Saturday, May 23, 2020

Insects and Other Arthropods That Make Galls

Have you ever noticed unusual lumps, spheres, or masses on trees or other plants? These strange formations are called galls. Galls come in many sizes and shapes. Some galls look and feel like pompoms, while others are hard as rocks. Galls may occur on every part of plants, from the leaves to the roots. What Are Galls? Galls are abnormal growths of plant tissue trigger in response to an injury to or an irritation of the plant, usually (but not always) caused by some living organism. Nematodes, bacteria, fungi, and viruses can all cause the formation of galls on trees, shrubs, and other plants. Most galls, however, result from insect or mite activity. Gallmaking insects or mites initiate gall formation by feeding on a plant, or by laying eggs on plant tissues. The insects or mites interact with the plant during a period of rapid growth, such as when leaves are opening. Scientists believe that gallmakers secrete chemicals that regulate or stimulate plant growth. These secretions cause rapid cell multiplication in the affected area of the meristematic tissue. Galls can only form on growing tissue. Most gallmaking activity occurs in the spring or early summer. Galls serve several important purposes for the gallmaker. The developing insect or mite resides within the gall, where it is sheltered from the weather and from predators. The young insect or mite also feeds on the gall. Eventually, the mature insect or mite emerges from the gall. After the gallmaking insect or mite leaves, the gall remains behind on the host plant. Other insects, such as beetles or caterpillars, may move into the gall for shelter or to feed. Which Insects Make Galls? Insects that make galls include certain kinds of wasps, beetles, aphids, and flies. Other arthropods, like mites, can cause gall formations, too. Each gallmaker produces its own unique gall, and you can often tell which kind of insect made the gall by its shape, texture, size, and host plant. Psyllids  -  Some jumping plant lice, or psyllids, produce galls. If you find galls on hackberry leaves, theres a good chance it was caused by a psyllid. They feed in spring, triggering the formation of two well-known leaf galls: hackberry nipple galls, and hackberry blister galls.Gallmaking aphids  -  Aphids  belonging to the subfamily Eriosomatinae cause gall formations on the stems and petioles of certain trees, most notably cottonwood and poplar. Aphid galls vary in shape, from a cockscomb-shaped growth on elm leaves to a cone-shaped gall that forms on witch hazel.Gallmaking adelgids  -  Gallmaking adelgids target conifers, for the most part. One common species,  Adelges abietis, causes pineapple-shaped galls on Norway and white spruce twigs, as well as on Douglas fir. Another, the Cooley spruce gall adelgid, makes galls that look like cones on Colorado blue spruce and white spruce.Phylloxerans  -  Phylloxerans (family Phylloxeridae), though tiny, do their sha re of gallmaking, too. The most notorious of the group is the grape phylloxera, which produces galls on both the roots and leaves of grape plants. In 1860, this North American insect was accidentally introduced into France, where it nearly destroyed the wine industry. French vineyards had to graft their grape vines onto phylloxera-resistant rootstock from the U.S. to save their industry.Gall wasps  -  Gall wasps, or cynipid wasps, comprise the largest group of gallmaking insects, with over 1,000 species known globally. Cynipid wasps produce most of the galls on oak trees and plants within the rose family. Some gall wasps oviposit in galls created by other species, rather than induce the growth of their own. Cynipid wasps sometimes develop within galls that have fallen from the host plant.  Jumping oak galls  are so named because they roll and bounce around the forest floor as the larva inside moves.Gall midges  -  Gall midges or gall gnats make up the second largest grou p of gallmaking insects. These true flies belong to the family Cecidomyiidae, and are quite tiny, measuring 1-5 mm in length. The maggots, which develop within the gall, come in strangely bright colors like orange and pink. Midge galls form on various parts of plants, from the leaves to the roots. Common galls formed by gall midges include the pinecone willow gall and the maple leaf spot.Gall flies  -  Some genera of fruit flies produce stem galls.  Eurosta  gall flies develop and overwinter within goldenrod galls. Some  Urophora  gall flies were introduced into North America from their native Europe, as biocontrols for invasive plants like knapweed and bull thistle.Gallmaking sawflies  -  Sawflies produce some unusual galls, most commonly on willows and poplars. The leaf galls induced by  Phyllocolpa  sawflies look like someone crimped or folded the leaves. The sawfly larva feeds within the crinkled leaf.  Pontania  sawflies produce strange, globular galls t hat protrude through both sides of a willow leaf. Some  Euura  sawflies cause petiole swelling in willows.Gallmaking moths  -  A few moths make galls, too. Some micromoths in the genus  Gnorimoschema  induce stem galls in goldenrod, where the larvae pupate. The midrib gall moth produces an odd leaf formation in buckthorn. The center of the leaf is rolled tight, with the sides joining to form a pouch in which the larva resides.Beetles and weevils  -  A handful of metallic wood-boring beetles (Buprestridae) are known to produce galls in their host plants.  Agrilus ruficollis  induces galls in blackberries.  Ruficollis  translates to redneck, a specific name that refers to this insects red  pronotum. Another species,  Agrilus champlaini, creates galls in Ironwood. Long-horned beetles of the genus  Saperda  also produce galls, in stems and twigs of alder, hawthorn, and poplar. A few weevils also cause swellings in their host plants tissues.  Podapion ga llicola, for example, causes galls in pine twigs.Gall mites  -  Gall mites of the family Eriophyidae produce unusual galls on leaves and flowers. The mites begin feeding on their host plants just as buds are opening in the spring. Eriophyid galls may form as finger-like projections or warty bumps on leaves. Some gall mites produce a velvety discoloration of the leaves. Will Galls Damage My Plants? Insect enthusiasts and naturalists probably find insect galls interesting or even beautiful. Gardeners and landscapers, though, may be less enthused to discover insect galls on trees and shrubs and may be concerned about insect gall damage. Fortunately, with few exceptions, insects galls do not damage trees and shrubs. While they may look unsightly, particularly on specimen trees, most healthy, well-established trees and shrubs will be unaffected by galls in the long run. Heavy gall formations may slow growth. Because the negative impact of galls on plants is largely aesthetic, control measures for galls or  gallmaking insects  are rarely warranted. Leaf galls will fall off, either with the leaves themselves or from the leaves once the insect or mite has emerged. Galls on twigs and branches can be pruned out. A gall that has already formed cannot be treated or sprayed to eliminate it. The gall is part of the plant itself. Gallmaking insects, it should be noted, will attract their own biological controls in the form of  parasitoids  and predators. If your landscape is riddled with galls this year, give it time. Nature will restore the balance in your ecosystem.

Monday, May 18, 2020

Shortage Of Skilled Workers In China - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 22 Words: 6647 Downloads: 8 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Statistics Essay Did you like this example? In this chapter the researcher will present the theoretical foundation for this dissertation. This review aims to investigate and examine extant literature on the following research questions: Research Question 1: How great is the shortage of skilled workers in China? Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Shortage Of Skilled Workers In China" essay for you Create order Research Question 2: How do such shortages in skills affect the working of multinational corporations? Research Question 3: How do multinational corporations, with the use of talent management practices and tools, retain skilled workers, including managerial and executive staff, in China? Information for this literature review has been obtained from a range of secondary sources including books, journal and magazine articles and other media publications, both in online and physical form. Talent management is a comparatively new development in HR theory and practice and much of pertinent and associated literature on the subject exists in the form of publications in various periodicals. Shortage of skilled workers in China is presently attracting a significant amount of concern and material on the subject has been sourced from different articles authored by Chinese and Western experts. The various aspects of the studied subject matter have been taken up in sequence in the interest of coherence and continuity of thought and discussion. 2.1 Shortage of Skilled Workers in China The shortage of skilled workers, whilst of recent origin, is assuming grave dimensions. The Chinese economy has been growing at an astonishing pace for the last two decades (Barbosa 2010). Such phenomenal economic growth has propelled the country from the ranks of the poorest of the poor to the position of the second largest global economy (Barbosa 2010). Having crossed Japan in the GDP rankings in August 2010, the Chinese economy is now second in size to only that of the USA (Barbosa 2010). With it being widely accepted that access to cheap and skilled labour has played a predominant role in the countryà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s economic performance, the emerging shortages in availability of skilled workers is becoming a serious matter of concern (Powell 2009). Experts feel that the problem, whilst manageable until now, is increasing in various dimensions and can become a serious challenge to the countryà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s economic growth in the foreseeable future (Powell 2009). à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Various domestic  media reports  put the labour supply gap at around a million people in Guangzhou and neighbouring cities such as Dongguan, legendary centres of Chinaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s export boom in the past three decades. Numerous assembly lines and construction sites are sitting idle while anxious employers have raised salaries by more than 30% but still canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t attract enough applicantsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. (Hong, S. 2010) The current shortage of skilled workers in China is due to the emergence and interplay of a range of factors (Trading Economic 2010). It is in the first place indisputable that sharply accelerating economic growth in China has created enormous demand for skilled workers (Trading Economic 2010). The Chinese economy has grown in size from an annual GDP of 990 billion USD in 2000 to 4900 billion USD in 2010 (Trading Economic 2010). The last decade has seen the entry of numerous multinationals in the country and the establishment of thousands of local and foreign owned production units (Blanchard 2007). Such production units are now being established in different geographical areas making it easier for workers to obtain gainful employment near their houses (Blanchard 2007). The Chinese government has also in recent years embarked upon developing the economic and physical infrastructure of numerous inland and hitherto neglected provinces (AsiaNews.It. 2006). Airports, roads and housing in upcountry regions are receiving strong investments (AsiaNews.It 2006). Such investments are creating thousands of jobs across the country and reducing migration of workers to zones with strong manufacturing activities (AsiaNews.It 2006). Experts also feel that low wages in the manufacturing sector, along with long working hours and difficult working and living conditions are forcing many workers to give up their jobs in manufacturing units and return to work on their farms (Rein 2010). The Chinese governmentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s decision to reduce taxes on agriculture has also helped in reinforcing such attitudes (Rein 2010). The Chinese government has constantly placed emphasis upon development of agriculture and providing of adequate food supplies for the rural population, who constitute 727 million people (Rein 2010). A continuous supply of positive policies, like the elimination of onerous taxes and powerful market intercession, have enhanced rural incomes and made farming rewarding in comparison to skilled jobs in some manufacturing organisations (Rein 2010). China implemented its one child policy in 1979. This has resulted in the development of an ageing population (Hong, S. 2010). The median age of the country, at 33 years, is closer to that of the USA, the UK and the countries of Western Europe, rather than to its southern neighbour India, which has a median age of 26 and whose economy is also growing rapidly and with a swiftness that is second only to that of China (Hong, S. 2010). The ageing population is leading to lesser numbers of people joining the workforce every year and consequentially to restrictions on the availability of skilled workers (Hong, S. 2010). The impact of an ageing population is being felt intensely in manufacturing centres like Shanghai, where people above 60 are expected to constitute practically 30 percent of the total population in another 10 years time (Hong, S. 2010). The numbers of people in the 15-19 age groups in the country have reduced by approximately 17 percent, from 124 million in 2005 to around 10 3 million today (Hong, S. 2010). Academic policies in China have in recent years paid greater attention to academic performance and have neglected imparting of high level vocational training and skills training to people (AsiaNews.It 2006). Many universities have failed to understand market demands and mechanisms in the designing of their courses (AsiaNews.It 2006). Only 200 of the 20,000 vocational schools in the country are aiming to produce skilled workers and technicians with good skills (AsiaNews.It 2006). Such circumstances have added to the reduced availability of skilled workers in the manufacturing sector (AsiaNews.It 2006). Rein (2010) states that the younger Chinese unwilling to work any longer in factories. They are much too buoyant about their work prospects and perceive no compulsion to work for comparatively low wages at long distances from their families (AsiaNews.It 2006). The increase in the number of college and university graduates from just about a million in 2000 to 6 million in 2010 has reduce d the pool for potential skilled workers (AsiaNews.It 2006). Even workers with low skills prefer to stay nearer home in interior provinces like Sichuan and Hunan, rather than relocating to manufacturing centres like Guangdong to work for remuneration that is being increasingly perceived to be insufficient (AsiaNews.It 2006). The shortage of skilled workers is being felt intensely in the export regions of the country like the Pearl River Delta as also the Yangtze River Delta. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“It was officially reported that the city of Shenzhen, on the Hong Kong border, alone faced a labour shortage of about 300,000 workers this year. In Guangdong province, the government said factories were short more than 500,000 workers; and in Fujian province, there was a shortage of 300,000à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. (AsiaNews.It 2006) Surveys, conducted a few years ago, revealed that technicians constituted only 4% of the total numbers of skilled workers, even as organisations needed at least 14% technicians in their labour force (Peoples Daily 2004). Personnel who are most in demand include skilled workers, technicians and marketing staff. Such shortages appear to be greater in case of enterprises where skilled workers were not trained adequately (Peoples Daily 2004). Business organisations are also finding it difficult to attract and retain employees in different administrative and managerial positions (Peoples Daily 2004). It is ironical that the country that is widely considered to be the largest reservoir of cheap and skilled workers is now actually hard pressed to find and retain skilled workers as well as supervisors and managers at different levels for its own needs (Peoples Daily 2004). 2.2 Impact of Shortage of Skilled Workers and Managerial Employees on the Working of MNCs in China. Shortage of skilled employees is affecting the working of all business firms, MNCs as well as locally owned establishments, across China (Roberts 2006). Such shortages are in the first case leading to progressively higher levels of attrition and employee turnover in business firms (Roberts 2006). The most important challenge in contemporary Chinese business enterprises concerns attracting, finding and retaining skilled workers (Roberts 2006). The Institute of Contemporary Observation, a research organisation based in Shenzhen, states that employee turnover in low technology industries is nearing an unprecedented 50% (Roberts 2006). There are 2.5 million jobs in the province of Guangdong that are yet to be filled, even as the provinces of Shandong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang are also facing considerable shortages of skilled labour (Roberts 2006). Such shortages are affecting the production of numerous organisations, adversely impacting expansion plans, and restricting organisational growth (Roberts 2006). à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“It was officially reported that the city of Shenzhen, on the Hong Kong border, alone faced a labour shortage of about 300,000 workers this year. In Guangdong province, the government said factories were short more than 500,000 workers; and in Fujian province, there was a shortage of 300,000.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? (AsiaNews.It 2006) Numerous MNCs have increased their investments in Chinese production centres and built up large capacities (Lane Pollner 2008). The unavailability of the required numbers of skilled workers is leading to underutilisation of capacity, idle machinery, higher finance costs, and poor productivity and profitability (Lane Pollner 2008). Shortages in required numbers of skilled workers are also leading to significant increases in job hopping and in the movement of employees between organisations for the sake of achievement of small salary differentials (Roberts 2006). MNCs and local companies are à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“stealingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? skilled workers from each other, by offering the target worker a lucrative opportunity such as a better compensation or better benefits. The à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“talentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? war has led to rapid wage inflation. . MNCs have been increasing salaries to keep existing employees (Downing, Rouleau, and Stuber 2008). Whilst labour intensive industries are facing increasingly severe problems, substantial increases in numbers of employee departures are affecting all low tech and high tech organisations (Roberts 2006). à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Emerson General Manager David Warth says its all he can do to keep his 800 employees from jumping ship to Samsung, Siemens, Nokia, and other multinationals that are now operating in the tech manufacturing hubà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. (Roberts, 2006) Increases in employee turnovers and shortages in supply of skilled workers, as well as employees for higher level and managerial jobs, is leading to sharp increases in employee costs. AS Salop and Salop (1976) indicate that labour turnover is costly for all firms. In the event of a sudden employee departure, the firm suffers two types of cost: direct and indirect cost. Direct cost includes leaving costs, replacement costs such as advertising, interviewing and selection costs and transitions costs, and indirect costs refer to the loss of production, reduced performance levels, unnecessary overtime and low morale (Schlesinger and Heskett, 1991). à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Companies across the board are feeling the squeeze. Last year turnover at multinationals in China averaged 14 percent, up from 11.3 percent in 2004 and 8.3 percent in 2001 (AsiaNews.It 2006). Salaries jumped by 8.4 percent, according to human resources consultant Hewitt Associates LLCà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. (AsiaNews.It 2006) Minimum wages in China are going up steadily and are currently many times that of Bangladesh, a neighbouring low cost producer (AsiaNews.It 2006). Many organisations are perforce improving the working and living conditions of their employees and the quality of food served in their cafeterias, with result increases in total costs expended on labour (AsiaNews.It 2006 ). Such increases in labour cost have multiple implications (Roberts 2006). At one level companies are seriously thinking of putting up new establishments in interior regions where wages are lower, or even of shifting their operations to lower wage countries like Indonesia or Vietnam (Roberts 2006). Organisations that have already made substantial investments in regions that are now facing labour shortages are experiencing strong pressures on costs and margins (Roberts 2006). Such pressures are leading either to problems with organisational viability or are manifesting themselves in higher product prices and consequent pressure on competitiveness (Roberts 2006).The American Chamber of Commerce recently reported that increasing costs of labour have reduced the margins of practically 48 percent of US organisations that operate in China (Roberts 2006). Teresa Woodland, the author of the report states that China could well run the risk of using its cost advantage (Roberts 2006). The shortage in availability of skilled people goes beyond the workforce and extends too many other organisational areas (Roberts 2006). Mckinsey and company estimate that just about 10 percent of job candidates in areas like engineering, accounting and finance have skills that are necessarily required by foreign organisations (Roberts 2006). Whilst 75,000 jobs for managers are expected to arise in the country during the next five years, the country currently has lesser than 5,000 managers with the required skills (Roberts 2006). Observers believe that the impact of shortage of skilled people on the economic growth and performance of companies and the nation as a whole is likely to be far more powerful than other constraints like material or power. 2.3 Talent Management and its Application in China Multinational corporations in China can benefit in areas concerning employee turnover and improvement of employee retention through the application of contemporary talent management techniques and tools. Organisational managements have over the years constantly tried to develop and adapt in response to workplace changes, right from the days of the industrial revolution and the emergence of labour unions to the demands of automated production, globalisation and outsourcing (Schuler, et al, 2010). Contemporary years are witnessing a global HR movement for attracting and retaining talent (Schuler, et al, 2010). Whilst organisations have in many ways been trying to attract and retain skilled and productive employees for ages, formal talent management processes have emerged only recently (Schuler, et al, 2010). Whilst such practices are now being implemented rigorously by progressive business organisations in the developed economies, they have become extremely relevant in the Chinese envi ronment where an abundance of people is ironically accompanied by shortages in availability of skilled workers and other managerial personnel (Schuler, et al, 2010). 2.3.1 The importance of talent management Talent management represents the systematic use of appropriate HR strategies, policies and practices for management of the talent challenges faced by business organisations (Lane Pollner 2008). Such policies and practices in the Chinese context include attraction of the most appropriate talent, careful selection, training and development, fair and sympathetic evaluation and assessment, high quality training and development and alignment of personnel and business objectives (Lane Pollner 2008). The importance of adopting strong talent management practices for retaining talent assumes great importance in the existing and predicted scenario (Lane Pollner 2008). Research conducted by the Kenexa Research Institute, conducted in 2007 in six countries, including China reveals that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“policies such as career path programmes, goal development and monitoring, regular feedback sessions with managers, tracking progress have a demonstrable effect on employee execution and motivati onà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? (Talent Management 2008). The report confirms that employees of organisations that focus on talent management are more engaged with their functions and more content with their jobs and organisations (Talent Management 2008) 2.3.2 Vroomà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s VIE expectancy theory Vroomà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s VIE (Valence, Instrumentality and Expectancy) theory of expectancy states that individuals tend to act in specific ways with the expectation that specific acts will lead to particular outcomes, and in line with the attractiveness of such outcomes (Citeman.com 2010). The theory, whilst appearing to be complex, is actually simple and necessitates the comprehension of three relationships, namely (a) the perceived probability by individuals that the making of specific efforts will lead to performance, (b) the extent to which individuals believe that performing at specific levels will result in achievement of specific outcomes and (c) the importance placed by individuals on possible rewards that can be obtained in job execution (Citeman.com 2010). The intensity of individual motivation to make efforts depends on the intensity with which individuals believe that they can achieve what they are attempting, whether they will be adequately rewarded by their organisations, and whether such rewards will meet their individual objectives (Pitt 2001). The application of the expectancy theory needs the careful consideration of four relevant steps (Pitt 2001). Organisations must firstly assess the perceived outcomes offered by specific jobs to employees (Pitt 2001). These may be (a) positive like income, benefits, stability and security, comradeship, congenial relationships trust, employee benefits, and opportunities to use skills, or (b) negative like weariness, monotony, annoyance, apprehension, inconsiderate management or danger of dismissal (Pitt 2001). Employee perceptions, regardless of actual reality become relevant in such scenarios (Pitt 2001). Organisations must try to assess the attraction to employees of such outcomes and whet her employees perceive outcomes with positivity or negativity (Pitt 2001). Individuals who find specific outcomes attractive and view them positively would like to achieve them (Pitt 2001). Managements also need to determine the type of behaviour required of employees to achieve positive outcomes and employees need to clearly and explicitly know what they must do to achieve them (Pitt 2001). It is finally also important to know how employees view their chances of satisfying what is asked of them (Pitt 2001). HR experts feel that appropriate applications of the expectancy theory through the linkage of efforts with performance and rewards can make employees developed a liking for their jobs and consequentially reduce employee attrition and employee turnover (Pitt 2001). Whilst the expectancy theory certainly has its logical strengths, talent management is a far broader area and retention of talent in skilled jobs in China poses specific challenges like (a) the need for skilled workers to work far away from their farms and homesteads, (b) difficult working and living conditions, (c) inadequate monetary benefits and (d) the emergence of various alternative areas of occupation and work with more attractive attributes with regard to location, remuneration and job content (Changing Minds.org 2010). 2.3.3 Impact on skilled workers The Kenexa (2007) report on organisations in countries including China states that organisations with progressive talent management cultures have workers with greater pride in their organisations who moreover recommend their organisations to others as good places to work for (Talent Management 2008). Employees with positive perceptions of the talent management practices of their organisations are likely to be confident of the prospects of their organisations (Talent Management 2008). The research revealed that employees who believed in the talent management policies of their firms tended to have more positive perceptions of their managements (Talent Management 2008). Such employees believed that their managers were capable of effectively managing workloads and that their senior managers felt that employees were critical to organisational success and growth (Talent Management 2008). Employees of such companies were likely to experience greater sense of job stability and security, be h appy with company training, feel that their performance is fairly assessed and harbour greater feelings of individual achievement (Talent Management 2008). MNCs in China are working towards retaining talent through the adoption of a range of initiatives (Roberts 2006). Many companies are locating their manufacturing units in interior regions in densely populated areas in order to tap larger workforce pools (Roberts 2006). à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“General Motors, Honda, Motorola, and Intel, for instance, have all shifted some manufacturing or research to inland locations in recent years, both to tap lower costs and to open up new markets.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? (Roberts 2006) Salaries and rewards are being increased significantly across the line in order to retain talent and reduce job hopping (Roberts 2006). Many organisations are taking pains to ensure better living conditions, better cafeteria food and more attractive career paths for their employees (Roberts 2006). Foxconn, the maker of Apple iPhones in China is experiencing severe criticism for its treatment of its workforce (Rein 2010). It is evident that such organisations will have to make significa nt investments in HR policies and practices if they are to attract and retain skilled employees (Rein 2010). The Chinese government is also taking initiatives to improve the content of vocational and technical courses and build a stronger workforce base of skilled workers. It is however very evident that the Chinese economy and the various business organisations, both MNC and local, are facing significant challenges with regard to availability of skilled workers and competent managerial employees. Such trends are also expected to intensify in future. 2.4 Talent Retention tools Vaiman and Vance (2008) suggest that motivational force can be achieved by extrinsically through monetary incentives or intrinsically through non-monetary incentives. 2.4.1 Monetary rewards and non monetary rewards Monetary rewards include all types of compensation and benefits (CB) packages such as salary, performance related payment, deferred compensation plans, social and commercial benefits and etc (Tian 2007). Monetary rewards can satisfy employeesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ physiological needs and it is an effective tool to retaining talent (Vaiman and Vance 2008). Maslowà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Hierarchy of Needs, suggests the physiological needs have to be satisfied before dealing with the higher order needs. This may be the reason why money is still the best reward for the majority of people. In contrast, non-monetary reward is another essential tool for retaining employees. It can be use to satisfy employeesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ higher other of needs such as the needs for achievement, affiliation and power (McMlelland 1987). Non-monetary rewards include: training and career development, employer branding, ect. (Tian 2007). The researcher will consider these retention tools in the Chinese environment below.. 2.4.2 Extrinsic motivation According to a recent survey conducted by Waston Wyatt in China, the number one reason for Chinese talented and skilled workers to leave their current job is to find a better-paid job (Leininger 2004). Therefore, it is extremely important for MNCs to offer a competitive compensation and benefits package, in order to retain the Chinese skilled worker. The following components are normally included in the packages that MNCs offer to local employees, and therefore they are discussed here in detail. 2.4.2.1 Salary Salary is the fixed amount of money pay to an employee for work performed and is the largest component in a CB package. Due to the weak social security in China, Chinese employees tend to place more value on money than Western employee (Jones 1997). Therefore, MNCs need to consider a number of factors when they design the salary level for Chinese employees. For example, the cost of living and level of economic development vary significantly from city to city, so the salary for equivalent positions may vary as well. Leininger (2004) points out that first-tier cities such as Beijing and Shanghai enjoy the highest salary level, followed by second- and third-tier cities. Moreover, the salary level has been increasing at a dramatic rate in China. Since the rapid economic growth, the annual salary growth rate has been risen up to 8 percent in recent years, and the trend is expected to continue in future (Tian 2007). As a result, it is necessary for MNCs to have a general idea about local compensation level and salary growth rate before designing their own competitive packages. 2.4.2.2 Performance related payment Performance related payment (i.e. bonus) is the portion of a CB package that is related to performance. It is very popular and accepted by many MNCs in China. Many MNCs believe that performance related payment is an effective tool to given an incentive for compensation to meet certain goals such as completion of a specified sales target. In addition, it is able to encourage local employees to be more creative such as: propose a new idea to increase efficiency in the work place ,or improve the quality of the output, etc (Melvin 2001). To an extent, performance related payment helps to attract local employees and keep them help in the company. 2.4.2.3 Deferred compensation plans- Deferred compensation plans are also called à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"golden handcuffsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢. They are popular with MNCs in China, and are offered in the form of a contract-related gratuity. For example, If the Chinese employee stays with the company for a contractually specified length of time ( i.e. 2 years), at the end of his/her contract he or she would be given an extra years salary as a reward. Deferred compensation plans are useful in retaining Chinese employees because it provides a financial incentive for talented Chinese employees to remain in the company. Recently, MNCs have begun offering a new version of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"golden handcuffsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ to young talented Chinese employees who would like to get a degree at an overseas university. They offer a full scholarship for these employees and in exchange, the employees have to work for the company for specified length of time after completing their degree (Tian 2007). 2.4.2.4 Social and commercial benefits. Social benefits are mandatory in China they refer to contributions to government-run social insurance schemes, which cover pensions, medical care, unemployment, work injury, child birth and housing, etc. The benefits are borne by both employer and employee. 30 and 40 percent of payroll is paid to the State, of which around 50% is paid by employers. In recent years, Chinese employees are increasingly aware of the importance of social benefits, due to rising costs of housing and medicare in China. , Some MNCs are even willing to pay benefits of more than regulated ratios to retain their employees. By contrast, commercial benefits refer to the benefits offered by an employer to an employee on a commercial basis. Many MNCs in China provide numerous commercial benefits for their employees such as offering loans at below-market interest rates, monetary assistance with single child family or even payment of wedding. Both social and commercial benefits are reported as useful to inducement to employees to remain in the company (Tian 2007). 2.4.3 Intrinsic motivation However, monetary rewards are not everything employee wants. Once compensation reaches a certain level, employees are likely to look for higher order of needs such as career development opportunities ( Maslow 1954; McClelland1987). According to the DDI survey in China 2007, the result shows that the top two reasons for Chinese employee turnover were lack of growth and development opportunities with the current company with 53% of the respondents agreed and better career opportunities elsewhere with 42% of the respondents agreed. The result reflects that Chinese employees have high expectations for rapid advancement (Howard, Liu, Wellins and Williams 2007). Therefore, it is necessary to consider these non-monetary factors that can motivate and retain employees. As Jones (1997) points out that it is very important to understand Chinese employeesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ expectations. For most Chinese employees, especially those top performers joining a MNC not only for a high CB package but also for the opportunity to receive advanced training and learn western business methods. Those top performers are clearly aware of the skill gap between them and their Western counterparts, so they are eager to improve their own knowledge and skills. Additionally, providing training and career opportunities to employees can improve employeesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ commitment to the company. As Leininger (2004) stated that the heart of retention is long term employee commitment. He divided employees into two different groups. They are à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“satisfiedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“committedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? employees. The satisfiedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? employees can easily be retained by satisfying their monetary incentives while the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“committedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ? employees tend to stay longer with companies even without monetary incentive. A global research conducted by Waston Wyatt shows that committed employees are more productive and efficient than those whose employees showed low commitment (Leininger 2004). Therefore, it is important that MNCs recognize the importance of training and development opportunities to their Chinese employees and demonstrate a commitment to training, development and career path development for them. Besides, organizational factors can also influence talent retention such as corporate culture, communication, leadership behavior are able to satisfy employeesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ needs for affiliation (Chew 2004). In the Chinese case, the leadership behavior is one of the most important motivation and retention drivers for Chinese employees. For many MNCs, the meaning of a à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“good leaderà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? for Chinese people can be far more complicated than what they have seen in their home countries. Leadership in China has specific connotations. According to the research conducted by Craig Pepples, to achieve success in Chinese environment, foreign leader need a strong leadership style to build a team. Chinese employees respect those leaders who have a strong leadership style. They expect leaders always able to give them instruction to follow. Moreover, Pepples also insists that to be an effective leader, foreigners need to create a culture of teamwork, showing their personal commitment to the employees and care for each individual (Jones 1997). Therefore, Chinese employees are most likely to want to stay and work for an organization if they have a good manager or boss, who recognized individual contribution, and had great company leaderships (Howard, Liu, Wellins and Williams 2007). These studies above are just a few examples of tools regarding talent retention in the Chinese context. When these retention tools are applied to Chinese employees, MNCs have to rank all the tools in order of importance, and then focus on several areas for motivation and retention talent (Vaiman and Vance, 2008). 2.5 Talent development in the Chinese context As we have discussed earlier, the number one challenge that MNCs facing when operating in China is the shortage of skilled worker within the Chinese labour pool. lt is unrealistic to leave everything to the Chinese government itself. Therefore, to reduce the shortages of skilled workers and their supervisors and managers, MNCs have to make their own contribution to deal with the problems by training and developing their own workers. Although the training and development process is time costly and expensive, it also brings long term benefits for the firms such as long term loyalty of employees, quality improvement, sense of belonging and etc (Leininger 2004). Jones (1997) emphasizes that although the supply of Chinese à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“qualifiedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? employee is far from adequate to meet nationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s need, MNCs can develop their existing employees who can help to bridge the gap between the current competencies of employee and desirable in future. He suggested that the existing employees know how the company works. Employees who are ambitious, desire to move on and get advancement have the potential to become highly skilled workers. They are à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“rough diamondsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? for the company. By giving them the opportunity to develop, they can transform to become skilled workers (Jones 1997). Rothwell (2001) identifies 5 strategies that can be used for narrowing employeesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ skill gap. They are: Coaching, Special job assignment, Action learning, Job rotation, University-based programs. Below the researcher will consider these tools in the Chinese environment 2.5.1 Mentoring and Coaching Mentoring can be simply defined as a relationship establish between a mentor who is experienced, and a mentee who is not. The mentors use their personal experience, knowledge and skills, and offer advice and guidance to help mentees to develop their knowledge and career progression such as making realistic plans and objectives in order to improve the menteesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ effectiveness and develop their potential. At the same time, mentees are giving the opportunity to access to the experienced mentorsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ mind set, and learn from their views, knowledge and their way to get things done in both formal and informal manner (Kram 1983). Today, companies are increasingly aware of the importance of mentoring. They recognize that mentoring is not only an effective tool to retain employees, it is also a significant way to ramp up the knowledge and skills of talented employees. Mentoring supports leadership development, improves succession and organizational commitment. ( Clutterbuck and Megginson 1999). Byrne (1991) categories the different types of mentoring arrangements. He identifies two main categories, they are: Professional (informal) mentoring and Formal mentoring. The Professional mentorship allows the mentor to have freedom on selection of his own mentee. The mentor is given the right to choice mentee based on his personal choice and it is not a compulsory aspect of an organizationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s operation (Byrne 1991). The formal mentorship is a compulsory and core component within an organizationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s staff training programs. It is used as a systemic policy issue and a standard part of management practice (Byrne 1991). In the Chinese environment, mentoring will fit into the Chinese culture because Chinese employees have great expect for hierarchy and long serving senior staff in organizations are readily accorded leadership status (Child 1994). Furthermore, Chinese junior employees are eager to receive advice from senior staff. They believe that senior staff who has more experience are more intelligent than themselves. Thus, they are willing to received advice from mentoring. This is because Chinese traditional values have been dominated by Confucian and Confucius theory emphasize that people should respect age. As a result, an age hierarchy is entrenched in Chinese social environment(Child 1994). Coaching, like mentoring, is a means of developing human resources. Coaching is an activity through which coaches (i.e. an immediate supervisor) work with clients (i.e. employee). It aims to improve skill development, impart knowledge, and inculcate values and behaviors that will help the person being coached with more challenging assignments (Luecke 2004). Coaching is a technique that has shown great promise for employee development. As a study conducted by Olivero(1997), who finds out that an executiveà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s productivity increased by 22.4 percent after he had an eight weeks of executive coaching. With respect to coaching in Chinese environment, the success of coaching processes is mainly dependent on the trustful relationship between the coach and the Chinese employees. Jones (1997) indicates that Chinese employees are not brought up to trust easily, due to the metal damage from the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Darkà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? period (i.e. culture revolution). Moreover, research found that some Chinese employees tend to discriminate against foreigner managers, they are likely to be more trustful to Chinese manager (Jones 1997). Therefore, while using coaching methods, the ideal coach would be a Chinese manager. For foreigner managers, in order to be an effective coach, they must have a strong core value such as trust building. 2.5.2 Special Job assignment Special Job assignments are structured and planned by an organizationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s superior and helps an employee to find his direction for career development, fill the gap between desired and actual skill (Fulmer and Conger, 2004). Many Chinese talented employees need to improve their competencies and skills, in order to meet MNCsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ requirement and environment. MNCsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ can provide special new task to help staff to develop. For example, most Chinese employees are lacking in understanding of the western business culture and the parent companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s corporate culture in particular. To overcome these problems, many MNCs offer their talented Chinese employees an overseas assignment, and send them to the corporate headquarters to receive training courses (Tian 2007). 2.5.3 Action learning Action learning is another training format. The system encourages employees to discover themselves and look for solutions to actual business problems (Neary and Oà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢Grady 2000). The process may pull together a group of high potential employees to study and make recommendations on a pressing topic. For example, an organization superior brings potential talented employees, line managers and HR department together to focus on a particular strategic business issue. It aims to provide opportunities for employees to experience job challenges, obtain organizational knowledge and competence by allowing people to share their experiences and knowledge with others (Rothewll 2002). From these potential talented employeesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ perspective of view, they are given the developmental experience which enables these potential leaders to learn from the managers and know something of what is takes to be a general manager. Action learning is a useful tool to develop employees. However, it may not work in Chinese environment. Since Chinese employees are not use to speak out of their minds or tell others about what are their real thoughts. The reason is because they are aware of the chance to à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“lose faceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. Chinese people are told by their parents that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“talk more make more mistakesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. Therefore, MNCs should emphasize honesty and openness. 2.5.4 Job rotation Job rotation is one type of on the job training. It is a temporary assignment for employees. An employee is allocated to another position for a substantial period of time, then bringing him or her back to the original position. For instance, send a salesman to customer services department. Job rotation encourages high potential individuals to learn from the other part of the business, in order to have the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“big pictureà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? thinking (Kur and Bunning, 2002). Job rotation can improve the relations between the employee and their colleagues, also from the organizationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s point of view, job rotation is less costly. In recent years, Job rotation practices have been widely accepted by managers, according to a survey conducted by McCall et al (1988), 63 percent of managers in the study agreed that job rotation practices have effectively accelerated their development (Longenecker and Neubert, 2003). Job rotation can be a suitable tool when in Chinese the environment as Chinese people seek to establish their personal connections at the workplace and demand a harmonic work environment. 2.5.5 University based programmes We have heard that due to the single-sided education system, MNCs in China are facing difficulty in finding qualified local employees. Thus, some giant MNCs (such as HSBC, Motorola and etc) decided to make investment to the best universities, in order to grow their own talented people. MNCs can form a partnerships with local universities. For example, they may sponsor lectures, hire student for internshipsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ This can help to establish a companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s reputation and create employment branding. It may also enable MNC to identify potential candidates in their early age and avoid other competitors to hire them (Lane and Pollner 2008). However, the high cost is a drawback, therefore, only big operations in China who have the strong financial capacity will do this successful. Filling the skills gap by recruiting skilled workers abroad 2.6 Culture Many academics have argued that basic motivation theories have limitations when applying these theories in China. Child (1994) indicates most of existing theories are based on Western values. In order to determine the effective motivation factors for Chinese employees, it is necessary to concentrate on cultural messages which are realized in social interaction. Hong(2000) argued that Chinese have their own hierarchy of needs based on Eastern culture. Many Western and multi-national firms underestimate many cultural messages in the Chinese market. For instance, Chinese employees put love issues ( i.e. family) on the highest positions of their life. Chinese people have unique characteristics of Chinese culture. To achieve success in China, many cultural considerations must be addressed and it is important to understand the Chinese mentality. 2.6.1 Chinese values In spite of various Chinese philosophies and religions that have shaped Chinese values, Confucianism has probably exerted the greatest influence and Chinese traditional values have been dominated by Confucian thinking (Zheng 1997). Confucius emphasized the individual and the community are closely related in order to achieve humanism and a social order in this world, people show seek virtue as the goal. The key messages of the Confucian morale are self-discipline, social harmony, strong family social collective, and reverence for education which had positive effects on Chinese people (Confucius 1992). However, in the late 1950s, Mao ZeDongà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s (former party chairman) radical socialist ideology and series of political campaigns (i.e. Cultural Revolution) distorted the lives of Chinese people. A strong à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"psychological blockà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ developed in Chinese society. People began to have a conservative point of view and feeling of suspicion- distrust of others (Bettignies 2007 ; Tan 2007). 2.6.2 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Faceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Guanxià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? After generations of cultural change most of the Chinese have been influenced by a mixture of values. As a result, two elements that are considered of key importance in the Chinese context are: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“faceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Guanxià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. In Chinese business culture, face defines a personà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s place in his social network and the measure of his social worth. A personà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s reputation and social standing rests on saving face. Therefore, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Saving faceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? is particularly important to Chinese. In order to have harmonic relationships, managers should avoid putting their Chinese employees in à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“face lossà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? situations. For example, managers must respect the need for face when disciplining a Chinese employee and never reprimand a Chinese employee publicly. Managers need to use à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“softà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? constructive criticism and indirect methods to get their point across (Graham Lam 2003). Another important issue is the concept of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Guanxià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?, It is very much like networking in the West, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Guanxià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? literally means à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“relationshipà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. In the Chinese community, people are closely connected by à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Guanxià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. An important implication of Guanxi for HR is that Chinese employees seek to establish their personal connections in the workplace. They like to maintain a close and harmonic relationship with their colleagues and the employer, while Westerns prefer to separate their work and personal lives (Graham Lam 2003). By having good relationships with Chinese employees management can motivate employees and gain various benefits for the organization. Tian (2007) mentioned, Chinese employees tend to think that a good relationship with their boss is more important than any benefits or rewards. Thus, harmonious work environment and Interpersonal trust is crucial in achieving business success in China. This is built through à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Guanxià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? (Graham Lam 2003).

Monday, May 11, 2020

Deaf Deaf And Deaf - 1058 Words

Phelicity Bell Mrs. Fuller Sign Language 2 09 January 2017 Deaf Clubs Deaf clubs are spots where deaf individuals could assemble to associate all the time. Deaf clubs were profoundly instilled into the deaf society of their time, giving a place where deaf individuals could go to exhibitions by deaf humorists, plays, addresses, film screenings, and occasion parties, and to get got up to speed with the news of the day and lead business. There weren t many spots hard of hearing individuals felt at home in the nineteen hundreds when hard of hearing schools started to show up. Despite the fact that there were schools for the hard of hearing, they were still kept running by hearing people. So hard of hearing individuals shaped these†¦show more content†¦of the that also continue to be, their club could be very small and very elderly. Deaf clubs needed finances, just like most lodges and organizations. They were supported by membership due and accession for visiting non-members. More income came from poker games, selling food and drinking , and raffle tickets. Some clubs earned enough income to buy their own buildings for themselves. Each club had a president and a management system. Deaf clubs allow deaf people to meet new people share and express ideas or feelings. Deaf humans had some opportunity to arrange their personal spaces. most exceptional are the associations they organized in the course of the unites states, starting almost at the same time as the brand new deaf faculties. those institutions and the social golf equipment they supported furnished the inspiration for the noticeably famous deaf golf equipment of the 1940 s and the 1950 s. a lot of these clubs were successful sufficient that they may buy their personnel buildings, or collect lengthy-time period rentals to accommodate their growing membersh ip. As those clubs end up extra everlasting within the sense of brick-and-mortar locations, deaf human beings designed and controlled what sports befell within their partitions. deaf clubs are a case have a look at inside the trouble of location in American existence. For most of their history deaf organizations have been locations could meet head toShow MoreRelatedDeaf : Deaf And Deaf886 Words   |  4 Pages(2010) defines Deaf Studies as â€Å"interdisciplinary approaches to the exploration of Deaf individuals, communities, and cultures as they have evolved within a larger context of power and ideology† (p. 210). In other words, Deaf Studies refer to a specific academic field that studies deaf individuals and their unique communities and culture and may include constructs from anthropology, linguistics, bilingual education, disability, audiology, etc. Within the context of Deaf Studies, deaf individuals areRead MoreThe Deaf : Deaf And Deaf2745 Words   |  11 PagesIn th e Deaf world, the people who are Deaf, deaf, hard-of-hearing, and orals have many defined of each term to identify what they are. They once thought that they are part of the Deaf Culture in which they would think that where they belong. In this research, this will discuss about the difference and how it impact the Deaf community within their culture, value, experiences. Also people who are deaf have experiences stereotyping from those people who don’t understand their culture. There are alsoRead MoreDeaf : The Deaf Community1351 Words   |  6 PagesThere is a Deaf community within nearly every community in America. Spanning across the country, this community overlaps with many other minority groups. There is a Deaf community within nearly every minority group not only in America, but worldwide. According to DeafQueer.org, the Deaf LGBT community is a community is a minority within a minority, making up ten percent of the Deaf community, or 2.8 million people. Although they span many races, classes, and sexualities, Deaf LGBT people tend toRead MoreDeaf : The Deaf Community1299 Words   |  6 Pages The Deaf Community All around us there is sound, whether it takes the form of birds chirping, people talking, or dogs barking. Every day we wake up to an abundance of sound. Hearing is a part of our senses and what if that was taken from us, or we were born without it? There are many people who have never had the luxury of hearing the sound of music or the voices of their loved ones. It easy to think that having a deaf child or losing your hearing is a tragedyRead MoreDeaf Perceptions Of The Deaf1510 Words   |  7 PagesDeaf Perceptions of Animacy Deaf culture has long been misunderstood and misrepresented within America, in part due to the significant language barrier between the American Deaf and their hearing counterparts. Though it is often thought to be nothing more than an elevated form of charades, American Sign Language (ASL) is a language like any other- not only with its own grammatical syntax, phonology, and morphology, but also in its compliance to the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis. Created by Edward SapirRead MoreShould Deaf Be Deaf?879 Words   |  4 PagesBeing deaf doesn’t mean you’re any different than any average human. According to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary deaf means â€Å"not being able to hear and not willing to listen to or consider something.† Although society thinks different about the definition, the challenge is clearly the loss of hearing. Being deaf has a multiple of difficulties and assumptions, but that is a part of life. Society makes it difficult for deaf people to get their point across because society is set up for hearing peopleRead MoreDeaf : The Deaf Community787 Words   |  4 PagesDeaf Athletics The deaf community is proud of their many accomplishments, and their athletes are not an exception. For many people hearing and deaf sports are a way to relieve stress and express inner emotions. The deaf community offers various amounts of sports for deaf. For deaf adults there are the Deaflympics, USADB basketball, and USA Deaf sport federation. The Deaflympics is a way for deaf athletes to compete on the same level as hearing athletes. Deaflympics started originally as the InternationalRead MoreRacial Stereotypes Of Deaf And Deaf868 Words   |  4 Pagesto be a great misfortune, but being deaf does not limit the abilities of a person. Members of the Deaf community consider deafness to be normal rather than a disability. A deaf people can do anything a hearing person can do, such as, drive, participate in group activities, communicate, and have normal lives. Deaf In the film â€Å"Through Deaf Eyes†, an HDTV documentary including interviews, personal stories, and historic accounts, the prejudice and affirmation of Deaf culture is revealed to show hearingRead MoreDeaf : The Deaf Way Of Knowing1247 Words   |  5 PagesNoted Deaf educator Tom Holcomb, in his 2010 paper, Deaf Epistemology: the deaf way of knowing, posits that the flow of knowledge is fundamentally different in hearing and Deaf cultures. That is, Deaf learners tend to collect information from direct experience or from the secondhand experiences reported to them by other Deaf persons. Hearing learners accumulate information through oral transmission, mostly in formal educational settings but also via casual social contacts. (Holcomb, 2010). IndeedRead MoreDeaf Studies And Deaf Education1736 Words   |  7 Pagesresponding to in the first place. In their work published in the Winter, 2005 Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, Weisel and Kamara examine the effect of deafness and hard of hearing (D/HH) on Attachment in young adults. They write: In combination with the auditory aspects of all of the previous work examined, this may lead one to believe that there is a potentially severe deficit when a hearing mother has a deaf child. This makes logical sense on the surface, since the norm is to have full capacity

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Symbols And Themes In Homer Hickams October Sky - 923 Words

The Sputnik I, the world’s first satellite, was launched on October 4, 1957. The following day, Sonny Hickam, a 14 year-old boy from Coalwood, West Virginia, witnessed Sputnik orbit and sparked his dream to build rockets. Throughout the novel, Sonny encountered many people and friends who had helped further him along his mission to escape Coalwood and work for his inspiration, Dr. Wernher von Braun in Cape Canaveral. In Homer Hickam’s novel October Sky, he uses the themes having a dream and going after it, resistance to defeat, and self vs. society to demonstrate that anything is possible, even building rockets in a town that men only play football, mine coal, or enlist into the army. He expresses these using symbols, characters, and†¦show more content†¦This setting makes achieving dreams more difficult. They were forced to prove everyone wrong about the rocket-building. â€Å"To get out of here, you’ve got to show your dad you’re smarter than h e thinks. I believe you can build a rocket. He doesn’t. I want you to show him I’m right and he’s wrong† (Hickam 51). Sonny’s mother and a small number of others believed they could build rockets, but everyone else, including his father, was against it. People did not just leave Coalwood after high school without a scholarship or money saved for college. â€Å"‘You’ve got to get out of Coalwood, Sonny,’ Mom said. ‘Jimmie will go. Football will get him out. I’d like to see him a doctor, or a dentist, something like that. But football will get him out of Coalwood, and then he can go and be anything he wants to be’† (Hickam 50). Elsie did not want her children to get trapped in the small mining town because she knew it was only a matter of time before its economic stability went bad. She also wanted them to be more than just another miner, she believed in her kids more than they did at times. Failing is a part of life. Learning from it gives one the knowledge necessary for success. Although his first rocket fell apart and blew up part of his backyard fence, Sonny and his friends stayed determined. Other students and citizens of Coalwood began to tease the members about their rockets saying they’re just building bombs, but they refused to let it phase them. â€Å"My father had clearly, in

Truman Should Not Have Dropped the Atomic Bombs Free Essays

Should President Truman have used the Atomic Bombs? World War Two remains to be the deadliest conflict in world history. The United States is arguably the biggest world power to have participated in it; it transformed from a nation of isolationists to one that dictated the results of a world war. After the defeat of Nazi Germany, President Truman decided to drop atomic bombs on two cities in Japan. We will write a custom essay sample on Truman Should Not Have Dropped the Atomic Bombs or any similar topic only for you Order Now Since then, his decision has been hotly debated. Some historians justify the dropping of the bombs by claiming that they saved thousands of lives and brought the war to an end.However, the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 was an unnecessary display of power. The decision was both unjustifiable and immoral. Japanese officials and Emperor Hirohito were already prepared to surrender. It also unintentionally instigated a nuclear arms race with the Soviet Union. Both Fat Man and Little Boy, the bombs developed by American scientists, were dropped unnecessarily because Japan was already a defeated nation by June 1945. The country had no troops and the once glorious Imperial navy and air force were all but destroyed.The American strategy of â€Å"island hopping† had ended any maritime battles after the battles of Coral Sea and Midway. Three hundred American bombers had bombed Tokyo in March of 1945, killing about a 100,000 people and 60 other Japanese cities had been beaten. Then in May, 520 giant B-29 â€Å"Superfortress† bombers unleashed 4,500 tons of incendiary bombs on the same city (DBQ B). The capital city had been battered and Japan’s morale was at an all time low. President Truman’s chief of staff, William D. Healy, said that â€Å"The Japanese were already defeated and ready to surrender† (Alperovitz). The American intelligence program MAGIC had intercepted Japanese code from the homeland to the embassy in America and the Soviet Union; the Japanese had been speaking to the Russians for peace negotiations when they found that the United States would not accept their conditional surrender (Zinn 414). In January 1945, Roosevelt received a 40-page â€Å"secret memorandum† from General Douglas MacArthur outlining surrender terms from several high-level officials right before he left for the Yalta Conference.It stated, in short that the Japanese would agree to the complete surrender of all Japanese forces and arms, occupation of Japan an its possessions by Allied troops, the Japanese relinquishment of seized territory during the war, release of all war prisoners, regulation of Japanese industry to stop war production, and the surrender of designated war criminals (Weber). And in fact, the only condition that the Japanese were willing to surrender with was to keep the Emperor, a ho ly symbol in their culture. Truman refused to listen to peace terms.He said himself â€Å"I was applauded frequently, and when I reaffirmed the policy of unconditional surrender, the chamber rose to its feet† (qtd. in Cooper). Then on August 12, the United States announced that it would accept the Japanese surrender, making clear in its statement that the emperor could remain in a purely ceremonial capacity only. Even the United States Strategic Bombing Survey admitted that prior to November 1945, â€Å"Japan would have surrendered even if the bombs had not been dropped, even if Russia had not entered the war, and even if no invasion had been planned or contemplated† (Maddox 414).Therefore, the atomic bombs could have been avoided and the one Japanese term of surrender could have been accepted months earlier. The other enduring argument is that the dropping of the atomic bombs was highly immoral. This war marked a large violation of international law set forth by the League of Nations: that the â€Å"intentional bombing of civilian populations is illegal† (Churchill). Although the League of Nations cannot legally enforce any of its bylaws, its decisions are regarded as honorary conventions t o which nations should abide.Roosevelt and Leahy would agree with Churchill, who penned this document. Truman wrote that the â€Å"target would be a highly military one† so that the â€Å"soldiers and sailors are targets and not women and children† (Diary July 25 1945). This does not explain the deaths at Hiroshima, which resulted to about 175,000 Japanese civilians, not including the thousands of military personnel. And Hiroshima was considered to be a military base because of its high concentration of military factories and facilities. Nagasaki, on the other hand, was an industrial base where civilians worked in factories.The death toll is estimated to be about 250,000 lives and about 100,000 were injured (Bernstein). Evidence also exists that Japan was chosen instead of Germany for the dropping of the atomic bombs because of racism. In the same diary entry, Truman said that the â€Å"Japs are savages, ruthless, merciless and fanatic† (Diary July 25 1945). Political cartoons depicted Japanese as subhuman, savage monkeys or vermin. American films like Despicable (1945) dehumanized and demonized Japanese people, portraying them as monsters who â€Å"worked sixteen-hour days and then went home and ate Chinese babies†.It served to prepare Americans for the purpose of total warfare and cement in their minds the inhuman qualities of Japan that made it okay to go so far as to drop atomic bombs on them. Movies like Despicable are highly criticized as being highly inaccurate and unilateral, but Americans in the forties believed the so called â€Å"captured war footage† (Amazon). The internment of Japanese Americans in forced labor camps further deepened this image and made the atomic bombs acceptable in the average American citizen’s eyes.Furthermore, the dropping of Fat Man and Little Boy was an incendiary that sparked the Cold War. At the Yalta Conference which Churchill, Truman, and Stalin attended, it was decided that â€Å"two months after Germany has surrendered and the war in Europe is terminated, the Soviet Union shall enter into war against Japan † (Yalta Conference). Two months after the German surrender would be August 8th: Little Boy was dropped on August 6th. The United States declared to the other Allied nations that it was a means of ending the war early. However, the date is not a coincidence.The United States distrusted the Soviet Union because of the suspicion that they wanted to open a sphere of influence in Asia, especially China, which the United States felt was finally moving away from its destructive regime. The fear of communism was a large part of the decision to drop the bombs. The bombs were also looked upon as a potential and not a military weapon. They would show the Soviet Union not to interfere with US business. Some of the very scientists who developed the bombs were hesitant to use nuclear power for destruction, especially to spite the Soviet Union.Nuclear physicist said that â€Å"[James Byrens’] view that our possessing and demonstrating the bomb would make Russia more manageable in Europe I was not able to share. Indeed I could hardly imagine any premise more false and disastrous upon which to base our policy† (DBQ F). The Russians accepted the challenge and tested their first weapon in 1949. Since World War Two, eight nations have successfully detonated nuclear weapons. The threat of nuclear power is high and the weapons themselves are dangerous in the wrong hands.The United States’ justifications for the bombs that they saved more lives than they ended and prevented the Soviet Union from interfering in Eastern Europe and Asia are weak. The dropping of the atomic bombs was highly unnecessary, immoral, and resulted in unpleasant consequences. How to cite Truman Should Not Have Dropped the Atomic Bombs, Papers

Employer Liability for Sexual Harassment in the Workplac - Smples

Question: Discuss about the Employer Liability for Sexual Harassment in the Workplace: Should Employers be Liable for the Actions of Employees that are outside the scope of employment. Answer: Introduction Employers of Canada are considered to be liable for any sexual harassment in the workplace (ww.canada.ca, 2018). However it is subject to debate whether employers should be liable for the actions of the employee, which are beyond their scope of employment. It is to be stated that the employers are vicariously liable for the actions of their agents when such agent acts within the scope of his employment and draws authority from the concerned employer. However as held in the remarkable Canadian case Bazley v. Curry, 1999 CanLII 692 (SCC) it can be stated that any person who creates the loss to be suffered will bear the consequences of the risk when such risk becomes a threat or a harm. Thesis statement Employers are to be held accountable for the sexual harassment in the work place. Legal framework summary: Different laws are there to protect the rights of the employees against acts of sexual harassment in Canada. Examples of such laws include Canada Labour Code and the Canadian Human Rights act (Canada Labour Code, 2018). Further it can be said that worker in Canada are given special protection against heinous acts of physical assault and other forms of sexual harassment by the Canada Criminal Code. Sexual Harassment in the workplace can be defined as unwanted sexual behaviour which takes place in the working environment. Such unwanted sexual behaviour can be encountered even outside the premises of the office, for example in office parties, conferences related to work or at any business deal. Sexual behaviour can include sexual jokes, comments and sexual touching which are derogative and demeaning to the victim employee. In the notable Canadian case Janzen v. Platy Enterprises Ltd., 1989 1 SCR 1252 it was held by the supreme court that sexual harassment would be constituted by any con duct which of sexual nature and which affects the work environment and the other co-workers or constitutes adverse job related to consequences for the victims of such harassment( www.globeandmail.com, 2018). In the aforementioned case it was also held by the Supreme Court that Sexual Harassment can even include sexual discrimination. Sexual discrimination has an adverse effect on the opportunities and condition of employment, which are provided to the employees on the basis of their gender related characteristics. It was held in the case Janzen v. Platy Enterprises Ltd., 1989 1 SCR 1252 that employers are also liable for the wrongful actions of the offending employee. It is to be stated that there are two types of sexual harassments that generally occur at workplaces. They are: Quid pro quo Hostile work environment Quid pro quo sexual harassment The term Quid Pro is a Latin term which means this for that. It can also translate to a favour for a favour. An example of Quid pro quo is when a supervisor or superior at work tends to favour an employee if such employee submits to the sexual advances of the senior (Becton, Gilstrap Forsyth, 2017). It is to be mentioned that this constitutes abuse and misuse of authority and it is illegal irrespective of the fact whether the employee submits to the sexual advances of the superior at work. Hostile Work Environment Sexual Harassment Creating a hostile work environment is a common type of sexual harassment in the workplace. Sexual harassment which creates a hostile work environment includes series of incidents which involve intimidation and hostility. Even one incident of sexual assault; however is enough to create a hostile work environment for the entire workforce (Sinacore Morningstar, 2017). This type of sexual harassment has a detrimental effect on the employee and also adversely affects the performance of the employee in the workplace. Hostile work environment sexual harassment can be constituted by verbal and physical gestures which are unwanted and are sexual in nature. According to Becton, Gilstrap Forsyth (2017), that it is the duty of the employers to provide the employees with a safe working environment which is free of harassment. The employers also have the responsibility of to prevent any sexual harassment and which might happen in the workplace (Goldberg, 2014). Employers are subjected to legal consequences and liable to pay penalties in monetary terms if such employers ignore complaints of employees related to sexual harassments in the work place according to the provisions of Canada Labour Code and Canadian Human Rights Act and Canada Criminal Code Workers who tend to get harassed in the workplace It is to be noted that most of the victims of sexual harassment in the workplace are women. Workplace sexual harassments are not just limited to unwanted sexual conduct between male bosses and female employees. Sexual harassments in the workplace may include incidents as enumerated below: Supervisor and an employee, when the supervisor has taken advantage of his position A subordinate who harasses a supervisor Men co workers harassing female co workers Female co workers harassing male co workers Harassment related to sexual orientation Third party harassment which include harassment by suppliers and customers Division Division XV.1 of Part III of the Canada Labour Code states that an employee has the right to be employed in a workplace which is free from harassment of any kind. It also states that employers are required to take action for prevention of sexual harassment in the workplace (Canada Labour Code, 2018). It is to be further mentioned in accordance with the code that every employer of an organization is required to make reasonable effort in order to make sure that no employee of the organization faces harassment. It is to be mentioned that every employer of organizations must formulate a policy on sexual harassment after having a consultation with the employee. Such policy of sexual harassment must contain the following the provisions: Definition of sexual harassment in compliance with the definition as provided in the Canada Labour code A statement with the representation that every employee is entitled to harassment free work environment A statement representing the fact that employers are entitled to take disciplinary measure against those personnel who are found in violation of the Sexual Harassment policy A statement about how complaints sexual harassments can be filed and how to intimate the management about incidents of sexual harassment faced by employees A statement which aims to inform the employees about the human rights and how to file complaints of sexual harassment in accordance with the provisions of Canadian Human Rights. A connection to the workplace Marshall (2017), has argued that for sexual harassment to amount to workplace sexual harassment, there must be a connection to the workplace in consideration. It is to be further mentioned that this criterion has now become mostly superficial. Most of the workplaces have borders which are traditional in nature. An act of sexual advancement or sexual harassment by an employee outside the office premises has little or no legal relevance and an employer cannot be held liable for the same (Marshall, 2017). However, it is to be stated that if an employer comes to know of the sexual advancements and unwanted sexual conduct exhibited by an employee even if the act of sexual harassment is outside the workplace, such employer is required to investigate about the reality of the complaint. The employer needs to ensure that workplace is defined in a broad sense and s free from harassment. Comparison and Contrast of Views in Respect of the Legal Issue The court of appeal of Ontario has stated that the liability of employers in relation sexual harassments in the workplace is to be assessed by the application of a test (Goldberg, 2014). The Human Rights code of Ontario has a provision which holds employers responsible for conduct of his officials, officer agents or employees. Smit Viviers (2016), stated that provision as provided in the code of Human Rights does not aim to restrict or limit the right of freedom sexual harassment in the workplace that is provided in the human rights code of Ontario. Thus it can be stated that the employer will not face liability for the wrongdoings of the employees according to the human rights code of Ontario. This human rights code states that complaint of sexual harassment must be brought on the name of the accused person only. According to the federal legislation it can be said that the employer has the due diligence ground of defence when faced with charges of vicarious liability (Hudson, 2018). How to prove that the employer had been diligent enough to prevent any occurrence of sexual harassment in the workplace, he must prove the following: that he did not consent to the wrongful conduct of the accused employee he used all due diligence to prevent the occurrence of sexual harassment in the workplace. He acted reasonably and did all that he did everything in his capacity to avoid the consequences or minimize the same. The aforementioned provisions do not however limit the liability of the employer in case of sexual harassment in the workplace under the process of administration. According to the concept of organic liability it can be said that employer and his company will be held responsible for the principals conduct. However organic liability acts differently from vicarious liability (Smit Viviers, 2016). The theory of organic liability states that any company or organization is a legal entity and thus has to rely on the conduct of the principals for performing the operations of the company. Thus the by the application of the theory mentioned above it can be said in a case of sexual harassment in the workplace the company will face liability due to the deeming provision of liability as imposed by the statute. Acts of sexual harassments can form a poisoned work environment in the workplace which is likely to adversely affect the productivity and morale of the workplace (Herbert, 2014). According to the Ontario code of human rights it is to be stated that it is the liability of the management to remove such poisoned work environment in order to provide the employees of the organization with a harassment free workplace. Management employees of organizations who fail to remove or eliminate the root cause of sexual harassment in the workplace may be held personally liable for the breach of their duty. Reprisal is the retaliatory conduct of the management for acts of sexual harassment or any harassment in the workplace. However the term reprisal often creates confusion as reprisal can be of two types: General Reprisal- The term general reprisal is often defined as the actions taken by the management upon receiving complaints of sexual harassment which are in compliance with the human rights. It is to be stated that the term reprisal often creates confusion. Sexual Reprisal- The term sexual reprisal can be defined as the actions taken by employers against those who have not acceded to the demands for sexual favours. This conduct can be termed as sexual harassment (www.ohrc.com, 2018). The conduct of the employers which is retaliatory to the commencement or threat of the human rights complaint is called reprisal. However reprisal is very different from sexual solicitation. It is to be mentioned that proof of intent is required for General Reprisal unlike complaints of discriminatory conduct. Such proof of intent as required for general reprisal can be inferred from circumstantial evidence. However in the case Canada (Treasury Board) v. Robichaud(1987), 8 C.H.R.R. D/4326 (S.C.C.) it was held by the supreme court of Canada that employers are to be held liable for the discriminatory acts of the employees during the course of employement. In this case the federal court of appeal had given the verdict that Ms. Robichaud had been victim of sexual harassment during her course of employment in the department of national defence. However, the aforementioned department cannot be held liable for such harassment faced by them. This decision of the court of appeal was overturned by the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court held that the basic purpose of the Canadian Human Rights Act is to remove every form of discrimination in the workplace. My opinion as to which of the two views is superior, and why Thus in my opinion it can be said that Employers can be held liable for sexual harassment faced by the employees even beyond the scope of employment because the basic principle behind this is the principle of vicarious liability which states that the principal will be accountable for the actions of the agents. For the purpose of analyzing sexual harassment in the workplace it is essential to define workplace in a broad sense. However, it is to be stated that if an employer comes to know of the sexual advancements and unwanted sexual conduct exhibited by an employee even if the act of sexual harassment is outside the workplace, such employer is required to investigate about the reality of the complaint. The employer needs to ensure that workplace is defined in a broad sense. Further to substantiate my opinion it can be said in accordance with the Canadian Labour code that it is the duty of the employer to provide a harassment free working environment to the employee. Conclusion Therefore in conclusion it can be said that in case of sexual harassment faced by the employees the employers are to be held accountable. However it can be argued that employers should not always be held accountable as they are unaware of the actions of their employees. It has been stated by the court of appeal of Ontario that the liability of the employer for the wrongful actions of the employees must be assessed by the application of an objective test. However the Supreme Court held in the case Canada (Treasury Board) v. Robichaud(1987), 8 C.H.R.R. D/4326 (S.C.C.) that employers are to be held accountable for discrimination and sexual harassment. Further by the application of the theory of organic liability it can be stated that a company is a legal entity and it has to rely on the principals for performing its operations. Thus the company or organization will be held responsible for the wrongful act of the employees. References https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/programs/employment-standards/federal-standards/sexual-harrassment.html Canada Labour Code. (2018).Laws-lois.justice.gc.ca. Retrieved 6 March 2018, from https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/L-2/index.html Reprisal. (2018).Ontario Human Rights Commission. Retrieved 6 March 2018, from https://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/policy-preventing-discrimination-based-mental-health-disabilities-and-addictions/11-reprisal What counts as workplace sexual harassment in Canada?. (2018).The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 6 March 2018, from https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/careers/leadership-lab/what-counts-as-workplace-sexual-harassment-in-canada/article37137194/ Canada (Treasury Board) v. Robichaud(1987), 8 C.H.R.R. D/4326 (S.C.C.) Becton, J. B., Gilstrap, J. B., Forsyth, M. (2017). Preventing and correcting workplace harassment: Guidelines for employers.Business Horizons,60(1), 101-111. Marshall, A. M. (2017).Confronting sexual harassment: The law and politics of everyday life. Routledge. Goldberg, J. (2014). When is Sexual Abuse within the Scope of Employment.Jotwell: J. Things We Like, 266. Smit, D. M., Viviers, M. D. (2016). Vicarious liability of the employer in sexual harassment cases: A comparative study.Journal of Business,1(1), 41-59. Herbert, L. C. (2014). Conceptualizing Sexual Harassment in the Workplace as a Dignitary Tort.Ohio St. LJ,75, 1345. Ali Mohamed, A. A., Sardar Baig, F. B., Ahmad, A. A., Win, K. H. (2015). Sexual Harassment: Liability of Sexual Harasser And Employer in Tort.Pertanika Journal of Social Sciences Humanities,23. Cavico, F. J., Mujtaba, B. G., Petrescu, M., Muffler, S. C. (2015). A Kiss is But a Kiss: Cultural Mores, Ethical Relativism, and Sexual Harassment Liability.Open Ethics and Law Journal,1(1). Hudson, D. (2018). Workplace Harassment After# MeToo. Sinacore, A. L., Morningstar, B. A. (2017). Endemic Sexism in the Canadian Workplace: Systematic Support for Sexual Aggression. InGlobal Currents in Gender and Feminisms: Canadian and International Perspectives(pp. 155-167). Emerald Publishing Limited. Bazley v. Curry, 1999 CanLII 692 (SCC) Janzen v. Platy Enterprises Ltd., 1989 1 SCR 1252