Society Way Essay Example for Free

Society Way Essay Societies have their own ways of working, and to prepare an individual to live in those societies the individual must has been socialized. Socialization is a process of how we learn the way of society. There are agents that work to form an individual in society such as family, parents, neighborhood, religion, and school. Those agents expect from an individual to act, think, and feel in a certain way, and play roles in life that fit the society. I am from Saudi Arabia. Society over there is nothing like other society, in my opinion. I can understand the similarity of societies, but mine has differentiations from other. I can say that above all agents of socialization religion has the most impact on individuals. Religion in my society is the center of everything; I see it as the big tree and the other agents are branches. Family is number one priority in my society, so the impact that I receive from it is huge. The way I should greet my father and mother is based on family norms, so I have to follow that way. In family the old son is next in responsibility after the father, so the role that he should play has to fulfill the duty of that position. I am the oldest son in my family, so I know what I am talking about. My father taught me to be mature in a young age so I can take care of the family. This kind of teaching considers socialization. He prepared well to live in such a society. So by doing that he expects a certain role from me to do. I see in my society another new agent, or maybe it’s a branch from the family, it’s the tribe. Tribe has a significant meaning to an individual in my society; it is the source of the identity. So for that reason tribe plays a big role in how we, as members of tribe, act toward each other and toward society. Tribe is the extended family. We are siblings, because we share the  seventh father. The leader of the tribe has control and impact on the members. He plays an important role of how we act as a group. When the leader honors a member because he is a very good poet, the poet has to feel happy. Controlling of feelings appeared over here, so I think the tribe is an agent of socialization. Also in big meetings and weddings we have to behave in a typical way that suits our society; no intermixing between men and women in weddings, no excuses for not coming to the wedding, and bring something for the groom and the bride. Parents tend to teach individual what the society e xpects from him/her. The teaching of the parents usually comes in hidden messages form. They always remind the individual how his/her grandfather and grandmother behaved, and how parents followed that. This reminding is a message to the individual that he/she has to walk on the same steps to anticipate in society. Parents tell individual that it’s rude to interrupt someone while talking. That implies society has mores and we should respect them. The experience that the individual has from the parents is long-term experience, and it would play a major role in the individual choices, values, and faith. When I grew up in a Muslim family the expectations from my actions and thought are have to suite a Muslim society. Neighborhood for kids is like the soil for the plant. If the kids were planted in a good soil they will thrive and bloom. The impact that neighborhood has on an individual is essential to the development of individual’s character, motivation, and ideas. I grew up in a neighborhood that has a big mosque in it. I spent most of my time around that mosque with my coterie memorizing chapters from Quran and laws of Islam. That would be a very typical model of a Mus lim society. The neighbors who see me going back and forth to the mosque would greet me and cheer me up, and they may tell their kids to follow me. In neighborhood also individual learns how to hustle his/her way through life, and that considers socialization. I learned how to be carful not lose my control and behave when I am in trouble, because that could means I may cause damage to the repetition of my family or myself. Religion is the source of my society; everything pours out of it. The behaviors, thoughts, morals, values, norms, and mores are coming from the Islam. The way my society judges anyone is based on rules and conditions of Islam. This major role that religion plays over here on society is obvious, even on those who are non-Muslims. They follow the  general rules of a society that they don’t belong to its religion. The way I dress is based on Islamic concept. I can’t dress something too short over the knee in general places, it would be against the concept. Also women have to dress in a certain way if they want to go outside the house, even if they were foreign women. Appropriate attitude is required on such a society; modesty is the general them. I’ve been raised in a Muslim society, so the impact on me is huge and it influences every single thing lf my life. The way an individual greets someone in the street is based on religion, and if the individual doesn’t greet it considers rude. James’s (2012) we would miss the point if we were to assume that religion influences only people who are â€Å"religious.† Religion plays a powerful role even for people who wouldn’t be caught dead near a church, synagogue, or mosque. How? Religious ideas so pervade U.S. society that they provide the foundation of morality for both the religious and the nonreligious. (P79). Resocialization is how an individual learn new principles, behaviors, and tradition of a society. According to James (2012), â€Å" Resocialization is the learning of new norms, values, attitudes, and behaviors to match the individual new situation in life. In its most common form, resocialization occurs each time an individual learns something contrary to his/her previous experience† (p. 82). In my society I didn’t used to shake hands with women, and that is based on religious concept. When came to the U.S. in 2011 I faced a lot of women who are workers, and I have to greet them when I meet with them. At the beginning I used to say I don’t shake hands, and I would see enrage in their faces. They think that I am disrespecting them, but the truth is that I am following the rules of my religion. Now in order of resocilization I shake the hands of old women only, I don’t want them to feel angry on me. Studying with females also is resocialization. In my society boys are separated from girls in schools. I used to study with boys only. When came I here at the first day I was nervous about that, but with time I got used to it. That also is a process of resocialization. References Henslin, James, M. (2012). Sociology A down-to-earth approach. Eleventh ed. Boston, MA: Nesbitt graphics Publishers.

International human resources Essay Example for Free

International human resources Essay It is the biggest challenge of companies today to maintain and attract best employees thus the realization in holding trainings and conferences for top executives to level officers is exceedingly in demand. Initiating strategies and solutions regarding employee retention and human resource management keep on going to minimize costs and money. There are many promising solutions in going through a lot of obstacles in human resource recruitment. We may start on some questions that would spark a new beginning: are the employees are given the chance to speak? Are new ideas accepted? Are benefits really beneficial to employees? Does the employees’ opinion count? Are works valued, evaluated and rewarded on their performance? This are simple questions that has an impact to the existing problems in many companies, regardless of size, incorporating other issues like repatriation, better opportunities, poor treatment, differences in culture and disagreement on the direction of the company, lack of recognition, indefinite growth prospects and poor relationship among co-workers. Keeping people and maintaining them for a longer period of time is the most difficult and challenging tasks for all human resources managers nowadays, hopefully, we will answer possible keys and solutions to these burning questions throughout the discussion. Why are people leaving from one company to another? A wide variety of reasons why are people leaving their jobs to find new companies includes: expectations were not satisfactorily fulfilled, unsuitable for the role, do not fit with the company’s culture, insufficient opportunities for growth and development, inadequate acknowledgment and admiration, problems with a manager or supervisor, not satisfied with the compensation, stress, lack of work and life balance, and lack of confidence in the company and leadership (Meyers). According to Susan Heathfield (Heathfield, 2007), most employees are leaving their work for reasons of searching new opportunities with other companies. Three top reasons were identified by Heathfield: fifty three percent of employees look for better rewards and benefits, thirty five percent were discontented with prospects of career growth and development, and thirty two percent were ready for a new experience and new environment. The motivating factors that can enhance the continuous stay of employees were examined by Bob Losyk on his article, here are the different factors that he stated: dignity and respect, involvement and participation, pay above the industry average, showcase superior workers, and by showing support to employees (Losyk). Giving dignity and respect is one of the most important key elements in satisfying the employees, harsh words, shouting, insults, and abuse of power will only result to demoralization, low morale, increase possibilities of absenteeism, and in turn resignation. Losyk added that employers should be treated with high respect, worth and goodness, let them relax, be independent and empowered. Do not crash on people who make mistakes instead make it more constructive and let them learn from it. Involvement and participation is also a significant factor in dealing with employees’ motivation to stay in the company, by listening to their suggestions, aspirations, and ideas can make them more involved and active much as with belongingness and partnership. Paying above the industry average will surely and literally compensate the best employee thus giving and making more money for you. Great employees should be compensated for what they gave back to the company and it should not be as simple as paying back but to reward and constantly recognize their efforts. For sure, companies who have the best employees will have more satisfied clients because of the excellent services they receive and in return a greater chance of repeat business will likely to come. Another tip from Losyk is to highlight and draw attention to outstanding employees by giving awards, certificates, extra remuneration, dinners as well as posting their photos on bulletin boards or company newsletters. To share and show support, to listen and know their personal and family problems can be a key factor for lasting relationship with employees. It will create a positive and motivating atmosphere resulting to a more productive and high-quality employees (Losyk). Increasing demand for immigrant workforce and opportunities abroad: The increasing demand of hiring cross-cultural workforce is a global necessity to respond the needs internationally. But because of the terms and conditions in hiring immigrants, it is very difficult to establish a worthy and constant employee for a particular business due to numerous alternative employment with other companies. To better understand the recruitment, hiring and retaining the best employees especially the immigrants and ethnic workers, it is important that we should consider the culture, traditions, and beliefs, know the different ethnic lifestyles and values, appreciate the impact that the immigrant workforce is influencing the management, and study the fabrications on recruitment of diverse ethnic groups. In addition to Losyk’s article, he stressed that it is significant that companies must understand the needs and desires most Hispanic and Asian workers want from a workplace, discover how to give comment to immigrant employees, determine the critical factors needed to train Asian, Hispanic and other cross-cultural groups, and create management techniques that can work and understand the involvement and recognition with the ethnic groups (Losyk). Further problems encountered by other employers is when their employees who are assigned to work overseas over a period of time will transfer to another companies in a few months to seek greener pastures. These are real and actual happenings in most development organizations when workers or volunteers enter into a contract to gain experience overseas and marked it as a stepping stone to find great opportunities abroad. How can companies and organizations struggle to this concurrent problem? Is this just a cycle to be left out and find new workers to continue the job? Are there any other holistic means that we can manage to surpass this continuing global recruitment problem?

Ethical Decision Making: Nike Case Study

Ethical Decision Making: Nike Case Study 1. OBJECTIVE The main objective of writing this report is to help students gain a deeper understanding regarding the course CBEB 3101 Business Ethics. Through this course, we get to learn how to make ethical decisions in a company. Some of the principles that we have learned are the principle of utilitarianism and principle of rights. By writing this report, we get to learn how to apply the theories learned in lectures into real life cases and situations. Different situations have different theories and principles. We also get to learn the proper steps in the decision making model, which are determine the facts, identify the ethical issues involve, identify stakeholders and consider the situation from their point of view, consider available alternative, consider how a decision affects stakeholders, make a decision and monitor outcomes. Besides that, we get to build stronger relationships among our group members. All the time spent together discussing and analyzing the case study helps to strengthen our bond and molds us into becoming a more responsible person in the future. We also get to see the corporate world from a different point of view, whereby being ethical is very important. 2. INTRODUCTION Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman are the founders of Blue Ribbon Sports in the year 1964. Later, it was renamed as Nike in the year 1978 whereby it received its name from the Greek goddess of victory. Nike has become the worlds major supplier for athletic shoes and sport apparels. As to remain competitive in the market, Nike searched for cheaper resources and markets. Therefore, Nike had shifted its production to lower manufacturing cost countries such as Japan, Korea and Taiwan. Later in the 1980s, production had moved to Southern China. However, as Japans economic started expanding, the manufacturing cost increased. Therefore, Nike shifted its contracts to Vietnam, Indonesia and China. Starting from the mid 1990s, there were criticisms from human right protectors and media regarding labour health and safety conditions, low wages and discrimination in the hiring and firing process. Therefore, Nike started to take actions as to rescue its reputation. Since 1991, Nikes corporate social responsibility practices started evolving. As time passed, Nike revised its code of conduct and became more ethical in its manufacturing practices. In 1998, Nikes revenues and stock prices had decreased dramatically. Due to that, Nike laid off 1600 workers. Nike then immediately started to launch several public relations campaigns as to reduce the damage to its reputation. A code of conduct was implemented with Global Alliances to review all of Nikes factories. On August 1996, Nike Corporation joined the Apparel Industry Partnership to draft a code of conduct for the usage of the whole industry. In 1998, audit tools were developed to increase the transparency in order to evaluate the compliance with the company standard, Nikes Code Leadership Standards by those subcontractors. In addition, Bike had disclosed the names and locations of its subcontractors factories in the year 2000. The reason for disclosing its supply chain was to enhance monitoring and make changes. The Corporate Responsibility Board was developed during the year 2001. The purpose of the board is to review the policies and activities and therefore, make recommendations to the board of directors regarding labour and environmental practices. The organizational environment of Nike is a competitive market. In order to remain competitive, Nike had moved the production to poorer nation countries where low cost labour was attainable. Therefore, Nike subcontracted its production to other countries without proper regulation on the working conditions of workers and wages. Simple time line of events Year Descriptions 1964 Phil Knight and William Bowerman founded Blue Ribbon Sports. 1965 Jeff Johnson signed an agreement with Blue Ribbon Sports to be a full time employee. 1966 Jeff Johnson opens the first Blue Ribbon Sports retail outlet in Santa Monica, California. Phil Knight and William Bowerman signed a formal written Partnership. 1967 Company was incorporated and named as Blue Ribbon Sports Inc. 1971 Swoosh trademark is created by a graphic student named Carolyn Davidson for a fee of $35. Jeff Johnson dreams of Nike, the Greek goddess of victory. 1972 Litigation on distribution and broke the business relationship between Blue Ribbon Sports and Onitsuka Tiger. 1973 Romanian tennis star Ilie Nastase was the first professional athlete who signed the endorsement contract with Blue Ribbon Sports to wear Nike Shoes. 1977 Blue Ribbon Sports starts the first US track and training club called Athletics West. 1978 Blue Ribbon Sports officially change its name to Nike. 1981 Nike begins promotional efforts in China by supplying the national basketball team with sports apparel and footwear. 1988 Nike acquired Cole Haan which is the producer of mens and womens footwear, outerwear and accessories. 1993 Nike introduced a program called Reuse A Shoe which collects athletic shoes and makes athletic courts and fields. 1995 Reuse A Shoe began to collect old shoes from Nike retail stores. 1998 Phil Knight set standards for Nike subcontracted factories: minimum age, air quality, mandatory education programs, expansion of microloan program, factory monitoring and increase the transparency of Nikes corporate social responsibility practices. 1999 Bill Bowerman died at the age of 88. 2001 Nike developed a Corporate Responsibility (CR) Board to review the policies and make recommendations to the board of directors on labour and environment practices. 2002 Nike partnered with National Recycling Coalition to set up the drop off stations in Europe and Australia. 2004 Phil Knight stepped down as CEO and president of Nike but continues to work as chairman in Nike. 2. ISSUES AND ANALYSIS Issue 1: Nikes Manufacturing Practices on Sweatshop Summary To be competitive in the market as well as keeping the manufacturing costs low, Nike had shifted its contract to low labour cost countries such as China, Vietnam Indonesia, Pakistan and etc. Nikes reputation was damaged especially due to accusations on human and labour rights violations by labour rights activists and the mainstream media. The accusations were deficiencies in working environment, health and safety conditions and low wages and indiscriminate in hiring and firing practices in the factories. Roberta Baskins CBS had reported about the conditions in Nikes manufacturing factories in Indonesia. Even though subcontracted work to poor nations had created employment, the pay was merely $1.60 a day to Vietnam factory workers when the living wage is around $3 per day (Hill, 2009). In this situation, is it ethical for Nike to treat its labourers this way? Analysis We can evaluate the practices by using these principles: Utilitarianism Utilitarianism is a moral theory whereby we should act in ways that produce the most pleasure or happiness for the greatest number of people affected by our actions. By using utilitarian reasoning, the following are the good and bad consequences: Good Consequences Bad Consequences Increase profitability of the company. Labourers welfare are ignored. Shareholders wealth is maximised. Company reputation has been affected badly by those practices. Customers loyalty towards the company becomes a doubt. From the overall consequences, even though increasing profit of the company can ensure the shareholders wealth, it is more important to take care of their employees welfare and gain trust and maintain a profitable relationship with its customers. This is because employees and customers are the primary stakeholders of the company who have the ability to influence the business of the company and especially those whose continual association is necessary for a firms survival. Therefore, in the long term, it is found that the unethical practices of Nike had negatively influenced stakeholders and changed the perception of the shareholders towards the company. Principle of Rights The basic human rights under Kantian are the rights that are the result of particular roles, special relationships or specific circumstances. Nike as an employer should consider the rights of its employees to have a safe working environment and a competitive wage instead of being a sweatshop labour. Although Nike is doing a much better job with foreign labour relations compared to other corporations, Nike should not be comparing itself to other companies. Rather, it should be holding itself to the absolute highest ethical standards it can attain. Principle of Duty Based on this principle, rightness of our actions depends on whether we perform our duties. If we fail to carry out our duties in the society, our acts are considered unethical or wrong. In our opinion, we feel that all the contractual factories in developing countries or any further subcontracted out work of Nike has a moral duty to ensure the health and financial well-being of all the people who work for it. Categorical Imperative Principle of universalizability mentions that we should treat others the way we want to be treated. Nikes management team should put themselves in the labourers shoes and they will find out that they would not want their employers to violate their rights to have safe working conditions and fair wages. As a result, Nikes practice on sweatshop labour is wrong. Therefore, it has to work on its corporate responsibilities to make sure its practices have improved. Besides that, principle of ends means that we must respect humanity and never exploit others to achieve our own benefit or purpose. Nikes act of exploiting other human beings such as the sweatshop practice is to serve its own interest which is to maintain low manufacturing cost. Principle of Equal Liberty Each person has an equal right to be treated equally under the principle of equal liberty. Obviously, Rawls would disagree with Nikes labour and business practices as it is unethical for Nike to overwork its employees or perhaps pay them meager wages just so it can supply shoes to America. Besides that, in order to fulfill the expectation as an employer, it is necessary to appreciate individual diversity and become more dedicated to offering equal opportunity to each individual. Issue 2: Nikes Manufacturing Practices on Child Labours Summary In this issue, Nikes contracted factories hire children to work overtime at below minimum pay as the children are not capable to make right decisions and unable to differentiate pros and cons of certain matters. Hence, children have been exploited to work for the subcontracted factories. The issue being is: whether it is ethical for Nike to hire child labours to reduce manufacturing cost? Analysis Utilitarianism Based on utilitarianism, below is the comparison of good and bad consequences of this issue: Good Consequences Bad Consequences Nike gets cheap labour and low cost facilities and therefore, low cost of production allows Nike to set lower price on its product to attract more consumers. Children suffer psychological and physical harms. Bring in foreign investments and job opportunities and therefore, alleviate poverty level for the countries that Nike are operating in. Denied opportunities for childrens education. Extremely low pay still cannot alleviate poverty of the countries. From the overall consequences to the entire society, Nike had violated the theory of utilitarianism As one of the largest multinational companies, Nike should have carefully evaluated the outcome of using low cost labours. From the analysis, hiring child labours to serve its own interest to keep low labour cost is unethical. Principle of Rights Children have their right to get their education instead of working as they are under age according to the law of the country. Therefore, Nike should not hire child labour which violates their right to stay in school and receive education. Categorical Imperative Under the principle of universalizability, Nike should put itself into the situation of the child and will realize that it also does not want to work under such working conditions with such a low pay. Nike also should not exploit the children to serve its own interest to keep the low labour cost because the act is unethical according to the principle of means. Principle of Equal Liberty Children in Nikes contracted factories countries should be given an equal opportunity and treated as the children in other country as they are underage to work and supposed to have their education. Issue 3: Contract between Nike and University of North Carolina Summary In order to work on CSR after the incident which deeply affected the companys reputation, Nike had entered into a social contract with the University of North Carolina. Nikes contract requires all UNC athletes to wear its brand. In this issue, whether is it ethical to bind all UNC athletes under the contract? Analysis Utilitarianism Based on this concept, there are some benefits from the contract, such as, Nike has pumped in money which brings pleasure to the athletic department and the student athletes by virtue of wearing Nikes brand, improving Nikes reputation and rebuilding their confidence in public. However, the university should consider how the contract would affect the academic integrity and goals of the institution. It is more important to look at the issue from the perspective of athletes and the institution which will bring more consequences to the firm. Rawls theory of individual liberty Under this theory, it will disagree with the contract for the lone reason being the athletes have lost their individual rights to chose whether or not to wear Nikes brand. Even if the institution has maximized pleasure for itself, at the same time it infringes on the choice of its athletes. There is no right for the social institution to take away a basic individual right. Besides that, Nike also should not restrict the individuals right to have their own choice to wear other companys brand. Principle of Duty According to this principle, the University also has a moral responsibility to itself and Nike. It is morally obligated to use its position of power to encourage Nike to work harder to improve its business practices. Besides that, it also has a moral obligation to back out of a contract with any corporation that lacks ethical business integrity. Issue 4: Enhancing Nikes images by using endorsers Summary In this issue, Nike has signed with some well-known athletes as its endorsers to project a better athletic image for itself. For example. Nike has signed an endorser contract with famous basketball legend, Micheal Jordan. According to the contract, Nike has created more revenue from his fans with launching more new series of producst. In return, Nike paid 20 million per year to Micheal Jordan as its endorser. At the same time, labourers at its contract factories were paid low wages which was just above the minimum standard. In this issue, is it ethical for Nike to pay its labors and endorses unfairly? Analysis Utilitarianism Based on this principle, it solely benefits the company and the endorser while the labourers suffer from low wages. It is more beneficial to every party if Nike can use the money paid to the endorser and spend some on its employees welfare. Therefore, we think that Nike is unethical to pay its endorser such a large amount of money instead of taking care of its employees welfare. Principle of Right Under this issue, the employees have the right to get fair wages and deserve to get better treatment. Principle of Universalizability It is unethical for Nike to treat its employees as an end for themselves and never only as a mean to its own ends. Principle of Justice Employees should have fair wages and deserve to get their welfare whereby Nike should treat them equally with its endorsers. It is unfair to pay the endorsers so high but not taking care of its employees welfare. Actions taken From the case study we know that the corporate culture in Nike did not have a strong ethical focus which was to encourage its employees of the factories in many other countries to practice the ethical behaviours in the past. However, Nike then implements some efforts to instil ethical behaviours and practices and later became an ethical corporate in the industry after going through some critical period with negative issues on its business practices. In our opinion, we feel that Nike has used the integrity-based approach which is a value-driven approach with emphasis on employee responsibility for ethical conduct. It is a better approach which the employees are instructed to act with integrity and conduct business dealings honestly. Besides that, Nike may set goals of an integrity-based approach as it is a broader and more expansive application to the firm. For example, maintaining brands and reputation by ensuring the good quality of products and honesty to its consumers, and creating a better working environment for employees whereby the safety of employees is emphasized. Furthermore, we think that currently Nike focuses on the stakeholder theory instead of shareholder theory in its firm. All the stakeholders groups and their well being should be taken into account whenever the company wishes to take any significant managerial decision but not merely focus on financial and economic relationships with owners. In the past decade, Nike has taken CSR as its social contract. For example, University of North Carolina had entered into a corporate sponsorship agreement with Nike. On the other hand, Nike also undertook CSR because of its enlightened self-interest where CSR activities bring commercial returns to the firm. Especially after the damage by the media to the companys reputation, Nike started to undertake CSR activities in order to enhance its reputation and rebuild its good image. However, Nike now meets its standard for being a good corporate citizen after making progress for years. Corporate Social Responsibility It is a reactive concept where businesses try to do the minimum to fulfil the expectation of stakeholders. In the article, there are some discussions on Nikes CSR practices: Environmental Sustainability Nike had developed ReUse-A-Shoe Program and then expanded it by partnering with the National Recycling Coalition to promote environmental-friendly practices and encourage consumer about this issue. Code of Conduct This is the first step taken by Nike to improve the working conditions in its factories. It complies with the principle of justice, fulfils the duties as an employer to reach the desired level of employer responsibility. Other than comply with the laws and regulations, the company also strives to satisfy the expectation as a leader. Factory Transparency This is the corporate social responsiveness undertaken by Nike as it is the proactive actions where the firm anticipate the needs of stakeholders and try to fulfil those needs before the stakeholders demand them to do so. Nike had publicly disclosed its supply chain as it believes that can be more successful in monitoring and making changes as once issues have been uncovered, not only in its own factories but in an industry-wide basis. Furthermore, implementation of Balanced Scorecard for its suppliers helps the firm better assess factory compliance with the code of conduct. Corporate Responsibility Board Nike developed a Corporate Responsibility Board in 2001 to review policies and activities and make recommendations to the board of directors regarding certain important fields. Through the effort of the CR board, there were significant improvements in its business practices whereby the employees are now aware of their rights and have the opportunity to be educated and well-trained. Philanthropy Each year, Nike proactively donates product and contribution in cash to non-profit organizations and NGOs creating social changes through sports disaster relief efforts around the world. Nowadays, Nike has focused on innovation, collaboration, transparency and advocacy to prepare the company to thrive in a sustainable economy. There are some important initiatives for the company that are included in the CR report which includes Considered Design, GreenXchange (GX), Lean and Human Resource Management (HRM), Sport for Social Change, Energy and Climate Change Strategy. In 2008, Nike launched a footwear energy efficiency program with five contract manufacturers. Nikes commitment to collaboration on this project has shown excellent early results where the contract factories absolute CO2 footprint was down 6 percent despite a 9 percent increase in production. 4. RECOMMENDATIONS Due to the ethical issues discussed in the Nike case, we have come up with several recommendations on how to solve the problems occurred throughout the case. We hope that this can also serve as a guideline to other companies as well. First of all, the company management should be stricter on the rules and standards set by themselves. This will make sure that they follow or obey the rules of the company. In this case, the top management of Nike in the US should ensure that all the other retail outlets or factories all around the world follow a standard procedure in everything that they do. This will help them in monitoring all the other outlets around the world. This can also help avoid the issue of poor conditions, child labour, widespread harassment and abuse that has happened in some countries. When other manufacturers all over the world know the standard and code of ethics that they should follow, they will not do what they have done that caused all the issues to arise. This is because they have a guideline to follow and they know that whatever procedure that they are doing will be monitored by the top management. The top management should make sure that they provide a healthy and safe workplace for all its em ployees. This is because their employees have the right to be in a healthy and safe workplace. A poor condition of the workplace is wrong and is one of the main allegations that Nike had to deal with. Next, the management team and employees should also be sent for training once in awhile. This is important as it helps to establish a better corporate culture. This culture shapes the people who are members of the organization as it is a blend of ideas, beliefs, customs, traditional practices, company values, and shared meanings that help define and guide normal behaviour for everyone who work in a company. It is important to continuously train its employees so that the employees become more disciplined and responsible. They will always think of the best interest of the company and not be easily influenced by other factors that might bring the company down. This will help them have a sense of accountability and responsibility towards the company. One of the main issues that Nike was facing was child labour. Therefore, we have come up with an idea that might help solve this problem. Nike began to offshore its production of footwear and other sporting equipment because it wanted to remain competitive and keep manufacturing cost at a low. To solve this, instead of using child labour, Nike can actually install and use machines in it production. At the beginning it might be a little costly but in the long run, it will help the company save a lot of money. It is not only faster, but it also helps Nike save money in the long run and the management does not have to worry about any child labour allegations or poor working conditions. Besides that, the top management of Nike can also perform employee monitoring. The kind of employee monitoring meant over here is checking out the work done by the employees. They could perhaps send some spies or third parties to see how the employees perform their work but at the same time not let the employees know that they are being watched. Lastly, the ethics and compliance system should also be improved. Currently, there is only one person in charge of ten factories and inspection is only done for about 25 percent of the factories. The top management should make sure that it inspects every factory. This can be done by setting up a chart or timeline whereby they have already discussed and come to an agreement on when and which factory should be inspected throughout the year. This is a more systematic approach and the management must make sure that they follow what they have drawn up. CONCLUSION Running a company as big as Nike is definitely not an easy job as the management has to satisfy not only the shareholders of the company, but the stakeholders too. No matter what has happened in the past, Nike has learned its lesson. Remaining competitive and keeping manufacturing costs at a low should not be the only objective of the company. Due to its negligence in certain areas, Nikes allegations of poor conditions and child labour has become a global issue. This is not only bad for Nikes image but it has permanently tarnished its reputation. However, Nike never gave up and has continued to win back the hearts of its stakeholders by carrying out a lot of CSR. Even though it may still have a long way to go in the area of corporate responsibility, it can be seen that it is slowly receiving good responses from the industry. Nike will always continue to be a major brand throughout the whole world.

Impact Of Television in Presidential Coverage Essay -- essays research

In the 1950's, television, having been introduced to political coverage as a new medium, surpassed the dominance of newspaper and radio media as the primary public source of information regarding politics by 1962. Political processes and events of various measures were all soon televised in recognition of overwhelmingly positive public feedback. By the 1970's, live coverage of major political events were as common as seeing grass on the ground. Through the impact of television, political campaigns and elections have never been the same as they were before 1952– the presidential race between Dwight Eisenhower and Adlai Stevenson. Political advertising enthusiast and author, Frank Biocca, states that this race was â€Å"essential to campaigning as we know it today†Ã¢â‚¬â€œ creating a gateway in American politics as the Eisenhower campaign called upon product advertising executive, Rosser Reeves, to produce a series of short spot commercials to enhance Eisenhower’s image in the public eye. These ads, which were as well crafted as any product ad, appeared during commercial breaks of television programs and were the first of its kind. These pro-Eisenhower commercials, which Stevenson refused to do, helped shape a caring, friendly, and devoted persona of Eisenhower into the minds of the masses which is credited to his electoral victory. Although Stevenson acknowledged the power of television, producing ads for his 1956 race, he still wasn’t able to thwart Eisenhower’s already-established popularity among the American people. Political advertising in the use of television has become so significantly renown that it is the â€Å"major form of communication among candidates and the voters they seek to reach out to† according to Richard Brody, Stanford University Press. In realization of Eisenhower’s success, every presidential campaign since 1952 has relied extremely on political ads. 40 years later, the political parties of George Bush, Bill Clinton, and Ross Perot spent over $110 million for the production and air time of television spots during the 1992 presidential race as reported in the â€Å"Social Science Quarterly† of June 1993. Presidential victory is not the only concern of a particular political party, however, as 50-75% of the campaign budget for Senate and Congressional seats goes to televised political advertiseme... ...ssing the President: The Media, Elite Opinion, and Public Support. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 1991. Chomsky, Noam (1989); Necessary Illusions: Thought Control in Democratic Societies. Boston Biocca, Frank (1991); Television and Political Advertising (Vols.: I & II). Hillsdale, N.J.: Erlbaum. Patterson, Thomas, and Robert McClure. 1976. The Unseeing Eye: The Myth of Television Power in National Politics. New York: Putnams. Anonomous. "Television News and Presidential Campaigns: The Legitimization of Televised Political Advertising." Social Science Quarterly (Austin, Texas), June 1993. Cundy, Donald T. 1986. "Political Commercials and Candidate Image: The Effect Can be Substantial." Mutz, Diana C. 1995. "Effects of Horse-Race Coverage on Campaign Coffers: Strategic Contributing in Presidential Primaries." The Journal of Politics 57(4):1015-1042. Kraus, Sidney (1988); Televised Presidential Debates and Public Policy. Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum. Cunningham, L. (1995); Talking Politics: Choosing the President in the Television Age. Westport, CT: Praeger.

Essay Comparing Change in The Stranger and Nausea :: comparison compare contrast essays

Comparing Change in The Stranger and Nausea  Ã‚  Ã‚        Ã‚   Existentialists mean that we can't rationalize, since we can't explain human fear, anguish, and pain. To rationalize is absurd, because in the final analysis, we will find nothing. Life is absurd. This leads to the term Nothingness. Thus, since we can't find a meaning of life more than what we attempt to create by ourselves, we anguish. Living in the same era, Camus and Sartre individually helped to form the school of existentialism. Of course there were others: Kierkegaard, Heidegger, etc. But I have chosen Camus and Sartre because of the closeness in the publication of their first novels. Camus published his first novel, The Stranger, in 1942, while Sartre published his first novel, Nausea, in 1938. I am interested in the way they look at change in The Stranger and Nausea. In The Stranger, the main character is Mersault. His mother dies and he travels to her home for the burial. The day after the funeral, Mersault gets together with a woman, Marie. He becomes friends with Raymond, a neighbor. Raymond is having an argument with some Arabs. Mersault is then pulled into the dispute between Raymond and the Arabs. Finally, on a sunny afternoon at the beach, Mersault kills one of the Arabs, even though he really has nothing against him. Mersault is put on trial and sentenced to death. Nausea is the journal of Antoine Roquentin; Nausea is the resulting disorientation Roquentin feels from having his existence revealed. Through a self analysis, Roquentin discovers that his existence is meaningless. He has been living for the past three years in the French town of Bouville and is working on a history book. Mersault is characterized by an indifference to change. At one time, Mersault gets an invitation to move to Paris by his boss, but he declines. Mersault says that "people never change their lives, that in any case one life was as good as another and that I wasn't dissatisfied with mine at all." (Camus, p. 41) Mersault is content with what he got. He has his work, his home and his girl: it's all he needs. He lives, like Roquentin, in solitude, reflecting upon the actions of others. But he never gets involved since it doesn't matter to him. He neither feels happy nor sad. It is as if all emotions were drained from his body.

Toni Morrisons Sula - The Fire Within Sula Essay -- Sula Essays

The Fire Within Sula  Ã‚   Sula by Toni Morrison is a compelling novel about a unique, self-confident woman.   As in many other books, each secondary character in the story serves as a vehicle to explain the main character.   Hannah, Sula's mother, is dominated by the element of air; she is free spirited, frivolous and child-like.   On the other hand, the element of fire is prevalent in Sula, who is impulsive, hot-tempered and passionate.   Despite the differences between the two, Hannah's lifestyle intrigues and influences her daughter.   The effect Hannah has on Sula is reflected in many of her daughter's perspectives and actions.   As a result of the ubiquitous presence of fire within her, in contrast to her mother's blithe spirit, Sula carries all of Hannah's immorality and actions to a more extreme level.   Both women have promiscuous tendencies, do not have close friendships with women, and become easily irritated by Eva.   The difference is that Sula's fiery character leads her to act mo re cruelly than her mother.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Hannah's attitude towards men is peculiar, for she feels no possessiveness towards them, and enjoys having multiple lovers.   The presence of air in Hannah is evident from her relations with the opposite sex.   "Her flirting was, low and guileless...the smile-eyes, the turn of the head-all so welcoming, light and playful." (42).   Hannah's sweet, guileless flirting presents her as an innocent woman, and her playful manner demonstrates her child-like ways.   Her amiability and charisma are evident because "...Hannah rubbed no edges, made no demands, made the man feel as though he were complete and wonderful just as he was...he (the man) swooned in the Hannah-light simply because he was." (43).   Hannah is len... ...feeling no obligation to please anybody unless their pleasure pleased her." (118).   Sula is stronger than Hannah, and makes no attempts to conciliate the society's opinions towards herself.   She follows her animal instincts, and lacks the sense of responsibility.   Although Sula and Hannah are both shunned by society, Sula is even more of a pariah than her mother.  Ã‚   While the people of the Bottom consider Hannah to be "sooty," (29), they decide that Sula is the devil.   The intense hostility people feel about Sula directly relates to her impulsive, vengeful and hot-tempered character.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Sula's life is a fun house mirror image of Hannah's-quite similar, but bent into a slightly different shape and tainted with malice.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚      Works Cited: Morrison, Toni. Sula. New York: Knopf, 1974. Toni Morrison's Sula - The Fire Within Sula Essay -- Sula Essays The Fire Within Sula  Ã‚   Sula by Toni Morrison is a compelling novel about a unique, self-confident woman.   As in many other books, each secondary character in the story serves as a vehicle to explain the main character.   Hannah, Sula's mother, is dominated by the element of air; she is free spirited, frivolous and child-like.   On the other hand, the element of fire is prevalent in Sula, who is impulsive, hot-tempered and passionate.   Despite the differences between the two, Hannah's lifestyle intrigues and influences her daughter.   The effect Hannah has on Sula is reflected in many of her daughter's perspectives and actions.   As a result of the ubiquitous presence of fire within her, in contrast to her mother's blithe spirit, Sula carries all of Hannah's immorality and actions to a more extreme level.   Both women have promiscuous tendencies, do not have close friendships with women, and become easily irritated by Eva.   The difference is that Sula's fiery character leads her to act mo re cruelly than her mother.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Hannah's attitude towards men is peculiar, for she feels no possessiveness towards them, and enjoys having multiple lovers.   The presence of air in Hannah is evident from her relations with the opposite sex.   "Her flirting was, low and guileless...the smile-eyes, the turn of the head-all so welcoming, light and playful." (42).   Hannah's sweet, guileless flirting presents her as an innocent woman, and her playful manner demonstrates her child-like ways.   Her amiability and charisma are evident because "...Hannah rubbed no edges, made no demands, made the man feel as though he were complete and wonderful just as he was...he (the man) swooned in the Hannah-light simply because he was." (43).   Hannah is len... ...feeling no obligation to please anybody unless their pleasure pleased her." (118).   Sula is stronger than Hannah, and makes no attempts to conciliate the society's opinions towards herself.   She follows her animal instincts, and lacks the sense of responsibility.   Although Sula and Hannah are both shunned by society, Sula is even more of a pariah than her mother.  Ã‚   While the people of the Bottom consider Hannah to be "sooty," (29), they decide that Sula is the devil.   The intense hostility people feel about Sula directly relates to her impulsive, vengeful and hot-tempered character.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Sula's life is a fun house mirror image of Hannah's-quite similar, but bent into a slightly different shape and tainted with malice.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚      Works Cited: Morrison, Toni. Sula. New York: Knopf, 1974.

Communication Plan Essay

Section II: Communication Plan Jim Jimenez, MGT311 Sept 11, 2013 Professor Jimenez Riordan Manufacturing Part II Communication Plan Strategy Riordan Manufacturing is implementing a Customer Management System across all its operating groups. The system is a critical business decision and is spearheaded by Riordan’s Senior Management Group. After a number of internal studies and review of our current information systems Riordan as an organizational group has determined that one central integrated Customer Management System (CMS) will position the organization to meet a number of key goals and marketing strategies that helps Riordan to meet our customers’ demands and growth requirements. Outline key concerns and what areas of the business will be impacted by the implementation of the CMS system. The CMS system will impact all areas of the Riordan’s operations. This is the reason upper management is taking a direct role in the presentation and implementation of this critical system. At the start of the year Riordan will post a number of notices at the December company meeting, in all the production floors banners will be placed with the production floors of all the Riordan’s manufacturing plants with the themed â€Å"Unifying a Global Team† as the CMS system change message. In January management will lead the kickoff of the CMS project with a company-wide presentation of the reasons for the CMS project, the impact on all operations, the impact for everyone and more importantly the benefits of the CMS project. Outline of the January presentation as follows: Areas affected by the CMS change: The CMS project will unify all database or information regarding our customers on one system. CMS will eliminate the problems faced by rapid growth and legacy software. Different regional groups complained that isolated system databases were not being updated and information was not accurate. CMS address all these requirements and  provides centralized database management. All divisions will be using the same software applications and data entered will be accurate across all the divisions’ regards of the geographical location. The need for a centralized and modern CMS system cannot be stressed. Our customer s are global, they are demanding immediate information across the different regions that Riordan operates. In order for Riordan to grow and provide the services our customer are demanding Riordan needs to change and keep up with our customers. Management realizes the CMS system will impact every employee at Riordan and has developed a training and development schedule that will be provided to management, supervisors, leads and to every employee that interfaces with the CMS system. Progress will be highlighted at our quarterly companywide meetings and regularly be highlighted in the Riordan What’s UP newsletter. Work Groups will be formed based on functional areas lead by group supervisors that will address any concerns and encourage everyone to learn and work with the new CMS system. In summary outlined of the new CMS system to be implemented at Riordan. January kickoff – Companywide presentation by management on the reasons for rolling out the CMS system. Review of all areas impacted, benefits and time schedule for implementation. Quarterly meetings – Companywide to present progress and highlight all our successes and any group or individual contributions to the success of the project. Mid-year (July) – Recap of how the CMS project is doing companywide at our family picnic and at all the production areas. Year-end Review and highlight all our Unified Global Team success ! In additions our monthly newsletter will present local success stories and how our employees are adapting to the new system. We will also have our production floor success parties focusing on local group success and provide ongoing status of the CMS implementation. s creating a new team for the newly designed CardiCare Value heart valves division. The task is to identify what strategy will be implemented to get this work team built and ready to take on the tasks for production of CardiCare Values. A number of strategies have been presented in MGT311. Following is a brief description of some of the team strategies that are effective in a manufacturing environment. Secondly a choice of what strategy to implement and the pros and cons (challenges) for selecting this  direction, implementation steps and what measures will be implemented to monitor if the strategy has been successful. According to Robbins & Jones Work Teams are positive synergies through coordinated effort, meaning the performance is greater than the sum of the individual inputs (page 315). Possible team strategies; Self-managed work teams are groups of employees (10 to 15 in number) who perform highly related or interdependent jobs and take on many of the responsibilities of thei r former supervisors. Cross-Functional Teams made up of employees from about the same hierarchical level but different work areas, coming together to accomplish a task, virtual team made up members that are not in the same physical location (definitely not a choice for this organization) and MBO or Management by Objectives which is a system in which managers and their employees jointly decide on goals, areas of responsibilities, and desired results. The new work group will be composted of many current managers, supervisors and employees from different departments. This intact group should help in getting a good running start and move forward quickly. Regardless if we are building a team existing or new members or members from other departments, temporary teams or task directed teams there are important rules that help in creating highly effective teams. Clear Purpose: group members must understand the goals and objectives for this production team. Employees should be provided with clear direction and it is critical that all managers and supervisors receive buy in (e.g. ownership) from the existing employees and make everyone aware that there are open lines of communication. Identify all areas of training and assessment of any skill development for all employees. Great that they know and are familiar with the organization, but they are now doing a new operation and this may require changes, or new ways to getting the job done right. Outline roles and assignments for all employees (managers, supervisors, leads and employees). Stress open communications and outline 30, 60 and 90 day team and group progress reports.