Colorism in African American Women Research Paper

Colorism in African American Women - Research Paper Example Indeed, colorism is an issue that should be extremely discouraged within various people. This essay explores deeply and widely on colorism, specifically colorism with respect to African American women, drawing references from various movies including the film question of color and other relevant sources. The film, ‘A question of color unearths almost everything about color discrimination among African American women. Discrimination by color is not an issue that began just recently. A general study of American history reveals that discrimination against color has lived and thrived ever since African immigrants invaded America either by the slave trade or any other means and the movie depicts just that. The film, a question of color, actually more of a documentary, begins with a sequence in which a group of black men and women of different complexions. From high yellow and blue-black to chocolate, right from the start this movie depicts color consciousness among the black people. Somebody could be forgiven to think that is a course for color equity among the people, that all citizens belonging to various racial origins are entitled to equal opportunities. As the film progresses, prevalence is seen to be made to the people whose looks come closest to European standards of attractiveness and tend to fare much better than the people who look more African or black to be precise. The film also explores the tensions generated by colorism, is actually an internalized expression of white racism, leaving everyone else feeling terribly insecure. The dark skinned women are prompted to feel less desirable mates and also tend not to do so well financially, or economically in general (Felder 284). The economic issue brings a whole new issue regarding colorism with the African American women. The only reason that can effectively explain why the African American women are not financially endowed like their white counterparts is because they may not be as better educated as the white to secure jobs, even then, the education background of these women is only questionable because perhaps they did not get enough equal opportunities to access quality education. Conclusions can be conclusively drawn that the dark skinned women do not get enough employment opportunities as the white skinned are entitled to. The film states that the only moment in the history of America when the white-oriented consciousness among the dark skinned seemed to be falling apart was in 1962, when the black conscious movement made many people adopt the afro hair style. With their slogan, black is beautiful, they achieved considerable success even though it lasted for a short period. Either way, the afro hair style success was not received well by some the white skinned women as is evidenced when a Ms. Sandler, a news anchor, almost risks losing her job just for wearing the afro hair style introduced by the black conscious movement to work (Sinclair 654). Besides the instances cover ed in the plot of this family, there are many other occasions in which colorism in Africa American women is depicted. According to actor and singer Tyrese, colorism in dark skinned people is evident in the entertainment industry. Music videos are also an integral part of the visual arts subject. Unfortunately, the music video industry has also borrowed the color discrimination issue. This is clearly seen by the

Colorism in African American Women Research Paper

Colorism in African American Women - Research Paper Example Indeed, colorism is an issue that should be extremely discouraged within various people. This essay explores deeply and widely on colorism, specifically colorism with respect to African American women, drawing references from various movies including the film question of color and other relevant sources. The film, ‘A question of color unearths almost everything about color discrimination among African American women. Discrimination by color is not an issue that began just recently. A general study of American history reveals that discrimination against color has lived and thrived ever since African immigrants invaded America either by the slave trade or any other means and the movie depicts just that. The film, a question of color, actually more of a documentary, begins with a sequence in which a group of black men and women of different complexions. From high yellow and blue-black to chocolate, right from the start this movie depicts color consciousness among the black people. Somebody could be forgiven to think that is a course for color equity among the people, that all citizens belonging to various racial origins are entitled to equal opportunities. As the film progresses, prevalence is seen to be made to the people whose looks come closest to European standards of attractiveness and tend to fare much better than the people who look more African or black to be precise. The film also explores the tensions generated by colorism, is actually an internalized expression of white racism, leaving everyone else feeling terribly insecure. The dark skinned women are prompted to feel less desirable mates and also tend not to do so well financially, or economically in general (Felder 284). The economic issue brings a whole new issue regarding colorism with the African American women. The only reason that can effectively explain why the African American women are not financially endowed like their white counterparts is because they may not be as better educated as the white to secure jobs, even then, the education background of these women is only questionable because perhaps they did not get enough equal opportunities to access quality education. Conclusions can be conclusively drawn that the dark skinned women do not get enough employment opportunities as the white skinned are entitled to. The film states that the only moment in the history of America when the white-oriented consciousness among the dark skinned seemed to be falling apart was in 1962, when the black conscious movement made many people adopt the afro hair style. With their slogan, black is beautiful, they achieved considerable success even though it lasted for a short period. Either way, the afro hair style success was not received well by some the white skinned women as is evidenced when a Ms. Sandler, a news anchor, almost risks losing her job just for wearing the afro hair style introduced by the black conscious movement to work (Sinclair 654). Besides the instances cover ed in the plot of this family, there are many other occasions in which colorism in Africa American women is depicted. According to actor and singer Tyrese, colorism in dark skinned people is evident in the entertainment industry. Music videos are also an integral part of the visual arts subject. Unfortunately, the music video industry has also borrowed the color discrimination issue. This is clearly seen by the

Colorism in African American Women Research Paper

Colorism in African American Women - Research Paper Example Indeed, colorism is an issue that should be extremely discouraged within various people. This essay explores deeply and widely on colorism, specifically colorism with respect to African American women, drawing references from various movies including the film question of color and other relevant sources. The film, ‘A question of color unearths almost everything about color discrimination among African American women. Discrimination by color is not an issue that began just recently. A general study of American history reveals that discrimination against color has lived and thrived ever since African immigrants invaded America either by the slave trade or any other means and the movie depicts just that. The film, a question of color, actually more of a documentary, begins with a sequence in which a group of black men and women of different complexions. From high yellow and blue-black to chocolate, right from the start this movie depicts color consciousness among the black people. Somebody could be forgiven to think that is a course for color equity among the people, that all citizens belonging to various racial origins are entitled to equal opportunities. As the film progresses, prevalence is seen to be made to the people whose looks come closest to European standards of attractiveness and tend to fare much better than the people who look more African or black to be precise. The film also explores the tensions generated by colorism, is actually an internalized expression of white racism, leaving everyone else feeling terribly insecure. The dark skinned women are prompted to feel less desirable mates and also tend not to do so well financially, or economically in general (Felder 284). The economic issue brings a whole new issue regarding colorism with the African American women. The only reason that can effectively explain why the African American women are not financially endowed like their white counterparts is because they may not be as better educated as the white to secure jobs, even then, the education background of these women is only questionable because perhaps they did not get enough equal opportunities to access quality education. Conclusions can be conclusively drawn that the dark skinned women do not get enough employment opportunities as the white skinned are entitled to. The film states that the only moment in the history of America when the white-oriented consciousness among the dark skinned seemed to be falling apart was in 1962, when the black conscious movement made many people adopt the afro hair style. With their slogan, black is beautiful, they achieved considerable success even though it lasted for a short period. Either way, the afro hair style success was not received well by some the white skinned women as is evidenced when a Ms. Sandler, a news anchor, almost risks losing her job just for wearing the afro hair style introduced by the black conscious movement to work (Sinclair 654). Besides the instances cover ed in the plot of this family, there are many other occasions in which colorism in Africa American women is depicted. According to actor and singer Tyrese, colorism in dark skinned people is evident in the entertainment industry. Music videos are also an integral part of the visual arts subject. Unfortunately, the music video industry has also borrowed the color discrimination issue. This is clearly seen by the

Theory of Dispute Resolution - Dispute between Shylock and Antonio Essay

Theory of Dispute Resolution - Dispute between Shylock and Antonio (Merchant of Venice) - Essay Example 1 The play does not only have an entire scene depicting a courtroom trial that had been the prime source of dispute resolution in that era and this method is also known as â€Å"litigation†, but play has also paved way for legal analysis and â€Å"Alternative Dispute Resolution†. The term â€Å"Alternative Dispute Resolution† or â€Å"ADR† refers to a repertoire of mechanism that can substitute court trials and litigation efforts to resolve a dispute; they largely entail discussions between the disputant parties. 2 ADR is further subdivided into negotiation, mediation, arbitration or adjudication and ombudsmen schemes; these methods are also known as â€Å"out-of-court settlements† and often entail the involvement of a third party to assess the situation and give their unbiased opinions on the matter. Although, ADR methods cannot substitute courtroom trials or litigations in all matters but they are cost-effective and are less time consuming. ADR me thods actually aim to eradicate the root or the main cause of dispute that enables the disputant parties to resolve their issue as healthily as possible without having any detrimental repercussions on any of the parties involved. It is important to understand that the procedures followed by each of the ADR methods is essentially the same, the only difference lies in the implementation of the final verdicts. Hence, the decisions in a dispute are non-binding if they are made through â€Å"mediation† and â€Å"negotiations†3. On the other hand, all decisions can either be binding or non-binding if they are made through arbitration and adjudication, respectively. It largely depends upon the agreement made with the third party. Arbitration is binding, the verdict is implemented whether the decision is approved by either parties or not; whereas, adjudication is non-binding and if the verdicts are not approved by the parties then it is nullified and the parties can actually a pproach the court for a resolution. Thus, it can be deduced that for ADR methods to work, the entire process is largely contingent upon the willingness of the parties to establish a truce. In case, ADR fails to find a solution to the problem then litigation serves as a last resort method to aid the individuals in reaching an agreement. Adjudication or arbitration is often referred to as a private version of a courtroom trial but is a much more formal process than a court hearing. All of ADR methods parallel each other in many ways but there are certain differences that stem from how binding the verdict is and the degree of involvement of the third party in aiding the communication between the disputant individuals or groups. 4 For instance even mediation is a parallel of litigation in every way but there some very substantial differences in the way how things are assessed in a dispute. Unlike litigation that is usually implemented in accordance with a legal principle, the guiding pr inciples in mediation can be legal, moral or religious and it is up to the disputant parties to choose a method that fulfil the parties’ needs. Justice is brought about through two aspects; the rudiments and the process through which those rudiments or standards are applied. It is apparent that adjudicative measures in resolving issues can result in a bias in the case and the justice arising from it is established using a specific line of thinking

Nucor Corporation Case Essay Example for Free

Nucor Corporation Case Essay Summary: For more than 20 years the Nucor Corporation has been one of the leading manufacturers of steel and steel related products in the world. With their technology advancement, low debt ratio, decentralized type of organization and many more, this company still thrives to achieve better goals in their company. Aside from the positive views of the company, it also faced problems like bankruptcy. (te pakidagdagan n lng) History: Nucor traced its origins to auto manufacturer Ransom E. Olds, who founded Oldsmobile, and later, Reo Motor Cars. Through a series of transactions, the company eventually became the Nuclear Corporation of America, a company involved in the nuclear instrument and electronics business. In 1972, the firm changed its name to Nucor Corporation. By 1998, it had become America’s second-largest steel maker. Operations: Nucor related its diverse facilities in rural areas across the United States, establishing strong ties to its local communities and its work force. As a leading employer with the ability to pay top wages, it attracted hard-working, dedicated employees. These factors also allowed Nucor to select from among competing locales, siting its operations in states with tax structures that encouraged business growth and regulatory policies that favored the company’s commitment to remaining union-free. By mid-2008, Nucor operated 53 facilities throughout the United States and one in Point Lisas, Trinidad. The company also maintained operations through wholly owned subsidiaries, Harris Steel and the David J. Joseph Company (DJJ). Strategy: Nucor’s strategy focused on two major competencies: building steel manufacturing facilities economically and operating them productively. Organization Structure: Compared to the typical Fortune 500 company with 10 or more management layers, Nucor’s Structure was decentralized, with only the four management  layers illustrated below: Chairman / Vice Chairman / President Vice President / Plant General Manager Department Manager Supervisor Human Resource Policies: Employee relations at Nucor were based on four principles: 1. Management is obligated to manage Nucor in such a way that employee will have the opportunity to earn according to their productivity. 2. Employees should feel confident that if they do their jobs properly, they will have a job tomorrow. 3. Employees have the right to be treated fairly. 4. Employees must have an avenue of appeal when they believe they are being treated unfairly. Compensation: Nucor provided employees with a performance-related compensation system. All employees were covered under one of four compensation plan, each featuring incentives for meeting specific goals and targets. 1. Production Incentive Plan * employees directly involved in manufacturing were paid weekly bonuses based on actual output in relation to anticipated production tonnages produced. The bonuses were paid only for work that met the quality standards and were pegged to work group, rather than individual output. 2. Department Manager Incentive Plan * Department managers earned an annual incentive bonus based on the performance of the entire plan to which they belonged. The targeted performance criterion here was return on assets. 3. Non-Production and Non-Department Manager Incentive Plan * All employees not in the Production Incentive Plan or Department Manager Incentive Plan – including accountants, engineers, secretaries, clerks, and receptionists – received a bonus based primarily on each plant’s return on assets. It could total over 25% of an employee’s base salary. 4. Senior Officers Incentive Plan * Included all corporate executives and plant general managers. A portion of pre-tax earnings was placed into a pool that was divided among the officers. If Nucor did well, the officers’ bonuses, in the form of stock (about 60%) and cash (about 40%), could amount to several times their base salaries. If Nucor did poorly, an officer’s compensation was only base salary and, therefore, significantly below the average pay for this level of responsibility. Information Systems: Benefits: Nucor took an egalitarian approach toward employee benefits. Nucor’s benefit program also attested to the company’s commitment to education. Technology: Nucor did not have a formal RD department, a corporate engineering group, or a chief technology officer. Instead, it relied on equipment suppliers and other companies to do the RD, and they adopted the technological advancements they developed – whether in steel or iron making, or in fabrication. Teams composed of mangers, engineers, and machine operators decided what technology to adopt. Future: The company’s biggest challenge (in the future) is to continue to grow the company at 15 – 20% per year, and to keep earnings parallel with its growth. Analysis: Nucor Corporation became one of the top corporations in the steel industry because of their handwork and technology innovation. This company also sees and takes care of its employee’s needs, which in return gives them  a quality service in their work. Conclusion: Nucor, even though we can see it as a successful, almost perfect company, still faces problems like other businesses in the industry. Problem: The company has lost one-third to one-half of its market value when the stock reached its peak value (mid-2008), and has not recovered as of 2012. Recommendation: We can recommend change in the company’s technology, like getting more advance equipments in making steel and steel-related products. Or the company could make a merger to other company to utilize its resources to its maximum while keeping cost low.

expatriate failures :: essays research papers fc

EXPATRIATE FAILURES â€Å"The internationalization of business has proceeded at a rapid pace as the world has become a global economy.†(Mathis, Jackson 2000) This is the very reason why companies now have the need for international executives. As all aspects of a business spread worldwide, so must the employees. An expatriate by definition is a home-county national, usually an employee of the firm, who is sent abroad to manage a foreign subsidiary. (Rodrigues, 2001) A successful expatriate generally requires an extensive amount of time and money, however, a failed expatriate can be even more costly for an organization. A study of multinational corporations showed that 69% (of the firms surveyed) had recall rates of expatriates between 10 to 20 percent. Compared to Japan and their figures, (86% of firms had less than 5% recall rate) the United States has room for improvement. (Tung, 1981) There are many reason for expatriates to fail and many differences between Japan and United States’ hum an resource management planning.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One of the main reasons why expatriates fail is due to the social and physical environments of the foreign country. Adaptation problems can effect the on-the-job effectiveness of the expatriate. Different value systems and living habits are a main cause of adaptation problems and the inability to communicate only worsens the problem. Lack of communication verbally and nonverbally can affect every aspect of a persons career and person life. If someone can’t communicate, imagine the difficulty of going to the bank, dealing with customers, and even going grocery shopping. In addition to the new surrounding environments, if the expatiates family can not accompany them or is not happy with the new living arrangements then it could result in separation anxiety. Humans need to feel secure in their environments and with all of these downfalls it is extremely difficult to accomplish. When an expatiate is not happy with their situation, it will reflect on their job p erformance.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Some other reasons for expatriates to fail are differences in the managerial and organizational principles. If a foreign country has different principles than the home-country than implementation can be very difficult. This also applies to objectives and policies. With such differences the expatriate may need to conform to the local situation. â€Å"If the expatriate manager’s authority is visibly constrained, his or her opportunity to establish and maintain an effective relationship with local associates is diminished.† (Rodrigues, 2001) An expatriate’s authority can appear constrained if the home office overcentralizes the decision making.

Leadership Failure at Tyco Essay

William B. Lytton remembers the aura of working in the White House in 1987, amidst the power and the personalities that surrounded President Ronald Reagan. Lytton had taken leave from his Philadelphia law firm for six months to act as Deputy Special Counselor for Reagan during the Iran-Contra investigation. â€Å"I would mentally pause and think of how fortunate I was to be there,† Lytton recalled. But as if to check that emotion, he would summon the lessons of John Dean, the young White House lawyer who found himself caught up in the Watergate scandal after allowing himself to become â€Å"dazzled,† as Lytton put it, by the blinding light of power. Speaking to several hundred Vermont Law school students, Lytton recommended they readBlind Ambition, Dean’s memoir about the Watergate years. The book, he said, would serve as a vehicle for young lawyers to question themselves on how they might behave in such a situation. Lytton’s Oct. 6 lecture, entitled â€Å"Just Say No,† laid out the ethical challenges faced by lawyers in a culture where it is often difficult to speak up to power, whether it be in a politically charged atmosphere such as the White House or in a corporate culture such as Tyco International. Lytton stepped in as general counsel at Tyco in 2002 as the company was enmeshed in a multi-billion accounting fraud scandal. Lytton’s role was to resolve the legal issues and clean up the culture, no small feat in a $38 billion company that employed 260,000 people worldwide. His friend was among those under indictment. In the Tyco failure, Lytton said, â€Å"They failed as leaders. They forgot that leadership was about serving others and not themselves. † But it was also a failure of those who follow the leaders, the corporate lawyers who failed in their duty to keep the leaders in check. Like John Dean during Watergate, Tyco lawyers wanted to please their bosses. When the scope of the corporate corruption became clear, Lytton said, the remaining questions were, â€Å"Where were the lawyers? Where was the harsh spotlight of scrutiny? † Yet while the public clamors for criminal prosecutions in such cases, Lytton maintains that it is not illegal intent, but rather the culture of the corporate world and the pressure â€Å"to make your numbers† that often drives corporations into such scandals. Most of the people who became infamous for their misdeeds&helip;were not evil people,† said Lytton, who also serves as a VLS Trustee. As he sees it, they lost sight of the cultural boundaries, blinded by their own career advancement goals. That, he said, is where the role of the corporate lawyer becomes critical. â€Å"As a lawyer, you have a greater and a different responsibility than everyone else,† he said. While it might prove difficult to stop bad th ings from happening, â€Å"Sometimes,† he said, â€Å"you do need to just say no. † A leader plays very important role in the success of the organization. Good leader has vision and he can take the organization forward, a not so good leader finds himself unable to influence the employees and lacks vision and he may cause the failure of the organization. A good leader has exceptional quality to influence his followers . A leader has extraordinary effect on followers and followers become committed to the leader. So, if leader is taking his followers towards the organizational goal, it is positive for the organization. A good leader has power to motivate the followers to contribute individually and hence collectively to the organization. Leader helps the followers (employees) to achieve the goals and objectives set for the organization. A participative leader includes the employees in decision making process. He encourages the employees to share their ideas and views which is considered in decision making process. It makes the decision making like a team work and employees feel themselves a part of the decision making team. So, participative style of leadership motivates the employees to contribute more and increases the belongingness. The leader has vision to foresee the future of the organization. He motivates the employees accordingly. He has influence among employees and he leads from front. By sharing that vision with other followers, and allowing them to take part in achieving that vision, all individuals will benefit from the successful results (Bateman, & Snell, 2007). Any organization’s long term goal is more than just making profit. Organization needs to manage its resources including human resource, efficiently to achieve the set long term goal. Leader plays very crucial role in achieving the goal. He can lead the organization to success or failure. All leadership styles try to achieve same goal, i. e. o help the employees to contribute more individually as well as collectively, and take the organization forward. Organizational culture plays major role in the success of an organization. A successful leader helps in creating healthy organizational culture which allows individual as well as organization to grow and sustain the growth. The failure of the leader is reflected in the weak organizational culture which may result in the failure of the organization. Other important factor which decides the success or failure of an organization is management and organizational structure. Management is responsible for long term planning and setting up the goal of the organization. They have the control of the organization. Top management executes Planning function of management as per POLC model. Other activities of the organization are directed to achieve the goal set in planning phase. If top management fails in setting right long term goal of the organization, all other activities will also be directed in wrong direction and hence, organization may not sustain for long. Organization’s structure and hierarchy delegates power(authority) and responsibilities. It dictates who will do what and who has got what level of authority. Organization’s structure tells who is in charge of taking what decision and who is responsible for a specific act and decision. A successful organization should have clearly defined delegation of authority so that if something goes wrong, management can track the responsible person and know the reason why it went wrong. Sometimes organization deliberately create the organization structure in such a way that any mischief can not be determined easily. In short term organization may be benefited from such organizational structure, but in long term kit may be fatal for the organization’s very existence. TYCO International Tyco International is a diversified global manufacturing and service provider company, having stake in electronics and telecommunication, security, healthcare, flow control etc. Tyco Tyco has been victim of many scandals. It has been acquiring so many businesses and in year 2002 it posted extensive loss. In an effort to cut losses, Tyco divested Tyco capital business through IPO. Tyco healthcare segment also divested its Surgical Dynamics. As a result, in 2002, turnover rose to $35 billion but company incurred a loss of $9 million, including asset impairment write-down of $3 billion. In addition to the financial woes, Tyco faced another massive scandal in 2002- Its former chairman and CEO, L. Dennis Kozlowski was charged for excesses. In 2002, Edward D. Breen was appointed CEO of Tyco for three years. In 2004 Annual Report, then CEO Edward D.  Breen said- † Our success was based on a simple strategy: to make operational excellence a core competency, to build a platform for sustainable organic growth, to invest in our people, and to hold ourselves to the highest ethical standards†¦ † (Allen, & Hartman, 2008). Tyco was pursuing organic growth strategy. In organic growth, company seeks to grow by increasing revenue of existing business rather than acquiring other companies. This was a part of long term plan of Tyco. Tactical plans are made for shorter period to implement the long term plan successfully and achieve the long term goal set by the management. Tyco started working on reviving its corporate image and enhance consumer awareness. In order to build brand value, Tyco launched a global print campaign ion 2004 – â€Å"Tyco a vital part of your world. † Tyco started reviewing its core business and sold rest of the businesses. As a part of this strategy, Tyco sold TGN in 2004 (which was almost entirely written off by that time). In total, Tyco divested 21 businesses and liquidated 4 non-core businesses. In line of the strategic plan and tactical plan, Tyco’s operational plan was also showing same trend. Operational . Tyco had set very good operational plan as well. [pic] Failure of Tyco was the failure of management and leadership. All wrong decisions, lack of control, absence of any internal control system, organizational structure with flaw and weak organizational culture caused the failure of the giant Tyco International. Its former chairman and CEO, L. Dennis Kozlowski and senior managements faced prosecution for â€Å"larceny and conspiracy, falsifying business records and violating business law. † (Tyco Worldwide, 2004, 1). They were accused of misappropriating money and assets from the company for personal use totaling in the range of $210 million dollars. cover their theft, they entered into secret contracts, further damaging the company’s integrity. The executive’s unethical behavior resulted in huge debt and decoration of the value of shareholders. Tyco reached at the verge of bankruptcy. This kind of incident indicates how weak organizational culture was prevailing in Tyco. The leader himself was involved in unethical and illegal activities. A leader can cause success or failure of the organization. In case of Tyco, leader was the caused of the failure. Later, CEO and senior management had to resign and law indicted them. What happened in Tyco can be called failure of leadership and failure of management in checking unethical practice. All organizations have ethics code in place but it is merely a guideline. Organization should monitor how actively ethical code is followed. Moreover, a leader should take initiative and motivate and inspire the employees to follow the ethical practices so that slowly it becomes a part of the process and organizational culture.