Bipolar Disorder Essays (1904 words) - Psychiatric Diagnosis

Bipolar Disorder The phenomenon of bipolar affective disorder has been a mystery since the 16th century. History has shown that this affliction can appear in almost anyone. Even the great painter Vincent Van Gogh is believed to have had bipolar disorder. It is clear that in our society many people live with bipolar disorder; however, despite the abundance of people suffering from the it, we are still waiting for definite explanations for the causes and cure. The one fact of which we are painfully aware is that bipolar disorder severely undermines its` victims ability to obtain and maintain social and occupational success. Because bipolar disorder has such debilitating symptoms, it is imperative that we remain vigilant in the quest for explanations of its causes and treatment. Affective disorders are characterized by a smorgasbord of symptoms that can be broken into manic and depressive episodes. The depressive episodes are characterized by intense feelings of sadness and despair that can become feelings of hopelessness and helplessness. Some of the symptoms of a depressive episode include anhedonia, disturbances in sleep and appetite, psycomoter retardation, loss of energy, feelings of worthlessness, guilt, difficulty thinking, indecision, and recurrent thoughts of death and suicide (Hollandsworth, Jr. 1990 ). The manic episodes are characterized by elevated or irritable mood, increased energy, decreased need for sleep, poor judgment and insight, and often reckless or irresponsible behavior (Hollandsworth, Jr. 1990 ). Bipolar affective disorder affects approximately one percent of the population (approximately three million people) in the United States. It is presented by both males and females. Bipolar disorder involves episodes of mania and depression. These episodes may alternate with profound depressions characterized by a pervasive sadness, almost inability to move, hopelessness, and disturbances in appetite, sleep, in concentrations and driving. Bipolar disorder is diagnosed if an episode of mania occurs whether depression has been diagnosed or not (Goodwin, Guze, 1989, p 11). Most commonly, individuals with manic episodes experience a period of depression. Symptoms include elated, expansive, or irritable mood, hyperactivity, pressure of speech, flight of ideas, inflated self esteem, decreased need for sleep, distractibility, and excessive involvement in reckless activities (Hollandsworth, Jr. 1990 ). Rarest symptoms were periods of loss of all interest and retardation or agitation (Weisman, 1991). As the National Depressive and Manic Depressive Association (MDMDA) has demonstrated, bipolar disorder can create substantial developmental delays, marital and family disruptions, occupational setbacks, and financial disasters. This devastating disease causes disruptions of families, loss of jobs and millions of dollars in cost to society. Many times bipolar patients report that the depressions are longer and increase in frequency as the individual ages. Many times bipolar states and psychotic states are misdiagnosed as schizophrenia. Speech patterns help distinguish between the two disorders (Lish, 1994). The onset of Bipolar disorder usually occurs between the ages of 20 and 30 years of age, with a second peak in the mid-forties for women. A typical bipolar patient may experience eight to ten episodes in their lifetime. However, those who have rapid cycling may experience more episodes of mania and depression that succeed each other without a period of remission (DSM III-R). The three stages of mania begin with hypomania, in which patients report that they are energetic, extroverted and assertive (Hirschfeld, 1995). The hypomania state has led observers to feel that bipolar patients are "addicted" to their mania. Hypomania progresses into mania and the transition is marked by loss of judgment (Hirschfeld, 1995). Often, euphoric grandiose characteristics are displayed, and paranoid or irritable characteristics begin to manifest. The third stage of mania is evident when the patient experiences delusions with often paranoid themes. Speech is generally rapid and hyperactive behavior manifests sometimes associated with violence (Hirschfeld, 1995). When both manic and depressive symptoms occur at the same time it is called a mixed episode. Those afflicted are a special risk because there is a combination of hopelessness, agitation, and anxiety that makes them feel like they "could jump out of their skin"(Hirschfeld, 1995). Up to 50% of all patients with mania have a mixture of depressed moods. Patients report feeling dysphoric, depressed, and unhappy; yet, they exhibit the energy associated with mania. Rapid cycling mania is another presentation of bipolar disorder. Mania may be present with four or more distinct episodes within a 12 month period. There is now evidence to suggest that sometimes rapid cycling may be a transient manifestation of the bipolar disorder. This form of the disease exhibits more episodes of mania and depression than bipolar. Lithium has been the primary treatment of bipolar disorder since its introduction in the 1960's. It is main function is

Analysis Of The Use Of Communication Essay Example

Analysis Of The Use Of Communication Essay Example Analysis Of The Use Of Communication Essay Analysis Of The Use Of Communication Essay Turning up in an academic family has a batch of assets ( and a few subtractions which I will advert subsequently ) . The house was ever full of interesting people, ever oppugning and larning and I grew up believing everyone was like that. My sister and I studied hard but it was neer a job merely what we did . She went on to read jurisprudence, which is a career topic and she is now a successful justice. I, nevertheless, read political relations, non as a calling topic ( I was comparatively diffident and there was no manner I wanted to be a politician ) , but as a agency to understanding what is political relations ( get downing particularly with British Politicss, for illustration Kingdom, 2010 ) and how that apprehension might derive me an penetration into the cogency and so necessity of development of different systems in different civilizations, and how the system in my native state fits into the overall theoretical accounts of political thought. I later took a B.Sc. class in International Business both to foster my linguistic communication proficiency and to understand more about globalization and what it means to different civilizations in other words, an extension of my political relations class but without a steadfast thought of where it was taking me. Indeed at that clip I was more interested in the chase of cognition for its interest instead than holding any peculiar ends. I was so fortunate to procure a really interesting place with a confer withing company working in the field of institutional development and technology, much of the work financed by the European Commission and in this administration I progressed from being a direction helper though preparation expert to project office director. During this clip I developed certain direction accomplishments, such as managing and developing a little squad, doing determinations, describing to higher direction and pass oning direction vision and scheme to the squad, be aftering the work load to accomplish aims and consistently commanding the procedure of activities against program, and most significantly I enjoyed what I did. I read widely and ever included the Economist and the Financial Times in my general reading, but at the clip of the credit crunch I started to believe more earnestly about where I was traveling and what I wanted to make with my life, which until so had been truly interesting and even merriment, but non really consistently directional. The more I read, and the more occupation chances I looked at, the more I realised what I did non cognize, or understand, particularly about concern. Looking back on it all I see this partially as an extension of my upbringing, which, as I already mentioned had some subtractions, and these decidedly in my family would hold included the fact that Business or Commerce was something that was deemed boundlessly inferior to academic chases, and about surely non for females. I had besides used my International Business B.Sc. class as an extension of my political relations class, and I had concentrated on civilization, linguistic communications and international issues, but had reasonably much passed by the rudimentss of Business . As a effect I did non understand the topics and surely non the slang of accounting and finance, of selling and gross revenues, of scheme, of policy and of leading, including facets of sociology and human resources that I had until so considered to be common sense . For illustration, I had trouble in associating to the motive of people, particularly in well-paid and professional concerns like British Airways, to strike ( BBC, 2010 ) , non to advert the mass work stoppages in Greece ( for illustration Guardian, 2010 ) and more late in France ( BBC, 2010a ) . Union outlook, nevertheless, I might good hold to understand if I am traveling to be a future director. This is but one little illustration of my deficiency of empathy with how big Numberss of employed people think, and what motivates them, and how struggles arise. Although I did non see myself out of work at that clip, in fact that is what I was. Already in my early 30s, without clear thought of my hereafter, I had been content to take what life threw at me and float along, but in a manner I was now taking clip out to be after my hereafter, even though it did non get down off like that. I was fortunate in being what Hallam et Al ( 2009, p.82 ) would name problem-focused, instead than emotion-focused, and I concentrated on specifying the problem , bring forthing options in an attempt to come to a solution which would be what precisely am I traveling to make with my life? By the Social Cognitive Career Theory of Lent et Al ( 1994 ) I had high ego efficaciousness, and believed myself to be in control of my ain life, and that by research and reading and analyzing options I would happen my best manner frontward. My research took two different waies. On the one manus I wanted to specify my ends, and on the other, holding defined them, I wanted to specify the road-map to make those ends. Again I read widely, both academic and populist articles and books, the most of import of which I have listed in a Bibliography, as there is no specific individual commendation I want to do, instead that those beginnings assisted me to specify what I wanted to accomplish in the short term and in the long term. I besides took a personality trial ( Knight, 2010 ) , based on Jung s Psychological Types ( Jung, 1971 ) and whilst I do non set entire trust on this, however it confirms that I should hold the ability when I have full sapiential authorization, to pull off and even take with assurance. My long term purpose, so, based on values that I defined as of import like pass oning with people, working with people, people development, every bit good as being portion of an international administrations and utilizing my European linguistic communications, is to hold a serious management/executive/leadership function in an international administration like the EC, in which I already have some experience, or the UN or similar. How to make that end? Looking at my cognition experiences and besides at my strengths, which include holding at least some direction experience, I decided that an MBA would most probably be the span to supply me the cognition to underpin the assurance that I presently lack to set myself frontward for such a function, and to outdo aid me to talk the linguistic communication ( i.e. slang ) of the people I would pull off and in this regard I wholly agree with Barker ( 2010, p 57 ) that the director is a jack of all trades . An MBA class would besides hold many other positive results, non least of which is run intoing people from different walks of life and backgrounds, and the womb-to-tomb networking chances that consequence. What about the downsides? I already mentioned the credit crunch and was cognizant that many directors in failed Bankss and fiscal establishments amongst other had been MBAs. How could this be? Surely the point about holding an MBA would be to be able rapidly to incorporate and move on different information, good and bad, in order to pull off state of affairss before they became black ( see for illustration Barker, 2010 ) . I believe strongly in corporate societal duty and would trust that this is an built-in portion of any MBA class. Harmonizing to Podolny ( 2009 ) values and moralss should so be an built-in portion of the MBA course of study and steps should be available to deprive alumnuss of their grades if they are found in breach. However Wylie A ; Piercy ( Wylie et al, 2010 ) takes a slightly different position, whilst accepting that the instruction of moralss and societal duty will so happen its manner into MBA programmes through pupil demand. On this point so I am satisfied that at least there is a argument and in my ain instance I will guarantee the argument continues at my class. Nonetheless I remain somewhat uneasy to happen out that MBA schools are ranked on a regular footing ( see for illustration FT, 2010 ; Business Week, 2010 ) on how much money MBAs make, instead than other non less of import results, which may nevertheless be much more hard to quantify. In drumhead, holding some limited direction experience, and happening that I enjoy organizing and pull offing people and undertakings, holding some limited experience in the EC and holding eloquence in the three chief EC linguistic communications, holding an in deepness involvement and cognition in international development and cultural diverseness, and concern, and desiring long term to be a senior manager/executive in either the EC or a similar international administration like the UN, I want in the following twelvemonth to carry through every bit much as possible to make full my identified ( and yet to be identified ) cognition spreads, in order to hold the assurance and sapiential authorization to accomplish the leading ends I have set myself, following a period of contemplation on what those would best be. Mentions Barker, R. 2010. No, Management is non a Profession. Harvard Business Review, 88, p 52-60 BBC, 2010 Available at: lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www.bbc.co.uk/news/10105863 gt ; [ Accessed on November fifth 2010 ] BBC, 2010a Available at lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11570828 gt ; [ Accessed on November fifth 2010 ] Business Week, 2010 Available at lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //bx.businessweek.com/mba-admissions/us-news-mba-rankings-for-2011/12169106804146064233-036428a7579657980831941c98d7a7c7/ gt ; [ Accessed on November 7th 2010 ] FT, 2010 Available at lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //rankings.ft.com/businessschoolrankings/global-mba-rankings gt ; [ Accessed on November 7th 2010 ] Defender, 2010 Available at: lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www.bbc.co.uk/news/10105863 gt ; [ Accessed on November fifth 2010 ] Hallam, A S. , A Hallam, T. , A Rogers, A T. andA A Azizi, H. 2009.A Preparedness for mid-career passages: analyzing current patterns in direction education.A A Academy of Educational Leadership JournalA 13 ( 4 ) A pp81-91 Jung, C.G. 1971 Psychological Types ( H.G.Baynes, Trans ) Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press ( Original work published 1921 ) Kingdom, J. 2010 British Politicss, Wiley, Chapter 1 Analyzing Politicss Available at lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //politybooks.com/kingdom/pdfs/001.pdf gt ; Accessed on November fifth 2010 ] Knight, J. 2010 Available at hypertext transfer protocol: //Whatcolourareyou.com Accessed on November 7th 2010 ] Lent, R. W. , Brown, S. D. , A ; Hackett, G. 1994. Toward uniting societal cognitive theory of calling and academic involvement, pick, and public presentation. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 45 ( 1 ) , pp 79-122. Podolny, J.M. 2009 The Buck Stops ( and Starts ) at Business School Harvard Business Review, 87 P 62-67 Wylie, A I. , A andA N.A Piercy.A 2010 The problem with MBAs/Business schools are OKAY.A Management TodayA 1A Mar.A 2010

Forensic Accounting Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Forensic Accounting - Assignment Example There has also been growth in the demand for the services of forensic accountants as there is increase in the success rates of investigations that are conducted by forensic accounting (Zimbelman, 2012). There are many engagements of forensic accountants’ services. Computer forensic investigation has trended with an expected of 83% great demand in the next years with the mean anticipated to have a mean of 20% increase (Taylor, 2011). In misinterpretation of financial statements, there have been engagements of forensic accountants or recognition of revenue and valuation of assets carried out at a fair value. Latest events in the field are the increase in demand both in regional and international basis has pushed for more education focusing on the field. The demand has currently led to hiring of consultants from the other countries to detect and prevent fraud. Forensic accounting is a career and employment generation filed due to the activities that are performed in the field. The field is a carrier as the activities that are performed are those that are related to accounting career and forensic science (Zimbelman, 2012). The types of services that are performed such as financial data analysis, business valuation, maintaining documents and damage assessment make the field a career

DP World Company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

DP World Company - Essay Example DP World operates in Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, Indian sub-continent, Australia and in America. The company has taken initiative in the process of reducing frequency of lost time injuries and has been successful in bring down the value of the same to 7.6 in 2011 from 10.1 in 2009. The company also focuses on the internal control of the company related to the organizational structure of the company, code of conduct, whistle blowing policy, risk management and performance, etc. Pensions and post retirement benefits are provided to the employees of the company, which shows that the company takes enough care of its employees even after the termination of employment (â€Å"DP World 2011 Annual Report† 1-10). Reason for DP stock being overvalued The stock of a company is said to be overvalued if the current price of the stocks of the company is greater than stock’s intrinsic value. Here the price earnings of the stock are primarily being considered in order to explain the reasons behind the overvaluation of the stocks of DP World. The price earnings ratio of the company has been relatively high in comparison to the historical price earnings ratio of the company, which is why the stock of DP World is considered to be overvalued. The growth in the global container traffic has risen by three times the rate at which the world used to trade in the past decade. This has also benefited the investors of the DP World due to the emerging trend of the global economy. DP World has escaped the Wall Street crunch and the consecutive downturn of the global economy as witnessed in 2008 and have successfully returned to the range of 40% with $2.7 billion of cash along with the long-term debt of the company. Thus, the rise of DP World has been a consistent one. But the company has clearly shown signs of overvaluation with its IPO price which has turned out to be 22times the value of the shares of the company. The main reason behind this is the fall in the share price of the company from $1.20 to $ 0.70 at the time of the global financial meltdown in 2008-09. The IPO rate of the company was traded at a higher range which led to the investors investing in the higher range to get a substantial return from the company. In a process of making quick profit, the stocks of the company became overvalued. Generally, global container companies trade 9 times the earnings of the company, so the DP World’s valuation metrics increased by 12 times the earnings of the company. This resulted in the price earnings ratio of the company to rise at 25 times in 2011. An increase in the price earnings ratio of the company can also be another reason for the over valuation of the stock of DP World. Moreover, listing of the stocks of DP World in the LSE (London Stock Exchange) can be the reason behind the overvaluation of DP World stock. Even the stock split strategy of the company was a reason for the overvaluation of the stocks of DP World. The volat ility of the market can result in the valuation of the stocks of the company to be either over valued or undervalued. The consistency of the DP World can be witnessed from the annual report of the company, which shows the company is progressing randomly whereas the financial global economy has not revived likewise causing the overvaluation of the stocks of DP World. However, the fall in the revenue of the company from $3,188,941,000 (in 2010) to $2,977,731,000 (in 2011) is slowly leading to the

Europeanization of Islam in European Countries Research Paper

Europeanization of Islam in European Countries - Research Paper Example These migrations that took place over centuries occurred mainly due to a quest for a better life and better living conditions. However, some of these migrations were under forced conditions, owing to various tribal, sectarian, or familial conflicts; and sometimes also due to political unrest in the country of origin. The first prominent Muslim immigrants were those that settled in Spain, during eight century AD. Along with such migrations, there was also the transfer of science, arts, literature, and various important literary transcripts also found their way from the Arabian Peninsula to the Iberian Peninsula and soon spread to other parts of Europe. Thus, there was a transfer of knowledge and culture, and soon the host and the immigrant communities started influencing each other. Today after more 1500 years of migration and settlement, Islam has become an integral part of the demographical, traditional and cultural landscape of Europe. They are no longer guests who will go back hom e, but have become Europeans following the Islamic faith; and with Islam becoming the second largest religious community in Europe within the last 50 years, this religion can longer be overlooked or sidelined. The first generation of the Muslim immigrants remained more close to their home upbringing and thus their Islam was more relevant to their home culture. However, the later generations after years of being born and bred in the European continent, now have two distinct lineages to maintain, one is the old traditions and culture of their grandparents and the other is the local culture of Europe. In the recent years it has been seen that in spite of protests from the conservative Muslim circles, there has been a move to create an Islamic religion which is more adapted to the European way of life. This has been done with the express aim to amalgamate Islam and Europe more closely so that the former can show its strength to adapt and flourish in its adopted country like it has done previously in Africa or Asia.  Ã‚  

Gender Differences in Communication | Essay

Gender Differences in Communication | Essay ‘For men and women, communication can be a very long drive, using different roads often to get to the same place.’ Men and women differ in many ways. They view the world through different lens. One of those differences is that they have different styles of communicating with others. Women are said to have expressive characteristics and men instrumental characteristics. There are lot of factors on which depend the way one communicate, such as where people are from, where they have been brought up, their educational background, their age and it surely depends on their gender. Communication is known as to be a two-way process involving individuals trying to seek mutual understanding. It does not involve only the process of exchanging information, news, ideas and feelings, but also helps to develop and share meaning. It generally connects people or places in society. In an organization, communication is an essential key function for the management of individual; it cannot operate effectively if there is no communication between the levels, departments and employees. Gender is an important factor that creates a gap between males and females. Gender refers to the attitudes, feelings and behavior that a given culture associates with one’s biological sex. Men and women know about the gender roles they have to adopt at a very early age. Most women and many men communicate differently and adopt different speech skills according to the situation they are facing, the purposes and the roles they have in society and at work. Gender differences emerge from both social and professional settings. Within an organization, gender is an important factor influencing communication. These gender differences in communication are often revealed during conflict, or even serve as a cataclysm for conflict. However, it is not only a threat to society and installs non-understanding at work. Those gender differences might benefit the whole society as well as the organization. The importance of communication maybe noticed in everyday life, for instance, a little connection can have a large impact and influence in one whole life. Communication problems can make a working environment unpleasant, uncomfortable and unproductive. The origin of conflicts that arouse can come from anything such as personal management styles, educational background to personality conflicts and cultural differences. In the book, Men are from Mars and Women from Venus, John Gray(2004) wrote: Men mistakenly expect women to think, communicate, and react the way men do; women mistakenly expect men to feel, communicate and respond the way women do. People tend to forget that men and women are supposed to be different. As a result the relationship between men and women is filled with unnecessary friction and conflict. He goes on saying that men and women are so different in their approaches to communication that they might come from different planet. They do not have similar goals, needs and values in their communication styles. One main difference he has highlighted is that men are goal-oriented; they define their sense of self through their ability to achieve results. On the other hand, women are relationship-oriented as they define their sense of self by their feelings and by the quality of their relationship. Males grow up learning some essential elements considered as being the center of masculinity, such as not being female, be successful, be aggressive, be sexual, be self-reliant, embody and transcend traditional views of masculinity (Wood, 2011). On the other hand, females are taught that appearance is important, showing sensitivity and care is a must, and that they should also expect negative treatment from others, superwoman abilities are anticipated and there is no single meaning of feminine. Wood believes that ‘through communication with others, we come to understand how society defines masculinity and feminity.’ Both men and women differ in the way they manage people and give orders. Many well-respected studies have shown that women have the tendency to soften their demands and statements, as compared to men who tend to be more direct. Women for example, use tag lines, phrases like ‘don’t you think’ preceding the presentation of an idea, ‘if you don’t mind’ following a demand or ‘this may be a crazy idea, but’ followed by a suggestion, trying to make their opinions and ideas be accepted and understood by others. Most women are conditioned by culture to maintain harmonious relationships with others. That condition is revealed in softened demands, constrained statements and a generally more tentative or lack confidence speech. In some circumstances, women tend to have direct conversation like men. This does not mean that the person is arrogant, bossy or feels superior compared to others but these are nothing more than learned ways of communicating. Another difference that has been brought up when talking about gender communication between men and women is that women most of the time ask more questions as compared to men. Asking questions have different meanings when it comes to gender differences. Men ask questions for only one reason; to gather information. For women, asking questions have purposes to gather information, but as it can be noticed, women will also ask questions when they already know the answer. The reason behind this is that they want to seek interest in what the other person has said to cultivate the relationship. The managing styles and the ways of asking questions bring up fundamental matters about women’s role in the workplace. There is nothing wrong in having different ways of communicating. Men have the perfect right to be more direct and ask fewer questions, while women and some men are simply more at ease with a softer style of communicating. The problems and conflicts then can emerge when those differences lead to misunderstanding and misinterpretations, which can sooner or later disrupt teamwork and even ruin someone’s opportunities for upward mobility. People should try to understand each other way of communicating and particular way of speaking in order to build better mixed gender teams. Someone may be crude. This does not mean that the person is cold, uncaring or uninvolved. On the other hand, a more tentative approach does not necessarily indicate a sign of weakness, fear or lack of confidence. People communicate the way they do, because they are taught to do so since the very beginning of their childhood. What really matters is that men and women give each other a chance, that they get to know what lies behind the communication style, and most important, that they resist the urge to jump to premature conclusions about the meaning of particular style. There are two main ways of studying gender differences in communication styles; the academic research and popular literature. Men and women differ psychologically in the way they act, from the style in which they communicate, to the way in which they attempt to influence others. The most obvious difference between men and women ways of communication comes to the fact that men and women view the use of conversation differently. Academic research on psychological gender differences has proved that women use language to promote social connections and create relationships, men use communication as a means to bring to bear dominance and achieve tangible goals. This is such as women are, overall, more expressive, tentative, and polite in conversation, while men are more assertive, and power hungry. (Basow Rubenfield, 2003) Popular works by John Gray and Deborah Tannen show that while men view conversations as a way of establishing and maintaining status and superiority in conversation, women see that the motivation behind communication is to create and foster an intimate bond with the other party by talking about tropical problems and issues they are communally facing. (Gray, 1990. Tannen, 1990) Other academic research stated that women are less used to powerful speech. They tend to swear less, speak more politely, and use more tag questions and intensifiers. (Lakoff, 1975) Women tend also to interrupt less than men do. Researchers have concluded that maybe it is because of their perceived lower status compared to men. (Thorne Henley, 1975) This can also be because of the societal norms which enforce this gender status hierarchy. Pearson, 1985 also bring up the fact that women often weaken their statements. One explanation he gave for this is their low self-confidence in what they are saying and their fear of being wrong, which can be associated to their perceived inferior status to male managers in the workplace. Some theorists have given their point of view on the gender communication differences. They have suggested that these styles of communicating put are disadvantageous for women when they interact with others. The breakdown in communication occurs because men and women occupy different roles in society. Social roles are reflected through language and demonstrate unequal relations based on gender. The man’s language is discriminatory toward women and this leaves the impression that men are more capable and confident as leaders. (Lakoff, 1975) Gender communication difference is a worldwide issue. Communication between men and women differ in many ways, affecting their speech and outcomes. In Japan, men and women have different ways of communicating. Women in Japan speak more politely as compared to men. The Japanese language features elements that make women’s speech sound polite and feminine. In the meanwhile, men’s speech sound less polite and masculine. The language difference between genders reinforces Japanese social norms. Where women are the subordinates of men. In England modern society, it would therefore appear that women  are equal with men. However the harsh reality tells us that women are not provided with an equal opportunity even for discussion, due to the fact that the two sexes respectively command different communication styles. In other words, the language women use is different from the one that men use. Tabooed words and slang can be found more frequently in men’s language than in women’s though they are of the same educational level. For example, ‘Get a life, Facts be damned’. Men and women have been socialized within their gender roles since the very beginning of childhood. The educational level does not determined the communication styles of both men and women. ICT Project: Failure And Success Factors ICT Project: Failure And Success Factors The monthly news papers announce the ICT project are developed, failures of astronomical proportions in developed and developing countries. For failure of the project the common reasons are delay in deadline, cost overburden, and some of the projects will not reach the expectation levels. In developing countries the ICT literature shows that the planning and management of projects has a very poor record, the issues for failure of ICT projects can be analyzed by assuming that learning from IS failures will provide the important lessons for formulating the success plan for the planning, developing, implementation and management of information system While discussing dimensions of ICT failure, both horizontal and vertical dimensions of the informatics model considers by Beynon-Davies. The difference between development failure and use failure is expressed in terms of horizontal dimension and the vertical dimension expressed the failure at the level of ICT systems, IS project, or organisation, or at the level of the external environment. There are six types of IS failure are Identified listed below Technical failure Project failure Organizational failure Environmental failure Developmental failure Use failure Beynon-Davies supports the argument with several case studies and quotes other models for IS failure Factors for failure: The failure factors will occur when the proper implementation of ICT projects in government. These factors can be barrier or inhibitors by these factors as observed in this section can be social-culture, institutional and political, funding, infrastructure and technology. Barriers can be considered as those occurrences that hinder ICT implementation some of those factors for failure Infrastructure Finance Poor data system and lack of compatibility Skilled personnel Leadership style, culture Attitudes Inhibitors do not necessarily prevent the implementation of the ICT projects but they do prevent advancement and restrict successful implementation and sustainability. Some of these factors for failures user needs technology coordination ICT policy Transfer of ICT idolisers Donor push Those above factors are used for the purpose of design a theoretical framework (ref 1) Partial failure of an idea, in which main objectives are unattained or in which there are significant undesirable outcomes. Connected with partial failure is the sustainability failure where a project first succeeds but is then abandoned after a year or so. Sustainability Failure Model (partial failure) This model provides a better structure for examining sustainability longitudinally. There is five principal consist of sustainability failures, they are listed below: Financial/economic sustainability failures : Example: if the client supported program loses its funding after some fixed time of process and has to shutdown. Cultural/social sustainability failures: Example: from the project some stakeholders will gain but others are hurt. This tension is not reasonable over time and results in the subsequent sustainability failure. Technological sustainability failure: Example: The field hardware and software are outdated and no longer companionable with the equipment within the central offices. These also look at the importance of the content provided. Political failure: Example: the local winner leaves and without larger institutional arrangements in place the project fails. Environmental sustainability failure: Example: if the project will lose their usefulness then the project plan could be reusable, if the projects without plans for reusing then the environmental sustainability failure. . Critical Success and Critical Failure Factor Model: The CSF and CFF model will explain success or failure of an ICT projects can be understand in terms of several CSF and CFF factors. Ten critical factors can be organized listed below Information factors relating to provision of content Technical factors such as user-friendliness of hardware and software, the capacity of use different hardware and software platforms, etc People factors such as availability of knowledge persons, proper guidance in use of hardware and software, etc Management factors, such as proper administration and organizational practices for bringing the required modifications through ICT projects Process factors, such as desired changes or to make the project successful in reaching its objectives a new process will design Cultural factors, such as improvement in organizational culture for successful implementation of new projects Structural factors, such as structural inflexibility in traditional organizational structures that may be a cause for failure of ICT projects Strategic factors, such as assessments that cover a wide range of services Political factors, such as political and stakeholders support Environmental factors, such as changes in the overall external environment of the project : The ten critical factors categories into seven critical dimensions: they are Technology, Information, Processes, Objectives and values, Staffing and skills, Management and structures, and other resources. This framework requirement consider the gaps that exist in the design of the project and the authenticity along these seven dimensions (ref 2) CASE STYDY: Gyandoot project The Gyandoot project started in the year 2000, the government of Madhya Pradesh initiates this project. The aim of the project is to set up intranet based kiosk in villages to providing information about the agricultural practices and update the market prices and also providing some Government services like cast and income certificates online application, land records copies, and online systems to know about the computer awareness and access all this services. This project is failed to reach its goal and the user usage is low. Reasons for the failure of the project The back end processes is not computerized In the rural areas lack of supporting ICT infrastructure, In proper plans for better services delivery Financial problems for the owned kiosks Lack of relevant content critical Lack of Computerization of the back-end processes: The Gyandoot project has computerized only front-end but not the back end. The management is not yet successful in the electronically transmitting the services request to all departments from its intranet server. Almost all transaction are handled manually at the back end of the Gyandoot intranet server, because all govt departments currently perform their tasks manually Example: The citizen will submit the online application and waiting at telekisok for a response, but at the back end the government department levels are not computerised so they will print out the application or request or complaints and send to the government department to further action, after receiving report from the govt departments the data entry operators will enter the response in the gyandoot intranet. For this process the time frame is seven days To make better and speed service response time, the all departments required to undertake the significant changes reengineering exercise to improve the information process methods and quality of services, that will possible when all departments introduce the computers in the different departments levels. The gyandoot smaiti have the authority and financial power to change the individual departments the authority exists only with the state government (ref 3) Lack of supporting ICT infrastructure in the villages: Introducing E-government project in any poor rural area it is a huge challenge of the technology point of view. Presently there is lack of supporting infrastructure available for Soochnalaya as all of the Soochanalayas (Kiosk) are in villages. In the DhÄ r district the Tele-communication infrastructure is quite low and telekisoks are unable to provide the voice services and electric power supply is less, the systems and kiosks are working with the help of the UPS which having battery and the capacity to work four hours if it is charged fully. It takes eight to ten hours to charge but most of the villages current supply will break down every three or four hours. A number of technical approaches to provide the basic network were initially evaluated. Gyandoot rejected both LAN and VAST approaches as being too costly and using dial-up network using modems over existing telephone lines which is not speed and many times the connection will break down in between a process. And the pr ocess will get delay due to weak connectivity, that connection was found to be unreliable and many kiosks are suffering huge problems of connecting to the intranet server (ref 4) Lack of relevant content is critical: The farmers are getting loss for not updating the market prices and they are selling the outdated prices and the number of services offers by kiosk but only some of them are using, the information should be in local language then the user can easily understand, and the user can visit Soochanalaya to know the update information about the agriculture, and market price etc, if the content is in local language then the women can understand the information about the healthcare and childcare and to increasing the usage of Soochanalaya Issues The kiosks made up with low investment because infrastructure bottlenecks, and the slow network is using which is dialup connectivity and not stable power supply at least 6- 8 hours power supply will be cut so for working the kiosks added additional power backup, the availability of electrical power determines the times during which the soochanalaya can be opened. Encourage the privately owned kiosk owner to offer other services like computer training, photocopying and public telephone to cover the loss of revenue, so that the owner can focus on other services. In Dhar district the awareness of the gyandoot still quite low level among the villagers, especially the poor and labours, in spite of significant media attention and publicity in Dhar district, the 60% of the non-users did not use gyandoot because they thing that no need, and 35% of people are not aware about the services offered by gyandoot and 5% of citizen have negative impression about the gyandoot. Even though grievance filing has been structured through a list of options, many complaints are sent using the e-mail facility in local languages, which make them difficult or impossible to address. Transfer of senior staffs: the main key factors of the project is the initial team of the project and the team of the district officer has conceived the plan and implemented it and they know the total project but once the government official is getting transferred and the new members will come and takes a time to understand the project (process) and slowly reverted to their unresponsive attitude to citizens. (ref 5) The govt of MP could be including these techniques to make project success: (in my opinion) May it is possibly to judge the viability of the gyandoot system, it take some time in the rural areas. To building awareness about the project and the usage of the ICT application in rural areas may take more time than expected by the project team. This holds true especially when the value proposition for the citizen is weak as in the case of gyandoot project in which one part of the entire process is computerized, To provide speed service, the district level department need to computerize and significantly reengineering in terms of having built up software application that processes and monitors the progress of applications or complaints received. The roles and responsibilities of government officers need to be clearly divided. In each department, IT enthusiasts could be recognized who could be in charge for a complete end-to-end delivery of a service to the citizen. In the Gyandoot project the dial-up telephone lines is using to connect the gyanddot intranet and district head quarters, which is slow process and interrupt in between the process. If wifi or LAN will use in the place of dial-up telephone lines then the project might be success in speed delivery, update information , The women user is not visiting the gyandoot soochanalaya, but some services will very useful to women like healthcare and childcare, few experiment have to designed to encourage them to visit the kiosk. Example: there is an online contest of finding the healthiest child, so the mother bring the children of one to three years of age to the kiosks and provide all relevant data online to district headquarters, the selection was made from the basic data received from all the kiosks and result will announce in the kiosk intranet. My opinion about the gyandoot project failed: This factors might be reasons for failure of gyandoot project: Literacy: The literacy percentage in INDIA is low especially in rural areas the literacy percentage is very low this might be a reason for the ICT project failures, and the citizen have no idea about the services provided by the projects like in the case of the Gyandoot project in Dhar district, in Dhar district the literacy rate is very low and the people dont know about the services offered by the Gyandoot Soochanalaya. Womens (users and soochak) This could be a reason for the Gyandoot project failure, not encouraging womens to work as Soochak(manage person), because there is a some useful services for womens like healthcare, childcare, etc if the manage person is women then she can attract the user(womens) and explain about the services that offered by Gyandoot Soochanalaya Trust: Trust is one of the social concept that helps the service centres (soochanalaya), the service provider and user need to trust each other, to develop the user trust the Soochanalaya need to provide speed service and update information and also provide some free services to attract the user and develop the user trust. In the gyandoot project the user trust is low because delay in work, not updating market prices, etc Management: The management should maintain the Soochanalaya, and update the information up to date, if any new service is included in gyandoot then the management have to arrange the meeting with soochak and explain about the service, so that soochak can inform to user about the service and benefits. In the case of gyandoot project the management has failed to update the information up to date. (Market prices has not updated on up to date for that framers getting loss with selling old price) Staff and skill: The staff should be well trained about the IT and uses of the technology, so that they can provide good service and trained the rural people to aware about the computer and technology, so that they can easily use all services which are available on internet. The govt official the staff changes then appoint the trained staff to easily understand the projects. But in the case of gyandoot project in place of old district officer appoint a new district officers, and he/she had took a good time to understood the whole process and delay in the service providing to citizen Language: the literacy is poor in the rural areas and some citizen can read only in the local language, and in the rural areas people are unaware about the internet and its uses, and the internet is dominated by the English language this also a reasons for the ICT projects failures in rural areas. Communication: the communication gap between the employees and users might be a reason for project failure, Example: the employs have to communicate with each other so that they can develop the knowledge and skills, if the employs have good communication with government departments then the services will speed and with the communication only we can develop the trust and explain about the services available in the project so the usage of the services will increase. Conclusion: The number of ICT project failure in developed and developing countries, and it is not possible to judge the project is success/failure on the basic factors like technical, organizational, etc. If the user satisfies the services provided from the project and its usage always helps the project to move towards success, some project are completed within the time and budget but failure to reach the objective (goals) or the project is completed within the time and budget and reach it all requirements but, lack adaptability at the present condition this is also one reason for the project failure To develop a successful project the Project Manager should have a clear vision and proper planning. And the developing part of the project should be clear (means easily understand the process) if the client requested to merging with new technologies then reusing the developed plans and add the new technologies softwares, and no one can judge the IT project is success or failure It depends upon the end user satisfaction. Like in the gyandoot project, the project completed in time and on budget but the user usage is quite low, and the users are not satisfied with services.

Women and Society During the Early 20th Century Essay -- essays resear

Women and Society during the early 20th Century Women always had to deal with all kinds of situations throughout history. Sex was becoming to be a woman’s way of expressing herself and in a way have control over certain situation Edith Wharton’s "Summer" and John Steinbeck’ s "The Chrysanthemums" show two characters (both of them women) struggling between society‘s rules and laws and their own believes and desires. Both stories were written in the beginning of the 20th century and both authors made it very clear that the women’s thoughts were unacceptable. While Charity Loyal in "Summer" had the ability to satisfy herself sexually with a city boy and go as far as she could be her desires. Elisa Allen in "Chrysanthemums" fantasized about the idea of being with another man, but did not take her thoughts into action. Both, however, seem to look in nature the answer for the constant struggle to achieve freedom. This theme, like sex, is renowned all throughout th e stories. Wharton decides to start the story with a description of the town where Charity Royall lives. She says, "A little wind moved among the round white clouds on the shoulder of the hills, driving their shadows across the fields and down the grassy road that takes the name of the street when it passes through North Dormer. The place lies high and in the open, and lacks the lavish shade of the more protected New England Villages" (91). North Dormer seems to be a very peaceful place. The description gives a tone of calmness and happiness. This is very important for Charity, since she has an especial connection to nature all through out the story. When she is looking to free herself from North Dormer, Galante Gonzalez, 2 she looks for it in nature. After a long day working in the library (where Charity is usually by herself), Wharton shows how happy Charity becomes once she is able to leave and be outside with nature. She says, "She loved the roughness of the dry mountain grass under her palms, the smell of the thyme into which she crushed her face, the fingering of the wind in her hair and through her cotton blouse, and the creak of the larches as he swayed to it" (98). Charity lies in the grass almost hugging it. She shows emotions toward the grass (nature) that make it seem almost like a person. Moments like this one, made her feel free... ...be plenty.’ Alcohol will ease the pain, perhaps." She is upset, there was obviously These two women deal with the oppression imposed by society during the turn of the century. But their desires and emotions are stronger than what people thought at the time. For Charity, her love for nature allowed her to feel free. Eventually she loses all of that when she becomes pregnant and marries Mr. Royall. For Elisa, the struggle of wanted Galante Gonzalez, 6 to be like man did not give her a sense of freedom, only when she is working in her garden. She, like Charity, never completely achieved her freedom by the end of the story. Galante Gonzalez, 7 Worked Cited Bily, Cynthia. â€Å"Critical essay on Summer.† Literature Resource Center. 2005. 25 April 2005 . Fahy, Thomas. â€Å"Worn, Damaged Bodies in Literature and Photography of the Great Depression.† Wilson Web. Mar. 2003. 25 April 2005 . Palmerino, Gregory J. â€Å"Steinbeck’s The Chrysanthemums.† Wilson Web. 2004. 25 April 2005. â€Å"Sex.† 2004. 25 April. 2005 . Steinbeck, John. â€Å"The Chrysanthemums.† The Health Anthology of American Literature. 4th ed. Vol 1. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2002. 1874-1881.

Human genome online assignment Essay

1) If genetic manipulation does become a reality, I think allowing non-disease characteristics to be altered would have serious ethical and social implications. Screening for diseases and treating or eradicating them totally would be a huge benefit to mankind, but to use genetic technology to produce â€Å"designer babies† will most likely lead to a social divide similar to that portrayed in the movie â€Å"Gattaca† (De Vito and Niccol, 1997). Such technology would most likely be expensive and only those who can afford it will benefit and gain undue advantage over those not fortunate enough to have the financial means to avail of the technology, leading to a social system where you have the genetically-enhanced superior class and the â€Å"inferior† citizens conceived the natural way. 2) I don’t think life insurance companies should have access to a person’s genetic information. As it is, I believe insurance policies already hold a lot of stipulations that policy holders more often than not, end up receiving the short end of the bargain. If insurance companies find out that a person has a predisposition to a disease, they could easily refuse to provide that person with insurance and that I think, would be unfair since they would be depriving that person of his need to secure financial aid in case he does get sick. In the interest of fairly sharing risks though, insurance companies may be allowed limited access to genetic information. Limited, because I believe the welfare of policy holders should still be of topmost priority and any form of discrimination against individuals should not be allowed. 3) Yes, I believe that the information from the Human Genome Project (HGP) will bring tremendous benefits to a lot of people in the next 20 years. Technology develops at a very fast pace and it is not impossible that Collins’ predictions may very well come true. Already, the underlying genetic problems responsible for certain diseases have already been identified and with the genetic map from the HGP, the causes of a lot of other afflictions will be identified and from there, therapies can and will be developed. Even though custom-made therapies will most likely be more difficult to develop and perfect, the identification of disease genes will still greatly benefit the general population (Nova Online, 2001). 4) I think we are not that prepared for the implications that will result from the applications of these information. Right now, our society is already struggling with various other ethical issues in other biotechnological fields like stem cell research and it would be too naive to ignore the present and potential issues that may arise due to the far-reaching consequences of the HGP. 5) I don’t think employers should have access to an individual’s genetic information since there is the danger that a person may be discriminated on the basis of his genetic profile. As of present, I think discrimination may be viewed as singling out an individual for what he is (e. g. his race, gender, etc. ), but to discriminate someone based on his genetic profile would also mean discriminating him for what he could be. A person can be at risk for a certain disease but that’s just it – it’s a probability, not a guarantee. Besides, it would also mean discounting a person’s capabilities in spite of whatever genetic condition he may have. There have been countless stories of people overcoming their disabilities so there is no reason that one should be discriminated or favored based on his genetic makeup. 6) I don’t think it is that surprising, especially if I consider that like me, these lower organisms are alive, so it’s really just logical that we do share something in common. Considering though how much more complex we seem to be compared to these organisms, then yes, it is surprising that we don’t seem to be that genetically different from them. 7) I believe that testing of unborn children should be confined to deleterious genes, i. e. those that have serious and possibly life-threatening consequences such as that with diseases. I believe it’s a matter of putting things in perspective. Traits and disabilities like homosexuality or color blindness may be undesirable but they really seem trivial compared to serious afflictions that may mean life or death for the child. 8) If it’s a curable or preventable disease, then I would probably be in favor of being tested so that I can take the necessary steps to prevent or prepare myself in case I do get sick. However, I can’t say that decision would be as simple in the case of non-treatable diseases, because as with the woman who tested positive for a BRCA mutation (Nova Online, 2001), knowing that I am at risk for a disease that has no cure will probably mean that I will be living my life everyday with a sword hanging over my head and it would be very hard to live life that way. 9) Yes, I would want my mate and I to be tested if we were carriers for a disease prior to having children. I wouldn’t want to take the risk of bearing a child only to have him/her suffer from the disease that we carry when we could’ve spared him/her from that difficult life. I believe that I owe it to my future child to have myself and my partner tested. 10) I don’t think genes or genomic material should be patented because as Lander has observed, apprehensions over whether a particular gene or part of the genome has already been patented has become a limiting factor in that drug companies usually wouldn’t want to take the risk of working on treatments that might already be protected by a patent (Nova Online, 2001). I believe that there are several ways that scientists can approach a disease and develop a treatment for it, so why patent genes or genomic material? Why not just let everybody have access to such information so that not only one drug company can work at a specific disease but rather several, so that there’s a better chance that one of them will be able to develop a treatment which they would then have all the right to patent? Let’s take for example the case of cystic fibrosis. The gene responsible for this disease was discovered way back in 1989 and yet no cure has been discovered up to now (Nova Online, 2001). It only goes to show that identifying the gene responsible for the disease does not automatically mean that the cure would also be discovered consequently, so why allow the burden of further limitations brought on by patents? References: De Vito, D. (Producer), & Niccol, A. (Director). (1997). Gattaca [Motion Picture]. USA: Sony Pictures. NOVA Online. (2001). Cracking the code of life. Retrieved May 30, 2007, from http://www. pbs. org/wgbh/nova/genome/program. html.

The Public Relations Practitioner as Cultural Intermediary Essay Example

The Public Relations Practitioner as Cultural Intermediary Essay Example The Public Relations Practitioner as Cultural Intermediary Essay The Public Relations Practitioner as Cultural Intermediary Essay symbolic interactionism, and ethnomethodology. Babbie and Mouton (2001:33) conclude that regardless of the related metatheory, the primary aim of interpretivism stays directed towards understanding: â€Å"understanding of individuals in terms of their own interpretations of reality and understanding of society in terms of the meanings which people ascribe to the social practices in that society†. Following will be a discussion of hermeneutics as a related metatheory to interpretivism. 3. 2. 1. 1 Hermeneutics as a metatheory The term â€Å"hermeneutics† is defined as â€Å"the science and methodology of interpreting texts† by the Encarta Dictionary (S. a. ). De Vos, Schultze and Patel (2005:6) states only hermeneutics as a related metatheory to interpretive social science, but Babbie and Mouton (2001:30) lists several related metatheories such as hermeneutics, symbolic interactionism, and ethnomethodology. In the process of understanding the nature of human inquiry, Dilthey used the term â€Å"hermeneutics† increasingly. â€Å"In the same way that we understand the meaning of texts through interpretation, we should aim to interpret the ideas, purposes and other mental states expressed in the world of human action† (Babbie and Mouton, 2001:31). De Vos, Schultze and Patel (2005:7) agree that â€Å"true meaning is rarely simple or obvious on the surface; one reaches it only through a detailed study of the text, contemplating its many messages and seeking the connections among its parts†. Babbie and Mouton (2001:33) further states that in an idealist epistemology, data collection should not be confined to observable behaviour, but should also include descriptions of people’s intentions, meanings, and reasons. Culture in this instance will substitute â€Å"people† in Babbie and Mouton’s definition. The emphasis thus is on interpretive understanding of the culture. Concluded from the information stated above, an interpretive approach would be most suitable to research the role of the public relations manager as cultural intermediary. . Postmodernism, globalization and culture in communication: a brief discussion 4. 1 Postmodern communication At approximately the same time that South Africa proceeded to become a democracy, a new movement, postmodernism, emerged. Postmodernism embodies a complicated term, which has only emerged as an area of academic study since the mid-1980’s and is a general, wide-ranging term which is applied to literature, art, philosophy, architecture, fiction, cultural and literary criticism, and communication. Postmodernism is largely a reaction to the assumed certainty of scientific (objective) efforts to explain reality. In essence, it stems from a recognition that reality is not simply mirrored in human understanding of it, but rather, is constructed as the mind tries to understand its own particular and personal reality. For this reason, postmodernism is highly sceptical of explanations which claim to be valid for all groups, cultures, traditions, or races, and instead focuses on the relative truths of each person. Postmodernism relies on concrete experience over abstract principles, knowing always that the outcome of ones own experience will necessarily be fallible and relative, rather than certain and universal. According to Steyn (2002:25), the postmodernism approach to society (and the individual’s place in it) comprises many different elements of which the most prominent aspect is the fragmented nature of society. Postmodernism is, to a large extent, a rejection of modernism. Whilst modernism is optimistic about the future and embraces progress and humanist value, postmodernism take a cynical approach towards these â€Å"values†. In addition, De Vos, Schultze and Patel (2005:8) emphasize that modernism has confidence in technology and science whilst postmodernism attacks this faith in science â€Å"by questioning its capacity to generate truth, in part because, like all human communications, it is dependent on language, which is socially constructed, and, as such, distorts reality†. Considering the above and the questions posed in the introduction of this assignment, it could be argued that the disarray in the contemporary corporate society is largely due to the postmodern reflection on society and not as such due to any hierarchal incompetence. For the past three decades, postmodernism dominated the cultural and intellectual scene in many fields throughout the world. The postmodern assault produced new social and political theories, as well as theoretical attempts to define the multifaceted aspects of the postmodern phenomenon itself, which in turn, seems aptly applicable to the current multi-cultural experience in South Africa. 4. 2 Globalization and communication Globalization refers to the compression of the world and the intensification of consciousness of the world as a whole (www. sociology. emory. du). In thought and action, it makes the world a single place. What it means to live in this place, and how it must be ordered, become universal questions. These questions receive different answers from individuals and societies that define their position in relation to both a system of societies and the shared properties of humankind from very different perspectives. Globalization broadly refers to the expansion of global linkages, the organization of social life on a global scale, and the growth of a global consciousness, hence to the consolidation of a world society. In concept, globalization is, contrary to contemporary belief, not a new one. The modern world-system originated around 1500. In parts of Western Europe, a long-term crisis of feudalism gave way to technological innovation and the rise of market institutions. Advances in production and incentives for long-distance trade stimulated Europeans to reach other parts of the globe. Superior military strength and means of transportation enabled them to establish economic ties with other regions that favoured the accumulation of wealth in the European core. While the Europeans started with only small advantages, they exploited these to reshape the world in their capitalist image. The world as a whole is now devoted to endless accumulation and profit seeking on the basis of exchange in a market that treats goods and labour alike as commodities. (www. sociology. emory. edu). The magnitude and the impact of globalization on world trade is illustrated by Friedman (2005:181-182) who developed and interesting perspective that, due to globalization, the world has become â€Å"flat†. In the last decade of the twentieth century, several parts of the world were making the transition from a closed economy to a free market system, such as China, India, Russia, and Eastern Europe. By 2000, the â€Å"global economic world,† the amount of the world’s population participating in global trade, reached six billion people, compared to 2. 5 billion in 1985. As it happened, this coincided with the digital revolution that was â€Å"flat tening† the world, thus not only leveling the playing field, but also bringing that field directly to these new players†. Philosophers such as Marshall McLuhan (1911-1980) predicted, if not recognized, globalization in the way society is experiencing it today, as early as the 1960’s. It was during this time period when McLuhan both announced the existence of a â€Å"global village†, and predicted the intensification of the world community to its present expression. â€Å"If the work of the city is the remaking or translating of man into a more suitable form than his nomadic ancestors achieved, then might not our current translation of our entire lives into the spiritual form of information seem to make of the entire globe, and of the human family, a single consciousness? (McLuhan, as quoted by Kappelman, www. leaderu. com). All of this was supposed at a time when television was still in its infancy, and the personal computer was almost twenty years into the future. Globalization in its current status is largely due to interconnectedness via satellite and cable connection. The majority of mass- and interpersonal communication today is transmitted through the effective use of information technology. The result, according to Hannerz (2001:62) is that a great many kinds of actors now operate, if not literally globally, then at least transnational. There are more â€Å"ethnic diasporas† than ever before, dispersed membership groups, multinational business corporations and transnational occupational communities, each one engaged in â€Å"its own particular way in the management of some part of contemporary culture†. Hannerz’ view underlines the importance of a public relations practitioner acting as a cultural intermediary within a globalized society. 4. 3 Multi-cultural communication Ramphele (2008:112-113) states that â€Å"all South Africans are newcomers to democracy. We (South Africans) must acknowledge our authoritarian political heritage. It will not simply go away in the face of a democratic national constitution. Building a participatory, inclusive democratic culture is a long term process of cultural change. Schools, homes, communities and the workplace have distinctive and mutually supportive roles to play in this†. Ramphele’s statement addresses the topic of this assignment in more than one aspect. Not only is South Africa as a democratic union in its infancy in comparison to global democratic practices, but is the way in which we approach, and are approached by the international community, a new-fangled experience. South Africans as a whole have to deal with its own internal multi-cultural aspects, as well as the exposure to international cultures simultaneously, which is more apparent as to why a public relations manager should be able to act as a cultural intermediary. George (2003:Online) highlight this aspect, stating that by â€Å"understanding the cultural uniqueness of a country enables a public relations practitioner to identify the most effective message, format, channel of communication, and spokesperson to deliver that message. It is noticeable from the above that, in order to communicate effectively to its publics, the public relations practitioner must be able to understand and interpret multicultural identities. 4. 3. 1 Culture and cultural identities Samovar, Porter and McDaniel (2007:123-125) argues that cultural identity is a focal element in intercultural communication. An individual’s culture shapes his or her understanding and expectations as to which is the correct communication practices for various social settings – some which may be appropriate to one culture, may be inappropriate in another. Issues of identity can be expected to remain – and perhaps become more – complex as multiculturalism increasingly characterizes contemporary society. It is clear, however, that the old understanding of a fixed cultural identity or ethnicity is outdated, and identity is rapidly becoming more of and â€Å"articulated negotiation between what you call yourself and what other people are willing to call you†. But regardless of what form they may take or how they are achieved, your identities will remain a consequence of culture. Cultural differences appear in many ways and in many forms along a set of key dimensions. Nolan (1999:5-6) list six variables on which cultural differences can be distinguished: Perceptions: People from different cultures do not necessarily see the same things, even when everyone is looking in the same di rection. Interpretations: People do not select, interpret, or remember what they see in the same way, even when they see the same thing. Facts: Because people from different cultures have different definitions of the situation, they use different pieces of information in their thinking. Goals: People from different cultures may have quite different purposes or destinations in mind. Methods: Even when destinations are the same, people may have different ways of getting there. Values: People from different cultures apply very different standards in their evaluations of individuals, situations, behaviors and outcomes. Although Nolan’s variables appear to be overtly simplified, these variables could be a good starting point when approaching multi-cultural studies. However, the most popular advance to cultural studies stems from the work of anthropologist, Edward T. Hall who did pioneering work in multi-cultural research such as proxemics, a study of perception and the use of space between gender and culture. For example: there are important cultural rules and boundaries between the sexes, which mean we cannot move about as we would wish to think we can. Different cultures have differing norms and attitudes towards personal space and how closely people stand to each other when communicating. More intimate communications have different norms. If someone breaks the norm in any given situation it might be interpreted as threatening or unfriendly. Hall also found that different cultures have different norms to do with time, friendship, business, written and oral agreements. Spatial zones are different for women and men. Women initially approach more closely, prefer side-by-side conversations, allow other women to be closer than men, whilst men have more face-to-face conversations, and tend to stand closer to women than women feel comfortable with. ( onepine. info/mcult2. tm) More appropriate to this assignment though, is Hall’s conceptualization of high and low context cultural factors. In essence, in a high-context culture, there are many contextual elements that help people to understand the rules. As a result, much is taken for granted. This can be very confusing for a person who does not understand the unwritten rules of the specific culture. In a low-context culture, very little is taken for granted. Whilst this means that more explanation is needed, it also means there is less chance of misunderstanding, particularly when visitors are present. The application of Hall’s high- and low-context cultures is explained in table 2: Table 2: Hall’s high and low context culture Factor High-context culture Low-context culture Overtness of messagesMany covert and implicit messages, with use of metaphor and reading between the linesMany overt and explicit messages that is simple and clear Locus of control and attribution for failureInner locus of control and personal acceptance for failure Outer locus of control and blame of others for failure Use of non-verbal ommunicationMuch nonverbal communicationMore focus on verbal communication than body language Expression of reactionReserved, inward reactionsVisible, external, outward reaction Cohesion and separation of groupsStrong distinction between in-group and out-group Strong sense of familyFlexible and open grouping patterns, changing as needed People bonds Strong people bonds with affiliation to family and communityFragile bonds between people with little sense of loyalty Level of commitment to relationshipsHigh commitment to long-term relationships Relationship more important than taskLow commitment to relationship Task more important than relationships Flexibility of time Time is open and flexible Process is more important than productTime is highly organized Product is more important than process (http://changingminds. org/explanations/culture/hall_culture. htm) Applying the preceding two concepts as is to South Africa’s multi-cultural community would be rather complicated. The diverse compilation of cultures in South Africa simply does not allow for a â€Å"yes or no† answer. It would be required to analyze each of the eleven cultures in the country, including the free inflow of neighboring nationalities, in order to devise a suitable paradigm from which an applicable variable could be devised. This seems a rather daunting challenge. How then, to proceed to an acceptable, predictable, and definable course? Hannerz (2001:58) suggest that â€Å"we need a counter-image to that of the cultural mosaic, one that does not take for granted the boundedness of cultures and their simple relationship to populations and territories, but allows as a point of departure a more open, interconnected world. † To achieve that, and to move above the constraints of a multi-cultural collective, the student consulted Lull’s concept of a â€Å"superculture† (see fig. 1). According to Lull (2001:132-163), contemporary cultural conditions â€Å"appear to only exacerbate the confusion, isolation, and existential despair. The historically unparalleled development of communications technology and the sweep of globalization that surrounds us today are changing the very nature and meaning of culture. A superculture refers to a cultural mode that is above other modes, has a higher rank, quality and abundance than is reflected in other conceptions of culture. † It certainly exceeds the norms which typify and limit traditional ways of thinking about culture. Supercultures are composed in part of symbolic content that is made available by super media. The question immediately rises as to how cultural identities, for instance those officially recognized within South Africa’s geographical borders, fit into the concept of a superculture? The answer can be derived to from Lull’s explanation: â€Å"The super culture is the cultural matrix that individuals create for themselves in a world where access to ‘distant’ cultural resources has expanded enormously. At the same time, however, the superculture embodies traditional or ‘close’ cultural resources too – the values and social practices characteristic of ‘local’ cultures as they are learned and reproduced by individuals and group. The essence of the supercultures resides in the dynamic interfaces that link and mediates the available cultural spheres. † (Lull, 2001:132) Figure 1: Major components of Lull’s superculture (Lull, 2001: 139-157) To conclude the section on culture: in order to appropriately apply communication between multi-cultural identities, which in this instance signify the public relation practitioner and his or her publics, the student propose the implementation of Grunig’s two-way symmetrical model which â€Å"use communication to negotiate with publics, resolve conflict, and promote mutual understanding and respect between the organization and its public(s). † (http://iml. jou. ufl. edu). 5. Conclusion Friedman (2005:324-325) noted that â€Å"to reduce a country’s economic performance to culture alone is ridiculous, but to analyze a country’s economic performance without reference to culture, is equally ridiculous. As the world goes flat (globalize) , and more and more of the tools of collaboration get distributed and commoditized, the gap between cultures that have the will, the way and the focus to quickly adopt these new tools and apply them, and those that do not, will matter more. The differences between the two will become more amplified. Cultures that is open and willing to change, have huge advantage in this world. † Not only is Friedman’s statement applicable to a global economy, but is it also applicable to the global interaction of public relations practitioners. In addition, Jansoozi and Koper (2006:219-225) states that â€Å"public relations communication techniques have been forced to change as a result of globalization. The biggest challenge for public relations practitioners will be crossing language and cultural barriers. Often the subtleties of cultural difference are overlooked in the multinational’s own home country. Business organizations are realizing the importance of intercultural communication, even within the same national boundaries. Immigration and guest workers have altered the homogeneity of many countries and cultures. † It is within this framework (and with the support of quotations from authoritive source quoted in this assignment) that the student concludes: a purely western form of public relations practices no longer exists. As a result of globalization and the multi-national exposure that accompanies globalization, the public relations practitioner has inevitably become, amongst other, a cultural intermediary. The contemporary public relations practitioner’s communication is no longer restrained to the geographical, economic and cultural boundaries of his or her own country. Not only is the public relations practitioner able to communicate instantaneously on a global magnitude, but it is required of the practitioner to understand and interpret the culture of the publics which he or she communicates with. Global interaction demands that the public relations practitioner be aware of and implement trans-national customs and practices in the communication process. 6. Recommendation Exploring a topic such as culture and the effects it has on the process of communication globally, opens to a vast field of research. There are several factors that need to be explored in such a research project. For instance, the dynamics of a post-modern society, a globalized economic structure and the multi-cultural identities that accompanies such an economic structure, which all cannot possibly come to its fulfilment in a ten-page assignment. As Ihator (2000:44) clearly states: â€Å"The recognition of the cultural patterns of the world may be one positive stem in the understanding of the global publics. It behooves, therefore, international PR practitioners and researchers to use knowledge gained from various academic disciplines to adequately and effectively communicate with global constituencies†. Bibliography (Author unknown). S. a. Dictionary results – Hermeneutics [Online]. Available from: http://encarta. msn. com/encnet/features/dictionary/DictionaryResults. [Accessed: 05/04/2007]. (Author unknown). S. a. Edward T. Hall – The silent language [Online]. Available from: onepine. info/mcult2. htm. [Accessed: 10/04/2008]. (Author unknown). S. a. Globalization issues [Online]. Available from: sociology. emory. edu/globalization/issues01. html. [Accessed: 10/04/2008]. (Author unknown). S. a. Globalization theories [Online]. Available from: sociology. emory. edu/globalization/theories01. html. [Accessed: 10/04/2008]. (Author unknown). S. a. Three Major Perspectives in Sociology [Online]. Available from: cliffsnotes. com/WileyCDA/CliffsReviewTopic/Three-Major-Perspectives-in-Sociology. topicArticleId-26957,articleId-26837. html. [Accessed: 05/06/2008]. (Author unknown). S. a. Science Quotes [Online]. Available from: quotelady. com/subjects/science. html. [Accessed: 05/06/2008]. (Author unknown). S. a. Sir William Lawrence Bragg [Online]. Available from: britannica. com. [Accessed: 26/04/2008]. (Author unknown). S. a. The Importance of the Four Models of Public Relations [Online]. Available from: http://iml. jou. ufl. edu/projects/Fall99/Westbrook/models. htm. [Accessed: 07/03/2008]. BABBIE, E. MOUTON, J. 2001. The practice of social research. South African ed. Cape Town: Oxford University Press. DE VOS, A. S. , SCHULZE, S. PATEL, L. 2005. The sciences and the professions. In: De Vos, A. S. (ed. ) Research at grass roots: for the social sciences and human service professions. 3rd ed. Pretoria: Van Schaik:3-26. FRIEDMAN, T. L. 2005. The world is flat a brief history of the twenty-first century. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. GEORGE, A. M. 2003. Teaching culture: The challenges and opportunities of international public relations. Business communication quarterly, 66[Online]. Available from: www. questia. com. [Accessed: 01/06/08]. GUDYKUNST, W. B. 1993. Toward a theory of effective interpersonal and intergroup communication. International and intercultural communication annual, 17:33-71. HANNERZ, U. 2001. Thinking about culture in a global ecumene. In: LULL, J. (ed. ) Culture in the communication age. London: Routledge:54-71. IHATOR, A. 2000. Understanding the cultural patterns of the world – an imperative in implementing strategic international PR programs. Public Relations Quaterly, Winter:38-44. (Class handout: Public Relations Management IV, 24/05/2008). JANOOZI, J. KOPER, E. 2006. Implications of globalization for the public relations practice. Comunicacao e Sociedade, 8, 2005:219-225 [Online]. Available from: revcom2. portcom. intercom. org. br/index. php/cs_um/ article/ viewFile/4734/4448. [Accessed: 05/06/2008]. KAPPELMAN, T. 2001. Marshall McLuhan: â€Å"The Medium is the Message [Online]. Available from: leaderu. com/orgs/probe/docs/mcluhan. html#text2. [Accessed: 06/08/2007]. LEARY, M. R. MILLER, R. S. 2000. Self-presentational perspectives on personal relationships. In: Ickes, W. Duck, W. (eds. ) The social psychology of personal relationships. New York: Wiley:129-155. LULL, J. 2001. Superculture for the communication age. In: Lull, J. (ed. ) Culture in the communication age. London: Routledge: 132-163. McCLELLAND, K. 2000. Introduction to theories [Online]. Available from: http://web. grinnell. edu/courses/soc/s00/soc111-01/IntroTheories. html. [Accessed: 01/06/2008]. NOLAN, R. W. 1999. Communicating and Adapting across Cultures: Living and Working in the Global Village [Online]. Available from: www. questia. com. Accessed: 20/06/2008. PAPASTEFANOU, N. 2008. Assignment 2: the public relations practitioner as cultural intermediary. Tshwane University of Technology: Pretoria. PAPASTEFANOU, N. 2007. Module 1: communication research and theory (CSC400T). Pretoria: Tshwane University of Technology. PAPASTEFANOU, N. 2008. Module 2: culture and related issues. Tshwane

Contemporary Labor Economics Book Summary

Contemporary Labor Economics Book Summary The book, â€Å"Contemporary Labor Economics† by McConnell, Brue, and Macpherson discusses comprehensive issues surrounding labor economics and variable that interact within its parameter. Factually, the authors are specific on theoretical perspectives, trial of these theories and presentation of their results in an interesting gesture.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on â€Å"Contemporary Labor Economics†: Book Summary specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Chapters seven, eight, nine, and ten dwell in compensation analysis, wage structure, mobility and unionization of labor variable and their effect in perfect and imperfect markets based on different assumptions. Thus, this reflective treatise attempts to explicitly review these chapters and identify specific issues discusses by the authors on compensation analysis, wage structure, mobility and its components, and unionization variables. Besides, the paper ide ntifies assumptions presented by these authors and how the same can be related to the contemporary labor market behavior. Chapter Seven The main topic of discussion in this chapter is the operation of fringe benefits and variable that affects it when being portioned to total compensation effect. Fringe benefits and wage earnings are identified as the main components of compensation summation. However, fringe benefits are apportioned a larger share in the total compensation matrix due to the fact that their influence has experienced a consistent growth over the last decade in the labor market. These fringe benefits are classified as social security, unemployment compensation and employee’s compensation for every unit of labor given. In classification, these fringe benefits assume the form of insurance benefits, paid leaves, and legally acquired benefits to a worker for every unit of labor delivered against the revenue realized. Besides these, retirement benefits and savings ar e included in the summation of the fringe benefits accrued by a worker. However, the type and form of fringe benefits are never universal. Rather, they are influenced by the type of industry in which labor operates, ration and occupational groups. This is due to the fact that governments and other agencies have introduced laws and regulations aimed at pushing for higher and reliable compensation.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In most instances, the authors opine that blue collar employees have a larger share of the legally, construed benefits than their counterparts in white collar jobs as redistribution economics operate. In a bid to extrapolate this relationship, the authors discuss the theory of optimal fringe benefits as a certain reason for the experienced growth over the last decades. Reflectively, the variables interacting within the parameters of this the ory are leisure and income within the normal indifference curve. Consequently, the resulting isoprofit curve becomes flexible to different bundles of budget constraints that might be present at each level of computation. Further, the authors assert that indifference curve is a product of various fringe benefits and wage rates that interact simultaneously to yield same utility level for each worker. When all other factors are held constant, higher swing of the indifference curve indicate higher levels of utility. Irrespective of the inclination of the indifference curve, it is apparent that levels of tax advantage determine the resultant fringe benefit accrued. Specifically, to support this notion, the authors prove that benefits accrued from pension plans are taxable upon confirmation of receivership by an employee. Besides, the principle, dividends and interest which are part of the summation of pensions, are best achieved through pretax accumulation on the fringe benefits. The aut hors identify the need for intrinsic substitution as a component of the decision science aimed at managing the fringe benefits. In such case, the forgone alternative would be forfeiting leisure related savings for health and pension needs which are characterized as basic for every worker. The adoption of this thought is influenced by the fact that basic needs are more critical than the secondary needs in the matrix of fringe benefits. Besides, the long term effects of purchasing the basic needs is greater than that of opting to acquire secondary needs upfront.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on â€Å"Contemporary Labor Economics†: Book Summary specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Another important concept addressed by these authors is the employer’s isoprofit curve. This curve addresses the interaction between labor efficiency and pay schemes. This curve measures the wages and fringe benefits as they interact at every level of the profit baseline. Tax advantages to employers, scale of economies, and efficiency are major factor that led to growth of fringe benefits. Therefore, as fringe benefits increase, the authors opine that workers utility will increase in the same ratio. In drawing the curve, the initial assumptions are that the market operates within a normal profit margin in total employment and product market as part of the overall compensation effect per worker. Generally, the authors are optimistic that substantial changes for each cluster of wages and benefits are negligible within the ‘employer’s isoprofit curve’. The same relationship functions in the Wage-Fringe optimum. As performance and pay interact in the labor market, the authors indicate that there is a proportional relationship between performance and pay for each unit of labor given to a firm (principal) against the compensation offered. Unbalance relationship between pay and performance may resu lt in principal-agent problem which might culminate in under utilization of labor units since the agent (employee) may opt to increase leisure through reduced efforts in work. In order to avoid this unwanted scenario, the authors propose different forms of incentive compensation such as tournament pay, royalties, profits, and bonuses plans. In most cases, employers control these incentives and limit them as a fraction of the total revenue after factoring cost of production and each labor unit. When implementing these incentive plans, it is important to concentrate on personal performance bonuses as opposed to team bonuses which promote joyride attitude among workers since the process has no specific measure for distributing incentives. The firm can also opt for equity compensation under which employees are encouraged to take ownership of the firm in form of stocks.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More When implanting compensation plans, it is important for the firm to consider the efficiency of each labor unit against the wage payments. These units should be quantified in line with performance targets and revenue accrued. In order to achieve this, the authors propose introduction of regulatory agents such as supervisors who work alongside the employees. As a result, the fractional reduction of labor cost per unit on the budget of an employer is referred to as the resultant wage efficiency matrix. This matrix is dependent on homogeneous labor inputs wages at market-clearing parameters. Conclusively, this chapter introduces the aspect of theories in explaining the interaction between compensation and efficiency of labor units within and without the equilibrium. Chapter Eight The wage structure forms the main topic of discussion in this chapter. Reflectively, the authors state that equilibrium and transitional wage differentials offer valid explanation on the elicit labor differenti al persistence in the labor markets. Interestingly, the authors relate homogeneous jobs to perfect competition within the labor market. In the ideal, workers will have limited option apart from changing jobs until optimal satisfaction is achieved through creation of a theoretical balanced characterized by identical wage payment across same industry. However, in reality labor wage rate variances are persistent in both empirical and casual rates despite the theoretical balance. These variances are attributed to inconsistency between casual and empirical wage rate reviews. The authors state that nonwage factors such as fringe benefits, job location, job status, wage advancement prospects, earnings regularity, and risk of death or injury in a job have substantial influence on supply decisions since they form part of wage differentials. Consequently, their intrinsic influence forms part of the overall wage differentials that are part of the generated labor supply effect. Skills and exper ience are as important as the nonwage factors on wage differentials. In the ideal scenario, that is, all other factors are held constant, when there is a decision crisis involving review of wages in a production line, a rational employer would opt for increasing wages paid to highly skilled workers an employee retention strategy. The rate of wage increase will be higher for the highly skilled than what the low skilled counterparts eventually get. Efficiency of wage theories offers a better explanation on the above scenario. These theories are based on the same notion that higher turnover of labor units translate into higher wages paid, even though the ratio may not be proportional in perfect and imperfect labor markets. Besides, labor environments with limited quantifiable variables for reviewing performance are a recipe for high wages given to employees since the principal may not be in a position to measure efficiency of each labor unit against wage compensation. Further, the auth ors concur that heterogeneous workers are responsible for the continuous wage disparities since the group competes on the nonwage aspects of work within a varying stock capitals that are of human nature. Consequently, the quantifiable result would be unbalanced labor preferences within differing market consistency on every unit of labor. The authors propose hedonic theory of wages to classify this form of interaction between workers that have wage preference variances when interacted with ideal job amenities of nonwage nature. The most likely effect would be the standard labor market’s inability to churn wage differentials that are sustainable for employees sharing similar capital stocks of human nature and counterparts with varying capital stocks of human nature. Market information placement in presented as another vital determinant of wage differentials. Market information influences the behavior of the labor market, its efficiency, and optimal operation. Thus, imperfect an d costly market labor information is a major contributor towards persistent labor differentials at micro and macro levels of the labor market. Besides, when their effect is long term, then outcome may assume the form of long-lasting differential wage imbalances that are transitional from a period to another. Consequently, wage structure immobilites such as institutional, geographic, and institutional may last longer than usual. Reflectively, these immobilites are clear indicators of differences in wage rates within a similar industry for workers with same educational level, skills, and experience. Chapter Nine The baseline issue of this chapter is the determinants of mobility and their influence on labor market variables. The two major types of mobility are categorized as occupational geographical mobility. Reflectively, occupational mobility depends on labor units and profession of the worker. On the other hand, geographical mobility is influenced by location and change of the same due to changes in geographical location of labor provision environment. In the process of changing occupational and geographical location, the underlying decision science is the overall effect of the same on capital structure of a worker. Generally, overall expected outcome is measured as a ratio of total cost of investment on the relocation. For instance, transportation expenses, psychic costs, and forgone income during transition form part of the cost matrix. The main factors that influence every geographical pr occupational migration are family status, distance, educational level, likelihood to move, and age of the worker. The chances of moving and age are often inversely proportional since older people prefer a settled life than younger people. Family status and education attainment share a positive relationship with mobility forces in the labor markets. However, likelihood of movement and distance to cover share a negatively skewed relationship to mobility intentions. Specific ally, the unemployed have a more likelihood to migrate than the employed. In addition, when the destination exhibits higher chances of unemployment, then movement towards that location may be very minimal in the mobility decision framework. As a variable of the market labor mobility, efficiency in ‘allocative’ contributors is significant in balancing distribution of labor units between low and high employment values. Reflectively, then value of marginal product determines forms the regulatory effect on perfect competition and costless movement. The two components will swing until the regulator balances for employments sharing sale efficiency on ‘allocativeness’. However, this interaction holds in a labor market with perfect knowledge of all determinant variables operating in a similar employment industry. Due to similar experience, skills, and educational attainment, the wage rates are likely to balance as the regulator moderate the two determinant variable s at constant mobility parameter. Despite the perfect regulation, several interacting externalities are identified as determinants of migration ease. As a result, these externalities are associated with minimization of gains realized on the migration efficiency matrix. The worst case occurs when pecuniary externalities interact with ‘allocative efficiency’ to further minimize these gains. The authors propose wage differentials to balance the effect of these externalities. In different labor markets, wage differentials generate a recurring capital and product flows that interact concurrently to initiate an equalized balance on wages in long term. Besides, it minimizes the extent of labor migration. Adopting a comparative statistics, the authors present data on the position immigrations related to labor within America at more than half a million annually. Interestingly, this figure upsurges yearly. Due to an influx of the illegal immigrants in the labor market, the author s conclude that they are responsible for the depressed wage rates in the casual labor market. However, their influence is inconsequential, especially at macro level of the labor market. Chapter Ten Labor unionization is the main topic of discussion in this chapter. As a result of industrialization, the authors assert that labor management moved from being individual oriented to a group issue. The process occurred gradually has spread across the entire labor markets across the world. Labor unions command the ratio of 1:9 of the entire world workforce. That is, for every ten workers, one has been unionized. The comparative study indicates that productive industries boast of stronger labor unions than service provision counterparts. The same relationship is indicated in public verse private entities. The former commands better organized labor unions than the latter. This chapter indicates that determinants of ease of unionization include race, age, and gender. Reflectively, male worker s belong to more unions than their female counterparts. Therefore, the more enlightened population in urban industries are likely to being to a labor union than their coworkers in remote rural settings due to dynamics of urban settlement. The three key components of a typical labor union include the peak line consisting of an organ entrusted with formulating protection policies and pushing for their implementation with employers. The middle part of the labor union triangle comprises of an organ that negotiates with individual employers on better terms for their members and check the excesses of their principal. The baseline of the labor union triangle comprises of agents entrusted with the duty of recruiting more members and offering legal advice. The survival of labor unions is currently under threat due to the dynamics of a modern workplace. As nations pass laws to protect employees, the role of labor unions has been greatly reduced. Besides, interaction between the domestic outpu t and demographic structure has made it difficult for labor unions to operate smoothly. In addition, modern employees have introduced effective public relations programs among their employees who have better avenues for expressing their grievances within moments without necessarily politicizing every conflict. Besides labor union characteristics, the paper identifies two union models, that is, monopoly union model and ideal model. Under the monopoly union model, the underlying assumption is that the union is responsible for setting the most appropriate wage rates as the firm controls the union’s employment level on the preset wage rate. Reflectively, this scenario shows that wages are likely to increase as employment levels decline at perfect market interaction parameter. However, the efficiency and practicality of this model is faulted by the authors since it may prove difficult to strike a balanced relationship between the wage rate setters and employment level regulator. I n most case, there is a higher chance that one person may reap absolute benefits as the other party is reduced to a worst-off position. Reflectively, the ideal model is a moderator of the monopoly model. Also referred to as the efficient contract model, this model offers collective bargain opportunity for the two parties over employment level and wage rates. Since it is a flexible model, both the principal and the agent are given an opportunity to balance their offers before striking a compromise deal. For instance, the union can lower supply of labor, increase demand for labor and negotiate an equilibrium wage bargain for its members. On the other hand, the principal (employer) has the options of controlling labor supply in order to operate within pareto efficiency brackets. In conclusion, this chapter identifies conflicts that are predominant in the interaction between the employer and trade union. These conflicts are theorized in the accident strike model which explains the alter native conflict resolution route when the parties cannot reach an agreement. Therefore, asymmetric information model offers the best explanation for conflict resolution without biasness when the principal and the agent differ.