International Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 4

International Management - Essay Example The key opinion/position or argument of the author is that women expatiates perform well as women are good at interpersonal adjustments; but all these are true when women expatriates are truly determined to pursue an expatriate career. Women’s ability to establish good public relationships and their determination, assures the possibility of their success in their foreign assignments; proving that they can be as good, if not better than, their male counterparts. As evidenced by research, results show that women managers get their motivation from the setting and achieving of organizational goals that promotions, and are more interested in challenging tasks that involve personal growth (Alamo –Metcalfe, 1995). Women also have no problem adjusting internationally, as stated by Bochner (1981), in the study conducted, results show that female expatriates, even as a newcomer, are aware of when and how to display appropriate behaviors in the country they work in and act as sources of information, facilitating understanding. This is also one proof that women expatriates have overcome language barriers, a factor that determines how well one can adjust internationally. Due to the innate nature of women of establishing good relationships, women are indeed capable of pursuing an international career or assignment. In addition, due to the fact that women have always been compared with men in terms of what they can or cannot (able and not able to) do, women are also innately motivated to prove themselves; but their motivation is not on how many promotions are possible for them to achieve, but on the satisfaction of being able to handle and perform a job as well (if not better than) as men. Although women are as determined as men, and performs well too, the author was not able to present the side on whether family concerns are

Roles Within a Group Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Roles Within a Group - Essay Example And the later are the ones who make the work slower and distract the other people as well. The group is effective when they achieve their target and meet the deadline. The individual roles in a group matters a lot and it affects the overall performance of the group and the results of their efforts. Compromiser: Group member is loyal to the group and can do the things which may not be beneficial for him but are good for the group. They can change their position for the betterment of the group and can take extra responsibilities. Expediter: He or she makes sure that all members of the group are participating in the conservation and are learning from the group activity. He or she encourages the shy and quiet members and can set the rules for the assertive members, so that they can not overshadow the quiet members. Observer: He or she observes the activities of the group. It helps the group members to be on track and he or she provides the feedback to the group, which helps in improving the standards of the group. Self-confessor: These members use the group meetings to confess and disclose their personal feelings, which are irritating at times. They give comments on everything, which is going on, and their comments usually are in guise of relevance, for example "my children also fight like this", or "my elder is same like our boss". These comments distract the member's attention from the topic. A situation where Negative roles were Operating In a family, all siblings were planning to go out on a picnic without their parents or any other elder. The siblings are aged between 11-15 years. The elder one is the dominating person in the family and he wants his younger brother and sister to obey him in every matter. The middle one is a rebel, which is opposite to the eldest one. This makes the whole situation really complex, and this ends in their failure to go to the picnic, because the eldest one keeps on ordering the others but the middle one never listens to him. This makes their plane to meet the failure and it results in their fight as well. A situation where Positive roles were Op

Hunting and animals Essay Example for Free

Hunting and animals Essay Charles Dickens once said, â€Å"There is a passion for hunting something deeply implanted in the human breast. † I agree with this quote. Hunting is very exciting and fun. However, many disagree with me. No one rides the fence though. You either think that hunting is good or that hunting is bad. What do you believe? Do you think hunting is positive or negative? I believe hunting is good because it helps feed those in need, it helps control the population of wild animals, and it helps farmers who may have animals on their land they want to get rid of. A lot of people look at hunting and think of all the gruesome things we are going to do to Bambi. They never stop to think about what the hunter is doing with the game. Hunters aren’t just killing animals for fun, they use the meat to either eat or donate it. Several hunters give their game to people in need. They donate their meat to homeless shelters or food banks for less fortunate people that might not be able to afford to put enough food on the table. That way the people in need will be able to have a little bit extra on their plate. Hunting also helps control the population of wild animals. You can only hunt during a certain period of time during the year so that the animals are able to reproduce and won’t become extinct. You are also limited to the amount of game you can get. That way it won’t become a chaotic free-for-all and protects the animals from being wiped out. However, if hunting wasn’t legal, the population of wild animals would skyrocket. This would cause a boost in the already high number of car crashes due to animals, such as deer standing in the middle of the road. According to State Farm, an estimated 1. 5 million vehicles collide with deer in the United States. This caused over $1. 1 billion in property damage. These crashes also caused several injuries and deaths. Hunters must also pay to get their hunting license. The money they spend for their licenses go back to the conservation of the environment. Finally, hunting also gets rid of unwanted pests. Several animals annoy farmers and other land owners by messing with the farmer’s crops. Animals will go through the fields and eat the crops that the farmers can go out of business because the crops aren’t plentiful or good enough. For this reason we need hunters because farmers wouldn’t be able to succeed and all of us would suffer because the less crops coming into the stores, the more money the stores are going to ask for the customers to pay for the product. So actually vegetarians depend on hunters. Most vegetarians buy their vegetables from local stores. Hunters get rid of the animals that would ruin the food vegetarians would buy. Many people think hunting is wrong simply because they don’t look at the benefits that come with hunting. Hunting has many benefits including feeding others, controlling wildlife population, and helping farmers get rid of unwanted pests. For most hunters, the reward isn’t killing animals, it’s knowing they helped people that may not be able to survive or succeed without them. That’s what boosts my passion to hunt.

Psychological disorders and physical illness Essay Example for Free

Psychological disorders and physical illness Essay Irrational fear of common things leads to their inability to cope with life because the things that they fear have to be faced everyday. The most common disorders include phobias, In the medical field, many factors are attributed to the various conditions that people experience. Although genetic and biological factors which constitute of the natural causes and the life experiences which are the nurture factors contribute to ones physical wellbeing, it is also possible that a majority of illnesses that people suffer from are brought about by psychological factors. Heart diseases, chronic headaches, insomnia, hypertension, ulcers, eating disorders among others are some of the diseases that can be caused by psychological factors (Stoudemire A. 1995). It has been established that when one’s stress levels are very high, it reduces the activity of the lymphocytes leading to an increased likelihood of illness (Sadock B J. , Kaplan H. I. Sadock V. A. ). A person suffering from a psychological disorder will most likely have feelings of helplessness in any given situation causing them to suffer even from common illnesses more than others will. To aid the patients suffering from these disorders, one can only recommend relaxation techniques while providing anti-depressants to control their response to life’s normal occurrences. A person with a disorder tends to react in a more intense manner than other would in similar situations. This causes an imbalance in their bodily functions leading to their contracting illnesses that would have otherwise been avoided. It also affects their chances of getting better from any other illness that they may be suffering from. The disorders include anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorders and panic (Ketterer M. W. , Mahr G`. Goldberg A. D. ). These render a person powerless against their fears and in the process affect their wellbeing.

Comparison of Gender Wage Gap in Japan and Germany

Comparison of Gender Wage Gap in Japan and Germany In all of the advanced capitalist nations women were experiencing the contradictions of an education which seemed to promise self-fulfilment, and a labour market based on inequalities of class and gender (Brinton, 1993, as cited in Threlfall, 1996, p. 270). This statement has been made more than fifteen years ago and indicated that women were not treated equally regarding work and pay. However, have circumstances changed since then? If yes, did they improve or worsen and to which extend? The aim of this paper is to analyse the existence of a gender wage gap in Japan and Germany and to evaluate possible reasons for it. Furthermore, an outlook for the future will be given at the end. 2. Gender Wage Gap in Japan The Japanese law system is regulated by the Japanese Standards Labour Law which was enacted after World War II in 1947. This Japanese Standards Labour Law contained a clause which should protect working women. In reality, this clause prevented women from working excessive overtime and during nights (Sama and Papamarcos, 2000). This is why women could not climb up the greasy pole. Furthermore, this law prohibited that women were treated differently on the basis of sex (Threlfall, 1996). On top of this, as stated by Threlfall (1996), the Standards Labour Law covered only equal wages but not promotion or retirement. During this time, employers could be sued for discrimination, but this was an expensive and time-consuming act as each case had to be dealt with separately. Additionally, many companies circumvented the danger of lawsuits by new grading of job titles (Threlfall, 1996). This changed in 1986 when the Equal Employment Opportunity Law (EEOL) was passed (Sama and Papamarcos, 2000 ). This law encouraged companies in Japan to treat employees equally in all aspects like wages, promotion, recruitment and hiring (Threlfall, 1996). Unfortunately, the EEOL contained no penalties for continuing discrimination and also its amendment, which was enacted in 1999, did not really improve the inequalities regarding wage and promotion between men and women (Sama and Papamarcos, 2000). Figure 1 clarifies these important labour laws in Japan. Japanese Labour Standards Law of 1947 Contained protective clause for working women. Came under scrutiny in 1970s as a possible deterrent to womens career advancement. Equal Employment Opportunity Law (EEOL) of 1986 Enacted in 1987, the EEOL called for equal pay for equal work. No penalties for violators. Employers asked only to make a good effort. June 1997 Amendment to the EEOL Enacted in 1999, the amendment lifted restrictions on midnight, holiday, and overtime work by women in effect since the 1947 Labor Standards Law. Further stiffened warnings against companies found in violation of the EEOL. No penalties attached. According to Selmer (2001), the Japanese wage system is based on seniority (pp. 236-237). This indicates that promotion and pay rise are automatic and no subject to job duties or merit (Selmer, 2001). That means that employees get promotion and pay rise when they reach certain age levels. The gender wage gap is measured as the median wage of men minus the median wage of women, expressed as a proportion of the median wage of men (Evans, 2002, p. 191). As stated by the World Economic Forum (2005), no country has yet managed to eliminate the gender gap (p. 1). According to OECD (2007), the womens medium wage in Japan is two thirds of that received by men. This represents twice the OECD average. Figure 2 displays the gender wage gap of several countries. Blau and Kahn (2003) stated that the gender wage gap in Japan is up to 85% (as cited in Johnes and Tanaka, 2006). This means that women earn up to 85% less than men. Recent sources indicated a gender wage gap of 65.9% for 2007 (Japanese Institute for Labour Policy and Training, 2008). The differences in the gender wage gap are subject to different data used for analysis. Some calculations include part-time workers, which are mainly female and others base their calculations on full-time employees only. As already stated above, Japanese firms discriminate on the grounds of gender when paying employees. This chapter evaluates several reasons for the gender wage gap in Japan. First of all, many workers in Japan get a lifetime employment contract (Ishii, 2000). Japanese firms make huge investments in employee training and that is why they want their employees to stay as long with the company as possible. Therefore, the duration of attachment to a firm plays an important role when negotiating wages. As it is most often foreseeable that women will not stay with one company for their whole life, because they want to start a family one day, they pretty much never get a lifetime contract (Ishii, 2000). Therefore, as stated by Ihsii (2000), companies make no investment in human capital when they employ women as they think they will not benefit in the future from this investment as women sooner or later leave the company. The second reason for the gender wage gap is based on different experiences. Miyoshi (2007) argued that there is no gender pay gap when people are employed directly after school, college or university. But when employees accumulate work experience, the wage gap enlarges. Miyoshi (2007) explains this fact by referring to the full-time work experience and seniority. The more full-time work experience an employee has, the more valuable he is. As women often have less work experience because of child-raising obligations and only part-time jobs, the get less money and less promotion than their male counterpart. Different characteristics of workers represent the third reason for the gender wage gap in Japan. Johnes and Tanaka (2006) explained that different characteristics like age, work experience, education and duration of work are one reason for the gender pay gap in Japan. They agree with Miyoshi when stating that differences in work experience are the reason for pay inequalities, but they extend the argument by adding other characteristics like age and education. The greater part of the gender wage gap in Japan can be explained by referring to the reasons stated above. However, there is also a smaller part of the earnings gap that can not be explained. According to Kawaguchi (2006), this part can be attributed to sex discrimination. 4. Gender Wage Gap in Germany Regarding German law, article 3 paragraph 2 of the German Constitution of 1949 states that men and women have equal rights (Maier, 2007). Furthermore, paragraph 3 states that no one should be discriminated on the grounds of gender. This right for equal treatment and payment was not practiced in reality as special wage groups for women were allowed in collective agreements until 1955 (Maier, 2007). Furthermore, Maier (2007) stated that most employees in Germany are paid according to these collective agreements, although the coverage is declining (p. 11). In 1980, a new paragraph was added to the German Constitution which demanded equal pay for work of equal value (Winter, 1998). But this amendment brought no chance. Later, in 2006, the General Equal Treatment Act was passed and paragraph 7 prohibited unequal treatment within any employment relationship (Maier, 2007, p. 18). This law stated that lower wages for women are not justified if they are based on gender. Unfortunately, German law still lacks legal measures to control the implementation of equal wage principles. Furthermore, Maier (2007) stated that it is not easy for women to claim their right for equal pay. Class actions are not allowed and thus, all women must bring their individual claim to court. As this is often an expensive and time-consuming process, many plaintiffs refrain from filing a suit (Maier, 2007). That is why Germany has a significant high gender wage gap, although the German government has a female chancellor (Plass, 2008). In reality, as stated by Plass (2008), Germany has one of the highest gender pay gaps on the European continent. Furthermore, more than 90 percent of all working women are discriminated and earn between 80 and 210 cents less per hour (Gradà ­n, del Rà ­o and Cantà ³, 2006). Legal norms for equal pay in Germany are displayed in figure 3. According to the German government statistics bureau, Destatis, working women in Germany earned 24 percent less than men in 2006 (as cited in Plass, 2008). As stated by Maier (2007), this number has been reduced to 22 percent in 2007. Whereas the average difference in pay is 15 percent in the European Union (Spiegel Online International, 2008). 5. Reasons for the Gender Wage Gap in Germany Several reasons contribute to the large gender wage gap in Germany. First of all, as mentioned by Lauer (n.d.), women often do not possess the same education and skills as men do. Employers who place value on these exact skills are likely to pay women less in order to compensate the lack of skills and knowledge. Furthermore, Lauer (n.d.) also mentioned that skills and knowledge may be rewarded differently between men and women. Meaning that women with the same educational background and knowledge will earn less because these identical skills are not rewarded the same way by the employer. In addition, Maier (2007) identified the lack of legal barriers against low wages as a reason for the gender pay differences in Germany. As there exists no general minimum wage in Germany, and as the country has almost three million unemployed persons (Bundesagentur fà ¼r Arbeit, 2008), it is easy for employers to fill a low-paid vacancy. Furthermore, Lauer (n.d.) identified occupational crowding of women in low paid occupations as another source for earning inequalities between men and women in Germany. There is also the fact that there is a low proportion of working women in highly paid positions (Maier, 2007). Concluding, Maier (2007) stated that factors like age, education and work experience present only a very unimportant reason for wage discrimination. Again, the unexplained part of the gender wage gap can be attributed to discrimination based on gender (Lauer, n.d.). 6. Similarities and Differences between Japan and Germany After analyzing the gender wage gap in Japan and Germany and its reasons, several similarities as well as differences can be pointed out. First of all, there is a significant high gender wage gap in both countries, although the difference in earnings is higher in Japan with around 35 percent compared to Germany with about 22 percent (Maier, 2007). Nevertheless, the German earnings gap is 7 percent higher than the European Union average (Spiegel Online International, 2008). Both countries put emphasis on the characteristics of employees. Age, work experience and education are important when negotiating wages. As women often have less education or work experience than men (Lauer, n.d.), they get paid less than their male counterpart. Furthermore, part of the gender wage gap in both countries is an unexplained part which can be attributed to gender discrimination (Kawaguchi, 2006; Lauer, n.d.). Differences between the two countries can be found in the fact that Japanese employers discriminate when investing in human capital. Due to the Japanese lifetime employment, many employers consider rather carefully whether to employ women or not. As it is obvious to them that women will leave the company some day for child-raising duties, they will thereby take away the human capital in which the company invested. 7. Conclusion Even if both countries enacted laws in the 80ies which should ensure equal pay for work of equal value, there is still a significant gender wage gap observable. Japan as well as Germany managed during the last to decades to narrow this gap, but this happened probably just because of the new laws which were enforced. When looking ahead, both countries will probably have a different future. Japan will stick to its lifetime employment system (Kato, 2001) and thereby will keep the earnings gap between men and women stable. The fact that more and more Japanese women decide to pursue their careers can possibly help in narrowing the gender pay gap (Fackler, 2007). Germany is likely to increase the gender pay gap as the coverage of collective agreements, which set equal wages for men and women, is declining (Maier, 2007). Furthermore, as long as there is no support from the government to implement the right for equal money for work of equal value, the gender wage gap will not be narrowed. 8. Bibliography , Blau, F. and Kahn, L. (2003). Understanding international differences in the gender pay gap. Journal of Labor Economics. Vol. 21, pp. 106-144. Brinton, M. (1993). Women and the economic miracle: gender and work in post-war Japan. Berkeley: Calif. Bundesagentur fà ¼r Arbeit (2008). Der Arbeits- und Ausbildungsmarkt in Deutschland (The work and education market in Germany) [online]. Available at: URL: http://www.pub. arbeitsamt.de/hst/services/statistik/000000/html/start/monat/ aktuell.pdf [Accessed 6 January 2009]. Evans, J. (2002). work/family reconciliation, gender wage equity and occupational segregation: the role of rims and public policy [online]. Available at: URL: http://economics.ca/cgi/jab?journal= cppview=v28s1/CPPv28s1p187.pdf [Accessed 16 December 2008]. Fackler, M. (2007). Career women in Japan find a blocked path. The New York Times, [online]. Available at: URL: http://www. nytimes.com/2007/08/06/world/asia/06equal.html [Accessed 6 January 2009]. Gradà ­n, C., del Rà ­o, C. and Cantà ³, O. (2006). Poverty and womens labor market activity: the role of gender wage discrimination in the EU [online]. Available at: URL: http://www.ecineq.org/milano/ WP/ECINEQ2006-40.pdf [Accessed 6 January 2009]. Ishii, H. (2000). Occupational segregation and the gender wage gap in Japan [online]. Available at: URL: http://www.kli.re.kr/ iira2004/pro/papers/HisakoISHII.pdf [Accessed 05 January 2009]. Japanese Institute for Labour Policy and Training (2008). Wages and labour costs [online]. Available at: URL: http://www.jil.go. jp/english/estatis/databook/2008/05.htm [Accessed 05 January 2009]. Johnes, G. and Tanaka, Y. (2006). Changes in gender wage discrimination in the 1990s: a tale of three different economies. Japan and the World Economy. Vol. 20, pp. 97-113. Kato, T. (2001). The end of lifetime employment in Japan?: evidence from national surveys and field research. Journal of the Japanese and International Economies. Vol. 15, pp. 489-514. Kawaguchi, D. (2006). A market test for sex discrimination: evidence from Japanese firm-level panel data. International Journal of Industrial Organization. Vol. 25, pp. 441-460. Lauer, C. (n.d.). Gender wage gap in West Germany: how far do gender differences in human capital matter? [online]. Available at: URL: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=217651 [Accessed 6 January 2009]. Maier, F. (2007). The persistence of the gender wage gap in Germany [online]. Available at: URL: http://www.harriet-taylor-mill.de/pdfs/discuss/Discussion%20Paper%2001%202007.pdf [Accessed 29 December 2008]. Miyoshi, K. (2007). Male-female wage differentials in Japan. Japan and the World Economy. Vol. 20, pp. 479-496. OECD (2007). Highlights Japan [online]. Available at: URL: http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/20/20/39696303.pdf [Accessed 29 December 2008]. Plass, S. (2008). German women struggle with gender wage gap. International Herald Tribune, [online]. Available at: URL: http:// www.iht.com/articles/2008/08/28/business/women.php?page=1 [Accessed 31 December 2008]. Sama, L. and Papamarcos, S. (2000). Cultures consequences for working women in corporate America and Japan, Ind.. Cross Cultural Management An International Journal. Vol. 7, No. 2, pp. 18-29. Selmer, J. (2001). Human resource management in Japan. International Journal of Manpower. Vol. 22, No. 3, pp. 235-243. Spiegel Online International (2008). German women earn a fifth less than men. Spiegel Online International, [online]. Available at: URL: http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518, 558526,00.html [Accessed 31 December 2008]. Threlfall, M. (1996). Mapping the womens movement. London: Verso. Winter, R. (1998). Gleiches Entgelt fà ¼r gleichwertige Arbeit: Ein Prinzip ohne Praxis (Equal pay for work of equal value: a principle without practice.). Baden-Baden. World Economic Forum (2005). Womens empowerment: measuring the global gender gap [online]. Available at: URL: http://www.weforum.org/pdf/Global_Competitiveness_Reports/Reports/gender_gap.pdf [Accessed 30 December 2008].

The Character of Sméagol in Tolkiens The Lord of the Rings Essay

The Character of Smà ©agol in Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings      Ã‚   Although JRR Tolkien is notorious for his numerous, and often seemingly irrelevant, minor characters - the necessity of an index of names in The Return of the King proves this without a doubt - one of the most crucial and fascinating characters of The Lord of the Rings physically appears in barely more than one-sixth of the novel. The character Smà ©agol, often referred to by his alter ego Gollum, on a basic level serves only to guide Frodo and Sam to Mordor, as well as to destroy the Ring when Frodo cannot. However, in the course of doing so, we are revealed, hint by hint, of the enigmatic and contradictory character who "hates the Ring and loves the Ring - just as he hates and loves himself" (Sibley 170). In The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien uses the character Smà ©agol, forged from a collection of historical and historically mythological tales, as a foil for the central hero Frodo Baggins as well as the Christian example of hope, despite the powerful corru ption of evil.    Tolkien, Oxford's Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon, was an avid fan of history; the ancient past of his beloved Europe fascinated him to such a degree that it is little wonder the history of Middle-Earth mirrors our own. Smà ©agol's lust for, reverence to, and even fear of the One Ring bases its roots, most especially, in the ancient practice of Dactyliomancy, or the use of rings for divination and magic. In the first century AD, Apollonius of Tyana, a major figure in the Gnostic religion and early alchemy, received seven rings from the Brahman Indian prince Iarchus, which he believed gave him healing powers if he would "[revere] them as divine... and... ...ous power of evil, but the everlasting, and far greater, power of good.    Works Cited Bruner, Kurt, and Jim Ware. Finding God in The Lord of the Rings. Illinois: Tyndale House, Publishers Inc, 2001. 69, 89. Chance, Jane. The Lord of the Rings: The Mythology of Power. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1992. 34, 102. Day, David. Tolkien's Ring. New York: Barnes and Noble Books, 1999. 22-23, 50-51, 88, 154. Sibley, Brian. The Lord of the Rings: The Making of the Movie Trilogy. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2002. 170, 171. Tolkien, JRR. The Letters of JRR Tolkien. Ed. Humphrey Carpenter. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1981. 330. - - - . The Lord of the Rings. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1993. 68, 643, 659, 979. Tyler, JEA. The Tolkien Companion. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1976. 446, 454.

New Casts :: essays research papers

News Casts: Is there more than meets the Eye? In today’s world, people rely on different things to inform them of what is happening in society. One of the main ways of receiving the news is by TV. People can tune in at various times during the day and watch a news cast. These news segments vary from a half-hour to a full hour showing. For instance, one might not be interested in the news one day. But before the showing of Channel 31 “Action News'; is to be aired the news shows a little snippet of a very interesting story. This might catch one’s attention and decide to watch just that one story. Now they have you hooked because the very interesting story that you want to watch is going to be shown at the end of the segment. One might have to sit through all the commercials and the other stories just to get to the one story that interests them. These are some of the certain tricks to draw and keep their viewers tuned in. One of the tricks that are use is called “Teasers';. A teaser does exactly what it’s called. The news show’s a snippet of the up coming segment. This snippet is usually of an interesting and exciting story. The snippet is the tease. The news is like fishing. The new anchors are the fishermen or women. The viewers are the fish. The new anchors use these teasers as bait to reel in the viewers. This snippet is showed before the sitcom before the news is over. This way people watching the sitcom might get interested to stay and watch the news cast. Another trick is similar to the teaser. That trick is called the Bumper. The bumpers are used like the teaser, except they are shown during the news and right before commercials. The bumpers are intend to keep you interested enough so the viewer will sit through the commercials to watch the rest of the news. Also there are bumpers at the end of the news program. Those are trying to get you to tune into the next airing of the news. According to Postman and Powers from “How to watch TV news'; if the news programmers had their way people would be watching a steady diet of news programs, one right after the other. The News anchors are the ones that deliver the bumpers.