Monday, September 30, 2019
Management Theories Scott Straughan
Investigate the development of management as a theory and discipline. Asses the relevance of these theories to modern day managers and identify the key management skills that will be of importance to the manager of the millennium. For the purpose of this essay modern day manager shall mean managers of the present day. Management skills are skills that managers need to be good at there work. In this essay I will be investigating management theories at the start of this century, then looking at the progression of management up until the present day, this will include research carried out by a number of people which gave growth to HRM as we know it today. I will then identify key management skills in these theories and assess their relevance to todayâ⬠s management, I will also identify the management skills required in todayâ⬠s workforce. At the turn of the century there were a lot of important developments in management. Oil companies (standard oil trust) and (u.s. steel, the first 1 billion dollar company) were rapidly expanding. Smaller and medium sized companies had to improve efficiency in order to survive against the big giants. Frederick Winslow Taylor (1856-1915) began to look at the measurement of work, he broke down each task to find out how long it would take, he then planned ahead for numbers of workers wanted and what training they would need, he then decided what wages the workers were worth accordingly to what they accomplished. At the same time Henry ford (1896-1947) reduced his chassis assembly time from twelve and a half hours to ninety three minutes through using these methods. Managers were starting to plan ahead more to increase efficiency, as competition increased researchers began to look at other ways of improving efficiency even more, they started to look at the working environment. Elton mayo (1880-1949) carried out the ââ¬ËHawthorne experimentsâ⬠, they looked at relationships in the workplace and working conditions. Mayo found that peoples needs and attitudes had much more of an influence on productivity than the efficiency of the production line itself, this was called the human relations approach and is widely used today. The Hawthorne experiments looked at four areas :- 2. The relay assembly group experiments The purpose was to increase productivity. The illumination experiments looked at lighting and heating, mayo found even in poor working conditions productivity was still higher than average, the workers were working harder because someone was taking an interest in them. The relay assembly group experiments took six female workers and gave them there own separate areas to work in, they were given regular breaks and freedom to talk. The person who studied them also worked as their supervisor, the workers were consulted before any changes were made, and productivity was massively increased, again due to the fact someone was taking an interest in them. The bank wiring group studies involved fourteen male workers and was very similar to the relay assembly group experiments. Finally he carried out the interviewing program, this involved interviewing every worker (21,000 in total), they were asked about their opinion of the company they worked for and their attitudes towards their managers, the results were closely analysed afterwards. Mayo had found a way to increase productivity through better working relations and better working conditions. Productivity increased as a result of the following :- Due to better working relations groups of workers worked harder, but what about personnel motivation During the war most of the young men were fighting, managers had to keep up with an incredible demand, they were given older retired workers and women, women had never been widely employed in factories before this time. Managers looked to researchers to get the maximum effort out of workers. Abraham Maslow (1908-1970) argued people do not just work for money, but for basic needs such as shelter, food for survival, and higher needs such as self esteem and confidence. This is called Maslows hierarchy of needs, Maslow describes fives types of needs arranged in a hierarchy, Maslow assumed people always wanted more, one level should be the motivator to the next. 1. Physical needs ââ¬â basic needs such as food, water, shelter, air, rest, and sex. 2. Safety needs ââ¬â freedom from fear of threats, security and stability (pensions and healthcare) 3. Social needs ââ¬â the need for acceptance within a group, friendship, love affection and comfort when feeling down. 4. Esteem needs ââ¬â the need for achievement and recognition, respect for yourself. Managers can achieve this through training and development. 5. Self actualisation needs ââ¬â the need for a person to achieve their full potential, accomplishment and growth. Not everyone meets these needs through work, some might gain them through social activities with friends, and an activity such as playing in a football team may achieve this. However some people are happy after achieving the first level and are not motivated to the next level, while others strive to improve themselves, this was the flaw in Maslows theory. More researchers began to look at HRM, there was still a lot to be discovered, Maslow had started the work and now more people were following in his footsteps, they started to look at positive thinking and the way management treated workers. Douglas McGregor (1906-1964) looked at traditional management styles compared to newer ones, these were called theory x and theory y. He found old methods assumed people did not want to work, had to be closely supervised and did not take much pride in their work, this was called theory x, theory y was completely the opposite and argued people did want to work and got a lot of satisfaction from taking pride in their work. McGregor argued ââ¬Å"if you treat workers as responsible and intelligent people who want to work, that is the way they will behaveâ⬠. He also looked at achievers and successful people and suggested these people took responsibility for their work and set themselves moderate achievable goals, low achievers came from poor cultural backgrounds, poor education and felt they could not achieve any goals they set, they could however be achievers through training and development. we have looked at the development of management from the early 1900â⬠³s up until present day. All management styles traditional or modern focus on efficiency and productivity. Traditional management includes bureaucratic management which relies very much on rules, procedures, discipline and hierarchy, this causes a clear division between workers and management and causes low productivity. Scientific management focused on the ââ¬Å"one best wayâ⬠to do a job and did not take into account that workers know how to do their work better than management, again this method causes low productivity. Modern day managers have regular meeting with staff to discuss any problems they have, and identify help where it is needed. This is Japanese style management e which emphasizes on HRM and increasing productivity, modern management still uses a lot of traditional theories though. Technology is rapidly changing management with the introduction of computers, global communications and the Internet. The skills a modern day manager needs are changing as rapid as technology, the workplace is becoming more informal where we socialise as well as work. Traditional management was strict with rules and authority which workers were afraid of, there was no contact between management and workers and it seemed they both had completely different goals to achieve. Companies now work together as a teem with a common goal of increasing profit. Modern day managers are flexible to meet employees needs, they motivate and encourage workers to succeed, they have confidence, charisma and are patient. Managers should posses counselling skills and nurture there workers, this is a more feminine approach and are called soft skills. Do modern day managers bear any relevance to traditional skills Although traditional management styles seem prehistoric compared to today they are still relevant, Maslows hierarchy of needs can be compared to the corporate ladder, more people choose careers instead of just a job. Mayoâ⬠s Hawthorne experiments eventually led to laws being made on working conditions (Health and safety at work act). McGregorâ⬠s theory x and theory y, all managers now assume people want to work and take pride in it to. If asked which is the most relevant I would argue Maslow, most people can relate to his theories as the corporate ladder and I feel it is widely used now as a personnel motivator for employees. As the millennium approaches managers are forming even closer links with employees with the use of soft skills. Companies invest a lot of money in training of staff and can receive grants from the government for this purpose, appraisals are now widely used to coach and motivate staff. Managers are empowering workers more to supervise themselves and be responsible for their own workload, this is partly because more people are working from home with new technology. Business is now thriving thanks to the work of researchers at the start of the century.
Sunday, September 29, 2019
Businesses Operate and Their Products and Services Essay
Question 1 a) Describe how information systems have changed the way businesses operate and their products and services. One of the more popular topics that I have been asked how the information systems have changed the way businesses operate and their products and services. In my point of views I think they have major three ways in which information technology has brought about a huge change in the way in which people conduct business in different parts of the world. One of the most important problem is ââ¬Å"timeâ⬠So the advantages of using technology is that time constraints are eliminated. Since updated information can be provided to the staff and existing or potential customers at remote locations on a real time basis and more business can be done. Company can save much more money because they donââ¬â¢t have to pay for their staff to travel to meet either customers or other executives. Meetings held through the Internet are as good as the traditional ones. In fact, companies also involve their customers in the meetings so that the products can be designed according to their needs. Since information from all parts of the world can collect and merged with the inventory management system of the company, the process of accepting orders and supplying the materials has become far more perfect. If the time taken between invoicing and shipment can decrease, customers will bind to much more satisfied. As more and more people start using the Internet for business and personal reasons, if companies donââ¬â¢t adapt themselves and use the upcoming technologies, they will bound to fall behind. Today customers expect goods and services to be available 24 hours, seven days a week. E-commerce is a mode of business where the product is sold through the website of the company. This means that people do not have to step out of their homes to make purchases. Last but not the least whether you are a business to business or business to consumer concern, you should make use of information technology to maximize profits. b) Describe the characteristics of a digital firm. A digital firm is a firm which nearly all of the organizationââ¬â¢s major business relationships with customer, supplier, and employee are digitally enabled. Axis business processes are accomplished through digital networks spanning the entire organization or linking multiple organizations. Business processes refer to the set of logically related tasks and behaviors that organizations develop over time to produce specific business results and the unique manner in which these activities are organized and coordinated. Digital firms involve both time shifting and space shifting. Time shifting refers to business being conducted continuously, rather than in narrow ââ¬Å"work dayâ⬠time bands of 9 a.m. To 5 p.m. Space shifting means that work takes place in a global workshop, as well as within national. Questions 2 a) List and describe the organization, management, and technology dimensions of information systems. 1. Organization: The organization dimension of information systems concerns issues like the hierarchy of organization, culture, processes of business, functional specialties and political interest groups. 2. Management: The management dimension of information systems concerns issues like job attitudes, staff training, and management behavior. 3. Technology: The technology dimension composes of computer software, hardware, data management technology and networking technology. b) Distinguish between data and information and between information systems literacy and computer literacy. Data vs. information Data which is a move of raw fact representing events occurring in the organization before the organization have been organized and arranged into a form that people can use and understand. Information which is a data that have been became a form that is meaningful and useful to human being. Information systems literacy vs. computer literacy Information literacy is more care for create information useful to an organization and its staff, on the other hand computer literacy satisfied the simple use of computer. As technology uses spread beyond traditional computer, information literacy enables staff and organization to gain an edge over their competition. Question 3 a) List and describe six reasons why information systems are so important for business today. Six reasons about information systems are so important for business today include: 1. Operational excellence 2. New products, services, and business models 3. Customer and supplier intimacy 4. Improved decision making 5. Competitive advantage 6. Survival Information systems are the basis of conducting business. In 21st century, in many companies, survival and even existence without extensive use of IT is unimaginable, and IT plays a critical role in risingà productivity. Although information technology has become a daily, when organization have complementary changes in , it can provide the basis for new product, service, and ways of conducting business that provide firms with a strategic advantage. b) Describe the sociotechnical perspective on information systems. Optimal organizational performance achieved by together optimizing both social and technical systems used in production can help them to avoid purely technological approach. So it can produce their product much more better. Question 4 a) Define business process and describe the role they play in organizations. A business process which is a use computerââ¬â¢s logic to substitute staff to handle related set of activities; Business processes are the ways in which organizations coordinate and organize work activities, knowledge to produce their valuable product or service. Business processes have four different areas. 1. For the manufacturing and production area include product assembling, quality checking, and producing bills of materials. 2. For the sales and marketing area. Business processes include identifying customers, making customers aware of the product, and selling the product. 3. For finance and accounting, business processes includes paying creditors, creating financial statements, and managing cash accounts. 4. For human resources, business processes include hiring employees, evaluating job performance of employees, and enrolling employees in benefits plans. b) Describe the relationship between information systems and business processes. Between information systems and business processes, their relationship is they can substitute each other. Whatever in management, finance, sales or marketing etcâ⬠¦ Question 5 a) Define collaboration and teamwork and explain why they have become so important in business today. Teamwork can raise productivity. Teamwork requires each team member to work together while allowing their individual interests to become a subordinate concern. As a result, team members focus on the goal at hand and contribute their knowledge, resources and skills to reaching the goal. Collaboration can raise profitability because of collaboration in the supply chain industry. Collaboration is teamwork on a larger area in that companies collaborate and more than one business may participate in the partnership. Organizations and businesses meet larger target when collaboration is considered a priority. Consequently, collaboration has several benefits including shared risk, resources and knowledge. So they have become so important in business today because they can raise productivity and profitability. b) List and describe the business benefits of collaboration. Collaboration is a behavior executed by an organization, company or group of people to arrive a common goal, which occurring on a larger scale than teamwork. Effective collaboration requires communication technology, definition of responsibilities and an encouraging culture. Collaboration is most effective when team members are expressive and open to positive competition. A professional sports team that wins a championship is an example of well-executed teamwork. The benefits of collaboration and teamwork outweigh the productivity of a single individual or companyââ¬â¢s effort.
Saturday, September 28, 2019
West Wing Episodes Discussion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words
West Wing Episodes Discussion - Essay Example In Episode 96 ââ¬Å"Shutdownâ⬠, the Operating Budget of the Federal Government is à reduced to zero and the government is forced into a temporary shutdown after President Bartlett refuses to any further Budget compromises, which puts him in a very unfavorable position. à Without the operating budget, the Chief of Staff sends everyone home who is non-essential personnel, including non-national security and public safety employees. à In Episode 96 ââ¬Å"Shutdownâ⬠, the Operating Budget of the Federal Government is à reduced to zero and the government is forced into a temporary shutdown after President Bartlett refuses to any further Budget compromises, which puts him in a very unfavorable position. à Without the operating budget, the Chief of Staff sends everyone home who is non-essential personnel, including non-national security and public safety employees. à Speaker Haftley begins turning the shutdown to his partyââ¬â¢s favor by speaking to the press on t he White House lawn. à Press Secretary C.J. Cregg begins to recover some ground by addressing the White House Press core inside. à Meanwhile, Chief of Staff Leo McGarry attempts to talk to the President in his private quarters to convince him to sign a deal at 2 percent by midnight to stop the shutdown. But he doesnââ¬â¢t succeed and the shut down begins. Vice President Russell meets with McGarry and offers to speak with his former collegues in the House that includes Speaker Haftley and the Majority Whip, but McGarety refuses.
Friday, September 27, 2019
Analyze white lies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words
Analyze white lies - Essay Example Her classmates assume that she Is white, as the classmate does when she holds her hand in an act of unity. she is though sad but optimistic in life. (Trethewey, Natasha) Trethewey has used color imagery in the poem constantly, especially in the first stanza. The poet mentions six colors, which are all different, and all describing the lies. "light-bright, near-white, high-yellow, red-boned, white, and black." It is an African American speaker who could lie frequently, though the lies did not mean anything much. She would lie about where she lived, and where she bought her clothes, "uptown ..home made dresses came out the window of Maison blande,"but would also lie about being African American. She did pass easily for being a white. It's actually really sad the way she describes lying about her skin color. She writes, "I could even keep quiet, quiet as kept, like the time a white girl said "squeezing my hand, Now we have three of us in this class." It is sad because she is lying to be part of the group. She writes "squeezing my hand," brings the sense that she only lied because she was amazed by the way the girl was behaving as a good friend. The fir st stanza does describe her as a light skinned for an African American.
Thursday, September 26, 2019
Ethel Parker Scholarship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words
Ethel Parker Scholarship - Essay Example Reflecting back on my educational goals, I feel glad that I have decided for myself a Masters degree in culinary/nursing as it will be the cornerstone of achieving much success in the years to follow. Some of the more significant challenges that I have had during my lifetime includes one that sees me as a Healthcare Administrator for a period of 16 years. It also included my role as a Food Service Supervisor for the hospital domains. I have learned from this role immensely and it would be fair to comment that with the learning that I have had over the years, it has made me go back to school and attain a degree all over again. The motivation to get back to school is still there which makes me feel at ease with my own entirety. I am inclined to achieve a Masters degree as it echoes my true feelings. Even though it would be something that is deemed as late on my part, I am more than confident that if given a chance, I will be able to showcase excellence through hard work and commitment towards educational realms. Quoting a leadership experience, I have seen that attaining a role of significance has always been a source of inspiration for me. I once assumed the role of an educational mentor for the students who were junior to me. I mentored them regarding their career aspirations and what they wanted to discern from life as they made their way through. This allowed me to understand the finer nuances of life and what each one of them wished to achieve within their respective domains. This leadership experience was phenomenal because I found out that I was able to lead people quite easily. In fact the whole process came about quite naturally, which was much to my surprise. This experience taught me the true value of empathy and how to spend time within the boots of others. It was a very fascinating experience as I dictated their entireties in more ways than one. I was able
Wednesday, September 25, 2019
Compare Samsung and McDonald's Job design and how Samsung can further Essay
Compare Samsung and McDonald's Job design and how Samsung can further enrich its workers - Essay Example The corporation is incapable of meeting the need of the entire task or ensuring they are assigned the right task. Consequently, this leads to the job affecting the staff negatively (Williams, Hall & Champion, 2011, 48). The job can be seen to be rather monotonous, repetitive and boring and there is no room for employeeââ¬â¢s skills to grow. The employees do not get any kind of challenges career wise (Parker & Wall, 1998, 34). On the other hand, Samsung is a large electronic corporation which is established on a global level. The job design is a bit more sophisticated as compared to McDonalds given the technical nature of its operations. At Samsung, the staffs work in different departments depending on oneââ¬â¢s specialty (Electric Company & Soscher, 1990, 26). These include public relations, program designers, sales engineers, field test engineers and others. There are managers who handle each department and are responsible for their performance. In addition, there is also an overall general manager who sees to the running of everything in the corporation (Stones, 1989, 72). The employees get on job training that helps them improve on their skills and ascertain that they are able to execute their duties to the best of their ability. In addition, when employees have the right skills to perform their tasks they are likely to be more satisfied (Kusluvan, 2003, 16). Samsung can further enrich its workers by offering training on other skills or areas of expertise. This will help to broaden their scope of knowledge and skills, and consequently ensure employees stay happy at the organization (Reilly & Williams, 2012, 56). General Electric Company, & Sorcher, M. 1990. Achieving Productive Motivation Through Job Design; A Research Program Being Carried Out By Behavioral Research Service In Collaboration With Manufacturing Operations
Tuesday, September 24, 2019
Music, Performance and Authenticity in Films Essay
Music, Performance and Authenticity in Films - Essay Example In addition, rock film performance has been encrypted from Quadrophenia, the album of the group The Who, to the film bearing the same name as the album. This transformation of recorded audio music pieces into films did not bring any disparaging change in the rock culture; rather, it boosted and made rock performance more livelier and entertaining, attracting more and more enthusiasts. Initially, rock artists recorded music without the inclusion of videos and other display features that would make it more appealing. While rock music performance concentrates on the rock culture promotion through recording the audio pieces, the film performance is greatly involved in the use of visuals to promote the same culture. This paper will critically compare and contrast the differences and similarities in the music, the authenticity, and self-conscious film performances of Pink Floyd and The Who. Pink Floyd ââ¬â The wall The film Pink Floyd-The Wall was adapted from the album The Wall. The w riter of the film utilized the music lyrics to convey different themes as represented in the original songs. Some of these include the theme of isolation, cruelty, insanity, fascism, and hard mentality as fashioned by the wall. Notably, throughout the film, there is an expression of a sad and brutal mood of the music as depicted by the authorââ¬â¢s feelings in his school day poems. ... While music metaphorically illustrates this social alienation, the film projects the character into the real emotional situation (Kaarki 2002, p. 184). There is an illustration of severe emotional suffering that revolves in the abyss of loss and isolation resulting from fatherless childhood (due to his father death in the British war) and the domineering, overprotective, and phobia-filled love of his mother. As noted, Pink built a mental wall that could allow him to live a life free of the emotional troubles caused by the failing education system which concentrated on producing societal compliant sycophants, by police brutality, estranged marriage, and uncontrollable drug abuse (Pink Floyd 1982). Remarkably, not only does the film performance demonstrate the ability of the writer to describe the moods of the song but also evokes the emotions of the film viewers. Through the evaluation of the harmony of the film performance, viewers are able to observe the relevance of the musical per formance which develops and maintains the psychological wall built by Pink to run away from his pains. Significantly, the film performance brings out a better understanding of the music themes with an illustrative depiction of the continuous piling of problems as one runs away from their effects rather than finding solutions. In the film, the author excellently matches the themes present in the music with the film performance, giving insightful, enigmatic, and arresting images. Factually, critics have been of the view that the lifestyle as described in the song perfectly suits the film performance with its spectacular ability to conjure captivating and memorable images that elicit lingering and
Monday, September 23, 2019
Does the Fairtrade movement offer a viable model for a more ethical Essay
Does the Fairtrade movement offer a viable model for a more ethical trading system Choose one of the following sectors to explo - Essay Example Ethical trading is the umbrella term used to denote and describe all types of business processes or practices, which borders on promoting socially as well as environmentally responsible trade. This was stated by Narasaiah (2006, p.148), ââ¬Å"Ethical trade is one dimension of corporate social responsibility, bringing social issues into the mainstream of commercial supply chain management through the use of codes of conduct.â⬠Although, the term is also used to refer to the trade practices in an organizationââ¬â¢s supply chain, instead of ethical trading, the term Fair Trade is being used to denote the ethical trade practices in the supply chain. Although, the words Ethical Trade and Fair Trade are synonymously used or sometimes interchangeably used, there is some clear distinction between the two words. ââ¬Å"Ethical trade focuses on employment conditions of workers within global value chains, as distinct from Fair Trade which focuses primarily on producer prices and tradin g relationships. (Barrientos, Conroy and Jones, 2007, p.60). Thus, Fair Trade is a form of trading, where the well-being of weak actors or producers in the supply chain is taken care, through optimal trading practices. That is, the big players need to carry out ethical practices and indulge in ethical trading, so that the interests of the small players or traders are protected. What is more, the Fair trade movement also focus on reducing the poverty and improving the living standard of primary producers or farmers. Successful organization will try to incorporate a feasible model for a more ethical trading system and this is applicable to organizations in any sector, including the food and drink sector. So, in this article, the argument will be made and the reason will be given on why Fair trade has become a viable model for more ethical trading system. Role of Fair Trade Fair Trade had its origins way back in 19th century in the form of Cooperative movement among the traders. Howeve r, it evolved more in the mid part of the 20th century. That is, it began with the Mennonite Central Committee, U.S. based service entity, deciding to do trade with the poor communities in the South in the 1940s. From that beginning, it further expanded and become a "movement" in the 1960s and 1970s. (Moore 2004). Fair Trade is the term given to the trade that is authorised and overseen by certain unbiased organizational bodies, whose role is to see whether that trade happens fairly giving the due benefits to the producers in the supply chain. The four main organizational bodies which formulated the guidelines that constitute Fair Trade, and gives Fair Trade recognition to specific producers and buyers, thereby overseeing the Fair Trade practices are Fair Trade Labelling Organizations International (FLO), World Fair Trade Organization (or formerly International Fair Trade Association), Network of European Worldshops (NEWS!) and European Fair Trade Association. To further actualize a n omnipresent body, which can coordinate and oversee all the Fair Trade practices, these four bodies created together FINE (starting letters of the four) in 1998, an informal body ââ¬Å"whose goal is to harmonize fair trade standards and guidelines, increase the quality and efficiency of fair trade monitoring systems, and advocate fair trade politically.â⬠(articlesbase.com 2011). This FINE is also responsible for
Sunday, September 22, 2019
The Character of Arnold Friend Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words
The Character of Arnold Friend - Essay Example For this purpose, a mention would be made of both direct quotations from the story and also views of a renowned scholar and which add strength to the argument presented by this essay. Here, it needs to be specified that the scope of this essay is confined to solely understanding the character of Arnold Friend, and not to give a detailed summary of the story. Background It was sometime in the second half of 1960s that the author happened to read about Charles Schmid, a serial killer of Arizona who murdered several girls. All these girls were in their teens. In fact, the killer was named as ââ¬Å"The Pied Piper of Tucsonâ⬠, and Joyce did not take too much of time in deciding to write a story based on the serial killings, and the title of this story is ââ¬Å"Where are you going, Where have you been?â⬠As a matter of fact, the character of Arnold Friend in this story clearly resembles Schmid. Just like the latter, even Arnold Friend is short and attempts to look taller by stuf fing some things in his shoes. Most importantly, in the story, even Arnold goes on to intimidate a teenage girl who was trying to keep him at bay. But here, the author brought an entirely new dimension by adding an element of supernatural phenomenon to the story, and this is what is going to elaborately analyzed in the subsequent section. (1) Analysis The aforementioned supernatural phenomenon is obvious from the narrative of story strongly suggesting that Arnold Friend is Satan himself, in disguise. There are several quotations from the story, which add weight to this argument, and it would be very much apt in having a look at some of those. When Arnold sees Connie for the first time he remarks ââ¬Å"Gonna get you, babyâ⬠. That is definitely not a respectable way of addressing ladies, and in fact, this also subtly hints that there is an element of evil in Arnold. (2) When Connie gets worried that her family members would return home, the following is the exact situation. â⠬Å"Arnold says ââ¬Å"Aunt Tillieââ¬â¢s. Right now theyââ¬â¢re uhââ¬âtheyââ¬â¢re drinking. Sitting around,â⬠he said vaguely, squinting as if he were staring all the way to town and over to Aunt Tillieââ¬â¢s back yard. Then the vision seemed to get clear and he nodded energetically. ââ¬Å"Yeah. Sitting around. Thereââ¬â¢s your sister in a blue dress, huh? And high heels, the poor sad bitchââ¬ânothing like you, sweetheart! And your motherââ¬â¢s helping some fat woman with the corn, theyââ¬â¢re cleaning the cornââ¬âhusking the corn.â⬠(2) From the contents stated in the preceding paragraph, it is evident that Arnold Friend possesses paranormal powers. He was vividly able to see the things taking place at a distant location. In popular literature, Satan is described as a combination of these powers and evil intentions, not to mention the ability to effectively assume any form. When Connie was worriedly resisting the advances of Arnold and was trying to make sure that the door gets locked, he remarks ââ¬Å"But why lock it? Itââ¬â¢s just a screen door? Itââ¬â¢s just nothing.â⬠These words subtly focus on another power of Satan where, locked doors and windows cannot prevent him from gaining entry into a place. Although he explains by stating that breaking a screen door is not an issue for anyone, yet, in light of the contents discussed up to that point in the story, it is but obvious that the power of the evil entity is being referred to. (2) When Connie was still adamant in not yielding to Arnoldââ¬â¢s charm, he starts threatening her by saying ââ¬Å"You donââ¬â¢t want your people in any trouble, do you?â⬠That again is a clear reflection of his grossly evil nature- a nature which is characteristic of Satan! The manner in which the story reaches its end subtly points out that he kills
Saturday, September 21, 2019
Genocide in Bosnia Essay Example for Free
Genocide in Bosnia Essay The Bosnian genocide is often referred to as the hidden genocide, yet it had catastrophic effects on humanity. Over 100,000 people were killed and it displaced millions of people. The genocide occurred between 1992 and 1995. The Social Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was made up of six nations under the leadership of Josip Broz Tito. Once Tito passed away in 1990, there was a power vacuum, and politicians began a nationalistic campaign pitting Serbs, Croats and Bosniaks against each other. Hence, the beginning of an ââ¬Å"ethnic cleansingâ⬠war (Campbell, 2003 p. 511). Once Milosevic was the President of Republic of Serbia, he encouraged formation of violent uprisings by Serb nationals. Milosevic was interested in creating an ethnically pure Serb nation. Milosevicââ¬â¢s ambition worried the nations in the federal government; hence Croatia and Slovenia declared themselves independent from the republic. However, Croatia was not allowed to leave because it had 12% of the Serbian population. Hence Croatia became a battlefield between 1991- 1996. Bosnia-Herzegovina watched the horrors in Croatia as they worried about themselves being the next victim. Bosnia-Herzegovina held a referendum in 1992 and declared itself free from the republic. The Serbs in Bosnia were not happy about it, and they began fighting with the support of the Yugoslavian National Army. Bosnia and Croatia lacked weapons to defend themselves because the UN had enacted an embargo, thus they were victims of an endless cycle of violence, displacement and death (Schott, 2011 p.19). Serbian plan of attack entailed the following steps; concentration, decapitation, separation, evacuation ad liquidation. During concentration stage, Serbian soldiers would warn Serbians to leave the town they were about to attack and surround the city with artillery fire. The second stage involved execution of the townââ¬â¢s leaders, military and intelligence. On the third stage, Serbian soldiers would separate women, children and old people from ââ¬Å"fighting groupâ⬠. Women, children and old people would be taken to concentration camps, while the young people were executed. This brings me to the subject of this essay. Women were targeted in specific ways when compa red to men. Unlike, the young male soldiers who were executed, women lived longer to and experienceà untold suffering under the Serb soldiers. Women were interchangeably used by soldiers as sexual trophies (Lentin, 1997). This essay analyses the genocide on a gendered frame, so as to shine light on the awful atrocities women faced in the hands of Serbian militia. From a gender frame, sexual violence in war cannot be reduced to psychological attributes of the perpetrators. Genocidal rape has to be analyzed in terms of social structures. Rape in Bosnia was systematic, since it was planned. Bosnian genocide is the only genocide that women bodies were used as a battlefield. This genocide trampled upon all women rights. The Serbian militants lacked respect and sympathy for women. The Yugoslav army, Bosnian Serb forces and Chetniks came up with a sexual violence campaign against Croats and Muslim women. They killed, imprisoned, terrorized and raped women in the hope that they would leave and never come back. The attack on women was not an accident. It was premeditated as a lot of soldiers took part in sexual violence campaign. Th eir commanders were aware of what was going on, and they turned a blind eye. The attackers used the Ram Brana plan of attack (1991). The plan said that successful attacks should be the one carried out on the enemyââ¬â¢s weakest point. The weakest point during wars is usually women and children. By attacking the weakest point, they were able to spread panic and fear in the population hence Croats and Bosnians could only run away for safety (Abreu, 2005 p.5). Since this was an ââ¬Å"ethnic cleansing warâ⬠, the Serbian armed forces believed that sexual violence against women was an act of tainting the bloods of the Croats and Bosnians (Allen, 1996 p. 23). Culture and religion played a big part in this war; hence the attackers believed that they were annihilating their culture through sexual violence. The Serbians waged a psychological warfare on their enemies, such that they believed that by raping women, impregnating them and forcefully aborting their fetuses they were cleansing them. The Serbian armed forces also carried out sexual assaults against m en. Serbia, Bosnia and almost all Balkan nations are lawfully heterosexual nations. Hence by raping men, they were degrading them or feminizing them and making them powerless. By raping their victims, the victims were gendered as feminine or attached with feminine qualities of vulnerability. Apart from the psychological effects of sexual violence on women, women faced a lot of physical suffering in the ââ¬Å"rape campsâ⬠. The Serbian forces had created rape camps as a substitute forà concentration camps, so that they would use them to sexually violate women. In fact the Serbian forces had a modus operandi for sexually assaulting women (Abreu, 2005 p.11). The modus operandi was characterized by three patterns; public rape of children and women in their villages, sporadic rape of women and children in concentration camps and lastly rape in death/ rape camps. During the three stages women were subjected to all kinds of violence. Women went through gang rapes, sexual mutilations, forced impregnation and childbirth, sexual abuse with foreign objects and family me mbers were forced to rape their women. The extreme sexual violence was meant to defile, destroy the community and to make them leave. It is obvious that the war was motivated by nationalistic intentions, but the way the war was carried out, misogyny is another probable cause of the war. Most atrocities that took place in Bosnia genocide have been termed as ââ¬Å"femicidalâ⬠(Turpin 1998 p. 67). Bosnians and Croats have traditional cultures. Women are supposed to be pure, and when they are not pure they are ostracized from the society. After the genocide, women who were victim of sexual violence were avoided. The tainted women were no longer acceptable by their friends and families, and this was the goal of the Serbian perpetrators. This justifies the fact that misogyny could have been another reason for the war. In a gendered frame analysis, it is clear that there was feminization of the genocide (MacKinnon, 2006 p.18). In genocide, women are usually seen as universal victims. Sexual violence against women is seen as a mortal sin against motherhood. The notion of ââ¬Ëcombatââ¬â¢ and battlefields are constructs of masculinity. The Serbian armed forces believed that through sexual violence campaign, they would turn their victims powerless (Femininity) analysis of war is often carried out from a masculine point of view. However, Bosnia genocide is gendered, as it represents women as victims, sexual objects, symbolic of their nation and repositories of their families. The Serbs militia believed that by defiling the women, they would be defiling the nations (Bosnia and Croatia) Collins (1996) attempts to explain genocidal rape from a feminist perspective, he says that women are the ones who hold families and the community. Their physical and emotional destruction through rape is a symbol of destruction of the social and cultural stability of a nation. The sexual violence involved heightened sadism, for instance forceful rape with family members. The sexual violenceà aimed at destroying the victims emotionally, destroying the community and imposing restrictions on women so as to control births. The sexual genocide did not only target the individual victim, but it targeted the group too. Rape as a genocide strategy destroys womenââ¬â¢s role as mothers and caregivers, hence the pivotal source of the life to the community is destroyed. According to Mc Kinnon (2006, 187), sexual campaign was used by the Serbian military as a tool for political campaign, soldiers were to rape under orders. The sexual violence campaign was characterized by forced rape and forced impregnation. After the Croatian and muslim women were sexually abuse, they were denied abortions so that they would give birth to ââ¬Å"Serbâ⬠babies. Forced impregnation was seen as a way of destroying the maternal community as they gave birth to the child of the enemy ( Allen, 1996 p.76). The rapists violated the rights of women through forceful procreation, which is a deliberate and a sadist act. The children of the rapists often stigmatized or abandoned as they brought negative memories to their mothers. The forced pregnancies on rape victims were seen as a way of preventing births among the Croats and Muslims. The perpetrators of rape believed that they were producing ââ¬Å"Little Chetniksâ⬠. From a feminist perspective, the act of forced imp regnation is like imposing a social death on the victims. The women were tortured, and they did not want those children. It turned Croatian and Muslim women as gestating beings for the enemy. Stories from the war show a lot of women who recounted how they were raped repeatedly until they were pregnant, and the women wanted nothing to do with the children. Another explanation of forced rape is the fact that rape was used as a tool of biological warfare. Forced rape and impregnation meets the requirement of biological warfare according to international law (Seifet, 1996 p.42). MacKinnon also analyzes Bosnian rape by comparing it with pornography. In the 1990s, pornography was very common in Yugoslavia. When porn is common in a society, the whole population learns to dehumanize women and inflict sexual assault. Pornographic materials provided the need motivation and materials for Serbian forces. In the rape camps, women were ordered to perform for men; in fact some rapes were filmed and sold as pornographic products since they could not be differentiated from actual pornography. The films were even released in the media so as to amass popularity for Bosnian war. The dialogue s in the pornography were used toà implicate Croatian soldiers. According to MacKinnon (2006), sexual violence was used so consciously and cynically in a way that destroyed people. Once pornography was released, more Serbian forces were encouraged to continually assault women. Genocidal rape in Bosnia was seen as an ethno marker. Ethnic markers are things such as dressing, lifestyle and language. The Serbians, Croats and Bosnians had almost similar ethnic markers. Since they were a part of Yugoslavia republic, the ethnic lines had been blurred. Rape was used by the Serbs to act as a moral ethno marker, as it separated them from the Croats and Muslims. They felt that it created cultural superiority of the Serbians. In fact Serbian law was amended to include ethnic rape, and they believed that the differences in ethnicity aggravated the crime. The mass rapes occurred in places where Serbs were a minority when compared to the size of Croats and Muslims (Allen, 1996 p.19). This was a way of asserting their superiority in the region. Sexual violence was also used to socialize new military recruits. Rape isolated the new recruits from the community and prepared them for battlefield. In Bosnia, sexual violence perpetrated by new recruits occurred in front of other soldiers and the victims even know their perpetrators. The Bosnian war was used by the Serbs to renegotiate their relationship with the other Balkan nations. Rape was seen as a way of establishing new boundaries, as they felt that they were the superior ethnic group. From a gender based analysis it is evident that the legal framework did not address the sexual violence against women in Bosnia well (MacKinnon, 2006 p.89). The law blamed the genocide on ethnicity, and disregarded the fact that it was sex based. The Serb military attack on women was premeditated and executed in three stages. The creation of rape camps shows that the intent was sexually based, in as much as it was ethnically motivated. Failure by the law to acknowledge this is a huge set back on women rights. The law perpetuates patriarchy in legal constructs in violation of women rights. Failure to acknowledge it also prevents the law from addressing the genocidal rape adequately. The law is ignoring the existence and horrifying effects of genocidal sexual terrorism to women (Abreu, 2005 p. 16). This is quite cowardly as the law uses ethnicity to cover the severe harm that women suffered in the hands of Serbian militants. The law enables the perpetrators to hide under ethnic crimes, yet they committed more inhumane atrocities. The law usually acknowledges sexualà crimes, but sexual crimes during genocides were only termed as other inhumane acts. This is blatant sex discrimination propagated by the law. In conclusion, analyzing genocide on a gender framed perspective gives various explanations and perspectives on the violence against women in Bosnia. The sexual violence against women in Bosnia genocide is distinct. Many women can recount the horror they went through in the hands of the Serbian perpetrators. The violence against women was planned as a war strategy. International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) should recognize genocidal sex terrorism, rather than hiding it under ethnic-based persecutions (Campbell, 2003 p.509). Serbian militants reduced women as a means of achieving their goals for the genocide. Addressing this problem will help the victim feel like they have achieved some semblance of justice, though nothing can compare to what they went through. Genocide sexual terrorism should be acknowledged by the law, and the legal elements regarding it should be outlined. Using a gender frame to analyze genocide helps us learn about the psychological and soc ial reasons for rape during genocides, rather than just saying that they were raped because they belonged to the enemyââ¬â¢s side. References Abreu, Veronica. (2005) Womenââ¬â¢s Bodies as Battlefields In The Former Yugoslavia: An Argument For The Prosecution Of Sexual Terrorism As Genocide And For The Recognition of Genocidal Sexual Terrorism As A Violation Of Jusc Cogens Under International Law. The Georgetown Journal of Gender and Law, Vol. V1:1 Allen, B (1996) Rape Warfare: The Hidden Genocide in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. Campbell, K., 2003, ââ¬Å"Rape as a ââ¬ËCrime Against Humanityââ¬â¢: Trauma, Law and Justice in the ICTYâ⬠, Journal of Human Rights, 2(4): 507ââ¬â515. Caringella, S., (2008) Addressing Rape Reform in Law and Practice, New York: Columbia University Press. Jones, Adam (2006) Genocide: A Comprehensive Introduction. New York City: Routledge, 2006. MacKinnon, C., (2006) Are Women Human? And Other International Dialogues, Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press. Ringelheim, J.M. (1997) Genocide and gender: a split memory in R. Lentin (editor ) Gender and Catastrophe. London: Zed Books. Schott, R. (2011), ââ¬Å"War Rape, Natality and Genocideâ⬠, Journal of Genocide Research, 13(1/2): 5-21. Seifert, R., (1996), ââ¬Å"The Second Front: The Logic of Sexual Violence in Warsâ⬠, Womens Studies International Forum, 19(1/2): 35ââ¬â43. Turpin, J. (1998) Many faces: women confronting war in L.A. Lorentzen and J. Turpin (editors) The Women and War Reader. New York: New York University Press.
Friday, September 20, 2019
The Indian Economy and The Licence Raj
The Indian Economy and The Licence Raj Licence Raj, refers to the involved various licenses, regulations and accompanying red-tape that were required to set up and run businesses in India between 1947 and 1990. The Licence Raj was the result of Indian Planned Economy where each and every aspect is controlled by States and Central Government. To start an any new business, one has to take approximately 80 licences, that are resultant into disinterested new initiatives and not only that after getting licences businesses are controlled and governed by the government bodies that resultant into losses of new business. Government objective is not to control the growth but plan the each every thing and allocate the proper resources but somehow increased corruption rate and frauds has lead to decrease in growth rate. The License Raj-system was in place for around four decades. The government of India initiated a liberalization policy under the Prime Minister-ship of Rajiv Gandhi, though much of the actual progress was made under P.V.Narasimha Rao. Liberalization resulted in substantial growth in the Indian economy, which continues today. Liberalisation Indian economy had experienced major policy changes in early 1990s. The new economic reform, popularly known as, Liberalization, Privatization and Globalization (LPG model) aimed at making the Indian economy as fastest growing economy and globally competitive. The series of reforms undertaken with respect to industrial sector, trade as well as financial sector aimed at making the economy more efficient. The new neo-liberal policies (economic and social policy) included opening for international trade and investment, deregulation, initiation of privatization, tax reforms, and inflation-controlling measures. The overall direction of liberalisation has since remained the same, irrespective of the ruling party, although no party has yet tried to take on powerful lobbies such as the trade unions and farmers, or contentious issues such as reforming labour laws and reducing agricultural subsidies. The main objective of the government was to reform the economic system from socialism to capitalism so as to achieve high economic growth and industrialize the nation for the well-being of Indian citizens. Today India is mainly characterized as a market economy. With the result of that change today about 300 million people-equivalent to the entire population of the United States-have escaped extreme poverty. The consequences of liberalisation reached their pinnacle in 2007, when India recorded its highest GDP growth rate of 9%. With this, India became the second fastest growing major economy in the world, next only to China. The reforms progressed furthest in the areas of opening up to foreign investment, reforming capital markets, deregulating domestic business, and reforming the trade regime. Liberalisation has done away with the Licence Raj (investment, industrial and import licensing) and ended many public monopolies, allowing automatic approval of foreign direct investment in many sectors. Narsimha Rao governments goals were reducing the fiscal deficit, privatization of the public sector, and increasing investment in infrastructure. Trade reforms and changes in the regulation of foreign direct investment were introduced to open India to foreign trade while stabilizing external loans. Accountable changes made In the industrial sector, industrial licensing was cut, leaving only 18 industries subject to licensing. Industrial regulation was rationalized. Introducing the SEBI Act of 1992 and the Security Laws (Amendment) which gave SEBI the legal authority to register and regulate all security market intermediaries. Starting in 1994 of the National Stock Exchange as a computer-based trading system Reducing tariffs from an average of 85 percent to 25 percent Encouraging foreign direct investment by increasing the maximum limit on share of foreign capital in joint ventures Opening up in 1992 of Indias equity markets to investment by foreign institutional investors and permitting Indian firms to raise capital on international markets by issuing Global Depository Receipts Privatization Under the privatization plan, many of the public sector activities have been or are still being sold to the private sector. Thus the concept of PPP (public private partnership) came up. It describes a government service or private business venture which is funded and operated through a partnership of government and one or more private sector companies. Privatization, in its wider sense, stands for policies to reduce the role of the state or government, assign larger role for the private sector pursuing the logic of the market in all economic decisions. The entry of new private sector enterprises could introduce competition where public sector enjoyed monopoly. Each form of privatization has differing implications for the labour, consumers and the economy. Degeneration, for instance, is likely to have little immediate adverse impact on employment. Degeneration, because of the removal of entry barriers, may motivate additional investments and offer enlarged employment opportunities. It is, however, possible that new private sector entrants may indulge in poaching of senior and experienced employees of the public sector by offering attractive emoluments. The outgoing public sector employees would carry the advantage and access to business networks and knowledge of the market with them. This phenomenon has already been seen in the aviation sector and communications industry. Privatization could lead to a reduction in the workforce if the new managements were to opt for modernization and automation. This, in all probability, is unavoidable. Under the Indian planning system public sector investments are financed through financial allocations by the government. While there were no administrative restrictions on cottage, village and small scale industries most large investment proposals by the private sector have had to pass through the scrutiny by a multiple of regulatory agencies. Soon after the initiation of development planning in India it became evident that the public sector was an economic necessity for the economy and the private sector.1 Public sector was envisaged as a major instrument for pursuance of plan targets. It was universally accepted that the Indian private sector was neither capable of making the necessary large investments nor was it expected to take up projects with long gestation periods and carrying low rates of return. Industrial Policy Resolution, 1956 reserved a large sector both for exclusive and priority development by the public sector. The government took upon herself the task of providing essential infrastructure and utilities as also heavy industries. Public sector in India has two main forms. One, the departmentally owned and managed establishments like railways, posts, telecommunication, irrigation, and power projects; and two, enterprises established under the Companies Act, 1956 and under special statutes. At the end of 1992, there were 1,180 undertakings in which government owned majority equity capital and which were categorized as government companies. Public sector has been an important employer, especially in the organized labour market. The sector accounted for 56.84 per cent of the total number of 14.3 million employees in the organized sector1 in 1980-81. From about 8.1 million in 1980-81, those employed in public sector manufacturing increased to 9.8 million by 1990-91. Public sector in India follows the same policy of preferences in employment for women and the underprivileged sections of the society as the government. The underprivileged categories are based on socio-economic considerations like membership of Scheduled Castes and Tribes, backward classes, weaker sections, women and the handicapped. Some of the public sector enterprises have closed down certain of their activities by subcontracting them to private parties. Contractualisation of specific tasks has been assisted by the general ban imposed by government on new recruitments. The activities privatized and brought under subcontracting include catering; message and courier service; and security, cleaning and maintenance of office buildings and office transport (staff cars). Railways appear to have taken to sub-contracting of services in a big manner. Each form of privatization has differing implications for the labour, consumers and the economy. Dereservation, for instance, is likely to have little immediate adverse impact on employment. Dereservation, because of the removal of entry barriers, may motivate additional investments and offer enlarged employment opportunities. It is, however, possible that new private sector entrants may indulge in poaching of senior and experienced employees of the public sector by offering attractive emoluments. Regulatory bodies Privatization of large public enterprises and entry of private sector in erstwhile reserved areas has the potential of giving rise to establishment of private monopolies. The interest of the consumers may therefore have to be protected from the normal instinct of private monopolies to exploit consumers in order to maximize their profits. One should not stretch the point too far as for the tendency of a public monopoly to be always better. Examples:- Security Exchange of India Electricity Regulatory Commission, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Insurance Regulatory Development Authority. Globalization Now that India is in the process of restructuring her economy, with aspirations of elevating herself from her present desolate position in the world, the need to speed up her economic development is even more imperative. And having witnessed the positive role that Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has played in the rapid economic growth of most of the Southeast Asian countries and most notably China, India has embarked on an ambitious plan to emulate the successes of her neighbours to the east and is trying to sell herself as a safe and profitable destination for FDI. Globalization has many meanings depending on the context and on the person who is talking about. The process of globalization not only includes opening up of world trade, development of advanced means of communication, internationalization of financial markets, growing importance of MNCs, population migrations and more generally increased mobility of persons, goods, capital, data and ideas but also infections, diseases and pollution. The term globalization refers to the integration of economies of the world through uninhibited trade and financial flows, as also through mutual exchange of technology and knowledge. Ideally, it also contains free inter-country movement of labour. In context to India, this implies opening up the economy to foreign direct investment by providing facilities to foreign companies to invest in different fields of economic activity in India, removing constraints and obstacles to the entry of MNCs in India, allowing Indian companies to enter into foreign collaborations and also encouraging them to set up joint ventures abroad; carrying out massive import liberalization programs by switching over from quantitative restrictions to tariffs and import duties, therefore globalization has been identified with the policy reforms of 1991 in India. Indian economy was in deep crisis in July 1991, when foreign currency reserves had plummeted to almost $1 billion; Inflation had roared to an annual rate of 17 percent; fiscal deficit was very high and had become unsustainable; foreign investors and NRIs had lost confidence in Indian Economy. Capital was flying out of the country and we were close to defaulting on loans. Major measures initiated as a part of the liberalization and globalization strategy in the early nineties included the following: Devaluation: The first step towards globalization was taken with the announcement of the devaluation of Indian currency by 18-19 percent against major currencies in the international foreign exchange market. In fact, this measure was taken in order to resolve the BOP crisis Disinvestment-In order to make the process of globalization smooth, privatization and liberalization policies are moving along as well. Under the privatization scheme, most of the public sector undertakings have been/ are being sold to private sector. Dismantling of The Industrial Licensing Regime At present, only six industries are under compulsory licensing mainly on accounting of environmental safety and strategic considerations. A significantly amended locational policy in tune with the liberalized licensing policy is in place. No industrial approval is required from the government for locations not falling within 25 kms of the periphery of cities having a population of more than one million. Allowing Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) across a wide spectrum of industries and encouraging non-debt flows. The Department has put in place a liberal and transparent foreign investment regime where most activities are opened to foreign investment on automatic route without any limit on the extent of foreign ownership. Some of the recent initiatives taken to further liberalize the FDI regime Non Resident Indian Scheme the general policy and facilities for foreign direct investment as available to foreign investors/ Companies are fully applicable to NRIs as well. In addition, Government has extended some concessions especially for NRIs and overseas corporate bodies having more than 60% stake by NRIs Abolition of the (MRTP) Act, which necessitated prior approval for capacity expansion The removal of quantitative restrictions on imports. The reduction of the peak customs tariff from over 300 per cent prior to the 30 per cent rate that applies now. Wide-ranging financial sector reforms in the banking, capital markets, and insurance sectors, including the deregulation of interest rates, strong regulation and supervisory systems, and the introduction of foreign/private sector competition The Bright Side of Globalization The rate of growth of the Gross Domestic Product of India has been on the increase from 5.6 per cent during 1980-90 to seven per cent in the 1993-2001 periods. Today Indian Economy is growing at 9% annually. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is confident of having a 10 per cent growth in the GDP in the Eleventh Five Year Plan period. The foreign exchange reserves (as at the end of the financial year) were $ 39 billion (2000-01), $ 107 billion (2003-04), $ 145 billion (2005-06) and $ 180 billion (in February 2007). Today (4th Nov 2010) India has $ 300 billion foreign exchange reserves and ranking at 6 number on world chart. The total cumulative amount of FDI inflows in India were Rs 563,656 million, about US$129,656 million over a decade from 1991 to January 2010. The sectors attracting highest FDI inflows are electrical equipments including computer software and electronics (18 per cent), service sector (13 per cent), telecommunications (10 per cent), transportation industry (nine per cent), etc. In the inflow of FDI, India has surpassed South Korea to become the fourth largest recipient. Dark Side of Globalisation Every coin has two sides; globalisation is also not out of it. There are many disadvantages of Globalisations as well. The main disadvantage of globalisation is in Agriculture field. In 1951, agriculture provided employment to 72 per cent of the population and contributed 59 per cent of the gross domestic product. However, by 2001 the population depending upon agriculture came to 58 per cent whereas the share of agriculture in the GDP went down drastically to 24 per cent and further to 22 per cent in 2006-07. This has resulted in a lowering the per capita income of the farmers and increasing the rural indebtedness. The number of rural landless families increased from 35 per cent in 1987 to 45 per cent in 1999, further to 55 per cent in 2005. The farmers are destined to die of starvation or suicide. Replying to the Short Duration Discussion on Import of Wheat and Agrarian Distress on May 18, 2006, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar informed the Rajya Sabha that roughly 1,00,000 farmers committed suicide during the period 1993-2003 mainly due to indebtedness. In his interview to The Indian Express on November 15, 2005, Sharad Pawar said: The farming community has been ignored in this country and especially so over the last eight to ten years. The total investment in the agriculture sector is going down. In the last few years, the average budgetary provision from the Indian Government for irrigation is less than 0.35 percent. Globalisation also leads to unemployment in labour class people according to Minister for Labour and Employment informed the Lok Sabha on March 19, 2007, that the enrolment of the unemployed in the Employment Exchanges in 2006-07 was 79 lakhs against the average of 58 lakhs in the past ten years. The lives of the educated and the rich had been enriched by globalization. The information technology (IT) sector was a particular beneficiary. But the benefits had not yet reached the majority, and new risks had cropped up for the losers-the socially deprived and the rural poor. Growth of Slum Capitals In his 2007-08 Budget Speech, Finance Minister Chidambaram put forth a proposal to promote Mumbai as a world class financial centre and to make financial services the next growth engine of India. Of its 13 million populations, Mumbai city has 54 per cent in slums. It is estimated that 100 to 300 new families come to Mumbai every day and most land up in a slum colony. Prof R. N. Sharma of the TATA Institute of Social Science says that Mumbai is disintegrating into slums. From being known as the slum capital of India and the biggest slum of Asia, Mumbai is all set to become the slum capital of the world. The population of Delhi is about 14 million of which nearly 45 per cent population lives in slums, unauthorized colonies, JJ clusters and undeveloped rural parts. During dry weather these slum dwellers use open areas around their units for defecation and the entire human waste generated from the slums along with the additional wastewater from their households is discharged untreated into the river Yamuna. To make Globalization Work India should pay immediate attention to ensure rapid development in education, health, water and sanitation, labour and employment so that under time-bound programmes the targets are completed without delay. A strong foundation of human development of all people is essential for the social, political and economic development of the country. The government should take immediate steps to increase agricultural production and create additional employment opportunities in the rural parts, to reduce the growing inequality between urban and rural areas and to decentralize powers and resources to the panchayati raj institutions for implementing all works of rural development. At the present, we can also say about the tale of two Indias: We have the best of times; we have the worst of times. There is sparkling prosperity, there is stinking poverty. We have dazzling five star hotels side by side with darkened ill-starred hovels. We have everything by globalization, we have nothing by globalization.
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