Childhood Friendship and Psychology

Friend is a one who shares some common interests and close bonds with an individual. Friendship is a psychological need of every individual. Researchers have proved that young kids who have friends tend to have better physical and mental health as compared to those children who do not have any friends. In this paper, we shall compare and contrast the approaches to studying children friendship undertaken by Bigelow and La Gaipa and William Corsaro.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Childhood Friendship and Psychology specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More It has been observed that friendship gives moral sustainability in different ways such as emotional, substantial help, and cognitive direction. Many studies have been conducted using sample groups of young individuals in order to understand interpersonal link between them but very little assessment has been made in these studies regarding liking and disliking of friends1 . Bigelow and La Gaipa undertook a research to understand the cognitive bond and friendship by studying the interpersonal bond between young children belonging to a pre-school. Based on their research, they have founded a theory, according to which it is assumed that the children consider close relationship, appraisals, and sharing common interests as something very important to them and on the basis of these factors they tend to choose their friends. However, this concept is still vague as the dimensions of liking and disliking are important and varied in every case or some other external factors also play their part in liking or disliking decisions2. William Corsaro, a well-known sociologist who has specialized in the ethnography of childrens culture, presented his perceptions about childrens friendship in both theoretical and methodological manner. Additionally, William explained that the information about liking or disliking peer is not enough to find out about the real behaviou r of children towards their any particular friend, no can judge the involvement of an individual in his or her peer on the basis of liking or disliking factor. He has used more traditional research tools in order to find out all pros and cons of childrens cognitive bonding, behaviour, and peer influence on their personal and social lives. Bigelow and La Gaipa study tends to form an understanding of the common dimensions and factors responsible for every kids friendship at pre-school, but William Corsaro did not agree with this idea that same age group kids tend to show similar behaviour towards their bonds with peers3. He observed the diversified behaviour in children based on Piagets work who evaluated young individuals’ behaviour by giving them a chance to pour liquid in the container and he observed that these kids do not have sense of measuring volume as every kid poured liquid in different proportions in the same container. Similarly, William pointed out the fact that ev ery kid is different from others and he or she perceives things according to his or her own choices and willingness.Advertising Looking for essay on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In 1975, Bigelow and La Gaipa study adopted a cognitive model of sequential development in children, which they tried to find out the expectations of the children related to their friendship. Relationship is nothing without expectations because where relationship and love exists expectations are always there. It is a human psychological need that a person wants his or her friends and family members to do things what they like most and what makes them happy. Therefore, an experiment was carried out by Bigelow; he took a sample group of 480 Canadian and Scottish children and asked them to write an essay on the topic â€Å"My Expectations from Friends†. When written content was analysed it was found that children expect a lot from th eir peers. Most common factor, which has been found in their essays, was that they seek priority. It is in a sense that children expect that in a group or while choosing between two things their friends should give priority to them. Otherwise, they might tend to take revenge or they might show aggressive behaviour towards their friends. In addition, it has also been observed that when any individual fights with his or her friends or their friends do not fulfil their expectations they show an explicit change in their behaviour towards their parents and other family members as well.4 William appreciated this effort of Bigelow as it provides an account for understanding cross culture peer relationship, but according to him it was not valid for all age groups and also for children related to different backgrounds. However, Bigelow believed that cognitive characteristic of relationship may change with the passage of time but efficient values remain same forever. In addition, William shed light upon children’s perception of best friends. According to him, everyone is different from each other, so the intensity of their expectations from their friends and best friend is also different. Psychologically some people are more sensitive and possessive about their relationships as compare to those who make friends just for enjoyment and time pass. Although, during childhood children should not show possessiveness but still it is observed that some children show sensitivity towards their friendship. William explained that children consider one or two of their friends as their best ones, with whom they want to spend most of their time and they do not lose such a friend at any cost. Also, their activities play an important part in strengthening in their bond with each other. These activities mostly depend upon the time period that children spend with each other everyday like going to school together and spending night over each other’s place.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Childhood Friendship and Psychology specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In relation to this type of friendship another factor came forward and that is the bond between their parents. It is because children’s friends turn into best friends when their parents also play part in it and encourage their child friendship. Whereas, on other hand Bigelow did not accept the concept of real best friend during childhood because according to him during early childhood children do not have sense to distinguish between friend and best friend5. Another, drawback which has been observed in Bigelow and La Gaipa study is that they did not try to explain the fact why children dislike some specific children around them as compared to others6. What has been the psychological reason behind their likes and dislikes? Is there any such possibility that children hate all those kids who do not share common interests with t hem or simply those who are not their friends? Although, Bigelow and La Gaipa study tends to explain behaviour and factors involved in this process, but they failed to explain it explicitly. It is because they viewed all behaviours, actions, reactions, and factors as something which is possible and common in all dimensions7. However, William studied every individuals case separately in order to provide perfect explanation of the kids friendship bond with respect to human nature and psychology. William in order to understand children’s world made a captivating and enlightening experiment in which he sat down on sand with kids, played with them, and followed their each hand movement and facial expression8. He wanted to think and look at things from their viewpoints as he wanted to explore children’s surroundings and factors affecting their behaviour. Psychologists have also emphasized on the fact that in order to bring up children in a better way it is important for pare nts to view things having their children’s perspectives. It would help to have a fresh and clear insight of their children’s behaviour and only then they would be able to bring up their children in a better way and according to their kids behavioural nature and needs. Furthermore, William has done an outstanding work in the field of ethnography, and he tried to explain relationship between special children such as deaf and dumb as well as sense of friendship between those who are handicapped either physically or mentally.Advertising Looking for essay on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More During his research, he tried to spend as much time as could with the group of children whom he wanted to study. Therefore, he spend several hours with a group of 83 children who were blind, deaf or dumb, where he found that despite of having such weaknesses they all had a sense of maintaining relationships with each other. Like all other normal kids they also like to make friends and they communicate through their sign language. Also, they all show similar behaviour as every other normal kid show depending upon his or her personal choices and natural perceptions. In addition, he also observed some mentally retarded children and he analyzed that such individuals show more sincere and honest attitude towards their friends. It is because they usually do not have any other activity to participate in; such as studying or learning. However, no evidences of such approaches have been found in Bigelow and La Gaipa study as their study mainly focused on examining different groups of children at pre-school. From the above discussion, it could be concluded that friendship is a bond which is important to have in everyones life in order to satisfy psychological needs. Two different studies presented different notions about childrens friendship and its impact on their lives. Bigelow and La Gaipa study focused on over all understanding of cognitive base of liking and disliking peers; whereas, William explained children’s friendship needs and perception from childrens point of view in order to present a clear view friendship psychology of childhood. Bibliography Bagwell, C, and M. Schmidt. Friendships in Childhood and Adolescence. New York: Guilford Press, 2011. Balter, L, and C. Tamis-LeMonda. Child Psychology: A Handbook of Contemporary Issues. New York: Psychology Press, 2003. Corsaro, W, and T. Rizzo. â€Å"Discussion and Friendship: Socialization Processes in the Peer Culture of Italian Nursery School Children.† American Social Review, 1988: 879-894. Corsar o, W, and L. Molinari. I compagni: Understanding Children’s Transition From Preschool to Elementary School. New York: Teachers College Press, 2005. Corsaro, W. We Are Friends, Right? Washington D.C.: Joseph Henry Press, 2003. Foot, H, A Chapman, and J. Smith. Friendship and Social Relations in Children. New Jersey: Transaction Publishers, 1995. Hayes, D. â€Å"Cognitive Basis for Liking and Disliking Among Preschool Children.† Society of Research in Child Development Inc., 1978: 906-909. Footnotes 1 Balter, L, and C. Tamis-LeMonda. Child Psychology: A Handbook of Contemporary Issues. New York: Psychology Press, 2003. 2 Corsaro, W, and L. Molinari. I compagni:Understanding Children’s Transition From Preschool to Elementary School. New York: Teachers College Press, 2005. 3 Hayes, D. â€Å"Cognitive Basis for Liking and Disliking Among Preschool Children.† Society of Research in Child Development Inc., 1978: 906-909. 4 (Foot, H, A Chapman, and J. Smith. Frie ndship and Social Relations in Children. New Jersey: Transaction Publishers, 1995.) 5 (Foot, H, A Chapman, and J. Smith. Friendship and Social Relations in Children. New Jersey: Transaction Publishers, 1995.) 6 Bagwell, C, and M. Schmidt. Friendships in Childhood and Adolescence. New York: Guilford Press, 2011. 7 Corsaro, W. We Are Friends, Right? Washington D.C.: Joseph Henry Press, 2003. 8 Carsaro, W, and T. Rizzo. â€Å"Discussion and Friendship:Socialization Processes in the Peer Culture of Italian Nursery School Children.† American Social Review, 1988: 879-894. This essay on Childhood Friendship and Psychology was written and submitted by user Riley Saunders to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Help With Spelling Problems for ESL Classes

Help With Spelling Problems for ESL Classes Here are the most common spelling rules in English. For exceptions to the rules take a look at Common Spelling Problems. Capital Letters Use Capital (T, S, B, etc.) letters for the following types of words: Days, months and public holidays: Monday, January, ChristmasProper names of people and places: Jack, Maria, New York, GermanyTitles for people: Ms, Dr, GeneralNationalities and regions (both nouns and adjectives): Dutch, Swedish, BasqueTitles of works of art (content words only): The Last Day of Summer, American Journal of Medicine When to Double Final Consonants The final consonant of a word is often doubled when adding -ed, -ing, -er, -est in the following cases: The double final b, d, g, l, m, n, p, r, and t at the end of words:rob - robbingsad - sadderbig - biggerskim - skimmingwin - winnerpop - poppingprefer - preferredhit - hittingWords of more than one syllable have their consonants doubled only when the final syllable is stressed:begin - beginn ing BUT open - openingdefer - deferr ing BUT offer - offeringWhen words have more than one syllable and end in L British English always doubles the L, even in the case of unstressed syllables. In American English, on the other hand, the L is not doubled when the syllable is unstressed.British English - travelledAmerican English - traveledMore information on the differences between British and American English. Here are the most common spelling rules in English. For exceptions to the rules take a look at Common Spelling Problems. Final -E Leave off the final e in the following cases: When the word ends in e adding a suffix that begins with a vowel (this is usually the case, although there are exceptions such as outrageous):make - makingnote - notableDo not leave out the final e when a word ends in ee:agree - agreeableWords ending in ge and ce do NOT drop the final e:encourage - encouragementembrace - embraceable 'IE' and 'EI' This is a common spelling problem, even for native English speakers. Probably the best thing to do is remember this rhyme: I before E except after Creliefthiefbelieve But...perceivereceiptceiling 'Y' and 'I' When adding an ending to a word that finishes in y, the y usually changes to i: Most nouns and verbs that end in y have plural or third person singular conjugations that change to i:party - partieshurry - She hurries to work.When changing the word form (for example from adjective to adverb):happy - happilylazy - lazilyeasy - easier Do NOT change the final y to i when y is preceded by a vowel:stay - staysenjoy - enjoyed Exceptions: say, lay, pay - said, laid, paidDo NOT change the final y to i when followed by -ing, -ism, -ish:boy - boyishtry - trying 'IE' to 'Y' When a word ends in ie change to y before adding -ing:die - dyinglie - lying

Cloud Computing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Cloud Computing - Assignment Example According to the research findings the use of cloud computing in businesses exhibits the characteristics of empowerment, agility, reduction of costs involved, device along with location independence and virtualization. It also allows for multi-tenancy, reliability, scalability, performance, security and maintenance of the various applications being utilized in a business. Through empowerment, the concept of cloud computing facilitates the users with the control of all the resources at their disposal. Its agility can always be improved with their user’s ability of re-provisioning technological infrastructural resources. These technologies usually provide interfaces that allow many users to communicate and share resources such as software. Another major advantage of using cloud computing is that it enables users to get accessibility to various systems by using only web browsers such as Mozilla Firefox and Internet explorer. The advantage achieved through the process of virtualiz ation enables the transfer and sharing of resources from one server to another. Multi-tenancy in a cloud computing environment facilitates large pools of users in sharing resources in a business environment, and this minimizes the costs incurred in maintaining the computers. This can easily be achieved through centralization, having peak-load capacities and increasing their utilization and efficiencies. The reliability of cloud computing can be augmented through the use of multiple sites that are redundant. Finally, security is usually achieved through data centralization, increasing the focus on security resources. The maintenance of resources within a cloud computing environment is very easy. This is because the applications do not have to be individually installed in each computer in the business (Buyya, Brogerg & Goscinski, 2011). The applications have their own benefits and limits when being utilized in a business environment. For example, in the usage of an application in a bu siness environment that supports controls on quality and assurance functions, one must consider the various benefits and limits that come with it (Shroff, 2010). The issues of the application tracking the parts that have been rejected while taking actions that are corrective in reconciling the parts to manufacture in the future should be greatly considered. The supporting of similar activities will ensure that the customers to a business remain willing to do business with a company since the quality of their products is always assured. Cloud computing is also quite vital when supporting purchasing along with inventory control systems and firm’s requirements in the manufacturing process. The use of this form of computing in this field enables the supporting of all

Philosophy, Sartre's Existentialism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Philosophy, Sartre's Existentialism - Essay Example 6). But at the end he says "even if God existed that would make no difference from [Existentialism's] point of view". Is he contradicting himself Does Sartre's Existentialism depend on atheism, or is it compatible with theism or agnosticism Jean-Paul Sartre argues that human beings are fundamentally incomplete. Self-consciousness brings with it a presence-to-self. Human beings consequently seek two things at the same time: to possess a secure and stable identity, and to preserve the freedom and distance that come with self-consciousness. This is an impossible ideal, since we are always beyond what we are and we never quite reach what we could be. The possibility of completion haunts us and we continue to search for it even when we are convinced it can never be achieved. Sartre suggests that we have to continue seeking this ideal in the practical sphere, even when our philosophical reflection shows it to be an impossibility. Sartre puts this existential dilemma in explicitly theological terms. 'God' represents an ideal synthesis of being and consciousness which remains a self-contradictory goal. This dilemma remains unresolved in his thinking. A richer conception of God, such as that proposed by Thomas Aquinas, might resolve the dilemma without denying the existential restlessness that underlies it. Aquinas shares Sartre's understanding of human life as an ecstatic existence that takes one beyond one's present identity towards a future fulfilment. In Aquinas's scheme, God is not just the ideal goal of human longing, he is the real possibility of ultimate completion, which must exist as a practical possibility, even if we think that this possibility cannot be realised within the limitations of temporal human life as we now understand it. Aquinas concludes that there must, therefore, be some other kind of existence possible for us. 'Happiness' is not a key term for Sartre - as we shall see, he prefers the obscure neologism l'en-soi-pour-soi - but it can stand for this universal goal which plays such a significant part in his philosophy. Sartre writes that human reality is by nature a conscience malheureuse,'an unhappy consciousness', since we are constantly frustrated in our desire to find fulfilment in a stable and freely chosen identity.1 The suggestion, however slight, is that this fulfilled identity would be a state of happiness. What is happiness Why is it an impossible ideal Why does Sartre associate it with the Divine Can an ideal continue to function as a goal even after someone has accepted that it is a practical impossibility These are some of the questions that will be addressed in this article. In the final two sections I will look at how Aquinas can help us to draw out some of the unacknowledged implications of Sartre's existential ontology. Sartre puts the whole ontological dilemma in explicitly theological terms.11 'God' represents the ideal synthesis between being and consciousness which we can never achieve: 'Is not God a being who is what he is, in that he is all positivity and the foundation of the world, and at the same time a being who is not what he is and who is what he is not, in that he is self-consciousness and the necessary foundation of himself'

Roman Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Roman Art - Essay Example ially the Archaic period had several rigid rules of representation to be adhered to, and although they changed over time during that period, the beginnings were strict. In the sculpture of standing figures what has been termed the â€Å"law of frontality† was enforced till almost the end of the sixth century. This placement consisted of the figures being posed looking straight ahead, standing straight, the eyes often appeared more bulbous, never truly sunken in and the ears were usually placed for esthetic purpose and not for anatomical correctness, usually being placed too high on the head. Even the hair was arranged in an almost geometrical pattern like style. (Chase 46) We see the law of frotnality readily apparent in both figures. The stance of Hercules is perhaps more naturalistic and relaxed and does not have the left foot forward. However, the Wounded Warrior does and is more representational of the Archaic Style. Notably and fortunately missing from this period are some of the other Archaic element. The Roman art made correction for anatomy and the figures ears and eyes are more in proportion with their figures as well as being anatomically correct. Another feature that has been lost ois what was termed the â€Å"Archaic Smile† of this period in Greek sculpture (Chase 47) This smile is a rather too happy sort of smile that one might not expect from the more stoic aspects of this period. It seems often out of place and unnatural. Many critics felt that this was simply an attempt by the artist of the time to add some personality or expression to the face. The Roman art lost this appellation and created more natural figure. There is an overall more natural state, the figure and the face seem to be responding to their environment and are not contrived or artificially posed as in the Greek Archaic styles. The Wounded Warrior is actually a copy made of a Greek original from the Archaic period of the fifth century. At first it seems that the warrior

How Globalization Has Effected On Indian Economy Economics Essay

How Globalization Has Effected On Indian Economy Economics Essay Due to globalization, in Indian economy it affect not only to agricultural production but also employment opportunities in the rural parts, inequality between urban rural areas. Globalisation is conceived as a powerful transformative force responsible for a massive shake-out of nations, economies, international institutions the whole world order. Thus, we can say that the higher the level of international corporations/transactions, the higher will be economic growth, income level living standards the globalization process would bring. Globalisation has brought many jobs large sums of investment to India. Indias economy has been growing at exceptional rates for the past several years many new opportunities have opened up for India. Yet, India does remain quite poor. Most of those who profit from globalization in India are the upper classes, with many in the lower classes being displaced suffering from miserable labor conditions. Globalization has created a large economic boom fo r India with largely positive effects. At the present, we can also say about the tale of two Indians. We have the best of times; we have the worst of times. Globalization of financial markets has far outpaced the integration of product markets. There is sparkling prosperity, there is stinking poverty. We have dazzling five star hotels side by side with darkened ill-starred hovels. We have everything by globalization, we have noting by globalization. Heymath, a firm in Chennai, provide mathematics homework help to students lesson plans to teachers, over the net. Its initial target market was schools in Singapore, but after successfully developing selling its product there, it is now expanding elsewhere, including India. Despite these examples, however, as an economy we are still not still as open to foreign goods and services, labor, or knowledge as we should be. The five major areas where the co-operative global efforts on reform are to be concentrated are: 1. Transparency: The goal is to make timely, reliable data, plus information about economic and financial policies, practices, and decision making, readily available to financial markets and the public. 2. Internationally Accepted Standards: Adherence to international standards and codes of good practices helps ensure that economies function properly at the national level, which is a key prerequisite for a well-functioning international system. 3. Financial Sector Strengthening: Banks and other financial institutions need to improve internal practices, including risk assessment and management, and the official sector needs to upgrade supervision and regulation of the financial sector to keep pace with the modern global economy. 4. Involving the Private Sector: Better involvement of the private sector in crisis prevention and resolution can limit moral hazard; strengthen market discipline by fostering better risk assessment; and improve the prospects for both debtors and creditors 5. Systemic Improvements: Contingent Credit Lines (CCL): The IMF has created a new instrument of crisis prevention with the CCL, after cautionary line of defense readily available to member countries with strong economic policies designed to prevent future balance of payments problems that might arise from international financial contagion. Advantage of Globalization in Indian Economy: There are numerous advantages in the shift to a global economy including the possibility to increase benefits from economies of scale. The breaking down of global barriers allows companies to benefit from the largest cheapest workforces, raw material, technology. Due to globalization, in many areas of the country tomato growers, potato growers fruit growers, farmers benefited from tie-up collaborations with ketchup, potato chips, fruit juices etc. Fishermen in Kerala have increased their incomes using mobile phones to find out the best markets where the prices are highest on each day. Lock outs strikes have declined to insignificantly low levels because industrial labor is happy. Due to Globalization the business market in the world has no boundaries; they can market their products in any part of the world. This has involved the chances of laying hands on global market technologies, which would definitely increase our qualities of living standards. Globalization helps Indian En trepreneur to know more about the competitors, recent trends, Quality of products. Helps in sourcing new technology for improving their Brand Quality. Hiring competent person irrespective of the nationality. Good exposure of Indian brands to overseas market. Due to increase in healthy competition with other brands, Indian brands will be forced to improve their quality and services to the customer. It aims at increasing the production of food and improvements of the economic and social condition of farmers. It would increase efficiency of the workers. Use of seeds and heavy machines has help to increase agricultural productivity. It would improve animal husbandries would be able to import good breed of animals from the other countries. Farmers will get the privilege of the international market through export agricultural products. Disadvantages: Rise in demand for labor the rise in wage rates leading to increase in costs. Too much competition in the market leading to continuous pressure on raising productivity enhancing consumer service, improving products quality in order to survive. Voluntary retirement for many public sector units. Too many sales person chasing customers. Too many cars on the road traffic congestion. Growth of consumerism. Shortage power infrastructure affecting industrial expansion. The farmer got the exposure to global links of markets, technology investments, beneficial in terms of involving their yields, getting better prices secured off take. This leads to a major dissatisfaction among under developed/developing countries where they are cut off from the rest of the world. This has also increased the chances of inferiority complex among these nations. There is a fundamental problem with globalization which will cause international tension trade disputes without arresting the process. It may be d ifficult to survive for SSI and other industries which are unable to cope up with the changes due to insufficient funds. Indian Talent is being attracted towards other country due to higher salary and emoluments. Due to heavy taxation and levies in India, end products are being costly as compared to imported brands. All the multinational companies MNCs are examples, such as pepsi , cocacola, ibm, general electric, vodafone, almost all have its business allover the world. for a MNC target market is whole world itself. Globalization Its Impact : The various beneficial effects of globalization in Indian Industry are that it brought in huge amounts of foreign investments into the industry especially in the BPO, pharmaceutical, petroleum, and manufacturing industries. As huge amounts of foreign direct investments were coming to the Indian Industry, they boosted the Indian economy quite significantly. The benefits of the effects of globalization in the Indian Industry are that many foreign companies set up industries in India, especially in the pharmaceutical, BPO, petroleum, manufacturing, and chemical sectors and this helped to provide employment to many people in the country. This helped reduce the level of unemployment and poverty in the country. Also the benefit of the Effects of Globalization on Indian Industry are that the foreign companies brought in highly advanced technology with them and this helped to make the Indian Industry more technologically advanced. Since 1991, India has witnessed an explosion of new media. Be tween 1990 and 1999, access to television grew from 10% of the urban population to 75% of the urban population. Cable television and foreign movies became widely available for the first time. 1) Indian Agriculture: Indian farmers are offered no subsidiaries compared to the US Farmers. There has been no encouragement from the government to ensure foreign companies to set up technologies for the farmers assistance. The US Farmers has opened the market for textile China has already set up factories started production where in India hasnt woken up. On the other side of the medal, there is along list of the worst of the time, the foremost casualty being the agriculture sector. Agriculture has been still remains the backbone of the Indian economy. It plays a vital role not only in providing food nutrition to the people, but also in the supply of raw materials to industries to export trade. The financial capital of India the political of India are set to become the topmost slum cities of the world. 2) Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Growth rate: The Indian economy is passing through a difficult phase caused by several unfavorable domestic external developments, Domestic O/P DD conditions were adversely affected by poor performance in agriculture in the post two years. The rate of growth of GDP of India has been on the increase from 5.6% to 7% in the 1993-2001 periods. The sectors attracting highest FDI inflows are electrical equipments including Computer software electronics (18 %), service sector (13%), telecommunication (10%), transportation industry (9%) etc. 3) Export Import: Indias export import is increasing many Indian companies have started becoming respectable players in international scenes. There are two alternative causes available. To sell its product in the export market. To produce those type of commodities that the rich in India could consume i.e. luxury consumption goods. 4) Technologies: IT is given special status. The reason for this is because the Indian government wants to promote it-s nation a as a technological advanced nation and in order to do this they must stimulate the IT sector. The special status- means the sector and investors (willing to invest in the sector) will receive many benefits and incentives from the government to do so. 5) Poverty: The government of India has shown decline in people living in absolute poverty by manipulating statistics. The decline happened when large number of industrial units have been closed down, number of days of work available to workers has declined, downsizing of manpower had taken place in most of the industrial undertakings and non-availability of jobs to the new entrant in employment market is witnessed. Besides, there is an all round decline of prices of agricultural products, forcing farmers to suicide. In sectors like plantation and tea, workers are virtually starving. It is just not possible that people living in absolute poverty can decline in the country under these circumstances. 6) Education: The growth of higher education and the impact of the global economies have influenced the Indian education system over the last few years. Conclusion: India has to concentrate on 5 important areas or things to follow to achieve this goal. The areas like technological entrepreneurship, new business opening for small medium enterprises importance of quality management, now prospects in rural areas privatization of financial institutions. There will be prospect growth of Indian economy very much depends upon rural participation in the global race. The rich and poor, rural and urban, service class and agriculturalists, men and women, the bi polar opposites started troubling the social development. Benefits of Globalization: Economies of countries that engage well with the international economy have consistently grown much faster than those countries that try to protect themselves. Well managed open economies have grown at rates that are on average 2 Â ½ percentage points higher than the rate of growth in economies closed to the forces of globalisation. Countries which have had faster economic growth have then been able to improve living standards and reduce poverty. India has cut its poverty rate in half in the past two decades. China has reduced the number of rural poor from 250 million in 1978 to 34 million in 1999. Cheaper imports also make a wider range of products accessible to more people and, through competition, can help promote efficiency and productivity. Improved wealth through the economic gains of globlisation has led to improved access to health care and clean water which has increased life expectancy. More than 85 percent of the worlds population can expect to live for at least sixty yea rs (thats twice as long as the average life expectancy 100 years ago!) Improved environmental awareness and accountability has contributed to positive environmental outcomes by encouraging the use of more efficient, less-polluting technologies and facilitating economies imports of renewable substitutes for use in place of scarce domestic natural resources.Improved technology has dramatically reduced costs and prices changing the way the world communicates, learns, does business and treats illnesses. Between 1990 and 1999, adult illiteracy rates in developing countries fell from 35 per cent to 29 per cent. Modern communications and the global spread of information have contributed to the toppling of undemocratic regimes and a growth in liberal democracies around the world. International migration has led to greater recognition of diversity and respect for cultural identities which is improving democracy and access to human rights. Problems of globalization: There are social and economic costs to globalisation Trade liberalisation rewards competitive industries and penalises uncompetitive ones, and it requires participating countries to undertake economic restructuring and reform. While this will bring benefits in the long term, there are dislocation costs to grapple with in the immediate term, and the social costs for those affected are high. Increased trade and travel have facilitated the spread of human, animal and plant diseases, like HIV/AIDS, SARS and bird flu, across borders. Globalisation has also enabled the introduction of cigarettes and tobacco to developing countries, with major adverse health and financial costs associated with that. Trade liberalisation and technological improvements change the economy of a country, destroying traditional agricultural communities and allowing cheap imports of manufactured goods. This can lead to unemployment if not carefully managed, as work in the traditional sectors of the economy becomes scarce and people may not have the appropriate skills for the jobs which may be created. Modern communications have spread an awareness of the differences between countries, and increased the demand for migration to richer countries. Richer countries have tightened the barriers against migrant workers, xenophobic fears have increased and people smugglers have exploited vulnerable people. Globalised competition can force a race to the bottom in wage rates and labour standards. It can also foster a brain drain of skilled workers, where highly educated and qualified professionals, such as doctors, engineers and IT specialists, migrate to developed countries to benefit from the higher wages and greater career and lifestyle prospects. This creates severe skilled labour shortages in developing countries.

Observations in All Our Kin Essay -- Carol Stack

Carol Stack finds herself in a curious place as a young white woman venturing into a black neighborhood in hopes of alleviating negative stereotypes and bringing illumination into a semiosphere that is altogether ignored or even despised. While she defined her purpose as the attempt to â€Å"illustrate the collective adaptations to poverty of men, women, and children within the social-cultural network of the black urban family† (28), her methods are not merely those of an outside observer spouting back information, but truly that of an actively engaged participant. Staying true to the guidelines of participant observation studies, Stack did not attempt to isolate or manipulate the culture she saw, and instead of donning the lab coat, as it were, and playing the role of the experimenting scientist, or simply sneaking in, Stack was very human in her interactions and dealings, participating as actively as possible in peoples’ real lives in The Flats. (Hedrick). Twenty years ago, Stack sought to explain why the impoverished area was not subject to conventional judgment and evaluation by describing the primary differences between that society, and the more affluent culture that defines the standards. To say, for example, that the average black household is unstructured would be a misstatement. On the contrary, these households are elaborately structured, but in a more fluid manner than the conventional home. Typically, these subcultures are negatively defined – or judged by what they are not. Through this lens, The Flats appears to be a disheveled mess of rats scurrying for the next scrap of food. Walking into this situation, Stack had to prove the notion that â€Å"distinctively negative features attributed to poor families, that they are fat... ...their lifestyles or values, but merely funnel greater sums of money into bottomless, self-destructing pits† (23). If this is true, then certainly the American Dream wins out for virtue. Indeed, throwing money at a problem absolutely does not make it go away – but when families are legitimately struggling to make ends meet and goods are scarce, when they’ve established these complex chains of organized networks and trades, and when they can empathize with others in their situation and see the big picture beyond their own, one is left to wonder why Stack’s voice hasn’t been heard more widely, and why the residents of The Flats are still left to fight against the current in their own comparatively competent culture of exchange, and networks of all their kin. Stack, Carol B. All Our Kin : Strategies for Survival in a Black Community. New York: Basic Books, 1983.

Zara Case Study

Despite the current centralized distribution model working well and at below capacity, continuous rapid expansion outside of Spain for Inedited brands (exhibit 8) would bring problems of; larger amalgamation of dispersed network pictures, rater demand and customization for Ezra offerings from consumers. This would further bring the effects of discomposes of scale; increased transportation costs, top heavy Organization, potentially exceeding working capacity, increased risk if central distribution centre fails.No standardized market position – Sara's expansion approach have led them to be positioned differently in each geographical market despite targeting the same consumer segment, Ezra currently use company-centered knowledge to determine price and positioning strategies for different geographical segments. This has caused inconsistent consumer perception of their brand e. . Americas and Spain. Being in a globalizes marketplace, this poses a problem to the global perception a nd position of the Ezra brand.Competitive Environment -? Ezra is competing in a competitive market where the competition are seeing similar growth in stock prices and revenue (Exhibit 3, Exhibit 5). Competitors such as have already achieved similar competencies to Ezra in terms of variety and stock refresh, and have obtained more advanced competencies such as localization of distribution centers, reducing the competitive advantage that Ezra has in terms of flexibility in their products array and enabling the threat f substitution.Other competitors such as Unique have further gained competitive advantage by differentiating themselves in the saturated market of fast retailing by using an undifferentiated marketing approach targeting a larger customer base, leading to a revenue growth rate greater than Ezra from 2009-2010 (Exhibit 5). Potential Solutions A potential solution for Ezra is the possibility of forming a joint-venture distribution centre in China as a precursor for localizat ion of design and production in Asia.This joint-venture promotes multilateral exchanges with other economic actors within the network. Helping Ezra maintain a competitive advantage over competition by allowing for Ezra to assess their ‘STEP based on network insight to better standardize their market positioning. However, internal clashes can arise from a shift from a centralized to decentralized distribution business model. Also both organization can clash due to the rejection Of the partner-organization's underlying logic, objectives and business culture.Another potential solution is for Ezra to expand their e- commerce presence in Asia and America to gain competitive advantage, such as the growing market of e-commerce in America. This allows for Ezra to extend their reach to customers, and further gives them a competitive advantage over competitors such as who have yet to setup an e- commerce presence in Asia. This would also compliment the rapid expansion into the Asia regi on specifically targeted at India and China.However, this method would entail higher outbound shipment costs as individual items will have to be shipped from the central distribution center in Spain to the consumer in Asia or America. This leads to another potential solution on focusing on their existing supply chain competency in Europe to further expand e-commerce presence beyond the 8 countries that use a Ezra online store. This would utilize Sara's existing centralized supply chain in Europe to expand reach to the existing customer base.However, this would give Ezra little long term competitive advantages over competition as competitor brands can easily implement the same marketing approach. Ezra may also want to consider adopting an undifferentiated approach by expanding their basic line to further compete with a larger customer base as Unique have done with a large amount of success (exhibit 5). This solution however would to be a viable long term solution and has the possibil ity of affecting their overall brand perception if less fashionable items of clothing were being pushed to the consumer.Best Solution The best solution for Ezra would be to open a joint-venture distribution centre in China as a precursor to opening localized design and production facilities in Asia, this fits into Sara's objective to expand rapidly in a very competitive landscape (Exhibit 5). This is also consistent with their joint- venture with Data group in opening up Ezra stores in India with the potential for Network Insight. The overall issue to this solution is that Ezra will need to find a partner to form a joint venture with, this may also require exchanges with local economic actors in China to gain insight.China is a rapid growing market for Ezra with 71 stores opening in 4 years and on target to becoming Sara's 2nd largest market. Opening a distribution center in China entails the following; 1 . Network Insight for ‘STEP' Competitive advantage – Whilst openi ng a distribution centre in China itself is not a major competitive competency in comparison to R&M's localized distribution centers, by operating a joint- entire in China and through the recursive exchange in the joint-venture structure along with exchanges with other economic actors, this promotes multilateral exchanges which will lead to a realistic and better understanding of the market.This can be used by Ezra to help better periodically evaluate their ‘STEP' due to changes in consumer needs, this ensures maximized long term success and competitiveness by assessing actions against modern network insights 2. Reduced re-stock time – Currently the existing distribution model for Ezra means that they can only ship to 1 geographical region per ay. By including a distribution center in Asia, it means that stores within the growing market can be restocked much more effectively to better satisfy consumer needs 3.Allows the introduction of e-commerce in Asia -? with a distr ibution center in Asia, this allows for the possibility of establishing e- commerce in China ahead of Sara's competition. This can also be used to further gather consumer insight into preferences. By operating as a joint- venture, risks will be shared with the partner organization, not only this, but resources can be shared to achieve maximum efficiency. However, by opening a distribution center in China, it will start to dissolve the existing centralized structure that Ezra has created.But to expand overseas, Ezra cannot rely on company-centered extant knowledge for expansion and understanding of new customers, as seen through their existing differentiated positioning in Americas and Spain. Ezra must start to take a more decentralized approach in terms of global expansion. The notion of decentralization may come with hesitance from Ezra stakeholders due to Bonnet's failure with a decentralized business model, however as Ezra loud maintain and own a large stake in the joint venture, they would still maintain a large control.With greater network insight, this provides a pathway for Ezra to Open design and production facilities in Asia to improve operational efficiency in the long-term; 1 . Economies of Scale – despite the current centralized distribution model not effecting gross profit growth (exhibit 4), the rapid expansion into Asia can cause discomposes of scale through higher transportation costs. By having design and production local, this will reduce transportation costs to ship to Asian regions, this can Hereford be beneficial in further reducing Sara's carbon footprint and improving CARS 2.Efficient Amalgamation of Consumer Feedback – With rapid expansion, there will be greater consumer feedback. By opening up design and production in China, it allows for efficient and focused amalgamation of Asian consumer perceptions through having an established network insight. This will allow both faster response time to customer feedback and potenti al for exchange of designs between Asian and European markets to expand Sara's product portfolio. 3.Closer to Fabric Suppliers – Currently, Ezra arches fabric from their Hong Kong office, this office could be used to further utilize Asian suppliers to supply fabric for Asian production facilities, therefore reducing costs in importing fabric from overseas suppliers. Overall this solution aims to provide sustainability to Ezra for future growth in Asia. Application of Concepts From the available case study, we can see the 3 components of a Market; the suppliers, product and customer come into play.For suppliers, we can see that suppliers such as H and Inedited offer a large variety of product entries, whilst Fast Retailing offer product specialization and have a small reduce portfolio. However the most important component within this case is the customer aspect, due to the large influence that customers have on product portfolios of Inedited and H. Fast retailing unique has ad opted an undifferentiated approach by treating consumers as a homogeneous segment.Therefore they attempt to reach a large customer base through a single marketing strategy of offering a large variety of basics in a large array of colors. This is different to the approach made by and Inedited, who utilize a differentiated marketing approach. Inedited has multiple brands such s Ezra and Berserk utilizing different Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning. This similar concept is used by in which sub-brands are marketed to different segment groups.This therefore means that Inedited and H aim to have a full-market coverage by offering a wide variety of offerings to different segments. However, as Unique is the largest retailer to use a undifferentiated marketing approach, it has successfully differentiated itself from Inedited and Ezra by implementing product specialization, therefore Fast Retailing have benefited from rising revenue growth comparable to H and Inedited (Exhibit 5). Zara Case Study Despite the current centralized distribution model working well and at below capacity, continuous rapid expansion outside of Spain for Inedited brands (exhibit 8) would bring problems of; larger amalgamation of dispersed network pictures, rater demand and customization for Ezra offerings from consumers. This would further bring the effects of discomposes of scale; increased transportation costs, top heavy Organization, potentially exceeding working capacity, increased risk if central distribution centre fails.No standardized market position – Sara's expansion approach have led them to be positioned differently in each geographical market despite targeting the same consumer segment, Ezra currently use company-centered knowledge to determine price and positioning strategies for different geographical segments. This has caused inconsistent consumer perception of their brand e. . Americas and Spain. Being in a globalizes marketplace, this poses a problem to the global perception a nd position of the Ezra brand.Competitive Environment -? Ezra is competing in a competitive market where the competition are seeing similar growth in stock prices and revenue (Exhibit 3, Exhibit 5). Competitors such as have already achieved similar competencies to Ezra in terms of variety and stock refresh, and have obtained more advanced competencies such as localization of distribution centers, reducing the competitive advantage that Ezra has in terms of flexibility in their products array and enabling the threat f substitution.Other competitors such as Unique have further gained competitive advantage by differentiating themselves in the saturated market of fast retailing by using an undifferentiated marketing approach targeting a larger customer base, leading to a revenue growth rate greater than Ezra from 2009-2010 (Exhibit 5). Potential Solutions A potential solution for Ezra is the possibility of forming a joint-venture distribution centre in China as a precursor for localizat ion of design and production in Asia.This joint-venture promotes multilateral exchanges with other economic actors within the network. Helping Ezra maintain a competitive advantage over competition by allowing for Ezra to assess their ‘STEP based on network insight to better standardize their market positioning. However, internal clashes can arise from a shift from a centralized to decentralized distribution business model. Also both organization can clash due to the rejection Of the partner-organization's underlying logic, objectives and business culture.Another potential solution is for Ezra to expand their e- commerce presence in Asia and America to gain competitive advantage, such as the growing market of e-commerce in America. This allows for Ezra to extend their reach to customers, and further gives them a competitive advantage over competitors such as who have yet to setup an e- commerce presence in Asia. This would also compliment the rapid expansion into the Asia regi on specifically targeted at India and China.However, this method would entail higher outbound shipment costs as individual items will have to be shipped from the central distribution center in Spain to the consumer in Asia or America. This leads to another potential solution on focusing on their existing supply chain competency in Europe to further expand e-commerce presence beyond the 8 countries that use a Ezra online store. This would utilize Sara's existing centralized supply chain in Europe to expand reach to the existing customer base.However, this would give Ezra little long term competitive advantages over competition as competitor brands can easily implement the same marketing approach. Ezra may also want to consider adopting an undifferentiated approach by expanding their basic line to further compete with a larger customer base as Unique have done with a large amount of success (exhibit 5). This solution however would to be a viable long term solution and has the possibil ity of affecting their overall brand perception if less fashionable items of clothing were being pushed to the consumer.Best Solution The best solution for Ezra would be to open a joint-venture distribution centre in China as a precursor to opening localized design and production facilities in Asia, this fits into Sara's objective to expand rapidly in a very competitive landscape (Exhibit 5). This is also consistent with their joint- venture with Data group in opening up Ezra stores in India with the potential for Network Insight. The overall issue to this solution is that Ezra will need to find a partner to form a joint venture with, this may also require exchanges with local economic actors in China to gain insight.China is a rapid growing market for Ezra with 71 stores opening in 4 years and on target to becoming Sara's 2nd largest market. Opening a distribution center in China entails the following; 1 . Network Insight for ‘STEP' Competitive advantage – Whilst openi ng a distribution centre in China itself is not a major competitive competency in comparison to R&M's localized distribution centers, by operating a joint- entire in China and through the recursive exchange in the joint-venture structure along with exchanges with other economic actors, this promotes multilateral exchanges which will lead to a realistic and better understanding of the market.This can be used by Ezra to help better periodically evaluate their ‘STEP' due to changes in consumer needs, this ensures maximized long term success and competitiveness by assessing actions against modern network insights 2. Reduced re-stock time – Currently the existing distribution model for Ezra means that they can only ship to 1 geographical region per ay. By including a distribution center in Asia, it means that stores within the growing market can be restocked much more effectively to better satisfy consumer needs 3.Allows the introduction of e-commerce in Asia -? with a distr ibution center in Asia, this allows for the possibility of establishing e- commerce in China ahead of Sara's competition. This can also be used to further gather consumer insight into preferences. By operating as a joint- venture, risks will be shared with the partner organization, not only this, but resources can be shared to achieve maximum efficiency. However, by opening a distribution center in China, it will start to dissolve the existing centralized structure that Ezra has created.But to expand overseas, Ezra cannot rely on company-centered extant knowledge for expansion and understanding of new customers, as seen through their existing differentiated positioning in Americas and Spain. Ezra must start to take a more decentralized approach in terms of global expansion. The notion of decentralization may come with hesitance from Ezra stakeholders due to Bonnet's failure with a decentralized business model, however as Ezra loud maintain and own a large stake in the joint venture, they would still maintain a large control.With greater network insight, this provides a pathway for Ezra to Open design and production facilities in Asia to improve operational efficiency in the long-term; 1 . Economies of Scale – despite the current centralized distribution model not effecting gross profit growth (exhibit 4), the rapid expansion into Asia can cause discomposes of scale through higher transportation costs. By having design and production local, this will reduce transportation costs to ship to Asian regions, this can Hereford be beneficial in further reducing Sara's carbon footprint and improving CARS 2.Efficient Amalgamation of Consumer Feedback – With rapid expansion, there will be greater consumer feedback. By opening up design and production in China, it allows for efficient and focused amalgamation of Asian consumer perceptions through having an established network insight. This will allow both faster response time to customer feedback and potenti al for exchange of designs between Asian and European markets to expand Sara's product portfolio. 3.Closer to Fabric Suppliers – Currently, Ezra arches fabric from their Hong Kong office, this office could be used to further utilize Asian suppliers to supply fabric for Asian production facilities, therefore reducing costs in importing fabric from overseas suppliers. Overall this solution aims to provide sustainability to Ezra for future growth in Asia. Application of Concepts From the available case study, we can see the 3 components of a Market; the suppliers, product and customer come into play.For suppliers, we can see that suppliers such as H and Inedited offer a large variety of product entries, whilst Fast Retailing offer product specialization and have a small reduce portfolio. However the most important component within this case is the customer aspect, due to the large influence that customers have on product portfolios of Inedited and H. Fast retailing unique has ad opted an undifferentiated approach by treating consumers as a homogeneous segment.Therefore they attempt to reach a large customer base through a single marketing strategy of offering a large variety of basics in a large array of colors. This is different to the approach made by and Inedited, who utilize a differentiated marketing approach. Inedited has multiple brands such s Ezra and Berserk utilizing different Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning. This similar concept is used by in which sub-brands are marketed to different segment groups.This therefore means that Inedited and H aim to have a full-market coverage by offering a wide variety of offerings to different segments. However, as Unique is the largest retailer to use a undifferentiated marketing approach, it has successfully differentiated itself from Inedited and Ezra by implementing product specialization, therefore Fast Retailing have benefited from rising revenue growth comparable to H and Inedited (Exhibit 5). Zara Case Study MGMT 6620: Operations & SCM HBS Case Study Zara: IT for Fast Fashion 4/9/2013 1. What is the Zara â€Å"business model†? What weaknesses, if any, do you seen in this business model? The value propositions offered by Zara to its main customers who are young, fashion conscious city-dwellers is offering new styles within the time-frame of several weeks as well as providing assortment of choices for customers and the uniqueness of clothing styles fitting individual customer needs. To achieve this Zara’s business model had the following: 1.Incorporating the horizontal structure for placing orders and deciding which items to push aggressively by delegating decision making responsibilities to store managers; 2. Low volume production of any item and high inventory turnover, which secured better tracking of â€Å"hot† items, which can be sold well; 3. Reduction of losses on items which are not selling well- Company was eliminating inventory build-up by managing low invent ories and by their frequent updates company achieved high foot traffic in its stores and used the stores as focal points of its marketing campaigns.Weakness in Zara’s business model is that each store is highly dependent on decision making capabilities of store managers, which might cause the problem if many of them decide to leave. Moreover, since company relying on small shops scattered throughout Spain and Portugal for its production any economic downturn in those countries can cause the increase the cost of manufacturing or COGS. 2. In your opinion, what are the most important aspects of Zara’s approach to IT? Are these approaches applicable and appropriate anywhere? If not, where would they not work well?The Most important aspect of Zara’s approach to Information technology is the use of DOS-POS in its current store to track customers demand quickly, decentralize the company and provide customer with trendy clothing options. Yes these approaches are essenti ally applicable starting from production till distribution, but Zara’s current IT is outdated and needs to be upgraded from future sustainability point of view to network with various retailors and distribution centers. Zara could face challenges in longer run from operation front with new technology.Zara must keep upgrading them with the latest technology to beat the competitors that might cost high. New technology demands training on usage to employee that again involve cost. 3. Should the company build in-store networks? In our group’s opinion, Zara should build in-store networks. First of all, the store manager has difficulties in ordering without in-store networks. Aim of Zara is to provide its clothes quickly while the system which Zara currently has cannot reach this requirement.The store personnel could not look up their inventory through in-store computer; they need to talk to salespeople to determine the quantities, which is time-consuming. Secondly, for the fulfillment process, the level of the SKU is hard to determine without in-store networks. More importantly, if in-store networks would not be built, the infrastructure that Zara stores currently have cannot provide information among stores about the SKU. Store personnel have to use obsolete methods such as having telephone call or carrying disks to report the inventory or calculate the total sales.Last but not the least, the low cost wireless networks help and favor the building up of in-store networks. Zara, as a company, which has a promising future, should also update its network infrastructure, as its business scope will grow bigger. 4. How would you advise Salgado to proceed on upgrading Zara’s POS system? The POS terminals using DOS has been unchanged for over a decade, which made Zara difficult to manage the daily operation effectively. Upgrading Zara’s POS system would utilize the large screen, keyboard and mouse to quickly provide service to customers.It is ve ry important because time is money. Customers are now very busy with their daily schedule; faster service will attract more customers. Furthermore, the modern POS terminals would be able to execute more sophisticated capabilities such as sharing with other stores the inventory. This is essential for the company to manage the inventory and promote the brand network. It shows to the customers that Zara store is a global network and has the same value of providing the best service to customer anywhere. It will reduce the cost of phone call by using the communication inside the company’s online network.

buy custom Attention and Concentration in Sports and Exercise

buy custom Attention and Concentration in Sports and Exercise Importance of Attention and Concentration for Athlete Abstract The ability to pay attention and concentrate is one of the most important areas in the psychology of sports. Athletes and sportsmen are likely to be disrupted by booze and buzz that comes with the sports celebrity status. Thus there is a need to ensure that an athlete continues to concentrate and pay attention to the game instead of focusing on distractions. Even in circumstances where the athletes are sure they would lose the game, they must continue to fight until the end of the game. Without concentrating and paying attention to the main objective, athletes are likely to focus on irrelevant cues while ignoring the important ones. Sport psychologists have come up with ways to help athletes and sportsmen to focus their attention and concentration on critical parts of the game, thus avoiding distractions. But sometimes they need training so that they can improve their performance in sports. This paper is a research paper that explores the issues that are related to concentration and attention in sports and exercise. Key words: concentration, attention, sports, athletes, psychology

buy custom The Sport Company in the United States essay

buy custom The Sport Company in the United States essay According to Marina (2008) Nike Inc. is the leading supplier of athletic shoes and equipments, as well as a key producer of sports equipment in the world. The company is based in the United States, and its headquarter is in Beaverton, Oregon. A majority of people are familiar with the various products offered by Nike store line, for instance, NIKE Football, Nike Sportswear, Nike Volleyball etc. It is from the sale of these products, coupled with the companys slogan, Just Do It that, Nike was able to get a profit of $15 billion, in the year 2006 (Peters 2009). As at 2008, the companys revenue was over US$ 18.6 billion, and indication of its business success. It has also employed in excess of 30,000 workers globally. However, over the past few years, Nike has been faced with a series of problems, which has negatively affected the business image, and consequently, its performance. Some of the issues of concern include paying low wages to its workers, using child labor, and the effect of outsourcing on its sales. As expected, such grave claims are bound to affect the successful establishment of any business both locally and internationally, and Nike is not an exception (Madeley 1999). For instance, Nikes sweatshops labor case resulted in numerous controversial debates concerning its ethical business practices. That painted a bad image of the company in the publics eye; something that Nike is still struggling to overcome among Americans and other customers worldwide, even if it has tried to recover from the bad press it received. The following in-depth analysis into the various challenges that Nike Inc. has faced in the recent past, gives a better definition of its problems. Problem Definition Nikes problems started, when it decided to outsource its manufacturing plants to numerous countries, with an intention of lessening costs, and improving its efficiency in productivity. What followed was widespread protests and outrage, far much beyond the expectation of the company. The protesters stereotyped the company as, forcing, children to slave away in hazardous conditions for below-subsistence wages (Hill 2009, p. 57). The factories forced their workers to work, extremely long hours to fill the quotas. In addition, they had to follow stringent rules throughout the working hours, while being paid minimally, despite the fact that 77% of employees in Nike Vietnam had respiratory problems (Sun 2010). Consequently, human rights and globalization activists criticized the company, for exploiting workers abroad, and placing them under very poor working conditions. What angered them most was the fact that Nike was cashing in billions of dollars, but still failed to provide a safe envi ronment for its workers. It was the complaints against globalization, and the numerous protests against poor working conditions that made the company realize the importance of providing a safe working environment to its employees, as well as, adhering to specific standards for every one of its factories abroad. The key challenges that Nike had to confront include ethical, cultural and legal challenges. It is a good thing that the company has provided numerous jobs to people across the world. However, that does not justify its maltreatment of its workers. For instance, while an average daily living wage in Vietnam in about $3, Nike Vietnam was paying only $ 1.60 daily to its workers (Hill 2009). This problem could have been avoided by the company paying each and every one of its employees the living wage that corresponds to the pay in their home countries, in order to be able to at least afford basic items. Besides, decent living wage is a cultural expectation, and since the company failed to meet it, people protested. Another challenge that the company had to face was the issue of unsafe working conditions. Nike hired, an accounting firm, Ernst Young to carry out an audit of its business practices. The audit report discovered that employees with breathing and skin problems had been left to continue working in departments with chemicals despite their conditions Fass (2010). This was in addition to a claim that over half of those workers who worked in departments dealing with chemicals were not provided with protective clothing such as masks and gloves. The findings of the report were meant to be confidential, but somehow, they reached the public, which triggered a lot of rage and anger from all corners of the world. While it continued to make even higher profits, it exploited its very own workers that enabled them to succeed. Nikes problems were not far from over; it was again accused of failing to adhere to child labor laws. The company hired children, and forced then to work for long hours while paying them wages below the required minimum pay. For instance, according to Global Exchange, one factory, owned by a Korean subcontractor for Nike, was hiring children as young as thirteen years, and forcing then to work for up to seventeen hours daily under enforced silence, while being paid only 10 cents per hour (Sage 2008). Exposure of workers to harsh and toxic chemicals such as carcinogens also placed the company at odds with human rights activists. In an attempt to redeem its badly tainted image, the company stated that it had formulated an action plan for dealing with the various problems indicated in the report, and that, it had improved safety and ventilation, reduced overtime hours, and lessened the use of toxic chemicals. Attempts of redeeming the bad image of the company saw, Nike again hiring Andrew Young, a one-time U.S. Ambassador to the UN, and the Ex- Mayor of Atlanta, and Congressional representative. His responsibility was to evaluate the working conditions in the various Nokias subcontractor plants around the world. Unfortunately, his report was accused of having discrepancies, in addition to the questionable method in which the research was conducted (Hill 2009). The idea of audits done on oversees factories by independent auitors came from United Students Against Sweatshops, in an attempt to obtain an accurate independent audit. But it seems that even independent auditors, did not deliver accurate results. Despite numerous attempts as discussed above, Nike still remains the focus of protests with regard to unsafe working conditions and child labor laws. In addition, the widely recognized brand name of the company has seen a number of governmental organizations working with it to make sure that it provides safe and ethical business practices, as well as to monitor, its sweatshops established in foreign countries (Rutenberg 2002). The several challenges that the brand is facing shows just how important it is for companies to follow the rules and regulations established by a particular country in order to successfully do its business there. It is based on the above challenges that I realized that Nike would benefit from a marketing research. Despite the fact that the companys brand is well known in the whole world, it is true that if it does not act fast to deal with the above problems, the business might eventually go down due to more and more people distancing themselves from the company (Egan 1998). As at 2007, retailers of Nike products both small and large reported that a significant number of their customers did not want anything to do with the brand due to allegations on the company, over worker exploitations overseas. As a result, their sales dropped considerably, affecting the overall performance of the company. This research was aimed at assessing the companies working conditions, and what measures the company should take to improve the working conditions for its workers in order to redeem its tainted image and reclaim the success it used to have in the previous years. The objectives of the research was as follows Objectives To evaluate the working conditions of Nike Vietnam factory. To find out what measures Nike Vietnam should take to provide better working conditions for its workers. Research Method and Limitations In order to find answers to the above questions, a research was carried out among selected employees of the company, to get their own version of the claims and what they would like to be done to improve the situations. The choice of the Nikes employees was based on the fact that they are the ones affected by the poor working conditions, and therefore their input is very important when the company is making critical decisions that concern them. The research sample was 500 randomly selected employees of Nike Vietnam, since it is one of the companys overseas factories where poor working conditions have been reported to a great extent. The research method involved an intercept survey, where questionnaires were constructed with the questions; 1) under what working conditions do you work? 2) What would you like to be done to improve the working conditions? To get answers to the above questions, I had to conduct a brief interview on the employees of the Nikes factory in Vietnam. The good thing is that I stay in Vietnam, and therefore, I did not have to incur travelling expenses, as in the case when the company to be researched is located far way. As expected, gaining entry into the company to interview the employees was not easy. First, even seeing the CEO of the factory, was a problem; I went to the company for almost one week, always finding him busy, either with meetings or appointments. The following week, when I finally gained access to his office, I had to explain to the CEO my reasons of wanting to interview their employees, and how my research would benefit his company. I told him of my concern for the numerous challenges that Nike Company has been facing in the recent past, and that I was their loyal customer and would not want to see the company being closed someday because it did not act appropriately in time to find lasting solutions to its numerous problems. I also told him of the importance of considering the input of their workers, who are the ones affected by the poor company working conditions, and that no research done in the recent past has targeted the suggestions of the workers. Though he was reluctant to give me permission to interview his employees, he finally agreed, realizing that its his company that would benefit from the findings of my research to a large extent. The next thing was to swing into full action of carrying out the interview. Since my target was to interview 500 (250 men and 250 women) workers, my strategy was to interview twenty workers daily for the next twenty-five days, a request that the management agreed with so long as it did not interfere with normal work. To avoid creating curiosity among workers wanting to know what is going own, the management gave me one of the offices, where I interviewed the workers, each one at a time, and filling their answers in the questionnaires I had constructed. I must say that the workers were very cooperative and welcoming, which made me realize that my research was not only important to me and their company, but to them as well. All in all, the interviews went well, and after twenty-five days, I had interviewed all the 500 employees I had targeted. Though the process was tiring because I was alone, the course was worth it. A major limitation of this research was the fact that the research sample size I used was small. Since poor working condition claims of Nike Inc. does not only affect its factory in Vietnam, but also its other oversees companies in other parts of the world, the opinions of 500 hundred people cannot satisfactorily represent the opinions of the rest of the workers. Being alone, I could not have managed to interview more employees, owing to the limited time I was given by the company. In addition, the research findings needed to be thoroughly analyzed using appropriate statistical tools in order to come uup with conclusive suggestions that would help the company to redeem its bad image on the publics eye. However, since I did not have the relevant statistical packages, my analysis was limited. Research Findings The 2007 US financial crisis affected many countries all over the world, and Vietnam was not an exception. 50% of the workers interviewed stated that the company was paying them very low wages. The workers said that the low wages paid to them barely met their basic needs; leave alone other responsibilities such as paying school fees for their children, as well taking care of medical expenses. 25% of the workers said that the hours that they had to endure everyday, with minimum pay was taking a toll on the lives. They said that they are forced to work long overtime hours without pay. That consequently, took a toll on their personal lives, as many of them had broken marriages, as their spouses accused them of neglect. The worst part of it is that, their pay is insignificant, and does not justify the long working hours. Out of those who cited long working hours as their major problem, 15 percent of them were living as single parents; due to being left by their spouses, on the basis of t heir long absence in their homes, while another 10% said that the long hours of work over the years have led to them developing various health complications. For instance, one man said that he was suffering from insomnia, while the other had developed pneumonia, due to working for long hours in the cold. Another fifteen percent of the workers interviewed said that their health was the most important thing to them and their major concern was handling toxic chemicals without the company giving them protecting clothing. A large percentage of those who had issues with the lack of protective clothing had either genetic health problems, or conditions they had acquired as a result of long exposure to toxic chemicals. The remaining 10 percent of the workers cited low wages, lack of protective clothing and long hours of work. They wished that the company could do something to generally improve the working conditions of the workers. In answering the question of what measures the company should take to improve its working conditions, 60% of the interviewed workers suggested, that the company should pay them better enumerations, and reduce the total number of working hours from the current 15 hours to the normal 8 hours, and that working overtime should be optional. Another 10% of the interviewees were in support of better pay, but they did not want the overtime hours to be reduced. Instead, they wanted their overtime payment to be guaranteed, citing that they had so many needs to take care of and that, so long as their overtime hours were paid, they were willing to continue working long hours to be able to get more money. 10% said that the company should provide protective clothing for everybody in the company, since only half of them had been provided with the protective wears. In addition, they said that the protective clothing they had currently were old and worn out and therefore needed replacements. The also , wanted the company to include them in the decision making process of the company. The said that the factory does not consult them on anything; that their duty is to work without questioning, an action they said had really demoralized them. Besides, they also supported better pay and access to better medical services within the company. One of the interviewees said that the company had a nurse that offered only painkillers irrespective of the disease that the workers, and that most of the times, they were denied permission to seek treatment outside the company. In fact he said that there is a female worker who died in the company who was suffering from heart attack, who died in the company some time back, because of being denied permission to see go to a proper hospital for medical checkup. Another 15% wanted the company to pay better, reduce the long working hours, provide protective clothing and also provide them with meals at work (breakfast and lunch). The remaining 5% of the i nterviewed workers suggested the already mentioned points above, in addition to being allowed by the company to join workers union, being allowed to go on paid leaves, being provided with staff training and development programs, to sharpen their skills and knowledge. From the above findings is evident that the earlier researchers that have reported poor working conditions did not lie; it is real and happening. The results of this research are believable because, it came from the workers themselves. There is one thing that is worth noting about these findings; despite the fact that the research was done in small scale with only a few people only, it unraveled new measures which Nike has not considered in its plan of redeeming its image. Such measures include, seeking the input of workers in decision making, worker training and development, and allowing workers to join workers unions. Even other measures such as increasing the pay of workers, and reducing overtime working hours which the company ha promised to implement have just been theoretical; the company has not fully implemented them. Conclusions and Recommendations The famous brand name of Nike, risks diminishing in the coming years, if the company continues with its current poor working practices of paying low wages to its workers, long working hours and failure to provide protective clothing to its employees. The company should realize the value of its workers, and start treating them with respect as human beings, and not working tools. It is also important for the management of Nike Vietnam, to realize that public image is very important; how the public views a company greatly determines whether it will succeed or fail, and therefore they should do everything possible to redeem their bad public image (Brettman 2011). I recommend that the CEO of the company and his management team should take the above suggestions by their workers seriously and implementing them to the letter, as a first step towards redeeming their image. Buy custom The Sport Company in the United States essay

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