Team Organizational Style of Fisher and Paykel Essay

Team Organizational Style of Fisher and Paykel - Essay Example This aspect was highlighted by Imai (1997) in his approach when he highlighted the importance of the shop floor or the teams working on the industry floor in ensuring that continuous improvement takes place within an organization. The advantages of employing such lean manufacturing processes through the Kaizen approach has also been explained by Wilson (2005). Â  Once the new teams were developed, they have engaged actively in the team building process. The changes that occur were in terms of additional time spent in communication skills and team building, followed by activities that were focused on the improvement of work performances and promoting team goals and a common understanding. The goal of the process was to bring about changes in a positive manner through the application of inspiration and communication developed among team members. Â  This process is summed up in the Kaizen approach to organizational behavior. The Kaizen philosophy has been defined as "a means of continuous improvement in personal life, home life, social life, and working life. At the workplace, Kaizen means continuing improvement involving everyone—managers and workers alike. The Kaizen business strategy involves everyone in an organization working together to make improvements without large capital investments." (Imai, 1986) Â  The organization took great pains to improve the teams because they recognized the importance of the shop floor to the success of the organization, as highlighted by Imai (1997).

New Hires Essay Example for Free

New Hires Essay Introduction Carl Robins, who is a new recruiter for ABC Inc., hired 15 new trainees with the intention to have them start on June 15th. As the start date gets closer, Carl discovers that all the trainees are not prepared to start their employment. Most of them do not have all the paperwork required for employment and none of them have visited the clinic for their mandatory drug screening. Carl needs to contact the new recruits immediately so they can complete all the prerequisites for employment. Also, Carl needs to get in contact with someone for more training on the applicant hire and training process. Background Carl Robins is a new employee with ABC Inc. He has only been with the company for six months and has just experienced his first hiring process. Carl hired 15 new employees thinking they would be able to go through training on June 15th and begin working sometime in July. After Memorial Day, Carl was reviewing all the paperwork for the new hires. He discovered that none of them are ready to start on June 15th. Some of the applicants did not have their applications completely filled out and some of them were missing transcripts, also none of them had their mandatory drug screenings done. Furthermore, all but three of the orientation manuals were missing and he found out that the training room was booked all through June. Key Problems Some of the key problems are that the new hires are not prepared for their start date of June 15th. It is the responsibility of the recruiter that the new hires are completely ready for their start date and have everything they need in order to be successful in the company. The recruiter is responsible for the two main problems. The fact that Carl is a new employee himself  could rationalize the fact that none of the new hires are ready for their orientation start date. Alternatives A recommendation for Carl would be to search around his office for all the missing paperwork as it could have just been misplaced. Also, some of the new hires could have completed the drug screening he just hasn’t seen the results of them yet. However, he should only spend a few hours looking for the missing paperwork as time is running short. Another solution would be for Carl to set back the start date for the new employees since the training room is booked for the whole month of June. This alternative is not recommended however because it will set back the new hires a month; as they will not be able to start until August. Also, Monica is counting on the new employees starting in July. This solution would also be harmful because Carl is still new to the company and having to push the start date back a month because of a few mistakes he made would not look good in management’s eyes. Carl should also remind the new employees of the company’s drug policy and that if any of them were to fail the drug screening their employment would be terminated immediately. Carl could also push back the start date from June to July to give himself more time to prepare the paperwork, also the training room is booked for the entire month of June. He has the option to get in contact with all the recruits and assure that they get all the missing paperwork in and get to the clinic for their mandatory drug test. Not only do the new recruits need to take a drug test but they also need to pass the drug screening in order to be fully hired into the company. Also, Carl waiting until the last minute to review their paperwork added fuel to the fire and only made matters worse for everyone. If he reviewed all the applications ahead of time, it would have given him plenty of time to make sure all the paperwork was put together properly and all the testing was done. With this being Carl’s first time doing the recruiting process for this company; he might not be familiar with the rules and hiring process itself. Carl seems to be the root cause of the new hires not being ready for their start date of June 15th. Proposed Solution Carl should contact all new hires immediately to make sure that all the requirements for the company are met and that all the new hires are prepared  for their start date before it approaches. Monica is really counting on these new recruits beginning their work in July and not just starting their training in July. If the date of orientation had to be pushed back, it would reflect poorly on Carl and he might get in some trouble with management over it. Recommendations Apparently Carl was not clear on all the hiring procedures of a recruiter. It is recommended for Carl to get retrained on the hiring and training process of new recruits. Getting retrained will hopefully ensure that this problem never happens again. It is also recommended that Carl talk to Monica about a new place to hold the orientation because the orientation room is already booked. Him and Monica need to sit down a figure out a place to hold the orientation that would be big enough to fit all 15 new hires. Conclusion In conclusion, careful research has been done on what alternative methods should be taken to ensure Carl get everything completed and ready for the new hires start date. A lot of thinking has gone into this paper and I have attempted to think of every possible solution to Carl’s predicament. It is apparent that Carl may have had too much to deal with for his first time dealing with the recruiting process to effectively complete his duties as a recruiter for the company. Carl should have had a checklist with his and made himself a timeline for when everything had to be completed. It was analyzed that Carl could either push back the date of the orientation to July which is not highly recommended and should only be used as a last resort, or Carl should immediately get in contact with the new recruits and help them get all the paperwork they need ready for the start date. If they can’t drop it off at the office Carl should ensure that it either be faxed or mailed to him before the start date of June 15th. If Carl had a checklist and ensured everything was filled out and completed beforehand he could have done his main job which is finding the best employees for the company.

Indias Foreign Exchange System: An Analysis

Indias Foreign Exchange System: An Analysis CHAPTER-2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Introduction: It is a fact that the currencies of different countries have different values that is based upon their actual economic and monetary strength. It is from this difference that the genesis of foreign exchange occurs. Foreign exchange can be termed as the act of matching the different values of the goods and services that is involved in the international business transaction process in order to attain the exact value that is to be transferred between the parties of an international trading transaction in monetary terms. Foreign exchange as an activity had started the day civilization and independent principalities got established in the world. But in those days it was a case of exchanging value in the form of transfer of goods and services of identical value that is commonly identified with barter system. Moreover the transactions were done on a one-to-one basis, and the terms and conditions were determined by the parties entering into such transactions. There was no universal system or rule that determined these transactions. In that way foreign exchange and international monetary system is a modern day trend that gained an institutional form in the first half of the twentieth century and has been developing since then. 2.2 Foreign Exchange: According to International Monetary Fund (IMF), Foreign Exchange is defined as different forms of financial instruments like foreign currency notes, deposits held in foreign banks, debt obligations of foreign banks and foreign governments, monetary gold and Special Drawing Rights (SDR) that are resorted to make payments in lieu of business transactions that is done by two business entities or otherwise, of nations that have currencies having different inherent monetary value (www.imf.org). Leading economist Lipsey Richard G.,1993 has mentioned that the foreign exchange transactions are basically a form of negotiable instrument that are resorted to deliver the cost of goods and services that form a part of trading transactions and otherwise, between business and public entities of nations of the global economy. Sarno, Taylor and Frankel, 2003 gives the definition of foreign exchange as denoting the act of purchase and sale of currencies of different economies that is performed over the counter for various purposes that includes international payments and deliverance of cost of various business transactions, where the value is usually measured by tallying the value of the currencies involved in the foreign exchange transaction with that of the value of U.S. Dollar. According to Clark and Ghosh 2004, Foreign Exchange denotes transactions in international currency i.e. currencies of different economies. In such transactions the value of a currency of one country is tallied and exchanged with similar value of the currency of the country in order to exchange the cost of a business transaction or public monetary transfer that is taking place between two entities of these economies. 2.2.1 Foreign Exchange Transactions: Transactions in foreign exchange are done through various types and various modes between different countries of the world. According to information mentioned in the Reuters Financial Training Series, 1999,TOD Transactions, TOM Transactions, Swap Rates, Spot Rates, Forward Rates, Margin Trading and Buy / Sell on Fixed Rates foreign exchange transaction methods are some of the commonly used methods that are widely used by global managers for their foreign exchange transaction activities. 2.2.1.1 TOD Operations: TOD Operations are foreign exchange transaction methods where the trader uses the exchange rate of the day on which the foreign exchange transaction order is to be executed. In other words TOP operations are commonly used in intra-day foreign exchange transactions. As a result they are commonly resorted to by speculators in foreign exchange transactions and those who general speculate on the rates of different foreign exchange markets of the globe. 2.2.1.2 TOM Operations: In this type of transactions the transaction process carried forward to the next day instead of it being an intra-day trading. TOM transactions rate is fixed on the day the transaction is signed, but the rate of exchange is agreed upon to be that of the next day. 2.2.1.3 SPOTTransactions: SPOT Transactions can be compared with TOM transactions because here also the exchange rate is fixed at a value that prevails over the exchange rate of intra-day trading of shares. But SPOT transactions have been separated as a different category because unlike TOM transactions, SPOT transactions contracts are executed on the third day after the signing of agreement between the Bank and the client. 2.2.1.4 Forward Contract: Forward contracts are those exchange rate contracts where the currency conversion exchange rate agreement is decided at a certain rate at a time that is well before the date of execution of the exchange contract. In that way they are similar to TOM transactions. The only differ from them in the fact that these transactions are made for a long term i.e. generally for one year, and the parties involved in making this foreign exchange transaction deposit five percent of the contract value with the bank involved in facilitating the transaction at the time of executing the contract which is then returned to the client after execution of the exchange transaction. The need for depositing this amount is to secure the transaction against any loss due to market fluctuations. 2.2.1.5 SWAP: The greatest advantage of SWAP transactions is that the clients involved in the foreign exchange get prior information about the exchange rate of the currencies that are part of the transaction. In this type of transaction the bank first buys the amount of transaction form the client and resells it to the client after a few days after disclosing the exchange rate of the currencies involved in the transaction process. SWAP transactions are much sought after by traders because here they get to know beforehand the exchange rate of the currencies involved in the transaction process that helps them in avoiding fluctuations in market rate and gives them the advantage of determining the prices of goods, the nature of the currency market notwithstanding. . 2.2.1.6 MarginTrading: The key element of Margin trading is that any trader can opt for SPOT trading round the clock by going through the margin trading mode. The other key element of margin trading is that the traders can make deals with a minimal spread for a huge amount of funds by projecting fraction of the needed amount. In that way it is a unique form of global financial transaction where the threshold value that can be transacted through the margin trading mode is $ 100000 with bigger deals being multiples of $ 100000. But in order to deal in margin trading the trader has to make a security deposit of five recent of the contract value that has to be replenished from time to time in order to maintain the amount from which the probable losses from margin trading transactions are accommodated. 2.2.1.7 Buying/Selling on Fixed Rate Order: This is a mutual agreement between the buyer and seller of foreign exchange. Neither its rate nor its other terms and conditions are based upon actual conditions. Rather the deal is based keeping the mutual profitability of the buyer and seller intact where both of them get their desired amount. 2.3 Global Foreign Exchange Market: According to the table depicting the Triennial Bank Survey of Foreign Exchange and Derivatives Market Activity done by Bank for International Settlements (BIS)2007, as shown below the global foreign exchange market has an average daily turnover of over $ 2 trillion, which is an increase of around forty percent in terms of volumes . This rise in foreign exchange transactions it is observed has been due to rise in the volume of trading in Spot and Forward markets. This is indicative towards increase in volatility of foreign exchange markets around the world. (www.bis.org). Global Foreign Exchange Market Turnover Daily averages in April, (in billions $) Year 1989 1992 1995 1998 2001 2004 Spot Transactions 317 394 494 568 387 621 Outright Forwards 27 58 97 128 131 208 Swaps in Foreign Exchange 190 324 546 734 656 944 Gaps in Reporting (Estimated) 56 44 53 60 26 107 Total Turnover (Traditional) 590 820 1,190 1,490 1,200 1,880 Memo: Turnover (At April 2004 Exchange Rates) 650 840 1,120 1,590 1,380 1,880 (BIS Triennial Central Bank Survey, 2004) As observed by Jacque Laurent L.1996, Studies in foreign exchange point to the fact that the volume involved in foreign exchange transactions in the total markets around the globe has the potential to affect the overall functioning of the global financial system due to the systematic risks that are part and parcel of the foreign exchange transaction system. Most of the transactions occur in the major markets of the world with the London Exchange followed by New York and Tokyo Stock Exchange accounting for over sixty percent of the foreign exchange transactions done around the globe. Among these transactions the largest share is carried out by banks and financial institutions followed by other business transactions i.e. exchange of value for goods and services as well as dealers involved in securities and financial market transactions. According to the studies by Levi Maurice D., 2005, in foreign exchange transactions most of the transactions happen in the spot market in the realm of OTC derivative contracts. This is followed by hedging and forward contracts that are done in large numbers. The central banks of different countries of the world and the financial institutions operating in multiple markets are the main players that operate in the foreign exchange market and provide the risk exchange control mechanism to the players of the exchange market and the system where around $ 3 trillion amount of money is transacted in 300000 exchanges located around the globe. The largest amount of transactions takes place in the spot rate and that too in the liquidity market. The quotation on price in these markets sometimes reaches to around two thousand times in a single day with the maximum quotations being done in Dollar and Deutschemark with the rates fluctuating every two to three minutes with the volume of transaction for a dealer in foreign exchange i.e. both individual and companies going to the range of $ 500 million in normal times. In recent years the derivativ e market is also gaining popularity in OTC dealings with regards to the foreign exchange market. 2.4 Global Foreign Exchange Market Management Risks: According to the researcher Kim S. H., 2005, Foreign exchange transactions are identified by their connection with some financial transactions occurring in some overseas market or markets. But this interconnectivity does not affect the inherent value of the currency of the country which is determined by the economic strength of that country. This means that the inherent value of each currency of the world is different and unequal. So when the need arises to exchange the value of some goods or service between countries engaged in such activity it becomes imperative to exchange the exact value of goods and services. Considering the complexity and volume of such trading and exchange activity occurring in the global market between countries it is but natural that the currencies of individual countries is subject to continual readjustment of value with the currency with which its value has to be exchanged. This gives rise to the importance of foreign exchange transactions as a separate ar ea of study and thereby needs much focus for its understanding (Frenkel , Hommel and Rudolf , 2005). In addition to this it is to be realized that with the growing pace globalization and integration of global economic order there has been a tremendous increase in international business transactions and closer integration of economic systems of countries around the world especially between the members of WTO, that has led to the increase in economic transactions and consequent activity in international foreign currency exchange system (Adams, Mathieson and Schinasi, 1998). Added to this is the fact that the exchange value of currencies in the transactions is not determined by the respective countries but by the interplay of value of the currencies engaged in an international foreign exchange transaction and the overall value of each currency in the transaction prevailing at that time. In fact each country in the global economic order would want to determine the value of its currency to its maximum advantage, which was possible a few years ago in when the countries used to determine the value of their currency according to the existing value of their economy. The individual countries till the early nineties used to follow a policy of total or partial control over the exchange value of their currency in the global market. At the same time there also were a group of countries that followed the policy or system in determining the exchange value of their currency i.e. left it to the interplay of global economic activity where the value was determined by its economic performance. The currencies of countries that provide full or partial amount of control in the international exchange value of its currency are known to follow a Fixed Rate whereas the currencies of countries that allow its currency to seek its inherent value through its performance in the global economic system are termed as following the Floating Rate of foreign exchange conversion mechanism. Though lo gically both the type of mechanism of foreign exchange face the effect of exchange rate fluctuations and consequent volatility in rate it is the currencies having a floating rate that are continually affected by the fluctuations in exchange rate in the global market when in the case of currencies with a fixed rate it is more of a controlled and regulated affair (Chorafas Dimitris N., 1992). 2.5 Foreign Exchange Risks Prevailing in the Global Market: Risks related to the exchange rate of a currency in the global market as has been mentioned, occurs due to the interplay of inherent value of each currency of the respective countries that are part of the global financial mechanism. Risks related to foreign exchange come into picture and are also inevitable in this world marching towards increased interaction due to globalization. The risks will occur due to business interaction and consequent exchange of value for goods and services. According to Kodres LauraE., 1996, the risks related to foreign exchange occur when there is increased interaction between the currency of a country with that of other countries in the international market and that too if the currency has a floating exchange rate. In that case the value of the currency is continually affected by its business and financial performance. This relation with other currencies in the market affects it during the time when the need arises to exchange it with another currency for settlement of financial transaction in some business or financial purposes and gives rise to various types of risks. The prominent risks associated during this situation are Herstatt Risk, and Liquidity Risk. 2.5.1 Herstatt Risk: Herstatt risk is a risk that is named after a German Bank that got liquidated by the German Government in the seventies of the last century and made to return all; the claims accruing to its customers. This is because its creditworthiness was affected and it could not pay the settlement claims to its customers and also on behalf of its customers to their clients. It is basically connected to the time aspect of foreign exchange value claim settlements in which the foreign exchange transactions do not get realized as the bank loses its ability to honour the transaction in the intervening period due to some causes. In the particular case the German bank failed to honour the financial settlement claims of its clients to their counter parties that were to be paid in values of U.S Dollars. The main issues that arose were regarding quantifying the amount to be delivered and the time of the transaction process due to the two countries financial systems being located and working according to different or separate time zones. This case has established a phenomenon in foreign exchange market where there may erupt situations in which the working hours of banks located in different time zones may never match with each other leading to foreign exchange settlement transactions getting affected during the mismatch of the two banks closing and opening time. In fact the Alsopp Report that studied this phenomenon in detail said that though the foreign exchange transactions are made in pen and paper on a single day the actual transfer of value takes place within three to four days. And with the exchange value of currencies operating in the international market always remaining in a state of flux they either get jacked up or devalued. In either case it affects the clause of transactions that was decided on an intra-day rate, as the value of both the currencies in the international market has changed during these days. 2.5.2 Risks related to Liquidity: There can crop up different problems related to the banking systems operations and dynamics i.e. in both technical and management systems as well as inability in terms of volume of available liquidity strength or in mismatch in tallying of time etc; that can affect the capacity of banks to honour foreign exchange transactions in terms of transfer of liquidity. These types of risks are being commonly witnessed in newly emerging economies that are being unable to cope with the sudden surge in volume of global business transactions thereby leading to exchange rate settlement and payment delays, outstanding payments and dishonouring of financial commitments in the exchange rate transaction market. 2.5.3 Financial Repercussions: According to the Studies in foreign exchange related risks by Dumas and Solnik, 1995 aver that risk related to transactions in foreign exchange have increased with globalization and the rise of global economic integration process with the countries getting affected in relation to the volume of their transactions in the global financial and business marketplace. This is because the market is now more oriented towards market value driven convertibility of currencies that is influenced by the global financial movements and transactions, and any independent transaction especially of transnational and multinational companies; will automatically affect other transactions happening in the global financial marketplace (Klopfenstein G.,1997). However, according to another study by Gallati Reto R., 2003, these multinational and transnational companies are simultaneously being affected by the fluctuations in exchange rate of different currencies of the global market that is exposing their business operations in different global markets to exchange rate related risks especially due to difference in Spot and Forward rates and the inevitable fluctuations (Choi , 2003) that give rise to foreign exchange settlement related problems. 2.5.4 Remedies to Foreign Exchange Settlement Risks: As there risks that have cropped up in foreign exchange transactions due to increase in volume and frequency of transactions mainly as a result of globalization so, also there have come up remedies to minimize the risk related to adverse conditions in foreign exchange transactions. The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) in one of its studies in 1999 has said that settlement of claims is the most predominant risk that is related to foreign exchange transactions, especially the speed with which these transactions are materialized and the roadblocks that they may face in the process due to tremendous increase in volume of foreign exchange transactions that cannot be cleared in expected times. The solution to these risks according to the study is to simultaneously clear transactions on either side i.e. for both the parties side so that they simultaneously give and receive payments at the agreed rate of exchange. This would solve the problem of extended time of actual payment when the rate of exchange fluctuates, thereby creating problems for both the parties. This arrangement is related to deals being processed simultaneously, which requires the concurrence and common cause of both the parties. This is because the party that is expecting a hike in value of it s currency may not agree to such a proposal. In that case there should be some law or arrangement that would make it mandatory for both the parties to settle their intra-day payments on that day itself so that there is no scope left for speculation by them. According to the study, such arrangements have been made in USA and Europe where systems like Fedwire and Trans- European Automated Real-Time Gross Settlement Express Transfer (TARGET) have been established. Fedwire facilitates payments in foreign exchange transactions under the mode of Real Time Gross Settlements (RTGS)and TARGET facilitates intra-day transfer of foreign exchange between parties of member countries of Europe on the same day itself. But, for simultaneous release of funds by both the parties and the intra-day settlement of claims to succeed it is imperative that the member countries of the global economic system should come together have concurrence on these issues. This is because all said and done the foreign exchange transaction related rules and laws are still governed by the respective countries. And most of these countries are reluctant to make any headway in linking their currency system to the global currency system for speedy disposal of foreign exchange transactions for fear that such a move would expose their currency end financial system to the baneful effects of risks and volatility of global foreign exchange system (Hagelin and Pramborg, 2004). At the level of international trading corporations there has been initiated some steps whereby they have formed a private arrangement known as Group of Twenty. They are a group of twenty internationally acclaimed global clearing banks who have formed an system called the Global Clearing Bank that acts as a connection between the payment systems of different countries and verifies international foreign exchange transactions in order to simultaneously satisfy both the parties regarding authenticity of the process of transaction. The thing is that this system puts a high amount of strain on the financial and foreign exchange system as well as reserves of individual countries along with requiring them to bring about some amount of commonality between the financial rules and regulations of individual countries which is easier said than done. All the same the establishment of Bilateral Netting System and Multilateral Netting Systems as well as of Exchange Clearing House (ECHO) are trying t o facilitate foreign exchange transactions and minimize the inherent risks involved (McDonough ,1996). 2.6 Indian Foreign Exchange System: 2.6.1 Historical Background: The historical background of foreign exchange system in India was a saga of excess control and monitoring with even minor transactions being made to undergo the rigorous scrutiny of concerned government authorities to avoid any risks associated with such transactions and save the scarce foreign exchange reserves from being frittered away in some transactions considered unimportant or anti-national by the government. The Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA) that was enacted in 1947 and made more stringent in 1973 was the embodiment of the prevailing sentiment of the governments of those days, which was to completely regulate and control all the foreign exchange transactions and protect the foreign currency reserves. (Mehta, 1985) All these changed in the nineties of the last century with the opening up of Indian economy in 1991 in keeping with the recommendations of the High Level Committee on Balance of Payments set up under the chairmanship of Dr C. Rangarajan by the Ministry of Finance, Government of India and subsequent entry of India into World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1994. This was preceded by the liberating of current account transactions and establishing full convertibility of current account transactions in 1993. In 1994 also the Government of India accepted Article VIII of Agreement of the International Monetary Fund that established the system of current account convertibility and the exchange value of rupee came to be determined according to the market rates with only the convertibility of capital account being under the control of the government (Krueger,2002) as the Tarapore Committee on Capital Account Convertibility of 1997 (Panagariya A., 2008) suggested the government to keep adequate sa feguards before allowing the convertibility of capital account to be determined according to the market forces as there was need to consolidate the financial system and have an accepted inflation target before such a venture. The Tarapore Committee also suggested that the legal framework governing the foreign exchange transaction system in India also needs to be modernized before going for total convertibility of the capital account due to which the Government repealed the FERA Act of 1973 and promulgated the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) in 2000. This new act did away with the system of regulation and control and established a system of facilitation and management of foreign exchange transactions thereby promoting all the activities related to foreign exchange transactions. The most important thing that was done by FEMA was to recognize violations or mistakes in foreign exchange transactions as a civil offence instead of a criminal offence as was done by FERA. FEMA also shifted the responsibility of proving the violation or mistake in foreign exchange transaction and related rules from the prosecutor to the prosecuted. And if the prosecuted was proved guilty he or she was to pay only monetary fine or compensation instead of being jailed as was the earlier provision under FERA. FEMA also simplified many of the rules and notified specific time frames for delivering judgments related to violations of foreign exchange rules and regulations and provide rules for establishing special tribunals and forums to deal with such cases. Th e compounding rules were also made less stringent and all matters related to compounding rules were notified to be dealt by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) instead of the previously assigned Enforcement Directorate. RBI was made the designated Compounding Authority in all related matters. Only the cases involving hawala transactions were left from its purview As per Mecklal and Chand

Comunist China And Civil Rights Violations Essay -- essays research pa

China is famous throughout history for both Tieneman square, and capitol punishment . These are each examples of human rights violations. Communist China's one child policy Is yet another example. China's one child policy was stared in 1979 as an attempt to solve their overpopulation problem. The policy states that every couple in China is allowed only one child. In order for a couple to have a child they must first have a birth coupon issued by the government before giving birth to the child. "Birth Quotas" are determined in order to have surveillance of the people who have all ready had their single child allowed to them born. The women of China must deal with their menstrual cycle being monitored publicly to stop the possibility of having a second child. They also must face pelvic examinations if they are even suspected of being impregnated. Any unauthoized pregnancies are terminated by an aboution regardless of the pregnancies progression. Graphically, The baby's head is crushed and then pulled out of the woman, just to name one of the many grusome abortion practices, killing the baby, and torturing the woman. The Chinese law has horrible effect's on the country's major population. Many Infant's are abandoned, or brutally killed at home to cut down upon expenses and fines issued by the government. In 1993 ultrasound machines were in mas importation to China, however in 1993 the use of these machines ...

Diary of Lady Murasaki Response Questions

Diary of Lady Murasaki Response Questions 1. Drawing evidence from the text, describe Lady Murasaki. Who is she? What is important to her? How important is she politically? Why do you think she keeps her diary? What are her frustrations with life at court? How typical/atypical is she as a woman in Heian Japan? Lady Murasaki was a Japanese poet at the Imperial court and served under Empress Shoshi. She writes this diary during her experiences at court and she finds the life of a lady-in-waiting, or a servant that has social certainty, and the events that are unfolded in court are important. She describes in her diary how she feels helpless at court and she is unhappy with her low rank in society compared to others in the Fujiwara clan which frustrates her, but makes her more inclined to write about it and keep a diary. She is a pretty typical woman in Heian Japan, but she often writes about how the other court women were less educated than her and that she was stronger-willed. 2. What does the text reveal about the political world of Heian Japan? What is the role of the emperor? What is the role of the regent? Which is more ‘important’? How do people gain and maintain political power? What happens to those who lose political power? During the Heian period of Japan the land was controlled by family clans and whoever was the most powerful family held the most importance. Within the family there is also ranks of political power branching down from the Emperor and Empress, but most of the other ranks are all related to each other through the family clan. The Emperor is the head of the family clan is said to be in that position by a heavenly right, while a regent is more of a governor addressing political issues. Both are important, but while the Emperor is the symbol of the people and their unity, the regent sparingly makes the differences in how the people get to live. 3. What does the text reveal about the roles of men in Heian Japan? How are they identified? What is their role in the family, in politics, in religion, in military? How much power and what type of power do men have? What do you find surprising about what is considered important/unimportant for men during Heian Japan? Why? Men controlled the majority of society as like any culture during this time period. The military was solely inhabited by men as was the political power, but women were allowed to be present in court and other social events. They had a good education and if they were in a political position they learned Chinese because it was used for legal documents and record keeping. 4. What does the text reveal about the roles of women in Heian Japan? How are they identified? What is their role in the family, in politics, in religion? How much and what type of power do women have? What do you find surprising about what is considered important/unimportant for women during Heian Japan? Why? Women during this time were surprisingly better off than in other centuries. They were excluded from public affairs, but involved in court as we can see in the diary. They were also educated and involved with events around the palace such as ceremonies, weddings, and poetry reciting. Women had to know how to dress correctly, but once they did they were expected to learn to dress very formally and elegantly. 5. What does the text reveal about social classes and social mores in Heian Japan? What are the differences between the social classes? How does social class affect the way people live and the political power they wield? What are the social expectations for men and women? What is good behavior/what is bad behavior? Does any of this surprise you? Most of Japan’s social class was in agriculture and lived outside the city walls and never entered the palace. Within the palace there are a separate set of social classes. The Emperor and Empress will always sit at the top of the ladder, but amongst everyone else there are strict guidelines to follow. Passages in the diary describe the uses of colors in clothing and how some colors shouldn’t be worn by certain social classes. The diary also accounts hat giving presents alter throughout social class. Nobles get the best gift and then the different ranks of courtiers, first rank being the highest and sixth rank one of the lowest. What does the text reveal about religion in Heian Japan? What is the role of religion? What type of religion do you see represented? What are the religious concerns of Lady Murasaki? What do her religious concerns reveal about life in Heian Japan? The religion of Shintoism can be seen with the heavenly right for the Emperor to rule over the people within his family clan name and to protect the imperial family. During the birth of Fujiwara no Michinaga, towards the beginning, Murasaki writes about the Buddhist priests coming and performing exorcisms and warding off evil. Lady Murasaki later writes that she â€Å"immerses [herself] in reading sutras for Amida Buddha†, which shows what kind of religious practices she participates in. All of these religions being present throughout the diary tells that religion is at a point of uncertainty in Heian Japan and there are many influences that come with them.

Military conscience essays

Military conscience essays Should women be allowed in the military? This is a question that is still argued with some heat, although it has become almost a moot point. Some proponents of women on the warfront put forth the theory that female soldiers would serve as a gentling factor, a collective conscience of the military as it were. Apparently there are some who do not see the contradiction inherent in the argument, or that it ignores the object of women being allowed in the military altogether. Women are and should be allowed in the military because fighting for what one believes in is not a gender-specific right. If we as citizens truly accept that a woman can be the equal to any man, then women must be allowed the same rights and privileges as men, and this includes going to war for your country. The time is now past when a womans sole purpose was to send her man off to war with the maxim, Return with your shield, or on it. Another point is that if we completely integrate our armed forces, then the women in these roles will have received the same training as the men, they will be in the same battles, the same bloody and desperate situations natural to a war zone. A woman will be seeing the same tragic horrors, men and women dying, perhaps by her hands. She will see her fellow soldiers, men and women, wounded and screaming, maimed, or even captured. Yet now a certain aspect of American citizenry still expects them to react differently to these circumstances. They expect these women, these combatants in a war zone, to react as they believe a woman would, not as the soldier she has been trained to be. The object of putting women in the front lines of battle is to emphasize that a female soldier can be the equal to a male soldier. If we as a country send women into a war zone expecting them to serve as the scrupulous backbone of our armies, we are doing both themselves and our country a grave injustice ...