Berjaya Corporation Berhad Essay

1.0 Introduction A business that seeks to operate honestly, considers people and the environment when making business decisions, and tries to make a positive contribution to the local community and to wider society Berjaya Corporation Berhad is an investment holding company and is engaged in the provision of management services. Berjaya Corporation group of companies is founded by Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Vincent Tan Chee Yioun when he acquired a major controlling stake Berjaya Industrial Berhad in the year of 1984. It is originally known as Berjaya Kawat Berhad and now known as Reka Pacifiic Berhad. In October 1988, Berjaya Group became the holding company of Reka Pacific Berhad. The principal activities of the subsidiaries consist of Consumer Marketing, Direct Selling & Retail; Financial Services; Hotels, Resorts, Vacation Timeshare & Recreation Development; Property Investment and Development; Gaming & Lottery Management; Development of Sanitary Landfill, Environvental Services and clean Technology Investment; Food & Beverage; and Investment Holding (appendix 1). Hence, due to their strategies structure, it has made them successful until today. At Berjaya Corporation group of companies, they believe that being a social responsible company can bring a balance between profitability and communities they operate. Due to their business, Berjaya companies almost in touch with society daily needs. Therefore, Berjaya always encourage their staff to take part in the Group’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities. Over the years, Berjaya Corporation had planned many charity projects, fund-raising events and donations as a social commitment towards the society. 2.0 Current Practices 2.1 Community To curb the escalation of strays in Malaysia, Berjaya Corporation Berhad organized a charity concert and conducted by Berjaya Youth to raise funds  for the approximately RM115,000 for the sterilization of 1,000 rescued animals. Besides that, Berjaya Youth had collaborated with Paws Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) to launch its Mobile Animal Clinic at Berjaya Times Square (appendix 2). Better Malaysia Foundation, Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Vincent Tan ‘s personal foundation, had donated the mobile animal clinic that worth RM220,000 to create awareness on the importance of spaying and neutering of animals to curb the escalation of strays in Malaysia. The mobile animal clinic features a well-equipped examination room that can administer vaccination and perform sterilization on animals safely. Besides that, Berjaya Corporation has partnered with PAWS Animal Welfare Society to build a cattery building that can provide space for 300 cats. This cattery is to improve the living conditions of homeless cat till they get adopted. With this cattery, Berjaya Corporation want to create awareness for people to adopt a cat instead of buying. This is a good news for PAWS as PAWS is shortage of space and limited funds to take care those abandoned cats and dogs (appendix 3). Disabilities are always one of the groups that need community to give support. On 14 June 2014, Berjaya Corporation Berhad donated RM200, 000 to the Life Prostheses Centre (â€Å"LFL†) located in the Bandar Utama Buddhist Society’s building in Petaling Jaya, Selangor. The centre is the first and only prostheses workshop in Malaysia that provide free prosthetic limbs to poor and less fortunate Malaysia (appendix 4). However, the cost of making a limbs is not cheap, each cost estimated between RM3, 000 to RM5, 000. With the contribution of RM200,000 , it will enable the centre to get 40 to 70 prosthetic limbs depending on the type and level of amputation. Next, Berjaya Cares Foundation contributed 10 units of dialysis machines worth RM450,000 to the National Kidney Foundation of Malaysia (appendix 5). Since the establishment of this foundation, Berjaya Corporation have never failed to support them, Berjaya Corporation Berhad has raised funds for National Kidney Foundation through annual Kenny Roasters Chicken Run event  for 2 years and through donation boxes placed in 7-Eleven outlets. Last year, they get to set up a one-stop information hub for all matters related to kidney and kidney care. 2.2 Employees Employees of Berjaya Corporation had their priority in the company. Berjaya Corporation always give their employees good quality in their workplace to make sure their employees can focus in their career development. Besides that, employees are constantly encouraged to participate in training and development programmes which relevant to their job field, so they can improve their productivity and develop skill sets. Moreover, Berjaya Cares Foundation regularly organizes talk about health, safety awareness and other topics such as personal development to their staff (appendix 6), while the Sports Toto Fitness Centre with full completed gymnasium equipment and facilities is set up to encourage their staff to exercise regularly and maintain a healthy lifestyle. Besides that, Berjaya Cares Foundation had set up a Staff Welfare Fund to manage and supplement financial aid to their employees and their family member whenever they need help in illness, natural disaster and death. This is a very good benefit to become their staff. 2.3 Environment A group of 17 Sports Toto volunteers went to Kuala Selangor Nature Park to plant mangrove trees. Mangrove trees are very good in carbon absorption and act as natural flood retention â€Å"sponge† to hold heavy rainfall which can prevent flood. Next, Mangrove trees help to hold sediments along riverbanks to safeguard coastline erosion and reduce pollution to coral reefs and marine life and also provide breeding and nursery grounds. They had planted 100 mangrove saplings (appendix 7). Other than Sports Toto, Berjaya Hotel & Resorts conducted a project of three  day Tioman Island Clean-Up Day with over 100 participants including staff, media and children from Sekolah Kebangsaan Tekek, Tioman. This activity can educate people about the importance of coral reefs to the ecosystems. There are a total of 121 reef-destroying Crown of Thorns were removed during the dive clean-up (appendix 8). They also clean up the beach with given handheld plastic bags. The result of cleaning up the beach is 15 bags of discarded plastic litters, paper wastes, beverage cans and bottles that weighing over 300kg. 2.4 Sports Toto In Malaysia, gambling is illegal as Malaysia is a Muslim country and majority of the population is Muslim. However, Berjaya Corporation Berhad insists of starting up the gambling business to the country and it is known as Sports Toto. Sports Toto Malaysia was incorporated by Malaysia Government in 1969. Then it is privatized in 1985. Today, Sports Toto is owned subsidiary of Berjaya Sports Toto Berhad and listed on the main market of Bursa Malaysia. Sports Toto is a zero sum game that accumulates the money and distributes to the winners and at the same time, gain profit from it. When people are winning the game, there will always a lot of losers. There are losers more than winners. 2.5 Conflict of the Board As we know, the current chairman and Chief Executive Officer (â€Å"CEO†) of Berjaya Corporation is Dato’ Robin Tan Yeong Ching, the eldest son of Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Vincent Tan Chee Yioun. Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Vincent Tan Chee Yioun was the previous chairman and CEO of Berjaya Corporation and now he is the major shareholder of Berjaya Corporation. Dato’ Robin Tan Yeong Ching was later appointed as the Chief Executive Officer (â€Å"CEO†) of the Company on 1 January 2011 and subsequently as the Chairman/CEO of the Company on 23 February 2012. CEO and Chairman shouldn’t be the same person because this will be conflict. 3.0 Rank about the company 3.1 Employees Employee is the most concern for Berjaya Corporate Berhad because employees are company’s best asset. As Boudreau and Ramstad (2007) present: â€Å"Whether it is called â€Å"people,† â€Å"labor,†Ã¢â‚¬Å"intellectual capital,† â€Å"human capital,† â€Å"human resources,† â€Å"talent,† or some other term, there source that lies within employees and how they are organized is increasingly recognized as critical to strategic success and competitive advantage. Without employees, Berjaya Corporate could not be success like today. Berjaya Corporation Berhad is the Top 30 Best Companies to work in Malaysia and today Berjaya Corporation Berhad has a total of 17,000 employees strength. Berjaya Corporation has various industries such as food and beverage, automotive, hotel and resorts and more. Hence, employee takes an important role in the company as they are backbone of the company and they are the one who services the customers. Therefore, company need to treat their employee nicely as the way you treat your employees is the way they will treat your customers (Branson, 2014). According to the Maslow Hierarchy Needs (Abraham Maslow, 1943), there are five categories of human needs such as basic needs, safety needs, belonging needs, esteem and self-actualization needs. These five needs separated to high and low categories. However, company should try to fulfill the low needs for their employee. Although is not a company’s responsible to fulfill all the employees needs, employees will become loyalty to the company once the company can fulfill their needs. Employees who The hierarchy of needs theory is relevant to this study as the theory is applicable to organizational orientation and employee motivation (Greenberg & Baron, 2003). First of all, employees work to fulfill their basic needs in their life. They will only work for company when there are reasonable salary amount for them. Thus, Berjaya Corporation will give their employee bonus, incentive and even lucky draw during Berjaya Founder’s Day. Next, safety needs is a very important need towards the employees especially  for some job that will take risk. Berjaya Corporation had always conduct healthy talk or body check to their employees, so they know how to take care their body. Other than that, belonging needs is very important to an employee. Employee who feels they belong to the company, they usually will put a great deal of effort into their daily tasks. 3.2 Community Community is the second concern of Berjaya Corporation, they have planned many charity events and donations towards the community. Every year, they will have an event called as Berjaya Founder’s Day. Berjaya Founder’s Day is an annual affair dedicated to give back to society. This day, they will rise up a fund from the efforts of staff and sponsor form banker, suppliers and friends of Berjaya. The first Berjaya Founder’s Day was conducted on 26 February 2011 and get RM6.6 million donations for 30 beneficiaries. Next, the second Berjaya Founder’s Day get a total amount of RM11.6 million for 61 charitable organizations. The third Berjaya Founder’s Day on 23 February 2013 contributed RM20.2 million to 74 charitable organizations, while the latest Berjaya Founder’s Day on 22 February 2014 has collected RM25.6 million to 90 charitable organizations. From above, we can see that every year of the amount and number of charitable organization are increasing. This shows that nowadays society a lot of people need help from a big company like Berjaya Corporation come out to support them. These charitable organizations include those that support community, education, heath causes, international humanitarian aid, local performing arts as well as environmental awareness and animal causes. According to instrumental theories from Garriga and Mele’s (2004), Berjaya Corporation is focusing on achieving economic objectives through social activities. Through social activities, this can maximize shareholders’ value and is a strategy for competitive advantage. Times have changed. There are more than 8,000 companies around the world use corporation social responsibility in their business. Because corporate social responsible is a way for companies to benefit them while also  benefitting the society. It is a win-win situation. According to a data released by Net Impact, the nonprofit that aims to help businesses promote sustainability, 65% of MBAs surveyed say they want to make a social or environmental difference through their jobs (Knowledge@Wharton, 2014). When a big company can give back to the community, it will be the most inspiring parts of corporate life. It shows that the company takes care of the society and it is an ethical company. This helps company to get good reputation from the society. 3.3 Environment Environment is the third concern of Berjaya Corporation. Berjaya Corporation is a diversified company that will initially influence the environment from their projects. When they are starting up a factory in a rural area, Berjaya Corporation will have to go through the process of deforestation. Cutting off the trees will definitely given a negative impact to the environment such as landslide due to the destroyed on the existing mechanical root structure in the area. However, as an ethical business, Berjaya Corporation will take up the responsibility to improve the environment by organizing an awareness event. For instance, mangrove trees planting for environmental conservation were held on 19 April 2011 with the group of Toto Sports volunteer in Kuala Selangor. Total of 100 mangrove trees are planted. The resource of our planet is limited and unsustainability is stated in the theory of Environmental Ethics (Paul W. Taylor, 1986). Moreover, Berjaya Corporation has also incorporated â€Å"Go Green† program in their business to avoid wastage and spread the awareness towards their customer. For example, use green products for take away food and beverage such as Starbucks Reusable Tumbler and Kenny Rogers Roasters I-Care Box. This shows how Berjaya Corporation cares about the environment. In addition, Berjaya Corporation chooses to cooperate with local suppliers to use less paper work and also give business to them. In addition, Berjaya Corporation ships their products by sea rather than airfeirght. 3.4 Sports Toto Sports Toto is a subsidiaries company of Berjaya Corporation. Sports Toto is very popular among Malaysian and it is the largest number of forecast operator in Malaysia as it has more than 670 outlets in Malaysia. Over the years, Sports Toto has been made many corporate social responsible such as charity, community sports, education and cultural promotion. It is a responsible corporate citizen but also a unhealthy games for Malaysia especially Malaysia is a Muslim country. It is unfair when only the Chinese and Indian can buy Toto tickets while the Malay is not allow to purchase. Malaysian called it â€Å"buy a hope† when they place their bets. Therefore, everyday there are a lot of Malaysian spend money on buying toto tickets. Some of them even use their money like water to purchase to try to win the grand prize. But Sports Toto is the only one that â€Å"winning big†. However, people with little money are always attracted to buy because it gives them the feeling of winning and the amount of the prizes is too great for them. In summary, gaming industry is harmful for individuals and society. However, it is the greatest happiness for the greatest number, stated by the utilitarianism theory of Jeremy Bentham (1987) . Jeremy Bentham said that it does not matter on the action but the result. If the result happens to be good and not harmful to others, it is consider as ethical. Therefore, the Sports TOTO game do helps on certain people on their financial issue. Sports TOTO creates hope for people to continue survive without financial difficulties. 3.5 Conflict of the Board In Berjaya Corporation, the CEO and Chairman seat is taken by the same person who is Dato’ Robin Tan. It is unethical to do so because it shows no fairness towards the employee. This is egoism ethical because they only hand over the position towards to their family instead outsiders. Chairman and CEO have different roles in the company, if this two roles combined together will creates an inherent conflict of interest. The Chairman of the Board of a company is the chief representative of the shareholders. The CEO of the company is the leader of the managers. The job of the chairman is to look after the shareholders. His main job is to fire the incompetent managers that are not qualified or control ones that overreach. Chairman should also look for workers that are potential enough to help company earn profit. While the CEO’s job is to manage, report to the board that set the policies and priorities based on the shareholders’ wished and needs such as higher income, high reward policy or bonus. Besides that, he should look out for the interests, salary or extra allowance of managers. If chairman was the same person, he will basically reporting to himself. This shows that Chairman and CEO had two different and conflicting roles. Where this might bring conflict of interest arises. 4.0 Recommendation Berjaya Corporation Berhad should encourage more green activities instead of replanting the trees or cleaning the beach. They should conduct green activities in all of his company and Subsidiaries Company together as this will be effective towards the society. They can also gather different ideas and save up unnecessary costs. It can also bring a good image to their employees or other company will follow their steps. Besides that, Sports Toto should stop convince consumers that buying toto tickets is a good habit through advertisement, this may lead people to spend a lot of money on toto tickets and end up becoming poor. Next, Berjaya Corporation should allow every employees to attend the health talk, not only the small amount because this may causes employee feel unfair and do not feel they belong to the company. Lastly, Berjaya Corporation should get two people to in charge position of CEO and also chairman as this two positions will have conflict if taken by the same person. 5.0 Conclusion Berjaya Corporation Berhad is very good in their CSR which makes them different from other company. CSR can also bring benefits in terms of risk management to company such as cost savings, access to capital, customer relationships, human resource management, and innovation capacity. CSR can also make company outstanding compare to company that did not do CSR. According to the European Commission, company with more responsible business can foster more growth. Hence, CSR is very important for a company especially public listed company like Berjaya Corporation. However, Berjaya Corporation not to only focus on CSR but also take care of their primary stakeholders such as shareholder and customer by fulfill their needs and wants. 6.0 Reference Bentham, J. (1987). An introduction to the principles of morals and legislation. In J. S. Mill and J. Bentham, Utilitarianism and Other Essays,Harmandsworth: Penguin. Berjaya.com, (2014). Berjaya Corporation Berhad. [online] Available at: http://www.berjaya.com/corporate-profile.html [Accessed 29 Nov. 2014]. BOUDREAU, J. W. – RAMSTAD, P. M.: Beyond HR. Boston. Harvard Business School Press, 2007. ISBN 978-1-4221-0415-6 Branson, R. (2014). The way you treat your employees†¦ – Virgin.com. [online] Virgin.com. Available at: http://www.virgin.com/richard-branson/the-way-you-treat-your-employees [Accessed 28 Nov. 2014]. Fisher, J. (2004) Social Responsibility and Ethics: Clarifying the Concepts, Journal of Business Ethics 52: 391-400. Greenberg, J., and Baron, R. A.( 2003). Behavior in Organizations: Understanding and Managing the Human Side of Work.Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Knowledge@Wharton, (2014). From Fringe to Mainstream: Companies Integrate CSR Initiatives into Everyday Business – Knowledge@Wharton. [online] Available at: http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/from-fringe-to-mainstream-companies-integrate-csr-initiatives-into-everyday-business/ [Accessed 27 Nov. 2014]. Maslow, A. H. (1954). Motivation and Personality: NY: Harper Taylor, Paul W. (2010). â€Å"Egalitarian Biocentrism†. In Keller, David R. Environmental Ethics: The Big Questions. John Wiley & Sons. 7.0 Appendix Appendix 1: Berjaya Corporate Structure Appendix 2: Animal Mobile Clinic Appendix 3: New home for homeless cat Appendix 4: Free prosthetic limbs to poor Appendix 5: Donate 10 units of dialysis machines to the National Kidney Foundation of Malaysia Appendix 6: Health talk to employees Appendix 7: Sports Toto volunteers plant mangrove trees Appendix 8: Tioman Island Clean-Up Day

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Types of Business Organisations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Types of Business Organisations - Essay Example Sole Proprietorship: Sole proprietorship is the simplest type of business organisation. A sole proprietor is the sole owner of all of the assets of the business and is solely liable for all the debts and obligations of the business. Unlike a corporation, the business of the sole proprietor is not considered a separate entity. Rather, it is considered an extension of the individual. The sole proprietor is personally responsible for all legal debts and obligations of the business and is entitled to all the profits of the business. Angela Schneeman (2002). John Smith is a middle-aged man who has been running his own plumbing business successfully for the last 15 years and has built a good reputation within his community. His plumbing business has improved with each year and is doing very well. John’s plumbing skills and the work he has done over the years in his neighborhood has earned him a very good reputation and helped him to build a solid client base. John is very happy with his business and plans to hand over the business to Adam, his son, as he wants him to take over this sole proprietorship business when he decides to retire. According to Angela Schneeman (2002) the sole proprietor may delegate decisions and management of the business to agents, but all authority to make decisions must come directly from the sole proprietor, who is responsible for all the business related acts of employees.... must come directly from the sole proprietor, who is responsible for all the business related acts of employees. Sole Proprietorship Advantages: Running a sole proprietorship plumbing business for the last 15 years has provided John many advantages such as being able to choose his working hours, be his own boss, not have to answer to anyone but himself and finally enjoy all the benefits and profits earned out of the plumbing business. Working within his neighborhood also gave him the opportunity to know the residents in person and also establish new friendships and build himself a good reputation, since all of the plumbing work was done by John himself. Sole Proprietorship Disadvantages: On the other hand as John started to get older he began to notice, that working as a sole trader in his business made him shoulder the entire workload by himself, and when he needed help there was no one around, and all accounts and tax related matters had to once again be prepared in detail by him. The other big concern of John was the problem of business continuity, because he was nearing the age of retiring and wanted his son Adam to take over the business but Adam showed no interest when it came to plumbing and instead wanted to become a lawyer. John was concerned as to what will happen to his business. "Plumbco Ltd" a growing private limited company was interested in setting up its operations in the neighborhood that John Smith lived in, and they heard about his reputation in the neighborhood as a plumber and of the number of years that he had served the community. With this in mind, they approached John and gave him a proposal in which they wanted to buy out his

Reflection journals Ch2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Reflection journals Ch2 - Essay Example I will definitely use this valuable information when teaching. In the first place, I will use the approach to test my students’ knowledge and understanding. I will interview individuals and students in small groups. I would like to check whether group interviews can be as effective as interviewing individuals, as I have doubts that all children will be equally active. I believe I will also have to make sure that each child calls his/her name before answering the question (as this will be crucial during transcribing). Apart from that, I will be able to use some techniques described during my classes. The ability to put the right questions is a valuable skill for any educator. Thus, I will be able to monitor progress of some students during classes. I will choose the right words to encourage students to talk. I will be able to understand what students know and whether there are any gaps in their

Organisational Behaviour Essay Example for Free

Organisational Behaviour Essay In any organisation, the employers exhibit varied behaviours. Behaviour is a social corporate responsibility (Antal Sobczak, 2004). An organisation should not just demand some kind of behavior but be incorporated in ensuring that this is achieved. The systematic study of how individuals act in an organisation, either individually or as a group is referred to as organisational behaviour (Michael, 2005). There exists many factors that would shape the way people interact in organisations. These seek to predict, control and explain some facts. Despite major criticisms concerning the ethics of controlling the behavior of workers, organisational behaviour has been very instrumental in the development and success of organisations. In the modern world, organisational behaviour is a rapidly growing field. People from different regional and cultural backgrounds have to work together thus making it necessary to moderate the way they interact. These studies have been integrated with other domains for effectiveness, these are: anthropology, ethics and leadership. The leadership domain seeks to give an insight into the role leadership plays in an organisation in the change management process. An individual learns some behaviour from an organisation either directly or indirectly (ICMR, 2007). Theories widely accepted in learning are cognitive, behaviouristic and social learning theories. Learning is attributed to the association between stimulus and response. In behaviouristic theory, the desired behaviour is achieved through the application of theories on behaviour. This theory tends to deal with those skills learnt to be used later excluding those capabilities that are inborn (Behavioural Theory, 2008). People are taught and learn rather than inherit traits. In the context of Waiting Tables for Godot passage, we can analyse some of the traits that are taught rather than the inherent ones. Jean-Pierre Godot, the owner of La Maison taught his staff some of the things he expected them to observe. He taught the workers to work as a team and work excellently for that matter. It is out of this that Diane knew that she had to give her best. How else could she be excellent? In essence, she was putting into practice what was taught to her by Godot; excellence in duty. It is also easy to see that Diane had acquired some other knowledge elsewhere. She had learnt to balance several plates on her arms. Diane could speak French despite living and studying in Australia. It is therefore only wise to conclude Diane should have been taught French. This enabled her to perform well since it is clear from the passage that she was an excellent worker. Customers complemented her for offering efficient service and even gave her tips. Cognitive theory involves learning through mistakes (Domjan, 2003). An individual avoids the path leading to pre-committed mistakes the next time similar activities are undertaken (Jaffee, 2000). In the case passage, when Diane dropped a bowl of bouillabaisse appetiser, her boss yelled at her and even went ahead to deduct $44. 95 form her pay. This taught Diane that carrying many order plates at once was not safe. It also made her realise that Godot was not concerned with the good deeds by the workers but rather by their shortcomings. Slowing down her pace was the immediate lesson that Diane learnt from this experience. From the same mistake, the University of Canberra student realised that with a slower pace, she would make little money to meet her needs. It was only advisable for her to carry on at the same pace but take more caution to avoid any outbursts from her boss. Lastly, the kind of behaviour that is passed on through observation is expounded in social theory. An individual watches some traits that others exhibit and adapts the same. It is very common with children. According to Miller and Dollard (1941), the observer imitates the observed action which is then adapted and rewarded with a positive reinforcement. Diane, a newly employed worker at La Maison observed the cook being scolded by Godot. She immediately learnt that she had no option but to give the best in her capacity if she was to avoid any trouble. By observing the nature of her customers, she learnt to be friendly and even employ some other skills like speaking French when need be. Diane observed that by warmly welcoming customers she had served before, she was able to retain them. She thus employed her courtesy skills to retain customers. Social behavior includes the inherent characteristics. Diane exhibited traits like the art of balancing several plates on her arms. She was also talented in the recommendation of wines that go well with specific meals. This Canberra student had persuasive skills to convince customers to buy lavish desserts by the way she described them. Her memory never failed. She correctly entered her orders and duly delivered them. Moreover, she remembered repeat customers and ushered them back warmly. These are some behavioural traits that are not necessarily taught. They could be inborn. Consequences have been used in many cases to determine the occurrence of behaviour. This is referred to as operant conditioning or instrumental conditioning. Learning occurs only at that point where the learner appreciates the connection that exists between behaviour and its consequences (Wagner, 2005). It is operated in by the environment but maintained by consequences. Reinforcement and punishment could either be positive or negative. The positive aspect is achieved when it is delivered due to some response whereas the negative is withdrawn due to a response. Extinction is another tool of operant conditioning where there exists no change in consequences following some response. In punishment, the behaviour of an individual is weakened following the experience of some negative condition (Operant Conditioning Basics, 1999). It is of significance to note that it is only response that is extinguished, punished or reinforced. Positive reinforcement exists where a pleasant stimulus that enhances a certain behaviour is a result of a response. In Waiting Tables for Godot, customers kept complementing Dianes service as a consequence of her excellent service. They would also give tips to this University student. Godot on the other hand always yelled at her workers. The La Maison owner would even use French to express his dissatisfaction. In a way, this made sure things get done the right way. It is seen that even Diane becomes more careful when handling his order plates to avert losses like the one experienced before. Godot explained to new workers what he expected from them; excellent job. This, if taken from Dianes reaction, shows that workers gave their best because of this initiative. On the other hand, negative reinforcement is a situation where a behaviour is a result of stopping a negative condition, usually considered unpleasant. For example, when Godot scolds his cook and chef, they get things moving. When he yells out his anger at Diane for dropping bouillabaisse appetiser on the carpet, Diane reconsiders how careful she is with her job. She therefore averts the negative consequences where she has to break her employers property and even have her pay deducted for compensation. It is also clear that Diane finds some work to do during her vacation than just stay at home to avoid rice and spaghetti meals when she resumes back to Canberra University the following semester. Positive punishment would refer to a situation where a response occurs as a result of an aversive stimulus. This includes the introduction of loud noise or shock. Jean-Pierre Godon knew how to employ this tool. He would yell at his workers if only to get things moving faster. Regularly, he would speak in French if only to drive the point home. At one particular time, when Diane dropped the bouillabaisse appetiser, she was scolded and part of her salary deducted to cater for the losses her employer had incurred. This produced positive change as she became more careful in whatever she handled in La Maison thereafter. When Dianes pay was slashed, she opted to observe extra caution. Not only was her pay deducted but she also lost a considerable amount of tips because of the slow down in her service. This served to improve the way she handled her order plates. This condition where a favorable outcome is withdrawn following an unpleasant behaviour is known as negative punishment (Wagner, 2005). Both the negative and the positive punishment result to decreased behaviour. There are conditions that result when a behaviour that had been reinforced previously ceases to be effective. This is extinction. In the case passage, Diane is portrayed as a very efficient worker who would go extra lengths to accomplish her duties. For instance, she would balance several plates on her arms which made her avoid many trips to the kitchen. She would also carry out her duties so well that Godot, her boss, never crossed paths with her. However, on the day she messed herself by dropping appetiser of bouillabaisse on the carpet, all these things ceased to be meaningful. Her expertise in balancing several plates in her arms was no longer a positive attribute. It had cost her $44. 95 of her pay. It was therefore not worth going on with this but rather resort to carrying just a few plates at a time. Although she did not break any item in La Maison henceforth, Godot was still irritated with this University student. Godot was not satisfied with her wait staff effort. No matter how hard they tried to fulfil their bosss demands, Godot would still hurry them up with insults in French. Their effort was therefore extinct. Dianes life was surely affected by these learning tools in one way or another. Positive reinforcements made her achieve her targets. When customers would complement her, she would feel that she was doing the right thing. This motivated her to offer the best that she could. Customers would tip her, t times to a high of $23 a day which implied to Diane that she would not take rice and spaghetti in the next semester at the University of Canberra. She would also get more customers into Godots business place because of her good communication and interpersonal skills. Nonetheless, some negative reinforcement aspects caused her humiliation. When Godot finds her on the wrong and scolds her, she is forced to do away with quite a portion of her pay as compensation for the losses the boss incurs. She is prompted to reduce her service speed to avert similar happenings. When Godot imposes a fine to Diane for her actions, he knows that this will assist this lady avoid carelessness in the future. She is forced to serve lesser customers which implies reduced tips for her. This is positive punishment since it is meant to give positive results. It is out of this that this student becomes cautious with her work. Though this impacted negatively on her goals, losses in the organization was prevented. From the unpleasant behaviour of Godot in the context of Diane, this worker changes and becomes even a better employee as she does not break items anymore but becomes more cautious. There are various ways that an employer would incorporate in their management to yield the desired results. Godots idea was to pay per hour and allow the workers have tips from customers. It would thus ensure that at no one particular hour would the workers desire to do nothing. They would always seek to be busy each unfolding hour. This simply meant that Godot would have an all time operational business. This translates to more work and more profits for him. He would also not have to pay for any wasted hours during the day than if he was to pay, say per month. It will also mean that he could employ new employees every hour and avert the problem of absenteeism. Tips on the hand encouraged the workers to serve more customers in anticipation for more tips. This similarly translates to more work and consequently profits for Godot.

Zhang Yin Essay Example for Free

Zhang Yin Essay Zhang Yin – a forty nine year old woman – is Chinas richest billionaire and is worth  £1.8 BILLION! She is also the worlds richest self-made billionaire, and is even richer than Oprah Winfrey and JK Rowling. Zhang Yin became rich by starting a very successful business called Nine Dragons. Nine Dragons is Chinas largest recycling company and is supplied by scrap paper from the USA. The reason for importing foreign scrap paper is simply because there is not enough there in China to fill their needs. The economy benefits from her and her factories because jobs are created. Coke, Nike and Sony are helped by Nine Dragons as their packaging is made by them and we are helped as we buy those products. Also the CAN and the ACN companies benefit as they supply Nine Dragons with their scrap paper and get business from it. Also, it is doing good in the world by cutting down on landfill and reduces the amount of trees we chop down On the other hand, she is causing negative impacts. She may be doing good by making jobs and being green but that is not the only side to the story. Her factories are polluting the planet as well as the large ships that she is using to import and export her goods. In conclusion, Zhang Yin is a very clever lady with   the determination to get her to where she is now. She has done well but the recycling that she is doing is ruining the planet more in the process.

Effect of Demographics on the Choice of Investments

Effect of Demographics on the Choice of Investments It has been observed that over the last decade the Income of the third world countries such as India, China and Indonesia has grown at a high pace. As the wealth of the people increases they will have confidence in the markets and start investing in financial products. This research paper deals with the investment decisions of all individuals across different income groups, age, gender etc. and tries to identify the affect of demographic factors on the decision making investors The study aims to find out if the demographic factors of an individual namely his age, income, gender, savings, source of income and investment experience have any effect on the patterns of investment and hence affect his risk taking ability. Advanced quantitative techniques have been used to investigate the data and judgment has been given on the basis of statistical output. The results would help the managers in the Wealth Management process in advising their clients better regarding investments that are most suitable according to their demographics and personality type. The study provides evidence that the investment choice depends on and is affected by the demographic variables. Introduction India, China and Brazil showed the highest growth in the number of HNIs in the year 2007 (The world wealth report 2008). The growth in the exposure that these markets have still remains untapped as they have only 3 percent exposure to equities. As the wealth of the people increases they will have confidence in the markets and start investing in financial products. In the 1970s and early 1980s, researchers found enough evidences that the markets are efficient and investment decisions are taken rationally. However, over a period of time there have been major challenges to the rationality assumption. Such challenges, coming from behavioral finance, continue to advance the argument that the traditional finance theorys predictive power is no match to what investors observe and experience in the markets, in reality. Behavioral finance is a new emerging science that exploits the irrational behavior of the investors. According to the behavioral economists, individuals do not function perfectly as the classical school opines. Weber (1999) makes the observation, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Behavioral finance closely combines individual behavior and market phenomena and uses the knowledge taken from both psychological field and financial theoryà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. The key result of a behavioral finance-enhanced relationship will be a portfolio to which the advisor can comf ortably adhere while fulfilling the clients long-term goals. This result has obvious advantages which suggests that behavioral finance will continue to play an increasing role in Wealth Management The study aims to find out if the demographic factors of an individual namely his age, income, gender, savings, source of income and investment experience have any effect on the patterns of investment and hence affect his risk taking ability. Quantitative techniques shall be used to investigate the data and the decision will be given on the basis of the analysis. The results would help the people involved in the Wealth Management process in advising their clients better regarding investments that are most suitable according to their demographics and personality type. Objective The objective of this paper is to investigate how the investment choice is affected by the demographics of the investors, once we study the choice effecting variables, we will use past data and monitor what have been the returns achieved from such proportion of investments and we shall determine the ideal portfolio and mix in the portfolio. Such knowledge will be highly useful for financial advisors as it will help them to advise their clients regarding investments that are appropriate with respect to their demographic profiles. Literature review A number of studies have been conducted to study how risk tolerance varies with the individual demographics, such as, gender, age, education, income, etc. Most of these studies have, however, concentrated on exploring the gender differences in investment choice. Harlow and Keith (1990) found that women prefer low risk bets when asked to make choices in an experimental market environment, involving auctions and lotteries (Olsen and Cox, 2001). Experimental evidence suggests that women may be more risk averse towards gamble (Hershey and Schoemaker, 1980). Large-scale one-on-one attitude surveys by the Investment Company Institute and SRI International in the year 1996 and 1997 respectively, also revealed that women tend to prefer lower risk assets than men. (Olsen and Cox, 2001). Women hold less risky assets than men (Jianakoplos and Bernasek, 1998) and they also choose less risky alternatives (Powll and Ansic, 1997). Women exhibited less risk-taking behavior than men in their most recent, largest and riskiest mutual fund investment decisions (Dwyer et al., 2002). Women are more risk averse than men in gambles, investment frames with possibility of loss and gamble frame with no losses (Eckel and Grossman, 2003). Brynes and Miller (1999) have studied and investigated the relationship between risk and gender and concluded that women tend to take less risk than men (Olsen and Cox, 2001). Women are less likely to invest in riskier but high return assets than men (Mc Donald, 1997). However, the empirical investigation of gender difference in risk taking is inconclusive (Charness and Gneezy, 2004). While most research conducted prior to 1980 concluded that gender difference clearly exists, more recent research studies yield mixed results (Changanti and Parasuraman, 1996; and Powell and Ansic, 1997). Males and females are equally successful in taking decisions under conditions of risk (Hudgen and Fatkin, 1985). They are equally effective in the leadership role (Eagly et al., 1995) and are equally capable of processing and reacting to information (Stinerock et al., 1991). As businessmen/women, many studies have found similar level of performance for women-owned business as those which are owned by men (Kalleberg and Leicht, 1991; and Fischer et al., 1993). In an abstract lottery choice, Schubert et al. (2000) framed choices as either potential gain, or potential loss. They found that women are more risk averse than men in domain of gain, while men are more risk averse than women in the frame of loss domain. Women fund mangersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ both domestic and internationalà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ hold portfolios which are marginally riskier than those of men, and their returns also outperform those of men (Bliss and Potter, 2001). Women were found to be less risk averse than men when the gambles were framed as insurance (Duda et al., 2004). Although, the impact of gender on risk taking is significantly weakened when investor knowledge of financial markets and investments is controlled in the regression equation, the greater level of risk aversion among wome n, which is frequently documented in the literature, cannot be completely, explained by knowledge disparities (Dwyer et al., 2002). In the Indian context, Gupta (www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/bandhk/1118105.html) has indicated that from the angle of investor protection, the regulation of the new issue market is important for several reasons. The number of small investors in new issue market is massive. Most of new investors make their first entry into equity investments via the new issue market. So retaining common investor confidence in primary markets is important. Madhusoodan (www.nyse.com/press/NT00545421.html) has indicated that in the Indian stock market, higher risk is not priced, hence investment in higher risk instruments is of no use. Kakati (www.investorclaims.com/html/bokermisconduct.html) has indicated that Indian IPOs are under priced in the short run and overpriced in the long run. Selling after allotment, around the listing month, is the cause of major return differences between IPOs performance in the short run and long run. Gokaran has studied the financing patterns of the corporate growth in the country. The study indicated that equity markets suffer serious inadequacies as a mechanism for raising capital. Murali (www.ssrn.com) has indicated that new issues market (NIM) focuses on decreasing information asymmetry, easy accessibility of capital by large sections of medium and small enterprises, national level participation in promoting efficient investments, and increasing a culture of investments in productive sector. In order that these goals are achieved, a substantial level of improvement in the regulatory standards in India at the voluntary and enforcement levels is warranted. The most crucial steps to achieve these goals would be to develop measures to strengthen the new issues market. To effectively and efficiently serve clients in todays competitive industry, financial planners increasingly rely on information technology. The larger the financial planning firm, the more critical the use of information technology becomes as its applications extend to areas outside financial planning such as payroll, accounting, marketing, and operations. This article proposes the establishment of a new research discipline, financial planning informatics, which focuses on the development of technology tools to support the unique needs of financial planners. We live in the information age. Information is the result of processing, manipulating, and organizing data in a way that creates new knowledge (Rahman 2006). A number of studies have been conducted to study how risk tolerance varies with the individual demographics, such as, gender, age, education, income, etc (Schooley Worden, 1996; Shaw, 1996; Xiao Noring, 1994; Watson and Naughton, 2007). Most of these studies have, however, concentrated on exploring the gender differences in investment choice. The impact of other demographic factors, such as, age, education, income, occupation and dependents on investment choice has not been investigated by many researchers. But whatever studies have been done suggest that they (other demographic factors) affect individuals investment decisions. Risk tolerance, a persons attitude towards accepting risk, is an important concept which has implications for both financial service providers and consumers. For the latter, risk tolerance is one factor which may determine the appropriate composition of assets in a portfolio which is optimal in terms of risk and return relative to the needs of the individual (Droms, 1987). In fact, the well-documented home country bias of investors may be a manifestation of risk aversion on the part of investors (see Cooper, and Kaplanis, 1994 and Simons, 1999). For fund managers, Jacobs and Levy (1996) argue that the inability to effectively determine investor risk tolerance may lead to homogeneity among investment funds. Further, Schirripa and Tecotzky (2000) argue that the standard Markowitz portfolio optimization process can be optimised by pooling groups of investors together with different attitudes to risk into a single efficient portfolio that maintains the groups average risk tolerance. Although a number of factors have been proposed and tested, a brief survey of the results reveals a distinct lack of consensus. First, it is generally thought that risk tolerance decreases with age (see Wallach and Kogan 1961; McInish 1982; Morin and Suarez 1983; and Palsson 1996) although this relationship may not necessarily be linear (see Riley and Chow 1992; Bajtelsmit and VanDerhai 1997). Intuitively this result can be explained by the fact that younger investors have a greater (expected) number of years to recover from the losses that may be incurred with risky investments. Interestingly, there is some suggestion that biological changes in enzymes due to the aging process may be responsible (see Harlow and Brown, 1990). More recent research however, reveals evidence of a positive relationship or fails to detect any impact of age on risk tolerance (see Wang and Hanna 1997; Grable and Joo 1997; Grable and Lytton 1998, Hanna, Gutter and Fan, 1998; Grable 2000, Hariharan, Chapman a nd Domian, 2000; and Gollier and Zeckhauser, 2002). A second demographic which is frequently argued to determine risk tolerance is gender and Bajtelsmit and Bernasek (1996), Palsson (1996), Jianakoplos and Bernasek (1998), Bajtelsmit, Bernasek and Jianakoplos (1999), Powell and Ansic (1997), and Grable (2000) find support for the notion that females have a lower preference for risk than males. Grable and Joo (1999) and Hanna, Gutter and Fan (1998) however, find that gender is not significant in predicting financial risk tolerance. Education is a third factor which is thought to increase a persons capacity to evaluate risks inherent to the investment process and therefore endow them with a higher financial risk tolerance (see Baker and Haslem, 1974; Haliassos and Bertaut, 1995; Sung and Hanna, 1996). Shaw (1996) derives a model which suggests an element of circularity in this argument however, as the relative risk aversion of an individual is shown to determine the rate of human capital acquisition. Income and wealth are two related factors which are hypothesised to exert a positive relationship on the preferred level of risk (see Friedman 1974; Cohn, Lewellen, Lease and Schlarbaum 1975; Blume 1978; Riley and Chow 1992; Grable and Lytton 1999; Schooley and Worden 1996; Shaw 1996; and Bernheim et al, 2001). For the latter, however, the issue is not clear cut. On the one hand, wealthy individuals can more easily afford to incur the losses resulting from a risky investment and their accumulated wealth may even be a reflection of their preferred level of risk. Alternatively, wealthy people may be more conservative with their money while people with low levels of personal wealth may view risky investments as a form of lottery ticket and be more willing to bear the risk associated with such payoffs. This argument is analogous to Bowmans (1982) proposition that troubled firms prefer and seek risk. Investigation of the investment decisions made by married individuals presents a unique challenge to researchers as the investment portfolio of the couple may reflect the combined risk preferences of the couple (Bernasek and Shwiff, 2001). The available evidence suggests that single investors are more risk tolerant (Roszkowski, Snelbecker and Leimberg, 1993) although some research has failed to identify any significant relationship (McInish, 1982; Masters, 1989; and Haliassos and Bertaut, 1995). Methodology The study employs primary data collected by communicating with the respondents with the help of a structured questionnaire. Before undertaking the survey, a pilot test of the questionnaire was done with 40 respondents. Their views were incorporated in the final questionnaire and desired results were obtained. The study is based on responses obtained from the respondents belonging to a wide cross section. The total sample consisted of about 150 people, Males/Females from Salaried/ Self Employed, were split from different Age groups of Less than 35, 35-45, 45 and above. Investment Experience (Measured in the No of years) and the savings of Individuals post investment was also observed. The study employed non-probabilistic sampling method to select the respondents. The sampling method used can best be described as a mix of judgmental and convenient sampling. The questionnaire (Annexure) consists of a risk profiling exercise combined with the demographic characteristics required about the investor. Later a combination of cluster analysis along with a couple of other tests like LOGIT, PROBIT Etc will be used. DATA ANALYSIS The risk taking ability of the respondents was found by looking at the patterns and similarities that could be found and understood in the data. Techniques of Regression and Logit tests are used. Then the demographic characteristics of the people to their risk taking ability and any similar patterns are also identified. From the final questionnaire we got to know the risk profile, demographic profile, choice of investments, other habits and observations etc. Later any patterns and similarities were looked at in the data. The analysis was done using Logit tests identifying probabilities, Multi logistic regression, Man- Whitney U test and chi square. The following hypotheses were formulated to study whether the choice of Investment depends upon variables, such as, gender, age, income, educational qualification and occupation. The hypotheses are stated as follows: Ho.1: There is no significant difference between the males and females in their choice of investment avenues. Ho.2: There is no significant difference among the investors belonging to different age groups in their choice of investment avenues. Ho.3: There is no significant difference between the investors of different occupations in their choice of investment avenues. Ho.4: There is no significant difference between the investors having different investment experience in their choice of investment avenues. Ho.5: There is no significant difference between the investors having different savings post investment in their choice of investment avenues. Logit Regression Using the data, we have calculated if the respondent is a risk taking or a risk averse investor. His risk taking behavior is taken as a Dependent variable. The various independent variables include Age, Gender, No of dependents, Income; savings post investments, investment experience etc. The model studies the change in the dependent variable due to change in all these independent variables. We use ungrouped method of Logit regression as we observe that these variables are independent and are not very much correlated with each other; hence they show lesser chance of hetroscedasticity with each other. Wald statistic (test) was used to test the significance of individual logistic regression coefficients for each independent variables ( that is to test the null hypothesis in logistic regression that a particular logit coefficient is zero). It is the ratio of the unstandardised logit coefficient to its standard error. The Wald statistic and its corresponding p probability level is part of the SPSS output. The independents may be dropped from the equations when their effect is not significant by the Wald statistic. We observe that the regression equation is significant at 10% with Wald value of 2.959. It was observed that among the independent variables the Age, gender and Investment experience are considered to be significant with a Wald value of 18.571, 3.47, 3.457 respectively they are also significant as they fall in significance level of 10%. However No of dependents, the Income and savings post investment are not significant enough and they are not at a significant level too with more than 10% significance level. It is observed that the number of dependents or siblings of a person does not define his risk taking ability and capacity, same is the reason for the person being salaried or being self employed for his living. There is no pattern observed for the level of savings that person has after his investment habits. Hence it can be said that the risk taking capacity can be mainly judged by his Age, Gender and Investment experience. The logit can be converted easily into an odds ratio simply by using an exponential function. The original odds are multiplied by e to the bth power, where b is the logistic regression coefficient, when the given independent increases by one unit. The ratio of odds ratio of the independent is the ratio of the relative importance of the independent variables on the dependent variables. The value of ratio for income 1.083 . Hence a unit change in income affects the change in risk taking ability by 1.083 Further in the regression equation the variable Age is highly significant with the score of 21.443 in the equation, so is gender and investment experience. The equation has a overall statistics of 28.953 with a appropriate significance level. R Square in logistic regression R2 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" measures attempts to measure strength of association. For small examples, for instance, an R2 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" like measure might be high when the goodness of fit was unacceptable by model chi- square or some other test. Cox and Snell R square is used to in the interpretation of multiple R square based on the likelihood, but the value lesser than1 is, the better. Here the value is 0.230. Nagelkerkes R2 divides Cox and Snells R2 by its maximum in order to achieve a measure that ranges from 0 to 1. Therefore Nagelkerkes R2 which is here 0.310 will normally be higher than the Cox and Snell measure but will tend to run lower than the corresponding OLS R2 which is 133.048. Nagelkerkes R2 is the most-reported of the R-squared estimates. Conclusion The insight of how an investment choice gets affected by the demographic variables helps the financial advisors to advise their clients better. The clients, on the other hand, on being advised regarding the investments that suit their profile, will not only rate such an advice higher but will also appreciate it. This study thus, will certainly improve the mutual trust between the advisor and his client. Similar studies with diverse samples will help in understanding the investment psychology better. From the research we observe that the risk taking ability can be mainly judged by his Age, Gender and Investment experience. That is if the person falls in a specific age category, the financial planner cab be readily prepared for the desires level of risky portfolio to be offered to the client. It has been noticed from the data that mostly people with high age are risk adverse on the contrary young people like to take very high risks and invest in aggressive stocks and speculative instruments. Men have been observed to be more risk taking and aggressive than most females. And people who have experience of trading in the financial markets also determine the level of risk they like to take. It is observed that the no of dependents or siblings that a person does not define his risk taking ability and capacity initially we thought that people who have more no of siblings would like to take less risk however same has not been observed in this case, same is the case for the person being salaried or being self employed for his living. Similarly no pattern has been observed for the level of savings that person has after his investment habits and the level of risk that he like to take.

Windows NT and Linux :: essays research papers

Windows NT and Linux: An inside look and comparison! One of the many challenges of a corporation, small business or educational institution is how to network the people within and outside the organization. Linux and Windows NT are two network operating systems that suit this purpose well, each having its respective advantages and disadvantages. One organization (Nichols College), began utilizing each operating system for two very different purposes. I will explain the function of the two operating systems and how well they each performed for Nichols. Windows NT  Advantages and Disadvantages  Business with Windows NT Linux  Advantages and Disadvantages  Linux in the Business World  Conclusion: Windows NT or Linux? Windows NT: Its Pluses and Minuses Windows NT (New Technology) is an operating system made and offered by Microsoft. Microsoft first released Windows NT in 1993. The basis of Windows NT is an operating system that controls basic computing functions, such as manipulating files. It is a "multipurpose server operating system that delivers a fully integrated file/print and server environment." Windows NT offers one of the highest levels of compatibility with other operating systems and hardware. It was created to be the most integrated, extensive, and easy operating system and it comes in two ways:  For desktop PC's  For server computers (supporting computer networks). Windows NT has both positives and negatives. Some of the advantages include: Integration Performance Reliability Security Manageability Internet Access. Windows NT Server allows all applications to be utilized from the Windows NT Directory Service or NTDS. This has a network logon to all servers and services that it provides and its advantage: Only one user database is needed for the whole system. Windows NT also allows integration with other hardware and operating systems; and files and applications from other servers such as Unix and NetWare. This gives users the ability to install Windows NT knowing that it can fit with their current network. The performance for Windows NT: It runs applications faster, especially 32-bit applications. It is also faster than Windows 95 on 32 MB machines or more. Window NT provides graphical user interfaces (GUI). Definition of GUI - designs used as symbols that make a function visible to the user quicker than having to look for it. As far as reliability, Microsoft has a clustering middleware, named "Wolfpack" that provides fault-tolerant clustering on mainstream PC server hardware. ****Windows NT also provides memory protection and preemptive multitasking, a journalized recoverable file system, and RAID striping with parity.

The Metamorphosis as a Depiction of Franz Kafkas Life Essay -- Kafka

The Metamorphosis as a Depiction of Franz Kafka's Life The Metamorphosis is said to be one of Franz Kafka's best works of literature. It shows the difficulties of living in a modern society and the struggle for acceptance of others when in a time of need. In this novel Kafka directly reflects upon many of the negative aspects of his personal life, both mentally and physically. The relationship between Gregor and his father is in many ways similar to Franz and his father Herrman. The Metamorphosis also shows resemblance to some of Kafka's diary entries that depict him imagining his own extinction by dozens of elaborated methods. This paper will look into the text to show how this is a story about the author's personal life portrayed through his dream-like fantasies. Franz Kafka grew up in a financially secure Jewish family in Prague. He spoke German and was neither a Czech nor German due to his Jewish upbringing. Born in 1883, he was the eldest child and the only son. He lived his life in the shadow of his dominating father under constant pressure to take over the family business. Kafka's father viewed Franz as a failure and disapproved of his writing because he wanted Franz to become a business man like him. This obsession with wanting Franz to become a businessman led Herrman to beat his son. Franz Kafka died on June 3, 1924 from tuberculosis of the larynx. From the moment we meet Gregor Samsa's father we are shown how short tempered he is. He "came on, hissing like a wild man" when Gregor first exited his room in his new state as a bug. Gregor's father chased after him with a cane and newspaper making a hissing noise that annoyed Gregor. Just this passage here shows how alike Mr. Samsa and Herrman Kafka are. Kafka was... ...appened so often during the times he was trying to write, it happened unknowingly. When comparing Franz Kafka and his personal life to The Metamorphosis it is obvious in more ways than one that he was writing a twisted story of his life. The emotional and physical abuse Gregor goes through are similar to what Kafka went through in real life. They were both abused and neglected by their fathers when they were disappointed with them. Kafka uses Gregor transforming into a bug as a way of exaggerating himself, trying to express his feelings and point of view. When writing, Kafka felt as if he was trapped in his room which he referred to as "the noise headquarters of the apartment". Gregor was an exaggeration of this because he could not leave the house to escape the noises and abuse. Works Cited: Kafka, Franz. The Metamorphosis. Mattituck: Vanguard Press, 1946.

Corellation Between Spirituality, Emotions Essay

Abstract   The purpose of this paper is to describe the changes during pregnancy, which is influenced by various factors like lifestyle modification, emotions and spirituality. The paper first discusses in detail about the stress and emotional changes, which occurs during pregnancy and its impact on both child and mother. These results are also supported with proper evidence from various research.   Secondly, paper discusses about how lifestyle modification in pregnant women affects the child and mother and these results are supported by evidence from various research.   Finally, the paper discusses about the spiritual believes and its impact on pregnant women. INTRODUCTION Pregnancy is a life event for which most women look forward too. The symptoms of pregnancy might sometimes be distressing but ultimately, it is all worthwhile. Women’s life changes completely during this period. This is the most stressful as well as memorable period in a women’s life. Proper planning before pregnancy to overcome the physical and emotional changes is highly essential. Since, lifestyle modification, stress, anxiety and diet changes produce major impacts in pregnant women and the fetus, the need for proper life style modification during pregnancy is recommended by all physicians. This paper discusses the impact of three major factors Stress, life style modification and spirituality in pregnant women with empirical evidence from various research studies. STRESS AND RELATED IMPACTS IN PREGNANT WOMEN   Expectant women are subject to stress due to several factors, which includes physical changes during pregnancy, environmental changes, lifestyle changes and several other factors. Pregnant women besides physical changes also experience emotional changes at time of pregnancy. Mood swings are common and women will face emotional ups and downs in early pregnancy because of hormonal changes. Its is common for pregnant women to cry or get angry and upset for no apparent reason.    Pregnancy Changes related to stress During first trimester, the pregnant women spend most of their time by realizing the fact that they are pregnant. They experience themselves inwardly and try to understand and overcome the fears about the pregnancy. This must be the case only when the women experiencing the first pregnancy. In later pregnancy, they become more familiar with the changes. At first pregnancy, pregnant women are subjected to many fear such as fear about discontinuing the job, lifestyle changes, responsibility, economical constrains etc. Insecure feelings are common during the early stage of pregnancy. Mood swings grows higher leading to unusual behaviors. The pregnant woman may laugh or cry for irrelevant things. These are often related to hormonal changes in the body. However, researchers believe that hormonal changes during pregnancy augment the force of the feelings and do not causes mood change. Few researchers has identified that the amount of anxiety is heavier in pregnant women who bears a boy baby, for which the reasons are unidentified. In the second trimester, the expectant mother slowly comes out of fear and anxiety, which they experienced during the first trimester and starts feeling better as by now they start experiencing the movement of the baby. During this period, the understanding between the husband and wife starts growing and slowly they accept the existence of baby. The woman starts showing changes physically as she gain weight, also fear and anxiety grows rapidly during this period as fear of miscarriage or disaster to the baby or to herself develops. Speaking out about the fear to her husband or to someone close would relive herself from stress. During the last stage of pregnancy, the pregnant mother experience more fear and stress. As they grow larger in size, they experience low self-esteem and expect more attention from all the dear ones especially from her husband. They fear more regarding delivery complications.    Physical stress during pregnancy and its impact Physical strain during pregnancy is equal to emotional strain. High physical stress during pregnancy is not advisable as it has possibility of inducing preterm delivery among pregnant women. â€Å"In a research conducted by Mozurkewich and Colleague among the employees of pregnant women in U.S who had performed increased physical work has given birth before their deliver date. In another study conducted among the women in France has shown similar results.    Stress and its impact on diet Stress, tension, low energy, exhaustion and other emotional changes can influence the diet preference by the pregnant women. According to the study conducted by the ‘Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’, â€Å"the diet of the expectant mother would affect the growth of the fetus and the wellbeing of the infant. According to this study which was conducted by ‘Kristen Hurley, Janet DiPietro, Kathleen Costigan and Laura Caulfield’, â€Å"Mother who experienced more fatigue during the pregnancy period consumed more amount of energy rich foods and zinc and consumed less folate. Expectant mothers who felt more stressed munched more amount of snacks and carbohydrate foods and also consumed lots of foods which is rich in fat, protein, iron and zinc. Worried feelings were connected with poorer consumption of vitamin C. Mothers who were stressed by pregnancy experience ate less meat.†Ã‚   â€Å"While pregnant women eating more amount of food may lead to increase in micronutrients and decrease the intake of other important nutrients like folate and vitamin C†, says, ‘Laura Caulfield, Ph.D. an associate professor at the Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Centre for Human Nutrition’.    Stress and its effect on the fetus Stress during pregnancy can bring about several changes in mother and child’s health. It affects the heart rate of the pregnant women. It also brings about blood pressure and anxiety in women. â€Å"According to Catherine Monk of Columbia University, emotional changes during pregnancy result in heart problems in pregnant women and have major effect on the fetus.†Ã‚   Earlier research has shown that stress during pregnancy leads to under weight babies and premature babies. Researcher has found that heart rate of mother is associated to heart rate of the fetus and when mother is stressed or worried, it affects the infant directly. Researchers from John Hopkins University and National Institute of Child Health Development (NICHD) in their research have found that emotional changes during pregnancy have direct impact on child’s behavior. Mother with increased emotion and fear of pregnancy has children with poor behavior skills and emotional disorder.  Ã‚  Ã‚   â€Å"According to Janet A. DiPietro, PhD, a developmental psychologist and professor at John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, increased stress during pregnancy results in chemical changes which manipulate the organ growth and development of the fetus.† Thus, it is essential for a pregnant women to be free from stress and emotions during and after pregnancy to give birth to a healthy baby and to maintain her own health. LIFESTYLE CHANGES AND ITS IMPACT IN EXPECTANT MOTHER Lifestyle modification during pregnancy affects both mother and child especially when seems to be negative. Expectant mothers who are involved in habits such as Cigarette, alcohol, caffeine etc are under risk of developing breast cancer, delivery complications and pass the risk of behavioral disorder to their child. Apart from this diet, modification and exercise pattern also has impact on child’s growth. Expectant mother with eating disorder or overeating habits are prone to low-birth weight or over weight babies. Alteration in diet with inadequate nutrients or over nutrition leads to gestational diabetes. The child born to such parents develops Type I diabetes and are also at risk of developing cardiovascular problems. Lower folate consumption before and during the time of pregnancy would lead to birth defect and neurological problems. Hence, proper nutrition intake before and after pregnancy is essential. Consumption of Alcohol at the time of pregnancy leads to abortion, affects the fetus development, causes serious birth defects particularly the intellectual growth of the child. Hence, it is advisable to avoid alcohol consumption before and during pregnancy. Pregnant women who drink heavily are at risk of giving birth to child with alcohol syndrome i.e. a syndrome, which has major effect on mental and physical health. Similarly, pregnant women who consumes higher amount of caffeine are also at risk of developing miscarriage and birth defects. In addition, heavy exposure to chemicals can lead to birth defects. Various studies have shown that exposure to hazardous chemicals as solvents at work place have resulted in increase in the risk of abortion or birth defects. Apart from these, exercise during pregnancy is highly essential. Exercise during pregnancy strengthens the lower back and lower abdomen. Lack of proper exercise would result in caesarian and delivery complications. Exercise can reduce the labor complications and the risk of delivery. Regular exercise and walking would be more effective if followed in the second and third trimester. It helps the pregnant women to be relieved out of constipation, discomfort due to increased weight, fatigue, backaches etc    Diet modification during pregnancy affects the child and the offspring A research study conducted by â€Å"Children’s hospital Oakland Research Institute by David Martin, M.D, Dr. Jennifer Cropley and Catherine Suter from Victor Chang Heart Institute in Sydney, November 2006, has found that, ‘ mother’s diet during pregnancy   dose not only affect the health of her child but also affects the health of the grandchildren by changing the behavior of specific gene.† The researchers has performed the study on Avy mouse (yellow in color) which posses gene similar to human genes. The researchers during the research has used two group of pregnant mouse of which one group was fed with usual diet consumed by human and the other group was provided with supplements such as folate, vitamin, zinc etc along with the normal diet during the middle of the pregnancy. The similar experiments were followed for the offspring’s. The results of the study revealed that mouse without the supplement diet in both the experiments has shown considerable alteration in the gene resulting in the change of color from yellow to brown and were also found to be unhealthy and are at risk of cancer. Though it is, the known fact that mother’s diet would have considerable impact on the child’s health this is the first study, which has compared the correlation between mother’s diet and its impact in offspring. According to ‘Kenneth Beckman, Ph.D. Assistance Scientist at CHORI and a member of Project Export Centre of excellence in Nutritional Genomics, said, â€Å"The supplements provided during the pregnancy of the mother benefited the grand children even when the mother of the grandchild did not consume diet with supplements. Thus, maternal diet could have long lasting implications which extends for generations and even centuries.† Overeating and its impact on child  Ã‚   According to the research from ‘Oregon Health and Science University, September 2006’, â€Å"overeating during pregnancy may lead to several health problems to the child.†   Ã¢â‚¬Å"The researcher Kevin Grove, Ph.D., a scientist in ONPRC’s Division of Neuroscience in his research has confirmed that grandchildren off the expectant mother who overeat are at risk for liver damage and at a risk for early commencement of diabetes and obesity. Apart from this considerable change take place in the hypothalamus of the brain, which is responsible for the weight regulation.   He also states that children who are born to mother who consumes lots of fatty foods may be at a risk of diabetes and obesity.† The researchers have noted that pregnant female monkeys who were used for the research when provided with high fatty food passed on liver damage and pancreas damage to their offspring’s. The results were similar to humans when expectant women consumed high fatty food. It is clear from the above study that the need for a balanced diet among pregnant women is highly essential to prevent all health related problems to the child and the offspring. Another study conducted by world health organization there is a considerable increase in obesity related heart disease and metabolic disease among the present generation. Though the increase in obesity among present generation is because they consume high amount of fatty foods like sugar and saturated fats, on the other hand the obesity is also associated with increased consumption of energy rich food during pregnancy and during breast-feeding is one more reason for obesity among children’s. For several years it is has been stated that undernourished mother during pregnancy give birth to low birth weight babies which in turn affects the infant with heart related problems as it grows. However, latest studies reveals that apart form undernourished mother even the child born for mother who during pregnancy expose to energy rich food are also prone to heart disease. The study also revels that maternal diet has direct impact on child’s desire for food and maternal diet with increased energy food results in heart disease and other diseases like diabetes and hypertension in the later part of life. In such cases, the child develops abnormalities in aorta and in kidney resulting in severe disease as they grow up.    Smoking affects the child and grandchild Pregnant women may pass down the habit of smoking and its related disease to their child and to their grandchildren for continued generation.   Research study from Australia in 1982 has revealed the fact that children born to mothers who smoked during the time pregnancy started smoking before the age of 15 when compared to the children’s who were born to the mother who were non-smokers. At the same time, children’s of mothers who were smokers and gave up smoking at the time of pregnancy has shown similar results as children’s of mother who was non-smoker.   Thus, pregnant women are highly recommended to avoid smoking during pregnancy. Different study conducted by ‘Keck School of Medicine of University of California, states that use of tobacco and nicotine by the mother during pregnancy would result in lung diseases such as asthma to her children and grandchildren. The author Frank D. Gilliland, Professor of preventive medicine Keck School of Medicine states that smoking pregnant women will pass down long-term impact of lung disease in generations continuing for centuries. The research result shows that children’s and grandchildren’s of smoking mother at the time of pregnancy experienced problems of asthma from the age of five. Although the child of smoking mother did not experience any problem, the grandchild was highly prone to developing asthma. The researchers have also found that the nicotine present in the tobacco affects the DNA of the infant and affects the immune system of the baby. It is also found that nicotine from the tobacco affects the formation of the egg in the girl child as it grows. Thus, from above research studies it is clear that lifestyle modification in pregnant women would bring major impact in both child and mother. Few research has also proved that even grandchildren’s and further generation are affected by irregular dietary habits and alcohol and smoking habits. SPIRITUALITY AND ITS IMPACT ON EXPECTANT MOTHER Fasting seems to be one of spiritual activity, which has influenced most of the religious people especially Hindus and Muslims. People by fasting show their gratitude and love towards God. However, fasting when continued for more that two or three days leads to Lower Glycemic Index, reduces the protein and fat level in blood, increases the uric acid content, and possibly reduces the RBC and hemoglobin levels in the blood. If this is the case for normal people, when women with pregnancy undergoes fasting the results would be more drastic leading to ill health to both mother and child. As pregnancy is a crucial period and the mother is expected to consume the right amount of nutrition to maintain her health and the babies’ health, fasting during such period has to be avoided. According to a ‘Physician Gabriel Cousens, â€Å"fasting means to withdraw from that which is poisonous to the intellect, body and spirit. This can also be described as removal of corporal, emotional and psychological pollutant from our life, more willingly than merely staying away from or interrupting eating. Starving oneself for religious purposes typically involves taking away thyself from worldly duties.† On the other hand, in spite of the awareness for the need for proper nutrition some expectant mothers as being more religious blindly believes that by following rituals like fasting would bring God’s love and blessings to the child. Especially Muslim women’s during the period of Ramadan even if pregnant presume that fasting is obligatory for healthy wellbeing of child and mother. However, Islam is not too harsh on Muslim women’s who are pregnant. For that reason, no religion would be cruel to advice fasting during pregnancy. In Islam, the culture itself has prohibited such activity. Qur’an, has stated the following people not to fast during Ramadan, â€Å"pregnant women in her last trimester and also to avoid fasting by expectant mother if its is harmful to the mother and the child, women who is breast feeding, menstruating women and women who are in nifas.†Ã‚   According to Hadith, â€Å"the religion also states that if a expectant mother or the breast-feeding mother is subjected to health problems due to fasting, in such case they can fast the equivalent amount of days in another period of time.† Fasting are starving in the name of god is not ideal and it only spoils the health of the mother and baby. As pregnancy is an imperative period in women’s life attachment between mother and child grows right from the time of conception and develops with intake of right nutrition at right time. Impacts of fasting in Expectant women During pregnancy, the mother has to eat for two hence at this time going without food or starving without food due to spiritual reasons would affect both the child and mother. On the other hand, avoiding food at instance help the mother to remove the toxins from her body. Toxins loaded in the kidney, lungs, bladder, skin, intestinal track, respiratory track etc can be removed when avoiding food at some instances. However, this depends on the body condition of the women. In such cases the pregnant women has to take the advice of her doctor regarding her dietary habits. The culture of Islam states that fasting during first and second trimester of pregnancy is safer. This is also supported by the statement provided by ‘Dr. Shahid Athar; â€Å"according to him expectant based on health conditions can fast during the 1st and 2nd trimesters with the guidance and supervision from her obstetrician.† In a study conducted in Africa by researchers from Austin, nearly 89.5% of expectant women were fasting during the month of Ramadan. The result showed that blood glucose level in expectant mother who were fasting were significantly less than the normal amount which has resulted in gestational diabetes among these women. As no carbohydrate is available for producing glucose during the fasting period ketosis occur to avoid the loss of protein, which results in fall in insulin level and augmented weight loss. The research has proved that continuous fasting in pregnant women increase the risk of gestational diabetes, which results in over weight babies, caesarian, and stillbirth. Proper diet management under medical supervision and frequent blood testing for blood sugar can prevent gestational diabetes in pregnant women. Another research by â€Å"Kellymon has proved that fasting leads to dehydration, which thereby decreases the milk supply due to the decreased fluid level in the body.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Another study by Centre for Advance for health in 2000 has revealed that pregnant mothers who starved during the first 14 weeks of pregnancy has given birth to child who are at high risk of heart disease. Form the research studies it is clear that fasting in the name of spirituality has shown adverse effect on both the child and mother. Although the belief of the expectant mother has to be considered, health related issues due to fasting have to be given priority. Since, the effect of fasting affects not only the mother but also the child, such beliefs has to be considered. The impacts of fasting last on child’s health for longer period and even it grows for several generations. CONCLUSION   As pregnancy is a crucial period in women’s life special attention and care during this period is more important. Pregnant women in general should be away from stress and try to keep them relaxed and peaceful. Excess stress can create severe impact on women’s health and in child’s health and also can lead to preterm delivery and miscarriage. Focusing on positive lifestyle changes before and after pregnancy could yield better results by improving the health and intellect of the baby. Thus for safe and healthy pregnancy, it is always better to be planed to avoid all harmful behaviors.    REFERENCES Shahid Athar, â€Å"Effects of Fasting in Pregnant Women during Ramadan†, Journal of Islamic Medical Association, November 1987. Hadith, â€Å"Studies on Fasting during Ramadan†, Islamic Horizon, October 2003. Kevin Grove, â€Å"Overeating and its impact on child†, Oregon Health and Science University, September 2006 Kristen Hurley, Janet DiPietro, Kathleen Costigan and Laura Caulfield, â€Å"Stress and its Impact in Pregnant Women,† Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, June 2005.    David Martin, Dr. Jennifer Cropley, Catherine Suter, Kenneth Beckman, â€Å"Diet modification during pregnancy affects the child and the offspring†, Children Hospital and Research Centre at Oakland, December 2006. World Health Organization, â€Å"Obesity related to cardiovascular disease in children†, Blackwell Publishing Ltd, May 2005. Frank D. Gilliland, Yu-Fen Li, â€Å"Smoking during Pregnancy affects the Child and Grandchild†, Chest Vol. 128, No. 5, April 2005, Pp 1231-1241. Mozurkewich EL. â€Å"Working Conditions and Adverse Pregnancy Outcome.† Obstetrics and Gynecology 2001. 96:624-636.