Ta-Da! The Longlists for the 2019 National Book Awards

Ta-Da! The Longlists for the 2019 National Book Awards Its that time of year again!!!! “What is your favorite season?” #NBAwards pic.twitter.com/FbOwojD1iv Anna Dobben (@annadobben) September 16, 2019 The National Book Foundation announced all longlists for the  2019 National Book Awards this week, and I could not be more excited. The NBAs are the Academy Awards for books. There are five categories: Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Translated Literature, and Young People’s Literature.  And this years nominees are AMAZING. Heres a rundown of the titles: Young People’s Literature View this post on Instagram Its the first day of #NBAwards Longlist announcements! We are beyond excited to announce the ten titles on the 2019 National Book Awards Longlist for Young Peoples Literature. Congratulations to all, and welcome to the family! . . #bookstagram #NBAwards #literature #reading #amreading #books #yabookstagram A post shared by National Book Foundation (@nationalbookfoundation) on Sep 16, 2019 at 7:36am PDT Kwame Alexander and Kadir Nelson, The Undefeated Versify / Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Laurie Halse Anderson, Shout Viking Books for Young Readers / Penguin Random House Akwaeke Emezi, Pet Make Me a World / Penguin Random House Cynthia Kadohata, A Place to Belong Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books / Simon Schuster Jason Reynolds, Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten Blocks Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books / Simon Schuster Randy Ribay, Patron Saints of Nothing Kokila / Penguin Random House Laura Ruby, Thirteen Doorways, Wolves Behind Them All Balzer + Bray / HarperCollins Publishers Martin W. Sandler, 1919: The Year That Changed America Bloomsbury Children’s Books / Bloomsbury Publishing Hal Schrieve, Out of Salem Triangle Square / Seven Stories Press Colleen AF Venable and Ellen T. Crenshaw, Kiss Number 8 First Second Books / Macmillan Publishers From the New Yorker announcement: The judges for the category this year are An Na, the author of four novels, including A Step from Heaven, a finalist for the 2017 National Book Award; Elana K. Arnold, whose novel What Girls Are Made Of  was a finalist for the 2017 National Book Award; Kristen Gilligan, the co-owner of Tattered Cover Book Store, in Denver; Varian Johnson, the author of The Parker Inheritance  and a member of the faculty at Vermont College of Fine Arts; and Deborah Taylor, a retired librarian and an adjunct professor of young-adult literature at the University of Maryland. Translated Literature View this post on Instagram We are so pleased to announce the Longlist for the #NBAwards   for Translated Literature, the fifth Awards category introduced just last year. A huge round of applause for these writers and translators! . . #bookstagram #books #literature #literaryawards #reading #amreading #translation #translator #translatedliterature A post shared by National Book Foundation (@nationalbookfoundation) on Sep 17, 2019 at 7:36am PDT Rioter Pierce Alquist, who is an expert on translated literature, also did a great round-up of the titles here. The ten titles on the longlist, originally written in ten different languages, include seven novels, two memoirs, and a collection of essays. Naja Marie Aidt, When Death Takes Something from You Give It Back: Carl’s Book Translated by Denise Newman Coffee House Press Eliane Brum, The Collector of Leftover Souls: Field Notes on Brazil’s Everyday Insurrections Translated by Diane Grosklaus Whitty Graywolf Press Nona Fernández, Space Invaders Translated by Natasha Wimmer Graywolf Press Vigdis Hjorth, Will and Testament Translated by Charlotte Barslund Verso Fiction / Verso Books Khaled Khalifa, Death Is Hard Work Translated by Leri Price Farrar, Straus Giroux / Macmillan Publishers László Krasznahorkai, Baron Wenckheim’s Homecoming Translated by Ottilie Mulzet New Directions Scholastique Mukasonga, The Barefoot Woman Translated by Jordan Stump Archipelago Books Yoko Ogawa, The Memory Police Translated by Stephen Snyder Pantheon Books / Penguin Random House Pajtim Statovci, Crossing Translated by David Hackston Pantheon Books / Penguin Random House Olga Tokarczuk, Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead Translated by Antonia Lloyd-Jones Riverhead Books / Penguin Random House From the New Yorker announcement: The judges for the category this year are Keith Gessen, a founding editor of n+1, and the author, most recently, of A Terrible Country; Elisabeth Jaquette, a translator and the executive director of the American Literary Translators Association; Katie Kitamura, whose most recent novel, A Separation, has been translated into sixteen languages; Idra Novey, the author of Those Who Knew, who teaches fiction at Princeton University; and Shuchi Saraswat, who has worked at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, GrubStreet, and an independent bookseller. Poetry View this post on Instagram Its day three of #NBAwards  Longlist announcements, and we have ten amazing collections to share with you. Announcing  the Longlist for the 2019 National Book Award for Poetry. . . #bookstagram #literature #books #reading #amreading #literaryawards #literaryaward #poetry #poetrycommunity A post shared by National Book Foundation (@nationalbookfoundation) on Sep 18, 2019 at 7:47am PDT Dan Beachy-Quick, Variations on Dawn and Dusk Omnidawn Publishing Jericho Brown, The Tradition Copper Canyon Press Toi Derricotte, ‘I’: New and Selected Poems University of Pittsburgh Press Camonghne Felix, Build Yourself a Boat Haymarket Books Ilya Kaminsky, Deaf Republic Graywolf Press Ariana Reines, A Sand Book Tin House Books Mary Ruefle, Dunce Wave Books Carmen Giménez Smith, Be Recorder Graywolf Press Arthur Sze, Sight Lines Copper Canyon Press Brian Teare, Doomstead Days Nightboat Books From the New Yorker announcement: The judges for the category this year are Jos Charles, the author of feeld,  which was longlisted for the 2017 National Book Award for Poetry; John Evans, the owner of DIESEL, a bookstore in Los Angeles; Vievee Francis, who has written three books of poetry, including Forest Primeval; Cathy Park Hong, the poetry editor of  The New Republic  and the author of Engine Empire; and Mark Wunderlich, the director of the Bennington Writing Seminars graduate program, whose new book, God of Nothingness,  is forthcoming. Nonfiction View this post on Instagram It’s Nonfiction day! ?? ?The #NBAwards excitement continues with the fourth category of the weeks announcements. These are the ten titles longlisted for the National Book Award for Nonfiction.? . . #bookstagram #literature #literaryawards #literaryaward #books #reading #amreading #nonfiction #memoir A post shared by National Book Foundation (@nationalbookfoundation) on Sep 19, 2019 at 7:30am PDT Hanif Abdurraqib, Go Ahead in the Rain: Notes to A Tribe Called Quest University of Texas Press Sarah M. Broom, The Yellow House Grove Press / Grove Atlantic Tressie McMillan Cottom, Thick: And Other Essays The New Press Carolyn Forché, What You Have Heard is True: A Memoir of Witness and Resistance Penguin Press / Penguin Random House Patrick Radden Keefe, Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland Doubleday / Penguin Random House David Treuer, The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee: Native America from 1890 to the Present Riverhead Books / Penguin Random House Greg Grandin, The End of the Myth: From the Frontier to the Border Wall in the Mind of America Metropolitan Books / Macmillan Publishers Iliana Regan, Burn the Place: A Memoir Agate Midway / Agate Publishing, Inc. Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, Race for Profit: How Banks and the Real Estate Industry Undermined Black Homeownership The University of North Carolina Press Albert Woodfox with Leslie George, Solitary Grove Press / Grove Atlantic From the New Yorker announcement: The judges for the category this year are Erica Armstrong Dunbar, a professor of history at Rutgers University and a finalist for a 2017 National Book Award; Carolyn Kellogg, an award-winning culture writer and former books editor of the Los Angeles  Times; Mark Laframboise, who has worked for more than twenty years at the Politics and Prose bookstore, in Washington, D.C.; Kiese Laymon, the author, most recently, of Heavy: An American Memoir,  and a professor of English at the University of Mississippi; and Jeff Sharlet, an editor-at-large for  Virginia Quarterly Review, a winner of a National Magazine Award, and an associate professor at Dartmouth College. Fiction View this post on Instagram ?? Its the final list! ? We are absolutely thrilled to announce the ten books on the Longlist for the 2019 National Book Award for Fiction. #NBAwards . . #bookstagram #books #literature #literaryawards #literaryaward #reading #amreading #fiction A post shared by National Book Foundation (@nationalbookfoundation) on Sep 20, 2019 at 7:30am PDT Taffy Brodesser-Akner, Fleishman Is in Trouble Random House / Penguin Random House Susan Choi, Trust Exercise Henry Holt Company / Macmillan Publishers Kali Fajardo-Anstine, Sabrina Corina: Stories One World / Penguin Random House Marlon James, Black Leopard, Red Wolf Riverhead Books / Penguin Random House Laila Lalami, The Other Americans Pantheon Books / Penguin Random House Kimberly King Parsons, Black Light: Stories Vintage / Penguin Random House Helen Phillips, The Need Simon Schuster Julia Phillips, Disappearing Earth Alfred A. Knopf / Penguin Random House Ocean Vuong, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous Penguin Press / Penguin Random House Colson Whitehead, The Nickel Boys Doubleday / Penguin Random House From the New Yorker announcement: This year’s judges for the category were Dorothy Allison, the author of Bastard out of Carolina,  a National Book Award finalist; Ruth Dickey, the executive director of Seattle Arts Lectures; Javier Ramirez, a longtime Chicago indie-book seller and the co-owner of Madison Street Books; Danzy Senna, a recipient of the Whiting Award and the author, most recently, of New People, a New York  Times  Notable Book; and Jeff VanderMeer, the best-selling author of the Southern Reach Trilogy, whose work has been translated into thirty-eight languages. Congratulations to all the nominees! Im so glad I dont have to pick, because my head would explode. The shortlists will be announced October 8, and the winners will be announced November 20 at the  70th National Book Awards Ceremony.

Compare Brave New World and Fahrenheit 451 on utopias

Brave New World and Fahrenheit 451 are two novels, both set in the future, which have numerous similarities throughout them. Of all their common factors, those that stand out most would have to be: first, the outlawed reading of books; second, the superficial preservation of beauty and happiness; and third, the theme of the protagonist as being a loner or an outcast from society because of his differences in beliefs as opposed to the norm. Both Ray Bradbury and Aldous Huxley argue that when a society attempts to create a utopia through excessive control over its citizens, the result will be destructive behavior and the ultimate downfall of that society. Bradbury and Huxley warn society of a future where peoples lives are controlled by†¦show more content†¦The feelies are yet another concept of the Brave New World designed simply for the comfort and enjoyment of the people. The people experience the movies in not only the visual sense, but they also feel and smell what is goi ng on, almost as if it really exists in reality. The structure of their whole lifestyle is made in such a way that a person is never alone. Mond even says: But people never are alone...we make them hate solitude; and we arrange their lives so its almost impossible for them to ever have it (235). The different castes are also conditioned to like their jobs. This maintains stability because everyone does their job without complaint and remains happy. According to Mond: They like their work...Its light, its childishly simple. No strain on the mind or the muscles. Seven and a half hours of mild, unexhausting labour, and the Soma ration and games and unrestricted copulation and the feelies. What more can they ask for? (224). In Brave New World, Huxley argues the fact of a controlled utopia, in this case the use of Soma, replaces natural feelings and expressions for people. These drugs might appear to be good, but what the drug is actually doing is suppressing anger, sadness, annoyance, a nd other important feelings that make man human. As far as life being made easy for them, Mond says: There isnt any need for a civilized man to bear anything thats seriously unpleasant (236). Similarly, in

Gender Inequality Within The Workplace - 1724 Words

What is the root of feminism? There are many things that will anger you in life and getting played less than a man for the same job is one of them. Women are capable of getting a job, but we still fall behind due to unequal wages between women and men for the same duties. Gender inequalities are a huge factor in the workplace. There is a lot of tension when it comes to women being over worked. The amount of responsibilities that women have, from work to home and everything in between, is ridiculous and it is all based on the gender roles that society has developed. Lastly, what really triggers feminism is the world expecting all women to portray themselves as sex objects and then to getting criticized for it. Understanding sex, gender, how they link together and the input of society clarifies why women a treated this way. A persons sex is a biological trait. A human being will contain this trait form birth. Society uses sex to categorize people. A human being will either belong in the female or the male categories; a decision that will be made based on chromosomes, genitalia or some other physical ascription. Furthermore, there needs to be a discussion of gender if there is going to be a discussion of sex . Gender depends on the roles of individual take based on their sex . The roles that a certain sex has depend on how society has shaped and defined sex . There are also cultural roles that are applied to male and female. GenderShow MoreRelatedGender Inequality Within The Workplace1379 Words   |  6 Pages  Gender inequality refers to unequal treatment or perceptions of individuals based on their gender. It arises from differences in socially constructed gender roles as well as biologically through chromosomes, brain structure, and hormonal differences. There is a natural difference also in the relative physical strengths of the sexes. In the workplace Income disparities linked to job stratification Wage discrimination exists when workers are equally qualified and perform the same work butRead MoreGender Inequality Within The Workplace Essay1502 Words   |  7 Pagesmovement of promoting gender equality is exponentially growing every year; however, gender inequality is still a persistent problem in today’s workforce. Each year, gender inequality, especially employment equity, the distinct barrier between genders in the workforce, has become a topic of contention as its affecting working individuals worldwide, especially women. Before examining this problem, we must further understand what gender inequality is in the workplace. Gender inequality is an ascriptive factorRead MoreGender Inequality Within The Workplace1323 Words   |  6 Pagesalways been praised for freedom and equality. However, there is a notable area of inequality in the workforce: the gender pay gap. In the Unites States, a woman makes, on average, a mere 78 cents to the dollar earned by a man. This statistic has remained steady and has only seen a small 18 cent increase in the past few decades. A majority of the wage gap is due to unsound social biases. Because gender inequality in the workforce is fueled by complex factors such as biases, it requires a complexRead MoreGender Inequality Within A Workplace2144 Words   |  9 PagesAlthough over time it is clear to see that gender inequality is becoming a smaller problem in today’s society, it must also be noted that it does still exist, even in the most developed parts of the world. The UNDP, 1997 in its Human Development report, stated that ‘no society treats its women as well as its men’ and to some extent this is true. However, in this essay I will be discussing different opinions and related studies in order to come to a conclusion regarding the truth behind this commentRead MoreGender Inequality Within The Workplace Essay1209 Words   |  5 PagesGender Inequality in the Workplace The generation now has made it easier to equalize men and women but there is still a substantial amount of places where gender inequality is still happening in the workplace and where females still face discrimination. Women are often discriminated in the workplace and are usually not promoted as quickly as men are and they also receive less pay. History shows that women have not always been defined as property and thought of as second class citizens. But inRead MoreGender Inequality Within The Workplace1469 Words   |  6 PagesGender inequality in the workplace has always existed, but I don t know that you could say it s getting worse, you could say that it is spreading to new fields as they are coming into existence. The STEM fields we have today such as, Cyber Security, Cyber Gaming, and Nanotechnology are still very young fields but gender inequality has still managed to take a foothold in these new fields. This is probably the best place to start the movement toward equality because many of these fields simply relyRead MoreAchieving Gender Inequality Within The American Workplace Essay1462 Words   |  6 Pagespercentages of women in leadership roles will help secure gender inequality within the American workplace which is currently not present. In the workplace it can be especially difficult for women to reach positions of great power because they’re often targets of discrimination and disrespect. In the essay Lean In: What Would You Do If You Weren’t Afraid? Sheryl Sandberg gave us her experience of her feeling this gender discrimination at her workplace. Sandberg that she was listening to a guest of honorRead MoreGender Inequality Within A Competitive Athletic Workplace870 Words   |  4 Pages101 December 9, 2015 Gender Inequality What are the types of gender inequality in this world? Inequality is when there are two things that are not the same. For example, antonyms, they are when two objects don t have similar qualities. This means there are differences between the two. It can be beneficial or very discriminating. The definition for gender inequality is the unequal treatment, or perceptions of individuals based on their gender. Gender inequality is between the male andRead MoreGender Discrimination And The Workplace1356 Words   |  6 Pages2.1 Introduction For many decades now it has been said that there has been inequality in the workplace, it has been a major issue in the workplace in terms of women not being allowed to have certain jobs as well as in terms of women not being promoted within the workplace which all contributes to women being paid less than men. According to Ryan and Branscombe (2013), gender discrimination has been defined as the differential treatment members of one group receive compared to another by many socialRead MoreGender Inequality In Australia Essay1622 Words   |  7 Pagesdominant partner, who belongs primarily to the public sphere. These historic gender norms have been deeply imbedded within Australia’s social foundation, and although society has gradually shifted away from these roles, evidence suggests that this gender inequality still riddles the modern day workplace. Liberal feminist groups have embraced this issue, and have classified it as being a true barrier to achieving the ultimate gend er equality goal. Consequently, these liberal feminists along with general

Foxconn Free Essays

string(24) " brand such as phone 5\." Just when positive news about Foxhound’s efforts in improving the working conditions of its Sheehan factories for the workers and increasing wages was heard this year, the worker’s riots in September 23, 2012 at the Foxhound’s Taiwan (Shania) factory sparked another global outcry (Roberts, 2012). Foxing is a multinational company based in Taiwan and is one of the world’s largest electronics manufacturing company. One of the major clients of Foxing is Apple; others include Sony and Hewlett Packard (Wisped, 012). We will write a custom essay sample on Foxconn or any similar topic only for you Order Now According to reports by China Labor Watch (201 2), some of the unfair treatment and exploitation carried out by Foxing factories in China include â€Å"excessive overtime hours, forcing workers to work ‘voluntary overtime, maintaining an extremely high level of work intensity by setting the daily production quotas, exercise discrimination by hiring only young and healthy workers, and creating a system in which official resignation is nearly impossible and the only way out is to ‘voluntarily/ resign hence forfeiting a significant amount of their final wages (China Labor Watch, 2012). Due to increasing pressures from the media coverage of the suicide cases of its workers and from its image-conscious client (Apple Inc), it was claimed that Foxing had made efforts to improve working conditions by increasing wages of workers and instituting a program called â€Å"Care-Love† (Northern, Culpa and Ghent, 2011). However, after Foxhound’s suicide incidents subsided, in 23 September 201 2, it was announced that Foxing Taiwan factory had to shut down production for the day due to rioting of the workers. The event involves around 2000 workers, with more than 40 hospitalized. It was reported that he riot was sparked off by a dispute between two workers, but most likely due to tensions between the guards and workers (Roberts, 2012). This was because the originally insignificant argument between the workers escalated into a riot involving the collective rebellion of thousands of workers only after the security guards of Foxing interfered aggressively with force, causing the situation to get out of hand to the point of requiring 5000 policemen to be dispatched to control the angry workers (Pilling, 2012). This riot has raised concerns about Foxhound’s harsh and heavy-handed ways in managing the errors as mentioned by Geoffrey Charcoal, Research Director at Hong Songs China Labor Bulletin. It was reported that the guards constantly monitored the workers closely and spoke fiercely to them in an authoritative manner. There were no communication between the workers and guards, whereby the workers were expected to follow orders and rules without knowing the reasons (Roberts, 2012). Also, the workers work long hours and sleep in dormitories with poor conditions (Ho and Culpa, 2012). It was suspected that the Foxing Taiwan factory workers were forced to work overtime hours to et up with the production due to the recent launch of Apple’s phones (Pilling 2012). According to a worker interviewed, it was known that Foxing has shifted its production of phones to the factory in Taiwan (Ho and Culpa, 201 2) and its Sheehan factories were now focused on product development (Roberts, 2012). Hence, it seems like though Foxing did improve the situation in its Sheehan factories, its efforts were only limited to the two factories in Sheehan and the other in Changed that were under inspection by Fair Labor Association and under extensive media coverage, hill neglecting its other factories distributed around China. Foxing has around a million workers working in its 13 factories in China (Yen, 2012) and has been expanding its factories into provinces located in the interior of China such as Taiwan, Squeezing, Human and Cocooning (Roberts, 2012). The shift in production may be because labor is about one-third cheaper in inner provinces of China (Northern, Culpa and Ghent, 2011 Sociological Interpretations for the Foxing Worker Riots The workers’ riots in Foxing Taiwan factory could be understood from many perspectives, however it all boils down to modernization and capitalism which gave rise to a complex division of labor with an exploitative nature. It all started the rise of a new international division of labor, one that was characterized by the relationship between post-industrial nations and newly industrialized nations, based on exploitation (Serene, 2006). In fact, according to Marxist theory, the underlying logic of capitalism is exploitation (Howard, 2002). While capitalists (owners of production) compete to stay competitive and to achieve the most profit, workers compete to offer the cheapest labor possible, often driven to the level of subsistence. This IS because in this global ere market economy, it is determined based on the survival of the fittest. When there are winners, there will always be losers. We can view this international division of labor as a cycle in which on one side post industrial nations continuously experience wealth accumulation through the services and investments they provide via products manufactured with minimum cost, while on the other side the newly industrialized nations are continuously being exploited through their provision of cheap labor and resources (Serene, 2006). However, nations are also interdependent based on modernization and dependency theories. Modernization theory states that â€Å"modernity is needed for the economy to prosper and thus nations need modern technology to break out of poverty† (Serene, 2006). Developing nations need to open up and welcome foreign capital into their market as they will bring in the needed expertise and necessary technology to prosper. Thus, newly industrialized nations compete to attract transnational companies to invest and set up factories in their nations. However, these means offering the cheapest labor possible. At the same time, dependency theory states that the poorer and newly industrialized nations were pendent on the post industrial nations, as they brought jobs needed for survival and capital to drive the economy, which also brought domination and exploitation (Serene, 2006). Hence, based on the case in the previous section, it can be interpreted from this international division of labor that Apple Inc seems to be the biggest winner, while Foxing is second to it and the major losers would be the China workers. Apple is the capitalist owner that owns and controls all the products under its brand such as phone 5. You read "Foxconn" in category "Papers" In order to achieve the greatest efficiency and lowest production cost, Apple adopts the dead of outsourcing based on the division of labor and national specialization, whereby every an phone is actually a global effort (Serene, 2006). E. G. The phones start out being developed and designed by Apple engineers in California, the sourcing of the components and materials stretch out to different parts of the world, using parts from nine major suppliers in five countries and then assembled by Foxing in China (The Straits Times, 2012). Thus, Foxhound’s role is simply just one of the manufacturers employed by Apple to assemble its products. Apple has the biggest share of the profits, to Foxing. Whereby Apple is the overarching power, dominating Foxing, in turn Foxing dominates the workers due to pressure from Apple to meet production demands and cost budget. In the case illustrated, the workers in Foxing Taiwan factories were rushing out the phones for Apple, due to increasing popularity leading to increasing demands since the launch of the phones. With the market mechanism driven by demand and supply, Apple had to keep up with the demands of their products by producing enough supply. Foxing had no choice but to exploit its workers by making them ark overtime hours of almost 80 hours per month, past the legal limit of 36 hours with hourly wage of around 1 Euro (Deutsche Well, 201 2), and workers were required to sign an overtime working agreement prior to employment that claims that Foxing is not responsible for their long hours of working. This voluntary agreement was actually used to overrule Chinese State regulation (Change, 2010). The reason was due to the competitive nature bred in the capitalist system and free market economy. Adam Smith mentioned that competition drives efficiency, but Marx also mentioned that capitalism reared a continual crisis of profit for owners (Serene, 2006). Indeed, due to increasing competition from competitors such as Samsung, rising up with its Samsung Galaxy SO, Apple felt the pressure to speed up its productivity’ and at the same time maintaining the affordability Of its products. Like all Other multinational corporations, Apple is constantly in search for manufacturers that would allow it to incur the lowest cost. Hence, if Foxing proved to be no longer competitive in offering the lowest manufacturing cost, it will soon be replaced. Driven by competition and desire for profit too, Foxing had to maintain business contacts with Apple and remain attractive to investors and outsourcing companies by constantly relocating its factories to cheaper venues once wages cost too high, even if it means exploiting the workers in order to stay viable. This is because it was either Foxing passing the cost of the products on to the customers like Apple which obviously will deter them away, resulting in loss of profits, or Foxing trying to reduce the cost of the product. Hence, since most production cost including distribution and physical materials are rather inelastic, the only way was to reduce manufacturing costs and this was passed on to the workers meaning lesser wages with more work done (China Labor Watch, 2012). Next, this brings us to the role of the newly industrialized countries (Nick) in this international division of labor, countries that actually compete to attract these capitalists like Apple and Foxing, to relocate their manufacturing plants in their countries with abundant cheap labor. One of the Nick would be China. We can try to understand this worldwide competition to be driven by the idea of comparative advantage introduced by David Richard (Serene, 2006). After China’s communist leader, Eden Ixia Ping launched the open door policy in China (Chance, 201 0), China obviously had a comparative advantage over the other countries with its huge supply of low cost and unrecognized peasant workers, due to the introduction Of the household based contract system (Stating Launch Changeable Zeroing) that allowed millions of peasant workers from the rural areas to work in urban factories set up by transnational companies (Chance, 2010). China joined in the global competition characterized by the phenomenon â€Å"race to the bottom† (Serene, 2006), gather with other countries to compete to offer the lowest labor cost possible. That was also the start of the widespread labor exploitation in China by the multinational corporations (Macs). Like the other Macs, Foxing saw China’s abundant cheap labor attractive. Foxing Taiwan factory is just one of the many factories Foxing has in China. According to dependency theory, China allowed Foxing to exploit its workers as the state depended on Foxing to create jobs. This can be understood with modernization theory too, whereby Foxing locating their factories in China ill bring in the technology needed to modernize, income to the state through taxation, and create jobs for their people who will help drive their economy. Modernization and dependency tend to happen side by side (Serene, 2006). Hence, the dependency between the state of China, Foxing and Apple in the division of labor as explained above and the competitive nature of the capitalist system adopted throughout the world, resulted in exploitation of the workers in Foxing Taiwan factory to be an inevitable consequence of the free market economy. Exploitation led to build up pressure in the workers causing them to riot. This can be understood from Marxist theory of rising class consciousness (Serene, 2006). Capitalism resulted in growing divide among the people between the rich and the poor, the powerful and the powerless, the people that own and control production and those who could only obey orders silently. Hence, there was a class division in Foxing itself, a division between the exploited workers and the managers, supervisors, guards and all those who have control over the workers. These workers felt oppressed. Their every action was monitored closely by the guards who often use violence on them if they did not obey the ales and orders (Ho and Culpa, 2012). The manager criticized those that too slow and did a bad job, however good performance was never praised. Hence, workers knew they would never advance no matter how hard they work. There was no freedom of speech, only obedience. There was even a slogan hung on the factory walls, â€Å"Outside the laboratory, there is no high technology, there is only obedience and discipline† as a kind of corporate culture Foxing promote (Deutsche Well, 2012). However, the workers did not quit their jobs due to their position as vulnerable deskilled workers which an be understood from Marxist theory (Serene, 2006). They worked up to a minimum of 10 hours a day on their routine monotonous work at high intensity, only stopping to eat and sleep (Change, 2010). Overtime, their deskilling work makes them vulnerable as they were easily replaced. Thus, the workers were willing to get exploited rather than lose their jobs. The heavy staff turnover also makes long-lasting relationships impossible, their whole day were spent on nothing but working, left with no time to socialize at all. They came from rural parts of China and live in the on-site dormitories, far away from their families. With no social safety net, these workers have no place to turn to if they lose their jobs which makes them even more vulnerable and manipulative by the capitalists. The assembly-line work had slowly euthanized the workers (Ramey, 2010). Slowly, a sense of alienation was developed in the workers (Serene, 2006). While the cost of living had increased, their income only managed to increase slightly. The Foxing workers were working on parts of the phone that meant nothing to them as they could not afford them at all. Overtime, these alienated and oppressed workers felt greater solidarity as they belonged to the same exploited class. It was a sense of organic solidarity among the workers, according to Druthers (Serene, 2006). At the same time, with the increased influence of communication devices, social media and increased level of education, there was growing awareness of the better lifestyle richer people around China and other parts of the world led, causing a build-up of dissatisfaction and increased class consciousness. The young workers in Foxing were generally better educated; hence they were more aware and assertive of their rights and had higher expectations for work (Roberts, 2012). All these feelings within he workers had contributed to the riot on 23 September 2012. When the guards of Foxing Taiwan factory used force to attempt to control the workers’ dispute, it led to the outburst of the growing dissatisfaction of the workers with more than 2000 workers joining in to rebel (Ho and Culpa, 2012). Recently, there had been news that another 3,000 – 4,000 workers were involved in a strike in Foxing Squeezing factory on 5 October, 201 2, Friday afternoon. The reasons were suspected to be due to the unhappiness from the â€Å"over-exacting quality controls and demands to work through the week- Eng National Day holidays† (Reuters, 2012). Hence, it seems like it is evident that there is a growing class consciousness among the Foxing workers due to reasons as explained above. Also, probably due to uprising of riots in China that made them feel embolden and the need to rise up using collective efforts to make their rights known. Globalization and the Widespread Exploitation of Labor in China Globalization has allowed the boundaries of national borders to be broken down, it was no longer about individual states, and instead they have integrated into one single global economy (Chance, 2010). The resultant effect was that the global economy has divided the world into only TV classes. The powerful core, made up of wealthy nations, the state government, transnational companies that continuously experience wealth accumulation, and the neglected periphery, made up of struggling poor nations and the working class people who are exploited by the powerful core (Serene, 2006). With this phenomenon, the people could no longer find themselves being protected by the state, because in this global economy, there are only two choices: to be neglected at the periphery or to join the powerful core. Hence, with globalization and the widespread capitalism, the states have decided to join the powerful core with the other elites, helping the multinational companies fulfill their insatiable greed for profit, in turn helping themselves fulfill their own needs and wants, ultimately for profit too. The widespread exploitation of the China workers in Foxing all boils down to the state of China being in cahoots with Foxing to fulfill their greed for profits in this one big global economy. Hence, there is a high possibility that the problem lies in the ineffective enforcement of law by the authorities in China. The reason behind this conclusion is the question of why the state did nothing to stop the exploitation of its people, despite being aware of the situation and why no one had successfully filed a lawsuit against Foxing (Yen, 2012). China adopts a socio-political system incorporating ideas of the capitalist system, free market system and party-state authoritarianism; with different government branches integrated together to ensure the centralization of power. This is to enable easy penetration into the judicial system to undermine justice. Hence, it is not possible for checks and balances ender the centralized system China creates, which makes it very convenient for the authorities who have close relationship with Foxing to manipulate according to their benefits (Yen, 2012). Apteral, China would not hope to force Foxing to retreat from China with all its factories and investments, when Foxing is such a major taxpayer to China and that would mean that more than a million of its people working in these Foxing factories will be unemployed. However, there is the possibility that the exploited workers could harness the power of globalization, to effectively utilize the influence of he new media to let their situation and rights be known. How to cite Foxconn, Papers

Rising Major League Baseball Salaries, And The Essays -

Rising Major League Baseball Salaries, And The Rising Major League Baseball Salaries, and the Economic Effect it has on Competition and the Consumer. As long has there has been business, Management and Labor have warred against each other for a bigger piece of the pie. Major League Baseball is no different. In the early years of professional baseball the owners controlled the salaries of the players and decided where they could play and what they would be paid. The players were bound to their team by the Reserve Clause that stated, the services of a player will be reserved exclusively for that team for the next season. This resulted in keeping the players salaries artificially low because the players were not allowed to offer their services to any other team. The Reserve Clause was in effect for more than One Hundred years of baseball history. It was challenged several times but the owners had won every time, until in 1970 when the St. Louis Cardinals traded outfielder Curt Flood to the Philadelphia Phillies. Flood refused to play for the Phillies and sued to become a free-agent. Floods case was in court for several years going al l the way to the Supreme Court. He was never able to play in the Major League again. While he did not win his case, he laid the groundwork for a later case that involved two pitchers, Andy Messersmith and Dave McNally who filed a grievance against the league contending that, because they didn't sign contracts with their previous teams they were free agents. The owners and the Players Association agreed to submit to binding, impartial, arbitration in order to settle this case. On December 23, 1975 the arbitrator Peter Seitz ruled in favor of the players and the Reserve Clause was broken, and the era of free agency began in the Major Leagues. In 1976 when free agency began the average player salary was only $52 thousand dollars, but it has increased steadily ever since. By 1990 the average salary for a Major League Baseball player had risen to $589 thousand dollars. This Year baseball will start the 2001 season with an average player salary of more than $2 million, about 40 times high er than the typical wage in 1976 when free agency began. Average Major League Player Salaries 1976-2000 Year Average Increase/decrease Median1976 $52,300 --- *1977 74,000 41.49% *1978 97,800 32.16% *1979 121,900 24.64% *1980 146,500 20.18% *1981 196,500 34.13% *1982 245,000 24.68% *1983 289,000 17.96% 207,5001984 325,900 12.77% 229,7501985 368,998 13.22% 265,8331986 410,517 11.25% 275,0001987 402,579 -1.93% 235,0001988 430,688 6.98% 235,0001989 489,539 13.66% 280,0001990 589,483 20.42% 350,0001991 845,383 43.41% 412,0001992 1,012,424 19.76% 392,5001993 1,062,780 4.97% 371,5001994 1,154,486 8.63% 450,0001995 1,094,440 -5.20% 275,0001996 1,101,455 0.64% 300,0001997 1,314,420 19.33% 400,0001998 1,377,196 4.78% The constant rise in players salaries has created huge disparity in the overall, total payrolls of Major League teams, and it is getting bigger every year. In 1988 the New York Yankees had the highest team payroll at $21.5 million dollars and the Seattle Mariners payroll was the lowest at $6.5 million. The difference between the highest and the lowest was just $15 million dollars, but by the 2000 season the difference had increased to $97.6 million dollars. The Yankees again had the highest payroll at $113.4 million, and the Minnesota Twins payroll was the lowest at $15.8 million. Seventeen other teams had payrolls that were at least 50% less than the Yankees. This disparity has created a situation that has made it very hard for the poorer, small, market teams to compete for players and championships. In 1999 the eight teams that made the playoffs, the New York Yankees, Texas Rangers, Atlanta Braves, Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, New York Mets, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Houston Astros, all ranked in the top ten in total payroll. Since the strike, in 1994, every playoff team except for the Houston Astros, in 1997, has been in the top half of the league in total payroll. The year 2000 was an exception to that rule. In 2000 the Chicago White Sox were able to win the American League Central Division with a payroll of just $36.98 million, and the Oakland Athletics won the A.L. West with a payroll of $32.17

Managing Cross

Managing Cross Tabular notes Bibliographic details Murray, S. (2009). Cross-cultural training. sLondon: Financial Times. Available from web. Mead, R. and Andrews, T. (2009) International management culture. 4 ed. England: John Wiley Sons. Vecchi, A. and Brennan, L. (2009) Quality management: a cross-cultural perspective, International Journal, 16 (2), pp. 149-164. Trompenaars, F. (2003). Business across cultures. England: Capston. J, Campbell. (2005)Business ethics. Oxon: Routledge What is an organizational culture? It is the meaning shared amongst members of a given organization, distinct from any other organization. n/a n/a n/a n/a How does culture affect an international business? With every country having its own communication habits and styles, these companies face cultural differences amongst its diverse employees. Cultural barriers affect the business’ bottom line. Culture influences the way an organization responds to its environment, roles, structure, how members communicate , make decisions and also they respond to the organizational structure. By the varying priorities, performances and practices across nations. n/a n/a Causes of cultural differences in international businesses Language barriers, Social norms, total quality management standards. Lack of trainings on management, lack of cultural awareness Factors that contribute in achieving a Total Quality Management n/a n/a Can cross cultural differences be resolved? Yes. Trainings on management, cultural rewarding on individuals. Trainings and cultural awareness Yes. With differences in religion and language, cultural homogeneity may be impossible to achieve in a certain nation n/a n/a Do these factors relate to me? Yes. Creating awareness of cultural differences in a company begins with an individual. Yes. As an individual, cultural misunderstanding could affect you adversely if you lack prior knowledge of other cultures. Yes. To achieve cultural homogeneity, individual should have be flexibl e and interested. Can they be positively resolved? Yes. By training the workforce. Yes. Through cultural analysis. Yes. Through adopting a variety of cultural practices. Introduction An Organization result into norms that shape the behaviors of both individuals and groups within the organization. With the increased internationalization in today’s business world, most companies are doing business across many nations. With every country having its own communication habits and styles, these companies face cultural differences amongst its diverse employees.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Managing Cross-Cultural Staff specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More According to Murray (2009, para. 11), there is therefore the need to invest on cultural preparedness and trainings on the workforce. Cultural barriers affect the business’ bottom line (Campbell 2005, p. 102). Mead and Andrews (2009, p. 4) argue that c ulture influences the way an organization responds to its environment, roles, structure, how members communicate, make decisions and also they respond to the organizational structure. The authors indicate that international managers need to determine the amount of weight to exert on culture in relation to other factors while predicting or explain a behavior. They should also be able to determine the amount of weight on culture that can be administered when responding to an action or a behavior. Discussion Cultural Miscommunications causes wastage of time in the process of trying to understand what the other person is saying, the end result is low morale on workers hence the business fails to capitalize on the benefits of having employees from diverse cultures. Language barrier is a major cause of misunderstandings among employees. Related to this is colloquialism, dialects and accents. Cultural awareness is the cure for this barrier. Cultural awareness provides the foundation for in tercultural communication sensitivity. Recent research suggests that individuals with such sensitivity tend to do well in intercultural communication settings. Companies should therefore seek to curb this behavior by promoting acceptance of other people’s cultural differences despite the difference in identities. Culture should not define the position that an individual holds in a certain company. Adapting equal opportunities for all is therefore unavoidable for any organization. Another cause of cultural conflicts is the differences that arise from social norms. A person may be treated differently depending on the country that she is doing business in. An example of this is female employees operating in Africa. The social norms of some countries in Africa are different from those of Western Europe. Some African countries view a woman as a person who should always be under someone authority.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More They do not command authority and therefore expected not head a corporate. If an employee deployed from such a country to work in a community that accepts a woman to command power and hold a managerial position. Then there is likely to emerge cultural misunderstandings while trying to conduct business with such a company (Murray 2009, para.12) According to Murray, (2009, para. 13), there is no single approach to a certain cultural problem. Therefore, one can apply different concepts in different situations at a given time. While extending its operations abroad, an international business must arm its staff with simple cross cultural information to reduce occurrences of cultural barriers. By so doing, the company would be informing its workforce about the common behaviors in workplace that cause misinterpretations among employees. Managing cross-cultural differences in international businesses is not a one day thing. M anagers and employees need to learn about cross-cultural skills (Mead Andrews 2009, p. 4). According to Murray (2009, para. 12), it may involve developing tools for cross- cultural awareness like computer developed programs that thoroughly offers information concerning different time zones and the possible ways of communication while minimizing misunderstanding. The program would also address common cultural attitudes associated with gender. This is a common social issue that cause misunderstanding among diverse teams. Work practices and attitude differences can be disastrous in international business. This is a result of the different ethnic groups involved. It is more effective to practice the solutions in real situations other that just training individuals as formality. Apart from just addressing cultural differences, it is important for international businesses to utilize the benefits that result from cultural differences. Managers operating in such businesses must be able to export ideas and implement the ideas in unique ways to fit their market segment and needs. The increased competition in today’s business world demands that companies adapt to quality practices while at the same time capitalize on the competitive advantage that springs from the probability of traditional or non-traditional concerns. A study on quality management indicates that learning about the diversity of workforce cultures will enable managers acquire similar and effective management practices (Murray 2009, para. 13).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Managing Cross-Cultural Staff specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Cultural and national boundaries have major roles in Total Quality Management. This is because priorities, performances and practices vary across nations. Some of the factors that affect effective quality practice in an organization or nation may include customer focus, the level of management commi tment, training, strategic planning, teamwork, employee’s involvement among others. National culture is an entity while discussing about quality management that cannot be ignored. Research indicates that deeply rooted cultures affect quality approaches that managers take despite having similar challenges to adopt change while operating in different societies. Certain cultures in a nation function best if specific quality programs are executed than others. The implementation of quality management majorly depends on the different issues related to the national culture. Change is the main factor that fosters Quality management. However, research shows that the culture of a nation is resistant to change. The main argument behind the results of such a research is that although the quality practices may go through certain changes, the basic values accompanying those practices are resistant to change. In such a case, global firms must align their quality practices in such a way that the local national culture embraces them. However this does not imply giving in the veracity of the policies governing them. Instead, it is crucial to develop effective programs that match the local culture. In countries like Canada, Belgium and also Israel, different national and ethnic cultures co-exist (Vecchi Brennan 2009, p.149- 164). With the globalization and human mobility, the result would be intensified national and ethnic co- existences. However, the differences in sub cultures may be heightened due to the differences in religion and language (Trompenaars Woolliams 2003, p. 38). In such a case, cultural homogeneity may be impossible to achieve in a certain nation. On the basis of the foregoing arguments, it is important to ensure that an organization adopts an effective mode of communication. Therefore I intend to adopt strategic commitment in handling any cultural differences that I encounter within my work place. I also need to accept that an organization is composed of different people from different origins, culture, language, and attitudes. It is important to manage al situations at workplace effectively with the common goal of attaining success and transforming the company into a global business. Culture conflicts may lead to superior, aggressive and hostile attitudes and actions among co- workers. It is therefore imperative for all individuals within an organization to learn about other groups within the company. This is the easiest way to discover that everybody, despite their culture and experiences, has the same high and low points in life as everyone.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More People should be open to learning experiences through foreign books and newspapers that offer such insights. Managers should encourage programs that foster friendship relationships like team building and cultural clubs. Friendship cuts through many misconceptions because it allows people to see others as individuals rather than a collection of traits. Conclusion With the rapid growth of business world, any organization that wishes to establish a competitive edge in the market needs to adapt a globalization strategy that aims at overcoming cross cultural barriers. Globalization entails total integration of languages, economies, nations, cultures and technologies. Research has shown that customers greatly prefer to buy in their own language. While studies show that there exist a relationship between cultural dimensions and quality management, there is need to reconcile some other limitations. This is because there are possibilities of having different corporate, industrial and sectors coexisting within the same firm yet may conflict and imbalance the national culture. Reference List Campbell, J., 2005, Business Ethics. (1st Ed). Oxon: Routledge Mead, R. Andrews, T., 2009, International management culture. 4 ed. England: John Wiley Sons. Murray, S., 2009. Cross-cultural training. London: Financial Times. [On-line]. Trompenaars, F. Woolliams, P., 2003. Business across cultures. (1st Ed). England: Capston. Vecchi, A. Brennan, L., 2009 Quality management: a cross-cultural perspective. International Journal, Vol.16, No. 2, pp. 149-164. Self Evaluation From the experience of doing the above task, I have polished my research skills by utilizing an electronic library. To compile a comprehensive analysis on how organizations should manage the diverse cultures of employees to work for the good of the company, then there was need to research on the subject thoroughly so as get an insight of how different successful global companies manage their employees. These cases w ould only be found through a wide research. I have also learnt that reading and note taking is a fundamental step when writing about an academic essay. In order to compile an academic essay, a writer should keenly read through the provided or available reading material in library or electronic sources and note down major points from which arguments in the body will be generated. The choice of language determines whether or not I will be able to explain clearly the points generated from the reading materials. I have learnt that to effectively communicate I have to choose the right words and tenses when constructing sentences. This is because an academic essay requires the use of correct grammar. The tutorials helped me ensure to structure the academic essay in a way that ideas progressively follow each other. This is an essential step which I have learnt when writing an academic essay. Construction of arguments is another essential thing that I have learned. I have known that in an a rgument, you have to show your agreement as well as your disagreement on the topic of discussion. There after, you can give your stand or general opinion concerning the topic in question. I have as well learned that structuring my written work is important since it helps the reader to quickly capture my point of argument. In addition, it gives my work a beautiful look and thus is attractive to the eye making the reader want to read more. I have leaned that organizing my time and especially by using a time schedule helps improves on time management. Similarly, it helps me to spend quality time on my studies as well as leisure. Organizing time also helps avoid last minute rush when it comes to revising for examination as well as handing over assignment. Tutorials play a big role when it comes to handling of topics under different perspectives. Every one approaches issues in different view point depending on what motivates them. Tutorials therefore become an avenue for such disclosures . I have learned that for as long as you are keen on other people’s arguments, you learn to approach issues at a broad perspective. Next time when given an assignment, I will try as much as possible to have different approaches to it. I will also ensure that I organize and structure my work in more presentable way. I feel confident about myself. I feel I can be able to achieve the set goals. However I need to improve on the way I look at things. I need to adopt a broader way of solving and judging certain issues.

What Is Model UN 4 Reasons to Join

What Is Model UN 4 Reasons to Join SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Are you interested in politics or international relations and looking for a club that lets you do you hands-on activities?Have you heard of Model UN but aren’t sure exactly what it is? Read this guide to learn everything you need to know about what Model UN is, what participants in it do, and how to decide if it’s the right extracurricular for you to join. What Is Model UN? Model United Nations, often referred to as Model UN or MUN, is an extracurricular most commonly for high school students, but also available to college and middle school students. Model UN is a simulation of UN organizations such as theUN General Assembly, UN Security Council, UNICEF, and others. Its participants take the roles of ambassadors from various countries anddebate current issues.Model UNwas developed in the 1950s as a way to give students hands-on learningininternational relations, diplomacy, and the United Nations.Over 400,000 students around the world participate in Model UN each year. What Do Model UN Participants Do? The core of Model UN is its simulations of UN conferences where students (known as Model UN delegates) role playas UN ambassadors and delegates. If you join Model UN, you will be doing a variety of activities, includingresearching,debating, andcoming up with solutions with members of other countries.These simulations occur at Model UN conferences, which can be regional, national, or international. Conferencescan have anywhere from 30 to over 3,000 participants. When your Model UN team joins a conference, your team will be assigned a country and an issue relevant to that country that is currently being discussed in the UN. You can request a certain country, but you are not guaranteed to get it. Forexample, you may be chosen to represent Nicaragua at the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). At the conference you attend, you will have to convince the other delegates to make decisions in your country’s favor. If you have a larger Model UN team, you may be assigned multiple countries or issues, and the team will break into smaller groups to cover each one.Conferences occur throughout the year, but you will be given at least a few weeks, and usually several months, to prepare your position before you attend the conference. Before theConference: In order to prepare for conferences, delegates must study the country and the issue they have been assignedandbecome well-informed on both.Most conferences require you to write a position paper that outlines your country’s position on the topic as well as suggestions you have for how to resolve the issue. If you’re representing Nicaragua for the ECLAC, you will need to research topics such as what sectors have the largest impact on the country’s economy, long-term and short-term economic trends in Nicaragua, if there are groups largely excluded from contributing to the economy (such as women or certain ethnic groups), who Nicaragua’s primary trade partners are, what the countryimports and exports, and multiple other topics. After discussing these issues in the position paper, you will have to come up with ways to improve Nicaragua’s economic situation. UN General AssemblyHall in New York City During theConference: Students will be organized based on the committees or councils they are part of, so all the members of the ECLAC would meet together. Each group will have a chair who will moderate the discussions. The chair is often an older student or adult. Delegates then give a speech outlining their country’s position on the issues and offering possible solutions. Most of this information will come from your position paper.After each delegate has presented their country’s position and potential solutions, there are question and answer sessions and debates (known as â€Å"caucusing†). The main goal during the conference is for your committee to develop a written resolution. After you have discussed different countries’ viewpoints, debated, and agreed on solutions, the entire group will work together to writethe resolution. The resolution will explain the issue your committee is focusing on and give a series of guidelinesin order to solve it. After the resolution is written, the committee will vote on it. If your resolution passes, that is a mark of your committee’s ability to work together and compromise well.Awards are also often given out at conferences to top delegates in each committee. These are often delegates who had well-designed position papers, debated effectively, worked well with other members, and took an active role in developing the written resolution. How CanYou Start a Model UN Group at Your School? If your school already has a Model UN group, you can probably join it the way you would join any other school club. If there is no Model UN club at your school, then you can also start your own. We have a guide that gives step-by-step instructions on how to start your own club, and we also have some specific tips for starting a Model UN club below. First, you’ll need a teacher to act as the adviserfor your Model UN club. When you apply to start a Model UN team, your school may assign a teacher, but, if not, consider asking a social studies teacher who likely has a strong background in the issues that Model UN discusses. After you have recruited members and set up meeting times, the next step is to choose which conference(s) to attend. Currently, over 400 conferences take place all over the world. You can search online for conferences, and a list of larger conferences is also available here. For new clubs, you may want to choose a conference that is close to your school in order to make traveling easier and less expensive. It’s possible for a Model UN team to sign up for multipleconferences, butif your team is just starting out, you may want to begin with only one or two conferences a year to make sure members aren't overwhelmed with work. Also, because new teams usually don't get first pick for what country they'd like to represent, if you'd like to represent a larger country like China or the US, you have a better chance of getting your first choice at a smaller conference. Be aware though that representing a larger country often requires more research and preparation. Once you have a conference selected, your team will be assigned at least one country and committee to represent.You can now divide up roles and begin researching. What Are the Benefits of Joining Model UN? Now that you know what Model UN is, what are the benefits of joining it? Model UN can be a great addition to a resume or college application, and I've discussed four of itsmost important benefits below. Benefit #1: Hands-On Experience in Politics, International Relations, and Current Events If you are planning a career in international relations, politics, or you’re simply really interested in these topics, Model UN is one of the best extracurriculars you can join because it gives you hands-on experience in these areas.Most of the time, students interested in these subjectscan only learn about them in class or by reading on their own.While this is a great way to get more information, itusually isn’t a very interactive experience. Model UN involves many of the same activities that actual UN delegates participate in, which is a great way to learn how different countries and committees work together to solve problems.Model UN conferences also focus on current issues, so you will be learning about relevant current events that are likely being discussed and debated around the world. Hands-on experience can makeunderstanding ideas and concepts easier, looks stronger on college applications because it requires more work, and is often more fun to participate in as well. Benefit #2: Improve Public Speaking and Debate Skills During a Model UN conference, you will spend a lot of yourtime giving speeches and debating with other delegates, which can really improve your skills in these areas. Public speaking and debate skills are useful for almost every career, so no matter what kind of job you want in the future, boosting your skills in these areas will likely benefit you down the line. Benefit #3: Learn Teamwork Skills Every step of Model UN requires teamwork, whether it’s dividing up research assignments, writing a position paper, orcreating a speech. At the conference, teamwork becomes even more important because you must work with the other delegates to come up with solutions that everyone is happy with and write a resolution paper together. Model UN delegates often gain experience in conflict resolution, consensus building, and negotiations, which are teamwork experiences many other clubs don’t offer. Strong teamwork skills are very important to colleges because they want to admit students who will work well with their classmates and other students on campus. Having strong teamwork experiences such as the ones you can get through Model UN can help strengthen your college applications. Benefit #4: Possibility of Travel If you participate in Model UN, there is also the possibility of traveling to new cities or even new countries.Model UN conferences are held around the world, and if your team can afford to travel to a foreign conference, you can get the added benefits of exploring a new placeand culture, as well as meeting students from other countries. If you join Model UN, you may get to travel to some exciting places for conferences. Soshould you join Model UN? If you have enough time in your schedule and are at all interested in international relations, politics, debating, or public speaking, then Model UN can be a great extracurricular to get involved in because it includes a lot of hands-on, relevant work and can be a strong addition tocollege applications. If you're still unsure, drop by a meeting at your school to get a sense of what joining the club would be like. Summary Model UN is a club for middle school, high school, or college students whose members simulate UN committees. Model UN members are assigned at least one country and committee. They research the country and the relevant issues to prepare for a conference. At the conference, students representing many countries and issues come together to debate their positions and agree on solutions. Model UN is a great extracurricular for students looking to learn more about politics, current events, or international relations and for students who want to improve their public speaking or debate skills. You can learn more about Model UN here. What's Next? Looking for other after-school activities? We have a list of over 200 extracurricular ideas, and it's sure to include something that interests you! Considering community service or volunteer work? We have a guide to the nine best places to do community service! Interested in more opportunities for travel? Read our guide on volunteer abroad programs and learn if they're really the best option for you. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now: