Ashoka Maurya’s Conversion to Buddhism: Effect on the History of India Essay

Ashoka Maurya was one of the most influential leaders in India’s history. The British historian H. G. Wells in his work The Outline of History said of Ashoka, â€Å"amidst the tens of thousands of names of monarchs that crowd the columns of history†¦ the name of Ashoka shines, and shines almost alone, a star† (94). Ashoka’s eventual aversion to violence and war, his honesty in admitting his mistakes, and his concern for the welfare of his people not only made him shine as brilliantly as a star, but also dramatically changed the history of India. Yet since many legends were simply nothing more than a popular yearning for an exemplary ruler, none of the references were taken too seriously at first. Ashoka was portrayed as too good to be true: the ruthless, cruel leader who saw the light and transformed into the supreme benevolent ruler. When he was evil, Buddhists legends contended he killed ninety-nine brothers to obtain the throne after his father. As the transformed benevolent king, Buddhist legends claimed he built 84,000 monasteries and almost as many stupas in one day. Scholars did not take this king too seriously. Renewed interest in this legendary figure came with the discovery of rock and stone pillars containing edicts engraved during the reign of Ashoka. In 1879, Alexander Cunningham published a translation of these inscriptions. Even more engravings were discovered with the latest four found in 1969. These stone inscriptions provided a rare access to the personalized edicts dictated by Ashoka and thus, were a primary source concerning this king. Gradually, as rock and pillar inscriptions were scrutinized, scholars began to consider Ashoka a legitimate historical figure and to evaluate his place in India’s history. The rock and pillar edicts were critical in understanding and documenting the changes Ashoka brought to India for they were a record in his very own words. Romila Thapar described the benefit of these exclusive inscriptions: â€Å"It is rare in Indian history to have access to the personalized edicts of a king†¦ in this we are fortunate† (Thapar 16). Ashoka’s edicts, engraved on rocks and stone pillars between 264 and 262 BCE, were scattered throughout India, Nepal, Afghanistan and Pakistan. The location of the rock engravings was governed by the accessibility of suitable slabs of stone. The pillars, on the other hand, were placed in very specific locations. For example, one marked the birthplace of Buddha. Others were found near populated areas to be seen by as many people as possible. The pillar edicts, between forty and fifty feet in height, weighed up to fifty tons. They were all quarried between 247 and 242 BCE in the Chunar Hills along the Ganges River and sometimes transported over one hundred miles to the location where they were erected. The pillars were originally capped with a roaring lion, a bull, or a spirited horse. These stone works reflected the great art and design of the Indian culture. The history regarding Ashoka was chiefly known from these rock and pillar edicts. This research shows the transformation that occurred in the country of India because of Ashoka’s conversion to Buddhism. First, this study investigates the three aggressive generations of the Mauryan Dynasty to provide background and to shed light on the caliber of leadership training Ashoka received from his upbringing. One must understanding Ashoka’s family history in order to comprehend the difference he made after his conversion. Secondly, this research covers the causes of Ashoka’s conversion, which builds an understanding of the personal and political benefits for him. His remorse and shame after a bloody battle, which he instigated and took responsibility for, were the catalyst to his conversion. The methodology for this paper places the highest emphasis on the translations of rock and pillar edicts found throughout the Indian subcontinent. These inscriptions are a primary source: Ashoka’s own words. From numerous readings of these edicts, evolves this research query: how much did India change after Ashoka’s conversion? The various edicts contain Ashoka’s interpretation of Buddhist doctrine, his personal changes, or India’s policy changes. Not every edict is documented in this paper for there is not room or need to do that. The edicts of primary impact on India are discussed. Scholars and translators have labeled and numbered the rock and pillar edicts inscribed by Ashoka. Most of the rock edicts were catalogued simply by the abbreviation RE with a number. For example, the fourteenth rock edict was labeled RE 14. The pillar edicts were handled the same way only using PE as the abbreviation. Sometimes the edicts listed the location in front of the abbreviation, as with Kalinga RE 1. This study uses these abbreviations within the text. Gokhale (1966) includes citations from Arthastastra, a book on government and economics written during the Mauryan Dynasty. This book is critical in understanding the impact of the changes Ashoka makes. How Ashoka Maurya’s Conversion to Buddhism Affected the History of India Ashoka Maurya was the third ruler of the Mauryan Dynasty about 263 BCE. After a bloody battle in Kalinga, he renounced brutality and endeavored to rule his empire rule according to the Buddhist doctrine of nonviolence. His grandfather and father did not follow Buddhism. Chandragupta, Ashoka’s grandfather, was the founder of the Mauryan Dynasty about 325 BCE. After Ashoka’s father, Bindusara, ruled for approximately twenty-five years, he handed the empire over to Ashoka. Northwestern India, in the fourth century BCE, consisted of independent tribes ineffective in uniting against outside resistance. Alexander conquered one tribe after another like a tornado ripping through the country. Yet after he returned to Greece, the leaders he left in place were soon murdered or overthrown. There was not enough support to sustain Alexander’s conquests. The significance of the Greek invasions and aftermath for India was that â€Å"Alexander had shattered the power of numerous petty kingdoms†¦ and created a military turbulence and a political weakness that were soon exploited by Chandragupta Maurya† (Gokhale 25). The young, strong, and ruthless Chandragupta, an opportunist with Kautalya’s encouragement, took advantage of this time to seize power. Under Chandragupta, the empire enjoyed great success. Much of the wealth came from widespread foreign trade with Greece, Rome, and China. The affluence was not gained for him, but he used the wealth to improve his empire, including irrigation systems and new roads. His example of investing in the empire would later be seen with Ashoka. Megasthenes, a Greek historian living in India at the time, recorded his personal observations concerning the Mauryan rule in Indika. Gokhale quoted excerpts from Indika: Ashoka’s father, Bindusara, extended the Mauryan Empire and conquered the land between the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea. At the time of Bindusara’s death, about 273 BCE, almost the entire Indian subcontinent was part of the Mauryan Dynasty. The only troublesome territory was Kalinga on the eastern coast. His son, Ashoka, would eventually obtain this area by brutal force and regret thisaction for the rest of his life. Ashoka was next in line to rule the flourishing Mauryan Dynasty. During the first years of Ashoka’s rule, he was as warlike as his grandfather conquering tribes in the east and earning the name â€Å"one without sorrow. † The province of Kalinga, a rich and fertile land outside Ashoka’s empire, remained independent and was particularly troublesome to him. Ashoka determined that the future of his empire was threatened, if he did not control Kalinga. Another motive for wanting control of this province was that valuable trade routes passed through it. About 261 BCE in the eighth year of his reign, Ashoka marched towards Kalinga. King Ashoka’s reaction to the battle was unique. â€Å"Never before in the history of humanity, nor afterwards, has a king publicly expressed genuine grief for a deed commonly regarded as the legitimate business of kings. The war of Kalinga was the first and last war waged by Ashoka† (Gokhale 59). History did not record exactly when Ashoka converted to Buddhism, but his own words in stone certainly recorded the impact this battle had on his moving towards the non-violent doctrine of Buddhism. Some historians believed that Ashoka had already converted before the battle at Kalinga. Scholars felt his commitment to the non-violent doctrine of Buddhism simply grew after he witnesses the destruction (Guruge 52). Using the dates of K. Rangaswami, Ashoka was crowned as king and joined the Buddhists as a laymen the same year, 269 BCE (145). The battle at Kalinga was fought three years later. Rock inscriptions found in three different sites said: â€Å"I did not progress well for a year. † Another important piece to understanding why Ashoka chose Buddhism was his upbringing. His early education under Hindu beliefs paralleled particular Buddhist doctrine, including the importance of one’s dharma, or moral duty. Ashoka was raised under the teachings Kautalya, a Brahmin and a contemporary of Aristotle. Kautalya’s ideologies regarding a king’s responsibilities were recorded in his book, Arthashastra, literally meaning principles of wealth. The writings expanded beyond wealth to a pragmatic philosophy regarding all the responsibilities of statehood: taxation, administration, law, diplomacy, trade, labor, and land occupancy. The Arthashastra explained that a king had two objectives: â€Å"one of which was the exercise of power, and the other the practice of benevolence† (Gokhale 39). This balance was ingrained in the Mauryan rulers as all three were raised under Kautalya’s principles of statehood. Kautalya taught that power â€Å"could be legitimate only if used in pursuit of the dharma† (Gokhale 38). Dharma was a central concept in both Hinduism and Buddhism. Ashoka embraced the doctrine of dharma before his conversion for this belief was part of Kautalya’s training. Buddhism was appealing to this king because he was comfortable with dharma. The Mauryan king eventually rejected the Brahmin’s teaching regarding the necessary show of force, and became infamous for proclaiming dharma in every area of government. Who was personally responsible for Ashoka’s conversion to Buddhism? The rock and pillar inscriptions did not give one-person credit. History recorded a few personal encounters Ashoka had with Buddhists: his nephew, a monk in northern India and his first wife. These experiences were a positive influence in his choice of Buddhism. Ashoka throughout his whole life, before and after conversion, was tolerant and respectful of all religions. Not only did he permit all faiths to worship freely, he often invited them to the palace for their advice. Mahavamsa, a Sri Lankan Buddhist text from the fifth century CE, told the tale of how dissatisfied Ashoka was after a session with Brahmins and holy men of other sects regarding the distribution of charity moneys (Gokhale 61). He stood by the palace window and noticed a young man, Nigrodha. It turned out that Nigrodha was his nephew, the son of Ashoka’s elder brother, who had been killed in a struggle for the throne after Bindusara. Given audience with the king, his nephew preached a sermon; Ashoka heard Buddhist doctrine from a family relation. The Sanskrit Buddhist text, Divyavadana gave a monk, Upagupta, the credit for Ashoka’s conversion. A whole sequence of Buddhist stories concerning Ashoka, the proverbial poster child for this religion, was quite contradictory making it hard to give them much credence. Buddhist texts tended to glorify Ashoka’s conversion (understandably so for he was great advertisement). Regardless, one can imagine that a personal encounter with a very convincing monk made an impression on Ashoka. The most historically documented encounter Ashoka had with Buddhism was with Devi, his first wife. At approximately age eighteen, Ashoka was given the responsibility to govern Avanti, a province in central India. Here tribal villages were often rebelling against their incorporation into the Mauryan Dynasty. Avanti was vital to the Mauryan Empire for its agriculture (wheat in particular), its trade, and its commerce (Gokhale 39). This province was a center for Buddhism with two major monasteries located near important trade routes that connected southern and western cities. The deeply entwined political and religious climate during Ashoka’s lifetime was an important clue in understanding his choice of Buddhism. Hinduism, the major religion at the time of Ashoka, began between 2000 BCE and 1500 BCE with the entrance of the Aryans, nomadic herders from central Asia. By the third century BCE, Buddhism (still considered a sect) was emerging as an adversary to many Hindu social values, in particular the priestly hierarchy. History would later show that it was Ashoka’s attention to Buddhism that was the catalyst for its growth into a major religion in India. Economically, Buddhism was advantageous to Ashoka, also. Partially due to the Buddhist influence, the Indian social hierarchy started to see a transfer in power. Buddha’s teachings encouraged the people to reevaluate the Brahmin traditions, including the need for priests. The authority of the Brahmins was slowly shifting away to favor the merchant class. Prior to the Mauryan Dynasty and certainly during it, India was enjoying strong economical advantages. The development of trade and commerce was partially due to the growth of several trade routes crisscrossing northern, central, and western India. Many factors contributed to Ashoka’s conversion and choice of Buddhism. Ashoka had many emotional, pre-existing connections to move him in the direction of a non-violent philosophy. The battle at Kalinga produced a deep-rooted emotional response as he declared in a rock edict that he was filled with remorse, sorrow and regret. His personal encounters with a nephew, a monk, and, most importantly, a woman he loved, Devi, all contributed to favorably looking towards Buddhism. As the ruler of the Mauryan Dynasty, he wanted to provide the best for his people, and politically, Buddhism was becoming more popular than the ritualistic Brahmin ways. With many encounters with this rising religion, it was not surprising to see the third ruler of the Mauryan Dynasty embrace Buddhism. Ashoka Maurya transformed himself and his state before the very eyes of his people. He changed from a ruler trained in the Indian tradition of military conquest to a benevolent monarch. His desire for his people was inscribed in stone: â€Å"All men are my people†¦ I desire that they be provided with complete welfare and happiness in this world† (Kalinga RE 1). India for him was now a large family over whom he presided with the Buddhism as his guide. The concept of dharma was not solitary to Buddhism alone. Hindus, Jains and other popular sects at that time included a code of ethics. Dharma was part of the currency of ethical norms propounded by various teachers (Thapar 32). What made Ashoka unique was that as the most powerful man on the Indian subcontinent, he adopted a policy of goodness to all (previous enemies included) and non-violence in domestic and foreign affairs.

How Do Gangs Affect Adolescent Behavior?

Since the early 1920s, researchers have closely studied the relations between the street gangs and violent crime froma variety of perspectives: criminological, sociological and psychological (Thomas, 2008). Whatever the underlying causes for gang membership, the resuls seems clear; members of street gangs admit to a far greater rate of serious crime, and to far more severe acts of of the same age, race, and socioeconomic background (Penly Hall, Thornberry & Lizotte, 2006) than non-gang members of the same age, race, and socioeconomic background (Battin-Pearson, Thornberry, Hawkins & Krohn, 1998).According to the Web site safetyouth. org (n. d. ) gang violence is certainly a cause for concern: Gang members are responsible for much of the serious violence in the United States . . . Teens that are gang members are much more likely than other teens to commit serious and violence crimes. For example, a survey in Denver found that while only 14% of teens were gang members, they were respon sible for committing 89% of the serious violent crimes. (n. p. ) Many researchers have come to the conclusion that gangs necessarily cause violence and deviant behavior.As a matter of policy then, it seems clear that the solution of a number of social ills is to break up, disrupt, or prevent the formations of gangs (Battin-Pearson, et al. , 1998). Yet, is this the solution? As George Thomas (2008) states, â€Å"The problem is complex, so the solutions cannot be complex† (p. 88). So what is the solution? According to the U. S. Department of Education (n. d. ), all factors of age, race, and socioeconomic background must be taken into consideration . . .

Brave New World The Advancement Of Science

Brave New World: The Advancement Of Science Essay, Research Paper Brave New World: The Advancement of Science Christy Campbell Mrs. Doig Eng OAC 2 16 May, 1996 When thought of advancement, most people think of progresss in the scientific Fieldss, believing that most finds and engineerings are good to society. Are these progresss every bit good as most people think? In the novel Brave New World, the writer Aldous Huxley, warns readers that scientific progresss can be a menace to society. This is peculiarly apparent in the Fieldss of biological science, engineering and psychological science. Harmonizing to Huxley, # 8220 ; The subject of Brave New World is non the promotion of scientific discipline as such ; it is the promotion of scientific discipline as it affects human persons # 8221 ; ( Huxley CLC 79 290 ) . One scientific progress of which Huxley warns readers of is that in biological science. In the scene of Brave New World, henceforth referred to as the reserve, the mass production of worlds is accomplished with the Bokanovsky procedure. In this procedure, human existences are genetically engineered in research labs. # 8220 ; # 8230 ; a bokanovskified egg will bud, will proliferate, will split. From eight to 96 buds, and every bud will turn into a absolutely formed embryo, and every embryo into a full sized grownup # 8221 ; ( Huxley Brave New World 4 ) . One of the menaces of this familial genteelness is that no household structures exist on the reserve. Alternatively, worlds are raised in conditioning Centres. R.T. Oerton points out that # 8220 ; Present cognition indicates, for case, that a kid can non be deprived of parents or parent figures, as were the kids in Brave New World, without enduring enduring pathological harm to his personality. # 8221 ; ( Oerton CLC 7 308 ) . Another menace that the Bokanovsky procedure airss to society is that life is non extremely valued. # 8220 ; Murder kills merely the single and, after all what is an single? With a sweeping gesture he [ Mr. Foster, manager of hatcheries and conditioning ] indicated the rows of microscopes, the test-tubes, the brooders. We can do a new one with the greatest ease-as many as we like # 8221 ; ( Huxley Brave New World 133 ) . Human life holds no value because it can be easy replaced through the Bokanovsky procedure. Furthermore, Bokanovsky # 8217 ; s method of mass production prevents individualism, as on the reserve, all people are cloned. Get downing from the clip of decanting, each embryo is genetically cloned to fall into one of the assorted societal categories. Within each societal category, all members are cloned to be intellectually and physically tantamount. Biological engineering helps to accomplish this equality by genetically determining the heads of society. In Brave New World, one # 8217 ; s intelligence depends on the sum of intoxicant injected into their embryo. For illustration, one of the lower categories in society, Epsilons, have rather a high sum of intoxicant injected in the decanting procedure. Mental module, hence, is predestined from the minute of cloning. By making a universe where worlds are mass produced, Brave New World demonstrates that progresss in biological science can be unsafe if used without respect for the well being of the human race. Harmonizing to Huxley, progresss in engineering can besides be a menace to society. In Brave New World, everything is wholly mechanised, extinguishing the demand for creativeness and imaginativeness. Huxley warns us against mechanisation, reasoning# 8220 ; the machine dehumanizes work forces by demanding mechanical efficiency of them # 8221 ; ( Hillegas 114 ) . Man # 8217 ; s creativeness is replaced with everyday undertakings, because machines are able to make much of the work. The businesss available for people on the reserve, consist of insistent mechanical operations. In Brave New World, leisure activities are dominated by engineering. The primary beginning of amusement is the # 8220 ; feelies, # 8221 ; a type of film theater in which all the senses are unnaturally created. Alternatively of experiencing the emotions portrayed on screen, the audience absorbs stimulated esthesiss. These stimulations prevent them from free idea, which threatens society by denying people from sing their ain creativeness and imaginativeness. Furthermore, engineering affects amusement by being incorporated into all games of drama. Games consist of advanced technological setup, and low organisation, making really superficial amusement. Harmonizing to Huxley, this frustrates one of humanity # 8217 ; s critical demands to be originative. # 8220 ; Men no longer divert themselves creatively but sit passively amused by mechanical devices # 8221 ; ( Hillegas 115 ) . Among technological progresss, one danger Huxley warns of is the progress in pharmacological medicine. In Brave New Wo rld, an unreal signifier of felicity is present in a drug called haoma. Soma propels the user into a hallucinatory dream universe, supplying alleviation from negativeness, leting changeless felicity Peoples are rewarded for work by having rations of haoma. The soma ration varies harmonizing to the societal categories, with the lowest categories having the least, and the highest categories having the greatest. Society is conditioned to believe that # 8220 ; One cubic centimeter remedies ten glooming sentiments # 8221 ; ( Huxley Brave New World 53 ) . This concluding deceives the user into believing that haoma is a cure- all redress. Since haoma has no side effects, it can be a menace to society because people may be drugged into a hallucinatory dream universe 24 hours a twenty-four hours. It could be used as a drug non to get away the force per unit areas of life, but to flight life itself. Similar to biology, engineering can be a danger to society if used without respect for the public assistance of world. Finally, the most unsafe of all scientific promotions Huxley warns of, is the advancement in psychological science. In Brave New World, every individual is conditioned. The first conditioning technique used is subliminal preparation. This type of psychological science is utilised to plan thoughts into single # 8217 ; s heads by a method called hypnopaedia. Hypnopaedia consists of repetitive messages that play over a speaker unit during slumber. These repeats are composed of socially accepted ethical motives and values. # 8220 ; All conditioning purposes at doing people like their unescapable societal destiny. # 8221 ; ( Huxley Brave New World 13 ) . This bounds persons from researching life and developing their thought of felicity when# 8220 ; felicity # 8221 ; is already predetermined in their heads. Harmonizing to Huxley, his# 8220 ; # 8230 ; main scheme was to demo that the learned felicity of Brave New World cuts work forces off from deep experience, keeps them from being human. # 8221 ; ( Hillegas 118 ) . Direct stimulation is used as another conditioning technique. On the reserve, society is conditioned against love, nature, literature, and other signifiers of look that are of course desired by adult male. To status babes against nature and literature, they are mildly shocked while meeting books and flowers placed before them. Therefore, this direct stimulation causes them to hold an natural hate of flowers and books. Harmonizing to reserve accountants, # 8220 ; A love of nature keeps no mills busy # 8221 ; ( Huxley Brave New World 19 ) . Ethical motives and values, which usually through the turning up procedure can be discovered on their ain, are brainwashed into society # 8217 ; s heads. This direct stimulation is harmful to society as it prevents people from make up ones minding upon their ain ethical motives and values. Another signifier of conditioning in Brave New World trades with decease. From the early age of 18 months, kids are exposed to decease while playing with playthings and eating confect. Therefore ensuing in an ageless association between felicity and decease. Death conditioning can be unsafe to society as kids become unable to separate between good and evil. In add-on, sexual conditioning is present in Brave New World. From a really immature age, sexual drama is normal and encouraged in everyone. Together, 100s of kids play sexual games in the nude. Besides, more than one sexual spouse is encouraged, ensuing in the absence of committed relationships. This absence of committed relationship creates a universe without deep feelings of homo fondness. Society is conditioned to believe # 8220 ; Everyone belongs to everyone else # 8221 ; ( Huxley Brave New World 35 ) . Unfortunately, these psychological promotions cause the reserve to be a universe without single idea. Each individual is conditioned into a life, which is believed to be most advantageous for them. Thomas D. Clareson points out that # 8220 ; The Brave New World is mindless # 8230 ; it # 8217 ; s citizens are # 8216 ; nice tame animate beings # 8217 ; # 8230 ; # 8221 ; ( Huxley, DISC ) . The conditioning methods in Brave New World take away all freedom of pick and determination in society. The society depicted in Brave New World is to many, a scaring one. Though, it may be more of a world than is soon thought. Society must guarantee that scientific discipline is altering to accommodate human demands, instead than altering the human race to accommodate scientific discipline. With the increasing advancement in biological science, engineering and psychological science, this may be an impossible effort to get the better of. The universe may one twenty-four hours be without individualism, emotions or free idea. In Brave New World, the scientific progresss show to be a menace to society, where # 8220 ; One could of class, exist. . . # 8221 ; though, # 8220 ; # 8230 ; One could not-in the fullest sense of the word-live in it. # 8221 ; ( Wright 87 ) .

Shipping Industry Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Shipping Industry - Assignment Example Else the industry will have to employ officers who are not suited to the post [Maritime Law, 2007; Panigrahi Bhagaban and Calcich Stephen, 2003] Since it has been ascertained that there are many internal and external factors that have contributed to the shortfall in the availability of talented marine officers, some suggestions are hereby provided that could enhance the availability of quality marine officers when their need arises. 1. Develop the capabilities of existing ageing workforce to more supervisory jobs and upgrade their management skills in line with the set standards by the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Highly skilled personnel can be utilized as consultants, trainers, and other consultancy related services. This can be carried out by assessing their field of specialisations, then evaluate capability gaps, and design trainings for this purpose. This process is done to ensure maximisation on the use of the ageing manpower and to reduce the risk of accidents and disaster caused by human errors. 3. Create reserve manpower among the existing workforce ready to replace the ageing workers once they graduate or qualify into the support force. Through the IMO, or a consortium of shipping companies, training and skills upgrading of reserve marine officers shall be developed and instituted. Since the requirements of the shipping industry is not localised, an international consortium that would be created, would recruit talented officers from many countries. The consortium will have various functions such as screening, recruitment and training of officers based on need. Since the consortium is need-based, recruited candidates may be assured of jobs when they are recruited. 4. The company can create a database of the existing and reserve officers which can be used to determine available manpower when requirement for officers arise. This will also help the company to identify replacement when officers retire. On Objective 2 enhancing the industry image To reverse the notion of the labour force on the safeness and the high technical capability requirement of the maritime jobs the following are recommended: 1. It is a general notion that marine jobs are tough and most people consider it only as a last option. Hence, it is high time that the job is promoted as one that has glamour and perks. In order to do so, shipping companies have to develop ads and campaign through the media

Men and Masculinities - What critiques have been offered of Connell's Research Paper

Men and Masculinities - What critiques have been offered of Connell's notion of 'hegemonic masculinity' Do you agree wi - Research Paper Example 253). Connell and colleagues (1985, p. 552) were the first to break the ice by introducing the idea that men and masculinity were all produced by the relationship that the women enabled them to, which in turn gave rise to the patriarchal system of society, politics, and family organisation. While their idea was met with either insightful or defensive criticisms, the work was very influential in the sense that many other authors were also able to create input in the study of masculinity and gender studies. The revolutionary idea that in order for the feminist movement to become truly successful, there must also be changes for the men’s part as well is now even more relevant than ever, and by bringing in the focus on how to tame the prevailing patriarchal culture, the proper changes in the societal definition of masculinity can possibly be challenged and renovated along with the change in the gender roles of modern society. The main questions that challenge the idea that hegemon ic masculinity is normal are: how the collective actions and ideas of most men were able to make dominance over women and other men seem normal and enjoyable; why these same men and women allow such dominance to exist; and how can gender equality be achieved by initiating resistance to the prevailing norm of hegemonic masculinity (Levy, 2007, p. 253). A possible idea for this is that hegemonic masculinity was a concept, created as a culturally idealised subject on how a man should think or act in the society (Donaldson, 1993, p. 645). Over a period of several generations, this kind of thinking incorporated other elements such as being highly-differentiated in most societal classes, brutality and violence, as well as being tough and unemotional. These traits became the large set of ideals that men follow in order to become the role model male, which basically did not change for several thousands of years. The family with the breadwinner status becomes the head of the household due to the additional input and exertion given to support the family. This gives him or her greater control over other members of the family despite having supposed equal rights with the spouse. This became the norm for most men in earlier societies due to them having greater strength than the women. Because of the rising dominance of manual labour in many societies, it eventually created a culture where men are seen mostly as those that have greater edge over women that mostly stay at home. When particular groups of men were able to inhabit positions of wealth and power due to the rise in social classes, they were also able to legitimise other aspects that would further give them greater dominance not just to other males and females, but to the greater part of the society as a whole (Carrigan, et al., 1985, p. 554). This particular group of dominant males become even more well-known within the society, thus exuding greater influence over other males as well. By observing rulers or other leaders of some sort, they become people that other males look up to, and wish to be, and the innate characteristics that these leader-figures have become the idealised characteristics that males are supposed to have. However, despite being the collective concept of what the ideal male

Mission and Personal Values in Building a Career Research Paper

Mission and Personal Values in Building a Career - Research Paper Example Developing a personal career vision statement is never easy. However, it is a must for any individual to formulate or develop his/her own because without this, an individual is just driving aimlessly and without any final destination. This career vision statement will then serve as a guide and motivation to what future he/she wants to achieve and fulfil (Green, 1999). Actually, there are several ways or steps to create a vision statement and it’s up to an individual which one he/she wants to model his/her own statement framework. Because what really matters is that this statement could able to give career and life purpose; set a clear expression of future career; and it provides focus and direction as well as inspiration and motivation (Jones, 1998). According to Cranford (2011), a certified Career Coach, he proposed four basic steps or procedures in creating/formulating/ developing a career vision statement. And these include the following: step ahead, look away, see the step s forward, and put it on paper. Creating a vision is not easy, and it takes a lot of effort and time. It cannot be done or accomplished overnight. Hence, one must take time to reflect and envision what he/she really want to be or to attain and fulfil in the future. And this can be made possible if he/she will provide enough time for himself/herself to think, internalize and understand his/her inner self in order to identify and know his /her own strengths, weaknesses and personalities, which will determine the career he/she wanted to pursue.  

Optimum Class Size Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Optimum Class Size - Essay Example Outline This paper examines the effect of class proportions on introductory accounting pupil performance within the perspective of a dynamic learning setting. Class group actions were applied as an essential part of the education environment in both small and large divisions. This paper analyses the studies conducted by academics and argues for the thesis statement. An investigative look into the conclusions of academics and scholars reveals that thesis statement is in fact true and proven. Academic Evidence The subject of class size and its influence on student knowledge has been a time-honored debate across institutes and schooling levels (Siegel et al., 1959 cited in Murdoch and Guy, 2002: p271; Simmons, 1959 cited in Murdoch and Guy, 2002: p271; Shane, 1961 cited in Murdoch and Guy, 2002: p271; Laughlin, 1976 cited in Murdoch and Guy, 2002: p271; McConnell and Sosin, 1984: cited in Murdoch and Guy, 2002: p271; Williams et al., 1985: cited in Murdoch and Guy, 2002: p271). Analyses have been wide-ranging through disciplines. Simmons (1959: p309-15) detected a greater failure degree and lesser overall accomplishment for intermediate algebra learners in big class settings. However, Williams et al. (1985: cited in Murdoch and Guy, 2002: p272), Siegel (1959: cited in Murdoch and Guy, 2002: p272), and Laughlin (1976: cited in Murdoch and Guy, 2002: p271) in studies through numerous disciplines, all resolved that class size does not affect pupil education. On the subject of accounting class proportions, Anderson (1964: cited in Murdoch and Guy, 2002: p272) contended that, though tiny classes with outstanding teachers are best, large classes with exceptional teachers are better than small classes with less skilled teachers. A revision by Baldwin (1993: cited in Murdoch and Guy, 2002: p271) concentrated on this very matter. It examined whether a reputable teacher with an exceptional standing as a lecturer could attain results in a bulk lecture segment that were equiv alent to or better than doctoral pupils could accomplish with smaller divisions. Baldwin determined that there was no noteworthy variance in apprentices’ performance. Likewise, Hill (1998: cited in Murdoch and Guy, 2002: p271) discovered no performance benefits for small classes. Certainly, when Hill reckoned for grade point average (GPA) and attending, the large fragment outdid the small division in both concluding examination marks and general course ranking. Literature Review The Baldwin (1993: cited in Murdoch and Guy, 2002: p272) learning has limits that propose extra inquiries may add to the facts concerning class size in accounting studies. In his study, Baldwin disclosed that an prized teacher trained the large section whereas doctoral students trained the smaller classes and that this teacher observed some burden to do a decent job so as not to hurt an otherwise satisfactory teaching status. Baldwin’s goal was not to regulate variables other than strength prop ortions, but to match outcomes from Introductory Accounting communicated in a bulk-lecture design by an exceptional teacher to results achieved by doctoral student teachers in smaller divisions.

United States Court System Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

United States Court System - Research Paper Example In spite of the belief that the adversarial system is a contest between two rivals, in reality a complex system of collaboration between judges, prosecutors, and defense lawyers is usually present. In the U.S. court system, members of the courtroom work team create guidelines about how specific kinds of cases must be dealt with and what type of petitions is legitimate for particular kinds of offenses (May et al., 2007, 159). At present, the United States implements a dual system of state and federal courts that often work autonomously, even though state cases are often petitioned to the federal courts. The dual court system developed from the belief of the founding fathers that every state has to have substantial judicial sovereignty and legislative power (Cole, Smith, & DeJong, 2012, 105). The federal court system emerged after the nation gained its independence from England. The existing federal court system emerged as a concession between the founding fathers who preferred a powerful federal government and those who supported the rights of the states with a restricted federal government. At present, there are several independent court systems in the United States. Even though some American Indian communities and the military have their own court systems, the general U.S. court systems are the state court systems and the federal court systems (May et al., 2007, 161-162). Figure 1. Structure of the federal court system (May et al., 2007, 162) Even though state court systems emerged with almost no interaction with other states’ court systems, the state court systems that ult imately progressed noticeably resemble one another in structure and organization. Almost all court systems at present are structured in a hierarchical way (Cole et al., 2012, 363). The first major characteristic to remember when looking at state court systems is the difference between courts with appellate jurisdiction and courts with original jurisdiction. Because cases come from them, trial courts are usually called ‘courts of limited jurisdiction’. These courts handle cases of misconduct or less serious offenses, cases of small claims, family disputes, and traffic disobedience. These courts seldom conduct jury trials and rely greatly on the judge for the final resolution (Neubauer & Fradella, 2010, 95). Courts of general jurisdiction handle both felonies and misconduct cases and function as a round-table for major civil actions. Courts of general jurisdiction, in numerous states, facilitate the first appellate level and give the accused who came from a court of limit ed jurisdictions the opportunity to open up another trial. These courts employ prosecutors, defense attorneys, witnesses, juries, and all the other players usually connected to American courtrooms (Walston-Dunham, 2008, 147). These courts are more formal than courts of limited jurisdiction. They operate under the adversarial framework. The intermediate appellate court level—court of appeals-- is the subsequent level in state court systems. The main task of these courts is to evaluate petitions that came from resolutions given in the courts of general jurisdiction. The topmost court level in every state system is the court of last resort—the Supreme Court (Cole et al., 2012, 364-365). A petition can progress no further after the Supreme Court gives

Market Information and Analysis - Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Market Information and Analysis - - Assignment Example For the identification of the position held by Australia in the global context, understanding of the ways in which consumers perceive the wines produced in the nation is quite significant in order to determine the growth opportunities. In order to comprehend the relation in between the price and the format, the principle of data reduction can be applied. In this context, Pearson’s correlation has been calculated based on the data provided in data set 1 related to wine sales in Australia and a correlation of 0.9 has been obtained. It can be stated that association among the price and the format exists with high correlation. . In order to determine the association between price and region, it would be prudent to conduct literature review and identify what the literatures decipher. Literature depicts that greater quality effect upon the price of wine is identified for the climate region that is warm. If the wine belonging to the warm region is correlated with superior quality the n in such context increase in price of wine is quite evident. However, on the other hand, even if the quality of the wine is improved to a significant degree in cold region, it is quite likely that the price of the wine would not increase as much as that of the price in the warm region. The main reason behind this is that the Australian consumers might favor to consume wines from warmer regions. It may also be because of the fact that warmer regions were planted quite earlier and consumers tend to posses greater knowledge regarding them and are ready to pay greater price for their wines (Ling & Lockshin, 2003). Although there is downward trend of prices of grapes since past few years, there has been alteration in the varieties. It can be mentioned that the average price related to shiraz grapes has been the greatest of the top red wine grape varieties. The price of cabernet sauvignon grapes has been declined by about 9 percent. The recent financial crisis all over the world has ster nly affected the demand for wine, placing greater stress upon price of wine grapes all over the world. With the anticipated world economic recovery, it has been expected that the demand for wine is likely to strengthen over the short or medium term. However, with the greater supply of wine in the world along with the rising amount of bulk shipments of wine globally, it may not lead to increase in the global prices of wine. Given these conditions, the price of wine in Australia is anticipated to remain subdued in the coming few years prior to the slower recovery towards the end of the projected year. It was noted that during the year 2008-2009, due to considerable supply of the wine grapes, most of the wine companies offered fruits at relatively low prices. It was further noted that numerous growers were informed that their contract for wine grapes is not likely to be refurbished once they expire. If no contract is made then in such cases the farmers need to supply grapes in the spot market, which could potentially expose them to relatively lower price. It has further been found that there are generally two formats of imported wines such as specialty â€Å"vintages† format serving to the adherents as well as core consumers possessing extended tastes along with regular liquor stores holding mainly greater volume, moderately-priced products with quite restricted selections (Gunning-Trant & Kwan, 2012). Hence, from the data that has been presented above,

Computer Sciences and Information Technology Essay - 6

Computer Sciences and Information Technology - Essay Example This project declares that technology has created its impacts on education and training. People who use social networking websites on a daily basis, posting minute to minute updates, people who listen to music wherever they go on the most latest gadget in the market, people who feel handicapped without such technologies; these people are referred to as the digital natives. Digital natives are those that are born into the culture of technology. Since the day they were born, they have seen technology, observed it, seen its advancement and have the opportunity to gain hand on experience on them. This paper stresses that the digital natives follow a culture that is irrespective of age and is shared by all the millenials. This culture is dependent on certain characteristic that is accompanied by certain incidents that the native experience while growing up in a technological environment and this effects how they deal with the people, institutions and with everything that does not belong to the digital era. There are many educators who are excited about the new generation of students entering various educational institutions. These people have seen technology all their life. This research was conducted on the digital natives themselves and how it affected their education and social skills. There are many institutions that have trained the lecturers to teach online due to increased demand by the students. Many of the Americans are bicultural and live on two cultures in their life.

Accounting In China Essay Example for Free

Accounting In China Essay 1. Introduction †¢ China’s rapid economic growth in the past two decades has amazed the rest of the world. †¢ With China’s accession to the WTO, business activities with and within China will further expand. †¢ China fully understands that a sound financial reporting system plays a key role in the process of economic development. †¢ The Chinese Ministry of Finance (MoF), who has the responsibility for regulating accounting matters in China, has set itself the objectives of fostering investors’ confidence in financial information, increase transparency of financial reporting, and harmonize with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), so as to reduce the costs of raising capital by enterprises and alleviate the risk of financial crisis. 2. History Of Development †¢ The old accounting and regulations were designed to meet the needs of a planned economy, and therefore focused on whether the production goals of state-owned enterprises and their financial and costs plans were being met. †¢ Accordingly, the objectives of accounting and performance measurement some twenty years ago were significantly different from the financial reporting objectives in a modern market oriented economy. †¢ Significant accounting reforms were undertaken in the past two decades due to several factors such as: âž ¢ Since China opened its door to foreign investments in 1979, the rapid growth of its economy, international trade and securities markets has shaped new objectives for financial reporting. âž ¢ State-owned enterprises now look a lot like profit-oriented businesses, and managers and other users need reliable and relevant financial information on which to base decisions about the efficient allocation of capital. âž ¢ At the same time, china has reached out to the international community to form joint ventures and gain greater access to the latest technologies and the world’s capital markets. See more: Homelessness as a social problem Essay †¢ In the 1980s, the MoF issued the first set of accounting regulation, which was formulated by reference to international accounting practice, for joint ventures in China. †¢ In 1992, due to rapid development of the Chinese securities market, the accounting System for Experimental Joint Stock Limited Enterprises was promulgated by the MoF in order to standardised accounting practice and disclosures by listed companies. This System was subsequently replaced by the Accounting System for Joint Stock Limited Enterprises (JSLE) in 1998. †¢ The 1992 regulation moved away from the traditional fund-based Soviet accounting model and incorporated many common Western accounting practices. †¢ In the same year, the MoF promulgated the Accounting Regulations for Foreign Investment Enterprises (FIE), the Accounting Regulations for Share Enterprises. †¢ In 1993 the Basic Accounting Standard for Business Enterprises came into force. It imposes some basic rules (e.g. that double entry bookkeeping must be used, that a cash or funds statement must be included in the financial statements, and that consolidated financial statements must be provided where appropriate); set out a conceptual framework of China accounting and make some detailed rules of financial reporting. †¢ The conceptual framework introduced on a broader scope new accounting concepts and essential elements of financial statements that were in many respects based on international practices. †¢ The conceptual framework aspects of the regulation are reasonably close to US and IASC precedents. †¢ However, these pronouncements were still found to have essential differences with international practice such as limited disclosure of financial information for the users to understand the results and financial position of the reporting enterprise. †¢ Another difference is that the regulation does not specifically identify the primary user or purpose of financial statements. Instead, a hierarchy of users includes the government, banks, the public and an enterprise’s own management. †¢ This is very different from the US or IASB which emphasis on financial decision making by outside investors. †¢ In addition, the ASBE is based on historical cost without the revaluation allowed in IASB or UK rules or the increasing use of fair value in IASB/US/UK rules. †¢ Furthermore, ‘substance over form’ is not established as a principle in China. 3. The New Accounting Standards And Accounting System (Development after 1993). †¢ In 1993, with funding from the World Bank (US$2.6 million), the MoF engaged Deloitte Touchee Tohmatsu (DTT) as consultants to develop a body of Chinese Accounting Standards (CAS) broadly in line with accounting and financial reporting practices used internationally. †¢ Exposure Drafts on about 30 standards have since been published between 1994 and 1996, and they were generally closely in line with the standards of the IASC. †¢ In 1997, the first standard was issued. It is on disclosure of relationships and transactions with related parties. †¢ In the same year, China joined the IASC, and became an official observer at Board meetings. †¢ In October 1998, an Accounting Standards Committee (CASC) was founded within China’s MoF. It comprises academics and members of accounting firms as well as government experts. †¢ In 1998, the Ministry of Finance issued the Accounting System for Joint Stock Limited Enterprises (JSLE) to replace the accounting System for Experimental joint Stock Limited Enterprises in order to standardise accounting practice and disclosures by listed companies. †¢ In 2000, DTT was reappointed as consultants for the second phase of the project. †¢ China accounting has achieved remarkable progress in unifying its accounting practices since Year 2001. †¢ In the same year, MoF issued a new comprehensive Accounting System for Business Enterprise (the ‘System’). The new System replaced the Accounting System for JSLE form January 1, 2002. †¢ In other words, all JSLE (including all listed enterprise) and FIE are now required to follow one unified new System. The system introduces the concept of substance over form and extends the requirement for consideration to all assets. †¢ The MoF plans to ultimately require all medium-size and large enterprises (other than financial enterprises) to adopt the new System, and announced its expectation that state-owned enterprise will adopt the new system over time. †¢ When fully implemented, the new System will replace the numerous inconsistent industry accounting regulations, enabling the financial statements of different types of enterprises to become more comparable. 4. Impact Of The New Systems On FIE †¢ Before adopting the new System, FIE’s financial statements which were prepared in accordance with the Accounting Regulation for FIE could not properly reflect the enterprise’s actual financial position and operating results, the enterprise had to make numerous adjustments when they compile financial statements under overseas accounting standards, such as IAS and US GAAP. †¢ The process was time consuming and imposed additional cost of investment to the foreign investors. †¢ After the adoption of the new System, the differences between FIE’s financial statements under PRC GAAP and those prepared in accordance with international accounting practices will reduce further, thereby enabling the foreign investors to assess the performance of their investments more efficiently. 5. China Accounting Standards Convergence With IFRS †¢ The importance and acceptance of IFRS has increased significantly over the past few years. †¢ While actively pursuing convergence with IFRS, the MoF necessarily has to ensure that accounting standards appropriately address the national circumstances that exist during this transitional period in the economy. âž ¢ A very significant portion of the economy is dominated by state owned enterprises. Even after enterprises are restructured into joint stock enterprise and branched out from the government structure, functional or regional government that remain stakeholders still exert significant influences over the enterprises and their trading partners and their transactions. âž ¢ Free markets are not sufficiently developed in many areas. âž ¢ Financial statements are multi-functional, serving not only the needs of the investors but also other interested parties including the State for supervisory and management purposes. âž ¢ Enterprises and professional intermediaries such as auditors and valuers are at a developing stage. During this transitional period, accounting standards must be realistically implementable by the preparers and auditors of financial statements. †¢ On 16 February 2006, the Chinese Ministry of Finance and the International Accounting Standards Board formally announced that Chinese Accounting Standards (CAS) will converge with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) on 1 January 2007. †¢ Converging CAS with IFRS is one of many successful initiatives undertaken by the PRC government over the past global economy. †¢ Investors, analysts, regulators and other interested parties in recent years have been increasingly demanding more consistent and reliable financial reporting from companies around the world. †¢ The adoption and consistent application of accounting standards based on IFRS principles is widely viewed as a commitment to transparent financial reporting by these constituents. Transparent financial reporting is considered as the foundation of investor confidence. †¢ The process of convergence has been started way back in November 2005 when several meetings had been held between MoF and board members of IASB. †¢ The process of convergence will involve integrating the IFRS principles into CAS and will result in the amendment of all existing standards and the issuance of an additional 22 Specific standards. †¢ While the revised CAS will not reflect a literal translation of IFRS, their scope will include all IFRS principles. In additional, they will contain interpretive guidance to address the accounting for specific types of transaction (e.g. combinations of companies under common control) and industry accounting issues (e.g. extraction of petroleum and natural gas). †¢ The new CAS will comprise 1 basic standard and 38 specific standards. †¢ The revised CAS will first be applied to listed companies from 1 January 2007 and gradually applied to other types of entities. †¢ There will be differences between the revised CAS and IFRS to reflect unique circumstances in China. †¢ These differences, among other things, relate to: a. A prohibition of the reversal of asset impairment once it has been made; b. The accounting for certain government grants; c. Related party disclosures between State owned enterprises that have no direct investment relationship. 6. Challenges faced by China in converging with IFRS. †¢ The effect of changing accounting policies involves some efforts such as: âž ¢ Re-designing the financial reporting process to ensure that management has sufficient reliable financial information with which to prepare financial statements that comply with the standards, particularly in regards to the increased levels of disclosure required, and properly supports critical accounting estimates and judgements. âž ¢ The people involved in the financial reporting process will need to develop a new expertise and competency in applying revised CAS. âž ¢ Developing new accounting policy manual; integrating new CAS internal management reporting (budgeting, forecasting, performance measurement) and external reporting (financial, statutory, investor) into daily operations across the organization. âž ¢ Implementing ongoing and sustainable processes such as valuations of share options and derivatives, impairment testing hedge documentation and effectiveness testing, etc. âž ¢ Require identification of new data requirements due to financial statements and disclosure requirements. âž ¢ Train the head office and business units of the new reporting requirements. âž ¢ Provide training to finance and also non-finance staff including key management (e.g. finance, treasury, tax, human resource and sales) on new CAS principles and new reporting requirements. THE NEW SYSTEM OF CHINESE ACCOUNTING STANDARDS Key features and impact of the new accounting standards 1. The new accounting standards represent convergence with International financial Reporting Standards. †¢ Most of the newly issued standards and revised standards make reference to the equivalent IFRS and adopt the principles and treatments similar to its counterpart. †¢ As a result, the financial statements prepared in accordance with the New Accounting Standards will be more comparable with those prepared in accordance with IFRS. †¢ Overseas investors and users of financial statements will understand the financial statements of Chinese enterprise better and the cost of re-preparing financial statements for Chinese enterprises when getting overseas listing will be reduced. 2. The requirement of fair value measurement †¢ Under the new accounting standards, debt restructuring and no-monetary transactions will be measured at fair value and gains that meet certain criteria will be recognized in the income statement. †¢ Whereas before the revision, those transactions were carried at book value and any gains arising from those transactions were not allowed to be recognized. †¢ In practice, the determination of fair values may not be easy for many entities and various valuation techniques are required. 3. Specify accounting treatments for important accounting issues such as business combinations and consolidated financial statement. †¢ In the past, there was neither formal accounting standards nor comprehensive and detailed guidelines in the area of business combinations and consolidated financial statements. †¢ As a result, accounting treatments for similar business combination transactions may have varied across different enterprises causing much confusion and inconsistency. †¢ Therefore, the issuance of the standards on â€Å"Business Combination† and â€Å"Consolidated Financial statement† will provide comprehensive and more authoritative provisions and guidelines on these important accounting issues. 4. Specify treatments on new accounting issues and certain previously off-balance-sheet items will be recorded in the balance sheet †¢ Derivative financial instruments will be recognized on the balance sheet instead of only being disclosed in the notes to the financial statements. †¢ All shares and share options granted to employees to be measured at fair value and expensed in the income statement. 5. Standards relevant to important specialized industries †¢ The New Accounting Standards will include a number of standards that are relevant to those specialized industries. †¢ For example, the four standards on â€Å"Financial Instruments† will have an impact on accounting practices in various financial institutions. †¢ The standards on â€Å"Direct Insurance Contract† and â€Å"Re-insurance Contracts† will affect players in the insurance sectors. †¢ The â€Å"Extraction of Petroleum and Natural Gas† and â€Å"Biological Assets† are standards that are issued specifically for enterprises operating in the petroleum and gas industry and agriculture industry respectively. 6. Impairment of Assets †¢ The previous accounting regulations in China allow the reversal of impairment under certain circumstances. †¢ However, under the new standard, it specifies that any recognized impairment loss for fixed assets and intangible assets cannot be reversed in future accounting periods. †¢ The restriction on impairment loss reversal does not apply to inventories, trade receivables and bank loans. 7. More detailed requirements on disclosure †¢ The new standards provide users of financial statements with more relevant and transparent information, which will facilitate their economic decision-making. †¢ For instances, in respect of accounting policies and accounting estimates, the basis for the determination of significant accounting policies and accounting estimates is required to be disclosed. †¢ In relation to financial instruments, a detailed disclosure on the enterprise’s financial risk exposure is now required. 8. Transitional adjustments †¢ The New Accounting Standards were applicable to listed companies effective from 1 January 2007. †¢ The MOF has issued transitional provisions which are included in the standard on â€Å"First Time Adoption of Accounting Standards for Business Enterprises†. †¢ The standard requires that at the date of transaction, an entity should reclassify, recognize and measure all assets, liabilities and owners’ equity in accordance with the New Accounting Standards and prepare an opening balance sheet. †¢ These transitional provisions may reduce the workload and complexities for preparers’ adoption of the New Accounting Standards.

Effect of Globalisation on Inflation

Effect of Globalisation on Inflation Contents list (jump to) Introduction Body Content Globalization Discourage Inflation? How does Globalisation discourage inflation in OECD countries? Globalization Encourage inflation? How Does Globalization Affect China Inflation? Conclusion Appendix (1) Appendix (2) Bibliography Introduction In this advancement era, communicating and sharing of cultures between countries has become much easier. Not only that, good and services can be consumed by country that are not being produced within the country. For example, in countries that have two good or services only, country will be producing good that they are good at producing in term of comparative advantages or even through theory of abundant factor of production. This mean, country will export the good that they are good at producing and importing good that they are poor at producing. Globalization makes import and export between countries possible. What is globalization? According to BBC, globalization is process by which the world is becoming more interconnected as compared to before. This is because; globalization is the mean of the worldwide movement toward integration in term of economic, financial, trade and also communication. The history of Globalization has begun century ago, however, different economics, have different opinion on when globalization actually begin. Some economics that agree with Adam smith, believe that globalization happen on two most important events that is being recorded in the history. The two major event that are related to globalization is significantly dated in 1492 in event of Christopher Colombus stumbles on the Americas in search of spices and 1498 in event of Vasco da Gama makes an end run around Africa and snatched monopoly rents away from the Arab and Venetian spice trader (Kevin H.ORourke, 2000). Some economics like Andre Gunder Franks believe that globalization begins only from 1500 onward and economics such as Jerry Bentley argues that globalization begin even before 1500. A test was being carried out to test the globalization impact on economic. The test looks at the connection between factor price, commodity price and endowment worldwide. However, in the year 1492 and 1498, there is no evidence showing that globalization occurs in the two year. Only in the 19th century, there is abundant of evidence support that in this century, a big globalization bang has occurred. (Kevin H.ORourke, Abstract, 2000). The reason for globalization to occur in a large scale is because the advancement of transportation, technology and reduction of tariff. With the advancement of transport such as containerisation have make transportation of good from one nation to another nation much more efficient and also cheaper. Containerisation is the use of common size of container to transport good from one nation to another nation. In addition, advancement of technology such as internet has contributed highly to sharing of information and also enables people to communicate around the world. Tariff is used to increase the price of the imported good. With the support of World Trade Organization (WTO), who aims is to encourage country to trade in a free trade barrier environment. With the reduction of tariff, people will be able to consume more of foreign produced goods and services. Other than that, mobility of capital and labour also contributed largely to the globalization era that we are facing in today worl d. Many countries have tried many ways to control their inflation. This is because, if inflation is too high, the cost of living of a nation will be high, and eventually affecting it standard of living to fall. Inflation refers to the rate at which price level of general good and services is rising. With the raise of price level of good and services in a country, purchasing power of consumer in the nation itself will fall. Inflation rate is being measured by percentage change in Consumer Price Index (CPI) . Consumer price index is the weighted average of good and services that are being purchased by a typical household. Some cause of inflation is the market power, demand pull .asset market boom and shock supply (T.Harvey, 2011). One of the examples is that during an economic expansion, household will have surplus of money. With this abundant of money, household will increase their demand of good and services. Thus, in response toward the increase in demand for goods and services, firm w ill have to increase the price of good and services to reduce the demand. This increase in price level in response of high demand is an example of inflation The main question now is does globalization affect inflation? Many economics hold different perspective about globalization and inflation. There are also various opinions in regard of inflation and globalization. Some economists say that globalization will encourage inflation to rise, while other economics have contrary view about inflation and globalization. Therefore, we are going to examine whether or not globalization has an impact of the nation inflation. Body Content Globalization Discourage Inflation? Economist Richard Fisher and W.Michael Cox of Dallas Federal Reserve have discovered that â€Å"the more globalized a country is, they tend to pursue policy that achieve faster economic growth, lower inflation, higher income and greater economic freedom† (COX, 2006). Meanwhile countries that are less globalized tend to pursue policies that interfere with the market and will eventually lead the country into stagnation, inflation and diminished competitiveness. Country that are more globalized are able to experience faster economic growth because, they focus mainly on producing good that they are able to produce with a lower cost of production. This mean that all globalized country will be producing more of good that they are producing at a lower cost and produce less of good that they are producing at a higher cost. By doing so, country will experience a surplus of good that they are producing more and shortage of good that they are producing less. Therefore, country will impor t good that they experiencing shortage and exporting good that they are experience a surplus. This specialisation will enable firm to experience a lower average cost or production and consumer to experience a lower price. As the price of good decreases, it means that the inflation rate have decreases. â€Å"The consequent significant additions to world production and trade have clearly put downward pressure on the domestic price† (Greenspan, 2004). How does Globalisation discourage inflation in OECD countries? A research has been conducted on the OECD countries regarding the impact that globalization has on inflation. The research included a sample of 22 OECD countries that consist of Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK, and the USA. The research uses KOF-index as a measurement of globalization which cover the economics and social and political dimension of globalization as proxies for globalization and simple average inflation as a measurement of inflation (Pehnelt, 2007). The result has shown that (Appendix 1) that as the KOF index increases, the inflation rate has decreases. There are several reasons that have contributed to this negative relationship between inflation and globalization which are the import price effect, global competition effect, labour market effect and so on. The import price effect is one of the factors that has contributed to the result that KOF index and Inflation are negatively related. With globalization, comparative advantage and also economics of scale can be achieved. This is because, integration of low income into the world economy and also the enhancement of division of labour. There is two function of import price in a globalized economy is that it have direct influence over inflation and also can be used to determine the domestic price of good and services. In the particular sector, the downward pressure of import price can influence the domestic inflation by lowering them down. As the import price fall, it will also have a direct impact on the fall in the consumer price which is proportion to the share of import in the actual consumption basket. Since imported good are being used as a substituted for domestic product. Therefore, when imported price decreases, it will eventually cause the overall inflation rate in the country to fall as well. Another reason that affects the KOF index to have a negative effect with inflation is because of the global competition effect. In general global competition refer to the good and services that are being provided by competing companies to serve international customers. With a higher import penetration, OECD countries have experience enhanced competition in their country. When a country has experience an enhanced competition that result from higher import penetration, it will limit the monopoly power of its domestic producer. This causes, domestic producer to be unable to increase the price of good even if the domestic demand increases or even cost of production increases. It means that as country experiencing an economic integration, respective country will be experiencing a higher price elasticity of demand. This causes domestic firm to reduce their mark-up price. Since it is an elastic demand curve, by reducing the mark-up price will induce more customers to purchase the good. This is because, in an elastic demand curve, a percent decrease in price will induce more than a percent increase in the quantity demand in the economic. However, the size of reduction in mark-up price is depending on the intensity of the foreign competition. The more open an economy is , the higher the competitive pressure it put on the domestic producer. Other than that, labour market effect also plays a role in the negative relationship between globalization and also inflation. With the integration of huge developing and newly industrialized countries into the global economy, it has put a downward pressure on the wage rate in OECD countries in certain sector. This is because as more country enters the global world, the supply of labour in the labour market will increase and it wills eventually causes the economy to experience a decrease in the wage rate of worker. With a lower cost of production, it will cause the production of good to be produced at a cheaper cost. Thus, as the cost of production decrease, it mean that price of imported product will decrease. Therefore, it shows that as a country becomes more globalized, the country will experience a fall in product price in certain sector. Globalization Encourage inflation? According to the Globalization Hypothesis (GH), it stated that the internationalization of the good and financial market has led to the increase of the dependence of the national macroeconomics outcome which is inflation rates and business cycle on the international factor (Francesco Bianchi, 2013). Not only that, Economics Ben Bernanke said that When the offsetting effects of globalization on the prices ofmanufactured imports and on energy and commodity prices are considered together, there seems to be little basis for concluding that globalization overall has significantly reduced inflation, said Bernanke. Indeed, the opposite may be true. (Chen, 2007) How Does Globalization Affect China Inflation? In the year 2006, China has experience an increase of 30% in the price level or energy metal and agricultural product. The reason for the raise in the commodity price of good in China is because of the raise in the demand for commodity in the growing of world economy. Not only that, As time goes on , Chinese are becoming more richer and the middle class citizen are growing . This show that the demand for food and food related product will increase. However, the supply of food has fall due to the development of housing and commercial on the arable land. Arable land is land that is suitable for the growing of crops. Thus with arable land being used as a housing area , the supply of food for China has decreases. With globalization, the change in the use of land and also increasing demand could result in a higher structural increase in the food price. Not only that the stagnant of the supply of commodities create an even greater world demand for product and may result in a even higher pr ice increase. As show in the in appendix 2, it indicates that as years pass, the entire commodities price in the world has increases dramatically. Conclusion In conclusion, Globalization may have some impact on inflation. However, there is still having on-going debate that globalization will cause inflation to rise. While other economics supports that globalization may discourage inflation rate to rise. As shown, OECD countries experience a decrease in the inflation rate when they are having a high openness to trade. However country like China have experience an increase in the price of commodity such as oil price and food price when there is globalization. Appendix (1) Appendix (2) Bibliography Braeuninger, D. (2008, Feburary 6). Has Globalization Deepend Inequality. Retrieved April 20, 2014, from Yaleglobal Online: http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/content/has-globalization-deepened-inequality Chen, C. T. (2007, 03 3). Bernanke Says Globalization May Push Inflation Higher. Retrieved 04 20, 2014, from Bloomberg: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchivesid=ax2XxQsuANu8 COX, R. W. (2006, april 10). Globalizing Good Government. Retrieved april 20, 2014, from The New Yourk Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/10/opinion/10cox.html?_r=0 Francesco Bianchi, A. C. (2013). Introdcution. Globalization and Inflation: Structural Evidence from a Time, 1. Greenspan, C. A. (2004, May 6). Globalization and innovations. Retrieved April 20, 2014, from Federal Reserve Board: http://www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/speeches/2004/200405062/ Kevin H.ORourke, J. G. (2000). Abstract. When did globalization begin ?, ii. Kevin H.ORourke, J. G. (2000). Globalization and World History. When did globalization begin ?, 1-2. Pehnelt, G. (2007). THE EFFECTS OF GLOBALISATION ON INFLATION. Globalisation and Inflation in OECD Countries, 4. T.Harvey, J. (2011, May 30). What Atcually Causes Inflation. Retrieved April 20, 2014, from Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/sites/johntharvey/2011/05/30/what-actually-causes-inflation/2/

Changing Issues in Human Resource Management (HRM)

Changing Issues in Human Resource Management (HRM) Human Resource Management (HRM) is a process of bringing people and organizations together so that the goals of each are met. It is that part of the management process which is concerned with the management of human resources in an organization. It tries to secure the best from people by winning their wholehearted cooperation. In short, it may be defined as the art of procuring, developing and maintaining competent workforce to achieve the goals of an organization in an effective and efficient manner. Todays organizations are facing challenges upon following levels: Environmental Challenges Organizational Challenges Individual Challenges Environmental Challenges Most organizations face external contexts that are complex, dynamic and increasingly global. This makes the context increasingly difficult to interpret. To cope with often incomplete and ambiguous contextual data, and to increase their understanding of the general external context, organizations engage in a process called external environmental analysis. All managers, including HR managers, need to be aware of the importance of scanning the external context in a systematic way. A number of models exist that can help managers in analysing the external environment. Such models provide a framework to identify external opportunities and threats. Opportunities arise when an organization can take advantage of conditions in its external environment to formulate and implement strategies that enable it to improve performance. Threats arise when conditions in the external environment endanger the integrity of the organizations activities. As shown in Exhibit 1 an organizations external environment has two major parts: Macroenvironment Industry The macro environment is composed of social, economic, political and technological elements in the broader society that can influence an industry and the organizations within it. The industry environment is the set of factors that directly influences an organization and its actions and responses. Managers have to analyse competitive forces in an industrys environment in order to identify the opportunities and threats confronting an organization. Environmental challenges refer to forces external to the firm that are largely beyond managements control but influence organizational performance. The important environmental challenges today are: Globalization, Economy Work force diversity, Technology Evolving work and family roles, Skill shortages and the rise of the service sector Each of these are discussed in the subsequent section Globalization Globalization is not a recent phenomenon. Some analysts have argued that the world economy was just a globalized 100 years ago as it is today. Yet the term is used since the 1980s, reflecting technological advances that have made it easier and quicker to complete international transactions, both trade and financial flows. The most striking aspect of this has been the integration of financial markets made possible by modern electronic communication. integration of business activities across geographical and organizational boundaries. The capacity to treat the world as one market whileà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦dealing with many culturally diverse merchants. the process by which markets expands to include competitors for customers and productive inputs without regard to national boundaries. doing business with a worldwide focusà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ rather than doing business in an international market with the focus from a home-country viewpoint. Many companies are already being compelled to think globally, something that doesnt come easily to firms long accustomed to doing business in a large and expanding domestic market with minimal foreign competition. Weak response to international competition may be resulting in upwards layoffs in every year. Human resources can play a critical role in a businesss ability to compete head-to-head with foreign producers. The implications of a global economy on human resource management are many. Globalization has increased the importance of HRM in organization. It has led to the development of many new areas of HR activity such as; the transfer of work to different geographical locations, either to outsourced providers or on a global in-sourcing basis; the e-enablement of many HR process; greater sophistication in the HR information technology, new structures for international HR functions; greater competition for talented staff at all levels of organization. In particular, there has been a very strong marketing, corporate communication and IT influence on the HR function. The HR function is realigning itself in response to this process of cross-function globalization (building new alliances with these functions) creating new activity streams and new roles and skills required of the HR function (Sparrow, Brewster and Harris, 2004). Economy Several changes in the economy have important implications for human resource management, these include the changing structure of the economy, the development of e-business, and more growth in professional and service occupations. Growth in these occupations means that skill demands for jobs have changed, with knowledge becoming more valuable. Not only have skill demands changed, but remaining competitive in a global economy requires demanding work hours and changes in traditional employment patterns. The creation of new jobs, aging employees leaving the workforce, slow population growth, and a lack of employees who have the skills needed to perform the jobs in greatest demand means that demand for employees will exceed supply. This has created a war for talent that has increased the attention companies pay to attracting and retaining human resources. Technology The world has never before seen such rapid technological changes as are presently occurring in the computer and telecommunications industries. One estimate is that technological change is occurring so rapidly that individuals may have to change their entire skills three or four times in their career. The advances being made, affect every area of a business including human resource management. Workforce Diversity According to Thomas (1992), dimensions of workforce diversity include, but are not limited to: age, ethnicity, ancestry, gender, physical abilities/qualities, race, sexual orientation, educational background, geographic location, income, marital status, military experience, religious beliefs, parental status, and work experience. Many companies are now realizing the advantages of a diverse workplace. As more and more companies are going global in their market expansions either physically or virtually (for example, E-commerce-related companies), there is a necessity to employ diverse talents to understand the various niches of the market. For example, when China was opening up its markets and exporting their products globally in the late 1980s, the Chinese companies (such as Chinas electronic giants such as Haier) were seeking the marketing expertise of Singaporeans. This is because Singapores marketing talents were able to understand the local China markets relatively well (almost 75% of Singaporeans are of Chinese descent) and as well as being attuned to the markets in the West due to Singapores open economic policies and English language abilities. (Toh, R, 1993) With this trend in place, a HR Manager must be able to organize the pool of diverse talents strategically for the organization. He/She must consider how a diverse workforce can enable the company to attain new markets and other organizational goals in order to harness the full potential of workplace diversity. Evolving Work and Family Roles The proportion of dual-career families, in which both wife and husband (or both members of a couple) work, is increasing every year. Unfortunately, women face the double burden of working at home and on the job, devoting 42 hours per week on average to the office and an additional 30 hours at home to children. This compares to 43 hours spent working in the office and only 12 hours at home for men. More and more companies are introducing family-friendly programs that give them a competitive advantage in the labor market. These programs are HR policies that companies use to hire and retain the best-qualified employees, male or female, and they are very likely to payoff. For instance, among the well known organizations / firms, half of all recruits are women, but only 5% of senior management are women. Major talent is being wasted as many women drop out after lengthy training because they have decided that the demanding 10- to 12-year management track requires a total sacrifice of famil y life. These firms have started to change their policies and are already seeing gains as a result. Different companies have recently begun offering child-care services as well to facilitate women workers as well as are introducing alternative scheduling to allow employees some flexibility in their work hours. Skill Shortages and the Rise of the Service Sector Expansion of service-sector employment is linked to a number of factors, including changes in consumer tastes and preferences, legal and regulatory changes, advances in science and technology that have eliminated many manufacturing jobs, and changes in the way businesses are organized and managed. Service, technical, and managerial positions that require college degrees will make up half of all manufacturing and service jobs. Unfortunately, most available workers will be too unskilled to fill those jobs. Even now, many companies complain that the supply of skilled labor is dwindling and that they must provide their employees with basic training to make up for the shortcomings of the public education system. To rectify these shortcomings, companies currently spend large amount year on a wide variety of training programs. ii. Organizational Challenges Organizational challenges refer to concerns that are internal to the firm. However, they are often a byproduct of environmental forces because no firm operates in a vacuum. Still, managers can usually exert much more control over organizational challenges than over environmental challenges. Effective managers spot organizational issues and deal with them before they become major problems. Only managers who are well informed about important HR issues and organizational challenges can do this. These challenges include the need for a competitive position and flexibility, the problems of downsizing and organizational restructuring, the use of self-managed work teams, the need to create a strong organizational culture, the role of technology, and the rise of outsourcing. An organization will outperform its competitors if it effectively utilizes its work forces unique combination of skills and abilities to exploit environmental opportunities and neutralize threats. HR policies can influence an organizations competitive position by a) Controlling costs, b) Improving quality, c) Creating distinctive capabilities and d) Restructuring a) Controlling costs One way for a firm to gain a competitive advantage is to maintain low costs and a strong cash flow. A compensation system that uses innovative reward strategies to control labor costs can help the organization grow. A well-designed compensation system rewards employees for behaviors that benefit the company. Other factors besides compensation policies can enhance a firms competitiveness by keeping labor costs under control. These include: better employee selection so that workers are more likely to stay with the company and to perform better while they are there, training employees to make them more efficient and productive; attaining harmonious labor relations; effectively managing health and safety issues in the workplace and structuring work to reduce the time and resources needed to design, produce, and deliver products or services b) Improving quality. The second way to gain a competitive advantage is to engage in continuous quality improvement. Many companies are implementing total quality management (TQM) initiatives, which are programs designed to improve the quality of all the processes that lead to a final product or service. In a TQM program, every aspect of the organization is oriented toward providing a quality product or service. c) Creating Distinctive Capabilities The third way to gain a competitive advantage is to utilize people with distinctive capabilities to create unsurpassed competence in a particular area (for example, 3Ms competence in adhesives, and Xeroxs dominance of the photocopier market). d) Restructuring A number of firms are changing the way the functions are performed. The past two decades have witnessed a dramatic transformation in how firms are structured. Tall organizations that had many management levels are becoming flatter as companies reduce the number of people between the chief executive officer (CEO) and the lowest-ranking production employee in an effort to become more competitive. This transformation has had enormous implications for the effective utilization of human resources. Since the late 1980s, many companies have instituted massive layoffs of middle managers, whose traditional role of planning, organizing, implementing, and controlling has come to be equated with the kind of cumbersome bureaucracy that prevents businesses from responding to market forces. It is estimated that two thirds of the jobs eliminated in the 1990s were supervisory/middle management jobs. New relationships among firms are also fostering hybrid organizational structures and the blending of firms with diverse histories and labor forces. Mergers and acquisitions, in which formerly independent organizations come together as a single entity, represent two important sources of restructuring. A newer and rapidly growing form of inter organizational bonding comes in the form of joint ventures, alliances, and collaborations among firms that remain independent, yet work together on specific products to spread costs and risks. To be successful, organizational restructuring requires effective management of human resources. For instance, flattening the organization requires careful examination of staffing demands, workflows, communication channels, training needs, and so on. Likewise, mergers and other forms of inter organizational relations require the successful blending of dissimilar organizational structures, management practices, technical expertise, and so forth iii. Individual Challenges Human resource issues at the individual level address the decisions most pertinent to specific employees. These individual challenges almost always reflect what is happening in the larger organization. For instance, technology affects individual productivity; it also has ethical ramifications in terms of how information is used to make HR decisions (for example, use of credit or medical history data to decide whom to hire). How the company treats its individual employees is also likely to affect the organizational challenges we discussed earlier. For example, if many key employees leave the firm to join competitors, the organizations competitive position is likely to be affected. In other words, there is a two-way relationship between organizational and individual challenges. This is unlike the relationship between environmental and organizational challenges, in which the relationship goes only one way few organizations can have much impact on the environment. The most important indi vidual challenges today involve, productivity, empowerment, brain drain, job security and matching people and organizations. Productivity Productivity is a measure of how much value individual employees add to the goods or services that the organization produces. The greater the output per individual, the higher the organizations productivity. Two important factors that affect individual productivity are ability and motivation. Employee ability, competence in performing a job, can be improved through a hiring and placement process that selects the best individuals for the job. It can also be improved through training and career development programs designed to sharpen employees skills and prepare them for additional responsibilities. Motivation refers to a persons desire to do the best possible job or to exert the maximum effort to perform assigned tasks. Motivation energizes, directs, and sustains human behavior. A growing number of companies recognize that employees are more likely to choose a firm and stay there if they believe that it offers a high quality of work life (QWL). Empowerment In recent years many firms have reduced employee dependence on superiors and placed more emphasis on individual control over (and responsibility for) the work that needs to be done. This process has been labeled empowerment because it transfers direction from an external source (normally the immediate supervisor) to an internal source (the individuals own desire to do well). In essence, the process of empowerment entails providing workers with the skills and authority to make decisions that would traditionally be made by managers. The goal of empowerment is an organization consisting of enthusiastic, committed people who perform their work ably because they believe in it and enjoys doing it (internal control). This situation is in stark contrast to an organization that gets people to work as an act of compliance to avoid punishment (for example, being fired) or to qualify for a paycheck (external control). Work Time Flextime the practice of permitting employees to choose, with certain limitations, their own working hours. Compressed Workweek-any arrangement of work hours that permits employees to fulfill their work obligation in fewer days than the typical five-day workweek. This approach adds many highly qualified individuals to the labor market by permitting both employment and family needs to be addressed. Workplace flexibility is expected to be on the rise as the future workplace, the virtual office is characterized by creative and flexible work arrangements. As more employees work off-site-up to two thirds of an organization in the 21st century there will be an increase in emphasis on performance and results as opposed to the number of hours worked. In addition, off-site employees can expect to attend fewer meetings. Specified work will become much more collaborative and management will spend nearly all its time managing cross-functional work teams who enjoy a lot of autonomy Quality of Work Life (QWL) High quality of work life is related to job satisfaction, which in turn is a strong predictor of absenteeism and turnover. A firms investments in improving the quality of work life also payoff in the form of better customer service. High employment rate, low inflation and Steady economic growth provide opportunity and rising living standards. Technological advance has enabled the worlds population to grow with improved living standards for most. Brain Drain With organizational success more and more dependent on knowledge held by specific employees, companies are becoming more susceptible to brain drain-the loss of intellectual property that results when competitors lure away key employees. High-Tec firms are particularly vulnerable to this problem. Such important industries as semiconductors and electronics suffer from high employee turnover as key employees, inspired by the potential for huge profits, leave established firms to start their own businesses. This brain drain can negatively affect innovation and cause major delays in the introduction of new products. To make matters worse, departing employees, particularly those in upper management, can wreak considerable havoc by taking other talent with them when they leave. To combat the problem of defection to competitors, some firms are crafting elaborate ant defection devices. For example, Compaq computer has introduced a policy that revokes bonuses and other benefits to key executiv es if they take other employees with them when they quit. Micron Technology staggers key employees bonuses; they lose un-awarded portions when they leave. Matching People and Organizations HR strategies contribute to firm performance most when the firm uses these strategies to attract and retain the type of employee who best fits the firms culture and overall business objectives. For example, one study showed that the competencies and personality characteristics of top executives could hamper or improve firm performance, depending on what the firms business strategies are. Fast-growth firms perform better with managers who have a strong marketing and sales background, who are willing to take risks, and who have a high tolerance for ambiguity. However, these managerial traits actually reduce the performance of mature firms that have an established product and are more interested in maintaining (rather than expanding) their market share. Other research has shown that small high-tech firms benefit by hiring employees who are willing to work in an atmosphere of high uncertainty, low pay, and rapid change in exchange for greater intrinsic satisfaction and the financial oppo rtunities associated with a risky but potentially very lucrative product launch CHALLENGES FOR HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGERS Issues facing HR are expected to change dramatically in the next decades. HR programs and the HR function have increased pressure to relate to the business strategy and show a return on investment. Customer focus needs to be included in all HRM practices. New technology combined with economic uncertainty will mean that administrative and transactional HR activities will be delivered via technology creating less need for HR professionals to provide these activities. Thus, HR professionals must play special roles in dealing with these changes and must develop specific competencies to support these roles. Employee Engagement Products and process alone cant help organizations to sustain loyal customers. They also need highly-motivated, dedicated and involved employees who are very passionate about their work and their organization; in short, they need engaged employees. But, nurturing engaged employees requires a lot of effort and skill on the part of HR managers and calls for a different HR philosophy in the organization. We need employee engagement to serve as a core competency of an organization that would provide sustainable competitive advantage. We know employee engagement towards their work, throw few test symptoms, i.e., feeling of creating value, having a direction to follow, an air of trust, creating engaged employees through top management endorsement, a work environment to cherish, innovative leadership and clear growth trajectories, one step up from commitment. Employee engagement is the new buzzword. A successful business is directly linked to the commitment of its employees. Employee engagement ensures the successful execution of any business strategy. Talent Management One of HRs most challenging jobs now involves managing talent. Much has changed in recent years to make this an increasingly critical area for HR. Among the issues that have made the talent management job more difficult are: frequent restructuring, a growing reliance on outside hiring, flatter organizations with fewer growth options, a tighter job market (at least in the long term), the aging workforce and the decline of clear career paths, as we mentioned above that it create a big challenge before the HR. In order to retain its most valuable stakeholders, an organization must find innovative ways to continually recruit its own employees. Retaining top quality talent is an enormous challenge facing corporations today and it is duty of HR to cope with it. In order to build effective retention and deployment strategies, companies must maintain visibility into and communication with their employees. An organizations capacity to hire, develop and retain talent is the most crucial business process as there is a definite correlation between intangible assets and market capitalization, according to the protagonists of talent management. It is due to these intrinsic intangible values that some companies are perceived as more valuable than others. Managing Virtual Human Resources Change in technology results in a change in the structure, design and environment of an organization Organizations today operate in a workspace, which is much more broadly defined, than it was earlier. Connectivity within and outside the organizations, creates a world of virtual organizations. A virtual company is usually a highly networked organization that extensively contracts out activities that were once performed in-house, allowing both speed and flexibility. The key to success in a virtual corporation is connectivity, i.e., the ability to network with a large number of independent companies. In essence, there will be a movement, a trend towards a decentralized model of HR. HR managers will have to accommodate employees in their virtual work locations and find ways to manage corporate culture, socialization and employee orientation. In order to obtain and maintain a competent workforce, they must act as organizational performance experts and shape employees behavior without face to face meetings. HR Issues and Cross Cultural Management Another expected change in HR is the Global Business concept world trade knew a major growth during the last years and there is forecasted as well the growth of international businesses, especially among small firms. Organization rely more and more organization HR specialists as the facilitators of work across borders and among different cultures. Therefore, they must be knowledgeable of other cultures, languages and business practices. They will be required to develop and manage an international workforce, maintain written and unwritten corporate polices for transportability to other cultures, keep top management informed of the costs of not paying attention to the transnational issues and provide their services to a variety of locations world wide. Organization must take into account cultural differences that shape managerial attitudes, when developing multinational management programs. For e.g., British managers value individual achievement and autonomy, whereas French managers appreciate competent supervision, fringe benefits, security and comfortable conditions, while Indian managers gives more importance of their culture and tradition. HR managers must therefore be familiar with and understand other cultural norms to promote organization diversity. An organization that recognizes and promotes cultural diversity will benefit because it will be employing the market that it serves. With increasing globalization and competition within the market, a diverse workforce is conducive to attracting and retaining a strong client base. While competing in an international market, employees from diverse national backgrounds provide language skills and understanding of other cultures. HR professionals will also be responsible for providing cultural sensitivity training for the organizations employees and for managers throughout the entire organization. (Czebter, Anamaria, 2002) Managing Issues of Work Life Balance in Organisations The challenge of work/life balance is rising to the top of many employers and employees consciousness. In a society filled with conflicting responsibilities and commitments, work/life balance has become a predominant issue in the workplace. Research by Parasuraman and Greenhaus (2002) documented that segments of the workforce may be subject to unique work/family pressures, yet often have few sources of support. The under-representation of these groups of individuals with potentially difficult types of work/family pressures represents a major gap in work/family research and employers understanding of their needs. Typically, studies have focused on employed men and women who are married or living with a partner or those with children. Omitted from research are single-earner mothers and fathers, single and childless employees with extensive responsibility for eldercare, blended families with children from both partners prior marriages, families with shared custody of children, and grand parents raising their grandchildren. In their highly acclaimed book, Work and FamilyAllies or Enemies, Friedman and Greenhaus (2000), two leaders in work/life balance, help us understand choices we make as employers and individuals regarding work and family. To handle work/life balance, Friedman and Greenhaus emphasize that working adults learn to build networks of support at home, at work, and in the community. Conflict between work and family has real consequences and significantly affects quality of family life and career attainment of both men and women. With the growing diversity of family structures represented in the workforce in the new millennium, it is important that human resource professionals better understand the interface of work and family relationships and the resulting impact in the workplace. Human Resource professionals seeking innovative ways to augment their organizations competitive advantage in the marketplace may find that work/life balance challenges offer a win-win solution.