Affirmative action- Trials within human resource management Term Paper

Affirmative action- Trials within human resource management - Term Paper Example The term â€Å"affirmative action† was first mentioned in the United States when President John F. Kennedy signed the Executive Order 10925 on March 6, 1961; this was then used to refer to initiatives that aimed to attain equality and prevent discrimination By 1965, the Executive Order 11246 was implemented, requiring all national contractors to make use of affirmative action when hiring employees, regardless of national origin, culture, and religion; in 1968, gender was then included in the anti-discrimination list. Aside from the US, other countries have taken similar approaches to promote equality in the society, such as Canada’s employment equity or the United Kingdom’s positive discrimination. Affirmative action is known to be a set of policies that consider gender, race, culture, religion, and national origin for an underprivileged or underrepresented population to obtain equal rights and benefits, thereby contradicting the outcomes of discrimination that h ave been passed down from every generation . Such policies emphasize a wide range of aspects, from health programs and social services to education and employment opportunities. Because affirmative action aims to encourage equal opportunities, it is typically applied in government actions and educational settings to make sure that all groups in the society are involved in such programs. Affirmative action can be exemplified through different forms, such as rigid quotas or encouragement of members of minority groups to apply for employment. Similarly, each intends to increase the number of underrepresented groups in the workplace, educational settings, or in any societal context. Programs that demonstrate affirmative action vary in terms of the extent to which they consider race as an important factor in making decisions and obtaining results. In 2001, representatives from the Americas gathered together to establish policies and implement strategies to combat racial discrimination. I n order to adopt affirmative and positive actions, paramount importance was attached to the creation of conditions for every individual to become involved both in decision making and realizing civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights with regards to all aspects of life on a foundation of non-discrimination (Global Rights, 2005). Such ideas acquired considerable support in the World Conference against Racism with which the Declaration and Programme of Action points out affirmative action as fundamental factor for the global struggle against discrimination. Due to the fact that international law promotes affirmative action, national and international treaties along with regional and global institutions have attempted to integrate countless norms that support equality and non-discrimination; more states are also being required to take on active roles in guaranteeing such rights. While a number of norms state that affirmative action is permissible, this form of positive a ction can be made mandatory by others. While the form and outline of such norms may slightly vary, nonetheless, international law requires that all states be involved in promoting affirmative action. Guidelines for Affirmative Action Plans and Programs Affirmative action should be supported in all contexts, such as in educational and workplace settings; therefore, educational institutions and organizations have proposed guidelines to promote equality among all individuals (Kravitz, Bludau, and Klineberg, 2008). For instance, American universities, in their intentions of seeking employees, have established guidelines for their affirmative action programs, directed towards women, minority groups, people with disabilities, and veterans, to which academic and staff members should comply. For instance, university policies that affect staff members should be reviewed to ensure the provision of equitable treatment for every employee, compliance with the legal requirements for avoidance of discrimination and equal employment opportunity, as well

Deaf as an Aspect of Serious Illness Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Deaf as an Aspect of Serious Illness - Essay Example Here illness will be referring to physical illness that eventually leads to failure of body functioning system that results to death. Death due to accident can be as a result of injuries that have been inflicted on the body and that eventually makes the body to succumb to death. But it is the aspect of illness that we are interested in. how can we define or explain death as an aspect of serious illness Looking at death as an aspect of serious illness, we would definitely be looking at two components of this aspect which are fear and anger. With death there come so many things. But the irony is that, it is the bereaved that bear the blunt of it. After all death can be said to be a form of deep sleep, a slumber in which we don't come back to this world again. No one knows if there are dreams in the sleep or there no dreams. But one thing is evident that the one who dies does not feel any effect of the death. Then how does fear and anger manifest in death As we have said it is bereaved who bears it all. The loss of a loved one becomes the point of anger on the issue. Many of us fail to comprehend why the dead had to leave us when we needed them most. The paradox of it all is that we are angered by forces beyond our control. The loss of a loved one can be painful and stressing which causes a lot of pain and anger to us. This anger may lead to many other effects on our body which may affect us and cause some serious illnesses physically. It has been evidenced that anger and stress resulting from loss of loved one has in many instances led to subsequent death of a bereaved person. Many people have been witnessed to have collapsed and died instantly on receiving the news of loss of loved ones. But it is the lasting illness that can express the whole idea of serious illness arising from death. (Gurtman, 1990) The bereaved will spend long hours contemplating about the loss. This will come along with anger and frustrations. It takes time for them to recover from the loss. The anger and frustrations affects their daily performance and some may fail to recover at all. Most people may turn to be permanently disabled for the time they take to recover. This turns out to be a serious issue that may turn to an illness. Although we clearly understand that we are not vesting our anger on any person, we direct to the act of death. We understand that we cannot fight death. It is superior to us. The reason that we cannot fight death despite the anger that we may be having brings about an aspect of fear of death. Death brings fear with it. Imagine the loss of somebody who has been very close to you. This is somebody who you have lived with and interacted with for along time. Lets us take an example of a spouse. The loss of one spouse may bring so much fear to the other such that this person looks like he or she has suffered a serious illness for along time. Once we learn about the death of a very close person, we tend to think that this may follow the same pattern that has dictated our life. Death of one couple in a marriage has been witnessed to bring a lot of fear to the other. Some even finds it difficult to live under the same roof that they had been sharing. Many a time it comes out that we tend to look at death as something that we cannot escape once it has befallen on our loved ones. No wonder death has been attributed to evil spirits for along time. Along the

Personal assessment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Personal assessment - Essay Example Though he sometimes fails to identify a problem, he has always more than 1 solution for it. He goes step by step when faced with a problem. When faced with a complex or a difficult problem that does not have an easy solution When trying to foster more creativity and innovation among those with whom he works, he is very supportive and appreciates ideas coming out of people. He knows how to motivate people to get the best out of them. Therefore I agree with his abilities in this respect. In a situation where it is important to obtain more power , my colleague keeps himself involved in events and activities. He tries to improve himself and tries to think out of the box in order in order to generate creative ideas. He refuses to come under anyone’s influence and does not agree to other people’s terms. When someone needs to be motivated, he does not believe in rewarding people, though he is always there to help them out. He takes charge of the situation when productivity is insufficient. He does compliment those who deserve it. When he sees someone doing something that needs correcting, he is not one of those who sit back after giving their views. He is always encouraging people to challenge his perspective and ask him questions. I slightly disagree with the fact that he cannot take the criticism into account in situations when someone complains about something he has done. In fact, he asks the other person to adjust his behavior. With respect to situation in which he desires to make my team perform well, regardless of whether he is a leader or member, I disagree slightly with his competence in doing so. He does not encourage his team enough to make some serious innovation and achieve the best possible results. With regard to his ability to lead change, I disagree with his abilities, because when he is leading change he does not keep any track of things that go wrong. It would be a lot better if he was more

Surpassing the Passive Hero in Waverly by Sir Walter Scott Essay

Surpassing the Passive Hero in Waverly by Sir Walter Scott - Essay Example Essentially Welsh seems to attempt to debunk the idea that Scott was even a good novelist, let alone a great romantic novelist, within his books. Welsh admits that Waverly is the prototype for the modern novel, but then goes on to argue the various weaknesses within Scott's technique. He suggests that Scott is not a realist, as he seems incapable of drawing a realistic portrayal of life. Neither is he capable of any type of analysis according to Welsh; he argues succinctly that "Scott never criticizes his own society" (Welsh, 1963). Also, Scott is not a very good romantic writer either as he has no full knowledge of the human heart and his characters are "notoriously unemotional" (Welsh, 1963). By way of proving this, Welsh suggests that Waverly's only emotional moment in his very brief attachment to Flora. . . . . the hero is obviously much more at home as a peacemaker than as a warrior, and it is amusing to watch Waverly racing ahead over the battlefield in order to rescue Hanoverian officers, and then being commended for his distinguished service by the chevalier. According to Welsh, the hero of Waverly is irredeemably passive and thus incapable of realistically portraying action and an active role within society. The hoer is caught within an intensely moralistic society which essentially stifles him. A true hero, according to Welsh, at least within the modern period, is a man for whom "masculinity meant self-control under the most trying circumstances" (Welsh, 1963). These characteristics he sees more within the insular, inward-looking Talbot rather than in the antics of Fergus rushing around Scotland performing traditionally "heroic" deeds. Part of this passivity, according to Welsh, stems from the fact that Scott's novels often revolve around the relationship between the individual and the state. In Waverly the hero adopts a positively Twentieth Century stance as he paradoxically invites and then resists his own arrest. He is contradictory if incredibly passive, at least in a traditionally "heroic" sense. But does this need to be an "either/or" question or can it be "both/and" Can the hero of Waverly exhibit passivity at one point and action at another and still be believable It would seem that the answer to this is a categorical "yes". Real human beings do not act according to a formulaic design for their character. He is not either a "passive character" or a "hero". He can be passive and active according to the moment. A simple glance at what actually occurs in Waverly belies the simple dichotomies that Welsh sets up in his attempted criticism of the novel. The opening of the novel starts with Waverly taking very real action, both in terms of his physical movements and in his decision making. Waverly is brought up in the family home of his Uncle, near London, but is soon given a commission in the Hanoverian army and is posted to Dundee, in Scotland. If he were purely passive he would not have taken up this commission in the first place. As soon as he arrives in Dundee, Waverly decides to take leave in order to meet the Jacobite friend of his Uncle, Baron

Credit card debt in the Uk today Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Credit card debt in the Uk today - Essay Example The building society branch network was expanded at high pace in the 1980's in the United Kingdom. But facing the recessions in the 1990's the trend declined. Most of the societies rationalized their network in order to cut the cost. The new trend was to give importance to the quality rather than quantity. This in turn gave rise to the trend of targeting high profit customers in order to gain high profits by cross- selling products to these customers. (Birkin & Clarke, 1998) The main customers of the building societies are the common men. Most of the products of building societies as discussed above are designed while keeping in view the needs of household customers. These products are attractive for them because the way to use them is simple. Like all the commercial banks the building societies also offer the Credit card services which have easy terms and conditions and provide the customer with the facility of loan. These credit cards are also different according to the packages they provide such as The strength of U.K financial system largely depends upon the external shocks the banks have to suffer. In the year 2005 the U.K banks financial strength ratings were comparatively high as compare to rest of other international banking institutions. The composition of the earnings of the banks kept reshaping. The income indicated a declining trend of retail borrowing, although offset by revenues from corporate banking than that from retail lending. Some banks in wholesale markets also gained dealing profits. It is future forecast, that the banks will earn nominal profits in coming year. Due to the unsecured lending exposure some of the banks would have slower income growth. The competition in the banking industry and the declining trend of retail rending can result in a slow income growth capitalisation. The capital ratios in major UK banks remained unchanged i.e. above regulatory minimum balance required. Passing the stress tests the banks had sufficient profits and reserves capital despite facing various economic and external, shocks. The IMF (FSAP) report stated that despite all the worst case scenario combined together the total cost for the banking sector is just 0.35 % total assets. (Bumn et al, 2005) The level of bad debts in UK is triggering at high speed as debt provision has been made easier to consumers in shape of credit cards and other financial instruments. The issue has become an important concern for the economists in the banking industry of UK. In the UK, bad debts are on average about 3 per cent in the credit card market, compared with the present level in the US of about 5 per cent. If the UK follows the US trend, credit standards may decline as competition increases. These societies also provide consultation services to the customers since most of them are busy with their business or family lives to dedicate sufficient time to plan for their financial futures. Without adequate planning financial goals may be unrealistic, which can result in significant financial under-achievement. They often get teamed up with other legal companies in order to provide the customers with a comprehensive range of value for money insurance products to protect home, contents, and mortgage

Internal weaknesses that impacted the Islamic Societies during the Essay

Internal weaknesses that impacted the Islamic Societies during the Crudades and Mongol Wars - Essay Example Even though the early crusades were named and were quite successful in realizing the desired objectives, majority of the crusades that took place in the later years were ineffective and thus they were defeated by their counterparts, the Muslims. The Mongols on the other hand invaded Muslim land in the thirteenth century. They moved from one Islamic region to another slaughtering all the Muslims they came across. In just a single city, they slaughtered almost 2 million people. Such had immense effect on the locals in terms of their political power, economy, social life, culture, religion and population as explored in this paper. Soldiers in hundreds of thousands became crusaders through taking of vows, with the Pope granting these soldiers Plenary Indulgence. The emblem of the soldiers in the war was a cross, as the term crusade was derived from a French phrase, â€Å"taking the cross†. Most of the crusaders were from France, calling themselves ‘Franks’ that eventually became a common term among the Muslims. By this time, Christianity was yet to divide into large numbers of intermingled geographical regions which later formed the eastern churches of Byzantine Orthodox and the Western Roman Catholic. The Crusaders just considered themselves as Christians but not as Muslims. They had immense impact on Middle East, and particularly to Islamic religion. Crusades Background Among the powers that medieval popes had was the ability of requesting the kings and monarchs to be provided with troops as well as money to facilitate what they deemed as holy wars, such as the Crusades. The Crusades were fought because of geopolitical, economic and religious conflicts between the Muslims and the Christians.3 The spark for the initial Crusade came in year 1095, at the time when the Byzantines within the European Christians for military assistance against Turks, and Seljuk who had recently captured the city of Jerusalem. In order to increase their chances of receiving more aid, Byzantines exaggerated the rumors of Holy Land atrocities from the Turkish people. Pope Urban II immediately responded by summoning of the Council of Clermont, calling upon the European Catholics knights to recapture the city of Jerusalem because of the religious value that they placed to the Holy Land. In 1096, an army of Crusaders traveled headed to the Middle East through Constantinople, fighting the Muslim forces that they encountered along the way. The army reached Jerusalem two years later, 1099. They placed the city under siege, and they butchered almost every single Jew and Muslim within the walls of th e City. In the process, the Crusaders massacred a significant number of Christians whom were mistaken for Muslims. Because of lack of unity among the Jews, Turks and Muslims, they suffered immense loss and defeat from the Crusaders.4 Crusades in Islamic Society Much of the most important works of histories of crusades are being published and the settlements that have been established within their wake are concerned with the 13th and the 14th Centuries, while the great vistas are providing an opening in the sixteenth centuries.5 The Crusades, which were launched upon the holy land of Middle East from Urban II Speech that took place in 1095 at the Council of Cl

Japanese Comfort Women Essay Example for Free

Japanese Comfort Women Essay It is estimated that between one and two hundred thousand female sex slaves were forced to deliver sexual services to Japanese soldiers, both before and during World War II. These women were known as comfort women and the Imperial Conference, which was composed of the emperor, representatives from the armed forces and the main Cabinet ministers, approved their use by Japanese soldiers. Walkom) The term comfort women refers to the victims of a premeditated systematic plan originated and implemented by the government of Japan to enslave women considered inferior and subject them to repeated mass rapes, said Michael D. Hausefeld, one of over 35 lawyers in his firm representing the former sexual prisoners in a class action lawsuit currently pending against the Japanese government. (Eddy) Since ancient times, prostitutes in Japan chose to sell their bodies either for family, poverty, or for saving her husband and her children. More or less, their sacrifices were seen as positive. But, being forced to become comfort woman by Japanese is seen as negative. The difference between the Japanese prostitutes and comfort women is that the comfort women did not choose to be trapped as a sex slave and they were not paid for what they did. In 1931, when the Japanese army invaded Manchuria, â€Å"comfort houses† made their first appearances. These comfort houses were created to provide the Japanese soldiers with outlets for their sexual needs. In the beginning, there were only a few comfort houses but after the Nanjin Massacre occurred in 1937, many more were added, basically to every place that the Japanese were stationed. (Walkom) After the Japanese soldiers slaughtered thousands of Chinese people in the Nanjin Massacre, they barbarically raped an insurmountable number of women. As a result, anti-Japanese sentiments grew and it became harder to fully occupy these lands. The government set up comfort houses to decrease disorder and give the approximately two million soldiers a place to satisfy their sexual needs. The Japanese did not have enough prostitutes to supply the needs of the soldiers so they commissioned civilians to develop comfort houses. At the time, only a small percentage of Japanese women were mobilized to â€Å"work† in comfort houses and they were all prostitutes to begin with. The majority of the comfort women were actually Korean women, who were forcibly taken from Korea to service the needs of the Japanese soldiers. After the war, the Japanese government destroyed all evidence of their involvement in Japanese comfort houses, enforcing that commercial businessmen were responsible for the movement of women. Many of the comfort women were kidnapped or deceived into voluntarily working in comfort houses. Once they were there, they were trapped and forced into prostitution. Some women reported that Japanese agents offered them good jobs or education. Others were told that each family in the village had to donate a daughter to the war effort. Many others were offered food, shelter and factory jobs. The Japanese also kidnapped young, unmarried girls when they had a shortage of comfort women. The ages of the girls in the comfort houses ranged from 15 to 19, with the minority exception of some younger girls and some older, married women. The girls were transported between military bases like cargo, under heavy guard in army trucks, trains, ship and bus. They were forced to lose their virginity before arriving at the bases to prepare them for having sexual intercourse with tens of soldiers every day. Many women contemplated death after this, as they believed their virginity to be more precious than life. (Henson) When living in the comfort houses, the comfort women lived in fear and desperation. They were unable to leave, as they were heavily guarded. Each day, they were penetrated by as many as 50 soldiers, until they were sore and bloated to the point of not being able to open their legs. If they were infected with a sexually transmitted disease, they received injections known as Injection 606. If infected enough times, they lost their fertility. In Japan, infected women were killed. Their food was mixed with cyanide, their bodies taken to a cave and finally, the cave was blown up with a grenade. The comfort houses made money off these women and it is believed that the Japanese government paid them, as most of the soldiers paid by coupons. As soon as the war was finished, the Japanese Imperialist guards disappeared without trace. Most comfort women describe the experience this way, Suddenly, the soldiers came no more, and upon asking we found that the war had ended. In other regions, as the Japanese committed â€Å"harikari, the women were forced to do the same. In extreme cases, the women were put in a cave and blown up. After the war, many of the comfort women were too sick to be moved and were taken under the care of the American army. Most of the women were left with no place to go, as they were in a strange country with no money, and were too humiliated to go home. According to one comfort woman, my bodys wasted, therefore I do not dare go home in fear of being ignored and looked down upon. Even after the war ended, the comfort women were not free. Their guilty minds and inferiority complexes kept them from returning home and they stayed in foreign countries. The small amount that married, were often forced to separate after the fact that they were comfort women was known, or they were divorced because they could not have children. The victims are still suffering the pain physically and psychologically. More than half of them could not get pregnant, and most of them have chronicle diseases. Furthermore, the psychological impact on these women made them felt themselves dirty, ashamed that they disgraced themselves and isolated themselves from others. They are either afraid of getting married, or unable to ask for any commitment from their lovers. For those who got married, their marriage was unstable and unhappy due to their past. Some thought that they must have done something evil in their previous life that they have to be punished in this life. (Hicks) They go to tempos to chant sutras, to confess, to pursue liberation, and they even commit suicide. Although the period of time they spent at the Japanese military base was a small part of their life, what they had experienced caused an incurable impact on their health, marriage, mind, and social adaptation. Although the Japanese government continues to deny or minimize their involvement with comfort women, their defense is unraveling. A conference on Japanese Crimes Against Humanity: Sexual Slavery and Forced Labor was held last year, in which Japanese researchers delivered papers which claimed that the Japanese military, the rest of the government, and Japanese industry were all involved in the decision to provide sex slaves for the countrys soldiers. (Chunghee) Japanese historian Hirofumi Hayashi said: The establishment and development of the military comfort women system as not only carried out by the total involvement of every section of the military but also by administrative machinery at every level of the Japanese state In addition, we should not overlook that Japanese companies were their accomplices. (Chunghee) Researchers from the Center for Research and Documentation of Japans War Responsibilities in Yokohama showed that Japanese rubber companies were under government contra ct to supply 20 million condoms a year to armed forces once the decision had been made to provide sex slaves to the soldiers. Rumiko Nishino wrote that high-ranking adjutants commissioned by Cabinet and sub-Cabinet-level government officials implemented the distribution of the condoms. The availability of condoms to the general population became almost nil. (Chunghee) Last year, the Japanese appeals court overturned an earlier ruling that orders the government to compensate women who were forced to serve as sex slaves during World War II. Both sides had appealed that ruling. The plaintiffs because they thought the compensation was too small, and the government because they refused to pay. Duke) In deciding in favor of the government, the Hiroshima High Court said abducting women to use them as forced laborers and sex slaves was not a serious constitutional violation. Tokyo has admitted that its wartime army had set up brothels, and forced thousands of Koreans, Filipinos, Dutch and Chinese to serve as prostitutes, but it has refused to compensate these victims. Historians say as many as 200,000 women were f orced into sexual slavery during World War II.