Oral traditions Essay

Many ancient scholars believed Africa had no history prior to colonialism because there was no documented evidence. Professor A.P. Newton, who was a distinguished British historian in the early 20th century, believed that there was no African history because most of the African society was illiterate before the European intrusion. ‘History’, he said, ‘only begins when men take to writing.’ He, as well as others who had the same opinion, failed to realize that African communities existed long before colonialism and so had their own history, even though it had not been put into writing at the time. Oral traditions have played and continue to play important roles in the history of Africa as well as its present. Songs, folklores, superstitions, etc. are just some of the things that have been passed from generation to generation orally. We see the evidence of some of these superstitions in J.P. Clark’s _Abiku_ as well as Wole Soyinka’s _Abiku_. Both poems are based on traditional superstitions and it is evident from the title, _Abiku_, which is a word from the Yoruba language of Nigeria that is used to describe a child that dies and is reborn, usually multiple times. It is believed that such children are not of the human world, but rather belong to the spirit world and so they keep going back and forth from one world to the other unless the child’s family is able to make the child stay in the human world, using traditional methods most times. These beliefs and actions are results of oral traditions and, even with the rise of western education in Yoruba communities and Nigeria in general, continue to be upheld by some people. Clark and Soyinka are evidence of the continued dependence and belief in oral traditions by a lot of Africans, even after extensive western  education. These Africans could be doing this as an indirect rebellion against western ideas and principles that have sought to ridicule and destroy African culture. During the colonial era, the Europeans did their best to destroy African culture, especially those that had to do with superstitions and religious beliefs that did not correspond with western principles. Concepts like reincarnation were frowned upon heavily by the European missionaries seeking to change the religious beliefs of Africans and since most aspects of life were based on religion at the time, changing one’s religious beliefs meant changing one’s political, social and economic beliefs as well. However, with the rise of cultural nationalisms, Africans began to reject European standards as the ideal and focus on bringing African culture back to the forefront. Hence, we see Soyinka and Clark as well as many other African poets bringing their cultural superstitions to their literary works, even though most of the m are written in European languages. In Soyinka’s _Abiku_ poem, almost every line is made up of cultural beliefs and practices as they relate to the _Abiku_ child. He even dips into non-African oral traditions in the line that says, â€Å"remember/ this, and dig me deeper still into/ the god’s swollen foot.† (14-16). Here, Soyinka is referring to Oedipus, the Greek mythological figure, and his use of this in his poem suggests that he wants to show that oral tradition is not just an African phenomenon but rather, exists in different cultures all around the world. While, he doesn’t expand on this line, it is important because it stands out from the rest of the poem as it is not connected to Yoruba tradition at all and it makes known to its readers the fact that oral traditions are universal. Also, Soyinka writes his poem from the subject’s point of view as a means of humanizing the character. The concept of _Abiku_ is usually explained as an other- worldly phenomenon, which made it easier for a lot of people to disassociate themselves with the idea. However, Soyinka writes his poem in first person in order to make known to people the fact that _Abiku_ children do exist and they are, in fact, human beings. He brings the _Abiku_ child to the forefront and though the rhetoric is tinged with superstitions and  cultural traditions, the fact that it is being told from the child’s perspective is a humanizing effort. There is no doubt that the poem emphasizes cultural and spiritual notions, especially through the child, however, the poem’s use of words like â€Å"Mothers† (line 26) paints a human picture in the minds of the readers. The juxtaposition of spiritual and human language used in the poem lets the readers know that both the spiritual and the human are present in this _Abiku_ child. Therefore, the poet brings to light the idea that the spiritual i.e. traditional and the human i.e. rational can exist and coincide with one another. He is saying that African culture can exist side by side with western culture and one doesn’t have to diminish the other, which is the direct opposite of what was preached by European missionaries. Also, it is important to note that these two poets as well as most African writers are invested in the concept of Africanism. Keeping African cultures alive is important and we see the poets using their poems to remind Africans and the world in general that African culture still exists and has not been destroyed by urbanization. Oral traditions have never been completely accepted as adequate sources with which to make any kinds of analyses because of the fickle nature of the human memory and so, writing these poems allows the poets show the readers that the culture is still there and these stories and beliefs have not been forgotten. It was important for Africans in historical times to repeatedly acknowledge the oral traditions so they would not forget any parts of it and this is also one of the reasons why African writers usually add some elements of oral tradition into their works. A lot of African communities did not have any means of recording their culture for future generations so they just made sure the younger generations became aware of these traditions from the early stages of their lives so these traditions became engrained in their minds by the time they were adults. However, with the colonization of Africa, a lot of Africans are now able read and write these oral traditions and because of this easy access, a lot of Africans have become unaware of a lot of cultural traditions that would have been passed orally. So, the writers include oral traditions in their written works to bring these stories, beliefs, practices, etc. back into the minds of Africans and the world. This is why  Soyinka and Clark include some traditional processes in their poetry. Soyinka writes about the charms that people believed would keep the _Abiku_ child from going back to the spirit world†¦ â€Å"Must I weep for goats and cowries/for palm oil and sprinkled ash?† He takes the reader into the world of the _Abiku,_ using cultural rituals, which then reminds the Africans who had forgotten and informs those who were not privy to this information initially. Clark takes his readers into the immediate environment of the _Abiku_ child, both the physical environment and the spiritual environment†¦ â€Å"Do stay out on the baobab tree/follow where you please your kindred spirits/if indoors is not enough for you.† In conclusion, oral traditions are very important in African culture as well as other cultures around the world and the use of written language in passing oral traditions has been helpful in bringing forgotten histories back into the minds of its people. BIBLIOGRAPHY Fage, J. D., and British Broadcasting Corporation. Africa Discovers Her Past. London: Oxford University Press, 1970. Henige, David P. The Chronology of Oral Tradition: Quest for a Chimera. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1974. Adesanmi, Pius. You’re Not a Country, Africa: A Personal History of the African Present. Johannesburg: Penguin Books (South Africa), 2011.

Demontration Speech

Demonstration Speech Outline Title: Best Mexican Guacamole Dip Specific purpose: To present you all to one of the best Guacamole recipes to of enter your life. Thesis: Guacamole is simple to make and most of all healthy. I. Introduction A. Attention materials: Did you know that Guacamole dates back to the Aztecs. They were particularly fond of it because of its high fat content. But don’t be alarmed! The avocado contains good fat you want incorporated into your body. B. Tie to the audience: Oh and the best part are its nutritional facts.For all you ladies who enjoy counting your calories. I bet it will put a smile on your face to know that this only contains around 190 calories. C. Credibility material: This Guacamole is so good, that’s every time there is a family event or party, I am expected to bring the Guacamole. I don’t even get asked anymore. I guess I just have that touch. D. Preview: There are only three very simple steps in the making of this tasty snac k. Which involve the following, 1. Mashing the Avocado. 2. Mixing the ingredients. 3. Serving itII. Body A. The first step is to gather your ingredients. You will need, 1. 2 large Avocados 2. 2 tbsps of Onions 3. 2 tbsps of Tomatoes 4. 2 tbsps of Jalapenos 5. 2 tbsps of Cilantro 6. Salt 7. Lime 8. Tortilla chips B. Your second step is to gently mash the Avocados with a fork until chunky smooth in a bowl. C. The third step involves mixing all of your ingredients in the bowl. 1. Pour 1 tablespoon of Onions into the bowl containing the mashed Avocados, and mix. 2. Pour 1 tablespoon of Tomatoes into the bowl, and mix. 3.Pour 1 tablespoon of Jalapenos into the bowl, and mix. 4. Pour 1 tablespoon of Cilantro into the bowl, and mix. 5. Sprinkle some salt into the bowl, adjust seasoning to taste. 6. Squirt ? of a lime, to prevent Avocado from turning brown. D. Serve the Guacamole with Mexican style tortilla chips, and enjoy! III. Conclusion A. Final Review: Today you learned how to make a d elicious Mexican style Guacamole following three easy steps. 1. Mash the Avocados until chunky smooth. 2. Mixing all of you ingredients into a bowl. 3. Serve it with Mexican Style Tortilla Chips. B.Tie back to the audience: Now that summer is coming, everyone is trying to get rid of those extra pounds they gained during the holidays and watch what they eat. Well, most of the ingredients in this Guacamole are vegetables. Which make us that much less guilty to enjoy it. C. Concluding remarks: So next time you have a craving for something yummy and healthy, make yourself a Mexican Style Guacamole dip. It never fails to satisfy. Work Cited: http://www. food. com/recipe/guacamole-real-authentic-mexican-guac-135048 http://guacamole-recipe. net/simple-and-quick-guacamole-recipe-with-pictures/

“Hiroshima” by John Hersey Essay

The human mind cannot comprehend the split-second deaths of 100 000 people when the atomic bomb hit the people of Japan in August, 1945. However this event, which has changed the world forever, can be relived through the lives of six survivors in John Hersey’s Hiroshima. Expository texts such as the aforementioned often present powerful social issues which challenge not only the reader from the contemporary Western culture but also the reader from the 1946 American society. Hersey employs various techniques, including point of view, tone, emotive and descriptive language to position readers to respond to changing priorities, Japan’s reaction to the crisis and moral and ethical issues. Up until Hersey’s account of the Hiroshima bombing, texts that were presented to readers were fabricated propaganda and contained the preconception that dropping the bomb was not ethically wrong. This influenced readers in that context to feel as if the Americans had taken the right action to end the war. However, Hersey writes Hiroshima in the point-of-view of six †hibakusha’s†, focussing entirely on their stories of endurance and hope throughout the atomic blast. As he writes in such a journalistic style and detaches any feelings or opinions he may have about the event, he forces readers to draw their own conclusions from the facts and question the morality of the Americans and their president. Quoted from Rhodes, the making of the Atomic Bomb from a scientist who took part in assembling the bomb, â€Å"†¦I still remember the feeling of unease, even nausea, when I saw many of my friends rushing to celebrate. Of course we were exalted by the success o f our work, but it seemed rather ghoulish to celebrate the sudden death of a hundred thousand people, even if they were â€Å"enemies†Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ. Hersey portrays the six characters not as enemies, but as normal people, with real values and attitudes which elicits resentment towards the Americans and encourages readers to sympathise with the Japanese characters. To reconstruct the effect of the blast and its dismal consequences on Japan’s population, Hersey selects a variety of characters such as a widow, a priest and a surgeon to resemble the microcosm of Japanese society. Not once does Hersey question or agree with the decision to drop the bomb nor does he sympathise with the Japanese victims but by emphasising the survival instead of the suffering he prevents his book from becoming anti-American, therefore  broadening his target audience. The only way â€Å"Hiroshima† would be read by the â€Å"New York Time’s† loyal readers was for Hersey to write in this unemotional tone, for example â€Å"†¦they had not had the strength to move; they must have drowned.† This is a style which is se en today as a clever way to escape extreme controversy. Of course it is inhumane to kill thousands of innocent people without warning and â€Å"The eyebrows of some were burned off and skin hung from their faces and hands. Often, because of pain, they held their hands up as if carrying something in both hands.† The descriptive language throughout the novel proves the abovementioned point to the reader. Still, you have to consider the context before making judgement on the decision to drop the bomb. Truman may have been concerned for his countries welfare but there were many other alternatives. Surely readers can see that now, but Hersey’s use of language techniques in his recount of Hiroshima was taking the American readers one step closer to realising the truth; that Truman’s resolution to drop the bomb â€Å"†¦in order to shorten the agony of war [and] in order to save the lives of thousands of young Americans† [Public Papers of the President, Truman, 1945] not only ended the war but inflicted suffering and death to thousands of innocent people. Very few of Hersey’s characters have close family ties, further emphasising the way Japan comes together as a community in the time of this crisis. Unscathed are aiding the wounded on the riverbank, providing water, food, and comfort as though they were family. Readers are positioned to accept the character’s attempts to help the people that are only strangers to them. However even though these six characters help one another to try to rebuild their lives, each suffers on their own. â€Å"The hurt ones were quiet, no one wept, much less screamed in pain, no one complained†¦not even the children cried.† After the explosion the lack of dialogue creates an eerie, almost silent atmosphere to portray the peaceful and humble characteristics of the Japanese people. The characters have an admirable patience and endurance shown in the face of adversity. When father Kleinsorge offers water to the wounded, â€Å"almost blotted out by flash burns, they [take] their share and bowed to him in thanks.† No one shouts out in rage or promises revenge towards their opposing country. The techniques Hersey has employed in this text positions the reader to accept the Japanese culture and realise that  even though thousands of lives were lost, the attack on Hiroshima brought the community together and shaped it into the country it is today. On the morning of the attack, the citizens of Japan were living like ordinary people, with priorities and values which would be similar to those we have in our contemporary Western society. However they were completely unaware that their priorities would change dramatically when the bomb was dropped, destroying their lives and tearing apart their families. The detail selected encourages readers to experience the severe shock that is instilled into the characters as they come to terms with their new situation. â€Å"Things don’t matter anymore. Yesterday my shoes were my most important possessions. Today I don’t care. One pair is enough.† This symbolises the preciousness of life and the insignificance of material possessions. The suffering of thousands of people and their wounds and burns are described repeatedly and the injured and dying are so numerous that the doctors no longer help the badly injured because they are not going to survive. Dr Sasaki is faced with the decision to leave the severely wounded and readers are positioned to sympathise for him as making this decision in the devastating circumstances would be almost impossible. He feels that they will â€Å"die feeling cheated† if he tells the victims he will return to help, only leaving them to die. Combined with the point of view of each character, readers are encouraged to respond to the bombing with feelings of anger and empathy towards the six survivors and the way it has affected their priorities and their future. Hersey’s bleak yet graphic account of the Hiroshima bombing is a novel which can be read for generations and still capture the horror of war and the endurance of the Japanese people. Hiroshima encourages readers of today’s western society as well as the readers in 1946 to respond to the text with feelings of sympathy, anger and remorse. Hersey employs techniques such as selection of detail, language, tone and point of view to encourage readers to be challenged by the powerful social values; changing priorities, Japan’s reaction to the crisis and moral and ethical issues which are embedded in the text. Overall Hersey exposes the true side of war to the readers; the side which is not glorified but elicits extreme loss of life and untold suffering.

Impact of an ageing population on the business environment and on Essay

Impact of an ageing population on the business environment and on business organization - Essay Example This conflict is therefore a major concern in the minds of economists and politicians alike, as this will put increasing pressure on the budget, and of a more fundamental concern, the likely slowdown in economic growth. With this conflict getting more and more fuelled by critics, Peter Costello has been forced to step in and put forward a resolution to this dispute. He has recently proposed a campaign to stop people from retiring early, allowing them to work past the current age restriction of 65. From the viewpoint of the individual there is a double gain. The longer you work before retiring, the more time you have to keep adding to your superannuation and your retirement savings. But, on top of that, the less time you spend in retirement, the longer your retirement savings will last you. (Barnett 2000, 69-74) From the viewpoint of the federal budget, the more people save before they retire and the later they retire after 65, the less the Government has to pay them in age pension payments and the less it has to spend on health care concessions and such like. If this policy is embraced by the aged, (who should very well be concerned about their financial futures), it will solve many of other conflicts in our society. One of these is that of elder abuse. Where the elderly are forced to take care of their grandchildren while the parents go out and endeavour careers. If the aged are working, then this issue will simply not arise. Also, due to their job commitments, muggings and violence against the aged will decrease and this will lead to greater satisfaction of life, and their general well being. (Tay 2001, 42-49) Also if they spend more time out in the workforce, they may be more susceptible to changes in technology as their work may require simple training in computer technologies such as the Internet. This will reduce the conflict of technology, in their future, enhancing their lifestyle as they take advantage of timesaving (maybe body-saving in their case) features of the Internet, like Internet banking. Also the issue of reluctance of employers to employ older people will significantly reduce. As they will KNOW that these people have 5-10 years extra left in them, hence they WILL give them that promotion and the respect which the aged so badly desire. It sometimes seems as though the aged have more than their share of critical emotional problems. They also sometimes have more than their share of psychological help at their disposal. And almost every helping procedure that effectively copes with human concerns is successfully applicable to the problems of the aged. Psychotherapy can be helpful to old people. Family therapy 'works'. Poetry and art therapy 'work'. Given the skill and sensitivity of the clinician - and the willingness to provide a service to an old-person - therapies of many types can be successful. (Barnett 2000, 69-74) But, although resolving many financial and emotional issues for the aged, this policy still doesn't account

Offshoring Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Offshoring - Essay Example Offshoring, not only helps reduce the cost of operations of a company, but may also benefit in terms of promotion in overseas markets. For some companies, offshoring of selective company processes may be the solution to their problems; for others total shifting may provide the desired outcome. Whatever the purpose may be, considerable data has accumulated to support the fact that offshoring for some companies has a survival value. Discussion Although offshoring has a number of advantages, there are number of issues that arise due to its very nature. A prominent cause of disruption in business processes can be related to the distance that exists between the control center and operation center. The distance may be in terms of physical or geographical locations or in terms of cultural or social factors. The term used for a team working in geographically dispersed settings is GDT (globally distributed team). It is defined as a team of workers; (Contractor, 2011) Related to the same organ ization Serving a universal purpose and working in an inter-dependent manner Using communication based on technological means Located in different geographical locations around the globe Benefits Generally, the perception is that offshoring countries lose finances to the countries to which services are offshored; this is however contrary to the reality and experts are of the opinion that it is not only the offshoring country that benefits from the process but also the offshored country that gains benefit (Farrell, 2006). It therefore appears mutually rewarding for all the countries that are part of the process. It is perhaps a means of promoting the concept of globalization where every country plays its role for the collective benefit of all. The first and foremost benefit of offshoring is related to financial savings. This is clearly manifested by the fact that the vast majority of offshoring is directed towards third world countries, where labor is considerably cheaper than the so urce country. In addition to the financial savings, the company also benefits from entering the new potential markets of the offshored countries. Since production is often carried out in such countries, the products are easily introduced into the local market which may provide an additional source of income for the company. Using locally produced raw material of low cost, the company is often in a position to not only earn profits from local markets, but also use their own market to earn huge profits. A number of benefits for the destination countries are related to direct investment which is received in return for services offered. These benefits may be in the form of country's growth, technology transfer, job creation and in some cases the firms offering services also benefit from the process of offshoring (OECD, 2007). Although the level of benefit obtained in this regard may vary from case to case; yet the projected benefits give an idea about the possibilities of improvement re lated to offshoring. Dilemma of offshoring Offshoring has affected the lives of a number of people living in the developed countries. To maintain their standard of life they require higher compensation rates as compared to their equally qualified counterparts residing in third world countries. A number of companies of the developed countries are able to get the same services from experts residing in under-developed

Senator Lamar Alexander Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Senator Lamar Alexander - Essay Example Lamar Alexander later served as Education Secretary under President George Bush. He ran unsuccessfully for the Presidency in 1996 and 1999, losing out to the GOP candidate Robert Dole in 1996 and George W Bush in 1999. Senator Lamar Alexander has generally voted with the majority of his Republican colleagues. But one of the issues that the Senator has been deeply concerned with is education. He has consistently provided support in the Senate for scientific research funding. During his tenure as Governor of Tennessee, he helped the State to become one of the first to reward its teachers and pay them more for better performance, while also ending tenure for bad teachers. He also supported a bill put forward in the Senate to provide an additional 10.2 billion dollars for federal education and Health and Human Services projects but has rejected other bills to provide more resources to local educational agencies and to community centers. He has proposed that parents be encouraged to create Education Savings Accounts in order to support the education of their children. On this issue therefore, he follows the line adopted by his own Party, where the effort is to make the available funding more productive in terms of what it is able to achieve. Where abortion and the family is concerned, he follows the line advocated by his party and opposes abortion, but has diverged from his Party line in his support for research carried out using stem cells derived from embryos, as demonstrated by his support for the Bill no: H.R. 810. Another important bill where he voted differently from the Republican Party was the bill H.R. 976, in which the Senate passed an expansion of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, which increased federal funding and provided health insurance for million uninsured American children.

Research Method SPSS Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Research Method SPSS Report - Essay Example Consequently, the employed people are able to visit the gymnasium more than those who are unemployed. This means that the hypothesis was not true. The hypothesis here is that the average customer satisfaction increases with the increase in age groups. We therefore run the linear correlation analysis using Q2 and Q7. The results are as shown below: The coefficient of linear relationship between Q2 and Q7 is - 0.149 by Kendall’s tau_b and -0.172 by Spearman’s Correlation. This means that there is a negative linear correlation between the two variables. It implies that the increase in age groups reduces the level of customer satisfaction. Consequently, the people in the low age group are more satisfied compared to people in the older groups. The hypothesis is not true. The linear regression gives a linear regression value of 0.042. It shows that the willingness to pay increases with the increase in the weekly income in the ratio of 0.042. For a person earning a net income of  £300, he or she falls is willing to pay between 70 and 75 from the reading on the plotted output. The multiple regressions shows that the significance of the weekly income to the willingness to pay is 0.671while the bivariate linear regression shows a lower coefficient of value of 0.042. There is a wide variance between the two

Thougt it Was Safer Than Starting His Own Business Case Study

Thougt it Was Safer Than Starting His Own Business - Case Study Example Secondly, since he rose through the ranks, having retired as a senior execute from the previous firm makes Fred highly skilled in terms of possessing the knowledge, abilities and skills needed to operate a franchise within the same industry. However, there is disparity in the specific service offered by the previous organization he was employed with (automotive parts) and that of his franchise (car repair). Therefore, in terms of having direct and previous experience on operating a car repair business, Fred seemed to start as a neophyte in this kind of business endeavor. 2. Evaluate Fred’s misconceptions about being a franchisee. Speculate how common these misconceptions may be for all new franchisees. As indicated in the case facts, Fred perceived that there were apparent misconceptions in terms of â€Å"being his own boss and running his own company† (The Franchise Handbook, 2000, par. 5). According to Gappa (2012), â€Å"there are many misconceptions about franchising, but probably the most widely held is that you as a franchisee are "buying a franchise." In reality you are investing your assets in a system to utilize the brand name, operating system and ongoing support. You and everyone in the system are licensed to use the brand name and operating system† (Gappa, 2012, par. 5). ... red’s assertion that one of the misconceptions of franchising is thinking that when one enters into a franchising agreement, the franchisee would be his own boss and would run his own company. As a franchise, all the terms of the franchisor would be followed and adhered to. Likewise, it was emphasized that â€Å"as a franchisee you own the assets of your company, which you have chosen to invest in someone else's brand and operating system and ongoing support. You own the assets of your company, but you are licensed to operate someone else's business system† (Gappa, 2012, par. 11). It could be therefore common for new franchisees to assume that by entering into a franchise agreement, the new venture would give one the opportunity to own a business and be one’s own boss – since one would invest considerable amount of funds that could be parallel with investing on establishing a practically new business venture. The only difference in franchising is that one opted to invest in a previously established business with previously established historical performance to gauge customer’s response to the product (or service) and therefore provide a plus factor in terms of image, core competence and competitive advantage. 3. Suggest what Fred could have done differently to be better informed and advise Fred on action he can or should take now knowing his situation. For new entrepreneurs and business practitioners who are thinking of starting a new business venture or opting to enter into a franchising agreement, to be better informed, there must have been a more comprehensive and extensive research undertaken on the alternative courses of action: to establish a new business venture or to enter into a franchising agreement. There are advantages and disadvantages to both

Privatization in developing countries Assignment

Privatization in developing countries - Assignment Example They start to register losses and the management fails at delivering their goals (Gianaris 57). Each of the management cycle and rules comes with certain advantages and disadvantages; likewise the concept of privatization also comes with certain advantages and disadvantages. If we look at the pros we would conclude that privatization places its operations in the ownership of private enterprise, these are more responsive to customer services because they deal with great competition in the industry and they have to perform well to gain market share. The Government cannot take undue advantage of the industry and they are not bound to perform under limitations. Privatization also provides a one off boost of cash flows to the government and the same money can be invested in other projects or to meet short term liabilities. Privatization of the industry loses its monopoly and that is why the same product could be sold at a much competitive price with enough supply to meet the demand. Another advantage of the concept is it leads to innovation in the product and other features that le ads to a better understanding of the customer needs and requirements Few of the disadvantages that are related to privatization are the cost of transaction is too high, the public monopolies are now private monopolies and the competition is still less in few of the industries, Government privatizes its industries because they are short of cash flows or are high on debt and for that reason they sell their industries for a much cheaper cost and value than it would have been sold under normal circumstances, the private business closes down the operations which are performing well and so a lot of jobs are lost and sections are closed and the investment goes in the hand of few even though it is sold to a huge majority. Margaret Thatcher was one of those people who introduced

Business Financing and the Capital Structure Essay Example for Free

Business Financing and the Capital Structure Essay The financial marketplace is the area where companies engaged in financial trading are able to get capital to run. The financial market can also be referred to as capital markets. Stock markets are the place where companies come to trade among themselves; they represent individual investors or corporate investors. Trade in stocks has been deemed among the most lucrative areas a person can trade in; the returns are good. Stocks can simply be defined as shares bought for trading purposes and profits gained are ploughed back into the U. S. economy. (Saccomani and Chambers, 2008) Trade in U.S. financial markets offer various benefits; an organization can get loans to fund their activities through floating of bonds. When organizations are able to run efficiently then everybody gets to benefit, the government benefits through increased tax collection and more people get employed. The stock market offer individuals an avenue to put their money in lucrative stock instruments where the funds are managed by financial experts. Individuals do not have to worry about their limited financial expertise because at the stock markets well informed brokers or their employees will help them. Individuals are offered a variety of trading avenues which involves minimal labor and less capital intensive. (Saccomani and Chambers, 2008) The Federal Reserve is a name that is used to define the Central Bank in America. The bank was a creation of U.S. Congress for purpose of offering a safer and easier trading environment in America. The Fed is tasked with the management of the American monetary policy. They also regulate banks as well as monitoring risks at the stock markets. The Fed is comprised of seven members; who constitute the board of governors. Members of the board also constitute the F.O.M.C. (Federal Open Markets Committee); this committee decides on what interest rates to be charged by banks as well as purchase of treasuries. The Fed`s primary role is that of regulation. (Ltaifa et al, 2009) The Fed chairman`s role is that of a supervisor; he is tasked with the role of bringing the board to consensus of various monetary issues. The chairman is a presidential appointee hence he reports to the president from time to time on the country`s financial matters. The chairman also has the responsibility of steering the committee on interest rates. (Ltaifa et al, 2009) Departments or components of the Fed Reserve need to play their respective roles effectively so as to take the country in to financial success. The chairman should always maintain a steady control of all fiscal policies. The board should not enact self-centered policies that may endanger the banking sector or stock markets. The board and the chairman have to make prudent assessments of U.S. financial performance before taking any steps meant at changing any monetary policy. Interest rates affect the economy; particularly the spending power of individuals. The rates charged on bank loans lays a heavy burden on citizens; the net effect is loans become expensive hence doing business becomes harder. Higher interest rates on returns at the stock markets offer a reversed effect to the citizen; this brings about more disposable income because the return on investment is higher. (Batten and Szilagvi, 2011) The world suffers when markets get affected by whatever elements; this happens because the various economies around the world are interconnected hence any financial downfall of one will weaken the other. The Euro zone crisis is one such example where a problem begins in one country but after sometime affects a number of countries within same geographical location; countries that trade together. In the U.S. such a crisis occurred between 2007-2010, individuals found themselves not being able to finance their loans and other credit obligations. Care and keenness is needed when one wishes to traverse this terrain. References Saccomanni, F., Chambers, A. (2008).  Managing international financial instability: National tamers versus global tigers. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar. Ltaifa, Navil Ben, Kaendera, Stella, Dixit, S. V. S. (2009).  Impact of the Global Financial Crisis on Exchange Rates and Policies in Sub-saharan Africa. Intl Monetary Fund. Batten, J., Szilagyi, P. G. (2011).  The impact of the global financial crisis on emerging financial markets. Bingley, U.K: Emerald. Source document

Impact Of Smuggling In The Philippines Economics Essay

Impact Of Smuggling In The Philippines Economics Essay Raymond Palatino (2008), reports The extent and impact of smuggling in the Philippines that Smuggling is a serious problem that hurts the country in many ways. It deprives government of revenues from uncollected taxes and customs duties. It affects local industries by distorting prices of commodities. Smuggling causes production slowdown, which leads to mass lay-offs, reduced consumer spending, bankruptcies, and lower tax collection. Smuggling has especially benefited from weak governance and chronic political instability. The author further added that when the government reduced the tariff rates on imported articles, many economists and merchants expected a decline in smuggling activities. They believed the tariff reduction would have discouraged illegal importation of goods since there will be fewer taxes to pay on the part of importers. But even with reduced tariff rates, smuggling persists up to this day. From used clothing to shoes, second-hand and luxury cars, agricultural products, garments, ceramic tiles and jewelries, cheap smuggled contraband are flooding the local market, which wipes out the earnings of small honest traders. The author compared the import-export data; Data show the disparity of import-export figures between the Philippines and its trading partners. In 2000, trading partners reported that they exported $45-billion worth of goods to the Philippines, but government figures registered only $34-billion worth of imports. This means that more than $10-billion worth of goods were unaccounted, undervalued or misdeclared. In 2002, China exported 3.9 million square meters of ceramic tiles to the Philippines, but only 600,000 square meters were recorded in the Bureau of Customs. The following year, 4 million square meters of ceramic tiles were exported to the Philippines, but only 300,000 square meters were recorded in the BOC. From January 2001 to June 2003, authorities confiscated a total of 1,517,387 bags of smuggled rice worth P1.18 billion. Since 2006, a total of 100,000 smuggled vehicles were shipped into Subic Bay Freeport. Last year (2007), 4 billion liters of oil were lost to smuggling. The author concluded that Smuggling clearly destroys the local economy and exacerbates poverty in the country as manifested by the closure of local industries, decline in agricultural production, uncompetitive agricultural products, loss of jobs, unfair competition, loss of government revenues, heightened corruption in the bureaucracy, and risks in consumer welfare. Milton Ayoki (2003), explained in his Paper The hidden costs of doing business in Uganda that the problem of smuggling has been particularly serious for goods like petroleum fuels, cigarettes, sugar and other highly taxed or potential revenue sectors such as steel, leather, wood, textiles, bicycles and chemicals as major deterrents. The author further added that apart from the huge revenue losses involved, smuggling is killing local businesses and causing great inequality and other effect is that illegally imported goods are steadily displacing some locally produced goods in the market place. This is adversely affecting both employment and profit margins in domestic industries. Luk Joossens (2003), written in his article Vietnam: smuggling adds value that Internal British American Tobacco (BAT) documents have been explicit about the knowledge of cigarette smuggling into Vietnam. 555 cigarettes is the major smuggled brand and there is no doubt it has a tremendous image and sales potential in the country. The author added that BAT documents describe in a detailed way the smuggling route for 555: cigarettes were produced in the UK, shipped to Singapore, sold to importers and traders in Cambodia, and then transported illegally across the border to Vietnam. Joossens argued that the industry has always claimed that smuggling is the result of taxes being too high. UNDP (1995) viewed the taxes on opium exports to the mainstay of Taliban income and their war economy. It revealed that Afghanistan-Pakistan drugs exports were earning some 50 billion rupees (US $ 1.35 billion) a year. Alongside the drug trade, the traditional Afghans smuggling trade through Pakistan and now the Gulf States, expanded under the Taliban, creating economic havoc for the neighboring states. This trade was estimated be the largest trade source of official revenue for the Taliban and generated an estimated US $ 3 billion annually for the afghan economy; UNDP disclosed that through the customs officials in Kandahar, Kabul and Herat refused to disclose their daily earnings, but with some 300 trucks a day passing through Jalalabad and Kabul to the north, daily earning were considerable. The illegal trade in consumer goods, food and fuel through Afghanistan crippled industries, reduced state revenues and created periodic food storages in all neighboring countries. The World Bank (1997) report on Afghanistan Pakistan Trade Relations as a part of its watching brief strategy for Afghanistan, accounts for the total trade between Afghanistan and Pakistan at $2.5 billion in which the unofficial re-export from Afghanistan to Pakistan has the loins share. The study assessed that the long and porous border between the two countries, the need for basic goods in Afghanistans warn-torn economy, weak border controls, high import tariffs in Pakistan on goods prone to smuggling and the low cost risks were important reasons behind the large and growing unofficial trade between the two countries. This report further added that there was an evidence of expansion of official and unofficial trade in locally produced goods between the two countries, which was likely to increase substantially if there was peace and post-war reconstruction in Afghanistan. In Pakistan, the imports competing industries have been harmed. The study also estimated that the government of Pakistan had been loosing substantial revenues due to tax evasion and fungibility of routes through which un-official imports enter the country. Rashid (1999) in his book Taliban, recorded that the smuggling trade to and from Afghanistan became the most devastating manifestation of the losses being sustained by the government of Pakistan during the Taliban regime. According to him, this trade, which now extends to central Asia, Iran and Persian Gulf, represented a crippling loss of revenues for all these countries, but particularly Pakistan, where local industry has been decimated by the smuggling of foreign goods. Rashid elaborates further, What is euphemistically called the afghan transit trade (ATT) has become the biggest smuggling racket in the world and has enmeshed the Taliban with Pakistani smugglers, transporters, drug barons, bureaucrats, politicians, police and army officers. This trade became the main source of official income for the Taliban even as it undermined the economies of neighboring states. Rashid also points out that the border post between Chaman, in Balochistan province, and Spin Boldak, in Afghanistan, is a prime location for watching the rackets at work. His estimates accounts for 300 trucks crossing from Afghanistan to Pakistan on a good day. The goods which these trucks carry, have no invoice and cross up to six international frontiers without having route permits, driving license or passports. The consignments on these trucks range from Japanese camcorders to English under-wear and Earl gray tea, China silk to American computer parts, Afghan heroin to Pakistani wheat and sugar, East European Kalashnikovs to Iranian petroleum and nobody pays custom duties or sales tax. Inter press service, a news agency (2001), found Indian drugs to have found ways to Pakistani markets, adding yet another dimension to the cross border illegal trade to and from Afghanistan. The agency named aspirin, Amoxiline, Ampiciline, Corimaxazole, Laxotanill, Cyprafloxine, Renitidine, Fametidine and Cemedtidine to be selling in prominent medicines shops of the province. The agency further disclosed that unlike the settled areas, where the sale of Indian drugs was banned and those found guilty of conduct were liable to severe penalties, the tribal areas were quite immune to such repercussions. Like all other duty free smuggled goods, Indian drugs were evaluated by the agency to be 10 times cheaper than the drugs of the same brand and effect, produced by multinational companies (MNCs) in Pakistan. Citing reasons for this price disparity, the agency added that unlike India, where the MNCs were bound to use raw materials from India, the government of Pakistan allowed them to import raw materials from their parent countries which entailed heavy tariff duties. Similarly, quoting the findings of international regional office for Asia and pacific, the agency counted 26 commonly consumed drugs to have very high prices in Pakistan as compared to India. The agency while discussing the transportation of drugs, revealed that along with other goods, Indian drugs were smuggled into Afghanistan, to Pakistans tribal areas and then finally to Peshawar. The report also disclosed that Afghanistan received thousands of US dollars worth of medicines, each month, from Indian, under a bilateral agreement, but some unscrupulous agencies in Kabul were apparently making huge profits from selling them in tribal areas. The report further discovered that due to the mutual collusion of the MNCs, health department functionaries, and other government officials, the measure of the government to import drugs from china, Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Poland and Yugoslavia to counter the smuggled and low priced Indian drugs, has miserably failed. Awan (2001) put the Pakistan bound transit goods to Afghanistan at Rs 14.97 billion during 1998-99. Prominent among these goods were safety razors, worth Rs 120 million, cosmetics Rs 150 million, minerals water, Rs 200 million, electronics worth Rs 300 million and telephone sets worth 160 million. The report pointed out that this trade, which has been conducted for the last 50 years, fetched billions of rupees to the tribal traders, related to the afghan counterparts and as much to the Pakistani customs and other law enforcing agencies, who facilitated this black trade. Awan also disclosed that previously, for decades, these Afghanistan bound transit goods were leaked into Pakistani markets before reaching Afghanistan. Owing to strict regulations imposed on the transit trade, it was very recently that the Afghanistan bound goods, at least, started crossing the border and then re-exported illegally to Pakistan. Awan pointed out that due to the high financial stakes of various interest groups, law, customs and state machinery have lost their efficacy. Keeping the adverse fall out of the abuse of afghan transit trade agreement on the industrial sector of Pakistan, Awan suggested that other neighboring countries with sea-coast should also shoulder the responsibility of transit facilities to Afghanistan. The News, in its march 2, 2002 issue, reported that there has been an unprecedented increase in the smuggling of tea, spices and other utilities, through the afghan transit trade, during the last two years. This rise has been attributed to the massive under-valuation of these items at the countrys dry ports, especially Lahore, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Quetta and in other cities, which were basically established for providing facilities to the local traders at their door steps. The report added that these smuggled items are now openly sold at the Jodia bazaar, the traders from various parts of the country have opened their offices, which deal exclusively in smuggled items, mostly tea and spices through Quetta dry port into the city the dry ports established in various parts of the country have become a major source of smuggling, mis-declaration, under-invoicing, tax evasion and theft, detrimental to the government treasury, it alleged. The repot revealed that since 1988, the smugglers switched to smuggling of eatable products as they found this proposition to be highly lucrative. The smuggling of items originates from Dubai, via port Bandar Abbas in Iran, to Afghanistan and ends up into Pakistan. Probing the matter, the report discovered five percent increase in the custom duty during the 2001 budget, plus the total tax increase of 70 percent, to be the main reasons for the rise in smuggling. Daily Aaj, on 16 July, 2009 reported that during the year 2008-09, eight hundred million kg of tea is smuggled into the country, only 4.9 million kg smuggled tea is less then from the total imported tea. This year government losses Rs 5 billion in shape of tax evasion due to smuggling of tea. Through reliable sources, Afghan Transit Trade (ATT) is the main source of tea smuggling in the country. The total import of tea was 10 million kg during the period of July 2007 to June 2008. This was imported in one year from Kenya about 53.9 % while in previous year that was 61% from the same country. Which was 7% dropped in tea imports.

Effects and Importance of Osmosis

Effects and Importance of Osmosis Osmosis is the movement (natural) of a solvent, in the case of living organisms (water) selectively through a semi-permeable membrane down a water potential gradient. In other words it is the movement of water across a selectively semi- permeable membrane from an area of high water potential (low solute concentration) to an area of low water potential (high solute concentration) (Bowen, 2000). Semi-permeable membrane A membrane is partially (semi) permeable, if it will let in water molecules but not the molecules or ions dissolved in water (the solutes such as sugar molecules). Many cell membranes function in this manner. Osmosis is there for an important mechanism in the transport of fluids in living organisms (Bowen, 2000). Osmosis: Movement of water across a selectively permeable membrane from an area of low solute concentration to an area of high solute concentration. Key: Water, o Solute Osmosis is important in biological systems, as many biological membranes are semi-permeable. In general, these membranes are impermeable to organic solutes with large molecules, such as polysaccharides, while permeable to water and small, uncharged solutes. Permeability may depend on: solubility properties, charge, or chemistry, as well as Solute size. Water molecules travel through the plasma cell wall, tonoplast (vacuole) or protoplast in two ways, either by diffusing across the phospholipids bilayer directly, or via small transmembrane proteins similar to those in facilitated diffusion and in creating ion channels). Osmosis provides the primary means by which water is transported into and out of cells. The turgor pressure of a cell is largely maintained by osmosis, across the cell membrane, between the cell interior and its relatively hypotonic environment (Maton et al., 1997). The process of osmosis accounts for many functions that maintain life. In relation to blood cells, blood cells placed in pure distilled water will swell and burst. If these cells are placed in a Hyper osmotic (hypertonic) solution, i.e., the solution has more dissolved particles, salts, sugar, etc., than is in the cells, they will shrivel up (a process called crenation in the case of blood cells). The energy that drives the process of osmosis is called osmotic pressure. In animal (human beings included), the red blood cells are very important to the survival of the organism because they transport oxygen from the gills, skin, or lungs to the cells of the various tissues (muscles, nerves, etc.). These blood cells are transported in a fluid (serum) that has approximately the same salt content as sea water. Effects of Osmosis on Red Blood Cells Red blood cells as in all animal cells dont have cell walls. In cases of hypotonic solutions, red blood cells will swell up and burst (explode) .when the cell is in danger of bursting due to accumulation of too much water in it, contractile vacuoles will pump out the water out of the cell to prevent it from bursting. In hypertonic solutions, water will diffuse out of the cell due to osmosis and the cell shrinks. For the red blood cell to stay in its normal condition, its always surrounded by isotonic solution. If the concentration of the cells cytoplasm is lower then medium (the medium is hypotonic) surrounding the cell, then osmosis will result by the cell gaining water, hence the cell will swell up and burst. If the concentration of the water inside the cell is the same as that outside the cell (the medium is isotonic solution), there exists a dynamic equilibrium, meaning the number of cells getting in and leaving the cells is the same hence the cell will retain its original size. The red blood cell retains its shape because of the isotonic nature of the plasma. If the water concentration inside the cell is higher than that of the medium (the media is a hypertonic solution), hence the number of molecules diffusing out will be more than that entering, and the cell will shrink. The kidneys in the human body provide the necessary regulatory mechanism for the blood plasma and the concentration of water and salt removed from the blood by the kidneys, which is controlled by the hypothalamus. This process of regulating the salty and the mineral salts in the blood is called osmoregulation. Osmosis and diffusion a have related concepts: Both processes involve the movement of materials from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration. Diffusion involves the movement of chemical molecules from a low concentration to a higher concentration whereas osmosis involves the movement of water molecules from a high to low concentration via a semi permeable membrane. Importance of Osmosis in the animal/human body Salts and minerals are transferred from water through osmosis. Osmosis transfers water through the plasma membrane (which is selective and semi permeable) of the cell. It manages the mixing of water, glucose and salts in the body cells, this is important, otherwise the cells would loose too much water and eventually die. Hence osmosis plays an important role in keeping the cells alive. Osmosis plays an important role in the functioning of the kidneys, it is also important in the helping to transfer water and various nutrients between the blood and fluid of the cells. People who suffer from kidney diseases depend in kidney machines to remove waste substances (products from their blood, such machines use a process called dialysis, which is similar to the process of osmosis. Salt water fish constantly consume a lot of water, which is released to the environment through osmosis, while fresh water fish dont drink water because their skin is responsible to absorbing water. Diffusion of Potassium Permanganate (KMnO4) Diffusion is the movement of molecules from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration across a permeable membrane as a result of kinetic energy of random motion. It is a random movement of molecules which is directional from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration until equilibrium is achieved. Molecules are in a constant state of motion. For example, if you dissolve KMnO4 in water so that the concentration is initially higher in one part of the water that another, diffusion will occur so that there is a net movement of KMnO4 from area if high concentration to an area of lower concentration. However, if the KMnO4 molecules have a complete even and random distribution through out the water, there will be no movement of KMnO4 in any direction. The rate of diffusion will be affected by properties of: The cell The diffusing molecule Surrounding solution The rate of diffusion increases as the concentration gradient increases. When the concentration of molecules outside the cells is very high, relative to the internal concentration, the rate of diffusion will also be high. If the internal concentration are the same (low concentration gradient), the rate of diffusion will be low.

Coops Towne :: essays research papers

Here is a place for fun, adventure, and the unexpected can all occur. If you thought that your dreams could never come true, think again. Now this isn't any just any theme park, this is Coops Towne the one and only mainly sports theme park. This park was founded and is owned by David Cooper. It's located in marvelous Miami, Florida. Coops Towne consists of four lands: Frontierland, Tomorrowland, Fantasyland, and Adventureland. There's also the infamous 'Walk of Fame' where the greatest players in baseball, football, basketball, tennis, golf, NASCAR, and sportscasters are honored. The ?Walk of Fame? is the main street to Coops Towne, where it divides all four lands. On the ?Walk of Fame? there are two tennis players, as well as, two soccer players, and golf players. It also has four (of each) football, baseball, basketball players, and sportscasters. These people are honored on the ?Walk of Fame? because they were either the best at their position, or the best of their time. The ?Walk of Fame? is black, has stepping stones with the peoples name and a symbol representing what they did above it, and trees bordering it. Fantasyland is possibly the first land you will visit when you go to Coops Towne, because the entrance is the first to the left. It has three rides, two museums, and a restaurant. The first ride is called ?Expedition Space?, this ride is indoors and requires you to wear and astronauts suit because it?s in no gravity. The inside of the building looks like the inside of a space shuttle. ?Adventure Mountain? is another ride in Fantasyland, it is so big it has a lodge on the top of it. ?Adventure Mountain Lodge? is a mountain where you can hike, swim, and bike down the mountain. This mountain is so enormous we had to build a lodge for people who made the journey up but are too tired to make the venture back down. ?Adventure Mountain? is the only part of Coops Towne in which everything is 100% real. It?s also the largest exhibit of Coops Towne. ?Rain Forest Exploration? is Coops Towne?s only exploration museum. This ride is a car ride through the mighty rain forest, where you will encounter all the amazing plants, and animals, of the rain forest. But, you only have three minutes to look throughout all of the rain forest to find a stranded person, and this person is the only one who knows how to get out.

The Long Patrol :: essays research papers

Brian Jacques was born in Liverpool, England where he still lives today and writes all of his books. Brian Jacques is well known for his writing of the Redwall book series. His other professions involved him being longshoreman, a stand-up comedian, a long-distance truck driver, and a playwright. Brian Jacques started writing these books as stories for children with disabilities at a special school in his hometown of Liverpool. The Berkley Publishing Group 1997 I would definitely recommend this book for a friend to read! I really liked this books cause it has lots of action in it and when there isn’t any action happening, it’s just building up to some more action. I also liked this book because you really get to know the characters and everything is very detailed, especially the war scenes. The most important reason I like this book has to be because of all the action. The setting of this story takes place in a field where Tammo, the main character, is fighting imaginary enemies wishing he could join the infamous league of fighting hares known as the Long Patrol. Tammo is a young hare that has the blood of many fighting hares running you’re his veins. Tammo’s father is Colonel Cornsburry Tussock and is very strict and he leads his wife to help Tammo run away to join the Long Patrol. Russa Nodrey helps Tammo do this. Russa is a traveling squirrel that knows more about the country than any other beast alive. Damug Warfang is a great rat that had to fight his brother to the death so he could become the firstblade, ruler of the Rapscallion hoard and is giving up their pirate ways and marching them inland. Meanwhile the Long Patrol’s leader Major Perigord is the most feared saber fighter there is. Him and the Long Patrol are all skilled fighting beasts that come from Salamandastron, the badger mountain by the sea. The ruler of Salam andastron is Lady Cregga Rose Eyes. She’s called Rose Eye’s because while she is in battle he eyes are red with blood wrath; some call it a disease because it makes its victim bloodthirsty and do anything to kill their enemy. At the famous Redwall Abbey Arven, Redwall’s champion, and the Skipper of Otters are faced with a very serious problem; the south wall surrounding the abbey is collapsing! All of these characters meet up with each other to do battle, with the teams being Damug versus all!

“Precious” The Movie Review Essay

Precious is a girl who is so shy and shut down, She is very quiet to the point that she hardly speaks to anyone and is nearly illiterate. As the story is told, she conceives a child from a rape that occurred to her. Precious tries her very best to fit in with others, but as she struggles in school is treated with mocking cruelty. She is a girl obviously in a lot of pain and shame. Even though her mother is always angry her she vows to happily find her purpose in life. She feels that she can positively make a life for herself with the help she found in a counselor who treats her with respect and fully understands her pain and suffering. This is such an amazing actress who has powerfully done a remarkable film. I truly recommend those young girls who are going through the same situation to see this wonderfully done film. Second paragraph I have to compare my life as the second paragraph to the first, because I can relate to the worse of situation that Precious went through in her life. In my life I have felt like Precious never having that feeling of being the sweetest person. I always felt cheaper that most girls. It was a hard life to live, but as I got older I became wiser and I felt as though I was the luckiest girl to have survived such an ordeal. Sometimes life never paints the prettiest picture of the life we would like to have live, but being determine and having the faith to survive is the most powerful thing anyone can have. I have a son and a daughter and I vowed to be a strong mom for them. I have two of the smartest kids a mom can have and because of them I live a joyous life.

Managing Diversity in the Workforce

Abstract Having the need to live in a world of diverse culture, business companies deal with the hardship of dealing with the differences of the workforces in their organization. Is this a problem that cannot be solved? Recent studies show that this problem could actually be turned into a solution that the company could use towards its success. How? This is what is going to be discussed in the paper to follow. The possibilities of turning a diverse workforce into a unified organization would be introduced in this research in an aim to prove that managing a diverse workforce is more of a challenging opportunity than that of an irreversible business dilemma. Outline Introduction Introduces the subject to be talked about in a historical basis What is Diversity? Deals with the definition of diversity as a word to describe social differences and as a word that affects business activities. Getting along with Diversity A compilation of suggestion from business experts that have mastered the art of managing diverse workforces Conclusion The author’s opinion on the topic being discussed based from the researches that have been posted in the paper. Managing Diversity in the Workforce Introduction HAVE you ever heard stories of a race of people who had no mouth and therefore could neither eat nor drink? They were said to survive by smelling, mostly apples. A bad odor would kill them. There were also tales of a West African people who had gold to trade. A Portuguese ship’s captain of the time reported: â€Å"Two hundred leagues beyond [the] kingdom of [Mali], one finds a country the inhabitants of which have the heads and teeth of dogs and tails like dogs. These are the Blacks who refuse to enter into conversation because they do not wish to see other men.† Those were some of the strange ideas that were held many years ago, before the age of travel and discovery. Such stories were taken seriously for centuries. Nevertheless, as explorers charted the planet, they found no mouth less apple smellers, no dog-headed people. Today there remains little mystery about those who live beyond our borders. The world has become a global village. Television brings foreign lands and peoples into our living rooms. Air travel makes it possible to visit those lands within hours; millions of people do so each year. Others are on the move for economic or political reasons. States a report of the United Nations Population Fund: â€Å"On a scale unknown in history—and certain to grow—people around the world are uprooting themselves and migrating in search of a better life.† About 100 million people live outside the country in which they were born. Increasingly there is economic interdependency among nations. A global communications network, like a gigantic central nervous system, links every nation of the  earth. As ideas, information, and technology are exchanged, cultures merge and adapt to one another. Throughout the world, people dress more alike than ever before. Cities of the world share much in common—police, luxury hotels, traffic, stores, banks, pollution. Thus, as the peoples of the world come together, we witness what some describe as an emerging world culture. Nevertheless, while peoples and cultures intermingle, clearly not all see one another as brothers. â€Å"Everyone’s quick to blame the alien,† wrote a Greek playwright over 2,000 years ago. Sadly, the same is true today. The evidence is no farther away than newspaper reports of bigotry, hatred of foreigners, â€Å"ethnic cleansing,† racial strife, religious riots, massacre of civilians, killing fields, rape camps, torture, or genocide. Of course, most of us can do little or nothing to change the course of ethnic conflicts. We may not even be directly affected by them. For many of us, however, problems come from a lack of communication with the foreigners with whom we come into contact—neighbors, workmates, or schoolmates. Does it not seem odd that people of differing ethnic groups so often find it difficult to trust and appreciate one another? After all, ours is a planet of enormous diversity, endless variety. Most of us appreciate the rich variety of food, music, and color as well as the many kinds of plants, birds, and animals. Somehow, appreciation of variety does not always carry over to people who do not think and act in the same way that we do. Instead of looking at the positive aspects of diversity among peoples, many tend to focus on the differences and make them a point of contention.    Certainly, living in a world that is governed with diversity, it could be expected that in the workplace, diversity itself is also present and thus cannot be avoided. Many workers refer to this hardship as the common source of many conflicts within the working area. Hence, the performance of the employees is then directly affected. Impossible as it may have seemed, diversity within the workplace has still been referred to by many modern business enthusiasts such as John Riddle in his book â€Å"Business Management†. How could this be possible? Before knowing the preferred solution of experts towards the said problem, it is important to take notice of what is really meant by being diverse, and how does it really affect the entire performance of the workforce. What is Diversity? Diversity, when referred to in business terms may mean a lot of things. An organization’s workforce may be referred to as diverse for many reasons as well. Diversity may occur because of the differences of opinion because of the differences in personality, in age, in educational attainment, in status in life and even in culture. Mostly, as observed on different business companies, the main reason of such diversity is the existence of a much distinct group of races making up a single workforce for a company. How could all these happen? As mentioned in the introduction, many people have already transferred from place to place and a lot of those people, the so-called immigrants, have already decided to stay and work on the foreign lands they have gone to. Hence, the main effect of this social move on achieving success on other places, the employment of  the multicultural population has been the resort to supporting the lives of the said immigrants. Hence, the workforce of every company making up the business industries are at times having the same worries on how to face the challenge of dealing with and managing people who are widely different from each other. Getting along with Diversity As mentioned earlier, management of a diverse workforce has been one of the biggest problems that concern the human resources department of any type of company present in the business industries. Hence, it is just reasonable to say that at some points, some management teams may find it a difficult task as well. However, the author, John riddle says otherwise. According to him, â€Å"these are all factors of management that should be considered by good managers even before entering an organization† (113). Hence, this definitely means that avoiding diversity in the workforce may be impossible but giving a resolution to it is not that impossible. After all, there is still a common ground among the working force of each company no matter how diverse they may be it is that they are humans, which makes them capable of being dealt with and managed well. In this regard, John Riddle has suggested several points of consideration when dealing with such business problems. In general terms, he summarized the ways by which a good manager could handle the difficulties of dealing with a diverse workforce. The said suggestions are as follows: Concentrate on the strengths of the employees. When a manager discovers the tasks where the employees usually excel in, they should be assigned to them as they are expected to be more productive on those fields of the job. Understand the abilities and the potential of each employee present in the organization. These potential assets of the employees could as well be used by the company itself in aiming for the goals that it has set up for the future. Allow communication lines t be open at all times. It is very important for managers to be good listeners. The ability of hearing what the employees want form the company as well as to how they could be of bigger help to the organization could be used as a resource of ideas for the company as well. Make the employees feel that they too have a sense of authority in the company. However, this type of authority should not overstep that of the administration’s. It should be clear that this authority could only be exercised at specific times and places when it is permitted. This may often refer to an ‘open door’ policy that deals with an easier type of agreement between the employees, which could give them a chance to affect how the organization is being managed. They are then allowed to give suggestions; however, no suggestions are implemented unless approved by the administration. Make sure that all employees understand the business goals and objectives. It should always be remembered that a well-informed employee, whether young or old, is a productive employee. A manager should always remember that he is supervising people with feelings who are valuable members of the organization, hence, treating them with great respect at all times no matter what culture they come from is one of the most important virtue any manager could post as an example for his colleagues. Treating everyone fairly and sensitively is the key to creating a fine working environment. It should be remembered that because of the different clutters of the people, they all have different preferences; they have different personal obligations and other more. Considering the fact that dealing with multicultural workforce also involve dealing with their differences of belief, a manager could as well consider fairness at all times to be able to set a common ground for everyone else in the organization. Keep everyone else busy and going all the time. Feeling one’s worth is usually measured on the things they are able to do for the organization in a day. In this manner, it could be said that regardless of one’s difference from the others, being able to do something for the company and being of worth to the organization makes an employee feel that even though there are differences, he still belongs to the organization he is working for. Keep employees informed of the ins and outs of the organization. Keeping employees in the dark when some changes within the organization arise may give them the notion that they are not given importance by the administration of the company. Acknowledge the employees’ efforts, years of work, talent, creativity and good job attributes. Doing so would help everyone else strive for the best while they are working in the company. It could be noticed that the suggestions listed in here are general. Putting these suggestions into good use have mostly caused several companies to achieve unity beyond diversity in their own much diverse workforces. Hence, as Jones commented in his book â€Å"Contemporary Management†, â€Å"diversity is a normal part of modern management. Being globally distinct, it could not be avoided that dealing with different people everyday is a challenge to the modern managers today† (180). Conclusion The certainties of dealing with diverse people in the workforce are around ninety-nine percent. Considering that we are living in a culturally diverse society, it could be argued that a diverse workforce is indeed a challenge to many business managers today. However, at first, this fact may seem a big problem, on the other hand, if the managers are able to see the common ground of everyone else, which is being human, the said managers would recognize the possibility of making diversity a source of further progress for the company. Mixing up the talents and the abilities of the employees for the goal of the organization would surely help the company reach its peak potential. BIBLIOGRAPHY Riddle, John. (2001). Business Management. Adams Media Corporation. Avon, Massachusetts. Adams, Bob. (2000). Managing people: Lead your staff to peak performance. Adams Media Corporation. Avon, Massachusetts. Hiam, Alexander. (2001). Motivating and rewarding Employees: New and better ways to inspire your people. Adams Media Corporation. Avon, Massachusetts. Martinez, Esdras. (1998). Buisness Managements theories and practice. Rex books Publishing. Manila, Philippines. Jones, Gareth R. (2004). Contemporary Management. Irwin/McGraw-Hill; 4th edition.                  

Technical Project Paper: Information Systems Security

You are the Information Security Officer for a small pharmacy that has recently been opened in the local shopping mall. The daily operation of a pharmacy is a unique business that requires a combination of both physical and logical access controls to protect medication and funds maintained located on the premises and personally identifiable information and protected health information of your customers. Your supervisor has tasked you with identifying inherent risks associated with this pharmacy and establishing physical and logical access control methods that will mitigate the risks identified.Firewall (1) Windows 2008 Active Directory Domain Controllers (DC) (1) File Server (1) Desktop computers (4) Dedicated T1 Connection (1) Write a ten to fifteen (10-15) page paper in which you: Identify and analyze any potential physical vulnerabilities and threats that require consideration. Identify and analyze any potential logical vulnerabilities and threats that require consideration. Illus trate in writing the potential impact of all identified physical vulnerabilities and threats to the network and the pharmacy. Identify all potential vulnerabilities that may exist in the documented network.Illustrate in writing the potential impact of all identified logical vulnerabilities to the network and the pharmacy. For each physical vulnerability and threat identified, choose a strategy for dealing with the risk (i. e. , risk mitigation, risk assignment, risk acceptance, or risk avoidance). For each logical vulnerability and threat identified, choose a strategy for dealing with the risk (i. e. , risk mitigation, risk assignment, risk acceptance, or risk avoidance).For each physical vulnerability and threat identified, develop controls (i. e. administrative, preventative, detective, and corrective) that will be used to mitigate each risk. For each logical vulnerability and threat identified, develop controls (i. e. , administrative, preventative, detective, and corrective) tha t will be used to mitigate each risk. Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements: Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length. The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are: Explain the concepts of information systems security as applied to an IT infrastructure. Describe how malicious attacks, threats, and vulnerabilities impact an IT infrastructure. Explain the means attackers use to compromise systems and networks, and defenses used by organizations.Explain the role of access controls in implementing a security policy. Exp lain how businesses apply cryptography in maintaining information security. Analyze the importance of network principles and architecture to security operations. Use technology and information resources to research issues in information systems security. Write clearly and concisely about network security topics using proper writing mechanics and technical style conventions. Grading for this assignment will be based on answer quality, logic/organization of the paper, and language and writing skills, using the following rubric.

The Host Chapter 15: Guarded

When I came to, there was no disorientation. I knew exactly where I was, roughly speaking, and I kept my eyes closed and my breathing even. I tried to learn as much as I could about my exact situation without giving away the fact that I was conscious again. I was hungry. My stomach knotted and clenched and made angry noises. I doubted these noises would betray me-I was sure it had gurgled and complained as I slept. My head ached fiercely. It was impossible to know how much of this was from fatigue and how much was from the knocks I'd taken. I was lying on a hard surface. It was rough and†¦ pocked. It was not flat, but oddly curved, as though I was lying in a shallow bowl. It was not comfortable. My back and hips throbbed from being curled into this position. That pain was probably what had woken me; I felt far from rested. It was dark-I could tell that without opening my eyes. Not pitch-black, but very dark. The air was even mustier than before-humid and corroded, with a peculiar acrid bite that seemed to cling to the back of my throat. The temperature was cooler than it had been in the desert, but the incongruous moisture made it almost as uncomfortable. I was sweating again, the water Jeb had given me finding its way out through my pores. I could hear my breathing echo back to me from a few feet away. It could be that I was only close to one wall, but I guessed that I was in a very small space. I listened as hard as I could, and it sounded like my breathing echoed back from the other side as well. Knowing that I was probably still somewhere in the cavern system Jeb had brought me to, I was fairly sure what I would see when I opened my eyes. I must be in some small hole in the rock, dark purple brown and riddled with holes like cheese. It was silent except for the sounds my body made. Afraid to open my eyes, I relied on my ears, straining harder and harder against the silence. I couldn't hear anyone else, and this made no sense. They wouldn't have left me without a warden, would they? Uncle Jeb and his omnipresent rifle, or someone less sympathetic. To leave me alone†¦ that wouldn't be in character with their brutality, their natural fear and hatred of what I was. Unless†¦ I tried to swallow, but terror closed my throat. They wouldn't leave me alone. Not unless they thought I was dead, or had made sure that I would be. Not unless there were places in these caves that no one came back from. The picture I'd been forming of my surroundings shifted dizzyingly in my head. I saw myself now at the bottom of a deep shaft or walled into a cramped tomb. My breathing sped up, tasting the air for staleness, for some sign that my oxygen was running low. The muscles around my lungs pulled outward, filling with air for the scream that was on the way. I clenched my teeth to keep it from escaping. Sharp and close, something grated across the ground beside my head. I shrieked, and the sound of it was piercing in the small space. My eyes flew open. I jerked away from the sinister noise, throwing myself against a jagged rock wall. My hands swung up to protect my face as my head thunked painfully against the low ceiling. A dim light illuminated the perfectly round exit to the tiny bubble of a cave I was curled in. Jared's face was half lit as he leaned into the opening, one arm reaching toward me. His lips were tight with anger. A vein in his forehead pulsed as he watched my panicked reaction. He didn't move; he just stared furiously while my heart restarted and my breathing evened out. I met his glare, remembering how quiet he had always been-like a wraith when he wanted. No wonder I hadn't heard him sitting guard outside my cell. But I had heard something. As I remembered that, Jared shoved his extended arm closer, and the grating noise repeated. I looked down. At my feet was a broken sheet of plastic serving as a tray. And on it†¦ I lunged for the open bottle of water. I was barely aware that Jared's mouth twisted with disgust as I jerked the bottle to my lips. I was sure that would bother me later, but all I cared about now was the water. I wondered if ever in my life I would take the liquid for granted again. Given that my life was not likely to be prolonged here, the answer was probably no. Jared had disappeared, back through the circular entry. I could see a piece of his sleeve and nothing more. The dull light came from somewhere beside him. It was an artificial bluish color. I'd gulped half the water down when a new scent caught my attention, informing me that water was not the only gift. I looked down at the tray again. Food. They were feeding me? It was the bread-a dark, unevenly shaped roll-that I smelled first, but there was also a bowl of some clear liquid with the tang of onions. As I leaned closer, I could see darker chunks on the bottom. Beside this were three stubby white tubes. I guessed they were vegetables, but I didn't recognize the variety. It took only seconds for me to make these discoveries, but even in that short time, my stomach nearly jumped through my mouth trying to reach the food. I ripped into the bread. It was very dense, studded with whole-grain kernels that caught in my teeth. The texture was gritty, but the flavor was wonderfully rich. I couldn't remember anything tasting more delicious to me, not even my mushed-up Twinkies. My jaw worked as fast as it could, but I swallowed most of the mouthfuls of tough bread half-chewed. I could hear each mouthful hit my stomach with a gurgle. It didn't feel as good as I thought it would. Too long empty, my stomach reacted to the food with discomfort. I ignored that and moved on to the liquid-it was soup. This went down easier. Aside from the onions I'd smelled, the taste was mild. The green chunks were soft and spongy. I drank it straight from the bowl and wished the bowl were deeper. I tipped it back to make sure I'd gotten every drop. The white vegetables were crunchy in texture, woody in taste. Some kind of root. They weren't as satisfying as the soup or as tasty as the bread, but I was grateful for their bulk. I wasn't full-not close-and I probably would have started on the tray next if I thought I'd be able to chew through it. It didn't occur to me until I was finished that they shouldn't be feeding me. Not unless Jared had lost the confrontation with the doctor. Though why would Jared be my guard if that were the case? I slid the tray away when it was empty, cringing at the noise it made. I stayed pressed against the back wall of my bubble as Jared reached in to retrieve it. This time he didn't look at me. â€Å"Thank you,† I whispered as he disappeared again. He said nothing; there was no change in his face. Even the bit of his sleeve did not show this time, but I was sure he was there. I can't believe he hit me, Melanie mused, her thought incredulous rather than resentful. She was not over the surprise of it yet. I hadn't been surprised in the first place. Of course he had hit me. I wondered where you were, I answered. It would be poor manners to get me into this mess and then abandon me. She ignored my sour tone. I wouldn't have thought he'd be able to do it, no matter what. I don't think I could hit him. Sure you could. If he'd come at you with reflective eyes, you'd have done the same. You're naturally violent. I remembered her daydreams of strangling the Seeker. That seemed like months ago, though I knew it was only days. It would make sense if it had been longer. It ought to take time to get oneself stuck in such a disastrous mire as the one I was in now. Melanie tried to consider it impartially. I don't think so. Not Jared†¦ and Jamie, there's no way I could hurt Jamie, even if he was†¦ She trailed off, hating that line of thought. I considered this and found it true. Even if the child had become something or someone else, neither she nor I could ever raise a hand to him. That's different. You're like†¦ a mother. Mothers are irrational here. Too many emotions involved. Motherhood is always emotional-even for you souls. I didn't answer that. What do you think is going to happen now? You're the expert on humans, I reminded her. It's probably not a good thing that they're giving me food. I can think of only one reason they'd want me strong. The few specifics I remembered of historical human brutalities tangled in my head with the stories in the old newspaper we'd read the other day. Fire-that was a bad one. Melanie had burned all the fingerprints off her right hand once in a stupid accident, grabbing a pan she hadn't realized was hot. I remembered how the pain had shocked her-it was so unexpectedly sharp and demanding. It was just an accident, though. Quickly treated with ice, salves, medicine. No one had done it on purpose, continued on from the first sickening pain, drawing it out longer and longer†¦ I'd never lived on a planet where such atrocities could happen, even before the souls came. This place was truly the highest and the lowest of all worlds-the most beautiful senses, the most exquisite emotions†¦ the most malevolent desires, the darkest deeds. Perhaps it was meant to be so. Perhaps without the lows, the highs could not be reached. Were the souls the exception to that rule? Could they have the light without the darkness of this world? I†¦ felt something when he hit you, Melanie interrupted. The words came slowly, one by one, as if she didn't want to think them. I felt something, too. It was amazing how natural it was to use sarcasm now, after spending so much time with Melanie. He's got quite a backhand, doesn't he? That's not what I meant. I mean†¦ She hesitated for a long moment, and then the rest of the words came in a rush. I thought it was all me-the way we feel about him. I thought I was†¦ in control of that. The thoughts behind her words were clearer than the words themselves. You thought you were able to bring me here because you wanted it so much. That you were controlling me instead of the other way around. I tried not to be annoyed. You thought you were manipulating me. Yes. The chagrin in her tone was not because I was upset, but because she did not like being wrong. But†¦ I waited. It came in a rush once more. You're in love with him, too, separately from me. It feels different from the way I feel. Other. I didn't see that until he was there with us, until you saw him for the first time. How did that happen? How does a three-inch-long worm fall in love with a human being? Worm? Sorry. I guess you sort of have†¦ limbs. Not really. They're more like antennae. And I'm quite a bit longer than three inches when they're extended. My point is, he's not your species. My body is human, I told her. While I'm attached to it, I'm human, too. And the way you see Jared in your memories†¦ Well, it's all your fault. She considered that for a moment. She didn't like it much. So if you had gone to Tucson and gotten a new body, you wouldn't love him anymore now? I really, really hope that's true. Neither of us was happy with my answer. I leaned my head against the top of my knees. Melanie changed the subject. At least Jamie is safe. I knew Jared would take care of him. If I had to leave him, I couldn't have left him in better hands†¦ I wish I could see him. I'm not asking that! I cringed at the thought of the response that request would receive. At the same time, I yearned to see the boy's face for myself. I wanted to be sure that he was really here, really safe-that they were feeding him and caring for him the way Melanie never could again. The way I, mother to no one, wanted to care for him. Did he have someone to sing to him at night? To tell him stories? Would this new, angry Jared think of little things like that? Did he have someone to curl up against when he was frightened? Do you think they will tell him that I'm here? Melanie asked. Would that help or hurt him? I asked back. Her thought was a whisper. I don't know†¦ I wish I could tell him that I kept my promise. You certainly did. I shook my head, amazed. No one can say that you didn't come back, just like always. Thanks for that. Her voice was faint. I couldn't tell if she meant for my words now, or if she meant the bigger picture, bringing her here. I was suddenly exhausted, and I could feel that she was, too. Now that my stomach had settled a bit and felt almost halfway full, the rest of my pains were not sharp enough to keep me awake. I hesitated before moving, afraid to make any noise, but my body wanted to uncurl and stretch out. I did so as silently as I could, trying to find a piece of the bubble long enough for me. Finally, I had to stick my feet almost out the round opening. I didn't like doing it, worried that Jared would hear the movement close to him and think I was trying to escape, but he didn't react in any way. I pillowed the good side of my face against my arm, tried to ignore the way the curve of the floor cramped my spine, and closed my eyes. I think I slept, but if I did, it wasn't deeply. The sound of footsteps was still very far away when I came fully awake. This time I opened my eyes at once. Nothing had changed-I still could see the dull blue light through the round hole; I still could not see if Jared was outside it. Someone was coming this way-it was easy to hear that the footsteps were coming closer. I pulled my legs away from the opening, moving as quietly as I could, and curled up against the back wall again. I would have liked to be able to stand; it would have made me feel less vulnerable, more prepared to face whatever was coming. The low ceiling of the cave bubble would barely have allowed me to kneel. There was a flash of movement outside my prison. I saw part of Jared's foot as he rose silently to his feet. â€Å"Ah. Here you are,† a man said. The words were so loud after all the empty silence that I jumped. I recognized the voice. One of the brothers I'd seen in the desert-the one with the machete, Kyle. Jared didn't speak. â€Å"We're not going to allow this, Jared.† It was a different speaker, a more reasonable voice. Probably the younger brother, Ian. The brothers' voices were very similar-or they would have been, if Kyle weren't always half shouting, his tone always twisted with anger. â€Å"We've all lost somebody-hell, we've all lost everybody. But this is ridiculous.† â€Å"If you won't let Doc have it, then it's got to die,† Kyle added, his voice a growl. â€Å"You can't keep it prisoner here,† Ian continued. â€Å"Eventually, it will escape and we'll all be exposed.† Jared didn't speak, but he took one side step that put him directly in front of the opening to my cell. My heart pumped hard and fast as I understood what the brothers were saying. Jared had won. I was not to be tortured. I was not to be killed-not immediately, anyway. Jared was keeping me prisoner. It seemed a beautiful word under the circumstances. I told you he would protect us. â€Å"Don't make this difficult, Jared,† said a new male voice I didn't recognize. â€Å"It has to be done.† Jared said nothing. â€Å"We don't want to hurt you, Jared. We're all brothers here. But we will if you make us.† There was no bluff in Kyle's tone. â€Å"Move aside.† Jared stood rock still. My heart started thumping faster than before, jerking against my ribs so hard that the hammering disrupted the rhythm of my lungs, made it difficult to breathe. Melanie was incapacitated with fear, unable to think in coherent words. They were going to hurt him. Those lunatic humans were going to attack one of their own. â€Å"Jared†¦ please,† Ian said. Jared didn't answer. A heavy footfall-a lunge-and the sound of something heavy hitting something solid. A gasp, a choking gurgle – â€Å"No!† I cried, and launched myself through the round hole.

Critically discuss the relationship between uneven geographic Essay

Critically discuss the relationship between uneven geographic development and globalization - Essay Example As a result of the geographical inequalities manifested in different places of the world, it can be argued that contrary to the popular belief that the globalisation is bridging the economic, social and cultural gap between different regions, it is actually increasing the social, cultural and economic inequality; hence, uneven geographic development. The term globalisation can be traced back to the late 1980s when globalisation became fashionable idea that described contexts related to historical processes where world economic and societal integration was taking place rapidly commonly referred to as structural globalisation in addition to contexts related to policies underlying the historical processes which represents ideological globalisation (Kacowicz 2013). This social and economic integration has had different repercussions for different world’s geographical regions and countries at least in its initial stages. Due to globalisation in the current situation, the increased competition among countries has affected more negatively the Northern countries especially the US compared to the effect it has had on some of the Southern countries. The reason for this imbalance can be argued in terms of exchanges in trade where during the 1970s many developing countries benefited from the higher prices for natural resources like oil in addition to the plentiful supply of credit and investments at highly favourable conditions due to the increased competition among Northern countries (Arrighi 2002). In order to effectively explore the different views on how globalisation impacted on geographic development, it is necessary that different perspectives on globalisation can be identified. Superficially, globalisation can be considered as the deepening, expanding and accelerating international interconnectedness in all aspects of contemporary social life, which covers such diverse contexts as cultural to the criminal and from the financial to the spiritual undertakings (Saxena 2010). A computer programmer located in India is in a position to offer services to an employer in Europe or USA in real time. In addition to the fact that farming of poppies in Burma can have a connection with drug abuse in Berlin is a good enough example of how globalisation links one geographical location to another in a different continent. However, away from the broad perception of the continued escalation of global interconnectedness there is considerable divergent view as to how globalisation is best conceptualized, how its causal dynamics works, and how its structural impact should be characterized. Therefore, due to issues raised by the question of what globalisation represents, three broad schools of thought have developed each having a different perspective of globalisation but all endeavour to comprehend and elucidate this phenomenon. Firstly, there are those who see globalisation as representing a new epoch where people from different geographical regions are pr ogressively being subjected to the controls of the global market. Secondly, there are those who conceptualize globalisation as a myth, which obscure the truth about international economy, which is in reality segmented into geographical blocs characterized by a powerful