Hubungan Tenaga Kerja

Individual project: Research current theories in employment relations I. Traditional perspectives on the employment relationship. Traditional perspectives are important because they express the different assumptions that other make about the nature of organization, the fundamental nature of the relationship between workers and employers, and the characteristics of the society within which work organization exist and function. The three views are most frequently referred to as the unitary, pluralist and Marxist perspectives.The Marxist/ radical perspective is sometimes referred to as the Conflict Model. Each offers a particular perception of workplace relations and will therefore interpret such events as workplace conflict, the role of trade unions and job regulation very differently. 2. 1 the unitary perspective In Unitary perspective, the organization is perceived as an integrated and harmonious whole with the ideal of â€Å"one happy family†, where management and other membe rs of the staff all share a common purpose, emphasizing mutual cooperation.Furthermore, unitary has a paternalistic approach where it demands loyalty of all employees, being predominantly managerial in its emphasis and application. 2. 2. 1 management style management’s right to manage and make decision is seen as rational, legitimate and acceptable to all ( Salamon 1987) its mean there is only one source of power and authority. 2. 2. 2 roles of parties For the management have to provide good communication skill and also strong leadership skill. The employees roles should be loyal to organization and management. 2. 2. employment relations perspective The aggressive style of management (strong emphasis on HRM such commonality and organizational goal) that can promote the avoidance or marginalization of trade unions 2. 2. 4 weakness/critisms A narrow approach that neglects cause of conflict, fails to explain the prevalence of conflict within organization. Assumption that all man agement decisions are rational and will take care of employee needs.Does not take account for uneven distribution of power among employees and employers in the decision making process. . 2. 5 a unitary perspective, which informs in human resource management (HRM) HRM also knew as modern form that approach by unitarism perspective to industrial relations characteristics, that is. The management of the employment relationship primary from the perspective of the employer. This can be refer in the main focus of HRM. Such as plan human resource requirement, recruit and hire employees, train and manage employee performance, reward employees and dismissal or retire employee. The two main forms within the HRM approach are known as: . Soft HRM is developmental humanism, 2. Hard HRM is instrumental integration of employees into company objective. This two perspective to HRM can also be seen as the best practice approach and contingency approach. 2. 2 the pluralism perspective In The pluralism perspective the manager approve foster freedom of expression and the development of groups, which establish their own norms and choose their own informal leaders. Organization Power is diffused among the main bargaining groups within the employment relationships (no-one dominates).Because of the power and control arise in several areas of the organisation and loyalty is commanded by the leaders of the groups, which are often in competition with each other for resources. Pluralist perspective regards conflict as inevitable because employers and employees have conflicting interests; trade unions are seen as a legitimate counter to management authority. This is mean, represents good leadership, although sometimes it can be difficult to achieve the necessary balance, in which the interests of all stakeholders have to be taken into account.The management style under pluralist perspective focuses on consensus building. However, according to Rensis Likert, when employees become involved i n solving work-related problems and making decisions, they become involved in what they are doing and committed to the achievement of successful outcomes (Likert, 1961). 2. 3. 6 roles of parties Management will attempt to reconcile conflicting and keep the conflict within acceptable bound so that does not destroy the organization. Employees will accept mutual adjustment and will constantly push for their own goals . 3. 7 employment relations perspective The role of government was to develop and manage the framework and, through legislation, to ensure that conciliation or arbitration was available to the parties to achieve a binding consensus. 2. 3. 8 weakness/critisms The concept of pluralism is inextricably linked to the idea of democracy (Flanders 1965). The reality is that workplace is not a democracy. In Power context is not evenly diffused: it is typically weighted towards management in the workplace.Pluralist thinking lends itself to the conclusion that there is a simple and s traightforward set of processes that resolve conflict, and that conflict can be readily managed through rules, regulations and processes. 2. 3. 9 a pluralist perspective, leading to ‘ neo-institutional’ approaches. Neo-institutional approach emerged in an attempt to extend the pluralist thingking for the role of ‘rule making’ in the employment relationship. they have Two type of the rules : formal / informal rules, substantive/ procedural rules.And this rules are made as a result of the forces and imperatives of capitalst social relations, in society and workeplace. And some others features. 2. 3 marximst perspective The radical or Marxist perspective sees industrial conflict as an aspect of class conflict. The solution to worker alienation and exploitation is the overthrow of the capitalist system. 2. 4. 10 general philosophy Inherent and irreconcilable conflict. 2. 4. 11 management style Management is focused upon extracting the maximum amount of labour f rom the workforce.Under modern capitalism, this seen more sophisticated managerial applications such as TQM or HRM. 2. 4. 12 roles of parties Roles employees challenging management control in demand and obtain as much as they can. For employers to make extract as much as possible 2. 4. 13 employment relations perspective The Marxist perspectives argue that the balance of power between capital and labour promoted in the pluralist perspective is illusionary (Salamon 1987). In the context of power relations, a balance is achieved through the implicit knowledge that employers can withdraw their capital and employees cab withdraw their labour. . 4. 14 weakness/critisms Preoccupied with conflict: obscures any cooperation or shared goals between management and workers. Capital is not homogenous: competition among capitalists. The theory was formulated at a time when labour did not have a representative political view. 2. 4. 15 radical perspective, which enables a ‘labour process†™ approach. Because management’s goals and labor’s goals are in the long term—opposed, it cannot also be assumed that management will be able to capture all of the potential labour. Management is obliged to seek increased effort.Labour may not always agree, especially when the extra effort only goes to making increased profits for the employer. Because the employment relationship is open-ended, management needs some system of controlling and improving labour effort, and the relationship is constantly renegotiated. Braverman identified the first major method through which management sought to control labour, such as Productivity through deskilling labour. Braverman also argued that Taylorism and scientific management are strategies to maximise the conversion of potential into actual labour, by simplifying the work process and minimizing employee discretion.Some researchers argued that Braverman oversimplified the complexity of management’s strategies. Fr iedman, for example, argued that management could either use ‘direct control’ as outlined by Braverman or it could use more sophisticated, commitment-based strategies.IV. references books: * Teicher, J. , Holland, P. , and Gough. R (Eds. ), (2006). Employee Relations Management, 2nd Edition. French Forest, NSW: Prentice-Hall. * Nankervis, A. , Compton, R. , and Baird, M. (2008) Human Resource Management: strategies & precesses, South Melbourne : Cengage Learning Australia. Stone, R. J. (2008). Human Resource Management. (6th ed. ). Brisbane, Australia: John Wiley & Sons. * De Cieri, H. , Kramar, R. , Noe, R. A. , Hollenbeck, J. R. , Gerhart, B. & Wright, P. M. (2005). Human Resource Management in Australia (2nd ed. ). Australia: McGraw-Hill. * Dessler, G, (2004). Human Resource Management. (10th Ed. ), New Jersey: Prentice Hall. * Dessler, G. , Griffiths, J. & Lloyd-Walker, B. (2007). HRM. (3rd Ed. ), Australia: Pearson Education. * Sappey, R. , Burgess, J. , Lyons, M. & Buultjens, J. (2009). Industrial Relations in Australia Work and Workplaces (2nd ed. ). Australia: Pearson.Online resource:  http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Human_resourceshttp://www.thefreelibrary.com/Unitarism,+Pluralism,+and+Human+Resource+Management+in+Germany-a057816024 http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Industrial_relations http://www. brighthub. com/office/project-management/articles/77199. aspx

Five basic components of human societies Essay

There are five basic components of the human societies: population, culture, material products, social organization, and social institutions. These components may either deter or promote social change. The size of population will greatly affect the social change. If the population is large, chances are social changes will be promoted. More people will usually result in more ideas, pushing for changes because a larger population will generate more problems and it has a greater need for solutions. A large population will also have more norms and laws and sanctions. Culture includes values, beliefs, norms, knowledge, language, and symbols. Culture can both deter and promote social changes. A society’s belief and values can be essential for technology to grow and develop. Some societies tend to be more conservative and would like for things to continue to be the same, which will likely deter that society from social changes. However, as a society gained more knowledge, there will be people who will want to push for change because of that gained knowledge. New information and discoveries will result in new inventions. Material products consist of a limited amount. Material products will be more likely promote changes because people will try to find other alternatives for those existing products. Social organization is a network of relationship between its members. There are people who hold social positions and political roles that may deter or promote changes. Reformers who hold office positions will persuade more changes in society while conservationist will want things to remain the same. Social institutions consist of the education system, family, economy, government, and religion. A society’s education system has a big influence on the society. If that education system is promoting changes, people in that society will grow up having that thinking, vice versa. A person’s upbringing will also influence a person’s push for change or deterrence of change. The economy’s status holds great importance for change or not. If an economy is not doing so well, changes will likely occur. The government may be pushing for change if a reformist holds political position but if a conservationist will want things to be the same. Religion ties in with a  person’s belief and values. Depending on the religion, a person will be more likely to have moral values and religious beliefs that will either want change or deter from change.

Anthropological Theory Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Anthropological Theory - Assignment Example The author goes into detail and examines extending of the interconnection and the relationships of such names and tries to place them into their reality. In his idea of interconnections, Eric Wolf states that the reification has led to the misconception of the fact about nations. He cites that nations have been taken as entities that existed independently of one another. However, in his idea of connections, Eric Wolf clearly outlines the relationship between nations dating back a long time ago. Eric Wolf cites the dangers of reification as being that of giving falsehood on the reality of humanity. He cites that there is a neglect of interrelationships between human beings. He gives examples of the spread of diseases from past to present, similarly, he cites the diffusion of people through slavery and servitude to justify his idea of connections. One other danger, Eric Wolf cites in his idea of connections is that reification has led to the misconception and division of disciplines. He gave examples to show how scholars of Sociology and political science split political economy. He cites these examples as misleading misconceptions from scholars. Eric Wolf critically examines social sciences split from political economy. He argues that political economy made sense since it justified the idea of interconnection. He points out that the treatment of independent states, for instance, the United States and Greece as static and in rival by stable internal interactions and control from outside has prevented us from understanding their relationships and confrontations, a fact inconsistent with his idea of interconnections. He further points out that the difficulty is further compounded with the imaginary arrangement and division of nations into blocks as well as civilization based categorizations. Such names like, the East and West, the civilized and developed west and the

Event Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words - 1

Event Management - Essay Example It becomes significant for the event manager to consider the influences of an event all through implementing an effective planning process. Event impacts also capture the minds of the organisational members along with the policy makers for evaluating public expenditure on events and to assess any negative externalities (Damster & Tassiopoulos, 2006). The study related to event impacts have been arrived by the requirement to test the positive as well as negative influences of holding an event for the purpose of justifying public spending on events. The positive as well as negative influences can be observed at the time of conducting an event. The impact of event might be felt by numerous stakeholders along with the participants, local businesses as well as host community. There are different ways in which the event is likely to impact. The various areas upon which event are likely to impact include physical infrastructure, environmental, economic as well as tourism impacts, image enhancements and urban renewal. The inspirational power of any sporting event which further tends to be stimulated by media reach recommends the fact that they can be a useful tool in developing the interests of the people towards involvement in sports. It can be affirmed that the perception of an organiser relating to the socio-economic impacts of the f estivals along with other special events tends to possess four main domains such as economic benefits, community cohesiveness, social incentives as well as social costs (Gursoy & et. al., 2004). It can be revealed that the positive inflows of revenues into the country cannot be considered as the only factor towards recognising the success of an event. The negative social influence related to an event can lead to greater damages to the future of an event and the ecological influence might also lead towards premature death of any poorly administered event (Daniels & et. al., 2004). It can be identified that an

Lovelocks Global Warming Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Lovelocks Global Warming - Essay Example The equilibrium of the earth would be altered and even the prevention strategies that have been started will not be of any use because the damage that has already been done is irreversible. Â  Global warming is an important issue of debate but to consider it to be a cause for the end of the world within the next few decades is an exaggeration. Global warming has been an issue since the late nineteenth century. If it was a process which was going to produce disastrous effects on a very quick basis the earth would have ended by now. The steps to prevent global warming are already being taken up many countries. There have been inventions of solar and water-based cars. It is a fact that these measures would take time to come into effect but to put the blunt ending to the world without considering the efforts that are being put to save it is a very quick decision with not much evidence. Â  Global warming is an international issue which is affecting our world. It needs immediate attention with support from the people and the scientists who should look for ways and measures to prevent the catastrophic end of this world.

Chose one Video and write one reflection paper about it Essay

Chose one Video and write one reflection paper about it - Essay Example The webinar explained the different concepts and workflows of BIMStorm and ways in which the audience could become part of it. Tools and software used in the webinar included but were not limited to Excel, Archicad, Google Maps, Revit, Elite Cad, and Onuma Planning System. The webinar enabled the audience to ask questions online or using email. The good quality of video, clarity of sound, and simplicity of language all mutually operate to make this a very suitable webinar for teaching to students at academic as well as professional platforms. The webinar was incredible because the BIMStorm BIG BIM BANG was announced with the collaboration of Onuma Inc. and Gehry Technologies. The two BIM Servers joined hands to improve and facilitate the workflows in the BIMStorm. Webinars like this are meant to guide the teams on the requirements of projects and equip them with the knowledge of ways to foster interaction on the

Privacy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Privacy - Essay Example ual’s wish to remain obscured or relatively unnoticed from the public and security which can also be achieved by privacy in reference to the protection of information. Its importance has also been an issue that has been discussed on a large scale with relevance to how important it is for the existence of privacy within the society (Wack, 2010). An invasion of privacy refers to the intrusion of ones personal matters or the revelation of information to the public that an individual would have rather kept secret or away from the public eye. This invasion of privacy is the main opponent that individuals face in the fight to withhold information that they may not want others to know. There are a number of scenarios where privacy is upheld and it does not just deal with an individual on a personal level. There are different types of privacy that ca n be considered according to the particular situation that is being faced at that particular time. The types of privacy include: Personal Privacy – This type of privacy refers to an individual on a personal level where it is one person is involved. This usually has to do with the exposure of a person’s body to others. For example, a person usually prefers to be alone in certain situations such as taking a bath or changing their clothes because they would not like a person to see them in a state of undress (Solove, 2009). This can also be referred to as personal modesty. There is also the issue of privacy in terms of living conditions and relationships with those who may live next to you. This can be seen in the walls and fences that are erected around an individual’s personal property in a bid to maintain their coming and goings private (Wack, 2010). There is also the concept of curtains that are erected on windows to prevent people from being able to see inside a house. Personal privacy has always been in existence since the formation of societies as individuals have always wanted to keep certain aspects of their

Success at university is underpinned by a range of well-developed Essay - 1

Success at university is underpinned by a range of well-developed academic learning skills - Essay Example Research indicated that students with higher academic motivation which mainly comes from self motivation acquired through persona academic skill, self-discipline and also self confidence. Learning skills is accumulation of resources for learning and teaching of academic skills, development of academic skills is also an essential part of successful study at university and also the future of employment some of these skills include working with others, critical thinking, academic thinking, numeracy skills and also research skills1. Researching skill require one to create a new knowledge and also understanding through the process of inquiry. This skill has many processes that a researcher must pass through to give out a quality work for the research conducted. Every good researcher must be able to be a critical thinker in that he examines the truth and also its validity of arguments and also evaluating the significance of the ideas in question. Here the researcher weighs different sides of the argument by applying logic and reasoning and hence drawing and also carrying out an evaluation conclusion from logical argument and data analysis. Connectively, the problem solving skill where the researcher is able to identify, define and then analyze problems which enable his to create solutions, evaluate them, and thereafter choose the best solution for a particular context. The researcher is required to have an imaginative and also innovative thinking mind with news ways to approach a problem and also have analytical skill to examine the consequences of a particular solution. Here the student to achieve academic success should carry scientific experimentations. After the student has identified and also solved the problem, the skill that is required to be put in the work is a study skill where the student shall be expected to collect relevant information then apply methods of synthesis, critical thinking and also data reduction. This helps

Religious Education Learning Package Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Religious Education Learning Package - Essay Example With such deliberations of the beliefs and practices advocated for during the Rosh Hashanah festival, it is apparent that, this marks a period of purifying oneself for the rest of the year. In addition, since the season is marked with several prayers, fasting and repenting, it reminds every Jew to abide by the Jewish beliefs and practices (Jacobs, 1987). In light of this, it is critical to focus on the beliefs and practices of Jews that make them repent so that they can have a good and sweet year ahead. In this regard, the concern is the relevance of beliefs and practices exhibited in the Rosh Hashanah festival, which culminates the evaluation of oneself in regard to their adherence to the beliefs and practices of Jews for the previous year. Therefore, the Rosh Hashanah festival could be argued to detail the overall beliefs and practices of Jews. This is in line with what Segal (2009) pointed out that, formal prayers guide Jews and their beliefs and practices. The following learning package aims at enlightening year 8 students with lessons designed to give insights to Jewish beliefs and practices. ... The first reading material is Essential Judaism: A Complete Guide to Beliefs, Customs & Rituals, a book by George Robinson (Robinson, 2003). Robinson highlights the importance of Jewish beliefs and practices, which are put into practice through various festivals. The festivals are symbolic interaction between Jews and God. In Rosh Hashana, Jews recite prayers. Robinson argues that prayer is at the heart of Jewish prayer, God listens to them. In order to elicit a clear understanding of such an assertion from the text, students would be requested to review the assertion, which is further elaborated by Robinson to mean that prayer is part of dialogue between man and God. In this regard, the students would be required to explain what they take of the assertion in relation to the understanding of Rosh Hashana prayers. A set of questions would be used to develop a discussion of whether the students believed that a prayer acted a means of communication between Jews and God, and whether what Jews believe in their Rosh Hashanah prayer is actually fulfilled by God. Some of the verbs used in driving points home from the book involve requesting students to read specific chapters and sentences of the book that emphasizes on the Jewish beliefs and practices in regard to the Rosh Hashanah festival. This would ensure that the students clearly understand the content of the book. In addition, students would be required to quote some sentences and phrases from the book that supports their arguments during discussions. A validation of their Jewish beliefs and practices would also be enhanced through reading the following sentence from Woodhead, (2002, p. 128): â€Å"the

India and women Essay Example for Free

India and women Essay INDIA and WOMEN Women empowerment is a moot subject. At earlier times, women got unprejudiced status with men. But the post-Vedic time was a difficult period when many were treated as slaves, a commodity earned by the man, a mode of produce kids. From the early twentieth century (national movement) their statuses have been slowly and gradually undergone changes. In this regard, we may mention the name of the English people. After then, independence of India, the constitutional makers and national leaders strongly emphasized on equal social position of women with men. Today, we have seen the women occupying the respectable positions in all walks of the sphere. Yet, they are not absolutely free from discrimination and harassment of the society. A few number of women have been able to establish their potentialities. Therefore, each and every one should be careful to promote the status of women. Women constitute approximately 50% of the world’s population, but India has shown disproportionate sex ratio whereby female’s population has been comparatively less than that of males. As far as their social status is concerned, they are not treated as equal to men in all the places. In the Western societies, the women have got equal right and status with men in all walks of life. But gender disabilities and discriminations are found in India even today. The paradoxical situation is such that, she is sometimes portrayed as a Goddess and at other times merely as slave. It is now that the women in India enjoy a solitary status of equality with the men as per constitutional and legal provision. But the Indian women have come a long way to achieve the present positions. First, gender inequality in India can be traced back to the historic days of the sacred Sanskrit poem, Mahabharata, when Draupadi was put on the dice by her husband as a commodity. History is a witness that women were made to dance both in private and public places to please the men. Secondly, in Indian society, a female was always dependent on male members of the family until a few years ago. Thirdly, a female was not allowed to speak in a loud voice in the presence of elder members of her in-laws or move around without covering her head and in some cases, the face in the presence of other elder or male members of the family. In the family, every faults had gone to her and responsible. Fourth, as a widow her dependence on the male members of the family increased but that was better than performing ‘sati’ where the widow  was burned alive during the cremation of her dead husband. In many social activities, she was not permitted to meet with other members of the family. A woman whether a widow or not had very little share in political, social and economic life of the society and had to vote for the party the family supports, even if she had her views against it. The early twenty century was rise of the National Movement under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi who was in favor of removing all the chains tied to a woman. At the same time, Raja Ram Mohan Rai, Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar and various other social reformers laid stress on women’s education, prevention of child marriage, withdrawals of evil practice of sati, removal of polygamy etc. The National Movement and various reform moveme nts paved the way for their liberations from the social evils and religious taboos. After independence of India, the constitution makers and the national leaders recognized the equal social position of women with men. The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 has determined the age for marriage, provided for monogamy and guardianship of the mother and permitted the dissolution of marriage under specific circumstances. Under the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956, an unmarried women, widow or divorce of sound mind can also take child in adoption. Similarly, the Dowry Prohibition Act of 1961 says that any person who gives, takes, or abets the giving or taking of dowry shall be punished with imprisonment, or fine or with both. The Constitution of India guarantees equality of sexes and in fact grants special favors to women. These can be found in three articles of the constitution. Article 14 says that the government shall not deny to any person equality before law or equal protection of the law. Article 15 declares that government shall not discriminate against any citizen on the ground of sex. Article 15 (3) makes a special provision enabling the state to make affirmative discriminations in favor of women . Article 42 directs the state to make provision for ensuring just and human conditions of work and maternity relief. Above all, the constitution regards a fundamental duty on every citizen through Articles 15 (A), (E) to renounce the practices derogatory to the dignity of women. The concept of empowerment flows from the power. It is vesting where it does not exist or exist inadequately. Empowerment of women would mean equipping women to be economically independent, self-reliant, have positive esteem to enable them to face any difficult situation and they should be able to participate in development  activities. The empowered women should be able to participate in the process of decision making. The government of India has ratified various international conventions and human rights instruments committing to secure equal rights to women. These are CEDAW (1993), the Mexico Plan of Action (1975), the Nairobi Forward Looking Strategies (!985), the Beijing Declaration as well as the platform for Action (1995) and other such instruments. The year of 2001 was observed as the year of women’s empowerment. During the year, a landmark document has been adopted, ‘ the National Policy for the empowerment of women.’ For the beneficiaries of the women, the government has been adopted different schemes and programs i.e. the National Credit Fund for Women (1993) , Food and Nutrition Board (FNB), Information and Mass Education (IMF) etc. But is all this actually working is what everyone wants to know. Are women actually empowered ? Or is all this only in papers and even in the 21st century women fear leaving their houses alone? Do they fear wearing clothes they want to wear ? Well I feel that the answer to this is a big YES. In the 21st century, where India is an emerging super power the women are not confident that they will return home safely. But why is it so? Some say that because ‘boys are boys’ and they can do whatever they want to or maybe because the kind of clothes a woman wears instigates men to look at her with those greedy eyes and lay their dirty hands on her? Well NO ! Did that women in a burqa who was raped while going back home in her own car provoke anybody? Or the 5 year old girl who was studying in school provoke her teacher? But boys will be boys who make mistakes. For once forget about the boys, they will defend themselves but when the head of the Mahila Vibhaag (women’s association) says that the mistake lies in the girls, don’t you believe it? I don’t. I think it is time for every girl to take a stand for herself and for every other girl in this world because it is not just India where women are not treated equally, a study conducted in the US in 2012 says that about 14% of women who were fired from their jobs was because the boss wanted something more than a normal boss and employ relationship. Also a study conducted in London in 1998 says that about 33% of divorces happen because the man is not willing to let the wife go out for a job or to pick up the kids because she might just have an affair. It’s also time for every parent stop telling their daughters to wear longer dresses and tell their sons to respect girls  because nobody should be judged by the way they dress. It is said that if a man is educated he will earn bread for the entire family but if a woman is educated then she will make sure that the entire family is educated. To sum up, women empowerment cannot be possible unless women come with and help to self-empower themselves. There is a need to formulate reducing feminized poverty, promoting education of women, and prevention and elimination of violence against women.

Sociological Perspectives on the Family

Sociological Perspectives on the Family Sociology and the family Introduction This essay will focus on two sociology theories, which are the family life cycle and the functionalist approach. It will give a brief overview of each theory. The essay will go on to apply theory to practice, as this essay will make reference to a service user with a sudo name known as Sean, to up hold confidentiality. While applying the family life cycle to the particular service user, this essay will critique the theories strengths and limitations. In applying the functionalist approach, this essay will highlight how the family is seen as an institution in its self and how other institutions inter play in the service user’s life. The theories used in this essay will highlight areas which apply to the service user and areas in which the theory lacks understanding of the complex situations. Conclusion will be drawn. Overview of each theory According to Falicov (1988, p. 9) the family life cycle has been applied widely to social science, he explains that the ‘life course of families evolves through predictable stages which appear universal in spite of one’s culture or subculture’. Family transits to different stages as form of continuity and changes over the life cycle. Falicov identifies two main aspects to the family life cycle, which are cohesion and adaptability (Falicov1988, p. 9). The cohesion relates to the interdependence parts of one’s life and adaptability refers to the flexibility of the family to change, in this the family cycle essentially focuses on a child’s transition into adulthood within a family setting (Falicov, C. 1988, p. 9). As family goes through its continuity phase and changes, there’s a need for the role of each member in the family to be recognised. Claveirole, A Gaughan, M. (2011) defines the family life cycle as a developmental way of looking at families; it provided a framework for an individual’s development of family members and the cycle itself is influenced by socio cultures developments outside the family.   Falicov, C. (1988, p. 13) says the family life cycle is a subject to mirror timing and coping strategies. Carter, E.A McGoldrick, M. (1999) supports this concept as they stated the family cycle is really one’s individual life cycle, which changes and moves in a framework within the structure of a family. This theory takes into account that one’s framework is structured by the families past, present and future hopes for an individual introduced into the family life cycle. The family life cycle highlights the fact that one’s experiences within the family life cycle impacts on our sense of self, for example the values we produce and the development of our personalities. This applies to each individual despite the structure, qualities of relationships or genetics of one’s family. The family has a responsibility to provide whats known as a natural baseline for an individual to grow physically, mentally, socially and emotionally, it also holds responsibilit y for the social institutions in which will affect the growth of the individual i.e. schools and church they may attend. The family life cycle it-self is broken into six parts, which are: Independence (second order changes), coupling (with or without marriage and synergy), parenting young children (participating in reproduction), parenting adolescents, launching adult children and retirement (facing senior years). Each stage contains mastering certain skills or milestones and once this is achieved it allows for the next stage to be developed. There are many ways to study the family which creates many different perspectives. One of these ways is through the functionalist approach. The functionalist approach focuses on the relationship between the family and society. When looking at the family the functionalist approach studies the function in which the family severs to society, such as reproduction and stabilization. Shaws 2002 explains the development of the functionalist approach stating that the perspective emerged as a leading theoretical model, mainly in the area of sociology as three well known sociologists influenced the model. Wallace and Wolf (1995, p.76) defines functionalism, as a whole theoretical perspective, which takes into account four main areas, which are ‘Functional Independence in maintaining social structure, Collective norms to maintain social order/ stability, Societal equilibrium in areas of conformity, adjustments and consensus, along with social constituents and finally Social Pathology and deviance which have resulted from maladjustments of social units’. The functionalist perspective studies society on two levels called Macro and Micro. Macro focuses on society as a whole, polices, services and the community in general. Micro focuses on the individual, the family and reproduction system. The functionalist approach realizes society is broken into institutions. Institutions are defined by Giddens (1984, p.24) ‘as the more enduring social features in life’. The main institution in society is the family, O’Sullivan (2012, p.1) define the family as a natural, primary and fundamental unit group in society a ‘moral institution that possesses inalienable and imprescriptibly rights’. It is the nuclear family (a couple with a depended child or children) that’s a core unit in all types of society. The usefulness of a family in society is limitless in many ways, for example socialization and social order and so by seen the family as a whole in society, it provided changes in society as the needs of family changed, but creating change depends on how societies are governed/run. In support of this is Fletcher (1973) who states the role of the family in terms of socialization and social order falls into two categories which are satisfying human needs and purposes and providing a functional interconnection with the wider social networks of society (school, church). Overview of the client family circumstances Sean is a male aged 27 years. He has an intellectual disability and has attended services for those who have an intellectual disability all his life. World Health Organisation (2014) define intellectual disability as extensively reduction on one’s capability to be aware of information and to learn and apply new skills, in this, individuals are affected to cope independently as the disability have affected their development. Sean is now in a service that promotes independence for those who have an intellectual disability. Sean lives in rural Dublin, a partly disadvantaged area. He lacks motivation and self confidence. He has the capacity to physically work in certain areas and has work for a short period of time. He had the capacity to write and read, but has never been assisted appropriately in the area and is now restricted to learn. He has a great knowledge about current affairs and enjoys talking about this with people he knows. He has a passion for music and one of his hob bies is listening to music. He grew up in a family of three boys who are younger than him, his mother and father. One of Sean brothers pasted away due to tragic accident. The family members are very supportive and its clear Sean has a strong attachment to them. Critique of strengths limitations of each theory in relation to the particular client family Limitations of the family life cycle The family life cycle does not take into account the fact that an individual can â€Å"skip† or progress to another step without fulfilling each step as a sequence. For example in Sean’s case he hasn’t fully transitioned out of the independence stage but has committed to a new social system which is attending his work on a daily basis. He has also started at the independence stage and may skip past the coupling, parenting and launching children stages and still reach his senior years. The family life cycle can be studied and understood from two perspectives; a limitation to this is that in general it focused more on the family perspective. For example in Sean case he has an intellectual disability, but up until Sean started attending the service which promotes independence his perspective wasn’t accounted for. The independence stage highlights one gaining their identity within the family and outside the family unfortunately for Sean this transition has bec ome difficult and is still a working progress, because in the area of gaining roles and learning the rules within the family Sean gain a role of depended, even in areas he had the capacity to be independent for example making a sandwich or buying himself new clothes. The rules underlining this depend behavior was never challenged and from a family perspective is understood as they wanted to care for Sean in the best way they taught. Caring for Sean in this way would have also become a norm for the family, as he is depended on the family for other things such as transport. The family life cycle was limited as the understanding of the stages wasn’t promoted or applied specifically to Sean case (a person with an intellectual disability). In general the family life cycle is implemented as best practice, when really it should be implemented generally and globally for families as a clear outline of one’s transitions. In Sean’s case if the family understood when he was born that he needed to transition though these stages (for a positive/ practical future) to the best of his capacity even with an intellectual disability then he could have reached his full potential for example reading, writing living more independently which would benefit him and his family, as the family will reach their retirement and senior years and Sean would have learnt the basic life skills which he needs at a more practical time and he would have become less depended on the family and became more confident and motivated in his everyday life. Strengths of the family life cycle The family life cycle strength is that it highlights one’s life cycle in general. In Sean’s case he will reach his senior year, in this the life cycle insures that one builds on each stage to the best of their capacity so they reach their full potential as individuals. Working with Sean gives him the opportunity to develop as a person and live his life in the way in which he chooses. For example he acknowledges now that he want to become more independent and aspire to how his younger brothers are living and by applying the family life cycle to best practice and the family it gives him the opportunity to so accordingly. The independence stage is defined by My Health Albert (2014) as the most critical stage of the family life cycle. It is a stage where one begins separate emotionally from the family and in Sean’s case he is doing by speaking out on how he feels and by participating in such activities as buying himself everything’s like food and treating himself to DVD’s. However, the family life cycle begins when a child is born; therefore the life cycle gave Sean the chance to be able to work on the stages even at a later stage in life. For example Sean is 27 years of age and its now he’s working intensely towards the other stages of the family life cycle and even though some stages may not apply to him its only a benefit for him to be able to work towards the ones he is capable of reaching with support from services and his family. Limitations of the functionalist approach A limitation to the functionalist approach is the ideal or overly harmonious image of the family, one in which is well integrated, holding social order and socialization. It doesn’t provide a practical image of the stresses and difficulties in which the traditional family go through. For example Sean was the first child born into the family and he had an intellectual disability. This could have distorted the ideal image/norm/traditional of what the couple had expected with the birth of their first child. The functionalist approach does not consider the alternatives ways for the couple to provide the basic care for a child with an intellectual disability. For example in Sean case, the functionalist approach doesn’t highlighted the importance of services provided for a couple with a child who has an intellectual disability, as the couple may need to depend earlier on services such as the health services to guide them in providing the best care for Sean. The services would have to be integrated in Sean case at a earlier level which this approach does not highlight, for example they could provide information in the area of intellectual disabilities, enrolling him in appreciate school, integrating him into society. In the area of developing institutions functionalist says it’s developed out of satisfying the human needs through fulfilling and organizing various human social needs, in Sean case he hasn’t been fulfilled academically, such as reading and writing and his social needs also lack as the hasn’t intergraded or participated in areas of his choice. The various ways in which the functionalist approach organizes and institutionalizes the human needs is ultimately creating social structure in society, although it does create order it’s not the best approach to practice as it creates stigma around such areas as intellectual disability for example Sean had the capacity to attend mainstream school but due to the fact he had an intellectual disability he attended a special needs school. The stigma from institutionalizing those who have an intellectual disability promoted the idea they didn’t have the capacity to make decisions for themselves (social norm) or to participate in activities including intimate relationships, for example Sean has the capacity to make a decision for himself but due to the influence/ norms of the family and society he wasn’t given the opportunity. Strengths of the functionalist approach The strength of the functionalist approach is the fact it highlights the importance of services for families caring for children. In Sean case he was able to attend services in which provided the best care for those who have an intellectual disability at the time. It highlights the importance of family and even with the services interacting with the family; the family fundamentally provide the basic fundamental care. The family provide the values and norms for the individual and they take responsibility to intergraded their children into the community, for example Sean attend the service regularly as the family provide the transport for him, Sean father encourages Sean to go to the movies and participate in music as he has a passion for music. Sean own value shine through as he completes such things as spending money, a value in which relates to his home environment and where he was brought up. As society grows, the social needs become greater, which in turn gives minority groups a v oice. The functionalist approach appreciates and highlights these changes. Once highlight the changes can be implemented into lawmaking systems, it can develop the political system and education system. In the case of Sean he can voice his opinion and make decisions for himself, due to the rights provided by policies which have been amended. An example of this would be the work done around the issues of sexuality and relationships for those who have an intellectual disability. The Irish Sex Education Network has the primary aim to promote a high professional standard in the area of sex education for those who have an intellectual disability (Allen and Seery 2002, p.3) Conclusion In conclusion to this essay has given a brief over view of two sociological perspectives, which are the family life cycle and the functionalist approach. In reference to these theories it has applied a practice based example, in which it gives an in depth review of the strengths and limitations of the each theory. In reference to the family life cycle, it highlights the different stages in which Sean has progressed through and ones he could work towards with support. The family life cycle helps predict stages in which the service user will not be able to transition into due to lack of support from family and the services provided and in general because their capacity won’t allow. In applying the functionalist perspective, it highlights the interaction of the family and the services available for those who have an intellectual disability. It highlights how this interaction is of up most important to better the quality of life for service users. Bibliography Allen, M. Seery, D. (2002) The Current Status of Sex Education Practice For People with an Intellectual Disability In Ireland, [Online] Dublin: Irish Sex Education Network. Available at:http://www.sexualhealthcentre.com/PUBLICATIONS/SHC%20Disability%20Report2.pdf [Accessed 27 January 2014] American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (2013) Intellectual Disability [Online] Available at: http://aaidd.org/intellectual-disability/definition#.Ux9ntT9_sR8  [Accessed 1 February 2014] Carter, E.A McGoldrick, M (1999) The expanded family life cycle: individual, family, and social perspectives, Boston : Allyn and Bacon Claveirole, A and Gaughan, M. (2011) Understanding Children and Young Peoples Mental Health: United Kingdom:John Wiley Sons Ltd Falicov, C.J (1988) Family Transitions: Continuity and Change over the Life Cycle, New York: The Guilford Press Fletcher, R (1978) The Family and Marriage in Britian: An analysis and moral assessment,Virgina: Penguin Giddens, A. (1984) The Constitution of Society: Outline of the Theory of Structuration, United States of America: The University of California Press O’Sullivan, D. (2012) A Critical Analysis of the protection of families under the Irish Constitution of 1937 [Online] Dublin: Colr .Available at: http://corkonlinelawreview.com/editions/2012/ACriticalAnalysisOfTheProtectionOfFamiliesUnderTheIrishConstitutionOf1937.DonnachaOSullivan.pdf [Accessed 29 January 2014] My Health Albert (2014) Family life cycle: Independence Stage [Online] available at  https://myhealth.alberta.ca/health/pages/conditions.aspx?hwid=ty6171#ty6174  Accessed 5 January 2014 Shaw V.N, (2002) Substance Use and Abuse: Sociological Perspectives United States of America: Greenwood Publishing Group Inc Wallace, R. A and Wolf, A. (1995) Contemporary Sociological Theory: Continuing the Classical Tradition, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall. World Health Organisation (2014) Intellectual Disability, [Online] Available at: http://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/noncommunicable-diseases/mental-health/news/news/2010/15/childrens-right-to-family-life/definition-intellectual-disability [Accessed on 5th March 2014]

Power Relations Exposed in Truth and Power :: Truth and Power Essays

Power Relations Exposed in Truth and Power In "Truth and Power" Michel Foucault revisits the major theoretical trends and questions of his career. He is a thinker who knows no bounds of subject or field. His ideas stretch from literature to science, from psychology to labor. He deals in a currency that is accepted everywhere: truth and power. Foucault spends much of his career tracing the threads of truth and power as they intertwine with the history of human experience. He especially loves to study asylums and prisons because they are close to an encapsulated power structure. Using techniques culled from psychology, politics, anthropology, sociology, and archaeology, Foucault presents a highly politicized analysis of the flow of power and power relations. "Truth and Power" is an excerpted version of an interview with Alesandro Fontana and Pasquale Pasquino that initially appeared as "Intervista a Miche Foucault" in Microfiseca del Poetere in 1977. The interviewers first ask Foucault to revisit some of his earlier ideas and trace the path of his career. Foucault began looking at asylums, and tried to create his theories with an eye toward French politics of the Left. He soon turned to evaluating other sciences such as biology, political economy, and medicine, and came up with the concept of discontinuity: "It seemed to me that ... the rhythm of transformation doesn't follow the smooth, continuist schemas of development which are normally accepted." The idea of discontinuity became a tag which other critics and thinkers applied to him, much to his dismay. Foucault wanted only to show the susceptibility of the sciences and scientific statements to the pressures of power: At this level it's not so much a matter of knowing what external power imposes itself on science, as of what effects of power circulate among scientific statements, what constitutes, as it were, their internal regime of power, and how and why at certain moments that regime undergoes a global modification. This idea echoes Thomas Kuhn's ideas about paradigm shifts in a science, and even reverberates back to Dryden's statements about every age's "universal genius." Dryden stated that in every generation there is a general inclination of thought that affects all disciplines. Kuhn proliferated the idea that major revolutions in science are due to major paradigm shifts. The discussion then moves to structuralism, where Foucault makes some major statements about the structure of history. Foucault is ardent in asserting, "I don't see who could be more of an anti-structuralist than myself.

An Analysis of the Epic Poem, Beowulf - Beowulf :: Epic Beowulf essays

Beowulf The classic hero is a well-known character of high social position whose qualities represent those valuable to his society. The hero is pitted against monsters and is, therefore, strong and courageous often to the point of seeming superman. Beowulf often displays cunning and craftiness in dealing with others. At the same time, since he represents all humans, he struggles to overcome human weaknesses. He is challenged and he triumphs. In Beowulf: A new telling by Robert Nye, Beowulf is a classic hero. He struggles against monsters, endures challenges, suffers, and eventually is victorious over evil. His words and actions, which help him decide the fate of a group of people, demonstrates that Beowulf is a brave, wise, and benevolent leader. Beowulf seems to always show signs of bravery thoughout the story. He is pitted against monsters and is, therefore, strong and courageous often to the point of seeming superhero. For instance, when Beowulf is going to go find and kill Grendle with his men, he stops to talk with the coast guard, Beowulf says " ... Then you are either the bravest man in the world..." Many poeple throught the story think the Beowulf is very brave! Once Beowulf and his men leave the coast guard the author makes a remark; "When Beowulf had heard of all the stories about the dreadful demon Grendle, he was determined to go and help Herothgar kill the monster..." This demonstrates intrepidity, because he is willing to go risk his life for another country. Another source of courage is when Breca and Beowulf fights off the nine sea monsters. First of all even doing the daring contest in the sea is a sign of dauntlessness, but a true sign of bravery is this, " And I swung my sword to fight them off. .." Can you now see that the author meant for Beowulf to be the hero, and the bravest one of them all ? Robert Nye wouldn't cut the hero of the story short with only bravery; Beowulf was also wise. All through the book Beowulf was wise. There are many of examples of his cleverness. Beowulf uses his sagaciousness when he is getting ready to do something and in his every day problems.

Meaning and Texture of the Seventh Poem in Leaves of Grass Essay

Meaning and Texture of the Seventh Poem in Leaves of Grass Walt Whitman's seventh poem in his work, Leaves of Grass, displays the subtlety with which the poet is able to manipulate the reader's emotions. In this poem there are no particular emotional images, but the overall image painted by word choice and use of sounds is quite profound. This poem, like many others written by Walt Whitman, is somewhat somber in mood, but not morose. It is serious, but not to the point of gloom. Whitman writes concerning the general idea that everything is merged together and is one. One cannot die without being born, just as one cannot be a mother without first having one. The purpose of the poem is to show those things that are real are true and holy, and even more importantly unified. In this poem he is speaking as some sort of omnipotent being, perhaps God or a soul. The tone or mood of the poem is delivered in the first stanza of the poem. He delves directly into birth and death, a sure sign that this poem will be no light reading. However, he uses a question to set the stage of the poem when he says, "Has anyone supposed it lucky to be born?" Questions are effective attention grabbers, but even more effective is Whitman's answer to the question. He produces an unorthodox response to the question, posing the answer that it is just as lucky to die. By giving such an odd answer to the question, he sets the stage for the rest of the poem presenting ideas not necessarily considered orthodox. The whole poem revolves around the idea that things must constantly be looked at from other viewpoints, and this initial stanza serves to illustrate this point well. The primary idea he sets forth in his poem is the idea ... ...et over. Whitman also uses commas in many of the longer lines. By doing this he forces the reader to slow down and not read the poem too quickly. The commas cause the reader to take in more because he/she will read the poem slower, and therefore read the poem as it was meant to be read. Whitman stresses the fundamental idea of nature in this, his seventh poem: Everything is dependent-no one can be independent from everything. Therefore, we are all essentially one giant organism. A fundamental unity exists in nature, and we are a part of it. Independence is a concept that nobody can truly understand, because everything is interdependent upon one another. The texture of the poem is very helpful in understanding its meaning. Whitman's structural brilliance shines through in this poem, helping the reader grasp the concept that all things are but one.

Case Study on Golf Equipment Industry

The industry overview The retail sales of golf equipment industry, which includes golf clubs, bags, balls, gloves and footwear, declined from approximately $4 billion to about $3 billion in 2003 and then rebounded to around $3. 8 billion in 2007 with many threats remaining. The changes in the retail value of golf equipment industry are closely related to the total number of golf players and total rounds of golf played in the country. The participation rate of golf has dropped approximately 21% from 27. 5 million in 1998 to 22. million in 2007, being the largest decrease rate during the same period among selected sports and recreational activities including bicycle riding, fishing, hunting, running, swimming, tennis and workout at fitness club (Source: National Sporting Goods Association in Gamble 2008, C-80,). The total rounds of golf played in the United States had rarely changed in the last decades, it is especially flat from 2004 to 2007, with less than 1% changes recorded (Source : National Golf Foundation in Gamble 2008, C-80). 7% of golf equipment sales are from core golfers-those playing at least 8 times a year and averaging 37 rounds a year (Gamble 2008, C-80). Although, there are less players and less rounds played then before, manufacturers are compelled to go ahead with their innovation and development schedule and even boost their spending in marketing (Stogel 2009). There are two types of manufacturers in the golf equipment industry. High-end leading brands, which include well known name such as TaylorMade-Adidas, Fortune Brand (parent of Titleist and Cobra), Callaway, Ping, Cleveland and Nike spent huge amount of resources on R&D for innovative designs and distributed their product through on and off-course pro shops and major online golf equipment retailers. The low-end manufacturers such as Adam Golf and Dunlop Golf with less developed technological capabilities sold their products at attractively lower prices. They mainly focus on beginner and occasional golfers through department store, large sporting goods stores and discounters. The three defining characteristics of the golf equipment industry are the number of golfers, gear design innovations and brand recognition. The United States Golf Association (USGA) and the Royal & Ancient Golf Club (R&A) had started placing more and more performance regulations to limit the manufacturers’ ability to develop equipments, clubs and balls, with advanced technological innovations, because USGA officials believed that it’s an effective way of protecting historic golf courses that could not be lengthened due to space limitations, but also ensuring that the skill is the dominant element in determining game’s success. It is believed that such performance regulations had two impacts to the golf industry. Firstly, it discourages new golfers from taking up the game. Secondly, it equalises the technological differences between the high-end market leaders and the low-end producers. In all, the golf equipment industry is a fix-sized marketing driven market with current manufacturers, each trying to capture a bigger market share by growing reliance on price competitions. The competition in this industry for market share is fierce. The five-forces analysis We take the five-forces model of competition to analyse the competitive forces in five areas that affects the industry attractiveness. 1. The competitive pressures created by the rivalry among competing manufacturers are very strong and have the greatest effect on the industry attractiveness, mainly due to: a. All leading brand manufacturers are active in delivering advanced products with design innovations in order to improve their market standing, b. All leading brand manufacturers are quite equal in size and capability. They can hardly be differentiated in overall product performances. . There are fewer buyers with less demand. d. Equalization of technological capabilities due to regulatory limitation has shortened the differences in equipment performance between low-end and high-end products. e. There is growing reliance on price competitions. The competitive weapons used by companies to outmaneuver one another include: a. Most brands started the battle of price cutting. The aver age unit selling price of most golf equipments dropped. For example: a. Drivers and woods dropped from $231 in 1997 to $174 in 2007. b. Irons dropped from $75 in 1997 to $71 in 2007. c. Footwear dropped from $86 in 1997 to $81 in 2007. d. Golf bags dropped from $126 in 1997 to $116 in 2007. (Source: Golf Datatech in Gamble 2008, C79,) b. All brands are spending huge amount on R&D for technological advancement to give a better and easier swing, they also providing a boarder range of equipments to suit golfer with different needs (Rynecki 2001). In addition, some had added adjustable features such as the TaylorMade r7 drivers, which allow golfers to move tungsten weight plugs among a series of slots located in the rear of the driver to adjust launch angle and left/right dispersion. c. Manufacturers were relying on winning endorsements contracts with touring professionals to enhance their image. For example, Nike paid Tiger Wood nearly $100 million endorsement contract in 2007. d. Custom fitting was offered by most manufacturers and pro shops. It became important to gain market share as most manufacturers introduced shaft flex options in early 2000s. 2. The competitive pressures associated with the threat of new entrants were weak mainly due to: a. The market demand does not show any increase since the number of golfers and the total rounds played are decreasing year after year b. Most golfers have a very high degree of loyalty. They are highly likely to stick to the brand that they were using and normally have strongly believes to their favourite touring professionals’ choices. Along with the high technological product designs that influence most buyers’ purchasing decisions, it has made the entry barriers very high for this industry. c. Almost all existing manufactures are experiencing unpleasant profit grows in recent years. However, opportunities for new entrants still exist for low-end golf gears market under the current regulatory conditions. The new comer may be rofitable only if it completes the following goals: a. Become a fast & exact copy cat and compete on a low price. b. Be able to find reliable & low cost suppliers overseas. c. Originally has or be able to build good distribution channels, imaging Kmart or Target to have their â€Å"home brand† golf gears. 3. The competitive pressures from the sellers of substitute product ra ises from: a. The raising number of counterfeit equipments produced in China, selling online at attractive prices and ship to the world. b. The overall difficulty of the game, time consuming issues and the high golf fees are the three main barriers for recreational golfers. The current economic crisis had forced many families to cut their spending on leisure activities. As presented in Exhibit 2 of Gamble’s original case, while the participation rate for golf was decreasing, the rate for running and workout at a fitness club showed significant increase of approximately 37% and 50% from 1996 to 2007. On the other hand, in December 2003, six leading brand has created an alliance to against counterfeiters and had recorded some successes with Chinese government’s willingness of taking severe measures against rampant counterfeiting. Golf, also known as the perfect couple with business, is a challenging sport that suits all age and sex groups. Its ability of improving social networks, expanding business opportunities and harmonise domestic conflicts was perceived by its players. The remaining golfers are more likely to be the core golfers those are loyal to the game. Moreover, various governing bodies had successfully brought golf back into Olympics, starting 2016 Summer Olympics. Thus, the pressures from substitutes are moderate to normal. 4. The competitive pressures stemming from suppliers bargaining power were quite weak since: a. The clubheads were made by casting houses in Asia, where rarely union power was exercised. The design is owned by those leading brands manufacturers and they are being selective in establishing contracts with surplus offshore casting houses. b. Most brands manufacturers co-develop shafts with suppliers that specializing in shaft design and manufacturing. The collaboration had provided attractive win-win opportunities, but weakens the suppliers’ bargaining power and feasibility. . Both clubheads and shafts suppliers had rarely chance to integrate themselves and become official club manufacturer due to the high entry barriers, as discussed in force No. 2-new entrants. Golf manufactures need to pay more attention to background check to casting houses offshore. It is important to initiate effective controls on production and shipping procedures to prevent suppliers selling the same product on black market. 5. The competitive pressure stemming from creational golfers’ bargaining power were moderate to normal because: a. Buyers are the end users, in another word, golfers, who purchase the equipment infrequently and in small quantities. b. The manufacturers’ brand reputation and images are important to core golfers. c. Most golfers are very loyal to specific leading brand and has strong believes in its product performances. However, d. The demand was declining due to the number of golfers and total rounds played are declining. e. The USGA and R&A performance regulations had limited and equalized the technological capabilities of different manufacturers. The competitive pressure stemming from touring professional golfers are strong because their choices have strong influence to core golfers who watches the tournaments. The driving forces analysis The overall golf equipment market is downsizing. There are 3 major driving forces in this industry. Firstly, the regulatory design limitations adopted by USGA and R&A had driven the competitive changes. As a result, some leading brands’ capabilities of developing a sweeter swing were limited. Lower-end manufacturers got opportunities to catch up on technological capabilities and had gained more market shares and made more profits than before. In addition, it had lowered the overall profit margins in the industry. Secondly, product innovation is another key driving forces. Although the battle on developing the most advanced clubs and balls to the market has never stopped, the battle had been upgraded by calling design innovations within golf’s governing organizations’ regulatory limitations. Thirdly, the whole market trends are to be marketing driven. To play a better market mix such as understanding buyer interests, increasing product differentiations, appropriate pricing and use effective promotion tools is the key task for every manufacturer. Leading brand like Callaway used heavy TV schedule, plus print and radio for mass advertising in order to bring its Big Bertha Steelhead Plus metalwoods and irons to market (Stogel, 2000). Winning endorsement contracts with top tour professionals improves images of the brand and influences core golfers’ purchasing decision. The above driving forces are inter-related and together influencing this mature industry by making the competitions fiercer than ever. The strategic group map The strategic group map below shows the comparative market positions of selected golf equipment manufacturers using price and design innovations/advancement. Note: Circles are drawn roughly proportional to the total revenues of each manufacturer. ) The map provides some indication of brand positioning in general. It shows that Callaway, Ping and TaylorMade are likely to struggle more with market share competitions. On the other hand, the governing organizations’ regulation driving force will fa vour strategic groups like Adam and Nike as the design limitation smoothes the differences among their innovation capabilities to the high-end ones. However, this map may not mean much as most of the product brands have their own advantages and have significant market share in some specific golf equipment. For example, Nike with a very successful record in golf apparel and footwear sales, where it was the second leading golf shoes manufacturers, had never grown to 3 percents market shares of golf clubs. In all, Nike is best positioned in this map with almost no overlapping with another other brands. Key success factors The key factors determine the success of company competing in the golf equipment industry should be closely linked to the industry’s dominant economic characteristics, driving forces and market positions (Thompson, Strickland III and Gamble 2010, p. 92). There are several factors that could affect the competition, three of them outranked in importance from three different areas. First of all, in regards to product marketing, a well-known and well-respected brand name influences buyers purchasing decision. Therefore, clever advertising using the appropriate media to gain effective contact with the potential buyers is every golf equipment manufacturers’ market focus. Over the years, winning endorsement contract with top touring professionals with respective social image had been approved to be the most effective way of creating and enhancing brand image. Nike Golf as a late comer was a star in using endorsement contract to improve brand recognition and boost sales. The company has recorded notable success in golf apparel, footwear and ball market since its 1996 endorsement contract with Tiger Wood. (Gamble 2008, C-96) Product innovation capabilities come next in this competition pool. The overall market is still very sensitive to first-to-market new attributes and features to be added on, even though the industry is considered as mature with knowledge-customers. All leading brands in the industry had put huge amount of resources on R&D and had delivered several remarkable models to market over the years, although Callaway and TaylorMade seem to be more internationally recognised by their innovation power. Thus, there is no overall market leader in innovation, but leading models in different product group (Woods, Irons, Putters, Golf balls & Accessories) for a specific time period. Another key success factor is product distribution related. As we mentioned before, leading manufactures sell their product mainly through on-course and off-course pro shops and most large pro shops have made variety of brands and models available in stock. The retailers/sales’ preferences will more or less influence buyers’ final decision at point of purchasing. Therefore, the relationship with these retailers is important, especially for brands like TaylorMade-adidas Golf that does not offer consumers the option of purchasing clubs or apparel on its website (Gamble 2008, C-92). Callaway Vs. TaylorMade-adidas, financially The financial performance of a company is usually a good indicator of how well its competitive strategy works in the market. However, the way of translating and comparing companies’ financial result has never been easy. we take the growth rate as an example by looking at the manufactures’ 2007 total sales revenue, Callaway Golf increased its sales (rounded to the nearest million) by $107M =10% from $1,018M in 2006 to $1,125M in 2007. Callaway’s net income was more than doubled from $23M to $55M during the same time. That makes the earning per share (EPS) increased from $0. 34 to $ 0. 82. In contrast, TaylorMade-adidas’ net sales experienced a 52M = 6% decrease from 856M its peak 2006 to 804M in 2007. The company’s operating profit has also gone down from 73M to 65M during the same time. It seems that Callaway performed much better than TaylorMade-adidas in 2007. But if we compare the same figures over a 4-year period from 2004 to 2007, Callaway’s increase in net sales was $109M=20%, comparing to TaylorMade-adidas’s 171M=27% increase, the result is obviously different. Therefore, both Callaway and TaylorMade-adidas had successfully coped the key competitive forces and gained comparatively healthy financial performances between 2004 and 2007, under the given economic condition. In addition, the growth rates for each product category are also different mainly stem from the differences in innovation capabilities and buyers’ perception. From the financial data given in the case study, Callaway Golf was easier to achieve growth in manufacturing woods/drivers and iron clubs, shown 28. 2% and 19% growth during 2004 to 2007. The company had struggled with its golf sales and was unable to make any positive growth on it. TaylorMade-adidas Golf found it was easier to obtain growth and maintained the market leader position in the driver category as well as hybrid clubs. Although, TaylorMade’s irons have a very wide price range from $600 to $1300 per set, with a total market share of 15. 2%, it had never challenged Callaway’s market lead position in irons. Moreover, TaylorMade-adidas also gained significant sales increases in golf apparel and footwear, shown 107% and 63% during 2004 and 2007. Note: All calculations are based on Exhibit 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 from Gamble’s original case. ) Recommendations In order to improve its competitive position, Callaway should continue invest large amount in R&D to maintain its innovation capability and maintain its leading position in iron sets and putter. It should also spend more efforts on marketing issues such as collecting different customer requirem ents to help develop new equipments and bring the product line to a wider range that suits every player. More money should be spent on advertising to improve its image as a full-line golf gear manufacturer. To frequently advertise on selected fashion and life style magazines can not only increase its overall brand recognition, but also boost apparel, footwear and other accessories sales. In addition, it is also important to build good relationship with major retailers. This normally includes higher retail outlets supporting funds, sufficient professional trainings to sales representatives and more sales incentives. The improvement opportunities are all related to the main driving forces in the industry. This case analysis recommend Callaway to maintain its current strategy of being the market lead in product performance and innovation, but do not shifting its focus to price wars. Similar to Callaway, TaylorMade-adidas should also keep investing in R&D to maintain its leading position in drivers and hybrid clubs. They will also need to spend more dollars on advertising of its market share winning apparel and footwear. Find another ‘Tiger’ and lock him/her into an endorsement contract like what competitor Nike did before is always a simple but effective idea. Finally, the company will be benefit from 2 ways from offering the customer with the option of purchasing clubs and apparel by visiting its website. One is increase sales and avoid changing of mind when visiting retailers that has several competitive brands available. The other one is to do business with end customers will help the company collect first-hand information regarding the customer needs and product performance feedback. In all, unlike Callaway who aims to be the all-round manufacturer, TaylorMade-adidas should focus on winning buyers recognition of being specialised in drivers and hybrid club and the No. 1 in golf fashion industry. This analysis recommends Fortune brands to better differentiate its sub-brands and each one’s target market. Their advertising effort should then be separated in regards to different target groups. In addition, the company should also work on cost reduction opportunities in order to cut their prices to be better positioned in the market, its ZB line of iron sets is a good example.

Master production

She has been asked to submit an production plan for the next calendar year. Each year Marl's marketing and sales department produces a forecast of appliances by month for the next year, which the production planning department uses to plan production. The first step in the planning process is to construct an aggregate production plan, which consists of the planned gross production by month for the year but does not indicate numbers of specific appliance types, sizes or models to be made each month but is an aggregate as each type of appliance requires roughly similar materials and labor resources.As the production periods approach later in the year, master production plans will be remunerated which would be specific regarding appliance type, model number etc. Linda therefore needs to make a decision on what would be the most suitable plan to keep costs at a minimum but also taking into consideration the feasibility of the plan. Primarily, the plan should involve keeping the total cos t (equal to the sum of hiring costs, layoff costs, inventory costs and both regular and overtime labor costs) as low as possible.It should also take into account other factors such as the fact that firing staff and hiring and training new employees brings its own headaches, especially in a emitted labor market such as exists in Stratford, as well as affecting union relations and employee morale. In addition, excessive overtime might lead to lower efficiency and restricted production could lead to poor work habits and low morale.The plant has the physical capacity to produces only 13,000 appliances per month and currently employs 160 workers who work 40 hours a week and are expected to have an annual output of about 480 appliances next year. The monthly cost of employment to MR., including fringe benefits, is around $2,400 per month per worker and a worker-month of overtime costs them about $3,300. Additionally, the personnel department estimates that hiring, training and related exp enses would amount to $1 ,800 per worker, whereas severance and other layoff expenses would cost a total of $1,200 per worker.MR. also expect to have 240 finished units in inventory on to hold an appliance in inventory for a month during the next year. 2. 1 . Assumptions As we will be using a linear mathematical model that is a idealization of real life to obtain recommendations, we will explicitly state the simplifying assumptions and approximations made to allow us to use the model. A. We assume that the parameter values are know with certainty.We assume that the following data are correct for every possible situation: ; The annual output per worker will be 480 appliances per year and no appliances need to be discarded ; The shipment forecast for every month is precise and reliable and the company will therefore not lose potential clients due to unexpected demand changes ; The master production plan is formulated correctly and has no additional implications for the aggregate plan ; There is no storage limit for the inventory ; There will be 240 units in inventory in the beginning of the next calendar yearThe cost for storage will be $8 a month for each appliance ; The wage cost will be $2,400 for each worker ; The total hiring costs to employ a new working will be $1,800 for each new worker ; The total layoff costs will be $1,200 for each laid off worker ; A worker-month of overtime costs the company $3,300 ; There will be 160 workers employed at the start of the calendar year ; Workers will work 40 hours a week ; There will be no additional costs to take into account, such as fines, legal fees or time lost due to external or internal factors such as strikes. Potential new workers re available to the extent needed ; The required raw materials are readily available from regional resources on short notice ; No workers quit or miss work for extended lengths of time b. We assume that the returns to scale are constant We also assume that the returns to scale are constant within the range of possible values for the decision variables. The output of each worker is always 40 units per month, irrespective of hiring and layoffs ; A worker-month of overtime also yields 40 units every time, irrespective of other factors We assume that, although a different product mix will me made at different times of he year, there is no cost saving or extra cost involved due to product mix variations. In addition, we assume that overtime, hiring and firings do not affect performance or influence catheter in any way. 3. 1 .Solution Approach We obtained three possible solutions, discussed further on, which are based on different approaches but not combining them. Therefore we should calculate the optimal solution, using certain constraints which we decide ourselves, in Excel using the solver and the Simplex ALP method. 4. 1. Results Three possible solutions were already suggested by Linda Metzger. In the first one (Exhibit 1), production level and workforce are h eld constant throughout the year at a level sufficient to meet the peak demand period.

A Horse and Two Goats †Summary Essay

Answer the question: Compare the relationship between Muni and his wife and the relationship between the American and his wife. Throughout the story â€Å"A Horse and Two Goats†, we can comprehend a lot of outstanding differences between the relationship of Muni to his wife and the relationship of the American to his wife. Two relationships are two details contributing to build the distinction between two cultures: India and America. Although they have many differences, there still exist some similarities between Muni’s relationship and the American’s relationship. In this essay, I will show some differences and similarities to explain for this comparison. In the relationship of Muni and his wife, at the beginning, they suffered these sneers from people surround them. Moreover, in this relationship, we can see clearly the right to keep controlling in their family. In particular, when Muni was rich and took more money, he had enough right to decide and control most of things in his family. At the same time, he also lorded it over his wife: â€Å"He had thrashed her only a few times in their career†. However, when he loses everything and becomes a poor man, he also loses his right in his family: â€Å"Later she had the upper hand†. Gradually, he has to obey what his wife orders him. This seems to be a habit so that’s why he doesn’t have any effort to resist his wife’s orders, just do it: â€Å"†Our store is empty today. Dhall, chilli, curry leaves, mustard, coriander, gingelley oil, and one large potatoe. Go out and get all this. † He repeated the list after her in order not to miss any item and walked off to the shop in the third street†. Although Muni follows his wife’s orders, somehow he still underestimates a little bit about women. Perhaps he thinks that because of the case from the postman: â€Å"We had a postman in our village who could speak to you boldly in your language, but his wife ran away with someone and he does not speak with anyone at all nowadays†. With Muni, women can have right to make all decision in their family but it does not mean they can do what they want like the wife of the postman. Thus, meanwhile his wife controls everything in his family, he still wants to manage his wife: â€Å"Who would if a wife did what she did? Women must be watched; otherwise they sell themselves and the home†. In the relationship of Muni’s family, they love together but the poverty makes them be emotionless. However, in the bottom of their heart, they still care about each other. In the relationship of the American and his wife, it seems to be better than Muni’s relationship because their financial condition is better than that of Muni. Ruth, the wife of the American, is a good wife and understands thoroughly everything. She serves her husband with all her devoted heart. With just a simple act, she can recognize and know what she has to do next. We can say that Ruth is so intelligent, this can be proven by the detail: â€Å"I told my wife, Ruth, â€Å"We will visit India this winter, it’s time to look at other civilizations. † Next day she called the travel agent first thing and told him to fix it, and so here I am. Ruth cam with me but is staying back at Srinagar, and I am the one doing the rounds and joining her later†. Maybe, a good financial condition is one of the better way to make people understand together and can sympathize with each other. In addition, Ruth is also a clever wife, she knows how to makes her husband comfortable and have more free in making most of decision. Because the American knows that his wife is reasonable, he all makes decision without her but he also prepares some good evidences for his decision to show his wife understanding. For example, â€Å"Ruth may disapprove, but I will convince her. The TV may have to be shifted, too. We can’t have everything in the living room. Ruth will probably say what about when we have a party? I’m going to keep him right in the middle of the room. I don’t see how that can interfere with the party we’ll stand around him and have our drinks†. Through the relationship of the American, we can see a free culture in America in some aspects but they still keep their happiness and their love. In particular, in this relationship, we can see how the American’s wife gives him his free hands to do anything which can be proven by the freedom in making decision of the American and vice-versa. Also, the American agrees to let his wife have freedom to do anything, such as â€Å"Ruth can go by air if she likes, but I will go with the horse and keep him in my cabin all the way if necessary†. Two above paragraphs show some differences between Muni’s relationship and the American’s relationship. On the other hand, they still have some similarities. To stand out from this is both of wives really love their husband. However, due to some cases, they have different expressing depending on each situation. With Ruth, she shows her love by letting the American have free to decide anything and take care of everything careful for her husband to make him feel comfy when he is beside her. Also, in Muni’s relationship, maybe we don’t see these sweet acts from Muni’s wife but she loves Muni and takes care of him by all her heart. In spite of colorless acts from Muni’s wife, we can still realize how caring she is! Living in a difficult condition, she is not still far away from Muni. By contrast, she cares that Muni doesn’t have anything to eat. For instance, we have some details like â€Å"you are getting no sauce today, nor anything else. I can’t find anything to give you to eat. Fast till the evening, it’ll do you good. Take the goats and be gone now† or â€Å"She was sure to go out and work grind corn in the Big House, sweep or scrub somewhere, and earn enough to buy foodstuff and keep a dinner ready for him in the evening†. At the end of the story, we can see some acts from Muni’s wife, such as â€Å"She snatched the notes from him, counted them by the glow of the fire, and cried â€Å"One hundred rupees! How did you come by it? Have you been stealing? †Ã¢â‚¬  or â€Å"If you have thieved, the police will come tonight and break your bones. Don’t involve me. I will go away to my parents†. From these sentences, we see that poverty takes Muni’s wife to be blind to distinguish where is the truth? She loves Muni very much so she is so painful with her own think that Muni steals this amount of money. She cries very much. Especially, we can see her extreme pain when she thinks Muni is a stealer. By analysis, somehow we see some basic differences of two cultures in married life. The main reason for these differences is the level of financial condition in each family. In Muni’s family, they are so poor so money controls their living. At first, Muni has all right to make decision and he is respected by all people around him because he is rich. However, when he becomes poorer, everyone is far away from him. Furthermore, the right to control everything in the family now belongs to his wife. By contrast, in the American’s relationship, because they have a better financial condition, that’s why they are easy to understand together. A good finance is also a factor to make them feel free in doing anything because they can feel more comfy. In addition, tradition in marriage is another factor in changing their love and their treatment in the married life. Therefore, in comparison, these differences and these similarities appear that’s because of financial condition and tradition in marriage.

Hairy Ape Character Analysis Essay

Style â€Å"The Hairy Ape† was done in the expressionist style of theater. Expressionism is the theatrical technique which will use the staging and setting to show the characters inner emotion or the keep the theme constantly within the audience’s sight. In Expressionism, characters do not act or talk the way they really would, everything is extreme to prove a point. In Expressionism plausibility is deliberately altered by the author to make the theme clear. Characters Yank Yank represents the lower class. He depicts the manner in which it is the force at the bottom of society that allows society to run. Yank also represents how people can be trained and persuaded to be comfortable in a situation that may not be best for their personal development and become unable to fit in elsewhere. Yank is depicted in the play as â€Å"Neanderthal† and â€Å"ape-like†, not only in his speech, but also in his physical description. Yank and his shipmates are initially described as â€Å"?hairy-chested, with long arms of tremendous power, and low, receding brows?† The ship’s crew is kept in constant hunched over position due to his quarters on the ship Yank, at the outset of the play is even proud of his position. Yank is so comfortable in his position that he lives in false security that he controls his surroundings. He feels that it is he who is better. He repeatedly states how it is he who makes the ship run. Not even real izing that he has mentally dehumanized himself; he states that he is the ship. Yank seemingly has no issue with his position, has never given it any thought and criticizes other shipmates who do, until he is observed by Mildred Douglas, who proclaims upon seeing him â€Å"Oh, the filthy beast†. It is at this point that Yank realizes he not simply a part giving the ship motion, he is more than an animal or creature, he is a man. He is infuriated by Mildred’s comment and seeks to prove his worth. Yank’s desire to prove himself throws him into conflict; he is no longer able to fit in as he did in his prior position on the ship and finds he does not belong in society outside the ship either. During Yank’s moments of thought, of attempting to find himself and his position in life O’Neill depicts him in the same position as Rodin’s sculpture â€Å"The Thinker†. This particular sculpture was Rodin’s depiction of what he saw as a brutish, almost Neanderthal type man, contemplating his existence and place in the world, which describes Yank’s position quite well. Mildred Douglas Mildred Douglas is the upper class of society. She claims sociological interest when she requests a tour of the stokehole, but does not truly perform any kind of social work in the play. She claims herself a by-product of her wealthy society. Mildred served as a tool to bring about Yank’s personal dilemma. Paddy Paddy is a nostalgic character. He speaks of when he was a sailor as a young man and being at one with the sea. Paddy represents when man and nature were one. Paddy is resigned to the position he is in now, but longs for his good old days. Yank is unable to relate to this perspective, as he views himself as part of the ships’ mechanics. Long Long is a glimpse to the future; towards social change. Unlike Yank, Long is aware of the inhumane treatment of the ship’s stokers. He speaks of the separation of the classes and its unfairness. Long speaks of ideas such as the men on the ship being â€Å"voters and citizens† and how the ships crew are more than merely slaves. Yank is unable to understand Long’s point of view or his class-consciousness, instead, Yank considers him a preacher and a wimp.

Time Value of Money Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Time Value of Money - Essay Example Therefore, to make a certain investment, the opportunity costs should be low (David, 1984). Time value of money shares a direct relationship with the prevailing interests in a market. As the interest rates rise, the value of a dollar today will rise accordingly. When the interest rates follow the decreasing pattern, the value of money also sees a down sliding. This is because the interest rates play a very important part in determining the future value of a lump sum or the present value of a future lump sum; it is dependent on the interest rate. Therefore, they are directly related to each other. There are many other aspects which are related to the time value of money. The future value of an amount of money can also be calculated keeping in mind the time value of money. Making it simpler, the future value of a dollar is the dollar or any other amount that it earns with the help of an interest over a period of time (David, 1984). For example, if $1000 are invested today for an year at 5% interest rate, after an year it will give us $50 dollars and the total received would be $1050. However, if the same amount is invested in the long run for years, compounding will take place and at the end of second year, the interest will be earned on $105. This compounding will go on for the number of years the investment is made. If P is considered the principle amount of money that is invested, i is termed as the interest rate at that time, then the future value of a dollar would be given as P(1+i). When compounding for two years, the equation changes to P(1+i)(1+i) or, FV=P (1+i)n Where P is the principal amount, i is the interest rate and n is the periods for which the investment is made. With increasing interest rates, the future value also keep on increasing. With changing interest rates, the above formula would be applied separately for the different rates. Present Value The present value of a future investment can also be calculated keeping in mind the time value of money. The present value of a future investment is the current value of that payment that is to be received in the future. Discounting is the process that is employed in this case. This is the opposite of finding the future value of a present sum (Gary, 1978). Simply, it is calculated by dividing the future value with the same interest factor which was multiplied in the first case. PV=FV/(1+i)n Where FV is the future value, PV denotes present value, and (1+i)n is the interest factor. In finding out the present value, discounting is being done, therefore, this concept shares and inverse relationship with the time value of money. As the interest factor that determines the time value of money is divided, the value of the present value decreases resulting in the inverse relationship. Opportunity Costs Opportunity costs are the benefits that a person is giving away in spending the money in a certain kind of way. In other words, it is the benefit lost in choosing one alternative over another alternative. For this to be true, the opportunity costs should be really low for an alternative to be chosen. Higher the opportunity costs, lesser are the chances that the alternative may be chosen by a risk aversive personality. It can be termed as the basic relationship that exists between shortage and selection. Rule of '72 Rule of '72 is a simple mathematical shortcut that is used in finance in order to find out when