The Growth of Emotional Labour in Management and Labour

Introduction This paper explores the problems posed by the growth of emotional labour in management and labour. The growing importance of emotional labour in the labour market (especially in service industries) informs this analysis. After weighing the impact of emotional labour on employee performance and labour practices, this paper shows that the growth of emotional labour bears significant managerial and labour implications.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Growth of Emotional Labour in Management and Labour specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Its managerial impact stems from the impact of emotional labour on work performance, employee burnout, and employee turnover. Its implications on the labour market manifests through the impact of emotional labour on labour practices and gender equality in the labour market. This paper affirms this observation by evaluating the theoretical and empirical work of other res earchers. This analysis occurs in the literature review section where the paper explores the managerial implications of emotional labour. The implications of emotional labour on labour practices also complement this analysis because it demonstrates how the unique dynamics of emotional labour affect managerial actions. The understanding of empirical and theoretical constructs of emotional labour supports these analyses. In the discussion section, this paper analyses the implications of emotional labour on labour practices and the management of employees. This analysis informs the conclusion of the paper, which shows that the growth of emotional labour poses significant challenges for management and the labour market because it leads to high employee turnover, job dissatisfaction, and inequalities in labour practices. Definition of Terms Phenomenology –A study of human experiences that do not have a basis in objective reality Norms – the beliefs and values of a particula r communityAdvertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Job Autonomy – The independence and freedom of employees Literature Review Managerial Implications of Emotional Labour Most of the literature focusing on the implications of emotional labour in the workplace emphasise on the negative impact of emotional labour. Mainly, these literatures focus on the role of emotional labour in increasing drug abuse and alcohol abuse in the workplace. The same studies have also shown that emotional labour causes employee absenteeism (Morris Feldman 1996). From such arguments, researchers like Hochschild (1989) believe that emotional labour detaches employees from their true feelings because they have to exude mixed emotions, which may not necessarily reflect what they feel. This way, Hochschild (1989) believes that emotional labour bears significant negative consequences for the psychologica l well-being of workers. Some researchers have however questioned the theory that emotional labour bears a negative impact on psychological well-being of employees by suggesting that different occupations require different degrees of emotional labour. In this regard, researchers such as Douglas Norsby (2007) have said jobs that require intense emotional labour lead to low job satisfaction, while jobs that required low emotional labour do not have a significant impact on the psychological well-being of workers. Morris Feldman (1996) report these findings after they did the study using questionnaire responses from table servers. The study measured emotional labour as a measure of the psychological well-being of workers. A different study by Rowen (2003) shows a different interpretation of the relationship between emotional labour and psychological well-being. The study showed that the relationship between the two variables were not straightforward.Advertising We will write a cu stom essay sample on The Growth of Emotional Labour in Management and Labour specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This outcome contradicted studies by Hochschild (1989) which showed that emotional labour had a negative impact on employee well-being. Instead, the outcome of the study showed that employee well-being was also subject to job autonomy. Therefore, albeit a job may require intense emotional labour, if the workers have adequate job autonomy, they may not suffer the negative psychological well-being that Hochschild (1989) proposed. Implications of Emotional Labour on Labour Practices Many researchers affirm the ability of women to express greater emotional sensitivity than their male counterparts do (Noon 2010). For example, women smile more frequently than their male counterparts do (Morris Feldman 1996). Consequently, many employers associate positive emotions in the workplace with women. Rafaeli (1989) supports this fact by su ggesting that female store clerks conveyed many positive emotions in the workplace (compared to their male counterparts). His reasons for the positive portrayal of female emotions stem from the socialisation of women as the more friendly gender (compared to men), the ability of women to encode their emotions better than men do, and the strong need for social approval within the female gender. Hochschild (1989) agrees with the suggestion that female employees are more socialised than men are. He explains that this observation is true because the society expects women to be better emotional handlers than men are (both in the workplace environment and at home). To explain his point, Hochschild (1989) noted, â€Å"the world turns to women for mothering, and this fact silently attaches itself to different job requirements† (p. 182). The implication for this observation centre on the wider societal expectation of women to perform better than men do (in occupations that require inte nse emotional labour). The same expectations also remain true for the home environment. Theoretical Understanding Many researchers have explored the implications of emotional labour on organisations but the emotional labour theory offers the best insight into the consequences of emotional labour on managerial practices and the labour market.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Mainly, the emotional labour theory outlines that emotional labour does not always lead to negative outcomes. Nonetheless, the theory fails to consider the different emotional experiences of employees in the organisation. Other theories of emotional labour, which explain the implications of emotional labour in the organisation, include the concept of structuralism. The structuralism concept mainly focuses on investigating the macro-social aspects of emotional labour and people’s understanding of the concept (in the organisational setting) (Rowen 2003). The structuralism concept also considers the â€Å"social actor† as a passive entity in emotional management. This way, the current social order in the labour market prevails because when the social entity (worker) is passive, selfish, and constrained, social inequalities occur. In other words, the structuralism concept outlines that the portrayal of emotions (like shame and guilt) work to maintain the existing social or der. This argument is especially true for gender roles in the workplace because the expectation of different emotional labour roles often conform to social norms (Rowen 2003). Therefore, on one hand, people reward most socially conforming norms in the workplace with social acceptance, while the society opposed non-conformance to social roles through rejection and shame. Somewhat, the concept of structuralism explains how emotional labour does not lead to negative outcomes. For example, if a service provider and the recipient of the service share the same emotional expectations, there is no basis for the realisation of negative emotional outcomes. Adherence to societal norms normally provides the basis for the similarities between the service provider and service recipient. In fact, Rowen (2003) says positive emotions normally occur when the service provider and recipient share equal expectations. Recently, some cognitive theorists shifted their focus for understanding the implicatio ns of emotional labour from an emotional context to an emotional process (Noon 2010). In fact, such theorists say it is possible to evaluate one’s emotional experience with their emotional performance and its effect on other people. How employees display their emotions therefore outline their internal emotional dispositions (Noon 2010). Rowen (2003) warns that using the cognitive theory to explain emotional responses may lead to different outcomes. In other words, one service provider may have a very different emotional understanding (of a situation) from another service provider. This difference may occur because of several issues, including how the service providers understand their roles. Often, in such instances, negative emotional outcomes may occur. For example, when an unhappy customer interacts with an exhausted service provider, feelings of embarrassment and shame may emerge from the interaction. When such an outcome occurs, the service providers (who may be working many hours in a day) may perceive the customer’s response as inappropriate and therefore react by showing anger towards him. Ultimately, this stressful situation amounts to emotional frustration. Phenomenology researchers have a different understanding of emotional labour from cognitive theorists. Their understanding focuses on the â€Å"significant, dynamic, and the moral nature of emotions, as opposed to the broad macro understanding of the emotional interaction† (Rowen 2003, p. 5). Therefore, phenomenology researchers consider the emotions of employees as an attachment of their moral and individual perceptions of the world. Phenomenology researchers also attach a lot of importance to an individual’s feeling as a way to foster self-knowledge (Rowen 2003). This belief stems from the understanding of people’s emotional manifestation as a justification for their reactions. Usually, if it is impossible to justify the emotion, then it is easy for people to j udge an action as inappropriate. Discussion The growth of emotional labour poses significant challenges for management and labour. However, the extent of the influence of emotional labour varies, depending on the nature of the job. This paper shows that different researchers have differed on the extent that emotional labour influences worker performance. Indeed, this paper shows that some researchers support the view that emotional labour leads to low job satisfaction and worker exhaustion, while other researchers have cautioned against assuming a direct and negative relationship of emotional labour with job performance, because they believe the nature of the job influences the job performance. For management purposes, the influence of emotional labour on job performance should be a critical issue for decision-making because poor job performance may affect negatively an organisation’s productivity. More importantly, the understanding that emotional labour detaches employees f rom their natural personalities should be of high concern to management because employees who do not feel like they are in their â€Å"natural element† cannot perform well. This is a serious managerial issue for managers to rectify by assigning the right employees to work in jobs that fit their personalities. Here, there needs to be a careful emphasis on the recruitment and selection process of new employees because this is the only way for managers to identify employee characteristics that fit different job descriptions. Introducing managerial sensitivity to the unique dynamics of every employee is also an important strategy for reducing an organisation’s employee turnover because many researchers have linked job dissatisfaction (from emotional labour) with high employee turnover. This outcome is beneficial for different organisations because it can save managers a lot of money (which would be lost in lack of innovation and the recruitment of new employees). Apart fro m the managerial challenges of emotional labour, this paper also points out that emotional labour causes significant labour disparities between men and women. So far, this paper has demonstrated the ability of women to be better performers in jobs that require intense emotional labour. Their ability to perform better than men informs the preference by many employers to employ women in jobs that require intense emotional labour (Morris Feldman 1996). This preference promotes gender imbalance in the organisation. More importantly, it discriminates against men who would want to apply for jobs that are naturally emotionally intensive (like service industry jobs). Conversely, this gender imbalance maintains the status quo, where employers prefer women to work in mass production roles while men work in managerial positions (Scholarios Taylor 2011, p. 1291). This dynamic complicates existing discriminatory practices in the workplace that prevent women from scaling the managerial ladder. Traditional inhibitions like mothering roles and the lack of supervisor support therefore add to the complexity witnessed by women in securing high status jobs. T he growth of emotional intensive jobs therefore concentrates a large population of female workers in intensive and lower-status work, while men scale the managerial ladder and secure higher status positions. This dynamic creates an imbalance in the distribution of jobs across the labour market, mostly to the detriment of women. Conclusion After weighing the findings of this paper, it is safe to say the growth of emotional labour poses significant problems for management and the existing labour dynamics in the workplace. Notably, the growth of emotional labour poses significant challenges to management because it affects job satisfaction and increases worker burnout. These dynamics have a serious consequence on the performance of an organisation because it may increase employee turnover and eventually inhibit organisational performance. These implications may have a negative economic effect on an organisation. Since emotional labour has significant gender implications, this paper demonstrates that emotional labour causes significant gender imbalances in the organisation. The perception among employers that female employees have a better emotional display than men do, increase the concentration of women in emotionally intensive jobs because employers believe they can perform better at this level. Conversely, this dynamic increases their concentration in mass production jobs. Albeit some employers are bound to discriminate against male employees who may want to work in such low job levels, a bulk of the victims of such discriminatory tendencies are women (Noon 2010). Women stand the best chance to lose by experiencing a â€Å"glass ceiling† that limits their chances of occupying other employment positions in the organisation (such as high status jobs). The growth of emotional labour therefore lim its the possibility of women to occupy high status jobs in the workplace. Conversely, male employees experience more emotionally intensive labour processes because they are ill equipped to manage their emotions (compared to women). The inequalities between male and female employees (in the provision of emotional labour) therefore pose significant challenges to the realisation of gender balance in the workplace. This situation may lead to undesirable workplace dynamics. Comprehensively, the growth of emotional labour poses significant challenges for management and the labour market because it may lead to high employee turnover, job dissatisfaction, and inequalities in labour practices. References Douglas, J Norsby 2007, Gender Differences In Emotional Labor Processes, University of Kansas, Kansas. Hochschild, A 1989, The second shift, Viking, New York. Morris, A Feldman, D 1996, ‘The Dimensions, Antecedents and Consequences of Emotional labor,’ Academy Of Management Re view, vol. 21 no. 4, pp. 986-1010. Noon, M 2010, ‘The shackled runner: time to rethink positive discrimination,’ Work Employment Society, vol. 24, p. 728. Rafaeli, A 1989, ‘When clerks meet customers: A test of variables related to emotional expression on the job,’ Journal of Applied Psychology, vol. 74, pp. 385-393. Rowen, G 2003, Emotional Labour, Theories of Emotion, and Social Exchange Theory: Examining Emotions in the Context of an Evolving Service Sector, Scholarios, D Taylor, P 2011, ‘Beneath the glass ceiling: Explaining gendered role segmentation in call centres,’ Human Relations, vol. 64 no. 10, pp. 1291- 1314. This essay on The Growth of Emotional Labour in Management and Labour was written and submitted by user Lina L. 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.

Using Shelve to Save Objects in Python

Using Shelve to Save Objects in Python Shelve is a  powerful Python module for object persistence. When you shelve an object, you must assign a key by which the object value is known. In this way, the shelve file becomes a database of stored values, any of which can be accessed at any time. Sample Code for Shelve in Python To shelve an object,  first import the module and then assign the object value as follows: import shelve database shelve.open(filename.suffix) object Object() database[key] object If you  want to keep a database of stocks, for example, you could adapt the following code: import shelve stockvalues_db shelve.open(stockvalues.db) object_ibm Values.ibm() stockvalues_db[ibm] object_ibm object_vmw Values.vmw() stockvalues_db[vmw] object_vmw object_db Values.db() stockvalues_db[db] object_db A stock values.db is already opened, you dont  need to open it again. Rather, you can open multiple databases at a time, write to each at will, and leave Python to close them when the program terminates. You could, for example, keep a separate database of names for each symbol, appending the following to the preceding code: ## assuming shelve is already imported stocknames_db shelve.open(stocknames.db) objectname_ibm Names.ibm() stocknames_db[ibm] objectname_ibm objectname_vmw Names.vmw() stocknames_db[vmw] objectname_vmw objectname_db Names.db() stocknames_db[db] objectname_db Note that any change in the name or suffix of the database file constitutes a different file and, therefore, a different database. The result is a second database file containing the given values. Unlike most files written in self-styled formats, shelved databases are saved in binary form. After the data is written to the file, it can be recalled at any time. If you want to restore the data in a later session, you re-open the file. If it is the same session, simply recall the value; shelve database files are opened in read-write mode. The following is the basic syntax for achieving this: import shelve database shelve.open(filename.suffix) object database[key] So a sample from the  preceding example would read: import shelve stockname_file shelve.open(stocknames.db) stockname_ibm stockname_file[ibm] stockname_db stockname_file[db] Considerations With Shelve It is  important to note that the database remains open until you close it (or until the program terminates). Therefore, if you are writing a program of any size, you want to close the database after working with it. Otherwise, the entire database (not just the value you want) sits in memory and consumes computing resources. To close a shelve file, use the following syntax: database.close() If all of the code examples above were incorporated into one program, we would have two database files open and consuming memory  at this point. So, after having read the stock names in the previous example, you could then close each database in turn as follows: stockvalues_db.close() stocknames_db.close() stockname_file.close()

How can information systems help achieve operational excellence Essay

How can information systems help achieve operational excellence - Essay Example The researcher states that by helping quantify certain aspects of processes and standards, information systems are potent tools for practicing OE. For example, metrics and KPI definition for business processes can be measured at crucial points and fed into a database. Then steps could be taken to improve upon these metrics and KPIs values. Moreover, in recent years, a field of study called IT valuation research has asserted the links between information technology and organizational performance. As per this body of research, Information Systems are potent tools in creating value for the organization. There is now a substantial mass of studies that illustrate a relationship between IT and some aspect of firm value, whether it â€Å"be financial (e.g., ROI), intermediate (e.g., process-related) or effective (e.g., perception-related)†. By creating value through these avenues, IS can make an organization achieve Operational Excellence. But, Information Systems, as simply software and hardware implements, do not add the value of their own, and so must be components of a business value creating process â€Å"with "other" IS and organizational factors operating in a synergistic manner.

Teambuilding Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Teambuilding - Essay Example Laroche (2001) said "... the dynamics of multicultural teams are fairly dissimilar and often considerably more complex than the dynamics of ethnically all the same teams, because team members may have rather dissimilar concepts of teamwork." (p. 22) Good infrastructure is key to the achievement of any team; "... sharp and spirited populace can from time to time lack basic message skills and (be) unable to work together in a co-operative way." (LeGales, 2003, p. 11) The dynamics of a team more often than not affect its interior goals, but can power how the team is apparent by others. (Isgar, Ranney, & Grinnel, 1994, p. 45). These mechanisms are the primary conversation of this document. There are a lot of definitions of variety, in general variety refers to the ways so as to populace in differ. Diversity in teams is additional challenging than the easy meaning since people in teams comprise different civilization, experience, values and thoughts styles. These differences are an benefit to a team since they bring miscellaneous perspectives that augment the quantity of skill and information to the team. The variety of this dissimilarity in addition may aid in the declaration of disagreement. Disadvantages of assortment in the workplace exist for more than a few causes. One reason is the educational dissimilarity that is concerned when you have a miscellaneous team. Another cause is the lack of message and contribution that exists when teams are varied. Cultural Difference Cultural dissimilarity can cause great work environments. Ones racial backdrop can have a fence on the way an person works and, the way they labor with others. Some culture consider that separation is the merely way to work. Ones culture can in a number of instances are of the same viewpoint and offer a improved opinion than a varied group of persons in the same state of affairs. Some cultures find that their own work principles are far from that of additional culture. The principles that have been instilled in various cultures can be dissimilar from miscellaneous civilization. Lack of Knowledge The lacks of information to converse with other cultures hold back the aptitude of a miscellaneous group. Poor group meeting that do not recognize others efforts, commentary, and inputs often consequence in lack of promise to a team project. Communication guides to be short of of incentive on a team scheme and bad results of output. People that are not capable to converse with others frequently lack the aptitude to enhance a teams scheme. Citizens are less dedicated to a team task when they have the lack of incentive and output. Often populace feels that time and contribution in to a scheme is worthless when it bears no quality in manufacture. Leadership Dynamics How assortment affects the dynamics of teams can be a multifaceted query. To date, investigate suggests that miscellaneous groups be inclined to be more original and carry out better on difficulty solving tasks than all the same groups, but they also come into sight to have lower heights of social addition and higher income than all the similar groups. (Elasass & Graves) 1994; Sessa, Jackson & Rapini, in press) Communication Communication is a extremely significant part of a team. Effective message

The Main Forces of the United States Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Main Forces of the United States - Essay Example This motive had been echoed earlier on by Beveridge when he stated that ‘it may be that we will not annex the Philippines, Hawaii, and Cuba: but events will annex them†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (Ayers, 2009). The forces that were instrumental in this movement were the politicians and other state leaders who wanted to see the United States become an imperial power. Initially, Americas’ involvement in the war was purely humanitarian. They wanted to offer their support to the Cubans who were fighting for their independence against the Spanish Navy. However, their change after a presidential decree by McKinley who wanted to assist the Cubans to gain their freedom from the Spaniards (Ayers, 2009, p 489). This interference brought them to war with the Spanish Navy, a war which they wore due to their superior Navy skills and equipment. It was after this conflict with the Spanish that the Americans sought to acquire more territory in areas such as Philippines and Hawaii. They wanted to rid of European rule in these nations and spread their own beliefs and practices. Among the notable voices of imperialism was that of Albert Beveridge. Even at a young age, his superior oratory skills made him the focus of attention. He had been quoted championing for imperialism on a number of occasions, the most memorable being his argument that America needed to spread its liberty, civilization and the kingdom of God here on earth. It is such remarks that have been echoed by the American foreign policy, even to this day. At first, the United States was separated geographically from the rest of the European countries, thus could not participate in the acquisition. Additionally, it was guided by the Monroe Declaration that prohibited it from interfering with the affairs of other nations. The only exception was when they stepped in to offer humanitarian aid to the affected nations.

A Study On Barbie Global Market Marketing Essay

A Study On Barbie Global Market Marketing Essay International marketing is the performance of a companys product and services to consumers in more than one nation to produce profit. It is one of the most vital elements of marketing functions to trade their companys products or services internationally rather than locally. This brings more advantages and benefits the organization itself as well as the country. However, trying to trade internationally influences by many factors and cause difficulties. And it is the task of these companies to study these factors prior in order to initiate business or trade with other countries effectively. These factors include the culture, economic and political factors. This essays discussion base on the case study, Barbie: The American Girl Goes Global. Barbie is worldwide brand name invented by Ruth Handler defining as a small scale anatomically improbable modelled plastic figure of a human being especially a childs plaything and collectable dolls. It is the brand name for Mattel Inc., the organization for producing these toys and dolls. Barbie effectively starts its operation and selling out of its products at the American Toy Fair in New York City in 1959. Since then, Barbie become popular and operate effectively due to its increasing sales and revenues thus earning high profit compare to other American toy markets. Therefore, Mattel Inc expands its marketing situation and trade internationally where Barbie is currently selling out in more than 150 countries. These include European countries, Middle East, India and Japan. Therefore, this writing will discuss how Mattel Inc. deals with different culture issues, economic environment and political factors in these different countries in trying to market its products, the American Barbie doll. Throughout the given case study, it was basically talk about how different culture affects Mattel in trying to sell Barbie in the above mentioned countries. Culture is the acquired knowledge that people use to interpret experience and generate social behaviour (Keegan Green 2003). Each country has its own culture values and different from one another. And because Barbie trade worldwide, Mattel tend to carefully study the culture environment in those countries and analyze culture issues arise. The cultural issues of these countries affected the selling of Barbie can be reflected from different things. These include the language use, the religion involves, the social behaviour and the traditional dress code of each country. However, some economic issues and political factors appear to influence its international trading. Barbie is a worldwide brand and they first entered the US market for selling their products because it was the place of founder. Since then, Ruth Handler realizes the importance of children then decides to produce Barbie to motivate her daughters dream of her future. These products were three dimensional adult female dolls using by children to play with and it was popular in America because they initiate with high amount of sales of total 351,000 dolls at $3 each for the first year on the market. This occurs because Mattel identify its target market such as the group of children up of 1 to 11 years old and they fully satisfy their needs for toys made of plastic and long lasting rather than the first available dolls were made of paper and cardboard. However, moving to other countries cause Mattel to create changes on Barbie according to culture issues of each county to make effective. For instance, Mattel was successfully launched in India at 1995 because they make changes of Barbie appearance according to local taste of painted with a head spot and dressed in a sari but still the universally recognize Barbie. When moving to Middle East, culture factors in these countries are very strict and Barbie face difficulties in trying to sell their products in these countries because they face opposition on religious and social grounds. Women in these countries including Iran and Egypt have very strict dress code. They are not allowed to expose any part of their hair and due to Islamic law they have to completely cover their body and only their eyes are shown. But the appearance of these female dolls highly affected their culture values because Barbie female doll illustrate the opposite side of their dress code. This causes parents and religious leaders to more strange reactions with the culture values represent by Barbie and Ken and they believe Barbie is seen in the Middle East where modesty matters as something of a tramp. Therefore, Egypt government exist with setting up government agencies for producing local dolls aimed to provide Islamic alternative to Barbie and trying to eliminate the image of Barbie in their nations. These dolls called Laila were making in accordance to the local taste of Egypt people and their culture because local toy producer believe Barbie is more dangerous than an American missile. Laila also produced according to recommendation from the Arab league department for children suggested that there is cultural gap when an Arab girl plays with a doll like Barbie because the average Arab girls reality is different from Barbie. Thus Mattel face more challenges and more competitive market place due to Laila because they appeared in local taste using Arab costumes for decorating and designing their quite and serious looking doll. Meantime, Iran has its own local doll producer, Sara and Dara still to compete against Barbie. These dolls apply the same situation as Egypt in producing with the local culture taste by featuring traditional clothing, headscarves and are available with family members thus reinforcing the importance of family for Iranian children. Meantime Sara and Dara are to provide an Islamic alternative to Barbie. However, Mattel did not attempt to stop there though they are forbidden but continue fight against Sara and Dara. And thus still able to operate successfully by gaining high revenues with high profit due to higher price with approximately 7 times the average monthly salary. Though that Mattel faced tough position in Egypt and Iran but still continue to struggle against local competitors. Facing the challenges of competition, Barbie has been losing market share to Susi the Brazilian local dolls made by local company, Estrela. This company has licensed to distribute Barbie throughout Brazil. Brazil is the best chance of successful marketing for Mattel because they account 37 percent of the countrys annual sales earn from toys market. Additionally, Brazil is one of the largest countries in South America in according to its rich economy, population and geographic territory. Unfortunately, the selling of the Susi dolls increase more than the Barbie sales in terms of cultural values. The Susi dolls were designed as an image of the Brazilian girls and reflect values as a true Brazilian girl and every Brazilian is proud of it rather than showing what they want to be. So instead of helping distributing the Barbie doll all over Brazil, the Barbie face a strong competition cause losing of their market share to Estrela the company that produce the Susi doll. Distributing Barbie throughout the Asian countries, Mattel faces great difficulties overcome the worlds second largest toy market, Japan. In terms of economic environment, Japan has high, favourable and competitive economic situation. Japan is a high income country, the second largest economy in the world and has large industrial capacity. And thus, Japan and the United States face strong and big challenges to compete each other because they have similar economic situation. Therefore, during its first 20 years of operated in Japan, Mattel realised that it is the most difficult situation a company faced because of their complex distribution system. Additionally, Mattel attempt to face strong competition from local brand and local competitor. For example, Mattel enters into marketing without studying the Japanese requirements for foreign investor to sell out their products. And thus, selling out Barbie in Japan has only a limit success because Japanese girl didnt know what the product is and it didnt work, commented by the Chief Executive Officer of mid 1990s, Josh Amerman. With that issue, a problem of low sales rise then Mattel joins with Takara, a Japanese toy specialist in order to make a difference for the Japanese to understand their product. They then join forces with Bandai, the largest toy company in Japan to sell their products legally after terminating relationship with Takara due to license disagreement. Moreover, a cultural fact appears that the Japanese has valued their dolls seriously because of their strong cultural tradition with a heritage of over 800 years and ceremonial importance. Consequently, Mattel started to cope with the Japanese culture in a view of the fact stated but they then discovered that the Japanese girls has preferred the local American Barbie is the best and the most well known. Mattel then dropped forces with Bandai and operates its own marketing office then introduced the American Barbie to Japan and they experienced a success with Long Hair Star Barbie as one of the top-selling dolls in Japan. These cultural factors helps increase the amount of Mattel global marketing. Fortunately, Mattel rejoined with Bandai once again and forming marketing, sales and product development to overcome the complex Japanese distribution system thus reducing operating expenses. Efficiently, a rise of 10 percent in the international revenue indicates from the 31 percent of Mattels total revenue as according to the good performance of Mattel marketing and their share to the international revenues. This effect of International Marketing helps Mattel improves the increasing of revenues and their shares. In conclusion, Barbie is fun and huge success story. I suggested that every company attempt to trade internationally and marketing their products worldwide must consider the culture issues, the economic situation and political factors of that foreign country in related to chosen products to trade. This led them to make their decisions and reflect the required changes to make on their products in relation with foreign country interest. As we can reflect from the above discussion, Egypt and Iran have very strict culture at how women dress up which not allowing them to expose any part of their body. But Barbie exists with the opposite site of their belief causing high risk in trying to sell out their dolls. Unfortunately, some situation may not affected by the culture issues. As in Europe, Barbie generate success because there was an average of 5 Barbie dolls at the childrens toy collections because Mattel adopted pan European approach to the Western European market. And thus, acting C hief Executive Officer Ronald Leob recommended that Barbie believes that the company will proactively adapt its products to local tastes, economic conditions and pricing rather than viewing the rest of the world. REFERENCES Textbooks: Keegan, W.J., Green, M.C (2005).Global Marketing (4th ed.).Upper Saddler River, N.J.:Prentice Hall Kotab, M., Helen, K. (2008). Global Marketing Management (4th ed.). Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley Websites: Barbie Doll History Invention of the Barbie Doll, Retrieved on 14 September 2009 http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/barbiedoll.htm Culture of Iran, Retrieved on 14 September 2009 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran#Culture Culture of Iran, Retrieve on 14 September 2009 http://www.cultureofiran.com/ Doing business in Brazil, Retrieve 09 September 2009 http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/country/brazil/doing-business-brazil.html Doing business in India, retrieve 09 September 2009 http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/etiquette/doing-business-india.html Japan Economy, Retrieve 14 September 2009 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan#Economy Japan Government and politics, Retrieve 14 September 2009 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan#Government_and_politics

Emperor Hadrian in Marguerite Yourcenars Memoirs of Hadrian and E.L. D

Emperor Hadrian in Marguerite Yourcenar's Memoirs of Hadrian and E.L. Doctorow's Everyman figure of Coalhouse Walker, Jr. in Ragtime As Marguerite Yourcenar states in Memoirs of Hadrian, â€Å". . . there is always a day where Atlas ceases to support the weight of the heavens, and his revolt shakes the earth.† (114) When Coalhouse Walker strides knowingly, even willingly, into his death, he is more powerful at that moment than he has been at any other point in his crusade. Because he has no regard for death or for the effect of his decision upon the rest of the world, his chosen fate sends a resounding reaction through all who witness his end. And what might drive a man to abandon his life so freely? Love and death. Inextricably meshed in both Memoirs of Hadrian by Marguerite Yourcenar and E.L. Doctorow’s Ragtime, these timeless states profoundly change the outlooks of Emperor Hadrian and Coalhouse Walker Jr. Despite being separated by centuries, both men go to extreme lengths for their perception of love, but when death intervenes they have curiously opposite reactions. Hadrian is Emperor of the vast Roman Empire, and when he first comes into power he is afire with new ideas of beautification and improvements for all the provinces of the Empire, whether the people of said provinces wanted to be improved or not. He is secure enough in himself to consider himself, while not a god, something like a lieutenant, â€Å"seconding the deity in his effort to give form and order to a world, to develop and multiply its convolutions, extensions, and complexities.† (Yourcenar, 144) After many personal triumphs, he still refuses the accolades that previous Emperor’s have felt were rightfully theirs, preferring to let his people and his ... ...ife. This concept is totally foreign to Coalhouse Walker Jr. who, only after achieving the love that he sought and then losing it so quickly and so inhumanely, gains almost godlike power over the people of the city, inspiring fear and no little awe for the man who would go to such lengths over an automobile and some inconsequential (to them) black woman who wasn’t even his wife. Death and love: inseparable through the course of time, transcending the ages– both Emperor Hadrian and Coalhouse Walker Jr. face them, and while one gains conviction and a purpose, even if that purpose is ultimately his own death, the other declines, never seeing that the death of his love could possibly serve a purpose other than simple grief and mourning, never understanding that, with time and action, â€Å"the future [could] once more [hold] the hope of the past.† (Yourcenar, 176)

Cryonics Cryogenics

Cryogenics refers to the branches of physics and engineering that study very low temperatures, how to produce them, and how materials behave at those temperatures. Cryogenics is all about temperatures below -150 °C or 123 K. One of the most amazing applications of cryogenic processing is cryonics: where the human body is exposed to cryogenic treatment in order to preserve it after death. In the United States of America, there are, currently, two organizations that offer cryogenic treatment for human bodies: The Cryonics Institute in Clinton Township, Michigan and Alcor in Scottsdale, Arizona.Once death sets in, the patient’s bodies are preserved in chemicals designed to theoretically protect cellular structure, before being lowered into steel tubes of liquid nitrogen, called dewars. Here they will be kept in ‘cold storage’ at – 196 °C in the hope that someday in the future they may be brought back to life. There are currently 147 people in cryogenic sus pension, with another 1,000 members signed up for the deep freeze. History of Human Cryogenics:In 1940, pioneer biologist Basil Luyet published a work titled â€Å"Life and Death at Low Temperatures† in which he observed that while many organisms underwent serious damages at very low temperatures. However, in some cases, he reported that he managed to restore normal function when organisms were rewarmed after freezing. Luyet's work led to a whole new area of science called cryobiology. British scientists found that by soaking cells in a solution of glycerol, red blood cells and bull semen could be frozen and then their functions could be completely restored on rewarming.The main discovery is that through human cryogenics, life can, in fact, be stopped and restarted under controlled conditions. In the United States, Robert Ettinger through his book â€Å"The Prospect of Immortality† (1964) promoted the idea that a person frozen after legal death might rationally hope to be resuscitated at some time in the far future when medicine has advanced enough to cure most diseases, reverse the aging process, and repair any residual damage caused by freezing (Klein, 2004). This came to be known as Ettinger’s concept.Many scientists shun the idea of manipulating life and death conditions of the body and hence there has not been much progress in this field since the 1960s. Cryonics is an unproven theory. There are scientific obstacles that, some would say, are insurmountable. One of the success stories in this realm is that of Gregory Fahy and his team. They have succeeded in cryopreserving a rabbit kidney, reversed the procedure and successfully re-implanted it without losing the ability to sustain the life of the recipient (Fahy, 2006). Challenges in Cryonics: Cryonic aspirants may choose to have their entire body stored or only their head frozen.The thinking behind the latter option is that an old person would not want to come back alive in his old b ody. Cryonics is an expensive option. Alcor currently charges the equivalent of ? 80,000 for the full body option and ? 42,000 for the head only (Cryonics Cryogenics, 2006). The long-term storage of biological materials, including human organs, requires very low temperatures, which typically are achieved with liquid nitrogen (LN2). While LN2 provides suitable ultralow temperatures, general storage environments have been less than satisfactory and this is an obstacle in cryonics (Lehr, 2006).Another major challenge facing cryonics is that the current technique of full-body preservation with cryoprotectant chemicals causes extensive molecular damage to the body. To successfully bring a patient back to life, cryonics would not only need to reverse this damage, but would also have to cure the original illness the patient died from. Apart from this, the process of cryonics also raises a lot of legal and ethical issues such as â€Å"How can a legally dead person have a valid contract for cryopreservation? † â€Å"Is euthanasia an option for cryonicists? † â€Å"Are cryonics organizations right in selling an unproven technology?† (Best, 2006) Cryopreservation Procedure: As soon as a patient dies, the person’s brain cells are the first to die. Hence the first step would be to stop cellular decomposition caused by oxygen deprivation. This is done by cooling the body. For every 10 °C drop in temperature there is a 50% reduction in metabolic demand which means it takes twice as long for damage to occur. The body should be kept just above freezing and then, a mechanical chest compressor is used to temporarily restore circulation before injecting medications to stop the blood clotting.Then, the patient's blood is washed out and replaced with a temporary protective fluid. Now, there is a surgical process that begins by opening the chest cavity to allow plastic cannulation tubes to be sewn into the heart to provide entry and exit points for the cryoprotectant fluid. These tubes are connected to a by-pass machine that circulates the cryopreservation fluid around the body. The process called â€Å"vitrification† involves replacing over 60% of the water in the body with, potentially toxic, preservation chemicals.When exposed to cryogenic temperatures of below -120 °C they react by turning tissue to a glass-like solid. Throughout the procedure the body is kept packed in ice inside a perspex covering. Liquid nitrogen vapor is regularly pumped around the body to keep the temperature at -3 °C. After the surgery, the body is transferred to an insulated holding chamber for the rapid cool down stage. Liquid nitrogen vapor is pumped inside and probes will monitor the body's core temperature. The temperature will be dropped rapidly to just above the glass transition point.The body is then placed in a sleeping-bag and put into a pod which is the permanent storage container where it will be cooled very slowly to liquid nitrog en temperature (Cryonics Cryogenics, 2006). Conclusion: It has been man’s inherent nature to search for eternity and eternal youth. So, it is no wonder that the science of cryonics has captivated the interests of mankind. Cryonics is a science that is still in the nascent stage. It is a controversial science that is countered by seemingly unanswerable questions.Yet, the fascination for conquering age and death keeps research in cryonics advancing. Bibliography: Platt, Charles (2006). Cryonics: A Short History The â€Å"Impossible† Dream. http://www. imminst. org/forum/index. php? s=&act=ST&f=61&t=860 Best, Ben (2006). Cryonics: The Issues. http://www. benbest. com/cryonics/cryiss. html Lehr, A. Valentine (2006). Precision, flexibility critical in long-term, ultra- low-temperature storage of biological materials. Control Considerations for Cryogenic Storage Facilities. HPAC Engineering. August 2006. http://www. hpac.com/member/feature/2006/0806/0806_lehr. htm Cryonics, Cryogenics (2006). Death in the deep freeze. http://www. mymultiplesclerosis. co. uk/stranger-than-fiction/cryogenics. html Fahy, M. Gregory (2006). Cryopreservation of Complex Systems: The Missing Link in the Regenerative Medicine Supply Chain. Rejuvenation Research. Jun 2006, Vol. 9, No. 2: 279-291. http://www. liebertonline. com/doi/abs/10. 1089/rej. 2006. 9. 279? journalCode=rej= Klein, Bruce (2004). Robert Ettinger, Father of Cryonics. http://www. imminst. org/forum/index. php? act=ST&f=67&t=4112

Joel Kovels - The Enemy of Nature

Joel Kovels - The Enemy of Nature Free Online Research Papers Book Review: Joel Kovel’s The Enemy of Nature: The End of Capitalism or the End of the World? Joel Kovel’s book The Enemy of Nature presents a unity of red and green, socialist and environmental respectively, critiques of capitalism. Split into three sections, Kovel takes us through capitalisms responsibility for eco-catastrophe, domination of nature and critiques of eco-socialism and possible future paths, inextricably linking domination of nature and domination of labour as both under the heavy foot of capitalism. Presented as a â€Å"cold-blooded killer† (Kovel 2007 p6), the horror of the capitalist system and its effect on the ecological stability of our planet in its entirety is of such all-encompassing magnitude that it causes people to resist practical and radical intervention. An intervention that is desperately needed in order to divert impending global ecological catastrophe. An apathy is produced by the sheer weight of the problem, a condition even Kovel admits almost being tempted by (ibid. pp14-23). However, as Kovel argues, there is too much worth fighting for, a whole world, literally, in our hands to save. Thus Kovel dispels the myth that nature is ‘other’ to human kind and he critiques the illusion of our ownership of the Earth to state that we, and our fates, are utterly intertwined with and as a part of nature (ibid. p14). Therefore we are a victim of our own persecution of nature via the advancement and sustaining of capitalism. He then takes the argument one step further by marking the difference between capital as ecodestructive and as being anti-ecological, as capital â€Å"violates the whole sense of the universe, not just parts of nature† (ibid. p95). The plundering of natural resources, the destruction of forests to make way for farm-land and cars, and the polluting effects of industry are all due to the commodification of human beings in the form of labour. Economics is now about the trade itself, not the produced object in question. Thus money and capitalism is a monster that feeds off the destruction it creates, turning it around and making a profit out of it. This is why Kovel critiques voluntarism, because the notion of ‘buying green’ is a singular act that is not connected to the need for fundamental social change. It is, as Kovel succinctly writes, â€Å"ecopolitics without struggle† (ibid. p169). Whilst individual acts, such as using energy-saving light bulbs or using a bicycle instead of a car, are not without some merit, capitalism will tolerate any number of green initiatives and policies as long as the relentless drive for profit is protected and allowed to continue (ibid. p180). A radical ov erhaul of the current system is needed if we are to stem the impending global ecological disaster. Whilst Kovel extrapolates and conjoins the radical aspects of Marxism and green politics and offers practical solutions and aims for achieving ecosocialism, he says little on the subject he claims as integral to the means out of capitalism, what he himself names as ecofeminism. Due to the â€Å"gendered bifurcation of nature† (ibid. p125) and the need for capitalism to be propagated by violence and domination particularly in the control over the production and reproduction of future workers by controlling womens’ bodies to sustain the system – â€Å"any path out of capitalism must also be ecofeminist† (ibid.p194). Why, then, devote so little to the synthesis of ecosocialism and ecofeminism when it is so integral to the radical overhaul of societies in order to avoid impending eco-catastrophe? Also, the brevity of the critiques of other ecosocialist and green politics may alienate some readers who are entrenched by those belief systems (Gates, L.A. Unkn own); thus diffusing the importance of his message somewhat, specifically with those affliated with groups that he needs to attain a synthesis with to strengthen his form of ecosocialism. In Kovel’s idea of his future ecosocialist society, he envisions that large-scale rail and communication, powergrids and cities, would still exist yet neglects to discuss how this is possible whilst preserving the environment when the global population is at the highest it has ever been and is set to rise from six to eight billion by 2028 (GeoHive 1998). In fact, he touches very little upon the problem of population pressure and the possiblity of new demand on already overstretched and limited resources. It could be that as we feel more strongly the negative effects of climate change we could see an increase in war and fighting over the scarce resources. As one writer put it: â€Å"Precisely when, between now and doomsday, do the masses finally revolt?† (Dace, T. Unknown) Despite these criticisms, The Enemy of Nature is an extremely insightful and important book. The minimum that Kovel claims is required to halt the crisis is that we must get rid of private ownership of the commons and productive resources and we must liberate our productive powers so that we can see and determine our own effect on nature (Kovel 2007 p160). However, from a historical perspective Kovel recognises the dangers of extremist radical change such as the abolition of money and market systems and alludes to the radical communist change that took place in Russia. Whilst such actions may create a Stalinist regime, Kovel also gives much weight to his earlier observation that the eco-catastrophe overwhelmingly surrounds us with such totality that people are practically blinded to it. Therefore, enforcing an immediate radicalisation of society would be like waking someone from the deepest sleep (ibid. p183). This is precisely the problematic quality of Kovels’ book and of the ecological quandry we find ourselves in; radical change cannot be immediate due to the social problems it could cause, yet it must be soon if we are to survive. Ultimately Kovel is people-based rather than nature-based as, for example, he neglects to discuss population pressure and his desire to preserve contemporary cities and lifestyles. Nature has a way of adapting and has existed long before human-kind and will survive long after. What is truly ultimately the case is if we are to retain habitable conditions on Earth for humans and other present wildlife, we must have a social system that lives within and as a part of nature – not outside and therefore free to destroy nature as capitalism does. â€Å"Humanity is not just the perpetrator of the crisis, it is its victim as well† (ibid., p.23). It is not nature, as something ‘other’ and separate to us, that finds itself the ene my of capitalism, but it is in fact ourselves as we exist entwined in nature. Research Papers on Joel Kovel’s - The Enemy of NatureGlobal Distributive Justice is UtopianGenetic EngineeringCauses of the 2008 Financial CrisisIntentism The Resurrection of the AuthorAmerican Central Banking and OilThe Gnostic JesusDefinition of Export QuotasProject Management 101Combating Human TraffickingThe Mechanics of Grading Grading Systems

Sickle Cell Anemia

Sickle Cell Anemia Sickle-Cell Anemia Sickle-cell anemia is a disease that affects the shape of red blood cells. Blood cells in people with sickle-cell disease have a bent, or sickle shape. Because of this slight mutation to the cells, they have a tendency to clump together, blocking and damaging parts of the circulatory system. People with this disease experience many side affects. This disease is a sometimes fatal inherited disease that scientists are now beginning to understand and treat.Hemoglobin molecules constructed with defective proteins have a tendency to stick to one another, forming strands of hemoglobin within the red blood cells. These cells become stiff and elongated, or sickle shape. Sickle cells die much more rapidly than normal red blood cells. The body can't create replacements fast enough and anemia develops due to shortage of red blood cells. Further complications arise because sickle cells do not fit well through small blood vessels.English: Description Malaria versus sickle-cell tr...I in 10 African‚ ©Americans carry the gene, and about 1 in 400African‚ ©Americanchildren carry Sickle Cell Anemia.If a person is hybrid for the disease, they are said to have the sickle cell'trait'.Their cells can be made to sickle in a test tube, and under extremeconditions of exercise,and at high altitudes. This is rare and seldom serious,most people with the trait live full,normal lives. The trait can never turn intothe anemia.About 50% of the children of to parents who both have the trait will also havethetrait. About 25% will be born with the anemia, and about 25% will not beaffected byether one.o o|/ |// /T T‚ ©Ã‚‚ ©Ã‚‚ ©+‚ ©Ã‚‚ ©Ã‚‚ ©Ã‚‚ ©Ã‚‚ ©+‚ ©Ã‚‚ ©Ã‚‚ © T=Trait| | | | A=Anemiao o o o N=Not AffectedX X X XT T A NSickle Cell Anemia...

Drawbacks of Persuasive Technology Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Drawbacks of Persuasive Technology - Dissertation Example This leaves the buyer feeling misled and betrayed. Such promotion has a negative impact on the company’s image and the brand image (Fogg & Tseng, 1999). Â  Moreover, there have been great concerns over the ethical issues that are faced by persuasive technology (Berdichevsky & Neuenschwander, 1999). As the field of persuasive technology is relatively new the persuasive factors from the advertisements are masked. Users most of the time are unaware of the fact that they are being persuaded into acting or behaving in a certain manner. Sometimes users are even unaware of the persuasive medium that is being used. Companies on a number of occasions have used video games and simulations to target children (Fogg, 2002). Â  Other than that there is a general concept among the masses that computers are fair and intelligent machines. Taking advantage of this concept companies develop biased software that confirms the claims of a particular vendor or company (Fogg, 1998). Â  Other than that computer can be used by companies as a scapegoat when companies face a problem. For example, if a person is persuaded by a piece of software and during the persuasion, the consumer suffers some loss the company could easily blame the software as being faulty or could blame the consumer for making a mistake as the software cannot make a mistake (Fogg, 2002). Â  Persuasive technology has been one of the widest tools used by companies to market their products. However, a majority these companies ignore the issues that arise with the implementation of persuasive technology.

The Sarbanes-Act of 2002 and its Effects on Businesses Essay

The Sarbanes-Act of 2002 and its Effects on Businesses - Essay Example The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 was created in order to raise investor confidence in the market. The SOX regulation applies only to publicly traded companies. The act increased the accountability and transparency of the financial information that public companies release. The implementation of SOX was able to reform accounting practices by improving accountability, internal controls, auditor independence, and executive responsibility. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act attended a variety of accounting issues that were of great concern for the investor community. One of the first issues that the Sarbanes-Oxley Act attended was auditor independence. In the Enron scandal, the firm was able to get away with the con due to the fact that its auditor, Author Anderson, was an accomplice in the fraud. In order to deal with a potential situation of conflict of interest between the public firm and the auditors SOX created the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB). All companies that perform audi ts on public companies must be registered with the PCAOB (Pcaobox). Auditor independence was achieved by SOX because since its inception accounting firms that perform audits cannot have other accounting contracts with the audited firm. Public firms are mandated to include an independent’s auditors report within the annual report of the company. Another measure that the Sarbanes-Oxley Act created was mandatory rotations of auditing firms. Companies auditing a public company can only realize the job for four years, at that time a new auditor must take over the role. A great measure that the Sarbanes-Oxley mandated was the requirement of public companies to create internal control measures.