The Sweatshop Industry and Child Labour in NICs Essay Example For Students

The Sweatshop Industry and Child Labour in NICs Essay The Sweatshop Industry and Child Labour in NICs This report is aimed at investigating if the two major TNCs Nike and Gap manufacture their products according to their code of vendor conduct. Both companies code of vendor conduct clearly states that no workers are employed under the legal minimum age and sweatshops dont exist in their factories. A sweatshop is a factory where employees are subject to extreme exploitation; they work in dreadful conditions with health and safety hazards, for little pay and long hours. Child labour is, as the word suggests, when children under the legal minimum age are employed to work We will write a custom essay on The Sweatshop Industry and Child Labour in NICs specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now When we hear brand names such as Nike and Gap, most of us will immediately associate the brands with expensive and fashionable designer products, and no doubt most people have worn an item with these particular brand names on them; however under the soft clothing and recognisable brands lies a very different story. To investigate this further we have to travel to a country where Nike and Gap manufacture their products. I have decided to travel to Cambodia. This is a country situated in South East Asia, bordered by Vietnam, Thailand and Laos. Its capital Phnom Pehn is situated in the south east of the country. Most of Cambodias work force is mainly in the primary sector; however their secondary sector is growing, which results in Cambodia being recognised as being an NIC (newly industrialised country). IMAGE When we arrived in Cambodia we immediately started our search for a factory that manufactured products for Nike and Gap. This was very difficult, as the factories are in secret locations, becaus. .ap and Nike are made in factories in South Asia and the demand here affects lives there. Consumers are starting to realise this. More and more want that workers making their clothes are being treated humanely. Both the Gap and Nike have anti-sweatshop rules or codes of vendor conduct, they proudly post those reassurances on their web sites and staff repeats to worried customers No sweatshops, no child labour, no tolerance. But as we have seen in this report Nike and Gap break their codes of vendor conduct on several points. These codes of vendor conduct and anti-sweatshop rules are just an attempt not to damage their reputation. After all Nike and Gap rely on their reputation from the public and a report like this could damage their reputation. I hope that this report has helped to raise awareness about these issues.

A Friend’s Advice Essays

A Friend’s Advice Essays A Friend’s Advice Essay A Friend’s Advice Essay My friend told me she was buying a pre-owned car, and asked me for some advice on how to select a good one. I believe that buying a car is, next to buying a house, the most expensive purchase that one makes in life. Therefore, she must take care in choosing what she buys (Tips on Buying a Car). The first thing to be done when buying a pre-owned car is to shop around (Tips on Buying a Car). She should not buy the first car that she sees; rather, she must look around for the best deal. Every car that is being considered must be inspected, because there is a big chance of finding a â€Å"lemon,† which is a term used to refer to a used car that looks nice on the outside but consists of broken down parts on the inside (Tips on Buying a Car). She should also be good at negotiating with dealers. Dealers know well how to work the ropes in order to get the best price that would enable them to get a nice cut on the purchase price. Therefore, it is important for a buyer to research on the market prices of the cars that are being considered for purchase (Tips on Buying a Car). It is also best to shop for a car towards the end of the month, because it is the phase where dealers are being forced to meet their quotas (Tips on Buying a Car). Hence, they are more eager to make sales, rather than get a big cut by pricing too high. Finally, she should make sure that the car she is buying is secured by a warranty, so that she would have some recourse in case the car she buys turns out to be of bad condition. Therefore, it is best that she goes to a dealer because they are required by law to provide warranty on the cars they sell (Tips on Buying a Car).

International HRM Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

International HRM - Essay Example Therefore, in order to expand and grow, corporations are now emerging themselves into the global market. Within the organisations, the most importantly considered assets are its people. Where the organisation requires managing its operational activities, likewise the people within the organisation needs to come under supervision. The administration of the people is the sole responsibility of Human Resource Management department, thus, it has become significantly important for any organisation to have HRM in their organisation. What is Human Resource Management? Human Resource Management (HRM) is one of the departments that exclusively deals with and take care of the company’s assets known as ‘people’. The rising drifts in the international market and its situations have given a boost to Human Resource Management and raised its importance for the organisation and its owners. The history of HRM states that Personal Management was the term that came under use before the terminology Human Resource Management emerged. The emergence of HRM reveals the fact of the success of the organisations that was due to the behavioral change of employees for their contributions through their hard work (Jackson & Mathis, pp. 2-20, 2007). The principal functions of any Human Resource Management in a broad perspective focus on the recruitment of the people, administer them, and endow with guidance for the right path or track to them. Supporting and handling all the matters of concern of employees, such as â€Å"performance management and appraisals, compensation and benefits, training and development, hiring and firing of management level and junior level people, organisational development, employee motivation, and overall administration† (Jackson & Mathis, pp. 2-20, 2007) are the primary job functions of any HRM. HRM is not only administering the company’s employees, rather it also controls the culture of the enterprise and its internal atmosphere. HRM is a leading and motivational aspect that facilitates the employee to give their maximum output in an efficient and fruitful way so that the company can accomplish its mission and visions that helps growing its prosperity. With the passage of time, the role of HRM has extensively modified and increased and now it has shifted from the conventional role of administration of the employees to the added-value strategic approach and method that affects the business revenues in a reckonable way (Jackson & Mathis, pp. 2-20, 2007). What is International Human Resource Management? The globalisation and increasing global market trends and environment has given rise to the concept of Human Resource Management in an international context, which is International Human Resource Management (IHRM). IHRM focuses on the administration of the employees on a global basis in order to accomplish the goals, objectives mission and visions of the enterprise, in order to get an edge over the competitors present not only on local level but

Atlanta's Historical Preservation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Atlanta's Historical Preservation - Essay Example Take no other metropolis for example than Atlanta, the grandiose heart of the South. "Parkside Partners Inc. and The Carter Real Estate Fund I LLC have formed a partnership to develop a two-building, class A office condominium project on about 3.5 acres in Technology Park/Atlanta in Gwinnett County. " The gem of the South is quickly turning into smog-ridden monument to consumerism. And lost in this shuffle of Starbucks-lifestyle is one of the richest histories in the United States. We can only hope that the Swan House and the Tullie Smith Farm will never be bulldozed in favor of a Gap. This is the travesty that modern-day Atlanta has become. This is what we have retained after two-hundred years of fascinating and sometimes violent history. We can see the now, let us examine the then. Late in the September of 1906, the energy that had been pent up by years of slavery and civil war exploded in Atlanta when mobs of whites assaults black citizens, killing dozens, wounding many more, and causing untold property damage. The racial tension began to build during the Reconstruction, when blacks started to exercise their newly found rights, giving rise to a group of wealthy black elites; a group that assaulted the sensibilities of the then-racist denizens of Atlanta. It was because of this that headlines on September 22nd, 1906 read, "...Frequent Assaults" But not all of Atlanta's past has been so radically violent.

The study of organizational behavior Essay Example for Free

The study of organizational behavior Essay The study of organizational behavior is concerned with: A) psychosocial, interpersonal, and organizational structure B) interpersonal, group dynamics in organizations, and work design C) psychosocial, interpersonal, and work design D) psychosocial, interpersonal, and group dynamics in organizations Points Earned: Correct Answer(s): D 2. The beliefs and assumptions about people, work, and the organization best reflects the: A) social surface B) formal organization C) informal organization D) overt part of an organization Points Earned: Correct Answer(s): C 3. The task of an organization is reflected in its: A) mission, purpose or goal B) human resources C) input materials D) structure Points Earned: 1. 0/1. 0 Correct Answer(s): A 4. The science of human behavior and individual differences is: A) psychology B) sociology C) engineering D) anthropology 5. EXTRA CREDIT: What was your preferred learning style as indicated by the VARK Questionnaire? Also list one way you want to take in intormation according to your style. For the extra point you had to name your VARK learning style AND one way to take in information (according to VARK) Points Earned: 0. /0. 0 6. The internal or external perspectives offer: A) conflicting explanations for human behavior B) complementary explanations for human behavior C) alternative explanations for human behavior D) similar explanations for human behavior 7. The specific setting within which organizational behavior is enacted would be called the: A) external environment B) situation C) organizational context D) group Points Earned: 0. 0/1. 0 8. Culture and the study of learned behavior comprise the domain of: A) management B) psychology C) sociology 9 . All of the following are internal behavioral processes except: A) Judging B) perceiving C) leading D) cognition The four main driving forces creating and shaping changes at work include: A) globalization, demography, diversity, ethics B) globalization, technology, diversity, employee attitudes C) globalization, diversity, ethics, and technology D) globalization, technology, religiosity, ethics 11. The description of an organization as clockworks, in which human behavior is logical and rational, would come from which level within the organization? A) organizational level B) internal level C) group or department level D) individual level The work of Hofstede is important because his studies revealed that more differences n work-related attitudes can be explained by: A) culture B) age C) gender D) profession The major difference between prejudice and discrimination is: A) prejudice refers to behavior and discrimination refers to an attitude B) discrimination has been shown to have more of an impact on productivity than prejudice C) prejudice has been shown to have more of an impact on productivity than discrimination D) prejudice refers to an attitude and discrimination refers to behavior Points Earned: 0. 0/1. According to your text, African-Americans and Hispanic-Americans are likely to be at disadvantage within organizations because: A) available Jobs in the tuture will require less skill than in the past B) they are under-represented in declining occupations C) the proportion of African-Americans and Hispanic-Americans who are qualified for higher level Jobs are often higher than the proportion of qualified whites and Asian- Americans D) they tend to live in a small number of large cities that are facing severe economic difficulties Points Earned: 0. 0/1. 0 Globalization implies all of the following except: A) a borderless world B) competition between workers from other countries C) an organizations nationality is held strongly in consciousness D) the world is free from national boundaries Which of the following was NOT recommended as a technique for increasing the sensitivity of differences between people from various cultures? A) describing one anothers culture B) cultural sensitivity training C) cross-cultural task forces or teams D) role analysis technique (RAT) Which statement best captures the spirit of managing diversity? A) It is a painful examination of hidden assumptions that employees hold. B) It is assimilating women and minorities into a dominant male culture. C) It is complying with affirmative action. D) It is being a good corporate citizen. Which of the following statements/statistics about women in the workforce is incorrect? A) There has been little increase in the number of women CEOs.

Rate of Reaction :: GCSE Chemistry Coursework Investigation

Rate Of Reaction Introduction I will be investigating the rate of reaction, which is the amount of substance taken for the reaction. Often the rate curve is a negative correlation. As we increase the temperature, the time taken for the cross to disappear will decrease. Other Information The most important factors that affect the rate of reaction are: Concentration of the acid Time taken for the cross to disappear Temperature Concentration of Sodium thiosulphate The reaction will not take place unless the particles will collide with each other. The minimum energy for reaction to work is called activation energy of the reaction. We need to know that energy is only released when new bonds are made and this happens when old bonds are broken. To start the reaction we will need to provide enough energy. Once the reaction has been started we don’t need to put more energy because new bods will be made and old one will be broken. When the reaction has started the molecules will react when they collide therefore break old bonds and make new bonds, this will releases energy. If activation energy is weaker or equal to produced energy reaction will take place. We will heat up sodium thiosulphate to a certain temperature. The bigger the temperature of the sodium thiosulphate the more particles will move and are likely to collide more frequently, this will speed up the reaction. The factor I chose to investigate is time taken for the cross to disappear. I am aiming to answer the effect of temperature on the reaction between sodium thiosulphate and hydrochloric acid. The graph below shows what my predicted results look like. Temperature (oC) I am predicting that as we increase the temperature the time taken for the cross to disappear will be decrease. If the temperature was lower then the time taken for the cross to disappear will be longer. This will happen because: If there are more particles in the concentration there would be more collision. If there was more collision between particles then more energy will be produced therefore the temperature will increase and the cross will disappear quicker. Variables Dependant Variables (The one I will not change): Time taken for the cross to disappear: If it takes longer for the cross to disappear then it means there is less collision taking place. Less collision takes place when the temperature is not high enough. Independent variables (the one I will change): Temperature: If the temperature is high then there will be more collision therefore more energy will be released. If the temperature is low then it would take longer for the cross to disappear. Controlled Variables: Concentration of sodium thiosulphate and hydrochloric acid: : if we Rate of Reaction :: GCSE Chemistry Coursework Investigation Rate Of Reaction Introduction I will be investigating the rate of reaction, which is the amount of substance taken for the reaction. Often the rate curve is a negative correlation. As we increase the temperature, the time taken for the cross to disappear will decrease. Other Information The most important factors that affect the rate of reaction are: Concentration of the acid Time taken for the cross to disappear Temperature Concentration of Sodium thiosulphate The reaction will not take place unless the particles will collide with each other. The minimum energy for reaction to work is called activation energy of the reaction. We need to know that energy is only released when new bonds are made and this happens when old bonds are broken. To start the reaction we will need to provide enough energy. Once the reaction has been started we don’t need to put more energy because new bods will be made and old one will be broken. When the reaction has started the molecules will react when they collide therefore break old bonds and make new bonds, this will releases energy. If activation energy is weaker or equal to produced energy reaction will take place. We will heat up sodium thiosulphate to a certain temperature. The bigger the temperature of the sodium thiosulphate the more particles will move and are likely to collide more frequently, this will speed up the reaction. The factor I chose to investigate is time taken for the cross to disappear. I am aiming to answer the effect of temperature on the reaction between sodium thiosulphate and hydrochloric acid. The graph below shows what my predicted results look like. Temperature (oC) I am predicting that as we increase the temperature the time taken for the cross to disappear will be decrease. If the temperature was lower then the time taken for the cross to disappear will be longer. This will happen because: If there are more particles in the concentration there would be more collision. If there was more collision between particles then more energy will be produced therefore the temperature will increase and the cross will disappear quicker. Variables Dependant Variables (The one I will not change): Time taken for the cross to disappear: If it takes longer for the cross to disappear then it means there is less collision taking place. Less collision takes place when the temperature is not high enough. Independent variables (the one I will change): Temperature: If the temperature is high then there will be more collision therefore more energy will be released. If the temperature is low then it would take longer for the cross to disappear. Controlled Variables: Concentration of sodium thiosulphate and hydrochloric acid: : if we

Chinese Mythology Essay

Mythology is a collection of myths or the study of ancient traditional stories of gods or heroes, giving an explanation to an unexplained event. For Plato, the fist known user of the term, muthologia meant know more than the telling of stories (Kirk 8). Mythology is an important aspect to the world, today. Through the study of myths help us develop an idea of what the cultures were like. It includes hints that exhibit how they lived their lives. Myth is its serious purpose and its importance to the culture (Lansford 1). Every culture has its own myth that explains about the nature of that particular culture. The Chinese culture has been around for many centuries, its myths have accumulated into varies stories of gods and their culture. China is the world’s oldest continuous civilization (Cotterel 9). Evidence show the earliest Chinese civilization to be found around 1650 B. C. The beginnings of Chinese mythology, started around the Wei and Jin Dynasties. Influenced by alchemist ideas, Taoist and Buddhist superstitions, various writers created storied about their enigmatic surroundings. The beginning of the Chinese civilization is based on mythology. One of the creation myths is about the beginning of the world. In it, the world began as an egg and cracking open, the top of the shell grew to be the sky, the lower shell became the Earth, and in the middle stepped a man named P’an-gu. Mythology of the ancient Chinese is apparent through art, music and literature. Since, there is no explanation of how the Chinese civilization began; mythology has been a way of explanation to the Chinese culture and other cultures around the world, today. Chinese mythology, as with many other cultures, has many gods and goddesses that are in charge of various things. In the Ancient Chinese culture, there are gods and goddesses for every important aspect of the people’s life, even things as unlikely as the stove god and the door god. Other deities that were important to the Chinese people were the gods of the elements such as Chu Jung, the fire god, Lei Kun, the thunder god, the wind god, and the lightning goddess. Most of the element gods devoted themselves to punishing criminals and keeping evil spirits away. There were also important gods in charge of fields such as Kuan Ti, the god of war, Kuan Yin, the goddess of compassion, T’Shai-shen, the god of wealth and Tsao hsang, god of the hearth. Although there gods were very important to the Chinese people, one of the most important gods was Nu wa, the mother goddess. She was a compassionate goddess who created mankind and bestowed love and creation to them. She helped her people when they were in need, like when she created rice from her own milk and blood in order to feed her people. She was very humble and a modest goddess, not wanting credit for her benevolence. The gods and goddesses of Chinese mythology were basically deities that symbolized the good and just qualities that people should imitate in their everyday life. The basis of Chinese life was a belief in harmony and balance (Williams 20). The Chinese believed in harmony with nature, and sometimes honored the spirits with gifts, feasts, and rituals. The Chinese believed the souls of the dead returned (Williams 20), a concept of Buddhism. The family held Chinese society together (Williams 20). In China, many generations of families lived together, even in the same house, and the children were taught to respect and obey their elders (Williams 20). As in all cultures, men were ? superior’ to women in China. Parents believed they would become gods after they died, if they had a son (Williams 21). This belief was taken fiercely to the point that the parents would kill a newborn female. A custom that the upper-class women followed was of foot binding, which was believed to make the foot appear tiny, since the culture considered small feet feminine and delicate. The most important festival in China was the Chinese New Year, it is held in the spring of each year. During this festival, offerings were given to the sprits. In China, the color white is considered the mourning color and the children showed respect for dead parents by fasting and wearing thick clothes (Williams 21). Most beliefs and customs of the Chinese culture appear from the religions of Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. The Chinese culture has a long history of beliefs and customs, which are used by the generations before and now. It is highly unlikely that the generations to come would not be following the same beliefs and customs of the ancient Chinese. The origin of religion goes back to prehistoric times when the earliest people of China sought answers to the same basic questions that have baffled primitive men over the world: what is the unseen force that brings darkness and light, winter and summer, drought and rain, life and death; what must men do to appease this force? (Schafer 57) Ancient China has three main religions Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism. Confucius was concerned mostly with laws made by people, and whether people were naturally good or naturally evil. In contrast, the followers of Lao-tzu believed people were guided by universal laws, not human ones. This was the basis of Taoism (Williams 18). Taoists tried to live a life of simplicity and meditation close to nature. Taoism was mystical and influenced by ancient Chinese folk religion. Its followers used magic as well as prayer and diet to seek eternal youth (Williams 19). Taoists were peaceful people who generally lived peaceful lives. Buddhists follow the teachings of Buddha (born 563 B. C. ), a north Indian prince who devoted his life to a search for personal peace, or enlightenment. The name Buddha means â€Å"enlightened one†. He believed that by giving up worldly desires, such as for fine food and clothes, a blissful state called nirvana could be achieved. In nirvana there was freedom from sorrows of the world. Indian belief as that time held that people were reborn many times. Persons who had lived badly in former lives might be born in an animal or insect form. Buddha said that by reaching nirvana, this endless cycle of rebirth could be broken (Cotterell 27). Buddhists follow an â€Å"eight-fold path,† this is like a code by which they live. Confucianism came in earlier than Taoism and Chinese Buddhism. The so-called Confucian classics were, in fact, complied long after the death of Confucius by disciples of his disciples, and were edited and interpreted in Han times by government scribes; but they purport to reflect the views of the great sage of antiquity on history, religious rites, morals, and standards of behavior. The state officers of Han times accepted these interpretations and associated them with the standardized pagan nature worship of state cult as a part of the acceptable way of life for a Han gentleman. We in the west sometimes call this way of life, which includes both reverence for the ? ancient’ books and the ? ancient’ gods, ? Confucianism’ (Schafer 60-61). Confucianism flourished in China as so did the other religions. The Chinese were inquisitive people, always inventing and always wondering how things worked. It is only logical for them to generate religions that explain how life is and how it will be in the afterlife. In Chinese mythology, myths and legends deal with aspects of human nature, human relations and social life (Owens). Chinese myths use human traits, like emotion, to convey lessons. The myth on the creation of man clearly depicts the basics of a Chinese myth. After P’an-gu, creator of the world, died and his body transformed into different elements of the Earth, Nu wa, the dragon goddess, came down from heavens and admired P’an-gu’s creation. In order to honor P’an-gu’s sacrifice to the Earth, Nu wa decided to create humans. She started to make them out of yellow clay, but since it took much of her strength, she dipped a rope into the mud and when she took it out, the drips became people. Her clay and mud people were not alive, so her heart took pity and she breathed her divine breath into them. She also whispered thoughts of love and creation into their ears and told them to reproduce. The people made of yellow clay became the rich and the people Nu wa made of mud became the poor. This myth explains many aspects of human life. It explains how the social classes came to be and also human emotions. Nu wa shows human emotions like honor, when she was determined to let P’an-gu’s death not be in vain; in compassion, she breathed her divine breath into each and every human. This myth represents human relations because Nu wa put ideas of love and procreation into the human race’s mind. These Chinese myths explain how the good and bad came to be and how a person should live a happy a fulfilling life. Mythology is not a subject that should be ignored. It is an important subject that should be learned and understood by all cultures so that as a world, we can come to understand each other better. The first step in hatred is fear. Fear of the unknown can generate more hate than anyone could possibly fathom. If everyone became educated about other culture, there would be little to know unknown, and there would probably be less hate in the world. Mythology, the study of myths, gives people an insight to others dreams, hopes, and their fears. We all have hopes, dreams, and fears. By learning about other cultures’ hopes, dreams, and fears we can feel more connected to each other and reach out. Mythology is a key element in keeping peace without shedding blood. Work Cited Cotterel, Arthur. Ancient China. Kirk, Geoffrey Stephen. Myth: its meaning and functions in ancient and other culture California; University of California Press. 1970 Lansford, Tyler. â€Å"Mythology† Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 2002. Microsoft Corporation, 2002 Owens, D. W. â€Å"Ancient Chinese Mythology: Gods and goddess folklore† Google. com. November 5, 2003 Schafer, Edward H. Ancient China. New York; Time Inc. 1967 Williams, Brians. Ancient China. Middlesex, England; Reed Educational and Professional Publishing, Ltd. 1996.