Cultural Plualism Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Cultural Plualism Assignment - Essay Example The people, who migrate from their homelands to work in foreign lands, form minorities and represent their cultures in the presence of other cultures; this creates the concept of cultural pluralism. Following are some of the criteria, on the basis of which different cultures can be described; Individualistic versus collective Masculinity versus femininity Social perspective of different cultures 2. Cultural Patterns The cultural pattern that has been chosen for analysis (with respect to a global context) is ‘individualistic versus collective’ cultures. Dessler (2007) defined individualism as the extent to which individuals look out for their own betterment instead of acting like a member of a group (or society). The societies that promote such non-conformist point of views are often termed as individualistic cultures. In individualistic cultures, social and family bonds are much looser than the other cultures since they do not value traditional customs and morals to a gr eat extent. Lascu (2003) explained that great stress is laid on the achievement of personal goals and attaining capabilities to fulfill their dreams. Social norms are not as important as the individual’s own decisions and judgments. Their main aims in life are self satisfaction, achievement of their own objectives and fulfillment of their own desires. People, who follow an individualistic culture, feel unenthusiastic about participating in collective efforts of a group if their own actions are not acknowledged and rewarded. Collectivism can be defined as the extent to which individuals act for the betterment of the whole group (family, social circle etc) rather than self interests. Hofstede (2001) stated that the social ties and values of individuals are very strong in a collectivist culture. They value the greater benefit of the whole group before their own and are in favor of sharing their rewards with all the group members. There exists a need in the collectivist culture t o associate oneself with a certain group since the sense of belonging and dependence is very common. Markus and Kitayama (1991) defined individualism and collectivism as independence and interdependence with the individual’s organization, respectively. Collectivist culture promotes interdependence with people outside the group and greater associations with people inside the group. Krynke (1998) stated that cultures have been witnessed to transform from collectivist to individualistic ones due to the progression of industrialization. 3. Individualistic and Collective Cultures in a Global Perspective Individualistic culture is usually witnessed in organizations that are present in fully industrialized countries for example, United States, Britain, Australia etc. The western countries have been known to possess loose social and cultural ties in their societies therefore individualistic culture usually prevails in the respective region. The individual is not dependent on his orga nization, at any emotional level. The concepts of trust, loyalty and friendship do not bear much relevance in such cultures since greater success and profits overpower all other factors. Individualistic culture promotes the concept of enhancing their own identity on the basis of their unique traits. On the contrary, Asian and Middle Eastern countries have always treasured the factors of social harmony, religious norms etc. The culture in such regions is strongly influenced by religion and traditions of their past generations, due to which they value

Three Day Diet Analysis Essay Example for Free

Three Day Diet Analysis Essay There will be two term exams, a final exam and one written assignment for this course. In addition to the three written exams, you will be required to carry out a 3 day diet analysis of you own diet. Details of this are provided below, but briefly, you will be required to record everything you eat for three days. Your nutrient intake will then be determined using a computer program â€Å"Diet Analysis + 8† which will be available on computers in Science SN 3000 for all students. If you bought a new copy of the text this year, you can access a web version of the software (access information is provided with the text). You will then be required to write an evaluation of your diet, discussing its strengths and weaknesses and what you might do to improve it.. Both the computer analysis and the evaluation must be turned in. This diet analysis will count for 10% of your course mark. The analysis is due on Friday March 9 in class. Analyses not turned in when due will have their mark reduced by one-half. That is, they will count for only a maximum of 5% of the course mark. Assignments not turned in by the last class of the semester will receive a mark of 0 (zero). Summary of Evaluation: Due DateValue Term Exam 1Fri Feb 820% Term Exam 2Fri Mar 1520% Final ExamDuring Final Exam Period50% Diet Analysis (10%)Fri, Mar 810% Total100% Policy on missed exams: Marks from missed exams, regardless of reason, will be applied to the final exam. This applies to all students. All students have the option of not writing one or both of the term exams. If you miss one term exam, the final exam will be worth 70%, if you miss both term exams the final exam will be worth 90%. Supplementary Exam: A student who has clear or conditional standing may write a supplementary examination in Biochemistry/Kinesiology 2600 if the course grade obtained is 45-49 F and if his or her term mark is at least 50%. Students who wish to write a supplementary exam must apply in writing to the Biochemistry Department within one week of release of grades. Diet Analysis You are to record all the food you eat for three consecutive days, one of which must be a weekend day. That is you must record what you eat for Thursday, Friday and Saturday or Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. Be sure to record portion sizes as well as what you ate. You will need to have a labnet account in order to print out your analysis. If you do not have one be sure to set it up before starting your data entry. Using the diet analysis+ software you are to analyze your intake for the three days. You can access this software in the Biochemistry Department Computer Lab, SN 3000 OR if you bought a new copy of the text this year, you can access a web version of the software (access information is provided with the text). You can also purchase access to the online version of the software. See the textbook information files on the D2L site. When you use the diet analysis software, you should store your data on the H drive or on a memory stick. If you do not, if you return to the computer you used, your data will not be there and you will have to start the data entry process again. By saving to the H drive or a memory stick, you can enter your data in pieces rather that all at once and you can easily go back to edit any mistakes. To do this, insert the memory stick in the computer before starting the program. It is important that you enter your personal profile information BEFORE you enter foods. If you do not you will have to re-enter the foods after you create your personal profile. Then you must evaluate your diet based on your intake relative to recommended intakes for all nutrients for which you believe your intake is high enough or low enough relative to the RDA that you need to do something about it. Note that your intakes may be more than recommended, equal to the recommended or less than the recommended. Your evaluation must include your evaluation of the adequacy of your diet. Once you have evaluated your diet, you should suggest what, specifically, you would do to correct any problems with your diet, that is what foods need to be replaced and with what. Note that your evaluation should be based on your average intake for the three days, not based on any one day’s intake. When you turn in your assignment it must include: 1. the list of foods and amounts eaten for each day from the printout, 3 lists, one for each day 2. The computer evaluation of your diet. That is the printouts that show the percentage of recommended intakes for the 3 day average intake, not for each individual day’s intake. 3. The printout of recommended intakes for your age, sex and activity level. 4. The printout of the pyramid or MY PLATE which will provide you with guidance for how you might change your diet 5. Your written evaluation of your diet. 6. Your suggestions for improvement / changes if any is needed. You can print all this information by choosing print 3 day analysis in the software after you have entered all your intake information. Undergraduate Access Hoursto SN 3000, Biochemistry Computer Lab are posted on the door of the lab and will be available on the course D2L site once they have been determined.

Hans Kelsen, The Pure Theory of Law Critique

Hans Kelsen, The Pure Theory of Law Critique Essay Title Hans Kelsen, The Pure Theory of Law its Method and Fundamental Concepts (1934) 4 Law Quarterly Review, 474 Critique Word Count 2000 words The Austrian philosopher and jurist named Han Kelsen proposed the Pure Theory of Law. According to Kelsen, the standard legal philosophies were marred with contamination of law with moral and political ideology, which was compounded by attempts to marry law with social sciences. Hence, both of these endeavours were an exercise in futility as they were riddled with flaws[1]. Thus, Kelsen proposed the Pure Theory of Law, which would avert attempts of reductionism of any form. It simply accommodates pure law in itself as it is founded on primary methodological principle. Given that the law is to be perceived as a normative/ standard practice, the usage of methodological reduction needs to be averted altogether. Reductionism was needed to be averted at all costs since law is needed to be divorced from nature and morality[2]. As per Kelsen, law is a system of norms. According to him, legal norms are devised by willed acts or in other case, the products of deliberate human action, contrary to moral norms dictated by God. Thus, the pure theory of law undertakes only human-based norms, as opposed to imaginary superhuman entities[3]. 1. The Theory of Positive Law The Pure Theory of Law is termed as theory of positive law. Hence, the theory is more so given in terms of formation of hierarchical laws commencing from basic norm. The remainder of the norms are associated by inferior norms, when one is contrasted with another[4]. 2. Laws and Morals The segregation of morals and law by Kelsen forms an essential component of theory of pure law. By its standards, the law needs to be divorced from political and moral influences. Hence, the law should be in its clear form, unaffected by moral and political undercurrents[5]. 3. Science and Law According to Kelsen, the law was described in form of implementation of norms to state machinery. As science was primarily based on comprehension of epistemological data, therefore, its causal and logical technique was to be differentiated from normative reasoning as given in pure theory of law[6]. 4. Static Nature of Law The static theory of law was differentiated from dynamic theory of law. However, this static theory of law presents law in terms of hierarchal laws where laws are deemed as inferior to one another[7]. 5. Dynamic Nature of Law In case of dynamic nature of law, the static theory of law comes toe-to-toe with governmental administration of a given state, which needs to acknowledge the function of legislature in penning of the new law. Simultaneously, an understanding of law being impacted by net standing law which encompasses the court-related decisions are enfolded in the hierarchical representation of pure theory of law. Hence, Kelsen allows legislative machinery to note law as a product of the ethical and political process[8]. 6. The Normativity of Law The normativity of law can be paralleled with that of religion, as it does not base on the inherent obedience of the concerned subjects. For instance, the norms of Christians would be held in validation even in the absence of Christians. However, it is hardly the case with law. The key implementation of law/ legal system banks on its actual practice. The legal order is defined by norms which are by and large effective. The element of basic norm rests on its effectiveness. As asserted by Kelsen, the successful revolution results in an eventual change in the nature of basic norm[9]. 7. The Basic Norm As per Kelsen, the law is an arrangement of norms. These norms are should be statements, setting up certain forms of conduct. Contrary to moral norms, as per Kelsen, the legal norms are set up by the legal norms creation of willed acts. It is a product of human action. Hence, Kelsen thoroughly supposed that law which entails ought and should be statements, is unable to be reduced to such natural actions/ events which gives impetus to it. As a result, legal norms are ought/ should be statements, since it is unable to be deduced simply from factual premises[10]. As per the claims of Kelsen, the law is simply the hierarchy of legal norms at different levels as opposed to being a system of coordinated norms of equalized level. When the legal norms are far from positive/ just, then legal order becomes problematic. As per Kelsen, no such norm exists which is predominantly unchallengeable. No such grand norm exists, since it is purely arbitrary in nature. This norm essentially came from competence, collective will and capacity of individuals. Thence, Kelsen has deployed this term in order to dictate the basic norm, which forms the pillar of the legal system. Hans reasoned that a need for pinpointing the origin of law is necessary in order to gain its legitimacy[11]. A pure proper law often differentiates the ought statement from is-statement. In case of is statement, when something is done/ not done is an indicator of action. In case of ought statement, when something is done/ not is an indicator of a greater form of reason needed for action. It involves obligation and discharge[12]. Hence, the key objective and motive of Hans Kelsen was to safeguard the sanctity of law from two major zones of methodological syncretism which a legal system often entails; sociology and psychology as well as politics and ethics on the other side. Law is to be deemed as a normative order. Kelsen has indicated that a key relation exists between validity and norms, however, he asserts that both are all the more dissimilar. An ineffective norm may lose its validity, similar to the legal order should have a key linkage to effectiveness, a key point postulated by Kelsen in discussing the basic norm[13]. According to Pure Theory of Law, positive law is defined as a valid order which is held only when the condition of basic norm is supposed. Thence, the theory characterizes this meaning as a possibility as opposed to being necessary. Hence, it becomes only as conditional when it is presupposed basic norm[14]. According to the categorical differentiation of ought and is, ought is unable to be reduced to is, and ought is unable to be an is. Thus, is is unable to be inferred from that ought, neither vice versa. The dual nature of ought and is does correlate with that of value and reality. Hence, no value could be can be obtained from reality, as well as vice versa.The next layer, that of rules, is the realm of Ought. It is visualized vertically. According to Kelsen, it deals with the legal meaning, namely, a specific legal significance. The Ought comes up to the actual substrate, the Is. Legal acts of the laws, judgments, the private law, e.g. private contracts, etc. constitute the Ought as a regulative background of the Is stage[15]. Hence, ought is related to imputation and is is connected with causality. The weight is on a vertical plane, whereas the is on a horizontal plane. The Pure Theory of Law exists on a metal-level and intends to attain cognition[16]. The strength of Pure Theory of Law lies in the provision of a theoretical law, which accommodates administrative and judicial tribunals along with legislative rigours of the legal system and administrative bodies. Pure Theory of Law confers power to subordinate administrators in order to devise a subordinate legal norm, and to indicate the nature of such norms. The Pure Theory of Law is devised for traceability of each legal act to be in line with the penned constitution[17]. It could be perceived as a handy analysis tool for assessment of numerous constitutions. Another advantage of this theory is that it presents an active legal order as opposed to a static one. Hence, the law remains orderly via maintaining fluency along most of its components, by simplifying and broadening the principles of law. It acts as a form of logical system. It could be theorised as a complete, proper logical system. The theory of Hans Kelsen is typical of all key law theories, which stringently emphasises the need of orderliness in law. It stresses highly on the value of law. However, it supports a new form of orderliness diverse from those given in judicial precedents[18]. The Pure Theory of Law has considerable flaws as examined in this section. It essentially precludes the elements of sociological justice and morality, which paves way for efficiency. This form of theory is unable to be applied to each legal system since each legal system operates with its own norms and rules. A man-made theory is unable to adjudicate the legal repercussions of a sudden change. The Pure Theory of Law posited by Kelsenian theory is largely criticized since conceptual and abstract theory is unable to accommodate the validity of standard laws encompassing the legal system[19]. Each particular legal system sets its own rules and boundaries founded on their validity. The theory seems steeped in fiction as it is largely applicable on fictitious situations and it has no particular grounds for acceptance in reality. No such theory can be applied to a legal system since each possesses its own hierarchical order and norms. Conflicts arises in case of multiple legal systems. Due to its excessively narrowed scope, it is unable to accommodate altering circumstances and conditions posited by the law. The theory is invalidated on revolutionary grounds, however, no particular effectiveness criterion is set up either[20]. Since, Hans has compared the purity and objectivity of his posited theory with ideological and political propensities of his previous theories, it merely turns out to be a mere inadequate reflection on his previous assertions. It is necessary to reflect on personal consideration and prejudices prior to positing an individual world-view. Therefore, it can be reasonably assumed that theory of Kelsen is far from political and ideological purity. Hans Kelsen remains unsure of the norm to be established and its source of emergence. At times, he seems to posit that this norm will emerge from the constitution, in other cases, he hangs by a legal shoestring and sometimes by the laws presented by a dictator. Thus, his supposed norm remains ambiguous. As the legal system is founded on moral principles, it is guided and steeped in morality. The divorce of morality from law is essentially legal suicide. His theory is unable to validate moral law since each present law accommodates morality in it s confines[21]. References   Bulygin, E. An Antimony in Kelsens Pure Theory of Law. Ratio Juris 3, no. 1 (2010): 29-45. Cohen, H. Kelsens Pure Theory of Law. Cath. Law. 26 (2011): 147. Harris, JW. Legal philosophies. (1997). Hart, HLA. Kelsens Doctrine of the Unity of Law. (2008). Kelsen, H,   Paulson, BL and Paulson, SL. Introduction to the problems of legal theory. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2006. Kelsen, H. General theory of norms. (2012). Paulson, SL. The weak reading of authority in Hans Kelsens pure theory of law. Law and philosophy 19, no. 2 (2009): 131-171. Vinx, L. Hans Kelsens pure theory of law: legality and legitimacy. Oxford University Press, USA, 2007. [1] Cohen, Henry. Kelsens Pure Theory of Law. Cath. Law. 26 (2011): 147. [2] Vinx, Lars. Hans Kelsens Pure theory of law: legality and legitimacy. Oxford University Press, USA, 2007. [3] Bulygin, Eugenio. An Antimony in Kelsens Pure Theory of Law. Ratio Juris 3, no. 1 (2010): 29-45. [4] Cohen, Henry. Kelsens Pure Theory of Law. Cath. Law. 26 (2011): 147. [5] Harris, James William. Legal philosophies. (1997). [6] ibid [7] Hart, Herbert LA. Kelsens Doctrine of the Unity of Law. (2008) [8] Ibid [9] Hart, Herbert LA. Kelsens Doctrine of the Unity of Law. (2008) [10] Cohen, Henry. Kelsens Pure Theory of Law. Cath. Law. 26 (2011):147. [11] Hart, Herbert LA. Kelsens Doctrine of the Unity of Law. (2008) [12] ibid [13] Hart, Herbert LA. Kelsens Doctrine of the Unity of Law. (2008) [14] Kelsen, Hans, Bonnie Litschewski Paulson, and Stanley L. Paulson. Introduction to the problems of legal theory. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2006. [15] Ibid [16] Bulygin, Eugenio. An Antimony in Kelsens Pure Theory of Law. Ratio Juris 3, no. 1 (2010): 29-45. [17] Cohen, Henry. Kelsens Pure Theory of Law. Cath. Law. 26 (2011): 147. [18] Kelsen, Hans. General theory of norms. (2012). [19] Kelsen, Hans, Bonnie Litschewski Paulson, and Stanley L. Paulson. Introduction to the problems of legal theory. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2006. [20] Cohen, Henry. Kelsens Pure Theory of Law. Cath. Law. 26 (2011): 147. [21] Paulson, Stanley L. The weak reading of authority in Hans Kelsens pure theory of law. Law and philosophy 19, no. 2 (2009): 131-171.

Essay --

In this paper straight line structures are generated on surface of Polymethylmethacrylat (PMMA) with UV-Lamp and Excimer-Laser in order to photolytically increase its refractive index to allow guiding of light in the sample. The structures were engraved using contact mask sampling on surface of PMMA with UV-Lamp (spectrum wavelength 100nm - 410nm) and Excimer-Laser (wavelength 248nm) supplemented by micromachining directly on surface of PMMA with Excimer-Laser. The fabricated structures on the surface of PMMA of few micrometers were then examined for its change in refractive index using a single mode ber (wavelength 670nm) and Beamlux II softwarea. Our sim- ple experiment compliments the previously found studies such that refractive index prole strongly depends on the irradiation doses, uence and laser pulse rate. The conclusion points toward using PMMA substrate for optoelectronic use by creating waveguides with UV or Excimer-laser because it is an inexpensive, simple and fast method. Masks allow creating waveguides with single mode property with width as small as 3um allowing specic-to-need created structures and waveguides by altering irradiation parameters. It is wise to point out that the experiment has been thoroughly researched however conducted in a narrow scope of a laboratory project complimenting the lectures for understanding the electromagnetic theory of wave guide and ray optical mode of propagation in planar subwave but only with the aim of creating a substantial understanding of working principles behind waveguides only to serve later for as a ground work for thesis, new ndings or research purposes. Indeed polymers have become very important in the eld of integrated optics area for communication and sensor t... ...ntrast between fabrication of UV lamp and Excimer laser. Since we did not use the detector, it can be the UV Lamp power rating had degraded over the passage of time. Waveguide ends on the mask were not polished either before being irradiated. The PMMA sample was manufactured by Roehm GmbH which includes UV stabilizing characteristic 6. Furthermore, Frank[21] has been able to produce excellent waveguides with UV radiation but with uence at 1mW=cm2 and irradiated for 2-3 hours totaling a complete dose in the range of 7J=cm2 to 14J=cm2 . Therefore, we concluded that perhaps our irradiation and complete dose was too little to cause a refractive index change. The whole experiment was conducted over a period of approximately 10 weeks and no change in the waveguides over the passage of time was observed which points towards its practical application in sensor technology.

Development across

The important is that leaders who stand by their president should understand leadership styles and other factors such as cultural change, enumeration gaps, different reporting leaderships, wellness and effective communication principles that shape how they interact with other people. Our leadership development in this seminar is not for just to know about the History of the Presidents but also applying strategies in leadership. Not only that but also the values that we gain physically, mentally, socially, and spiritually.Review of related literature According to Brenda British, Knick Martin, Amy Sticking, Betray Tomato and Patti Tuck on their study â€Å"Literacy in Aftershock Programs† that one of heir goal is to build local capacity rich academic content through engaging and challenging activities, defined for purpose as academic enrichment. It is our belief that aftershock programs should not simply duplicate or extend the school day, but offer high-interest alternatives th at supplement school- day learning in a variety of ways.To do this successfully, aftershock programs must first consider the range of factors that contribute to providing effective academic enrichment to participants' . Et al â€Å"Literacy in Aftershock Programs†, 2005. The Impact of After School Programs That Promote Personal and Social Skills† by Joseph A. Durbar and Roger P. Heisenberg also studies about the impact of after-school programs.On the negative side, the unsupervised time puts youth at risk for such negative outcomes as academic and behavioral problems, drug use and other types of risky behavior (Hessian & Cottonseeds, 2001 On the positive side, young people benefit when they spend time engaged in structured pursuits that offer opportunities for positive interactions with adults and peers, encourage them to contribute and aka initiative, and contain challenging and engaging tasks that help them develop and apply new skills and personal talents (American Y outh Policy Forum, 2006; Carnegie Corporation, 1992; Larson & Verna, 1999; National Research Council & Institute of Medicine, 2002) . T al ‘The Impact of After- School Programs That Promote Personal and Social Skills†, 2007. â€Å"After-School Programs in the 21 SST Century† of Harvard Family Research Project. According to them, the country is now engaged in public discussions about how to best expand time and opportunities for children and youth in ND out of school in order to actively and effectively support their learning and development across the day, throughout the year, and from kindergarten through high school. Debate continues about the range of academic, social, and other types of knowledge and skills that children and youth will need to succeed as workers, citizens, and family and community members in a global world.However, most would agree that this list of knowledge and skills includes the kinds of outcomes that research suggests can be achieved thro ugh sustained participation in well-structured and well implemented after school programs and activities. Well-implemented programs can have a positive impact on a range of academic, social, prevention, and other outcomes, particularly for disadvantaged children and youth. .Et al #after; School Programs in the 21 SST Century†, 2008. Theoretical Framework According to George Herbert Mead's â€Å"symbolic interactions perspective† or â€Å"symbolic interactions†, we act towards people or things with regards to the definition we give to it.With the use of language we are giving meaning to people or things to communicate or to better understand each other. Symbolic interpretation is the way that we interpret things around us. In the way we understand symbols are modified through our thoughts. Minding/ inner conversation is a reflective pause or the two seconds halt our brain does when we are constructing what to reply. In the seminar we have encountered, we symbolize s the Presidents of the Philippines in we tackle their lives and what they have do or what they have contribute to the Philippines. It was also a successful way to present the present the Presidents of the Philippines that we have interpret them. Conceptual Framework Independent VariableProgram â€Å"MGM Dawdling Lagan, Racial Is President† Dependent Variable Attitudes Values Behavior This study was conducted to determine the impact of the program â€Å"MGM Taking Lagan, Racial Is My President' on the attitudes, values and behavior of the teacher education students of LISPS-SC from year 2012-2014. This study serves as a means of source to be use by all students in holding a seminar and to be a guide for them. There will be a result in conducting this result. Figure 1: Independent and Dependent Variable Statement of the Problem 1 . What is the profile of the respondents in terms of: . 1 Age 1. 2 Gender 1. 3 Year level 2. What are the outcomes of school programs? 2. 1 Opportun ities for skill building 2. 2 Conflict resolution 2. 3 Moral and character development 3.What is the impact of the program to the students? 4. What would be the result of this study when it is finished? Hypothesis The program â€Å"MGM Taking Lagan, Racial Is My President† has no impact on the attitudes, values and behavior of the teacher education students of L SPUN- SC from year 2012-2014. Significance of the study A seminar is a small group discussion in a formal setting with clear agenda. The agenda to be discussed is about â€Å"MGM Taking Lagan: Racial is my President† is a kind off Leadership program which helps us to provides a new kind of work and frequently a new kind of skill. Lessons from the past often help us to prepare for the future.It is imperative that this activity acquire the totality of the information and qualities of education through instructions and training which maximize the development of an individual physically, mentally and morally. For t he goal of the Seminar this kind of program is not only to find out if it is well done but instead, it seeks to find out what it achieved and if it is worth the expenses. Am finding that these skills are not only important for good leadership but life as well. Scope and Limitation of the Study This study will be done at the Laguna State Polytechnic University with the corresponding respondents which are the students of College of Teacher Education from 1st to 4th year. We will interview every two students in every year level to collect the information we must have for this study.

Italian Culture essays

Italian Culture essays When I think of culture the first three things that come to mind are art, food, and symbols. The formal definition of culture is the shared products of human groups. Italy is one of the most rich and diverse cultures of the world. Italy is a land of art which is one of yhe main reasons it is rich in culture. It also over the years has developed some of the most popular foods all over the world. Throughout Italy there are various symbols dating back to the beginning of Italy's existence twelve thousand years ago. Italians believe a country that does not appreciate art is a country with no soul. This clearly shows the impact that art has had on Italian culture. During Italy's twelve thousand years many of the most famous artists from sculptors to painters to musicians to architects have come from Italy. Think for a minute what modern art or any art since the fifteenth or sixteenth centuries would be like without the Renaissance. Renaissance Art was born in Florence, Italy and spread throughout all of Italy and Europe. Italy has been the home to two of the most famous painters Michelangelo and Leonardo de Vinci. Michelangelo was not only a painter but also a sculptor and an architect. Italy holds the Sistine Chapel, St. Peter's Cathedral, and the David; these are if not the three most famous pieces of art they are at the top. Italy also has a strong musical influence on its culture. The opera and ballet were both founded in Italy as well as many musical instruments including the viol in, piano, and cello. An Italian monk, Guido D'Arezzo, invented a way to write music on paper. Architecture is another part of Italian art, there are many famous churches and other various buildings including the Coliseum, the Forum, and the Pantheon that architects today are still trying to figure out how they were built. Palladio, one of Italy's most famous architects, was loved my Thomas Jefferson and you can see his style in Monticello...

4 Ways You Can Use Your Holiday Break to Gear up for the New Year

4 Ways You Can Use Your Holiday Break to Gear up for the New Year Once you’ve settled down from all  the  excitement  of the holiday season, it’s important to look towards the New Year and have a plan. It can be temping to procrastinate and forget about your workplace responsibilities, but staying on track even in the face of a relaxing holiday is very important.   Instead, consider using downtime over the holiday break this year to set yourself up for a great start to 2017. Here are four ways to set yourself up for a productive 2017 and get ahead of the inevitable New Year’s resolutions.1.  Think about what you’ve done in 2016Take a look at your past year. You have the luxury of doing this without the day-to-day distractions of emails, meetings, and requests from colleagues, so take advantage of the time to stop and review. What worked for you in the past year? Did you start new habits that made your day easier? Did you cut out distractions? Start a new job?On the flip side, be honest about what didn’t go so well. If you felt like you didn’t have enough time to get everything done, what could you have done to streamline your schedule?2. Think about your goals for 2017.Once you get a picture of how your year went and what you might be able to do to improve next year, set some reasonable goals. Try not to fall into the New Year’s resolution trap, where we set goals based on a kind of idealized version of ourselves. Sure, it would be great if you could change everything on day one- no junk food, hitting the gym every day, never checking Facebook at work, or other worthy resolutions. Human nature usually has other plans, though, and we often slip right back into our previous ways by, oh, February.For your professional goals, make sure you’re staying practical and possible. If you think you’d like to change jobs, give yourself a timeline (complete with achievable steps) throughout the year. For example:February: Update your resume.March: Research potential c ompanies and recruit a friend to run through practice interviews with you.April: Start applying for job openings.Regardless of whether or not you want to leave your current job, think of the bigger picture: what would you like to be working on? If there’s a dream project you have within your existing role, or one that would be a little bit of a stretch for you, start mapping it out. Make an outline of what would be involved, and have a plan ready to discuss it with your manager after the holidays.Whatever your goals are, it’s crucial to do your prep work. The SMART (Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic, and Timely) guideline is very helpful for building goals, weeding out unworkable ones, and saving yourself some grief.3. Catch up on unfinished business.Was there something you wanted to check off your to-do list before you rushed out the door for the holiday? Now’s your chance to take a crack at it without calls, meetings, or other workday tasks getting i n your way. I know it’s your time away from the office, but if you take two hours now to set yourself up for the return to work, think how calm you’ll feel next week while everyone else is scrambling to get back to work.4. Reach out to your network.The new year gives you an easy â€Å"in† to reach out to someone you haven’t talked to in a while. Even if you don’t have many of your professional contacts on your annual Christmas card list, a â€Å"Happy New Year!† note is a great opportunity to reconnect for 2017.Even if you do all four of these things, you’ll still have plenty of time for holiday joy and relaxation with friends and family. Think of it as an investment in yourself for the next year†¦ and you don’t even have to hit the gym or give up that bad habit to do it.

Cuba, el eldorado del placer essays

Cuba, el eldorado del placer essays A principios de los noventa se desarollaba el fenmeno del turismo en Cuba y mas precisamente del turismo sexual. He elegido hablar de este subjecto a causa de la indignacion resultando de promover un pais para eso. Mismo si el porcentaje de viajeros que van a Cuba para practicar turismo sexual es minoritaria, se trata aqui a la vez de un problema politico y de un fenomeno de sociedad. Desde la disaparcion la Unin Sovitica y entoncs de su sostinemiento financiero, Cuba orientaba su politica sobre un sector de actividades muy lucrativo: el Turismo. Para apoyar este nueva politica el regimen alegaba a la vez los avantages del pais, como climate y paysajes, y tambien la hospilidad de las cubanas. Desde este annuncimiento, se ve apparecer muchas jovenes en las calles quien por la mayoria no tenian la mayoria de edad y tambien se prostituyen. Y al mismo tiempo, turistas de medio edad, avidos de sexo facil, son presentes por todas partes y cubanos les denominan turipepes. Las consequencias estaban mas rapidas que previsto. Con una poblacin de seis millones de habitantes, en 1959 Cuba tenà ­a cien mil prostitutas, de origen campesino el 95 por ciento. Hasta tel punto que los touroperadores organisan viajos a la isla caribeprostitucion es el resulatdo indirecto de la politica del pais. El turismo se traduce por el desarollo de lulujosos hoteles a lo largo de las playas lo que attrae numerosas turistas. La mayoria de ellos son alle ...

Magizines articals from March 1945 to Jan 1946 before and after Essay

Magizines articals from March 1945 to Jan 1946 before and after Additudes towards the war and Japan - Essay Example Some would even say there was a moral collapse.(Brigance, 1945). â€Å"Get no divorce, break no engagement until after the period of numbness wears off† (Brigance, 1945). Prior to the War men were the bread winners, no on e coddled them for sure. They ran the farms with their wives at their sides and they were responsible for feeding and clothing their children. Women ran the homes and managed the children while Dad worked. Suddenly the War is over and men have come home unable or unwilling to work and women have had their first taste of supporting themselves. The average wife, child, parent, and neighbor did not understand, how could they understand what happened on those beaches? Prior to the war, there were many Japanese citizens in the United States. In fact, many of the farms and ranches, as well as businesses in California and New York were owned and run by them. Just before the war, a hate was built up against the Japanese and Germans. This hate only increased during the war. When a public learns to hate and then the object of their hate is gone (the war ends), often their hate is transferred to another object. In the case of the United States, it was transferred to the Blackman (then called Negro). There were more lynchings in the South in the United States than ever before. The second group of people that received that hate were the Jews. We did not like Hitler’s method of treating them but we saw them as always taking away American money because they were so cheap and able to manipulate American markets. Thirdly, there were Catholics and Protestants to hate. We should get rid of them too and while we were at it there was England (we never did learn to like them) and Russians. The Russians who were just our allies would become a major target of this hate. (Brigance, 1945). Along with all of that hate, there was a recklessness that had not been seen before in this country. During the war,

Corporate Social Responsibility and Shareholder Value Maximization Essay

Corporate Social Responsibility and Shareholder Value Maximization - Essay Example Effective management of a company entails making realistic financial decisions, which are in line with the firm, or company’s goals. The choice to maximize company shareholders stocks remain an important role of firm managers and acts as an indicator of the level of advancement. The wealth possessed by the shareholders can be determined by analyzing the market price or value of the company’s common stock. Maximizing of shareholders wealth should be a long-term goal of the firm, which can be achieved by maximizing short-term earnings and reducing the expenditures. However, the management should be careful not to cut down too much on the expenditure since research and development are crucial in enabling firms develop novel products which contribute to increased wealth. This paper focuses on why the primary objective of management should be to increase the wealth of shareholders and owners. Increment of shareholders wealth portrays improved or good management in different areas, which include risk management, income management, developments, tax rates as well as in research. The move to increase shareholders wealth helps create a favorable working environment since it helps motivate the shareholders. However, firms that may choose to focus solely on increasing the shareholders wealth and disregard corporate social responsibility risk been scrutinized negatively especially by neighboring communities. Shareholders Value Shareholders are the persons who own or have bought shares in a corporation or firm. Shareholders have certain right in a firm since they are considered the owners of the firm. Being the owners of the firm, shareholders are concerned with the performance of the firm. Additionally they are involved in the firm’s decision-making process through voting process especially when important decisions are being made. Since the shareholders have invested financially in a firm, they require the employees to work towards increasing the wealt h of the firm (Bejou, 2011, 1-6; Van Beurden & Gossling, 2008, 407-414). One of the major roles of financial managers in a firm is to acquire funds for the firm and make use of the money to fund projects that will increase or maximize the value of the shareholders as well as firm owner’s wealth. Shareholders value can be defined as the value or wealth due to the management’s capability to maximize on earnings, share prices, as well as the dividends. It is calculated by considering the number of outstanding shares and their market price. The shareholders’ value can be decreased by factors such as issuing shares (Fontaine, Haarman and Schmid, 2006, Web). On the other hands, dividend payments tend to augment the shareholders’ value. All the decision made by the management has the potential of affecting the firm’s ability to increase the wealth or the firm’s cash flow is regarded as shareholder value. Increasing shareholders value entails making responsible decision on the investments to make and the appropriate time to invest. One of the main factors that threaten the shareholders’

Prepare a marketing plan for a product or service Essay

Prepare a marketing plan for a product or service - Essay Example The next section of the discussion illustrates the market segmentation targeting and positioning procedure of the organisation for the Delta brand. The segmentation and targeting process of the organisation has selected the high and medium population density locations of the urban market of China. The process has also targeted the busy professional, students and large family oriented populations within the age bracket of 12-30 years. The marketing plan has selected the cost leadership and market penetration strategy to ensure growth within the China market. The next section has detailed the marketing mix elements such as product, pricing, promotional process, placement, people management and customer service process. This section has recommended essential steps to create a strong and successful marketing plan. Finally, the study has illustrated the implementation procedure through Gantt chart. This Chart has detailed the eight month implantation plan of product marketing. It has also elaborated various tools to monitor and control the implementation process. The study is based on designing a marketing plan for a hypothetical soft drink manufacturing and retailing company in China. The discussion will evaluate the marketing plan for Delta carbonated soft drink in the China market. The product is planned to be manufactured and retail within China market by Semtex Plc, a medium sized fruit and soft drink manufacturing and retailing company. The marketing plan includes various essential actions such as situational analysis of the market and organisation, objectives setting, market segmentation and targeting, market strategy design, evaluation of marketing mix and resource allocation and budgeting. The discussion will further elaborate the implementation and monitoring plan for the proposed marketing strategies. The situation analysis of market will detail the macro and micro environment of the organisation. The macro environmental analysis will

Characterizing Carbonated Soft Drink Industry in the US Case Study - 35

Characterizing Carbonated Soft Drink Industry in the US - Case Study Example According to the paper, the major soft drink companies include Coca-Cola and Pepsi. These companies are distributed all over the country each having branches and distributers in cities and towns. For instance, Coca-Cola North America and the Bottling Company of Southern California introduced Fanta and Manzana Lift. This came about because a research conducted showed that fruit-flavored drinks were the best choice for many Hispanics. Therefore, these two drinks are the ones that met the consumers’ preferences. Pepsi, a stiff competitor has Mountain Dew, which is the fourth best-selling soft drink in the U.S and best-flavored drink. To improve its marketing, they have commercials that only focus on the Hispanics among other diverse advertisements because ethnic markets are so profitable for these firms. This brand focuses mostly on teens and the 20-39 year population is its secondary market. Squirt soft drink originates from Great Depression of 1930 but Cadbury Schweppes was the main marketer for Squirt since 1993 until Dr. Pepper/Seven Up, Inc. took over since 1995. The drink came to market in 1938 and to heighten its market, the owners introduced an appeal called little squirt for advertisements, hence popularizing its recognition. After change of ownership in 1977, the drink rebranded its logo and due to new upcoming trends, squirt made the first low calorie drink in 1983. Squirt is bottled and distributed by 250 bottlers in America, a third are independent and some owned by Dr. Pepper/Seven Up, Inc. whereas two-thirds are part of Coca-Cola and Pepsi. This wide distribution makes it possible for supply of the product amounting to over 85% of Americans’ soft drink by volume. Squirt has a diverse range of products with diet and ruby red Squirts being the leading products having generated 20% of the total sales. Its products compete stiffly with those of Coca-Cola and Pepsi in the market.  

The role of International Human Resource Management Essay

The role of International Human Resource Management - Essay Example But for most enterprises including hotel nd hospitlity industry interntionliztion equtes with n incresingly importnt role for IHRM nd necessity to dpt HR prctices to locl needs. Current pper is n nlysis of Seychelles' HRM in comprison with UK. The study is bsed on the cse of Molten Hotel tht is opening on n islnd Seychelles nd requires recommendtion on HR prctices in order to effectively mnge the locl stff nd rech the profitbility on new mrket. Molten Hotels is leding UK bsed hospitlity compny, which owns nd mnges hotels round the world, with one of the UK's best know brnd nmes. The compny hs hotels in thirty eight countries nd dependent territories round the world, with its hed office bsed on the Strnd in London, UK. It employs round 50,000 people worldwide, nd is regulrly recognised s n employer of choice. The compny hd totl revenues of just over three billion dollrs worldwide during the 2007 finncil yer, with operting profit of round five hundred million. This put the hotel just below such globl brnd nmes s Hilton nd Mrriott in terms of globl rech, brnd recognition nd finncil performnce. The first Molten Hotel ws founded in 1758 by John Molten in Mnchester, where it ws known s Molten's Guest nd Coch House. The hotel ws fmily owned nd run for the first hundred nd twenty yers until in the end of the 19th century, when brhm Molten took dvntge of the rilwys tht hd sprung up cross the country to build two new hotels in Liverpool nd Blckpool. These new hotels proved to be mssive success, s incresing numbers of people begn holidying in costl resorts to escpe the industrilised cities. By 1960, the compny hd set up further 21 hotels round the country, with 18 of these in costl towns including Brighton, Skegness nd Torquy. The compny then decided to expnd to other countries in Europe, gin focusing on the costl regions where tourism ws beginning to grow rpidly. Following perceived sturting of the Europen mrket, the compny expnded its opertions brod, building hotels in Brbdos nd Jmic in the Crribben, Rio de Jneiro nd Slvdor in Brzil, Tunisi, Morocco nd Egypt in fric, nd severl costl cities in ustrli. The compny hs proven trck record of building hotels by the se with excellent use of rchitecture to provide lmost ll rooms with se views nd ensure tht guests hve ll their needs ttended to, in order to gin the mximum plesure from their stys. The compny's prices re mong the highest in the industry for hotel rooms, lthough they sit below the prices of most dedicted resorts, vills nd sps. The compny's most recent project, in Dubi, ws nother four str hotel, pitched to ppel to the upper hlf of the hotel mrket. Prt 1: 1. PEST nlysis Politicl UK hs business friendly environment where the competition mong tourism compnies is encourged in order to sustin competitive dvntge. The compnies therefore recruiter the best employees on the mrket since the competition for good employees is very intense. The HR policies re influenced by with the government pressures to recruit ntionls in comprison to foreigners. However, if foreign employee is hired, the security is provided in return for

Current events Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Current events - Essay Example This can lead to abuse, making the boot camp experience ineffective and potentially deadly for the juveniles involved. Officials in Pasadena are investigating just such an incident. Video taken in 2009 was recently released that showed instructors forcing a juvenile to run with a car tire over his head. Each time he fell, he was ridiculed and abused. The juvenile was crying throughout the video. In another clip, juvenile camp members were forced to drink water until they vomited. These sorts of practices serve no real purpose in developing the character of juvenile offenders. Other directors of boot camps acknowledge that extreme physical training is sometimes a part of their programs, but humiliation, intimidation and abuse serve no purpose. They point out that these activities actually are counterproductive to developing responsibility and focus in the juveniles in their camp. The Pasadena prosecutor’s office is determining which charges to bring against the director of the camp. The article notes that juvenile boot camps in general are under scrutiny because there is, as yet, no good proce ss for checking the qualifications of instructors or for reporting abuses. State legislation is hoping to remedy this lack of oversight. Another article that points to the lack of effectiveness of juvenile boot camps can be found in the Texas Observer. In this article, the entire idea of a military style boot camp being a deterrent to future criminal activity is brought into question. The author Emily Deprang cites recent studies that suggest a high recidivism rate among juvenile offenders that are sent to boot camps. She cites the case of the T.L. Roach boot camp in north Texas. It is the last state run boot camp. The facility has about 400 beds but only 30 of them are occupied. She says that juveniles are sent to this facility for 180 days and then released. Most of them go on to commit future crimes as adults. She

Characterizing Carbonated Soft Drink Industry in the US Case Study - 35

Characterizing Carbonated Soft Drink Industry in the US - Case Study Example According to the paper, the major soft drink companies include Coca-Cola and Pepsi. These companies are distributed all over the country each having branches and distributers in cities and towns. For instance, Coca-Cola North America and the Bottling Company of Southern California introduced Fanta and Manzana Lift. This came about because a research conducted showed that fruit-flavored drinks were the best choice for many Hispanics. Therefore, these two drinks are the ones that met the consumers’ preferences. Pepsi, a stiff competitor has Mountain Dew, which is the fourth best-selling soft drink in the U.S and best-flavored drink. To improve its marketing, they have commercials that only focus on the Hispanics among other diverse advertisements because ethnic markets are so profitable for these firms. This brand focuses mostly on teens and the 20-39 year population is its secondary market. Squirt soft drink originates from Great Depression of 1930 but Cadbury Schweppes was the main marketer for Squirt since 1993 until Dr. Pepper/Seven Up, Inc. took over since 1995. The drink came to market in 1938 and to heighten its market, the owners introduced an appeal called little squirt for advertisements, hence popularizing its recognition. After change of ownership in 1977, the drink rebranded its logo and due to new upcoming trends, squirt made the first low calorie drink in 1983. Squirt is bottled and distributed by 250 bottlers in America, a third are independent and some owned by Dr. Pepper/Seven Up, Inc. whereas two-thirds are part of Coca-Cola and Pepsi. This wide distribution makes it possible for supply of the product amounting to over 85% of Americans’ soft drink by volume. Squirt has a diverse range of products with diet and ruby red Squirts being the leading products having generated 20% of the total sales. Its products compete stiffly with those of Coca-Cola and Pepsi in the market.  

Current events Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Current events - Essay Example This can lead to abuse, making the boot camp experience ineffective and potentially deadly for the juveniles involved. Officials in Pasadena are investigating just such an incident. Video taken in 2009 was recently released that showed instructors forcing a juvenile to run with a car tire over his head. Each time he fell, he was ridiculed and abused. The juvenile was crying throughout the video. In another clip, juvenile camp members were forced to drink water until they vomited. These sorts of practices serve no real purpose in developing the character of juvenile offenders. Other directors of boot camps acknowledge that extreme physical training is sometimes a part of their programs, but humiliation, intimidation and abuse serve no purpose. They point out that these activities actually are counterproductive to developing responsibility and focus in the juveniles in their camp. The Pasadena prosecutor’s office is determining which charges to bring against the director of the camp. The article notes that juvenile boot camps in general are under scrutiny because there is, as yet, no good proce ss for checking the qualifications of instructors or for reporting abuses. State legislation is hoping to remedy this lack of oversight. Another article that points to the lack of effectiveness of juvenile boot camps can be found in the Texas Observer. In this article, the entire idea of a military style boot camp being a deterrent to future criminal activity is brought into question. The author Emily Deprang cites recent studies that suggest a high recidivism rate among juvenile offenders that are sent to boot camps. She cites the case of the T.L. Roach boot camp in north Texas. It is the last state run boot camp. The facility has about 400 beds but only 30 of them are occupied. She says that juveniles are sent to this facility for 180 days and then released. Most of them go on to commit future crimes as adults. She

Summarizing and Presenting Essay Example for Free

Summarizing and Presenting Essay The Ballard Integrated Managed Services (BIMS) their main office is in New York City that provides housekeeping and food service to different corporations and institutions throughout the country. BIMS main focus is their core competencies with contracts along with large organizations. They also provide lease support to outside vendors. BIMS clientele consist of 22 fortune 100 companies, 100 average firms, 16 high ranking universities, 14 medical centers, and three large airports. With a large company such as BIMS handling large contracts they have found some major issues with a high turnover rates and employee moral with one of their companies. As, the leading manager Barbara Tuckers is in charge of three divisions at this site. She was concerned about the companies major issues that seem to be declining in the past several months. She wanted to find out why staff moral was low and why the company turnover rate was higher than usual. The information received from exit interviews did not show any information of what was causing the problem. So together with her department heads and supervisors they decided the problem was employee morale, but they were still undecided on why this was happening. She noticed that BIMS has a high turnover rate of 55% to 60% with this company. However, within the past four month the rate is continuously climbing and has reached 64%. This has created an increase in cost to replace workers and it shows that they are also leaving without giving a reason why. Barbara Tucker has also noticed an increase in employee’s using sick time and an increase in workers wasting time during work hours. BIMS are getting an increase in complaints from hospital administration because of poor work performance from employee’s. Barbara Tucker decided ti discuss the issues with the three division managers and the HRM departments. The conclusion was a suggestion of surveying all the employee’s to find the main cause of the decrease in their morale. She asked Debbie Horner the HR manager to lead this project at the site and to apply some research ideas that she learned while completing her MBA. Debbie Horner used what she learned from school to create an employee  survey instrument (e=Exhibit A). Using the scale provided, record your answer by circling the number that is closest to your view where 5 is a very positive response and 1 is a very negative choice. Very Negative Very Positive 1.How well do you enjoy working for BIMS? 2.You enjoy your assigned shift. 3.Your request for your desired shift was fulfilled. 4.How many times have you called in sick in the last month? 5.You are well trained for your work. 6.You are paid fairly for the work you do. 7.Your supervisor treats you fairly. 8.Your supervisor’s boss treats your division fairly. 9.The company is good at communicating. 10.You do not fear that you will lose your job. 1.In which division do you work? 2.How long have you worked for BIMS? 3.What is your gender? 4.Are you a manager or supervisor? Food: _ Housekeeping: _ Maintenance: _ Years: _____ Months: _____ Female: _____ Male: _____ Yes: _____ No: _____ The survey is not a requirement only voluntary and anonymous. All 449 employees except top management will receive this survey within their biweekly payroll checks guaranteeing each employee has received one. The Data the was entered is shown below in a table form from the responses and received by employee’s in (Exhibit B). Exhibit B Types of Data Debbie Horner decided to use quantitative and qualitative to collect data. Quantitative variable has two kinds of variables, and they usually are reported numerically. Discrete is one of the variable, which can only assume  certain values, and they have gapes between the values. A continuous variable can assume any value within a specified range. A qualitative variable is categorical or non-numeric. Usually people are interested in the number of percent of the observations in each category. Qualitative data is usually summarized in graphs and bar charts (Lind, Marchal, Wathen, 2011). A questionnaire was placed in the payroll checks for two pay periods, and the employees were asked to return them to her. There are two types of primary research: quantitative data collection and qualitative data collection. Quantitative data collected is based on numbers. For example collecting data related to peoples age or income. The information collected can be analyzed after the collection using various statistical techniques. This analysis helps the researcher create meaningful patterns and take a deeper dive into the data. The most important use of quantitative data is in hypothesis testing and can help researchers in reaching conclusions. The main methods used to collect quantitative information are using questionnaires that require input of the user’s response. The survey can be distributed using different means, such as mail, phone, website, etc. Qualitative data can be collected using personal interviews, focus groups, and observations carried out for the purpose of research. Although personal interviews can help researchers dig into greater details, they are time consuming and expensive. The best way to find the cause of the problem is to do a survey and calculate the response so the company can fix the current or ongoing problems. The measures of the central tendency is shown in (Exhibit C) as the mean after calculating the data. It can show the main location of the middle or center of a data set. The measures can be the mean, mode, and median. The mean is used the most and it can be calculated by adding all of the numbers and then divide the numbers of numbers to get the sum, which will be the mean. The mode is only the value that occurs frequently within the set of data such as, 1, 2, 3, 3, 5, 6, 7, 7 the mode would be 7, 7 and 3, 3 in a data set. The median is a number presented in the middle when there are numbers in a set of data that are in ascending or descending order. Exhibit C Employee’s were asked how well do they enjoy working for BIMS and the rating was lower than expected only 27.3% liked working with the company. My  recommendation for the company would be to implement incentives for employee’s. According to Frenz (1999-2013), â€Å"Companies can use incentives to focus the employees on specific areas, targeting important motivational points† (2). The company can also provide a bonus for completing and performance in the employee’s work. This will stop some of the complaints of poor performance in the employee’s work habits. Another suggestion is the company can also implement a complaint and idea box for employee’s to input his or her ideas or problems with the company or management. References Gallup. (2008). Turning Around Employee Turnover. Retrieved from http://businessjournal.gallup.com/content/106912/turning-around-your-turnover-problem.aspx University of Phoenix Material:University of Phoenix Material: Ballard Integrated Managed Services, Inc., Part 1 Statistical Techniques in Business and Economics, Thirteenth Edition, Lind, Marchal and Wathen, McGraw-Hill/Irwin. ISBN 978-0-07-303022-7

Introduction To Trade Union

Introduction To Trade Union According to the Central Statistics Office (CSO) there are around 535,500 employees on the Mauritian labour market in the first quarter of 2012. These workers are the human resource of our country and they deserved to be treated as valuable asset. However, in our lucrative oriented era, where the pursuit of profit triumph over the human rights and freedom of these workers. Hundreds of workers have no say in their working conditions; many are helpless in front of the managerial level, others are intimidated, or dismissed when their basic objective is to prone the human rights of freedom of association, collective bargaining and industrial democracy. On this basis, it has been none a coincidence to perceive the rise of trade union movements and understood that these movements had been on a perpetual alert and are continually fighting for their members to make the human right prevail before profits. The history of Trade Unions is a history of struggles for greater social justice and against tyranny, both in societies and at the workplace. The need for Trade Union in our country begun with the Industrial Revolution, where the rise of factories and the deskilling of labour led to workers seeking security through collective bargaining agreements. Trade Unions in Mauritius operate within the framework of the Industrial Relation Act 1973 (IRA). Of course, these trade unions around the country have the same purpose and objectives which is the welfare of the workers. Haniff Peerun the president of MLC confederation told us that: Mauritius Labour Congress being a Confederation always sees to it that all labour laws are respected and that all workers rights are respected. On the same basis, Mr X leader of the National Trade Union Congress told us that; the role of his organisation is to help promote and protect the rights of workers in the country. Trade unions give employees a number of important privileges that they would not otherwise possess as individuals. This is the reason why trade unions need to safeguard that their determinations to defend their labours match the efforts of managers looking to destabilise the employees. In addition, psychological contract and employers- employees relationship is also taken into consideration, by helping in the flow of communication as well as renegotiation through collective bargaining. 1.2 Aims and objectives This investigation will focus on the role and responsibilities of Trade Union movements in our country and the extent to which they are efficient and effective in both the public and private sector. The four specific objectives of this study are: Evaluate the perception of usefulness of trade unions as well as its accessibility in private sector as well as public sector. Assessing the employees intention to rely on Trade Unions and measure the gauge of satisfaction in a Unions member perspective Investigate the methods used by the Trade Union movement to negotiate better working conditions, for negotiation, leadership and securing economic benefits. Finding out how the Trade Union deal with certain crisis that arises in the workplace and the concrete involvement of the Trade Unions for their members 1.3 Background of study Mauritian development promises to promote standards of living for its population by bringing about a greater productivity through the diffusion of technological innovation as well as updated methods in exploiting equipment and the human resources, superior specialization, enhanced access to credit and capital as well as cheaper goods and services. At the same time, policies, laws and acts were amended for the welfare of the citizen, for instance the Industrial Relation Act 1973 or employment rights act 2008. However with the sole vision of making the country a world- wise competitive one, little importance is given to the concrete implementation of those laws on a daily basis. On that basis, Trade Union movements were launched in Mauritius, so as to voice out the workers rights. The chief target of the project is to identify the effectiveness of the roles and responsibilities of trade unions in our Mauritian system. It briefly examines the evolution of these movements in the country, by going back on their very start. In addition, a highlight of the intervention of the Trade Unions in our various sectors and how their concrete actions contribute to their members. The document will also enlighten the functions and importance of trade union in the Mauritian context as well as providing reasons to enrol as a Trade Union member. Analyzing the different challenges face by the Trade Unions such as the recent PRB issue, Labour laws, decent work, living condition among others, in the point of view of the trade unions, federation and confederation.Comparing the old managerial style to the new one, the paper will also bring emphasis on why the popularity of Trade Union has diminished. An overview of the future role of trade union will be discussed in order to see if t hese movements will resist the major changes of globalization as well as financial crisis. As a group of students, we implemented a top-down, quantitative approach to our research, which allowed us to analyse the various roles of trade unions in Mauritius, as this was considered the most appropriate method for studying the topic; we evaluated the hierarchy of trade union; Confederation, federation and finally Trade Unions. We identified the Mauritius Labour Congress as the main Confederation, the National Trade Union Congress and the Mauritius trade Union labour as federation and various other trade unions which are affiliated to the federation. Adhering to the concept of interviews and surveys, our observations were pooled to provide a broader and more precise representation than that provided by a sole investigation technique. Chapter 2: Roles and Responsibilities of Trade Union 2.1 Definition of Trade Union Trade Union is defined in the Employment Relations Act 2008 as an association of persons, whether registered or not, having as one of its objects the regulation of employment relations between workers and employers The Trade Union or Labour Union movement is a continuous and voluntary association whose membership comprises of salary earners, employees and union leaders. Those members have bonded together motivated by a simple motto Unity makes strength. Workers will therefore utilise trade unions as their representative voice when dealing with employers or on the board of directions. Independently, the workers do not bear the power to defy the top management. Therefore they grouped and seek to institute their terms and conditions of employments. When they realised that negotiating as an individual, the manager would be more powerful, due to the fact that an individual would not matter as much a group in regard of running an organisation. According to Cunnison, Trade Union is a monopolistic combination of wage earners who stand to the employers in a relation of dependence for the sale of their labour and even for the production, and that the general purpose of the association in view of that dependence is to strengthen their power to bargain with the employers The main role of trade union is to ensure the welfare of its members such as safeguarding the interests of its members, protecting the reliability of its trade, achieving higher wages by securing economic benefits. It also optimises the working conditions at the workplace and guarantees a job security while protecting members against unfair dismissal at workplace. Through its leadership, trade union engages in collective bargaining, whereby labour contracts are negotiated with the employers. Also it acts as a recruiting manager, the Union leaders interfere with the recruitment and selection of the company, its intention is to maximise the number of employees an employer can hire. 2.2 Hierarchy of Trade Unions There is a hierarchy in Unions, we had identified; the confederation, the federations and the trade unions. Regarding the confederation, there are one main which is Mauritius Labour Congress and it is affiliated to the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU).In the category of federation there are; National Trade Union Confederation (NTUC) which is affiliated with the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and the Mauritius Trade Union Congress (MTUC). Finally, the trade unions which are affiliated to the NTUC; The Federation of Civil Service Unions, Federation of Progressive Unions, Federation des Travailleurs Unis, Confederation Mauriciennes des Travailleurs, General Workers Federation and Federation of Free Workers. Confederation: The Mauritius Labour Congress The MLC is the largest registered and recognized central organization of workers in the country. It was created in 1963 from a merger of the Mauritius Trade Union Congress and the Mauritius Confederation of Free Trade Unions. It represents over 45,000 members through its 56 affiliates, which directly and indirectly covers 125 individual trade unions. The MLC was the unique national confederation affiliated with the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) representing workers from practically all sectors such as Sugar Industry, Civil/Public Service, Para-statal Bodies, Aviation, Docks, Banking, Insurance, Tea, Transport, Hotel and Tourism, EPZ, Local Authorities and the private sector. We had an interview with Mr Haniff Peerun, the president of the confederation who told us that the vision of the organisation was to defend the rights of workers on the labour market. According to him, the aim and objectives of his trade union were: Adequate salary compensation to be paid to workers Make proposal to the government on budget To train the trade union members and affiliates To raise their voice whenever the rights of workers and consumers are at stake. Federation: The National Trade Union Confederation The National Trade Unions Confederation (NTUC) is a national trade union center in Mauritius and is affiliated with the Confederation. Which have two primary affiliates in the name of Federation of Civil Service Unions, and the Organization of Artisans Unity. It is composed of 20 members who represent all categories of workers within the public sector and its members are organised in branches, each branches having an executive committee, consisting of a president, secretary and a treasurer. The Vision of the confederation which has been identified after an interview with the leader of the organisation came out to be: To be a respected partner and a reference in trade unionism To be at the forefront of change, leadership and sound industrial relations. Moreover, according to him the aim and objectives of the Union are: Our main objective is to maintain mobilisation of our members and also organise those whom we represent. We also aim to help to make the public service more responsive to the needs of the people : Mauritius Trade Union Congress (MTUC) The Mauritius Trade Union Congress (MTUC) is a national trade union center in Mauritius affiliated with the International Trade Union Confederation. It was founded by Emmanuel Anquetil in 1946. It comprises of 29,000 members and is have Mr Dewan Quedou as president. 2.3 Structure of Trade Union The trade unions structure is divided into several parts, namely: The Annual Delegates Congress It is the authority which governs the federation. The Executive Council It comprises of one representative of each affiliates which is usually the secretary or the president and the Bureau members and two observers per affiliates. Once every two months they conduct meeting regarding applications for affiliates from trade unions and affiliation of the Federation to any local, regional or international organisation promoting the interest of the workers and to discuss disagreements between different affiliates. Meeting can be scheduled on the demand of the President or the Bureau or of the members of the Executive Council too. The Bureau It comprises of the President, the General Secretary and the eight elected members. Among them, one is the 1st Vice president and another is the 2nd vice president, a 3rd as Assistant Treasurer and a fourth one who is the organising secretary. President He represents the Federation and he is the spokesman of the federation. General secretary The General Secretary arranges meetings and draw up the minutes of the meeting. Along with the General Secretary, Deputy General Secretary and the Assistant General make up the Secretariat of Federation. Treasurer He is in charge of the accounts of the federation. Organising Secretary He is in charge of organising events like training sessions, seminars, workshop among others. Public Relation Officer He deals with the media for conferences, coverage, reports and other information that will be published by the media. 2.4 Nature and Scope of Trade Union The existence of an influential and recognised trade union is a pre-requisite to the industrial development pace of the country. With modernization in different sectors and the formation of new one such as the technological one as well as the tourism sector, human resources were required. However, mistreatment of the Mauritian labour force appears. This is where the trade union emerged; they ensured that the human rights of their members are respect as per the laws and the constitution. Trade Unions are currently considered as a sub-system which attends a precise sub-groups interest. When defending a particular sector they consider themselves as an integral part of the organisation in respect to the feasibility, growth and development of the community of which they formed part of. The influence of Trade Unions is of key importance for their members in the following ways: First, they are more effective and efficient when the need of negotiation is required between employers and employees by attempting to create a win-win situation. They facilitate the flow of communication between workers and the management, by providing the guidance and support to both of them. The Union leaders will seek a health and safety in the working environment. In addition, they also act as an educational institution; they provide different types of courses to their members. They also accelerate the pace of economic development for instance; they act as a recruiting and selecting agent for the unemployed workers, managing conflicts in the organisation, inculcating corporate social responsibilities to the members among others. 2.5 Objectives of trade unions. The main body of a trade union usually consists of individual workers, sometimes professionals and past workers. Their primary aim is to ensure that the employment conditions of employees are respected and that fair working conditions are offered. However, trade unions also engage in issues like: Negotiation One of the main targets of trade unions is to negotiate with employers about the matters affecting their members and other employees at work. If a union is formally recognised by an employer, it can negotiate with the employer over terms and conditions. These negotiations are commonly known as collective bargaining. Any trade union works to protect and advance the interests of its members. One of the ways it achieves this is by collectively bargaining with employers about the pay and conditions under which its members work. The negotiation process normally deals with matters such as working rules and regulations, complaint procedures, hiring principle, dismissing or promoting employees, workplace safety and policies etc. Some trade unions even have the power to negotiate rates of pay, bonuses for target achievement, employment conditions and job descriptions on behalf of the employees. For collective bargaining to be effective, unions and employers need to agree on how the arrangement is to operate. The objective of that collective bargaining or negotiation process is to settle with a mutual agreement also known as collective agreement between the management and the trade union. Representing Body Employees and other workers have the right to be accompanied at a disciplinary or grievance hearing. They can either choose a co-worker or a union representative. Often, the union representative, will be a workplace representative who is also a co-worker and will support the employee on the board meeting. Information and Advice If someone forms part of a union he/she can also ask them for advice. Unions are experts at solving problems at work. Trade unions provide staff with information, advice and guidance about any work related problems. Member Service Trade unions provide its members with a variety of services such as training, insurance, financial assistance and legal advices, sickness benefits, education facilities in some cases, guarantee of satisfactory work conditions in areas such as health and safety as well as equal opportunities. Voice in decision affecting Workers Trade unions act as a spokesperson for the staff. When matters concerning an individual employee or a group of workers arise, the trade unions job is to voice out the problem in order to negotiate for a solution. In case no agreement is settled or respected, the trade union members may enforce strikes or resistance to lockouts. They can also intervene in order to resist schemes of the management which reduce employment, e.g. restructuring and automation 2.6 Types of Trade Union Craft or Occupation Union. This type of union was the earliest type developed, it comprised of employees of a particular craft or skill regardless of place of work. The advantage of craft unionism is the sense of solidarity, as there is a feeling of common interest between the members. In addition, as this union bears skilled workers, they have a good economic position for collective bargaining. On the other side, more and more new mechanical devices were being developed, the need for large numbers of skilled workers decreased. One- Shop Union or House Union The one-shop union organizes all workers in the same establishment or factory. This type of union has the advantage of being relatively easy to organize because all workers share a common goal in securing a good collective agreement for their particular factory. However, as it is small, it has little bargaining power and it is easily dominated by management. Common Employer Union. The common employer union is basically the same except that it organizes across establishments owned by the same employer. It suffers from basically the same disadvantages as a one-shop union. 2.7 Characteristic of Trade Union Trade unions have shown remarkable progress since their inception in Mauritius and as the union is an essential and dynamic aspect of the society it bears special characteristics such as: Trade Union come together for common goals and interest The members have some materials of collective interest such as improving working conditions, better wages, benefits, job security among others. The trade unions have the right to contest a managerial decision, if they considered that their members are at risk with the outcome. Trade Union is an association of workers and salary earners: Unions are essentially a cooperative labour marketing association whose aim is to safeguard human rights on one or more labour market. In addition, they also bear a hand in the progress of the society, cultural interest and political views of its members. Trade unions have been implemented so as each sector of the working class bear a specific union. Mauritius therefore bears different Union association such as: Agricultural Research Extension Unit (AREU) Mauritius Labour Congress (MLC) Mauritius Trade Union Congress (MTUC) National Trade Union Confederation (NTUC) Trade Unions are basically voluntary organizations: Members of any trade union are voluntary in nature. They are completely free to become a member of a Trade Union or not; none is constrained to subscribe to a Trade Union. If any individual is forced to join a Union, the very essence of trade of trade unionism is defeated. Unions are egalitarian bodies: The Unions are self-governed; this is the reason why they can effectively act in our society. The union leaders are voted by the members and perform as per the Trade Union Act. The Trade Union is a continuous association Union is not a daily affair. In order to work effectively for their adherents they ask a long term membership Constant evolution in the characteristic of Trade Union With this dynamic era, the union continually update their techniques and amend their work. With new complications in the workplace, the unions need to find infinite approaches so as to serve the union members. Rapport with the Management: The unions have the responsibility to improve the employers and employees relationship. They go through the process of negotiation and collective bargaining with the direction of the members organisation concerning their problems. In so doing, the employer and employee relationship is enriched and enhance the quality and welfare of the employees. 2.8 Functions of Trade Unions Broadly speaking, trade unions perform two types of functions: Militant Function Amongst the various activities performed by trade unions is the betterment of the position of their members in relation to their employment. The aim of such activities is to ensure that all the clauses of the hiring and psychological contract are respected. When the union fails to accomplish these aims through collective bargaining and negotiation, in extreme conditions they adopt drastic measures in the form of go-slow, strike, boycott, work sabotage etc. to make the management react and reconsider their requests. Hence, these functions of the trade unions are known as militant or fighting functions. Fraternal Function Another actions performed by trade unions are to provide help to its members in needy times, and improving their efficiency. Trade unions try to nurture a spirit of cooperation, mutual aid and promote friendly relationships and sharing of knowledge and culture among their colleagues. In some cases, they also arrange for legal assistance. Besides, these, they undertake many welfare measures for their members, e.g., school for the education of children, library, reading-rooms, in-door and out-door games, and other recreational facilities. These activities, which may be called fraternal functions, obviously depend on the availability of funds, which the unions raise by subscription from members and donations from outsiders, and also on their competent and enlightened leadership. Another broad classification of the functions of unions may be as follows: Intra-mural activities: These deals with whatever happens on the site of work and has direct impact on employees e.g. wages, strikesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Extra-mural activities: These activities help the employees to maintain and improve their efficiency or productivity e.g., methods intended to foster a spirit of cooperation, promote friendly relationsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Political activities: Modern trade unions also take up political activities to achieve their objectives. Such activities may be related to the formation of a political party or those reflecting an attempt to seek influence on public policy relating to matters connected with the interests of working class Other Functions Trade unions have a number of functions, one more important than the other depending on the situations; however the five main general principles developed have been: The service function The representative function The regulatory function The government function The public administration function The service function This involves the delivery of services and assistance to the union members. The representative function This implies that the trade union will act like a delegate for the members at the workplace. The regulatory function This enables trade unions to actively participate in rule-making over the workplace. This can be done either: directly multi-employer collective bargaining e.g. through the Joint Industrial Council Or indirectly through regulatory legislation The government and public administration function Trade unions engage with the government to assure that they can accomplish their respective function within the law. Trade unions also play an important role in: improving bottom-up communication in order to increase commitment of employees in meeting the organizations objectives negotiating improvements to pay and working conditions to retain the people encouraging companies to invest in training and development for better performance and personal as well as professional development of employees acting as a positive change agent thus gaining employees support for the smooth running of the organization Protecting the interests of employees by taking active participation in the management. safeguarding organizational stability, growth, and leadership Chapter 3: Trade Union at Work 3.1 Need for trade Union Trade Unions contribute much in the industrial peace; they are required for different purpose such as effective communication between employees and employers as they are the mediator between them. They also make sure that the divergence of opinions is taken into consideration and of course do not turn out into conflicts. They also bear a great responsibility in safeguarding the interests of their members. They are the protector, the counseling, the mediator, coach, and keep an eye on the environment in which their members evolves every day seeking a healthy and safe working place. Reasons why Trade Union is useful at work: Trade unions aid to enhance the pace of economic growth in many ways; through the recruitment and selection of workers instructing discipline among the workforce Trying to inculcate the organisation culture of the organisation to the new employee settling industrial clashes in a rational manner helping in social adjustments: new working conditions, abiding to new rules and policies Trade unions are a portion of society and are concern with the national integration: Encouraging and preserving national integration through the minimization of industrial conflicts. Incorporating a sense of corporate social responsibility in workers Attaining industrial peace To ensure job security and right pay for the members: One of the main reasons why the employee decides to join a union is principally for security, especially in the private sector where people are unsure of their job position. Employees desire to get paid according to their qualifications and skills. To express the complaints of employees to the managerial level: Though some employees do have grievance again the employers, they do not convey their thoughts as they fear of getting dismissed Employees do not like to be subjected to arbitrary and capricious actions by management. When difficult situation happens, employees may notice that they have little or no influence in job-related matters, thus becoming prime targets for unionization Facilitate the flow of communication between employers and employees Enhance the employer and employee relations Facilitate decisions making through the process of collective bargaining and negotiations 3.2 Reason for joining a Trade Union Individuals in various sectors of Mauritius choose to join a union in order to protect by the laws and regulations which abide the union. They might have different reasons joining and these reasons will tend to change over time. At the start of ones career, the main reason is for job security and working conditions, and when having experience it is for a better salary or benefits. Remember that independently, the workers do not bear the power to defy the top management. Therefore they grouped in order to make Unity stand still in front of managers. Other reasons can involve dissatisfaction with management, need for a social outlet, opportunity for leadership, forced unionization and peer pressure. Other important reasons for joining trade union: Greater Bargaining Power: As said before, when trying to bargain alone, the employee will not make the difference but if the whole organisation voices out it will me more tangible; a Strike by a union is a powerful tool that often causes the employer to accept the demands of the workers for better conditions of employment. Minimize Discrimination in decisions concerning wages, working conditions, promotion among others. There might be favouritisms if the manager appreciates more one employee than another. Discrimination can arise in term of racism, culture, religion, gender, origins and names. Sense of Security: employees join unions so as to have adequate security in term of accidents, injury, illness, unemployment, but also obtaining; retirement benefits and compelling the management to invest in welfare services for the benefit of the workers. Sense of Participation: so as to be involved in the decision- making of the organisation and influence the results through collective bargaining. Sense of Belongingness: some join because their co-mates are members others under group pressure. This may be an aspect of respect for those who are not members. Platform for self-expression: the workers want to be taken into consideration by the managerial level. Thus Trade unions provide such a forum to convey feelings, ideas, complaints and opinions. Betterment of relationships; workers believe that unions can satisfy the main need for suitable equipment for proper maintenance of employer-employee relations. Unions help in betterment of industrial relations among management and workers by solving the problems peacefully. 3.3 Pros and Cons of Trade Union Advantages of Trade Union Trade Union can increase the salary of its members as well as benefit through negotiation. Represent the workers in front of the employers and society Protect against exploitation Uphold health and safety legislation Trades unions can give representation to workers facing legal action. Can voice out for better working conditions Ask for training, learning and development of knowledge, skills and abilities Build the employee and employer

Egypt : The People :: essays research papers

Egypt : The People Approximately 32,500,000 people live in Egypt. Peasant farmers called fellahin make up over 60 percent of the population. But less than 4 percent of Egypt's land is suitable for farming. Before the leaders of the 1952 revolution introduced land reform, less than 2 percent of the landowners owned half of the land available for farming. Most of the fellahin were tenants or owned very tiny farms. A man who owned 3 to 5 acres was considered well-off. Now no one is permitted to own more than 50 acres, and the average Egyptian farm is generally much smaller than that.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  An Egyptian farmer's main tools are the hoe, a simple plow, and the sakia, or waterwheel. The fellah, his wife, and their children all work together in the fields. The dreary routine of their lives is relieved only on a few occasions-the group prayer in the mosques on Fridays, religious feasts, and family events such as weddings or the circumcisions of young boys.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A farmer's most valuable possession is the water buffalo, cow, or ox that helps him with the heavy farm work. The water buffalo or ox draws the plow, turns the waterwheel, and pulls the nowraj. The nowraj is a wooden platform mounted on four or five iron disks. The sharpened edges of the disks crush the stalks of wheat so that the grain can be separated from the chaff. The water buffalo or cow also supplies the fellah's family with milk and with calves that can be sold. Very often the fellah shares his house with his animals. This is unsanitary, but it is the farmer's preferred way of protecting them. The theft of an animal could mean economic catastrophe for the poor fellah.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The fellah wears a loose, long cotton robe called a gallabiyea, loose cotton pants, and a wool cap, which he makes himself. For special events he makes a turban by folding a white sash around the cap. Flat, yellow slippers complete the fellah's outfit.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The fellah, the wife of the fellah, wears dresses with long sleeves and trailing flounces and a black veil, which she sometimes uses to cover her face. On market days and other special occasions the women wear earrings, necklaces, bracelets, and anklets. These ornaments are usually made of beads, silver, glass, copper, or gold. They make a pleasant musical sound as the fellah walks along the dusty lanes of the village.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Most of Egypt's fellahin live in the villages along the Nile. The villages invariably look gray because the houses are whitewashed only for important events suck as weddings.

Medellin, Colombia :: essays research papers

Medellin was founded in 1616 in the scenic Aburrà ¡ valley, but remained small until the coffee boom. Medellin now has a population of almost 3 million people, with an area of 362 kilometers squared, and an average temperature of 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Medellin is widely regarded in Colombia as a clean, well-organized and economically vibrant community. Its people are hard-working and industrious. Major industries include coffee and flower export, information technology and hotel services. It is also the fashion capital of Colombia. Each year the "Feria de Las Flores" (Flower Festival) attracts visitors from all over South America for parades and conventions. The city's fast and efficient metro is the only public transit subway system in Colombia. In culinary delights, Medellin is said to have created Colombia's unique "arepa" - a bread and corn patty stuffed with cheese which I enjoy very much, but both of my parents hate. The Medellin Lady, affectionately called Paisa, is seen by many as the most beautiful of the Colombian Latinas. A famous Colombian saying goes: "If you want a pretty mistress, go to Cali, but if you want a beautiful wife, go to Medellin." Medellin is considered by many outside of South America to be the most dangerous city in the world, Medellin, Colombia is internationally renowned as the home of Colombian icon Pablo Escobar, a drug lord. During the Pablo Escobar time, people were scared to roam the streets in fear for their lives. It was said that Pablo Escobar owned a lot of the government and that because of him the police department was a corrupted one. After Pablo Escobar's capture in 1982, a prison was built specifically for him the man who was known as "the billionaire godfather of international cocaine trafficking." This prison, however, actually looked more like a three- or four-star hotel. In July 1992, Escobar escaped, and was killed in a dramatic rooftop shooting. However, some believe he is still alive. With the death of Pablo Escobar, Medellà ­n is slowly recovering, but is not yet a full-fledged tourist destination. However, there is plenty to do and see in the city itself and the scenic surroundings. There is a lot to Medellin that the international community does not see. Medellin is also home of Fernando Botero, as well as the annual Flower Festival, a huge event that takes place in the city in late July and early August.