Myths: Education and Family

Interpreting and understanding myths depend on an individual’s personal views, beliefs, and ideas. With that in mind, the myth regarding the nuclear family and the myth of education and empowerment are all interpreted differently and argued, for and against, in many ways. Both have been perceived negatively by society, yet they have not always been a harmful folktale. Rather, the myth that education can improve someone’s life has been used, year after year, to motivate the youth in order to improve their own personal lifestyle.The myth of the nuclear family has also been used over and over again by the media as a prospective goal for everyone who wants to start a family. Although the passing of time has changed the perception of both myths throughout our society, to many, including myself, these myths continue to provide hope for a better life and a traditional family. Imposing the myth of the ideal family, which the media depicts as white, semi-rich and happy with â₠¬Å"†¦no rifts†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Soto 29) is what negatively impacts society because no one should set a standard on what a family should be like.As a result of this misconception, the ideal family has become the ultimate goal for couples who want the best for their children. Take Gary Soto’s â€Å"Looking for Work,† and picture an eight year old Mexican-American boy, who felt the need to change his family because he wanted them to act like the white families portrayed in television shows, like Leave it to Beaver. Why do these individuals have the need to create â€Å"the perfect family† portrayed by the media?According to Soto, as a child, he â€Å"†¦tried to convince [his family] that if [they] improved the way [they] looked [they] might get along better in life†¦ White people would like [them] more†¦ [White people] might not hate [them] so much† (30). Although the myth of the family has been attributed negative qualities because it crea tes a false sense of reality, it has, for many years, been the underlying reason why couples start a family of their own.For instance, if a couple could not decide on the number of children, they could turn to the myth and consider starting with two because the myth implies that an ideal family consists of â€Å"†¦Dad, Mom, a couple of kids, maybe a dog, [living in] a spacious suburban home†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Colombo et al. 18). Even though society has accepted the meaning of family to be between a man and a woman, moreover, it is evident that in the America of today there are families composed of same-sex couples. The myth however, was not created to incorporate same-sex couples as part of the efinition, as it is explicitly described in page 18 of â€Å"Harmony at Home:† †¦the traditional vision of the ideal nuclear family-Dad, Mom†¦remains surprisingly strong. †This myth has become so ingrained in society that even after the idea of the nuclear family stil l receives extensive support. Even the famous archaeologist, Margaret Mead, commented on the belief of the ideal nuclear family â€Å"As far back as our knowledge takes us, human beings have lived in families. We know of no period where this was not so.We know of no people who have succeeded for long in dissolving the family or displacing it†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (New World Encyclopedia). Similar to the myth of the nuclear family, the myth of education and empowerment introduces two different sides of the spectrum- the idea that education is not for everyone, as seen by John Taylor Gatto in â€Å"Against School,† and the idea that education does improve someone’s life, as seen by Malcolm X in â€Å"Learning to Read. † The literal interpretation of the myth shows education as a symbol of success and as the gateway to fulfill the American dream (Colombo et al. 11). Education, moreover, has not always been perceived negatively by society because to many people education r epresents social mobility and a shot for a better life. While there may be some frustration with the educational system, education, according to the myth, will always serve those who seek to better their lives and who want to be someone in life, as long they are not limited to the quality of education offered. However, the reality is that minorities have continuously faced obstacles that impeded them from receiving a high-quality education.For instance, if an individual comes from an affluent household, then as students they are more likely to receive a better educational foundation than an individual who goes to a lower or middle class school (Anyon 173). As a result of Jean Anyon’s findings, it is evident that social class plays a prominent role to the type of education that a student receives especially if â€Å"knowledge of skills leading to social power and regard (medical, legal, managerial) are made available to the advantaged social groups but are withheld from worki ng classes, to whom a more practical curriculum is offered (manual skills, clerical knowledge)† (170).But what if we, as a society, had followed what President John F. Kennedy mentioned in his 1960 senatorial speech that â€Å"†¦ we [need] to rededicate ourselves to the principle of equal educational opportunity for all regardless of race, place of birth, or wealth. † Our society would be improved greatly, and the educational knowledge would be dispersed equally amongst all of the citizens; no one would be given a better education because everyone would receive the same quality.The significance that the education and empowerment myth has in society is that one: people who believe in education are more likely to finish their schooling because it symbolizes an achievement and because it emphasizes the credibility of what the United States represents-freedom, happiness, and success. Secondly, if an individual like Gatto believes that education is a waste of time (148) , then people will become discouraged and therefore there is a higher probability that these individuals will â€Å"fail† to fulfill the American Dream.The reason I am generalizing this concept and associating failure with not finishing high school or college, is because of the way that I grew up and the sacrifices that my parents had to endure in order for all their children to have the best education possible; to my parents, not finishing school is like giving up in life, and throwing all their sacrifices down the trash chute.Lastly, the belief that education brings you power and offers you an open door for a better life, has impacted society, because as the country progressed into the new era way before the revolutions that this country had to endure, such as the Civil Rights Movement and women’s suffrage, education was not opened to everyone. As time went by and people fought for their liberties, education became a universal liberty, rather than a right given to se lected individuals. All in all, the myth of the nuclear family and the myth of education and empowerment have not always been interpreted as negative ideas by society.They may have been by a few people, but the feeling was not mutually shared by everyone. Both myths served as motivational ideas that influenced people like Gary Soto and Malcolm X, to have the desire to try new things, even if what Soto wanted to try could have change his family completely; and the things Malcolm X wanted to experience, improved his capacity to learn and educate himself. Although, the myth of the nuclear family has not changed because it has not accepted same-sex couples, the myth of education and empowerment has changed with respect to who it is being applied to.In other words, the interpretation of the myth will vary with people from different backgrounds. For instance, to a Mexican like me, education is a gateway to a better life. To a Chinese person, education represents honor and recognition from his or her family. Lastly, the myths of education and the nuclear family gives us, the citizens of the United States, hope for a better life or a perfect family, depending on one’s respective point of view. Works Cited Anyon, Jean. â€Å"Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work. 1980. Rereading America: Cultural Contexts for Critical Thinking and Writing. By Gary Colombo, Robert Cullen, and Bonnie Lisle. Vol. 162. Boston: Bedford of St. Martin's, 2010. 169-85. Print. First appeared in the Journal of Education. Colombo, Gary, Robert Cullen, and Bonnie Lisle. â€Å"Harmony at Home: The Myth of the Model Family. † Introduction. Rereading America: Cultural Contexts for Critical Thinking and Writing. Boston: Bedford of St. Martin's, 2010. 17-21. Print. Colombo, Gary, Robert Cullen, and Bonnie Lisle. Learning Power: The Myth of Education and Empowerment. † Introduction. Rereading America: Cultural Contexts for Critical Thinking and Writing. Boston: Bedford of S t. Martin's, 2010. 109-15. Print. Colombo, Gary, Robert Cullen, and Bonnie Lisle. Rereading America: Cultural Contexts for Critical Thinking and Writing. Boston: Bedford of St. Martin's, 2010. Print. Gatto, John Taylor. Against School. 2003. Rereading America: Cultural Contexts for Critical Thinking and Writing. By Gary Colombo, Robert Cullen, and Bonnie Lisle.Boston: Bedford of St. Martin's, 2010. 148-55. Print. This selection originally appeared in Harper's magazine. John F. Kennedy:  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Speech by Senator John F. Kennedy, Beverly Hilton Hotel, Los Angeles, CA – (Advance Release Text),† November 2, 1960. Web. 22 Oct 2012. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley,  The American Presidency Project. http://www. presidency. ucsb. edu/ws/? pid=25930. Marriage Equality USA. Prop 8 Hurt My Family – Ask Me How. 2009. Rereading America: Cultural Contexts for Critical Thinking and Writing.By Gary Colombo, Robert Cullen, and Bonnie Lisle. Boston: Bedford of St. Martin's, 2010. 84-88. Print. New World Encyclopedia. â€Å"Margaret Mead. †Ã‚  New World Encyclopedia. New World Encyclopedia, 16 Nov. 2011. Web. 22 Oct. 2012. ;http://www. newworldencyclopedia. org/entry/Margaret_Mead;. Soto, Gary. â€Å"Looking for Work. †Ã‚  Rereading America: Cultural Contexts for Critical Thinking and Writing. By Gary Colombo, Robert Cullen, and Bonnie Lisle. Boston: Bedford of St. Martin's, 2010. 26-31. Print.

Cultural Diversity in Afghanistan Essay

Afghanistan is an Islamic country. It is divided into different regions where people manifest their own culture and beliefs. Though Afghans dwell in same country yet they practiced different cultures because of their regions’ location and tradition. What is applied to a certain region of Afghanistan may not be applicable to the other regions of the country. This would only show that there is a cultural diversity amongst regions of Afghanistan. Moreover, Afghanistan is located in south-central Asia. The encyclopedia of Islam stated that: Afghanistan has borne that name only since the middle of the 18th century, when the supremacy of the Afghan race (Pashtuns) became assured: previously various districts bore distinct appellations, but the country was not a definite political unit, and its component parts were not bound together by any identity of race or language. The earlier meaning of the word was simply â€Å"the land of the Afghans†, a limited territory which did not include many parts of the present state but did comprise large districts now either independent or within the boundary of Pakistan† (see â€Å"Afghanistan†. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. November 15, 2006). The northern part of the country is bordered by the Soviet Union and on the northeast; it is bordered by China and Kashmir, on the west side is bordered by Iran and on the east and south it is bordered by Pakistan. Every citizen of the country is called as Afghan though the country is composed of various ethnic groups. One of these ethnic groups is the Pashtun (it is also be spelled as Pakhtun, Pathan, Pushtun, and Pukhtun) which makes up about 60 percent of the population. They are from the Caucasian origin and dwelt in Afghanistan in not less than 1, 3000 year. Normally, they are recognized and acknowledged as the â€Å"true Afghans†. Pashtuns are separated into numerous tribes and sub-tribes, followed an ancient code of conduct called as Pashtunwali. The second most populated group is the Tajik, who were also come from the Caucasian origin (see â€Å"Afghanistan†. New Standard Encyclopedia. Volume 1, Pp. A-91, A-93, 94). The intent of this paper is to describe the different cultures in Afghanistan. II. Discussion As I have mentioned earlier, there are two ethnic groups who dwelt in Afghanistan. These groups practiced different cultures. Moreover, different cultures are practiced in Afghanistan because there are numerous ethnic groups that are smaller in number who are scattered throughout the country. Nuristanis is another ethnic group of Afghnistan. They dwell in the secluded mountains of the northeast of Kabul, near the Pakistan border. The Nuristanis claimed that they are the descendants of Alexander the Great. Before they were converted into Islam, Nuristanis had statue of wooden idols and ancestral images sculpted by them and these are well-preserved in the Kabul Museum. Several of these were possibly used to venerate dead ancestors and used in healing rituals or ceremonials (see â€Å"Other Minority Ethnic Groups in Afghanistan†. 2002). Moreover, life in the Afghan home is upholding high values because they really defined the roles of the men and women. These roles are very different from any culture around the world. The women’s lives only revolve in their home and to their children; thus, this practice is in line with their Muslim beliefs. Starting from late 1950s, the urban women who belonged in a well-off family were allowed to find their work far from their homeland and had opportunity to study on higher education. But these privileges were not enjoyed by all women because women who dwelt in the rural areas or amongst nomadic tribes are not given these opportunities. Everyday, Afghan women supply their families with two meals, together with snacks. Their traditional meals are pilau which has meat or vegetables, poultry or wild game kebabas, mutton, yogurt, hot soup and nan which a flat bread. In addition, Afghan has different ways when they engage in marriage. A man and a woman are united in marriage through an agreement made by both parents by settling financial commitments or also called as the â€Å"marketplace† or â€Å"dowry†. In their culture, marriage is considered as a deal between families not just by individuals and it includes financial commitments on both families. The groom will give a dowry to the family of the bride. The dowry comprises of decorative and functional items that are necessary for establishing a household. It comprises goods like beddings, utensils, clothing, jewelry, fans and hangings. The men who attend the weddings are given presents like embroidered handkerchiefs or turban caps. The process in assembling a dowry involves a long period of time and much effort and it is usually started while the girl is still young. The relatives of the females help in the wedding preparations (see â€Å"Afghanistan†). III. Conclusion Truly, the cultures in Afghanistan are one of a kind. Afghan women are just like precious stones because they are well taken care by their parents. During in their younger years, parents set an arrange marriage for their daughter and ask for a dowry to the male’s side. References 1. â€Å"Afghanistan†. New Standard Encyclopedia. Volume 1, Pp. A-91, A-93, 94. 2. â€Å"Other Minority Ethnic Groups in Afghanistan†. 2002. http://www. afghan- network. net/Ethnic-Groups/other-groups. html 3. â€Å"Afghanistan†. http://146. 186. 95. 23/mat_mus/Tour/t_afghan. htm 4. â€Å"Afghanistan†. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. November 15, 2006. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Afghanistan#_note-4

Ermogenous V Greek Orthodox Community of Sa Inc. [2002] Essay

1. CITATION. Ermogenous v Greek Orthodox Community of SA Inc. [2002] HCA 8; 209 CLR 95; 76 ALJR 465; 187 ALR 92 (7 March 2002) 2. COURT. HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA FULL COURT GAUDRON, McHUGH, KIRBY, HAYNE and CALLINAN JJ ERMOGENOUS, Spyridon APPELLANT v GREEK ORTHODOX COMMUNITY OF SA INC RESPONDENT 3. BRIEF STATEMENT OF MATERIAL FACTS. [1] The appellant alleged that he had been employed by the respondent since 18 March 1970 but had not received any entitlements to annual leave or long service leave upon termination of his employment in December 1993. The Magistrate from the Industrial Relations Court of South Australia found in favour of the appellant in the first instance but the Supreme Court of South Australia overturned the Industrial Magistrates ruling at the first appeal. It has been re-appealed to the Full Court of the High Court of Australia. 4. PROCEDURAL HISTORY. South Australia Industrial Relations Court [2] The case was first brought to the South Australia Industrial Relations Court and was heard by the Industrial Magistrate. The Magistrate found in favour of the appellant stating that the appellant had been employed under a contract of employment by the respondent for 23 years. [3] The respondent’s statement that there in fact was no contract of employment was rejected on the grounds that the appellant was recruited from America for the purpose of appointment as Archbishop and the role as head of the Australian autocephalous church. He met with â€Å"members of the committee of management of the South Australian Community† and at such a time an agreement was reached that he â€Å"would be paid similarly to the priest† and would be referred to as one of the â€Å"employees†. [4] Further evidence of the existence of legal relations between the parties was the respondent’s actions. The respondent deducted tax from the appellant’s salary, which was then forwarded to the Australian Tax Office (ATO). The respondent also provided evidence in the form of certificates stating the existence of an employer relationship to  the appellant, who was the employee. Supreme Court of South Australia [5] The decision of the Industrial Court was appealed to the Supreme Court of South Australia whereupon the case was heard by Doyle CJ and Bleby J. It was proposed that the presence of intention to enter into contractual relations should not be presumed, particularly when considering â€Å"remuneration and maintenance and support of a minister of religion†. [6] The Supreme Court reconsidered the Industrial Magistrates ruling that the parties had entered legal relations and had shown intention to do so. [7] His Honour Doyle CJ stated that â€Å"it is important to bear in mind that the [respondent] is not a church, in which the [appellant] held a clerical office†¦ The [respondent] is a body that fosters Greek culture in South Australia in the broadest sense†. He later went on to say â€Å"[i]n considering the inference to be drawn from the discussions in Adelaide, it is also relevant that the [appellant] was not providing services to the [respondent], but to members of the local Greek Orthodox Church†. 5. GROUNDS FOR APPEAL AND/OR ISSUES TO BE DECIDED. [8] Four issues were raised as the grounds for appeal. The first being whether the Full Court of the Supreme Court of South Australia had erred in any way in their decision that the Magistrate of the Industrial Relations Court of South Australia failed in considering if enforceable contractual relations had actually been entered into by the parties. [9] Secondly, relevant upon a negative decision of the first issue, whether the Supreme Court failed to consider the Industrial Magistrate’s reasons for deciding in regards to the issue of intention to create legal relations. [10] The third issue brought to the attention of the court was whether the Industrial Magistrate erred in his reasoning that enforceable contractual relations had been entered into by the parties on the consideration of the spiritual profession of one, or both, of the parties. [11] The final issue raised in the grounds of appeal was whether the Industrial Magistrate was correct in concluding that the parties h ad indeed entered into a contractual relation, being a contract of employment. 6. SUMMARY OF COURT’S ANALYSIS OF LAW. [12] The Court agreed with the Industrial Magistrate’s rejection of the proposition â€Å"that the relationship of a minister of religion to those who  provided for the minister’s necessities of life was, of its nature, incompatible with a contract of employment†. [13] As mentioned in Intention & Privity (2007), â€Å"discerning intention warrants intricate analysis of the facts – intention cannot be presumed purely based on the context or type of the agreement†. Similarly, the court considered the following matters: What was the subject matter of the agreement? What was the status of each party to the formation of the agreement? And, what was the relationship the parties held to each other? [14] The Archbishop was successful in establishing a ‘meeting of the minds’ during the initial talks and negotiations held in Adelaide in 1970 and as a result the Court found in favour of the appellant and that a contract of employment had been en tered into between the parties and further was enforceable by law. 7. PRINCIPLE OF LAW TO BE APPLIED. [15] The principle of law to be applied to the case is ‘intention to create legal relations’ and whether relationships involving the basis of religion would have an effect on the existence of a contractual relationship. [16] Their Honours made note that â€Å"it is said that it may be presumed that there are some â€Å"family arrangements† which are not intended to give rise to legal obligations and it was said in this case that it should not be presumed that there was an intention to create legal relations because it was a matter concerning the engagement of a minister of religion. For our part, we doubt the utility of using the language of presumptions in this context. †¦ Reference to presumptions may serve only to distract attention from that more basic and important proposition.† 8. DESCRIPTION OF HOW LAW APPLIED TO THE FACTS. [17] The character of the employment arrangement is continuously evolving, but in this case, their Honours interpreted the respondent’s actions: the respondent arranged to have income tax deducted from the appellant’s salary as well as issuing to the appellant cheques for travel and a variety of other incurred expenses. It was then reasonable to conclude that both parties had in fact entered into contractual relations of an employment nature which is enforceable at law. 9. DECISION. [18] The case was found in favour of the appellant with the first issue raised being decided in the affirmative, leaving the second issue non-existent as it does not arise. The decision of the third issue was negative. The fourth issue was remitted back to the Supreme Court for decision under the Full Court. 10. ORDER MADE BY THE COURT. [19] The appeal was allowed with costs and the issue of â€Å"[whether] the Industrial Magistrate correctly held that the relationship between the parties was regulated by a contract enforceable at law, it was, as he found, a contract characterised as a contract of employment†. Remit the matter to that Court for further hearing and determination conformably with the reasons of this Court. 11. SOCIAL OR CULTURAL CONTEXT. [20] Maria Keyes and Kylie Burns discussed the social context of the case in Contract and the Family: Whether Intention. They claim that â€Å"intention to create a contractually enforceable agreement is regarded as an immovable aspect of modern contract doctrine†. They continued to discuss the case in length, referring to the joint judgement given in the High Court: â€Å"The joint judgment recognised that the presumptions had been elevated to such an extent that they had become difficult, if not impossible, to rebut. Their Honours believed–correctly, in our view–that the presumptions of fact, which should merely signify where the onus of proof falls, had ossified into strict rules of law†. [21] Rogers CJ stated in Banque Brussels Lambert SA v Australian National Industries Ltd (1989) 21 NSWLR 502 that â€Å"[t]he whole thrust of the law today is to attempt to give proper effect to commercial transactions†¦. If the statements are appropriately promi ssory in character, courts should enforce them when they are uttered in the course of business and there is no clear indication that they are not intended to be legally enforceable†. ——————————————– [ 1 ]. (1997) 64 SAIR 622 at 651. [ 2 ]. (1997) 64 SAIR 622 at 651-652. [ 3 ]. [2000] SASC 329; (2000) 77 SASR 523 at 524-525 [4] per Doyle CJ, 575-576 [207] per Bleby J. [ 4 ]. (2000) 77 SASR 523 at 526 [9] [ 5 ]. (2000) 77 SASR 523 at 528 [17] [ 6 ]. [2002] HCA 8 at 56 [ 7 ]. 2007, Intention & Privity, The Future Role of Presumptions, StudentAtLaw [ 8 ]. (2002) 209 CLR 95 [ 9 ]. [2002] HCA 8 at 80 [ 10 ]. [2002] HCA 8 at 53 [ 11 ]. [2002] HCA 8 at 52 [ 12 ]. Keyes, Maria and Burns, Kylie 2002, Contract And The Family: Whether Intention? [ 13 ]. Keyes, Maria and Burns, Kylie 2002, Contract And The Family: Whether Intention? [ 14 ]. Banque Brussels Lambert SA v Australian National Industries Ltd (1989) 21 NSWLR 502, 523 and Keyes, Maria and Burns, Kylie 2002, Contract And The Family: Whether Intention?

Cultural Relativism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Cultural Relativism - Essay Example views of families who has common theme of central aspect of experience, evaluation, thought and reality which is relative to something else (Atran and Medin,46). In the video session, Rachel’s rejects cultural relativism since in his understanding, cultural relativism is similar to ethical relativism, which in turn leads to inability to criticize believes and practices of different societies (Atran and Medin,67). Despite the fact that relatives lines of thought a times leads to improbable conclusions, there is always something seductive about them, which has captivated wide range of thinkers from various traditions. The major philosophical issues of intellectual descendants of cultural relativism includes the multiculturalism which gives equal value for all cultures, racism which is a type of multiculturalism where individual has an erroneous idea about his or her race, political correctness, deconstructionism and postmodernisms. In the video summary of James Rachel, he explains the elements of moral philosophy by first defining the meaning of morality. He gives an example of baby Theresa who was born without auxiliary functions of her brain, the baby is left so that her organs can be used to help others, and this creates an argument that life is worthless without better interaction with each other. The other side argues that using other person’s life to fulfil the other is wrong and unethical (Atran and Medin, 98). Rachel also continues to explain that different cultures have unique customs and different ways of thinking. This shows that it would be very hard for a particular individual of one culture to understand these differences (Atran and Medin, 156). This makes it difficult to judge individual culture of living, the problem with this cultural relativism is that as an argument it does not make sense in universal truths of

Project Appraisal is Not an Exact Science. Critically Discuss Various Essay

Project Appraisal is Not an Exact Science. Critically Discuss Various Project Appraisal Techniques - Essay Example klist Model 7 Multi weighted scoring Models 8 Limitation of Multi weighted scoring Models 9 Conclusion 9 References 11 Introduction Project assessment is the combination of both the project evaluation and appraisal. Project appraisal concerns itself with advance assessment to determine whether the project is worth the investment channeled to it (Siriwardena 2011, p.205). After a company has carried out cost benefit analysis of a project, then it is in a position to decide on whether the project is to be implemented or rejected. Researchers have not yet identified the best techniques for project worth estimation. However, project appraisal techniques can help in deciding whether to accept or reject a project. The techniques can be broadly classified into three. The categories are such as, discounted, non-discounted and non-financial techniques. ... Over decades, NPV criticism has been based on its failure in considering the option of the managerial team of abandoning or extending a project. Thus, the NPV technique undermines the cash flow of a project true NPV (Pinches 1994, Van horne 1995). Through investment and financial interaction, decisions have been made by various expertises and NPV method has been adjusted. In that case, the new NPV equals to the NPV sum to equity and financial impacts present value (Myers 1974, Luehrman 1997). The major reason why net present value (NPV) and internal rate of return (IRR) provides recommendations that are conflicting is as a result of inherent reinvestment hypothesis based on NPV and IRR (Solomon 1956, Rensaw 1957). On the contrary, it is argued that, in IRR or NPV methodology, there exists no reinvestment rate implicit assumption (Dudley 1972, Biedleman 1984). Nevertheless, the authors write that, it is significant to come up with reinvestment rate explicit assumption when choosing be tween two or more competing projects. In recent years, a net present value generalized formula has been developed (Beaves 1998, 2003). The new formula accounts explicitly for projects reinvestment cash flows. In addition to that, rate of return is overall considered. However, the new formula is based on the assumption that, cash flows (net) experienced after null time get financed positively by inflows of cash flows (net). The inflow should occur subsequently to cash outflows time zero but before cash outflow next period. In summary, total initial outlay of a project largely depends on outlay net cash expected regardless the financing source. Net present value is considered more superior than internal rate of return (IRR). NPV utilizes reinvestment rate

Conflict resolution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Conflict resolution - Essay Example Employees can at times become under-motivated due to workload, stress, and not getting a raise. For example, if a worker at a company is making three to five orders a day, and then the manager raises the quota to ten orders a day, they will eventually become burned-out if the pace is sustained for too long. The employee may then react by brining their personal stresses and worries into work, in process of emotional contagion that reflects on the entire workplace. Workers who are burnt out are also more likely to give up projects. There are various coping strategies that employees who are stressed or burnt out can use to combat the problem of employee burn out on different levels of the organization. The professional requires a workplace that is free of emotional contagion, stress, and dissonance. And this is what Michael’s workplace seems to be trying to do with its employees by making more links between work, society, and the employee, as well as presenting a united front to management regarding goals of motivation and output. However, Michael needs to make a decision. â€Å"From what has been theorized and inferred, it is understandable that job insecurity is highly threatening to employees given the prospect of losing the positive material, social, and psychological benefits associated with employment (De Witte, 1999)† (Reisel, 2007). Long term plans for the situation in which Michael finds himself must focus on stress and coping in the employee environment. The case of Michael shows how often an environment in which an integrated approach to work can reduce conflict, and allow managers to better meet the needs of all of their employees, rather than just some of them. From one perspective, Michael could try performance-based rewards, if employees are not finding as much intrinsic rewards in their work as they could be. In other words, Michael should try offering

Starting up a new consultancy business for healthcare staffing in the Thesis Proposal

Starting up a new consultancy business for healthcare staffing in the US - Thesis Proposal Example The American government accords top priority to this industry as it is the backbone of the nation’s progress. The report by the Industrial College of Armed Forces, Washington, suggests that in the US, healthcare is one of the â€Å"largest and most fragmented industries,† comprising â€Å"600,000† service providers of different types of care and it also accounts for â€Å"14 million jobs† (Healthcare: An Industry Analysis and Strategic Recommendation for the Future: Final Report 4). Thus, healthcare industry has high relevance in this country in terms of the revenue it generates and employment opportunities it creates. However, the industry currently confronts a lot of issues especially in the context of shortage of healthcare staff and particularly of nurses. This problem may entail shortfall in providing care to the patients, which may adversely affect the performance and reputation of the healthcare organizations. Therefore, filling up the vacancy of st aff is one of the primary concerns of various hospitals as well as other healthcare service providers in the US. Viability and Prospects for a Healthcare HR Consultancy: The report by the Industrial College of Armed Forces, Washington, further finds that shortage of primary care physicians has prevailed in the country since long and â€Å"the number per 100,000 has increased from 118 in the year 2006 to 120 in 2010† (7). On the other hand, the report by Price Waterhouse Cooper’s Health Research Institute indicates that current trends predict the nurse shortage by 2020 to be ranging from â€Å"400.000 to more than 1 million† (What Works: Healing the Healthcare Staff Shortage 6). Therefore, various efforts are underway in an attempt to bridge the gap in demand and supply of doctors and nurses. Such efforts include â€Å"promotional campaigns, flexible work-study programs for advanced degrees and leadership interventions that promote the value of nursing and teach ing† (23). Thus, a positive environment exists currently in the country in terms of job opportunities for nurses, which offers favorable conditions for recruiting nurses from overseas countries. At this state, launching a consultancy service for the recruitment of doctors and nurses from countries such as India, Philippines and China as well as other countries will be an attractive business opportunity in the US. World View (Why it is Important in the World): Abundant Resources: ` Developing Asian countries, especially India, Philippines and China are good sources today for talent hunting, especially in the areas of nursing. These countries are emerging as the economic powers of the future and coupled with it, many developmental activities have been undertaken in these nations in the past. These include improvement in the areas of education and technology and thus these countries have achieved great progress recently. Thus, they have talented and skilled workforce with a good sense of dedication and commitment to the profession they choose. Data on CGFNS, which is a qualifying test for nurses before they write the NCLEX examination in the US, for the years 2000 – 2006, indicates that â€Å"51838† Philippines, â€Å"24242† Indian and â€Å"1020† Chinese nurses appeared for the examination, for seeking immigration to the US (Brush 21). Thus, these countries are good sources for recruiting nurses for addressing the shortage of nurses in the US. Positive Environment: In the post

Closing the Gap Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Closing the Gap - Article Example The management process entails the channel that duties, orders and chores pass from the highest individual in the company’s hierarchy to the junior staff in the organization (Saxena, 2009). According to economists, good management skills and ethics complete the production cycle. However, this only happens if there is an excellent open door communication channel between the superiors, seniors and juniors. Most of the successful giant businesses corporate have acquired their large market shares through formulation and implementation of competitive management strategies. According to the article, ‘good communication’ is a vital factor ensuring the success of a business. Communication is employed through vertical and horizontal communication. Channels of communication have played a big role in the formulation of strategic decisions. For a firm to implement its strategies there should be effective and efficient relay of information from the managers to the subordinate staff. Management should achieve this through suggestion boxes, memos and the open door communication. Teamwork is a very important principle of management that starts from leadership skills. It ensures division of labor that helps in inventory and bookkeeping. They help in the follow up of business transaction which in turn helps ensures the success of the business. Organization score also influences a business’ success. ... Critique According to most economists, employment of principles of management leads the achievement of the set firm’s goals and objectives (Saxena, 2009). However, critics have come up with their theories explains reasons as to why firms fail irrespective of the implementation of the principles of management. These critic theories include the following: According to the article, communication strategy is the most important strategy to the success of a business. However, communication is not always the answer. While done at some inappropriate levels, it may lead to the business failure. For example, when a manager relays critical information to the worker, if they are not specialized in their departments, the messages may be interpreted in the wrong manner. Language barriers may also pose a threat to the communication process. The junior staff may fall prey to altered or faulty information due to the hierarchy of bureaucracy in the organization. Firms need to employ competent a nd professional workers who will help in the communication, implementation and performance of the business. Teamwork is also a principle of management but due to various factors brought up by critics, it poses a threat to the business. This evident where bad leadership and management skills are present in a business’ operations. The senior leaders should set examples to their junior staff by being key team players and not joy riders whose main objective is to command and get a monthly pay. Greedy seniors who become traitors by providing competitors with sensitive information have been a threat to the success of most international firms. Remarkably, team involves both internal and external emotions of the employees. Differentiation in most business entities

The Storm of 1928 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Storm of 1928 - Essay Example The overwhelming number of dead bodies were just too much for the rescue team. With just a number of days the wetness and the sun that set the place made the bodies decay beyond recognition. Some of the bodies were burnt in the fire as there was nowhere the bodies could be taken for burial. This points to a lack of the preparation measures of such a disaster.  The evacuation measures that could be used to save people in case flood struck were largely lacking. Apart from those who instantly died from the overflowing water, others died as they tried to find their way to a safe place. They would travel long distance where the flood had thrown them without finding any help. Frail and weak, many of them died while in search for food and shelter. If there were a good rescue measure, some of these people could have been saved. For instance, use of state resources such as military helicopters that could have been sent to rescue the survivors.  The technological advancement perhaps has ma naged to enable things that were impossible do back then in 1928. For instance, the detectors that can be used to warn of any changing cyclone movement in oceans that would be alert of any impending danger. Despite the limit of the technology back then, there were alerts made through the Radio. The government should have made efforts to relocate those people close to the coastline. The fact some people went around telling others of the impending hurricane cannot be used as a justification that proper information was given to the victims.

Bad School System Essay Example for Free

Bad School System Essay What are schools doing for us? If nothing then what can we do to improve them? I think they aren’t doing anything. I have never really thought about this idea until I started research. I think that I am fairly smart, but it is more of after school rather than school itself. I was watching a TED TALK from Ken Robinson and he was talking about how schools kill creativity. He talks about how schools are good at making people who do their jobs successfully. He also says that those same people are doing that job because they don’t have any other choice. By showing this he is trying to show that school kills creativity. Salman Khan the founder of Khan Academy talks about how students don’t get to work on their own pace. Dave Eggers the founder of 826 Valencia talks about how students need 1-1 attention to learn their talents. Ken Robinson has many different videos on school all talking about how school has problems that need to be solved. The one that I watched was â€Å"Ken Robinson says schools kill creativity†. He talks about how school trains you in a way that creates a fear of making mistakes. He says, â€Å"If you’re not prepared to be wrong, then you will never be original†. We are being educated out of creativity. Teachers are not ready to have things be wrong. When grading test or any kind of work there is no such thing as maybe, it is just right or wrong. There are always those kids who are over the top smart and there are those kids that are very creative but not as smart. In this scenario you know that the kid who has the brains is going to get the popularity. Nobody is going to go to the creative kid for help even though he/she might have something worth saying. Then those creative kids will also have to adapt to the school system and eventually lose their creativity. Salman Khan has one very important video on TED and it talks about how students do really get to learn on their own pace in school. The TED TALK is called â€Å"Let’s use video to reinvent education†. In this video he talks about his website www.Khanacademy.com. In this website he has different topics for which he has videos for. He also has sort of an online learning system on the same website. In that learning system they want you to master different concepts that you are having trouble with. So they show you videos on how to do the problem then set you on your own. If you still don’t have perfection then they allow you to repeat. They want you to master the concept by letting you do the whole process as many times as you like. By this you are allowed to learn at your own pace. In school you learn a chapter take a test then move on. Even if you didn’t understand you move on, also the students who get like 90 to 99.9% they still might have some problems that they didn’t understand. I also experienced Khan Academy, I have an account and I am always using it when I need help on something. Dave Eggers has one video on TED and it talks about why students are happier to go to tutoring rather than school itself. In his TED TALK â€Å"Once Upon a School† he shows the audience of a place that he created called 826 Valencia. This is a shop that he founded in which he connected a newspaper editor center, a pirate shop, and a after school tutoring center. He says that students come there running after school to do homework. That’s not really something that you think of. The students get help on any HW especially their English homework. He has his Newspaper crew and volunteers help students 1-1 on HW. He has students write books and then publishes the books. He says that students need 1-1 time with whomever they are working with. In school students don’t really get 1-1 time during school to talk about things that they are having trouble with and stuff like that. In a year he has over 1,400 volunteers helping run 826 Valencia. He thinks that if students are able to have 1-1 time with teachers on their work then they would be more creative. They students would never know if they were doing well or if they needed to improve in certain areas. If you haven’t watched this TED TALK them I recommend every one the watch it. All three of these guys show great ways to improve the School system. These guys are already doing it outside of school, which shows that our School System isn’t really great. There are many problems with our School System we just never think about them as students. You would never think that School would kill your creativity, but when you think about it†¦

As A Leader Indra Nooyi Management Essay

As A Leader Indra Nooyi Management Essay India, located in the south Asia, is one of the most religiously diverse nations with a long history in the world. There are more than 80.4% of the people who are Hinduism. In Hinduism, the religion plays a central and definitive role in the life of people. And that is a typical Asian country, it represents the eastern wisdom. But have you ever imagined that what would happen to a person if such eastern wisdom came across the western culture? Here is a story about a 23 years old Indian woman who went to America to pursue her America Dream. As a traditional Hinduism, she should have gotten married when she was over 18, but she chose to go to university. She should have stayed in India and gotten married while she graduated, but she determined to go to America to pursue her dream. And today, 30 years later, that Indian woman becomes the CEO of the PepsiCo, one of the world largest soda and snacks companies; she is also named the third most powerful women in the world and the first most powerful women in the business world; what is more, she is also a good wife, a mother of two lovely daughters. And her mane is Indra Krishnamurthy Nooyi. She is a successful example of Asian-American, of Hinduism, of women. In this paper, I will first give a brief introduction about her background and her career, and then I will analyze her outstanding leadership traits and leadership behaviors. And at last I will discuss a very interesting assumption that if she was working in hospitality industry, what would happen ¼Ã… ¸ 2. Snapshots of Indra K. Nooyi 2.1. Family It was 54 years ago that Indra Krishnamurthy Nooyi (Oct. 28, 1955~) was born into a Tamil family in the Brahman community of Madras, a seaport in south Indian. Besides herself, there are five members within her early family, her grandfather, father, mother, and her elder sister and a little brother. Her family was part of Indians middle class; her grandfather used to be a district judge, her father is a bank official. Not like common Indian families that seldom send their girls to go to school, Nooyis family is much more open minded than the others, both Nooyi and her sister all received good educations. The interesting thing in Nooyis family is that father is the only role to gain money for the family while mother has the whole responsibility to bring up the two daughters. Nooyi once said on YANG LAN ONE ON ONE, my mother always wanted to be somebody, but she never had the opportunity, and she was even not allowed to enter the university because she had to get married. So she left her dreams to her daughters. Just like what Nooyi said, her mother allowed Nooyi to do whatever she wanted to do, and also trained her to speak on political and social subjects every day after dinner. All she did is just to make Nooyi understand that why not to get married, have a family, have a kid, while have a dream. And this helped Nooyi a lot not only for her career but also for her life. So what about her current family? Indra Nooyi now is an American citizen. She got married with Raj Nooyi, a management consultant, and has two daughters, one is 25 and the other is 15. The Nooyis now are living in Fairfax County, Connecticut. 2.2. Education Like a typical Tamil family in India, the whole families are Hinduism. Nooyi, a devout Hindu, attended Madras Christian College majoring in chemistry and graduated with a bachelors degree in1976. After that, she went to the Indian Institute of Management in Calcutta to finish her two years master degree in business administration, majoring in finance and marketing. In 1978, after Indra Nooyi graduated from the Indian Institute of Management, she took her first job as a product manager with a Mettur Beardsell, a textile company. Sooner she changed her job and became the product manager of Johnson Johnson, a personal care products maker. While she was working in this Amercian-based company, she was attracted by the American management style, so she planned to apply for her second master degree in America. And she successfully applied for the admission of Yale University of Management with financial aid. Despite societal pressures that every Indian girl when she is over 18 should get married, Indra Nooyi who was already 23 persisted in her decision and finally got the permit from her parents. With the risk to be an unmarriageable commodity, she went alone to America to pursue her dream. 2.3. Career At the year 1980, Nooyi got her master degree of public and private management from Yale University, Nooyi started her career at the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), and she worked as a director of its international corporate strategy projects. And this is the beginning of her professional managers career. Then she left there to Motorola, an electronics maker in 1986, her outstanding talent and strategic-looking made her quickly become the vice president and director of corporate strategy and planning there in 1988. In 1990 Nooyi accepted the invitation from the Asea Brown Boveri, a power plant construction and related equipments maker. She worked as the senior vice president and director of corporate strategy and strategic marketing. After she joined ABB, she restructured the company and helped it find its direction in North America. And this made her being regarded as a shinning star in management by the year 1994. In 1994 both Jack Welch, the head of General Electric and Wayne Calloway, the CEO of PepsiCo offered her a job. Nooyi accepted Calloways invitation, and became the chef strategist of the PepsiCo. After Nooyi joined the PepsiCo, she helped the company finish its revolutionary reshape project. That is to divest its restaurant group in 1997, such as KFC and Pizza Hut in order to focus on two other product groups: soda and snacks. And then it purchased Tropicana juice producer in 1998, tow years later it acquired Quaker Oats, one of the biggest breakfast food company in America. And later, her negotiation skills and her favor in acquiring also helped the PepsiCo acquire SoBe, an edgy beverage maker. At last, the PepsiCo successfully turned into a much healthier and greener company. The ROI that PepsiCo posted in 2000 also showed that it not only covered the past restaurant part but also reached the highest point during the past 10 years. It was obvious that the PepsiCo started to go in the right direction after Nooyi arrived, so Nooyi was promoted to be the named president and CFO in 2001. After Nooyi became the named president and CFO, she speeded up the restructuring process and the development of international market. From 2001 to 2006, the PepsiCos annul revenue increased from $24 billion to $33 billion. And in 2006, the PepsiCos total market in America historically ran over the Coca-Colas. All of these achievements were all related to the Nooyis effort, so it was no surprise that Nooyi was named the fifth CEO on August 14, 2006. In 2007, Indra Nooyi became the fifth CEO and also the first female CEO in PepsiCo till now. And by the year 2009, Nooyi has been named three times the Americans top 50 women to watch by Wall Street Journal, the world top 100 most influential people according to the Time, and recently was named the third most powerful woman in the world in 2009 by the Forbes. 3. Leadership Traits As a leader, Indra Nooyi has the common leadership traits a good leader should have, such as energy, self-confidence, and sociability. But as a great leader and as a female leader of a company with 198,000 employees, she should have much more than that. So what is the difference? 3.1. Ethical Forward-Looking Efficient water and energy use has obvious paybacks, but what I need is more than that, I need a healthy consumer out there and a better environment around him. And the only way I can do that is sustainability. Indra Nooyi Forward-looking is one common leadership trait, it means a person has a strong vision of the future, or we can say that a person who can help the company make more money in the future has such leadership trait. And what about ethical forward-looking, it means a leader should also take the ethical issues, such as environment, resources, and health into consideration while planning the future strategy. For most leaders, they wont do that, because it may decrease the profit and may also slow down the developing speed, and these are all the achievements to reflect a leaders performance. So it is a fool to do that as a leader, but Indra Nooyi is just such a fool. As I mentioned before, Nooyi is a typical Hinduism. The philosophy of Hinduism emphasizes on the balance of each interest aspect. For example, while making more profit, factories should also care about the environment, food producers should also care about customers personal health. And this philosophy has already become a part of Nooyis philosophy. In 1990 when Nooyi joined the Asea Brown Boveri, a power plant construction and related equipments maker, she pointed out that the company should develop green. And she took a series of actions, such as built a new water recycling system. At first, this action took a lot of money, but latter it helped save 1/3 of the water cost annually. And also in the PepsiCo, Nooyi advocates the stomach and intestine cleanliness; she also announced that her vision for the company is performance with purpose. It means the sustainability on multiple levels: human, talent and environment. And that is why after devised its fast food brands, KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, the PepsiCo acquired three other healthy food and beverage companies. And that is why Nooyi invested more than $ 1 billion to develop its potato farms in the half-desert areas of China, such as Inner Mongolia. And then come to the part what we are most interested in: did these actions decrease the companys profit or slow down its development? The answer is no. First, the PepsiCo used a special potato breed that can grow well in such area with a high productivity and quality, so it actually decreased the cost of main ingredient. And also as we know that China is a central powered country, anyone who wants to run a business, he has to build a good relationship with the g overnment. And because the Chinese government spoke highly of the PepsiCos such behaviors, it did a great favor for the development of PepsiCo in China. 3.2. Outstanding Negotiation Skill The second difference is that Nooyi is a tough negotiator. Nowadays the negotiation skill has become a more and more popular leadership trait, it is a trait related closely with many other kinds of leadership traits, such as self-confidence, fluency of speech, creativity, and sociability. But we cannot say a person who has these leadership traits would also have a good negotiation skill. So there are only fewer leaders have such negotiation skill. And the reasons why I am so sure that Nooyi is such an outstanding negotiator are all proved in her achievements. The first is that Nooyi helped the PepsiCo purchase the Tropicana Company for $3.3 billion from the Seagram Company in 1998. Tropicana is the biggest orange juice company in America that time, while the PepsiCo was not a top company with its beverage markets no more than 25%. Nooyi knew that the last years stock sale of the Tropicana was $2 billion and this year the Seagram Company announced $4.1 billion for selling it. This news attracted several great companies, including Coca-Cola. But at last, the Tropicana was acquired for $0.8 billion decrease by the PepsiCo. And Indra Nooyi was the chef dealmaker of that acquisition. Before the bidding, she communicated with the former Tropicana president Ellen Marram, who has the dream to build the Tropicana a customer oriented great company. So Nooyi shared her stomach and intestine cleanliness and grow green plans with her, and also they talked a lot about the religion and some health issues and environment issues. After that communication, Ellen Marram and Nooyi together had a dinner with current president Mr. Rodkin. And then, Nooyi herself communicated with Rodkin, who really wants to make some achievements to consolidate his position. Nooyi showed her opinion that the selling price was too optimistic, because the recent hurricane damaged its market value and the stock price would keep on lower. And then they together came to a proper way of acquisition. Two weeks later, the Seagram Company announced the success of selling Tropicana to PepsiCo for $3.3 billion. Nooyi also helped the PepsiCo acquired the No. 1 breakfast food company Quaker Oats for $14 billion, and this became one of the amazing business story that small fish eats big fish. After that, PepsiCo purchased the edgy beverage maker SoBe for $337 million and this price beat the one submitted by Coca-Cola again. And recently, there comes out the big bang news that the PepsiCo is planning to acquire the Nestle Company, the Swedish largest company. And Nooyi showed her attitude towards it that everything can be possible in some proper situations. In these negotiations, Nooyi first prepared all the useful information and then grasped the interest of the other side quickly. She controlled the whole process of the negotiation, and others are all infected by her self-confidence, her passion speech, her motivation to achieve, and her leaders temperament. This leadership trait helps make Nooyi a great capable leader. 3.3. Strategic Intuitiveness Rapid changes in current world combined with information overload result in an inability to know everything. In other words, logic and reasoning will not make you pass all the situations. And the fact is that more and more leaders are learning to the value of using their intuition and believing their own instincts when they are making some decisions. And so it is with Nooyi. It is the the first year that Nooyi joined PepsiCo, the companys restaurant chains suffered stagnancy problems. Then the management team including Nooyi got together to find out a good solution. During these days, Nooyi worked seven days a week, and at one day, Nooyi suddenly woke up in the middle of the night and wrote down different versions of the company on a paper, and later she summarized a method that is to spin off the fast food restaurant chins. Because the method mostly came from her intuition, when she explained this method to the management team, the most words she used were I think, I believe, and I suppose. But she insisted on her intuition all the way. She believed the best way for PepsiCo is to become a pure healthy packaged and bottled Food and Beverage Company, while the fast food restaurant is in the different area. So she suggested that the PepsiCo should only focus on one area. Her suggestion was crazy and full of risk, and no one could make sure whether it was a right decision. After several months discussion, the company finally accepted Nooyis decision. After the PepsiCo divested its restaurant chains, most analysts argued that it was a negative decision. But five years later, the PepsiCo successfully increased its annual revenue from $24 billion to $33 billion, and ran over the market leader Coca-Cola. This decision which is mostly coming form the intuition of Nooyi successfully pointed out the right direction and changed the destiny of the PepsiCo. And as we know in the business world, not all the decisions are well-founded; sometimes the leaders have to believe their intuitions. Since Indra Nooyi has such strong strategic intuition, she can be a much greater leader than the others. 4. Leadership Behaviors 4.1. Supportive Leadership Behavior Indra Nooyi is a very kind and considerate leader, some one says it is partly because she is a woman, and some one thinks it is because the Asian culture and her religion. Well, reasons are not important, and the only result is that they all contribute to her supportive leadership behaviors. Balance is the key word when Indra Nooyi is making a decision; she thinks the balance in making a decision should cover not only the profit of the company, but also the profit of its staff. Because she believes that if a company can not satisfy its employees, how can it be possible to satisfy the customers? Since the customers are not satisfied, the company is hard to make more money as return. So she always showed her concern for her followers needs and took them into the consideration for the companys development. And she announced every management decision or plan to her employees immediately. Balance is also the principle for Indra Nooyi to manage a company; what I mean is that she treats all the employees equally. The current survey shows that after Indra Nooyi became the PepsiCos CEO, the percentage of female group and international group in management team has been increased. Indra Nooyi believes that it is not the simplex but the diversity that can reach the balance. So she set the policies to open the doors to every potential talent regardless of their sex, their age, their religions, and their nations. Her honest trust and respect for her followers keeps on inspiring them, and also keep on creating more and more loyal followers. 4.2. Charismatic Leadership Behavior Can you believe that in a white dominated country and a man dominated business world, a female Indian Hindu can lead the world largest Food and Beverage Company. In my opinion, only if she is a charismatic leader. Indra Nooyi has her unique charisma; her story between Michael D. White, chief executive officer of PepsiCo International and vice chairman of PepsiCo, is very popular in the company. In the year 2006, Nooyi was named the next CEO and White was her competitor. Michael D. White is a competent controller and a capable operator, and that is why he is one of the backbones of the company. So the first day when Nooyi became the CEO, the first thing for her is to buy a ticket and fly to the Cape Cod. When Nooyi arrived at Cape Cod, White had already been there waiting for her. Nooyi lived in Whites house for two days, during this period they played music together and ate ice-cream together, and at last Nooyi expressed to White honestly, tell me what I can do to keep you, I can make it. What is more, Nooyis friends, the second, third and forth former CEOs also came to help her keep him. Her honesty and words moved White, and finally keep that capable person. As a CEO, Indra Nooyi can do all of these for her past competitor and became friends, this was never happened in the history of PepsiCo and also seldom happened in the business world. So this story has become a popular topic within the company, and all the staffs really respect Nooyi, and believe that Indra Nooyi is a great leader, and she could lead the company to the success. Indra Nooyi never made them disappointed, she pointed out the right direction for the PepsiCo at the first year, and made it run over the market leader, Coca-Cola at the fifth year, and she also helped the company survive from the economic crisis this year. All the achievements prove that only Nooyi can be the leader of the PepsiCo. And also as a leader, Indra Nooyi is tough on herself and she always raises the standard for everybody; however, she is very caring because she wants people to excel at what they are doing so that they can aspire to be her in the future. And last year, Indra Nooyi was named the top 50 popular leaders in America that people want to follow, and PepsiCo was also named the third company that people want to work for. So generally speaking, Indra Nooyi is a good charismatic leader. 5. Nooyi in hospitality industry After analyzing the leadership traits and behaviors of Indra Nooyi, I come up with an interesting idea, that is, if Nooyi was the general manager of a hotel, what would happen? First, she can turn down the high turn over rate. The turn over rate in hospitality industry is much higher than the others. And the main reason for staffs to leave is that they are not satisfied. And as I mentioned before, balance is the key point of Indra Nooyis philosophy. She would show her concerns to the followers first, and take the followers needs into consideration while making plan and decision. She also treats every one equally; no matter a staff is a minority or a woman, if he or she has the ability, Nooyi would offer a chance. And these can definitely satisfy the followers, and the turn over rate would be decreased also. Second, she can help build good reputation for the hotel while making more profit. In her mind, the profit, the customer, and the environment are in the same position. So besides the profit, Nooyi would also focus on the customers needs and health, for example, she would never let a junk food dish on the menu. All the food should be at a higher quality with nutrition, and this would definitely price higher. And also the environment, like what she did in ABB, she can also develop or buy a new water system for hotel and set the policy for staffs to use electricity more efficiently. It is not only good to the environment but also saves the money for the water and electricity use. All of these would of course draw attentions from the media and public, and it would help build a good reputation for hotel while the hotel is actually making more and more profit. Third, she can build good relationships with the government, the investors, and some big company customers. Because of her outstanding negotiation skills, it is much easier for her to develop the good relationships with these VIPs to the hotel. Since hotel has a good relationship with government, the government may do a great favor to the hotel, such as tax and reputation. And also if the hotel has a lot of contracts with some big companies, these companies would hold their meetings and celebrations all in her hotel and this can in turn help increase the hotels occupancy rate, and some other revenues, such as banquet and FB. Indra Nooyi is an excellent professional manager, so the different kinds of industries are not the limitations to her. She can manage a personal health products company well, a power plant well, a soda and snack maker well, and also it is not a problem for her to manage a hotel well. 6. Conclusion When traditional Indian philosophy meets with modern American thoughtway, when Hinduism comes across Christianism, first are the conflicts, but sooner they will consist with each other and create a legend. Indra Nooyi is just that guy. She always goes to the CEOs office wearing her traditional Indian sari. But comparing with traditional Indian women, it is hardly to connect Nooyi with the characters, such as effeminate and shy. Nooyi is such self-confidence, gentler woman with passion and always speaks fast because she thinks faster. She is just like most excellent American leaders. She also proves to the world that even it is the man that wrote down the rules long ago, and these rules are still the standards dominating the current business world, women can still make success with their talents and unique charm. From this period of study on her, I learnt a lot. And comparing with all the excellent leaders as far as I know in the world, her leadership traits and behaviors impress me most. Even though my career is hospitality, there are still a lot of things I can learn from her. And I think it is very necessary and good for us to learn something from these great leaders. Then we can apply them into our career to accomplish our dreams and to develop the hospitality industry in China.

Foreign Policies For The Malaysian Systems

Foreign Policies For The Malaysian Systems Malaysias foreign policy is premised on establishing close and friendly relations with countries in the community of nations. Tun Razak had embarked on a series of dazzling initiatives in foreign policy largely to move Malaysia from its pro-western, anti communist stance, which had been adopted since independence under the tunkus leadership. This is achieved through upholding the countrys sovereignty and promoting universal peace; fostering friendly relations with foreign countries and protecting Malaysias interests in the regional and international arena. In other words, Malaysia will continue to consolidate its relations with other countries and international organisations, both at the regional and international level. Tunku razak felt this was necessitated by its national security needs, which required Malaysia to live in peaceful co existence with all countries, communist or non communist. In 1971, the year he took over as Prime Minister, he had to face the problem of britains wi thdrawal of its armed forces in Malaysia. Even earlier Britain had given similar commitments to Malaya since 1957 and both Sarawak and Sabah, its former colonies, until they joined Malaysia in 1963. In the superpower race, Britain was no longer capable of maintaining itself as aglobal power due to the dismantling of its colonial empire, and a slow-down in its economy. Although Britain indicated it might participate in a five power commonwealth defence force, it would not provide anything like its former number of troops. In line with our objectives of promoting and protecting Malaysian national interest abroad, the Ministry has established a total of 105 missions in 83 countries and appointed 53 Honorary Consuls who provide support and assistance in promoting Malaysias interest abroad. Since the independence of Malaya in 1957, the nations foreign policy has gone through several phases of significant transition with different emphases under five previous premierships. The policy has been largely determined by the established national characteristics and succession of political leadership as well as by the dynamic regional and international environment. A period of consolidation ensued under Tun Hussein Onn with ASEAN becoming the cornerstone of Malaysias foreign policy following the collapse of Saigon, the withdrawal of the US military presence from Southeast Asia and the invasion of Kampuchea by Vietnam. During the premiership of Tun Dr. Mahathir in 1981, Malaysia began relations with more nations and became a symbol of a rising developing country. Under Tun Mahathirs tenure, the nations foreign policy began adopting a much greater economic orientation in the countrys external relations while championing the rights, interests and aspirations of developing countries. Malaysia became the voice of the developing world and was a role model for many developing countries as it become well known for its active stance at the UN and other international conferences. Malaysias participation in peacekeeping missions under the UN is also a testimony of the nations seriousness in instilling the will of the international community. The fifth Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi continued to ensure that Malaysia was active in the international arena. During his tenure, Malaysia played an instrumental role in the formulation and adoption of the ASEAN Charter which has been ratified by all ASEAN member states and subsequently entered into force on 15th December 2008. During this period, Malaysia was also active in expanding the focus of OIC from being an organisation focused solely on political issues into one which focuses on the socio-economic development of Islamic countries. Among the key elements of the 1Malaysia concept is in realising the strength of Malaysia lies in its diversity. This concept bodes well with the main vision of Malaysias Foreign Policy that is to protect and promote interests abroad and at the same time responsibly and effectively contribute towards the building of a fair and just world. Dato Sri Najib believes that the interconnectedness of nations in the world means that Malaysia would benefit in applying 1Malaysia in its efforts in diplomacy and foreign relations. Malaysia will maintain close relations with all countries in the world and will work with like-minded nations in pursuing national interest. Malaysias foreign policy is structured upon a framework of bilateralism, regionalism and multilateralism where. ASEAN forms the core priority of Malaysias current foreign policy. Looking further a field, as a country with a strong Muslim majority, Malaysia also gives importance to the solidarity of the Ummah and the spirit of cooperation among the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC). Malaysias status as a developing nation makes it imperative for the country to engage actively in the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). Malaysia plays a significant role in the various multilateral issues that affect our interests. These issues include disarmament, counter terrorism, trafficking in persons, climate change and environmental issues. As a member of the UN, Malaysia is a firm believer of international peace and security and an upholder of international law. Malaysias election as the President of United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) for 2010 and the Chairmanship of the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) were a further testimony of Malaysias positive international image. The fundamental principles of sovereign equality, mutual respect for territorial integrity, peaceful settlement of disputes as well as mutual benefit in relations are the guiding principles that would continue to guide Malaysias relations with other countries. These principles have stood the test of time. Indeed, our steadfast adherence to these principles, supported by a consistent foreign policy, has established for Malaysia a credible image in the eyes of the international community. REVOLUTION AND EVOLUTION OF MALAYSIAN FOREIGN POLICY The domestic challenge of religious extremism is however importantly shaped by the perception that, as one manifestation of contemporary global religious revivalism, it is also a product of international muslim contact and exchange. The threat of religious radicalism is thus perceived as being determined, to some extent at least, by an impinging Islamic world which in some instances provides moral and inspirational support and in others, active influence over UMNOs political competitors specifically, and its malay muslim population generally. The expression of extremism has, however, been shaped less by inter state relations than through channels which lend themselves less easily to conventional state regulation. As such, the Malaysian governments efforts at countering wrong islam have involved an intense interaction between domestic and foreign policy. The determination of wrong islam and its easy association with extremism is also increasingly linked to the federal governments attempt to institute an orthodoxy of belief if not of ortho- practic behavior as a means of rationalizing islam towards a particular socio-economic but also political agenda. As attempts at curbing extremism have gradually involved questions of religious authority and the toleration of divergent interpretation, they have ultimately also had a significant bearing on intra-malay rivalry. Frequently then, foreign policy has been employed precisely towards the management of domestic politics. The diversity of views regarding the perception and explanation of foreign policy, no foreign policy can be formulated in a vacuum. It must serve to function in a dynamic environment. Throughout its tenure, the Mahathir Administration has not always enjoyed even relations with those states in the Islamic world which have displayed a more distinctively radical character and approach to international relations. Various geographical, historical, social and political determinants contributed to shaping the nature of Malaysias foreign policy and the conduct of the countrys international relations. Our foreign policy seeks to promote mutual tolerance and cooperation amongst all countries that make up the fabric of international community. Government has frequently publicized its long standing relationships with more conservative regimes in Egypt and Saudi Arabia, its relations with countries like Iran and Libya have been less well documented. Overall, Malaysias diplomatic exchange with these countries since the 1980s has tended to remain cautious, explained in part by their expression of a more radical political agenda frequently channelled through religion. While Malaysia has often supported the official foreign policy attitudes expressed by these states toward the needs for fundamental change within the international system, alarm and objection have also been articulated over the chosen methods of their capacity to directly influence the domestic political process in Malaysia has necessitated the employment of less conventional strategies in foreign policy by the administration. The Iranian revolution clearly helped intensify debate in Malaysia over the revival of islam and the viability of an Islamic state in Malaysia. A more worrying domestic repercussion for the government was the revolutions indirect promotion of islams legitimacy in political contestation and the boost that its success provided to parties and organizations claiming islam as their base. The governments initial non-commitment on the subject, however, contrasted dramatically with the clear and early articulation of support for the revolution by ABIM and PAS. Nevertheless, the establishment of diplomatic relations with the emergent Islamic republic of Iran in 1981, came within the new administration general strategy of publicizing its foreign Islamic friendships. Iranian officials had in fact made some attempt to explain the Islamic revolution and to express its non opposition to moderate intellectuals in muslim countries. The Mahathir administration was therefore at pains to stress the pragmatic aspects of relations with the new Iranian government, even while locating them within the spirit of a shared religion. Indeed the government received some acknowledgement for its pro-islam efforts from the Iranians. Malaysia pursues an independent, principled and pragmatic foreign policy which rests on the values of peace, humanity, justice, and equality. Malaysias foreign policy is also premised on the principles of respect for the independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and non-interference in the affairs of other nations, peaceful settlement of disputes, peaceful co-existence and mutual benefit in relations. Official relations were also important towards neutralizing what was perceived as real or potential revolutionary Iranian influence over Islamic movements. Intra and inter party dynamics were to underline the continuing threat that UMNO and the administration perceived from the revolutions impact on malay politics and on the role og islam in Malaysian society. Foreign policy is not static. Its formulation is essentially a dynamic process. Hence, over the years, our foreign policy has evolved, taking account of the change in leadership as well as developments in the ever-changing global political and economic landscapes. Moreover, the advent of globalization and the transformation of interstate relations brought about by new and rapid changes in information technologies necessarily means that our foreign policy has to be adjusted and fine tuned to meet new challenges in a globalised world. The evolution of the countrys foreign policy under successive prime ministers reflects a pragmatic response to the geopolitical and economic changes of their times. To be continually relevant to the countrys needs, foreign policy cannot remain static. But whilst changes in emphasis have become a general feature of Malaysian foreign policy, continuity has also been evident. Both the change and continuity mark a higher level of confidence and maturing of th e country in the conduct of its international affairs. Indeed, in many ways Malaysias leadership role has been recognised on several issues of deep interest to the developing world. As a trading nation, we are very much dependent on a peaceful international environment for our well being. Malaysian foreign policy has to be oriented to allow for a greater focus on economic diplomacy. In the past, when we were producing mainly raw materials for the world, Malaysia had to compete with only a handful of countries. But now, when we have become an industrialized trading nation, we have no choice but to work harder, to compete better and to find new markets for our goods and services. We must find better ways to do business with the outside world. We need to find niches in which we have a competitive edge. ASEAN IN MALAYSIAS FOREIGN POLICY Malaysia was able through the vehicle of ASEAN diplomacy to maintain a balancing act in its relations with the indo-china states which remained in a state of conflict at the point of time of ASEANs formation. We have already alluded to the chaos caused by the boat refugees after the end of the Vietnam war and Malaysias pivotal role in repairing some 80,000 persons to third countries. Through ASEAN, the geneva conference of 1979 was called to deal with the practical aspects of the Vietnamese refugees. Then came the Cambodia crisis and here again Malaysia played a pivotal role in setting up the coalition government of democratic Kampuchea (CGDK). Heng samrin regime, ASEAN diplomacy kept in check the various political players in the Cambodian conflict by securing the U.N. seat for the CGDK for the most part of the 1980s. This arguably put all the political players of the Cambodian conflict in contention until the peace process took root in the early 1990s. here again ASEAN played a crucial role in sponsoring the Jakarta informal meetings. Throughout this period, Malaysias stances and policies vis-a-vis the indo-china issue followed the tempo and thrust of ASEAN diplomacy. It was clear that ASEAN had become central to Malaysian foreign policy for its regional and global relations, even under the feisty tenure of Mahathir. The Abdullah government had also followed through the motions of its predecessors in placing ASEAN at the centre of regional politics and foreign relations. The ASEAN push for the construction of three forms of communities- security, economic, and socio-cultural- has also been wholeheartedly taken on board by the Malaysian government along with the ASEAN charter signed in November 2007 at the 13th ASEAN in Singapore. It is important to see ASEAN as a crucial instrumental of Malaysias attempt to use a countervailing and counterpoising foreign policy to handle new issues that have surfaced regionally and globally. Not less of all was the question of Myanmar or Burma, which continued to be the bugbear of the ASEAN states well into the late 2000s. At the regional level, Malaysia will continue to push for the strengthening of ASEAN as a regional grouping. This includes support for a whole range of functional co-operation on a sub-regional or on an ASEAN-wide basis, the phasing in of AFTA and the implementation of the ASEAN investment area. ASEAN has developed and refined various mechanisms and arrangements to promote trade, investment and other collaborative activities. Much of ASEANs attractiveness to the outside world is built on the economic success of its member states and their potential for greater growth. As ASEAN confronted the various challenges such as international terrorism, economic slowdown, in the face of current economic and financial crises, it is ASEANs common effort that accounted for our success. FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES Five Power Defense Arrangement, 1971 Ministers of the government of Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and United Kingdom met in London on 15th and 16th April 1971. In order to consider matters of common interest to all five governments relating to the external defense of Malaysia and Singapore. The minister of the five governments affirmed, as the basic principles of their discussion, their continuing determination to work together for peace and stability their respect for the sovereignty political independence and territorial integrity of all countries and their belief in the settlement of all international disputes by peaceful means in accordance with the principles of the united nations charter. In the context of their governments determination to continue to co-operate closely in defense arrangements which are based on the need to regard the defense of Malaysia and Singapore as indivisible, the ministers noted with gratification on the development of the defense capability of Malaysia and Singapore, to which the other three governments had given assistance, and the decisions of the governments of Australia, new Zealand and the united kingdom, which had been welcomed by the other two governments to continue to station forces there after the end of 1971. In discussion the contribution which each of the five governments would make defense arrangements in Malaysia and Singapore, the ministers noted the view of the united kingdom government that the nature of its commitment under the anglo-malaysian defense agreement required review and that the agreement should be replaced by new political arrangements. They declared that their government would continue to co-operate, in accord ance with their respective policies, in the field of defense after the termination of the agreement on its 1st November 1971. The ministers also declared, in relation to external defense of Malaysia and Singapore thet in the event of any form of armed attack externally organized or supported or the threat of such attack against Malaysia and Singapore, their governments would immediately consult together for the purpose of deciding what measures should be taken jointly or separately in relation to such attack or threat. The ministers reviewed the progress made regarding the establishment of the new defense arrangements. The ministers agreed that from time it might be appropriate for them to discuss their common interest. It would also be open to any of them, participating governments to request at any time, with due notice, meeting to review these defense arrangements. METHODS AND RESPONSES TOWARDS MALAYSIAN POLICY With its dedicated Plans of Actions and Protocols, ASEAN will move closer towards its goal of building the ASEAN Community, characterized by greater political and security interaction and engagement, a single market and production base, with free flow of goods, services, capital investment and skilled labour and a caring society, focusing on social development, education and human resources development, public health, culture and information, and environmental protection. Improvement of the invisible trade of developing countries, particularly by reducing their payments for freight and insurance, and the burden of their debt charges. The foreign policy of Malaysia continues to emphasise on the relevance and importance of ASEAN as the forum and catalyst for regional dialogue. ASEAN Dialogue Partnerships, ASEAN Regional Forum, ASEAN Plus Three and East Asia Summit have allowed its members to engage leading powers. Improvement of institutional arrangements, including if necessary, the establishment of new machinery and methods for implementing the decisions made at UNCTAD. It is sometimes difficult to understand why even though the government is so generous in providing assistance to so many other developing countries, it yet seems reluctant to give forthright and substantial aid to Malaysia. In most cases, no open tender processes were resorted to. Privatization further fed into this policy. Many of the joint ventures were achieved on a government to government basis involving tit for tat negotiation methods. An example was the case of Antah Biwater. Fifty one percent of its equity was controlled by its local malay partner while the remaining was held by a Biwater Ltd, a british water supply and treatment company with strong political connection to the thatcher government. Another example found in Indah Water Konsortium, a joint venture with british water treatment company northwest water ltd. IWK was awarded a $6 billion sewerage contract under the regimes privatization policy. ROLES OF POLICY MAKERS WHEN INTRODUCING CHANGES Having policy space and flexibility is important is important to a developing country. The Malaysian experience also shows that if a country is able to avoid turning to the IMF, it can also avoid the straightjacket of the IMFs mainly one size fits all policies and can choose its own policies as well as change them if they are found to be unsuitable. Malaysia initially took on several elements of the IMF fiscal and monetary policies but when these damaged the real economy, the country was able to switch to a different approach. A coherent anti- crisis strategy should be seen as an integrated package of its elements and policies. Policymakers often (even constantly) grapple with difficult policy decision s since the goals of policy are multiple. A policy instrument meant to achieve one goal may negatively affect other goals. In a situation where there are many complex trade offs, its useful to think outside the box and seek other policy tools. In the Malaysian case, it is useful to analyze and appreciate the various policy elements as parts of an integrated approach and as parts of a whole policy package. Thus, each elements should be considered not only on its own merits or for its own role in achieving a particular goal but also for its function of having an effect on another element or on another goal. A particular element or policy may not have the same successful intended effect, unless accompanied by or done in conjuction with some other element of policy. Thus, the interrelationship of the elements and the interaction with one another should be appreciated. For example lowering the interest rate was important for rescuing the microeconomy and reviving the real economy but doing so would have brought down the ringgits exchange rate. A new policy instrument, fixing the exchange rate was thus introduced. This alone would have been insufficient. Besides fixing the exchange rate to the dollar, stabilization of the currency also required two additional policy instruments. If we start with even one major policy goal(reviving rate reduction), we end up with several other policy tools and goals. All diplomatic missions may apply to the MFA through diplomatic note attaching the details as prescribed. For incoming visits by Head of States/Governments to Malaysia, the delegation will normally also include their countrys official media. On other occasions, official media from foreign countries may also undertake assignments in Malaysia to cover specific activities such as the Malaysian Governments socio-economic programmes, general elections, etc. To this effect, the official media from the country concerned would need to be accorded with some assistance in facilitating their assignment in Malaysia. Media accreditation for official media agencies/delegations undertaking assignments in Malaysia for the purposes of Head of State/Government visits, coverage for international conferences and filming. For media agencies accompanying Head of State/Government Visits, the MFA processes and approves media accreditation requests. Applications should be made via diplomatic note attaching t he prescribed details. Under regional security matters, Policy Planning Division is involved in handling issues related to ASEAN Regional Forum as well as bilateral security dialogue between Malaysia and Australia. On political and security cooperation, Policy Planning Division is responsible among others in the implementation of the ASEAN Security Community Plan of Action, Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, broadening the support for ASEAN instruments such as the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC) and the Southeast Asia. Financial openness poses serious dangers to developing countries and can be avoided. Too much openness in the financial sector can make a developing country vulnerable to financial speculation, to sudden or large movements of foreign capital, and to volatile movements in the exchange rate. If a country were to maintain an open financial policy, it risks losing the ability to determine its own macroeconomic policies. Thus the country may find it desirable not to have such an open financial policy. CONCLUSION The greatest challenge would be to extract the best from the process of globalization and to give our best to the system. And in return to contribute towards making the world a much more peaceful and equitable place to live in, to provide leadership within our region and to demonstrate exemplary and responsible membership of the international community. The economic dimension of globalization has been even more disappointing. The financial crisis that descended upon East Asia in 1997 brought about not only social misery and economic disaster but political instability as well. Massive Unemployment, negative growth, stock market crashes and severe currency devaluation have pulled down millions of people below the poverty lines. And now, we are anxiously watching the effects of the possible economic meltdown following the global financial crisis. Fundamental principles governing interstate relations would continue to guide Malaysias relations with other countries. These refer to sovereign equality and mutual respect for territorial integrity, mutual non-aggression, non ­-interference in each others internal affairs, peaceful settlement of disputes as well as mutual benefit in relations and peaceful co-existence. The so-called constructive intervention policy advocated by some, involving loud criticism, adversarial posturing and grand standing would only bring more harm than good to the promotion of neighbourly relations. We do make exceptions to the policy of non-interference in certain extreme situations. The bloody cruelty, genocide and atrocities perpetrated by some struck our conscience. Such peculiar situation calls for pragmatism on our part in the interest of humanity whilst recognizing the central role of the UN in resolving the problem. Malaysias activism at the international front has of course attracted attention and reaction from various quarters. Malaysia had been the target for criticism for being too vocal. But this is something that we need to take in our own stride if Malaysia is to be proactive at the global level. Our foreign policy principles have stood the test of time. Indeed, our steadfast adherence to these principles, supported by a consistent foreign policy, has established for Malaysia certain credibility in the eyes of the international community. The years ahead therefore would see our foreign policy specially oriented towards not only ensuring Malaysias domestic success but also internationally, as a geopolitical and economic player at the global level.

Symptoms, Causes and Treatment of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder :: Post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD

Introduction Throughout history the world as we know it has introduced several chapters of natural disasters, terror and wars. To name a few recent events: the war in Iraq, the terror attack â€Å"9.11† and the earth quake on the island Haiti. People who have been involved in one of these kinds of events often seem to develop a set of common symptoms in spite of the different events they have experienced. This has caused scientists and psychologists to study whether these people develop the same disorder based on their experience. Empirical data and studies involving these questions have lead researchers to believe that critical events may lead to a disorder called Post- traumatic stress disorder (Hyer, 1994). This disorder has in the past years become one of today’s most common disorders. This project will involve and debate the following questions: Why do people develop post-traumatic stress disorder? Why is it that so many soldiers are exposed to this disorder? 1. Symptoms Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) first became a diagnostic category due to problems many of the Vietnam veterans experienced after they returned from battle. Stress reactions to events in battle had already been discovered in previous wars such as WWI and WWII; however, the veterans of the Vietnam War seemed particularly affected by the disorder. A majority of the veterans developed commons symptoms in spite of their personality, age and earlier experiences. The major symptoms include (1) feeling numb to the world, with lack of interest in former activities and a sense of estrangement from others, (2) reliving the trauma repeatedly in memories and dreams, and (3) sleep disturbance, difficulty concentrating, and over-alertness. Some people even felt guilt, being a survivor among deceased fellow soldiers. These symptoms lead to what we today call Post-traumatic stress disorder (Aasgaard & Dahl, 1997) A survey (1988) calculated that 15 percent of Vietnam veterans have suffered from PTSD since their return from war. The study also supports that among the survivors a majority suffered with alcohol related problems, trouble in social situations and fainting unexpectedly. Among the veterans, 16 % of the 713 tested, had been arrested for breaking the law, and approximately 40 percent suffered with war related nightmares and memories that they where unable to leave behind (Atkinson m. fl., 1996). â€Å"The war is over in history. But it never ended for me† (Marbly, 1987, from Atkinson, 1996) Anger and aggression is another common reaction to a stressful event.

The Wealth Effect Essay -- Wealth Effect Stock Market Economy Essays

The Wealth Effect The "Wealth Effect" refers to the propensity of people to spend more if they have more assets. The premise is that when the value of equities rises so does our wealth and disposable income, thus we feel more comfortable about spending. The wealth effect has helped power the US economy over 1999 and part of 2000, but what happens to the economy if the market tanks? The Federal Reserve has reported that for every $1 billion in increase in the value of equities, Americans will spend an additional $40 million a year. The wealth effect has become a growing concern because more and more people are investing; furthermore the Federal Reserve has very little direct control over stock prices. The numbers are staggering. Since the end of 1995, household stock holdings have doubled to more than $12 trillion dollars. And, for the first time, equities are the most valuable asset of the typical American household, not the home. When it comes to spending money, consumers take all their financial resources into consideration, from their income to their home. When an asset surges in value for a sustained period of time, such as the stock market in the 1990s, people feel flush and are willing to spend some additional money, perhaps b y buying a fancy car or by taking a more expensive vacation. A good number of Wall Street analysts blame the wealth effect for today's negative savings rate. Declining stock prices affect firms in several ways. First, lower stock prices, especially induced by profit warnings, increase shareholder pressure on managers to cut costs by laying off workers and scaling back investment. Second, the recent correction has put many stock options underwater, and it is unclear to what extent workers will bargain for more cash in place of options and how this might affect payroll costs and inflation. Third, the factors dragging down stock prices typically spur investors to demand higher risk premiums, which boosts the cost of financing business investment. This takes the form of increased spreads of corporate bond and commercial paper interest rates relative to Treasury yields and lower prices for any new stock that any firm dares to offer. Aside from raising the going price of new finance, the increased uncertainty associated with lower stock prices can spook investors so much, that the availability of finance is reduced. Since the... ...bear market if we remain at war for a long time in the future. We have seen in the past month, steady gains in the major stock indices. Some are stating that the bull market may be back with the war on terrorism going well, and others are insisting that the gains are only short term and that the market will retest the lows hit in mid-September. Only time will tell on how long it will take for our market to completely rebound into a bull market like we saw in the 90’s. Sources 1.)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Balke, Nathan. â€Å"The Economy in Action†. Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. 2.)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Angeletos, George , David Laibson, Andrea Repetto, Jeremy Tobacman, and Stephen Weinberg. The Hyperbolic Buffer Stock Model. 3 March 2001. 3.)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Clarke, Grahm and Steven Caldwell. â€Å"Wealth in America†. Ohio State 1998. 4.)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Fidelity Investments. 2001 Estimated Stock Wealth Effects on Consumption. 5.)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  American Express Company. 2001 American Express â€Å"ever day spending† survey. 6.)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  John Khoury. Yahoo Finance: http://finance.yahoo.com. 7.)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  U.S. Census Bureau. www.census.gov/. 2001. 8.)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Swanson, KC. Is the â€Å"negative wealth† effect all its cracked up to be. The Street.com 29 March 2001.