the effect it had on families during this time. â€Å"The Vegetable† has a confusing message because we are not sure if the stress she feels is from racial prejudice or if it is because of a teenagers desperate desire to feel included where â€Å"Evacuation Order #19† has a very clear and strong message of racial prejudice that makes the reader feel for them more.

Processes of globalization Essay

The current state of world politics nowadays has reached the stage wherein almost everyone from age 8 to 80 is already aware of the subjects of globalization and nationalism. If you put these two words in order, the topic of nationalism always comes first, having people grow with the idea. Globalization comes next and the very word was often perceived as a form of disrespecting the subject of nationalism. In the article that Kusumi (2004) wrote for the Association of Asian Research, he used nationalism and globalization and the al-Qaeda as his subjects which he compared from each other. In this article, he stated that â€Å"on the part of globalization, to make a mess in unintentional. On the part of al-Qaeda, to make a mess is the whole idea (Kusumi, 2004). † Nationalism, in a more general definition is the way in which a certain society decides to order its affairs. As children, we were taught that nations are also called territories that are governed by either civil or military authorities. For a more comprehensive meaning of nations, these are units of communities possessing their own policies and histories. One nation generally has its own unique policy system, economy, society, and cultures. Every nation is unique from each other in their own ways. Based from the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, the term nationalism can be described by two kinds of phenomena with the first referring to the attitude possessed by the members of a certain nation when it comes to the subject of their national identity. This definition raises questions about the subjects of nation or national identity which are often connected to the subjects of common origin, ethnicity, or the membership of a certain individual in a nation. The second definition moreover, deals with the attitude or actions of these members whenever they seek or fight to sustain their self-determination and carries along questions of whether the concept of self-determination should be viewed as something that involves having full statehood or complete authority over domestic and international affairs etc. For many years, nationalism has been ignored as a significant topic in the area of political philosophy and has only emerged as one of the consequences of nationalist clashes like the one between the former Yugoslavia and Soviet Republics. Either way, nationalism often presents a picture that is morally ambivalent in theme. The very concept of national awakenings and the struggles that come along with the fight for political independence are both seen as heroic in people’s eyes. Basically, the moral debates about nationalism shows a kind of deep moral tension between national groups that are oppressed and the repulsion that are effects of the crimes committed for nationalism itself. Simply put, the subject of nationalism refers to an area of problems mostly about the ethnic and cultural differences in a democratic policy. These, also are considered as one of the hardest dilemmas in contemporary political theory (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, ). Nationalism is also connected to the term nation-state which refers to a â€Å"geographically bounded legal entity under a single recognized environment, the population of which psychologically considers them to be related, through historical, linguistic, racial, or other links (Kacowicz, 1998). † The forces connected to the subject of nationalism can be presented in many forms that are beyond the definition of the state itself. For example, the subject of nationalism can serve as an instrument in finding a homeland state for a certain existing nation that still does not own one. Moreover, it can also be used to organize a nation for a state that is not yet one through the collaboration of different elements within territorial boundaries to create a nation. Globalization, on the other hand, is viewed as the antithesis of nationalism. This concept negates what the nationalism promotes about the different identities of nations ad suggests that there are no boundaries existing, only one globe. There are many implications to this subject. For example, global transportation around the world is becoming far easier compared to the past times and communications technology is still improving and spreading globally. These kinds of changes sometimes make people have the feeling that they are all connected despite of the distances and boundaries. The word globalization implies the fact that the world is only a single market with goods and investments flowing freely across different national borders. The term refers to the changes in both the spatial and temporal contours of social existence. Here, geographical distance is now measured in terms of time and as time is needed to connect geographical locations is minimized, the subject of distances often undergo the subject of compression or even annihilation. And as changes in human activities also affect changes in space or territory, many theorists believe that these alterations in the experiences of humanity are in the process of undermining the significance of both local and national boundaries in the area of human endeavor (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2006). There are three facets connected to globalization. The first among these is the association of the subject to the concept of deterritorialization, a concept which refers to the increasing kinds of social activities happening irrespective of the geographical location of the participants. These activities are promoted through telecommunication, audiovisual media, digital computers and even the World Wide Web itself. If you view globalization using the concept of deterritorialization, the former can be connected to the increased possibilities of the actions of people irrespective of their latitudinal and longitudinal location. As what the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (2006) stated, â€Å"Territory in the sense of traditional sense of geographically identifiable location no longer constitutes the whole of ‘social space’ in which human activity takes place†¦. globalization refers to the spread of new forms of non-territorial social activity. † The second concept connected to globalization is that of social interconnectedness across geographical and political boundaries. In this aspect, globalization is connected to the different processes of change that causes significant transformations in the organization of human affairs though connecting and expanding the possibilities of human activities across borders. The third concept of globalization is social acceleration or speed or velocity of any social activity. The speed of the transportation, communication, and other technologies that link people now at present are very important factors in giving the sense of interconnectedness and blurring of territorial boundaries. The speed of technology, however, is not the only deal in this subject. The connecting and expansion of social activities across different borders are also defined by the very movements of people, information, and goods. The two other concepts mentioned above are directly connected with the speed or social life and the velocity and interchanges across different borders varies generally from their magnitude, impact, or regularity (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2006). Thus, globalization should be perceived as a multi-pronged process due to the fact that deterritorialization, social interconnectedness, and the acceleration of social activities affect many aspects of social activity like in economic, political, and cultural terms. Every manifestation of globalization also creates conflicts and dislocations in different area. An example of this is the evidence saying that cross-border flows and exchanges re already gaining prominence worldwide. The emergence of global financial markets serves as a big challenge to traditional attempts of liberal democratic nation-states. When it comes to the political realm, globalization takes a more distinct form through deterritorialization, interconnectedness, and acceleration of social activity elements. One form of political globalization is when activists use high-speed communication technologies to connect and form alliances across borders against dilemmas that are transnational in manner. Forms of supranational organizations exhibited for example by the European Union and North America Free Trade Association are also perceived as new manifestations of political globalization. Despite all of these though, critics still say that the local, regional and national forms of self-government are now being replaced by the democratic forms of global governance that are insufficient to ordinary citizens. The definition of nationalism and globalization clearly shows the differences between the two concepts. Nationalism promoted the establishing of a national identity and the strengthening of borders from one nation to another. Here, a nation is seen as something that has its own policies, economic flow, and culture that is somewhat unavailable from the members of other nations. Globalization, on the other hand, firmly says that there are no existing borders and that the world is one undivided network. As what Kusumi (2004) said, nationalism and globalization are like oil and water. You can only patronize one and not the other since the nature of the word â€Å"international† is equivalent to the fact of having nations defined by their respective boundaries, while the definition of the word â€Å"global† is parallel to the intellectual aggression of individuals to the boundaries that are drawn on the globe. Globalization and terrorism have common factors. Both aims to reach out across national borders and both are vessels that in a way disrespect nationalism. Nationalism advertises the subject of having a national identity while globalization simply threatens the identity of not only one nation but all others around the world. However, globalization is not at all negative because evidences, particularly in the world of trade, shows that this very subject helps a lot in the economy of several countries (Kusumi, 2004). Thus, it is all just a matter of perspective for these two subjects. For one, during the last few decades, the international flows of goods and financial capital from border to border has increased significantly and if it will be studied in a global perspective, it can be seen that the international trade of goods and services doubled in a span of four decades. Despite of the increase in the flow of goods, services, and financial capital, the term globalization also implies the fact that the world is considered as nearly a single market. In a fully globalized economy setting such as this, the goods and investments will be able to flow easily from border to border (Taylor, 2002). Despite of these, though, there are still numerous studies promoting the importance that national borders play in the trade market and how our world regardless of all advancements is still too far into being considered a single world market. One of the evidences to the significant role of national borders can be seen in the situation of Ontario, a province of Canada that has an equal distance from Washington State and the province of British Columbia. If a person will look at the situation using the perspective of a borderless state defined by globalization, he/she will expect Ontario’s level of trade as equal to that of Washington and British Columbia. However, this is not the case when it comes to real life even after adjusting the respective sizes of their economies. In studies conducted in the United States and Europe, it is found that the trades between regions within countries are actually 3 to ten times higher compared to the trade across national borders even after taking into account factors like the size of local economies and geographic distance (Taylor, 2002). Reasons of why national borders still play important roles in the limiting of international movements of goods and capital are easy to identify. For one, transportation and communications networks are commonly organized by national governments and concentrate more in connections within their own country than national borders. Thus, the economic transactions across a national border is burdened with additional costs that are connected with different legal systems, institutions, regulations, languages and many other factors. Also, the changes and flow in exchange rate also ass to the level of risk to economic transactions across borders (Taylor, 2002). Globalization is not the single and most viable ingredient in achieving economic growth. In fact there are a multitude of factors that can serve as a catalyst to the achievement of economic success like good education, available investment capital, good infrastructure and transportation, a proper financial sector, and many more. Thus, nations aren’t face with the tough choice of choosing economic improvement over their loyalty to their nation. The availability of a certain market to the international flows of goods and capital is also one of the most important factors in promoting improvement but there is always a risk that globalization can’t accomplish much and may even be harmful to the economy (Taylor, 2002). Basically, the very concept of nationalism directly opposes the processes of globalization since the concepts of disintegration, fragmentation, and localization deviate from the very trend of globalization. For example, a new sense of statehood may be a response to the forces of globalization in aiming to annihilate borders between nations. Thus, the persistence and survival of nationalism can be viewed as a kind of response to the forces of the global market through actions that will relocate and strengthen the legitimacy and sense of loyalties at national or subnational levels versus the transnational and supranational force of economic globalization (Kacowicz, 1998). Moreover, the promotion of nationalism as well as the organizing of new states is even encouraged by pressures of globalization. Through the processes involved in technological dissemination, globalization can even be considered as a catalyst in promoting nationalism so that these two concepts can even converge if a new global revolution of rising expectations will only be viewed. These forces can even encourage states and nations to be more active and managing the pressures that comes along with the subject of globalization. Here, an interesting paradox can be seen because even though the forces of globalization seem to be a giant next to the concept of state sovereignty, the technological changes brought by the former can even improve the material conditions needed to enhance and give birth to nationalistic trends. To put it simply, globalization opens doors for new strategies and roles for the nation-state and the resurgence of the sense of nationalism (Kacowicz, 1998). In conclusion, nationalism and globalization are two concepts that directly oppose each other’s purposes but in a way also complements the promotion of one. Just like what has already been mentioned earlier in this paper, â€Å"it is all just a matter or perspective. † References: Kacowicz, A. M. (1998). Regionalization, Globalization, and Nationalism: Convergent, Divergent, or Overlapping? Retrieved June 7, 2009 Web site: http://www. nd. edu/~kellogg/publications/workingpapers/WPS/262. pdf. Kusumi, J. (2004). Globalization versus nationalism versus al-Qaeda: These three things are important to understand as bad, good, and bad respectively. Retrieved June 7, 2009, from Association for Asia Research. Web site: http://www. asianresearch. org/articles/2261. html. Taylor, T. (2002). The Truth About Globalization. Public Interest, 24. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. (2006). Globalization. Retrieved June 7, 2009 from Stanford University: Official site Web site: http://plato. stanford. edu/entries/globalization/ Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. (2005). Nationalism. Retrieved June 7, 2009 from Stanford University: Official site Web site: http://plato. stanford. edu/entries/nationalism/

Causes And Consequences Of Bribery In International Business Essay

Causes And Consequences Of Bribery In International Business - Essay Example Earlier regulations against corruption focused on companies in China only. Foreign companies often had to pay for getting licenses, indulge in the black market, evade customs, pay for foreign trips of officials, payments of their kids’ foreign education, or form cartels to overcome the system. The loose implementation of FCPA made it easier for US companies to indulge in corruption practices.  The â€Å"Criminal Law of the PRC† covers acts of bribery of state officials and employees of state-owned enterprises. The â€Å"Law Against Unfair Competition of the PRC† stops companies from giving money or property to customers.  The presence of grey areas such as the issue of gifts below the monetary value of $600 makes it less effective. The laws are framed in such a way that any kinds of gifts to anybody can be interpreted by manipulation of the law.  To control corruption practices, the US Company while starting its business in China, should modify its policies and procedures to suit the culture of the country, along with continuous training and reminding of the rules.  The comments by the US Foreign Services Agent highlight the shortcomings in the existing law and the inclination of agents towards helping US companies in corruption matters to provide them a level playing ground field with other country's companies.  1. The different types of bribes, payments or favors are payments for licenses to import and export, payment for foreign trips of Chinese officials, payment for the foreign apartment, foreign education of kids, payments to sell or purchase goods, payments to state officials in return of some favors, payments to evade customs.  6. The comments by the former US Foreign Service Agent highlight the flaws in the legal system, and unethical behavior of the agents. It is unethical as well as illegal to assist business by providing them the best corruption practices.  

Expectations of gender roles are detrimental to our society Essay

Expectations of gender roles are detrimental to our society - Essay Example This essay "Expectations of gender roles are detrimental to our society" outlines the positive and negative effect of the gender role and accompanying expectations on the society. From man’s early childhood years, gender role expectations already dominate both genders. The pretty pink colors are for girls, and the â€Å"boyish† shade of blue are for boys. As they progress in their physical development, their toys are gradually differentiated from each other. According to the Pan Health Organization (PAHO), a regional office of the World Health Organization (p. 1), by age five, most children already know how to be boys and how to be girls. They know which toys to play with, which clothes to wear, which colors to choose, and whether or not they should cry or hit back (PAHO, p. 1). These gender roles and expectations assigned to children have serious implications on their future—most of them negative. Their access to food and education, participation in the workforc e, their relationships, as well as their physical and psychological health are all impacted by these gender expectations and stereotypes. In a study by the WHO (PAHO, p. 1), the agency points out that gender role expectations impact on people’s access to food. The study pointed out that in many countries, girls manifest with lower nutritional health and a decreased access to food as compared to their male counterparts (PAHO, p. 1). Such limited access for girls is highly detrimental to their health and their future development. Girls’ nutritional deficiencies also contribute to their vulnerabilities to childhood illnesses. Their vulnerability also exposes them to physical and sexual abuse (PAHO, p. 1). They also become vulnerable to decreased access to health services. Based on various reports, more often than not, girls’ health conditions turn worse before they are actually brought to the hospital or to a doctor for medical attention. In some developing nations, the mortality rate for girls are higher as compared to boys’ (Elsa). In terms of education, girls are often less likely to be sent to school. They are mostly kept at home to assist in the household chores and other duties. In effect, they are also learning from their mothers how to take care of the male family members – how to cook, mend clothes, clean house, do laundry, and other household duties (PAHO, p. 2). As a result, these girls would likely be stuck in the same pattern in which their mothers and other women befor e them have been stuck in – unable to have careers and other less domestic possibilities in their lives. In some areas like Africa where the HIV/AIDS afflicts a large number of the population, these girls are often

Organizational Structures Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Organizational Structures - Essay Example Adversarial communication can be solved by making flatter hierarchal structures so that communication channels don’t get distorted via the long hierarchy structures of the organisation. Competition for internal resources can be solved by managing by forming team structures within the employees so that a healthy competitive environment is maintained (Robbins and Judge 2007). The steps for managing the transition from the old organizational structure to the new would be a very challenging process. Handling employees and motivating them to accept the change in a positive manner has to be critically dealt by the manager. The employees need to be shown the positive side of the change in organizational structure so that they realize the advantages of this structure and hence except the change. In the transition stage of the change in organizational structure, there will be resistance faced from the employees in adapting the new structure and the new reporting lines of the hierarchy. Also if managers reduce the span of control under each division then also the work processes of the organisation can be controlled in an efficient manner (Robbins and Judge 2007). The change needs to be taken calmly by the manager and the manager needs to assure the employees that the change is being done for the betterment of the organisation. Kurt Lewin’s change theory needs to be applied that states the first stage is Unfreeze that is inform the employees about the change, then implement the change, and then finally refreeze the employees at that stage (Thompson and Strickland 2003). The external business environment may cause complications for the business at start as the business would be under the process of experiencing organizational structure change. Nevertheless, the manager needs to speed up the process, adapt in a fast manner to the external business conditions and delegate the appropriate authorities to the subordinates

The Efficacy of Direct Mail Marketing and Internet Marketing Research Paper

The Efficacy of Direct Mail Marketing and Internet Marketing - Research Paper Example In this scenario, organizations can use different tools and techniques to advertise their products and services. However, this paper will discuss two well known marketing techniques. First is direct mail marketing and second is internet (email) marketing. The basic aim of this research is to compare these two techniques and suggest best among them. So this research will be a comparative study of both marketing techniques. Methods/Framework We will conduct a research to discuss direct mail marketing and internet marketing: Direct Mail Marketing Direct mail marketing is a marketing technique in which a retailer transmits marketing and promotion material or information directly to the customer. Additionally, direct mail marketing allows organizations to enjoy full authority over the management of their business communications. In addition, direct mail marketing consists of several marketing techniques. However, in order to become flourishing in the field of direct marketing, organizatio ns will require using a number of these competent techniques. These techniques are either utilized in grouping form, or as substitute marketing practices and these techniques depend upon the followings aspects: (Systematic Direct Marketing, 2011; SmallBusinessNotes, 2011)

The Creation of White Supremacy in the Nineteenth-Century United Essay - 1

The Creation of White Supremacy in the Nineteenth-Century United States - Essay Example ’ and to maintain this status they needed to place their allegiances with those in power that had the resources who could divvy up the benefits† (McVey 18). Basically speaking, an emphasis on racial rather than class unity has traditionally been an emphasis in America. This essay explains the reasons the United States had become a supremacist nation by mid-1800s. This essay argues that white supremacy emerged in the United States during the 19th century because of economic exploitation (e.g. slavery) and racial myths (e.g. Manifest Destiny). The creation of white supremacy was a critical occurrence in the emergence of American capitalism. The concept of white supremacy emerged in the United States due to several major developments: the legacy of British exploitation of the Irish; the opposition to slavery, which concluded in the subjugation of the Bacon’s Rebellion in Virginia in the latter part of the 17th century; the self-recognition of emancipated laborers as members of the White population in the antebellum North; and the creation of the White nation in the latter part of the 19th century. The United States could not have emerged as a White supremacist nation in the absence of slavery. It was enslaved Africans who facilitated the economic development of the United States. This economic progress climaxed from the early to mid-1800s, the era referred to as the Market Revolution. The major driving force for the emergence of the Market Revolution was the cotton trade, and this was facilitated by indentured servi tude (Roediger 32). Another thrust to the emergence of the United States as a white supremacist nation was the occupation of a large portion of Mexico. This gave the United States the opportunity to successfully gain Pacific expansion, and hence embark on a massively profitable trade with Asian markets. It also gave the United States the opportunity to tap the immense supply of agricultural resources in California and mineral resources in

Discuss whether there is such a phenomenon as global culture Essay

Discuss whether there is such a phenomenon as global culture - Essay Example The establishment and development of the virtual world has, in return, aided in the process of creating a world of knowledge that is freely available on the internet. This has resulted in a free and smooth distribution of information to masses all over the world. The availability of knowledge and information to people located in various parts of the world has led to the process of evolution of consumer demand. People and masses located in the emerging economies and developing countries are expressing the desire to acquire the same brands of products and services, that are being enjoyed by the people and masses located in the more advanced countries that have developed economies. As a result of the spill over of consumer demand from the developed economies to various undeveloped markets, new markets and new economies are being created. The corporations around the world, in an attempt to attain a significant amount of growth, are focusing on the process of developing the markets, that are located in the emerging economies, by fulfilling the new kind of consumer demand that is starting to evolve in that particular area. Talking with regard to the formation of value chain that is getting developed around the globe on a regular basis, it can be said that in most of the economically emerging regions and countries, the consumers are trying to move up the value chain. It can be said that, in an attempt to create a symbiotic relationship with the consumer demand that is getting formed, the corporations and global companies, that are trying to enter the new markets, are focusing on the process of development of brands that can move down the value chain. By doing so, the global and international companies are trying to form a symbiotic relationship with the customers, wherein the customers’ growing demands are being fulfilled by the companies. Global Culture Overview It can be said that in today’s high-end modern age environment, where the connectivity of th e internet, powered by various high level sophisticated devices like Smart phones, and I-pads, is making significant impact in the lives of the masses around the world, the effect of spill over of information, knowledge and cultural trends cannot be ignored. Talking with regard to spill over of trends, it can be said that the development of a global marketplace, where goods and services are created and delivered to the consumers using various platforms like business to business, business to consumers or even consumers to consumers, has helped in the process of formation of a culture, that is familiar to many consumers irrespective of their presence and distribution in various geographical locations. In brief, it can be rightly stated that the global marketplace is contributing to the formation of a similarity in trends of consumption as well as behavioural patterns of masses all over the world. These similar kinds of behavioural patterns are helping in the process of development and growth of global citizens It can be said that global culture, in very simple terms, represents a variety of more or less similar trends, practices and behaviours which are expressed and displayed by the global citizens. It is necessary to state here that global culture represents a diverse mix of various trends, consumption patterns and styles of living which currently exist in various countries around the world. These diverse trends and consumption patte

Analysis Of Business Environment For Coca-Cola Company Research Paper

Analysis Of Business Environment For Coca-Cola Company - Research Paper Example The company can minimize weaknesses and fight threats to improve financial and training systems and undertake staff motivational initiatives to minimize risks associated with new markets and increase competitive advantage as well as constantly build expertise in the firm to minimize chances of the firm undertaking risky business internationally such as the experiences seen during the global financial crisis. Also, technological advancements in the industry may be useful to increase competition. Using SWOT analysis, the company should be able to focus on its strengths, curtail threats, and take the utmost possible gain of opportunities available, and trigger aggressive strategy formulation. The firm has a better understanding of its competitors which can provide insights to craft a coherent and successful competitive position. To maintain and/or increase customer loyalty, the company should employ strategies that jealously guard its existing market share and also explore ways of expan ding the customer base to grow revenue and increase business performance. Product differentiation based on customer segments is one of the strategies the company can use. The company should also explore the strengths and limitations of its competitors by interrogating the soft spots of alternative products to strengthen its products. Other strategies may include going an extra mile to know its customers better, meet and exceed customer expectations, increase value derived by customers from its products.

Heuristics Lead to Predictable Biases and Inconsistencies Essay Example for Free

Heuristics Lead to Predictable Biases and Inconsistencies Essay The human brain is complex, most especially as a specimen for study regarding decision-making and problem solving. The brain uses very precise methods of compression in order to distinguish the most important features of a certain sensory data. Because of human error, these methods are not perfect. Humans obtain large numbers of sensory data a day, even terabytes worth to be more precise. Most of what a person sees within the day gets erased from his memory, yet tiny pieces of data remain. These are converted into symbolic format, which would connect to the person’s experiences once he is in contact with it. When the sensory data gets abstracted it then becomes symbolical to the person and taken from long-term memory, certain biasing effects arise. â€Å"Biases also operate when the symbols are invoked and manipulated for cognitive operations. † The results of these are our belief systems, representation and anchoring. Anchoring refers to the process where people form beliefs around an anchor and every incoming data should relate towards that anchor even though significantly irrelevant. Representation â€Å"occurs when people expect their outputs to resemble the generating process.† Yet representation doesn’t prove efficient and always true, and this is due mainly because of human bias. Representation and anchoring are examples of heuristics. They are more commonly described as â€Å"rules of thumb† which humans use in reasoning in cognitively economical ways. These are inscribed in the human brain, and it is the same for all, as we all have a pair of hands and a pair of eyes. Heuristics started in the late 1960s and early 1970s and devised by Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman where they focused their studies on human judgment. Heuristics replaced rational judgment and the algorithmic method where they theorized that judgment in uncertainty rests on a limited number of heuristics rather than other more complicated methods. Heuristics became accepted and spread upon almost all forms of knowledge – economics, medicine, law, psychology and political science. This study was revolutionary in its time because â€Å"it simultaneously questioned the descriptive adequacy of ideal models of judgment and offered a cognitive alternative that explained human error without invoking motivated irrationality. † Kahneman and Tversky’s study revolved around the assumption of â€Å"bounded rationality†. In their study, they have also showed that humans indeed are very limited in processing and are probable to erroneous judgment, they attest to the earlier models of judgment where not fit to humans since they are much simpler than what is really happens in human decision making. After wide acceptance and a moving away from the rational decision-making patterns devised in the past, where humans are thought to always choose the best decision by means of probability, Heuristics is still seen to have inconsistencies and laden with biases. The whole concept of Heuristics gives a structured way of problem solving, taking into consideration human brain function and capacity which inevitably makes the process easier. As compared to the old model of thinking where humans are always seen to know probability and choose the best way based on probability computation, Heuristics give a deeper understanding of the human condition. Some failures of heuristics enter when it is presented with data that is not part of its â€Å"domain of expertise† or what is already previously calculated. Biases are a key error in using heuristics for problem solving. A cognitive bias is defined as â€Å"any of a wide range of observer effects identified in cognitive science and social psychology including very basic statistical, social attribution, and memory errors that are common to all human beings. † Biases that are in direct relation to decision making and problem solving affect scientific methods technically designed to eliminate these exact chances of bias. Biases in Heuristics are difficult to notice for three reasons. First, the human thinking process that is used to judge and assess in problem solving is in itself full of biases. Second, biases are common and widespread that it is difficult to notice and third, the decisions that are made through the use of Heuristics feel good therefore it satisfies the person, regardless if it right or wrong. According to a University of Pennsylvania law school research paper, principal findings in behavioral economics and cognitive psychology through the years have shown in studies that humans â€Å"deviate from ideal precepts of rationality in many settings, showcasing inconsistent judgment in the face of framing and other formal manipulations of the presentation of problems.† In their research paper entitled, â€Å"Heuristics and Biases in Thinking About Tax†, they have suggested that citizens especially in the United States suffer from a wide range of biases in the understanding of the basic features of the tax-law design and reform, like the perceptual biases more studied in the domain of the private markets, like the evaluation of â€Å"risky choice† and consumer finances. The main goal of the paper was to show that in evaluating the tax systems present in the country, citizens are vulnerable and exhibit a wide range of Heuristics and biases, which lead to inconsistent judgment and evaluation. Prevalence of these biases show that there is indeed room for â€Å"skillful† politicians and facile political systems to â€Å"manipulate public opinion, and that tax system design will reflect a certain volatility on account of the possibility of eliciting preference reversals through purely formal rhetorical means. † Due to the inconsistencies and biases of Heuristics, decision theorists have studied this phenomenon more closely. It turned into a respected field, founded by of Kahneman and Tversky, commonly known as â€Å"Heuristics and biases.† Heuristics may work well in problem solving, but can also turn to harmful biases. A few examples of heuristics and biases include Framing, which means viewing a need in the real world as a â€Å"problem† you can work on solving and the counterpart bias is mistaking your view of the problem for the real need. Status quo, a heuristic that implies â€Å"Business as Usual† or â€Å"If it ain’t broke don’t fix it† may incur bias against anything new. Cognitive overconfidence is the same as decisiveness and refusal to be haunted by doubt which may lead to the bias of self-delusion. The Heuristic Prudent Estimation means â€Å"conservative estimates† which may lead to missed opportunities which are especially dangerous in group problem solving. Most likely scenario has the Heuristic explanation of avoiding wasting time on possibilities that probably won’t happen, but the bias is rare events can be the most important. Guessing at patterns implies quickly spotting the trend or the big picture, with a corresponding bias of â€Å"Outguessing randomness† and seeing patterns that doesn’t exist. The last example Recall ability or Availability which implies, if an idea doesn’t fit in with the obvious data, it’s surely suspect. The corresponding bias for this is, non-obvious things can be most important or even most common. These examples of Heuristics are common in everyday life, and these rules of thumb do help in assessing situations such as deals in business, economics, or day to day domestic problems. It is common knowledge that these Heuristics can fail predictably, which are also known as â€Å"hidden traps† when a person succumbs to the counterpart bias. It is already a given that Heuristics bring about inconsistencies and biases, but there are some methods of control. For example, for the Heuristic Framing, advice is to not automatically accept initial framing, strive for objective neutral framing, and challenge other people’s framings. These are remedies to biased formed Heuristics, which will generally help in problem solving, whichever stage of the problem the person is at.

Corporate Social Responsibility in the ICT Industry

Corporate Social Responsibility in the ICT Industry 1. Introduction ICT industry has experienced rapid growth characterised by strong competition in which companies are increasingly focussing in improving their core competencies such as innovation, marketing, and branding to maintain competitive advantage. Manufacturing and supply chain are usually outsourced to developing countries; leading to complex multi dimensional relationships between companies. To maintain operational efficiency companies a lot of times dont pay heed to environment and low power stakeholders such as employees, NGOs etc., and therefore lack a systematic CSR (corporate social responsibility) framework. According to a finding by Forrester Group (Figure 1), 34 % of organizations are now pursuing a CSR action plan and about 13% have already implemented one (Forrester, 2009). CESR framework enables identification of root causes of issues, establishes remedial processes and supports continual improvements. Companies already use business management systems (BMS) and utilizing CSR man agement standards such as ISO 26000 and ISO 14001 should not be difficult to adapt. These standards will act as performance indicators for companys CSR. Having an integrated approach towards business and CSR ensures companys long term viability by not only addressing environmental and societal issues but also developing business process, improving quality, and controllability. This paper will show that despite organizations being reluctant in realizing the not so visible returns by investing in CSER, it is increasingly becoming critical to incorporate the social and environmental strategies within the business structure. This paper analyses the major challenges, root causes for these challenges faced by ICT industry, and concludes by recommending a series of procedures that can be adopted by companies to ensure their viability and sustainability in the present and future. 2. Prevalent CSR issues in the industry The major CESR (corporate environment and social responsibility) issues identified in organizations, especially in developing countries that manufacture 45% of all ICT products are excessive working hours, worker health and safety, poor employer-employee relationship, e-waste and pollution (Janco Associates Inc., 2009). 2. 1 Poor employee engagement Many workers in the ICT industry, especially in the manufacturing sector, are hired regularly on short term contracts and laid off at the end of their term. Under this set up employers get away without hiring full-time employees; thereby, avoiding higher wages and benefits, which would have been incurred otherwise. This happens quite often in developing countries such as China and Philippines. This prevents workers from actively partaking in companies growth and decreases loyalty. In addition, the manufacturing industry is plagued with workers having to work mandatory overtime in order to meet high production demands at varying times. This requires flexible as well as long working hours for employees. In many developing countries, workers are threatened to be fired in case they do not comply with these work schedules. Long working hours can also be highly detrimental towards the morale of the workers and hurts the motivation of the labour force. 2.2 Health and safety issues (U.S. Geological Survey, 2008) Majority of electronic products manufactured by ICT industry contain some form of hazardous substances. Workers in developing countries are constantly exposed to these materials that pose significant risks to their health hazards. According to Ladou (1994), ICT manufacturing workers are exposed to more toxins than workers in the chemical or pesticide industry are. 2.3 Electronic Waste (E-Waste) One of the greatest environmental issues the ICT industry currently faces is inconsistent e-waste policies adopted not just by companies but governments across the world. http://www.pcij.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/e-waste-dumping-routes-large.jpgFigure 2: Sources and destinations of e-waste Due to rapid technological developments and newer design models of cell phones, the average lifespan of a cell phone is only 18 months in OECD countries (U.S. Geological Survey, 2008). This creates tremendous amounts of e-waste generated that is exported in tonnes on a daily basis to developing countries. Many times this waste is exported under the category of workable conditions though it is dysfunctional. Many recyclers are not certified and do not follow environmental or social standards to recycle. Figure 2 identifies sources and destinations of most of e-waste. It is unsurprising to see that developed nations are using developing countries as their e-waste graveyard. Most companies use third party contractors, who form part of a nascent industry, to handle product disposal and recycling. 3. Root-causes of the challenges in the ICT sector Information and Communications Technology (ICT) companies are constantly bombarded by protests from the public, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and governments with respect to their inattention towards social and environmental responsibilities. There are several reasons why these companies are unable to adequately execute their aforementioned responsibilities. The following paragraphs will highlight some of reasons and identify the root causes of the challenges ICT companies face in this regard (FIAS BSR, 2007). 3.1 Significant upfront costs without tangible benefits According to FIAS and BSR (2007), ICT companies are constantly challenged by issues of feasibility when considering an investment to promote their corporate social responsibility (CSR), due to the uncertain return on investment (ROI). Financial return through CSR is usually intangible and therefore difficult to keep a track of and measure, hence heightening the risk perceived by managers. However according to FIAS and BSRs (2007) survey, investments in CSR can result in lower employee attrition rates, increased process efficiency, healthier business relationship with customers and high influx of customers among other various benefits. Nevertheless, the perceived financial uncertainty inherent in CSR investments leads many companies to overlook the benefits highlighted by the aforementioned survey and simply regard it as a long term strategy with no guarantees. Some companies wait to become late adopters until the impact of CSR is tested and tried in their industry before incorporatin g it within their business model. 3.2 Heavy investments FIAS and BSR (2007) found out that companies implementation of a CSR strategy could increase costs by 3-5% or perhaps even more, in addition to costs incurred through the adoption of new equipment and technologies to promote better environmental or health and safety practices for example. As well, the management has to invest time, effort and other resources to perform training and develop internal policies. These factors add to the uncertainty and perceived burden of CSR investments and may further act as deterrents for companies to invest significant resources. 3.3 Complexities related to overtime Unmanageable excess overtime is one of the greatest CSR challenges ICT manufacturing suppliers face. According to FIAS BSRs survey (2007), a significant number of suppliers believe that they could fulfill all CSR expectations except excess overtime. The major reason behind this issue is overtime decisions are outside of the suppliers control. The manufacturing industry faces a lot of fluctuation in manufacturing demand that results in a lack of predictable product volumes. Other factors such as changes in the workforce, fluctuations in raw materials prices, evolving labour and environment laws, and even last minute changes in customer orders complicate this process. While companies do make efforts to responsibly manage workers work-life balance, in the case of suppliers that hire hundreds of thousands of workers, this process may well be extremely challenging. 3.4 Implementation of CSR expectations in supply chains The CSR efforts of multinational corporations (MNCs) can multiply significantly if they realize the importance of motivating and convincing all of their supply chain partners within the hierarchy to adopt responsibility towards the community and environment they operate in. However, this can be very challenging and companies typically feel responsible for only towards their next suppliers performance and are not aware of suppliers activities down the supply chain. MNCs outsourcing into developing countries bear the responsibility of ensuring that their suppliers conform to ethical values and international standards 4. Recommendations Leading organizations have embraced a leadership role in CSR initiatives because they realize that by investing in the community, the environment, and its internal resources they create cost savings, competitive advantages and continued growth (T Systems, 2009). Central to any companys success has been a very trusting working atmosphere that involves open communication between employees and management. Initiatives such as daycare services, preventive back pain workshops, support programs for smokers and subsidized healthy food and gym programs have helped in promoting active employee engagement. Various companies are actively involved in helping non-profit organizations with financial and non-financial measures. A lack of gender diversity, specifically women in the workforce is a constant challenge for the information and communication technology (ICT) industry as a whole as over 80% of the industrys workforce is male. Another issue is environmental awareness among employees, customers and its supply-chain. For example, employees may not be adopting proper recycling practices or cutting down on wastage. Customers may not be eager to adopt virtualization, which is a technology that enables more efficient server energy use, because of a fear of privacy breaches. Similarly, with regards to the supply chain, large e-waste problems may not be addressed adequately, leading to large amounts of waste due to constant hardware turnover that is irresponsibly disposed in the developing world, thereby contributing to pollution and possibly negative health outcomes. Great changes can be brought by adopting small initiatives throughout the industry by every company. Eventually these changes will become the norm of the industry and perhaps transform into standards and laws. Implementation of a split focus between environmental, and internal and external social initiatives is essential to satisfying all key stakeholders. The following table highlights some of the positive and negative aspects of adopting such an approach: PROS CONS Builds and maintains brand image Consolidates approach and addresses key areas of corporate concerns Can choose from a wide array of projects No catch-up required for upcoming industry/regulations for environmental/social practices Satisfies all stakeholders needs High resource needs Splitting corporate focus Takes focus away from customer acquisition Therefore as the table indicates, this option addresses both social and environmental factors; however it lessens the overall effect on both areas compared to if they were pursued individually. 4.1 Create an enabling ICT policy framework that incorporates a holistic CSR strategy within the business model Companies need to create and integrate a CSR strategy within their existing business model to be able to fully engrain CSR into their company. This strategy recognizes and addresses issues independently on a priority basis. Every company will find different issues it needs to address; for instance, a chemical processing plant will have to find the best possible way to dispose off waste responsibly, whereas, an electronics manufacturer will address the issue of toxic metals being used in production. Once the company is able to establish and adhere to its CSR mission, it then can communicate these values among its supply chain and members of the ICT industry. The goal is to adopt a strategy that maximizes sustainability in the following areas: brand image, stakeholder satisfaction, and long term viability. 4.2 Create incentives for suppliers Suppliers consider incentives from customers as being a strong motivator to improve their CSR performance. Therefore, companies should determine which incentives would help their suppliers perform better in meeting CSR expectations. Some examples of incentives could be a combination of longer contract terms, increased purchase volumes, higher prices and public recognition through awards and certificates. The amount of incentives can be linked to different levels of performance shown by the suppliers. Companies need to realize that providing these incentives may hurt their profits initially, but in the long run the advantages derived from better CSR performance, such as less need for monitoring, reliable supply chains, diminished risk to brand image, improved product quality, and better operated facilities, could potentially counter the initial reduction in profits. 4.3 Implement Standard industry-wide codes A common industry standard is essential to guide and monitor compliance for companies. Codes such as the Electronics Industry Code of Conduct are universally identified and accepted as being a tool to improve processes and methodologies. Additionally the presence of one industry standard increases documentation and reporting efficiency as there will be less duplication, inconsistency and confusion. 4.4 Conduct audits for improvement rather than compliance Companies perform audits merely as a responsibility to get over with. However, audits are to serve as a learning opportunity by identifying issues and areas for improvement. Audits should be able to not only tell companies the degree of compliance with the standards but also give a larger picture of companys fulfillment of its commitment to CSR. Following the audits company can arrange training sessions to remedy the weaknesses identified in the audits (FIAS BSR, 2007). 4.5 Involve and implement responses from all stakeholders In order to achieve this, companies can implement the CSR strategic process that TELUS has been able to utilize successfully. This process engages internal and external stakeholders to develop a CSR strategy that is continuously reviewed and realigned to achieve results. Involving stakeholders during various stages of strategy incorporation enables development of a wholesome strategy, which satisfies needs of all social and environment aspects. Typically, NGOs and environmentalists are not involved in companys CSR strategy framing, thereby, limiting companies performance in green sector. CSR 4.6 E-waste Management System With regards to e-waste management, the goal is to find a clean, economical and constructive means of disposal. As such, the adoption of an e-Market for Returned Deposit system similar to the model outlined by Kahhat, Kim et.al is recommended (Kahat, Kim, Xu, Allenby, Williams, Zhang, 2008). This system will consist of the development of a database that will act as a forum for suppliers and organizations looking for cheap, reusable and recyclable hardware. This database provides suppliers with an outlet to dispose of their grandfathered and unusable hardware in a responsible and economic way. As well, e-waste disposal companies (who meet WEEE standards) could access the forum to look for hardware that they may need. There could also be a separate section for donation to schools and non-profit organizations. The hope is that this forum will help shrink the digital divide and decrease pollution from e-waste. This site would be directly influencing their customers as well as their suppliers to dispose of their e-waste in a constructive and responsible manner while assisting in the further development of the communitys technological know-how, thereby shrinking the digital divide. Finally, companies can begin offering their expertise in environmental efficiencies in order to create an ethical supply chain. This process will start by educating suppliers and moving on to educating other organizations and may represent a future revenue stream. 4.7 Employee Engagement As part of an initiative to increase employee engagement while addressing companies strategy of socially responsible behaviour, the development of a cross-functioning CSR Task Force in every company is recommended. This groups mandate will be to initiate, develop and implement new CSR initiatives designed to enhance and add to the companys current CSR strategy. A senior management director, who will act as a facilitator for the committee, will champion this task force. Beyond this role, he or she will act merely as a symbolic head of the committee. The idea behind this arrangement is to ensure that upper management is kept abreast of homegrown ideas and developments and to make sure they remain engaged in the overall CSR strategy. Members of the task force will be employees selected from different functional areas of the company. Intra-company elections will be held on an annual basis to select a committee head (non-management), who will be the main driver and coordinator of new CSR ideas and strategies. By having non-upper management employees lead this task force, a way for employees to gain valuable leadership experience will be realized. Cisco Systems has implemented a similar program and to date they have experienced very successful results (Creary, 2010). This project allows Host Europe to engage its employees and involve them in a strategically important initiative all while reaping the benefits of new and innovative CSR ideas derived from a CSR think-tank at a low cost. Such a task force will also act as CSR consultants that hopefully will educate and help implement CSR strategies that mirror leading companies strategies up the supply chain. Depending on how the CSR consultants are received by suppliers, there is potential that this could become a new revenue stream as suppliers try to reach the customers position. In order to encourage engagement from all employees we suggest that, in conjunction with the newly appointment CSR Task Force, companies begin an employee efficiency reward system where employees are rewarded financially for the degree of environmentally efficient measures they take. These measures would be decided by the CSR team and could include anything from car-pooling to personal contribution to community programs geared at environmental clean-ups, to outside education of local businesses. Employeess CSR commitment can be measured in their annual performance review. At the end of the year, the CSR Task Force can vote on the top CSR performers at the company and bonuses can be given out to them. 4.8 Focus on Diversity To address the lack of female representatives in the ICT industry, companies can seek membership in local female associations like Organization of Women in International Trade (OWIT) and Association for Womens Rights in Development (AWID). These organizations concentrate on developing womens technical skills, offers networking opportunities, career guidance and increase awareness and interest in the field of ICT. Through these channels, companies can attract top students to through internships or executive hiring programs. Other senior female executives in the ICT industry can act as champions for the overall initiative by participating in information sessions, mentorship programs and initiatives like job shadowing. 4.9 Effective Human Resource Planning To ensure that the company has the right people in the right place at the right time, I would suggest the adoption of Strategic Workforce Planning (SWP) (Conference Board of Canada, 2009). This involves identifying hiring needs based on the projects companies plan to undertake in the next 3-5 years, evaluating their options to fill those positions based on skills, identifying gaps and finally developing a plan to tackle them. SWP will help companies meet talent needs based on different market conditions, account for new opportunities and projects that may be implemented in that timeline. The SWP incorporates initiatives that develop talent internally as well as develop a recruitment plan to attract external talent. 5. Conclusion CSR needs to be fundamentally integrated into business operations and relationships. In many companies, CSR is the absent link that could potentially help companies grow responsibly and sustainably along with its stakeholders. Increasingly CSR is becoming more and more critical to a companys success as customers become more aware of their surroundings. Deployment of CSR adds incredible value to a companys business while also supporting communities and the environment. Adopting CESR policies will also equip companies to readily conform to impending legislations and regulations and organizations will be well prepared to comply with standards. During the process of implementing these CSR initiatives, companies should start with easily adoptable features such as energy efficient usage of resources at work. Many of the recommendations made in this paper do not require extensive capital commitments; rather, attitudinal changes in the way companies operate. Other recommendations however, su ch as building energy efficient data centres and other ICT infrastructure, may require a considerable amount of time and financial investments (Fernando Okuda, 2009). Through partnership, organizations can encourage and support one another to adopt and adhere to their commitments. If systematically approached and consolidated, these initiatives will definitely provide companies with excellent and far-reaching improvements (T Systems, 2009).