Violence, Terrorism, and the Interactions between Cultures Essay

Violence, Terrorism, and the Interactions between Cultures When humans from different cultures interact, the result is often bloodshed, domination and disease. Also, without exception, the exchange of ideas gradually occurs. All of these factors have shaped the course of history. While much of the spread of disease has been reduced since the Black Death, much bloodshed still comes from the interaction of cultures, possibly from physical contact without intellectual or rational interaction and understanding. Interaction itself is necessary and does result in good as well, especially in terms of technological advancements. The spread of disease is possibly one of the most dramatic results of interactions between cultures. The different ways of living in Europe and other parts of the world caused very different illnesses to develop in each. Europeans lived in close quarters in densely populated cities, which allowed crowd diseases, such as measles, to develop. These diseases quickly result in death, or recovery and immunity. Thus, they do not remain relevant in smaller communities; by the time victims have recovered fully, the disease is not around to be spread. In larger communities, the disease can shift from area to area, remaining in existence until there are babies to be infected in the original area. (Diamond) A leading theory maintains that these diseases developed from animal diseases that adapted to the environment of the human body when humans and animals were in close contact. In particular measles and smallpox came from cattle, and the flu came from pigs and ducks. (Diamond) Because this con tact with animals, the close contact with thousands of other humans in cities, and the connection of populations by trade, a... ...p. 1-35. Cipolla, Carlo M., Epilog from "Guns, Sails, and Empires: Technological Innovation and the Early Phases of European Expansion, 1400-1700" Sunflower Univ. Press, 1996, pp. 132-148. Diamond, Jared, "Ch. 11: Lethal gift of livestock," in "Guns, Germs, and Steel" W.W. Norton & Co, 1997, ISBN 0-393-03891-2, pp. 195-214 Ponting, Clive. Ch.11 from "A Green History of the World," St. Martins Press, NYC, 1991, pp. 224-239. Pursell, Carroll W. Jr., Ch. 1 and 2 in "Early Stationary Steam Engines in America: a study in the migration of a technology" Smithsonian Inst. Press, 1969, pp. 1-27. Schneider, Jane. Rumpelstilskin's Bargain: Folklore and the Merchant Capitalist Intensification of Linen Manufacture in Early Modern Europe. In Cloth and Human Experience, edited by Annette B. Weiner and Jane Schneider. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1993.

Drum Major App

Drum Major Audition 1. What specific skills do you posses that qualify you as a drum major. What qualifies me as a drum major is the experience that I have within this band program. Being a section leader for the past two years has given me a much better understanding of show and music, along with advanced understanding of marching technique and fundamentals. 2. Describe your level of musicianship and instrumental pedagogy skills. From the start of my music career at Cryar, I've always been the top Tuba player. Even throughout Junior High-school and Even so far in High-school, I've been in Wind Ensemble.Being in the Wind Ensemble shows my musical ability, along with my musical understanding. Being in the Wind Ensemble gives me a opportunity to study and prepare more difficult music that I would find being in any other band. 3. Describe your level of marching fundamentals competency. My level of marching, I would say, is one of the more advanced in the band; I'm basing this statement on the fact that I've already had three years of marching experience, but not just marching experience, I've also had two years of teaching marching to underclassmen.With this experience I believe puts me ahead of other students in the band, because I was the only Sophomore section leader. 4. Describe your level of drill design (and execution of) understanding. My level of drill design and understanding is advanced compared to others in the band. Since Sophomore year I've been presented with the drill charts, that normal students would only see outside of rehearsal. So I have a fairly good understanding how to dress forms and how to fix forms that might not be working as well as it should be. 5. List and describe the points of attention . Feet The heels of the marchers feel should be touching, and their toes separated so that the gap at the intersection of the heels at a 45 degree angle. Along with the position of the feet, the weight of the marcher should be balanced solely on the ball of the foot. If this is done correctly then the marcher should be able to bounce up and down on their feet without shifting their weight. b. Knees The marchers knees should be in a comfortable bend. The worst thing for a marcher to do is lock their knees when they are in attention.This could lead to a possible blackout of the marcher due to the cut of of blood to the brain. c. Hips The marchers hips should flat to front, and should also be pushed and tilted forward slightly. The hips is one of the most important parts of a good marcher, it's what separates the musician from the athlete. This is a important thing to remember later when we start marching. d. Arms The Marchers arms should be at a slight, comfortable bend. With their hands resting on the sides of the legs, wear the seam of their shorts should be. The elbows should be facing directly backwards, not outward to any degree.The hands should be in a loose fist with their thumb facing directly downward in line with the se am on their shorts. e. Shoulder The marchers shoulders should be in a line with the heals of their feet and their hips. They should be relaxed but bold. This can be achieved by raising the shoulder to the ears, pulling them back, and relaxing them downward. This will portray a stronger individual. f. Head The marchers head should be held high. So that they are looking directly forward. There should be absolutely no movement what so ever while the marcher is in attention.Not to adjust hair, or wipe sweat, regardless to circumstance, if you are in attention, you are not moving. 6. List and describe the points of forward march. a. Head The head should remain flat to front or back at all times,unless directed otherwise. b. Shoulders The marchers shoulders should always be facing flat to front or back, unless directed otherwise. They should also be in the same position that they were in the attention position. c. Hips The marchers hips should be facing the direction in which the marcher is marching.The hips should also be in the same position that they were in while in attention. d. Legs The legs go through many different check points during the forward march. The first point is the first step. The first step will always be taken with the left foot. The leg should be extended forward until it is straight, at this point the heel of the left foot should be touching the ground. After the initial impact of the heel on the ground, the marcher will â€Å"Roll Through† , this can be accomplished by imagining you are squeezing every last bit of toothpaste out of a toothpaste bottle.By the time the foot has finished rolling through, the right leg should have started its progress forward, and should be right next to the left leg, with the foot parallel to the ground hovering as close to the ground as possible. As the left foot rolls through to the tip of the toes, the marcher should be repeating that same process with their right foot. This process should be continued until the end of a set, or a still portion of the drill. The marcher will stop marching forward be either changing directions to backwards marching, or stopping.When the marcher is stopping, they will step forward with their right food, and roll through starting at the toe this time, at the correct angle of attention, and then smoothly place their left foot into the attention position. 7. List and describe the points of backward march. a. Head The head should remain flat to front or back at all times,unless directed otherwise. b. Shoulders The marchers shoulders should always be facing flat to front or back, unless directed otherwise. They should also be in the same position that they were in the attention position. c. HipsThe marchers hips should be facing the direction in which the marcher is marching. The hips should also be in the same position that they were in while in attention. d. Legs The legs will go through many different check points throughout the backwards marching pr ocess. The first check point is the first step. The marcher, beginning from their attention position, will lift their right heel of the ground just enough so that their left foot is dangling by their side. The marcher will then swing the left leg backwards, without bending their knee, and touch their ball of their foot behind them.Once the back foot has been firmly planted onto the ground, the marcher will then repeat the process with their right food, and continue repeating this process until directed by a director. 8. List and describe the points of a slide march. While the marcher is slide marching their lower body will remain the same, such as marching check points, the only difference between slide marching and regular marching is the direction the upper body is facing in comparison to the lower body. When the marcher is standing in attention horns up(we will describe later) their first check point is their hips.The marcher will rotate their hips 45 degrees to the left or right , according to the directions of the directors. Along with the rotation of the hips the whole rest of the upper body will move with the hips, but the feet will not move. The next step is the shoulders, the shoulders; the shoulders will then complete the rotation started at the hips with another 45 degree turn of the shoulders in the same direction that the hips had just moved. From here the marchers shoulders should be at a 90 degree angle in comparison to the feet which should be facing forward.From this point the marcher will be able to repeat the steps in the forward and backwards march instructions to begin the slide marching process. Something that should always be remembered is that while the marcher is marching in the slide position, they should always have their horn in the same position that they would as if they were marching normal. 9. Describe the horns up position in detail. From the attention position, the marcher will be addressed â€Å"'clap,clap,clap,clap' band hor ns up† this sequence of commands represents a common counting pattern of marching band, 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8.Notice that there is only seven commands, the 8 count of the addressed sequence is the time in which the marcher will very quickly put their horns up, and as the horn comes up the marcher will make a very short but loud ‘Tsst' sound. The position of the hands in horns up position is as follows. The marchers fist will be right in front of the marchers mouth, the left hand should be in a fist and the right hand should be covering the left hand. The marchers thumbs should resemble an ‘X' shape in front of their mouth, this is to represent the mouthpiece.After proper hand position is established, the marcher should pay attention that their wrists are not bent in any place. The wrist should always be completely straight. The marchers elbows should be bent at a 90 degree angle. The rest of the marchers body will remain the same as it is in attention position. To transi tion from horns up to horns down, the marcher will just rotate their fists so that the ‘X' is facing directly up. 10. Describe how to dress a line.During marching season, there will be many times that you will be marching in a line, these are very important parts in a show, because perfect lines stand out to people who are experienced and also inexperienced with marching shows. a. Forward. If you are marching in a line that is in front of you, you should see nothing but the person directly in front of you. b. Side to side. If you are in a line that is side to side you should use your peripheral vision to address the line, if you can see someone other than the person directly to your left or right, you aren't in the line, and must adjust immediately. 1. Describe how to dress a curve. The curve is very essential to the type of marching band that we are today. Curves is what separates our band from military marching bands. Curves can be anywhere in a marching show, and for them t o impressive there should always be equal spacing and a smooth flow from person to person. To dress a curve the marcher should always have each set memorized, and while we are dressing each set individually, should memorize the way the curve looks, and to hit it every time no matter what.If you see the curve rolling smoothly from person to person, the curve is correct. If there is a bump in a curve, such as someone jutting out, this person needs to reevaluate is set placement. 12. Describe how to dress a diagonal. Diagonals, just like lines, are an essential part of marching bands. The way a marcher will dress diagonals is the pretty much the same way one would dress a line. By looking down the diagonal that the marcher is in, and making sure that no one else is visible except the person right immediately next in the line.

Irish Equality Acts 1998-2011

Critically evaluate the effectiveness of the relevant provisions of the Employment Equality Acts 1998-2011 (and their predecessors) in eliminating pay discrimination on the ground of gender within the workplace and thus reducing the gender pay gap. The European Union is founded upon core values including respect for human dignity, freedom and equality between men and women. This equality extends to the workplace where both men and women are entitled to equal conditions of employment and pay.Articles 20 and 23 of the charter of fundamental rights similarly states that all persons are equal before the law and that equality between men and women must be ensured in all areas â€Å"including employment, work and pay. † Despite this the average hourly gender pay gap within the European Union stands at 17. 1% but varies from 6%- 34% depending on the member state[1]. In an attempt to close the gender pay gap in the European Union, various legislation has been drafted and implemented o ver the previous forty years.The right to equal pay is set out in Article 157TFEU(formerly Art 141,Art 119) which expressed that â€Å"each member state shall ensure that the principle of equal pay for male and female workers for equal work or work of equal value shall be applied†. The subsequent legislation for preventing discrimination in the workplace was incorporated into Irish law by means of the Anti-Discrimination (pay) act 1974 and the Employment Equality act 1977.The jurisprudence for the right to equal pay is the landmark case of Defrenne v Sabena[2] which saw the European court of justice establish that the right to equal pay was legally binding in agreeing that the complainant’s right to equal pay derived directly from Article 119(now Art 157TFEU). The law in Ireland is now governed exclusively by the Employment Equality acts 1998-2004 which replaced the acts of 1974 and 1977.Article 8 of the Treaty on the functioning of the European Union states that in al l its activities the Union â€Å"shall aim to combat discrimination based on sex, racial or ethnic origins, religious belief, disability, age or sexual orientation. † The issue of discrimination in relation to equal pay can arise both directly and indirectly as has been seen in the case law and legislation surrounding this area. The case of Gillespie v Health and Social Services Board[3] efined discrimination as â€Å"the application of different rules to comparable situations or the application of the same rule to different situations†. Article 2(1) of the Recast equal treatment directive has defined direct discrimination as occurring in a situation where â€Å"one person is treated less favourably on the grounds of sex than another is, has been or would be in a comparable situation†. A necessary requirement of the test for direct discrimination is a suitable comparator that the complainant can compare themselves to in order to establish discrimination has occu rred.It is then the duty of the tribunal to consider the reasons for selecting that comparator and whether they are suitable as a relevant comparator in the given situation. Section 6(1) (a) of the Employment equality acts allows a person to select a hypothetical comparator as the scope extends to situations where a complainant â€Å"would be† treated less favourably, but this is not the case when concerning issues relating to pay[4]. It is important to note that there are exemptions to the prohibition on discrimination.Under section 25 of the Employment equality acts an employer may be permitted to treat employees differently based on gender. This is only non-discriminatory where the objective is legitimate and proportionate. The Employment equality acts also provide for the employer to promote equal opportunities for both male and female employees. This may come in the form of vocational training or improving working conditions which help create a higher skilled workforce a nd help to address imbalances evident in the workforce by the gender pay gap.Section 24 of the Employment Equality Acts allows an employer to implement measures which initially make it easier for an under-represented sex to pursue a vocational activity but also to prevent or compensate for disadvantages in professional careers. Promotion or the advancement of one’s career will be dependent on whether that employee is best suited to the position based on their skills and experience and this has been echoed by the European court of justice.Section 24 should be viewed with the understanding that female employees are not automatically entitled to a promotion and thus a higher rate of pay, but that any measures introduced by the employer are to ensure that equal opportunities are available to both sexes. Section 19(4) of the Employment Equality Acts prohibit indirect discrimination on gender grounds in relation to pay where it states â€Å"indirect discrimination occurs where an apparently neutral provision puts persons of a particular gender at a particular disadvantage in respect of remuneration compared with other employees of their employer†.It’s clear from this that indirect discrimination concerns a provision which appears to affect all employees in a firm but really favours or disfavours a category of employees. In Nathan v Bailey Gibson[5] indirect discrimination on the grounds of gender was evident where the complainant had been employed as an assistant to a machine operator and subsequently applied for his job after he retired. The employer had a â€Å"closed shop† agreement in place with the trade union and hired an unemployed male member of the union after the vacancy became available.The union itself was made up predominantly of male members. The Supreme Court held this amounted to indirect discrimination. Indirect discrimination allows for an employer to defend the imposition of an indirectly discriminatory provision as bei ng objectively justifiable. This is enshrined in section 19(4) which states that indirect discrimination on the grounds of gender will not occur where the act or clause is â€Å"objectively justified by a legitimate aim and the means of achieving that aim are appropriate and necessary†.The landmark case of Bilka-Kaufhaus GmbH v Karin Weber von Hartz[6] where differential treatment of part time and full time staff relating to pension rights was occurring and the employer attempted to justify the refusal to pay pensions to part time workers on the basis that it was necessary to discourage staff from working part time for economic reasons. The complainant argued that this breached Article 157TFEU in relation to equal treatment relating to pay.The European court of Justice rejected the argument of the employer but did state that an indirectly discriminatory measure may be justifiable if it is necessary to meet a real need on the part of the employer. The court went on to say that this would occur only if it is appropriate with a view to achieving the objective pursued. In order to understand how the legislation implemented has aided the elimination of pay discrimination, it is first necessary to understand the meaning of pay and ultimately what constitutes pay.Article 157TFEU provides that both male and female workers are entitled to receive equal pay for equal work, or work which has an equal value and the right of community members to equal pay is provided for in the Employment Equality Acts. This provision has both vertical and horizontal effect owing to the decision in Defrenne v Sabena, which allows employees to take actions before their national court.The Employment Equality Acts provide a clear and concise explanation of the right to equal pay in section 19(1) where it states that â€Å"It shall be a term of the contract under which A is employed that, subject to the act, A shall at any time be entitled to the same rate of remuneration for the work which A is employed to do as B who, at that or any other relevant time, is employed to do like work by the same or an associated employer†. However, both the European Court of Justice and the national courts have held there to be a broad scope as to what constitutes pay.These courts have held that sick pay, travel concessions, grading systems, inconvenient hours supplement, redundancy pay, bonus pay and share allocations all fall within the scope of pay[7]. The European court of Justice defined pay in the case of Arberterwohlfahrt der Stadt Berlin v Botel[8] where it was said to be â€Å"all consideration, cash or in kind, whether immediate or future, provided that the worker receives it, albeit indirectly, in respect of his employment from his employer, whether under a contract of employment, by virtue of legislation or on voluntary basis†.The European Court of Justice has also considered the less favourable treatment of part time workers which it considers to be indir ect discrimination on the gender ground. The case of Bilka-Kaufhaus features again here as the ECJ held that where a part time employee earns less pay for doing an equal amount of work as an employee working full time then this may constitute indirect discrimination on gender grounds as a vast majority of part time employees are female which is certainly in line with the legislation under section 19(1) of the Employment Equality Acts.Pay in relation to pregnancy and maternity leave has resulted in the European Court of Justice determining that any allowances paid will not constitute pay. Gillespie and ors. V Northern Health and Services board saw complainants fail in bringing a claim arguing that their employer was in breach of Article 141(now Article 157TFEU) by paying them less than their full salary during maternity leave. It was also the case in North Western Health board v McKenna[9] that the ECJ decided a female employee absent from work due a pregnancy related illness is not entitled to maintenance of full pay.This is the case currently but it should be noted that an amendment to Directive 92/85 has been proposed and if passed, would allow for a female employee to obtain her entire salary while on maternity leave subject to a Member state possibly placing a maximum level at the level of national sick pay[10]. This has not yet come into force due to opposition from various member states primarily on the ground of cost but also â€Å"limiting parental rights to mothers rather than to fathers and creating obstacles to the recruitment of women in the workforce†.It has been necessary for the ECJ and national courts to determine whether the complainant is doing equal or â€Å"like work† to their chosen comparator. Fortunately, the legislation clarifies the meaning of â€Å"like work† in section 7(1) of the Employment Equality Acts as being: 1. The same work undertaken by another person under the same or similar conditions 2. Where the wor k is of a similar nature 3. The work is of equal value taking into consideration such matters as skill, physical or mental requirements, responsibility and working conditions.From this it is clear that in order for the complainant to establish they are partaking in â€Å"like work† they must show that they are interchangeable with the comparator at any given moment and without any notice. In the case of Department of posts and telegraphs v Kennefick[11], a complaint was made by a female post and telegraph clerk that she was being paid less than her comparator who was doing like work. The employer argued that the male telegraph clerk’s job description included additional duties which he was seldom asked to perform. The Labour Court in this case refused to be guided y job description and ordered that the female employee was entitled to equal pay. However, it has been held that higher qualifications will justify a party receiving a higher salary. This was evident in the à ¢â‚¬Å"Austrian psychotherapists’ case†[12] where a group made up primarily of female psychotherapists who had psychology degrees sought equal pay with medical doctors who were employed as psychotherapists. The ECJ agreed that both parties undertook â€Å"seemingly identical activities† but found that the medical doctors were also qualified to undertake additional activities due to their qualifications.Therefore, the ECJ held that the difference in training and qualifications meant that the two parties were not in a comparable situation. The courts have also been faced with determining situations where the work is similar in nature or equal in value. For example, the case of Dowdall O’Mahony v 9 female employees[13] saw equal pay awarded as the court held that the differences in the positions were found to be of little importance in the context of the work as a whole.When dealing with issues where the work is deemed to be of equal value, it is the function of the court to look at the skill, physical effort and responsibility required to perform the work. In 24 women v Spring Grove Services[14] the female employees were employed in the finishing area of the linen maintenance section. They sought to compare themselves with a group of male employees who were employed to work in the wash house.The court subsequently compared the work undertaken by one male employee and one female employee and concluded that the male used more physical effort and skill than the female employee in the course of her work and therefore they were not doing equal work. Section 19(1) of the acts provides that the claimant and the comparator must be employed to do equal or like work by the same or associated employer at that or any other relevant time which under section 19(2 b) is defined as any time during the three years preceding or following the time at which the action is taken.Despite the benefits of the legislative provisions provided in the Employment Eq uality Acts, there are numerous problems with their effectiveness and enforcement. Despite the legislation there is a scarcity of discrimination cases relating to pay being taken to national court level and there are a variety of reasons for this. In some situations it is difficult to ascertain the scope of comparison for the wording of certain provisions in the legislation as it is not defined in statutory law, such as the meaning of work of â€Å"equal value†.Another issue is that the concept of the â€Å"hypothetical comparator† is not allowed in most countries and it’s also the case that the comparator must be employed by the same employer. The problem with this is that locating a real comparator can be difficult in segregated professions where comparators of the opposite sex are rare. In various European states it is the case that the citizens have no faith or trust in the judiciary to appropriately or effectively deal with a case of sex discrimination.Havi ng explored in detail where the relevant provisions of the Employment Equality Acts have been applied to eliminate pay discrimination on gender grounds, it is important to note that the employer is entitled to show that the difference of treatment in relation to pay is not indirectly discriminatory but valid on some other ground. This â€Å"defence† is provided in section 19(5) of the Employment Equality Acts. Under this section employers may pay different rates of remuneration to both men and women but it must be justifiable on grounds other than gender.The test for this stems from the BIlka Kaufhaus[15] case where the employer is required to show how and why the decision to discriminate was made at that point and it was subsequently decided that retrospective justification was unacceptable. The qualifications of the employee, worker flexibility and length of service may be objective grounds if they can be attributed to the needs of the employer. The case of NUI Cork v Ahern [16] concerned a pay differential between male security guards and female phone operators’.This was deemed to be justifiable as the female operators were paid more for doing less work. This was not due to gender as they had originally been doing an increased amount of work but due to family issues was now doing less. This thinking was continued in the case of Dept of Justice, Equality and law reform v CPSU[17] where the court held that the department had grounds other than gender for the payment of a higher rate to Gardai members performing clerical work compared with civilian clerical workers.Certain posts within An Garda Siochana are reserved for Gardai. Here, the majority of the 761 clerical posts in An Garda Siochana were female. This was deemed to be justifiable for â€Å"genuine operational reasons† and to ensure the continuity of services at all times. Employers may also be able to rely on a defence of market forces where they establish that the payment of a low er wage for some employees is part of the business strategy on economic grounds which can be objectively justified.This was developed in Enderly v Frenchay Health Authority[18] where a comparison was made between speech therapists who were predominantly women and pharmacists who were predominantly men being paid at a higher rate. The employer’s argument was that differential pay was due to a shortage of pharmacist candidates and not due to sex discrimination found favour with the court. Despite the legislation, the European gender pay gap still stands at 17. 1%, but there are a variety of innovative ways to help close the gender pay gap[19].The Finnish government has coined the concept of an equality pot, which is a sum of money set aside for municipal governments to fund pay rises in low paid, highly educated female sectors as low wages are traditionally paid to female workers in highly feminised branches of the public sector[20]. This would help to reduce the pay gap and pu t in place a greater level of equality relating to pay between the two genders. Another method of closing the pay gap is to support the continuity of female employment as they often interrupt their employment in order to manage both their family and professional life.This could be done by the reconciliation of both and could be achieved through the provision of child care facilities in the workplace ensuring female employees were able to bring their children to work[21]. It should also be noted that imposing an obligation on male workers to be involved in child rearing would allow for the continuation of women in employment and would help to close the gender pay gap. References †¢ European Gender Equality Law Review-No. 1/2011 †¢ Principles of Irish Employment Law: Brenda Daly, Michael Doherty 2010,Page 111. †¢ Employment Law in Ireland: Maeve Regan, page 459 published May 2009 †¢ European Gender Equality Law Review No 1/2011, â€Å"Equality Pay for Men and Wome n in Europe Anno 2011 The Gender Pay gap on the retreat? † Petra Foubert †¢ http://epp. eurostat. ec. europa. eu/portal/page/portal/eurostat/home/ ———————– [1] European Gender Equality Law Review-No. 1/2011 [2] Defrenne v Sabena (1976) ECR 455(C-43/75) [3] Gillespie v Health and Social Services Board (1996) ECR 475 4] Principles of Irish Employment Law: Brenda Daly, Michael Doherty 2010, Page 111. [5] Nathan Bailey v Gibson (1998) 2 IR 162 [6] (1986) ECR 1607 [7] Employment Law in Ireland: Maeve Regan, page 459 published May 2009 [8] (1992) IRLR 423 [9] North Western Health board v McKenna(Case C-191/03) [10] Principles of Irish Employment Law: Brenda Daly, Michael Doherty, 2010, p160 [11] Department of Posts and Telegraphs v Kennefick EP 9/1979 [12] Case C-309/97 (1999) ECR 2865 [13] Dowdall O’Mahony v female employees EP2/1987 [14] (1996) ELR 147 15] (1986) C-170/84 [16] (2005) SC IE 40 [17] (2008) ELR 140 [ 18] (1993) ELR 1-5535 [19] European Gender Equality Law Review No 1/2011, â€Å"Equality Pay for Men and Women in Europe Anno 2011 The Gender Pay gap on the retreat? † Petra Foubert [20] European Gender Equality Law Review No 1/2011, â€Å"Equality Pay for Men and Women in Europe Anno 2011 The Gender Pay gap on the retreat? † Petra Foubert [21] European Gender Equality Law Review No 1/2011, â€Å"Equality Pay for Men and Women in Europe Anno 2011 The Gender Pay gap on the retreat? † Petra Foubert

Consequences of Friedman’s Shareholder Theory for Hrm Ethics

Milton Friedman wrote in 1973 that managements â€Å"primary responsibility is to the shareholders who own and invest in the company†. What are the consequences of this philosophy for HRM ethics, and what alternative perspectives might serve the profession in the future? Friedman’s Shareholder Theory Milton Friedman’s shareholder theory has had a broad range of consequences for HRM ethics.The main consequence being that if management are only answerable to owners and shareholders, and must do as they wish, management’s quest will almost always be to maximise profit. Organisations that are constantly trying to maximise profits are often constricted by short-termism. Short-termism refers to the excessive focus of some organisational leaders on short-term earnings which can impede the long-term value creation of a company. Short-termism can have profound effects on an organisations HRM ethics.Before examining the consequences of Friedman’s theory that managements â€Å"primary responsibility is to the shareholders that own and invest in the company†, and before outlining alternative ethical perspectives that might serve the profession in the future, I think it is important to give a brief account of the different agendas of HRM ethics and of Friedman’s reasoning behind his theory in order to relate it to HRM ethics. Fryer (2009) says that there are two contrasting agendas with regards to the relationship between HRM and ethics.He says the first agenda is welfare humanism and the second agenda is managerial performativity. The welfare humanist ethical agenda says that the ethicality of HRM practice should be measured in relation to its responsiveness to the needs and aspirations of employees. Under this perspective, self-actualisation and self-esteem of employees is considered very important and is rigorously promoted. The managerial performativity agenda is the opposite of the welfare humanist agenda. This agenda pl aces the achievement of strategic success above all other considerations, including employee well-being.Supporters of this agenda argue that if an organisation focuses purely on maximising profit within free/liberal market conditions, it will ultimately be in everyone’s best interests. According to Fryer (2009), Friedman was a utilitarian and also followed the managerial performativity agenda. Utilitarian theory proposes that the best way to lend moral legitimacy to a decision is to promote the way forward that will generate â€Å"the greatest amount of good for the greatest number of people† (Fryer 2009, p. 77).Oslington (2012) suggested that the work of Adam Smith can be used to support the idea that if an organisation prospers, society in general will benefit from this. Therefore, as Friedman believed, if a firm tries to maximise profits, it will ultimately be in a society’s best interests as many people stand to benefit from the commercial prosperity of a bu siness, including its shareholders, suppliers, customers, the vast majority of employees and society at large as the business generates economic activity. Friedman (1970) wrote a seminal article in the New York Times called The Social Responsibility of Business is to increase its Profits.In this article he argues that any person who believes that a business should be concerned with issues other than maximising profit, issues such as eliminating discrimination, avoiding pollution and providing employment, are just puppets of the forces that strive to undermine the basis of a free society. This article lays the foundation for Friedman to declare in 1973 that managements only responsibility is to shareholders as he places an increased emphasis on property rights. Fryer (2009) suggests that that property rights are fundamental to Western culture and that the right to own and to transfer property is of the utmost importance.Consequences of Shareholder Theory The consequences of Friedmanà ¢â‚¬â„¢s shareholder theory for HRM ethics are profound. HRM ethics is the moral obligations of an employer towards its employee’s and shareholder theory forces management to focus on short term profit maximisation which justifies actions such as imposing stressful working conditions on employees as long as it improves the performance of the company. Many organisations that follow this shareholder theory have largely questionable ethics towards their employees as they seek to maximise profits without breaking the law.A good example of an organisation that follows this theory is Ryanair. Ryanair’s (2012) code of ethics clearly states that â€Å"Ryanair is committed to the fair and equitable treatment of all employees and abides by employment laws in the countries in which it does business. † Ryanair does not break any laws with regard the treatment of their employee’s. However, they do marginalise workers as they are not actually employees of Ryanair, but independent contractors. Employment law places strict responsibility on employers for their employees, whereas the conditions for independent contractors are not as strict.This allows Ryanair to maximise profits without having to incur extra costs such as tax requirements and providing better work conditions. Short-termism can also directly affect an organisations HRM ethics in other ways. Kreymeyer et al. (2006) carried out a survey of more than four hundred executives across many of the largest U. S. corporations. Analysis of the survey found that, due to the pressures of short-termism, more than half of all respondents said they would delay or cancel new projects, even if the cancellation of those projects meant that the organisation sacrifices value creation in the future.Such projects may include implementing a new HRM system. Implementing a new HRM system may be costly to install at first but if successful, could increase future value creation through many different ways such as reducing conflict within an organisation, improving workforce morale and productivity, reducing employee turnover which in turn could reduce recruitment and training costs. This can show how Friedman’s shareholder theory, which increases the pressures of short-termism, can affect an organisations HRM ethics as profit maximisation in seen as the number one priority of the firm.As HRM ethics focuses on moral obligations of employers to employees, one priority of a firm should be to try to secure the long term sustainability of an organisation in order to provide job security to employees. Friedman’s shareholder theory should back this up but the overriding emphasis on short term goals and profitability can impede long term sustainability. Opportunities that could improve the long term performance of an organisation may be ignored as they might impact on short term profitability.For example, projects may be ignored because of the cost of the initial investment is too h igh or because the payback period of the project is too long. In Krehmeyer et al. (2006) survey, eighty per cent of respondents said that they would reduce discretionary spending on advertising, research and development, maintenance and hiring in order to meet short term performance targets set out by the organisation. These factors can reduce competitiveness of a firm and can put its long term sustainability in jeopardy.Alternative Ethical Perspectives Some ethical perspectives that might serve the business world in the future are Kant’s theory of ethics, Rawls theory and also the Aristotelian theory of ethics. These perspectives can be considered as alternatives to Friedman’s shareholder theory. Kant’s Theory of Ethics The Kantian theory of ethics was created by a German philosopher called Immanuel Kant (1724-1804). His theory of ethics was based on respecting people and also on the idea that a person should never use another for personal gain.Kant did not bel ieve that a person’s actions should be considered right or wrong by examining the consequences of their actions, rather, he believed that it is the motives behind the decision that lend moral legitimacy to it. Klikauer (2010) says that, for Kant, ethics need to be established through a series of logical arguments and without any inclinations or feelings that may cloud judgement. Kant’s ethics are guided by purely ethical laws.Klikauer (2010) also notes that Kantian ethics does not offer business managers any room for manoeuvring with ethical decisions as one’s actions, and more importantly one’s intentions cannot be ethical and unethical at the same, there is no middle ground. There are valuable lessons that can be learned from Kantian ethics but it is also somewhat incompatible with business ethics. Kant believed that one should not use another for personal gain but the essence of management is to use people as a means to an end. The end would be an orga nisation’s goals.Therefore people are treated like costs, which is the opposite of Kant’s Kingdom of Ends which says that humans should be treated as ends. Rawls’ theory of ethics John Bordley Rawls (1921-2002) was an American philosopher that based his theory on the concepts of equality and fairness from behind what he calls a veil of ignorance. Rawls (1972) says that in order to ascertain fairness with regards ethical standards, we must imaginatively project ourselves into an original position. This original position is one that is ignorant of our status in society.He believed that the only fair way to reach a decision was if a person was behind a veil of ignorance, this means a person must revert back to a position where he or she does not know his or her class, race, sex and also what side of the social contract that that person will be on. According to Chryssides and Kaler(1993) once the decision maker has imaginatively reverted back to the original positio n, the social and economic inequalities of the decision are to be arranged so that the greatest benefit goes to the least advantaged.Rawls’ theory is more sympathetic to a welfare humanist agenda as he believes that a business has a duty to less advantaged stakeholders, not just to employees. â€Å"Stakeholders are those individuals or groups who depend on an organisation to fulfil their own goals and on whom, in turn, the organisation depends† (Johnson, et al. 2008,pg 132). Rawls theory could be extremely valuable in the future as an increasing number of organisations are embracing corporate social responsibility (CSR).It has been suggested that more organisations are moving from â€Å"laissez-faire† CSR stance, which is compatible with Friedman’s shareholder theory, to a CSR stance of â€Å"enlightened self-interest† which is now being seen as a more sustainable way for business to be carried out (Johnson, et al. 2008,pg 146). Aristotelian theory of ethics Aristotle (284-322 B. C. ) was a Greek philosopher. Fryer (2009) believed that the Aristotelian theory of ethics relates to virtue ethics as Aristotle believed that discourse can offered as a basis for moral probity.Virtue ethics says that the morality of a person’s actions can be judged in relation to their conformity to the standards of conduct that are acceptable within that given community. Aristotle did not believe that there was an absolute right way to make a decision, he believed the human ability to engage in democratic processes was a defining characteristic that separates us from all other creatures on earth, and that democratic processes were the best way of identifying that way (Fryer, 2009).Lessons from Aristotle’s theory of ethics could be very useful for the business world. Aristotle believed that the only way to lend moral legitimacy to a decision was to involve all those that were going to be affected in the decision making process. An orga nisation can involve all those that are affected by their actions through the use of employee voice mechanisms, collaborating with suppliers and customers and by involving all stakeholders in the decision making process. ConclusionFriedman’s shareholder theory has largely negative consequences for HRM ethics, as shareholder theory forces organisations to operate under the straight jacket of short-termism in the drive to maximise profits for the shareholders who own and invest in the company. Kant’s, Rawls’ and Aristotle’s alternative ethical perspectives might not be perfectly compatible with the business world but each of them, in their own way, can offer valuable insights that could be extremely valuable and might serve the profession in the future. References Chryssides, G. D. and Kaler J. H. 1993), An Introduction to Business Ethics, 1st ed, pg. 180-185. London, UK: Chapman and Hall. Friedman, M. (1970), â€Å"The Social Responsibility of Business is to increase its Profits†, The New York Times Magazine, Available from: http://www. umich. edu/~thecore/doc/Friedman. pdf [Accessed 22nd October 2012] Fryer (2009), ‘HRM: An Ethical Perspective’, in D. Collings & G. Woods (2009), ‘Human Resource Management A Critical Approach’, (Taylor & Francis e-Library) pp. 75-90 Johnson, G. , Whittington, R. amp; Scholes, K. (2008), Exploring Strategy, Text and Cases, 8th ed, London: FT Prentice Hall. Klikauer, T. (2010) Critical Management Ethics. 1st ed. Pg 68-87. Hampshire, UK: Palgrave Macmillan (James Hardiman Library) Krehmeyer, D. Orsagh, M. Schacht, K. N. (2006) â€Å"Breaking the Short-Term Cycle: Discussion and Recommendations on How Corporate Leaders, Asset Managers, Investors and Analysts Can Refocus on Long Term Value†, CFA Centre for Financial Market Integrity/Business Roundtable Institute for Corporate Ethics, Available From: http://www. darden. virginia. edu/corporate-ethics/pdf/Short-termis m_Report. df [Accessed 24th October 2012] Oslington, P. (2012) â€Å"God and the Market: Adam Smith’s Invisible Hand†, Journal of Business Ethics, vol:108 (iss:4), Pg: 429-438. Available from: http://www. springerlink. com. libgate. library. nuigalway. ie/content/e2255226763w13qp/fulltext. pdf [Accessed 23rd October 2012] Rawls, J. (1972) A Theory of Justice. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press (James Hardiman Library) Ryanair (2012), ‘Code of Business Conduct and Ethics’, [online] Available from: http://www. ryanair. com/doc/investor/2012/code_of_ethics. pdf [Accessed 24th October 2012]

Innovations management in organizations.Eastman Kodak Company Assignment

Innovations management in organizations.Eastman Kodak Company - Assignment Example Today, organizations perform in very dynamic environments. For example, technology keep on changings, new risks keep on emerging, and competition keep increasing as new players join the industry in which these organizations operate among others In order that organizations keep up with these changes, innovative problem solving techniques are required; otherwise organizations which do not embrace keeping up with these changes risk being edged out of competition by their rivals (Dooley & Lupton 2005). Amongst the worst challenges that organizations are faced with today is keeping up with technological changes (Dooley & Lupton 2005). Change in technology (both technologies required for running activities of organization or their products) has been so dynamic that organizations or companies which do not keep up with these changes may not be able to compete since their products or operations may be rendered obsolete (Dooley & Lupton 2005). For example, everything today is shifting from ana logue technologies to digital technologies which are considered more convenient in terms of cost, efficiency and speed (Harmancioglu et al. 2007). Just to mention a few products or industries which have been tremendously affected by the technology changes: cameras (digital cameras seem to be replacing traditional film cameras), TV (digital transmission is replacing the traditional analogue transmission), and phones (emergence of mobile phones have replaced the traditional telephone booths) among others. It has also been noted that some organizations are more innovative than others, and are likely to embrace technology than others. While their counterparts tend to keep their status quo of maintaining their star products or services, these companies keep examining the environments in which they operate so to identify likely change that may take place in future that has the capability of altering the environments in which these organizations operate. This paper, therefore, aims at exam ining how organization leadership and culture process influence the success of innovation. The paper will also explain why it is hard for an organization to replicate success of other organizations, and why organizations that embrace innovation are different from those that do not embrace technological change. These explanations will be supported by giving real world examples. The difference between these organizations Normally change cannot be managed, all organizations can do is going ahead of change, and it is those who lead change that are able to survive in the dynamics of technological environment. Therefore, organization managements should ensure that their organization go ahead of technological change and innovations. It is the role of the management to embrace change in their organizations, therefore, the difference between organizations that embrace technological innovation change and those that do not embrace these technological changes is that management of the former is more change focused, while management of the latter is more focused on maintaining status quo other than exploring new ways of doing things. Role of leadership, culture and process in the success of innovation Just as mentioned in the previous paragraph, it is the role of organizations leaders to enhance and embrace innovations within the management systems of organizations; it is them who are make policies that govern organizations, and therefore, have powers of developing and enhancing various cultures, including cultures of change and innovations within organizations. Therefore, the management of organizations which do not embrace the technological innovations and changes normally develops strategies of maintaining the market share of their traditional products (Laureate Education 2011). The management of organizations which embrace technological innovations, on the other hand, normally develops

Non Western Theatre Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Non Western Theatre - Essay Example history before European countries invaded it and subjugated African nations as colonies, was little known largely because Africans merely improvised their performances without written scripts. Most information of African theater during this time can be gleaned only from the accounts of traders and missionaries and researches of them by scholars. It is not surprising that during the colonial period, the African theater was dominated by European performers who enacted their country’s own classic texts and who made schoolchildren perform them in schools. It was during the post-colonial period, in the 1960s for many African countries and in the 1990s by South Africa, that the African theater was wrested back by the Africans. However, all throughout the different periods and the different categories of African theater, one theme has always prevailed: African theater did not only serve the purpose of entertainment but had been the focal point which sustained African communities as p erformances were the reenactment of the villages’ ethos of the time. In the pre-colonial times, performances were an enactment of the superstitious beliefs of villages, i.e. driving away an evil spirit from the village, and in the post-colonial era, performances were staged first, as a protest against their colonizers and second, when they finally gained independence, as â€Å"critical watchdog† of their new governments.1 African Theater has always been ritualistic and today, traces of the ritualistic aspects still remain in the postcolonial theater. Rituals in â€Å"celebration of birth, marriage, puberty, planting, and harvesting, its epic story-telling tradition of praising heroic and communal achievements, and its visual and auditory spectacle provided by dance and music† are enacted on stage making African theater largely functional. It is said that theaters in general are rooted in ritual, seasonal rhythms, religion and communication but the great distinction between European theater

Decision Making Process Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

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