IKEA’s Global Sourcing Challenge Essay Example for Free

IKEA’s Global Sourcing Challenge Essay Indian Rugs and Child Labor (A) In May 1995, Marianne Barner faced a tough decision. After just two years with IKEA, the world’s largest furniture retailer, and less than a year into her job as business area manager for carpets, she was faced with the decision of cutting off one of the company’s major suppliers of Indian rugs. While such a move would disrupt supply and affect sales, she found the reasons to do so quite compelling. A German TV station had just broadcast an investigative report naming the supplier as one that used child labor in the production of rugs made for IKEA. What frustrated Barner was that, like all other IKEA suppliers, this large, well-regarded company had recently signed an addendum to its supply contract explicitly forbidding the use of child labor on pain of termination. Even more difficult than this short-term decision was the long-term action Barner knew IKEA must take on this issue. On one hand, she was being urged to sign up to an industry-wide response to growing concerns about the use of child labor in the Indian carpet industry. A recently formed partnership of manufacturers, importers, retailers, and Indian nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) was proposing to issue and monitor the use of â€Å"Rugmark,† a label to be put on carpets certifying that they were made without child labor. Simultaneously, Barner had been conversing with people at the Swedish Save the Children organization who were urging IKEA to ensure that its response to the situation was â€Å"in the best interest of the child†Ã¢â‚¬â€whatever that might imply. Finally, there were some who wondered if IKEA should not just leave this hornet’s nest. Indian rugs accounted for a tiny part of IKEA’s turnover, and to these observers, the time, cost, and reputation risk posed by continuing this product line seemed not worth the profit potential. The Birth and Maturing of a Global Company1   Certain details have been disguised. Cases are not intended to serve as endorsements, sources of primary data, or illustrations of effective or ineffective management. Copyright  © 2006 President and Fellows of Harvard College. To order copies or request permission to reproduce materials, call 1-800-545-7685, write Harvard Business School Publishing, Boston, MA 02163, or go to http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the permission of Harvard Business School. Working out of the family kitchen, he sold goods such as fountain pens, cigarette lighters, and binders he purchased from low-priced sources and then advertised in a newsletter to local shopkeepers. When Kamprad matched his competitors by adding furniture to his newsletter in 1948, the immediate success of the new line led him to give up the small items. In 1951, to reduce product returns, he opened a display store in  nearby Älmhult village to allow customers to inspect products before buying. It was an immediate success, with customers traveling seven hours from the capital Stockholm by train to visit. Based on the store’s success, IKEA stopped accepting mail orders. Later Kamprad reflected, â€Å"The basis of the modern IKEA concept was created [at this time] and in principle it still applies. First and foremost, we use a catalog to tempt people to visit an exhibition, which today is our store. . . . Then, catalog in hand, customers can see simple interiors for themselves, touch the furniture they want to buy and then write out an order.†2 As Kamprad developed and refined his furniture retailing business model he became increasingly frustrated with the way a tightly knit cartel of furniture manufacturers controlled the Swedish industry to keep prices high. He began to view the situation not just as a business opportunity but also as an unacceptable social problem that he wanted to correct. Foreshadowing a vision for IKEA that would later be articulated as â€Å"creating a better life for the many people,† he wrote: â€Å"A disproportionately large part of all resources is used to satisfy a small part of the population. . . . IKEA’s aim is to change this situation. We shall offer a wide range of home furnishing items of good design and function at prices so low that the majority of people can afford to buy them. . . . We have great ambitions.†3 The small newsletter soon expanded into a full catalog. The 1953 issue introduced what would become another key IKEA feature: self-assembled furniture. Instead of buying complete pieces of furniture, customers bought them in flat packages and put them together themselves at home. Soon, the â€Å"knockdown† concept was fully systemized, saving transport and storage costs. In typical fashion, Kamprad turned the savings into still lower prices for his customers, gaining an even larger following among young postwar householders looking for well-designed but inexpensive furniture. Between 1953 and 1955, the company’s sales doubled from SEK 3 million to SEK 6 million.4 Managing Suppliers: Developing Sourcing Principles As its sales took off in the late 1950s, IKEA’s radically new concepts began to encounter stiff opposition from Sweden’s large furniture retailers. So  threatened were they that when IKEA began exhibiting at trade fairs, they colluded to stop the company from taking orders at the fairs and eventually even from showing its prices. The cartel also pressured manufacturers not to sell to IKEA, and the few that continued to do so often made their deliveries at night in unmarked vans. Unable to meet demand with such constrained local supply, Kamprad was forced to look abroad for new sources. In 1961, he contracted with several furniture factories in Poland, a country still in the Communist eastern bloc. To assure quality output and reliable delivery, IKEA brought its knowhow, taught its processes, and even provided machinery to the new suppliers, revitalizing Poland’s furniture industry as it did so. Poland soon became IKEA’s largest source and, to Kamprad’s delight, at much lower costs—once again allowing him to reduce his prices. Following its success in Poland, IKEA adopted a general procurement principle that it should not own its means of production but should seek to develop close ties by supporting its suppliers in a long-term relationship.a Beyond supply contracts and technology transfer, the relationship led IKEA to make loans to its suppliers at reasonable rates, repayable through future shipments. â€Å"Our objective is to develop long-term business partners,† explained a senior purchasing manager. â€Å"We commit to doing a ll we can to keep them competitive—as long as they remain equally committed to us. We are in this for the long run.† Although the relationship between IKEA and its suppliers was often described as one of mutual dependency, suppliers also knew that they had to remain competitive to keep their contract. From the outset they understood that if a more cost-effective alternative appeared, IKEA would try to help them respond, but if they could not do so, it would move production. In its constant quest to lower prices, the company developed an unusual way of  identifying new sources. As a veteran IKEA manager explained: â€Å"We do not buy products from our suppliers. We buy unused production capacity.† It was a philosophy that often led its purchasing managers to seek out seasonal manufacturers with spare off-season capacity. There were many classic examples of how IKEA matched products to supplier capabilities: they had sail makers make seat cushions, window factories produce table frames, and ski manufacturers build chairs in their off-season. The manager added, â€Å"We’ve always worr ied more about finding the right management at our suppliers than finding high-tech facilities. We will always help good management to develop their capacity.† Growing Retail: Expanding Abroad Building on the success of his first store, Kamprad self-financed a store in Stockholm in 1965. Recognizing a growing use of automobiles in Sweden, he bucked the practice of having a downtown showroom and opted for a suburban location with ample parking space. When customers drove home with their furniture in flat packed boxes, they assumed two of the costliest parts of traditional furniture retailing—home delivery and assembly. In 1963, even before the Stockholm store had opened, IKEA had expanded into Oslo, Norway. A decade later, Switzerland became its first non-Scandinavian market, and in 1974 IKEA entered Germany, which soon became its largest market. (See Exhibit 1 for IKEA’s worldwide expansion.) At each new store the same simple Scandinavian-design products were backed up with a catalog and offbeat advertising, presenting the company as â€Å"those impossible Swedes with strange ideas.† And reflecting the company’s conservative values, each new entry was financed by previous successes.b During this expansion, the IKEA concept evolved and became increasingly formalized. (Exhibit 2 summarizes important events in IKEA’s corporate history.) It still built large, suburban stores with knockdown furniture in flat packages the customers brought home to assemble themselves. But as the concept was refined, the company required that each store follow a predetermined design, set up to maximize customers’ exposure to the product range. The concept mandated, for instance, that the living room interiors should follow immediately after the entrance. IKEA also serviced customers with features  such as a playroom for children, a low-priced restaurant, and a â€Å"Sweden Shop† for groceries that had made IKEA Sweden’s leading food exporter. At the same time, the range gradually aThis policy was modified after a number of East European suppliers broke their contracts with IKEA after the fall of the Berlin Wall opened new markets for them. IKEA’s subsequent supply chain problems and loss of substantial investments led management to develop an internal production company, Swedwood, to ensure delivery stability. However, it was decided that only a limited amount of IKEA’s purchases (perhaps 10%) should be sourced from Swedwood. b By 2005, company lore had it that IKEA had only taken one bank loan in its corporate history—which it had paid back as soon as the cash flow allowed. The Emerging Culture and Values5 As Kamprad’s evolving business philosophy was formalized into the IKEA vision statement, â€Å"To create a better everyday life for the many people,† it became the foundation of the company’s strategy of selling affordable, good-quality furniture to mass-market consumers around the world. The cultural norms and values that developed to support the strategy’s implementation were also, in many ways, an extension of Kamprad’s personal beliefs and style. â€Å"The true IKEA spirit,† he remarked, â€Å"is founded on our enthusiasm, our constant will to renew, on our cost-consciousness, on our willingness to assume responsibility and to help, on our humbleness before the task, and on the simplicity of our behavior.† As well as a summary of his aspiration for the  company’s behavioral norms, it was also a good statement of Kamprad’s own personal management style. Over the years a very distinct organizational culture and management style emerged in IKEA reflecting these values. For example, the company operated very informally as evidenced by the open-plan office landscape, where even the CEO did not have a separate office, and the familiar and personal way all employees addressed one another. But that informality often masked an intensity that derived from the organization’s high self-imposed standards. As one senior executive explained, â€Å"Because there is no security available behind status or closed doors, this environment actually puts pressure on people to perform.† The IKEA management process also stressed simplicity and attention to detail. â€Å"Complicated rules paralyze!† said Kamprad. The company organized â€Å"anti-bureaucrat week† every year, requiring all managers to spend time working in a store to reestablish contact with the front line and the consumer. The workpace was such that executives joked that IKEA believed in â€Å"management by running around.† Cost consciousness was another strong part of the management culture. â€Å"Waste of resources,† said Kamprad, â€Å"is a mortal sin at IKEA. Expensive solutions are often signs of mediocrity, and an idea without a price tag is never acceptable.† Although cost consciousness extended into all aspects of the operation, travel and entertainment expenses were particularly sensitive. â€Å"We do not set any price on time,† remarked an executive, recalling that he had once phoned Kamprad to get approval to fly first class. He explained that economy class was full and that he had an urgent appointment to keep. â€Å"There is no first class in IKEA,† Kamprad had replied. â€Å"Perhaps you should go by car.† The executive completed the 350-mile trip by taxi. The search for creative solutions was also highly prized with IKEA. Kamprad had written, â€Å"Only while sleeping one makes no mistakes. The fear of making mistakes is the root of bureaucracy and the enemy of all evolution.† Though planning for the future was encouraged, overanalysis was not. â€Å"Exaggerated planning can be fatal,† Kamprad advised his executives. â€Å"Let simplicity and common sense characterize your planning.† In 1976, Kamprad felt the need to commit to paper the values that had developed in IKEA during the previous decades. His thesis, Testament of a Furniture Dealer, became an important means for spreading the IKEA philosophy, particularly during its period of rapid international expansion. (Extracts of the Testament are given in Exhibit 3.) Specially trained â€Å"IKEA ambassadors† were assigned to key positions in all units to spread the company’s philosophy and values by educating their subordinates and by acting as role models. In 1986, when Kamprad stepped down, Anders Moberg, a company veteran who had once been Kamprad’s personal assistant, took over as president and CEO. But Kamprad remained intimately involved as chairman, and his influence extended well beyond the ongoing daily operations: he was the self-appointed guardian of IKEA’s deeply embedded culture and values. Waking up to Environmental and Social Issues By the mid-1990s, IKEA was the worlds largest specialized furniture retailer. Sales for the IKEA Group for the financial year ending August 1994 totaled SEK 35 billion (about $4.5 billion). In the previous year, more than 116 million people had visited one of the 98 IKEA stores in 17 countries, most of them drawn there by the company’s product catalog, which was printed yearly in 72 million copies in 34 languages. The privately held company did not report profit levels, but one estimate put its net margin at 8.4% in 1994, yielding a net profit of SEK 2.9 billion (about $375 million). 6 After decades of seeking new sources, in the mid-1990s IKEA worked with almost 2,300 suppliers in 70 countries, sourcing a range of around 11,200 products. Its relationship with its suppliers was dominated by commercial issues, and its 24 trading service offices in 19 countries primarily monitored  production, tested new product ideas, negotiated prices, and checked quality. (See Exhibit 4 for selected IKEA figures in 1994.) That relationship began to change during the 1980s, however, when environmental problems emerged with some of its products. And it was even more severely challenged in the mid-1990s when accusations of IKEA suppliers using child labor surfaced. The Environmental Wake-Up: Formaldehyde In the early 1980s, Danish authorities passed regulations to define limits for formaldehyde emissions permissible in building products. The chemical compound was used as binding glue in materials such as plywood and particleboard and often seeped out as gas. At concentrations above 0.1 mg/kg in air, it could cause watery eyes, headaches, a burning sensation in the throat, and difficulty breathing. With IKEA’s profile as a leading local furniture retailer using particleboard in many of its products, it became a prime target for regulators wanting to publicize the new standards. So when tests showed that some IKEA products emitted more formaldehyde than was allowed by legislation, the case was widely publicized and the company was fined. More significantly—and the real lesson for IKEA—was that due to the publicity, its sales dropped 20% in Denmark. In response to this situation, the company quickly established stringent requirements regarding formaldehyde emissions but soon found that suppliers were failing to meet its standards. The problem was that most of its suppliers bought from subsuppliers, who in turn bought the binding materials from glue manufacturers. Eventually, IKEA decided it would have to work directly with the glue-producing chemical companies and, with the collaboration of companies such as ICI and BASF, soon found ways to reduce the formaldehyde off-gassing in its products.7 A decade later, however, the formaldehyde problem returned. In 1992, an investigative team from a large German newspaper and TV company found that IKEA’s best-selling bookcase series, Billy, had emissions higher than German legislation allowed. This time, however, the source of the problem was not the glue but the lacquer on the bookshelves. In the wake of headlines describing â€Å"deadly poisoned bookshelves,† IKEA immediately stopped both the production and sales of Billy bookcases worldwide and corrected the problem before resuming  distribution. Not counting the cost of lost sales and production or the damage to goodwill, the Billy incident was estimated to have cost IKEA $6 million to $7 million.8 These events prompted IKEA to address broader environmental concerns more directly. Since wood was the principal material in about half of all IKEA products, forestry became a natural starting point. Following discussions with both Greenpeace and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF, formerly World Wildlife Fund) and using standards set by the Forest Stewardship Council, IKEA established a forestry policy stating that IKEA would not accept any timber, veneer, plywood, or layer-glued wood from intact natural forests or from forests with a high conservation value. This meant that IKEA had to be willing to take on the task of tracing all wood used in IKEA products back to its source. 9 To monitor compliance, the company appointed forest managers to carry out random checks of wood suppliers and run projects on responsible forestry around the world. In addition to forestry, IKEA identified four other areas where environmental criteria were to be applied to its business operations: adapting the product range; working with suppliers; transport and distribution; and ensuring environmentally conscious stores. For instance, in 1992, the company began using chlorine-free recycled paper in its catalogs; it redesigned the best-selling OGLA chair— originally manufactured from beech—so it could be made using waste material from yogurt cup production; and it redefined its packaging principles to eliminate any use of PVC. The company also maintained its partnership with WWF, resulting in numerous projects on global conservation, and funded a global forest watch program to map intact natural forests worldwide. In addition, it engaged in an ongoing dialogue with Gr eenpeace on forestry.10 The Social Wake-Up: Child Labor In 1994, as IKEA was still working to resolve the formaldehyde problems, a Swedish television documentary showed children in Pakistan working at weaving looms. Among the several Swedish companies mentioned in the film as importers of carpets from Pakistan, IKEA was the only highprofile name on the list. Just two months into her job as business area manager for carpets, Marianne Barner recalled the shockwaves that the TV program sent through the company: The use of child labor was not a high-profile public issue at the time. In fact, the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child had only been published in December 1989. So, media attention like this TV program had an important role to play in raising awareness on a topic not well known and understood—including at IKEA. . . . We were caught completely unaware. It was not something we had been paying attention to. For example, I had spent a couple of months in India learning about trading but got no exposure to child labor. Our buyers met suppliers in their city offices and rarely got out to where production took place. . . . Our immediate response to the program was to apologize for our ignorance and acknowledge that we were not in full control of this problem. But we also committed to do something about it. As part of its response, IKEA sent a legal team to Geneva to seek input and advice from the International Labor Organization (ILO) on how to deal with the problem. They learned that Convention 138, adopted by the ILO in 1973 and ratified by 120 countries, committed ratifying countries to working for the abolition of labor by children under 15 or the age of compulsory schooling in that country. India, Pakistan, and Nepal were not signatories to the convention.11 Following these discussions with the ILO, IKEA added a clause to all supply contracts—a â€Å"black-andwhite† clause, as Barner put it—stating simply that if the supplier employed children under legal working age, the contract would be cancelled.

Causes of Racial Discrimination in Australia

Causes of Racial Discrimination in Australia Introduction Background Racial discrimination is any conduct based on a distinction, which have no relation either to individual capacities or to the concrete behavior of the individual person (Brodersen,1999).The issue is extremely significant as it involves the rights of people. This report aims to outline the issue of racial discrimination in Australia by providing background information and explaining its significance to society. This report discusses the main reason of which cause racial discrimination in Australia, what social issues will arise if racial discrimination is not addressed properly and how to address racial discrimination. Questions What is the main cause of racial discrimination in Australia? What issues will arise in society if racial discrimination is not addressed? How can racial discrimination been eliminated? Analysis of Findings Question 1 What is the main cause of racial discrimination in Australia? Racial discrimination has always been a serious issue in Australia, since more and more immigrants poured into Australia, the migration of Australia grows rapidly. Figure 1(Dixon, 2013) presents the number of immigrants into Australia from 2005 to 2006. It is clearly shows that approximately half of the immigrants are Asian, followed by European and Africa. Figure1: The nationality of immigration into Australia in 2005-2006 (Dixon, 2013) There are reasons for racial discrimination still happening in a modern country like Australia. Firstly, it is the history of Australia that causes the racial discrimination. It stretches back to the 19th century, with the increasing of gold prospectors, causing Australia ethnic contradictions tend to deepen. Therefore, the immigration policy limit non-white immigrations to Australia, particularly Asian immigrations, this is the white Australia policy(Dixon,2013). On the other hand, the indigenous people also played an important role in racial discrimination. Since 1788, Captain Phillip led the first European whites began to come to Australia. At the same time, different color, different beliefs of immigration continuously come to this remote continent (Mukherjee 2014).However, many indigenous people were living in the Australian mainland and they had clan groups. The whites broke the quiet life of the indigenous people by thinking that the territory was free for them to use. The whites even took the land that the aboriginal live on, which completely ignored the existence of the indigenous people and their needs. Even when Australia federated in 1901, the Constitution did not classify Aboriginal people as Australian citizens. Since 1788, captain Phillip led the first European whites began to come to Australia. At the same time, different color, different beliefs of immigration continuously come to this remote continent. After the Second World War, many new countries appeared in Asia. It was going to be bad for Australia if it continues to enforce the white Australia policy. â€Å"In 1958, the federal government abolished the white Australia policy. Then the Australian immigration will proceed without discrimination of race, color, religion policy† (Chingaipe, 2014).This policy is a great progress, liberate the limitation of people who are likely to immigrate to Australia. Furthermore, â€Å"For many white-Australians, there was a fear of loss and displacement† (The Guardian,2014). Fear is one of the biggest contributors of racism especially because the whites are worried that the foreign populations would replace them. Figure 2 represents the population increasing in Australia in 2001-2006, it can be seen that Chinese is the mainstream country of migration (Hong,2007).Many Australian felt threatened by the Chinese, who were known to be hard workers and to be accustomed to working long hours. They think those cheap labors would take the jobs of the white-Australian workers. Therefore, it would lower the working standards for white-Australian workers. It was these racist beliefs which formed the basis of a growing notion to keep non-whites out of Australia. Figure2: Increase in Population in 2001 to 2006 by state in Australia (Hong,2007) In conclusion, the existence of racial discrimination is due to numerous factors. Both historical root and more and more immigrants are the most important reasons why racism can not disappear. In addition, due to racism does alive in Australia, different kinds of social issues become to arise. Question 2 What issues will arise in society if racial discrimination is not addressed? It probably will become a negative impact on people’s mental and physical health if racism still exists. The research to date shows that racism makes a significant contribution to these health outcomes. For instance, it would cause diabetes and other external diseases, which can be seen in figure 3 (humanrights,2012). Its well known that Indigenous Australians have a far lower life expectancy than other Australians and have exceedingly high rates of diseases and other health problems preciselyas aresultofracism. Figure 3: Selected underlying causes of death as proportion of total deaths, by Indigenous status 2009 (humanrights, 2012) A report shows that more than 27% of Aboriginal people had experienced discrimination in 2012-2013. Also, 75% of Aboriginal people frequently experiences race discrimination when using primary health care services(Szoke,2012) .According to this, it is evident to say that not only racial discrimination is still alive in Australia, but has also caused numerous grim tribulations to the Aboriginal peoples, who are the majority of the victims. Despite being part of society, they still can not use the public facilities or welfare services successfully, and endures the injustice caused by the native people. Secondly, racial discrimination might tend to cause people to do unhealthy activities such as smoking, alcohol and drug taking. It even contributes to people committing suicide. Recent data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) shows that Indigenous Australians are twice as likely to die by suicide, and three times more likely to experience psychological distress (The Guardian, 2014).Due to those unjust treatments, the stress that the aboriginal person suffer from is far more than the whites. When they are in a public place, people will tell a joke behind their backs. When the indigenous children study at school, they would be isolated by other non-indigenous children. All of these situations appear very often during their whole life, and the consequences of these are participating in unhealthy activities. Furthermore, racism also affects people’s employment opportunities. The unemployment of Indigenous people far exceeds the non-indigenous people. According to the latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), â€Å"only 55.8 per cent of working age Indigenous Australians are actively participating in the labor force, compared to 76.4 per cent of the non-Indigenous population†(Busyatwork, 2013). Also, from figure 4, it states that the employment outcomes for the Indigenous population are mostly in a negative growth. In contrast, employment outcomes for the non-Indigenous population stayed relatively stable. The gap in outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians becomes widened .In fact, there is no doubt that the employer would rather to employ a non-indigenous person than an indigenous person, which is theirinherent cognition. However, such a behavior ignores the feeling of the indigenous people and also plunders their job opportunities wi thout a reason. Figure 4: Change in Indigenous employment outcomes by state – 2006 to 2011 (The conversation, 2012) In conclusion, it is obvious that racism has become a significant influence among the indigenous people. They suffer from a variety of harms without a reason, even violence. All of these stresses will cause health problems to them. Consequences are racial discrimination causes them to never be same as other local people, who are treated more fairly. Question3 How can racial discrimination be eliminated? In actual fact, there is no specific way to solve racial discrimination at all. However, it can be diminished a little through some solutions. For example, education that insists on racial equality can decrease racial discrimination. Also, both government and the media power would play a significant role. Firstly, the easiest and effective solution here is education. Parents and teachers should not tell any racist jokes to the children as by these jokes, children might consider racism as a correct thing. Furthermore, they should teach children racial equality and there are no superior races or anything (Szoke,2012). As they learn from young that racism is criminal and a serious thing, they are not going to do it again when they grow up. Therefore, racial discrimination will be improved bit by bit from a generation to the next generation. On the other hand, the law that relates to eliminating racism should be promulgated by the government, which can restrict some extreme behaviors. The Racial Discrimination Act was enacted in 1975. â€Å"The Act prohibits race discrimination and gives people who have been discriminated against, whether in the workplace, education or in accessing goods and services, the opportunity to obtain redress by apply for complaint with the Australian Human Rights Commission†(Thomson,2012). The Act is such an effective in eradicating discriminations such as people not being hired or could not get access to services because of their race. This act protects people who experience direct or indirect discrimination and they cancomplainto the Commission which also creates a chance to protect their rights(Sweet,2014).The act gives effect to Australia’sinternational human rights commitment. Once when someone gets unfair treatment from others, the act allows him or her to complain. Although the act does not work well, it does minimize the racial discrimination. It is impossible to get rid of racial discrimination completely in Australia, which is a deep existence in the culture more than numbers of years. Everyone has their own human right and they should protect and insist to their own right. Racism is an unrealistic thought and also could not be solved effortlessly at this moment. However, some organizations and institutions, including government and the media, can implement some measures to achieve denial of racism ultimately. Conclusion Recommendation Albeit racial discrimination does live in Australia due to many reasons, it does not mean that people have to adapt it or endure it without any reactions. In the evidence being shown here in the report, the government does do some helpful implements to minimize racism. Therefore, it can be said that as long as the government, the media powers and the individual person who are willing to contribute, it would make a bright future to the next generation. Evaluation Research The biggest problem was finding a relevant table or figure and that took me the longest time. Therefore, I need to search for them through other ways. In addition, I have to search the information that relevant to Australia only and more recent ones. Thus, it makes it more difficult to find. I did find out other resources- the e-book, which is a good reference for my report. All information in e-book is good to be used. However, it is hard to paraphrase some words. Moreover, it is best that the reference link is done with each question, otherwise it would be quite wasting time to do that later. Oral Presentation A clear point in the presentation is that not only you can hint the audience what you are talking about, but you also can summarize briefly the point. Making a good example relating to the topic can impress the audience. Also, showing a video can attract the attention of the audience so it would not let the presentation be boring. In a presentation, a simplified analysis is good for the audience to know the idea. And through the analysis, the audience can comprehend better what you said. Last but not least, practice is quite important. Through the repetitious practice, it will be the best way to feel confident. Organisation Keeping each question separately is a good idea which does save much time. When you want to do some changes, it is easier just to look for the file you saved, and correct it. After each part is finished and all of them have been checked correctly and then combined together, it makes it more efficient and also it would help to form a good structure. Areas for Improvement It is necessary to search information from different areas, rather than only from websites. Moreover, when the graph or table has been used in the report, it had better be saved in a separate file, as it would easier to correct. Once each question is finished, the reference list had better be finished as well. It will be difficult to go back to write the reference after the whole report has been done.It really wastes time. This time, I am not good at linking some relevant tables or graphs, as it is just a few there, and I need large amount of time to do that. Thus, I will definitely do that in future to make sure my report include as much information as possible. Reference List Busy At work 2013, high unemployment among Indigenous Australians, viewed 11 August 2014, http://www.busyatwork.com.au/news/800520116/High-unemployment-among-Indigenous-Australians Dixon,R 2013 â€Å"Immigration and the â€Å"White Australia Policy† viewed 30 July 2014 https://www.marxists.org/history/international/comintern/sections/australia/1945/white-australia.htm Humanrights, 2012 â€Å"Questions and Answers about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples† viewed 11 August 2014 https://www.humanrights.gov.au/publications/face-facts-2012/2012-face-facts-chapter-1 â€Å"John Howard the false nationalist: Just another traitor in patriot clothing†,2008, destinymagazine,14 February, viewed 30 July 2014 http://www.destinymagazine.info/2008/02/14/3-john-howard-the-false-nationalist/ McCarthy.M 2008, Racism and Structural Solutions, viewed 26 August 2014 http://www.solidarity-us.org/site/node/1609 Mukherjee,R 2014,â€Å"Top 10 Reasons Why Racism still exists† Istcrux, viewed 30 July 2014 http://listcrux.com/top-10-reasons-why-racism-still-exists/ Personally-selected-aboriginal-art,2010 â€Å"A Short Aboriginal History †viewed 30 July 2014 http://www.personally-selected-aboriginal-art.com/aboriginal-history.html Sweet.M 2014, The Racial Discrimination Act needs strengthening – not weakening: a public health perspective, viewed 27 August 2014 http://blogs.crikey.com.au/croakey/2014/03/24/the-racial-discrimination-act-needs-strengthening-not-weakening-a-public-health-perspective/ Szoke, H 2012 â€Å"Racism exists in Australia – are we doing enough to address it?†, human rights, viewed 11 August,2014 https://www.humanrights.gov.au/news/speeches/racism-exists-australia-are-we-doing-enough-address-it The conversation,2012, â€Å"Closing the gap on Indigenous employment? Notquite† 31 October,viewed 11 August 2014 http://theconversation.com/closing-the-gap-on-indigenous-employment-not-quite-10426 The Guardian 2014, Racism causing mental health issues in Indigenous communities, survey shows, viewed 11 August 2014, http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/29/racism-mental-health-indigenous-communities Thomson, N 2010, review of indigenous male health, viewed 11 August 2014, http://www.healthinfonet.ecu.edu.au/population-groups/men/reviews/our-review

Women’s Self-Discovery During Late American Romanticism / Early Realism

When we think of women writers today we see successful, gifted and talented women. Although these women writers have been established for sometime their status of contributions to society has only been recognized way too late. During the late romantic/early realism period numerous women found success in writing despite the fact that they may have encountered numerous obstacles in their path. The characters these women wrote about almost have a kinship with themselves bringing out certain personality traits not seen written about women before. From these traits a voice emerges in literature that has been hidden from the public view. This new true voice of female self-discovery finally comes out for the public to see in numerous works of that day. Courage, independence and emotional portrayal are the pivotal key traits that make up their self-discovery in the works of numerous female writers such as Gilman, Freeman, Woolson, and Chopin. These women writers were writing in the day where women were taught to maintain their place in society and family. After the Civil War â€Å"the homosocial world of women’s culture began to dissolve as women demanded entrance to higher education, the professions, and the political world† (Showalter 67). The roles of housewife and society maiden that were created by society did not allow for any room of expression by these women. The lack of women who at this time were seeking a higher education or pursuing the arts was very small. If they did not come from a family who supported them in their quest than most likely they did not get the chance to pursue their dreams. If a woman did want to extend their learning most of the time they did it in secrecy. A woman artist... ...kins. â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper.† The Norton Anthology of American Literature, Shorter Sixth Edition. Ed. Nina Baym. Kahane, Claire. Passions of the Voice. Baltimore: The John Hopkins University Press, 1995. Leitch, Vincent B., ed. The Norton Anthology, Theory and Criticism. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2001. Showalter, Elaine. Sister’s Choice. New York: Oxford University Press, 1991. Toth, Emily. Introduction. A Vocation and a Voice. By Kate Chopin. New York: Penguin Book, 1991. vii-xxvi. Toth, Emily. Unveiling Kate Chopin. Jackson, Mississippi: University Press of Mississippi, 1999. Treichler, Paula A. â€Å"Language and Ambiguity.† The Awakening, A Norton Critical Edition. Ed. Margo Culley. Woolsen, Constance Fenimore. â€Å"Miss Grief.† The Norton Anthology of American Literature, Shorter Sixth Edition. Ed. Nina Baym.

Canterbury Tales The Woman of Bath Essay -- essays papers

Canterbury Tales The Woman of Bath The Canterbury Tales, by Geoffrey Chaucer, is a collection of stories in a frame story, between 1387 and 1400. It is the story of a group of thirty people who travel as pilgrims to Canterbury to visit the shrine of Thomas Beckett. The pilgrims, who come from all classes of society, tell stories to each other to kill time while they travel to Canterbury. In the Prologue, it states Chaucer intended that each pilgrim should tell two tales on the way to Canterbury and two tales on the way back. He died before he had a chance to finish his project; however, he did manage to complete twenty-four of the tales including the one supposedly told by the Woman of Bath. The rather promiscuous Woman of Bath told an interesting story which was in keeping with her unique personality. The lewd Woman of Bath was a very intricate cloth-maker who led a very interesting life. She was a member of the urban society and was very successful in her endeavors. She was considered attractive, she had big hips, long hair, gapped teeth, and she was somewhat deaf. She wore tight clothes, a red scarf on her head, red fishnet stockings, and soft new shoes. All of these things, along with the fact that she was very well traveled indicated that she was rather wealthy. The Woman of Bath had five husbands and many more love affairs. Chaucer states that she knows how to remedy love’s problems, an art at which she knew the oldest dances. The Woman of Bath was quit...

Feminism and Sexuality in Eudora Welty’s Delta Wedding Essay

Eudora Welty’s Delta Wedding is a very complex novel, in spite of the apparent simplicity of the plot: at first sight, the story only describes the family life of the Fairchilds in the Mississippi Delta. The book only covers approximately one week of the year 1923 and revolves around the preparations for the wedding and the wedding itself of the prettiest daughter of the family, Dabney Fairchild to Troy Flavin. Although the plot is quite simple, the book is crammed with numerous characters and the intricate web of relations between them, and has a rich symbolism. First of all, the text reveals Welty’s ideas about knowledge and the perception of reality: the numerous voices in her fiction have different ways of looking at reality and of knowing, and the author emphasizes these differences. Ellen and George seem to be the characters that have a way of looking at the world which comes very close to that of Welty herself. Her fiction imitates the same pattern of knowing, by leaving out reason and systematic thought, and apprehending the surrounding universe in its wholeness, as when one contemplates a landscape without thinking of anything else, as nine year old Laura does, when she looks out of the window of the train: â€Å"Thoughts went out of her head and the landscape filled it.†(Welty, 1946, p. 4) Thus, Welty’s fiction seems to borrow the technique of photography by capturing in a single shot both the apparent reality and the essence of this reality. As Welty notices in her essay, Writer’s Beginnings quoted by Carson (1992), the role of writing is to make one single picture of the inner and external aspect of every thing, or as Carson puts it, to put two pictures in a single frame: â€Å"A lamp I knew of was a view of London till it was lit; but then it was the Great Fire of London, and you could go beautifully to sleep by it. The lamp alight is the combination of internal and external, glowing at the imagination as one; and so is the good novel. Seeing that these inner and outer surfaces do lie so close together and so implicit in each other, the wonder is that human life so often separates them, or appears to, and it takes a good novel to put them back together.†(Carson, 1992, p.17) The world of the Fairchilds, as described in Delta Wedding, is rich and complex precisely because the reader constantly gets the impression he is looking at more pictures in a single frame at the same time, or at more layers of reality: the glimpses into the inner lives of all the characters which seem to appear on the scene all at once plus the picturesque descriptions of the Southern world, with its customs and traditions make up a very complex tableau, which perfectly imitates the impressions we may have when reviewing our day-to- day lives. The world of the Fairchilds which seems to be so particular and impermeable as to be a world in itself, with its own spirit, can be extended in fact as a picture of human societies in general. The world of the plantations is a world dominated by women, by their culture and femininity, which resemble that of Virginia Woolf. This is not to say however, that the women actually have the power in since their rule is limited to the life of the household and the family, while being completely separated from the rest of the world. Still, the limited universe of the household is like a matriarchy, in which motherhood, nursing and all the trivial affairs related to daily life, like cooking are the most potent symbols. It is very important to note thus that Welty’s feminism consists precisely of maintaining the traditional in her fiction and, at the same time opening the ways to freedom for the women, be that sexual or intellectual. There are many signs of the assertion of female sexuality, especially in Robbie’s relation to George for example, or in Shelley’s rejection of marriage and implicitly, of male domination. Sexuality, as the affirmation of the female body, best represents the idea of freedom and liberation of the woman, who no longer avoids her own identity. Robbie’s desire of finding her place in her own marriage through her sexuality is very significant for Welty’s presentation of the women. Thus, Welty represents a powerful feminine world, in which, although all the traditional patriarchal patterns are still preserved, the women impose their own modes of thinking and their own identity through the very traditions which are considered to be the reason for their enslavement. Thus, in many parts of the story the traditional way of thinking of the aunts imposes itself over and over again. For example, although the aunts know that Dabney is probably pregnant and is forced to rush into the marriage with Troy, they keep silent on the theme, not being willing to inquire further than the mere surface of facts, as Dabney complains:   Ã¢â‚¬Å"They don’t make me say if I love Troy or if I don’t, Dabney was thinking, clicking her heels in the pantry. But by the time she came back to the porch, the flowers in a Mason jar of water, she knew she would never say anything about love after all, if they didn’t want her to. Suppose they were afraid to ask her, little old aunts.† (Welty, 1946, p.48) As Carson comments, the aunts’ attitude is cause exactly by the way in which the Fairchilds are used to look at the world: they always stay on the surface of things and relations, seeing happiness and love everywhere, without really being aware of their or of the others’ identity as individuals: â€Å"One of the reasons the family fails to know each other as individuals [†¦] is that they are so conscious of each other as part of the family.†(Carson, 1992, p. 78) This way of knowing seems to be proper of the Fairchild spirit, and is the same as Carson (1992) describes as ‘tyrannical’, attempting at categorizing and dividing everything, instead of looking for the essence of reality:   Ã¢â‚¬Å"The knowledge that deals only with facts; the knowledge that aims at control and manipulation; the knowledge that puts things and people into boxes and bottles and categories–this is tyrannical knowledge, and it is the way of knowing that most people settle for. George’s knowing is different. He â€Å"could have lifted a finger and touched, held the butterfly, but he did not† (p. 37): without possessing the butterfly–and thus perhaps killing it–he makes it part of himself.† (Carson, 1992, p. 83) As Ellen perceives it, the essence of life consist of the repetitions and the cycles and even the monotony of everything: â€Å"The repeating fields, the repeating cycles of season and her own life–there was something in the monotony itself that was beautiful, rewarding–perhaps to what was womanly within her. No, she had never had time–much time at all, to contemplate [†¦] but she knew. (Welty, 1946, p. 240) This negation of reasoning, and the impressionist way of looking at reality are again a sign of the femininity that dominates the world Welty describes. It is clear then, that in this restricted social circle the women are powerful precisely because they dominate through their pattern of thinking as well as through their mastery of the household: â€Å"[†¦]the women of the Fairchilds who since the Civil War, or – who knew? – since the Indian times, ran the household and had everything at their fingertips – not the men.†(Welty, 1946, p.8) Ann Romines who discuses feminism in Delta Wedding emphasized the recurrence, among the other symbols for the household, of the cakes and recipes, which are somehow blended with the women’s thoughts: â€Å"To read Delta Wedding, one must follow the cues suggested by the Delta women’s culture: one must read the cakes. The novel’s women are practiced in such reading. Next day, when offered a slice of Ellen’s completed cake, Aunt Tempe takes one bite and exclaims, â€Å"Oh, Mashula’s coconut!† (Romines, 1997, p. 603)Thus, the recipes which blend with women’s thoughts in the text signal a strong female culture, which does not however deny the traditional role of the woman in society. The feminism of the novel is constructed thus without departing from tradition and Welty points thus to the fact that a feminine culture has always existed, even if it manifested itself differently from the male culture. Reference List: Carson, B. H. (1992). Eudora Welty: two pictures at once in her frame. Troy: Whitston. Romines, A.(1997). Reading the cakes: ‘Delta Wedding’ and the texts of Southern women’s culture. The   Ã‚  Ã‚  Mississippi Quarterly, 50 (4) 601-609 Welty, E. (1946). Delta wedding. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World.

Personal Ethical Dilemma on Alcoholism Essay

Prior to Grade 11, whenever I heard the words ‘substance abuse’ my mind immediately pictured useless, pathetic and stupid people who were ruining their lives for no reason. My notion began to change slightly as I moved through my last schooling years but even with an ever-increasing academic workload I would never even consider any substance as a stress reliever. The circumstances which made me think long and hard about my life started with a relatively innocent incident one day in chemistry class. The teacher announced that we would be starting organic chemistry and asked the class to name the chapter they wished to start. â€Å"Alcohols, of course!† said several people. It wasn’t until a classmate’s party that I realized exactly how many of my friends were drinking. Not only were they drinking, they were also trying to convince me to join them. I immediately declined and also urged them to stop, advising them that their lives were deteriorating. Of course, my advice went unheeded. It was much easier to convince one person to start drinking than convince twenty to stop. As time passed, however I realized that my friends were having the time of their lives. Clubbing one week to party hopping the next, each time with alcohol, each time without me. Instead of a feeling of integrity, pangs of regret troubled my brain every time I thought of my friends. It was my life, not theirs that was deteriorating. Every week my mind would be loaded with academic work while my friends would fill themselves up and urge me to join. As weeks passed I began to grow more distant from my classmates and soon realized that I was fighting a losing battle against staying sober in an effort to keep my friends. Ultimately, I would be forced to choose between being a loner and being an alcoholic, between my friendships and my liver. Of course, I still did have a group of classmates who never touched drink but losing nearly half the people I grew up with to alcohol was difficult to stomach. Eventually it took a considerable amount of thought and several leaflets from Alcoholics Anonymous to convince me that my life wasn’t worth wasting. My dilemma dramatically changed my perspectives on life. I learned to be much more far sighted and began to resist the temptations of alcohol. I also began to value and appreciate my life more. To my immense relief, I also learned to mingle with my friends attend their parties without laying my hands on a drink. Although I still wish my friends would stop drinking, I no longer think of them or any substance abuser as pathetic or stupid. As I remember the days when I could so easily have joined them, I simply think of them as people who have made the wrong choice.

Analysis Of The Movie Straight Outta Compton And Menace...

Straight Outta Compton and Menace II Society are both films that investigate cinematic portrayals of young African Americans in unfortunate situations. One film displays how a couple of individuals made it out of that situation through hip-hop music. The other film displays what can happen if those individuals become stuck in troubled environments. Both these films are related because they direct ambitious characters through unwarranted circumstances, like police brutality, that either lead to a life of criminality or a life of success. This narrative is displayed through multiple avenues, one of course being story arc, while the other is cinematic tools that include aspects like lighting, costume, and music. Straight Outta Compton and†¦show more content†¦Paula J. Massood touches on this concept in â€Å"Out of the Ghetto into the Hood† when she writes â€Å"the focal point of many Blaxploitation films was an adult male, whereas hood films narrate the coming-of-age of a young male protagonist and the difficulties of such an undertaking in the dystopian environment of the inner city† (147). Both of these films display their understanding of the social climate in different ways. Straight Out of Compton maintained a militant ambiance throughout the film. Felix Gary Gray uses the perspective of a news caster, as well as reaction shots of the members of NWA to display African Americans reaction to the Rodney King trial in 1992. After this scene in the movie, the rest of the film carries an understanding of the dynamic between law enforcement and the urban neighborhoods that are depicted in the film. Menace II Society foregrounds social commentary to an even greater extent. Sequences of the film are devoted to the Watts riot at the beginning. The flashes of the riots do not come and go like they did in Straight Outta Compton, but they rather linger throughout the story arc of the film. The Watts riots do not have much to do with the literal narrative of the film, but Hughley Brothers make sure to reference the Watts riots as a starting point for an era drugs and violence in that urban neighborhood when Caine says in his narration â€Å"When the riots stopped, the

P4 Explain how internal and external factors affect UK...

Explain how internal and external factors affect UK inbound and domestic tourism In this document I am going to be looking at factors that affect both inbound and domestic tourism deciding to travel to the UK or travel within the UK. Some examples of factors that I will be reviewing include the following; health, safety and security, accessibility, marketing campaigns, availability of products and services, quality of good and services, economic recession in the UK/and or tourist generating countries, exchange rate, travel restrictions, emerging of new markets, competition from other destinations and finally weather. In this document I am going to be looking at five of the above mentioned factors. These include; economic recession in†¦show more content†¦The above figure represent the amount (in terms of a percentage) of revenue gained that the above exports (top 10 in the year 2012) contribute to the UK’s economy. Source www.telegraph.co.uk This just highlights the products and services that the UK has on offer for both domestic and inbound visitors. As even inbound visitors need to have asses to fuel (if they are travelling by car for example) and companies like BP offer this, also domestic visitors want to purchase goods such as cloths that are of an American brand, and the UK doesn’t disappoint as they have several different brands that are from several different foreign origins which sell their products. This therefore means that the UK has all the products that a domestic or inbound visitor would want. It has been said that in February 2014 that Britain’s goods exports were at an all-time low record of  £23.5bn, this was the lowest ever since November 2010. According to the Office of National statistic (ONS). Exports to the EU also dropped by  £0.3bn to  £11.7bn in February 2014, while imports rose by  £0.2bn. The ONS said the fall in exports was due to the lower demand for fuels, especially oil. Which (as we can see from the above data) contributes to 22% of the UK’s exportShow MoreRelatedAn International Marketing Report for Original Source6643 Words   |  27 PagesAustralia 1989 and 2009Appendix C: Percentage Profits within the UK Personal Healthcare MarketAppendix D: Brand Attitudes Towards Original SourceAppendix E: Existing Original Source Products Appendix F: Indigenous Natural Products Appendix G: Australian ClimateAppendix H: Mode Choice FrameworkAppendix I: Competition | | List of Tables Table 1 | Original Source 5 Year International Objectives | | Abbreviations GDP – Gross Domestic ProductIMF – International Monetary FundOECD – Organisation forRead MoreHospitality Management14588 Words   |  59 Pageshospitality facilities including accommodation, food and beverage, business meetings and events, leisure amenities, entertainment and recreation and tourism services. Being one of the dominating sectors in the service industry, hotel and hospitality services plays a big role in contributing to the economy of a country. In recent years, one of the most important factors affecting the hotel industries along with the entire service sector is considered to be branding. A successful branding strategy provides the