Cost Method Paper Essay

Absorption accounting method according to E Notes (n.d.) â€Å"is a method of accounting where all costs of the manufacturing are included and are allocated to the produced units†. This would include fixed, variable and mixed costs. This type of accounting would allow a more accurate figure to supply to upper management about their product and what the bottom line is. This is the most important factor in Absorption accounting. The variable method is beneficial because it provides an output that is closer to the actual cash flow of a business. If a business is short on money this may be a better alternative. Absorption costing is particularly useful for firms that do not sell their entire yield during the manufacturing period, as is the case with Polk. Under absorption costing, the cost of a good is not shown until the good has been sold. This can be a drawback if a portion of the goods produced are not sold, as the company would still have to know the actual price of these tha t were left over. In this case, it would be better to use the absorption method because this method integrates only the operating expense that is due to the 81,300 units sold. The variable method counts fixed overhead as a time expense, meaning that the fixed overhead for this period is calculated on the basis of the 96,100 units produced, if the absorption method is used. The variable method only computes fixed overhead on the foundation of the 81,300 units that were sold. This provides management with a more accurate picture of the yield of the fishing lures. References Absorption Accounting. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.endnotes.com

On Seeing England for the First Time Essay

In this essay titled, On Seeing England for the First Time Jamaica Kincaid subtly argues that England’s vain dominating presence, produced from the common admiration for England, played a negative role in her life. Kincaid develops this claim of England by battling the reality of England versus her childhood idea of England. Since this is the beginning of her work not only is the purpose to entice the reader but to also inform them of the â€Å"reality† of England which conquered her lifestyle and inhibited her natural growing culture. Kincaid writes in a serious, somber tone for people who also feel dominated by England or another culture. Questions for Discussion: 1. What is ironic about the author’s words, â€Å"Seeing England for the First Time† is that in reality neither is she really looking at England nor is this her first encounter with England. The author is only looking at a map of England, not the people or lively culture. Also, the author descr ibes throughout the paragraphs the huge role of England in her life. Including the presence at her family breakfast table and most importantly the relationship between her father and his English hat. 2. In paragraph four Kincaid’s words, â€Å"I had long ago been conquered† refers to the huge and dominating role of England in her life. Where as the people in her life constantly regard England Jensen 2 as the highest of the high and the source of all final judgment in her life. The large presence and highly regarded culture of another country in her own land hinders Kincaid in a dominating way, making her feel unimportant and small. 3. The authors talks largely about the British influence in her life, especially in regard to marketable items. In paragraph two Kincaid talks about her family breakfast and the many foods which come from England. The most basic parts of her, her shoes, her clothes, and her father’s clothes all contain the words, â€Å"Made in England.† Questions on Rhetoric and Style: 1. The use of parallelism in Kincaid’s excerpt is prominent and helps argue her point of the beautiful versus ugly, or more specifically, the reality versus ideal part of Europe. For example, â€Å"England was a special jewel all right, and only special people got to wear it.† This lets the reader see England as a special place, but then author takes it back as a conceited statement. 2. The mutton simile produces an ungraceful image of England. However, when she retracts that same simile by saying, â€Å"It could not really look like anything so familiar†¦Ã¢â‚¬  this makes the reader question as to why she would compare England to something as brute and ungraceful as an animal leg and then retract it saying that mutton is too familiar. This produces a confusing image of a country that looks better than it really is. 3. The use of listing can be seen in paragraph two when talking about her breakfast and clothes. In this listing she talks without passion or a personal opinion which makes the reader stop and grabs their attention. The use of listing, since there is no passion, also gives it a somber tone and sort of power of knowledge.

Living In An Apartment Essay

Finding a place to live, which is suitable for one’s family, is one concern of most families. The increase in population as well as the increase in land value and building costs, has resulted in the construction of many apartments especially in urban areas. There are some similarities as well as differences when we consider living in an apartment and in a house. In order to make an informed choice for one’s family, it is important to examine both the similarities as well as the differences of both options. Some of the similarities would be that it is possible to find a house or even an apartment of the size that you require, since there are houses as well as apartments of varying sizes. Furthermore, the fittings and the comforts that one could have in a house, can also be found in an apartment. Also just as one may have maintenance expenses for the upkeep of one’s house, one would also have such expenses, when living in an apartment. An apartment can be considered to be a complete housing unit, just as an individual complete house. When we consider the differences between the two options, we have to recognize the fact that in the case of the house, there is ownership of the land, whereas in the case of the apartment, the ownership is not of the land which is shared among the many, but instead the ownership is only of the apartment. In the case of apartments there are certain areas that are shared among the inhabitants, such as car parks, staircases, lifts and sometimes balconies and rooftop gardens. Whereas in the case of the individual house, these facilities are not shared by other neighbours. As such, there is greater privacy, in the case of the individual house. When it comes to enjoying good music or parties with friends, the greater privacy that is afforded to those living in their individual houses, allows them greater freedom to make their own decisions on these matters. Those living in apartments on the other hand, do need to be cautious as to how their decitions on these matters will affect their neighbouring occupants. If it disturbs them, they could complain to the management of the apartment, which can result in some sort of penalty.

Infancy and Early Chidhood Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Infancy and Early Chidhood - Essay Example According to Piagets theory of cognitive development, there are four stages of cognitive development and the first stage or the sensorimotor stage occurs between birth to 24 months and the second stage or the preoperational stage occurs between 2- 7 years of age. In the sensorimotor stage, there are six sub-stages. During the first weeks of life, reflexive behaviours facilitate coordination of sensation. The main reflexes involved are sucking, movements of eyes and palmar grasp. From the six weeks of life to 4 months, coordination of sensation occurs through habits reflex and primary circular reactions. From 4-8 months, coordination between vision and comprehension occurs and children develop habits at this stage. The dawn of logic occurs at this stage. Between 8- 12 months, touch-hand-eye coordination occurs. Coordination between means and ends also occurs at this stage. Piaget called this stage "first proper intelligence." Goal orientation and deliberate steps to meet an objective begin in this stage. At the age 12- 18 months, children experiment with new behaviour. Piaget suggested that children discover new means to meet their goals at this stage. Between 18- 24 months, children begin to use primitive symbols and develop enduring mental representations. This stage is marked by the development of true creativity and insight. The next stage of development according to Piaget is the preoperational period. This stage begins by the end of 2 years and new kind of psychological functioning develops. The mental operations are inadequate and sparse. The child begins to use and represent by drawings, words and images. Thinking at this stage is egocentric and the child is not in a position to understand the viewpoint of others (Piaget and Inhelder, 1973). According to Erikson, during the first stage of development occurs between 0-1 year, during which period, the basic needs are met by

What Does It Mean To Be a Democrat an a Republican in 2012 Research Paper

What Does It Mean To Be a Democrat an a Republican in 2012 - Research Paper Example The United States first began to experience what could be termed political parties nearly as soon as our government was established. At this time we had many political debates between what were deemed federalists and anti-federalists. Ironically, this would serve as a harbinger of the two party system that invariably developed within the United States. Although third parties existed and successfully sought office as last as the 1830s, their lifespan was short-lived by the emergence of two leviathans of political power that have successfully dominated the political environment in the United States for the better part of the past two hundred years. For the casual observer, party affiliation has a strong connotation with regards to what belief systems the voter identifies himself/herself with. However, party affiliation is a figment of a given election cycle. This is mainly due to the fact that there are no discernible party values or issues which can be definitively traced throughout h istory and once analyzed – deemed as either firmly Republican or firmly Democratic issues/values. This intrinsic lack of definable/discernible values has disheartened many voters and forced them to become apolitical and/or apathetic. The Republican Party (Grand Ole Party) as we know it today hardly resembles the party that was born in 1854 out of an opposition to slavery. Elements of the nation’s political forces, fed up with the â€Å"sin of slavery† and determined to forge a path ahead for the United States that was free from this vice, opted to create their own political entity. This Republican Party elected its first President in Abraham Lincoln. What is interesting to note, as far as an irony is concerned, is that the Republican Party’s slogan in 1854 read, â€Å"Free Labor, Free Land, Free Men†. This slogan had strong connection with the time due to the ongoing battle over slavery; however, there appeared within it a uniquely socialist concep t that most individuals have not considered. The statement â€Å"free land† referred to the fact that rich plantation owners were buying up all of the good farm land and leaving the poorer farmers left with the unwanted scraps and rejects/unviable land. The fact that the original Republican Party was entirely against the ability of a few wealthy individuals to lord over and control the fate of the poor was, at that time, an issue worthy of polarization between the Democratic and Republican Party; interestingly, this is no longer the case as it appears as if both parties only perennially work towards the benefits of those entities and corporations/individuals that bankroll their electoral campaigns. The Democratic Party on the other hand was born out of the Anti-Federalist movement of the 1790s. The Democratic Party of that time was of course defined by its rabid disagreement with Hamiltonian economics. Similarly, the party was promoted originally as what would become known as the â€Å"Democratic-Republican Party† and had a decidedly constitutionalist approach as well as one that advocated the supreme authority of state’s rights as a doctrine of further self-determination among the young republic. This traditional understanding of the Democratic party survived more or less in tact up until the Civil War. At this time, the Democratic Party, under the leadership of key firebrands in the South, pushed for the continuation of slavery as well as

Selective Incorporation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Selective Incorporation - Essay Example Selective incorporation has been applied in numerous instances to protect and uphold human rights especially in a criminal proceeding. This was done during the tenure of chief justice Earl Warren when the rights enjoyed by the criminal defendants were expanded. For example, in the case of Gideon v Wainwright, the defendant was accused of breaking into bay harbor pool hall and stealing cigarette change from the vending machines.Though Gideon requested a lawyer to be appointed by the states, the state of Florida declined, stating that this can only be done in capital offenses. However, the Supreme Court ruled that the 14th amendment allowed all defendants to access the services of an attorney. This right, as stated in the sixth amendment of the constitution was meant to protect the rights of the accused and ensure the provision of free trails. The Miranda v Arizona established the principle of equal access to legal representation during a trial and the determination was based on select ive incorporation. Failure to inform a suspect of his right during arrest constitutes legal subjugation of their legal rights as contained in the first 8 amendments and the 14th amendment of the United States Constitution. The 5th amendment of the united states indicates that a suspect has a right to remain silent during arrest as any pronouncement made can be used against them in the determination of the case.The sixth amendment indicates that a legal counsel must represent suspects during the determination of their cases.

Personal Statement for Transfer to UC Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

For Transfer to UC - Personal Statement Example As a result of this inclination, I worked at a trade fair and realized the relevance of accounting practices and processes at an even greater level. The global financial recession magnified my interest in accounting as I began reading and researching about the probable causes of the financial downturn. The research activities revealed the essence of accounting in terms of accounts and amounts, alongside the level of responsibility that resides on the shoulders of the accountants. Upon realizing the role of accounting in the progress and development of any establishment, I had made the decision of pursuing my career in the field of accounting. I made this decision after starting my college in China which is the right time to choose a professional direction. After reading about different accounting practices and standards, I have been able to comprehend the relevance of ethics in accounting. Ethics bear relevance in the field of accounting, just as the other fields of medicine, compute r technology etc. The compliance to ethical conduct is important in accounting since people who opt for availing the accounting services tend to trust the accounting professional for his commendable level of competence, as well as the adoption of ethical processes. Integrity and fairness are very important words in the field of accounting. ... It would not be wrong to consider accounting as one of the pillars of any organization in the modern world since the expansion, revenue generation, downsizing etc are all structured on the basis of accounting processes. It is vital for all organizations to maintain competent accounting professionals in the accounting departments to ensure smooth functioning and success. This profession can never lose its appeal and significance for businesses. I would be highly obliged if you allow me to transfer my credits to your esteemed institution so I can fulfill my dream of becoming an accounting professional. I shall try to contribute my share in the progression of the field of accounting and earn even a greater name for your reputable institution. Part 2 Life is a challenge and only those succeed who know how to excel under pressure. I consider myself among such people who strive for the achievement of their goals and objectives and find every new problem as a challenge in life. I entered th e land of opportunities, known as USA, when I was 20 years old. I did not have any accompanying soul with me and was faced with the mission of facing life on my own. The exit from a protected roof of my childhood residence made me realize the worth of life and money, which are usually taken for granted by youngsters. The everlasting advice that has stuck with me ever since my childhood was given by my parents who said that sustained success can only be achieved if it is supported by education and knowledge. It is due to this moral value that I never stopped to study, even if it met working endlessly to acquire this blessing. My first year in US was spent working and saving money for my education expenses since I found the tuition fees and other costs to be very high for my status. With the

Sustainable Corporate Development Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Sustainable Corporate Development - Assignment Example It is the basic goal of every business to grow in the respective industry. This many also involve launching new products and services for the consumers. The company must not only focus on growth but profitable growth. Without profits the growth of the business becomes unsustainable. The profitability of most of the organizations is based on two important factors i.e. cutting cost and growth (Anon., 2013). Quality of working life is based on the job related experience of the employees. The needs that should be addressed by the employees to achieve high quality of work life include skill variety, task identity, autonomy, task significance and feedback. Other aspects that should also be addressed include individual power, fairness and equity, participation of employees in the management of the firm, self –development and extra work activities. Business ethics are the moral principles which underpin the behavior of the firms. Moral principles are concerned with what is right and wrong for the business. The ethical business is considered to be the one which is based on the set of moral principles. Being ethical means that a business complies with the laws and regulations and make choices about what it is allowed to do and what it is not allowed to do. An organization sets ethical objectives of the firm by applying ethical values to the actions and targets of the firm (Anon., 2014). The concept of business continuity is based on the fact that a company continues to operate in the business even in the adverse environmental conditions such as in case of natural disaster, fire, etc. The continuity plan of the business may include moving the operations of the business to another location if any kind of disaster occurs on the worksite. Learning organization is considered to be an organization that facilitates learning and transforms itself according to the changing trends of the environment. Learning organizations emerge as a result of the pressure faced by modern

Lit 9 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Lit 9 - Essay Example Homeless People and Homelessness (Houseless & Houselessness), is a useful website that provides sufficient material to understand what homelessness is. This website has arranged different topics related with homelessness and has published the details of homeless people, pictures, statistics, News, Homeless children, and so on. (Homeless). Divorce appears as a quite common theme in the contemporary realistic fiction and the website ‘JWI Jewish Women International’ (What is Divorce), is useful for those who seeks for the details of divorce. One can use the additional links provided in this web page for an understanding of divorce and related topics. The online article, ‘Coming of age in the years of living dangerously’ by Brill Briggs clearly expresses the issue, ‘coming-of-age.’ It is available at: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31670059/ns/health-kids_and_parenting/ (Briggs). ‘The problem death and disease’ is the website that deals with the topics of death and disease. It also discusses the reasons for deaths caused with the abuse of tobacco and other drugs. (The Problem Death and Disease). ‘Monster’ by Myers is a widely discussed novel that fulfills most of the characteristics of realistic fiction. One of the main features of the novel concerns with the presentation of its content in such an honest way that the readers feel nothing exaggerated with the characters or the setting. â€Å"The mood is very dark and filled with despair as we see Steve learning to cope with what may be the outcome of this trial.† (Myers). The protagonist of the novel Steve is a true representative of youngsters who had spent their life in jail either as an after effect of their crime or becomes prey of the existing social customs. The novel exposes social as well as the personal values through Steve and his identity remains as a question to society. The novel allows the readers to reach

Thoughts Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Thoughts - Assignment Example The changes in these elements often cause alterations in the organizational behavior. Thus, for an organization to be more efficient and productive, it is essential to lay significant importance on these elements. It has been identified that organizations where these elements are respected and recognized, the individuals within it are motivated and enthusiastic in performing more efficiently. These individuals also experience high job satisfaction, when the organization takes proper care of those elements. They feel of being an integral part of the organization and are more willing to deliver their best towards the accomplishment of the broad organizational goals (Jenifer, 2009). Moreover, as stated by Simon, the four elements of organizational behavior also lead to the development of leadership skill amid employees and the top managerial bodies. Simon, in his statement, explicitly pointed out a few of the greatest leaders produced by the world. In this regard, Simon noted the names of few prominent leaders such as Martin Luther King, Steve Jobs of Apple Inc., and the Wright brothers. Accordingly, it is argued that these leaders had been successful in accomplishing several milestones, only because of their well-developed organizational behavior skills. It is further claimed that these leaders had strongly recognized ‘values’, ‘attitudes’, and ‘moods and emotions’, of their followers which enabled them to influence the behavior of their followers and attain their total commitment (Sinek, 2009). Thus, I firmly believe that for any organization to be more effective and efficient in this competitive world, the four key elem ents of an organizational behavior need to be

Business Economics Essay Example for Free

Business Economics Essay Cindy wants to invest in a new business that involves the installation of solar panels. In order to make an informed decision on this business venture, she will need to review potential profit/loss in the solar panel industry by considering future prospects for this type of business. Cindy also needs to decide whether she will invest her own funds or borrow the money to start the business. The imminent growth of the solar photovoltaic (PV) industry is almost certain. When observing the rising costs of coal and natural gas prices, the decrease of PV system costs, and the government support of solar technology, the PV market looks to have a significant increase in volume over the next few years. According to SolarBuzz, a website dedicated to Solar Power and Energy, The solar PV industry has reached a critical tipping point, with end-market demand hitting record levels almost every quarter. This growth is being driven by leading module suppliers and project developers that returned to profitability during 2013, and which have now established highly-effective global sales and marketing networks.† (NPD Group, Inc., 2013) The article also states that â€Å"demand in Q1’14 will also achieve record-breaking status, as the strongest first-quarter ever seen by the PV industry.† (NPD Group, Inc., 2013) The cost of production for solar panels has decreased significantly. â€Å"The average cost for tier 1 solar photovoltaic manufacturers is expected to fall 6% during 2014, continuing the downward trend set in place since 2008, bringing the overall cost to a record low of $0.20 per watt, according to the latest research from NPD. (NPD Group, Inc., 2013) Further consumer incentives include lower utility bills, increased tax credits and higher resale values. â€Å"Homes with solar-power system using photovoltaic (PV) panels sell for an average of $24,705 more than homes without PV systems, research finds.† (Tanaka, 2014) The government supports the concept of solar power and aims to make it a major energy source. â€Å"Solar power as cheap as coal†¦ that is the holy grail of the solar power industry† (R. Glenn Hubbard, 2012) Government support includes generous subsidies to the consumer and producers of the PV industry. â€Å"Government agencies, utilities and others offer a variety of tax credits, rebates and other incentives to support energy efficiency, encourage the use of renewable energy sources, and support efforts to conserve energy and lessen pollution.† (Energy, 2014) I see four main factors influencing the price elasticity of demand: †¢Availability of close substitutes. Are there many available close substitutes for solar panels? The demand will tend to be elastic if Cindy and her customer can switch among the various types of PV’s for the same desired feature. †¢Are PV’s a necessity or a luxury? Currently, PV’s would be considered an elastic form of energy because there are other forms of electricity (coal/power plants). We once considered personal computers a luxury and they are now a necessity. Perhaps PV’s will be viewed the same way in the future. †¢How much of my income will PV’s consume? A large portion of consumer’s income equals elasticity. What portion of income can your client devote to the cost of solar panels? If it is a large share (elastic), what tradeoffs will client need to consider to make it a worthwhile purchase? †¢What is the time horizon when making decisions on PV’s? PV systems have productive life cycles of 30-50 years. (Brownson, 2014) A longer time horizon is said to be elastic. Recommendations Upon review of various criteria such as elasticity of demand, cost of production, etc, I would encourage Cindy to pursue this business venture. This sector is set to grow exponentially in the future. The fall in solar PV prices as well as other incentives will cause higher demand for  installation. This will benefit Cindy’s new business venture by bringing more installation business and lower input costs. This can be seen in the demand supply figure: It also makes good economic sense for Cindy to borrow money for her solar panel business venture as the government provides various subsidies to businesses involved in clean energy. â€Å"In total, the federal energy tax subsidies will cost more than $16 billion in 2013, up from only $5 billion in 2005.† (Bastach, 2013) Cindy can benefit from a piece of the clean energy subsidy pie. Bibliography Bastach, M. (2013, March 13). Most energy tax subsidies go toward green energy, energy efficiency. Retrieved from The Daily Caller: http://dailycaller.com/2013/03/14/cbo-most-energy-tax-subsidies-go-toward-green-energy-energy-efficiency/ Brownson, J. (2014, May 25). Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering. Retrieved from Penn State University: https://www.e-education.psu.edu/eme810/node/593 Energy, U. D. (2014, may 25). Tax Credits, Rebates, and Savings. Retrieved from Energy.gov: http://energy.gov/savings NPD Group, Inc. (2013, December). Solarbuzz. Retrieved from Solarbuzz: http://www.solarbuzz.com/news/recent-findings/strong-growth-forecast-solar-pv-industry-2014-demand-reaching-49-gw R. Glenn Hubbard, A. P. (2012). Economics. VitalSouce bookshelf version. Tanaka, S. (2014, May 22). Payback Time for Solar-Power Energy Systems. Retrieved from The Wall Street Journal: http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304198504579571960667560156?mg=reno64-wsjurl=http%3A%2F%2Fo nline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424052702304198504579571960667560156.html

Russian Economy in the Late 1990s Essay Example for Free

Russian Economy in the Late 1990s Essay The process of economic transformation in Russia has been marked by a prolonged transitional depression and macroeconomic instability: seven years of continuing decline resulted in a cumulative drop of GDP by more than 40% between 1989 and 1996; in that period there were also several outbursts of near- hyperinflation. The first radical effort to tackle inflation was the IMF-supported stabilization program of 1995. It focused on tight monetary control and nominal exchange rate targets; subsequently, direct central bank financing of the budget was discontinued and the exchange rate was placed under control. In the years that followed, Russia made marked progress towards price and exchange rate stability and this prompted positive expectations in the West and a widespread perception that the country was pursuing the right course of reforms. It is important to point out that the 1995 stabilization effort was not supported by deep structural and institutional reforms. Russia inherited from the past an over-industrialized economy, dominated by highly inefficient heavy industry (including the military-industrial complex). The liberalization of prices and the discontinuation of subsidies resulted de facto in the destruction of a large share of the existing capital stock. Restructuring these industries is a serious policy task: simply closing down the large number of inefficient enterprises would not be socially and politically tolerable, but unfortunately that was the way of Russian development during 1990s. In these circumstances the Russian authorities started speedy, give-away mass privatization program which was carried out during 1992-1994. However, this resulted in most cases in the concentration of effective property rights in the hands of insiders (company managers) who had neither the willing nor the capital to perform the necessary deep restructuring of the enterprises. The newly emerging system of private ownership was not conducive to effective corporate governance and was in fact another obstacle to the process of enterprise restructuring. Moreover, the loopholes in law system seem to have incited a continued stripping of the assets of the privatized enterprises rather than their market-oriented restructuring. Thus, the progress in institutional and legislative reforms in Russia in the 1990s has been modest and the emerging market infrastructure in the country is extremely poor. This is especially so in the areas of commercial and corporate law. The execution of agreements most often relies on the goodwill of the parties, while contract enforcement is often impossible by legal means. Very little was done to reform the functioning of Russian public administration whose lack of transparency is well known. It gave birth to widespread rent seeking which resulted in the de facto concentration of wealth in a relatively small group of oligarchs. This distorted socio-political environment, and the presence of a mistakes in public administration has created a vicious circle which is a major obstacle to reforms and to social justice. One frequent characteristic of the Russian nouveaux-riches is that the wealth of numerous members of the new class was not acquired as a result of entrepreneurial success; it was simply easy money, obtained in some cases from illegal or semi-legal activity. Huge amounts of capital left Russia and were spent on luxury goods or just placed in safe havens instead of being put to productive use within the country. The unprecedentedly rapid stratification of society and the lack of social justice eroded initial public support for the reforms and strengthened the opposition to the reform process. It was in this economic and institutional environment that the Russian government launched the 1995 stabilization program. The climate for productive investment in Russia remained hostile, mostly due to the negative impact of this environment. The persistent lack of investor confidence leaded to further decapitalization of the economy. In real terms, gross fixed investment in 1997 was a quarter of its 1991 level. The prolonged financial pressure on manufactories provoked a credit crunch and the emergence of various monetary surrogates (acting as an alternative to money) and widespread barter (closely related to the diffusion of loss-making activity) which eroded further the tax base. Wage arrears kept mounting not only in the public domain but also in the corporate sector: in 1996 the arrears were, on average, for about 85% of total wage. The escalation of this situation was in May 1998, when doctors, workers and coal miners went on a massive strike over unpaid wages, blocking the Trans-Siberian Railway. After a short recovery in 1997, the economic situation started to getting worse in early 1998. Russia depends heavily on exports of energy resources and other primary commodities which make up 80% of merchandise exports, and the weakening of global demand and the unprecedented fall in their prices in the aftermath of the Asian crisis had a significant negative impact on its economy. There was a sharp fall in export earnings (about 12% in the first half of 1998) and this had a major impact on Russias external and fiscal balances. The fiscal problem There is wide agreement that the Russian fiscal crisis is itself just the expression of the overall crisis of the Russian transformation. Fundamental institutional reform of both taxation and expenditure has been repeatedly set back by political conflicts, such as constitutional crisis in 1993 and the problem of regional separatism. For the first half of 1998, the consolidated budget deficit (federal, regional and local) stood at 4. % of GDP, according to the lowest official figures. The overall position was considerably worse than this, particularly because the major extra-budgetary fund, the Pension Fund, had also a large deficit. These figures must also be seen in the context of wage arrears throughout all sectors of the economy. In the first quarter of 1998 debt service was fully one-third of federal spending. This visible strain was in itself another factor that destibilized confidence in the ability of the government to correct the situation. The growing burden of interest payments was built into the measures taken in 1995: while Russian official figures continue to record the 1995 budget deficit at 3. 0% of GDP, interest payments on the growing stock of GKO (Government Short-Term Commitments) were actually adding nearly the same amount to the financing needs in that year. The first issues of GKOs were available only to residents, and offered very high interest rates. In 1996, and in part as a result of International Monetary Fund insistence, the market was opened to non-residents. This did eventually succeed in lowering the interest rates, but it also clearly meant that the dangerous accumulation of debt could be continued. Until the first major crisis of confidence, this is what, in fact, occurred in 1998. The financial crisis of summer 1998 As part of the efforts to achieve macroeconomic stabilization, the federal government had made increasing use of Government Short-Term Commitments. But the situation remained dangerous: of the government deficit as much as 50% was due to interest payments. As Russias current account deteriorated from a position of surplus in 1997 to a deficit forecast at 1. 5-2% of GDP for 1998 as a whole, the rouble came under pressure and monetary policy was tightened with the result that the interest rates on GKOs reached levels of more than 100%. The consequent decline in the value of government securities led to calls by the foreign creditors of Russian banks for addition a repo loans. Thus, russian banks came under pressure to raise additional funds at just the time when the central bank was draining liquidity from the market as part of its attempt to defend the exchange rate. Due to the falls in the value of government securities, banks efforts to borrow were transferred to the interbank market that eventually couldnt function. These difficulties signaled the liquidity squeeze on Russian banks to international lenders, and increased their fears of becoming a bankrupt. At the same time the government faced increasing difficulties over borrowing to meet the interest obligations on its debt. The package of international loans from the IMF, the World Bank and Japan arranged in July was to provide Russia with funding of $17 billion during the 1998 and 1999. However, the attempt to defend the exchange rate which followed, was eventually abandoned, and a wider band for the rouble/dollar exchange rate was introduced in the third week in August that leaded to a rouble depreciation of more than 25%. On 2 September 1998 the Central Bank of the Russian Federation decided to abandon the floating peg policy and float the ruble freely. By 21 September 1998 the exchange rate had reached 21 rubles for one US dollar, meaning it had lost two thirds of its value of less than a month earlier. The moratorium on government debt caused large losses to foreign banks. For Russian banks the losses associated with the crisis are estimated at 40% of their assets. Despite the small scale of international exposure to Russia, the emergency measures taken by its government were accompanied by significant declines in prices in international financial markets and important downward revisions in forecast of capital inflows to developing and transition economies. Recovery Russia bounced back from the August 1998 financial crash with surprising speed. Much of the reason for the recovery is that world oil prices rapidly rose during 1999–2000 (just as falling energy prices helped to deepen Russias troubles), so that Russia ran a large trade surplus in 1999 and 2000. Another reason is that domestic industries, such as food producing, had benefited from the devaluation, which caused a steep increase in the prices of imported goods. Also, since Russias economy was operating to such a large extent on other non-monetary instruments of exchange, the financial collapse had far less of an impact on many producers. Finally, the economy had been helped by an infusion of cash. As enterprises were able to pay all debts on wages, consumer demand for goods and services produced by the Russian industry began to rise. For the first time in many years, in 2000 unemployment fell as enterprises added workers. Since the 1998 crisis, the Russian government has managed to keep social and political pressures under control, and this has played a essential role in recovery during the early 2000s.

Equality And Diversity Policy And Practices Business Essay

Equality And Diversity Policy And Practices Business Essay ABSTRACT Recently, there has been an increase in workforce diversity and all organisations most especially the ones in the Western world strive to remain competitive in the labour market by extending their operations to the developing world as a result of globalisation. This study aims to examine the international transfer of global diversity policies and practices to local context like Nigeria. The findings demonstrate the importance of flexible management practices for Multinational corporations in transferring their policies across borders. This study reveals some approaches to management of a diverse and equal workforce as well as its barriers. Keywords: Global Diversity, equality, Workforce Diversity, Nigeria, Culture. TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS 5 CHAPTER ONE: 7 1.1: INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY 7 1.2 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY 8 1.4: SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY 9 1.5: OUTLINE OF RESEARCH 10 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 11 2.1: INTRODUCTION 11 2.2: WORKFORCE DIVERSITY 11 2.3: EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY IN THE NIGERIAN CONTEXT 14 2.4: GLOBAL DIVERSITY MANAGEMENT 16 2.5: BUSINESS CASE FOR MANAGING DIVERSITY 19 2.6: BARRIERS TO DIVERSITY MANAGEMENT 21 2.6.1: DISCRIMINATION 21 2.6.2: STEROTYPES AND PREJUDICE 21 2.6.3: HARRASSMENT 22 CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY 24 3.1: THE PHILOSOPHICAL POSITION OF THIS RESEARCH 24 3.2: RESEARCH DESIGN 25 3.3: STUDY LOCATION 25 3.4: RESEARCH INSTRUMENTS 26 3.5: SAMPLING DESIGN 26 3.6: SAMPLE POPULATION AND SAMPLE SIZE 26 3.8: ETHICAL CONSIDERATION 27 CHAPTER FOUR: DATA ANALYSIS, INTERPRETATION AND DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS 28 4.1: INTRODUCTION 28 4.2: DIVERSITY STRUCTURE OF THE COMPANY 28 4.3: INTERNATIONAL TRANSFER OF DIVERSITY POLICIES TO A LOCAL CONTEXT 29 4.4: DIVERSITY AT WORK 32 4.5: PROGRAMMES AND INITIATIVE THAT MAKES THE TRANSFER OF GLOBAL POLICIES WORKS. 34 CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS 38 5.1: INTRODUCTION 38 5.2: SUMMARY OF FINDINGS 38 5.3: RECOMMENDATIONS 39 5.4: LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY 39 5.5: CONCLUSION 40 40 BIBLIOGRAPHY 41 APPENDICES..47 CHAPTER ONE: 1.1: INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY The management of diversity has become significant in recent years in the research area in order to certify the total involvement of women, ethnic minorities, disabled people and other less privileged people (Lepaka and Shaw 2008; Nishii and Ozbilgin 2007). Diversity management came into existence in the late 1980s in the USA as a likely criterion for tackling the issues of inequality and diversity at workplace and this has been adopted by so many countries around the world (Kelly and Dobbin 1998).Comprehensively, researches have been carried out on the management of diversity locally (Verbeek, 2011; Ocholla, 2002), but this is not enough to understand the interests of diversity management globally and the way their cross-national activities are managed and directed (Ozbilgin,2005). Cox (2001) defined diversity as the existence of differences in social and cultural identities with in employees working together in an organisation. An al-encompassing definition of diversity may consist of economic status, physique, educational background, norms, culture, sexual orientation, economic status, duration of time spent with a firm and personality (Carr, 1993; Triandis 1994); Thus, accepting and appreciating the differences in people at workplace with the above features is what diverse workforce is. Recently, Companies across the globe have put alot more into diversity management programs so as to achieve results that include making the most use of talents, and giving the best they can give to demographically diverse customers (Horwitz, 2005). Organizations have recognized that the level to which these specific workforce alterations are successfully and proficiently controlled will influence organizational role and competitiveness (Von Bergen et al 2005). There is no doubt in recent years, globalisation has brought and is still bringing about the amalgamation of the world market. The Multinational companies are beginn ing to spread their tentacles wide and large across the globe and this has over the years brought about the need for organisations to be able to manage people coming from different cultures, background and also being able to adapt to such new environments from the parent company. This research will be contributing to the very few researches that have been done on the management of diversity globally by examining some of the strategies used by the MNCs and how best they are able to adapt and transfer their diversity and equality practices across the different jurisdictions they operate especially in the African sub-region. The case study company is a MNC with subsidiaries around the world including Nigeria which has over 250 ethnic groups. 1.2 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY This study will look into the equality and diversity policy and practices in organisations and its basic objectives includes: To identify and examine how global diversity policies and practices works in local context. To examine the barriers that has inhibited the employment, development, retention and promotion of diverse workforce in the organisation. To examine some of the initiatives and programmes used in ensuring the success of international transfer of diversity policies to a local context. 1.3: RESEARCH QUESTIONS The main question of this research is how global equality and diversity policies are being translated and implemented in local contexts like Nigeria. Other research questions are: What are the difficulties encountered in introducing and implementing global diversity policies locally? What are the barriers that have inhibited the employment, development, retention and promotion of diverse workforce in organisations? What are the major factors influencing diversity initiatives at work? 1.4: SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY This study is of great importance because, in as much as diversity and equality issues have been well researched in the western and developed countries, very limited work has been carried out in the African sub-region (Nyambegera, 2002). Hence, this study will contribute to further understanding in the topical area of equality and diversity management within the African context and why it is important for MNCs to acknowledge the effects of local and contextual issues such as culture, beliefs, perceptions etc could have on the effectiveness of their global equality and diversity policies. As mentioned earlier, diversity management have been researched but most of the researches have not taken into consideration global diversity management. Therefore, this project would make an important contribution to the few existing literatures in understanding the concepts of global diversity management and the international transfer of diversity policies to local contexts. Nevertheless, given tha t Nigeria is a developing country, this research would also help in understanding how MNCs operating in developing countries like Nigeria deal with and manage a diverse workforce. 1.5: OUTLINE OF RESEARCH This research is presented in five parts. Firstly, is the introduction to the concept of the research topic. Secondly, the key literature of the research topic is discussed. The literature helped the research to think about significant issues to pay attention to when rounding up the pragmatic part of the research study. The third part shows and discussed the method of analysing and collecting data which includes the use of semi structured interviews. Having chosen to use qualitative research method is important because, it brings out some interesting and amazing findings which will be discussed in the fourth part of this research work. The findings of this research suggests that, the successful transfer of MNCs policies and practices is dependent on how they are able to understand the beliefs, norms and culture of the any country they are planning to transfer their diversity policies to and make necessary amendments to suits the proposed subsidiary countrys way of life. CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 2.1: INTRODUCTION This chapter will review the past literatures on equality policy and practices and the international transfer of management of diversity policies in multinational corporations (MNCs). Thus, various themes like gender inequality in Nigeria, the management of workforce diversity, equality and diversity policy, culture, global diversity management would be examined. 2.2: WORKFORCE DIVERSITY Broadly, Diversity management is defined as the logical, methodical and strategic obligations and responsibilities by the companies to recruits retain and promote workers from different backgrounds, beliefs and norms (Ongori and Angolla, 2007). It is argued that companies that encourage workforce diversity certainly will be successful within the international labour market (Jain and Verma, 1996). The importance attached to the management of diversity has been as a result of the increase in openness to national borders as well as the free movement of capital and labour across national borders which could result in companies having some of the most productive employees (Carrel et al, 2000). For an organisation to diversify, the work environment must be able to condone and allow employees to exhibit and make use of their potentials without been subdued by either nationality, gender, race, personality, religion, economic class, culture and other elements that are extraneous to performanc e(Bryan, 1999 as cited in Ongori and Angolla, 2007). Triandis et al (1994) define diversity as any traits or elements which might or may possibly direct an individuals perception that another individual is distinct from them or what gives an individual the notion that the other individual is different from him or her. This definition of diversity seems to portray a deeper insight to what diversity is and it can be described as what an individual thinks differentiates them from another individual. With present changes happening around the globe, the increase in globalisation and the management of workforce diversity as a means to expand organisational efficiency cannot be underestimated (Ongori and Angolla, 2007). Gender can be described as what differentiates individuals sexually. Over the years, it has been seen that women are more disadvantaged in the labour market. Due to negative stereotyping (Loden and Rosener, 1991). Disability on the other hand is defined as a physical or mental deficiency which has a significant and a lasting unfavourable impact on an individuals competency perform everyday undertakings unexceptionally(Disability Discrimination Act 1995).Most of the physically and mentally fit people have little or no intimate interaction and communication with the disabled people, then there is a possibility then for the non disabled individuals in their growing up to have little or no contact with disabled people which serves as an important barrier to equal employment opportunity for the disabled (French,1996; Reynolds et al, 2001).Further to this, age discrimination has also been a major factor preventing the majority of employees from accessing top managerial positions (Oswick and Rosenthal, 2001; Kirton and Greene, 2010).Many top managers have been removed one way or the other from top and high paid positions in organisations as a result of their age as they are normally perceived to have less capabilities and skills to function well in such organisations (Kirton and Greene, 2010). For instance, the criteria employers use in their recruitment and promotional processes are normally discriminatory against either old employees or even the younger ones (Perry and Parlamis, 2006; Kirton and Greene, 2010). Further to this, the sexual orientation of employees could also be problematic not only for management but also some employees as well. Many lesbian and Gay people nowadays tend to hide their identity in order to avoid discrimination because companies are frequently harsh and unreceptive towards the lesbian and gay men (Oerton, 1996; Mills, 1989). Cockburn (1991), proposed the equality for lesbians and gay men as the most challenged and argued equality scheme and assignment as a result of the insufficiency of harmony over the ethical value of the gay rights scheme. In addition, it is still popularly assumed that individuals can decide to choose to be heterosexual or lesbian or gay; while one cannot choose in respect to gender, disability, age and ethnicity. Race and Ethnicity heave also been an issue for managers of diversity. Taking the UK employment patterns as an examples, in 2006, the unemployment rate for black minority ethnic men was 11% and that of the white was 5% which makes the rate of the black and minority ethnics group unemployment 2times higher than their white counterpart while the rate of unemployment for black and minority ethnic women was 9% and there counterpart was 4% which makes it 2times higher as well (ECO, 2006). Hence, the rate of women`s unemployment generally in all the ethnic groups experience quite a low unemployment rates than the men. With the recent trend, it can be said that the rate of unemployment as a well as wage gap between men and women in labour market has reduced but absolutely not wiped out (Kirton and Greene, 2010). For employers both in public and private companies to be able to manage a diverse workforce, it is of necessity to be able to understand, envisage and deal with the fascinating features of a diverse workforce. Although, many companies have adopted diversity, some others still regard it as only a matter of conforming to legal prerequisite. Effective diversity management has historically been used to provide a legally defensive position; that is, a firm with a diverse workforce could argue that they were not guilty of discrimination because of the prima facie case based on their workforce demographics representing the demographics of the local community (Ongori and Angolla 2007; p, 73) Lederach (1995) defined culture as the shared knowledge and schemes created by a set of people for perceiving, interpreting, expressing and responding to social realities around them. This definition of culture describes it as a general way by which people in an environment think or perceives things. Hence, culture has impacts on the way persons interconnect and act as it indicates a set of norms including thought patterns, motives, self-image impulsive reactions or feelings (Muir, 2007). 2.3: EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY IN THE NIGERIAN CONTEXT Nigeria is the single largest geographical unit in West Africa with several ethnic groups of about 250 with considerable differences in the norms and values of each major tribe. Gender is a significant part of diversity because, women make up half of the worlds population of which Nigeria is no excerption with half of its population being women even though the majority of these women in question live below the poverty margin and owns little or no education, capital base. (Izugbara and Ukwayi, 2002). There has been little or no research on equality and diversity in companies in Nigeria (Omair 2008, Jamali et al 2005). Nigeria has listed inspiring steps with sense to reducing gender-based violence, sexism and beautifying womens rights apart from many well-intentioned efforts to fill the space between female and male accomplishments in the area of education, economic activity and political participation. Indeed, Nigeria is still undergoing a difficult political and economic transition a fter several years of military rule. The problems include pervasive poverty and widespread unemployment; deterioration of government institutions and inadequate capacity at all levels of government to deliver critical services effectively; sporadic violence between ethnic groups; a legacy of widespread corruption; little growth in the non-oil private economy and limited self-empowerment among local communities. Yet, Nigeria remains a society rich in cultural linguistic, religious, ethnic and political diversity (Obayelu and Ogunlade 2006; p.2). Nigeria accounts for considerable gender inequalities in female labour market involvement, human capital, remuneration and health with pointers for women being profiled as significantly below those for men (Fajana, 2010) Women have the probability to be less buoyant than men and have lesser choices to riggle out of poverty (IMF,2004). Because women possess little formal education than the men they are likely to be inconsistently restrained to lower return and low output or efficiency employment in the informal economy. Subsequently, their capability to break away from poverty through employment is restricted as well. The table below gives an empirical evidence of the huge sexual differences in employment status in Nigeria (Fajana, 2010). Figure 1: Gender Labour Force Rate Source: Compilation based on data from World Bank Development Indicators This graph above shows the huge difference in gender employment in Nigeria between 1991 and 2008 which is obvious that, men in Nigeria are more employed than women. However, the main cause of the problem of inequality and a high rate of unemployment in the labour market is the inability of graduates and skilful individuals to secure decent jobs after studying. Thus, in a country like Nigeria where there exist huge inequalities in gender employment rate, it is a major factor which MNCs transferring their equality and diversity policies to Nigeria to be able to take a good look at and find ways which the situation of the countrys inequality rate would not affect their international standard in negative ways. 2.4: GLOBAL DIVERSITY MANAGEMENT Over the past few years, the word managing diversity or diversity management has been a popular term and matters concerning management of diversity have also gained attention as a result of the diverse workforce and also the rise and increase in globalisation which has increased the mobility of the global workforce (Konrad, 2003). Such a global diverse workforce has culminated in the emergence of regulations and organisational wide policies to try and manage diversity in a way that will be beneficial to the organisations and the society as a whole (European Commission 2003). Seymen (2006) refers to diversity as a situation where differences exists in the background of various employees in an organisation irrespective of their demographic characteristics which includes, gender, age, sexual orientation, sex, ethnicity, educational background, and physique .Workforce diversity has no singular or a general definition, rather still, it has been debated or contended to be a multifaceted and byzantine term that is conceding a notion , idea and belief which conjure diverse views and opinions in various companies and culture (Omanovic 2002, Cassell, 2001). Ozbilgin and Tatli(2008) defined global diversity management as the setting up, organising, managing and putting into practice of management strategies, procedures and development programs for the purpose of accepting varied sets of working in multinational corporations. The definition above may be described as putting together and management of HR policies and practices as well as initiatives that is acceptable across the Headquarter of MNCs and its subsidiaries. Global diversity management has to do with the management of the transfer of employment practices from a parent company to her subsidiaries overseas. Historically, the transfer of management practices from the developed to the developing countries is the mode of operation of the MNCs (Azolukwam and Perkins, 2009). However, the increase in globalisation and also the concerns of growing demographic diversity have enhanced the need for understanding heterogeneity in organisations. Diversity management is a rebranded name given to one time equality policy and practices in organisations in Britain (Kirton and Greene, 2010). They further argued that, matters relating to orthodox equal opportunities such as gender or sex discrimination cannot be separated from the explicit issues such as individual or cultural discrepancies within diversity management. In other to give an overview of what diversity management is, diversity itself should be known. Consequently, Tatli, (2011) suggested that, managing diversity and equal opportunities are complementary rather than conflicting; this means that, the management of diversity and equal opportunities combines in such a way that they both enhance each others qualities other than conflicting. Wrench (2005) also stated that, diversity management is utilised amen ably to conceal so many issues. He further explained that, it should not be allowed to become a Trojan horse that ease or simplify the attenuating of profits which have already been achieved in the procedure of anti discrimination or those that are still crucial for the future. Lauring (2012) argues that global diversity management in multinational corporations has been confirmed a challenging issue as a result of recurrent failures in the making and growth of such programmes. However, he argues that, what differentiates the management of diversity globally from locally is basically because of the enigma of global integration and local responsiveness. Supporting Laurings argument, the successful transfer of policies across border to a local context is totally dependent on how it is been handled in the subsidiary Company and the failure of the MNCs to have a deep insight of how the subsidiary country operates including their ways and beliefs of doing things before formulating or transferring their policies affects the success rate of transferring policies. Noon (2007), argues, that Diversity management is basically an idea that disregarded the significance of equal opportunities and covers up the importance of ethnicity in organisations. On the other hand, (Syed and Ozbilgin, 2009) argues that, they do not as a matter of fact agree with Noons argument and thereby, pointed out that the idea must be ascertain and espy both in the local and international context before its ability and strength can be enhanced and developed. Dass Parker (1999) argue that the difficulty faced by a company in terms of diversity management will be determined by their methods or attitudes they take. However, At the level of international management pressures, as well as urgency of diversity management, interventions vary more extensively than at the level of domestic operations (Tatli Ozbilgin 2008; p.18). An organisations subsidiary must be very distinctive in other to be able handle the domestic markets especially in terms of practices, norms and business cultures that differs from that of the parent country (Lauring, 2012).Though, nearly all multinational corporations strive to convey the well established management procedures that initially allowed the corporation to spread out of its local market to its overseas affiliates (Barkinshaw and Hood, 1998). The successful outcome of these practices in the parent company does not make such practices and policies successful in the subsidiaries overseas, as a result of the distinctions in culture and environment affecting the management situation (Dimitratos et al, 2010). Sippola and Smale (2007) advocates that the transfer of diversity management practices which has more to do with culture, to overseas subsidiary company is possible but could be quite difficult. Nevertheless, Parent companies may also be less dedicated to ensuring homogeneity in diversity management if legal or cultural differences can be used as an excuse for more dilute diversity management approaches(Lauring 2012,p.3).He further stated that, in the case of international unification of diversity management, management practices would be developed in the parent company, but when exported to an overseas subsidiary, they become exposed to different circumstances that may not be in accordance with the genuine notion or intention. Looking at workforce diversity from a business panorama, it is argued that, the proficiency and the capability of a company to endure imminent tasks and encounters is doubled when there is better workforce diversity in particular when there is variation in emp loyees skills, cultural facet, experiences, values (Thornhill et al, 2000).As a matter of fact, managing a global workforce efficiently is regarded has been essential and vital in acquiring benefits for business and in maintaining competitive advantage globally (Florkowski 1996). Pragmatic evidence from a survey carried out by (Dunavant and Heiss, 2005) showed that 100% of those organisations see global diversity as a significant matter. The term global diversity has gained attention as a result of the increase in both national laws and international policies which is made for the purpose of eliminating discrimination and also as a related increase in the rate of important lawsuits against global organisations (Nishii and Ozbilgin,2007) in spite of that, since the types or categories of discrimination that are termed illegal throughout countries and there seems to be broad differences across countries in the way laws and policies concerning the equal opportunities are put in place and unravelled (Ozbilgin,2002).Furthermore, Nishii and Ozbilgin (2007) gave an example of a country like Japan where 99% of the entire population are of the same ethnic groups and hence, given a laid down goals for the firms is basically absurd and unreasonable . 2.5: BUSINESS CASE FOR MANAGING DIVERSITY Before organisations can come to an agreement of operating a diverse workforce, they would be doing it to expect a positive impact on their organisational standard. However, some of the benefits enjoyed by organisations with diverse workforce include a high rate of accomplishment in their transactions with international and domestic ethnic societies as well as a fair circulation of economic opportunity. That is, when a company operates on a diverse workforce, they tend to have different people from difference ethnic groups, different cultures and experience making it much easier for the company to have a good economic transaction with other countries (Blake, 1991; Cox and Blake, 1991). An organisation that is culturally diverse has the tendency of been more competent and effective in networking, easily acting together and job performance than a non diverse workforce (Watson et al, 1993). However, managing and having a diverse workforce can be of significance to the organisations for having access to authority in perspective of demographic changes in workforce and human rights legislation. Thus, employing disabled people, people of different race, background, sexual orientation, ethnic minorities and other disadvantaged group helps organisations to benefit from this position in the labour market and diversified market sections (Mueller, 1998; Fleury 1999). The increased mobility and interaction of people from diverse backgrounds as a result of improved economic and political systems and the recognition of human rights by all nations has put most organizations under pressure to embrace diversity at the work place (Ongori and Angolla,2007; p, 74).Matters relating to diversity will be more significant in a situation where effective and efficient communication, interface and dealings with people is the key method to business accomplishment as the economies keep moving from the manufacturing to service economies (Wentling and Palma-Rivas, 2000). Additionally, the management of a diverse workforce helps in dealing with the issue of gender inequality, discrimination as well as the concerns for women mostly balancing their domestic and occupational role together without having to forgo one for another. Managing a diverse workforce helps management to easily understand customers needs even from an entirely different culture or background from where the company is situated. Race matching can also be linked to the management of diversity in organisations. Race matching is where organisations specifically employ certain ethnicities or race just to attract those customers who are similar to them which could increase business for the company. For example, Tesco or Sainsbury employing black store managers in a branch located in a predominantly black community so as to get more black customers through the door as they will feel more comfortable and relate to them better and this can be a strategy for having competitive advantage. Nevertheless, there are some barriers which hinder the effective management. 2.6: BARRIERS TO DIVERSITY MANAGEMENT As there exists benefits for managing a diverse workforce in organisations, so also there are still certain barriers that need to be tackled before an organisation can successfully manage a diverse workforce. Some of the basic and important barriers are: 2.6.1: DISCRIMINATION Discrimination is defined as the unjust and prejudicial treatment of individuals on the grounds of what differentiates those individuals (Halle, 2008).Previous researches conducted on discrimination shows that women in companies are faced with more barriers in getting to the top position in the organisation than men (Auster; 1988; Fernandez 1998). Even though, there has been laws enacted by the government in various countries against discrimination, there still exists discrimination in the workplace (Wentling and Palma Rivas 1997). 2.6.2: STEROTYPES AND PREJUDICE Stereotype is defined as a fixed and distorted generalisation made about all members of a particular group (Loden and Rosener p.58 1991) while prejudice can be defined as the bias to have a negative judgement regarding individuals who are different from other people in terms of either gender, race, ethnic, physical characteristics and capabilities (Morrison 1992). (Henderson, 1994; p.133) also defined prejudice as a conclusion drawn without adequate knowledge or evidence. Researchers like catalyst (1990), Baskerville and Tuckers (1991) found out that stereotyping, prejudice, discrimination were some of the basic barriers encountered by women in getting to the top and this can be traced to one of the contemporary terms in labour market which is the glass ceiling and sticky floor. Glass ceiling can be described as some of the insubstantial, impalpable and imaginary barriers that counteract and preclude some categories of people from growing and getting higher than a particular level at work while the sticky floor refers to the way that some groups remain permanently on the bottom rung of the organisation ladder and remain fixed in low paid and undervalued jobs (Johnstone (2002) p.4). 2.6.3: HARRASSMENT An explanatory definition of harassment is; any offensive conduct or remarks made to an individual as a result of their ethnicity, race, sexual orientation, age, capability or gender (Poole, 1997). The Blacks Law Dictionary (Black, 1990 p, 1375) defines sexual harassment as a type of employment discrimination, includes sexual advances, requests for sexual favours, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nat

The Impact of Peer Pressure On Learning :: Peer Pressure Essays

Allan failed his Advanced Algebra test and his parents are going to kill him. But this is not his fault, he was to busy with intramural basketball and his job at Fromm International. With these extra activities he has had no time to study for his math test or do most of the homework. He also has a group of friends who are more concerned with drinking and parting. He try’s to impress his friend by not studying and partying. The main reason why kids and him are not doing so well in school these days is because of their peers. Today’s students listen more to their friends rather than their parents or teachers. Beyond the Classroom and two other sources have backed up the idea of peer pressures effects on kids failing. The book Beyond the Classroom, written by Laurence Steinberg, is about why school reform has failed and what parents need to do. This book explains that schools these days are not as educational as schools back in the day. One of the chapters in this book was titled â€Å"The Power of Peers†. In this section they talked about how teens are effected by other teens. One main reason is teens are not studying and learning as well because of their peers. Kids need groups or â€Å"cliques† to fell important. These groups of peers influence one another. If one kid in the group tells another kid not to do their homework because it will make them look like a geek or a nerd, they will follow the idea because they want to be cool. Also kids involved in sports or extra activities do not do as well as other students, because of the less time to study. Also kids with after school jobs are more likely to fail courses or even classes. â€Å"These kids are not failing school because they don’t try hard or because they don’t study, it’s because they are to involved in other activities†, says Laurence Steinberg. The second source was an article in Family Life. The article â€Å"Adolescence & Peer Pressure† was written by Herbert G. Lingren. This article agreed with Beyond the Classroom and also states some of the same reasons. They said that â€Å"peers these days encourage poor school performance, and peers look down on kids who succeed in school†. The one scary thing is that parents don’t realize that their kids are doing poorly in till the last minute.

India :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  For more than 200 years before the Indian Mutiny of 1857, there had been a British presence in India. They began as merchant ventures and their holdings on the land were relatively small. Over the years they had expanded, creating forts for protection and larger trading stations. Eventually, to make certain that there would be stability and a successful trade business, Britain deployed many of its armed forces there and also raised forces of natives, thus becoming an active power in 18th Century India. Sometimes by their design but also sometimes by accident, the area of British control began to increase. Their expansion lasted until nearly the entire sub-continent was apart or effected by the empire by the year 1857.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The relationship of the British with their Indian subject gradually began to get worse as time passed. Many held the invention of the steamships responsible for the tension between the two peoples. By allowing the British officers a greatly reduced travel time from their English wives and their workplace, created less time with their Indian mistresses. Another very important aspect was the arrival of missionaries from protestant England. The missionaries cast their teachings upon the very conservative Indians, who preferred their own customs and institutions to other people. Indians especially preferred their own religions and Evangelical Christians had little respect, or understanding of, these ancient practices and beliefs.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The spark that started it happened in May of 1857 with a mutiny of Indian troops at Meerut, or a matter of religious principle. The new rifles, which had been issued by the British army, contained a cartridge that required the soldier to bite of the end in order to load the weapon. To make this process easier, the cartridges were greased with the animal fat of a cow or pig. The rumor quickly spread throughout the Indian regiment that this process was being used, and according to ancient Hindu and Muslim religion, this practice is unclean and according to Lord Roberts, â€Å"the affair betrayed and incredible disregard of the natives’ religious prejudices.†(Porter, 40) The mutineers took Delhi first with the help of more native regiments, and from there, the rebellion spread quickly but unevenly. Throughout the many battles at Delhi, Cawnpore, and Lucknow, the natives were never able to completely seize all of India. Britain did manage to survive the fourteen month long battle, but with severe losses. India :: essays research papers   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  For more than 200 years before the Indian Mutiny of 1857, there had been a British presence in India. They began as merchant ventures and their holdings on the land were relatively small. Over the years they had expanded, creating forts for protection and larger trading stations. Eventually, to make certain that there would be stability and a successful trade business, Britain deployed many of its armed forces there and also raised forces of natives, thus becoming an active power in 18th Century India. Sometimes by their design but also sometimes by accident, the area of British control began to increase. Their expansion lasted until nearly the entire sub-continent was apart or effected by the empire by the year 1857.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The relationship of the British with their Indian subject gradually began to get worse as time passed. Many held the invention of the steamships responsible for the tension between the two peoples. By allowing the British officers a greatly reduced travel time from their English wives and their workplace, created less time with their Indian mistresses. Another very important aspect was the arrival of missionaries from protestant England. The missionaries cast their teachings upon the very conservative Indians, who preferred their own customs and institutions to other people. Indians especially preferred their own religions and Evangelical Christians had little respect, or understanding of, these ancient practices and beliefs.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The spark that started it happened in May of 1857 with a mutiny of Indian troops at Meerut, or a matter of religious principle. The new rifles, which had been issued by the British army, contained a cartridge that required the soldier to bite of the end in order to load the weapon. To make this process easier, the cartridges were greased with the animal fat of a cow or pig. The rumor quickly spread throughout the Indian regiment that this process was being used, and according to ancient Hindu and Muslim religion, this practice is unclean and according to Lord Roberts, â€Å"the affair betrayed and incredible disregard of the natives’ religious prejudices.†(Porter, 40) The mutineers took Delhi first with the help of more native regiments, and from there, the rebellion spread quickly but unevenly. Throughout the many battles at Delhi, Cawnpore, and Lucknow, the natives were never able to completely seize all of India. Britain did manage to survive the fourteen month long battle, but with severe losses.

The Only Fish I Wanted To Catch :: essays research papers

The Only Fish I Wanted To Catch A sensation of astounding warmth enshrouded my mind and body as I blankly stared out on to the choppy lake. I realized that the blinding sun was sure to burn me by the end of the day. I was completely clueless as to where the day would take me. At first I was a little apprehensive about climbing into the small rowboat and heading out there for the entire day. What if I didn’t make it back? I had never been fishing alone. All I craved was to catch the perfect fish. It didn’t have to be big or fat, just perfect for me. So I mustered up the courage and took a chance. The last time I had taken a chance I had paid for it dearly.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sarina was the perfect girl, and I was determined to let her know how I felt about her. She didn’t make me happy. Happiness was not exactly the emotion she brought out in me. Her presence brought out something within me that was much deeper and more sincere. She was the foundation of my utopia. She had a special quality about her. Most people I know walk around with their souls being held prisoner by their bodies. She was one of those unique people whose body was held captive by her soul. Thirty seconds out of every minute I thought about her. I always made sure she had everything. It took me six months before I could even tell her how I felt. When I finally told her how I felt she took the news really well, but I knew she wasn’t interested. After telling me that our friendship was too close for us to get involved romantically, I swept up the pieces of my shattered heart, put them in my pocket and walked away. I had her snagged on my hook but she thr ew it. I used kindness, and patience, and she used me. I gave her everything she asked of me. She took the bait and ran. She avoided me at all costs for the next two months. Suddenly, I was at the mercy of the wide-open water of my misery, and was fearful of drowning. Had I been coerced into believing we were best friends? We squandered for hours and hours resolving each other’s personal dilemmas. We called each other religiously on the phone when we were apart.

We Can Raise Antibodies Against a Specific Antigen, How

We Can Raise Antibodies Against a Specific Antigen, How? BY loveyal 2345 Midterm 2 Review Antibodies Experimental Purpose: We can â€Å"raise† antibodies against a specific antigen (protein of interest) How? Polyclonal: 1 antigen with many antibodies that bind to specific sites on the antigen (Received by injecting animal with protein of interest, waiting for that animal to build antibodies (B-lymphocytes). The lymphocytes are then extracted which give us the polyclonal antibodies. Monoclonal: I antibody that binds to a specific site on the antigen. (These are received by the same way as polyclonal, expect you only extract ne antibody, and place that into a cancer cell to create a chimera of the two, the immortal cancer cell then acts like the monoclonal antibody. ) These are the best to use in experiments because they are specific to only ONE protein of interest. These antibodies can used in experiments to: Purify a protein of interest Visualize a particular protein in a live system or in a gel HowProbe the gel to visualize where a protein is. Probing Protein Structure 1) X-ray crystallography – Spend h your life producing sufficiently pure protein and obtaining a crystal protein (Crystallizing the proteins is a hard process) â€Å"Shoot† crystal protein with light, electrons, or radiation and examine the diffraction patterns with extremely powerful computers -Analyze all the data while considering the amino-acid sequence and build a 3-D model of the protein. ) NMR-Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (Used rarely) – For small proteins only – â€Å"Shoot† concentrated pure proteins with strong magnetic field to generate hydrogen atom vibrations. – Use computer program to measure reconstruct the structure of the protein by measuring the hydrogen atom vibrations. Mass spectrometry is used as a precursor to both of these experiments. It generates the amino-acid sequence.Protein Purification 1) Grow Cells with protein of inte rest (transferred on plasmid or native cell) 2) Lyse Cells -homogenization of tissues†did in lab -cell lysis buffers†break cell membrane -sonication†send sound waves through the cell to break membrane -pin-hole lysis†push mixture through an extremely tiny hole (Force large molecules through a small opening causes them to break apart) 3) Centrifugation A) Regular Centrifugation B) Differential Centrifugation: Sequential centrifugation @ increasing speeds (lowohigh) -low speed pellets = big things -high speed pellets= small things C) Velocity Centrifugation layer cell and lysate over a â€Å"density gradient† and centrifuge to separate by density. Remove layers to separate proteins. D)Equilibrium Sedimentation: another name for C 4) Column Cromatography 3 types Ion exchange (charge separation)†protein adheres to beads of an opposite charge Gel filtration (size separation)†matrix has holes, the large proteins come out last Affinity (Affinity s eparation)†beads have something on it that only your protein binds to. ) Electrophoresis (small volume separation or detection) -use polyacrylimide gel (creates a â€Å"mesh† in the gel to separate proteins by size and charge. separates denatured proteins 6) Isoelectric focusing based on isolelectric point of protein†2D electrophoresis Griffiths Experiment Conclusion: heat killed bacteria transformed nonviolent bacteria Extract of heat killing S-strain transform R-strain to become S-strain Isolated â€Å"transforming material† (TM) and determined it was DNA not proteins that carried genetic information. (Took 1 5 years) How do we test Added proteases Injected into mouse Mouse should live (According to beliefs during that time period) Mouse however dies Added nucleases Mouse should die (According to beliefs during that time period) Mouse however livesThis illustrated that DNA carried the genetic information Hershey-chase Experiments Bacteriophages†viru s that infect bacteria Inject DNA into bacteria (naked)†DNA unprotected by proteins Protein shell left outside of bacteria Label phages Label protein 7 groups of phages Label DNA in other groups of phages Mix both phage types with bacteria Blend bacterial mixture so that any viral parts outside the cell are ripped off Pellet bacteria and observe that only DNA label types is seen in pelleted bacteria Proved DNA carries genetic information 1) Grow bacteria with light DNA (14N) and heavy DNA (1 5N) which will separate to ifferent levels upon density-gradient centrifugation 2) Transfer heavy DNA and place in flask with light isotope Allows to eliminate conservative view 3) Heat DNA from step 2 to make it single stranded, then centrifuge.

Federal Income Tax Formula

FEDERAL INCOME TAX FORMULA Gross Income – Above the Line Deductions____ Adjusted Gross Income – Itemized or Standard Deduction – Exemptions_________________ Taxable Income x Applicable Marginal Tax Rates for Each Bracket Tax Liability – Tax Credits_________________ = TAX OWED ABRIDGED INCOME TAX ACCOUNTING I. Gross Income [ § 61] — A. Wages, Salaries, and Tips B. Interest Income C. Dividend Income D. Other (Net) Income—Reduced by Deductible Expenses 1. State & Local Income Tax Refunds 2. Alimony Received 3. Business Income or Loss 4. Capital Gains or Losses 5. Taxable IRA Distributions, Pensions, & Annuities . Rents, Royalties, Partnerships, S-Corporations, Estates, Trusts 7. Unemployment Compensation & Social Security 8. Other Income II. Less â€Å"Above the Line† Deductions— A. Unreimbursed Qualified Moving Expenses B.? of Self-Employment Tax C. Self-employed Health Insurance Deduction D. IRA Deduction E. Payments to Keogh R etirement Plan F. Penalty on Early Withdrawal of Savings G. Student Loan Interest Deduction H. Alimony Paid I. Tuition and Fees Deduction J. Depreciation Deduction ———————————————————-â€Å"The Line† = Adjusted Gross Income (â€Å"AGI†) III.Less the Greater of (1) Itemized Deductions or (2) the Standardized Deductions— A. Itemized Deductions: 1. Medical and Dental 2. State Taxes 3. Interest Expense on Qualified Mortgage Indebtedness 4. Casualty & Theft Losses 5. Miscellaneous Itemized Deductions i)Misc. Deductions Subject to 2% AGI Floor ii)Misc. Deductions Exempt from 2% AGI Floor B. Standard Deduction [ § 63] IV. Less Exemptions = Taxable Income V. Tax Liability = Taxable Income x Applicable Marginal Tax Rates VI. Less Tax Credits A. Historical Building Rehabilitation B. Renewable Energy C. Work Opportunity Tax Credit D. Qualif ying Child Tax Credit = TAX OWED

Summary of Rizal

Republic Act No. 1425, known as the  Rizal Law, mandates all educational institutions in the  Philippines  to offer courses about  Jose Rizal. The full name of the law is  An Act to Include in the Curricula of All Public and Private Schools, Colleges and Universities Courses On the Life, Works and Writings of  Jose Rizal, Particularly His Novels  Noli Me Tangere  and  El Filibusterismo, Authorizing the Printing and Distribution Thereof, and for Other Purposes.The measure was strongly opposed by the Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines due to the anti-clerical themes in  Noli Me Tangere  andEl Filibusterismo. Senator  Claro M. Recto  was the main proponent of the then Rizal Bill. He sought to sponsor the bill at Congress. However, this was met with stiff opposition from the Catholic Church. During the  1955 Senate election, the church charged Recto with being a communist and an anti-Catholic.After Recto's election, the Church continued to oppose the bil l mandating the reading of Rizal's novels  Noli Me Tangere  and  El Filibusterismo, claiming it would violate  freedom of conscience  and  religion. [1] In the campaign to oppose the Rizal bill, the Catholic Church urged its adherents to write to their congressmen and senators showing their opposition to the bill; later, it organized symposiums. In one of these symposiums, Fr. Jesus Cavanna argued that the novels belonged to the past and that teaching them would misrepresent current conditions.Radio commentator Jesus Paredes also said that Catholics had the right to refuse to read them as it would â€Å"endanger their salvation†. [1] Groups such as Catholic Action of the Philippines, the  Congregation of the Mission, the  Knights of Columbus, and the Catholic Teachers Guild organized opposition to the bill; they were countered by Veteranos de la Revolucion (Spirit of 1896), Alagad in Rizal, the Freemasons, and the  Knights of Rizal. The Senate Committee on E ducation sponsored a bill co-written by both  Jose P.Laurel  and Recto, with the only opposition coming from  Francisco Soc Rodrigo,  Mariano Jesus Cuenco, and  Decoroso Rosales. [2] The  Archbishop of Manila,  Rufino Santos, protested in a  pastoral letter  that Catholic students would be affected if compulsory reading of the unexpurgated version were pushed through. [3]  Arsenio Lacson, Manila's mayor, who supported the bill, walked out of Mass when the priest read a circular from the archbishop denouncing the bill. [4] Rizal, according to  Cuenco, â€Å"attack[ed] dogmas, beliefs and practices of the Church.The assertion that Rizal limited himself to castigating undeserving priests and refrained from criticizing, ridiculing or putting in doubt dogmas of the Catholic Church, is absolutely gratuitous and misleading. † Cuenco touched on Rizal's denial of the existence of  purgatory, as it was not found in the Bible, and that Moses and Jesus Christ did not mention its existence; Cuenco concluded that a â€Å"majority of the Members of this Chamber, if not all [including] our good friend, the gentleman from Sulu† believed in purgatory. 5]  The senator from Sulu, Domocao Alonto, attacked Filipinos who proclaimed Rizal as â€Å"their national hero but seemed to despise what he had written†, saying that theIndonesians  used Rizal's books as their Bible on their independence movement;  Pedro Lopez, who hails from Cebu, Cuenco's province, in his support for the bill, reasoned out that it was in their province the independence movement started, when  Lapu-Lapu  fought  Ferdinand Magellan. [3] Outside the Senate, the Catholic schools threatened to close down if the bill was passed; Recto countered that if that happened, the schools would be nationalized.Recto did not believe the threat, stating that the schools were too profitable to be closed. [1]  The schools gave up the threat, but threatened to â€Å"punis h† legislators in favor of the law in future elections. A compromise was suggested, to use the expurgated version; Recto, who had supported the required reading of the unexpurgated version, declared: â€Å"The people who would eliminate the books of Rizal from the schools would blot out from our minds the memory of the national hero. This is not a fight against Recto but a fight against Rizal,† adding that since Rizal is dead, they are attempting to suppress his memory. 6] On May 12, 1956, a compromise inserted by Committee on Education chairman Laurel that accommodated the objections of the Catholic Church was approved unanimously. The bill specified that only college (university) students would have the option of reading unexpurgated versions of clerically-contested reading material, such as  Noli Me Tangere  and  El Filibusterismo. [1][3][6]  The bill was enacted on June 12, 1956,[3]  Flag Day. ——————— Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€- [edit]Content | | | The  Noli  and  Fili  were required readings for college students. Section 1 mandated that the students were to read the novels as they were written in  Spanish, although a provision ordered that the Board of National Education create rules on how these should be applied. [5]  The last two sections were focused on making Rizal's works accessible to the general public: the second section mandated the schools to have â€Å"an adequate number† of copies in their libraries, while the third ordered the board to publish the works in major  Philippine languages. [5] ————————————————- edit]Aftermath After the bill was enacted into law, there were no recorded instances of students applying for exemption from reading the novels, and no known procedure for such exemptions. [6]à ‚  In 1994, President  Fidel V. Ramos  ordered the  Department of Education, Culture and Sports  to fully implement the law as there had been reports that it has still not been fully implemented. [7] The debate during the enactment of the Rizal Law has been compared to the  Reproductive Health bill  (RH bill) debate of 2011. 8]  Akbayan  representativeKaka Bag-ao, one of the proponents of the RH bill, said, quoting the Catholic hierarchy, that â€Å"More than 50 years ago, they said the Rizal Law violates the Catholic's right to conscience and religion, interestingly, the same line of reasoning they use to oppose the RH bill. â€Å"[9] ————————————————- [edit]References 1. ^  a  b  c  d  Abinales, Patricio N. ; Amoroso, Donna J. (2005). State and society in the Philippines. Lanham, Maryland:  Rowman & Littlefield. p. 187. ISBN  978-0-742 5-1024-1. 2.   Cruz-Araneta, Gemma  (2010-12-29). â€Å"Legislating Rizal, 1†. Manila Bulletin. Retrieved 2011-05-24. 3. ^  a  b  c  d  Cruz-Araneta, Gemma  (2010-12-29). â€Å"Legislating Rizal, 2†. Manila Bulletin. Retrieved 2011-05-24. 4. ^  Rodis, Rodel (2010-01-07). â€Å"Global Networking  : The Rizal bill†. Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 2011-06-12. 5. ^  a  b  c  Pangalangan, Raul (2010-12-31). â€Å"The intense debate on the Rizal Law†. Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 2011-05-24. 6. ^  a  b  c  Ocampo, Ambeth  (2007-05-04). â€Å"The fight over the Rizal Law†. Philippine Daily Inquirer.Retrieved 2011-05-24. 7. ^  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Mr. Ramos leads Rizal Day rites†. Manila Standard. 1994-12-29. Retrieved 2011-06-19. 8. ^  Mendez, Christina (2011-05-23). â€Å"JPE, Joker confident of compromise on RH bill†. Philippine Star. Retrieved 2011-05-24. 9. ^  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Jose Rizal: new symbol of re productive health rights? â€Å". ABS-CBNnews. com. 2011-06-01. Retrieved 2011-06-01. Jose Rizal: A Biographical Sketch BY TEOFILO H. MONTEMAYOR| | JOSE RIZAL, the national hero of the Philippines and pride of the Malayan race, was born on June 19, 1861, in the town of Calamba, Laguna.He was the seventh child in a family of 11 children (2 boys and 9 girls). Both his parents were educated and belonged to distinguished families. His father, Francisco Mercado Rizal, an industrious farmer whom Rizal called â€Å"a model of fathers,† came from Binan, Laguna; while his mother, Teodora Alonzo y Quintos, a highly cultured and accomplished woman whom Rizal called â€Å"loving and prudent mother,† was born in Meisic, Sta. Cruz, Manila. At the age of 3, he learned the alphabet from his mother; at 5, while learning to read and write, he already showed inclinations to be an artist.He astounded his family and relatives by his pencil drawings and sketches and by his moldings of clay . At the age 8, he wrote a Tagalog poem, â€Å"Sa Aking Mga Kabata,† the theme of which revolves on the love of one’s language. In 1877, at the age of 16, he obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree with an average of â€Å"excellent† from the Ateneo Municipal de Manila. In the same year, he enrolled in Philosophy and Letters at the University of Santo Tomas, while at the same time took courses leading to the degree of surveyor and expert assessor at the Ateneo.He finished the latter course on March 21, 1877 and passed the Surveyor’s examination on May 21, 1878; but because of his age, 17, he was not granted license to practice the profession until December 30, 1881. In 1878, he enrolled in medicine at the University of Santo Tomas but had to stop in his studies when he felt that the Filipino students were being discriminated upon by their Dominican tutors. On May 3, 1882, he sailed for Spain where he continued his studies at the Universidad Central de Madrid .On June 21, 1884, at the age of 23, he was conferred the degree of Licentiate in Medicine and on June 19,1885, at the age of 24, he finished his course in Philosophy and Letters with a grade of â€Å"excellent. †Ã‚  Having traveled extensively in Europe, America and Asia, he mastered 22 languages. These include Arabic, Catalan, Chinese, English, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Malayan, Portuguese, Russian, Sanskrit, Spanish, Tagalog, and other native dialects.A versatile genius, he was an architect, artists, businessman, cartoonist, educator, economist, ethnologist, scientific farmer, historian, inventor, journalist, linguist, musician, mythologist, nationalist, naturalist, novelist, opthalmic surgeon, poet, propagandist, psychologist, scientist, sculptor, sociologist, and theologian. He was an expert swordsman and a good shot. In the hope of securing political and social reforms for his country and at the same time educate his countrymen, Rizal, the greatest apostle of Filipino nationalism, published, while in Europe, several works with highly nationalistic and revolutionary tendencies.In March 1887, his daring book, NOLI ME TANGERE, a satirical novel exposing the arrogance and despotism of the Spanish clergy, was published in Berlin; in 1890 he reprinted in Paris, Morga’s SUCCESSOS DE LAS ISLAS FILIPINAS with his annotations to prove that the Filipinos had a civilization worthy to be proud of even long before the Spaniards set foot on Philippine soil; on September 18, 1891, EL FILIBUSTERISMO, his second novel and a sequel to the NOLI and more revolutionary and tragic than the latter, was printed in Ghent.Because of his fearless exposures of the injustices committed by the civil and clerical officials, Rizal provoked the animosity of those in power. This led himself, his relatives and countrymen into trouble with the Spanish officials of the country. As a consequence, he and those who had contacts with him, were shadowe d; the authorities were not only finding faults but even fabricating charges to pin him down. Thus, he was imprisoned in Fort Santiago from July 6, 1892 to July 15, 1892 on a charge that anti-friar pamphlets were found in the luggage of his sister Lucia who arrive with him from Hong Kong.While a political exile in Dapitan, he engaged in agriculture, fishing and business; he maintained and operated a hospital; he conducted classes- taught his pupils the English and Spanish languages, the arts. The sciences, vocational courses including agriculture, surveying, sculpturing, and painting, as well as the art of self defense; he did some researches and collected specimens; he entered into correspondence with renowned men of letters and sciences abroad; and with the help of his pupils, he constructed water dam and a relief map of Mindanao – both considered remarkable engineering feats.His sincerity and friendliness won for him the trust and confidence of even those assigned to guard him; his good manners and warm personality were found irresistible by women of all races with whom he had personal contacts; his intelligence and humility gained for him the respect and admiration of prominent men of other nations; while his undaunted courage and determination to uplift the welfare of his people were feared by his enemies.When the Philippine Revolution started on August 26, 1896, his enemies lost no time in pressing him down. They were able to enlist witnesses that linked him with the revolt and these were never allowed to be confronted by him. Thus, from November 3, 1986, to the date of his execution, he was again committed to Fort Santiago. In his prison cell, he wrote an untitled poem, now known as â€Å"Ultimo Adios† which is considered a masterpiece and a living document expressing not only the hero’s great love of country but also that of all Filipinos.After a mock trial, he was convicted of rebellion, sedition and of forming illegal association . In the cold morning of December 30, 1896, Rizal, a man whose 35 years of life had been packed with varied activities which proved that the Filipino has capacity to equal if not excel even those who treat him as a slave, was shot at Bagumbayan Field. |