“The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin Essay Example for Free

â€Å"The Story of an Hour† by Kate Chopin Essay In her short story â€Å"The Story of an Hour,† Kate Chopin portrays a woman – â€Å"young, with a fair, calm face, whose lines bespoke repression and even a certain strength† – dealing with the death of her husband. Chopin laces the story with imagery – sounds, smells, sights, and sensations – to highlight contrasting traits of Mrs. Mallard’s experience for the reader. Chopin waits until Mrs. Mallard receives the news of her husband’s death before showcasing her visual exposition. â€Å"When the storm of grief had spent itself,† introduces a weather-oriented comparison that enhances the mental suffering typically felt upon receiving this kind of news. Mrs. Mallard secludes herself in her room and â€Å"There stood, facing the open window, a comfortable, roomy armchair. Into this she sank, pressed down by a physical exhaustion that haunted her body and seemed to reach into her soul.† The spring time elements contrast the news that lingers over her: â€Å"The delicious breath of rain was in the air,† â€Å"The notes of a distant song†¦ reached her faintly,† â€Å"Countless sparrows were twittering in the eaves,† Chopin uses these short, but descriptive, sentences to contrast how Mrs. Mallard appears to feel at that moment. The familiar smell of rain creates a connection between the reader and the main character, describing the common â€Å"April showers† that nearly everyone has experienced. As Mrs. Mallard gazes out the window at the â€Å"new spring life,† she hears a person singing and a bird singing. The different descriptions of the spring life function as a barrier for Mrs. Mallard because she now has to deal with the death of her husband and, at the same time, enjoy a beautiful spring day. The imagery Chopin uses to describe Mrs. Mallard’s activities in her room the way she sits in a comfortable chair, and looks out of the window of her room to see trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life are definitely not emblematic of grief. Despite that she was not consciously dissatisfied with her marriage to her husband, she suddenly looks forward to a life lived under her own recognizance. To support the assumption of oppression and sadness in Mrs. Mallard’s past, Chopin says that the clouds â€Å"had met and piled one above the other.† This image of unity symbolizes the happiness that Mrs. Mallard never felt before. The emotional divergence overwhelms Mrs. Mallard, leaving her â€Å"thrown back upon the cushion of the chair, quite motionless, except when a sob came up in her throat and shook her, as a  child who ahs cried itself to sleep continues to sop in its dreams.† The comparison to a child further supports the metaphorical rebirth that she is going through. Mrs. Mallard feels overwhelmed by her day’s happenings until a rush comes upon her. â€Å"When she abandoned herself a little whispered word escaped through her slightly parted lips. She said it over and over under her breath: ‘free, free, free!’† She felt overjoyed about the news of her husband’s death. â€Å"Her pulses beat fast, and the coursing blood warmed and relaxed every inch of her body.† This sensation helped her to realize that this event finally gave her the chance to get away and live her life the way she had always wanted to. The reader has just accepted Louises reaction to her husbands death, when the most unexpected happens; Mr. Mallard walks through the door â€Å"a little travel-stained.† This imagery depicts him as worn-down and docile, not valiant. Josephine’s â€Å"piercing cry,† highlights the abruptness of the situation, and serves as a curtain to the scene. By effectively appealing to the senses, Chopin creates a story filled with suspense and dramatic descriptions. Mrs. Mallard feels trapped and alone in her room until she realizes the true potential of the open window that showed her the world outside her dull, gray life, â€Å"She was drinking the very elixir of life through that open window.† Sights, sounds, smells, and sensations all serve to support the reader’s understanding of Mrs. Mallard’s experience.

Impact of the Introduction of Activity Trackers

Impact of the Introduction of Activity Trackers Introduction The advancement of technology is no doubt one of the greatest organized creative activities of humankind today. The material world that we see around us, and the way society functions today had strongly affected by the advancement of the technology. The device that I would like to research on had effectively changed the way how human life. It records all the activities of an individual over the days – the activity tracker. An  activity tracker  is computer-assisted monitoring and graphing of health-linked metrics such as distance walked or ride, calorie consumption, and in some cases heartbeat and quality of snooze. During the early development of the products, activity trackers were computer logs, such as that provided in the US by thePresidents Council on Physical Fitness and Sportsas part ofThe Presidents Challenge;since the release of the firstFitbitactivity tracker in 2009, the term has primarily referred to electronic checking devices that are synced, in many cases wirelessly, to a computer orsmartphonefor long-period data graphing, an example ofwearable technology. Electronic activity trackers are upgraded versions ofpedometers. In addition to counting steps or movements, they useaccelerometersandaltimetersto calculate mileage, graph overall physical activity, calculate calories expenditure, and in some cases also monitor and graph heart rate and quality of snooze.Some also include a silent alarm. The original Fitbit, released in 2009,was worn clipped at the waist; formats have now improved to include wristbands, armbands, and smaller devices that can be wore wherever preferred. AppleandNiketogether developed theNike+iPod, a sensor-equipped shoe that worked with aniPod Nano few years after the release of Fitbit. In addition, logging apps exist for smartphones and Facebook;the Nike+ system now works without the shoe sensor, through theGPSunit in the phone or iPod. In the US,BodyMediahas established a disposable activity tracker to be worn for 7 days, which is aimed at health and insurance providers and companies seeking to determine workers fitn ess and health. Finding Sony wants you to log your life with smart band! Sony’s Smart Band is one of the biggest-name fitness tracker. It was first published to the market on 24th Feb 2014 in Barcelona, Spain. According to Sony, the Smart Band will only be available in spring. The Smart Band SWR10 is a wearable device which consist of two parts, the core and the band. It communicates via Bluetooth with an Android Life-log application to offer fitness tracking, but the application itself also lets users log places visited, music played, games played and books read for presentation on a visual interface. The application also helps users set activity targets. Similar as a smart watch, it vibrates when calls, messages, Facebook notifications or tweets are received. It can also be used to play, pause and skip tracks in a Sony phone’s Walkman application by pressing the button and tapping the band. The device is IP582 rated for full waterproofing despite its MicroUSB port, the company said. When out of Bluetooth range from its paired phone, the band vibrates. SmartBand will also records sleep cycles. According to the white paper, the Core is powered by theARM Cortex-M0 32 bit processer, has 256kB internal embedded flash memory and 16kB RAM. It connects to any device running Android 4.4 and later via Bluetooth 4.0 Low Energy and/or NFC. You need to download Lifelog, a companion app that tracks your physical, social and entertainment activities. The interface is quite informative, and you can use it to set activity goals and monitor your progress. Information compiled in Lifelog is collected using sensor technology in the SWR10 and data obtained from various apps and sensors in the Android phone. Heres a quick overview of the Lifelog app: The SWR10 also comes with music and camera remote control functions, alerts for incoming messages or Facebook notifications. You can set alarms via the Lifelog app to wake you up via subtle vibrations on your wrist. Before you do so, you have to set the SWR10 to night mode. The night mode is used for tracking your sleep while the day mode tracks your activities throughout the day. Below is a video showing the SWR10 in action: Features Here is the complete list of feature of Sony SmartBand, there will be brief explanation on some of the major feature: Communication and Entertainment By using Sony SmartBand SWR10, It is easily communicate with your smartphone, tablet and Android apps can record your physical, social and entertainment activities. You can check all daily activity where you went, what pictures you took and how you have been communicating with your world. Lifelog Application The Life log can record walking, running, cycling or travelling by train timing and how long you slept .How much you take photo, how much time you are listing music and games you have played and how much you have socialized with a friends and family. Life Bookmarks All special moments you can make bookmark a great restaurant, an amazing song, beautiful sunset. Battery performance It has a rechargeable battery that can be charge your smartphone charger and Laptop can stay charged up to 5 days. Other features: It helps in measuring the sleep cycle Look ahead in time to see just how much more you need to cycle to achieve your daily activity goal. Helps to track weather and alert the user Removable Coreunit and a stylish and comfortable wrist band Sony fastening button and LEDs Vibrates when a call, message or other notification comes in Design The Sony SmartBand shares its design with many other wrist-worn fitness trackers. It comes in two bits – the wristband and the core. This is a little plastic brain that lives within a recess in the band, roughly where a watch face would be. The one we got our hands on was a simple rubbery band with a shiny plastic clasp on the rear, but others use different textures. The Core Despite the exposed micro-USB port (which is used for charging), the Core is IP58 rated for dust resistance and waterproof capabilities. The Core is a tiny plastic unit with an accelerometer inside. It sports a mini USB port and also features LED lights and a vibrate function to alert you to any notifications from your phone In addition, the Core is very light at 6g and when paired with a wrist band, can weigh between 20 to 21g depending on the choice of a small or large wrist band. We were told that the wrist band is made of silicone, a material that will feel comfortable to the skin. A Sony product staff said that she has been wearing the SWR10 for a number of days, and the use of silicone made her forget that she was actually wearing one on her wrist. During our few minutes of hands-on, we found the material to be easy on the skin. It is also easy to fasten and remove the wristband. The Lifelog App The Core is effectively useless without Sonys Lifelog, a lifestyle-tracking app for Android the company demoed onstage at its presser and is planning to release to Google Play in March. Think of Lifelog as a curated Facebook feed for your life, but without much effort on your part. It records your locations, communications, physical activity and photos taken and places them in a graphed format, in addition to coaching you with set goals. From what little weve been told about the Lifelog camera concept, it seems users would be able to pair it to a smartphone and then set specific triggers for photo capture, like times of the day or activities. So say you want to record the moments of your daily jog, this concept would handle that automatically and upload the shots to your personal feed. Its the sort of the stuff quantified selfers get all hot and bothered over you know, those ardentlifebloggers. But just because Sonys showing off this Lifelog camera concept, that doesnt mean well ever see it become a commercial reality. Sony may just be testing the consumer waters or simply showing off its idea of the possible road ahead. Recommendations Although the SmartBand is said to be one of the greatest improvisation of activity trackers in the market, I do believe there are still rooms for improvement. Firstly, the SmartBand is connected to the phone via Bluetooth. Although it offer the vibration notification service, it do not show up the contact or type of notification that you received. So, if you received a call on your phone, your Core will start to vibrate, however with no display, you’ll still need to get your phone out to see who is calling. It is the limitation on the Core as Sony can only choose either to extend the battery-life of the Core or to provide the display which significantly reduce the battery-life without charging. Secondly, SmartBand is pitched by Sony to be a 24/7 wearable device. However, due to its limited battery life, there will still be times where you need to recharge the battery. I suggest that spring-powered system (self-winding mechanism) can be installed into the core, like how some watches in the market works. It uses the principle of kinetics, and store energy made by the user’s hand movement into the spring and coil in an intrinsic system. The whole idea of activity trackers including SmartBand are to record the activities of the users, which easily relate to loads of movement like walking, cycling and et cetera. As the Core requires minute amount of energy to function, the energy generated can slowly reused to operate the core. Finally, SmartBand can be improved by being an improvised version of watch as well- by adding in function like time display and stopwatch. Adding in display into the core or the band is the key for this improvement. With the display, time can be shown on the band as well as other basic functions of a normal watch. In order to keep the long lasting battery life, LCD can be used as it is more energy efficient than other display technologies. Conclusion Ever since the development of the ENIGMA (the first digital computer), computers have inspired our imagination. In this period came the World War II code breaking machine designed by Alan Turing, and Von Neuman’s ENIAC which can be called dinosaurs compared to present day PCs. In the earlier days, computers were so huge that it took an entire building, or at least a floor to occupy one. Computers of that era were very slow by today’s standards. In the non-ending struggle to increase computing speed, it was found out that speed of electricity might become a limiting factor in the speed of computation, and so it was a need to lessen the distance that electricity had to travel in order to increase the computing speed. This idea still holds true in modern computing. However for the past few years, industry pundits have been predicting the death of the personal computer. I look at it a bit differently—the personal computer is not dying, but is becoming even more personal. It is now something you’re going to wear—in your clothing, jewelry, shoes, glasses, watches, and even on your skin. Sony’s SmartBand is one of the kick starter of these wearable technology, together with Samsung’s Galaxy Gear, Apple’s Ipod Nano, Google Gass and et cetera. All these improve human’s life in all different aspect. For instance the medical and health, social, entertainment, or even in the field of military. Whatever area wearable computer technology is applied to you can see that it willl improve the quality of life and make day-to-day life less complicated. It is only our imagination which will limit the number of applications for this new emerging technology. Wearable computer is a platform for the rapid application development, it promotes behavioral architecture and Java for the design of applications on wearable computers. In addition of the prototypes that has been released to test the viability of the architecture .There are even some reports that wearables will be the fashion of tomorrow. It may take some time for wearables to be commonly accepted. After all, it was once unusual to see people using cell phones or wireless microphones, but they have been embraced.

Globalization And Its Challenges Marketing Essay

Globalization And Its Challenges Marketing Essay Introduction Globalization is a process of integration and interaction among the people, organizations, and governments of different countries. It is also a process driven by international trade and investment and aided by information technology (Smith Doyle, 2002). This process has significant impact on political systems, on economic development, on culture, on the environment, and on human rights around the world (Smith Doyle, 2002). Globalization is a tool that could help you nurture your business foreign countries (Tapper, 2000). When a company decides to go global, it will often experience an increase in profitability. Nevertheless, not every business will benefit from globalization. Some organizations may experience a healthy growth in global market, but some would have to overcome many challenges before establishing a successful business in a foreign country (Zboch, 2009). Wages, child labor laws and outsourcings effect on sale are salient issues for doing business overseas. Nike is the worldwide global corporation that has its manufacturing factories on contract basis around the world. Although Nike is the global leader in the athletic footwear industry, it has had a great deal of bad publicity due to its labor practice. The scandals involved child labor, slave wages, excessive working hours, forced overtime, and hazardous working conditions. Bad publicity related to Nikes labor practice had ruined its reputation and brand image. Some criticized that Nike did not enforced its code of conduct with the correct procedures. After receiving many complaints of its unethical practice, Phil Knight, the CEO of Nike realized the seriousness of the matter. He visited Nikes contract factories and delivered a variety of speeches regarding his upcoming actions to improve the human right situation (Hobbs, 1998). However, many people doubt his sincerity, and fear that he could not deliver on his promises of providing a healthy environment for workers. Even up until now, Nike still struggling to recover from its negative image as a human rights violator. Would Nike be able to solve this problem in future? Has Nike improved the labor conditions in Asia?    The purpose of this paper is provide an understanding of the various difficulties and complexities companies faces in todays global world. This paper will describe the accusations brought against Nike labor practices and all of the corrections that Nike formulated to produce a healthy and safe working environment effectively. This paper will also provide some recommendations for Nike to improve their performance in future. I. Globalization and Environmental Forces Globalization is commonly understood as the spread of influence of culture, religion language, communication, technology, trade, media, and transportation. That spread of has involved the intertwining of economic and non-economic activity across the borders (Smith Doyle, 2002). Today, many companies move their business operations to foreign countries by going global (for instance, Apple, Coca-Cola and Dell) and they have different reasons for doing business internationally. These reasons include: expand to new markets, diversify business, and increase market shares and brand value. Other reactive or defensive reasons for globalization including trade barriers, customer demands, globalization of competitors, and regulations and restrictions (Okolo, 2008).Reduction of cost is the major reason for companies going to global. Today, production cost has been increasing tremendously in developed countries. Many companies have outsourced its entire production operation to developing countri es or third world, like China, Cambodia, Brazil, India, Vietnam and Indonesia. They believe that production or service offshoring will eventually lower their production, labor and utility costs. However, doing business overseas has its benefits as well as its challenges. Companies may face legal, ethical, and cultural challenges in global business. Since every country appears to have its own law and regulation, companies must understand the standard pay or minimum wage requirement to avoid all conflict of interest. Ethical issues in globalization are those related to environmental protection, and concerning relation between different countries (e.g. industry espionage and hostile take over). When companies operate internationally, most of them are facing great challenges in cultural differences. Cross-cultural issues may arise when people within companies have different culture, language, religion and belief begin working together are not skilled or adept enough to deal with effectively. II. The Athletic Footwear Industry Recent economic crisis has affected the athletic footwear industry. The athletic footwear sales posted a 1.4 percent decline in 2009, and in 2008, sales were down 3.2 percent. (See Appendix A).  Footwear is considered less cyclical than apparel when consumer spending is under pressure. Analysts are expecting the footwear market will continue to grow over the next few years (PRlog press release, 2009). The retailer market of sporting goods is very competitive and highly fragmented. Intense competition will easily drive weak companies out of the market. Thus, many retailers reducing their presence in underperforming markets or restricting store growth in saturated markets. The costs of production have been rising in the U.S since 1990. The rapid rise in production costs has resulted in many U.S companies move theirs manufacturing works to Asia. Countries like Vietnam, Indonesia, and China has become a major outsourcing destination for the U.S. apparel and footwear manufacturers (Locke Siteman, 2001). Nike and Adidas have dominated the global branded athletic footwear markets. Market leader Nike has a significant lead over Adidas in footwear market for the last few years while other competitors like Reebok and New Balance is still lagging behind in the sales. (Locke Siteman, 2001) III. The Globalization of Nike Nike was founded in 1964 by Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman. The company initially was an importer and distributor for Japanese specialty running shoes. The companys profits grew quickly and it opened its first retail shop in California in 1966. While other footwear companies still manufacturing their own shoes in high-cost countries, Knight decided to outsource its shoe production to lower-cost Japanese producers during the 1970s. By the early 1980s, as costs continued to increase in the U.S, Nike closed all its U.S and Japan factories, and it outsourced its production to Korea and Taiwan. When these countries began to develop and the wages increased significantly, Nike urged its suppliers to shift their production to even lower-cost countries like Indonesia, China and Vietnam. The company found that these countries have no protective labor laws and labor union at that time. Moreover, these countries provided huge supplies of cheap labor. By 1992, Nike sourced almost all of its shoe p roduction from Asia. The company has placed its employees at its outsourced factories to help monitor production processes and product quality (Locke Siteman, 2001). Today, Nike has successfully established an intensive network of footwear factories throughout China and Southeast Asia. Nikes operations are divided into three product lines: footwear, apparel and equipment. Their products are manufactured by nearly 600 supplier factories, employing over 800,000 workers in 46 countries around the world (Nike, Inc., 2010). In addition, Nikes sales have grown over 50% since 2005 to and reaching US$19 billion in 2009. (See Appendix B). Footwear is Nikes largest product category, 30% of shoes are sourced from China and Vietnam, 22% from Indonesia, and 6% from Thailand. Nike has manufacturing agreements with independent factories in India and Latin America like Brazil, Mexico and Argentina to produce footwear for sale primarily within those countries (Nike, Inc., 2010). Nike contracted 618 factories to manufacture its products in 2009, only 71 out of its suppliers are producing footwear. Most of these suppliers are located in North Asia. (See Appendix C). In contrast, Nike apparel products are made in 391 factories and the majority of these factories are distributed in Southeast Asia. These differences are due to both to the rules governing international trade in the industries (Locke Siteman, 2001, pg7). In the mid-late 1980s, footwear quotas were eliminated whereas trade in garments is still control by the Multi-fiber Agreement (Locke Siteman, 2001). Nike has also developed and markets footwear and apparel products under the Converse, Umbro Inc., Hurley International, and Cole Haan brand names. The company sells its products through its own retail in over 180 countries worldwide as well as through internet sites (Nike, Inc., 2010). Today, Nike has become the world leader in the design, distribution and marketing of the athletic footwear (Locke Siteman, 2001). The swoosh logo has become one of the most recognized in the world. IV. Nikes Unethical Labor Practices Are you willingly to work more than 70 hours every week, or send your young children to work in a factory? Many of us will not do that, but for many people who want to eat, the obvious answer is Yes.. That is a reality Nike faced when it first started outsourcing the production of sports apparel and shoes to external companies in the third world. There are many controversies over its labor practices in Asia. In the 1980s, Nike was accused of exploiting cheap labor and exposing them to destructive working environments. The company had also faced criticism for use of children to make its sport gears in Pakistan factories. As a result, Nike was labeled as forcing children to slave away in hazardous conditions for below-subsistence wages (Hill, 2009, pg2). In what follow, the paper will provide an overview of the various abuses of which Nike and its suppliers had been criticized in the past decade as well as the problems that the company has confronted. Child Labor in Pakistan Child labor is spread all over Pakistan. Sialkot, a city in Pakistan, is also a centre for the production of export-oriented goods, particularly sporting goods (Locke Siteman, 2001). About 70% of the worlds soccer balls are made in Sialkot and companies like Nike, Addidas, Reebok and Mitre imports soccer balls from this city. In 1990s, Nike contracted for its soccer ball production with SAGA Sports. Both companies benefited with the access to child labor in Pakistan (Haider, 2007). In 1996, Life magazine published an article about child labor that occurring in Pakistan, which included a photo of a young boy sewing a Nike soccer ball. (See Appendix D). This article drew the public attention to all human rights and fundamental freedom. Various activists groups, trade unions and NGOs called for boycotts Nike soccer balls because of using child labor. The Atlanta Agreement has signed by The Sialkot chamber of Commerce with the ILO, UNICEF and several leading sports goods associations to implement a program to stop using child labor in Pakistan (Locke Siteman, 2001). However, the government carries lack of willingness to do anything. Consequently, the same problem still exists in the country and Nike is still importing its soccer balls in million quantities from Pakistan. Slave Labor in Asia More than 80% of Nikes supplier factories are located in Asia. The Asian governments prohibited workers from forming independent unions and set the minimum wage at rock bottom. Labor activists criticized that the workers in Nike factories were being paid below the minimum daily wage. For example, Nikes suppliers paid workers in Indonesia less than US$3 a day (Medea, 1998), and the wage did not meet the basic needs of one individual. In 2006, the Worker Rights Consortium calculated that a livable wage in Indonesia is about US$8 per day (Bose, 2008). Global Exchange, an international human rights organization published a report on working conditions in four Nikes supplier factories in Southern China. The report found that children aged 12 to 13 years old who worked in one of the supplier factories (owned by a Korean company) earned only 10 cents per hour. These children were forced to work up to 17 hours daily and were not allow talking during work. Supplier paid Chinese workers US$1.80 a day that was lower than the Chinese minimum wage of $1.93 for an eight-hour day. The report stated that Nike labor practices had violated Chinese labor law but Nike denied the accusation and claimed that the report incorrectly stated the wages of workers (Locke Siteman, 2001). In Thailand and Vietnam, workers earned even lesser (less than US$1.5 a day) compared to the workers in Indonesia and China. According to Vietnam Labor Watch, a livable wage in Vietnam is about US$3 a day whereas the minimum wage in Thailand is US$4.50 a day (Medea, 1998). Health and Safety Problems in Vietnam IN 1994, the Ernst and Young conducted audits on Nikes contract factories in Vietnam. According to its report, Vietnamese workers at the Tae Kwang Vina factory were often exposed to chemical, 77% of them had serious health and safety problems. Workers with breathing or skin problem had not been transferred to departments free of chemicals and most workers who dealt with dangerous chemicals were not provided personal protective equipment such as masks or gloves (Zboch, 2009). This report revealed that workers were exposed to toluene (a chemical solvent can cause permanent damage to brain, nausea, and skin irritations). Toluene concentration had exceeded 177 times acceptable standards in parts of the factory. This report had tarnished Nikes image since the report came from Ernst and Young, an auditing firms hired by Nike to assess its suppliers factories. In addition, Nike commissioned former Ambassador to the United Nation Andrew Young to assess working conditions in its contract fact ories. In Youngs report, there is no mention of serious health and safety issues in the Tae Kwang Vina factory. This reports had casts doubt on Nikes honesty and commitment to labor and environment standards (Locke Siteman, 2001). Although Indonesia, China, and Vietnam have minimum wage laws on the books, the government of these countries was still allowing Nike to pay wages well below the minimum rate. Nike further circumvented wage laws by paying new employees an apprentice rate for several months into an employees tenure (Turner, 2008). In 1997, more than 10,000 Indonesian and 1,300 Vietnamese Nikes contract factories workers went on strike to protest low and unpaid wage. In 2000, 3,000 Chinese workers from Nikes contract factories protested dangerous working conditions and low wages. All of these protests took place in spite of the fact that these sorts of worker strikes are illegal in these countries (Turner, 2008). In addition to labor protests issues, numerous critics of Nikes practices had created a major public relation problem for the company. (See Appendix E traces the number of negative articles about Nikes practices.) The company has become a target for the anti-globalization and anti-sweatshop mo vements. The Anti-Nike campaign that organized by consumers and human rights groups has raised the awareness about sweatshop labor in third world countries. V. Nikes Response At the beginning, Nike denied all the violations of labor rights and they blamed their suppliers or the host government for its failures of enforcement. The company claimed that workers rights were respected despite the fact that Nike had failed to pay its workers with fair wages as well as to provide a safe working environment. In addition, Nike reluctantly to take responsibility for the labor, health and environmental problems found in its supplier factories. Nike claimed the company does not own these factories; therefore, it has no responsibility towards the workers (Avery, 1999).    In response to the ongoing criticism, Nike formulated its code of conduct for its suppliers. Every supplier must agree to abide this code in order to get a contract. (See Appendix F for the latest version of this code). The Code of Conduct in theory condemns and prohibits child labor, requires that workers be paid fair wage, imposes caps on the days and hours that a worker can be forced to work, prohibits mistreatment or discrimination of workers in any form, and states that factories must implement programs that benefit workers health and safety, and recognizes and respects the workers right to freedom of association (Avery, 1999). In addition, Nike has trained its internal monitoring team to ensure all suppliers comply with its code of conduct. The company has also hired auditing firms to assess and monitor its suppliers regularly. Recommendations The majority challenges Nike has to overcome involved ethical and cultural issues. Even up until now, Nike is still facing allegations and criticism from labor groups and human right about its overseas labor practices. In response to these criticisms, Nike should work closely with its suppliers to improve working conditions and create safe and healthy environments for its workers. Workers should be provided some type of health insurance or protective wear. Nike can offer strong incentive to its suppliers, to ensure they adopt companys code of conduct. Lack of worker awareness of basic code of conduct provisions is a major challenge for the company. Hence, Nike should provide human rights training to workers, to raise their awareness of their rights. Communication problem arose in Nikes overseas factories due to language barrier and little knowledge on cultural. In Vietnam, all factories are owned by Korean and Taiwanese suppliers, thus they may not understand local language and culture. To overcome communication challenges in workplace, Nike should encourage its suppliers to recruit local manager or people in multiple language ability. Furthermore, training program should be provided regularly to both management and workers in order to improve communication between workers and management. The recent suicides of Foxconn workers in China are raising concern about ethical issues in supplier factories. (Foxconn is a key supplier to big tech companies.) In June 2010, a dozen of Chinese workers went on strike over wage violation. The Chinese government has increased the minimum wage due to the strike in many provinces (Kang, 2010). In future, China may not be the most attractive low-cost countries for foreign companies as more and more Chinese workers urge their employer to increase wages. This in turn, may cause a rise in manufacturing wages in China and that would substantially increase Nikes costs of production as most of its products are made in China. Nike can urge its suppliers to relocate their operations to other low cost countries in Latin America without compromising product quality. Nike assures the public that its suppliers pay the countrys minimum wage; however, in many countries minimum wage does not equate a living wage. The Indonesian government has admitted that the minimum wage only covered 70% of the basic needs of one person (Locke Siteman, 2001). Some countries like Vietnam and Indonesia arbitrarily set minimum wage low to lure foreign investments. Being an ethical employer, Nike must ensure every worker is being fairly paid. In addition to providing livable wages, the company should take the long-term cost of image damage into account rather than pursuing low cost strategy. After all, brand name is their greatest asset and Nike should take immediate action to clean up its mess instead of blaming the host governments or its suppliers. The development of a strict monitoring system in its factories overseas is still a challenge for Nike. Nikes factories are controlled by absentee owners, so the company should continue to hire independent firms to do the regular monitoring of the factories. Conclusion Today, more and more companies expand their business by going global. Globalization has brought a culture of free labor. Nikes linger sweatshop stigma is a case in point. The companys worldwide image was tarnished after a wave of public criticism for its labor practices. Many human rights groups felt that Nike was using slave labor as a tool to lower their production costs, and the workers were not receiving proper wages. Moreover, Nike had also been accused of using child labor in its factories and had failed to provide a safe working environment for its workers. In response to these criticisms, Nike formulated its code of conduct that required its suppliers to observe some basic labor and environment standards. The company also expands its internal and external monitoring to keep up with factory base. In summary, most companies may face legal, cultural, and ethical challenges when doing business overseas. These environmental forces are perceived as uncontrollable and could pose cha llenges for your company if they have not been well handed. The case of Nike demonstrated how difficult it could be for company to survive in global business market because of the different culture, laws and regulations of the host country. Therefore, increasing globalization of business is requiring managers to have global perspective and an understanding of the environment forces of the markets in which they operates (Dr C, 2005).

Paths Of Life :: essays research papers

The only way to know for sure if a path is right for you is to take and follow the path all the way to the end. Unfortunately life can only allow so many misdirection plays and crossing of paths. There are many paths to choose from and every decision everyday of one’s life can lead further down a path or force you to back up. Many people believe in one path and stick with it while others try to follow every path they get a hint of. Only one person can make this decision of a single or multiple path life and that person is you. There are many paths, but in specific four distinct groups. Every event in life can be placed on one of these four paths.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first major path in life is most closely related to the American Dream. This path takes one through a normal life. As the old American dream clichà © goes one grows up in a family with two stable parents and one other sibling. They go through their school years doing every activity from the second grade play to the senior prom. They eventually go through a four-year college and end up marrying a woman who has had a similar existence. Both work for a job they particularly like and wind up having two children, one boy, one girl and living in suburban America. They have a three-bedroom house, two cares and a wonderful bunch of neighbors. Their children will eventually follow in the same path. This path is the middle of the road path and either has a step up or a step down.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A step down from the American dream path would be the underachiever path. This starts with a person growing up in a somewhat dysfunctional family and winds up hating their early life. This path leads to a bad school experience and a state of anti-social behavior where the person misses every activity from the second grade play to the senior prom. This person will decide not to struggle through college and joins the work force out of high school. This person has no real life and completely hates their job. This person suffers though life in many different areas, which include socially, financially, and emotionally. They will wind up not having a family and will finish their life alone and sad. Thankfully there is always a step up from that crappy old American dream clichà ©.

Night :: essays research papers

Night The Halocaust, a horrible time for the world. Just as any war is. War is the single most destructive thing our world has. It can take the lives of millions of people in just a few seconds.War however may seem bad from the perspective of many people, but it is even worse from the perspective of a single person. A boy for instance, trapped between two opposing forces. Elie for example has lived through this. A boy of only 15, how much he has suffered through. During the course of the book Night it is obvious that Elie lost faith in his god. "For the first time, I felt revolt rise up in me. Why should I bless his name? The Eternal, Lord of the Universe, the All-Poerful and terrible, was silent. what had I to thank him for?" (31). This is Elie's first sign of losing faith. In his mind he wondered how a god, so great and wonderful hasn't helped out his people, But rather let them see how cruel people can be. Elie said this after he had witnessed babies sent to their doom in a pit of fire. How could he not ask his god why he hasn't done anything. A boy of 15 years old should not witness this, nor should anyone witness these acts of hatred. "Never shall I forget those flames which consumed my faith forever." (32) From that moment on, Elie had no reason to believe in God. The flames which Madame Schachter had spoke about on the train. If only they realized it sooner. God, the most important role in human civilization was going to let the slaughter of innocent people go on in his world. Many people lost faith during this time. The sight of someone being beaten infront of you, but knowing that if you help, it'll be even worse for you. Never shall I forget that nocturnal silence which deprived me, for all eternity, of the desire to live. Never shall I forget those moments which murdered my god and my soul and turned my dreams to dust. Never shall I forget these things even if I am condemmed to live as long as God Himself, forever. Never. (32) Something so powerful it could murder a once very religous boy's faith forever. He would never be able to turn back like he once did, to ask God "Why?". God lives

The Transition To The Role of Professional Nurse

My most recent employment included working as a Rehabilitation vocational nurse in an in-patient Rehabilitation hospital. Typically I cared for 6-8 patients at a time, providing total care for each. I am IV certified with much experience in the field, particularly within pediatrics. I have worked with professional nurses, physical and occupational therapists, social workers, dietitians, physicians and more as part of a collaborative and comprehensive health care team. Issues and Concerns Surrounding Transition For Practical/Vocational Nurse A licensed practical or vocational nurse (LPN or LVN) is often the first step in one's career toward becoming a certified professional nurse. The role of a vocational nurse differs significantly from the role of a professional nurse. Most nurses trained at this level have one year of study experience at a vocational or community college. A vocational nurse is used to working under the supervision of a licensed RN or professional nurse or physician (Quan, 2004). There are multiple issues and concerns surrounding the transition to the role of professional nurse, none the least of which is the shortage of qualified nurse educators to provide guidance to LPN's desiring a career as an RN (Quan, 2004). There are also multiple levels of education one may pursue as a professional nurse that must be considered (Quan, 2004). For example, while many hospitals in the past have offered three year courses allowing students to live in the hospitals, few of these programs still remain (Quan, 2004). Most vocational nurses now desiring a professional career must pursue their Bachelor of Science in Nursing or an associate's degree in nursing. This requires much time, effort and of course, acceptance into a qualified nursing programs. A vocational nurse must also have the ability to effectively transition to the role of a supervisor or leader, capable of making complex decisions and delegating tasks to others as part of their job responsibilities as a professional nurse. Clinical Judgment in Autonomy and Accountability of Professional Nursing Practice Professional nursing practice affords RN's a relatively large amount of autonomy and accountability on the job. Professional nurses are often called on to use their own technical expertise and judgment to help manage and oversee patient care as part of members of a collaborative health care team (Shanbhag, 2002). They are accountable for the results of any decisions they make regarding patient care, even when those decisions involve delegating tasks to others. In cases where professional nurses supervise the work functions of others, professional nurses must also be held accountable for patient outcomes and the outcomes of their underlings. Professional nurses are often afforded the ability to delegate tasks as they see appropriate to underlings including vocational nurses (Shanbhag, 2002). This requires not only a great deal of decision making ability but also the ability to differentiate among underling's skills, qualifications and abilities. This will help them remain accountable for the actions of each member of their health care team. A professional nurse is also more likely to be held accountable for patient's outcomes as they often supervise the care of other nurses or health care assistants involved in patient care (Shanbhag, 2002). Most are expected to exercise â€Å"independent judgment† reserving the right to direct care in certain circumstance (Shanbhag, 2002). Professional nurses are also more likely to be held accountable for patient outcomes as well as the performance of those working under their direct supervision. How Professional Nurse Collaborates with Others To Achieve Effective Patient Care The best possible outcome for patients is only realized when professional nurses work as members of a multidisciplinary team, collaborating to ensure the best patient outcome. A professional nurse does not work alone but rather as a member of a comprehensive patient care team whose goals include optimizing patient outcomes. Members of this comprehensive health care team may include nursing assistants, professional nurses, primary care physicians, social workers, patients and family members (Coombs, 2004). For collaboration to work in the health care team it must often be defined in a non-hierarchical or cooperative manner based â€Å"on shared power and authority† assuming that each member of the team holds a certain level of knowledge, responsibility and influence that directly influences patient outcomes (Coombs, 2004). Professional nursing requires many of the same leadership skills required of doctors or other management professionals. The primary leadership skills beneficial to the field include (1) the ability to establish, maintain and promote communication and interpersonal relationships, (2) the ability to delegate work tasks and oversee the work of others (3) the ability to make decisions based on one's knowledge, skills and expertise (4) the ability to work as members of a collaborative team and (5) the ability to help create interdependency and promote knowledge sharing among all team members (Coombs, 2004). The ability to work collaboratively is a fundamental skill required of effective leaders (Miccolo & Spanier, 1993). A professional nurse must first be able to provide coworkers, supervisors and underlings with clear communication and insight regarding his or her goals, methods, policies and programs. A professional nurse like any other member of a health care team is responsible for knowledge sharing. Anyone responsible for knowledge sharing within an organization must have the ability to develop communication skills among team members. Further, a leader knows how to delegate work tasks to ensure they aren't overburdened by administrative or nursing tasks at any one point in time. This helps reduce burn out and promotes a more efficient and product team environment. A nurse must also rely on their own education, experience and knowledge to help make directed and responsible decisions within the health care environment. This will help the nurse work as an effective leader within the health care team, and promote cooperation among all team members. Management of Nursing Care and Delegation Professional nurses must act as managers, working to help build, create, maintain and manage effective partnerships or teams of workers within the health care environment. The management of nursing care involves identifying what members of the health care team are capable of carrying out certain roles, and assigning them those roles accordingly to ensure the patients basic needs are met, and to ensure a positive health outcome for patients treated under a professional nurses care. Delegation of tasks is an autonomous task requiring independent decision-making capability. Since professional nurses tend to work in a role that requires leadership, independent thinking, decision making and accountability for patient outcomes, it naturally follows that professional nurses must learn how to delegate tasks appropriately. Proper use of delegation within the health care environment will also free up time for professional nurses to work with multiple patients and to address the many administrative functions and tasks that come along with the role of a professional nurse in today's health care environment (Coombs, 2004).

Organizational Behavior Outline

CHAPTER 2: Challenges for Managers †¢ What are the four challenges in globalization? 1. Globalizing the firm’s operation to compete the global village 2. Leading a diverse workforce 3. Encouraging positive ethics, character, and personal integrity 4. Advancing and implementing technological innovation in the workplace †¢ What are the changes in the global marketplace? 1. Social changes 2. Political changes Social and political upheavals have led organizations to change the way they conduct business and encouraged their members to think globally. †¢ Self-Assessment: Planning for a global career Self-assessment is the critical first step in any career planning effort. Self assessment is especially important for those whose goal is to live an work abroad, i. e. , where familiar personal and professional support systems may be non-existent. Readers interested in pursuing international employment should consider their answers to the following types of questions in assessing their readiness for international employment: 1. Why am I interested in an international social work career? 2. Am I interested in effecting change on a macro/global level? 3. Am I interested in working directly with clients from a variety of cultural backgrounds? Both? 4. Am I interested in the personal and professional development which results from the experience of living abroad, whatever the employment situation? 5. Does my commitment to an international career include being based abroad, or would I prefer to be based in my home country? 6. What skills do I have to offer in an international setting? [These skills might include: â€Å"generic† social work abilities such as strengths in psycho-social assessment, supervision or program development; specific social work skills related to particular issues or clients, such as pre-natal services for dolescents, AIDS prevention programming, or working with clients who are substance abusers; and technical and linguistic skills which may be particularly useful in international settings, such as computer skills, health professions training, and of course language competencies]. 7. What are my general and specific practice interests? [These might include considerations of: macro vs. micro pra ctice; administrative vs. case management positions; and work evolving from its setting, such as direct service in an agency base, research and teaching in a university setting, or advocacy work in a human rights organization]. . What international/intercultural experience do I have? [This might include personal background, work, travel or study abroad, or work with clients of diverse education]. 9. What are my issues/preferences concerning lifestyle and adjusting to new settings? Would I feel comfortable with the living conditions in a developing country or do I need a more Westernized lifestyle? Have I tested my abilities to be flexible in adjusting to unfamiliar surroundings and cultures? 10. What is my geographic preference? Is it global in scope? Developed or developing country? 11. Finally, what is my â€Å"dream job†? In planning a career, as opposed to searching for a particular position, it is crucial to have a sense of direction. Even should your anticipated direction change in six months of starting your first job, your preparatory process will serves as the impetus for more careful exploration and experimentation. A catch phrase for the nineties has become â€Å"Think globally, act locally†. With an international social work career, it is possible to have the best of both worlds–that of acting on major international social issues, either at home or abroad, and wherever one chooses to work to be engaged in solving social problems of worldwide dimensions. As the social context of the human services becomes increasingly more internationalized, it is crucial that social workers broaden their world view; the personal and professional rewards for doing so can be immense. †¢ Self-Assessment Activity: How much do you know about sexual harassment? As defined by the Philippine Anti-Sexual Harassment Act of 1995, sexual harassment is â€Å"a request for a sexual favor, accepted or not, from an employer, employee, manager, teacher, instructor, professor, coach, trainer or other persons who have authority, influence or moral ascendancy over another.    It is committed by anyone who demands a sexual favor in exchange for work, promotion or other privileges. Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature when: 1. Submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual's employment, or 2. Submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as a basis for employment decisions affecting such individual, or 3. Such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual's work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment. Sexual harassment includes many things†¦ 1. Actual or attempted rape or sexual assault. 2. Unwanted pressure for sexual favors. 3. Unwanted deliberate touching, leaning over, cornering, or pinching. 4. Unwanted sexual looks or gestures. 5. Unwanted letters, telephone calls, or materials of a sexual nature. 6. Unwanted pressure for dates. 7. Unwanted sexual teasing, jokes, remarks, or questions. . Referring to an adult as a girl, hunk, doll, babe, or honey. 9. Whistling at someone. 10. Cat calls. 11. Sexual comments. 12. Turning work discussions to sexual topics. 13. Sexual innuendos or stories. 14. Asking about sexual fantasies, preferences, or history. 15. Personal questions about social or sexual life. 16. Sexual comments about a person's clothing, anatomy, or looks. 17. Kissing sounds, howling, and sma cking lips. 18. Telling lies or spreading rumors about a person's personal sex life. 19. Neck massage. 20. Touching an employee's clothing, hair, or body. 21. Giving personal gifts. 22. Hanging around a person. 23. Hugging, kissing, patting, or stroking. 24. Touching or rubbing oneself sexually around another person. 25. Standing close or brushing up against a person. 26. Looking a person up and down (elevator eyes). 27. Staring at someone. 28. Sexually suggestive signals. 29. Facial expressions, winking, throwing kisses, or licking lips. 30. Making sexual gestures with hands or through body movements. Sexual harassment can be a tricky thing to prove. While it’s a recognized threat in the workplace, very few are willing to come out and complain. Find out what you can do about sexual harassment in case it happens in your office: The Sexual Harassment Act not only covers those who are directly involved but also those who cooperate â€Å"in the commission of† the violation. Sexual harassment can take several forms. If you’re the object of attention, you could be at the receiving end of malicious stares, jokes, comments, notes, letters, graffiti or physical contact. What to do in case of sexual harassment? Sexual harassment can be difficult to prove, especially if it becomes a he said/she said event. To make sure you protect yourself, do the following: Say ‘No’ or ‘Stop it’ firmly and loud enough for someone to hear. If there are potential witnesses, reject the advances through a firm but polite refusal. Unless you’ve been harassed many times before, don’t make the first offense a sideshow. * Express your objection to the person’s behavior clearly and firmly but avoid making too much fuss about it. Saying ‘Stop it! ’ in a loud, shrilly voice or screaming at the top of your lungs might be viewed as proof that you’re a hysterical person. In case of an investigation, you might come off as unreliable or worse, prone to exaggeration. Remember that you might be dealing with a sneaky person who can dismiss your complaint as an exaggerated reaction. * Express your disapproval and be clear about it. If the person asks you why, tell them it makes you uncomfortable and you don’t think its appropriate behavior. Don’t smile and don’t apologize, either. You’ll come off as weak and unconvincing. * Document the event/s. Write down the date, time, place and witnesses to the incident in detail. Use a journal or a notebook and keep it in a safe place. In case you have to file for a complaint later, this will come in handy as evidence. If the harassment escalates, you can also show the journal or notebook to your supervisor. * Inform someone about what happened. Tell your closest confidant or friend at the office. If the incident involved touching, violence, psychological or physical threats, do the same and then go to your manager or supervisor. In his absence, talk to the HR person immediately. Don’t turn the incident into office gossip, however. If you must inform anyone, make sure they are either a person of authority or someone who could become a reliable witness for you. * File a complaint. Chances are your company has policies regarding sexual harassment in the workplace. Check your company manual or go to HR to make sure you make the right steps. They should be able to help you resolve this problem. CHAPTER 3: Personality, Perception, and Attribution †¢ Research diversity statistics in the Philippines for the workplace THE â€Å"LAY DOWN OR LAY OFF POLICY† IN THE WORKPLACE Many women workers are subjected to sexual harassment or sexual violence in the workplace (Bureau of Women and Young Workers,  Sexual Harassment at the Workplace, 1991. ). There is a phrase in the Philippines that sums up the sexual violence experienced by women in the workplace. We call it the â€Å"Lay Down or Lay Off Policy†. Prior to the enactment of the Anti-Sexual Harassment Act of 1995 (RA 7877), women resorted to the pertinent provisions of the Revised Penal Code to seek redress for sexual harassment. SIBOL comments that, â€Å"While Republic Act No. 7877 is a step forward in addressing sexual harassment, it has several significant limitations. † †¢ Research an MBTI Instrument and answer it. CHAPTER 4: Attitude, Values and Ethics What is Machiavellianism? How this relate to you personally? Machiavellianism is the political doctrine of Machiavelli, which denies the relevance of morality in political affairs and holds that craft and deceit are justified in pursuing and maintaining political power. I do not agree with this doctrine since the core of my personality is morality. †¢ Exercise: Chinese, Indian and American Value s Chinese| Indian| American| 1. Mandate of Heaven 2. Confucian relations 3. Harmony 4. The Chinese value the importance of the family 5. bedience, moderation and self-restraint   6. They want to fulfill their own potential 7. With time and patience, the mulberry leaf becomes a silk gown 8. Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere 9. A book holds a house of gold 10. Courtesy demands reciprocity| 11. Cooperation 12. Group harmony 13. Modesty 14. Value is placed on respect for an individual’s dignity and personal autonomy 15. Placidity is valued, as is the ability to remain quiet and still 16. Patience 17. Generosity 18. Indifference to ownership 19. Indifference to saving 20. Indifference to work ethic 21. Moderation in speech 22. Careful listening 23. Careful observation 24. Permissive child rearing| 1. Personal control over the environment/ responsibility 2. Change is seen as natural and positive 3. Time and its control 4. Equality/ fairness 5. Individualism/ independence 6. Self-help initiative 7. Competition 8. Future orientation 9. Action/ work orientation 10. Informality 11. Directness/ openness/ honesty 12. Practicality/ efficiency 13. Materialism/ acquisitiveness|