Social Advantages of EU Memebership

Social Advantages of EU Memebership Introduction The following working paper presents the Social assistance and social advantages in the European Union and third country nationals (with special attention for Turkish persons). It has been organized in seven main chapters which are summarized briefly in the following paragraphs. In order to have a view of what makes the legal basis for TCN’s rights in European Union, this paper tries to describe the most important International and European legal instruments.  These instruments set minimum standards relating to the protection of migrants, their families and refugees as well as for international co-operation on migration. International law protect migrant according to fundamental principles like; equality of treatment between regular migrant workers and nationals in the realm of employment and occupation; universal human rights apply to all human beings, including all migrants, regardless of status. International instruments provide normative standards for all national legislation and policy on migration. The main international human rights Conventions and Covenants apply to all human beings, including migrants and refugees. The Council of Europe’s migration instruments cover general human rights and more specific agreements relating to migrants and migrant workers. The Community has power to enter into agreements with third countries which agreements may either be limited to matters within the exclusive competence of the Community or cover a wider mix of issues including areas of shared competence between the Member States and the Community[3].  Agreement with third countries in this working paper are mentioned not because they provide direct social rights (referring to the Turkey agreement) to TCN’s but because the European Court of Justice often make reference to them conferring direct effect[4]  for the equal treatment of TCN’s. Under the EU law, where a right deriving from an agreement is found to be directly enforceable by the ECJ (direct effect), it is part of the acquis communautaire and must be applied by the Communitys national courts. The jurisprudence of the ECJ clarify the treatment of third country nationals having an advantageous legal status close to nationals of Members States. Moreover, it has been tried to provide a general view of social advantages for TCN’s in European Union. It is well known that social advantages and social rights for  TCN’s depend mainly on their legal status. Different categories of TCN’s are treated differently in respect of social rights within the Union.  Irregular immigrants and persons illegally residing in a country are mentioned in this paper but are not treated deeply considering that they have very restricted rights in respect of social rights. Regular immigrants have a more favorable situation and enjoy rights and obligations comparable to those of citizens of the European Union. A description of different directives and regulations has been made in order to explain what social rights and advantages have the category of third country nationals within the European Union. Reference to the definition of social advantages according to ECJ case laws has been made. In the following chapter, Social assistance in the European Union, it has been tried to explain several definitions that exist for social assistance, Social Regimes and Social Protection Delivery Systems, the role of social assistance, its personal scope, level and duration of social assistance benefits and conditioning of social assistance. The general situation of social assistance is further analyzed in four European countries; Germany, Austria, France and Belgium. European Union Countries provide social assistance for persons in need in different ways. They are guided almost from the same principles but apply different provisions and eligibility criteria because access to social assistance is governed according to national rules. This section aims to present an analysis of how social assistance systems are administered in Germany, Austria, France and Belgium, their legal and administrative structures and rules of eligibility, relative rules which determine the benefits etc. In general, immigrants with permanent residence status have access to social security benefits on the same basis as nationals in all Member States. There are greater differences in regulations relating to social assistance, where the great majority of the States provide access to long-resident third-country nationals on the same basis as for nationals. Regulations and practices regarding the provisions available for asylum seekers also differ. Contribution-based benefits are generally accessible on the same basis as they are for nationals.  However, there are often limitations linked to minimum contributions or waiting periods. Conditions of access to social assistance can have an important impact on the social inclusion of immigrants. Considering the above, in the chapter 6 of this working paper â€Å"Social assistance for third country nationals in four European union countries†, it has been tried to provide a view of how TCN’s are treated in Germany, Austria, Franc e and Belgium as regarded to social assistance. The selection of these countries has been made according to the differences they have in providing social assistance to third country nationals. France and Germany have more liberal social assistance system concerning third country nationals than Belgium and Austria. In the first two countries social assistance is provided for all persons without any condition relating to period of residence in the national territory, meanwhile in Belgium and Austria residence condition is mandatory for being eligible to social assistance.   In the last chapter of this paper has been described different social rights, which are found in different directives and regulations for Turkish persons in European Union.  Even though, it is obvious that the arrangements for Turkish migrants under the association instruments provide less legal protection compared nationals of Member States, they have a more favorable social situation than other third country nationals. The methodology used is that of qualitative content analyses of International and European primary and secondary legal instruments as well as a description of the situation of social assistance in four European  Union Countries. 1.  Legal Instruments For Social Security of TCN In European Union International and European legal instruments set minimum standards relating to the protection of migrants, their families and refugees as well as for international co-operation on migration. Although States have their sovereign rights over migration policies in their countries, international law protect migrant according to fundamental principles like; equality of treatment between regular migrant workers and nationals in the realm of employment and occupation; universal human rights apply to all human beings, including all migrants, regardless of status. International Legal Instruments   International instruments provide normative standards for all national legislation and policy on migration. The main international human rights Conventions and Covenants apply to all human beings, including migrants and refugees. Nonetheless, specific sets of instruments have been elaborated to address the particular situations of, respectively, refugees and asylum seekers, migrant workers, and trafficking and smuggling of human beings. Certain aspects of other international treaties also apply to migration, notably International Labor Standards, international consular law and certain international trade agreements. International Human Rights Conventions provide a broad and ample normative framework for the protection of migrants. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 laid out a comprehensive set of universal human rights principles. It is not legally binding, but it has provided the foundation for the recognition of social secu ­rity rights in treaties subsequently adopted. Art. 22 of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights guarantee the right to social security. Art. 25 of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights recognizes the right of everyone to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age and other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his or her control[5]. Specific conventions subsequently explicitly extended the application of universal rights to victims of racial discrimination, women, children, and migrants: Convention for the Elimination of Racism and Racial Discrimination (CERD), Convention Against Torture (CAT), Convention for the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), and the Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families(CMR)[6].These instruments have been characterized as fundamental human rights instruments that define basic, universal human rights and ensure their explicit extension to vulnerable groups world-wide[7]. The Convention on the Status of Refugees 1951 provides essential standards regarding recognition, protection of and assistance to refugees and asylum seekers. The Convention defines who is a refugee, sets out rights of individuals granted asylum, delineates the responsibility of States to non-refoulement and provides other provisions such as regarding refugee travel documents. ILO Convention No. 102 on Social Security (Minimum Standards) recognizes the following nine spe ­cific branches of social security: medical care, sickness benefits, unemployment benefits, old ­age benefits, unemployment injury benefits, family benefits, maternity benefits, invalidity benefits and survivors’ benefits[8].  Minimum re ­quirements are stipulated as to the coverage of the population, the content and level of benefits, the protection of the rights of con ­tributors and beneficiaries and matters of administration. Other relevant Conventions of ILO are: Maternity Protection Conven ­tion (Revised), 1952 (No. 103); Equality of Treatment Social Se ­curity) Convention, 1962 (No. 118) (concerning equality of treatment of nationals and non-na ­tionals); Maintenance of Social Secu ­rity Rights Convention, 1982 (No. 157). International Labor Standards to policy and practice regarding employment dimensions of migration have repeatedly underscored the applicability to all migrant workers of International Labor Standards covering conditions at work, occupational safety and health, maximum hours of work, minimum remuneration, non-discrimination, freedom of association, collective bargaining, and maternity leave, among others. European Legal Instruments The Council of Europe’s migration instruments cover general human rights and more specific agreements relating to migrants and migrant workers. The European Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR)[9] applies clearly to everyone within the jurisdiction of a state party, which means that all migrants in Council of Europe member states are covered by its provisions irrespective of their country of origin[10]. The importance of this Convention is because, unlike other Council of Europe instruments, its personal scope is not limited to nationals of other states parties. The ECHR primarily safeguards civil and political rights and that the legal status of migrant workers. This convention is strongly connected to the protection of their economic and social rights but its role in this field is limited. Nevertheless, the discriminatory application of economic and social rights in respect of migrants may well lead to a violation of the ECHR.  While there are no specific provisions on migrant workers in the ECHR, migrants have obtained remedies from the European Court of Human Rights under its cas e law in protection of their right to respect for family life and the non-discrimination principle (Arts. 8 and 14 respectively)[11]. The European Social Charter (1961) and its Additional Protocol (1988), as well as the Revised European Social Charter (Council of Europe, 1996) which entered into force in July 1999[12], in contrast to the ECHR, has a limited personal scope because it only applies to foreigners who are nationals of other contracting parties.  The Charter is the only treaty which guarantees the right to social and medical assistance. The dichotomy between social security and social assistance is highly controversial, it appears in the Charter, which approaches the two areas in two separate Articles (Article 12 and Article 13) carrying different undertakings. Article 12(4), is concerned with ensuring equal treatment between the nationals of contracting parties in respect of social security rights by the conclusion of bilateral or multilateral agreements (or by other means) and Article 13(4), is concerned with the treatment of foreigners lawfully within the territory of contracting parties in respect of social and medical assistance in accordance with the obligations of contracting parties under the European Convention on Social and Medical Assistance. It considers as social assistance, benefits for which individual need is the main criterion for eligibility, without any requirement of affiliation to a social security scheme aimed to cover a particular risk, or any requirement of professional activity or payment of contributions. European Convention on the Legal Status of Migrant Workers (Council of Europe, 1977) includes provisions relating to the main aspects of the legal status of migrant workers coming from Contracting parties, and especially to residence and work permits, medical examinations and vocational tests, recruitment, housing, family reunion, travel, conditions of work, transfer of savings, expiry of the contract of employment, dismissal and re-employment, social and medical assistance, social security, and preparation for return to the country of origin[13]. European Convention on Social and Medical Assistance ensure that nationals of contracting parties lawfully present in the territory of another contracting party, and who are without sufficient resources, are entitled to social and medical assistance on the same basis as nationals (Article 1) [14]. As of 15 September 2002, this convention was in force in seventeen member states[15]. The convention prohibits a contracting party from repatriating nationals from other contracting parties who are lawfully resident in its territory on the sole ground that they are in need of assistance (Article 6.a), although it may still do so if the following three conditions in Article 7.a are satisfied: the person concerned has not been continuously resident in the territory of that Contracting Party for at least five years if he entered it before attaining the age of 55 years, or for at least ten years if he entered it after attaining that age, he is in a fit state of health to be transported, and has no close ties in the territory in which he is resident[16]. The importance of this convention is that both the provisions concerning social and medical assistance in the European Social Charter (Article 13(4)) and the European Convention on the Legal Status of Migrant Workers (Article 19) refer specifically to the obligations of contracting parties under the convention. Articles 13(1)-(2) of the Charter require contracting parties to ensure that persons without adequate resources are provided with adequate assistance and health care and that they do not suffer from the diminution of their political and social rights because they receive such assistance. Article 13(3) provides that everyone should be able to benefit from public or private services to prevent, remove or alleviate personal or family want. These rights also apply to nationals of contracting parties who work regularly or reside lawfully within the territory of another contracting party on the same basis as nationals. Article 13(4) of the Charter extends the scope of these provisio ns by stipulating that they are to be applied by contracting parties on an equal basis to the nationals of other contracting parties lawfully within their territories in accordance with their obligations under the European Convention on Social and Medical Assistance[17]. Treaty Establishing the European Community (EC Treaty) provides for freedom of movement for workers from EU member states, although transitional arrangements are in place limiting this freedom for nationals from certain new member states. The Treaty prohibits any discrimination based on nationality between these workers as regards employment, remuneration and other conditions of work and employment, including social security (Arts. 12 and 39). The EC Treaty also invites the EU Council of Ministers to take measures necessary to ensure equality of treatment and to combat discrimination based on, inter alias, race, ethnic origin, religion or belief, and sexual orientation. The Council is also empowered to take measures in the field of asylum, immigration and safeguarding of the rights of nationals of third countries, although the measures adopted to date on legal migration have afforded third-country nationals lesser rights than those granted EU citizens. European Union Charter of Fundamental Rights, adopted in 2000, sets out in a single text, for the first time in EU history, the whole range of civil, political, economic and social rights of EU citizens and all persons resident in the European Union. Council Directive 2003/109/Ec f 25 November 2003 on 3rd country nationals who are long term residents respects the fundamental rights and observes the principles recognized in particular by the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union[18]. It promotes the integration of third-country nationals who are long-term residents in the Member States as a key element in promoting economic and social cohesion[19]. This directive specifies that long-term residents should enjoy equality of treatment with citizens of the Member State in a wide range of economic and social matters.  With regard to social assistance, the possibility of limiting the benefits for long-term residents to core benefits is to be understood in the sense that this notion covers at least minimum income support, assistance in case of illness, pregnancy, parental assistance and long-term care[20]. The modalities for grantin g such benefits should be determined by national law. A broader view of directive 109 provisions is presented in the chapter with social advantages for TCN’s in EU. Council Recommendation 92/441/EEC[21] of 24 June 1992 on common criteria concerning sufficient resources and social assistance in social protection systems. This Recommendation, adopted in June 1992 at the Lisbon European Council, recognizes the basic right of a person to guaranteed sufficient resources and social assistance, as part of a comprehensive and consistent drive to combat social exclusion, and to adapt their social protection systems as necessary. It is open to all individuals resident in the Member State in accordance with national and Community provisions that do not have access to sufficient resources individually or within the household in which they live. Council Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 of 14 June 1971 on the application of social security schemes to employed persons and their families moving within the Community (5), provide Third-country nationals with refugee status equal social security rights with EU nationals. Council Regulation (EC) No 859/2003 extends the provisions of Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 and Regulation (EEC) No 574/72 to nationals of third countries who are not already covered by those provisions solely on the ground of their nationality. It ensure fair treatment of third country nationals legally residing in the territory of Member States, granting them rights and obligations comparable to those of EU citizens. In this regulation is enhanced social and cultural life and the legal status of TCN is approximated to that of Member States nationals. A high level of social protection is promoted and a set of uniform rights as near as possible to those enjoyed by EU citizens is granted to TCN. European Community agreements with third countries The Community has power to enter into agreements with third countries which agreements may either be limited to matters within the exclusive competence of the Community or cover a wider mix of issues including areas of shared competence between the Member States and the Community[22].   Turkey Agreement: The EEC-Turkey Association Agreement[23], implemented by Association Council Decisions 2/76, 1/80 and 3/80,4 provides for certain rights for Turkish nationals and their family members employed and resident in EU member states. Turkish workers resident in EU member states are also entitled to the same protection from expulsion as EU nationals employed in other member states. With regard to social security rights, the European Court of Justice has also held that Article 3(1) of Decision 3/80, which affords Turkish workers and their family member’s treatment equal to that of nationals of member states, confers direct effect[24]. Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia: The agreements with the Maghreb countries of Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia[25] confer equal treatment on Maghreb nationals employed and resident in EU member states as regards their working conditions or remuneration and social security[26]. These non-discrimination provisions have been found by the European Court of Justice as containing sufficiently clear and precise obligations to confer direct effect in EU countries of employment[27]. Equal treatment in social security extends to family members, who have been defined broadly by the ECJ to include the parents of the worker and his or her spouse residing in the host member state[28]. In the field of social security, these agreements are generally based on the following principles: Equal treatment with nationals of the Member States in which they are employed, of Moroccan workers and members of their families living with them, for all branches of social security covered by Regulation 1408/71. Aggregation of periods of insurance, employment or residence completed in the Member States for each of the above social security branches, with the exception of unemployment benefits, industrial accident or occupational disease benefits, and death grants; Transfer of family benefits to other Community countries; Transfer to Morocco of old-age, survivors’ and invalidity benefits, and industrial accident or occupational disease benefits; Application of these principles by Morocco to Community workers, with the exception of aggregation. Europe Agreements: The Community can enter into Europe Agreements with third countries which may also be candidates for accession to the EU. These agreements include a provision guaranteeing equal treatment of migrant workers and nationals as regards working conditions, remuneration or dismissal. In contrast to the agreements with the Maghreb countries, however, equality of treatment in the Europe Agreements in respect of social security is dependent on the adoption of provisions for the co-ordination of social security schemes by the Association Council established under each agreement. The Ruling of the European Court of Justice Under the EU law, the rights of non-EU nationals (including Turkish nationals) to entry, residence, work, social security benefits, education and other social and tax advantages are based either on their relationship with EU nationals or firms (derivative rights) or on their status as a national of a country with which the Community has concluded an international agreement (direct rights)[29]. The EU law differs from other instruments of international law in that decisions, agreements and acts of the institutions of the Community are directly applicable in the Member States. Of course, not all provisions of directly applicable international law are capable of direct effect[30]. When a provision of EU law is directly effective, domestic courts are under an obligation not only to apply it, but to do so in priority over any conflicting provisions of national law according to the principle of primacy of EU law[31]. Therefore, EU law has priority over national laws in the areas in which they apply. Under the EU law, where a right deriving from an agreement is found to be directly enforceable by the ECJ (direct effect), it is part of the acquis communautaire and must be applied by the Communitys national courts. Furthermore, if it appears to a national court that a national provision does not comply with community law, the court is under an obligation to apply Community law and if necessary grant interim relief while the opinion of the ECJ is being asked[32]. Despite the jurisprudence of the ECJ clarifying the treatment of third country nationals having an advantageous legal status close to nationals of Members States, a comprehensive and exclusive Community competence in this area still remains to be unresolved. A dichotomy was developed over the years by the Member States, by explicitly recognizing, on the one hand, the requirement of much closer consultation and co-operation at Community level in the implementation of national migration policies vis-ÃÆ'  -vis third countries[33]. On the other hand, Member States always underlined that matters relating to the access, residence and employment of migrant workers from third countries fall under the jurisdiction of the governments of the Member States and nothing shall stop them to take measures to control immigration form third countries[34]. 2.  TCN In European Union Definition of TCN According to Article 17(1) of the Treaty†[35] ‘third country national (TCN) is â€Å"any person who is not a citizen of the Union within the meaning of this definition includes a number of categories of persons: Refugees, asylum seekers, migrant workers, those who enter through family reunion, and legally resident and undocumented immigrants. It also includes stateless persons, in accordance with the definition in the Constitutional Treaty. Categories of TCN Third country nationals are contrary to EU-nationals. Their situation differs not only from European Union Nationals but also between the different categories of third country nationals. Referring to the definition of TCN the following categories can be distinguished: Asylum Seeker: is someone who makes a claim for asylum in a country other than their own. The rights of asylum seekers are more restricted than the rights of refugees in relation to movement (where they can travel to), employment, health care and social security. Illegal Immigrant: is someone who has moved from one state to another without any legal claim, such as a visa or a claim for asylum. Migrant Unlike refugees, migrants do not fear persecution from their home state. Instead, they make a conscious decision to move and have the freedom to return to their state of origin if they wish. Refugee: in the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees a refugee is defined as someone who: owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality, and is unable to or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country[36]. Stateless Person: is someone who does not belong as a citizen to any state. A stateless person may also be a refugee but this is not always the case. For example, a person may leave their home state without persecution. Some people are also born into statelessness due to their parents either being stateless themselves, or unable to register the birth of their child. According to the legal base which covers TCN the following categories can be distinguished[37]: Third country Nationals from EFTA states. They are covered by regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 and their situation is similar to EU-nationals. Third country Nationals who are family members of EU nationals, partly covered by Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71. Third country Nationals covered by agreements concluded between the community and third countries. Third country Nationals covered by multilateral agreements such as agreements of the Council of Europe, ILO etc. Third country Nationals covered by bilateral agreements. Third country Nationals who are not covered by any agreement. Legal Status of TCN According to their legal status, immigrants in European countries can be grouped into four different categories[38]: The immediate citizenship model. The receiving state recognizes the immigrants as citizens immediately on their arrival. The quasi-citizenship model, immigrants have a similar status but not completely identical to the citizenship model. Alien resident have the same rights as the citizens of the host state in almost all fields of social life. Privileged treatment for special categories of immigrants, rights to enter or stay in the country are granted to certain special categories of aliens. Their residence rights are protected. Those aliens have limited possibilities for expulsion or deportation[39]. They have special rights or same treatment as citizens in several areas. Denizen[40] status, or semi-citizen status, aliens receive almost full residence rights (expulsion being limited to exceptional cases). Equal treatment with citizens is granted in most areas of public life (access to all jobs, equal rights to housing, education and social security) and sometimes even in political life. The exact content of the rights included in each model may differ slightly from country to country. The main differences in Social and political rights granted to immigrants are between the first model and the other three models. Full set of social and political rights are granted only to immigrants with citizenship of the country of residence. As for the other three models immigrants social and political rights are limited to the right to participate in elections on the local or the regional level and the access to certain jobs in the public service. 3.  Social Advantages of Third Country Nationals In European Union It is not easy to define social advantages of TCN’s in European Union. Social advantages and social rights of TCN’s depend on their legal status. Different categories of TCN’s enjoy different social rights within the Union.  Illegal immigrants, for example, cannot claim any rights and are not eligible for any welfare schemes because of their impossibility of presenting any official documents (identification, residence or work permit, etc.) regarding their status. Regular immigrants have a more favorable situation and enjoy rights and obligations comparable to those of citizens of the European Union. According to their status, their social rights are included within different directives and regulations. The European Council, in its special meeting in Tampere on 15 and 16 October 1999, acknowledged the need for harmonization of national legislation on the conditions for admission and residence of TCN’s. In this context, it has in particular stated that the European Union should ensure fair treatment of third country nationals residing lawfully on the territory of the Member States and that a more vigorous integration policy should aim at granting them rights and obligations comparable to those of citizens of the European Union. Council Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 has a restricted personal scope of application and provides equal social security rights with EU nationals only to third-country nationals with refugee status.

Women In The Workforce Sociology Essay

Women In The Workforce Sociology Essay It has been argued that, women have been excluded from the study of work, and that, when they are studied, the analysis has often been distorted by sexist assumptions (Acker, 1977; Acker and Van Houten, 1974; Brown, 1976; Kanter, 1975, 1977; Oakley, 1974). Prior to the industrial revolution, the family economy operated as a cohesive unit; typically all family members, regardless of age or gender, were engaged in productive labour (Tilly and Scott, 1978). Given gendered expectations, along with a gendered opportunity structure (Browne and England, 1997), we, therefore, assume that Women would benefit from arrangements providing the most family-related resources and Supports in terms of both economic capital (e.g. income, security) and social capital (e.g. less time on the job, a supportive supervisor). Wethington and Kessler (1989) found women with high employment commitments were more vulnerable to distress (see also Mirowsky, 1996). Nowadays women have more freedom in choosing the path for their future and they may decide whether or not to combine career with having children. Womens increased share of the labour force has prompted businesses to respond to their family needs by providing flexitime, or flexible work schedules (Wiatrowski, 1990). Bergmann 1986 highlights that middle class women are having fewer children; their labour force participation is now less responsive to their position in the family cycle. In fact as stated by Robinson, 1988 Women still do much more housework and family care than men, but the hours women spend performing these duties have been declining, particularly among younger women. The entrance of women of all ages into the labour force in the second half of the twentieth century has created another period of structural lag (Moen and Yu, 2000). However although there has been effort done to increase diversity, female employees still face the glass ceiling when it comes to the top management jobs. The glass ceiling is according to Maume,2004 a failure of women or a certain minority groups in climbing up the corporate ladder, despite seeing the top jobs but still not reaching them due to the discriminatory barriers. The expectations from the womens family and from the society may sometimes affect the decisions of women in their career objectives which may act as a barrier. The society sometimes treats women differently. Sometimes often careers are cut short because of for instance maternity leave which takes women out of the workplace for months at a time where the company needs to move on. However, over the last years there was a change in the perspective that women are not as effective as men and this was highlighted in the Economist Men -Tomorrows second sex. A One Chief Executive Officer of a large Mauritian multi-national stated recently: Women have done really well here and moved on. Ive never come across sexist views. There are some really good assertive women role models here. Women want to progress and peoples attitudes have changed. Women in hospitality Woods and Viehland (2000) found that although practitioners and researchers were concerned with females status in hotel management, only a few empirical studies examined this topic. Whether the issue has been scrupulously studied or not, relevant literature clarified that it was widely debated (Mann and Seacord, 2003; Del Sesto, 1993). In UK, the tourism sector was one of the area where there was the fastest growth and in the 80s three quarter of this growth was womens who were the most represented mainly in partime jobs ,insecure, low status and clerical post. Recent years have seen an emergence of studies that explore mobility, the role of women in the labor force and the expansion of the internationally hospitality workforce (Baum et al,2007 ; Devin,Baum,Hearns,Devine2007a,2007b;MatthewRuhs,2007).Today tourism presents both the opportunities and challenges for gender equality and womens empowerment. (Global report on women in tourism 2010). Females contribute a significant proportion of the labor force in several countries awareness of the factors and the constraints that might affect their participation is increasingly required for their managers ( Burrel et al, 1997). The participation and involvement of women in tourism sector is being encouraged and womens participation has increased directly and indirectly in tourism industry also Boxall and Purcell,2003 states that the career ladder within hotels is predicated on the conventional employment models of continuous employment and linear progression. (Bagulley, 1990, Hicks 1990; Jordon 1997 ; Wood 1992) Identify that the tourism and hospitality sectors are dominated by women and managed by men; in fact it is very common as the service sector is largely populated by women and they are more present especially at the lower level. Women are important to the hospitality labour market ( Doherty 1997). In many of the literature review it has been observed and declared by many authors that women are key participants in the tourism labour market ( Ashley,Roe and Goodwin 2001;Jameison 2003) ,although there is a belief that women tend to be disadvantaged in this sector as few women occupy the senior executive positions and those that do receive less pay ( Iverson,2000 ; Jordon 1997 ; Ng and Pine 2003 ; Skalpe,2007; Zhong and Couch,2007). However, we can put forward assertion was that girls are now outperforming boys at every level in school and closing the gap at university level. Women in fact predominate in the growing service sector, while men are trapped in declining heavy industries the sugar industry is an example (In Mauritius) and that employed men are no longer attractive marriage partners. (Tulsidas Naraidoo, 2011) It has been found that women are more likely to fill part time roles , 54% of female working in the sector work part time, compared to 46% of man-according to women case for change-executive summary 2010. Beyond the rapidly increasing numbers of female entering the workplace (Mc Dougal Briley 1994), we cannot neglect womens contribution in tourism development as for instance nowadays the proportion of women graduated in the sector is increasing at a rapid rate. Women are acknowledged as key participants in the tourism labor market (Ashley, Roe and Goodwin 2001; Jamieson 2003). According to Kate Purcell the womens jobs fall predominantly three categories: Contingently- gendered jobs which happen to be mainly done by women but for which the demand for labour is gender-neutral. Women work in such jobs as a result of employers pursuit of economic advantage rather than gendered preferences; they want cheap workers, and women particularly, married women seeking part time work have historically been available for employment for lower average rates of pay than men; partly reflecting their status as component rather than breadwinner. Crompton and Sanderson[8, pp. 155-8] sextyped jobs, where sexuality or other attributes assumed to be sex-related are explicit or implicit parts of the job specification In the hospitality industry it is a clichà © that the right kind of personality is a more important employment prerequisite than formal qualifications[13,14]. Where Filbys[16] finding that personality tends to be used as a synonym for sexual attractiveness and/or gender-specific tacit skills and attributes. He was told by a male manager he interviewed that recruitment of female staff was informed by a height for weight principle It has been noted that for some front house jobs it is essential to have a certain type of woman which, when pressed, he defined as ideally between 21 and 26, with long legs and a good figure. This is because the the customers expect it. This remark was highlighted by many other authors as Adkins [17, p. 109]). Patriarchally-prescribed jobs where patriarchal practice determines and prescribes appropriate job incumbency. Patriarchal prescriptions, though, is a distinct and equally powerful tendency, deriving from largely unarticulated understandings that male dominance in the home and in the public sphere and womens dependency are normal and that these norms derive from natural differences between the sexes. Bell and Newby have identified that there is thee is the deferential dialect between male and female often, as reinforcing womens economic dependency on men by providing opportunities for component waged jobs[10] which the HCTC[3, p. 37] note, without irony, appeal to women who wish to combine the opportunity to earn an income with their domestic responsibilities. The more higher level and very well paid the post is, the more likely it will be filled by a man, even though , women may be greater in number in the industry. Gender roles play a great role for womens low involvement in direct tourism business in one hand and on the other hand many employers of this sector think that women cannot continue the job due to their social and biological reproductive responsibilities. Such attitude of the employers about women may be due to the discriminative nature of the patriarchal system of the society. Tourism provides good opportunities for female employees contribution and participation in the tourism employment. Womens entrepreneurship as well as their leadership is important. Female employee in the tourism sector earn low pay and they are sometimes under utilised and under represented. However tourism offers positive pathways to the female success in tourism. The global report on women in tourism 2010 by UNWTO and UNIFEM (now UN Women) findings were as follows: 1. Women make up a large proportion of the formal tourism workforce. 2. Women are well represented in service and clerical level jobs but poorly represented at professional levels. 3. Women in tourism are typically earning 10% to 15% less than their male counterparts. 4. The tourism sector has almost twice as many women employers as other sectors. 5. One in five tourism ministers worldwide are women. 6. Women make up a much higher proportion of own-account workers in tourism than in other sectors. 7. A large amount of unpaid work is being carried out by women in family tourism businesses. Research indicates that religion, culture, and society can influence womens employment (Constance 2005; Feldmann 2007; Foroutan 2008; Read and Oselin 2008; Read 2004) and also a good example is in the context of Malaysia, Amin and Alam (2008) also found that religion significantly influenced a womans decision regarding employment. However religion may not be the only factor discouraging women of working in hotels but also poor employee facilities and the absence of childcare facilities available in the country (Dayal and Didi 2001). 2.2.1 Women contribution to the hospitality industry Women are acknowledged as key participants in the tourism labor market(Ashley, Roe and Goodwin 2001; Jamieson 2003). The tourism sector is very labour intensive; it provides different jobs opportunities from high skilled jobs to unskilled jobs. However Women are often concentrated in low status, low paid and precarious jobs in tourism industry as quoted in the global report on women in tourism 2010. According to Garavan etal., 2006;Woods and Viehland, 2000, senior managers are predominantly male; women middle managers are in housekeeping, front desk, personnel and training and conference and banqueting, whereas male managers are in finance and control, property and security and purchasing the latter more likely to lead to the general managers job also as stated in the report of the fifth UNWTO international conference on tourism statistics the apparent rate of women in the sector seems also to be related to the cultural issues, especially for employment in housekeeping, laundry, food preparation, guest services and so on. Many countries have a high presence of the feminine labour force in tourism t his is because of the high demand of unqualified workers, especially for young women. Initially in the other hand females describe themselves much less satisfied than males in the hospitality sector. In America more than 50 % of the people who are employed in the tourism sector are women. According to Edgell, one in every fifteen people all over the world is employed in tourism sector and half of them are women. In the third world women constitute the basement of employment in tourism sector because they may work part-time, seasonally and without full salary. However, the industry plays a very important role for the education and independence of women. Since tourism is a hospitality industry, the role of women is looked upon as significant and the trend of women participation is considerably increased since the mid of 70s. According to World Tourism Organization, in tourism business 51 percent are women (MOT/UNDP, 2006). Barriers face by female employees in hotels Even though women are important for the tourism sector, barriers to the advancement of female employees continue to persist; literature has singled out societys stereotypes and prejudices against women in positions of power (Catalyst, 2002, 2005). In fact a number of possible barriers to womens career advancement have been identified (Brownell 1993), including: the glass ceiling based on gender discrimination lack of role models an absence of mentoring opportunities exclusion from informal networks gender discrimination and sexual harassment (Knutson and Schmigdall, 1999) From Richard Martell and Christopher Parker view it is stereotype which acts as a major barrier to women, they stated that women lack characteristics most needed to succeed and consequently were often judged to be less qualified than men. However from the executive summary of the case for change: Women working in hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism 2010, identify five other key barriers which according to them appear to be most significant in preventing women advancement to senior roles in the sector: the difficulty of combining work at senior roles with caring responsibilities a dominant masculine organisational culture preconceptions and gender bias lack of networking and exclusion from informal networks of communication Lack of visible women in senior positions. What can be noted is that all the authors writings upon the barriers that stop women advancements are quite the same basically. It resemble in the sense that for example the lack of example of women at senior post, the stereotype at work or even the lack of networking. There is a serious need today to establish what kinds of work women may perform and if there are any barriers to their full integration and to identify policies and practices which might be helpful for employers who wished to make better use of their female workforce. (Tulsidas Naraidoo, 2011). ). However Woods and Kavanaugh (1994) according to whom gender discrimination was an invisible barrier that kept women from reaching top positions in many management circles There are other barriers identified also for instance: Other authors have cited the old boy network (Brownell, 1994a; Diaz and Umbreit, 1995); Women may have to work twice as hard and do twice as good a job in order to warrant a promotion (Brownell, 1994b, Gregg and Johnson, 1996). Moreover Sekam 2000 sited that for family reason as well as organisational demands become to both working women and their organisation that fail to tap the full potential of experienced women thereby becoming less productive themselves. Family constraints is another barrier that women can faced it can be perceived ad a function of a females commitment to and actual involvement in duties associated with parental ,marital and homemaker roles on one hand and the amount of support she receives from her spouses and relatives on the other ( Chin-Ching 1992).Sometimes in some countries in hotel industry part-time or of informal work is the flexibility it can give to women who may be required to spend more time wo rking in the home (with family or care responsibilities). (ILO report). On the other hand some research indicates that religion, culture, and society can influence womens employment (Constance 2005; Feldmann 2007; Foroutan 2008; Read and Oselin 2008; Read 2004). 2.3.1 Segregation in the hospitality industry The theories of occupational segregation on womens employment were first presented in depth by Hakim (1992). In fact the tourism industry has shown a wide adoption of segregational occupation (Crompton and Sunderson 1990). In the industry women frequently carry out the most undesirable and lowest status work ( Adid and Guerrier 2003; Korczynski 2002) Many authors have identified the factors which contribute to the professional marginalisation of women. The interlinked factors include gender stereotyping ( Heilman,2001) ; a lack a role model , mentors and peers for women in the workplace ( Noe,1988) and the glass ceiling ( Davidson and Cooper,1992; Reich 1995). Problems of gender domination include women workers crowded into a narrow range of jobs, lack opportunities for promotion and development and insufficient opportunity to develop a broad range of skills (Gardner and Plamer 1997; Haganand Jensen 1998). The Global report on women in tourism 2010, states that gender stereotyping and discrimination means that women mainly tend to perform job such as cooking, cleaning and hospitality. Vertical and Horizontal sex segregation has been shown to exist in the hotel industry ( Ludkins 1999). As in most organisations and occupations, there are male and female occupational groups vertically and horizontally segregated throughout large hospitality organizations and hotels themselves, reflecting economic and power differences. Many studies of gender segregation have focused on international country comparisons (Jensen et al., 1988, OECD, 1999) and industry and cross sectoral comparisons (Game and Pringle, 1983; Pringle, 1988). Segregation by gender results in individual costs to women workers in terms of narrower range of employment choices and opportunities along with lower pay but there are also broader economic and social costs. It is contended that gender segregation of the workforce inhibits flexibility in responding to pressures of structural adjustments and prevents expanding national skills bases resulting in a less competitive economy. (OECD, 1991) The sexual division of labour resulting in the domination of industry sectors, organisations and professional by one gender is argued to be a major factor shaping workplace relations. (Game and Pringle, 1983; Burton, 1991) In general, gender inequality in the labour market is closely connected to educational and professional, both vertical and horizontal, segregation. The labour market is divided into womens jobs and mens jobs, and women find it hard to access managerial posts. (HCT ILO REPORT). Stockdale (1991, p.57) has defined occupational sex segregation as existing where the jobs, that women do are different from those done by men ( horizontal segregation) and women work at lower levels than men in the occupational hierarchy ( vertical segregation). It is still the case that relatively few women achieve management roles in the service areas and as a consequence few make to general management positions. This segregation within the management ranks impacts adversely on the pay of women managers and their influence in this field. Tulsidas Naraidoo, 2011. 2.3.2 Sexual issues in hotels. Urrys[18] observation that such the service and commercial industry involve the sale of an experience, where the quality of the social interaction, including the visual presentation of interactive service workers, is an intrinsic part of the service itself. If women are routinely seen as (indeed, employed as) sex objects, what implications does this have for their career development opportunities, as individuals and as a category? Interactive service jobs in hospitality, tourism and leisure, exemplify occupations where gender (and indeed, sexuality) are explicit aspects of the job. In fact tourism is associated with freedom and relaxation that have traditionally been visualized in marketing and PR with images of attractive young women. (HCT ILO REPORT). Woods and Cavanaugh (1999) stated that almost one-quarter of both males and females agreed that most women in the hospitality industry had been subjected to sexual harassment at work. The ILO report that women are, more often than men , faced with precarious types of jobs, violence at work, stress and sexual harassment. It is a fact that when working in the hotel industry the service worker must be socially attractive and friendly with the customer . An author even gave an example of a young girl who was told on starting waitress to wear her skirt as short she would feel comfortable. The main characteristics of the sexual issues are obviously the sexual harassment on the place of work that is at the hotels. Woods and Kavanagh (1994) found that hospitality managers perceive sexual harassment to be pervasive within the industry.In many customer contact roles in the service sector, sexiness is a part of the role itself, the job flirt is encouraged as a part of the service style (Hall, 1993) and there may be a thin line between selling the service and selling sexuality. The hospitality industry can be susceptible of having incidents odf sexual harassment due to the ambiguity of hospitality service , that is , the odd working hours as well as the conditions of work. 2.3.3 The gender role stereotyping perspective in hotels. Stockdale (1991, p.57) assumption about the segregation and stereotype the assumption that people in particular jobs and the jobs themselves have the characteristics of only one gender. Women in the hospitality industry are widely employed in subordinate jobs for their nurturing and/or sexual attributes. Moreover differential treatment of women has been reported in recruitment, pay and career development prospects (Brown, 1979). The reason for the different treatment is the gender role stereotyping perspective. In fact women have been socialized to adopt attitudes and behavior that are in conflict with the demands of a successful managerial career (Schein, 1973, 1975; Terborg, 1977). Sinclair (1997) found that women have been excluded from some occupations within the tourism industry due to traditional ideologies of gender and social sexuality which is very stereotyped. Stereotyping can have negative impacts to womens advancement in the workplace, since negative stereotypes of women influence how their workers perceive them, how their other colleagues perceive their work, their selection for further training and development, and finally, the rapid pace they move in their career. Athought there are such stereotyping in the industry, studies show that female students are more committed to careers in hospitality and tourism and seem to better fit success in this sector than do their male classmates and colleagues (Kuslavan and Kuslavan, 2000; Burke et al., 2008). The female employees must be able of wearing two different hats one at work and one at home 2.3.4 Breaking of the Glass Ceiling in the Hospitality industry. The term was earlier used by Morrison et al. (1987) in their fascinating book Breaking the Glass Ceiling: Can Women Reach the Top of Americas Largest Corporations? That gave new insight to the issues women face in their journey through the executive echelons of the corporate organizations and Maume 2004, stated that glass ceiling is the failure of women and other minority groups in climbing up the corporate ladder, despite seeing the top jobs, but still not reaching them due to discriminatory barriers, is what many think of as glass ceiling. There have been many studies about the breaking of glass ceiling of women in each and every industry. Cotter et al. (2001) profound description of the term as a specific form of generic inequality existing at the apex of hierarchy contradicts others (Reskin and Padavic, 2001; Maume, 2004) claiming its existence in lower levels and working class jobs. Cotter et al. (2001) three criteria for the glass ceiling occurrence suggest that it occurs when despite similar credentials women (and minorities) face barriers in their career advancements, it also occurs when due to limited promotional prospects; women are discouraged from the initial placement on the job ladder, thus raising mens numbers to survive till the top levels and lastly, while organizations may be willing to pay out high salaries to women, they still hesitate to place them in positions where they can make an impact on organizations profitability, therefore, glass ceiling is created. The glass ceiling as in every industry affected also women in the hospitality industry. It has been highlighted by many authors that the industry is a female dominated industry however it is manage by men. Among the reasons for the glass ceiling phenomenon such as the lack of role models, mentoring, networking options, and the complexities of the dual role as working woman and housekeeper (Crampton and Mishra, 1999), literature has singled out societys stereotypes and prejudices against women in positions of power (Catalyst, 2002, 2005). According to Frank (2006 do find evidence that gay/bisexual men suffer from glass ceilings comparable to those faced by heterosexual women (p. 485). Existing management resistance must be offset by the multiplier effect of more female role models advancing beyond the glass ceiling. 2.3.5 The promotion issues in hotels. Like the retail services, tourism and hospitality are sectors which are highly dominated by women however managed by men (Bagguley, 1990; Hicks, 1990; Jordon, 1997; Wood, 1992) Sometimes men get more privileged than women these differentials were reinforced by differences in fringe benefits, with men in the commercial hospitality sector significantly more likely than women to be entitled to valuable perks such as company cars, free or subsidized meals, low-cost housing, private health insurance, company share ownership schemes and product discounts. . Many authors tend to attribute the finding that males are promoted more frequently and rapidly than equally qualified females to the influence of gender based stereotypes (Owen and Todor, 1993; Cordano et al., 2002; Tomkiewicz et al., 2004). The hospitality business, therefore, provides fewer opportunities for promotion that are sufficient to meet the expectations of females (McCuddy et. al., 2010). 2.3.5.1 Women in management level in Hotels Ludking (1999) notes the lack of women in general manger positions despite the high percentage of women in college and university hospitality programs. Although women are now graduating in higher numbers than men from educational institutions (Fagenson and Jackson, 1994) and more women are entering the paid workforce (Hind and Baruch, 1997) and taking up managerial roles (Parker and Fagenson, 1994), the poor representation of women at senior management level continues. Pursuing a managerial career in every industry requires skills and competencies imparted to men as a social group. Employees and managers holding this type of stereotypic view are likely to perceive women as ineffective managers in job positions incongruent with females more traditionally passive gender role. (Schein, 1973, 1975, 1978; Rosen and Jerdee, 1974; Powell and Butterfield, 1979; Brenner et al., 1989; Schein et al., 1989; Schein and Mueller, 1992; Schein et al., 1996; Heilman et al., 1995; Powell et al., 2002). It is not hard to find in the western context where patterns of gender inequality persist in leadership positions even with womens increasing visibility in the lower echelons of management (Weyer, 2007). Ezell et al. (1981) measuring the effects of having being supervised by a woman on perceptions of female managerial competence found significant differences only in the area of the motivation of a woman to manage. In the present study, direct contact could not help in suppressing gender stereotypes. By June 1996 only three of 72 Hong Kong Hotels had female general managers (Pine 1997). Womans desire for advancement into a senior-level leadership position becomes more difficult because of the prevalent traditional role assumptions (Schaap et. al., 2008). Moreover, research conducted in the U.S.A. indicates that, even in America, a disproportionate low number of highly educated females attain executive status in the industry (Li and Leung, 2001). The career ladder within hotels is predicated on the conventional employment models of continuous employment and linear progression (Boxall and Purcell, 2003). Some literatures state that the recruitment and selection processe may not be transparent. Both may be likened to an invisible web that works against women (Green and Cassell, 1996; Lan and Wang Leung, 2001; Rees and Garnsey, 2003). 2.4.1 Harassment at work An additional negative aspects to womens work in hotels is that they are subject to high level of sexual harassment from both guests and peers due to their low status and low-educational levels ( Poulston 2008). Research by Eller (1990) clearly indicates that more men and women experience sexual harassment in the hotel industry than do individuals in society-at-large. Today in many hotels there are a high level of female employee of gender discrimination and sexual harassment. 2.5 Inequality issues in hotels. Research shows the different ways in which tourism can contribute to economic growth, poverty reduction and community development. However, less attention has been paid to the unequal ways in which the benefits of tourism are distributed between men and women, particularly in the developing world. Gladys Acosta, UN Women Director for Latin America of the newly-establish UN agency UN Women, pointed out that womens contribution to the tourism sector is often invisible. According to Purcell and Quinn (1998) that it is a fact that in the early career stages, female hospitality graduates received lower pay, fewer fringe benefits and less intrinsic job satisfaction. However Woods and Kavanaugh (1994) according to who gender discrimination was an invisible barrier that kept women from reaching top positions in many management circles. There also continues to be wide discrepancies in remuneration between the genders (MunËœ oz-Bullo ´ n 2009; Tugores 2008. The hospitality sector has an important role: it should respect the equality of men and women; they should promote human rights and more particularly the individual rights of the most vulnerable groups, notably children, the elderly, the handicapped, ethnic minorities and indigenous people. ILO report (Development and challenges in the hospitality and tourism sector 2010). Kinnaird and Hall (1994) comment that women fulfill the majority of jobs in tourism, especially those which are poorly paid, low skilled and part-time also it is to be noted that in the tourism sector unskilled or semi-skilled women tend to work in the most vulnerable jobs, where they are more likely to experience poor working conditions, inequality of opportunity and treatment, violence, exploitation, stress and sexual harassment. (ILO ) Carli and Eagly (2001) observe that, although womens status has improved remarkably in the twentieth century in many societies, women continue to lack access to power and leadership compared with men (p. 629).

Cable Modems Vs. Digital Subscriber :: essays research papers fc

The Internet has grabbed on to the world and it isn’t letting go. Nearly 36 million U.S. homes currently have PCs and everyone is dying to jump on the information superhighway. The Internet, which started as a group of government agencies and universities, has grown to include almost anyone, from home users to large companies and everyone in between. It makes sense then that providing Internet service is big business. The service which used to be dominated by groups of nerdy computer whizzes using equipment in someone’s basement is now being provided by many telephone companies, large on-line services and may soon be available from you local cable company. Computer users are an impatient group. They are starving for a faster way of connecting to the ‘net. Until now home users have had to suffer with the slow connections available with analog modems or spend a relatively large amount on having a digital line, such as ISDN, installed and then continue paying a lot for the monthly charges associated with such lines. Standard analog modems have always been hindered by the bandwidth they are allowed to use. Standard voice grade phone lines use the frequency spectrum between 0khz and 4khz to transmit their signal. 33.6 kbps modems packed nearly 11 bits of data per hertz, a remarkable feat, which is very near the theoretical limit. To allow faster connections modems must use a wider bandwidth. Two new competing technologies are now being developed which use this broadband idea to give computer users the speed they crave. Telephone companies are working on developing a way to use the standard twisted pair copper wires that now connect nearly every home in America to transmit data at high speeds. These technologies, collectively called DSL, come in two main flavors. ADSL, this is an acronym for asymmetric digital subscriber line, is the most common. This name was coined by Bellcore in 1989. The other main type of digital subscriber line is called HDSL. It stands for high-bit-rate digital subscriber line. These two technologies are essentially the same, except they apportion a different bandwidth to upstream (user to network) and downstream (network to user) data transmission. Concurrently, cable television providers are working on technologies to allow them to connect computers to their network and allow users to connect to the Internet at speeds just as high. Such equipment is being called a cable modem. Cable modems offer the possibility of transferring data at rates up to ten megabits per second, a speed nearly ten times faster than that of ISDN and about twenty times faster than today’s fastest analog modems. This number is somewhat misleading however. The truth is that in order to actually

How Media Influences Women Essay -- essays research papers

We, the American public are hit from every imaginable direction every waking moment of our lives by slick advertising agencies trying to coerce us into or tell us why we need to buy their products. Their products will make us happier or thinner, or prettier. The advertisers often use the picture of youth and vitality so that the public will associate that particular product or service with being young and beautiful. They do this because of course in our society youth and beauty are to be coveted. Everyone would like to be forever young and beautiful or for as long as they can anyway. So, everyone is trying to look younger or wants to look younger. The things that we can associate with youth are obvious. We see the picture of youth and beauty everywhere. Look in any magazine, Watch TV, see billboards, everywhere you turn we see young, beautiful people. Youth is synonymous with beauty so little wonder why when you read this bumper sticker â€Å"few women admit their age, few men act i t† a lot of women won’t divulge their age. To do so would be to admit they are perhaps older than they look or if we were to know their real age we might say something (hopefully to ourselves) like â€Å"jeez, she looks a lot older than that!†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The media is really the one at work that shapes a lot of our attitudes and beliefs. They might not necessarily be healthy attitudes and beliefs but they are the ones that have been shoved in front of our faces from the day we were born. Believe me, they know how powerful and influential they (the media) can be. The most disturbing thing to me about advertising is the ideal female body they use. It is absolutely tight, contained, bolted down. Being thin is not enough. Women need to be in shape as well. Obtaining that body becomes a matter of self-control. It illustrates to me that they are saying thin women are in control. They have mastered the discipline of dieting and exercise. It is the fat women who are not in control. Fat has become associated with laziness and lack of self-discipline. Of the statistics that I ran across while researching this topic said that eighty percent of girls between the ages of eight and twelve are on a diet. The number one wish of most women and girls is to loose weight. Media presents images that tell woman and girls that acceptance means being unnaturally thin. The average fashion model,... ...than among males. The ideals of female beauty have not always been inbodied in the figure of most of today’s â€Å"super models† whose bodies resemble that of a young boy, not a woman. Figures like that of Marilyn Monroe, which today are considered fat, were the ideals of the time thirty years ago. It seems difficult to dispute that the attainment of the slender ideal is very painful for many women. in light of the statistics given earlier (only five percent of women can achieve the ideal fashion model form), it is an impossible task for women to pursue. Women develop a highly damaging relationship with food that does very little except limit their lives. Advertising has served as a disciplinary force in the lives of women. Advertisers create images that dictate cultural trends indicative of the time. The dominating image of the painfully thin woman in advertising remains the ideal for the American women. The grim truth is that attaining the slender body of today is not realistic for most women. Their bodies are not naturally shaped like those of twelve-year old boys. Eating disorders are on the rise, and the relationship women have with food is becoming an increasingly dangerous one.

Andres Segovia :: essays research papers fc

Andres Segovia Quick Biography Andres Segovia was born on February 21, 1893 in the Andalusian city of Linares, Spain. His father was a prosperous lawyer and hoped that one day that his son would join him in his work. Andres’ father, trying to build a wide cultural background for his son, began to provide Andres with musical instruction at an early age. He thought him how to play the piano and the violin, but Andres did not seem to be too enthusiastic about either instrument. When he heard the guitar at one of his friend’s home being played his interest in music it self had begun. Even though his parents disapproved of him playing the guitar, Andres still continued to play the instrument. Andres applied his previous acquired musical knowledge to his study of the guitar. Because of this Andres developed his own technique, he had discovered quite early that certain piano exercises were beneficial in strengthening the fingers for the guitar. He believed that the guitars rightful place was in a concert stage, but at this time the guitar was considered unsuitable in place like a concert stage (Cumpiano, William). Andres Segovia’s Impact on The Guitar Because of Andres Segovia, the history of the guitar changed forever. Andres Segovia’s performances also helped make guitar makers like Manuel Ramirez, and Herman Hauser become famous themselves. His expertise also helped the Yamaha corporation, but his greatest impact was as a teacher. To study with the great Segovia was considered one of the finest honors of a classical guitarist. Segovia felt that he was the person to bring the guitar to an unseen level of fame. He had an encounter with Jose del Hierro, who had heard him play at the shop of Manuel Ramirez and told Segovia to take up the violin instead, but Segovia told Del Hierro that it was too late for him to take up another instrument and that the guitar of tomorrow needed him. Segovia’s first concert quality guitar was from the shop of Manuel Ramirez built by Santos Hernandez in 1912. He got the guitar in preparation for his concert at the Ateneo, Andres needed a guitar that could be used in a concert. The guitar he had was made by a famous maker, but was only a student model which was made from cheap wood (Zondag, Curtis). He went to the store to look for something to play on a â€Å"rent to own† basis.

Genetically Modified Food Speech Essay

Attention Material :How awesome would it be if your pet glowed in the dark? Or your family had a zebra-dog? How about a family dog that could take out the entire neighborhood in one lick? Now how about owning this dairy cow? Looks normal but its not. All these animals have been genetically modified and their genes have been altered. The cow is injected with a growth hormone rBGH to increase it’s milk production, only problem, that hormone has been found to cause different types of cancers as well as a number of other health hazards. This hormone has been banned in Canada and Europe but sadly in American this hormone linked to 3-4x higher cancer rates was approved by the FDA in 1993 after the consumer tested it for 90 days on 30 rats. Today, we are seeing the long-term affects of drinking this potent milk. Before the genetically modified food explosion only 1:11 individuals had cancer, today 1:2 men and 1:3 woman will develop cancer and nearly half of you can expect it in your lifetime. Today 2/3rds of all foods in your local grocery store are GM and in 2013 it will have raised to 90%. The problem here is that GM foods are hardly ever tested before consumed, they have a number of associated health problems and they are not labeled so you cant pick to not eat them or not. Credibility Material: I have always been interested in GM organisms but a few years ago my professor at IU intreguied me with the effects of GM foods. Today, I’ve done countless hours of research on the subject and wrote many papers about it. Thesis Statement: Today I want to inform about GM foods Preview: Today I want to inform you about GM foods, what they are and why we should push for labeling of GM foods in our grocery. Transition: To begin, allow me to inform you about GM foods. BODY I. GM foods are everywhere but what are they? Are they good, bad, or okay? Should I eat them or should I not? A. Genetically Modified (GM) foods are food items that have had their DNA changed or altered entirely through genetic engineering creating completely different variants. 1. GM products include medicines and vaccines, foods and food ingredients, feeds and fibers. B. GM foods first appeared on the marked in 1990 C. Between 1997-1999 GM food ingredients suddenly appeared in 2/3rds of all U. S. processed foods 1. If you consumed soy sauce with Chinese, popcorn at movie or occasional candy bar you’ve undoubtfully consumed this new food. a. Nearly every American has eaten GM foods but only 26% believe they have. b. No labeling and no regulation 2. â€Å"Potentially, GM could breed new animal and plant diseases, news sources of caner and novel epidemics in human health†, Dr. Wald, Prof of Biology at Harvard University. Transistion: Now that we know what GM foods are, lets discuss the health concerns associated with them. II. There are extensive health hazards that have been shown to be caused by modified foods. A. Study done in 1999 showed GM foods have decreased levels of vital nutrients- esp. those that protect us from heart disease and cancer. B. Modified proteins exist in GM foods, new proteins never before eaten by humanity. 1. Foreign GM ingredients produce allergies a. 25% of Americans have mild adverse RXNs to foods and at lease 4% have life threatening allergies to food. b. Soy allergies have doubled since GM soy introduced. â€Å"c. No labeling of GMO in foods and people experience allergies they were unaware of-Anaphylatic shock 2. In last decade, percent of children in U. S. affected by serious food allergies has significantly increased. a. Today 6-8% children under 3 yrs old affected. C. As we ingest transgenic human/animal products there is no real the impact of human evolution. 1. Research mice show increase in birth defects and shorter life spans when feed GM soy. a. Mothers feed GM soy- nearly all babies died (10% died in control) b. Males developed changed testicle color. c. Infertility when feed GM corn. 2. Other animal studies indicate serious health risk associated with GM foods; fertility, immune problems, accelerated aging, insulin regression, changes in major organs and gastroninteitinal region. a. There are more than casual associations between GM foods and adverse health affects b. Confirmed in animal studies-consitancy and association between GM foods and disease 3. Number of autoimmune diseases are enhanced by foreign DNA fragments not fully digested in stomach and intestines a. DNA fragments are abundant in bloodstream. b. Potentially mix with normal DNA. Transition: Considering these factors about GM foods, let me explain why I think it is so very important that these GM crops be labeled. III. In other countries, GM crops are almost always labeled but in the U. S. no GM foods are labeled. A. Unlabeled GM foods can cause serious health problems for those with allergens to it. 1. Most people by a tomato and aren’t worried about their soy allergy but with GM foods and ingredients, soy genes can easily be placed or accidently cross pollunant 2. Many unlabeled GMO’s in our food are causing people to experience allergies they were unaware of- a. It’s possible that they can go into anaphylactic shock. b. DEATH. B. There are no regulated health safety tests. 1. FDA only requests that firms conduct their own test of new GM products a. FDA makes no reviews of those tests. b. No long term effects of eating GM foods. 2. Louis Pribly, an FDA microbiologist explains, â€Å"Companies tailor tests to get the results they need. † C. Why labeling and what you can do. 1. Choose hormone-free beef and rBGH-free Dairy products a. Foods that carry â€Å"USDA-certified organic† label contain no artifical hormones. 2. Lack of labeling of GM foods violates the 1st Amendment of the Constitution, â€Å"Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act requires added substances to be labeled. † a. Without labels, our public health agencies are powerless to trace problems of any kind back to their original source b. Crisis? c. Why do you think labeling hasn’t occurred yet? Because, the manufacters of GM crops would lose buisness. Would you buy GM foods if you had a choice? Probably not. CONCLUSION Summary Statement:In conclusion, I hope that everyone gained some knowledge towards the effects of genetically modified foods and why it needs to be taken more seriously when involving peoples health. Concluding Statement:â€Å"Its like playing Russian roulette (referring to the lack of testing done on GM foods) with public health, We have became involuntarily guinea pigs in vast genetic experiences,† Louis Pribyl, FDA microbiologist. Be a Voice, Sign a petition for GMO’s labeled in our foods, get the knowledge & protect your future generations. Sign The World Science open letter to all governments calling for GMO’s to be properly labeled in our foods. Who wants to become sick from food they eat? We have the right as Americans to know what is put in our food. Don’t We? Work Cited Works Cited Admin. (2010, Apr 29). GM. org. Retrieved Feb 24, 2011, from Genetically Modified Foods: http://www. gm. org/category/gm-foods/ Batalion, N. (n. d. ). Genetically Modified Food. Retrieved Feb 22, 2011, from Raw-Wisdom. com: http://www. raw-wisdom. com/50harmful. Boston University College of Engineering. (2010, Feb. 12). Low Levels of Antibiotics Cause Multidrug Resistace in ‘Superbugs’. Retrieved Dec. 5, 2010, from Science Daily: http://www. sciencedaily. com/releases/2010/02/100211151647. htm GMO Dangers. (2010). Retrieved Feb 24, 2011, from Institute For Responsible Technology: http://www. responsibletechnology. org/ The National Agricultural Library. (n. d. ). (USDA) Retrieved Feb 22, 2011, from United States Department of Agriculture: http://www. nal. usda. gov/.

Globalization of Enterprise

2012 Nigel. S. Paltoo – A11904 10/9/2012 Globalization of Enterprise 715 GE Source:Flikr. com ASSIGNMENT COVER SHEET(to be completed by the student)| AIB student ID number:| A11904| | | Student name:| NIGEL. S. PALTOO| | | Course name:| MBA -GENERIC| | | Subject name:| Globalization of Enterprise 715-GE| | | Subject facilitator:| Dr. Brian O'Toole| | | Teaching Centre:| NATIONS UNIVERSITY-GUYANA| | | No. of pages:| 17| | | Word count:| 2708 from Intro to Conclusion (2500 +10% tolerance) | | |DECLARATION| I, the above named student, confirm that by submitting, or causing the attached assignment to be submitted, to AIB, I have not plagiarised any other person’s work in this assignment and except where appropriately acknowledged, this assignment is my own work, has been expressed in my own words, and has not previously been submitted for assessment. | ASSESSMENT SHEET(to be completed by the examiner)| Student name:| NIGEL. S. PALTOO| | | Course name:| MBA -GENERIC| | |Subj ect name:| Globalization of Enterprise 715-GE| | | Assessor/marker:| | | | COMMENTS| Principles learnt (for example, number and understanding of principles referred to, their influence on the structure of this paper, number and correct citations of  references, use of appropriate jargon)     | | /4| | | Application of principles. That is, the  analysis and evaluation of the example problem based on the principles, including the final recommendations and their justification| | | /8| | |How well the example problem was described, including the extent and depth of information (including the data) about it that was accessed| | | /4| | | Structure and presentation| | | /2| | | Style, grammar   and language| | | /2| | | Total | | Less penalties| | GRAND TOTAL| /20| General comments| | | | FOR MODERATOR’S USE ONLY| I agree with the assessor’s assessment I disagree with the assessor’s assessment and the new mark is as follows for the following reasons: | /20| | Moderator:| |NATIONS UNIVERSITY–GUYANA ®AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF BUSINESS-MBA  ®GLOBALIZATION OF ENTERPRISE-715 GEASSIGNMENT Comparing and contrasting two countries for international expansion into by local apparel company Denmor Garment Manufacturers. | Assignment: You are the manager of a business (in your country or region) that is thinking of going global. Compare and contrast two different overseas markets for the international expansion of your business, covering a consideration of: 1 †¢ Political economy issues †¢ Cultural issues 3 †¢ Entry strategy 4 †¢ Strategic alliances Start your assignment with a very brief description of the entrepreneurial business that you are writing about. This business can be your own business or one that you are familiar with, or it can be a hypothetical one based on an amalgam of several businesses of which you are aware. Conclude the assignment with whether the business should go to one or the other of the two c ountries, or none, or both. The total number of words should be 2500 words.For penalties regarding exceeding the word limit, please refer to AIB Style Guide. For guidance on how to write an assignment, please refer to AIB Assignment Guide. Please note, the word count does not include your cover page, an abstract, table of contents, list of references or appendices. Thus you can place any supporting material that exceeds this word limit into appendices. However, a reader should not have to look at an appendix to know about the main thrust of the points you are making in your assignment.So make sure all your main points are in the body of your report and refer there to the appendices that will support the points you are making in the body of your report, because the reader may not look at the appendices otherwise. Abstract: In the last quarter of the 20th century to present day the world economy has become more integrated and interdependent than ever before, with businesses both large and small expanding beyond their traditional local markets as barriers to world trade came down and technology advanced resulting in significantly lower communication and transportation costs.This phenomenal change in the international environment in which business is conducted has resulted in increased levels of foreign direct investment by companies from developed countries in lesser developed economies such as the Third World as economic benefits were sought through the globalization of production as well as markets. (Hill 2011, p. 5)With the benefits being widely seen to outweigh the disadvantages smaller companies are looking for the arrangements internationally that would best serve their interests of growth and expansion with companies from lesser developed countries now also looking to capitalize as well by creating synergies at the basic level by expanding their market horizons overseas, penetrating first and expanding as demand and relationships develop. This shift in the world economy towards greater integration and interdependence is one way of describing Globalization (Hill 2011, p. ). Globalization can be seen as the increase of functional integration between internationally dispersed economic activities, which is quite recent, as opposed to the older phenomenon of â€Å"Internationalization† which refers to the geographic spread of economic activities across borders and oceans which started in the 17th century when the colonial powers started dividing up continents in the New World in search of raw materials and markets (Devaraja 2011).In Guyana, the more established companies have been seeking avenues to expand their markets overseas through exports and by establishing lower level strategic alliances. Hardly any local company has sought to globalize its production to increase its profitability. For any company looking to embark on international venture the interdependent political, economic and legal systems of the target country along with its underlying cultural fabric must be examined and analyzed in detail before any investment is made (Hill 2011, p. 45).In Guyana, a small English speaking, third world country in South America, the more established manufacturing companies have been seeking avenues to expand their markets first through exports and also by establishing lower level strategic alliances overseas. Denmor Garment Manufacturers (DGM) is one such SME within the apparel industry in Guyana that has benefited from the effects of Globalization by having contracts to manufacture specific designs from companies owning major brand names in the USA (which are looking to lower their production costs) as well as by exporting directly to major retailers overseas.Table of Contents| Page. | 1. 0 Introduction| 9| 2. 0 Denmor Garment Manufacturers| 9| 3. 0 Current Situation with DGM| 10| 3. 0 The challenge of international expansion| 11| 4. 0 Political and Economy Issues| 12| 5. 0 Cultural Issues| 15| 6. 0 Entry Stra tegies| 16| 7. 0 Conclusion| 17| Bibliography| 18| 1. 0 Introduction: The aim of this research is to analyze the potential of two countries short listed as possible candidates for the further international expansion of DGM.These two options are reviewed in the perspective of the main issues that have to be taken into account when considering business expansion into foreign markets viz Political economy issues, Cultural issues, Entry strategy and Strategic alliances with the state of affairs in both countries being compared and contrasted with a decision being arrived at as to whether to expand into one, both or none of the two countries. It would be impossible to look at all aspects of the Socio-Economic, Cultural and Political landscape of the countries being considered therefore only the reas most likely to have an impact on DGMs' venture are considered in the context of the nature of its business and the products on offer. Denmor Garment Manufacturers (DGM): Location: 7, 8, 9 Col digen Industrial Estate, East Coast Demerara, Guyana. DGM is a private company in Guyana which commenced operations in 1997 and currently employs 1000 persons of which 97 % are women. Denmor has the capacity to respond to orders of up to 50,000 dozens of garments per month, and can produce up to 15 different styles at the same time.Approximately 75 percent of Denmor’s activities involve full production (where the manufacturer manages all aspects except design), demonstrating an ability to carry out value-added manufacturing activities and supply-chain management. 100 percent of its products are exported, with its customers including some of the world’s leading brands and department stores, including Russell Athletic, Victoria’s Secret, Paris Accessories, Van Heusen, JC Penny and Wal-Mart. (Goinvest n. d) 2. 0 Current Situation with DGM:As it is DGM is presently a small part of a buyer driven value chain environment where the large retailers, marketers and brand name manufacturers have established a diverse decentralized network of production in third world and developing countries and are leveraging at the design and retail stages (Devaraja 2011). Having had a fair degree of success from its operations and acquired considerable know-how from its alliances DGM is looking to expand its market base and production capacity but is constrained locally by the limited supply of labour for any new factory and weak local demand for beach wear and sport uniforms.The key processes of DGM's operation are very labour intensive involving the cutting of fabric and making of components by sewing machine and assembling into final product, this requires a semi-skilled to skilled level of labour. The challenge facing DGM is to remain a competitive player and to be able to increase profitability either by getting a bigger bite of the value chain from the companies overseas (expanding more into full production),developing its own brands or by securing new large brand name manufacturer customers and orders.It is therefore important that DGM look to increase its factory capacity while at the same time keeping costs down thereby increasing attractiveness to buyers. Faced with a limited labour supply and a high cost of energy and sometimes erratic power supply for sewing machines and air-conditioned factories it has become critical that DGM seriously consider the alternative of moving overseas. After much consideration DGM's management has concluded that the area with greatest growth potential would be to expand using its own designs and brands.DGM has acquired significant expertise in the production of high end female underwear and in athletic uniforms from producing Victoria's Secret products and Russell Athletic brand uniforms for the US NBA and is confident that it can tap into the supply chain for fabrics and using its own design team produce a new line of female underwear, beachwear and generic soccer uniforms that would have a higher q uality and a far cheaper price, however in Guyana it is constrained by weak local demand and labour supply. . 0 The challenge of international expansion: Like any other firm contemplating international trade is faced with three strategic decisions about which countries to enter, when to enter and at what scale the entry would be. Consideration would have to be given to potential opportunities as well as areas of risk which must be closely analysed (Hill 2011).The countries selected for consideration would first be compared and contrasted with their distinct political, economic and cultural realities being looked at then options relating to possible entry strategy (ies) will considered along with strategic alliances that may be advantageous or required The two countries being considered for expansion into are Brazil and Trinidad. Before these two countries would have been brought up for further consideration they would have been on a longer list of potential candidates he rest of whi ch would have been eliminated with Brazil and Trinidad meeting the basic criteria of having a significantly larger population than Guyana, they are both developing countries (better off economically than Guyana), with a free market system in place, manageable national debt and single digit inflation rates and both countries are geographically close by. A decision has been made that once the two options are found to be acceptable then entry into that market will be made within six months. Map of South America and Southern Caribbean Islands showing Brazil, Guyana and Trinidad & Tobago. Source: www. worldatlas. comPolitical economy issues: Brazil and Trinidad are both democracies, having had free and fair elections for the past two decades. Both countries currently have female presidents. Brazil is a Federal republic consisting of twenty-six states the smallest of which is far larger than Trinidad which is a twin island republic with a sister island Tobago. Both countries can be consid ered politically stable with the most recent incidence of serious turmoil being twenty two years ago when Trinidad had a failed coup with members of the Jamaat al Muslimeem trying to seize power. Individualism is respected in both countries but more so in Trinidad.Indicator| Brazil| Trinidad| Size | 3,287,357 square miles| 1,980 square miles | Population| 197 million (2011 est. )| 1. 3 million (2011 est. )| | | | Government| Federative Republic| Democratic Republic| Legal System| Brazil is a former colony of Portugal. The Brazilian legal system is based on Civil Law. | Former British colony. The legal and judicial system is based on English common law and practice. | ECONOMIC| Brazil| Trinidad| GDP| GDP USD $2. 45 trillion Brazil is the sixth largest economy in the world. | USD $ 24. 63 billion| GDP per Capita| USD $4,803| USD $16,699|GNI per Capita| USD $11,500| USD $24,940| Exchange rate| BRL 1. 00= GYD $100. 00| TT $1. 00 = GYD $30. 00| Inflation | 5. 24 %| 5. 4%| Reserves| US$ 3 49. 708 billion| US$ 9. 692 billion| Debt as a % of GDP| 65. 1%| 37. 3%| Unemployment| 6%| 5. 5%| Source: Communicaid and Central Intelligence Agency World Fact book and www. tradingeconomics. com The data presented indicates that both Brazil and Trinidad are about as politically stable as Guyana with both countries being economically better off. However in Brazil there is a greater divide between rich and poor and a higher level of crime relative to Guyana and Trinidad.Both Brazil and Trinidad are currently experiencing low levels of inflation and unemployment Brazil unlike Trinidad has a tax on financial transactions; Brazil is far more bureaucratic when it comes to starting a business taking up to six months to get all the paperwork done whereas in Trinidad it is considerably easier and should only take one to two months. In Brazil getting certain legal permissions for establishing a business expedited may require the payment of bribes. There are no limits to repatriation of regi stered capital and no taxes on profits repatriated from both countries.DGM would have to consider the higher level of bureaucracy in Brazil when it comes to getting things started (which creates opportunities for bribes to be extorted) as compared to Trinidad. A business class visa is required for investing and doing business in Brazil with a minimum level of investment being USD $50,000 being required. A Guyanese can transact and conduct business in Trinidad without a visa; however a work permit would be required. In Brazil it may be necessary to hire a middleman (despachante) to navigate the maze of bureaucracy. (CIA World fact book 2012, Communicaid 2012).On the key issue of protection of property rights both Brazil and Trinidad have legal provisions for the protection of real assets and intellectual property rights, both countries having signed international agreements, however, the judiciary in Brazil is inefficient and subject to political as well as economic influence with pi racy of copyright material being fairly widespread. Brazil presents a higher degree of risk due to lower levels of property rights protection. Trinidad unlike Brazil is a member of CARICOM just like Guyana which allows free trade among members. There is a free trade zone in Manaus in Brazil.Taxation in Brazil is extremely complex and not as uniform as in Trinidad. Cost of labour in both Trinidad and Brazil is higher than in Guyana but is more available. Cost of energy is cheaper in both countries relative to Guyana. (CIA World fact book 2012, Communicaid 2012). Politically and economically there are fewer challenges for DGM to expand to Trinidad as compared to Brazil, however with inflation levels and unemployment levels being almost equal and exchange rates being stable there is still a degree of attractiveness to expand to Brazil if ways around the red tape can be achieved.CULTURAL ISSUES: Cultural differences can present a variety of problems when looking to conduct business in f oreign markets; from language barriers, employee behaviour and work ethic to strategic planning, it is therefore essential that entrepreneurs familiarise themselves with more than just the laws governing a society and obtain an understanding of the underlying values,norms and mores so as to be able to discern what is different and what is the same, what is acceptable and what maybe considered taboo or disrespectful. (Hill 2011)Trinidad is an English speaking Caribbean country with a diverse multi ethnic society that has fused relatively well into a distinct â€Å"Trini† culture with a mix of East Indian, African, European and American influences, religion is mainly Christian, Hinduism and Islam. Carnival is celebrated annually with Soca and Calypso music, elaborate costumes and floats, parades and beach parties over a one week period. Trinidad like Brazil is very nationalistic and proud of their country and its national symbols and flag colours. Trinidad is also a soccer craz y nation but not to the extreme as Brazil.There is a strong American influence in the way business is conducted in Trinidad which is very much alike with the way meetings and other business dealings are conducted in Guyana; however it is somewhat different in Brazil. Brazil is Portuguese speaking with a far larger population who are predominantly Roman Catholic, however just like Trinidad there is an annual Carnival and a strong soccer and beach culture since Brazil has some of the most attractive beaches on South America's Eastern Atlantic coastline and year round sunny weather.There are more cultural issues to be considered by DGM in looking to expand to Brazil than Trinidad (CIA World fact book 2012, US Commercial Service-US Department of Commerce 2012). Brazilians do not like to discuss business during lunch whereas that would be ok in Trinidad, coffee drinking is a ritual in Brazil whereas having a semi formal meeting over beers or whiskey is normal in Trinidad. There are a few hand signals acceptable in Guyana and Trinidad like the â€Å"OK† that would be considered insulting in Brazil (Communicaid Group Ltd 2012).It would therefore be a bit more challenging from a cultural perspective for DGM to do business in Brazil as compared to Trinidad. Both countries have a well developed tourism industry with visitors from the US and Europe looking for differentiated products with unique designs, fabrics and colour. Although both countries presently have female presidents, males dominate business as such initial business meetings should be male led, but with DGM trading in the female apparel industry including a female during negotiations would be wise.Entry Strategy: Having made a decision to expand to another country the management would need to consider all the risks and decide on the timing, mode and scale of entry to be adopted (Hill, 2011). In entering a foreign market there are six modes of entry that a firm can consider each with advantages and dis advantages ranging from Exporting, Turnkey contracts,Licensing,Joint Ventures to Wholly Owned Subsidiary. (Hill 2011,p. 32) Brazil presents a more challenging environment both politically, economically and culturally but DGM should not rule out expansion into the Brazilian marketplace since the sheer size of its population and proximity to Guyana offers immense potential, however, at this time DGM should look at exporting finished products by finding a wholesale distributor with a wide network of resellers to export beachwear to and also seek to market team uniforms directly to soccer teams especially in the lower divisions and have a local representative do meetings and collect sizes and measurements etc. ith delivery being done through this intermediary but with payments being remitted by bank transfers directly to DGM. By going the export route to Brazil import tariffs would be an additional cost as opposed to having a factory in the Manaus free trade zone, as such DGM should gau ge the acceptance of its offerings and then look to develop strategic alliances at the manufacturing level later on if market conditions indicate the potential for higher profitability. DGM should be prudent in its business arrangements and look to secure transactions using letters of credit until levels of trust are established.In Trinidad DGM should look to develop a joint venture with a suitable partner who has excess warehousing space suitable for establishing a garment factory thereby reducing the level of capital investment required, register its brands in Trinidad, establish a small scale factory and produce both beachwear and soccer and other sport uniforms in Trinidad and market both to the local Trinidad market and export to the distributors in Brazil and further afield. Strategic alliances would also be needed to market products across Trinidad as such a partner with appropriate channels already in place would be useful at the entry phase.A strategic alliance with a busin ess in an unrelated industry that has excess building space would be preferred to one that is in the same industry with spare labour and machine capacity due to the risk of having that partner appropriating designs and customers. Timing of these two ventures is important, however with the slow pace at which negotiations and business dealings flow in Brazil it may be prudent to start interim talks with potential distributors at the same time as getting the joint venture arrangement and factory setup in Trinidad.Products would be differentiated in both markets according to designs and colors, more revealing beachwear is acceptable in Brazil and labeling would have to be in Portuguese as such a multi-domestic approach would be necessary with products being made specifically for each of the two markets with a slight overlap. This strategy should not be too costly given that the slight differences between products do not require different skills and machines and the designs for the Brazi lian market would require less material but have the same selling price.Conclusion: The beach and athletic wear segment of the apparel market is already established in both countries, as such there is no first mover advantage to be gained, however DGM is confident that it can secure a niche by supplying an overall better quality product (stitchwork,design,fabric) at a far lower price. Brazil which has the largest potential market has relatively more political economy and cultural barriers which increase the levels of risk and possibility for failure so DGM should be cautious when expanding into this market.Trinidad on the other hand has much more political economy and cultural similarities with Guyana and this would allow for easier entry, allowing DGM to be more aggressive, which could end up solving the production capacity problems for DGM to meet the anticipated new demand when the export channels into Brazil open up which would in turn satisfy the present need for a wider market base. If both of these expansions come to fruition DGM can expect growth in demand and profitability over the long term with economic benefits accruing to each of the three countries. Bibliography:CIA World fact book, Trinidad 2012, viewed 1 October 2012, < https://www. cia. gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/td. html > CIA World fact book, Brazil 2012, viewed 1 October 2012, Communicaid Group Ltd. 2012, Doing Business in Brazil- Brazilian Social and Business Culture UK, London, viewed 30 September 2012 < http://www. communicaid. com/access/pdf/library/culture/doing-business-in/Doing%20Business%20in%20Brazil. pdf>. Devaraja, Dr. T. S 2011, Indian Textile and Garment Industry-An Overview, University of Mysore, viewed 30 September 2012 < http://sibresearch. rg/uploads/2/7/9/9/2799227/working_paper_-_dr_devaraja. pdf > Goinvest 2012, Denmor Garment Manufacturers: Competing in the Global Garment Industry, viewed 29 September 2012 < http://www. goinvest. gov. gy/manufactur ing. html > Hill, CWL 2010, Global Business Today, 7th edn, McGraw Hill, Boston US Commercial Service-US Department of Commerce 2012, Doing Business In Trinidad and Tobago: A Country Commercial Guide for U. S. Companies, viewed 1 October 2012, < http://trinidad. usembassy. gov/uploads/images/bLR3mH7MwdrEvCke0jB6Tw/CCG2006. pdf > End of Assignment.